Review of Blink by Malcolm Gladwell

To over-generalize, there are two types of nonfiction books worth reading: those written by an eminent specialist summarizing the current state of his or her field, often focusing on the singular idea that defines the authors career; and those written by a journalist without special knowledge about the field, tracking a particular idea, crossing the boundaries of disciplines when required by the pursuit. Malcolm Gladwells Blink is a bravura example of the latter sort of book: he ranges through art museums, emergency rooms, police cars, and psychology laboratories following a skill he terms rapid cognition. Rapid Cognition Rapid cognition is the sort of snap decision-making performed without thinking about how one is thinking, faster and often more correctly than the logical part of the brain can manage. Gladwell sets himself three tasks: to convince the reader that these snap judgments can be as good or better than reasoned conclusions, to discover where and when rapid cognition proves a poor strategy, and to examine how the rapid cognitions results can be improved. Achieving three tasks, Gladwell marshals anecdotes, statistics, and a little bit of theory to persuasively argue his case. Gladwells discussion of thin slicing is arresting: In a psychological experiment, normal people given fifteen minutes to examine a students college dormitory can describe the subjects personality more accurately than his or her own friends. A cardiologist named Lee Goldman developed a decision tree that, using only four factors, evaluates the likelihood of heart attacks better than trained cardiologists in the Cook County Hospital emergency room in Chicago: For two years, data were collected, and in the end, the result wasnt even close. Goldmans rule won hands down in two directions: it was a whopping 70 percent better than the old method at recognizing patients who werent actually having a heart attack. At the same time, it was safer. The whole point of chest pain prediction is to make sure that patients who end up having major complications are assigned right away to the coronary and intermediate units. Left to their own devices, the doctors guessed right on the most serious patients somewhere between 75 and 89 percent of the time. The algorithm guessed right more than 95 percent of the time. (pp. 135-136) The secret is knowing which information to discard and which to keep. Our brains are able to perform that work unconsciously; when rapid cognition breaks down, the brain has seized upon a more obvious but less correct predictor. Gladwell examines how race and gender affect car dealers sales strategy, the effect of height on salary and promotion to top corporate positions, and unjustified police shootings of civilians to demonstrate that our unconscious biases have genuine and sometimes tragic consequences. He also examines how the wrong thin slice, in focus groups or in a single-sip test of soft drinks, can lead businesses to mistake consumer preferences. There are things that can be done to redirect our mind along lines more conducive to accurate thin-slicing: we can alter our unconscious biases; we can change products packaging to something that tests better with consumers; we can analyze numerical evidence and make decision trees; we can analyze all possible facial expressions and their shared meanings, then watch for them on videotape; and we can evade our biases by blind screening, hiding the evidence that will lead us to incorrect conclusions. Takeaway Points This whirlwind tour of rapid cognition, its be, efits and pitfalls, has only a few pitfalls of its own. Written in a forthright and conversational style, Gladwell makes friends with his readers but rarely challenges them. This is science writing for the broadest possible audience; people with scientific training may chafe at the substitution of anecdote for study results, and may wish that the author had gone into greater depth with any or all of his examples; others may wonder how they can broaden the reach of their own attempts at rapid cognition. Gladwell may whet their appetites but will not fully satisfy those readers. His focus is narrow, and this helps him meet his goals; perhaps this is appropriate for a book titled Blink.

Michael Sandel Video Summary and Analysis Essay - 2728 Words

Michael Sandel Video Summary and Analysis Deirdre Martinez 800047839 Laird Smith CRN 12555 Introduction Michael Sandel has done it again, this time, in his auditorium setting at Harvard University. He invites the public into his undergraduate lecture through the recordings provided online at JusticeHarvard.org. In this work, episode 1 The Moral Side to Murder and episode 2 Putting a Price Tag on Life will be summarized and analyzed as it is also put to use in a local situation. Both of these lectures evolve around one theory: the theory of Utilitarianism. Utilitarianism is basically described as the greatest good for the greatest number. Both episodes†¦show more content†¦What this means is that decisions are made based on the morality in the consequence of the act. With the trolley car, only two options were available: go straight and kill five or steer and kill one. Regardless, one situation was going to occur, that was out of the drivers hands. But which situation would cause lesser damage? With the doctor scenario: let all five patients in need of an organ die, or dissect the perfectly healthy man to save all five? In this case, it would be considered murder. The man in the waiting room had no doing in this situation and would be â€Å"morally† wrong to include him as part of the solution in regards to taking his healthy life. Had the consequences not mattered in this scenario, then the idea of categorical moral reasoning would be taking place. Categorical moral reasoning locates morality in certain duties and rights, regardless of the consequences. It is the doctor’s duty to save the five people in need of an organ transplant, regardless that the man in the next room is healthy and has no part in this situation. The most famous categorical philosopher known to our time in Emmanuel Kant, an 18th century political philosopher, as where the doctrine of utilitarianism was invented by Jeremy Bentham, also and 18th century political philosopher. Bentham believed that the right thing to do is to maximize utility. Utility, in Bentham ’s ides, was the balance of pleasure over pain and happiness over

Delhi’s Air Free Essays

Clean air and healthy environment is a pre-requisite for well being of people. In the modernising world, urban expansion and industrialisation has been a rapid process. With industrial expansion and rapid urbanisation, clean air in cities has become rare phenomena. We will write a custom essay sample on Delhi’s Air or any similar topic only for you Order Now Though, Air Pollution has increasingly become an environmental health hazard over the years in India and the World. The exposure to air pollution has put people at Risk of several kinds, of which health risk is the most prominent one. According to a report by World Health Organisation (WHO) on an estimate 7 million people die each year prematurely as a result of air pollution throughout the globe. Meanwhile the world in present times desires to achieve Sustainability, Delhi’s unsustainable and deteriorating air quality is put under the scanner time and again. India is a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals. The Goal three which calls to promote good health and well-being has targets directly linking to air pollution and health risk; and Goal eleven is about making cities and human settlements inclusive, safe and resilient wherein a specific target is being listed for reducing environmental impacts of cities which include reduction of levels of particulate matter in air as well. Air Pollution in India has become an issue of national importance. Many urban and rural spaces to some extent in India have highly deteriorated air quality. Delhi, being India’s capital is top in the red list. Delhi has also been consistently part of Central Pollution Control Board’s list of Non-attainment cities list with respect to ambient air pollution. This paper is based upon the research conducted upon Delhi’s case of air pollution. Delhi is a union territory and a sub-state, the federal complexities of risk governance of air pollution here has become a tedious task. Since there’s an underlined interface between the public health concern and governance of this health risk. Risk management here is of immense importance and hence governance comes into the picture through governance has become significant for this study. Air pollution in Delhi is not a contemporary cause of concern but has been now deliberated for long by various agencies. Time and again various policy initiatives have been introduced by different governments and authorities to save the Delhi’s Air. This paper through its different sections tries to trace the evolution and structure of this governance process and analyses’ the same. Towards the end, various issues of concern for the air pollution governance in Delhi have been identified and few suggestions have been chalked. How to cite Delhi’s Air, Papers

