Notes on Presidency Essay

Notes on Presidency Essay Notes on Presidency Essay Chapter 9: Debt total of all money the federal government owes over time Deficit yearly shortfall of revenues in a budget $16 trillion debt $4.3 trillion budget fiscal year 2012 $1.3 trillion deficit Campaigns primary [show up and vote] (first primary: NH) or caucus [meetings and after you vote: people make arguments for a candidate] (first caucus: Iowa) * Regional primary or national primary â€Å"Frontloading† states often want their primary or caucus first because they think it’s more influential to go first McGovern-Fraser Commission: a commission formed at the 1968 Democratic convention in response to demands for reform by minority groups and others who sought better representation. As a result, all delegate selection procedures were required to be open so that the party leaders had no more clout than college students or anyone else who wanted to participate. Money Campaigns: * Candidates need money to build a campaign and get their message out. * There is a common perception that money buys votes and influence * The 1974 act (Federal Election Campaign Act) and its subsequent amendments did the following: In brief: The act created the FEC, provided public financing for presidential primaries and general elections, limited presidential campaign spending, required disclosure, and attempted to limit contributions. * Result of: Watergate scandal (people saw corruption in government) * Meant for reforming campaign finances. * Federal Election Commission (FEC)- a six-member bipartisan agency created by the Federal Election Campaign Fund of 1974. This commission administers and enforces campaign finance laws * Created the Presidential Election Campaign Fund – the FEC is in charge of doling out money from this fund to qualified presidential candidates. * Tax payers can check a box on their taxes ($3) to publically fund presidential primaries/caucuses and the general election (Obama was the first president to reject tax payer money) If a presidential candidate takes the government money, then the candidate must abide by restrictions on spending $ * Matching funds: If a candidate can raise $5,000 in at least 20 states, they’re eligible to the contributions of up to $250 matched by the federal treasury. These candidates must qualify and agree to meet various conditions, ** such as li miting their overall spending to an amount prescribed by federal law** * Provided full public financing for major party candidates in the general election- for each general election, each major party nominee is eligible to receive a fixed amount of money to cover his or her total campaign expenses * Required full disclosure- regardless of whether they accept federal funding, all candidates for federal office must file periodic reports with FEC, listing who contributed and how much money it was. * Limited contributions- congress limited individual donations/contributions to presidential and congressional campaigns to $1,000. Also, limits on PAC donations to candidates political parties * Buckley v. Valeo (1976): challenged the Federal Election Campaign Act. The Supreme Court ruled that it was a violation of freedom of speech (the portion of the act that limited individual contributions to their own campaign) result you can spend unlimited amounts of your own $ on your own campaign * Another loophole opened in 1979 with an amendment to the act that made it easier for political parties to raise money for voter registration drives, and distribution of campaign material at grass-roots level or for generic party advertising * Soft money- political contributions earmarked for party building expenses at basic level or for generic party advertising. Soft money donations are not subject to contribution limits. (generally from corporations) * McCain – Feingold [Bipartisan (2002), Campaign Reform ACT (BCRA)] Banned soft money:

Fate vs Free Will essays

Fate vs Free Will essays Fate vs Free Will - A Close Look at Sophocles' King Oedipus (Oedipus Rex) In the play King Oedipus, Sophocles suggests that while we have free will, this translates into little control over ones lives, as fate cannot be escaped. At the end of the play, Oedipus has been totally destroyed the reversal of his humanist confidence and prosperity is complete. When considering the downfall of a central character, critics often consider the flaws of the character that contributed to the destruction. While Oedipus considers that he is acting freely, his actions are inextricably bound with fate throughout his life. Sophocles explores the inevitability of fate while highlighting that the way we come to it is an open question. Therefore, no matter what Oedipus did to try to escape his fate, he would never have succeeded. Yes Oedipus was bad tempered, proud, and arrogant, but ultimately, the decisions and actions of Oedipus are irrelevant; he is simply a victim of fate. The future is hidden even from the men who made it (Anatole France). The individual does not know his or her fate, and a dramatic destiny is predetermined for some, and so life becomes an unravelling of events until ones ultimate fate is confronted. So, despite human endeavours and despite emotions and desires, the life one is fated to live will occur. Fate can be undeserving and cruel, overwhelming and unalterable, so much that no one can change its course. Even when others strive to help, fate will have its way. Indeed, in King Oedipus, Oedipus was such an individual for although exercising free will to determine the course of his destiny, fate ultimately had its way in that he would kill his father and marry his mother. Despite Queen Jocastas individual effort to change her destiny, that she would lose her husband to murder and herself will marry her son, she was unable to do so. Even though she gives up her son to death in the vain ho...

