9 Pieces of Celebrity Advice That Will Inspire You to Succeed in 2017

9 Pieces of Celebrity Advice That Will Inspire You to Succeed in 2017 Love them, hate them, or roll your eyes when you see them make news for ridiculous things, famous people have something in common: they’re good at what they do, or you probably wouldn’t know who they are. And while you probably shouldn’t, say, take medical advice from George Clooney or legal advice from Justin Timberlake, it’s worth seeing what kind of celebrity advice they have to offer. As we look to the new year with its blank slate, let’s also look at how some household names in business, Hollywood, and politics approach career, success, and life balance. On Finding Purpose and DirectionOne of the first things you should do in the new year is figure out what you  want your  goals to be. To do that, it’s important to figure out what motivates you, and what you really want to be doing with your professional life. A new year is a chance to take a look at what motivates you now, because that may not be the same thing that motivated you in the past. Take the opportunity to look at who you are now, and what forces are moving you forward.â€Å"Stop chasing the money and start chasing the passion. - Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zapposâ€Å"’May the Force be with you’ is charming but it’s not important. What’s important is that you become the Force- for yourself and perhaps for other people.† - Harrison Ford, actorOn Being Your Own Biggest AssetNot to get all sappy on you, but your best ally in this process is, well, you. Networks are important, but as you get ready to ramp up your career in the new year, make sure you’re putting enough value and emphasis on the skills, experience, and expertise that you already have. 2017 should be a year of moving forward with confidence, not stalling out due to self-doubt.â€Å"Don’t discount yourself, no matter what you’re doing. Everyone has a unique perspective that they can bring to the world. Just have faith in yourself and trust yo urself.† - Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of FacebookOn Achieving SuccessSuccess is not an instant result, no matter who you are or what you do. People who achieve that success have gotten there because they stuck it out, and threw everything they had at the process. CEOs, entertainers, thinkers†¦the version of â€Å"success† is different for each of them, but they have one thing in common: effort + time.â€Å"When I was 15, I left school to start a magazine, and it became a success because I wouldn’t take no for an answer.† - Richard Branson, CEO of the Virgin Groupâ€Å"There’s no such thing as overnight success. That’s my concern with a show like American Idol. It encourages the false belief that there’s a kind of magic, that you can be ‘discovered.’ That may be the way television works, but it’s not the way the world works. Rising to the top of any field requires an enormous amount of dedication, focus, drive, talen t, and 99 factors that they don’t show on television. It’s not simply about being picked. Which, by the way, is why very few of the anointed winners on American Idol have gone on to true success. Most have flamed out and gone away. That should tell us something.† - Malcolm Gladwell, authorâ€Å"Success is just a war of attrition. Sure, there’s an element of talent you should probably possess. But if you just stick around long enough, eventually something is going to happen.† - Dax Shepard, actorâ€Å"Do the work. Out-work. Out-think. Out-sell your expectations. There are no shortcuts.† - Mark Cuban, entrepreneurOn Why You Should Never Give UpIf you give up on your goals because you’re seeing too many challenges or it feels too hard, no one is going to run up to you, shouting, â€Å"come back! Just kidding, here’s what you want.† Once you figure out what you want to achieve and start devising your plan to get there, itâ₠¬â„¢s crucial to stick to that, whether things get tough or are taking longer than you thought they would. You’re tougher than you think you are, so don’t let setbacks deter you from those bigger goals.â€Å"I’m very glad my mother didn’t let me quit piano lessons at age 10. She said I wasn’t old enough or good enough to make that decision, and she was right. I remember at the time I was shocked. I did not like that my mother said those things to me. But when I got a chance to play with Yo-Yo Ma or more recently with Aretha Franklin, I thought, I’m really glad she said what she did.† - Condoleezza Rice, former Secretary of StateOn Seizing OpportunitiesIn 2017, be ready to size up and grab potential opportunities. Do research, talk to people in your network, and always keep an eye out for new jobs, new skill-building opportunities, anything that can help you along the way. If you’re not proactive, you’ll either miss poten tial opportunities entirely, or watch them slip right by you and turn into someone else’s chances.â€Å"People ask, ‘What’s the best role you’ve ever played?’ The next one.† - Kevin Kline, actorâ€Å"Put your head down and work hard. Never wait for things to happen make them happen for yourself through hard graft and not giving up.† - Gordon Ramsay, chef, entrepreneur, and TV personalityâ€Å"If I can’t make it through one door, I’ll go through another door- or I’ll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present is.† - Joan Rivers, comedianâ€Å"I feel that luck is preparation meeting opportunity.† - Oprah Winfrey, entrepreneur and world dominatorOn Why It’s Okay to FailNobody likes failure- but it’s inevitable at some point. You know that song â€Å"Everybody Hurts,† by R.E.M.? The career version of it is, â€Å"everybody flops, sometimes.† Itâ₠¬â„¢s going to happen, it’s going to hurt, and you should be ready to take that failure and learn from it so you can keep moving forward. Don’t let minor failures derail your year of progress.â€Å"Failure is not the opposite of success; it’s a stepping stone to success.† - Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Postâ€Å"Failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me. Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.† - J.K. Rowling, authorOn Overcoming Career Obstacles2017 will have obstacles. That’s non-negotiable. But when you’re faced with those challenges, don’t let them stop your progress. Instead, ask yourself how they can factor into your journey.â€Å"When faced with sexism or ageism or lookism or even really aggressive Buddhism, ask yourself the following question, ‘Is this person between me and what I want to do?'† - Tina Fey, comedian and writerOn Why Being a Lone Wolf Doesn’t WorkIf you think your 2017 journey is all about you, you’re mistaken. You are the most important piece of it, yes. But being a good team member, and knowing when to rely on others is a skill that you should start practicing as early in the year as possible. It’s not just that others can help you directly (although many can); it’s just as much learning what you can from others to apply to your own professional life.â€Å"What I have discovered, is this: You can’t do it alone. As you navigate through the rest of your life, be open to collaboration. Other people and other people’s ideas are often better than your own. Find a group of people who challenge and inspire you, spend a lot of time with them, and it will change your life.† - Amy Poehler, comedian and writerâ€Å"I look for a positive attitude and are they easy to work with, are people gonna like working with them? It’s very important to like the people you work with, otherwise life [and] your job is gonna be quite miserable.† - Elon Musk, entrepreneur and CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceXâ€Å"The best advice I ever got is: You’re the average of the five people you associate with the most.† - Tim Ferriss, author and entrepreneurOn Achieving Balance While Pursuing Your GoalsIf you have some aggressive professional goals in 2017 (new job, promotion, new approach to your existing job), don’t let those crowd out everything in your life. Making room for your personal growth, development, and happiness is just as essential. This may involve some creative thinking and sacrifices, but when you get to the other side of 2017, you don’t want to be thinking, â€Å"I wish I’d made time for thi ngs that make me happy.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Believe you can do anything. This is important for everyone and especially for women. Don’t let anyone tell you can’t have both a meaningful professional career and a fulfilling personal life. When you hear someone say you can’t do something, know that you can and start figuring out how. Ask yourself, ‘What would I do if I weren’t afraid?’† - Sheryl Sandberg, COO of FacebookAs you gear up for 2017 and the banner career year you’re going to have (whether you’re looking for new opportunities or working on growing in the role you already have), think about these bits of advice given by people who’ve reached the top of their fields. And more importantly, think about how you can make these recommendations work for you, and seize your next great opportunity!

