Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 14

Art - Essay Example aphs are used as models to create these paintings, followed by Gerhard Richter’s Photorealism and Over-painted Photographs; who also uses photographs as a major tool for his artistic practice. I will be exploring how a photograph is utilized through out the painting process, and the way it reflects on the painter’s emotional and intellectual aspects . The investigation of both painters will be carried out by looking at these paintings through the French literary theorist and philosopher Ronald Barthes lens, in which he mainly demonstrates in Camera Lucida. My analysis is based on his perception of the nature and essence of photography theories,along with an analysis of portraiture from a philosophical perspective by Professor and Chair Cynthia Freeland in her essayPortraits in Painting and Photography. Both investigations carryout Barthes essential ‘air’whichwill show how this concept of ‘air’ can be used to understand how both artists use photography as a source material.   I argue that a painter who uses photographs as an aiding tool to his/her creative painting practicesfinds the literalprecise reality through their mechanical accurate depiction of the real, yet finds them lacking the essence or ‘air’. This essence will become visible inthe final piece by the collaboration of both the accurate mechanical reality mean of expressiveness (the photograph) with the physical translation of the emotional and intellectual experiences by the human hand. With all the new introductions to new materials and techniques and with the enormous evolvement of digital technology in creating art, more inspirational experiences along with an infinite number of inventive traditional and digital techniques allowed artists to intrigue their motives and intentions in unlimited possible directions. In this regard, I will be exploring how has been utilized by contemporary painters to become part of their artistic experience in the 20th and the 21st century, which

Monday, October 28, 2019

The Effects of Humor and Incongruence on Word Recall Essay Example for Free

The Effects of Humor and Incongruence on Word Recall Essay Fifteen undergraduates from the University of California, Los Angeles participated in this experiment. There were 8 men and 7 women, age ranging from 19 to 30 years old. All 15 participants were enrolled in a research method class and they participated in the experiment as a part of a course requirement. Design A 2 x 2 (Type of sentence x image) within-subjects factorial design was used. The two independent variables were the type of sentence and the type of image with the respective to the italicized word in the sentence. The two levels of the type of sentence were humorous and nonhumorous sentences. The two levels of the type of image were matching or nonmatching images respective to the italicized words in their sentences. Matching images depict the italicized word in their corresponding sentences. Nonmatching images did not depict the italicized words. The dependent variable was the number of italicized words correctly recalled. Materials Sentences. Two sets of 20 sentences obtained from Schidmt (1994) were used. At the humorous sentence level, the 20 sentences had the mean rate for humor ranging from 3. 08 to 4. 0. At the nonhumorous sentence level, 20 other sentences had the mean rate for humor ranging from 1. 25 to 2. 86. The intensity of humor was determined by participants using a 5-point Likert-type scale where 5. 0 was the highest humor rating. Using these two sets of sentences, four lists were created, each with 20 different sentences. Random assignment was used to determine the placement of the sentences on the lists so that the serial positions of the sentences across the four lists are different from one list to the other. The words that will be used for recall were always italicized across the four lists. Pictures. 20 Microsoft Word Clip Art images were used for the matching conditions. The images were obtained using the key words of the italicized words. For the nonmatching condition, 10 neutral key words (i. e. , sun, flower) were used to obtain the 10 images from Clip Art. The nonmatching images were randomly assigned to the sentences. Each of the four lists has the same type and number of nonmatching images. Within every list, an image only appeared once. All images were 261 pixel by 159 pixel. All images were presented centered and below its respective sentence. PowerPoint slides. Computers with Microsoft PowerPoint program were randomly assigned to show one of the four types of sentences to participants. Four different lists each with 20 sentences and 20 images were obtained. Each list has 5 humorous sentences with matching images, 5 humorous sentences with nonmatching images, 5 nonhumorous sentences with matching images, and 5 nonhumorous sentences with nonmatching images. I counterbalanced the lists to control for order effect so that the serial positions of the 20 sentences are random within each of the four lists. To control for specific item effect, I use a balance Latin square to ensure that each of the 20 italicized words from the two sets of sentences appear in each of the four experimental condition. PowerPoint slides were used to present all the instructions, lists of words and pictures, and the first five math problems. Response sheet. A 8 1/2 in. by 11 in. paper were used to write the italicized words that the participants recalled. Distractor test. 10 arithmetic math problems were used as a distractor test. The first five math problems were presented in a PowerPoint slide and the next five math problems were presented in a 8 1/2 in. by 11 in. piece of paper. The reason why the distractor task was divided into both a PowerPoint and regular written exercise was to reduce as much of the demand characteristics of the experiments as possible. Participants write the answer to all 10 math problems on the paper. Procedures Participants were randomly assigned to a computer with one of the four types of lists. The experimenter told the participants to follow the instructions on the packet of paper given to them on how to access the presentation lists and the instructions presented by the computer. The experimenters made sure that all participants got to their respective lists before telling them to begin. Participants all started together. The instructions on the computer directed the participants to look the following 20 slides and try to remember as much information as they can about the slide. Each slide was shown for 7 seconds, one after another, and a blank screen was shown for 2 seconds between each slide. After all 20 slides were shown, a new slide informed the participants that they now have five minutes to solve both the five math problems presented in the slide and five math problems on the sheet next to the computer. The experimenter announced that time was up and told the participants to stop what they were doing and were to look back at the computer for further instructions. The final slide appeared on the screen and instructed the participants to write down as many italicized words as they can remember on the recall sheet. The recall test was an unexpected recall test because the participants did not expect that they need to remember the italicized words of the sentences rather than images or the content of the sentences. In the process of counting the number of italicized word correctly recalled, I used a lenient scoring criteria. If the main meaning of the correct italicized word was written if not the exact word, it would still be counted as a correctly recalled word. For example if the correct word was cheap but cheaply was written, it would be counted as one correctly recalled word.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Differences Between University And School :: essays research papers

In recent years, although tertiary education is certainly popular among Hong Kong students. It is unlikely that all students can easily catch the ways of studying at starting university. Therefore, we need to know actually what great differences between studying at university and school in order to adjust our ways of studying more effective to achieve the tertiary education. In this essay, I will try to examine their differences in terms of the characteristic of teachers and students, students ¡Ã‚ ¦ time management and motivation as well as the modes of assessment Firstly, the characteristic of teachers and students in school and at university has great differences. The school teachers dismantle to translate the textbooks word-by-word from limited information-based, and whether the students understand the lessons or not, they can passively copy down the information and refers to their notes later at home and memorizes them. However, the university students are no longer allowed to sit quietly and negatively throughout the class. They are being demanded to discuss academic matters or cooperate with other classmate to perform projects. They are require to find sources, gathering information and put them into order. As Marshall and Rowland (1993, 34) pointed out,  ¡Ã‚ ¥the ability to think critically is a generic skill that are expected to acquire in the undergraduate education and transfer to daily life, future or current work. ¡Ã‚ ¦ Therefore, the tutors at university who offer not only textbook instructions but also helps students to think critically and independently by encouragement. Besides, students can choose and adjust their own learning style independently from freely choices of materials provided at university. Another important difference in students time management that is mainly affected by the learners motivation in school and at university. The motivation of school students is comes from parents and teachers, who reward or punish students for keeping up their studies. Students are unexpected to plan or do anything besides follow the timetable and study schedule from teachers. When a student moves on to undertake university study at undergraduate level, there is demanded to be more self-motivated and independent learning. Such as plan a learning programme that takes into consideration time available for study. As Marshall and Rowland (1993, 41) shown that,  ¡Ã‚ ¥if students are studying at a distance in tertiary education are needed to be particularly careful in setting priorities and balance a certain time between work and study, family and social life.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

The Sonnet Genre Combining with Figurative Language Essay -- Sonnets L

The Sonnet Genre Combining with Figurative Language Compare how the conventions of the sonnet genre combine with figurative language to create meaning in at least two texts. Originating in Italy, the sonnet was established by Petrarch in the 14th century as a major form of love poetry, and came to be adopted in England in the 16th century (Oxford Literary terms). Overtime there have been different types of sonnets written, for example the Italian (Petrarchan) sonnet, the English (Shakespearean) sonnet and the Spenserian sonnet. Each of these sonnets have there own conventions and use different types of poetic language to help create meaning for the reader. For the purpose of this essay we will look at how the conventions of sonnets combine specifically with figurative language to create meaning. We will begin by looking briefly at the three types of sonnet conventions before moving on to look at William Shakespeare’s ‘Sonnet 18’ and ‘Sonnet 73’ to show how meaning is created through the combination of conventions and figurative language. As earlier mentioned, there are different types of sonnet, the major types being Italian, Shakespearean and Spenserian, each having their own sonnet form. All forms generally have some common features, such as comprising of fourteen lines and being written in iambic pentameter. The Italian sonnet has an eight-line octave, which usually raises an issue/argument followed by a six-line sestet where the issue/argument is resolved. The octave has a rhyme scheme of ABBAABBA, and the sestet can have either two or three rhyming sounds arranged in a variety of ways, for example CDCDCD, CDDCDC, CDECDE thus making the sestet very flexible. The Shakespearean sonnet comprises of... ...ar conventions but developed its argument much like the Italian sonnet. This shows how the English form and Italian argument structure compliment each other. The conventions of both these sonnets did create meaning but this was further enhanced with the use of figurative language. In ‘sonnet 73’ the metaphors were used to show the speaker growing old and then extended throughout the sonnet, which helped to emphasize the sonnets central meaning. Whereas in ‘Sonnet 18’ personification was used to create an image in the readers head of an amazingly beautiful woman who is incomparable to even the nicest season, summer. I conclude that on there own both conventions and figurative language create meaning but when combined the meaning is enhanced. This is due to figurative language being able to create images for the reader and add mood and tension to a sonnet.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Creation Science Essay

