Wednesday, December 25, 2019

Macbeth, By William Shakespeare - 1243 Words

In William Shakespeare’s â€Å"Macbeth†, the author portrays the main character Macbeth as a very tortured and flawed individual whose actions only serve to further unravel him. He is conflicted and power hungry, which drives him to perform evil murders and become a ruthless person. Macbeth’s moral compass is not resilient enough to withstand his wife’s manipulations and he is provoked to act on his malicious thoughts of murder. The author explores the terrible effects that ambition and guilt can have on a man who lacks strength of character. The pitiful tension within Macbeth shows that he is too determined to allow his conscience to stop him from murdering his way to the top and too conscientious to be happy with himself as a murderer. The reader comes to understand Shakespeare uses many literary techniques to expertly cultivate the character of Macbeth. Shakespeare uses the literary technique of indirect characterization in this work of literature to develop the character of Macbeth, as his emotions and feelings are displayed through his relationship with his wife, his dark desire to become king, and through his soliloquys. At the start of this play, he is a strong, brave, heroic soldier, defeating Norway’s army, cutting off Macdonwald’s head and gaining the title of Thane of Cawdor. However that is not enough for him. After the witches prophesy to him that he will become king, Macbeth’s first thought is he will have to commit murder. Through every murder he commits, MacbethShow MoreRelatedMacbeth by William Shakespeare770 Words   |  3 PagesThe play Macbeth is written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to be written between 1603 and 1607 and set in eleventh century Scotland. It is also believed to be first performed in 1606. It is considered to be one of the darkest and most powerful tragedies. Macbeth, set in Scotland, dramatizes the psychological and political effects produced when evil is chosen to fulfill the ambition of power. The Tragedy of Macbeth is Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy and tells the story of Macbeth, a ScottishRead MoreMacbeth, By William Shakespeare1425 Words   |  6 PagesMacbeth Just Can’t Wait To Be King Everyone has a quality that they do not like about themselves. Some people struggle to be social, others may be too controlling of people. The list goes on and on, but the point is that everybody has a particular quality that they must learn to control or else that particular quality can get out of hand. Of course, one could write a list of characters that have major flaws. There is no better example than William Shakespeare’s character, Macbeth, in The TragedyRead MoreMacbeth, By William Shakespeare1409 Words   |  6 Pages â€Å"Fair is foul, and foul is fair: Hover through the fog and filthy air.† On October 17th, I had the pleasure of going to see Macbeth performed at the Shakespeare Tavern. Along with its reputation for being â€Å"cursed,† Macbeth is also known as one of the crown jewels of William Shakespeare’s repertoire. In my opinion, the central concept of this particular retelling of the play was the murkiness of character. Throughout the pla y, the many characters go through fierce temptation and strife, and noneRead MoreMacbeth, By William Shakespeare1203 Words   |  5 PagesMacbeth is a play based on King James I, it was written by William Shakespeare, however this play isn’t a king and queen fairy tale, but it’s a play about greed and guilt, chaos and murder and three evil witches who use prophecies to influence Macbeth to do bad things, using flattery would instigate his inner ambition to become king, which in the end doesn’t lead to a very happy ending. Shakespeare’s, Macbeth, was written in the early Jacobean period. During those times, women had no power, theyRead MoreMacbeth, By William Shakespeare Essay1487 Words   |  6 Pagesreaction†. Macbeth by William Shakespeare is a tale which illuminates the consequences of violating the â€Å"Natural order†, the hierarchy of beings in the universe. When Macbeth, a warrior well-known for his courage and bravery, murders King Duncan acting on his unchecked ambition to claim the throne, the order was disrupted, the result†¦chaos. Shakespeare uses symbolism to illustrate the atmosphere of the play as the natural order is flung into a state of turmoil. These techniques used by Shakespeare is usedRead MoreMacbeth, By William Shakespeare1483 Words   |  6 Pagesdifferent references in the play of how a king deals with power and if they use it for better or for their own personal gain. In the play Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Macbeth’s obsession with his journey to power leads to his failure. This obsession is demonstrated through the prophecies, the murder of his best friend Banquo, and his own demise. Macbeth demonstrates that he is incapable of mastering the power and responsibilities of being a king. This is indicated throughout the play with theRead MoreMacbeth, By William Shakespeare1045 Words   |  5 PagesBlood appears in only two forms, but many times in Macbeth by William Shakespeare; between the war scene at the beginning of the play and the lifting of Macbeth’s severed being lifted by Macduff at the end. It can be said that Macbeth could have been written in blood that there is such a large amount. What is unique about blood in Macbeth is that the â€Å"imaginary blood† or the guilt that the murderer feels plays more of a role of understand and amplifying the theme of the play, that blood is guiltRead MoreMacbeth, By William Shakespeare1431 Words   |  6 Pages Macbeth, though originally a valiant and prudent soldier, deteriorates into an unwise king whose rash decisions conclusively end in the atrophy of his title, power, and position. Several facto rs contribute to the downfall of Macbeth, which produce a contagion effect and ultimately end with his demise. He receives help from his â€Å"inner ambitions and external urgings† which result in his downfall (Bernad 49). The â€Å"external urgings† consist of the weird sisters who disclose his prophecies, which enlightenRead MoreMacbeth, By William Shakespeare2060 Words   |  9 Pagesthe green one red Macbeth Quote (Act II, Sc. II). Out, out, brief candle! Life s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing. Macbeth Quote (Act V, Scene V). These quotes have been taken from play Macbeth written by William Shakespeare. Like these quotes there are hundreds and thousands of such heart touching quotes written by Shakespeare in his many differentRead MoreMacbeth, By William Shakespeare1320 Words   |  6 PagesThe oxford dictionary definition of guilt, 1, the fact of having committed a specified or implied offence or crime, 1.1, a feeling of having committed wrong or failed in obligation. In Macbeth written by William Shakespeare, Macbeth, the titular character and his wife Lady Macbeth kill the King in order to become King and Queen themselves, this came with consequences which are still relevant in society today. The guilt they felt and the relevance to sleeplessness are common topics almost four hundred

Monday, December 16, 2019

The Awakening By Kate Chopin - 1462 Words

Kate Chopin is viewed as a woman ahead of her time, who explored themes that were unconventional to her era such as freedom and individuality, sexuality, and the role of women in society. In the novel â€Å"The Awakening,† published in 1899, Chopin uses protagonist Edna Pontellier to confront the social conventions that women faced in the Victorian Era, and the strict rules by the Creole society that limited women to the primary role of wife and mother. Chopin uses symbolism to express these ideas, and emotions as Edna awakens to a world of new possibilities. In this analysis, we will examine two primary symbols of the story, being birds and houses that Kate Chopin masterfully uses to illustrate Edna’s confinement and her journey toward liberation and independence. In the 1890s, married women’s rights was sorely limited. Women’s roles were to care for their husbands, children and household while keeping up their appearance. Men such as Edna’s husb and Mr. Pontellier considered women their property rather than an individual. For instance, when he finds his wife has stayed to long in the sun he states, â€Å"You are burnt beyond recognition, he added, looking at his wife as one looks at a valuable piece of property which has suffered some damage.â€Å" (Chopin 3) Chopin used the symbol of a bird to show how Edna felt trapped under these conditions. The story states, â€Å"A green and yellow parrot which hung in a cage outside the door, kept repeating over and over. Allez vous-en! AllezShow MoreRelatedThe Awakening By Kate Chopin1479 Words   |  6 PagesKate Chopin’s controversial novel, The Awakening, ignited turmoil because of her blatant disregard of the established 19th century perspective of women upholding strictly maternal and matrimonial responsibilities. Edna’s candid exploration of the restrictions on women through her liberal behavior in a conservative Victorian society makes her a literary symbol f or feminist ideals. Despite denunciation from other people, Edna chooses individuality over conformity through her veering from traditionalRead MoreThe Awakening by Kate Chopin1102 Words   |  5 Pagesveracity of this quote as both find their independence by boldly exceeding the norm. Their stories were fashioned during a period of great change and both characters are hallmarks of the hope and power women were unearthing at the time. The Awakening by Kate Chopin and Tess of the D’Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy are novels concerned with the transformation of women’s roles in society. Their protagonists, Tess and Edna, are not outright feminists, but they are acutely aware of the limitations imposed uponRead MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin1919 Words   |  8 PagesIn the novel, The Awakening, by Kate Chopin, we see how much of an importance the men in Edna’s life serve as a purpose to her awakening. Chopin is known to write stories about women who are unsatisfied with their lives while living in a life that is dominated by men. Other than Edna, the main men characters are typical men of the late 19th century era. Chopin shows how these three men are diverse from one another. The Creole men are Là ©once Pontellier, Edna’s husband, Robert, Edna’s mystery man numberRead MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin901 Words   |  4 Pagescandidly. Kate Chopin is honorably amongst this group of authors. Her works divinely portrayed the culture of New Orleans and the lives of Louisiana s Creole and Cajun residents. Chopin openly express her views on sex, marriage, and the injustices of women during the time. Kate Chopin’s novel, The Awakening, best exemplifies the contextual achievement of realism through the rejection of conformity, the exploration of love, and the weight of social opinion on individual choices. The Awakening is publishedRead MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin1222 Words   |  5 Pages The Awakening By: Kate Chopin Emely Maldonado AP LIT Period 3 Topic 3 Maldonado 1 Displacement The late 1800s and the 1900s was a prison for woman’s individuality. During this time period, stereotypical views of women were commenced by society and men. In the era that the novel, The Awakening by Kate Chopin was published, the gender roles were graved in stone, men would work to maintain their family and women would adhere to the house-hold duties. Dissatisfaction with theRead MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin1193 Words   |  5 PagesDavian Hart The Awakening By: Kate Chopin AP Literature Topic 3 Hart 1 Over the course of time the male species has always been the gender to attain the more favorable conditions. Numerous cultures heed to the belief that the man is the provider and head of his family. This machismo nature can condition the mind to believe that a man should feel superior to a woman. The continuous cycle of male superiority flows down from father to son subconsciously. Do to this unceasingRead MoreThe Awakening, By Kate Chopin887 Words   |  4 Pages Feminism has been a term used by many authors and writers for centuries, symbolizing women being able to use freedom the way they want to, not the way others want them to use it. Edna Pontellier, the main character in Kate Chopin’s novel The Awakening, experiences an â€Å"awakening† in her life, where she discovers her position in the universe and goes in this direction instead of what others like her husband Leonce tell her to take, similar to the style of feminism. â€Å"In short, Mrs. Pontellier was beg inningRead MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin1427 Words   |  6 Pagessuffering an imposition (Moderata). Throughout history, the inherent inferiority of women to men has often been cited as a way to deter women from becoming an individual and pursuing more in life. This notion is a prevalent issue in The Awakening by Kate Chopin; in which Edna fights to live her own way and is ultimately unable to survive in the cage of society. Not only has this supposed inferiority effected women for generations, but it has created inequality in our society today; especially inRead MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin1633 Words   |  7 Pages1. Title of text (underline novels/plays) author’s name The Awakening by Kate Chopin 2. Characterization Character Development (a) 1.Edna Pontellier- Edna is the main character of the novel who is married to a businessman. Edna is a dynamic character because at the beginning of the novel, she conforms to society by being the â€Å"perfect† mother and wife; however, Edna suddenly realizes that she is no longer happy with the way she was living her life and began to become independent only for herRead MoreThe Awakening By Kate Chopin915 Words   |  4 PagesMany of Kate Chopin’s writings are trademarked by her unique, deliberate word choices. Chopin uses phrases that do not make sense and seem to contradict themselves to get across a point. In two of her stories, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"The Awakening,† Chopin’s word usage highlights the idea of self-discovery. â€Å"The Awakening† and â€Å"The Story of an Hour† share similar themes. â€Å"The Awakening† is the story of a woman in the late 1800s discovering her apathy for her traditional female role as a wife