I vs. Me

I vs. Me I vs. Me I vs. Me By Maeve Maddox Some personal pronouns have two forms, one that is used as the subject of a verb and one that is used as the object of a verb or preposition. Subject forms: I, he, she, we, they My sister and I live in Texas. We raise chickens. (subject forms) Jack and she moved to Paris. They love it there. (subject forms) Object forms: me, him, her, us, them Mary gave me your address. (indirect object of a verb) The neighbors invited my wife and me to dinner. (object of a verb) We met him at the movies. We met her there too. We like them. (objects of a verbs) Jack writes to him every day. We went with them. (objects of prepositions) Presumably, these distinctions are taught to children in school. Supposedly, teachers and other school personnel model this usage to the students. Yet this is what we hear all around us: â€Å"Me and my friends went to Miami.† â€Å"The Governor invited my wife and I to dinner.† Those of us who know and care that I is a subject word and me is an object word react to such usage with feelings–if not cries–of outrage, but they continue. Actors portraying psychologists, FBI agents, and medical examiners declare, â€Å"Me and my colleagues interviewed the suspect.† â€Å"Him and his girlfriend were seen on the balcony.† â€Å"Make a reservation for Megan and I.† Don’t the actors know better even if the scriptwriters are semi-literate? The answer may well be that both actors and scriptwriters â€Å"know better,† but don’t care. They may desire to speak in a nonstandard way to show their freedom from what they regard as stuffy rule-following convention. On the other hand, they may not â€Å"know better.† They may genuinely believe that it’s correct to use Me as a subject and I as an object in a compound, even though they would never use them that way when the subject or object is not a compound. With grammatical constructions–as with Big Lies–if we hear them often enough, they will eventually â€Å"sound right.† Language changes inexorably from generation to generation. Pronouns alter more slowly than any other part of speech, but they do change. English once had three pronoun numbers: singular, dual, and plural. We lost the dual form early on. The singular second person pronoun thou and its forms thee, thy and thine dropped out of popular speech in the 16th century. (The Quakers retained some of the usage.) The second person plural went through some changes before settling on you for both singular and plural. Before you won as the all-purpose second person pronoun, ye was the subject form and you was the object form. The distinction was still being observed in the KJV translation of the Bible, but in popular speech, ye and you were becoming muddled: No doubt but ye are the people, and wisdom shall die with you. 1611 translation of Job 12:2 A southwest wind blow on ye And blister you all over! Shakespeare’s The Tempest, c.1611. As painful as the thought is to those of us who care, the mix-up of me and I in compound subjects and objects may become the norm. What do you think? Is there any way to reverse the trend? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Bare or Bear With Me?Cannot or Can Not?Sentence Adverbs

E-shopping and Saudi Consumer Decision Research Proposal

E-shopping and Saudi Consumer Decision - Research Proposal Example There has been an interesting impact on the Saudi consumer decision in purchasing behavior of the e-shopping facilities. The purpose of this paper is to highlight the changes in the purchasing behavior of Saudi consumer due to the e-shopping facilities. The goal of the paper is to discover the different types of changes in the Saudi consumer purchase decisions. In the Saudi countries, in the last 10 years, there has been a large increase in the use of ATM cards and plastic money. More than 90 % of the total consumer payments in the USA are done with the use of debit cards, credit cards, cash cards and ATM cards. Saudi countries are now not so much different from the USA as they are following similar trends. Electronic payment systems and the advent of e-shopping have enabled the consumers to make payments through the internet and make purchases online rather than physically visiting a store. Saudi Arabia is the center of Islamic world and generates major revenues from the export of crude oil and oil related products. Per capita income of the country in 2009 has been 18, 855 US$. A significant portion of the total population is comprised of foreign expatriates and workers. ... Saudi Arabia is the center of the Islamic world since many years and is the largest Arab economy. The taxation rates in the country are very low which encourages many multinationals to locate their offices in the Saudi land. The population mainly comprises of youth with high per capita income. Saudi is also the largest IT center in the region. Research Problems and Questions The problems that will be faced in the research are that the Saudi culture does not allow the women to participate in these types of activities. In Saudi society, the males are the dominant individuals of the family who make most of the purchasing decisions for the family. The women are also involved in the purchasing decision but are limited to household items such as appliances, clothes of children and furniture. Daily usage items and household consumables are also purchased by the women. The culture is also a hindrance for the researchers to reach the women in the households. These are the women who make most of the orders for products online using e-shopping facilities. The questions will not ask about the family details of the individuals as this is not entertained in the Saudi world. 75% of the population is not using the internet, therefore only the 25% using the internet is the choice for the researchers. In the internet using population, only the males would be available for research questions as the society does not line if women answer their personal questions to the researchers. One of the other major problems in the research process is unavailability of historic data. There is no historic data for the consumers' shopping as it has never been recorded. Hence there will be no base to make the comparisons. Most of the research questions are

Venezuelan Economiocal Situation Research Paper

Venezuelan Economiocal Situation - Research Paper Example His leadership has been heavily protested ever since that time. The economic crisis in the country is exhibited by several problems that the country experiences. These problems are food shortages, lighting and communication problem, insecurity, political prisoners, government expropriations, poor US Venezuelan relationship and inflation and black market dominance. It is highly ironical that a rich country such as Venezuelan has no food. The daily battle of the country in search of food is not new but it is getting worse especially with the presence of the rainy season. The country retailers have to battle flooded avenues, upturned manhole lids and heavy traffic jams in its quest for milk, oil, and sugar. Many of the locals in the country have a problem getting access to healthy food, not that they lack sufficient cash to afford them but the scarcity of the food makes them lack. This factor causes the little available food presented in the market to retail at extremely high prices leaving the low-income households at a disadvantage since they cannot afford. The locals of the country are forced to queue for long hours in a bid to purchase some of the low quality rice that is present in the country. The spending of many hours in the queues just to buy food wastes plenty of time and many people prefer substituting the consumption of rice with man ioc regardless of their quality. Venezuela used to produce high quality rice and excellent coffee but it stopped. The lack of the country’s staple food, rice, in the shelves explains the extent of food shortage in the country (Lopez). The government of Venezuela nationalized the lighting and communication sectors. They are no private firms in the sectors. The government departments monopolize the lighting and communication sectors to the extent that exploit the country’s citizen. Since the government does not get

Philosophy of Religion Essay Example for Free

Philosophy of Religion Essay Is religion necessary in maintaining a happy and successful family? Yes, religion plays a vital role in good family structure. Whenever religion is taken seriously and applied to family life, there is a definite prosperous and positive outcome. When families attend church together, there is a closer bond between family members and it is highly probable that family members who attend religious services push toward higher moral standards which in turn, builds a more solid and moral household. When the man observes religion in the home, he takes on the role as head of the household and creates harmony with other family members by providing for his family and treating his family with respect. When the woman recognizes her role in the home as a religious follower, she will also respect her husband and nurture her children as she is taught through religion. The children will do their part in their home by respecting both parents and also by using good moral values. Many people find it hard to understand why it is important to practice religion in homes since we rarely witness this in recent history but by following the laws of God, we lead ourselves and our families in the right direction.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Should parents stay together when they feel that their marriage is one that has lost passion? Yes, it is important for families to work together in resolving marital problems in order to have a happy family. Children need the support of both parents working in unison and married couples should seek outside support if necessary such as members of the church if they feel they can’t work through the unhappiness in the marriage. The high divorce rate in America has broken down families and has increasingly left children in broken homes when on most occasions, the problems could have been worked through. The Bible gives us many guidelines concerning marriage and if we heed God’s Word, then it is highly possible for broken homes to be mended in order for children to grow up in a stable environment. If more parents would work harder at their marriage instead of getting divorced, family life and the quality of life would be much greater for everyone in the family.

