Factors that Contribute to the Popularity of Reality Shows...

Research aim and significance This study examines voting – a feature of interaction and engagement of audience with reality television. The study aims to investigate which factors influencing on television viewers’ decision to vote and also provide an exploration on their psychological side which may be vital for understanding their interactive behaviors. In the context of greater interaction between the programs and its audiences has been stimulating by television producers, it is significant to research this interactive form of reality television that encourages deeper audience participation. The findings of this study offer view on multiple sides involving opportunies and challenges for broadcast media companies and digital platform†¦show more content†¦In its most famous form (in such series as Big Brother, The X Factor, Idol and The Voice), reality television has been transformed into interactive cross-platform media experience, soliciting direct audience participation, by telephone and the use of interactive functions of digital technology (Charles, 2012). Griffen-Foley (2004) argued that all of these media outlets have sought to attend their consumers as ‘textual actors’ which boosted the perception of engagement and generate a ‘loyal community’ of audience. Among them, voting is assigned as a prominent and lucrative option of viewer feedback, particularly in talent-based reality shows (Enli Ihlebà ¦k, 2011). Godlewski and Perse (2010) developed the theory of audience activity to scrutinize the relationship between viewing motivations, recognition of the participants, ‘cognitive and emotional involvement’ before, during and after exposure to media content. The scholars discovered that, instead of according with the levels of cognitive and emotional involvement during exposure, reality television provides to the audiences new kinds of post-exposure activity and also opportunities for finding previously unavailable ‘additional gratifications’ through voting to affect the program’s result. Such interactivity creates involving experiences via the active control of the media. In addition, there is a higher level of psychological engagementShow MoreRelatedNegative Stereotypes in Reality Television1639 Words   |  7 PagesAs Reality TV becomes more prominent it seems as though negative stereotypes overtly saturate this genre of entertainment. 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The Spirit of Public Administration by H George Frederickson Free Essays

H. George Frederickson†s â€Å"The Spirit of Public Administration† is an informative yet drab look at motivating public administrators. Frederickson discusses a wide variety of topics that would be useful to any public administrator, but the verbiage used is a bit difficult for an individual that may be entering into the service field â€Å"The Spirit of Public Administration is broken down into three parts. We will write a custom essay sample on The Spirit of Public Administration by H George Frederickson or any similar topic only for you Order Now These parts are: Part I: Governance, Politics, and the Public Part III: Ethics, Citizenship, and Benevolence in Public Administration Frederickson did take the initiative to explain public administration and some of its functions before going in-depth on different facets of the role. Some great topics discussed were governance, fairness and social equity, and ethics and public administration. Frederickson begins in Chapter 1 by explaining that â€Å"public administration is both a profession and field of study (p. 19).† This statement is very exact. Often times public administrators focus on the profession and do not practice studying their role in society. â€Å"The word administration is the subject of extended study, analysis, and discourse (p. 19).† Meaning the role of the public administrator is to lead along with learning as they progress through their careers. Also, in the chapter, Frederickson addresses ways in which to encourage citizen involvement in government. Frederickson acknowledges Benjamin Barber, Strong Democracy: Participatory Politics for a New Age, 11-point suggestion in achieving the goal: 2. Television town meetings and a civic communications cooperative 3. Civic education and equal access to information: a civic education postal act and a civic videotext service. 4. Supplementary institutions, including representative town meetings, office holding by lot, decriminalization, and lay justice 5. A national initiative and referendum process 7. Election by slot; sortition and rotation 8. Vouchers and the market approach to public choice 9. National citizenship and common action: universal citizen service and related volunteer programs and training and employment opportunities 10. Neighborhood citizenship and common action: extensive volunteerism and sweat-equity Frederickson evaluates that some of these suggestions may be impractical. As an african-american citizen, all of the suggestions seemed impractical. Often times, minority populations do not have the time to participate in meetings and volunteerism. A more effective way may be informative newsletters that provide alternate solutions that are not as time consuming. Chapter 2 and 3 discusses the political aspect of public administration and governance. In Chapter2, Frederickson discusses the theory on which his book is based upon, the Hamiltonian tradition. This chapter makes valid points in how important it is for administrators to be versed in politics. Administrators are not delegated power through the U.S. Constitution, but state constitutions are political processes allow for administrators to be more involved in government. Through this vital tool, administrators are able to profoundly assist the public. After addressing the political aspect, Frederickson makes a smooth transition in Chapter 3 to discuss governance. Frederickson points out that there are several different definitions in defining governance. Frederickson makes a profound remark by stating, â€Å"it is likely that governance is the preferred modern theory that attempts to marry politics to administration (p. 92).† Frederickson also list five vital points pertaining to governance (p.92): 2. Governance is a remarkable fusion of popular literature on government reform, popular executive politics, serious empirical scholarship, and modern public administration theory. 3. Public administration as governance has a better windup than pitch. 4. The use of governance as a surrogate for public administration masks the fundamental issue of what ought to be the role of non-elected public officials in a democratic party There must always be boundaries set between governing and governance. â€Å"In public administration as governance, it is essential that we do not diminish our institutions to such an extent that we lose our capacity to support the development of sound public policy, as well as our ability to effectively implement that policy (p.94).† Chapter 4 begins Part II a very important aspect of Public Administration, Issues of Fairness. During Chapter 4, Frederickson utilizes different philosophers to express how discretion is part of government and non-profit organizational life. To further reiterate the importance of this topic, Frederickson discusses in Chapter 5 the specifics of fairness and social equity in the theory and practice of public administration. Frederickson reviews theoretical, legal, and analytical developments of the past twenty years as it pertains to fairness and social equity. These two chapters were crucial in actually focusing on the â€Å"spirit† of public administration due to the increased amount of fraud and lack of faith citizens have for government. Chapter 4 and 5 validates intergenerational concepts of public administration that are discussed in Chapter 6. The success of public administrators is based on future generations. Frederickson believes moral and ethical responsibility should be extended to future generations. As he states, â€Å"philosophy and the practical affairs of people is to practice fairness, justice and equity†¦.There can be no moral community without some agreed upon arrangements for all three (p.150).† Morality in government has been extended from generation to generation. Government has tried to fix moral wrongs through creating the public school system to provide education for all, the abolition of slavery, and constantly raising concerns of ecology for future generations. â€Å"Following the logic of the command theory of social equity, public officials should seek to adopt and implement policies that support intergenerational social equity (p.151).† For example, Garrett Hardin (1980) addressed problems of overpopulation. Because of this concern for upcoming generations, contraceptives and education have been provided to all classes to preserve the nation economy, which allows society to sustain or improve its current condition. Privatization has also been a concern addressed for future generations. Frederickson expresses, â€Å"government through public policy must intervene in the private market to regulate in favor of future generations (p.153).† Just as government and administrators have done in the past, regulating private companies will protect the interest of the public while allowing government to continue generating revenue for future generations. Chapters 7 through 11 compose Part III of The Spirit of Public Administration. Part III discusses Ethics, Citizenship, and Benevolence in Public Administration. Chapter 7 discusses very controversial issues on ethics in public administration. The chapter effectively begins by discussing how government reform of the early 20th Century has affected American government today and that the current practices of ethic reform will have the same lasting effect. In early government..†Increasing administrative capacity and decreasing politics reduced corruption. In the present case, we are moving in the opposite direction, reducing administrative capacity and increasing political control, with the probability that more rather than less corruption will result (p.181).† A point that Frederickson stated was that â€Å"today, government provides more controls on political corruption than in the past (p.181).† Based on recent events that continuously occur, i.e. embezzlement, fraud, that statement may have been slightly skewed. Frederickson validates the statement by addressing innovative tasks that are or should be followed in ethics research agenda: 1. Standards of right and wrong vary significantly from context to context. 2. Researchers should compare ethical standards and behavior between settings, professions, and cultures. 3. Researchers should assess the effect on the behavior of government officials, both political and administrative of traditional procedural and managerial controls compared with modern approaches. 5. Assess the influence of privatization on governmental corruption and ethics 6. Measure the effects of reduced administrative discretion on both administrative effectiveness and ethics. Chapters 8 through 11 focused on boundaries and roles that the public administrator should adhere to and how negative views of government effect administrators in a positive and negative light. These chapters seem to become redundant and uninformative because they seem to focus more on a national level than local and most administrators† function at a state or local capacity. In Chapter 8 Frederickson discusses several points on the pros and cons of negative views of government: Good results of negative opinions of government: 2. Funding for schools and higher standards Bad results (less ethical government) 1. Due to downsizing of merit civil servants, the loss of institutional memory and the â€Å"hollowing out† of government. 2. Deregulation. No rules which gives incentive to fraud). 3. Contract employees (high kickback and fraud) 4. Authorities and special districts (fraud on fee-for-service contracts). This statement plainly shows that government is in need of much work and public administrators will continue to have the hardest task of gaining citizen trust based on government†s profound corruption. Though Frederickson should have definitely created an upbeat book to keep the â€Å"spirit† of public administration motivated, he brought forth some valid points that a public administrator could utilize. The conclusions of his overly long chapters helped the reader to stay abreast on the points that he was expressing in each chapter. Due to time constraints of most administrators, a cliff notes version or quick reference book would be an ideal tool for public servants on all levels. How to cite The Spirit of Public Administration by H George Frederickson, Papers