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Dysgraphia free essay sample

A paper which studies the neurological disorder of dysgraphia. The paper defines dysgraphia as a neurological disorder that causes people to experience difficulty writing. Even though both adults and children suffer from the disorder, the focus of this paper is primarily on the child. There are many different components to dysgraphia that are discussed in this paper. This paper also explores the history of the disorder as well as implications and treatments. Finally, presented in this paper is the latest research on the disorder and how new developments have helped those who are afflicted with dysgraphia. It is crucial that parent recognize the early warning signs of a child suffering from dysgraphia. Positive reinforcement is necessary to overcoming the disability, if the disorder is not recognized the child may be perceived as lazy or unconcerned with his or her schoolwork. A child mistaken for lazy who has an undiagnosed case of dysgraphia may become frustrated, withdrawn and even depressed. We will write a custom essay sample on Dysgraphia or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Therefore, a parent must heed the warning signs and arrange for the proper assessment(s) to be conducted. If a child is confirmed to have a case of dysgraphia, the proper course of treatment must be followed. Adults who have never been diagnosed but are aware of their deficiency must also undergo the same course of action.

Sunday, December 1, 2019

Twins and the College Application Essay

College admissions ask applicants to share their unique qualities and interests, but how do you do that when youre a twin?GoQuakers, who is currently studying at the University of Pennsylvania, shares how she approached the college application essay as a twin:Starting the Common App personal statement essay has a way of channeling everyone’s biggest insecurity throughout the college process: â€Å"What if the most unique thing about me is just not unique enough?† Admittedly, I was no exception to this paradigm. In fact, I ended up choosing to write about my experience as an identical twin. My twin sister, by the way, was applying to nearly the same exact list of schools as me. You can probably understand my dilemma. Being an identical twin was the immediate subject I considered writing about for the Common App prompt â€Å"Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.† However, I almost shook this thought from my head straightaway, simply because I assumed that it was the â€Å"obvious† thing to write about. I felt colleges would see this as something that was built into my life rather than a project I decided to dedicate my soul to or a place that I have found personal contentment in, a subject that solely was about my interests and personality. I was so caught up in sounding exotic and diverse that during my initial consideration of the prompt, I didn’t think it was enough to write about how being a twin has actually made me a more distinct person. To be honest (and warning: extremely sentimental), being an identical t win has truly been the greatest blessing in my life. This role has not only taught me how to be a member of a team, but ironically also how to differentiate myself as an individual that can stand on her own and follow her own destiny. Not a lot of people realize this paradox. As an identical twin, it is often vital to mentally distinguish your fascinations and quirks from those of your sibling as you embrace the qualities that you and your twin share in order to fulfill a greater sense of self. When I tried to generate more ideas for the prompt, I realized that I didn’t have quite as much to say regarding other accomplishments and experiences. When I finally ran through ideas with a counselor, he noticed this, too, and told me that I was crazy to insist on not going with my gut instinct. Of course, I listened. Coming from this process, I have two words of advice: be genuine. It’s called a personal statement for a reason. Even if you have an idea that is great in theory, you have to have a lot to say about it, because that it ultimately what conveys passion to admissions officers. That’s right: admissions will see right through your essay if all it consists of is lofty concepts and baroque diction rather than a true bond between the subject and the writer. You could have gone on an amazing service trip during which you saved tens of children from starvation in Sub-Saharan Africa, but if you really don’t connect with that experience on the deepest level possible, that is not necessarily what you should be writing about. On a general note, I urge applicants to think long and hard about finding a topic that is completely distinct and sincere in regard to what has shaped them and to make sure that they run through their ideas with a counselor, family, friends, or all of the above. That’s what I did, and hey, I’m going to my dream school this coming fall, so something here must have gone right. Want to read the final version of the essay that got her accepted to UPenn? You canunlock her profileand read her full application. For more inspiration, make sure to search through profiles of students accepted to seeessays, stats, and advice. See how they got in, and how you can too!

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

Guilts Destruction essays

Guilt's Destruction essays The Scarlet Letter displays that guilt is venomous and destructive, even more so than physical injuries. Nathaniel Hawthorne wanted to show the result of hiding ones sins and the destructiveness of secrecy and deception. In the story, Dimmesdale is consumed by his feelings of guilt, and in the end they destroy him. Guilt destroys the mind and body slowly and painfully, until all that is left is an empty shell filled with sickness and despair. The poison of guilt slowly eats away at a persons soul. By the time it is noticed, it is often too late to stop its flow. Guilt has already started its work and nothing can be done to stop its advance. The guilt has begun to edge itself into the persons mind and, bit by bit, take pieces of their being. The person may struggle against it or may completely give in, but in the end, guilt prevails. Some are driven to confess, as was Dimmesdale. The guilt is banished, but by that time, the damage has been done. Guilt has done its work and will find another victim. Hesters decision to conceal the truth about Dimmesdale caused him greater pain then he ever would have felt at the hands of the Puritans. He would have served his punishment and been free from any lingering feelings of guilt. But because she chose to keep their secret and because Dimmesdale would not confess, he was tortured in mind and body. He bore the pain and agony so that he could continue Gods work. However, moments before the end of his torturous life, he confessed, I stand upon the spot where, seven years since, I should have stood ;( Hawthorne 209). And for those few moments between life and death he was free. Dimmesdale chose to keep his sin a secret and to deceive his congregation. The Puritans believed their beloved pastor to be a pure and...

Friday, November 22, 2019

Definition of a Timber Rotation Period

Definition of a Timber Rotation Period A timber rotation period is simply the time between the establishment of a stand of trees and when that same stand is ready for a final cut. This period of years, often called the optimum rotation period, is especially important when foresters try to determine the most advantageous harvest condition in an even-aged stand of trees. When a stand is either economically mature or reaching beyond natural maturity, the rotation period has been reached and a final harvest can be planned. In any given condition, there is a best size and age to which timber should be allowed to grow. These sizes and ages can be very different depending on the desired harvest scheme used and the final timber product to be produced. What is important to know is that a premature cutting ​should  be avoided before trees reach their optimum value or, on the other hand, that trees in a stand do not grow beyond their optimum size and continued vigor. Over mature stands can result in defective tree deterioration, timber handling, and milling problems. There is also a time in maturing stands when a decreasing growth rate (of return) hurts the owners investment return. An optimum timber rotation is often based on and determined by precisely calculated criteria using the latest developments in forest statistics and the proper equipment. These criteria include measuring a stands mean diameter and height (stand size), determining the stand age in years, coring and measuring tree rings to determine the climax of mean annual increment and monitoring all these data for the onset of negative physical deterioration or when growth rates drop.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Analysis of Business Environment for Coca-Cola Company Research Paper