Inclusion Special Ed Essay -- essays papers

Inclusion Special Ed INCLUSION OF SPECIAL ED STUDENTS Inclusive education means that all students in a school, despite their strengths or weaknesses in any area, become part of the school community. They are included in the feeling of belonging among other students, teachers, and support staff. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and its 1997 amendments make it clear that schools have a duty to educate children with disabilities in general education classrooms. These federal regulations include rulings that guide the regulation. The IDEA requires that children with disabilities be educated in regular education classrooms unless "the nature and severity of the disability is such that education in the regular classes with the use of supplementary aids and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily." This means that schools have a duty to try to include students with disabilities in the regular general education classes. Inclusion, however, does not mean that the special needs child must learn everything and do as well as the other children in the classroom. Their grading is based how well they are learning in relation to their individual education plan set up by the Child Study Team. The following charts gives examples of some adaptations that may be made, just to give a general idea of how the inclusion policy can be fair to all students: Nine Types of Adaptations Size Time Level of Support Adapt the number of item...

Factors of Planning and Other Functions of Management Essay

With over 300,000 people world wide, AT&T is truly a global Fortune 500 company with a significant presence in the communication industry. With impressive growth, executives and managers need to develop a strategy that allows AT&T to connect with their customers and manage the contributing factors to their success. As stated in the AT&T Annual Report (2007), â€Å"AT&T was able to increase their annual income by 98.3%.† This amazing growth occurred in all sectors of their revenue stream and made 2007 a historic year financially for AT&T. AT&T Chairman, CEO and President, Mr. Randall Stephenson also states in the annual report (2007, p. 8) â€Å"there is one word that best describes what AT&T does and it is connected.† A simple vision that clearly describes what AT&T does for their customers to drive growth in their organization. In order for a company to succeed in today’s market, the product appeal to a global audience is imperative. Although AT&T did not begin as a business that offered products and services globally, AT&T’s network now includes 38 internet data centers on four continents across the globe (AT&T, 2008). AT&T offers a variety of communication products and services that appeal to individuals and companies. The demand for these types of products and services is on the rise, especially within major corporations. Given this demand, AT&T has developed and maintained an advanced and powerful communications network. AT&T is an industry leader of communication services, which serves millions of individuals and businesses on six continents (AT&T, 2008). The economy is an external factor that influences how AT&T manages rapid change. For example, with home foreclosures at a record high, the demand for landline telephone service is decreasing. Meanwhile the demand for wireless service is increasing. AT&T continues to focus on advancing wireless products (AT&T, Vonage, 2008). AT&T has acquired many smaller wireless providers, which allows them to become the top provider of wireless services in the United States. Cingular wireless is one of the wireless companies that AT&T bought out. After the purchase of Cingular wireless, AT&T began, promoting the â€Å"new† AT&T, the one-stop shop for all kinds of communications  and entertainment services (Goodbye Cingular, 2007). As early as 1885, AT&T began providing telephone service in the United States. To see the vast growth in their technology over the past 100 years is amazing. The service initially started with one-line calls or the ability for only one person to make a telephone call at a time and it now services over 70 million customers. The costs have decreased significantly over the decades as well. In 1892, a long distance phone call from New York to Chicago would cost about $9 for the first five minutes; rather expensive for that period in time. Today, AT&T has grown to be the world’s largest communications carrier and provides services for a broad spectrum of customers from residential to commercial, like the Fortune 1000 companies. Other than the typical local and long distance voice services for the residential customer, AT&T also provides high speed internet access, home networking, Wi-Fi, and wireless voice and data services. According to AT&T’s website (2008), they provide businesses with â€Å"access to one of the world’s most advanced IP networks.† AT&T provides the corporate community with technologies, such as, Voice over IP (VoIP), enterprise mobility solutions and Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections. To keep up with today’s vastly growing field of technology, AT&T (2008) â€Å"†¦recently switched on the nation’s first coast-to-coast IP/MPLS network†¦Ã¢â‚¬  In the United States alone, AT&T’s wired network encompasses 61.6 million access lines and has 14.2 million high speed internet subscribers. In 2008, AT&T plans to expand their current 64,000 Wi-Fi hot spots to more than 70,000 locations also launch more of their multi-screen services. AT&T embraces technological innovation to convert ideas rapidly into useful products and services. AT&T’s management and planning functions focus on the company and its customers while applying principles of sound, responsible and forward-looking stewardship to the needs of society. Today, AT&T is rethinking management functions and planning in terms of the Internet and new culture and capabilities. E-business (electronic business), derived from  such terms as â€Å"e-mail† and â€Å"e-commerce,† is the conduct of business on the Internet, not only buying and selling but also servicing customers and collaborating with business partners. E-business allows AT&T and other companies to use the Web to buy parts and supplies from other companies, to collaborate on sales promotions, and to participate in joint research. AT&T’s involvement with technology innovation such as e-business influences a range of criteria, including customer relationship performance, sales-based outcomes, and a general measure of organizational performance. The moderating role of AT&T’s management team’s involvement suggests that management â€Å"championing† the initiatives is crucial for successful results of the e-business market tendencies and new business development possibilities (AT&T, 2008). Alexander Graham Bell made the first telephone call to Watson about 150 years ago. One century ago, there were 10,000 telephone companies battling for their share in the voice communication market. AT&T battling in the communications market, realized in order to continue innovation, a sustained research and development component was needed. Early in 1925, AT&T determined they could not do this alone and made a series of strategic acquisitions and uniform standards. In the late 20th century, AT&T acquired Bell Labs that focused on computers, information and communications science. According to AT&T (2008), â€Å"Recognized as a pioneer in the IT revolution of the late 1990s, direction of innovation at AT&T Labs influences not only the ways we live and work today but our lives and the workplace of the future. With these guiding principles, our work in development, creativity and innovation lead to improved social, economic and environmental opportunities for AT&T communities.† ( ¶13)AT&T has made significant innovative contributions to the history of American business and global technology. Listed are a few of these accomplishments including:High-fidelity recording (1925), First TV transmission (1927), Trans-Atlantic radiotelephone (1929), Radio astronomy (1933), The transistor (1937), The first computer (1939), The laser (1960), Optical fiber communication (1977), Cellular technology (1983), Speech recognition and synthesis (1992), Voice over IP technology (1995), Quantum computing (1999), Internet Project predictive and proactive  network security (2005) (AT&T, 2008). AT&T noted on their website (2008), â€Å"Despite its pioneering efforts in other areas of the company, including diversity, customer service and human resources, AT&T’s reputation for innovation remains closely tethered to AT&T Labs.†( ¶ 4)AT&T realizes that diverse, talented and dedicated people is key to the company’s success. In fostering diversity and inclusion, AT&T has created a better business environment, one that makes the company an employer of choice, a preferred business partner and important contributor to the community. The company’s philosophy is to provide employees with continued opportunities to grow and develop their careers. Management is charged with successful implementation of various diversity initiatives as part of this philosophy. AT&T leaders are expected to understand the importance of cultural competency. To support this principle, AT&T provides career development initiatives. AT&T’s commitment to diversity remains a top priority for the company. AT&T’s diverse workforce is an asset to the company and a result of its commitment to recruit and hire the very best talent. AT&T currently conducts business in more than 150 languages and advertises in top languages in selected states. AT&T leaders and employees practice respect for differences in their daily interactions. By understanding the various regions served, AT&T management is better positioned to plan for and meet the unique needs of customer’s wherever it does business (AT&T, 2008). With over 300,000 working for AT&T ensuring ethical behavior is very important. Ethics and Governance are the standards in which the company, including all employees, must adhere to in all aspects of conducting business internally and externally. AT&T has adopted a simple statement â€Å"Do what is right† as their motto for ethical conduct by all employees and directors. (Governance, 2003-2008)AT&T has four guiding principles stated in their Code of Ethics and Guiding Principles manual on how to treat customers, investors and employees. Those principles are; Talk straight and Follow Through, Lead by Example, Work Together, and Deliver our Future. These four statements are the fabric to AT&T’s principles and make it clear as to what is expected when working for or dealing with AT&T. In today’s  environment, ethics have become a serious issue. Directors and managers, as well as employees, are becoming more liable with respect to moral decisions they make at work. Enron is an example of how deceit by a few individuals caused such a ripple effect on the finances of many. Companies like AT&T need to touch the moral being of each employee to ensure its customers, shareholders and all parties vested in them are not affected by one’s poor judgment. In concluding, with this impressive growth, executives and managers needed to develop a strategy that allowed AT&T to connect with their customers and manage the contributing factors to their success. Through innovation and diversity, AT&T has grown from a company that started with one-line calling to a multi-million conglomerate, servicing millions of customers around the globe. In keeping up with technology and continuing to implement new corporate strategies, AT&T will continue to grow both financially and globally. AT&T will continue to be a leader in their field for many years to come. References AT&T Inc., (2008), All about AT&T Company, Retrieved April 8, 2008, from att.comAT&T Inc. (2007) Annual Report, p. 8, 29. AT&T, Inc. (2008), retrieved April 8, 2008, from att.com/gen/investor-relationsAT&T. (2008). Enterprise Services. Retrieved April 6, 2008, from att.com/gen/general/AT&T Governance, Corporate Social Responsibility (2003-2008). AT&T Knowledge Venture, Retrieved April 10, 2008, from att.com/corporate/citizenship/htmlAT&T, Vonage, Comcast spool the economy. (2008, January). TelecomWeb News Break. Retrieved April 6, 2008, ProQuest database, University Library. Goodbye Cingular, hello again AT&T; AT&T’s acquisition of Bell South began process. (2007, May 21). The New York Times, Grand Rapids Press, Grand Rapids, MI, Retrieved April 9, 2008, from ProQuest database, University Library,