Interpretation Loss and Application

Question: Discuss about the Interpretation Loss and Application. Answer: Introduction The aim of this essay is to provide a brief understanding about Impairment loss in context of accounting. It also describes the nature of impairment loss along with its accounting treatment. The essay contains two parts. One is the theory part and another one is practical application of the theory. International Accounting Standard 36 Impairment of Assets deals with impaired assets of a company and the key requirements of the standard regarding impairment have also been discussed in the essay. Procedures applied by a company for determining impaired assets value is also discussed in the essay. Finally, the essay concludes with identifying required disclosures in relation to impairment of assets. Impairment Loss The term impairment refers to the permanent reduction in the market value of a companys fixed asset and goodwill. It indicates an unexpected decline in an assets value below its carrying amount. Impairment loss occurs when the difference between fair value and recorded value of an asset becomes unrecoverable (Glaum et al., 2013). Fair value refers to the amount that is received on selling an asset or paid to transfer a liability during an ordinary course of transaction at the current price. Book value refers to the value at which an asset is recorded in a companys balance sheet after taking accumulated depreciation and impairment loss into account. Impairment loss is generally associated with long-lived assets like buildings, land, machinery, and equipment of a company. The issues related to impairment of assets are governed by International Accounting Standard (IAS) 36. As per this standard, impairment is caused to an asset when the amount that could be recovered from its sale or use exceeds its recorded value (Jordan et al., 2015). In such a case, the impaired asset is deemed to have lost its value. IAS 36 is applied to all those assets which are recorded at their costs or revalued amounts in accordance with other applicable accounting standards. Also AASB 136 contains specific requirements to allocate the impairment losses arising in relation to CGU (Cash-generating unit). Nature and accounting treatment of Impairment loss: As per the principles of IAS 36, a company must not carry its assets at a value more than its recoverable amount. The decline in the value of a companys assets can occur due to various reasons like wear and tear, poor management of assets, increased competition, and technological advancements (Harris et al., 2014). IAS 36 provides a set of procedures for the companies to recognize impairment loss of an asset as an expense in profit and loss account and credited to the asset. The loss decreases the income in profit and loss account and also the total assets in balance sheet. However, when an impaired asset is revalued under IAS 16 and IAS 38 then such impairment loss is considered as a revaluation reduction, decreasing the revaluation gain for the asset (Lavi, 2016). It is then recognized in comprehensive income statement. If the amount of impairment loss is higher than the revaluation gain then the remaining loss is recorded as an expense in the income statement of the company. An impairment loss is recognized only when book value of assets is higher than their recoverable value. Assets that must be tested annually for impairment: Intangible assets, having indefinite useful lives and, intangibles which are not yet available for use are statutorily required to be tested annually for determining their impaired value (Christian, and Ldenbach, 2013). Also, Goodwill acquired in a business combination must undergo through impaired test. The IAS 36 permits companies to perform impairment test at any time during an annual period, provided that every year, the test should be performed at the same time. Calculation of Impairment loss: The impairment cost can be computed by using two methods. First one is Incurred loss model and the second one is expected loss model. Incurred Loss Model: Under this model, investments of a company are recorded in PL account as impaired assets; if it is deemed that collection of future cash flows associated with the investments are uncertain (Avallone and Quagli, 2015). Such an uncertainty may occur when the company is growing through financial crisis or the company has failed fulfil its principle obligations or interest thereon. It may also occur when the company is experiencing unfavourable economic changes. In such circumstances, the company needs to determine recoverable amount of its impaired investments. After then, impairment cost of investments is calculated as follows: Impairments cost = Recoverable amount Carrying value Expected Loss Model: Under this model, present value of investments is assessed using estimates of future cash flows, made on continuous basis. These revised estimates are discounted at the same effective rate of interest which was used at the time of purchase of investments. Indications of impaired assets: External sources of information: External sources signify that an asset has impaired. These sources include significant fall in the market value of an asset, unfavourable changes in technology, economic and market conditions, laws and regulations, and rise in interest rates and rates of return. Internal sources of information: Internal sources indicating impairment of assets include obsolescence or physical damage to an asset, idleness of asset, disposal or restructuring of asset and worse economic performance of an asset. In case of investments in subsidiaries, jointly controlled entity or associates, the book value of investees net assets is lower than the carrying value of assets (Ballas et al., 2015). Also the comprehensive income of the investee is lower than the amount of dividend declared. Moreover, the indication of asset being impaired depicts that the company should review or adjust useful life, depreciation method or residual value of the asset. Reversal of Impairment losses: Sometimes, non-existence or decrease in recognized impairment loss, except goodwill may be indicated by external and internal sources of information. In such circumstances, the impairment loss which was recorded earlier in the PL account is reversed (Stice and Stice, 2011). However, reversal of impairment loss is allowed only when, there is a change in any one of the estimates employed to assess the assets recoverable price. It means that a company cannot reverse impairment loss of its assets merely due to passing of time or advancement in the general market conditions. In US GAAP, impairment loss for long-lasting assets that was previously recognized cannot be reversed. Also, reversal of impairment losses for goodwill is specifically not allowed by IAS 36 (Majid and Adam, 2015). Reversal of Impairment losses are always recognized in profit and loss account of a company. In addition to this, adjustment of depreciation for future periods is also required in order to reflect revised carrying amount of an asset. Reversal of impairment loss for a cash-generating unit: In case of cash-generating unit, allocation of reversal of impairment losses to an asset of the unit, other than goodwill, is made (Zhuang, 2016). Such an allocation is made with the carrying amount of these assets on pro-rata basis. However, recorded amount of an asset shall not exceed above the lower of its recoverable amount and the recordable amount before taking into account any impairment loss. Assets which do not require Impairment test: Inventories, Deferred Tax Assets and assets held for resale are not required to undergo Impairment test, as specified by IAS 36. Disclosures Disclosures regarding impairment tests performed and recognition of impairments by a company are required as per International Accounting Standard 36 (Epstein and Jermakowicz, 2010). Disclosure requirements for impairment loss of Goodwill are vast than that of other assets. The important disclosure requirements are as follows: Amount of Impairment losses recognized in the profit and loss account of a company along with the amount by which impairment loss was reversed are required to be disclosed. Disclosure of events and circumstances that have led to the impairment loss of assets of the company is required to be disclosed. Description and amount of impairment loss of cash-generating unit is also required to be disclosed. Disclosures regarding the valuation method used to estimate recoverable amount and the key assumptions applied in determining the appropriate valuation method is also required. Practical Application: Calculation of Impairment Loss: = Carrying Amount - Recoverable Amount =$(171,000 + 180,000 + 160,000 + 700,000 + 400,000 + 40,000) - $1420, 000 = $1651, 000 - $1420, 000 =$231,000 Remaining Impairment loss = $ 231,000 - $40,000 = $191,000 Allocation of Impairment loss against all assets: Carrying Amount (1) Pro-rata (2) Impairment loss allocated (3) Adjusted carrying amount (1-3) Goodwill 40,000 40,000 0 Land 200,000 29,000 171,000 Inventory products 180,000 18*191,000/144 23875 156125 Brand Crossbow Shoes 160,000 16*191,000/144 21222 138778 Shoe factory 700,000 70*191,000/144 92847 607153 Machinery for manufacturing shoes 400,000 40*191,000/144 53056 346994 144,0000 191000 1420,000 Journal Entries: Amount ($) Amount ($) Dr. Impairment loss 260,000 Cr. Goodwill 40,000 Cr. Land 29000 Cr. Impairment loss- Inventory products 23875 Cr. Impairment loss- Brand Crossbow Shoes 21222 Cr. Impairment loss- Shoe factory 92847 Cr. Impairment loss- Machinery for manufacturing shoes 53056 Working Notes: Since the asset goodwill can arise only in business combination and cannot be separately recognized, therefore, FV CD for goodwill cannot be determined (Detzen, et al., 2015). Also, AASB 136 specifies that goodwill must be allocated to the lower level at which company evaluates the goodwill. Also, where recorded value of asset is greater than recoverable value, it is equals to impairment loss. If impairment loss is occurred in a CGU in case of goodwill, following allocation principles shall be applied: Decrease the recorded value of CGUs goodwill, to zero. Other assets of the CGU should be allocated on a pro-rata basis (Majid and Adam, 2015). Crossbow Ltd. has identified an impairment loss of $231,000. The remaining impairment loss is calculated as $191,000. Conclusion From the above discussions and practical application, it is concluded that Impairments are an essential component of the Financial Reporting process. Determination of impairment loss of a companys asset may become a complex and time-consuming process, but still the companys owners need to assess impairment loss of their assets, which have lost their value. It is also concluded that the finance team of a company must possess required skills and knowledge in order to select most appropriate approach and method for valuation of assets. Also, the top management of the company should also provide support and guidance while adopting the valuation process so as to fulfil the IAS 36 requirements. References Avallone, F. and Quagli, A., (2015) Insight into the variables used to manage the goodwill impairment test under IAS 36.Advances in Accounting,31(1), pp.107-114. Ballas, A., Panagiotou, V. and Tzovas, C., (2015) Accounting Choices for Tangible Assets: A Study of Greek Firms.SPOUDAI-Journal of Economics and Business,64(4), pp.18-38. Christian, D. and Ldenbach, N. (2013) IFRS Essentials. US: John Wiley Sons. Epstein, B. and Jermakowicz, E. (2010) WILEY Interpretation and Application of International Financial Reporting. US: John Wiley Sons. Glaum, M., Schmidt, P., Street, D.L. and Vogel, S., (2013) Compliance with IFRS 3-and IAS 36-required disclosures across 17 European countries: company-and country-level determinants.Accounting and business research,43(3), pp.163-204. Harris, P., Jermakowicz, E.K. and Epstein, B.J., (2014) Converting Financial Statements from US GAAP to IFRS.The CPA Journal,84(1), p.20. Jordan, C.E. and Clark, S.J., (2015) Do Canadian Companies Employ Big Bath Accounting When Recording Goodwill Impairment?.International Journal of Economics and Finance,7(9), p.159. Lavi, M. (2016) The Impact of IFRS on Industry. US: John Wiley Sons. Stice, E and Stice, J. (2011) Intermediate Accounting. US: Cengage Learning. Zhuang, Z., (2016) Discussion of An evaluation of asset impairments by Australian firms and whether they were impacted by AASB 136.Accounting Finance,56(1), pp.289-294. Detzen, D., Wersborg, T.S.G. and Zlch, H., (2015) Bleak Weather for Sun-Shine AG: A Case Study of Impairment of Assets.Issues in Accounting Education,30(2), pp.18-39. Majid, J.A. and Adam, N.C., (2015) Resistance to Institutional Change through Decoupling.Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences,6(4), p.531.