Creation science is a controversial nature study founded on principle that the existence of the cosmos is as a result of supernatural causes (Browning, 1997). Also referred to as scientific creationism, the study combines creation concepts mainly from the Christian and Islamic understanding with scientific discoveries. The creation accounts described in the book of Genesis from the Holy Bible and the Qur’an are supported by â€Å"Creation Science† programs taught in some universities. These programs attempt to show how scientific discoveries are more consistent with creation accounts than they are with evolutionary theories suggested by earlier scientists such as Darwin (Browning, 1997). While such creation science concepts sometimes create some controversies, there should be no such problems and science and faith should be allowed to mingle. The most astounding problem is that science relies on empiricism while faith depends on believing on the unseen. However, science should be understood as man’s endeavors in understanding his universe and it is not unscientific to believe in deliberate creation of life. There are a number of evidences in the Holy Bible that can be used to study the modern Earth. For instance, the Great Flood in the story of Noah provides an understanding to the geological features in today’s Earth (Browning, 1997). In general, creation science should be supported to realize a large number of scientists supporting the paradigm that God creatively designed and formed the Earth while applying the scientific methods in gaining a deeper understanding to the question on the origin of life and the universe. The fields such as biblical archaeology and chronology, cosmology and philosophy of science are all the product of creation science and thus the thinking of creation science should be upheld to find answers to some of the questions pure science and pure religion fail to address. Reference: Browning, J. D (1997). Noah’s Ark: A feasibility study. Retrieved July 21, 2010 from http://mall. turnpike. net/C/cs/ark/allnotes. doc

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

How to Ask a Professor for a Letter of Recommendation

How to Ask a Professor for a Letter of Recommendation Are you looking to get into a graduate program? Perhaps you have finished your degree and are seeking employment? If so, then there is a strong possibility that you are going to find yourself in need of a letter of recommendation. College professors are an excellent choice because they have spent extensive time with you, observing how you work, how you analyse information and even how you present your opinion in a group setting. The question is, how to ask a professor for a letter of recommendation? What Is a Letter of Recommendation? It is essentially a letter which gives the admissions board or an employer a brief overview of you as a student and as a person in general. Your professor should describe their experiences of working with you referencing specific situations, attitudes and other things that speak to your character. They should also describe what potential they see in you and why you are a good fit for the program or position. Who Should Write It for You? One of the first things you need to think about when it comes to requesting a strong letter of recommendation is who you are going to ask to write it! It is a good idea to choose a faculty member. That way, youll be confident that the person knows you reasonably well. Ideally, they should know you not only as their student, but in other contexts as well. What if theres no professor who knows me good enough? If you still have enough time before you need a recommendation letter, you should put in much effort to make connections with your professors. That way, youll be able to improve your chance to achieve your academic and career goals. Keep in mind that admissions offices receive hundreds, if not thousands of letters from potential students. Many of these letters are generic and do not stand out in the pile. If you choose a professor who knows you well both as a student and on a more personal level, they can write the letter with a more specific slant. This is going to help it stand out and get your application noticed. Is There a Certain Etiquette for Recommendation Requests? When asking your professor for a letter it is important to understand that it is something they take seriously and that a certain amount of etiquette involved when requesting letters. It is necessary to make a formal request for your reference letter. This should be done by email or letter. You should ask if he or she is willing to write a reference letter or fill out recommendation forms on your behalf. A pro tip: Never assume that your professor will be comfortable writing the letter – even if they have agreed to write one in the past. A formal request should always be made. Here are a few more etiquette tips to keep in mind when asking a professor for a letter of recommendation: Ask as Early as Possible – Professors have busy schedules and it can take time to write a strong letter of recommendation. Submit your request as early as you can, preferably a month before the deadline. This will give plenty of time for your professor to handle the request. Provide as Much Information as Possible – It will be really helpful to your professor if you provide as much information about the program or job that you are applying for. This will make it much easier for them to complete the text that helps you the best way. It may even be useful to make an appointment during their office hours to discuss it in full. Include a Pre-Addressed Envelope – Make it as easy as possible on your professor by providing them with included envelopes which are pre-addressed and have the correct postage affix. What If My Professor Denies My Recommendation Request? There is always a chance that your professor will deny your request. If this happens, try not to be too disheartened. There could be a variety of reasons for their refusal. It may not even be personal. It could be that they have several requests on their plate already and just don’t have the time to add another one to their workload. They may also feel that they do not actually have enough experience or knowledge of you as a student.Sometimes it might be that they simply think there is another program more suited to your skillset. A refusal is not an indication that you are a horrible student! The best course of action is to simply thank them for their time and send a request to your second choice. This is another great reason to get those requests in as early as possible, so you have plenty of time to decide on plan B! In conclusion, asking for a letter of recommendation is something that you need to take very seriously. It could be the difference between securing that place in graduate school or that dream job and being turned down. Get as much information as possible to include with your request to make things easier on your professor and be sure to give them enough time to complete your request.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Qué es ICE y qué puedes hacer en caso de una redada

Quà © es ICE y quà © puedes hacer en caso de una redada ICE es la agencia del gobierno de Estados Unidos encargada de hacer cumplir las leyes federales sobre aduanas, comercio, control de las fronteras e inmigracià ³n. El nombre completo de esta agencia es Ejecucià ³n de Aduanas e Inmigracià ³n y se le  conoce como ICE por sus siglas en inglà ©s. Es parte del Departamento de Seguridad Interna (DHS) y, en la actualidad, cuenta con ms de 20.000 agentes repartidos en ms de 400 oficinas por todo el territorio de Estados Unidos y 46 ubicadas en otros paà ­ses. Su presupuesto anual ronda los $5  billones. Este artà ­culo informa sobre cules son las actividades propias de ICE, quà © se puede hacer en los casos de redadas, y quà © esperar y cà ³mo proceder en el caso de arresto de un familiar o amigo. Quà © hace ICE ICE se identifica con redadas y deportaciones, pero, en realidad, sus competencias son mucho ms amplias y las ejecuta a travà ©s de cuatro departamentos. En primer lugar, la divisià ³n de Operaciones de Ejecucià ³n y Remocià ³n, conocido como ERO por sus siglas en inglà ©s. Este departamento se ocupa de arrestos administrativos y de deportaciones internas, es decir, las de inmigrantes que no son agarrados en el momento de cruzar ilegalmente la frontera o en los dà ­as posteriores al cruce.   En el à ºltimo aà ±o fiscal, ERO fue el responsable de 81.000 deportaciones internas. La mayorà ­a de esos migrantes, segà ºn datos oficiales, estaban comprendidos en una de las siguientes categorà ­as: condenados por una felonà ­a, pendientes de juzgar pero con cargo criminal, migrantes que regresaron a Estados Unidos ilegalmente despuà ©s de una deportacià ³n y fugitivos migratorios, como por ejemplo, los que no se presentaron a una cita en la corte y fueron condenados a ser deportados en ausencia. En segundo lugar,  la divisià ³n  de Investigacià ³n de Seguridad Interna, conocido como HSI por sus siglas en inglà ©s.  Esta es la divisià ³n del DHS con ms empleados, con 8.500, de los cuales 6.000 son agentes. Adems, es la divisià ³n de ese departamento con ms presencia internacional.   HSI se ocupa de seguridad interna, seguridad pà ºblica y seguridad fronteriza, lo que se traduce en actividades de lucha contra el trfico humano y pandillas, anti-narcà ³ticos, contrabando de productos, incluido el de dinero, cibercrimen, delitos financieros y proteccià ³n de las infraestructuras vitales para Estados Unidos, entre otras. En tercer lugar, la Oficina de Asuntos Internacionales, conocida como OIA. Dentro de sus competencias destacan la investigacià ³n de actividades criminales transnacionales, la colaboracià ³n en la repatriacià ³n de inmigrantes y el entrenamiento de agencias policiales de otros paà ­ses. Y, por à ºltimo, HSI-Intel,  es la encargada de dar apoyo a las otras divisiones de ICE en la forma de tecnologà ­a e informacià ³n. Tambià ©n se ocupa de coordinar agencias en los casos de desastres nacionales, como ataques terroristas, pandemias o catstrofes naturales. Tus derechos frente a las redadas de ICE Son frecuentes las noticias de las redadas de ICE, incluso de arrestos en lugares donde hasta hace poco eran realmente raras, como por ejemplo, las cortes de trfico, civiles o penales, en las afueras de escuelas o, incluso, en autobuses y trenes. En Estados Unidos, todas las personas, incluidos los migrantes indocumentados, tienen derechos bsicos que estn protegidos por la Constitucià ³n y que conviene que todos los inmigrantes conozcan. Uno de los ms importantes, en este contexto de las redadas, es que ninguna agencia policial puede ingresar en una vivienda sin el consentimiento de quienes viven  allà ­, excepto si tiene sospecha razonable de que se est cometiendo un crimen o tienen una orden judicial que asà ­ lo autoriza. Tampoco se est obligado en ningà ºn caso a mostrar documentos que pueden indicar presencia indocumentada, como por ejemplo, pasaportes extranjeros o matrà ­culas consulares. Las redadas de ICE estn ocasionando angustia y miedo, por lo que algunas comunidades de migrantes han creado sistemas de alerta para saber dà ³nde se estn produciendo y cundo. Quà © hacer cuando ICE arresta a un inmigrante o se sospecha de una detencià ³n El primer paso es intentar confirmar que el amigo o familiar del que no se sabe est efectivamente arrestado por ICE. A los pocos dà ­as de producirse el arresto suelen aparecer datos bsicos sobre el detenido en la base de datos oficial. Si no aparece, es posible contactar directamente con ERO. En cuanto a quà © puede pasar con un migrante detenido por ICE, hay muchas posibilidades, dependiendo de las particularidades del caso. Asà ­, es posible que se proceda inmediatamente a su deportacià ³n, lo cual puede hacerse en cuestià ³n de horas o dà ­as, o que se determine que el migrante quede detenido hasta que pase por la corte. Finalmente, tambià ©n es posible que a un detenido por el ICE se le deje en libertad bajo fianza, con control electrà ³nico, bajo palabra o sin cargos. Respecto a las fianzas, pueden ser fijadas por ICE pero  muchas veces se niegan. En estos casos, el detenido puede pedir una vista ante un juez para que sea este quien determine si tiene derecho a quedar libre bajo depà ³sito previo de una fianza. En este punto es importante contar con un abogado de inmigracià ³n con buena reputacià ³n. Tambià ©n la labor de un profesional es fundamental para estudiar con objetividad si existe algà ºn camino para regularizar la situacià ³n del migrante arrestado y evitar asà ­ su deportacià ³n. Este es un artà ­culo informativo. No es asesorà ­a legal.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Yellow Fever essays