Analysis of Business Environment for Coca-Cola Company - Research Paper Example The company currently estimates the average drink sales per day at about 1.8 billion with more than 500 brands by 2011, four of which are the world’s top-five sparkling brands. Coca-Cola is one of the only trademarks with the universal presence and became a billion dollar brand in 2010. It has sponsored the biggest sporting events in the world, the Olympic Games and the FIFA world cup for more than 80 years (The Coca-Cola Company, 2012, par.2). The Company has undertaken many social responsibility initiatives including the Haiti Hope Project in 2010 which aimed at developing a sustainable mango industry in Haiti. The company attributes its business success to five main factors which are unique and recognized brand , quality, marketing, global availability and ongoing innovation. This paper will explore the business environment in which Coca-Cola Company operates focusing on among other things its SWOT, competitiveness and value chain. Assessment of the General Environment The general environment consists of the external factors which affect any business. These factors are dynamic and range from Demographic, Economic, Political/legal, Socio-cultural, Technological and Global. All these affect the business of Coca-Cola Company in one way or the other, but two of the most important factors for the Coca-Cola would be the economic and technological factors. The behavior of economies of the countries in which the company transacts business has a great influence on the performance of company products in those countries. Rise in inflation and interest rates trends increases operating costs and reduces production within the industry as well as affecting demand for beverages sold in those markets. When the countries face trade deficits or surpluses, it has an impact on the exchange rate which may be favorable or unfavorable thus increasing or reducing costs of raw materials and products because of increases or decreases in the value of exports/imports. The com pany’s products in those markets are affected accordingly. Economies facing budget deficits, as opposed to surpluses, may increase taxes in order to make up for the deficits, again impacting on Coke’s business in terms of increased business costs. Increase in rates of consumption may favor the uptake of beverages sold by Coca-Cola, but increase in savings by the populace will be detrimental to the company’s business. Changes in GDP levels, as well as business cycles are additional aspects that have an influence on the industry and business in which the company operates under the economic factor. Technologically, industry as well as firm benefits and/or vulnerabilities would be associated with taking or failing to take advantage of new generational purpose technologies, research and development, converging technologies and process architectures as part of the aspects of technology. In addressing business environment, competition is a key element that always comes to mind. The five forces of competition that are employed to establish the position of the company relative to its competitors in the industry as given by Porter are potential of new entrants, bargaining power of

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Multinationals and Global Business essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Multinationals and Global Business - Essay Example Before the merger, these companies had been rivals and the process of bringing them together ensured that both of these companies were able to put aside their rivalry and cooperate in an international level; becoming among the most dominant oil and gas companies in the world. Since its formation, Royal Dutch Shell has continuously grown and evolved according to the different circumstances that it has encountered; essentially ensuring its success where many others have failed. According to Jones (2005, p.164), in the twentieth century, â€Å"firms sought to access knowledge to develop technology that are distinct from but contemporary to those created by their parent companies.† At the period of its formation, the two parts of Royal Dutch Shell were not merged, but were kept separate as a result of nationalist sentiments in both the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The result is that these two parts of the company continued to be run as separate entities with one based in The Hague and the other in London. The portion based in The Hague took on the responsibility of production and manufacture while the one in London took over the transportation and storage of the products. Thus, in order to cater for nationalist sentiments in both countries, Royal Dutch Shell chose not to go ahead with the merger because to do so might have hampered its operations. This strategy can be related to Alfred Chandler’s structure follows strategy theory which s tates that the structure of a company is often determined by its strategy and this is based on the formation of independent units that operate under the umbrella of a parent company (Chandler 1990, p.61; Gopalan and Stahl 1998, p.32). Thus, through its headquarters, Royal Dutch Shell was able to continue coordinating the activities of its Dutch and British units without compromising their independent nature. Royal Dutch Shell chose to begin its

Sunday, November 17, 2019

European imperialism Essay Example for Free

European imperialism Essay Mortimer Chambers et al define imperialism as a European states intervention in and continuing domination over a non-European territory. During the Scramble for Africa in the late nineteenth century, the most powerful European nations desired to conquer, dominate and exploit African colonies with the hope of building an empire. According to Derrick Murphy, in 1875 only ten percent of Africa was occupied by European states. Twenty years later only ten percent remained unoccupied. There were several factors which attracted European imperialists to Africa. There were opportunities for profitable investment and trade. Raw materials, which Africa possessed in abundance, were also desired. A cheap source of labour was required as it would result in higher profits. In addition, there was international rivalry among European nations. Domestic political interests and social Darwinism may also be blamed for attracting European imperialism to Africa. European imperialists were lured to Africa by the potential economic benefits she possessed. Industrialization caused a mass productivity and there became an artificial need for foreign markets to invest in. According to Brian Levack et al, with the onset of economic decline in 1873 industrialists were faced with a declining demand for their products in Europe. Imperial expansion, it was thought, would provide a solution with annexed territories seen as captive markets. It was believed that the unfavorable balance of trade that Britain and other industrial countries were experiencing could be counterbalanced by the income from overseas investments. Also, surplus capital could be profitably invested in Africa where cheap labour and limited competition would result in higher profits. Prominent European imperialists decided to use the public resources of their country to find lucrative means of using their capital. The English radical economist J.A. Hobson, argues that the intention was to level out inequalities of wealth to increase domestic consumption. Local merchants, traders and bankers were optimistic towards the idea of imperial expansion and capital investments outside of Europe became an increasingly vital sector of its economy. There was an increasing demand for raw materials in Europe in the late nineteenth century. According to Brian Levack, the new technologies characteristic of the industrial revolution meant that industrial Europe  became increasingly dependent on raw materials. European nations felt the urge to control lands that possessed great quantities of raw materials. Africa was rich with raw materials as well as many treasure reserves. As a result, many major industrial companies attempted to gain a monopoly of raw materials in Africa. Stuart Miller believes that specific trade links were important to particular industries. Some raw materials in Africa were of great importance; the vegetable oil of the Niger was vital for lubricating industrial machinery and the rubber of the Congo was not only essential for the tires on the new automobiles but also for insulating the electrical and telegraph wires now encircling the globe. The plentiful elephant herds could be slaughtered to provide the ivory for many of the new consumer goods such as piano keys, billiard balls and knife handles. In Togoland, Germans were able to cultivate plantations where they grew cocoa and rubber. Other raw materials included peanuts, cotton and tea. There were also many important minerals and South Africa possessed gold and diamonds. International rivalry among European nations contributed greatly to imperialist ventures in Africa. Britains rivalry with France and Germany accounted for a large part of the colonization. The British government wished to maintain its dominance in the colonial regions. Other European powers desired to expand their colonial spheres as well and Britain responded by seizing colonies. Certain territories were important for their location. The Suez Canal was key waterway between East and West Africa. The immense interior between the gold and diamond rich Southern Africa and Egypt had a strategic value as domination of this region was important to secure the flow of overseas trade. The British wanted to link their possessions in Southern Africa with their territories in East Africa, and these two areas with the Nile basin. Obtaining the Sudan was vital to the fulfillment of these ambitions especially since Egypt was already under British control. This red-line through Africa was made famous by Cecil Rhodes and Lord Milner who advocated for a Cape to Cairo empire linking by rail the Suez Canal to the Southern part which possessed many minerals. According to Brian Levack, there was also a certain level of nationalist competition. The unification of Germany upset the balance of power in Europe. In this climate of tension, governments looked towards enforcing national strength. The  newly formed nations of Italy and Germany now sought empires outside Europe as a means of gaining power and prestige within Europe. In the nineteenth century, a German historian Henrich con Treitschke stated All great nations in the fullness of their strength have desired to set their mark on barbarian lands and those who fail to participate in this great rivalry will pay a pitiable role in time to come. Under the leadership of Bismarck, Germany soon embarked on a quest of expansionism. Bismarcks distrust of England under Gladstone was one of the reasons he decided to do this. Germany became engaged in an arms race with Great Britain and it desired as many military and naval bases as it could obtain. France needed to restore its damaged national pride after its defeat by Germany in the Franco-Prussian war and therefore embarked upon expansionism. Their aim was to have an uninterrupted link between the Niger River and the Nile, thus controlling all trade to and from the Sahel region, by virtue of their existing control over the Caravan routes through the Sahara. Domestic political interests also contributed to European Imperialism in Africa. As stated by Brain Levack, in the age of mass politics, political leaders needed to find issues that would both appeal to new voters and strengthen the status quo. Imperialism led the ordinary European people to believe that they were part of a superior, conquering people. Bismarck used imperial issues to help him find political allies in Germany and once remarked all this colonial business is a sham but we need it for the elections. According to Lawrence James, in the 1890s witnessed a rapid expansion of newspaper readership with the appearance of a new type of daily designed to attract the working and lower middle class. Social Darwinism and missionary intentions are two excuses that are used to justify European imperialism in Africa. Rudyard Kipling characterized the Africans as sullen, new caught peoples, half devil and half child. The Europeans believed it to be their duty to civilize the wild savage Africans. Liberalism, which may be defined as a dedication to self-improvement and the belief that there were discoverable rules of general conduct that everyone could follow, contributed to the paternal manner in which Europe acted and arguments of racial and cultural superiority that pushed Europeans into  Africa to civilize the local populations. Lawrence James states that nations who had now reached the highest stage of civilization were taking control over those which had lagged behind, or races, like the Asante, who were not seen as fit to control their own affairs. In an issue of the Dublin Review in the late nineteenth century it was stated that The future of Africa under any form of Europea n tutelage must be better than the dark and evil nightmare of the past. These Social Darwinists were able to persuade the natives that what was being done was to their ultimate benefit. According to Derrick Murphy et al, there existed the idea that imperialism was a moral duty as a means of spreading Western civilization and Christian values. Many Europeans bought this excuse while others did not. Africans were forced to adopt the Christian religion. In some cases they were killed for continuing to practice their own faiths. Some historians believe that the whole motive for Christian evangelism in Africa was simply to disrupt and destroy and that it was always politically motivated. First, missionaries were brought to the continent. Secondly, after some natives were converted and there was a considerable amount of confusion among them, the troops were sent to exploit them. Their main intention was to divide to control. According to an African chieftain The white man is very clever. He came quietly and peaceably with his religion. We were amused at his foolishness and allowed him to stay. Now he has won our brothers and our clan can no longer act like one. He has put a knife on the things that held us together and we have fallen apart.Various factors attracted European imperialism to Africa in the later nineteenth century. Europe was changing and their colonial empires were associated with the ideas of national greatness and the survival of the fittest. This caused a massive drive for empires. There was a yearning for raw materials, national power and prestige. Each nation which possessed a colonial territory also possessed a sense of superiority. Bibliography 1.) Chambers Mortimer, Hanawalt Barbara, Rabb Theodore, Woloch Isser, Grew Raymond, The Western Experience, 1999, The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc., United States of America2.) James Lawrence, The White Mans Burden? Imperial Wars in the 1890s Spielvogel Jackson, Western Civilization, Mc Graw Hill, Connecticut, 1999(pgs 100-105)3.) Levack Brian, Muir Edward, Maas Michael, Veldman Meredith, The West, Encounters and Transformations, 2004, Pearson Education Inc., United States of America4.) Miller Stuart, Mastering Modern European History, 1997, Palgrave, United Kingdom, Hampshire5.) Murphy Derrick, Morris Terry, Europe 1870-1991, 2000, Harper Collins Publishers LTD, United Kingdom, England6.) The Church as a Tool of Imperialism