Institutional Affiliation Products and Services

Question: Discuss about the Institutional Affiliation for Products and Services. Answer: Part A Bizops provides a wide range of products and services across Australia under its brand name. They have about 150 retail, online and phone sale outlets across the country. The companys main value system is based on sustainable business practices. Their highest priority is their customers followed with their staff and providing opportunities for team work, their identity in the market and their sustenance. They are devoted to providing products and services of high quality and innovations to its customers. They operate on the main value system of providing clean and green services and products to their customers. They operate on the value system of equality. Every employee is respected, provided with safe environment and not discriminated based on colour, sexual orientation or financial background. Since BizOps believe in quality service they maintain an employee standard by hiring highly skilled professionals. The staff is also supported through various training programs and awareness is done in the technical field to educate them on the work processes. The success of a company is in its customers and customers can only be satisfied if a certain level of standard is met. Since BizOps believe in high quality they strive to recruit staffs that are intelligible and enthusiastic. They hire people who are proactive and willing to give their best for the success of their business. In the coming years from 2015-2020 their main objective is to be the leading company in providing exclusivity in providing green and sustainable products and services. They want to be the sole retailer of green products through sustainable solutions for high standard and exclusive products. A competitive HR team can help in the formulation of their goals through frequent meetings and seminars. The HR must recruit staff who possesses formal retail qualification to render the required productivity level. Further training must be scheduled to improve their knowledge of technology and awareness on consumer demand. The HR team employs efficient retails sales staff who are competitive in nature and who are trained to provide after sales product support to its customers. They seek to fulfil their goals through the following objectives: Financial stability by increasing their revenue, keeping the annual profit levels stable and reinvest a major part of their revenue back into the business. They also look forward to maintaining the number one rating in the market by producing high quality consumer products to meet their demands within the pre-judged budget. Their goal is to provide training and tech support to its employees and remain ahead of its competitors by providing products according to client needs. Bizops desires to maintain professional and provide adequate support to its staff. They do this by providing training at the beginning of recruitment in order to encourage their employees to be energetic and knowledgeable and proactive. PEST is an analysis tool used to analyse the impact of Political, Economical, Social and Technological aspects on a company. Here we have conducted a PEST analysis of Australias political, economical social and technological aspects to understand the its impact on the human resource factors of Bizops. There is vast global economic crisis that is prevalent at the moment which has obviously affected the country of Australia. As a result job opportunities have decreased considerably. The country is also in the midst of fighting social issues such as abortions, LGBT Adoption rights, legalising Gay marriage. There are a number of political issues too that is on the rise with regards to Muslim immigrants. The recent threat to countrys security is the terrorism activity that is plaguing nations. Should Muslims be allowed immigration into Australia? Australia being a Democratic country that allows freedom of religion and does not discriminate based on religion should ethically and constitutionally allow Muslim immigrants, is the majority view of the nations citizens. Australias technological developments are in the form of a high amount of investment made towards National BroadbandNetwork, finding means to dump nuclear wastes. Based on the countrys analysis made above I believe that the economic issues are most likely to affect Bizops recruitment process. As a result of mild recession prevalent across the world there may be a cut down of staff to cut down costs. In order to maintain diversity in workplace at Bizops they should seek to recruit people of different ethnic backgrounds, financial and cultural backgrounds. People of different religious backgrounds as well as racial differences would play a vital role and varied impact on the productivity of the company. A company requires the contribution of people with various experiences their lifes challenges to make them who they are and that will help them serve better. For example someone who is financially weak will be committed to their work. Similarly someone who has faced racial discrimination will respect other people of different ethnicities and colour. A healthy environment will increase productivity of the people where there is a culture of respect and honour. In order to comply with HR options such as maintaining quality standards and timely production a legislation must be passed for the staff to maintain targets for producing within a given amount of time as well as employees must pass the quality assessments of products in order to expect benefits based on their performances. Roles and Responsibilities of Staff Implementing HR Options Staff must render high quality of services to increase revenue Stability of profit levels and quality must be consistent throughout the years to maintain the profit levels of 15% Their dedication and enthusiasm must remain consistent in order for Bizops to maintain their ranking in the market. Their technological knowhow must be constantly improved; they must find better and faster methods of production to stay ahead of their competitors. A constant mentoring must be in progress to maintain adequate communication with the HR personnel in order to know that they are moving in the right direction. Constant assessments and meetings would be of great help to the HR in understanding company requirements to deliver quality in work. The Australian Human Resources Institute provides in- house corporate training to enhance team performance and performance. Through the Australian Human Resources Institution the organisation can customise their training programs in accordance to the company requirements. The courses are tailor made to fit into the company strategies of business activities. For further details on the in house training program you may contact: customlearning@ahri.com.auor phone Leonie Pilgrim on 1300 239 978. The benefits of HR option will ensure that the organisation is actively working to promote the performance of the company in order to generate the targeted revenue for the company. The HRs active participation in the on- going activities of the company will help increase productivity which will yield higher returns which will result in reinvestment of funds. Agreement Overview This agreement represents a Service Level Agreement between Bizops and Australian Human Resources Institute where the AHRI will provide training to Bizops HR team in order to deliver quality. This Agreement remains valid until superseded by a revised agreement mutually endorsed by the parties. This agreement outlines all the parameters of all services provided and mutually understood and agreed upon. Objectives and Goals The objectives of this agreement is to ensure that the commitments and training procedures are in line with the requirements. The goals of this Agreement are: Chalk out a custom made training resources typical to Bizops requirement Proper assessments to check progress A thorough check on its implementations in workplace Periodic Review This Agreement is valid from the Effective Date outlined herein and is valid until further notice. This Agreement should be reviewed at a minimum once per year; however, in lieu of a review during any period specified, the current Agreement will remain in effect. Bizops is responsible for conducting periodic reviews of the document. Contents of this document may be modified as required, with prior notice to the parties of this agreement and communicated to all affected parties. The Document Owner will include all revisions and obtain mutual approvals as required. Service Agreement The following are the parameters for the training: Technological training Skill based training Communication and Relationship Service Management Bizops will require an assessment report of each trainees periodically to keep a check on their progress levels. The report from the surveys helped to understand that the Training was greatly beneficial to the trainees. The team was extremely energetic and excited to incorporate all they had studied into their practical work place. The training gave them insight into different forms of communication, ways to increase productivity and generate higher revenues without compromising on business ethics. In order to improve the future service delivery the company must maintain their time of delivery. Since the sale is on large scale and on a greater geographical area the company is expected to produce on a larger scale. Furthermore the company must diversify their products to meet the needs people of different genre. We can access ongoing client feedback while the HR options are being implemented by constantly communicating with our customers or making available an online survey to constantly work on our work activities. A thorough analysis report must be prepared firstly on the productivity level, the response to the surveys and the exchange of communication with the buyers their recommendations would help to fetch approval for variations in the production patterns. Additionally a new pattern of work format must be prepared which shows higher quality and quantity that will prove beneficial for the organisation. Such a comprehensive report will help convince the senior management on the success of these changes and remove any ambiguity. The Human Resource information system helps store, retrieve and gather information to perform HR services perfectly. The system provides confidentiality and security for information. Part- D The company believes in two major aspects, Anti- Discrimination and diversity policy. The anti discrimination policy helps the people to work in unison without any personal barriers to ensure high levels of productivity and enthusiasm at work. The company encourages diversity of religion, culture and colour. Any breach of this policy must be reported and strict action will be taken against those who break these rules. Any harassment, bullying or any other offensive conduct among the employees or with the seniors or clients will not be tolerated. Furthermore the companys mission is to provide high quality, speedy deliveries of their products and services and offer innovative solutions and constantly improving their services based on customer feedback. The vision of the company is to provide sustainable products and do it through the policy of clean and green practices at workplace. Their highest level of priority is their customers and efforts are made at every level to suit the growing needs of the customers. They strive for excellent product quality, making sure that products are delivered as quickly as possible or according to commitments made with clients. BizOps believes in employee productivity therefore treats their employees with high regard. Employees are provided with training, given safe environment to work in where people are not treated badly based on their skills or abilities. The company believes in respecting each and every employee. A New legislation incorporating the prerequisites of the value system of the company will help people to maintain considerable level of values and code of conduct. Any breach of such standards will be strictly dealt with through pay cut or laying off. In addition a method of appreciation must also be introduced where every quarterly a closer assessment of each employees behaviour will be done and every employee who exceeds expectations will be publicly rewarded to encourage good behaviour and business ethics at work. This initiative would help in the observation of code of conduct through the company at Bizops and encourage others in the company to follow the same path. Every half yearly a meeting should be held to assess the HR team and their functionality as well as their approach to their work. A thorough study on their response to the expectation of work from them will be done and will be presented before them in order for them to understand the requirements of ethical behaviour from them. In addition to these initiatives a counselling team must be set up from the senior team to counsel the HR in meeting the standard of the company. People who excel must be rewarded in order to encourage improvements in others in the HR team. This step will cause each personnel from the HR team to recognise the standard of values expected of them and the rewarding aspect will help them to push forward without any external pressure from seniors of the Company. The greatest way a company can prepare a healthy working team is by providing incentives to performing well. When the employees have work satisfaction they naturally start to perform in favour of the compan y. The values and code of conduct that BizOps strive to follow is an evidence of their understanding of this aspect of a company. The strength of a company is in its workers, better yet in its HAPPY workers. References "Political Issues Of 2016," last modified 2016, Isidewith, https://australia.isidewith.com/polls. "Tripadvisor Inside - Wiki Travel Guides", 2016, TripAdvisro, Tripadvisor.Com. https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g255055-. "Australia: Telephones - Tripadvisor", 2016, Tripadvisor.Com, https://www.tripadvisor.com/Travel-g255055-s605/Australia:Telephones.html. "Recruitment Letter Templates Clinical Research Resources Office Boston University". 2016. Bumc.Bu.Edu. https://www.bumc.bu.edu/crro/recruitment/resources/letters/. "Human Resource Information Systems - What Is Human Resource ?". 2016. Whatishumanresource.Com. https://www.whatishumanresource.com/human-resource-information-systems. "Corporate In-House Training". 2016. Ahri.Com.Au. https://www.ahri.com.au/education-and-training/corporate-in-house-training. Anonymous., 2016. https://www.finance.nsw.gov.au/ict/sites/default/files/resources/Info%2520Sharing%2520SLA%2520Template.doc+cd=1hl=enct=clnkgl=in. Anonymous, 2016., https://aspire-bizops-docs.s3.amazonaws.com/info/vision-mission-values.pdf.