Yellow Fever essays Yellow Fever, or Flavivirus Taxon, is a virus that kills 30,000 people yearly. It is carried by mosquitoes, which feed on humans. Currently, it is only found in South America and Africa. It is non-contagious and can only be caught once. Someone could tell if they have Yellow Fever if they have a sudden onset of a fever and a headache, followed by jaundice. After a few days the carrier will have black vomit and bleed from the mouth. In most cases death will occur within four to eight days after they contract the virus. There is no actual treatment of the virus, just things you can do to treat it temporally. The person must drink a lot of water to prevent dehydration. Do not give the infected aspirin because it may cause bleeding; instead use paracetamol. Lastly, the person must stay in bed and rest. Though most cases result in death, some survive. There is a vaccine available for Yellow Fever, which was created by Max Theiler in 1939. It is a live vaccine that lasts for about ten years. The way the vaccine works is the Yellow Fever protein coat is injected into the body, without the DNA in the protein coat. The Helper-T cell identifies the virus as harmful and calls an army of B-cells and Killer-T cells. The B-cells create antibodies, which attach to the antigen. The Killer-T cells then eat the antigen/antibody complex. With the vaccine the body builds immunity to the virus. If it were the actual virus the person could survive, but theyd probably die of heart, liver, or kidney failure. The liver damage causes extra yellow bile in skin pigment, causing the person to turn yellowish; hence the name Yellow Fever. The virus also causes hemorrhaging. People started catching Yellow Fever when building the Panama Canal. In 1881 Carlos Finlay concluded that Yellow Fever was contracted from mosquitoes. Walter Reed later confirmed this in 1901. This problem was solved by sa ...

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Entrepreneur Interview & Personal Analysis Essay - 1

Entrepreneur Interview & Personal Analysis - Essay Example The opportunity is at the center of the process, however, the identification opportunity and its realization depends upon the personality of the entrepreneur and his team. Other important elements of Timmons’s model are technical expertise and experience required to cash on the identified opportunity. The finance and other resources are placed at the last of this model of entrepreneurial process. (Lebherz, 2010, p.16-20) Specific questions were articulated to gain Mr. Hudson reaction on each element of the Timmons’s model. Clutching an opportunity requires a vigilant eye on current issues and openings. First three questions are focused to gain some knowledge of innovative thoughts that help Mr. Hudson to conceive the idea of the Edge Technologies. Because Mr. Hudson is not a descendent of an entrepreneur family, the enterprise realization is a display of his leadership and managerial qualities. The second question is targeted to gain his input on early strategic plannin g he did to minimize risks and enhance the chances of his success being an entrepreneur. Early shocks of business are a sheer test of entrepreneur courage and character. Third question is aimed at learning about the things that went wrong and posed a challenge to the existence and continuation of corporate operations. This might be very helpful in the assessment of an entrepreneurial character and can provide important insights into the strength of strategic plans laid down in early phases of enterprise establishment. The next section of the interview is aimed at understanding some personal attributes and characteristics of Mr. Hudson personality. This includes his concept of a successful entrepreneur and personal independence, which serves as lighthouse to guide rest of the entrepreneurial activities and forms the basis of other principles. Bygrave & Andrew (2010, p. 52) observes, â€Å"It does appear that entrepreneurs have a higher internal locus of control, than non-entrepreneu rs, which means that they have a stronger desire to be in control of their own fate.† The success of an entrepreneur is characterized by his attitude, ambition, confidence, knowledge, skills and experience. A variable mix of these personal attributes defines the future direction of the business and decides the way corporate objectives are pursued. Among all the attribute of an entrepreneur that contributes towards the success, the most significant is the knowledge of personal strengths and weaknesses. It is important for an entrepreneur to know exactly what shortcomings he needs to avoid and where he can zoom into his strengths. Some of the questions were designed to gain a professional and technical insight into the business. Despite of the over whelming influence of the entrepreneur on the enterprise, an efficient team is required to materialize and achieve corporate goals. This team marks the difference how risks and financial challenges to the enterprise are interpreted an d responded. Moreover, Mr. Hudson’s response on policymaking in the enterprise was sought to catch on his corporate philosophy and decision-making process. The concern of an entrepreneur for his society in this age is considered very important towards the fulfillment of corporate responsibility. Towards the end of Mr. Hudson interview, a question was targeted to get his input on social awareness. The last question was

Friday, October 18, 2019

Lab rebort Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Lab rebort - Essay Example The mass of the substance in this experiment is water while its specific heat is the quantity of energy needed to heat one gram using a temperature of 1 degree Celsius. Through the application of this formula, the original temperature of heated water was obtained by calculating the difference in cold water temperature, hot water temperature and the final temperature. During this calculation, it was considered that the hot water temperature would be the summation of the cold and mixed water. Considering that the heat moves from the heated water to cold water, there is an equal distribution of temperature. Arguably, this method can be applicable using the first law of thermodynamics. According to this law, energy cannot be created or destroyed. Materials needed for the experiment include a coffee jar containing hot water, ice, thermometer with a capacity to measure up to 40 degrees Celsius, burets, pipets, cold water, and graduated cylinders. Other materials include styrofoam cups, balances and different metal samples. Styrofoam cup was filled with hot water (about 100 grams) obtained from the coffee pot. The exact quantity of water was determined by first finding the weight of the styrofoam cup without water, then finding its weight after adding hot water. Cold water was prepared by changing ice to tap water through heating. Its temperature was then measured. Similar quantity (100 grams) of both hot water and cold water was transferred to the styrofoam cup and stirred. After some time, the temperature of the mixture was less than 40 degrees Celsius. To obtain the quantity of cold water added, the mixture of heated water and cold water was weighed. The following equation was then used to obtain the original hot water tempe rature. To obtain the original hot water temperature, hot water temperature difference was added to the ultimate temperature of the concoction of hot and cold

System Analysis and Design course Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

System Analysis and Design course - Essay Example The scope of the project is to give a plan which illustrates to draw an amount of $800 from the monthly earning or we can say from disposable income by managing the routine expenses within the same income. The expected length of the saving plan would be 5 months i.e. starting from 1st of March 2014 to 1st of July 2014. I hope that during the period of 5 months I will be able to accumulate the amount of $800 in order to purchase the iPad. In order to be successful in my saving plan, there must be a saving of $160-180 per month. In case of any decrease in the saving amount per month I may not be able to purchase the desired model of iPad in the expected time period. One more important thing, I may reduce my frequent visits to nearby fast food restaurants along with my friends. This will definitely cut down my extra expenses. The basic purpose or the objective of this study or report is to devise an information system which helps to manage the time spent in different activities of daily routine life. Time management is very much necessary in the life because now the philosophers consider time value as an asset which should be properly utilized so that an individual can take full advantage of it. The scope of the essay is to devise a time management plan for best use of time. This will look at the past behavior of how time has been used how the time was saved during the college period. This time management will help to maintain the resources in later years. We have to give a proper time to our college activities because these cannot be compromised at all or we can say at any cost. Though the college schedule is set keeping in mind the personal activities also but the time plan should give ample time to the study duration. If I look back to my past activities then I might come to know that at certain times I failed to properly allocate time. This failure caused certain problems for me. Now I

Thursday, October 17, 2019

The economics of ocean resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The economics of ocean resources - Essay Example In summary, Hardin’s article addresses the exploitation of common resources due to individuals self utility maximisation goals. Naturally resources are limited while human wants are not only unlimited but also recur. Rationally, individuals strive to maximally benefit from the available resources, which translate to exploitation of the resources. Hardin notes that, the benefits accruing from the use of these resources accrues to a particular individual while the economic loss associated is shared by the community. The rise in population worsens the impact. Therefore, to a single individual, over- use of the resource is beneficial despite harming the community and hence making greed rational. According to Hardin (1968), freedom to access resources enhances the tragedy. For that reason, Hardin advocates for increased government involvement in utilization of public resources and supports his arguments with failure of the’ invisible hand’ to generate a socially optim al solution in several aspects. Economic theory suggests that increased consumption boosts productivity and increases social welfare. The contradictory result that exists in consumption of common resources, especially the exhaustible ones, is what Hardin referred to as the tragedy, and expounded the definition of tragedy to cover both unhappiness and remorseful actions in life. According to Hardin, and many other scholars, the solution to the commons problem must involve an external controller. Government involvement and privatisation have been marked as the most effective solutions. However, given that the problem is caused by individual’s greed and affects the same individuals, collective action can be termed as not only effective but also a cheaper mode of reducing the tragedy. According to wade, collective action refers to the harmonization of actions by a group to achieve a common interest. As noted earlier, individuals are

Food Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Food Security - Essay Example Global warming has worked to exacerbate tensions rising over food insecurity concerns. The influence of climate on food supplies is so phenomenal that both entities are popularized as being inextricably linked to each other. Food shortage is the reason why people in many parts of the world are driven toward the practice of committing suicide. This is because hunger is a great punishment and many people are bound to suffer from this punishment at hands of heaven-kissing food rates. People from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds suffer the most from this shortage of food supplies and resulting high food rates. The suicide rate is also particularly common among such groups. As food prices spiral out of control and agricultural practices get the worst of climate change, the world is advised to prepare for an upcoming dearth of many basic food products. What is so different now from the past is that masses of people have moved from calm rural areas to chaotic urban areas in respo nse to industrialization and these areas suffer from a climatic risk that is more deadly and influential. It is the result of such mass migration of as many as 650 million people to arid or semi-arid areas that problems like the flood, droughts, and skyrocketing food prices affect them the most. This small statistic helps to gain an insight into the awry situation of the food problem in present contemporary times.  Human numbers increasing at an unprecedented rate also serve to exacerbate food insecurity issues.  