What Maisie Knew Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

What Maisie Knew - Essay Example As the child was at the garden she kept on looking on his legs and comparing to other children. Maisie parents (Beale and Ida Farange) had divorced, and the court ruled that each parent will spend six month of the year with the child. When Maisie was with her father, she developed body structure problems. Moddle was responding to the child’s question about the legs. The child had faced a lot of suffering by having the parents divorced and being exchanged between the two parents. Moddle was taking care of the child and had to protect her from developing psychological problems. Moddle was telling the child that she can not find another pair like her own in order for the child to understand that she is better and unique than other people. Maisie parents also were frivolous and immoral, and they used her to intensify the hatred they had for each other. The parents made Maisie suffer and it is more difficulty for a parent to inflict suffering to his or her own child. Moddle made th is statement also has a parable in which she meant that the character with Maisie parents can not be found elsewhere (James, 2013). Throughout the text book, this quote is significant because there are many circumstances with unique things that can not be found even in the society today. After Maisie’s parents divorced, they went ahead and remarried again without even considering the effect it had to their child. The two parents cheated to their new spouses which led to Mrs Farange having an affair with Claude. In the end, the child refused to stay with Sir Claude because she concluded that the relationship will come to an end just like her biological parents. As a result, she left and went to stay with her guardian Mrs. Wix. Just as the quote indicates the child realised that she can not find another pair of parents like her biological parents and decided to live with Mrs Wix. In the

The Finland Phenomenon Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Finland Phenomenon - Coursework Example The government funds all the institutes, creates scholarships and benefits for deserving students, international students are given opportunities to come and study in Finnish universities, scholarships are provided to international students and all students are treated equally irrespective of their race and ethnicity. Whereas when we observe the education system of the United States, we get to know that although the government funds a lot of public institutes, it does not however fund colleges and universities. Funding by the government is provided only for specific purposes such as research projects. Students are made to get loans on high interests and spend their lives working to pay it off. Although the government of US creates scholarships but only in a limited number and those who fail to get a scholarship fail to continue their study whereas in Finland, free education enables everyone to pursue their dreams. The Finnish and American education systems have some unique student and teacher behaviors and characteristics. Some of them include: teachers being kind and generous to their students and students giving respect to the teachers. Also, one of the most important characteristic of the teachers was their interest in teaching the students and making them a better person by getting down to the mental level of the students, helping them and guiding them in the professional as well as personal lives and being more of a friend than teachers. This video gives us important information and guidelines related to the educational systems of two of the most respected and great nations of the world. Also, it guides us to develop the education systems of third world countries such as ones in Asia and Africa. It teaches us how we can work in a better way to communicate with students and create a better educational environment. One the most