Sociological imagination Essay Example

Sociological imagination Essay To give a definition for ‘sociological imagination’ we must first give a definition for sociology, which is the study of the human society and is the main component of sociological imagination. (Mills, 1959 )One of the fundamental contributors to the concept of sociological imagination is C. Wright Mills who had a unique approach to sociology. As per C. Wright Mills â€Å"Neither the life of an individual nor the history of a society can be understood without understanding both†.In his book The Sociological Imagination, Mills used the same famous phrase which is used in society today. Sociological imagination is a way of been able to ‘think ourselves away’ from our familiar routines of day to day living in order to look at them from a new perspective. Mills define Sociological Imagination as ‘the vivid awareness of the relationship between experience and the wider society. ’ It is the ability to see things socially and how they interact a nd influence each other. To have a sociological imagination, a person must distance himself from the situation and look at it from a different point of view.Willis argued that sociology requires a particular type of imagination, sociological imagination; that sociology cannot be based purely on individual experiences but by linking ones individual and private experiences with a broader spectrum approach. Jureidini and Poole explained that sociologists studied the broad structural factors, the processes and practises that influences everyday life and vice versa. Mills describes the components of sociological imagination as the influences that connect lives (biographies) and history within society`s structure.To consider the sociological imagination, you must think of the relationship between biography, structure and history within society. The sociological imagination helps a person to understand why there are certain attitudes, behaviours and believes. It gives us ideas and theories on how to analyse what we see and read every day. So that we can evaluate social issues, and link them to our everyday lives and experiences. Mills considered aspects of both micro (private issues) and macro (public issues) approaches as influences to the study of society. Personal troubles are privately felt problems while public issues affect society as a whole†. To explain the distinction between a person or private issue and a public issue clearly I will use the following example: If a teenager abuses alcohol at home, this would be a very private issue creating much emotion and pain within the family unit. However, if forty five present of our youth abuses alcohol and there is a whole criminal subculture supporting the maintenance of alcohol abuse then it would be a public issue.This scenario must consider biographical and historical circumstances to evaluate the impact of such an issue. A private issue impacts society on a micro scale by adding to the problem and society contributes to each individual case because of the influences society can have on each person as an individual. The impact that alcohol abuse has on a family can be very bad but when seen through the eyes of the sociological imagination, the influence on society can be just as bad. Analysis of newspaper articles: ‘Tokyo denies physically abusing wife’Tokyo Sexwale was allegedly abusing his wife Judy while they were married. Domestic violence can be seen as a private issue, as it is something that happened between Tokyo and Judy in the privacy of their home and it influenced the individuals involved on a personal level. In a lot of these cases the people involve blame and justify their actions on factors influencing the couple`s relationship. It is normally viewed by the couple as an issue between themselves because it is their own personal relationship. This could also have been the reason why Judy only waited to reveal this issue until the divorce.The experience must also have been very personal and troubling to Judy as it damages ones whole sense of being and self-worth. What happens in the privacy of their home made them think what a lot of people think ‘what goes on in the home is behind closed doors and not talked about with outsiders’. All of the above factors show how this can be seen as a private issue. All of this then changed when Judy made it public that she was abused by her husband. As woman abuse is a very real issue in society and also a criminal offence makes this a public issue as well.It is said that social factors such as gender inequalities and patriarchal structures influences domestic violence. Hence C. Wright Mills’ concept of sociological imagination, â€Å"the quality of mind to see what is going on in the world and what may be happening within it selves,† can be applied to this situation for it can be distinguished as both a private issue and a public issue. ‘Coptic Christians claim tortu re in Libyan detention centre’ The Christians that were captured chose their religion and wanted to serve God. They also chose to wear the crosses on their wrists to sow that they were Christians.This makes this a private issue. It was their own private believes that made them decide to be Christian. It could also have been that their families were Christians and that they followed in their parents believes as they were raised in that manner. It is a very personal thing between you and God. However it was made a public issue by the militia who rounded people up in a market to see if they had crosses on their wrists and then arrested them in front of all to see. This is creating a fear in society and among all the Christians in eastern Libya.They are second guessing their religion and wearing the crosses. It is creating division in society and people are now fighting among each other to what is the right religion to follow instead of it being a private matter of personal convi ction. The detention centres is also said to have more violence issues than ever before. This issue can therefore also be seen as a private as well as a public issue. Sociological imagination is according to me a very helpful tool in accepting what happened to you and the choices that you made in live.It helps you to see why you’re live turned out as it did and how society sees and accepts you.