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

The economics of ocean resources Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The economics of ocean resources - Essay Example In summary, Hardin’s article addresses the exploitation of common resources due to individuals self utility maximisation goals. Naturally resources are limited while human wants are not only unlimited but also recur. Rationally, individuals strive to maximally benefit from the available resources, which translate to exploitation of the resources. Hardin notes that, the benefits accruing from the use of these resources accrues to a particular individual while the economic loss associated is shared by the community. The rise in population worsens the impact. Therefore, to a single individual, over- use of the resource is beneficial despite harming the community and hence making greed rational. According to Hardin (1968), freedom to access resources enhances the tragedy. For that reason, Hardin advocates for increased government involvement in utilization of public resources and supports his arguments with failure of the’ invisible hand’ to generate a socially optim al solution in several aspects. Economic theory suggests that increased consumption boosts productivity and increases social welfare. The contradictory result that exists in consumption of common resources, especially the exhaustible ones, is what Hardin referred to as the tragedy, and expounded the definition of tragedy to cover both unhappiness and remorseful actions in life. According to Hardin, and many other scholars, the solution to the commons problem must involve an external controller. Government involvement and privatisation have been marked as the most effective solutions. However, given that the problem is caused by individual’s greed and affects the same individuals, collective action can be termed as not only effective but also a cheaper mode of reducing the tragedy. According to wade, collective action refers to the harmonization of actions by a group to achieve a common interest. As noted earlier, individuals are

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

Future challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Future challenges - Essay Example Information is quite crucial to an exporter or an importer. Information gives the status of shipments, the problems that may cause the shipment to delay etc. New competition looks at the consumer’s lead time, making the execution of orders to be within the required time. The new competition will improve the various management processes involving the customer. This is the relationship between a company and its consumers with information on products’ availability. A successful organization has to lay focus on building customer relationships for example positive treatments towards the customer, determining customer satisfaction in order to achieve company goals. Consumer demand will increase and be different in future after them gaining confidence in the company. Creation of a good relationship with the customers will be the determining factor for growth and expansion of the company. Competition has built a fragile environment for businesses operation. Therefore, need to maintain customers will be of importance to supply chain management. Due to intense competition, there will be requests by the customers to have a wide range of goods for example fresh products of good quality. Competition will impact the suppliers on cost consideration to the consumer. Due to the new competition, companies will provide good services, short lead time and good order execution. A good management of the all the function in the organization from engineering, manufacturing, procurement, marketing, and finance will ensure the reinventing of the supply chain. The authority of all the functions in the company to coordinate the activities well with autonomy will act as a way to reinvent the system (Harland 1996). The overall performance of the companies will emerge from the good coordination from all the functions to produce quality services. New competition will bring about reduced prices to favour the consumers. This will come up from the attempts by competing companies

The Energy from a Nuclear Weapon Essay Example for Free

The Energy from a Nuclear Weapon Essay We have been living in the nuelear age now for over half a century. Since the first atomic bombs were developed, nuclear technology has provided governments with the ability to totally destroy the planet. Yet the technology has been put to positive use as an energy source and in certain areas of medicine. To what extent is nuclear technology a danger to life on Earth? What are the benefits and risks associated with its use? These days, many people are afraid of nuclear technology because of the dangers associated with its use. In my opinion, although it is true that nuclear weapons pose the greatest threat to life, the use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes also carries some serious risks. Nuclear power stations provide an important source of cheap power for many industrialised nations and some developing countries. However, there is always the danger of radiation leaking from these plants. Even though safety precautions are taken, there have been numerous disasters such as the explosion of a nuclear plant in Russia not long ago. Nuclear technology is even used to help cure some diseases such as cancer. Radiation can be applied to the body to burn away cancerous cells. This is, however, a dangerous procedure, and the application of radiation is almost always painful and not always successful. The most worrying aspect of nuclear technology, though, is its use for military purposes. Enough atomic bombs have already been built to completely destroy the planet, and the real danger is that one day some country will start a war with these weapons. Too many countries now have the technology required to make such bombs, and there is currently much debate about how to control the situation. In conclusion, nuclear technology certainly has positive uses, but is, nonetheless, dangerous. However, it would have been better if it had never been used to create nuclear weapons. If life on Earth is to continue.