College or Work

Introduction Due to the growing rate of technologies in this world, so many organizations have emerged to meet today’s standard. As a result of these rapid transforms, high and qualify staff is required to meet the target of the vast growth of the organizations. It is for this reason where education has been given the first priority in the enhancement of today’s economy.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on College or Work specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Today’s education requires one to be molded into an individual competent of contributing in success to the general public and to the world society at large. (Syracuse)The continued growth of many organizations has created so many vacancies leading to confusion of so many people in choosing the way forward. It is during this confusion where you find many people asking themselves questions like â€Å"should I go to college and get a degree and inc ur like the normal person or just go straight to work?† here is where the labor force has come up with a policy of asking for certificates from the people who are applying for the jobs. This is the best policy that can be applied in organizations for minimizing the number of people applying for the jobs as well as getting the qualified people. So why it is important to go to college and get a degree and incur like the normal person before going to work? First, you will be fully competent in the job you are doing and especially if it is in your line of education. This will reduce the work of the supervisors as well as the fear of damages in the organization for they will be having the right person in their organization. This will also boost the growth of the organization since the workers will be having the expected knowledge. There will be fear of employing someone who has not attained any college since he/she will not having the capacity of developing an organization. Also so me people who have not gone to colleges do not have the pinch of the money incurred in colleges thus they can do anything for the sake of they incurred nothing to achieve what they are. (Joshy) Secondly, if you first go to college and get a degree before going to work, you will be proud to choose the right place to work. The qualification will enable you to choose what really fits you. Working on your line of education reduces stress which may occur in your line of work since it is something you are familiar with thus enhancing a nice working environment. The qualification will also help you in gaining experience as well as boosting your reputation. Going straight to work will give the worker a hard time since he/she will have nothing qualifying him/her in the times of choosing work. This will result to a lot of stress in trying to attain what is required. It may take time to enjoy the fruits of the work or never enjoy it at all thus living a miserable life in work. (Syracuse)Advert ising Looking for essay on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More In addition, if you fist go to college before going to work, you will have the chances of promotion opportunities in your work place. As you know, in most cases promotions are based according to the level of education thus been among those who deserve promotions. This gives the worker the strength of working knowing that one day he/she will be promoted. Also in most cases their duties are light and strictly on time. As seen, going straight to work without passing to a college disqualifies somebody in the times of promotion. Unless other wise, if you do not qualify in your work place, there will be high chances of remaining in one position. All the duties in the working place will be limited, heavy duties will be allocated you and finally, you will have few hours to rest while in duty. (Joshy) Finally, if you first go to college before going to work, this wil l give you the exposure as well as the knowledge of what you can do thus enabling you to think big in your work place or think of starting your own firm. The knowledge makes somebody feel that he/she has something proud of. The knowledge also adds value in his/her normal life. But to someone who has gone straight to work, will always feel inferior to the work due to the limitation of education and will have nothing proud of other than focusing only in that job. The whole paper shows that, it is good you first go to college before going to work. (Orszag, et al) Conclusion Due to the growing rate of technologies in this world, so many organizations have emerged to meet the standard of today. Also due to the continued mixture of college people and non college people, jobs have been enjoyed by some people while others are taken as slaves. First, going to college before working will enable you to enjoy all the preferences of work due to the strength of your education. It is said that, go ing straight to work without passing to college gives some one hard time and challenges in his/her work place. The whole paper shows that, it is good you first go to college before going to work. Works Cited Joshy, Sheena. Education in Today’s World, 2001. Web. https://ezinearticles.com/?Education-In-Todays-Worldid=919236Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on College or Work specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Orszag, Jonathan, Orszag, Peter, Whitmore, Diane. LEARNING AND EARNING: WORKING IN COLLEGE, Aug.2010.Web. https://www.brockport.edu/ Syracuse, Jenni. Life after College, 2011.Web.07 Apr 2011. https://collegecandy.com/2010/05/11/life-after-college-one-year-later/ This essay on College or Work was written and submitted by user Finn Shaw to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Resarch and Statistics Paper Psy 315 Essays