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Paideia and the Matter of Mind Essay -- Education Learning Philosophy

Paideia and the "Matter of Mind" ABSTRACT: Paideia refers to a particular sort of education which has historically been concerned with learning for the sake of learning, i.e., for the development of mind. As such, paideia is distinguished from specialized learning, training and learning for extrinsic purposes. Paideia is embodied in the traditional notion of Liberal Education which holds that such an education is the development of mind through the achievement of worthwhile knowledge and understanding. A contemporary trend in the literature of philosophy of mind and epistemology is a concern with cognitive functions of the human mind and the role of these functions in the acquisition of knowledge. The functional conception of the mind emphasizes learning (cognitive development) through cognitive training to monitor and control one's own mental processes. The uncritical incorporation of cognitive theories of mind and knowledge acquisition into current educational theory and practice suggests that paideia can be combi ned with, if not enhanced by, cognitive training. This paper takes the position that such an assumption is misguided and that the 'matter' of mind is an issue which requires clarification for advocates of paideia. The paper contrasts the cognitive approach to a 'conventionalist' conception of mind which, arguably, is the concept of mind assumed by advocates of paideia. Paideia refers to a particular sort of education which historically has been concerned with learning for the sake of learning, i.e., for the development of mind. As such, paideia is distinguished from specialized learning, training, and learning for extrinsic purposes. Paideia is embodied in the traditional notion of Liberal Education which holds... ...M.Dent, London) (6) See for example, Wittgenstein, L. (1953) Philosophical Investigations (Oxford: Blackwell Ltd.); Hacker, P.M.S. (1990) Wittgenstein: Meaning and Mind (Part I) (Oxford:Blackwell Publishers); Ryle, G. (1949) The Concept of Mind (University of Chicago Press). (7) Lynne Rudder Baker (1995) Explaining Attitudes 223 (Cambridge University Press) (8) Ibid., 89 (9) Gilbert Ryle (1949) The Concept of Mind 199 (Chicago: University of Chicago Press) (10) Anthony Kenny (1989) the Metaphysics of Mind 21 (Oxford: Oxford University Press) (11) Paul Hirst (1969) "The Logic of the Curriculum" in Journal of Curriculum Studies, 151 (12) Ibid., 150 (13) Ibid. (14) Ibid., 148 (15) Ibid., 149 (16) Michael Oakeshott (1989) "The Engagement and Its Frustration" 71 in The Voice of Liberal Learning Fuller (ed) (London:Yale University Press)

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Butler Lumber Company Case Study Essay

Summary of Facts. Butler Lumber Company is a Pacific Northwest based lumber distributor that sells plywood, moldings, and sash and door products. The sole owner of Butler Lumber is Mark Butler, accompanied by one administrative assistant and ten employees who focus on repairs and labor intensive work. Because of Butler Lumber’s competitive pricing scheme, it has seen rapid growth in the past few years. Due to the rapid growth and a shortage of cash in 1990, Butler Lumber Company is seeking to take out an additional loan in order for the business to sustain itself and grow in the coming years. Butler Lumber has the option to accept a loan of $250,000 from Suburban National Bank, or accept an unsecured revolving 90-day note of $465,000 at 10.5% interest from Northrop National Bank. If Mr. Butler decides to accept the note from Northrop National bank, it will sever the existing ties with Suburban National Bank and a new relationship must be maintained. Problem. If Mr. Butler accepts the loan from Suburban National Bank, he must agree to a secured loan that is backed by his real property that will act as collateral for the agreed amount of $250,000. Due to Suburban National Bank’s constraints, Mr. Butler is looking to find a new banking relationship that would allow him to negotiate a much larger unsecured loan. The amount of the loan offered by Suburban National Bank has made Mr. Butler realize the company’s growth potential – increase in sales, but also realize the increase in debt. Since he is limited on his loan and has little cash on hand, he has turned to trade credit for the past few years. As consultants, we will investigate the following four key issues: * Should Butler Lumber sever ties with Suburban National bank in order to obtain a larger loan from Northrop National Bank? * Why does Butler Lumber have a cash shortage problem to begin with, and are they currently using their existing funds efficientl y? * How much additional funding does Butler Lumber need, and will they continue to need even more in the future? * What sort of implications does the firm’s growth suggest? * Are there Alternative solutions to Butler Lumber’s cash shortage problems? Analysis. The need for cash is clear; however, there could be multiple opportunities to raise the capital that is needed. It is imperative that Butler Lumber takes into consideration the costs associated with accepting external financing, and in turn be able to assess whether or not it is the best solution. If relying on external financing is not plausible, Mr. Butler will have to search for alternative methods to grow his business – whether it’s finding a different financing solution or a way to generate cash by altering management activities. As we assess Butler Lumber’s operations from 1988 to 1990, it is clear that his reliance on trade credit and a specific focus on having a very competitive pricing schema has allowed the company to generate revenue up to this point. Although the company was able to generate revenue at an increasing rate during the given years, Butler Lumber was unable to accumulate any cash in order to fund operations moving forward. We will start by assessing one of the two immediately available options presented for Butler Lumber: Butler Lumber can remain with Suburban National Bank by accepting their loan offer of $250,000. The only apparent advantage of this option lies solely in the fact that the relationship with the bank already exists. The disadvantages are seen in the possibility that Butler Lumber will need additional financing past the initial loan amount, and the offered loan is now secured (backed by Mr. Butler’s real property), signaling that the bank has doubts that Butler Lumber will pay back the loan amount. Though Butler may be capable of repaying the amount, it is inevitable that the company will need more financing. Due to the bank’s recent focus on the riskiness of Butler Lumber, this may alter their ability to receive more funding from Suburban National Bank. Mr. Butler could alternatively choose to take the unsecured revolving 90-day note of $465,000 at 10.5% interest from Northrop National Bank. The apparent advantages are: it is a more flexible option, it is an unsecured loan that requires no collateral from Mr. Butler, and it is of a larger amount. The big disadvantages are: the termination of the banking relationship between Butler Lumber and Suburban National Bank, and the increased interest expense on the loan. Another disadvantage of establishing a LOC with Northrop National Bank is the possibility of restrictions on the company stating that the net working capital be maintained at a level agreed upon by both parties and any increase in fixed assets with approval by N orthrop. Also there would be limitations on withdrawals of funds from the business by Mr. Butler. Another concern with the loan is that Butler Lumber would need to draw additional loans from Northrop because the company is unable to pay back the loan amount within the 90 day period due to the lack of cash and liquid assets. -Why does Butler Lumber have a cash shortage problem to begin with ,and are they currently using their existing funds efficiently? The â€Å"Sources and Uses of Funds brings forth a snapshot of the company’s cash flows and illustrates the reason behind Butler Lumber’s cash deficit. For the past two years, Butler Lumber has generated negative cash flow from operations, which is alarming for the firm. Given the typical business model of a growing firm, Butler Lumber has seen increases in both the inventory and receivable accounts. This makes sense because the more customers Mr. Butler has, the more inventory he needs to have on hand and given his somewhat lackadaisical approach on payment collection, the amount of receivables is expected as well. This could be an issue for the firm, but if Mr. Butler has a strategy to fund operations until they are able to generate more cash, it will not break the firm. As inventory and receivables grow, an area to hone in on is whether or not these accounts are being turned over in a timely, progressive manner. As seen in the â€Å"Asset Utilization Analysis† table, the ratios for both receivable and inventory indicate that it is taking a longer period of time to collect money and a is holding on to inventory for much longer (nearly 15% and 10% longer, respectively). It is clear that Butler Lumber is not maximizing operational efficiency and will accrue extra costs as a result. -How much additional funding does Butler Lumber need, and will the firm continue to need even more in the future? After analyzing and projecting Butler Lumber’s 1991 Pro Forma Balance Sheet, we have decided to separate the projections when considering the current payable policy and also considering discounts. We have concluded that Butler Lumber will need additional funding of $409,000 under the current payables policy, and including purchase discounts, they will need $658,000 (seen in Exhibit 1). These figures indicate exactly how Mr. Butler has been operating, relying on specific payment terms with his suppliers and customers. Mr. Butler is using his accounts payable as a sort of leverage (funding) while he searches for external financing, which is quantitatively laid out in Exhibit 4. So the question becomes whether Mr. Butler should take advantage of the 2% purchase discount or continue to rely on the suppliers payment flexibility. The pro-forma analysis we generated is based on recent percent of sales from the years 1988-1990. -What sort of implications does the firm’s growth suggest? NEED SOMETHING ABOUT HOW THE SALES GROWTH OVERSHOOTS THE SUSTAINABLE GROWTH -Are there Alternative solutions to Butler Lumber’s cash shortage problems? If Mr. Butler does not or cannot obtain the loan through Northrop National bank, an alternative option is Recourse Factoring. Recourse Factoring is the selling off of Accounts receivables where the selling company is still responsible in the event of receivable default. A factor company purchases receivables from other companies and provides the necessary capital for a small fee. This can be very beneficial for companies experiencing problems with cash flows. This could be a potential option for Butler Lumber because they have slow paying clients and an extensive cash shortage problem. Butler’s Receivable turnover has decreased from 9.92 in 1988 to 8.5 in 1991 indicating it is taking longer to recover much needed cash. If Butler was able to factor away their receivables they would have more working capital, a flexible funding program that will increase only as their sales increase and also would help Butler take advantage of purchase discounts. If Butler found a Factoring company to take on 75% of their receivables , $317,000 cash would be freed up and eliminate the need for Additional funding. Even if Butler paid a small 2% factoring fee they would still easily be able to maintain their rapid rate of growth with the current $250,000 of funding through Suburban National Bank. Recommendation: Given the analysis of the firm, in order for the firm to continue it will need external financing. The recommendation that we give to Mr. Butler is that he accepts the LOC from Northrop National Bank, but only if the loan does not include any negative covenants such as restrictions on: the sale of assets, engaging in other businesses, and voluntary prepayment of other indebtedness. This financing is needed because the expected sales growth exceeds the firm’s sustainable growth rate and leads to a negative cash flow because of the trends Mr. Butler has displayed regarding his payables and receivables.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Four Basic Funtions of Management in Business Management Essay