Good cancer pain management can help patients feel better Essay

Most cancer patients suffer from pain in varying degrees during their illness. The management of this pain and its relationship in improving the wellbeing of the patient is the primary focus of this study. This paper approached the study by researching articles that dealt with pain management from different angles. After critical analysis of these articles this paper will arrive at a conclusion that addresses the research question.   The topics reviewed included: 1. The use of a clinical instruction module (CLIM) for hospice nurses to upgrade their skills (Plymale, M. et al, 2001) 2. The role of cognition in promoting the psychological well being of the patient (Chen, Mei-Ling. 2002) 3. The use of pain management autobiographies to discover how best to deal with pain management (Schumacher, K. et al. 2001) 4. Overcoming patient related barriers to pain management by educating them (Chang, Ming-Chuan. 2002) 5. Providing a description of advanced cancer pain in home hospice subjects to enable the caregivers to alleviate their suffering (Dobratz, M. 2001) The material for this study was searched from the University of Wollongong database of Medline. The key words in the search for journal articles were nursing, research and cancer pain.   Articles were chosen for their relevance to the research question and the findings they came up with. Information that was obtained from these studies enabled the writer to draw important conclusions as concerns pain management in cancer patients with pain. The research is of extreme importance to the writer. I lost my husband to cancer. The trauma we all went through watching him in pain gave me a new impetus to do all in my power to ensure that no other patient will need to go through the same suffering as he did. As I continue to practice, I would like to contribute to breaking new ground in pain management in cancer patients; especially as concerns alleviating their pain and improving their quality of life. Article 1 In an article entitled ‘Cancer Pain Education: A Structured Clinical Instruction Module For Hospice Nurses’, appearing in the journal ‘Cancer Nursing ‘,Plymale M. et al (2001) studied the effect of pain education on the quality of service by caregivers. The research aimed to determine whether educating nurses on pain management will improve their ability to assess and manage pain in cancer patients. A clinical instruction module (CLIM) based on cancer pain management and assessment skills was administered to 25 hospice nurses whose average field practice was 4.1 years (Plymale M. et al. 2001, p. 424).The course involved the nurses going round 8 stations focussing on   different aspects of cancer pain, assessing 5 cancer survivors and one actor. They carried out tests on various aspects of pain management. Prior to and after the exercise the nurses self assessed their skills in pain management using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1(not competent) to 5(v ery competent). They also evaluated the CLIM on a similar scale. (1= strongly disagree; 5= strongly agree) All participants agreed that the course helped improve their competence in the teaching items that were being addressed. The use of patients with cancer was considered more beneficial as opposed to having actors. Nurses that felt competent enough before the course did not perceive any noticeable improvement in their abilities in the post exercise self assessment. This finding is consistent with the view that hospice nurses are more competent in dealing with cancer pain management than those nurses working in hospitals. Those who assessed themselves as not competent indicated a higher assessment of themselves after the course. In a further study conducted among post instruction medical students, those trained using a CLIM on pain management did better than those schooled it traditional methods. (Sloan P.A. et al., 2001, 112)     Ã‚  There is an urgent need to introduce CLIM’s addressing pain assessment and management in the teaching courses for all nurses and caregivers in a bid to improve their skills and service delivery. The more competent the nurses the better will be the treatment of patients in prolonging their lives and alleviating the pain they go through. A significant observation of this study is the competence level of hospice nurses was higher than that of their counterparts. It is advisable to seek their input in developing manuals and modules of this nature as they have first hand knowledge that is invaluable to this area of study. Article 2 ‘Pain And Hope in Patients with Cancer’, an article written by Chen, Mei-Ling and appearing in the journal ‘Cancer Nursing’ (2003) examines the relationship between pain and hope in cancer patients. Hope is a therapeutic factor in the treatment of any disease including cancer. Patients with high levels of hope coped better with the disease than did those who dwelt on the hopelessness of their situation. The hopeful patients on average tended to live longer and had extended periods of remission. This study had three main purposes; i. Examine the effect of disease status on hope levels among patients with cancer who have pain ii. Compare the level of hope between patients with cancer that have pain and those who do not iii. Determine which dimensions of pain are associated with hope (Chen, Mei-Ling. 2002, p.62) The conceptual framework for the study was based on the ‘self- regulation model of coping with health threats’. (Chen, Mei-Ling. 2002, p.62) The main emphasis is on how people cope with their health problems in their own unique ways. Personal beliefs, religious orientation, cultural practises and previous experiences all work to determine a patient’s attitude towards his illness.(Donavan, H.S., Ward, S., 2001, pp. 211 – 216) Any one of the factors mentioned will have a bearing on the hope levels of the individual. The study employed the use of the Herth Hope Index (HHI) to assess the level of hope. It sampled 274 inpatients with cancer at two medical centres in Taiwan. 226 of them finalised the survey and the analysis was based on their responses. The study used Perceived Meaning of Cancer Pain Inventory (PMCPI) to measure the meanings that patients ascribed to their pain. Four subscales were used and these were challenge, threat, spiritual awareness and loss. The findings showed that in cancer patients with pain and those without pain, the hope levels did not differ. However, sensory dimensions of pain showed a link between the bearable pain intensity and level of hope (Chen, Mei-Ling. 2002, p. 65) The findings supported the view that the hope levels in patients were higher in those who were able to tolerate more pain. Perception of one’s pain played an important role in the way one held on to hope. Those who viewed the pain as a challenge were more hopeful than those who took it from a negative perspective. In assessing one’s reaction to treatment, it is notable that the findings showed no difference in hope levels for those patients who were unsure of the effect of treatment and those who affirmed that the treatment was working positively.