Strategies for Improving Sentences on SAT Writing

Strategies for Improving Sentences on SAT Writing SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Improving sentences is the biggest subsection in SAT Writing. There are 49 total multiple choice questions on the SAT Writing section, and 25 of those are improving sentences questions. Arming yourself with specific strategies to answer these questions will be extremely beneficial to you and your SAT Writing score. In this post, I’ll do the following: Offer a general approach to use for answering sentence improvement questions. Detail the most common errors and clues for locating them. Show you how to correct the most common grammar errors. Provide example questions. General Approach to Improving Sentences For each improving sentences question, you should follow the same general approach to help ensure that you have an efficient method to consistently select the correct answer. By following these steps, you'll become less likely to make careless mistakes and more likely to arrive at the right answer in a timely manner. #1: Read the Sentence and Try to Identify Any Specific Errors in the Underlined Portion When you first read through the sentence, attempt to locate specific errors based on your knowledge of the grammar rules that are tested on the SAT Writing section. #2: Eliminate Obvious Wrong Answer Choices Eliminate any choices that are clearly wrong. If an answer choice creates another grammatical error or does not address the error you identified in the original answer choice, then you can immediately eliminate that answer choice as an option. Don't eliminate an answer choice solely because it sounds wrong. For all of the multiple choice SAT Writing questions, rely primarily on your knowledge of grammatical rules. #3: If You Don't Notice Anything Wrong With the Original Sentence, Look at the Answer Choices to Determine if You Overlooked an Error Sometimes reading the answer choices will make the error in the original sentence more apparent. Also, if an answer choice is more concise than the underlined portion of the original sentence and grammatically correct, then that will be the right answer. #4: Plug the Phrase in the Answer Choice Back Into the Original Sentence If an answer choice looks like it could be right, plug the phrase back into the original sentence. Sometimes reading the whole sentence will allow you to more easily determine if an answer choice is correct or if it creates an additional error. Use this step to verify your selection or testan answer choice you're unsure about. #5: Go Through The Answer Choices Until You Locate the Correct Improvement or Determine that No Change is Needed Your work is done once you find the answer choice that fixes the error in the original sentence and does not create an additonal error. You can quickly look at the remaining choices to verify that you have selected the best answer. If, after looking through the answer choices, you determine that the original sentence is correct, then select answer choice A, which is always the same as the underlined portion of the original sentence. Keep in mind that answer choice A will be right about 10%-20% of the time. Now that we have a general approach for sentence improvement questions, we can look at the specific grammar errors that repeatedly appear in the sentences in this subsection. I'll let you know the clues for spotting these errors and how to improve sentences that contain them. Read below for all the grammar rules you need to know for improving sentences. The Specific Grammar Errors: Signs and Improvements I arranged these grammatical errors by how often they tend to appear in sentence improvement questions, with the more common errors first and the least common ones last. All of these errors have appeared on previous SATs, and you should be familiar with all of these rules. Wordiness If a sentence suffers from wordiness, it is not written in the most concise grammatically correct way. Here are some tips for how to locate a wordy sentence. Signals Wordy sentences often contain gerunds in the underlined portion. Also, these sentences tend to employ the commonly used wordy phrases referenced in the article on wordiness. Once you spot a wordy sentence, it can generally be corrected in the following ways. Improvements Remember that the most concise grammatically correct answer choice will be right. Refer to the article on wordiness for the typical corrections to the commonly used wordy phrases. Parallelism Parallelism refers to the grammar rule that requires you to use the same pattern of words for two or more words or ideas in a sentence. Errors in parallelism occur when items in a list or phrases before and after a conjunction are not written in the same grammatical form. Check out the clues for identifying a parallel structure question. Signals A sentence is likely testing your knowledge of parallelism if the underlined portion is part of an "x, y, and z" list construction. Additionally, if an underlined phrase follows a conjunction, it often includes a parallel structure error. Because they're more difficult, parallelism questions tend to be found near the end of the subsection. Improvements To correct parallelism errors, put items in a list or phrases before and after a conjunction in the same grammatical form. For example, if two items in a list are in the gerund form, then the third item should be in the gerund form as well. Faulty Modifiers Another common grammar error on the improving sentences subsection is the faulty modifier. The basic rule regarding modifiers is that they must be placed next to the word they're modifying. So, how do you spot a faulty modifier? Signals Almost all of the faulty modifier questions deal with dangling modifiers. When a sentence begins with a modifying phrase, the intro must be immediately followed by a comma and then the noun it's describing. If the underlined phrase follows an introductory clause and a comma, make sure that the noun being described comes right after the comma. Improvements Place modifiers next to the words they describe. For the common dangling modifier questions, the noun being described should be placed right after the comma. Pronoun Agreement On the SAT, pronoun agreement means that pronouns must always have a clear antecedent and agree with the nouns they replace. Signals If a pronoun is part of the underlined phrase, look for errors in pronoun agreement. You must be able to identify an antecedent and the pronoun must agree with its antecedent in number. Improvements Every pronoun on the SAT should have a clear antecedent. The antecedent is the noun that the pronoun refers to. If a pronoun doesn't have a clear antecedent, replace it with a noun or make sure that the improved sentence does give ita clear antecedent. Also, make sure to use singular nouns with singular antecedents and plural pronouns with plural antecedents. My favorite pronoun Idioms/Wrong Word For questions related to idioms or word choice, you have to know how to properly construct idiomatic expressions and how to properly use specific words. These questions often do not correspond with a grammar rule and are the only ones where you may have to rely on what sounds right to correctly answer the question. Signals The idioms on the SAT tend to involve prepositions, gerunds, and infinitives. If any of these parts of speech are underlined, make sure that any idiomatic expression in the phrase is properly constructed. If one word of a word pair is in the underlined phrase, that can also signal a wrong word error.Common word pairs include "not only...but also", "both...and", "either..or", and "neither...nor". Note that conjunctions or adverbs in the underlined phrase can signal a word choice error as well. Improvements Typically, an improperly constructed idiomatic expression can be fixed by changing the preposition or the verb form. Word pair errors can be corrected by replacing the word that doesn't belong in the word pair with the word that does. For example, change "either...and" to "either...or." Make sure that the words in the underlined phrase express the intended meaning of the sentence. If the sentence shows contrast, then there should be a word like "but", "despite", or "although" in the sentence that indicates contrast. Run-Ons A run-on sentence (coming soon) consists of two or more complete thoughts that are not separated by the proper punctuation. Signals Usually, you'll find a run-on sentence created by a comma splice. Two complete thoughts will be separated by a comma. Improvements You can fix the comma splice by changing the comma to a semicolon. Or, you can change the construction of the sentence so that the comma is no longer separating two complete thoughts. Fragments A sentence fragment (coming soon) doesn't express a complete thought. Signals Sentence fragments often have a gerund or relative pronoun in the underlined phrase. Occasionally, a participle will be in the underlined portion and the sentence won't have a verb. Improvements Get rid of the relative pronoun or replace gerunds and participles with verbs. Make sure the improved sentence has a verb and expresses a complete thought. Subject-Verb Agreement Subject-verb agreement is a rule that states that all subjects must agree with their verbs in number. Singular subjects take singular verbs. Plural subjects take plural verbs. Signals If a verb is underlined, especially if the answer choices have different present/present perfect tense conjugations, then you should check for a subject-verb agreement error. Improvements Change the verb from plural to singular or from singular to plural. Just a few more rules to go Verb Forms Verb form (coming soon) questions will test you on verb tenses, gerunds, and infinitives. You need to know which tense and verb form to use in a given sentence. Signals Verb form questions will have a verb, gerund, or infinitive in the underlined phrase. The answer choices will have different different verb forms. Improvements Follow consistency rules with verbs and make sure that all verb tenses are being used properly. In sentences with gerunds or infinitives, verify that all idiomatic expressions are constructed correctly. Relative Pronouns Relative pronouns (coming soon) are "who", "whom", "whose", "which", "where", "when", and "that". Relative pronouns must agree with the nouns they're replacing. For example, use "where" when referring to places and "when" when referring to a specific time. Signals If a relative pronoun is part of the underlined phrase, then there may be a relative pronoun error. Improvements Make sure you use the proper relative pronoun for the noun that is being replaced and that the pronoun has a clear antecedent. Occasionally, you will have to remove a relative pronoun to fix a sentence fragment. Illogical Comparisons The rule for illogical comparisons is that you can only compare equivalent things. Signals The underlined phrase will often follow a word in the comparative form. In every illogical comparison question, there will be a comparison in the sentence. Improvements Make sure the sentence is comparing like things. For example, you have to compare books to books and people to people. You can't compare a book to a person. Noun Agreement Noun agreement means that a singular person/thing can't be a plural noun and vice versa. Incorrect: John and Sarah want to become a doctor. Correct: John and Sarah want to become doctors. Signals Multiple nouns in a sentence, including one in the underlined phrase, can signal a noun agreement error. Improvements When necessary, make sure nouns agree in number. Now that we're familiar with all of the specific grammar rules covered on the improving sentences subsection, here are some more general rules to keep in mind. General Tips The Most Concise Answer is Often Right Underlined phrases in sentence improvement questions will often be awkward and wordy. Focus on selecting the clearest, most concise answer choice. Consistency is Key Many of the grammar errors have to do with inconsistency. Errors in parallelism, verb forms, and comparisons can often be fixed by focusing on consistency. Gerunds, Especially "Being", Often Signal an Error Sentence improvement questions tend to use gerunds to create fragments, wordiness, and idiom errors. If a gerund is part of an underlined phrase, make sure the gerund is being used correctly. Use these tips to answer actual questions from the SAT Writing section. Real SAT Examples We're going to use the grammar rules and strategies you've just learned to answer the followingsentence improvement question. First, let's try to identify any errors in the underlined portion of the sentence. The presence of the gerunds "tempting" and "straining" signals that there is likely a parallelism, fragment, or wordiness error. After reading the entire sentence, you should recognize that it lacks a main verb and is not expressing a complete thought. As such, this sentence is a fragment. One possible way to correct this error would be to change the gerunds to verbs, so let's keep that in the back of our minds as we go through the answer choices. Immediately, we can get rid of A and D because they keep "tempting" in the gerund form, and thusdon't fix the error. Answer choice B fixes the fragment by changing "tempting" to "tempt" but creates a word choice error. The correct word pair is "not only...but also" rather than "not only...but then." Upon first glance, answer choice C might look correct, but you should always make sure that every verb is in the proper form and tense. The subject of the sentence is "demands", which is plural. Therefore, the verb should be in the plural form. The verbs "tempts" and "strains" are in the singular form, so answer choice C creates an error in subect-verb agreement. We're left with answer choice E. The verbs "tempt" and "strain" are consistent and they agree with the subject. The resulting sentence is no longer a fragment and there is no additional error. The correct answer is E. We'll use the same process to answer another real SAT question from the improving sentences subsection. Again, we'll start by trying to find the error in the underlined portion. The first word "was" is a verb. Remember to make sure all underlined verbs are in the correct form and agree with their subjects. The subject of this sentence is "two", which is plural, but the verb is "was", which is in the singular form. There is an error in subject-verb agreement. After looking at the answer choices, we can get rid of A, B, and C right away since none of those choices correct the subject-verb agreement error. Those eliminations leave just choices D and E, both of which replace "was" with the correctly conjugated verb, "were." However, D also includes the exra word "the," so it is less clear and concise than E. Remember that the most concise grammatically correct answer choice will be correct. The answer is E. What's Next? Read this article to learn the big secret to SAT Writing. If you want more review on all of the grammar rules tested on the SAT Writing section, check out the complete guide to SAT Writing grammar and what's actually tested on SAT Writing. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Writing and grammar lesson, you'll love our program. Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