Patron Saint of Butterflies Essay Essay Example for Free

Patron Saint of Butterflies Essay Essay The main characters of the story are Honey, and Agnes. The whole book was written in a switch off format which is when Honey and Agnes each write a chapter on what happened in there own thoughts. The story shows a relationship between two girls that slowly grow apart holding tight onto what they have left in their friendship. The characters are Honey, her dad which is Mr. Little, Mrs. Little, Nana Pete, Lillian, Benny, and the owners of Mount Blessing, Mother Veronica and Father Emmanuel. In this story, the characters are in a conflict; Mother Veronica and Father Emmanuel were the ones that were against Lillian, Nana Pete, Honey, and Agnes. There were against each other because Father Emmanuel was punishing the people that lived on Mount Blessing. The story started like this, Agnes was looking for Honey she got into trouble. Honey was punished by Emmanuel because she kissed a boy, on her back; Veronica had carved the word â€Å"harlot†. Soon, Nana Pete (Agnes and Benny’s grandmother) found out about the regulation room where people were being punished at. Nana Pete decides to leave after she found out, when Benny had his finger slammed in the door. Someone had called the police, but because Emmanuel knew he was going to get into trouble if the police come, so he decides to it on himself clumsily. Nana Pete takes him to the hospital where they had to undo everything that Emmanuel had done. Right after Benny had woken up, they escape from Mount blessing where Agnes really doesn’t want to because she wants to become a saint, but Honey dreads to escape that place from the day her was born. Honey had to say goodbye to Winky, the person that Honey owns a utterfly garden with. Honey also left a note about if Agnes ever goes back, Honey made Winky call the cops. They travel across from Connecticut all the way to Texas. On the way, Agnes faced a lot of things that were considered a sin, like eating stuff that are red, watching T. V. and listening to the radio which was all considered sins but Honey did all of them even when she knew it was against the rules on Mount Blessing. Agnes struggles to be with Honey because of their differences, especially when they arrive to the destination and meet a girl amed Lillian. Actually, Lillian is Honey’s mother that had left her when she was only a baby, the story of her mother was complicated. She was wonderful at the violin when she had went to Mount Blessing, so she instantly was accepted into Emmanuel’s inner group which usually take years to do. But at that time she was already pregnant but the people in the inner circle knew nothing about it, when they did, Honey was already born into this world, so they made Lillian go away and let Honey stay with Lillian’s brother, Joseph (Mr.Little). Things turn out pretty well until Nana Pete had died from a heart attacked. Honey and Agnes had a major fight after Agnes was praying for Nana Pete to come back alive, Honey said that it was impossible and had some argument that had caused Honey to hit Agnes. Rushing out the door, Honey hopped into the truck and then drove to the shop Lillian owned. She rushed in causing everyone to suddenly look at her, and then she dragged Lillian back, at that same time Agnes had called her parents to fly here and go pick up Agnes. After her parents arrive, Mr. Little called Lillian the name she was given at Mount Blessing. After Agnes left, that was when Honey found out Lillian was her mother, also she finally knew the reason why Nana Pete treated her like her own grandchild. When Agnes arrived at Mount Blessing, she saw there were rows of police cars parked in front of the regulation room, the cops wanted to see all of the children, alone, that is when Emmanuel said â€Å"remember, we are believers† meaning for them to not tell anything about the room. Because the children were so scared they all didn’t respond to the negative things that were mentioned about Mount Blessing. But then, Agnes thought about what was right and what she should do, slowly with trembling legs, she stood up. At the same time, Honey and Lillian was driving to Mount Blessing, when they arrive, the cops arrived because of the fact that Winky had called the police. A few weeks later, all of the parents were to be kept in order to be questioned, that is when Honey and Agnes stand on the same line, and race each other to the finish line. They raced each other at the end because Agnes wanted to be a saint, and she thought racing was a sin, but she finally loosened up from what Honey had helped her with. I thought this book was the adventurous kind in the beginning, but then did I find out it was about friendship and love. This book was very touching from what Honey had described in one of the chapters about how Agnes had changed from the friend that she use to know to what she is now, a saint to be. I thought that it was outrageous when I read to the part about that they were hit by Emmanuel. To what I think, people should not be punished by what they have done just according to the rules that some guy had made, and I thought that if the kids don’t want to live there, why do their parents make them? In a lot of the chapters, it showed that Agnes had a string that was tied around the waist, and every time she had committed a sin, she would tighten the string, just imagining it I would think would be hard enough for me, but to do it, it takes guts. This booked talked a lot about friendship and trust, and I also thought it was so touching when it told the ending about how they raced each other. It would be hard for me to ever still hold on to the friendship that Agnes and Honey had held on to, I would just have stopped being friends with Agnes instead of trying to convince her back to being normal. I really loved this book because it connected with the experiences that I had, my friend, well more like best friend had started to ‘fit in’ with the crowd, and soon, she pretended that she didn’t ever know me. But before I came to America, I had to say goodbye to her, and she said that the only reason she left me was because I started making new friends and didn’t even talk to her. The misunderstanding was all over, but the things that had already happened could not be solved, so I felt that I was in the same relationship with my best friend just like how Agnes and Honey was. This story could be told to all ages and not to a limited age, it talks about friendship, trust, and most important, holding onto your friend.

The Importance of Education :: Importance of Education Essays

After twelve years of school, it took me until now to figure out exactly why I had been there all those years. It was not to torture me by making me learn how to spell but to make sure that my classmates and I got the opportunity to make the most of ourselves. Opportunity that would come from learning as much as possible from books and beginning to see that the world focuses on more than just history and English . I owe my success in life and school to teachers who taught me to spell and to be respectful and responsible. Those quick to argue with me say that school's usefulness is shallow: deeper-real-life experiences truly educate a person. School should be seen not only as a place to study, but also as a place to learn about real life. People cannot depend on experience alone for education just as they cannot solely rely on information from school books to prepare them for life. The lessons, whether from a book or not, learned in school transcend the classroom to real life situatio ns. School, in essence, functions as a ladder to the future. The farther up the ladder a person goes, the more prepared for real life he will find himself. Respect is one of the keys to getting up the ladder and succeeding in many aspects of life. I grew up respecting my elders: whether it was my grandparents or the librarian, I have always had respect. The regard I have developed for teachers has come from knowing that I will need their help to make it through school and I can only get it by being respectful and polite. To help students up the ladder, school indirectly teaches its students about respect. Although not found on the pages of any text book, learning lessons in respect can be very helpful. The idea of respect starts with teachers and often branches to the development of peer and self respect. Everyone has experienced a teacher that they couldn't stand and dreaded going to that class. It was times like that which challenged the respect that had begun to develop. In eight grade, my english teacher was one of the mose mean people I have ever met. I got a 0 on a quiz because I spelled one word wrong (it was not a spelling quiz). I hated going to her class, half the time, I just wanted to scream at her.