Monday, October 14, 2019

Mutation Testing by Using Formal Method

Mutation Testing by Using Formal Method Jaspreet Singh Abstract Mutation testing was introduced in 1970’s in the field of software testing as a process of testing the test suites by intentionally seeding errors i.e. mutation operators, into the original program’s source code. Its main purpose is to verify the functionality of the test cases which are executed with the aim of catching the variations between the program and the mutants. It’s extremely essential to improve the efficiency and adequacy of test cases. Hence, the goal is to make the mutant program fail. This paper depends upon the literature survey of mutation testing by using formal methods. Keywords- Mutant, Code, Program, Test cases, Kill, PIMS. I INTRODUCTION Since 1970’s, this technique is used by developers for validating the test cases as well as the test data generation. It’s a well know process to computer scientists for years. But due to heaviness of the method, it demanded huge computational power which reduced its usability. But the advancements in software engineering and the era of increased computational power, has laid it continue to serve as the most powerful method of verifying the functionality and performance of test suites. The objective is to improve the aptness and efficiency of test cases where the programmer will intentionally alter the original program’s source code by injecting a faulty piece of code known as a mutant, into it. The resultant code is referred to as mutated code. The mutation procedure will create many versions of the original program. Each version is known as a mutant. The execution of a mutant will verify the proficiency of the test case. If the output of the original program wi ll vary with that of the mutant one causing each faulty version to fail [1]. The resultant mutant is killed and the test case is saved considering it an adequate one. More the number of mutants killed by a test case, the better is the competency of the test case. Mutation testing is proficient in testing programs at the unit level, integration level and the specification level. It has been applied to many programming languages like C, C++, etc. and is a part of white box test technique [2]. II LITERATURE SURVEY Initial concepts of mutation were introduced by Richard Lipton in a class term paper titled â€Å"Fault Diagnosis of Computer Programs†. The first referred publications were presented in the late 1970’s ; the DeMillo, Lipton. PIMS was one of the first mutation testing tools [3]. It originated the basic procedure typically used in mutation analysis of creating mutants, obtaining test cases from the users, and then executing the them on the mutants to conclude how many mutants were killed. The most widely used tool among researchers was the Mothra mutation toolset [3], which provided an integrated set of tools, each of which performed an individual, separate task to support mutation analysis and testing. Several variants of Mothra were created in the early 1990s, including one that implemented weak mutation [4], and several distributed versions. A compiler-integrated mutation tool for C was also developed [5], and tool that was based on program schemata [6]. However, thes e tools were primarily used by the researchers who developed them and the only widely used system besides the original version of Mothra has been the Proteum mutation system for C [7]. A Formal Methods Formal methods are techniques based on mathematics and formal logic. It supports automated consistency checking and testing specifications. It helps finding defects when applied to good quality software. Such methods allow large number of classes of test cases having finite proof with support least dependence on subjective reasoning [8]. B The benefits of using Formal Methods include: Product-focused measure of correctness: The use is used for the of Formal correctness of a system. Early detection of defects: Formal Methods can be applied to earlier detection and elimination of design defects and associated late cycle rework. Guarantees of correctness: Unlike testing, formal analysis tools go through all possible execution paths through the system. If there is any way to reach a fault condition, a tool will find it. In a multi-threaded system where concurrency is an issue, formal analysis can explore all possible interleavings and event orderings[13]. Fig-1 Formal Methods such as model checking examine more system behaviors for safety violations than testing alone III NOTIONS OF FORMAL PROOF: A Mathematical proof: A formal proof is a complete and convincing mathematical argument, presenting the full logical justification for each proof of set of theorems B Machine-checked proof: A formal proof is evidence accepted by a proof checker showing that a conjecture is a valid consequence of given axioms. C Hilbert proof: A formal proof in a theory is a sequence of formulas, each of which is either an axiom of or a direct consequence of preceding formulas in the sequence by virtue of a rule of inference associated with the underlying formal system[14]. IV TYPES OF MUTANTS We define the following classification of mutants as follows: A Killed Mutant; which was killed by a test case which was specifically written to kill it. The concept behind mutation testing is that modifying the source code of a given unit (or mutating it) should cause the test that operates on that unit to fail. Example : Method and Corresponding Unit Test //original code under test public class Example { public boolean is LessThanThree(int number) { return (number Example : Mutated Method public class Example { public boolean isLessThanThree(int number) { return (number > 3); } } Notice that with this mutation, the method testLessThanThree would fail because the mutated method now returns the boolean number > 3, which in this case would be false and the assert statement is checking to see that the desired result is true. The method TestLessThanThreeFail would not fail, however, because 3 is not greater than 3 and the returned boolean would be false, which is what the assert statement is checking for. Because testLessThanThree failed, this mutant is said to be killed; the mutation caused the test to fail, which means the test is adequately catching this kind of mistake[12]. Dead on Arrival (DOA)- Mutant that was killed by the initial test suite found in the test bed. Ignored Mutant which a study participant encountered but did not kill. Living-Mutant which could not be killed due to time constraints (whether or not the mutant was encountered). Crossfire- Mutant that was killed by a test case intended to kill a different mutant. Stubborn.-Mutant that cannot be killed by a test case due to logical equivalence or language constructs. B Ordering Mutants: Let P be an implemented program and P’ be a first order mutant that differs from P at location l. A test case, t1 can distinguish P form P’ provided the following necessary and sufficient conditions hold on executing P and P’ with starting state t1: This has 3 properties: The execution must reach location l ( ); The evaluation of expressions at location l in P and P’ must result in different values at least once ( ) ; The final states on termination of execution of P and P’ must be different ( ). Properties (a) and (b) follow by observing that the location must be reached and in the case of a c-location the two executions must result in two different states if they are to be distinguished. 1) Process of Mutation Testing NO YES YES NO Fig. 2 Working of Mutation process The process of mutation analysis is shown in fig. 2. Steps are as follows: The program is being fed as an input and is executed. The resultant is checked . If the resultant indicates successful completion of the program, then terminate. If not, then create mutants (mutated code). A mutant, as previously mentioned is an intentionally altered program by the programmer. It is fed by some errors termed as mutation operators. Test cases are created to the system to be executed on the program. Execute the test cases against the mutant. If the output of the mutant is correct, then execute the test case on each version of the mutant. If not, then again the output of the original program is checked. Compare the output of the original source code with that of each version’s. A decision is made after determining the output of the original code with that of the mutated one. If the output differs, then the test is considered to be an adequate one and is executed on each of the mutants of the program The mutant that is detected is marked as dead/killed. Whereas, output being same indicates inadequacy of the test case and the program. 2) Mutation Operators- Taxonomy of mutation operators: 3)Statement Mutations: The mutant is produced by replacing the keywords in the statement, like While to do while While to For Example for Switch statement: Program Switch Statements case 0: i++; case 1: i = 4; Mutant: case 1: i++; case 0: i = 4; Operator Mutations The mutant is produced by changing the operator in the original source code. For ex: a=1, b=0 If (a b) { C=1; } else { C=0;} The condition mutation operator would replace with the mutation operator || and gives us the following mutant: If(a||b) { C=1; } else { C=0;} Variable Mutations Replace each variable with another variable declared in the same scope (variable types should be the same). Constant Mutations In constant mutations, the mutant tends to fail as there is no mutation operator to be replaced Ex: If (1) { printf (â€Å"How are you?†); } Else {printf(â€Å"I am fine.†);} In this case, mutation testing fails. [2] Example Original piece of a code: c=a+b; where a=3and b=2 Putting the values for a and b, it will result in 3+2=5 Now, possible mutants are c=a-b; , c=a/b; and c=a*b; Such mutations are mostly easier for a test suite to recognize if (a == b) { //do something } will be mutated to if (a != b) { // do something } Here, == is replaced by !=. V PROS AND CONS Mutation procedure is widely acceptable as an essential way to determine the fault-detecting effectiveness of the test sets. Now software developers and testers everywhere can enjoy the most powerful error- detection capabilities with the speed and ease of use of an automatic running debugging tool [9]. But, at the same time it pertains some disadvantages also, which are as follows: A PRO’S: Providing the testers with a target- One of the major advantages of mutation testing is that it provides the tester with a target. The tester has to generate a test data with the aim of killing all the generated mutants. Therefore, we can generate an adequate test data set that is capable enough to detect errors in the program.[10] Bringing more confidence in customers and testers- The customer also benefits from this technique , as he receives a more reliable and bug free software. This will increase confidence in them which will profit your company where it matters most. Mutation Testing originated as a means of creating more effective test suites by which the tester can be more confident that his program is adequately tested. It’s a powerful fault-based testing approach for competent programmers. B CON’S: Computationally expensive due to lack of automated tool..Mutation Testing is complicated and time-consuming to perform without an automated tool. Often, there are massive number of mutants that are generated for a original program as number of mutants is directly proportional to the mutation operators applied. Hence it is computationally expensive to run. The test cases on each and every mutant. It is also expensive to compile and execute every mutant [9][10]. An example of this is shown in Table No. 2 given below. Table 2 Increase In Computational Cost Such mutants only contribute in increasing the computational cost as the efforts needed to check if mutants are equivalent or not, can be very high even for small programs against the test cases. [2] Equivalent Mutants, one of the biggest problems- Syntactically different from the original program. But, semantically the same. Consider the example given in Table No. 3 given below: The equivalent mutant is generated by changing the operator Table 3 Equivalent Mutants Manual equivalent mutant detection is quite tedious- The other barrier to more widespread use of mutation testing is the amount of manual labor involved in using this technique. Hence, developing mutation adequate test cases can be very labor-intensive.[2] VI CONCLUSION This paper provides a detailed review of mutation testing .It covers the objective, Analysis of previous mutation systems, Formal Methods, working of mutation testing and efficient test case generation, Taxonomy of mutation operators and its Pro’s and Con’s . Mutation testing has given a great contribution in the field of software testing and provided the testers with a matured and affordable technique in detecting best test suites. Future Scope Our future scope is to develop a more advanced mutation testing approach that minimizes the issue of computational cost up to a certain level with the aim of killing all the possible mutants and thereby generating good test cases. REFERENCES [1] Yue Jia ans Mark Harman. An Analysis and Survey of the Development of Mutation Testing. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering, King’s College London, Centre for Research on Evolution Search and Testing (CREST), Strand, London, WC2R 2LS, UK, 2010 [2] Hiralal Agrawal , Richard A. DeMillo, Bob Hathaway, William Hsu, Wynne Hsu, E.W. Krauser, R.J. Martin and Aditya P. Mathur, â€Å"Design Of Mutant Operators For The C Programming Language†, Software Engineering Research Centre, Department of Computer Sciences, Purdue University, W. Lafayette, IN 47907, Revision 1.02, March 20, 1989. [3] D. M. S. Andre. Pilot mutation system (pims) user’s manual. Technical report GIT-ICS-79/04, Georgia Institute of Technology, April 1979 [4] A.J Offutt and S.D.Lee. An empirical evaluation of weak mutation. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering , 20(5): 337-344, May 1994. [5] R.A. DeMillo, E.W.Krauser, and A.P. Mathur. Compiler-integrated program mutation. In Proceedings of the Fifteenth Annual Computer Software and Applications Conference (COMPSAC’ 92), Tokya, Japan, September 1991. Kogakuim University, IEEE Computer Society Press. [6] R. Untch, A.J. Offutt, and M.J. Harrold. Mutation analysis using program schemata. In Proceedings of the 1993 International symposium on Software Testing, and Analysis, pages 139-148, Cambridge MA, June 1993. [7] M.E. Delamaro and J.C. Maldonado. Proteum – A tool for the assessment of test adequacy for C programs. Proceedings of the Conference on Performability in Computing Systems, pages 75-95. July 1996. [8] A. Jefforson Offutt, A practical system for mutation testing: Help for the common programmer, ISSE Department, George Mason University,Fairfax, VA 22030, 1994. [9] S. Madiraju ,S. Ramakrishnan and A.J.Hurst, â€Å"Towards Automated Mutation Testing†, March 2004. [10] A. Jefferson Offutt and Roland H.Untch, Mutation : Uniting the orthogonal, A. Jeerson Offutt ISE Department, George Mason University Fairfax, VA USA, Roland H.Untch, Department of Computer Science Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, 2000. [11] David L. Dill, â€Å"Formal Methods Specification and Verification Guidebook for software and computer systems† Vol. 1, Computer Science Department, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, July 1995. [12] Ben Smith and Laurie Williams, â€Å"Software Engineering†, Department of computer science North Carolina State University. [13] Murali Rangarajan, â€Å"Formal Methods†,Honeywell Laboratories 3660 Technology Drive Minneapolis, MN 55418. [14] James G. Williams and Marshall D. Abrams, â€Å"Formal Methods And Models†.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Stevensons Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyl

Stevenson's Use of Literary Techniques in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde In his novella "Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde", Robert Louis Stevenson explores the dual nature of Victorian man, and his link with an age of hypocrisy. Whilst writing the story he obviously wanted to show the people of the time what happened behind closed doors. In Jekyll's suicide note he makes the following observation " I have observed that when I wore the semblance of Edward Hyde, none could come near to me at first without a visible misgiving of the flesh. This, as I take it, was because all human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil: and Edward Hyde, alone in the ranks of mankind, was pure evil." I believe that the underlying moral of this novella is that we are all comprised of good and evil, and that we should possess the ability to control and acknowledge the darker side of ourselves. Dr Jekyll is described as "a large, well made, smooth-faced man of fifty, with something of a slyish cast perhaps, but every mark of capacity and kindness". However, when angered "The large handsome face of Dr Jekyll grew pale to the very lips, and there came a blackness about his eyes". He is a very strong-minded man, as he argues about his will with Mr Utterson, however he does become addicted to Hyde, and too weak to oppose him. Mr Utterson after meeting Hyde for the first time, starts to feel sorry for his friend, however he does suggest that Jekyll has a dark past "was wild when he was young; a long while ago to be sure". Mr Hyde is presented as a very dark and sinister character. Hyde " was small and very plainly dressed, and the look of him, even at a distance, went somehow against the watcher's incli... ...l's mind to kill them both. By Jekyll killing, himself he sets both him, and Hyde free, although it is Hyde who is found when the cabinet door is forced open. This is because when Jekyll dies, he is emotionally and physically venerable, and Hyde shines through. So theoretically, it is Mr Hyde continues to exist temporarily when Dr Jekyll is gone. Therefore, I conclude that Stevenson explores the duality, which lies within man very well and aptly describes this phenomena in Jekyll's suicide note when he writes, " all human beings, as we meet them, are commingled out of good and evil". However, I feel that he has not truly exploited the capabilities that could have been developed when sculpting Hyde's character. Jekyll's original experiment was to try to create a purely good man, however, he just ends up destroying his experiment and eventually himself.