How to get rid of depression

How to get rid of depression Learn the effective ways how to get rid of depression Very often it becomes harder for us to enjoy our lives and be satisfied with the current state of things and the things around us. The thoughts that that we are not satisfied with this or that come into our heads, bringing the feelings that everything is bad and there is no way to solve problem, if any. That is the state of depression and in such a situation it is very important not to let these feelings evolve and become stronger. Below you can find the ways and means how to get rid of depression and enjoy your life. Sports It has been proved a long time before that physical activity helps to keep mental and psychological condition of human’s body. Very often when you feel bad morally or mentally, it is a good means to improve your state by going in for sports. Doing physical exercises requires concentration and dedication, so you need to improve your thinking to do all this. And as a result you can clear up your head of bad thoughts or some irritation and develop your body at the same time. Sport can become your personal psychologist, who will take care of your wellbeing. Food Yes, this is right, food can help you improve your mental state and bring you joy. But at the same time it is very important to have the right approach to it. If you eat unhealthy food or a big amount of it – it will bring you no good. Though, eating something healthy, useful and, of course, tasteful can help you receive those pleasant feelings to conquer the depression and put it off. This can also help you develop new and right approach to nutrition as the means to support your health and physical shape. And this is an effective way to get rid of depression and to enjoy fine food. Travelling Finding out something new in one’s life is very useful to overcome the depression. And in such a situation why not discover some new places around and enjoy visiting them. Changing of surrounding is very effective for improving your mental condition. Also when travelling, you are able to meet new people or new cultures and by interacting with them, you can easily change your life and bring new positive emotions in it. New connections can make your life more interesting and absorbing. Self-education By learning something new we also get things to become better and to change our mindset. New information or skills can improve our thinking and moral condition. No matter if it is reading new books or studying some new disciplines or undergoing particular academic programs – it is very effective for you to become better and more sophisticated. When we conceive new information, we greatly improve our way of thinking and the ability to treat various things in a right manner. The learning process is a good means to obviate depression and make your life better. Right thinking No matter in what conditions we live, we can always be happy. Everything depends on the way we treat this or that thing. Some people have a lot of things in his or her life, or at least a lot more than others, though still thinking that it is not enough or all this is not so good. But pessimistic attitude will never result in anything good for you. The way how we treat everything around us greatly depends on the way of our thinking, so if you want to live a happy life, you should think in a positive way. Engaging in positive course of conduct will help in dealing your problems and bring you optimistic outcome. The above stated things can direct you in the right way to make your life more interesting and full of bright colors. When comprehending something new we evolve and improve ourselves. We hope that these clues will help you get rid of depressive thoughts once and for all.

Debate outline Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Debate outline - Research Paper Example The ethical dilemma for the medical profession and the family of the afflicted individual give rise to ongoing debates. Both sides present strong arguments for their side. II. Facts for Pro and Con side a. Pro side-Seven facts to support the Pro side of the debate In more ways, the aging group is more susceptible to developing clinical conditions that require extensive hospitalization, as most present protracted medical status; however, the exact pathophysiological path towards worsening condition remained indefinable (Kaufman, 2009). As such, clinical practitioners may try a number of treatment procedures with vague clinical presentation, possibly even during critical times in patient status, but these measures may remain in futile attempts as they do not target the exact cause of geriatric condition. In most cases, the education and vast clinical experiences that health professionals have acquired in academic and clinical settings do not assure that they are no longer liable to mak e clinical errors, especially on the side of the â€Å"omnipotent† physicians in predicting the outcomes of patients’ condition and course of disease process.

The effects of exercise benefits Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The effects of exercise benefits - Essay Example This is so because exercise does not just improve physical stamina but also influences social and psychological aspects of one’s life. Engaging in physical activities can prove to be more beneficial than what people already expected and this is what will be discussed in detail below. Obviously, exercise benefits participants physically, building healthy habits in maintaining fit bodies and staying away from certain diseases. In fact, physical activities are being given a lot of importance that training children to become physically active is one of the objectives of many fitness scholars. Kenneth H. Cooper, for instance, encourages parents to become involved in engaging their children in physical activities for them to get used to it and for the parents to become good models for the children because as they grow older, there is the great tendency of becoming inactive. Girls are found to become inactive around age fourteen while boys at fifteen. This is so because of the change s which happen in the children’s body (Cooper, 15-16). However, the importance of physical exercise should be well-pointed out to them. First and foremost, exercise increases muscle size and builds muscle strength. Jogging, walking or aerobic exercises increase the supply of oxygen-rich blood available to skeletal muscles for aerobic cellular respiration. This helps the regulation of blood in the body maintain normal processes and prevent diseases. Engaging in such activities on a daily basis builds endurance for prolonged activities. Anaerobic activities on the other hand like weight lifting, increase muscle size and builds strength. One might say that strength and endurance are not actually needed in relation to work nevertheless, it should be noted that the more sedentary the lifestyle of a person is because of the nature of his job, the more one needs to do physical activities to stay healthy. Aerobic exercises for instance, increase the oxygen demand of the muscles, incr easing cardiac output and the rate of oxygen delivery to the tissues. Moreover, oxygen delivery also increases because more capillary networks are developed by skeletal muscles because of long term training (Tortora & Grabowski, 687). In contrast to an active lifestyle, being sedentary exposes a person to obesity, heart problems, depression and other related diseases. In addition to the physical benefits, people who exercise also enhance themselves psychologically. Studies show that exercise can help alleviate long term depression. James Blumenthal, PhD, a clinical psychologist at Duke University experimented on patients and he found out that those who did exercise had higher rates of remission comparable to those who did not exercise but were taking antidepressant. His conclusion about this observation is that, exercise is as effective as antidepressant for patients with major depressive disorder. He further adds that exercise â€Å"seems not only important in treating depression but also in preventing relapse† (Weir). More studies show and explain why exercise benefits people positively on the psychological aspect such as the fight or flight mechanism. Patients with heightened sensitivity to anxiety have been observed to be able to adjust to circumstances that may cause anxiety better than those who have no or less physical activitie

How It Feel to Be Colored Me and How to Tame a Wild Tongue Essay Example for Free

How It Feel to Be Colored Me and How to Tame a Wild Tongue Essay Sometimes we know who and what we are, but it’s impossible to wear an identity without becoming what we pretend to be or bullied into silence allowing ourselves to be made a victim to oppression. In this essay I’m comparing the authors of â€Å"How it Feel to Be Colored Me by Zora Hurston, and How to Tame a Wild Tongue by Gloria Anzaldua. Gloria Anzaldua became a victim of oppression by accepting society expectations of the Chicano culture. Meanwhile, Zora Hurston accepted who she is despite who people perceived her as because of her skin color. These two authors defends their personal identities through their cultures in separate ways. In the story How to Tame a Wild Tongue, Gloria Anzaldua feels that the way someone is cannot be controlled it can only be erased; she states â€Å"Wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut out† (Page 31). Anzaldua was against losing her accent and had an issue with putting her first language as a second. She would rebel as a child when told not to speak Spanish, so she struggled with changing and adapting to the American culture. She believed her culture the â€Å"Chicano† culture needed to differ from others with a secret language they can be able to communicate amongst each other. â€Å"Chicano Spanish need to identify ourselves as a distinct people. We needed a language which we could communicate with ourselves, a secret language† (Page 32). By creating their own slang allows them to connect their identity and communicate reality, values, and things they have in common. Yet, Zora Hurston in the story â€Å"How it feels to be Colored Me† expresses the way she was created doesn’t bother her nor makes her sadden. â€Å"I am not tragically colored. There is no great sorrow dammed up in my soul, nor lurking behind my eyes. I don’t mind at all (Page 145).† Unlike other colored people she doesn’t hate herself for the color of her skin, she’s proud to be created as the person she is without regret. Although, she’s constantly reminded of her culture background it fails to bring her integrity down, because ancestors paid the price of her free start in society, and shouldn’t stop to reflect on choices that wasn’t hers. â€Å"Someone is always at my elbow reminding me that I am the grand-daughter of slaves. It fails to register depression with me. I am off to a flying start and must I not halt to look back and weep. Slavery is the price I paid for civilization, and the choice was not with me† (Pages 145-146). Zora Hurston doesn’t consider herself a part of her culture who uses their skin color for a bad excuse for why they’re in negative life situations. â€Å"I do not belong to the sobbing school of Negrohood who holds that nature somehow has given them a lowdown dirty deal and whose feelings are hurt about it (Page 145).

Inner-city Elementary After School Programs Essay examples -- Essay Pa

Inner-city Elementary After School Programs Inner-city elementary age kids face many challenges in and out of the classroom. These challenges range from education day in and day out, as well as, sometimes growing up in an impoverished family and community. Factors also include peers which these kids come into contact with at school, in the streets and at home. Kids today need more than ever an extra push of positive motivation from mentors. I believe that this constructive mentoring begins with after school programs. After school programs give kids the opportunity to work one on one with an adult to reinforce encouragement and teach more than just text education. Because I have participated as a volunteer at an after school program, I have seen first hand the positive impact such programs can generate among elementary aged kids involved. These after school programs are very important for the future of thousands of elementary aged kids. For those less fortunate kids that do not have supportive parents or appropriate supervision at home, after school programs give those children a chance to receive constructive attention from a mentor. Because I feel these programs are so beneficial, I am very interested in the further spread of after school programs among public schools nationwide. However, the progress of the elementary mentoring must begin one school district at a time. After school programs can potentially decide the direction of many elementary age students? futures, as well as the communities in which they live. After school programs serve a great advantage to inner city elementary age kids by allowing them the opportunity to interact in a supervised location with mentors, because these mentors do no not only te... ...EBSCO. DU Penrose Library, Denver. 21 Jan. 2005 . Reyes, Damaso. ?Urban Dove raises kids hopes.? The New York Amsterdam News 17 July 2003: 6. Roffman, Jennifer G, Maria E. Pagano, and Barton J. Hirsch. ?Youth Functioning and Experiences in Inner-City After-School Programs Among Age, Gender, and Race Groups.? Journal Of Child and Family Studies 10 (2001): 85-100. United States. Dept. of Education. Working for Children and Families: Safe and Smart After-School Programs. Washington GPO: 2000. (_ _.) Dept. of Education. What Works: Components of Exemplary After-School Programs. Washington: GPO, 2000. 13 Feb 2005 . (_ _.) Dept. of Education. 21st Century Community Learning Centers. Jessup, MD: GPO, 2000. 21 Feb 2005 .