Resarch and Statistics Paper Psy 315 Essays Resarch and Statistics Paper Psy 315 Essay Resarch and Statistics Paper Psy 315 Essay Research and Statistics Paper Psy 315 Define and explain research and define and explain the scientific method (include an explanation of all five steps). Proper Research is primarily an investigation. Researchers and scientists gather data, facts, and knowledge to help better understand phenomenon, events and people. Through research, analysis, investigations, and experimentation, we gain a better understanding of our world. As I skimmed the text to find a definition, I found the word research several times on several of the pages in the first chapter. Research is fundamental to any scientific enterprise and statistics is no exception. The scientific method is the set of procedures that enable scientists and researchers to conduct investigations and experiments. Scientists observe an event and then form a hypothesis. A hypothesis is an educated guess about how something works. These researchers then perform experiments that support the hypothesis or these experiments prove it wrong. A conclusions can be made from the investigations and experiments with the data collected and analyzed. The conclusion helps to prove or disprove validity of the hypothesis. There are several steps that are followed in the scientific method. The steps to this method can be followed by answering questions before and along the way of the investigation. The scientific method can have five steps. The researcher asks themselves these questions and tries o find the answers: 1. What event or phenomenon are we investigating? 2. How does this event occur? A guess as to how the event happens is formed. This is our hypothesis. 3. How can we test this hypothesis? The experimenter then tests the hypothesis through experiments. 4. Are the results looking valid? The researcher records the observations. Does the experiment need to be changed? Possibly, the researcher adjusts the experiment as the data helps to fine tune the investigation. 5. Does the data support the hypothesis? The researcher analyzes the data. The analysis will have statistical information that is crucial to the investigator. Without statistics, there can be no real scientific analysis of the investigation or experiment. The analysis will tell the researcher if the hypothesis is supported or if they are in essence incorrect. Authors: Cowens, John Source: Teaching Pre K-8, Aug/Sep2006, Vol. 7 Issue 1, p42-46, 3p, 6 Color Photographs, 1 Graph Informastion from: Cowens, J. (2006, August/September). The scientific method. Teaching PreK-8, 37(1), 42. Define and substantively compare and contrast the characteristics of primary and secondary data (not sources). There are two ways that researchers obtain data, primary and secondary. Primary data is collected by the person conductin g the investigation. Secondary data is collected from other sources. Primary data is information collected that is specifically geared toward the investigation. This specificity is a plus for primary data. Primary data can be expensive to collect due to the expense of experimentation and surveys. The man hours can be high and the cost can be high. The time it takes to collect original data can be long and grueling. Secondary data can be a good resource due to the ease of availability. Secondary data can be less expensive and less time consuming. However, secondary data may be information that is not as specific to the investigation or collected for a different specific purpose. Rabianski J. Primary and Secondary Data: Concepts, Concerns, Errors, and Issues. Appraisal Journal [serial online]. January 2003;71(1):43. Available from: Business Source Complete, Ipswich, MA. Accessed March 11, 2013 Explain the role of statistics in research. (Keep the focus within the field of psychology). - Statistics plays a very large role in the field of psychology. Statistics is vital to research in any field of science. Before statistics and even now, people want to know if there is a real cause and effect when they experience an event. Early man (let’s call him Grog) would step out of his drab cave in the early morning. Grog would perhaps spot an eagle soaring across a beautiful clear blue sky. Our early man, Grog may then have a great day of hunting. Later, Grog would reflect and think about his good day and remember the early morning eagle. Grog would tell and possibly re-tell the tale to his fellow cave people. The appearance of the early morning eagle would become a â€Å"clear† and significant sign or omen that the day’s hunt would be good. This would be especially true if the omen appeared and the hunt was good more than once. Is this statistically significant? Grog did not have the proper tools ( not paper or stone or computer) nor the brain power to do the statistical procedures on his observations. This appearance and the resulting good hunt could be a real significant event with true cause and effect or it could be pure chance and be nothing more than flimsy anecdotal evidence. Unfortunately for Grog, he did not have statistics or the expertise to perform the required investigations of proper research. Often, psychologists want to know what a person will do when confronted with a certain situation or stimulus or event. With inferential statistics researchers/psychologists use the information/data to infer or to make a conclusion based on the data from the research. â€Å"Probability† is derived from inferential statistics. How probable is it that a person will act a certain way can be answered through inferential/probability studies. - The Cult of Statistical Significance By Stephen T. Ziliak and Deirdre N. McCloskey1 - Roosevelt University and University of Illinois-Chicago - â€Å"The Cult of Statistical Significance† was presented at the Joint Statistical Meetings, Washington, DC, August 3rd, 2009, in a contributed session of the Section on Statistical Education. For comments Ziliak thanks many individuals, but especially Sharon Begley, Ronald Gauch, Rebecca Goldin, Danny Kaplan, Jacques Kibambe Ngoie, Sid Schwartz, Tom Siegfried, Arnold Zellner and above all Milo Schield for organizing an eyebrow-raising and standing-room only session. - - Psychological Research Methods and Statis tics Edited by Andrew M. Colman 1995, London and New York: Longman. Pp. xvi + 123. ISBN 0-582-27801-5 Research in psychology or in any other scientific field invariably begins with a question in search of an answer. The question may be purely factual for example, is sleep-walking more likely to occur during the stage of sleep in which dreams occur, namely rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, than in dreamless (slow-wave) sleep? Alternatively, it may be a practical question for example, can the use of hypnosis to recover long-forgottenexperiences increase the likelihood of false memories? According to current research findings, incidentally, the answers to these questions are no and yes respectively. ) A research question may arise from mere curiosity, from a theory that yields a prediction, or from previous research findings that raise a new question. Whatever its origin, provided that it concerns behaviour or mental experience and that it can be expressed in a suitable form for investigatio n by empirical methods that is, by the collection of objective evidence it is a legitimate question for psychological research. Psychological research relies on a wide range of methods. This is partly because it is such a diverse discipline, ranging from biological aspects of behaviour to social psychology and from basic research questions to problems that arise in such applied fields as clinical, educational, and industrial or occupational psychology. Most psychological research methods have the ultimate goal of answering empirical questions about behaviour or mental experience through controlled observation. But different questions call for different research methods, because the nature of a question often constrains the methods that can be used to answer it. This volume discusses a wide range of commonly used methods of research and statistical analysis. The most powerful research method is undoubtedly controlled experimentation. The reason for the unique importance of controlled experiments in psychology is not that they are necessarily any more objective or precise than other methods, but that they are capable of providing firm evidence regarding cause-and-effect relationships, which no other research method can provide. The defining features of the experimental method are manipulation and control. The experimenter manipulates the conjectured causal factor (called the independent variable because it is manipulated independently of other variables) and examines its effects on a suitable measure of the behaviour of interest, called the dependent variable. In multivariate research designs, the interactive effects of several independent variables on two or more dependent variables may be studied simultaneously. In addition to manipulating the independent variable(s) and observing the effects on the dependent variable(s), the experimenter controls all other extraneous variables that might influence the results. Controlled experimentation thus combines the twin features of manipulation (of independent variables) and control (of independent and extraneous variables). In psychological experiments, extraneous variables can seldom be controlled directly. One reason for this is that people differ from one another in ways that affect their behaviour. Even if these individual differences were all known and understood, they could not be suppressed or held constant while the effects of the independent variable was being examined. This seems to rule out the possibility of experimental control in most areas of psychology, but in the 1920s the British statistician Ronald Aylmer Fisher discovered a remarkable solution to this problem, called randomization. To understand the idea behind randomization, imagine that the experimenter wishes to test the hypothesis that the anti-depressive drug Prozac (fluoxetine hydrochloride) causes an increase in aggressiveness. The independent variable is ingestion of Prozac and the dependent variable is a score on some suitable test of aggressiveness. The experimenter could assign subjects to two treatment conditions strictly at random, by drawing their names out of a hat, for example, and could then treat the two groups identically apart from the manipulation of the independent variable. Before being tested for aggressiveness, the experimental group could be given a pill containing Prozac and the control group a placebo (an inactive dummy pill). The effect of the randomization would be to control, at a single stroke, for allextraneous variables, including ones of that the researcher had not even considered. For example, if two-thirds of the subjects were women, then each group would end up roughly two-thirds female, and if some of the subjects had criminal records for offences involving violence, then these people would probably be more or less even divided between the experimental and control groups, especially if the groups were large. Randomization would not guarantee that the two groups would be identical but merely that they would tend to be roughly similar on all extraneous variables. More precisely, randomization would ensure that any differences between the groups were distributed strictly according to the laws of chance. Therefore, if the two groups turned out to differ on the test of aggressiveness, this difference would have to be due either to the independent variable (the effect of Prozac) or to chance. This explains the purpose and function of inferential statistics in psychology. For any specified difference, a statistical test enables a researcher to calculate the probability or odds of a difference as large as that arising by chance alone. In other words, a statistical test tells us the probability of such a large difference arising under the null hypothesisthat the independent variable has no effect. If a difference is observed in an experiment, and if the probability under the null hypothesis of such a large difference arising by chance alone is sufficiently small (by convention, usually less than 5 per cent, often written p . 05), then the researcher is entitled to conclude with confidence that the observed difference is due to the independent variable. This conclusion can be drawn with confidence, because if the difference is not due to chance, then it must be due to the independent variable, provided that the experiment was properly controlled. The logical connection between randomized experimentation and inferential statistics is explained in greater depth in Colman (1988, chap. 4). A grasp of the elements of statistics is necessary for psychologists, because research findings are generally reported in numerical form and analysed statistically. In some areas of psychology, including naturalistic observations and case-studies (see below), qualitative research methods are occasionally used, and research of this kind requires quite different methods of data collection and analysis. For a survey of the relatively uncommon but none the less important qualitative research methods, including ethnography, personal construct approaches, discourse analysis, and action research, see the book by Banister, Burman, Parker, Taylor, and Tindall (1994). In chapter 1 of this volume, David D. Stretch introduces the fundamental ideas behind experimental design in psychology. He begins by explaining the appropriate form of a psychological research question and how incorrectly formulated questions can sometimes be transformed into questions suitable for experimental investigation. He then discusses experimental control, problems of sampling and randomization, issues of interpretability, plausibility, generalizability, and communicability, and proper planning of research. Stretch concludes his chapter with a discussion of the subtle and complex problems of measurement in psychology. He uses an extremely instructive example to show how two different though equally plausible measures of a dependent variable can lead to completely different in fact, mutually contradictory conclusions. Chapter 2, by Brian S. Everitt, is devoted entirely to analysis of variance designs. These are by far the most common research designs in psychology. Everitts discussion covers one-way designs, which involve the manipulation of only one independent variable; factorial designs, in which two or more independent variables are manipulated simultaneously; and within-subject repeated-measure designs, in which instead of being randomly assigned to treatment conditions, the same subjects are used in all conditions. Chapter 2 concludes with a discussion of analysis of covariance, a technique designed to increase the sensitivity of analysis of variance by controlling statistically for one or more extraneous variables called covariates. Analysis of covariance is sometimes used in the hope of compensating for the failure to control extraneous variables by randomization, but Everitt discusses certain problems caused by such use. In chapter 3, A. W. MacRae provides a detailed discussion of the ideas behind statistics, both descriptive and inferential. Descriptive statistics include a variety of methods of summarizing numerical data in ways that make them more easily interpretable, including diagrams, graphs, and numerical summaries such as means (averages), standard deviations (measures of variability), correlations (measures of the degree to which two variables are related to each other), and so forth. Inferential statistical methods are devoted to interpreting data and enabling researchers to decide whether the results of their experiments are statistically significant or may be explained by mere chance. MacRae includes a brief discussion of Bayesian methods, which in contrast to classical statistical methods are designed to answer the more natural question: How likely is it that such-and-such a conclusion is correct? For more information on Bayesian methods, the book by Lee (1989) is strongly recommended: it explains the main ideas lucidly without sidestepping difficulties Inferential Statistics For descriptive statistics such as correlation, the â€Å"mean,† or average, and some others that will be considered in context later in the book, the purpose is to describe or summarize aspects of behavior to understand them better. Inferential statistics start with descriptive ones and go further in allowing researchers to draw meaningful conclusions - especially in experiments. These procedures are beyond the scope of this book, but the basic logic is helpful in understanding how psychologists know what they know. Again recalling Banduras experiment of observational learning of aggression, consider just the model-punished and model-rewarded groups. It was stated that the former children imitated few behaviors and the latter significantly more. What this really means is that, based on statistical analysis, the difference between the two groups was large enough and consistent enough to be unlikely to have occurred simply by â€Å"chance. † That is, it would have been a long shot to obtain the observed difference if what happened to the model wasnt a factor. Thus, Bandura and colleagues discounted the possibility of chance alone and concluded that what the children saw happen to the model was the cause of the difference in their behavior. Psychologists study what people tend to do in a given situation, recognizing that not all people will behave as predicted - just as the children in the model-rewarded group did not all imitate all the behaviors. In a nutshell, the question is simply whether a tendency is strong enough - as assessed by statistics - to warrant a conclusion about cause and effect. This logic may seem puzzling to you, and it isnt important that you grasp it to understand the many experiments that are noted throughout this book. Indeed, it isnt mentioned again. The point of mentioning it at all is to underscore that people are far less predictable than chemical reactions and the like, and therefore have to be studied somewhat differently - usually without formulas. 1. 1 Determine appropriate measures based on an operational definition for research tools. Researchers utilize the method of operational definition to better tailor their research. They must know what all of the variables are, how to measure these variables and how they fit into the study. They must make sure that they are actually studying what they say they are studying. The definitions/parameters of the variables must be strictly defined. 1. 2 Select appropriate data collection methods to investigate psychological research problems. The research methods and the way all experimentations are collected must be done in a scientific, logical and ethical manner. Most research methods are either non-experimental, experimental, or quasi-experimental. These are separated by the number and extent of the of controls used. The controls help to account for the effect of variable use on the non-control or experiment group. 1. Examine the differences between descriptive and inferential statistics and their use in the social sciences. When a chart or graph (the shape of a distribution) is described in words, then one is using â€Å"descriptive statistics†. These descriptions can help to summarize and analyze a large amount of data. With inferential statistics researchers/psychologists use the information/data to infer or to make a conclusion based on the dat a from the research. â€Å"Probability† is derived from inferential statistics. How probable is it that a person will act a certain way can be answered through inferential/probability studies. REFERENCES: Aron, A. , Aron, E. , ; Coups, E. (2006). Statistics for psychology (4th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Allyn Bacon. Cowens, J. (2006). The scientific method. Teaching PreK-8, 37(1), 42. Hawthorne, G. (2003). The effect of different methods of collecting data: Mail, telephone and filter data collection issues in utility measurement. Quality of Life Research, 12(8), 1081. McPherson, G. R. (2001). Teaching ; learning the scientific method. The American Biology Teacher, 63(4), 242. .