Every organization, regardless of size, has developed and implemented its own management concepts in order for it to run smoothly and accomplish the vision, goal, and objective, the company has set forth. The basic functions of management can be broken down into four different areas, allowing the organization to handle the strategic, tactical, and operational decisions (Sanjau, 2007). The four functions of management are essential to building strong teams and stronger organization. Common to all managers, the four functions are planning, organizing, leading, and controlling (Pakhare, 2007). A good manager is able to accomplish all four functions both effectively and efficiently (Bateman & Snell, 2009). At Triumph, planning is the foundation in which all management decisions regarding the company will be based upon. The management teams will utilize the planning function to assess the status of the company today, as well as in the upcoming future. Once the management team has an agreed upon plan, and the company’s mission has been established, the team must determine how the desired results will be achieved. The next objective is to establish a goal and the strategies to achieve the goals set forth. After setting the goal the next step the management team will accomplish is to create a time line to complete the objective. The organizing function for the team at Triumph is to formulate the activities, which will include the accounting department, sales department and supply chain involved in helping reach the goal that has been set forth. Once all the different departments are set, it is up to the management team to departmentalize the process and create smaller groups to achieve the goals and objectives. Once the departments create their own teams a clear organizational structure is drawn and all employees are made aware of whom they are accountable too to help reach the goal of the company. Once the departmental teams are in place, the management team can help direct, communicate, motivate and assist the staff in meeting the company’s goals and objectives. At Triumph the management team will have open discussion with departmental teams to create and build positive working environment. In this process the employees feel as though they are part of the decision making and will ultimately help the company reach the desired goals and objectives. The final stage of the four functions of management is to control or establish the performance standard of the company’s objective (Bateman & Snell, 2009). In this stage management keeps a close watch to make sure that all teams are on track to complete the goals and objectives that have been set forth and within the timeline. If at this point, it appears that one of the team’s seems to be off track then management will step in and help guide or make any necessary changes. The managers at Triumph know that ignoring any of the four functions can result in the failure of the company. Without using the planning stage first to make sure that all objectives are met and then organizing the plan and leading or motivating the team will result in not obtaining the objective or goal of the company. Managers at Triumph know that the final stage of creating an effective and productive team, one must control the budget, departments and cost efficiency of the work implemented to achieve the objectives. According to Barnes (2008), â€Å"if one can master the four management functions of planning, organizing, leading, and coordinating of resources, their opportunities are endless†