Saturday, October 12, 2019

Video Games and Violence Essay examples -- classical conditioning, pav

One of the main concerns with respect to violence in video games compared to other media is the fact that games are immersive, and interactive. They are repetitive, and based on a reward system which is a proven psychological component of classical conditioning discovered by Ivan Pavlov. This argument however has been going on since the days of the comic book in the 50's, and because of the graphic violence portrayed in them, parents blamed them for their children's bad behavior. It seems that blaming games, and other media in this way is quite a lazy view to take. Subsequently, it is really using game manufacturers as a scapegoat, while ignoring the bigger issue, the person who has committed this act of aggression or violence, and other issues that have brought them to this point. Apparently, according to a 2001 U.S. Surgeon General's report, the panic over video game violence is twice as harmful as it misdirects energy that could be used in helping kids with problems, and allows them to fester to the point where they break down, and act out in aggression. A more appropriate question would be "Do violent games inspire the gamer to cause violence"? If the game does make a person commit violence, then are they mature enough to be playing it in the first place? Does this mean though one learns to be violent from playing a violent game, any more than watching a violent film, or listening to an aggressive Hip-Hop or Rap song, and have a long term effect to make the player violent and aggressive in real life, where they may otherwise have been non-violent. A prison in Missouri seem to think that they do affect the player, as since 2004 they have been the first to remove them from prison privileges. Whether or not this has r... ...ey, n.p.: New York ; Oxford : Oxford University Press, 2007., University of Cumbria Library Catalogue, EBSCOhost, viewed 23 December 2013. Death Race. (2013) DEATH RACE (Video Game). [Online]. Available from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_Race_%281976_game%29. [Accessed 21/12/2013]. Egenfeldt-Nielsen, S. S., Smith, J. and Tosca, S. (2013) 'Video Games and Risks', Understanding Video Games, Second Edition. New York: Routledge, pp 255-277. Springer. (2013) Video games do not make vulnerable teens more violent. Available at: http://www.springer.com/about+springer/media/springer+select?SGWID=0-11001-6-1433942-0 (Accessed: 29/12/2013). Wendy Stogner. (2007) Do Video Games Cause Violence in Children?. Yahoo Voices. Weblog [Online] 23rd May. Available from: http://voices.yahoo.com/do-video-games-cause-violence-children-359143.html?cat=25. [Accessed 29/12/2013].

Friday, October 11, 2019

Internet Regulation in Contemporary China Essay

China has continued to experience great difficulty in trying to regulate internet use in the country, which has continued to have its share of socioeconomic implications. The Chinese government has an economic environment which is so liberal and the internet comes in handy in playing a big role in the development strategy, particularly in the communication sector. The country is geared to use the internet to boost the country’s economic growth by installing advanced technological networks to linkup with other markets across the world. The number of internet users has grown so fast since the strategy was embraced; moving to 210 million in 2007 from 0. 62 million ten years earlier (1997). Furthermore, the country has 1. 5 million websites and is currently the world’s number two in internet use (Zhao, p. 37). With this fact, it has become a national concern to control the use of internet technology due to the numerous challenges that accompany it, especially its effect on the political and social arena. The country is therefore focused on drawing up rules and regulations to control internet use to help counter the negative resultant effects. This paper will look at the steps that the Chinese government is taking in trying to regulate the internet use, the outcome of the strategy and how the steps are perceived by its proponents and opponents alike. Internet Regulation in Contemporary China China put in place the first set of internet regulations in 1996 and continued to update the rules in the other subsequent years, the laws were amended to make tighter internet access and give the government more control over its use. It was discovered that through the internet, scamming activities, rumor mongering, defamation, incitements and other cyber criminal activities were becoming more prevalent. The legislation of the laws was therefore meant to administer controls and minimize the effects of this misuse which was compromising economic growth. China has established twelve agencies charged with the duty of censuring the internet; some of these include the State Secrecy Bureau (SSB), Central Propaganda Department (CPD), State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT), The Judiciary and GAPP (General Administration of Press and Publication). The steps that the government has taken to regulate the internet use have managed to achieve a compromise point (though not very stable) between giving the nation economic boost and at the same time shield it from harmful influences on the society. There is however some tension in effecting these policies as it involves being more pragmatic and administer restrictions over the news media curtailing freedom of speech. (Zhao, p. 37). Too much censorship of the internet has its share of socioeconomic implications and little of it might present quite a challenge that may result to uncalled for strive. Topping the agency’s list in regulating internet content are the SCIO (State Council Information Office) and MII (Ministry of Information Industry). These organizations are charged with the duty of restricting the very operations of domestic websites. Any indication of possible flouting of the regulations and legal requirements on the expected conduct of website owners is met with severe penalties ranging from imposition of fines up to total ban. Websites that target politicians and other historical figurers in China had earlier faced such bans, this also include those that would be classified as extreme satire. Through the help of SARFT, the Chinese government has put in place regulations to monitor the content of online videos before they are authorized for release to the public† (Zhao, p. 38). This move is just a part of the wider campaign to control the internet content and it has gone a long way in sieving internet content. Positive effects that made internet advocates push for limited restrictions include and not limited to, public enlightenment with worldly information and the comical part because of its help to ease work pressure. In 2004, SARFT Documented a regulation which held it that before any network developer commenced on the publication of his/her content, the firm must receive an official network license in audio and video form to allowing it send its programs to the internet (Zhao, p. 39). But despite the restrictions that the Chinese government has placed on the internet use, a unanimous internet control is far from being achieved. The internet culture presents a scenario that is very difficult to deal with due to its complex nature. The number of internet users in China is so massive such that the government finds it untenable to monitor every information inflow and outflow across the net. Another problem comes in because of the lack of universal laws governing global internet use. Chinese internet regulatory rules can not be applied across the boarders and therefore some contents which are considered illegal in China might find their way into the country, yet China has no control over the move (Zhao, p. 40). This therefore calls for international jurisdiction to apply to internet information flow. Absence of such regulations makes it practically impossible to make the local law effective, hence overrules every decision made on internet content control. Finally, the pace by which the world is gaining control and convergence of technology is so fast such that the Chinese government is finding it close to impossible to revise its regulations to keep pace with such developments. The government of China has redesigned the structure of the media in such a way that it acts just like an integral part of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). The CCP therefore uses the media to run their private affairs like organizing programs, giving directives and implementing their policies. The regulations also call for adherence of the party’s principles and codes of conduct and their press policies. The government has changed the operating principles of the media using the internet regulatory steps to such an extent that the media has now been hijacked and revolutionized into what can be seen as a government cheerleader and mouthpiece used in social modernization and as an instrument to spearhead economic development agendas (Zhao, p. 40). The government is so much focused in making the entire media industry in the country managed according to the principles of the party leadership. The Chinese government is so focused in tightening the rules on the internet use and this move is seen as denying the press the freedom of expression and at the same time locking out the public from enjoying the right of information. These two are meant to be fundamental human rights in any democratic nation. But the Chinese government claims that giving the public unlimited freedom to express every opinion they have will result to political and social instability. Since the internet has sources emanating from every corner of the world, it offers opportunities for individuals to express their feelings and opinions on every topic without fear of intimidation. The internet has literally no restrictions on the content that can be accessed by any interested party and owing to its complex nature, one can not stop but wander if the Chinese government will ever be successful in gagging the media and barring the flow of information across the internet. It is hard to believe that the nation has even the faintest hope of someday being in full control of the content of information leaving and accessing the country. The proliferation and the hi-tech technology that the internet comes with, presents the public with an opportunity to share their opinion with the wider world across the boarders†¦the Chinese has an up-hill task if it thinks it will wholly and single handedly manipulate information flow. Chinese government policies makers have for that reason remained proactive due to the complex architectural landscape that the internet is creating† (Zhao, p. 41). The government security forces are turning information service providers into detectives, by directing them to filter out any information that they feel is undesirable before it leaks to the public. The government despite its efforts has achieved little, the Chinese community despite the sanctions is still getting access to cyber discussions and making their opinions b e known world over without obtaining the government’s nod. This shows how impossible it is to crackdown on online access. While proponents of free information flow are drumming support for the unlimited use of the internet, stating that every person should not be barred from seeking to know anything he or she desires; there are a lot of social and economic tensions that accompany liberalization and decentralization of the internet. That is why the government has relentlessly focused in controlling the internet and sifting its contents before it reaches the public. Striking a balance between content control and being flexible is hard and imperative, there are continuous adjustments in the internet and the rules therefore need to be equally adjusted if the nation wants to keep pace with the dynamics of the internet. All having been said and done, many people hold a common feeling that the internet with its advantages and disadvantages should not be treated as if they are social and political defects which need to be fixed to stabilize a nation, but instead every nation; China included, should appreciate the benefits that openness bring. With an open society individuals are able to express their appreciation, gratitude, un-satisfaction and displeasure to the state, all which are healthy for and recipe for innovation as well as economic development and political freedom. Conclusion From the facts presented in this paper, it has been established that there are conflicting interests on what should be done with the increasing case of internet use. While it is vital to harmonize globalization effect with the rest of the world, it is the hub of rumor mongering and a platform to spread hate messages that can in turn result to acrimonious activities. It is therefore logical to find a compromise point between these two extremities and address the issue amicable. Stringent rules on the internet amounts to denial of the freedom of speech and right of information. It is true that control should be administered on the internet content, because of numerous cases of cyber crime that goes undetected online. Several sites that bring ill mannered individuals together with an intention of causing harm to others are present online. Therefore, the Chinese government is just right by drawing some rules to guide this cause. The fault of the security forces and the government officials is in cases where they are trying to revolutionize media into their own mouthpiece. The media should be left to operate independently with only stated principles to follow. Since China is not able to counter the negative effects of the internet alone, all the other countries have to be brought on board so that universal rules can be drawn to regulate internet use worldwide. If this is done, websites with offensive contents will never find place anywhere in any country as the rules will be applicable to each nation; sovereign or not. If the universal laws are adopted, China will never again lock out its citizens from enjoying internet services without limits and for that effect the burden to control internet content will not be left alone to China as a nation but will rest on every nation. China will therefore develop into a more open marketed nation and on human rights, it will be regard as more democratic as before.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