Business strategic management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Business strategic management - Assignment Example The global business environment is offering a broad range of business opportunities and new clients, and thus allowing Starbucks to create different brands to cater for its market needs. The company is continuing to work towards realizing its long-term goals so as to emerge as the most reputable coffee company across the globe. However, despite the growth that the company is realizing, questions arise as to whether Starbucks is growing in the best way or whether it is exceeding its quest for growth (Richard Ivey School of Business, 2009). This paper will address the various issues that face Starbucks in its quest to emerge as the most preferred company in the world. Every company that undertakes its operations in the global market place encounters a number of issues that hinder their progress, even in the case of the most profitable companies such as Starbucks. Though the company has managed to witness outstanding reputation, it is still facing a number of issues like any other company in the global market place. For instance, with the advent of financial crisis, most companies suffer from the state of the economy, and Starbucks is no exception. There has been a number of store closures as a result of poor economic performance in major economies around the world. The number of stores that Starbucks depended on various factors such as finalization of third party agreements, income tax, expected cost savings as well as other benefits that are affiliated with the closure of stores. For instance, with the growing competition, from various companies in different parts of the globe, Starbucks has been unable to cope with the deteriorating performance of its stores, and hence leading to their closure (Richard Ivey School of Business, 2009). Competition is a common state of affairs in every business enterprise. There are a large number of coffee stores in various parts of the world. As a result, it

The individual as representive of society's values Essay

The individual as representive of society's values - Essay Example Given this issues, this paper will try to look at two parallel stories to identify the social values represented by the protagonists and main characters. William Faulkner’s â€Å"Intruder in the Dust† with Lucas Beauchamp as the protagonist and main character and Richard Wright’s â€Å"Native Son† which revolves around the life of Bigger Thomas. Looking at the plot of William Faulkner’s story â€Å"Intruder in the Dust†, it can be observed that it revolves around the life of Lucas Beauchamp, a black man that is known to mingle among their white neighbors and unlike any other of the black race, he is not afraid to belong in the white man’s world (Faulkner). Similarly, the plot of Richard Wright’s story, â€Å"Native Son†, revolves around the life of Bigger Thomas also a black man. Bigger Thomas, unlike Faulkner’s Lucas, is living a lowly life and is not very much favored in his society (Wright). Analyzing the plots of the two stories, it can be noted that they are parallel yet the protagonist and the main character differ in how they act and react in the norms of their respective societies. Among the differences of the two stories include, Lucas having defied the usual perspective and actions of his race and Bigger Thomas having acted what was the white men’s perceived to be actions and reactions of black men towards the situation. However, both plots include murder and both Lucas and Bigger Thomas is accused of the crime. The similarity of some acts in both stories will enable us to compare and contrast the representative social values each of the character possessed and portrayed. Looking in depth, it can be noted that Lucas Beauchamp is characterized in the story as a proud, independent negro with the integrity not to accept payment for the good deed that he showed to others especially to white men. He is considered both by his own race and the white man’s race as a threat to their interests since he considers himself of equal footing to any man and did not conform to the stereotyped role the society dictates a colored man should be. He is also characterized as self-serving as he is only interested in his self-preservation yet in contrast, the story also implied that he is a social being given by his good relationship with Chick and other white men in the story (Faulkner). Bigger Thomas on the other hand grown up under the racial prejudice among his race, hence, considered himself as a marginal being and not capable of doing anything great. His character in the story resorted to committing crimes such as robbery, murder and rape. His very existence is characterized by anger, fear and frustration in his previous and current situation in which he effectively hidden in his tough personality. Unlike Lucas, Bigger Thomas never considered himself of equal footing with his white neighbors and perceived them as constant threat to his survival and oppression to h is rights such that he perceived them as entities dictating him his every action and even thoughts. He is also a self-preserver as he resorted to lying and conning in order not be accused of the crimes he committed. However, it cannot be excluded that being black and oppressed, he is not really of bad disposition but only resorted to such things in hopelessness and fear brought about by the racist and

English Schools Foundation in Mainland China Case Study

English Schools Foundation in Mainland China - Case Study Example e feasibility and profitability of establishing an English Schools Foundation (ESF) school in Mainland China especially in the emerging cities in Mainland China. China is now a super power. It is the country with the largest population in the world. Due to her advance in the industrial field, Chinese products are today flooding the markets in every part of the globe. To catch foreign markets, a knowledge of English is essential. The present standard of English is very low. The people now desperately want to study foreign languages because proficiency in them is a must if they want to retain their leadership and sell their products in other countries. The simplest and most natural solution is to start international schools. English Schools Foundation ('ESF' the abbreviation will continue to be used in the text) is one of the renowned international schools in Hong Kong. ESF is the largest international school in Hong Kong operating 19 schools at different locations including kindergartens, primary, secondary and one for Special Needs. The target markets are the native English-speaking children and also non-English speaking children who are unable to go to a local educational system due to lack of Chinese language ability. All ESF schools are subsidized by the Hong Kong government and operate independently with a Head Office - ESF Centre which oversee all ESF schools and governed by the Education & Manpower Bureau of the Hong Kong government. Within the last three years, ESF had opened two new private independent schools in Hong Kong which are run privately by ESF without government subvention and the governance of the Hong Kong Government. (www.xinhuanet.com, 2008) On the other hand, there is a huge contrasted phenomenon in the emerging cities like Shanghai,...The simplest and most natural solution is to start international schools. English Schools Foundation ('ESF' the abbreviation will continue to be used in the text) is one of the renowned international schools in Hong Kong. ESF is the largest international school in Hong Kong operating 19 schools at different locations including kindergartens, primary, secondary and one for Special Needs. The target markets are the native English-speaking children and also non-English speaking children who are unable to go to a local educational system due to lack of Chinese language ability. All ESF schools are subsidized by the Hong Kong government and operate independently with a Head Office - ESF Centre which oversee all ESF schools and governed by the Education & Manpower Bureau of the Hong Kong government. Within the last three years, ESF had opened two new private independent schools in Hong Kong which are run privately by ESF without government subvention and the governance of the Hong Kong Government. (www.xinhuanet.com, 2008) On the other hand, there is a huge contrasted phenomenon in the emerging cities like Shanghai, Beijing and some other cities that consist of a booming group of middle-class Chinese, expatriates, local Chinese, etc.