Famine, Affluence, and Morality Essay

By â€Å"drowning,† I mean those who are suffering help people. A few of the counter-arguments that Singer addresses are: One, that he government will be less likely to take responsibility because private organizations are organizing relief funds. Giving privately allows the government to escape their responsibilities of supplying aid. Singer does not believe that this assumption is plausible. He states: I do not, of course, want to dispute the contention that governments of affluent nations should be giving many times the amount of genuine, no-strings-attached aid that they are giving now. I agree, too, that giving privately is not enough, and that we ought to be campaigning actively for entirely new standards or both public and private contributions to famine relief. Indeed, I would sympathize with someone who thought that campaigning was more important than giving one- self, although I doubt whether preaching what one does not practice would be very effective. Unfortunately, for many people the idea that â€Å"it’s the government’s responsibility† is a reason for not giving which does not appear to entail any political action either. Two, until there is an effective population control, relieving famine will postpone starvation. If we relieve suffering that is happening in the now, the future may end p suffering instead. The best means of preventing famine is population control. However, there are organizations who work specifically with population control. Therefore, this counter-argument is not sufficient enough to allow us to stand in the background. The third counter-argument would be how much we should be giving away. Should we be giving away more that would cause suffering to ourselves? Earlier in Singer’s article, he suggests that if everybody in his situation could donate E5, then nobody would be obligated to give more. He does not suggest that we give until we each the level marginal utility- the level at which by giving more, would cause as much suffering to ourselves or our dependents. Singer’s concept of marginal utility relates to his argument by explaining and understanding that there are some people who cannot afford to support relief funds. He simply states â€Å"if everyone in circumstances like mine. † This means that not everybody will be in the same circumstance to provide funds for relief. Duty and charity, according to Singer, should be redrawn or abolished. Doing good by giving money away’ is not considered charitable by Singer, but it is doing ood. We should refrain from buying clothes for fashion if we have old clothes that are suitable to keep us warm and give the money away instead. He says, â€Å"We would not be sacrificing anything significant if we were to continue to wear our old clothes, and give the money to famine relief. By doing so, we would be preve nting another person from starving. It follows from what I have said earlier that we ought to give money away, rather than spend it on clothes which we do not need to keep us warm. † This act is not considered charitable to Singer either. Our society, however, see’s hese act as charitable because it is a voluntary donation. Personally, I do not completely disagree with Singer’s views but, I do not completely agree with them either. Jan Narveson (2004) wrote in her article Is World Poverty a Moral Problem for the Wealthy? That she does not think we owe the poor anything special. People may benefit for charities, but we should not be looked at as not the responsibility of another countrys government to take care of a poor country. It is the same as I do not think the wealthy should have to pay more taxes than the poor. We all start from somewhere and some millionaires and billionaires had to start from the bottom as well. We all work hard for the salaries we earn. On the other hand, I think that charities are used for a good cause that benefit others rather than ourselves. Singer definitely had some points that if we all give a little, the world may be a better place. Narveson also wrote in another article Welfare and Wealth, Poverty and Justice in Todays World (2004), â€Å"each of us could do vastly more than we do to the needy. That we do not is a serious moral failing. † This is completely true and upports Singer’s views as well. However, her statement is far more accurate in what we could do, rather than what we should do. My view would fall under deontological ethics. Mosser (2010) states that â€Å"deontological ethics focuses on the will of the person carrying out the act in question, his or her intention in carrying it out, and, particularly, the rule according to which the act is carried out†. For me this means that there could be different outcomes for Singer’s argument and that every aspect should be looked at. It doesn’t make his view right or wrong, but it doesn’t make the iews that counter his right or wrong either. Peter Singer’s article â€Å"Famine, Affluence, and Morality,† was written to convince people that our decisions and actions can prevent other countries from suffering. He suggests that people should do what is morally right by contributing financially to aid those who are starving, rather than purchasing â€Å"wants† for those who can afford it. Singer argues his position, provides counter-arguments, and explains his concepts for aiding countries in need. My views are not against Singer’s position, but they are not for his position either. References Mosser, K. 2010).