A Critique of Jean Watson’s Theory of Transpersonal Caring Essay

Different views of nursing gave rise to the formulation of various nursing theories that contribute greatly to the advancement and evolution of the nursing profession as a whole. Some focus on the curative nature of nursing, while others revolve around the social and ethical aspect of the profession that complements conventional medicine. Among the latter is Dr. Jean Watson’s Theory of Transpersonal Caring, which this paper attempts to analyze and evaluate using J. Fawcett’s Framework of Analysis and Evaluation of Conceptual Models of Nursing. Dr. Watson’s personal views of nursing brought about the conception of the theory in 1979, at the time when she was a professor of nursing at the University of Colorado. Her background in educational-clinical and social psychology influenced these views, along with her involvement in a nursing curriculum that sought to establish a standard to nursing that transcends settings, populations, specialty, subspecialty areas and so forth. It was an attempt to bring meaning and focus to nursing as an emerging discipline and distinct health profession with its own unique values, knowledge and practices, with its own ethic and mission to society (Watson, 2006). Originally, Watson’s theory revolved around three major elements, namely the carative factors, the transpersonal caring relationship, and the caring moment. She stated ten carative factors that served as guidelines for the nursing practice and basically centered on the principles of caring. The transpersonal caring relationship describes how the nurse goes beyond an objective assessment, showing concerns toward the person’s subjective and deeper meaning regarding their own health care situation, while the caring moment is defined as the moment (focal point in space and time) when the nurse and another person come together in such a way that an occasion for human caring is created (Cara, 2003). In this context, the four essential concepts of nursing – person, environment, health, and nursing – are encompassed in the theory. Being holistic in nature, the theory presents its framework as a congregation of all these concepts, centering on the person. Watson regards a person as an individual with unique qualities and unique needs. The person is recognized as a being capable of communicating with another beyond physical interaction. The person is viewed as whole and complete, regardless of illness of disease (Watson, 2006). The environment is regarded as a healing space, where the person’s awareness and consciousness can expand and promote mindbodyspirit wholeness and healing (Watson, 1999). Inevitably, the state of a patient’s environment can influence an individual’s state of health. The physical environment can affect how the person can connect and exist in the spiritual environment created by transpersonal caring relationships, and could affect the effectiveness of the science of caring. Health is referred to as the unity and harmony within the mind, body and soul. It is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and functioning (Hagopian, 2007). The theory establishes that caring can promote a person’s health better than the curative means of conventional medicine. Through caring, the care giver recognizes the condition of the recipient at a deeper level, enabling him/her to sympathize as needed, and provide the appropriate care needed by the patient. With this means of understanding the patient better, there is greater chance of addressing the patient’s needs, creating the needed balance in his/her physical, mental, and social well-being. Watson defines nursing â€Å"as a human science of persons and human health – illness experiences that are mediated by professional, personal, scientific, esthetic, and ethical human care transactions† (Watson, 1988). The theory also emphasizes caring as central to nursing, and is essentially what the theory wishes to achieve. Nursing is not just about curing an illness or disease – it is beyond that. It is about the nurse being able to center consciousness on the entire being of the other in order to detect his/her inner condition, and impart genuine concern through caring moments communicated through â€Å"movements, gestures, facial expressions, procedures, information, touch, sound, verbal expressions and other scientific, technical, aesthetic, and human means of communication.† The role of consciousness is deemed greatly important, because then the nurse exhibits commitment and sincere intention to connect with the patient at a deeper level, thus becoming an effective aid in nursing the patient back to health, physically, emotionally, and spiritually (Watson, 2006). As can be derived from what has been discussed, the theory is concerned with establishing nursing as a profession distinct from the curative nature of conventional medicine, to which it has been originally strongly associated with – the original role of the nurse being to primarily care for the patient as dictated and required by disease or illness. The theory places emphasis on the transcendent and healing quality of a caring relationship shared by nurse and patient. It describes how transpersonal caring goes beyond physical reality and ventures into the spiritual, opening greater possibilities of healing and well-being, as opposed to disease-based medication and regard to patient. Watson’s theory has guided nursing practices in different areas, including rehabilitation centers, hospices, hospitals, and long-term care facilities. Watson’s model proved to be socially significant, as well. It has served as a conceptual framework for guiding community health nursing practice, and has been described as â€Å"philosophically congruent with contemporary global approaches to community health and health promotion† (Rafael, 2000). However, this model can both lead to nursing activities that meet social expectations, and create expectations that require societal change. In this time when people think twice before trusting, nursing professionals may have to exert more conscious effort in making the connection and creating transpersonal caring relationships because beyond the hesitation, society expects the nursing community to be sympathetic, concerned, and genuinely caring of their patient. On the other hand, as transpersonal caring becomes increasingly successful in the improvement of the patient’s well-being, higher expectations of nurses are created. This may lead to society being increasingly dependent on nurses, and less on medical technology. The effectiveness of Watson’s theory has been validated with its use as a guide in several studies centering on caring science. It has been â€Å"recommended as a guide to nursing patients with hypertension, as one means of decreasing blood pressure and increase in quality of life,† in a study made on its effectiveness on the quality of life and blood pressure of patients with hypertension in Turkey (Erci, Sayan, Tortumluoglu, Kilic, Sahin, & Gungormus, 2003). In another study on caring for old adults, it was established that the theory was effective in improving the quality of life and peace of mind, body, and soul of the older people, just by caring and listening attentively to what they have to say (Bernick, 2004). Through the years since the conception of the theory, Watson’s work continues to evolve. In recent updates, she had offered the concept of clinical caritas processes over the original carative factors. It basically injects more spirituality and love into the framework. Such a perspective ironically places nursing within its most mature framework, consistent with the Nightingale model of nursing, yet to be actualized, but awaiting its evolution within a caring-healing theory. This direction, ironically while embedded in theory, goes beyond theory and becomes a converging paradigm for nursing’s future (Watson, 2006). References Bernick, L. (2004). Caring for older adults: practice guided by Watson’s caring-healing model. Nursing Science Quarterly, 17(2):128-34. Cara, C. (2003). A pragmatic view of Jean Watson’s caring theory. International Journal of Human Caring, 7(3), 51-61. Erci, B., Sayan, A.,Tortumluoglu, G., Kilic, D., Sahin, O., & Gungormus Z. (2003). The effectiveness of Watson’s Caring Model on the quality of life and blood pressure of patients with hypertension. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 41(2), 130–139. Hagopian, G. (2007). Nursing theorists. Retrieved February 8, 2007 from www.nipissingu.ca/faculty/arohap/aphome/NURS3006/Resources/theorists.ppt Rafael, AR. (2000). Watson’s philosophy, science, and theory of human caring as a conceptual framework for guiding community health nursing practice. ANS. Advances in Nursing Science, 23(2):34-49. Watson, J. (1988). Nursing: Human science and human care. A theory of nursing (2nd printing). New York: National League for Nursing. Watson, J. (1999). Postmodern nursing and beyond. Toronto, Canada: Churchill Livingstone. Watson, J. (2006). Dr. Jean Watson’s Theory of Human Caring. Retrieved February 8, 2007 from http://www2.uchsc.edu/son/caring/content/evolution.asp

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Compare and contrast different software life- Research Paper

Compare and contrast different software life- - Research Paper Example There are several life-cycle models that have been suggested including waterfall, Agile, Iterative model, prototype model, spiral model etc., each with its different strengths and weaknesses (Thayer, 2005). Moreover, differences exist the way software is developed in theory and in practice. Considering these factors, for a software development organization to make an informed decision on the most appropriate life-cycle model for the particular, organization, the staff and the software process, it is imperative to make a comparative analysis of various life-cycle models (Schach, 2011). This paper therefore, strives to compare and contrast the features and defects of waterfall, Agile, Iterative model, prototype model, and spiral model in order to show the advantages and disadvantages of each. Waterfall Model The idea behind this model is that a subsequent phase can only be initiated upon completion of the previous phases and at the end of each phase or stage, a review is carried out to determine if the project is on course or whether to discontinue or discard the project (Munassar and Govardhan, 2010). The model follows a sequential approach that flows progressively from top to bottom passing through the five stages of the SDLC which include the requirements analysis and maintenance among others. The Waterfall model has various advantages most notably being its ease of use given its popularity among software developers. Moreover, the model is very efficient when working on small projects where requirements are very well understood. The model is also very cost-effective since more time is spent to make sure that all requirements are clearly understood at the earlier stages, which ensure that there remains no need to conduct risk analysis at later stage, which would be more expensive. On the other hand, the model has various drawbacks, the greatest being that once an phase has been initiated, it is impossible to go back to previous stages. For example, is mistakes are made at the design stage, but the situation can get very complex at the implementation level. The client does not have access to the software until it is completed and therefore any changes he might want made during the process may cause problems. Another disadvantage is that the model comes with high amounts of risk and uncertainty, inflexibility and it is generally a poor model for complex and object-oriented projects (Munassar and Govardhan, 2010). Considering these features, the Waterfall model is an appropriate life-cycle model for projects that have clear and well-understood requirements, design and technical tools and infrastructure. Spiral model In the spiral life-cycle model, a lot of emphasis is put on risk analysis and decreasing project risk by disintegrating it into smaller subdivisions. In addition, the model has a greater level of involvement of the client unlike the Waterfall model since reevaluation is carried out every time a new prototype is introduced. Errors are consequently done away with during the early stages of project development only leading to proper control over time and manpower requirement for the development process (Sharma, Sharma and Mehta, 2012). Budget and time estimates can also be made in way that is more realistic because the crucial issues are discovered during the initial

Tuesday, October 8, 2019

Research Proposal week 4 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Week 4 - Research Proposal Example Basically, Employee Engagement Index (EEI) is the ratio of satisfied employees to the total number of employees in an organization, expressed as a percentage (Stevenson, 2009). As such, the research will need to examine how well this index operates to show the realities of human resource performance in an organization. The research must therefore examine the relationship between EEI and actual performance in organizations. The research can be conducted through an inferential research and study of quantitative information relating to performance and the EEI to examine the relationship that exists between them. Quantitative research refers to the measure of data and information about a given topic (Young, 2004). In this case, the phenomena are actual performance and the reported EEI. In order to examine this closely, there is the need to examine some empirical information relating to some real organizations which will given an overview of how the two concepts interact and how well EEI interprets performance in an organization. In doing this, it will be appropriate to use a null hypothesis. A hypothesis is a tentative statement that is tested for its truthfulness or falsity in a research (Kothari, 2005 p22). In this case, the hypothesis is that â€Å"the performance of an employees in an organization has a direct correlation with the employee engagement index (EEI)†. As such, the purpose of the research will be to prove whether there is a direct relationship between EEI and performance or not. If there is a direct relationship, then it will be inferred that EEI is very relevant as a performance measure and indicator in institutions. In order to prove or disprove this hypothesis, there will be the need to conduct an empirical study which will involve the collection of data from various sources in a number of organizations to enable