Ships

Ships have always represented a major capital investment for their owners. Even the earliest ocean going ships, although small, would have represented a major investment at the time and a very risky one... Shipping finance has become a generic term referring to the financing of maritime projects, which encompasses not just shipping, but also other sub-sectors like ports, shipyards, and containers. However, in the following section financing of shipping projects is confined.Shipping is a capital-intensive industry. Vessels constitute almost 90 percent of the fixed assets (net block and capital work in progress) of a typical shipping company. A LNG carrier costs around USD 250 million, a double-hulled VLCC costs around USD 90 million, a Handysized chemical ship is around USD 70 million. But ship values change up to 60 per cent in a few months. In such a scenario, a shipowner or a potential shipowner wishing to acquire a vessel finds a considerable gap in his personal funds availabil ity and additional funds requirement.Shipping finance has to a large extent remained a specialty sector on account of a number of unique characteristics associated with the shipping industry such as unsettled markets, international service, mobile assets and others. Despite the complications involved in shipping finance, sophisticated financial instruments are conspicuous by their absence. In contrast, asset-based financing in industries with a similar profile like Airways have had highly sophisticated instruments to match the prevalent risk-return structure. Internationally, term lending backed by security in the form of collateral and mortgage has been the most prevalent form of financial assistance given to shipping companies. Globally, governments have provided substantial financial support to respective shipping industries either directly or indirectly. The growth of the maritime industry, especially shipping, in countrie...