Relationship between Development and Democracy

The rapid political transformation that exemplified the last decade of the past century in various countries of the world encouraged a renewed interest in the relationship between development and democracy (Doorenspleet, 2002, p. 55). The argument in the 1960s had been that democracy was positively interrelated to the level of modernization, and then viewed as the equivalence of development. The two succeeding decades were much more cautious about any such relationship. It was only the turbulent years following the fall of communism and the attempts to move away from dictatorial modes of rule that encouraged comparative politics students to revisit the development – democracy nexus (Chan, 2002, p. 89).The students of Latin American politics had already started to respond to reform efforts embarked on in their region in the early 1980s. It was in the 1990s that issues of democratization reentered the mainstream of comparative politics. The re-orientation in the field of compara tive politics has already resulted in a wide range of publications.Mapping the Major ApproachesDevelopment and democracy are both very complicated concepts as they tend to mean different things to different people. For example, conceptions of development have varied over time in the last five decades from being the equivalence of modernization to being concerned with overcoming social inequities and on to providing opportunities for individuals in the marketplace and institutional improvements in the name of good governance. The definition of democracy has been the subject of much debate as to whether it should be a minimalist concept useful for analytical functions (Doorenspleet, 2002, p. 57).I suggest that it may be helpful to follow a distinction along 2 axes. The first is methodological and epistemological where the two endpoints are agency and structure. The second is substantive in nature which differentiates between a focus on elite or mass level. The structuralist approaches typically adopt a historical standpoint in explaining the success or failure of democratization.The development and democracy also varies in terms of its focus on elites or the mass of the population. Those who are concerned with providing prescriptive advice tend to be focusing on the privileged because they are the ones directly concerned with making policy. Political scientists have amassed enough knowledge about democratization process that we can tell the political elite what traps to keep away from and what opportunities to take hold of. This remains the ultimate goal of political science as most people in the discipline are likely to adopt a more humble position, realizing that our knowledge of democratization is still very general and fragmented (Chan, 2002, p. 144).The University of Michigan administered a survey which has contributed to an understanding of how human values and preferences shift in response to changes in material circumstances. Associations also count in t his type of political studies. The long term positive outcome comes from people working together in small scale groups.Structuralist studiesStructuralist studies have evolved over the past 40 years and it has been proved that this is a fruitful area of research. Three issues have crystallized as being of special interest:(1)  Ã‚   Does location in the global economic order matter?(2)  Ã‚   Does class or social structure matter? and(3)  Ã‚   Do value changes caused by structural factors matter?I shall discuss these issues in turn before focusing on some of the methodological challenges associated with this approach.Location in the global economic orderStudies in this area have a long pedigree with many other well-known political sociologists and political economists having made contributions. The original finding was that the more prosperous a nation, the greater the chances that it will maintain democracy (Doorenspleet, 2002, p. 68). It was not the location in the global econo mic order that was important, but the ability of a country to adopt the structural and cultural features associated with modern society, i.e. an urbanized and educated population as well as an industrialized economy.Using the regression type of statistical analysis, scholars have demonstrated that level of economic development consistently appears as a statistically and substantively significant influence on democracy (Haggard, 2003). The level of economic development alone accounts for more variance in democracy than all other independent variables taken altogether. Therefore, some students of development and democracy are ready to treat it as such a strong correlation that it must not to be in question.Even if it is a vigorous relationship, it raises questions about what in that association really matters, and what kind of conclusions to draw there from. The thing which matters is at least in part determined by how the dependent and independent variables are specified. It has been found that while being well-to-do matters at the level of cross national comparison; it is not necessarily the economic but the social factors, such as education literacy that are the more powerful explanatory variables (Chan, 2002, p. 123).Few scholars have questioned whether it is the rate of economic growth or the level of economic development that is more important. The prospects to become democratic countries are rather dim, not because most Third World nations have low average per capita incomes, but because the economic development is not fast enough or the rate of growth is slow. The potential importance of location in the global economic order is also a very significant variable. Economic development has a differential impact and it matters most in the industrialized countries, only half as much in the semi peripheral countries, and even less so for countries in the periphery (Haggard, 2003).Studies have also established a positive correlation between key variables but the y do not necessarily rein in everything that matters in the development – democracy equation. One may assume that the economic development matters the most in the core or the industrialized countries because it has been present there for a longer time period. It is not only the domestic environment of the countries in the periphery that counts but also their exterior environment. One of the gaps that need to be filled in the research on development and democracy is clearly what difference globalization makes. The relationship between globalization, socio-economic development and democracy is of prime importance (Doorenspleet, 2002, p. 52).Economic crises and other performance problems in the non democratic regimes help promote a democratic transition. Using data for approximately 100 Third World nations with populations of at least one-million, it was proved that inflationary crises tended to inhibit democratization in 1950s and 1960s but seem to have facilitated the same pro cess in the late 1980s. Another proposition is that there is no relationship between per capita income level and the probability of democratic transition contrary to what was indicated earlier. One such reason may be growing international pressure to democratize (Johansson, 2002, p. 23).The Role of Class StructureThis type of study is useful for focusing on wide systematic causal processes that hold across space and time, but needs to be complemented by those that include more characteristic explanations that hold at certain times or in certain regions only (Chan, 2002, p. 24). The analysis of specific historical events or processes is often an unavoidable complement to statistical techniques, especially if the objective of the research is to concentrate on the occurrence of discrete events within their historical context.The capitalist economic development creates growing pressure for democratization by fostering the emergence of a middle-class has been very broadly accepted: †˜without a bourgeoisie, no democracy'. This sets the broader parameters for the development of democracy by liberalizing economic market forces and thereby, also individualizing both behaviors and choices. Comparing Germany and Japan, which adopted a fascist approach to rule, with the UK and USA, which chose a democratic path, the class is an extremely vital factor. The middle class or the bourgeoisie enjoys a degree of self-sufficiency by being able to shape the course of political development in any direction. It is not expected that the middle-class will choose a democratic path over a non democratic one. It all depends on how they manage the challenges that structural factors present in the economy (Doorenspleet, 2002, p. 53).With economic liberalization being pushed around the world, one can hypothesize that class may grow in significance. Deeper social inequalities are reported from all regions of the world and Livelihoods are being threatened, quality of life is going down f or a bulk of people, more specifically in the Third World countries. The most immediate issue is how to make the concept of class operational. There is no universal accord about how that should be done. It is not easy at this point to arrive at any solid conclusions about the relationship between the class and the prospect of transition to democracy. In a first attempt to do so, it was found that class structure does not have an impact on the likelihood that a nation makes a transition to democracy (Chan, 2002, p. 67).It is a path breaking study that points to the need for many more studies in this area and the surveys that try to measure people's subjective perception of class. Survey data are available for industrialized nations but are yet to be collected in developing countries. Such data would significantly improve our ability to say something about the relationship between class and the probability of transition to democracy.Value ChangesChanges in the economy do not only crea te new forms of social stratification as they also influence our cultural values. Modernization and value change is the subject of several important studies in the field of comparative politics. Subjective aspirations reflect the nature of objective conditions, a point that is associated traditionally with Marxism but is also reflected in psychological theories (Doorenspleet, 2002, p. 58). The strengthening of human striving for self expression that follows from enlarging people's cognitive and physical resources (modernization) reduces constraints on the level of formal rules by generating negative and positive freedom rights (democratization). Using data from 63 societies, it was found that:(1)  Ã‚   Democratization originates in aspiration adjustments on individual level,(2)  Ã‚   Democracy does not flow directly from economic changes but through shifts in ethical values,(3)  Ã‚   This sequence has cross cultural validity, and,(4)  Ã‚   The sequence holds against rival in fluences, the transnational infusion of changes in traditionally connected societies.More research is needed to ascertain whether these findings hold if other data sets are used, the notion that democratization in a given society is the result of both ethical and material changes is important. It is suggested that the dynamics of social change is driven more by internal than external factors. We do not specifically address this issue here, but it is one that should be considered in the light of amplified global communications (Haggard, 2003).Methodological IssuesOne of the problems with research on democracy and development is that scholars using quantitative methods tend to ignore those using qualitative methods, and vice versa. The latter tend to use thick concepts which are applied to a very small number of cases, whereas the former tend to rely on thin concepts that are applied to a large number of cases. Due to the lack of dialogue between these two researcher groups, the task of knowing more about causal relations has been stifled.The assumption being that qualitative researchers play a key role in opening up novel areas of inquiry, while the quantitatively oriented can determine the extent to which findings can be generalized. In short, the study of development and democracy requires both approaches since both of them are complementary to each other (Johansson, 2002, p. 23).There are many troubles with the existing state of knowledge in this field that stem from methodological inadequacies. The first concern is the quality of the data available. There has been a heavy reliance on the Freedom House Index (FHI) of Civil Liberties and Political Rights. With few other data sets available, it is quite understandable that many researchers have found the FHI handy.There are at least two problems with that Index. The first is that it relies on the evaluative input of a panel of experts rather than primary data collected in survey form. The scores in the Index, while not entirely invalid, nonetheless suffer from lack of representativeness of opinions in individual nations (Johansson, 2002, p. 213). The second problem is that the cumulative scores provided for each indicator and country tends to be rather rough. This lack of differentiation is also obvious in many studies that use other data.Most researchers have to settle for a sub-optimal choice, because it is extremely difficult to identify a singular manifestation. Reliability refers to the prospect that the same data collection process would produce the same data. Duplication prevails whenever other scholars are able to reproduce the process through which data were generated.Structured contingencyIf the structuralist concern with the pre-requisites of democracy constitutes the first generation of studies on democratization, a distinct second generation has emerged in the past two decades that is more process oriented and focused on contingent choice. This innovative approach incorporat es institutional factors as explanatory variables (Haggard, 2003). Democratization is understood as a historical process with analytically distinct, if empirically overlapping, stages of consolidation and transition. A variety of actors with different followings, calculations, preferences, resources and time horizons come to the fore during these successive stages.These stages vary in terms of degree of uncertainty prevailing at each point. During regime transitions, interactions, and political calculations are highly uncertain, actors find it hard to know what their interests are, who their supporters are, and which groups will be their allies or opponents. The absence of predictable rules of the game during a regime transition expands the boundaries of contingent choice (Johansson, 2002, p. 88). A government is being consolidated whenever contending groups come to accept some set of rules, formal or informal, about who gets what, when and how from politics.Power-sharing arrangemen tsDemocratization often runs into grave difficulties because societies are divided vertically rather than horizontally. Resource conflicts are not interpreted in straight-forward social class terms but take on meaning only in the context of identity politics. Whether ethnicity, race or religion constitutes the line along which cleavages are defined, they pose a special problem for democratizing countries specifically because the issue of inclusion in regime is conflated with inclusion in the community. Strategic choices are socially or culturally embedded to such an amount that it becomes difficult to produce governance agreements that satisfy all parties to the conflict (Johansson, 2002, p. 56).The problems of exclusion and inclusion do not fade away when new institutions are being adopted and put into operation. Democratization itself may aggravate such problems precisely because it brings elements of openness and competition into the political progression. Conceptions of the scop e of the political community become more prominent as people interact with each other in the public realm and have to make choices about who is an insider and who is an outsider. One of the ironies of democratization is that, as the future is being planned, the past intrudes with escalating severity. There is no such thing as a fresh start in culturally plural societies; differences in historical depth are likely to matter.For example, where the notion of first-comers is deeply rooted, claims of political priority by virtue of indigenousness are typically made to confront those deemed to be immigrants (Haggard, 2003). Europe and Asia are particularly full of such claims. Sri Lankan Tamils really belong to South India. Chinese in Indonesia and Malaysia are immigrants and Bengalis are illegally in Assam. The Balkans, the Baltic and the Caucasus regions of the former USSR are other examples of places where such claims are being made. They are particularly hard to resolve because they a re frequently embedded in religious differences that reinforce the ethnic dimension and have a long history.Electoral modalitiesIn the 1990s, larger attention was paid to how different electoral rules may help promote inclusiveness. Such rules are the most specific manipulative instrument of politics. Africans realized this point at independence and many leaders proceeded to promote inclusiveness within a democratically designed single party system. Although the principle of competitive elections within a single party system was an interesting innovation, practical experience soon showed that sustaining the democratic element in such system became very hard (Chan, 2002, p. 345).Most of the conversation on what difference electoral systems or modalities make has focused on the comparative advantages of proportional representation and majority systems. The combination of parliamentary system with a proportional system of representation as the constitutional arrangement most likely to serve racially divided societies well. It is only in industrialist societies with a more dispersed population that proportional representation (PR) has the intended effects of enhancing the distribution of power among elites. Another study of electoral systems in southern Africa maintains that a mixed member proportional system (MMP), as used in Germany and New Zealand, may prove to be particularly relevant in countries such as South Africa where forms of power sharing have been considered vital to a successful democratic transition (Haggard, 2003).Legal SystemsOne of the more dominant arguments for the link between liberal democracy and capitalism rests on the premise that with the rise of a private property regime, the estate of the landlord is fully severed from the state, thus consolidating the separation between public and private spheres of power. Capitalist economic rule is no longer legitimated politically by reference to the performance of communal functions. Private power is stabilized to the extent that democratic principles of rule are successfully insulated within a public domain (Johansson, 2002, p. 98). This emphasis on human rights has also brought a renewed importance to concepts such as rule of law and by implication to the role of legal systems in democratization.Civil SocietyCivil society is a bothersome concept. It refers to all voluntary associations that have been created to mediate relations between the state and the family household. This excludes productive enterprises since their purpose is not to associate individuals to the state. Most students of civil society take a functional view of the society counting in all associations regardless of their normative stand on the democracy issue. Many nations that are attempting to consolidate democracy suffer from what is sometimes referred to as a civic deficit. This entails that society is short of the values that really help build democracy.This deficit often stems from disenchantment wit h the political leadership. The new democratic regime proves ineffective in various ways, such as not being able to curb corruption or to deliver tangible policy results. Once the transition from dictatorial rule has been made, it is more difficult to mobilize popular support for the measures that are necessary to keep the democratic process on the track. The civil society is most effective in the initial phase of the transition. It tends to lose its implication in the political process as it moves from transition to consolidation (Chan, 2002, p. 266).Social movements clearly energize civil society. They often lead major political transitions, but they also contribute to keeping civil society healthy at other times. Without such movements, the impact of civil society on democracy would be much less significant. Without implying that social movements always work for a civic or democratic cause (Johansson, 2002, p. 143). It seems a feasible proposition to state that a democratic chang e without the backing of a social movement is less likely to achieve something than one with such backing.ConclusionTo conclude, it may be worth making a few general observations on the studies of development and democracy. The first is that the difference between qualitative and quantitative studies is often exaggerated. There are substantive differences between the two, but they lie not in the criteria used to create and rationalize a particular research design but in the manner in which the former is executed (Haggard, 2003). It is primarily in the execution of research that quantitative statistical analyzes come to differ from qualitative forms of study. When it comes to designing research, considerable qualitative reasoning goes into designing quantitative studies.When choosing the unit of analysis, indicators for measurement and set of cases, qualitative criteria are being used to justify the design. The qualitative reasoning enters into the design in at least two ways: first, by differentiating between Europe and Latin America and the second, by bringing in the concept of stability, which does not even feature in the conceptual definition of democracy (Chan, 2002, p. 67). We should be alert to the fact that the distinction between qualitative and quantitative forms of reasoning is more blurred than many scholars would have us believe.The second observation is that the relationships between variables are not always linear in a causal sense. The study of the development – democracy nexus provides ample of evidence that the relations are often interactive; development, or dimensions thereof, influences democracy but scope of democracy may also affect development. Modernists and Marxists tend to assume that political democracy is the outcome of underlying changes in the socio-economic or cultural spheres.Those who essentially believe in human agency would argue that institutions and choices can be made to shape developmental outcomes. Much of the cur rent debate in the international development community focuses on the independent effects that good governance is expected to have on various aspects of development (Haggard, 2003).The third and final observation concerns the propensity to treat findings as universal or to generalize without taking into consideration the potential influence of contextual variables. Much knowledge that is acquired on the issues relating to development and democracy are both time and context specific. Changing either temporal or spatial dimensions may have significant influence on the results.Generalizations that hold across national and regional boundaries are typically at a high level of aggregation. The challenge that we often face in our research is not only to disaggregate or deconstruct these concepts and variables but also to continue testing how far these general findings still hold at lower levels of aggregation.In sum, whichever way we turn in the research exercise, there are challenges just around the corner (Haggard, 2003). The contributors to this essay are highlighting many of these challenges, thereby providing a sense of what comparative politics have achieved so far and also what remains to be done.