Linguistics Essay

The first is that there may be an over-preoccupation with one particular feature that may well minimise the significance of others that are equally important. (Wetherill. 1974, 133) The second is that any attempt to see a text as simply a collection of stylistic elements will tend to ignore other ways whereby meaning is produced. (Wetherill. 1974, 133) Implicature In ‘Poetic Effects’ from Literary Pragmatics, the linguist Adrian Pilkington analyses the idea of ‘implicature’, as instigated in the previous work of Dan Sperber and Deirdre Wilson. Implicature may be divided into two categories: ‘strong’ and ‘weak’ implicature, yet between the two extremes there are a variety of other alternatives. The strongest implicature is what is emphatically implied by the speaker or writer, while weaker implicatures are the wider possibilities of meaning that the hearer or reader may conclude. Pilkington’s ‘poetic effects’, as he terms the concept, are those that achieve most relevance through a wide array of weak implicatures and not those meanings that are simply ‘read in’ by the hearer or reader. Yet the distinguishing instant at which weak implicatures and the hearer or reader’s conjecture of meaning diverge remains highly subjective. As Pilkington says: ‘there is no clear cut-off point between assumptions which the speaker certainly endorses and assumptions derived purely on the hearer’s responsibility. ’ (Pilkington. 1991, 53) In addition, the stylistic qualities of poetry can be seen as an accompaniment to Pilkington’s poetic effects in understanding a poem’s meaning. Stylistics is a valuable if long-winded approach to criticism, and compels attention to the poem’s details. Two of the three simple exercises performed here show that the poem is deficient in structure, and needs to be radically recast. The third sheds light on its content. Introduction Stylistics applies linguistics to literature in the hope of arriving at analyses which are more broadly based, rigorous and objective. {1} The pioneers were the Prague and Russian schools, but their approaches have been appropriated and extended in recent years by radical theory. Stylistics can be evaluative (i. e. udge the literary worth on stylistic criteria), but more commonly attempts to simply analyze and describe the workings of texts which have already been selected as noteworthy on other grounds. Analyses can appear objective, detailed and technical, even requiring computer assistance, but some caution is needed. Linguistics is currently a battlefield of contending theories, with no settlement in sight. Many critics have no formal training in linguistics, or even proper reading, and are apt to build on theories (commonly those of Saussure or Jacobson) that are inappropriate and/or no longer accepted. Some of the commonest terms, e. g. deep structure, foregrounding, have little or no experimental support. {2} Linguistics has rather different objectives, moreover: to study languages in their entirety and generality, not their use in art forms. Stylistic excellence — intelligence, originality, density and variety of verbal devices — play their part in literature, but aesthetics has long recognized that other aspects are equally important: fidelity to experience, emotional shaping, significant content.

Climax of hamlet essays

Climax of hamlet essays Although it is understandable to think that the climax of the play occurs in Act V, scene ii, the main conflict is not resolved there. Where is the climax? Prove it. The climax may be thought to have occurred in Act V, scene ii but because the main conflict is when the ghost informs Hamlet that Hamlet must avenge his father's murder. Act V, scene ii cant be the climax because this is not the resolution to the main conflict (Hamlet versus himself). During the play, revenge is Hamlets motive, and along the way other problems unfold, (man vs. man) when Hamlet duels Laertes, (man vs. nature) Ophelia struggling against the water when she drowns, but (man vs. self) Hamlet wrestling with his conscious in his "To be, or not to be..." speech, and also in his O that this too too solid flesh would melt... speech is the main conflict that needs to be resolved. The only way it could be resolved is for Hamlet to stop the struggle with himself (whether he thinks Claudius is guilty or the ghost is evil). It proves evident that Hamlets stops fighting with himself when the play The Mousetrap is performed, when he finds out Claudius' guilty of the murder. The betrayal of Ophelia towards Hamlet, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern spying on Hamlet, Hamlets crazy pretense, Hamlets plan to "catch the conscious of the King." These conflicts build suspense towards the true climax of whether this ghost of Old Hamlet is good or evil. The truth revealed about Old Hamlet to Hamlet in Claudius prayer builds even more suspense that leads to the falling action. The consequences, the main characters are killed in result of Hamlet mistakenly killing Polonius. The climax occurs when the main conflict is resolved in Act III, Scene iii, the struggle against Hamlet and himself (man vs. self). When Claudius' confesses to himself his guilt for the murder. Hamlet's main goal is to avenge his father's death and the struggle is resolute ...