The 12 Hardest SAT Writing Questions Ever

The 12 Hardest SAT Writing Questions Ever SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You’ve been studying hard, and now the time has come to really test what you have mastered! Are you ready to try out 12 of the toughest questions to grace the new SAT Writing and Language section? I've combed all the official practicetests to find the absolute hardest SAT Writing questions. If you get all of these right, you're truly a master of this section. Why Should I Care About the Hardest Questions? Knowing what to do when you hit tough questions is a key part of your test-taking strategy that you should work out ahead of time. Your target scores will help you determine what to do. 700 - 800 scorers Are you looking to score between a 700 and 800 on Reading and Writing? If so, these are the sorts of questions that you'll have to master in order to get your score where you want it to be. 500 - 600 scorers In contrast, if you are looking to score in the 500 – 600 range on Reading and Writing, you don't have to answer every question correctly on SAT Writing to hit your target score. So, if you're taking the test and run across a question as confusing as the ones listed below, you officially have permission to guess! Either way, good study strategies are your best bet for getting the score you want. Not sure how to start? Check out our guide to studying for the new SAT, and then read our complete explanation of all the grammar rules that the SAT Writing section will test. Don't worry, it's not as bad as it seems. Which Questions Are the Hardest? As a quick refresher, the SAT Writing and Language section asks multiple choice questions based on long reading passages. The questions test your understanding of grammar, punctuation, word choiceand idioms, and writing logic.For a full overview of all the grammar testedon the Writing SAT, see our guide. The College Board used to rank SAT questions according to difficulty, but they no longer do this. So how did I pick out the hardest questions? And what makes some questions harder than others? Even though the revised SAT no longer features trick questions, there are still many times when several of the answerchoices seem to be valid. Sometimes,this is because questions test several skills at the same time: apunctuation detailcombined with your ability to understand the logic of a passage, for instance, or a grammar rule combined with correct idiom usage. Other times, this is because questions make you simultaneously focus on a small sentence-level issue and a larger problem involving several paragraphs. Don’t worry, there are really only 12. Spoiler Alert Before I show you the hardest SAT Writing questions, I have towritea littlespoiler alert. These are real questions taken from the official full-length practice SAT tests.If you’re likely to remember them and their answers forever, then it's probably best for you to read the rest of this article after you’ve taken all the practice SATs. On to the Questions! These questionsrepresent a variety of concepts the SAT thinks students will struggle with the most. Remember: all of these questions come from long passages, since the entire Writing and Language section of the SAT is passage-based. Try them out and see how you do - if you really want to challenge yourself, limit your timing for each question to 40 seconds. Each question is followed by the answer and an explanation. Question 1 [1] The main environmental problem caused by the production of Greek yogurt is the creation of acid whey as a by-product. [2] Because it requires up to four times more milk to make than conventional yogurt does, Greek yogurt produces larger amounts of acid whey, which is difficult to dispose of. [3] To address the problem of disposal, farmers have found a number of uses for acid whey. [4] They can add it to livestock feed as a protein supplement, and people can make their own Greek-style yogurt at home by straining regular yogurt. [5] If it is improperly introduced into the environment, acid-whey runoff can pollute waterways, depleting the oxygen content of streams and rivers as it decomposes. [6] Yogurt manufacturers, food scientists; and government officials are also working together to develop additional solutions for reusing whey. To make this paragraph most logical, sentence 5 should be placed A) where it is now.B) after sentence 1.C) after sentence 2.D) after sentence 3. The Challenge The main goal of this question is to see if you can figure out how a paragraph should flow logically. What makes it hardisthat two of the answers (B and C) seem equally logically plausible. Answer C Explanation In a paragraph, each sentence should introduce a little bit of new information, using what previous sentences said to push the point of the passage a little bit further. Leaving the sentence where it is (answer A), or putting it after Sentence 3 (answer D) would make the paragraph sequence illogical. You’d suddenly be back to talking about acid whey in the environment after you’ve already explained how it can be disposed of properly. It’s very tempting to put Sentence 5 after Sentence 1 (answer B). It seems plausible because Sentence 1 lays out the idea that acid whey is a problem, so ostensibly Sentence 5 could come next and spell out what the problem with acid whey actually is. Butthis is not thebest place. You have to firstexplainthat there is an overabundance of acid whey, and that it's difficult to dispose of it. Only then is it an ideal timeto introduce the concept of â€Å"acid whey runoff.† So, putting Sentence 5 after Sentence 2 (correct answer C) usesinformation introduced in Sentence 2 and sets up what follows in Sentence 3, yielding this logical sequence: Sentence 2 explains why acid whey is a bigger problem for Greek yogurt. Sentence 5 explainshow damaging acid whey can be if it’s allowed to enter the environment Sentence 3 sets up the different ways of disposing of acid whey. Yogurt: delicious in parfaits, apparently deadly for the environment. Question 2 Typically, the ice sheet begins to show evidence of thawing in late summer, following several weeks of higher temperatures. For example, in the summer of 2012, virtually the entire Greenland Ice Sheet underwent thawing at or near its surface by mid-July, the earliest date on record. A) NO CHANGEB) However,C) As such,D) Moreover, The Challenge This question is checking whether you understand how to use conjunctive adverbs, which are words that show how two sentences or two parts of one sentence connect to one another. It’s very hard to seethe two sentences actually relate when reading them througha potentially wrong conjunction. Answer B Explanation One trick is just to cover up the conjunction that’s been put there, and read the two sentences without it. This way you can focus on the information that’s being presented and make up your own mind about how to make sense of the logical flow of this information. In this case, we first get a sentence that explains what happens most of the time: usually snow melts in late summer.Then we get a sentence that contradicts the earlier one: in 2012, snow melted veryearly on. This means we need to find a conjunctive adverb that shows that the second sentence is an exception to the rule. â€Å"For example† (answer A) means that what follows will demonstrate the rule, rather than break it. That’s not what’s happening here, so this is not the right choice. â€Å"As such† (answer C) has to do with defining what just came previously. "As such" means, â€Å"given the definition of the thing just mentioned, here is an associated property of that thing.† But, we are not defining, but are showing how a pattern has been broken, so this is the wrong choice. â€Å"Moreover† (answer D) means â€Å"in addition to, and potentially more convincingly,† and is used to add emphasis to an example or an argument. We aren’t doing that here, so this answer is incorrect. â€Å"However† (correct answer C) is a conjunctive adverb that introduces a statement/idea that contradicts what has just been said, which is exactly what we need to do in this case. At this rate, our only source of polar ice will be old stock photographs. Question 3 Also, studies have found that those students who major in philosophy often do better than students from other majors in both verbal reasoning and analytical writing. These results can be measured by standardized test scores. Which choice most effectively combines the sentences at the underlined portion? A) writing asB) writing, and these results can beC) writing, which can also beD) writing when the results are The Challenge This question is testing your editing skills.In particular, it’s checking your ability to know when cutting something out is actually better than leaving more information in. The challenge here is that because the wordâ€Å"results† occurs both in the original textandin two of the answer choices, it seems like a key piece of the sentence. Instead, it's a red herring. Answer A Explanation The secret to good editing is understanding the context. Here, we need to reread the two sentences to see what information we actually have. In this case, there areno results mentioned in the first of these twosentences. What we do have is information about studies that show philosophy students performing better. But this better performanceis not a â€Å"result† – it isn't a goal reached after a specific course of action. In other words, although philosophy students perform better, they didn't study philosophy in order to get better test scores. This means answers B and D are out. Answer C is wrong because of the word â€Å"also.† This word seems to point to the testing being an additional example or piece of evidence – but there is nothing for it to be in addition to. So, the right answer A is also the most economical, the one that removes everything that clouds the sentence’s meaning. Plato and Socrates recommend at least tenyears of philosophy grad school for optimal standardized test performance. Question 4 The share of library materials that is in nonprint formats [1] is increasing steadily; in 2010, at least 18.5 million e-books were available for circulation. At point [1], the writer is considering adding the following information. - e-books, audio and video materials, and online journals- Should the writer make this addition here? A) Yes, because it provides specific examples of the materials discussed in the sentence.B) Yes, because it illustrates the reason for the increase mentioned later in the sentence.C) No, because it interrupts the flow of the sentence by supplying irrelevant information.D) No, because it weakens the focus of the passage by discussing a subject other than librarians. The Challenge The SAT is full of these decision-tree editing questions, which ask you not only about correctly identifying editing changing, but also about justifying your answer. This question is hard because two of the answers (answers A and B) seem plausible, since putting a list in dashes can either put an explanation or a set of examples into a sentence. Answer A Explanation Answer C is wrong becausethere’s nothing irrelevant about the added text. The sentence and the addition are both talking about the kinds of materials available at the library. Answer D is also wrong – the passage as a whole is not specifically about librarians, so there is no reason that this insertion would have to be. To eliminate answer B, we have to realize that the added text doesn’t give areason. Providing a list of types of materials doesn't explain why there are so many e-Books. Instead, the added textsupplies a definition for thenon-obvious term â€Å"nonprint formats,† by giving a list of examples that fall under this nonprint category. This means answer A iscorrect. Nonprint, huh. How long until we no longer think of bookshelves when we say the word "library"? Question 5 The first time I visited the Art Institute of Chicago, I expected to be impressed by its famous large paintings. For example, I couldn’t wait to view painter, Georges Seurat’s, 10-foot-wide A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte in its full size. A) NO CHANGEB) painter, Georges Seurat’sC) painter Georges Seurat’s,D) painter Georges Seurat’s The Challenge To get this one right, you have to knowhow to punctuate modifiers.A modifier is a piece of a sentence that is used to explain, define, or clarify some other part of the sentence. What makes this one hard is figuring out whether this modifier is necessary to the sentence or not. Answer D Explanation Modifiers come in two flavors. Some are so necessary to the sentence that it would lose its meaning without them; these don't get set off by commas. Others are not crucial for the sentence to make sense; theydo get surrounded by commas. In this case, the modifier is â€Å"George Seurat.† Now ask yourself – is this piece of information necessary to make the sentence work? One trick is to read the sentence without the modifier to see if the sentence still makes sense. Here,we’d just be left with the strange formulation â€Å"I couldn’t wait to view painter’s 10-foot-wide A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.†That is clearly not correct, since you need the name George Seurat to make the word "painter" have any meaning.This means that the modifier "George Seurat" is crucial. Since answers B and C neither surround the modifier with commas nor take them all out, they both are incorrect. Crucial modifiers don’t get set off by commas, so the right answer is D, the one that leaves the commas out. Here is what that giant painting looks like, by the way. Question 6 It has long been known that the sea otters living along the West Coast of North America help keep kelp forests in their habitat healthy and vital. They do this by feeding on sea urchins and other herbivorous invertebrates that graze voraciously on kelp. With sea otters to keep the population of sea urchins in check, kelp forests can flourish. In fact, even two years or less of sea otter presence can reduce the sea urchin threat in a coastal area. Without sea otters present, however, kelp forests run the danger of becoming barren stretches of coastal wasteland known as urchin barrens. What was less well-known, until recently at least, was how this relationship among sea otters, sea urchins, and kelp forests might help fight global warming. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased 40 percent. A recent study by two professors at the University of California, Santa Cruz, Chris Wilmers and James Estes, suggests that kelp forests protected by sea otters can absorb as much as twelve times the amount of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere as those where sea urchins are allowed to devour the kelp. A) NO CHANGEB) dispatchC) overindulge onD) dispose of The Challenge Words that seem similar but have crucial differences in meaning are at the heart of this tricky question.From the context, it’s clear that the word has to have something to do with making less of something – but since all of the word choice options carry this connotation, it’s challenging to figure out which one fits best. Answer A Explanation â€Å"Dispatch† means to send away, or to deal with efficiently. The kelp is certainly going away, but the sea urchins aren’t sending it anywhere, so this (answer B) is not the right word. â€Å"Overindulge on† can mean overeat. The sea urchins are certainly eating the kelp, so answer Cis a tempting choice. However, â€Å"overindulge† carries a moral judgment with – it’s describing an action that is being done despite the knowledge that doing so much of it is wrong. The sea urchins aren’t equipped to deal with right and wrong – and they also aren’t overeating the kelp. They are eating as much as is in their nature to eat. So, scratch that answer. â€Å"Dispose of† is another tempting word choice. It means â€Å"to get rid of,† which is definitely what is happening to the kelp at the hands of the sea urchins. Answer Dcould arguably fit into the sentence without a problem, except that we have a word that is even better. â€Å"Devour† means to eat copious amounts of in a short time.This exactly describes what the sea urchins do, so answer A is undoubtedly the best choicein this context. Not only does it mean just what the passage needs it to mean, but it also echoes a piece of the previous paragraph, where the sea urchins were described as â€Å"invertebrates that graze voraciously on kelp.† Graze voraciously = devour. If the only other option is picking these horrific-looking things up by hand, I say let the sea otters have at them. Question 7 Circadian rhythms, which are controlled by the bodies biological clocks, influence body temperature, hormone release, cycles of sleep and wakefulness, and other bodily functions. A) NO CHANGEB) bodies’ biological clocks’,C) body’s biological clocks,D) body’s biological clock’s, The Challenge At the heart of this question is knowing how to properly make nouns into plurals and possessives, and when to use one or the other.What makes this sentence doubly confusingis that when you say the sentence out loud, clearly both nouns - "body" and "clock" - need to end in anâ€Å"s† sound. Answer C Explanation To figure outwhether nouns should be plural, possessive, or both, you have to understandthe context of a passage. Here, thesentence is explaining how circadian rhythms affect the human body. Because we are speaking in general terms, the word â€Å"body† should be singular.That means that the original wording (answer A) is wrong: â€Å"bodies† is the plural form of â€Å"body.† Answers B iswrong for the same reason: â€Å"bodies’ † is the plural possessive of â€Å"bodies,† meaning â€Å"belonging to several bodies.† So, what belongs to the human body in the sentence? Several timing mechanisms called biological clocks.Does anything belong to these clocks? No. Thus, answer D is wrong: â€Å"clock’s† the possessive form of â€Å"clock,† meaning â€Å"belong to a clock.† The right answer C uses the singular possessive form of the word â€Å"body† and the regular plural form of the word â€Å"clock†: "body’s biological clocks," meaning "the clocks that belong to a generic human body." Some adorable circadian rhythms at work. Question 8 In 1883, he placed an advertisement seeking educated, well-mannered, articulate young women between the ages of 18 and 30. Response to the advertisement was overwhelming, even tremendous, and Harvey soon replaced the male servers at his restaurants with women. A) NO CHANGEB) Response to the advertisement was overwhelming,C) Overwhelming, even tremendous, was the response to the advertisement,D) There was an overwhelming, even tremendous, response to the advertisement, The Challenge One of the things that the SAT tests is your understanding of redundancy, wherethe same piece of information or description is needlessly repeated. What makes this question complicated is the way the original passage is punctuated, and the fact that three of the answer choices contain both original adjectives, making it seem like these adjectives are important to the sentence. Answer B Explanation Setting off the word â€Å"tremendous† with commas, and modifying it with the intensifier "even,† makes it sound as if the word â€Å"overwhelming† doesn’t fullyconvey the enthusiasm of the women answering the ad. This can lead you to think that you need the phrase â€Å"even tremendous† to really sell how gung ho women were to work for Harvey. In reality, â€Å"overwhelming† and â€Å"tremendous† both mean â€Å"surprisingly large and robust,† so using both is repetitive. Thus, the correct answer is B, which is the only choice that deletes the repeating (redundant) adjective. Harvey House: basically the Hooters of 19th century America. Question 9 The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, one of Russia’s greatest art museums, has long had a productive partnership with a much loved animal: the cat. For centuries, cats have guarded this famous museum, ridding it of mice, rats, and other rodents that could damage the art, not to mention scared off visitors. A) NO CHANGEB) scaringC) scareD) have scared The Challenge Here, the challenge comes in two parts.First, you have to be able to recognize the grammar of parallel structures.And second, you have to know how to match verb tenses inside a sentence. Answer C Explanation There are many different verbs in the sentence, so the first thing to do is the figure out who is doing the action of the verb in question – the cats or the rodents. Who or what is doing the scaring? The cats heredo two things: they guard the museum, and they rid it of pests.This means that it’s the mice and rats that scare visitors. After realizing this, we can see that the phrase â€Å"not to mention† sets up our parallel construction: rodents could do (verb 1) one thing, not to mention do (verb 2) another thing.This means that verbs 1 and 2 have to be in the same tense and form. Verb 1 is in the present tense: â€Å"damage.† So the matching version of verb 2 has to be answerC, â€Å"scare.† Then they'll have to get dogs to catchthe cats, then goats to catch the dogs, then cows to catch the goats... all in the museumthat Catherine the Great built. Question 10 At the same time, a social and civil rights movement for Mexican Americans was working to raise awareness of Mexican American cultural identity. Artists associated with this began to rediscover and promote the work of the Mexican muralists, particularly Siqueiros. A) NO CHANGEB) itC) themD) this movement The Challenge To get this question right, you have to have a solid grasp of pronouns and their antecedents, the nouns that pronouns stand in for. This question is hard because the problem with this pronoun isn't agreement (the usual pronoun/antecedent issue), but instead clarity. Answer D Explanation If there are too many nouns that could be a particular pronoun’s antecedent, then that pronoun needs to be replaced with a noun for clarity. That is the problem with this passage: in theory, the pronounâ€Å"this† could refer to: â€Å"cultural identity,† â€Å"awareness,† or â€Å"social and civil rights movement.† So leaving it as is (answer A) doesn't fix the problem. Replacing â€Å"this† with â€Å"it† (answer B) isn't a good solution– like the original "this," the pronoun â€Å"it† could also haveany one of those nouns as its antecedent. Replacing â€Å"this† with â€Å"them† (answer C) creates a logical problem. The antecedent of "them" would be "Mexican Americans," which would mean that the artists being discussed were associated with themselves. The right choice, answer D, is simply to add a clarifying noun to the confusing pronoun. Writing that the artists were associated with â€Å"this movement† simplifies the sentence and allows the passage to flow. One ofSiqueiros's murals,"El Pueblo a la Universidad, la Universidad al Pueblo." Question 11 The designer envisions the game’s fundamental elements: the settings, characters, and plots that make each game unique, and is thus a primary creative force behind a video game. A) NO CHANGEB) elements: the settings, characters, and plots that make each game unique- C) elements- the settings, characters, and plots that make each game unique- D) elements; the settings, characters, and plots that make each game unique; The Challenge One of the things the SAT tests is how to punctuate explanations.This question is hard because it mixes up twodifferent kinds of explanatory punctuation styles: dashes and colons. Answer C Explanation Different kinds of explanations are punctuated in different ways. In this case, the structure of the sentence is: designer makes game elements + list of game elements + this means the designer is the game creator When we lay it out this way, we can see that the bit in the middle (the list of game elements) is an explanatory modifierfor the vague term â€Å"game’s fundamental elements.† This modifiernot crucial to the sentence, since the sentence will make perfect sense without it. Instead, it's a parenthetical aside that clarifies something. The original punctuation (answer A) and the punctuation in answer B focus on the list aspect of the modifier. You can tell because each suggests introducing the set of game elements with a colon. This would work fine if the list ended with a period, but since it doesn’t, these options are out. Answer D suggests using semi-colons to set off the examples. However, semi-colons are either for separating lists where a single list item has commas in it (not the case here), or for separating independent clauses (also not the case here). So answer D is wrong. Answer C fixes the sentence by setting off the set of examples with dashes, which are basically like parentheses you can wrap around a piece of a sentence that interrupts the main train of thought. The brilliant minimalist design of Minecraft makes every player the creative force behind the game. Question 12 Some people buy organic food because they believe organically grown crops are more nutritious and safer for consumption than the people who purchase their conventionally grown counterparts, which are usually produced with pesticides and synthetic fertilizers. A) NO CHANGEB) the purchase ofC) purchasingD) DELETE the underlined portion. The Challenge This question is checking to see whether you can spot an illogical comparison. However, the answer choices make it seem as though this is actually a question about the correct form of the word "purchase." Answer D Explanation One trick to remember is that the word "than" announces that a comparison is about to happen. This is your cue to check whether the sentence is setting up an illogical comparison. In this case, the sentence is trying tocompareorganic and conventional food, which means that conventional food has to immediately follow the wordâ€Å"than.† The original text(answer A) is worded so that it incorrectly compares â€Å"organically grown crops† with â€Å"people who purchase.† This doesn't make sense, so the sentence can't be left as is. Answers B and C change the comparison, but stillends up comparing â€Å"organic crops† with â€Å"the purchase† or the act of "purchasing." You can compare crops with a purchase, sothese answers are out. Correct answer D, however, eliminates the problem and fixes the sentence so that like is compared with like: â€Å"organically grown crops are more nutritious and safer for consumption than their conventionally grown counterparts.† Conventional, organic - once you throw them on the grill, it's all good. The Bottom Line The hardest questions on the SAT Writing and Language section are challenging because they: test several grammar, editing, or punctuation skills at once have two or more very plausible answer choices have answer choices that make it look like the question is testing one concept, when it's really testing something totally different Oneway to work through these difficult parts of the test is to cover up the answer choices (including the original text), and read the parts of the passage that aren't in question. This way, you can form your own uninfluenced opinion about: the logical progression of the passage's argument the way the different sentences, or the different parts of one sentence, relate to one another how you would fill in the missing piece Then, you can find the answer choice that most closely matches your own thoughts, rather than being led astray by working backwards from the answer choices. What’s Next? Did you make any mistakes?If so, you can use these problems to help pinpoint the areas you struggle with and focus your studying to get a great score on SAT Writing. Want to learn other strategies for SAT Writing?Check out our articles on improving your score, getting a perfect score, and how best to study. Want to improve your overall SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. 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The Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North Essay