Thursday, November 7, 2019

How to Get 800 on SAT Math, by a Perfect Scorer

How to Get 800 on SAT Math, by a Perfect Scorer SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you scoring in the 600-750 range on SAT Math? Do you want to raise that score as high as possible- to a perfect 800? Getting to an 800 SAT Math score isn't easy. It'll require perfection. But with hard work and my strategies below, you'll be able to do it. I've scored 800 on Math on all my SATs, and I know what it takes. Follow my advice, and you'll get a perfect score- or get very close. Brief note: This article is suited for students already scoring a 600 on SAT math or above. If you're below this range, my "How to improve your SAT Math score" article is more appropriate for you. Follow the advice in that article, then come back to this one when you've reached a 600. Overview A lot of SAT Math guides out there are pretty bad. They're written by people who don't have actual expertise in the test, or they contain vague advice that isn't helpful to the advanced student. You need better advice than simple SAT Math tips like "remember there's no guessing penalty!" In contrast, I've written what I believe to be the best guide on getting an 800 available anywhere. I have confidence that these strategies work because I used them myself to score 800 on SAT Math, every time I've taken the SAT.They've also worked for thousands of my students at PrepScholar. In this article, I'm going to discuss why scoring an 800 is a good idea, what it takes to score an 800, and then go into the 8 key SAT Math strategies so you know how to get an 800 on SAT Math. Stick with me- as an advanced student, you probably already know that scoring high is good. But it's important to know why an 800 Math score is useful, since this will fuel your motivation to get a high score. Finally, in this guide, I talk mainly about getting to a 800. But if your goal is a 700, these strategies still equally apply. Understand the Stakes: Why an 800 SAT Math? Let's make something clear: for all intents and purposes, a 1530+ on an SAT is equivalent to a perfect 1600. No top college is going to give you more credit for a 1580 than a 1540. You've already crossed their score threshold, and whether you get in now depends on the rest of your application. So if you're already scoring a 1550, don't waste your time studying trying to get a 1600. You're already set for the top colleges, and it's time to work on the rest of your application. But if you're scoring a 1520 or below AND you want to go to a top 10 college, it's worth your time to push your score up to a 1530or above. There's a big difference between a 1450 and a 1550, largely because it's easy to get a 1450 (and a lot more applicants do) and a lot harder to get a 1550. A 1530places you right around average at Harvard and Princeton, and being average is bad in terms of admissions, since the admissions rate is typically below 10%. So why get an 800 on SAT Math? Because it helps you compensate for weaknesses in other sections. By and large, schools consider your composite score moreso than your individual section scores. If you can get an 800 in SAT Math, that means you only need a 730 in SAT Reading and Writing. This gives you a lot more flexibility. MIT expects an 800 in SAT Math. There are two other scenarios where an 800 in SAT Math is really important. First is if you're planning for a quantitative or science major (like math, physics, statistics, chemistry). The second is if you're applying to a highly selective technical school like MIT or Caltech. Here's the reason: college admissions is all about comparisons between applicants. The school wants to admit the best, and you're competing with other people in the same "bucket" as you. By applying as a math/science major, you're competing against other math/science folks: people for whom SAT Math is easy. Really easy. Here are a few examples from schools. For Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Caltech, and even less selective schools like Harvey Mudd, the 75th percentile SAT Math score is an 800. That means at least 25% of all students at these schools have an 800 in SAT Math. Even more surprising: the 25th percentile score for SAT Math at MIT and Caltech are 750 and 770, respectively. This means if you score a 750 on your SAT Math, you'rewell below average for these schools! I'm not going to lie. SAT Math was super easy for me. I got 800 on pretty much every practice test and official SAT I ever took. This was largely because I had a strong math background and competed in math competitions like AMC/AIME. I also worked hard and applied the strategies below to achieve perfection. You're competing against people like me. And if you apply with a 700 on Math, schools like MIT, Harvard, and Princeton are going to doubt your ability. Because SAT Math is supposed to be trivially easy for you. But if you can work your way to an 800, you show that you're at an equal level (at least on this metric). Even if it takes you a ton of work, all that matters is the score you achieve at the end. Know That You Can Do It This isn't just some fuzzy feel-good message you see on the back of a Starbucks cup. I mean, literally, you and every other reasonably intelligent student can score an 800 on SAT Math. The reason most people don't is they don't try hard enough or they don't study the right way. Even if math wasn't your strongest suit, or you got a B+ in Calculus, you're capable of this. Because I know that more than anything else, your SAT score is a reflection ofhow hard you work and how smartly you study. Here's why: the SAT is a weird test. When you take it, don't you get the sense that the questions are nothing like what you've seen in school? It's purposely designed this way. The SAT can't test difficult concepts, because this would be unfair for students who never took AP Calculus. It can't ask you to solve Fermat's Last Theorem. The SAT is a national test, which means it needs a level playing field for all students around the country. So it HAS to test concepts that all high school students will cover. Basic algebra (solving single-variable equations, word problems), advanced algebra (quadratic and exponential equations), geometry (x-y coordinate geometry, circles squares and triangles), and basic statistics. You've learned all of this before in high school. But the SAT still has to make the test difficult to differentiate student skill levels, so it needs to test these concepts in strange ways. This trips up students who don't prepare, but it rewards students who understand the test well. Here's an example: Find the area of the shaded region below, if the radius of the circle is 5. This is a classic SAT type question. You might already know how to solve it. But it's unlikely you ever ran into something like this in school. The first time you see this, it might be confusing. How do you get the area of each of the shaded corners? It kind of looks like a triangle, but not really because of the curve region. But you've learned all the concepts you need to solve this. Notice that the shaded area is the area of the square, with the area of the circle punched out. To get to the answer quickly, this means that the area of a square is 10 x 10 = 100, and the area of a circle isÏ€r2, orÏ€ * 5 * 5 = 25Ï€. So the area of the shaded region is 100- 25Ï€. The SAT math section is full of weird examples like this, some of which get much more difficult. To improve your score, you just need to: master the types of questions that the SAT tests, like the one above draw on the correct concepts you already know to solve the questions practice on a lot of questions so you learn from your mistakes I'll go into more detail about exactly how to do this. First, let's see how many questions you need to get right an 800. What It Takes to Get An 800 in Math If we have a target score in mind, it helps to understand what you need to get that score on the actual test. There are 58 questions in the Math section, and how many questions you miss determines your scaled score out of 800. From the Official SAT Practice Tests, I've taken the raw score to scaled score conversion tables from 4 tests.(If you could use a refresher on how the SAT is scored and how raw scores are calculated, read this.) Raw Score Test 1 Test 2 Test 3 Test 4 58 800 800 800 800 57 790 790 790 800 56 780 780 780 790 55 760 770 770 790 54 750 760 750 780 53 740 750 740 770 52 730 740 730 760 51 710 730 720 750 Math has a REALLY strict grading scale. On 3 out of 4 tests, if you just miss a single question, you get dropped down to a 790. That's it- no perfect score! On one of these tests, you get an extra cushion of 1 question, but that's not much. This all depends on how the particular test you're taking is scored. The harder the math questions are, the more likely you can miss one question and get an 800. The safest thing to do is to aim for perfection. On every practice test, you need to aim for a perfect raw score for an 800. Whatever you're scoring now, take note of the difference you need to get to a 800. For example, if you're scoring a 700 now, you need to answer 8-9 more questions right to get to an 800. As a final example, here's a screenshot from my exact score report showing that I missed 0 questions and earned an 800. (This was from the previous 2400 version of the SAT.) OK- so we've covered why scoring a higher SAT math score is important, why you specifically are capable of improving your score, and the raw score you need to get to your target. Now we'll actually get into actionable strategies that you should use in your own studying to maximize your score improvement. Strategies to Get an 800 on SAT Math What's your greatest weakness? Strategy 1: Understand Your High Level Weakness: Content or Time Management Every student has different flaws in SAT Math. Some people aren't comfortable with the underlying math material. Others know the math material well, but can't solve questions quickly enough in the harsh time limit. Here's how you can figure out which one applies more to you: Take only the math sections of one practice test. We have the complete list of free practice tests here. For each section, use a timer and have it count down the time allotted for that section. Treat it like a real test. If time runs out for that section and you're 100% ready to move on, then move on. If you're not ready to move on, keep on working for as long as you need. For every new answer or answer that you change, mark it with a special note as "Extra Time." When you're ready, move on to the next section, and repeat the above until you finish the second math section. Grade your test using the answer key and score chart, but we want two scores: 1) The Realistic score you got under normal timing conditions, 2) The Extra Time score. This is why you marked the questions you answered or changed during Extra Time. Get what we're doing here? By marking which questions you did under Extra Time, we can figure out what score you got if you were given all the time you needed. This will help us figure out where your weaknesses lie. If you didn't take any extra time, then your Extra Time score is the same as your Realistic score. Here's a flowchart to help you figure this out: Was your Extra Time score a 700 or above? If NO (Extra Time score 700), then you have remaining content weaknesses. You might have weaknesses across a range of subjects, or a deep weakness in only a few subjects. (We'll cover this later). Your first plan of attack should be to develop more comfort with all SAT Math subjects. If YES (Extra Time score 700), then: Was your Realistic score a 700 or above? If NO (Extra Time score 700, Realistic 700), then that means you have a difference between your Extra Time score and your Realistic score. If this difference is more than 50 points, then you have some big problems with time management. We need to figure out why this is. Are you generally slow at math across most questions? Or did particular problems slow you down? Generally, doing a lot of practice questions and learning the most efficient solutions will help reduce your time. More on this later. If YES (both Extra Time and Realistic scores 700), then you have a really good shot at getting an 800. Compare your Extra Time and Realistic score- if they differed by more than 30 points, then you would benefit from learning how to solve questions more quickly. If not, then you likely can benefit from shoring up on your last content weaknesses and avoiding careless mistakes (more on this strategy later). Hopefully that makes sense. Typically I see that students have both timing and content issues, but you might find that one is much more dominant for you than the other. For example, if you can get an 800 with extra time, but score a 700 in regular time, you know exactly that you need to work on time management to get an 800. Strategy 2:Do a TON of Practice, and Understand Every Single Mistake On the path to perfection, you need to make sure every single one of your weak points is covered. Even one mistake on all of SAT Math will knock you down from an 800. The first step is simply to do a ton of practice. If you're studying from free materials or from books, you have access to a lot of practice questions in bulk. As part of our PrepScholar program, we have over 1,500 SAT questions customized to each skill. The second step- and the more important part- is to be ruthless about understanding your mistakes. Every mistake you make on a test happens for a reason.If you don't understand exactly why you missed that question, you will make that mistake over and over again. I've seen students who did 20 practice tests. They've solved over 3,000 questions, but they're still nowhere near an 800 on SAT Math. Why? They never understood their mistakes. They just hit their heads against the wall over and over again. Think of yourself as an exterminator, and your mistakes are cockroaches. You need to eliminate every single one- and find the source of each one- or else the restaurant you work for will be shut down. Here'swhat you need to do: on every practice test or question set that you take, mark every question that you're even 20% unsure about when you grade your test or quiz, review EVERY single question that you marked, and every incorrect question. This way even if you guessed a question correctly, you'll make sure to review it. in a notebook, write down 1) the gist of the question, 2) why you missed it, and 3) what you'll do to avoid that mistake in the future. Have separate sections by subject and sub-topic (algebra- solving equations, data analysis- experimental interpretation, etc.) It's not enough to just think about it and move on. It's not enough to just read the answer explanation. You have to think hard about why you specifically failed on this question. By taking this structured approach to your mistakes,you'll now have a running log of every question you missed, and your reflection on why. No excuses when it comes to your mistakes. Always Go Deeper- WHY Did You Miss a Math Question? Now, what are some common reasons that you missed a question? Don't just say, "I didn't get this question right." That's a cop out. Always take it one step further- what specifically did you miss, and what do you have to improve in the future? Here are some examples of common reasons you miss a question, and how you take the analysis one step further: Content:I didn't learn the math skill or knowledge needed to answer this question. One step further:What specific math skill do I need to learn, and how will I learn this skill? Incorrect Approach:I knew the content, but I didn't know how to approach this question. One step further:How do I solve the question? How will I solve questions like this in the future? Careless Error:I misread what the question was asking for or solved for the wrong thing. One step further:Why did I misread the question? What should I do in the future to avoid this? Get the idea? You're really digging into understanding why you're missing questions. Yes, this is hard, and it's draining, and it takes work. That's why most students who study ineffectively don't improve. But you're different. Just by reading this guide, you're already proving that you care more than other students. And if you apply these principles and analyze your mistakes, you'll improve more than other students too. Bonus: If all of this is making sense to you, you'd love our SAT prep program, PrepScholar. We designed our program around the concepts in this article, because they actually work.When you start with PrepScholar, you’ll take a diagnostic that will determine your weaknesses in over forty SAT skills. PrepScholar then creates a study program specifically customized for you. To improve each skill, you’ll take focused lessons dedicated to each skill, with over 20 practice questions per skill. This will train you for your specific area weaknesses, so your time is always spent most effectively to raise your score. We also force you to focus on understanding your mistakes and learning from them. If you make the same mistake over and over again, we'll call you out on it. There’s no other prep system out there that does it this way, which is why we get better score results than any other program on the market. Check it out today with a 5-day free trial: Strategy 3:If You Have Math Content Gaps, Be Ruthless About Filling Them Within SAT Math, you have to master a lot of subjects. At the high level, you need to know basic algebra, advanced algebra, data analysis, and geometry. Even further, within algebra, you need to know how to solve equations, how to deal with word problems, properties of functions, etc. Here's our complete mapping of all 24 skills you need in SAT Math: Basic Algebra Linear functions Single variable equations Systems of linear equations Absolute value Advanced Algebra Manipulating polynomials Quadratic equations Dividing polynomials Exponential functions Function notation Solving exponential equations Systems of equations with nonlinear equations Problem Solving and Data Analysis Ratios and proportions Scatterplots and graphs Categorical data and probabilities Experimental interpretation Mean, median, mode, standard deviation Additional Topics Coordinate geometry- lines and slopes Coordinate geometry- nonlinear functions Geometry- circles Geometry- lines and angles Geometry- solid geometry Geometry- triangles and polygons Trigonometry Complex numbers Whew! That's a handful. This might be a greater breakdown of skills then you're used to, but at PrepScholar we believe in grouping questions by specific skill so you can train most effectively. In our program, we break down all our SAT Math content into these detailed skills so you can train your specific weaknesses in focused groups. Unless you're a math whiz and are already scoring a 750-800, it's unlikely that you've mastered all of these evenly. You probably have different strengths and weaknesses across these subjects. If from the analysis of mistakes above you find