ACT Math Questions, and What to Do About It

How You'll Get Stuck in SAT/ACT Math Questions, and What to Do About It SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips So you’ve been staring at one math problem for what feels like forever, or maybe you’ve gone through your solve and none of the answer choices match what you found. Or maybe you just feel like somewhere along the way you made a huge mistake†¦. Well, never fear! Right now you might be stuck on a math problem, but we’ve all been there and there is always a way to recover. We’ll walk you through both how to recognize when you’re stuck (it’s not always obvious until too late) and what to do about it when it happens. Overall Test Structure The SAT math section and the ACT math section are designed and structured differently. Though many principles of how to solve a math problem (and how to get out of a math bind) will hold true for both tests, there are some unique pitfalls and benefits hidden in each test. So let’s look at a little background and structure for both the SAT and the ACT to give a better foundation for the kinds of ways you can get stuck on a math problem and how to get out of it. About the SAT Math Section The SAT math section requires that you put your mathematical knowledge to work in ways that may seem strange or unfamiliar to you. Most SAT math questions won't look like the kinds of questions you see on your math tests in school and this may be a challenge to deal with at first. But while the questions may be unusual, each and every math topic used on the test is one that you are likely familiar with and have studied for a number of years. If you’re not used to the structure of the SAT, there are two main ways you can find yourself trapped into the no-man’s-land of selecting wrong answers: by overestimating the difficulty of each question or by underestimating the difficulty of each question. (Yikes!) Some students get so turned around by the twisting and unusual presentation of the questions that they forget the fact that they will be familiar with most, if not every topic on the SAT math section. This kind of student tends to panic and either make wild guesses or leave many questions blank that she likely could have solved. Other students, however, go in the complete opposite direction and underestimate how tricky the questions on the SAT can be. Many questions (though not all) are set up in ways that will steer anyone who isn’t paying close attention off the right track. And all the answer choices on the multiple choice section are most often generated by common student errors, so it can be easy to fall for the many â€Å"bait† answer choices available. In the next section, we’ll show you how to tell when you’re falling into one of these traps and how to get out of it. About the ACT Math Section The ACT math section will occasionally give you a question that is set up in a strange or unfamiliar way, but for the most part, ACT math questions will be fairly â€Å"straightforward.† Do you know how to set up and solve for an average? Do you know what a rational number is? A significant portion of your ACT math questions will look just like the ones you've seen in school. Though many ACT math questions are far from easy, the presentation of the questions is not specifically designed to trick or trap you. ACT math questions are challenging mostly for two reasons: you will be on a much stricter time crunch than you would be on the SAT (see our article on the differences between ACT math and SAT math for more detail on this) and the topics in question may be more obscure to you. For instance, most students will be far less familiar with trigonometry or sequences than they are with single variable equations, but these are all topics that will be on the ACT. Because the ACT math section must be completed quickly, it's crucial that you realize when you’re going down the wrong mathematical path. So let’s take a look at how to spot it when it happens. Time is a precious resource on both tests, so it's important to change course quickly if something's going wrong. How to Tell When You’re Stuck (or Going Down the Wrong Path) Almost every math question on both the ACT and the SAT can be solved in 30 seconds or less. If you’re familiar with the material, you can absolutely solve almost every single math question with plenty of time to spare. In addition, each and every question on the test is designed in such a way that a student can solve it without a calculator. Though you should use a calculator on the test to boost your speed and accuracy, always keep in mind that you don’t technically need one. How does this knowledge help you? Well, if you find you’re going down the rabbit hole and need 30 steps to solve a problem, or if you start getting bizarre strings of decimals or weird root systems, then stop! If the problem is taking two or three minutes to solve or you think it would literally be impossible (or just really, really difficult) to solve without a calculator, then something went wrong and you should stop and go back to the beginning. Let’s look at a few examples of ACT and SAT problems and some common student errors to see this in action. Let’s say you got to this problem and were going so quickly through the test that you misread the word â€Å"area† and thought you were supposed to solve for the perimeter instead. This may seem like an obvious mistake right now, but never underestimate the effects of adrenaline and fatigue on your ability to think logically. It’s all too easy (and all too common) to make a mistake like this on the test and pay the price in lost time if you do. But if you read â€Å"area† as â€Å"perimeter,† then you would see that the â€Å"perimeter† of triangle DFH was 10, which would mean that each side was $10/3 = 3.33$. Hmm. This is already mighty suspicious. Remember- you should be able to solve any question without a calculator, so if you have decimal points, they will almost always be 0.5 or, more rarely, 0.25. To get a decimal of 0.33 is suspect. But if you kept going, you would find that each side of triangle DFH is made up of two sides of the smaller triangles. This would mean that the side of each smaller triangle was: $3.33/2 = 1.67$ Now a red alert should be sounding in your head! You’ve gotten two â€Å"weird† decimal values in a row and you still haven’t found your answer yet. It’s a good idea to pause and see if you’ve made a mistake somewhere before you waste time going any further. [Note: the way to actually solve the problem is to either find the area of each small triangle- $10/4 = 2.5$- and multiply by the total number of small triangles, or to set up a proportion of the area of DFH to AFK. Either way, your final answer will be E, 62.5] Now let’s take a look at another example, Last time, we said that perhaps you simply misread the problem. This time, maybe you thought you knew enough about the topic to solve the problem, but ended up stuck halfway through. For instance, let’s say you were familiar enough with quadratic equations to recognize that this was one, but didn’t know a whole lot else about them. Well it says that the value of $x$ is -3, so that must mean we replace $x$ with -3 and solve from there, right? $x^2 + mx + n = 0$ $-3^2 + 3m + n = 0$ $9 + 3m + n = 0$ Hmm. Well this doesn’t look promising. We could try to isolate $m$ to find it’s value, in which case we would say: $3m + n = -9$ $3m + -9 - n$ $m = -3 - {n/3}$ But we still don’t know the value of $n$, so that doesn’t help us much. We could try to factor it, but without knowing the value of $n$, we still can’t find $m$. We’re well and truly stuck. [Note: the way to solve the problem is by understanding how factoring quadratic equations works at its core. If -3 is the only value for $x$, then it must mean that our quadratic factors out to be a square. Our factors must therefore look like: (x + 3)(x + 3) for $x$ to equal -3 since $x + 3 = 0$ = $x = -3$. If we properly distribute $(x + 3)^2$, we will get $x^2 + 6x + 9 = 0$, which means the answer is C, $m = 6$.] Sometimes, you’ll be able to see pretty quickly (as with our first example) when you’re going wrong, and sometimes it will take a few steps before you