Teaching and learning vocabulary

Teaching and learning vocabulary Presenting Vocabulary Description of Presenting Vocabulary Vocabulary is one of the important aspects of language to teach. There are many quotations from famous linguistics to support this idea. For example, Without grammar very little can be conveyed; without vocabulary nothing can be conveyed. (Wilkins 1972:111) and When students travel, they dont carry grammar books, they carry dictionaries. (Krashen in Lewis 1993: iii). Moreover, errors of vocabulary are potentially more misleading than those of grammar. Sometimes the context of the utterance would lead a listener to question their first interpretation, but a chance response such as Yes, my father has an affair in that village'(confusing the Swedish affar meaning shop with the English affair which can mean extra-marital relationship) gives the listener the wrong impression. From above, you will see the importance of vocabulary. Hence teachers should know how to present vocabulary effectively in order to help student develop vocabulary.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In addition, the presenting of vocabulary has been studied for along time, there are still many uncertainties regarding: which vocabulary items should be taught and learned; c) how vocabulary can be taught and learned most effectively. Which vocabulary items should be taught and learned What to teach while teaching vocabulary What is involved in teaching vocabulary Principle of presenting vocabulary Principle of presenting vocabulary Some suggestions for the teachers 1. Which vocabulary item should be taught and learned. Before we present vocabulary, we should know that there are active vocabulary and passive vocabulary. Passive vocabularies are the words that student know while active vocabularies are the words that student use. In reality, native speakers have a passive vocabulary about 100,000 words but they use about 5,000-10,000 words in their daily life. Therefore, the first decision to make when presenting a vocabulary is to decide which words are needed for teaching vocabulary. Teacher should remember that there are a number of words in English language but the average native speaker uses only about five thousand words in everyday speech. Therefore, teacher has to select vocabulary to present, based on useful and frequency to the need of learners. Moreover, teacher has to decide whether the word is worth spending time or not. If the vocabulary is a low frequency word and is not useful word, it should be taught as quickly as possible. 2. What to teach while teaching vocabulary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The effective way to present vocabulary involves what need to be taught about a word. There are many things to teach while teaching vocabulary. I divided into three groups that are form, meaning and usage   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.1 Form Form is divided into spoken form, written form and word part. First, spoken form concerns with pronunciation. It is the initial stages of language learning for teacher to insist on a fair amount of pronunciation practice of new words to help learners acquire the correct stress pattern of syllabus. Second, written form concerns with spelling. Teacher should clarify the pronunciation before showing the written form. Finally, word parts concern with part of speech of word. Students need to know part of speech of the vocabulary such as it is verb, noun or adjective in order to use it effectively. In addition, students have to study about the affixes (the prefixes and suffixes) because it may indicate about the meaning. For example, superman super mean above or beyond and man mean human being. This is particularly useful for a higher level.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.2 Meaning   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In teaching vocabulary, teachers need to look at two aspects of meaning in order to make students understand better in learning vocabulary of the English language. The first concerns the link between meaning and the world to which words refer. The second involves the sense relations that exist among words.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, if a word has reference to an object, action or event in the physical world. This can be described as denotative meaning. In contrast, connotative meaning relates to the attitudes and emotions of a language user in selecting a vocabulary and the influence of these on the listener of readers interpretation of the word.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Second, this aspect of meaning involves the sense relations that exist among word. These relations can be found into syntagmatic relation, which is about the relations between words in sentence, and paradigmatic relations, which is about complex relations with other words in the language in a network of meaning.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2.3 Usage Teacher has to teach the usage of vocabulary about the situation when the word is used or is not used. Teacher has to describe that it is formal, neutral or informal word. Moreover, it is used in speaking or in writing. Then, teacher has to describe the words which have the same collocations as an L1 word of similar meaning in order to prevent mistakes in usage. For example, you describe thing in great detail not in a big deal. 3. Ways of Presenting the Meaning of New Items There are many techniques to present vocabulary. Each vocabulary has different appropriate ways to present. The most common ways to present word are followings.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.1 Illustration An illustration is visualization such as a drawing or picture. It is very useful way to present concrete words such as cat, house or tree. In addition it is an effective way for visual learners. However It has its limits because it cannot present abstract word.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.2 Mime Mime is a physical demonstration. It is good to present action verbs. In addition, it can be fun and memorable.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.3 Synonyms and antonyms Words not only have sequential relationship, but also exist in complex relationships with other words in the language in a network of meanings. The most common are synonyms and antonym.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.3.1 Synonyms A simple way of defining synonym is to say that, in a given context, one linguistic item can be exchanged for another without changing the meaning of the sentence or utterance.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.3.2 Antonym. The term antonym covers a number of relationships often though of as opposite. Teacher has to use the word that students are already known in order to be effective to get meaning across.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.4 Definition teacher can get the definition of word from dictionary to present. For example, the definition of town house is a house that is one of a row of identical houses situated side by side and sharing common walls.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.5 Translation Using L1 translation is fast and efficient. However teacher should remember that not every word has a direct translation.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  3.6 Context This is the way to present vocabulary by giving many example sentences with the word in context. Teacher has to remember that using a combination of techniques can be both helpful and memorable. 4. The implications for the teaching of vocabulary   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  4.1 Developing a various techniques for the teaching meaning Learner will confront new words in various ways in the classroom, through textbooks, through material or through teachers language. Therefore, teacher needs to explain new words for them. Take the word frightened, for example. There are a number of techniques which could be used A physical demonstration such as mime, gesture. This is the effective way to create a visual memory for the word. Moreover, it can be fun and memorable. An explanation, using a number of contexts, for example, the feeling when you watch horror movie, will lead the leaner towards meaning. A synonym, for example, very scared, can be an effective way for getting meaning across. Using L1 translation Asking student to check in a dictionary. drawing a simple picture Some of these techniques want more processing from student and will aid memory. The teacher will need to make decisions about which words are useful to remember and choose techniques accordingly. 4.2 Encouraging the development of effective strategies Research tends to suggest that if inferencing is easy because the text has a lot of contextual clue or there is a cognate word, memory is less likely. The more active the learner need to be, the more likely the word will be remembered. Awareness of this distinction will guild the teacher into exploiting both for reading strategy development and for vocabulary acquisition. 5. Principles of presenting vocabulary Teacher has to make the teaching easy and clear by giving simple explanation. Teacher has to use varieties of presentation at the same time such as, oral presentation and written presentation. For example, Teacher writes down vocabularies on board as well as explaining. Teacher has to bring in the words that are already partly known to relate to synonyms or antonym. 6. Some suggestions for the teachers Each teacher has ways to teach new words. Whatever teaching style are used the suggestions which may help teachers are followings: Teacher has to prepare the way to show meaning. For example, if the words which the teacher is going to present are concrete, the teacher should prepare picture of those words to present. Teacher has to ask students to tell the meaning first in order to elicit meaning from students before they offer the meaning. Teacher has to think about how to show the meaning of a word with related words such as synonyms, antonyms etc. Moreover, the example words should be the word that students are already known. Teacher has to think about how to check students understanding. Teacher has to think about the context in real situation where the words might be used in order to relate learning language to real life and also promotes high motivation. Teacher should review the vocabulary via a game or activity in order to motivate them in learning. Teacher should give them some assignment by telling them to read, watch films, listen to songs etc and note the useful word. It is a good way to study vocabulary by themselves. Teacher should have a section of board for vocabulary items that come up while teacher are teaching. Use different colours for the word / the phonetics /the part of speech. It is a good idea to teach vocabulary with associated meanings together. Teacher should encourage students to use a good dictionary. Whenever the student asks the word that has never heard of the word, you tell the student that you will check and get back to them later. Teacher should enough examples sentences to make sure that the students understand what the teacher taught and give extra example if the students are unsure and encourage them to write the word in an example sentence. Classroom application.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  As being an English teacher, I found that teaching vocabulary is quite difficult because there are a lot of words to teach and my student cannot remember the words I taught but after I have done this assignment. I got a lot of idea to apply in my classroom in order to present vocabulary effectively.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First, I encourage my student to use any other strategies for vocabulary learning. Then I create a lot of activities which help them to develop new strategies as well as strengthen existing ones. For example, my students can be observed writing down new words as they occur during lesson but it is less common to find such thorough strategies for notebook keeping. Then I give student ideas for how they might design their notebook such as making word-network.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Then, I know how to select word for presenting vocabulary. I chose vocabulary based on frequency in the first place with considerable weight being given to functional, notional or situation relevance of the item.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Finally, I develop a variety of techniques for the teaching of meaning in my classroom such as drawing a picture which is the most effective as it will create a visual memory for the word, giving several example sentences with the word in context to shoe the meaning and giving demonstration. As a result these techniques help my student to pay attention in class and they can remember the vocabulary. Reference Jeanne mcCarten. (2007) Teaching Vocabulary. New York : Cambridge University Press. Pual Naion. (1990). Teaching and Learning Vocabulary. USA : HeinleHenle. Richard Frost. (2004). Presenting vocabulary. from http://www.teachingenglish.org.uk/think/articles/presenting-vocabulary Tricia Hedge. (2008). Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom. New York : Cambridge University Press. Wallace M. (1987) Teaching Vocabulary 3rd Edition. London: Heinemann