that you have a content problem, you need to improve your understanding of that content. By Content problem, I mean that you're not comfortable with the underlying math concepts in a subject. Maybe you forgot how to solve a type of problem, or you forgot a formula to use, or you just don't remember the subject material. If you've identified one of these issues, you've spotted an opportunity for yourself to improve your score. Fill in the potholes of your understanding. Think of a mistake like discovering a cavity in your mouth. When your dentist fills in a cavity, he doesn't just patch up the hole right away. He cleans out the entire cavity, sterilizes it, then adds a filling. Content mistakes are similar- you have a weakness in a subject, say x-y coordinate geometry. This probably means you have a lot of other weaknesses in that subject other than the one identified by that question. Don't just focus on understanding that one question you missed. Take the opportunity to research that subject and get more practice in it. You need to find a way to get lesson material to teach yourself the main concepts that you're forgetting. Then you need to find more practice questions for this skill so you can drill your mistakes. In our SAT prep program PrepScholar, we do that work for you by splitting up our 1,500+ practice questions by skill and difficulty. If you're weak in algebra- solving equations, you get 20+ questions in a quiz dealing specifically with that skill. This repetitive practice fills up your content gap far better than any other method I know. Strategy 4: If You Miss a Question, Try It Again Before Reading the Explanation When you're doing practice questions, the first thing you probably do is read the answer explanation and at most reflect on it a little. This is a little too easy. I consider thispassive learning- you're not actively engaging with the mistake you made. Instead, try something different- find the correct answer choice (A-D), but don't look at the explanation. Instead, try to re-solve the question once over again and try to get the correct answer. This will often be hard. You couldn't solve it the first time, so why could you solve it the second time around? But this time, with less time pressure, you might spot a new strategy, or something else will pop up. Something will just "click" for you. When this happens, what you learned will stick with you for 20 times longer than if you just read an answer explanation. I know this from personal experience. Because you've struggled with it and reached a breakthrough, you retain that information far better than if you just passively absorbed the information. It's too easy to just read an answer explanation and have it go in one ear and out the other. You won't actually learn from your mistake, and you'll make that mistake over and over again. Treat each wrong question like a puzzle. Struggle with each wrong answer for up to 10 minutes. Only then if you don't get it should you read the answer explanation. Strategy 5: Master Every SAT Math Skill- Even the Rare Ones The SAT has an uneven balance of questions by skill. Algebra dominates the test, taking up over 50% of the test. This is somewhat good news, in that if you're an Algebra whiz, you'll do well on the bulk of SAT math. The bad news is that there's a long tail of straggling skills that show up just a few times a test. We've done a careful analysis of every math question on every official SAT test, and here are the LEAST common skills in SAT math. I'll show you the frequency of appearance, as well as the expected # of questions per test for that skill. Skill Frequency Expected Questions Per Test Dividing polynomials 1.72% 1 Trigonometry, radians 1.72% 1 Absolute value 1.29% 0.75 Complex numbers 1.29% 0.75 Experimental interpretation 0.86% 0.5 Lines and angles 0.86% 0.5 Solid geometry 0.86% 0.5 Systems of equations with nonlinear equations 0.86% 0.5 Function notation 0.43% 0.25 This might surprise you. Some of these skills have an expected # of questions lower than one. That's right: sometimes you might not even get a complex number or solid geometry question. But you have to know it anyway. You have to know it all. In some ways, this is really extreme. You have to know a LOT of topics in trigonometry, just to answer that one question per test. Here's an example: You need knowledge of radians and standard triangles to answer this question.To solve the question, you can realize that if the x length is√3, and the height is 1, then you know that this is a 30-60-90 triangle lying on its long side. Thus the angle is 30 degrees. Then, becauseÏ€ radians is 180 degrees, then the angle isÏ€/6 radians, so a = 6. But notice that you weren't tested on any other items in standard trigonometry- SOH CAH TOA, graphing functions like cos (90 + 2x), and converting between sin and cos. Yet you still need to know this, because you can't predict what they're going to test. This is also true of complex numbers, solid geometry (volumes, surface areas), absolute value, dividing polynomials, etc. This is the challenge of the 800 Math scorer- you need a wide BREADTH of knowledge as well as DEPTH of mastery in each one.No single test is going to test the entire breadth of your knowledge, but you must be prepared anyway. The way we handle this at PrepScholar, which is based on how I mastered the SAT myself, is to give you detailed lessons and quizzes for all 24 Math skills, and all Reading/Writing skills. For even the least common skills like complex numbers and solid geometry, you'll get dozens of questions to practice with and master the skill. You'll leave no stone unturned, which is why top scoring students love us. If you don't use PrepScholar, then you need to find great sources of practice content yourself, and to structure your study time optimally so you get both breadth and depth. Strategy 6: Finish With Extra Time and Double Check Your goal at the end of all this work is to get so good at SAT Math that you solve every question and have extra time left over at the end of the section to recheck your work. In high school and even now, I can finish SAT Math sections in about 60% of the time allotted. This means I finish a 25 minute section in 15 minutes or less, and a 55 minute section in 35 minutes. This gives me a TON of time to recheck my answers two times over and make sure I make no careless mistakes. How can I finish a section this quickly? It comes down to mastery of the math skills and a LOT of experience with the test. When I see a question, I usually know exactly what the College Board is asking for, and I've seen so many such questions that I know exactly how to solve it in the fewest steps needed. It comes from hard work and perseverance.If you're pretty far from this time benchmark, don't fret- it took me a lot of training and experience to get to this level. (After all, I've seen thousands of questions in my own SAT prep and when designing our PrepScholar SAT program). So let's say you finish a section ahead of time. What do you do with all that extra time? Don't rest and don't put your head down. Use this valuable time to double-check, even triple-check your work. Remember, even ONE question missed will bring you down from an 800- you need to achieve perfection. What's the best way to double-check your work? I have a reliable method that I follow: Re-read the question again. Question your assumption about what the question is about. If the question asks for a specific variable, make sure you're solving for that variable! Try to resolve the question another way. If I solved a question algebraically, I can recheck it by plugging in the solution. If I'm 100% sure I'm right on a question, I draw a huge check mark in the test book and never look at the question again. Even if I feel just a little twinge of remaining doubt, I'll come back to it on the third pass. At least 2 minutes before time's up, I rapidly double-check that I bubbled the answers correctly. I try to do this all at once so as not to waste time looking back and forth between the test book and the answer sheet. Go 5 at a time ("A D E C B") for more speed. Here's an example of solving a question two ways: First way: My natural instinct is to solve this algebraically. I know I can plug in numbers, but I feel that's slower and more error prone than getting a definitive answer through solving the equation. 3x - 5≠¥ 4x - 3 I can rearrange in my head in one step like so: -2≠¥ x (if you make careless mistakes, like the College Board expects you to do, it's worthwhile splitting it up into smaller steps) OK, so the solutioin set is numbers less than or equal to -2. This leaves answer A as NOT the solution. Doublecheck way:Now that I know answer A should be correct, I'm going to verify by plugging that value back in and expecting the inequality to fail: 3x - 5 ≠¥ 4x - 3 -3 - 5≠¥ -4 -3 -8≠¥ -7 That's obviously false, so I can verify that A is the right answer. At this point I'm confident enough that I can move on and not check this question again. Another time management tip: If you notice yourself spending more than 30 seconds on a problem and aren't clear how you'll get to the answer, skip and go to the next question. Even though you need a perfect raw score for an 800, don't be afraid to skip. You can come back to it later, and on your first pass it's more important to get as many points as possible. Quick Tip: Bubbling Answers Here's a bubbling tip that will save you 2 minutes per section. When I first started test taking in high school, I did what many students do: after I finished one question, I went to the bubble sheet and filled it in. Then I solved the next question. Finish question 1, bubble in answer 1. Finish question 2, bubble in answer 2. And so forth. This actually wastes a lot of time. You're distracting yourself between two distinct tasks- solving questions and bubbling in answers. This costs you time in both mental switching costs and in physically moving your hand and eyes to different areas of the test. Here's a better method: solve all your questions first in the book, then bubble all of them in at once. This has several huge advantages: you focus on each task one at a time, rather than switching between two different tasks. You also eliminate careless entry errors, like if you skip question 7 and bubble in question 8's answer into question 7's slot. By saving just 10 seconds per question, you get back 200 seconds on a section that has 20 questions. This is huge. Note: If you use this strategy, you should already be finishing the section with ample extra time to spare. Otherwise, you might run out of time before you have the chance to bubble in the answer choices all at once. 5 minutes before the section ends, make sure you bubble in the answers you already have. Strategy 7: Eliminate Careless Mistakes Careless mistakes are one of the most frustrating types of errors to make, and nearly everyone makes them, especially on Math. You know the underlying material, you know how to solve the question, and you're feeling good. But then you grade the quiz, and you find a careless mistake. Oops- the question asked for the perimeter of the circle and not the area, which is what you calculated. These types of errors are the most costly and frustrating. You've already put in a ton of work to master the underlying material, and here a question has tricked you into losing a point. This is why finishing the test early, like I mention above, is so helpful. You get extra time to take a breather and double-check your answers. If you find that careless mistakes are a recurring problem for you, here are some strategies to get rid of them: In the question, underline what the question is specifically asking you to solve for. It's so easy for the SAT to trick you into solving the wrong thing. If you're solving for a particular value (like length, area, etc), write the units down in the scratch space. Be careful with calculator entry. A missing parentheses makes a big difference. "4 + 9 / 2" is completely different from "(4 + 9) / 2" Avoid bubbling errors by using the Quick Tip above. Here's an example: This question is asking us to solve for y + z. Not x, y, or any other combination of variables. To make sure I remember this, I underline y + z, and I also write "y + z = ?" in the work space so that I remember what I'm solving for. You can bet that in many answer choices, the SAT will have trap answers for other things you can solve for, like x. (This one happens not to, but it's very common). Memorize the SAT Math Formulas. Strategy 8: Memorize the Formulas and Common Math Facts If you're still flipping to the front of the section to look at the math formulas, you haven't gotten to understand SAT Math well enough yet. Not only does this cost you time, it also indicates that you haven't practiced enough with SAT Math to have the required formulas come to you fluidly. Memorize the formulas at the front of the section and these common math facts: calculating slope from two points (rise over run) remainder when dividing a polynomial common right triangles: by angles 45-45-90 (1-1-√2) 30-60-90 (1-2-√3) by sides 3-4-5 5-12-13 formula forvolumes, surface areas We have a complete list of SAT Math formulas here. Strategy 9: Don't Overly Depend on the Calculator As you likely already know, Section 3 is a Math section forbidding the use of calculator, with 20 questions. Section 4 is a Math section that allows calculator, with 38 questions. The calculator is really useful for certain questions that require complex calculations, like multiplying decimals together or taking square roots of weird numbers. However, in many other situations, it's too much of a crutch, and it can make you soft. Learning to solve questions without the use of a calculator will strengthen your math intuition and force you to understand the underlying math, rather than relying on a calculator. Actually, every question on the SAT is solvable without a calculator. Because the College Board cares a lot about equality, it doesn't want to give an unfair advantage to students who have grown up with graphing calculators compared to students who can't afford them or never used them in school. So it designs questions that don't require advanced calculators to solve. Practically, this is important because some of the no-calculator questions are solvable WITH a calculator, and you need to wean yourself off of the calc. Here's an example: Yes- you can solve this by plugging it into your graphing calculator's systems of equations tool. But this appears on the no calculator section, so you have to get used to solving this with pen and paper. The second reason to depend less on the calculator is because solving without a calculator is actually faster in many cases. Here's an example: The calculator way to solve this would be to solve for the quadratic formula, 0 = -4.9 t2 + 25t. You can plug it in and the calculator will spit out two values for t. How I would naturally approach is to factor first: 0 = t (-4.9t + 25) Obviously t = 0 is one solution, but the other solution is pretty easy to find too.I don't even need to use the calculator- I know 4.9 is close to 5, so I can see that t is close to 5. This is answer D. For me, the second way is faster and feels more robust than the first. I know I've solved for t definitively, and I'm confident in my answer choice. Whereas if I used a calculator, I don't have a "feel" for the solution- I'm purely trusting the calculator and what I entered into the calculator as correct. Now, when I doublecheck (Strategy 6), I might solve it a different way by plugging in the answer choices. I'll try plugging in answer choices C and D, and it'll be clear that Dis the better answer. But this is reserved for answer checking, rather than the first time I solve it. Being able to solve SAT Math questions without a calculator will train your SAT Math skills more rigorously. This is important when you're aiming for a perfect math score. Strategy 10: Keep a Calm Mind During the Test, No Matter What Now you know what it takes to achieve perfection on SAT Math. You know that it's critical to get a perfect raw score, or you might score a 780. This makes a lot of students freak out during the test. "I can't solve this question...my 800 is gone...I'm getting more nervous and I have to skip the next question too..." You can see how quickly you can unravel like this. Before you know it, you're scoring way worse than you ever did on a practice test. You need to learn to be mentally strong, like an athlete on game day. Yes, you might have to skip a question on the first pass through. Maybe even two in a row. But you've practiced hard up to this point. You know this stuff, and you'll come back to those questions and get it later. You need to keep up a positive mindset during the test, or you'll crumble. And in the worst case, maybe you won't get an 800. But if you've consistently been getting 800's on the practice tests, you likely won't go much lower than 750- and that's still really good. Recap: How to Get a Perfect SAT Math Score Those are the main strategies I have for you to improve your SAT math score to an 800. If you're scoring above a 600 right now, with hard work and smart studying, you can raise it to a perfect SAT Math score. Notice that I didn't actually teach you that much math content. I didn't point to any specific math solutions that will instantly raise your score. That's because these one-size-fits-all, guaranteed strategies don't really exist. (And anyone who tells you this is deceiving you). Every student is different. Instead, you need to understand where you're falling short, and drill those weaknesses continuously. You also need to be thoughtful about your mistakes and leave no mistake ignored. If you want to go back and review any strategies, here are quick links to them: Strategy 1: Understand Your High Level Weakness: Content or Time Management Strategy 2:Do a Ton of Practice, and Understand Every Single Mistake Strategy 3:If You Have Math Content Gaps, Be Ruthless About Filling Them Strategy 4:If You Miss a Question, Re-Solve It First Strategy 5: Master Every SAT Math Skill- Even the Rare Ones Strategy 6: Finish With Extra Time and Double Check Strategy 7: Eliminate Careless Mistakes Strategy 8: Memorize the Formulas and Common Math Facts Strategy 9: Don't Overly Depend on the Calculator Strategy 10: Keep a Calm Mind During the Test, No Matter What Keep reading for more resources on how to boost your SAT score. What's Next? We have a lot more useful guides to raise your SAT score. Read our complete guide to a perfect SAT score, written by me, a perfect scorer. Are you aiming for a top school like Harvard or the Ivy Leagues? Here's my famous guide, How to Get Into Harvard. Learn how to write a perfect-scoring SAT essay, step by step. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. I built the PrepScholar program based on the principles in this article- the principles that worked for me and thousands of our students. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