The Great Migration of African Americans from the South to the North during the 1900's - Essay Example There seems to have been two instances where the African Americans migrated. First was between 1910-1940, following which it is considered that there was a second Great Migration, which was between 1940 and 1970. Most of the people seemed to have moved to California from places like Texas and Louisiana. This move is considered mainly due to the availability of jobs in the defense industry. The years 1965 until 1970, had seen a high number of people migrating from places like Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi to other regions of the United States which fell under the Census. However the following year brought about a number of people moving back to their original destinations due to family reasons, or kinship ties. However post 1995 until 2000, places like Georgia, Texas and Maryland, attracted the highest number of college graduates. California was considered to be one of the highest and most gaining states for the black migrants however the later 1990s led California to loose more than gain African Americans. With the Emancipation Proclamation that had been signed earlier on in 1863, left merely 8 percent of the African American population left in Northeast and Midwest. Later on in 1900, almost ninety percent of the African American was seen to have moved out of the slave holding states to move into newer and better lives (Wesley, 1927). A number of the people had moved into places like Boston, New York, Baltimore, Chicago and many other smaller industrial cities. People wanted to take the cheapest rail ticket possible and for this they moved from places like Mississippi to Chicago. The years of 1910 until 1930s saw a rise in the African American population in Northern States and there was a rise of almost forty percent, this lead to a high level of urban tension, majorly because of the number of migrants of the African American and

Civic Humanism and the Sidewalk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civic Humanism and the Sidewalk - Essay Example However, the two terms when related to â€Å"The Sidewalk† seem to crash in their connotations. Implications concluded in this article comprise the argument of the two terms that draw their basis from human interactions in society. This is evident from the way people behave while on a sidewalk, they seem to collide but are still heading to their destinations (Wiens 120). The author’s study was in the street where he observed the behavior of the people prior to embarking on meticulous analysis (Wiens 120). His observation was that sidewalk promotes and aids pedestrian movement, thus, this being the author’s main argument. He states that pedestrianism esteems highly public space, but not in the manner of aesthetic or enhancing democracy for citizens. Since its main concern is to ensure adequate array of people plus objects, hence, giving the sidewalks the effectiveness it requires. Blomley also states that pedestrianism may work effectively below the political radar and scholastic environment. In addition, pedestrianism is more evident in the urban setting where the streets may be of private owners but its essence still holds. This is despite the case where a political space might be in a park or any other venue far from the street but still in the urban setting (Blomley