Flannery OConnors A Good Man is Hard to Find and Good Country People

â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† and â€Å"Good Country People† are two short stories written by Flannery O’Connor during her short lived writing career. Despite the literary achievements of O’Connor’s works, she is often criticized for the grotesqueness of her characters and endings of her short stories and novels. Her writings have been described as â€Å"understated, orderly, unexperimental fiction, with a Southern backdrop and a Roman Catholic vision, in defiance, it would seem, of those restless innovators who preceded her and who came into prominence after her death†(Friedman 4). â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† and â€Å"Good Country People† are both set in the South, and O’Connor explores the tension between the old and new South. The stories are tow ironically twisted tales of different families whos lives are altered after trusting a stranger, only to be mislead. Each story explores the themes of Christian th eology, new verses the old South, and fallen human nature. In â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find†, O’Connor introduces the reader to a family representative of the old and new Southern culture. The grandmother represents the old South by the way in which she focuses on her appearnace, manners, and gentile ladylike behavior. O’Connor writes â€Å"her collars and cuffs were organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady†(O’Connor 118). In this short story, â€Å"the wild diproportion of the terms, the vapid composure that summons up the ultimate violence only to treat it as a rare social opportuinty, and the cool irony with which O’Connor presents the sentence makes it both fearful and ludicrous†(Asals 132). The irony that O’Connor uses points out the appalling characteristics of the grandmother’s self-deception that h er clothes make her a lady and turns it into a comic matter. Flannery O’Connor goes to great length to give the reader insight into the characters by describing their clothes and attitudes. The fact that the grandmother took so much time in preparing herself for the trip exemplifies the old Southern tradition of self-presentation and self-pride. The grandmother takes pride in the way she presents herself because she wants everyone to know that she is a â€Å"lady†. Bailey’s, the grandson’s, family repre... ...ition, she presents the reader with the differing generations of the old and new south, and she illustrates the contrasting views between the two. O’Connor is not afraid to question Christian theology or the Southern culture. Her irony and satire add depth to ther stories, and her deep cultural analysis of the South brings a higher level to her writings. O’Connor also explores the concept of fallen human nature and how it is brought about. Overall, O’Connor’s works prove to be very in depth in both her social and cultural analysis of the South. She is not afraid to critique the society in which she grew up and lived. Works Cited Asals, Frederick. Flannery O’Connor: The Imagination of Extremity. Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 1982. Bleikstan, Andre. â€Å"The Heresy of Flannery O’Connor†. Critical Essays on Flannery O’Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Beverly Lyon Clark. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1985. Friedman, Melvin J. Introduction. Critical Essays on Flannery O’Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Beverly Lyon Clark. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1985. O’Connor, Flannery. The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor. New York: The Noonday Press, 1971. Flannery O'Connor's A Good Man is Hard to Find and Good Country People â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† and â€Å"Good Country People† are two short stories written by Flannery O’Connor during her short lived writing career. Despite the literary achievements of O’Connor’s works, she is often criticized for the grotesqueness of her characters and endings of her short stories and novels. Her writings have been described as â€Å"understated, orderly, unexperimental fiction, with a Southern backdrop and a Roman Catholic vision, in defiance, it would seem, of those restless innovators who preceded her and who came into prominence after her death†(Friedman 4). â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find† and â€Å"Good Country People† are both set in the South, and O’Connor explores the tension between the old and new South. The stories are tow ironically twisted tales of different families whos lives are altered after trusting a stranger, only to be mislead. Each story explores the themes of Christian th eology, new verses the old South, and fallen human nature. In â€Å"A Good Man Is Hard To Find†, O’Connor introduces the reader to a family representative of the old and new Southern culture. The grandmother represents the old South by the way in which she focuses on her appearnace, manners, and gentile ladylike behavior. O’Connor writes â€Å"her collars and cuffs were organdy trimmed with lace and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once that she was a lady†(O’Connor 118). In this short story, â€Å"the wild diproportion of the terms, the vapid composure that summons up the ultimate violence only to treat it as a rare social opportuinty, and the cool irony with which O’Connor presents the sentence makes it both fearful and ludicrous†(Asals 132). The irony that O’Connor uses points out the appalling characteristics of the grandmother’s self-deception that h er clothes make her a lady and turns it into a comic matter. Flannery O’Connor goes to great length to give the reader insight into the characters by describing their clothes and attitudes. The fact that the grandmother took so much time in preparing herself for the trip exemplifies the old Southern tradition of self-presentation and self-pride. The grandmother takes pride in the way she presents herself because she wants everyone to know that she is a â€Å"lady†. Bailey’s, the grandson’s, family repre... ...ition, she presents the reader with the differing generations of the old and new south, and she illustrates the contrasting views between the two. O’Connor is not afraid to question Christian theology or the Southern culture. Her irony and satire add depth to ther stories, and her deep cultural analysis of the South brings a higher level to her writings. O’Connor also explores the concept of fallen human nature and how it is brought about. Overall, O’Connor’s works prove to be very in depth in both her social and cultural analysis of the South. She is not afraid to critique the society in which she grew up and lived. Works Cited Asals, Frederick. Flannery O’Connor: The Imagination of Extremity. Athens, Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 1982. Bleikstan, Andre. â€Å"The Heresy of Flannery O’Connor†. Critical Essays on Flannery O’Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Beverly Lyon Clark. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1985. Friedman, Melvin J. Introduction. Critical Essays on Flannery O’Connor. Ed. Melvin J. Friedman and Beverly Lyon Clark. Boston: G. K. Hall & Co., 1985. O’Connor, Flannery. The Complete Stories of Flannery O’Connor. New York: The Noonday Press, 1971.

Beauty Pageants May Not Be Safe

In countries all around the world, beauty pageants are held as a long-standing tradition. Often, young women participate in these pageants. While pageants are said to present a sense of self-esteem and value for the participants, these competitions often cause damaging emotional issues for an already trying adolescent life. One young participant anonymously said, â€Å"I used to think I was pretty, but once I got on stage and didn't hear my name called the world came to an end and from then on, I've called myself ugly everyday† (Anonymous, 2010).When a girl feels as if she is being valued solely on her looks, she may change her personality and dietary habits to an unsafe level to continuously garner attention. The beauty pageant process is far from the safe harmonious competition it attempts to promote. As the rest of this essay suggest, damaging emotional scars often remain after the competitions are long gone, and pageants themselves harbor predatory dangers to young naive g irls. The first kind of emotional damage young girls face is an overemphasis on physical appearance and a willingness to maintain beauty at any cost.When a female participates in a beauty pageant, she is taught to win by looking attractive. These young girls are conditioned to believe that the only way to look pretty is to starve themselves so that they can achieve a ‘perfect figure’. Although there are many different types of eating disorders in the world, the biggest one of all for beauty pageants is anorexia. Anorexia is the third most common chronic illness among adolescents (Mirasol). Outside of eating disorders, anxiety and stress are common for participants.In a 2009 interview on Good Morning America, Brooke Breedwell, a pageant queen at the age of five, now twenty, explained there was a price to pay, â€Å"Pageants have put a lot of stress and anxiety on my life I feel the need to be perfect at everything, and I know that's not realistic. You can't be perfect a t everything. † Brooke Breedwell also claimed her mother â€Å"pushed her too hard. † When a mother enters her daughter in a pageant she expects her to win.Most girls receive the ‘no other girl is your friend here’ speech, which cause them to be untruthful by offering fake smiles and false hugs around other participants. It also creates a distant form of interaction causing the females to be shallow, hyper-competitive adults who are never satisfied. The second kind of emotional damage young girls face is an uncharacteristically elevated ego for a teenage or even pre-teenage girl. When a female wins a pageant, she may conclude that she is better than everyone all of her peers.While some might believe it to be healthy to compete in pageants because it creates confidence and it builds character, it’s not. Pageants teach young girls that self worth is in physical beauty only. Parents encourage their daughters to compete in these competitions and do whate ver it takes to win. In some cases, mothers try to live vicariously through their daughter, by entering their daughter in such competitions. This confuses many girls because they don’t know if their mother is their coach or their parent.With young girls participating in televised beauty it is hard to keep pedophiles away. Some pedophiles are driven out to live their fantasies and with young girls on air exploiting themselves it’s easy too. When girls participate they put on clothing that is meant to look ‘sexy’ and ‘inviting’. Girls prance along a stage in alluring clothing welcoming anyone to watch. Girls in pageants have yet to develop their own sense of self and are conditioned to be more pleasing to adults for attention and rewards. An entire television show is dedicated to young girl’s beauty pageants.Each week, viewers are able to watch little girls dress up in bikinis, mini dresses, and other revealing clothing that their mothers choose for them to wear. In conclusion, beauty pageants cause self-hatred and uncertainty of a female’s own body, which could create shallow adults who are never satisfied. Carleton Kendrick, a family therapist says, â€Å"†¦the hard fact remains they are called beauty pageants and they have been and always will be based on using arbitrary standards of ‘beauty’ to make one contestant better than all the rest† (Kendrick).Beauty pageants can cause eating disorders and unrealistic expectations of a female’s own body. Beauty pageants can also cause a female to self-hate if she doesn’t win, or enlarge an ego to an unhealthy level. Unfortunately, if a child participates in beauty pageants that may air on television, anyone can watch including pedophiles. Females should love their own bodies and not care how others judge them upon their appearance.

Five stages of dying Essays

Five stages of dying Essays Five stages of dying Paper Five stages of dying Paper Essay Topic: As I Lay Dying Thanatology, or the study of death and dying, has gone through significant growth since the 1950s, when Herman Feifels â€Å"Meanings of Death† was introduced to the behavioral science field. Before then, dying and death were mainly the concerns of poets and mystics. Death was considered a word to be avoided as much as possible by physicians, and as a topic of restriction even by psychologists. Since that time the research and writings of Robert Fulton, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, among others, have helped to make thanatology a serious area of scientific research and discussion. Even though all dying people do not show a terminal drop in their abilities and actions, many of them do realize when they are about to die (Kalish Reynolds, 1981). This epiphany affects different people in different ways. People who no longer want to live may give up without putting on a fight and die fairly quickly. When they lose their will to survive, they embrace death as the ultimate solution to all their problems. Another group of severely ill people are those those who find themselves unable to cope with the pain and frustration of long term illness but are also afraid of death itself, continually battling between a desire to live and a wish to die. This constant conflict between dying and living is worsened when the person has one or more dependents but is afraid of becoming a burden on them. : Even when they are not told directly by a family member, a friend, a doctor or a nurse, a large majority of terminally ill patients realize that they are going to die in the very near future. They sense it in the changes in their bodies and the attitudes of other people. Consequently, an honest report on the part of others frequently comes as no surprise but simply confirms what the patient suspected all along (Kubler-Ross, 1969). Whether they desire to die sooner or later, it is generally acknowledged that people can, through their own attitudes and behavior, either hasten or delay their own death. Having accepted the fact that death is imminent, they may even decide on a particular time for it to occur. Stages in Dying The stage theory of Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, as well as of many other researchers, is related to the time, dimension of the dying process. Kubler-Rosss (1969) stage theory was formulated from an analysis of her interviews with over 200 dying patients. She argued that it is important for health workers and families of dying patients to be observant and aware of these progressive stages.