Types Of Driver By Age

There are many types of drivers that we all encounter on the road, and they are often classified by age. While the term â€Å" driver † can be applied to just about anyone behind the wheel, the way a person drives often changes with age. You can expect to find these drivers on the road near to you: teenage drivers, middle-aged drivers, and slow but steady elderly drivers. At the age of 16-20 years old, teens are more concerned with looking cool than with driving responsibly.Teenage drivers have lack of driving experience, and a distraction of using electronics. They want to be seen driving while on their cell phones and have the loudest stereos. Teenage tend to use electronics while driving, and they do no know that it is a huge distraction. They impress each other by driving recklessly and being faster than their friends. Therefore, teenagers are very dangerous on the road when they are driving. The second type of driver by age is the middle-aged driver.They tend to tailgate your car and also have a super speeding that will result in accidents. These drivers have the uncanny ability to squeeze through the smallest openings as they weave through every car that gets in their path. They always seem to be in the biggest hurry as they drive waiting for the opportunity to pass your car. They also have The third type of driver is the elderly or old age driver. Older drivers are more like to cause traffic citations and get into accidents as their driving abilities changes with age.They have also slower reflexes and poorer vision. Their reflexes are slower, thence, is very difficult to them to react quickly if they have to avoid any accident. Older drivers can also have any eye condition that can interfere with their ability to drive. In conclusion, drivers come in many different forms and each carry their own characteristics no matter how old they are. Therefore, each person must be responsible and careful when driving, regardless of the type of driver who is.