Monday, October 7, 2019

Cost and Management Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Cost and Management Accounting - Essay Example In 2006, Britvic sold 1.4 billion liters of soft drinks in hundreds of different flavours, shapes and sizes and delivers to over 4,000 customers and approximately 200,000 points of distribution. This explains the wide customer network of Britivic revealing the company's excellence in production and service capabilities. Britvic has the instilled pride to produce more soft drinks brands in its portfolio than any other UK manufacturer. This provides an insight on the effective branding strategies and promotions followed by Britivic and the effective business planning of the company's management. The company has approximately 2,700 employees based either at our main offices in Chelmsford and Sol hull or at one of seven factories and network of depots around the country. This portrays the human resource capability and strong local presence in the soft drinks market. The corporate culture of Britivic provides an amicable atmosphere for all the workers who feel great working for the company.Britivic promotes excellence and initiative and encourage the employees to be passionate about our brands and their roles. Accounting policies of Britivic Source : Balance sheet data of Britvic (2007) Investments The Company recognizes its investments in subsidiaries at cost less any provisions made for impairment. Interest bearing loans and borrowings Borrowings are stated at proceeds received less any unamortized issue costs. Issue costs of loans The finance cost recognized in the profit and loss account in respect of capital instruments is allocated to periods over the terms of the instrument using the effective interest method. Borrowing costs ]After initial recognition, interest-bearing loans and borrowings are subsequently measured at amortized cost using the effective interest method. All borrowing costs are recognized as finance costs in the profit and loss account in the period in which they are incurred. Foreign currencies The foreign currency transactions are recorded at the date of transaction referring the ruling rate at that instance. Foreign currency denomination of assets and liabilities will be translated on the basis of exchange rate as depicted in the balance sheet and balance sheet date will be used. All the noticeable differences are updated in the profit and loss account of balance sheet. Issued share capital Ordinary shares are classified as

Sunday, October 6, 2019

Proficiency tests Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Proficiency tests - Essay Example The test consists of 4 sections: reading (36-70 questions), listening (34-51 questions), speaking (6 tasks), and writing (2 tasks). TOEIC is a test designed to measure English language skills for business. There are two types of TOEIC tests: Speaking and Wring Test, Listening and Reading Test. Employers from all over the world use TOEIC tests to evaluate the proficiency of a potential employee to communicate in English. Listening and Reading test consists of 2 sections, and students are given 2,5 hours to complete it. Speaking tests consists of 11 questions to be answered in 20 minutes. Writing test has 8 tasks to be completed in an hour. IELTS is the International English Language Testing System. The test is to measure person’s reading, writing, listening and speaking skills. The test has an Academic version for those who take it for studying purposes, and a General Training version, which evaluates the person’s ability to live and work in an English-speaking environment. In general the test is designed to be taken for studying, immigration, and employment. At first a test taker has to take reading (1 hour) and writing (1 hour) tests. Then is the turn of the listening (30 min) and speaking (11-14 min)

Friday, October 4, 2019

Reading Books Essay Example for Free

Reading Books Essay Reading a book is one of the best forms of entertainment a person can have. Books can take you places to a time and lifestyle that you will never visit or experience. I remember the old show called â€Å"Reading Rainbow† and it lyrics were gave a very interesting take on books they went like this: â€Å"I can twice as high take a look, it’s in a book A Reading Rainbow, I can go anywhere, Friends to know and ways to grow, Reading Rainbow, I can be anything take a look it’s in a book. † Those lyrics are so true. Reading a book you can read about how life was in the 1700’s up until our generation today. I could be a detective who solves a famous mystery or I could be the killer trying to get away. I can learn to speak another language. There are so many things and topics in reading a book that can change your appearance, your political viewpoints, and change your attitude. Some say that books might become obsolete because movies are made from these books and you can watch the movies in two hours. Watching the movies a person feels that you can get the plot and conclusion of the book in two hours. This is true but for example if it is true life story the movie are going to change some parts of the books to make it more enjoyable, whereas the book is going to give you every detail the author wants you to have. Books gives people a conversation piece just like a movie but the only difference is books can join the world. Movies can’t be seen in some countries but a book can be read. So like the Reading Rainbow says â€Å"take a look it’s in a book†. So in conclusion reading a book is the best form of entertainment. Stephanie C. Williams November 20, 2010

Thursday, October 3, 2019

A P by John Updike Analysis

A P by John Updike Analysis In the short story A P, John Updike explains how Sammy is a young man working as a cashier. One day three young ladies come into the supermarket half dressed wearing only their swimsuits. Sammy is intrigued by these young women, along with everyone else in the supermarket. Sammy watches their every move, as the girls made their selections. Sammy tries to play the hero at the end of the story; however he may have been his own worst enemy. Sammy describes the three girls in great detail throughout the story. The one that caught my eye first was the one in the plaid green two-piece. She was a chunky kid, with a good tan and a sweet broad soft-looking can with those two crescents of white Just under it, where the sun never seems to hit at the top of the backs of her legs (496). Sammy refers to the next young lady as, one with chubby berry-faces, the lips all bunched together under her nose, this one, and a tall one, with black hair that hadnt quite frizzed right, and one of these sunburns right across under the eyes, and a chin that was too long-you know, the kind of girl other girls think is very striking and attractive but never quite makes it, as they very well know, which is why they like her so much (497). Last but not least, there was Queenie. She didnt look around, not this queen, she just walked straight on slowly, on these long white prima donna legs. She came down a little hard on her heels, as if she didnt wa lk in her bare feet that much (497). He had nothing better else to do than to day dream about the three young ladies, and ponder what to do next. From the third slot I look straight up this aisle to the meat counter, and I watched them all the way (498). It was a small town with not much to do. Sammy was not trying to make a career out of working at the A P supermarket. From the moment the girls walked into the supermarket Sammy was checking them out. The ladies were walking towards the meat department, being led by Queenie of course. They stopped and asked McMahon a question about somethings whereabouts in the supermarket. The moment the girls turned and started walking away from McMahon, Sammy noticed that McMahon was checking them out from head to toe. Sammy said, Poor kids, I began to feel sorry for them, they couldnt help it (498). In this moment, Sammys feelings for the girls changed, and he started to sympathize with them. He forms a different perspective of the girls. He feels sorry for them because of the way McMahon is gawking at them. Up to this point he has been looking at the two girls and Queenie the same way as McMahon did. Maybe Sammy did not see it that way just by looking at himself. He noticed how McMahon sized up their joints (498), and he did not approve. The girls make it to the check out aisle with their Herring Snacks. Sammy proceeds to check the snacks out for the young ladies. Lengel is Sammys manager, who is also a friend of Sammys family. Sammy spotted Lengel, as he made his way over to the check out aisle and the girls. Sammy immediately starts thinking oh great, here we go. Then everybodys luck begins to run out. Lengel comes in from haggling with a truck full of cabbages on the lot and is about to scuttle into the door marked MANAGER behind which he hides all day when the girls touch his eye. Lengels pretty dreary, teaches Sunday school and the rest, but he doesnt miss that much. He comes over and says, Girls, this isnt the beach. Lengel continues to repeat himself over and over again. The only time someone repeats themselves, is when one does not understand what the speaker is saying. This is not the case. Queenie and the girls understood what Lengel told them. But this isnt the beach (499). The girls were almost out of the store. They were not on this huge shopping spree. We werent doing any shopping. We just came in for one thing (499). Lengel would not leave the situation alone, he kept pushing the issue. That makes no difference, we want you decently dressed when you come in here (499). After arguing with Queenie, Lengel throws in the white flag. Girls, I dont want to argue with you. After this come in here with your shoulders covered. Its our policy (500). Sammy does not approve at all. He was offended by the way Lengel treated the girls. Sammy feels they were treated to harsh. Policy is what the kingpins want. What the others want is juvenile delinquency (499). As, Queenie and Plaid and Big Tall Goony-Goony, were leaving the supermarket Sammy decided to quit. He thought it was best to stand up for what you believe in. You didnt have to embarrass them (500). He did consider for a moment what he was doing was wrong, but he talked himself out of it. But it seems to me that once you begin a gesture its fatal not to go through with it (500). Lengel was trying to talk him out of it. He was trying to make Sammy think about what he was fixing to do. Lengel said, Youll feel this for the rest of your life (500). Sammy thought about that for a second but he remembered how he made that pretty girl blush makes me so scrunchy inside (500). Some people may argue Sammy was a true hero. He displayed a true act of heroism that day in the supermarket, and stood up for what he believed in. Sammy did not approve of the way everyone was gawking at the girls, and the way Lengel embarrassed. He felt protective of them. Sammy made the decision to quit his job based on what he thought was the right thing to do. However, Sammy got himself into this situation. Sammy quit so abruptly. He did not think of the consequences. If he hated his job that much he could have given them a two week notice. Sammy did not dwell on what type of stress this would put on his parents, or how hard it would be to find another job after quitting on a whim. He let his hormones get the best of him. The girls gave him a way out, gave him an excuse to quit the AP. Sammy acted immaturely, which is why he lost his job. Sammy showed throughout the story some heroic traits. His innocence and immaturity got the best of him. When Sammy left the supermarket he realizes what just happened. My stomach kind of fell as I felt how hard the world was going to be to me hereafter (501). Sammy comes to the realization that he has to grow up now. And that being an adult is hard work. He is no longer working for friend of the family. That he is not a child anymore, My white shirt that my mother ironed the night before (500). And Sammy did not want to be like his coworkers. Sammy did not regret the decision he made. He wanted to achieve bigger goals in his life than just being a store manager at the AP. Sammy quit his job because of his innocence and lack of maturity. Work Cited Updike John. AP. Exploring Literature. Writing and Arguing about Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and the Essay. Ed. Frank Madden 4thed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2009. 496-501.