3 Steps to Acing Your Truck Driving Job Interview

3 Steps to Acing Your Truck Driving Job Interview Is one of your New Year’s resolutions to get a trucking job? Whether you’re a rookie driver or a seasoned veteran, the rules are the rules- you’re going to need to interview in order to get hired. Follow these three steps, and you’ll be well on your way. Have a quality resume on-handNo matter how much- or how little- trucking experience you have, you still need a professional resume. Not just some scribbles on a sheet of notepaper, or a hastily-crafted bullet list. You need a properly formatted, proofread, thorough resume on high quality paper. You can get special resume paper at any office supply store. Make sure to have at least 20 copies on hand. If you’re not good with computers, consider asking a friend to help. If you throw them a few bucks, you’ll probably get a great resume out of it.Create an info packetA resume isn’t all you need. Make yourself a folder with the following, and make sure to take it with you on every interview. This kit will include all you’ll need for the interview, as well as the on-boarding process with HR. That way you won’t have to delay starting- or getting paid.A copy of your CDLAn official copy of your birth certificateA copy of your social security cardAn official copy of your truck driving school certificate, if you have onePre-hire letters from other companies considering hiring youYour CSA and DAC reports (if you have worked previously as a truck driver)A copy of your motor vehicle record (MVR)A copy of an updated DOT physical (which is required to get your CDL)Having all of this put together shows hiring manager, the HR rep, and your new boss that you are organized, professional, and respectful of your colleague’s time.Do your pre-interview  homeworkWe all know that an interviewer asks most of the questions. But there is always a point in every interview when the hiring manager will ask what questions you might have. It’s best to be prepared. If you’ve gone to so many interviews that you can’t keep them all straight, make yourself a list to study before each interview. Make sure to note the name and location of the company, whether they have multiple offices throughout the country, who you’d be working for, the name of the HR manager, the name of your interviewer, and any other information you might be able to gather about the company from a Google search or two, as well as your sense of the types of jobs and hauls the company offers.Following these steps will ensure that you remain in control during the interview process. You’ll be ready for anything, so you’ll be at your best and most confident to go in there and land the job.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Managing Financial Resources for Human Services Organizations Essay

Managing Financial Resources for Human Services Organizations - Essay Example raise strong and healthy children by strengthening our investment in Head Start, teen pregnancy prevention and abstinence education; increasing opportunities for adoption; and bolstering our efforts to reduce tobacco and drug abuse among youth; It creates a strong public health agenda for the next century by sustaining biomedical research at the National Institutes of Health, developing a new food safety initiative, combating infectious diseases and providing life-extending drug therapies to people with AIDS; Additionally, the budget provides funds to allow these organizations he option to extend one year of continuous Medicaid coverage to children, thus increasing continuity and security for children and families and reducing administrative burdens on States, families, and health care plans which now have to determine eligibility on a monthly basis. â€Å"The definition of a line-item is the classification of expenditures on the basis of categories called objects-of-expenditure (personnel services, contractual services, capital outlay, etc.) and within each category more detailed line-items (salaries, travel, telephones, etc.). This type of budget focuses attention on how much money is spent and for what purpose rather than the activity affected or its outcomes.† (Elsass. Financial Management in Local Government: Frequently used Terms, 2001). It is easiest to build performance-based budgets on the foundation of a program-based budget system. Under performance, or â€Å"outcome-based budgets†, each major program or function is measured using a set of benchmarks. Benchmarks are snap shots of particular activities or functions at a beginning date and time. These benchmarks are used for comparison purposes to measure progress in attaining specific program or functional goals over periods of time (i.e., six months, a year, or several years). Programs, activities, and functions may also be measured quantitatively and qualitatively against other internal and

Thursday, October 31, 2019

Determining Best Practices of Effective School Communication Dissertation

Determining Best Practices of Effective School Communication - Dissertation Example As the purpose of the study is to research highly dependable communicative means to be used by schools, it is also the aim of this study to validate that motivation of the parents help school-going students to perform better. The introduction to the topic includes a background to the research topic of determining best practices of effective school communication, the problem statement, the purpose statement, research questions, theoretical framework, nature of the research, scope of the research, its assumptions, limitations and delimitations, besides the importance of the research work in the context of its implications for social change, ending in the summary of the introduction. Research Theory and Research Strategy Methodology for the research is theory based, totally depending on qualitative research method for the analysis of the conducted research. A qualitative research needs to comprehend processes, happenings, and connections between them from social and cultural perspective s. Qualitative research demands no numerical calculations to prove the facts, as it is based on direct information availing from people and social communities in favorable surroundings (Sociology, 2003). As my research is based on similar tenets of interviewing parents on how communication level with school teachers can be enhanced and find out the causes of their inactivity in participation, the qualitative research method is the right choice. My research strategy will be segregated into three phases, first is the introductory phase, which will be followed by the second phase, the main event, after which validation, the third phase will take off. In the first phase the concept of effective school communication with given objectives of the research will be marked for piloting. The distinct aspect of qualitative research is that it helps in explaining the topic and understanding the issues in natural settings on the basis of the experiences, beliefs, and thinking of all participants (Sociology, 2003). The interview of participating parents in the first stage will help in briefing the parents the purpose of the interview in the informal way. The second phase will touch all the research questions deeply, to elicit participants’ opinions on each one of all the five research questions. As the research design of my methodology is observer-participant, the data description will state the behavior, reaction, and practices of the parents. Parents’ answers will be analyzed to get relevant inputs (Sociology, 2003). My role of observing the parents will be very significant here, to correctly state their views and experiences. I need to be friendly enough with the participating parents to create the perfect setting where they express their anguish or appreciation of the school administration without any inhibitions. Further, my qualitative phenomenological research will help in discussing the singular critical question, as experienced by various participants. The phenomenological methodology research strategy will assist me in understanding the parents’ perspectives, as observed from their angle. There are other methodological roots, as symbolic inter-action and ethnography, employed in qualitative field research but phenomenological