The Ferret essays

The Ferret essays Often the source of prejudice and ignorance, the ferret is one of the most loving, misunderstood animals there is. The general consensus seems to be that they are dangerous and could hurt children. However, these creatures do have very different personalities and attitudes and some could be mean. But, this is very uncommon and could be true of any creature. Each is separate and yet alike. Colors vary and can include: black, sable, chocolate, albino with red eyes, albino with black eyes, blaze, silver, etc. Also, their weights range from .75lb 3lbs. The females are almost always smaller than the males. Some are long like tubes, and others are shorter and quite plump and, of course, they can range anywhere in between. Their diet consists of fruits, specially formulated foods, high-quality cat food, some like milk, and each ferret has a taste for particular things that another might despise. They eat less than a cup a day of food. They drink large quantities of water. They are often seen playing together. They prefer playmates, because alone they become depressed. This can easily be determined if you notice they become less active or sleep more than they usually do. Observing these creatures it is noted that they seem to have a preference for plastic bags and fleece blankets. They often become fascinated by bags, and spend many an hour jumping about in them. They will jump with their backs arched and make a chuckling sound referred to as Dooking. After careful observations this is determined to be a way for them to express their happiness. On the other hand when they are frustrated, angry or just plain upset they will hiss and back up a lot. They let you know how they are feeling by expressing it vocally and with their movements. It is interesting to note that when one holds a ferret by the scruff of their neck, the ferret immediately relaxes and goes limp. Holding them this way doesnt hurt the...

1959, The Year That Changed Jazz

1959, The Year That Changed Jazz The year 1959 was marked a monumental year in American music history. Many American jazz artists made recordings that influenced society profoundly and left a lasting impact that still is present to this day. Musical experimentation during this year is considered the apogee of American jazz achievement, and jazz reached new heights that were characterized by innovation, creativity, ingenuity, magnificence, groove, and much more. In essence, four major jazz albums were created that changed music forever: Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue, Dave Brubeck’s Time Out, Charles Mingus’ Ah Um, and Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come. Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue has attracted more people to jazz than any other jazz recording, even after being released more than fifty years ago. The album developed a new, powerful, and grand jazz musical statement. The Kind of Blue album typifies a modal jazz style, which is music based on the extensive repetition of one or two chords or music based on modes instead of chord progression. Kind of Blue’s â€Å"So What† improvised, no time-referenced, and without a clear beat opening with the bass and the piano sets an unclear and cloudy idea in where the song was heading, with a grand riff setting the energy and Jimmy Cobb performing an incredible cymbal crash following the introduction. So what’s main characteristic is Miles’ hippy and haunting trumpet sound, which was unique and special and was developed from his playing during the bebop era with musicians such as Charlie Parker, the main alto saxophonist of the bebop era. Kind of Blue is so importa nt when it comes to American jazz history because it has exerted a prodigious influence on jazz music and on the legacy of its band members. Moreover, it opened up to a new direction in jazz music, along with a more thoughtful viewpoint on creating jazz compositions. Three interesting facts about Kind of Blue is that it is the biggest selling jazz album ever made, shifting over five million copies, it regularly tops best jazz album polls and is featured high in lists of greatest albums of any category, and that it took Miles and the group seven hours to record Kind of Blue, with all but one of the tracks being first takes. A funny story about Miles Davis and the quartet was that when they are recording Kind of Blue the first time, an engineer told Miles Davis and the band that the drums were making a surface noise, and Miles Davis hollered back at him and told him that it was a part of the album while recording. Dave Brubeck’s Time Out album is known for the rhythmic experimentation of pianist Dave Brubeck. The style of Time Out is cool jazz, in which the music was not as jagged, unpredictable, and sophisticated in comparison to bebop, and was subtler and incorporated classical harmonic devices in composition. Take Five, one of the tracks in the Time Out album, was composed in 5/4 time, and was written around a drum solo. Time Out is so important when it comes to American jazz history because it was so easily accessible to the average citizen because it was not too complicated and appealing as the group represented America’s middle class. Three interesting facts about Time Out is that each track is written in a different time signature and tempo, it rose up in the pop charts and became one of the bestselling jazz recording ever released, and that it took Dave Brubeck several years to build the line-up of his quartet that recorded the album Time Out. An interesting story about D ave Brubeck’s quartet is that when the quartet added African-American bassist Eugene Wright and were touring universities in the southern states of America, the president of a college the quartet visited was concerned because the students were getting wild and loud and asked Dave Brubeck to place Eugene Wright in the back of the stage to avoid being noticed. However, during the second tune, Dave Brubeck asked Eugene Wright to come play his solo in front of the stage, and Eugene Wright performed in front of the whole audience, unaware before heading to the front of the stage that Dave Brubeck was plotting this move. Charles Mingus’ Ah Um album is known as a grand jazz musical statement that was incredible and influential around America. Charles Mingus, a bass player and composer, believed that time was alive at the same moment and wanted freedom in playing, writing, and encouraging his musicians to improvise in any musical style, and did not view jazz as a development of new styles as the years passed by. The style of Ah Um is post-bop, where it incorporates a variety of styles such as modal jazz, avant-garde, free jazz, and hard bop all together. Several tracks in the Ah Um album include â€Å"Better Git It In Your Soul,† which is known as the incredible opening track of the Ah Um album and Self Portrait In Three Colors,† which is known as a composed, multi-faceted composition without any solos. While Charles Mingus was known to be a temperamental, aggressive, and demanding musician and composer, he was an extraordinary player and improviser, and used music to express emotio ns and feelings, such as passion, tenderness, spirituality, and much more. Ah Um is so important when it comes to American jazz history because it expressed socioracial struggles and other political beliefs that served as an influential message against racism in America, which helped create an atmosphere which led people to respect a person beyond the distinctions of color. Three interesting facts about Ah Um is that it was one of four albums Charles Mingus had made that year, Charles Mingus allowed for the other musicians to incorporated different musical elements during improvisation in a colorful and provocative way, and it featured the track â€Å"Fables of Faubus,† which was based on an event in 1957 in which Arkansas Governor Faubus ordered the National Guard to prevent African-American teenagers from entering Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, and did not want to allow integration, despite a court case being settled on in the Supreme Court. An interesting st ory about Charles Mingus and the group is that one night in a little club on West 4th Street in New York City, Charles Mingus got furious in an argument with the pianist and yelled â€Å"You’re not playing yourself, you’re playing notes,† and put his arm inside the piano and grabbed the strings and pulled them out with one fist. Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come is known as a spectacular and bold musical statement unlike any jazz album every recorded before. One of The Shape of Jazz to Come’s tracks, Lonely Woman, is considered one of the greatest jazz compositions every written, which blended and brought Ornette Coleman and the quartet together as one. The Shape of Jazz to Come album exemplifies a free-jazz, a classification of the avant-garde style, where the music contains improvised solos which are free of preset chord progressions, and sometimes also free of preset meter. Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come is so important when it comes to American jazz history is was influential in such that the way that people looked at jazz and interpreted the style and sound of jazz music changed. Three interesting facts about The Shape of Jazz to Come is that Ornette Coleman used his signature plastic saxophone when the quartet recorded the album, the quartet did not feature a chordal instrument such as a piano or guitar while recording the album, and it featured Ornette Coleman’s â€Å"harmolodic† philosophy, where the group simultaneously improvises around the melodic and rhythmic pattern in a tune, rather than one musician improvising on a underlying harmonic pattern while the other musicians play the accompaniment. An interesting story about Ornette Coleman is that he had trouble finding any musician who was interested in his unorthodox musical technique, and one day he entered a club by MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, and following that night, bassist Charlie Haden tracked Ornette Coleman down, which eventually led to the creation of the quartet that recorded The Shape of Jazz to Come. In conclusion, the year 1959 was a monumental year for jazz. The influential music played by some greatest jazz musicians in America reached all corners of the country and many parts of the global world. Each of the jazz musicians prominently helped shape the American society in many ways: the political statements made through Charles Mingus’ playing, the demand for respect by Miles Davis, the tour by Dave Brubeck as part a program of cultural dà ©tente to spread the word of American freedom in countries around of Soviet Russia such as Poland, Turkey, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Iran, and Iraq and how jazz serves as a voice of freedom despite how the chains of segregation had divided the American society, and how Ornette Coleman’s playing changed how people viewed and interpreted jazz, despite the paranoia in the nuclear age. Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue helped open up the horizon for jazz expression, Dave Brubeck’s Time Out was the acme for jazz innovatio n, Charles Mingus’s Ah Um spread his emotions about life and spread a message to always be yourself, and Ornette Coleman’s The Shape of Jazz to Come served as the foundation for new forms of jazz music and defied the status quo.