hit a wall (as with our second example). But, as you get more practice solving SAT and ACT math questions, you’ll start to get instincts to feel when you’ve taken a left turn somewhere, and this is the point at which you must take a step back. But what do you do once you realize you’ve run into a problem? Let’s take a look. We can save this, not to worry. Well...probably. Pretty sure. (Gross) What to Do When You’re Stuck As you go through your test, answer your questions by following these steps: Step 1: Always Answer the Easiest Questions First As a general rule of thumb when taking the either the SAT or the ACT, always root out and answer the questions you can complete the fastest and with the most confidence. Remember- each and every question is worth one point, so it doesn’t matter if it was the easiest problem or the hardest. No one is judging how you complete your test, so don’t feel you have to ignore the simpler problems for the sake of the more difficult ones. Get your points where you can and keep moving forward. The ACT math section is arranged in ascending order of difficulty, so the earliest questions will also be the "easiest." The SAT is a little more complicated, since the math portion of the test is divided into three sections- two entirely multiple choice and one combination multiple choice and grid-in. SAT multiple choice questions are also arranged in order of ascending difficulty (so the early questions will also be "easiest"), but the difficulty level resets for the grid-in section. This means that the first question on the grid-in portion will be much easier than the last multiple choice question in that math section. Be especially careful in the combination multiple choice and grid-in SAT math section for this reason. If any question starts to give you trouble or seems to be taking a long time, mark it and come back to it only after you’ve completed all of your easy questions. Once you’ve identified these potential â€Å"problem questions,† approach them based on why they were problematic in the first place. Step 2: If You Can See Your Error, Redo the Problem Once you’ve identified that you’re going down the wrong track, stop working and read the question again. Did you try to find the wrong variable? For instance, did you solve for $a$ instead of $2a$, the perimeter instead of the area? Did you write down the wrong values for your givens? Or did you realize you simply don’t know enough about, for instance, functions to solve the problem? If you can spot your error and correct it in a few seconds, go ahead and start over and solve the problem again the right way. If you really think you can solve the problem this time, then it’s definitely worth your time to work through it again. If you can’t spot why or how you went wrong (just that you did), move on to the next step. Step 3: If You Can't See the Error, Find an Alternative Solving Method Sometimes you might know enough about the topic (or are just familiar enough with the test) to see that you don't know how to solve a particular problem in the traditional way. Now is a good time to turn to one of your alternate solving methods, namely plugging in answers or plugging in your own numbers. Let’s say that you went up against this question: Maybe you didn’t know where to begin, or maybe you attempted the problem and felt that you started getting trapped in the algebra. Well luckily, there is almost always another way to solve any ACT or SAT question! In this case, we have variables in both the problem and in the answer choices, which is a key feature for a PIN question. With that in mind, we can pick our own value for $x$ and find the answer choice that corresponds to this value. Let’s say that we said $x = 2$. (Why 2? Why not!) Now we find the value of our given function. ${x + 1}/{x^3 - x}$ ${2 + 1}/{2^3 - 2}$ $3/6$ $1/2$ Now we need to find which answer choice is equivalent to $1/2$, when we use the same value of $x$ ($x = 2$). Answer choice F gives us: $1/{x^2} - 1/{x^3}$ $1/4 - 1/8$ $1/8$ This does not match our found value of $1/2$, so we can eliminate answer choice F. Answer choice G gives us: $1/{x^3} - 1/x$ $1/8 - 1/2$ $-{3/8}$ This does not match our found value of $1/2$, so we can eliminate answer choice G. Answer choice H gives us: $1/{x^2 - 1}$ $1/{4 - 1}$ $1/3$ This does not match our found value of $1/2$, so we can eliminate answer choice H. Answer choice J gives us: $1/{x^2 - x}$ $1/{4 - 2}$ $1/2$ This does match our found answer of $1/2$, so we can keep answer J in the running. We should still test answer choice K, however, just to make sure we do not have any duplicate correct answers. Answer choice K gives us: $1/{x^3}$ $1/8$ This does not match our found answer of $1/2$. We can eliminate answer choice K. This leaves us with only one answer that matches what we found as our given when $x = 2$. This means that answer choice J (and only answer choice J) must be correct. Our final answer is J, $1/{x^2 - x}$ Step 4: If Your Alternate Solve Doesn't Work, Move On Sometimes taking a standardized test means learning to let go of a question. Your time is precious and limited, so if you can solve two questions in the time it takes you to solve one, it’s always best to solve the two. If you find yourself trapped on a question and can’t find any way to solve it, let it go (for now). If you’re taking the ACT, bubble in your best guess answer, but do so lightly enough that you can come back and change it later, time permitting. If you’re taking the SAT, simply skip the question for now (don’t bubble in a guess!) and come back later. If you have time after you’re done with the rest of your questions, come back to any that you had to skip or bubble a guess on. Sometimes all you need is fresh eyes, and then the method to solve the problem will become apparent. If you still can’t find the correct answer in any of the â€Å"traditional† ways, you can try to strategically eliminate answer choices until you’ve at least narrowed down your odds. For more information on how to do this, check out our guides for how to best guess on the SAT math section and how to best guess on the ACT math section. Otherwise, simply let it stay blank (if taking the SAT) or stick with your first guess answer (if taking the ACT). Learning to let go of a problem can be just as important as learning when to stick with a problem and try an alternate solving method. The more you practice, the better you'll get at balancing these techniques. The Take-Aways The more practice you have with taking standardized tests, the more skilled you’ll become at spotting your mistakes and heading them off at the pass. So don’t despair if it seems like an impossible task right now- you’ll get better at it. Be sure to practice on quality ACT and SAT study materials and stop if you feel any misgivings while solving any particular question. Remember- if it takes more than 30 seconds, or you think you would absolutely need a calculator, you’re probably on the wrong track. Take a breath, back up, and see where and how you can resolve the problem. And don’t be afraid to let a question go if you need to. One question won’t matter too much in the long run, but getting stuck for five minutes will absolutely take away time from other questions and have a detrimental impact on your final score. What’s Next? Worried about your math formulas? Learn which formulas you'll need to memorize for the ACT, which formulas you'll need to know for the SAT, and how to put your formulas to their greatest effect on both the ACT and the SAT. Running out of time on your math sections? Learn how to beat the clock on both the ACT and the SAT so you can reach your greatest potential in the time allowed. Trying not to procrastinate? Our guide will help you beat those procrastination urges and get you back on track. Want to get a perfect math score? Check out how to get a perfect 36 on the ACT math section or a perfect 800 on the SAT math section. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Math strategy guide, you'll love our program. Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial: Disappointed with your ACT scores? Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically.