10 Ways to Turn Writing a Paper into a Drinking Game

10 Ways to Turn Writing a Paper into a Drinking Game College students have long suspected that universities and individual professors must buy stock in paper companies. For some, its the only explanation as to why college seems to be just one paper assignment after another. Conspiracy theories aside, writing papers can be tough. But when the grind wears you down, injecting a bit of fun can help get you over the hump. When it comes to paper writing, its time to turn to the same tactics employed by such literary luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, Raymond Chandler, Tennessee Williams and Hunter S. Thompson: Booze. However, college students cant just kick back with a snifter of brandy and mull over their literary choices. Thats way too pedestrian. Of course, the answer is to turn it into a drinking game. After all, its practically a college tradition. Before you begin, be sure to save a copy of your paper in a completely separate file, preferably on a flash drive. Better safe than sorry. Inspiration may strike during your game, but its always good to have a back up. You dont want to have to reconstruct full pages that fell apart because you got off on a tangent about the therapeutic properties of cat videos. Once you have a backup file saved, pick your poison. You can pick a selection of brews and assign each rule a specific brand or type or you can just pick one and stick with it the whole way through. Chances are it wont matter what you drink – the end result will be the same. For extra fun later, turn on Track Changes in your Formatting menu so you can follow along the next morning and see how your editorial decisions changed as the night wore on. Rules of The Paper Writing Drinking Game Every time you run into a 404 tracking down a source, take a drink. If you were tracking it down from Wikipedia, take two drinks. Each time you write yourself into a corner, take a drink. Every time you catch yourself writing in circles, take two. Take a drink for each syllable in any words you have to pronounce out loud in order to spell correctly as you type. If a page has more footnotes than actual text, take two drinks and toast Flann OBrien. Each time you stretch out a single paragraph idea into two or more, take a drink and pat yourself on the back. Take a drink and give yourself a slap for every time you catch yourself on Candy Crush Saga, Farmville or any other pointless FaceBook game. Have another drink each time to catch yourself randomly scrolling down a page and realize you completely forgot what you were looking for. Any time you find yourself in need of a friend with a subscription to JSTOR or LexisNexis, take a drink and hit up any journalism majors who happen to be online. Take another drink every time you catch yourself calculating how many words per minute youll have to write in order to get the paper done tonight. Every time you ask yourself how much bigger you can make the font or contemplating formatting changes to make your paper appear longer, take two drinks. Bonus Shots Any time you re-write a sentence more than 12 times For every set of Block Quotes you use to bulk out a few pages. Every time you say out loud Okay, down to work now. Each time you search around for single words you can stretch into more (i.e. changing it to the field of robotic psychiatry) Every FaceBook status update or Tweet about the progress youve made on your paper. Chances are youll end up with a screen filled with plenty of red squiggly lines and a few good ideas. If you managed to actually finish the paper – or this version of it anyway – during the game, that earns you a bonus round of whatever quality alcohol you have stashed away. Dont forget to save the fruit of your labor before drinking some water and passing out face first on the keyboard. But the fun isnt over yet! In the morning youll be eligible to play the super fun Bonus Morning After Game! Brew a pot of coffee, wipe off the keyboard and open the file from the night before. Re-read what you wrote and edited the night before. Every time something makes you laugh out loud, take a sip of coffee. Take two every time you read something that makes you wince. Finally, take a big gulp for any sections so inspired you leave them nearly intact in the final version of the paper. Heres also a guide on How to Cure Hangover for those who drank too much yesterday. Did you ever write drunk? Tell us your own story in comments!

Foreign Policy Analysis And Random Actor Model Essay

Foreign Policy Analysis And Random Actor Model - Essay Example Policies are value expressions or better still preferences that represent future preferences against others. However, a nation has her foreign policies as decisions that point to the future on accounts of other nations as against her internal decisions (Kent, 1969, 96). The analysis revolves aroundthe assessment of international as well as internal domestic political environment. It also entails setting goals and determining the options on foreign policies. Therefore, through foreign policies, a nation’s internal politics are linked to the external decisions made by other states or decision makers.Actor models are basic tools of applications that are used to evaluate the eventual performance or outcome by a specific policy decision taken by an individual or in this case a state. The applications are more relevant and dependent that manual analysis of the policy performance. The models are differentiated by the actor focus and specifications. In the Random Actor model, the two components that matter are the game and the decision. While in the decision aspect the model reasons and chooses among many available choices, the game aspect entails the logical evaluation of the decision adopted. Rational actor model involves the players taking decisions on policies based on thorough scrutiny as well as applying the notion that governments act from a rational perspectives. The illustration however reveals that it is not always the case that the two will act concurrently for the welfare for both concurrently. A repeat of the game reveals a inanimate change of decision s by the parties to maximize on their gains. Nevertheless, optimal gains are seen to be realized in the cooperation efforts as well as in the rational decision s that will benefit all. Rational analysis evaluates government’s decisions and policies on the available facts that were applied while adopting and designing the policies. It is a purposeful behavior which entails acting at the influenc e of reasoning (Kahler, 1998, 921-922). The objectives also are evaluated in analyzing what rational interested that the governments behavior imply. The model asks whether the government decisions were meant to maximize the benefits in comparison to the options forgone. Moreover, the model evaluates the nature of interactions based on strategic analysis. Rationality therefore implies that the actions of a player, in this case the government, are somehow connected to the intended goals or objectives. Ethical behavior in decision making may not necessarily imply rationality (Slantchev, 2005, 1). Whenever a government intends

Why Fast Foods Can Be Bad For Your Health Research Paper

Why Fast Foods Can Be Bad For Your Health - Research Paper Example Another issue with fast food is that it is easily available and can be much easier than trying to cook or provide a more nutritious meal for your family – meaning that people often each much more fast food than they should (French et al, 2004). This type of problem has led fast food to become a victim of much controversy in the media as well as getting many analyses in the scientific literature that has led it to become a dangerous topic. The purpose of this essay is to explore the literature on fast foods and examine why it can be bad for your health, as well as completing a discussion and analysis of the research available. It will become evident that there are many reasons why fast food can be bad for your health, and these claims are backed up by evidence that supports this claim. The term fast food was popularized in the United States in the middle part of this century. The term is used to refer to any food that can be prepared and sold extremely quickly, making it easy t o access and available to many. The fact that many fast food restaurants do not have typical waiting staff (preferring to rely on a collection or takeaway method) means that it can be even quicker and sold at an extremely low price. All of these have led to the popularization of fast food across the Western world, with many chains having outlets in many countries. There are many different types of fast food, although the most popular types include hamburgers, fries, pizza and other foods which are high in fat and many contain a high level of additives and addictive substances (French et al, 2004). One of the main reasons that fast food is considered to be so dangerous is that it is linked to the main health problem in the United States – obesity (French et al, 2004). Because fast food is so easy to obtain and can be bought for relatively low prices, those who are on low incomes or who work long hours are more susceptible to obesity (Block, Scribner & DeSalvo, 2004). Additiona lly, Jeffery & French (1998) have shown that there is a strong association between eating fast food and watching television, and together these two activities are strongly linked to obesity – particularly because they reduce activity levels in many people. Kwate, Yau, Loh & Williams (2009) also did a study considering whether the high availability of fast food makes it bad for your health. The study found that those who lived in areas with a high density of fast food chains were more likely to be obese and have related health problems. The reasons for this were multiple. For one, those who merely had to order food to get it delivered were likely to do less exercise to get to their food. Secondly, the content of the food was much higher in fat than meals that had been prepared in the home, leading to weight gain. As we will see, weight gain can lead to health problems such as type II diabetes. Pereira et al (2005) did a study examining the links between fast food habits, weigh t gain and insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is important because it is an early indicator of type II diabetes, and therefore any sign of increased insulin resistance can be considered a health risk. There was found to be a strong link between fast food eating and a resistance to insulin, particularly because many of the foods have a high level of sugar and carbohydrates. This is what makes the foods more appealing and taste nice, but consuming sugar in high levels can lead to obesity and type II diabetes in later life. In this sense, eating a lot of fast foods is definitely bad for your health. Another major concern with fast food is that they contain some additives, not all of which have been fully tested