Critically assess the significance of Understanding (Human Resources Essay

Critically assess the significance of Understanding (Human Resources Management) HRM from a gendered or Diversity perspective - Essay Example he United Kingdom and the United States, one of the most common diversity issues is perceived to be racial inequality with both countries being seen to have long histories of systematic discrimination against some of their ethnic minorities and blacks; against this background it can be found that it is important for managers and other human resource personnel to understand human resource management from gendered or diversity perspectives to ensure success in the modern day business environment. Diverse workplaces generally tend to comprise of a wide multitude of understandings, values, beliefs and different ways of viewing unique information and viewing the world. The current rapid rate of globalization and internationalization has been noted as significantly enhancing workforce diversities across the world. Nowadays, human resource management is having to develop innovative and effective methods to be used in handling the increasingly multicultural, cross-cultural and gender sensitive workforces that are common in not only western economies but also in different corporations around the world. This importance of workplace diversity has catapulted it to becoming one of the most popular hot button issues in the corporate, educational, legal and political arenas. According to Shen et al. (2009), attitudes from human resource researchers and corporate towards the modern day diverse workplace environment has largely been mixed. Since the early 1990s human resource management has grown to now be perceived as being among the most popular management concepts as is evidenced by the large scale proliferation of different texts that happen to bear the title, as well as by the large number of management and university training course that have been developed so as to address the subject. However, despite all the gains that have been made in this particular field of management, diversity and gender equality issues are still commonly found to be quite absent from human

Three stories of Franz Kafka, featuring the theme of isolation and Essay

Three stories of Franz Kafka, featuring the theme of isolation and social laws including Before The Law, excluding Metamorphisis - Essay Example Franz Kafka’s parable Before the Law is an enigmatic contemplation of a man and his relation to social laws and the isolation he faces throughout his existence. The story explains the life of a man who attempts to gain admittance to a pathway referred to as the Law. When the man confronts the doorkeeper about admittance, the doorkeeper responds that he cannot admit him now, but possibly at a later date he will be allowed to pass. The man looks inside of the path and the doorkeeper witnesses him doing so and says to him that he may attempt to enter despite his wishes but that there are many more doorkeepers ahead, the third of which the original doorkeeper believes is so hideous he can’t even look at. The man resigns himself to his current situation and pulls up a stool and sits on it in anticipation of being admitted into the pathway. As the years pass the man gives everything to the doorkeeper attempting to bribe him, but is consistently rebuffed in his attempts to be granted admittance to the pathway. Finally, as the man is about to die, he asks the doorkeeper why other people haven’t attempted to gain admittance to the pathway and the doorkeeper responds, â€Å"No one else could ever be admitted here, since this gate was made only for you. I am going to shut it (p. 3).† While the exact definition of what the Law constitutes in this story is vague, one can assume that it represents some form of society or level of existence that the man has been attempting to gain admittance to. In this regard, it represents the life the man wants but cannot attain because of restraining social laws. However hard the man tries to advance his life and existence, he is constantly faced with the inevitable conclusion that he is stuck in his current position. Ultimately, the story is a meditation on the absurdity of existence and the isolation it entails. Not only is the man unable to gain admittance into the doorway, but he must wait in isolation throughout his entire