Modern Technology - Good or Bad free essay sample

Modern Technology – Good or Bad? As I scroll through the daily Facebook status updates of all my friends, I noticed yet another friend of mine declared her yearning for an Iphone, promoting and ranting the many uses of it and how will the gadget improve her life. Notifications and ringtones indicate the overflowing of messages and emails into my inbox. One particular email catches my attention. Rather than the usual advertisements and spam mails, this one is special, bearing the title: â€Å"Modern Technology – Good or Bad? I strongly believe that modern technology is undeniably good because it makes our lives easier. By the way, what exactly is technology? Modern technology is machinery that makes life easier, ranging from powerful automobiles to high definition televisions to super computers and tiny microchips. For example, the recently introduced high-speed fiber-optic communication quickening and enhancing the internet speed by folds, microwave ovens cook food easily without using stoves and making a big mess. We will write a custom essay sample on Modern Technology Good or Bad? or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page In short, modern technology plays a vital and important role in improving the quality of our lives. The never-ending evolving of technologies is the core of our society, making contributions to various fields in the world. It has been a key component for humans from the beginning of time and will continue well into the future. I believe everyone agrees with that. In the field of medicine, technology advances in medical care creates modern treatment methods and highly developed technological procedures.Other than that, rather than just using kinky shovels to dig holes during the olden days, construction technology now already are making breakthroughs by building man-made islands and complex architectural structures. Even in the education field, modern technology works its part by revolutionizing classroom teaching simply by putting computers and gadgets into the classroom. No one could ever imagine one single day without modern technology.The absence of countless creations of technology, ranging from high-tech devices all the way to normal household gadgets, altogether will create a huge unimaginable disaster. In worst case, we will probably all become cavemen and live life by fighting others with big clubs, eventually become cannibals with no sense of humanity at all. Now, maybe I am exaggerating too much. But I believe that my statement made some sense that we all would become cavemen without modern technology. In conclusion, technological advances in this modern world really are simply incredible.Of course, everything in this world has two sides. If misused, modern technology could easily be exploited and cause great damage to the society, nation and even the world. Nuclear weapons which cause enough damage that could last for years; illegal hackers gaining excess to prohibited places in the World Wide Web, leaking important information to the wrong hands; and also terrifying terrorists terrorizing the public by using powerful firearms. So, it is proven that the usage of modern technology must be controlled and monitored closely. If done, modern technology would do no harm but deeds no mankind.

Using Steal or Steel, Commonly Confused Words

Using Steal or Steel, Commonly Confused Words The words steal and steel are  homophones: they sound alike but have different meanings. Definitions The verb steal means to take someone elses property without right or permission. Steal also means  to come or go secretly, without being noticed. As both a noun and an adjective, steel refers to a hard alloy of iron and carbon. Used figuratively, steel means hard, strong, and tough. As a verb, steel means to strengthen. Examples The number one rule of thieves is that nothing is too small to steal.(Jimmy Breslin)He was too shiftless to go out  and look for another job; he didnt have the initiative to steal, and after she had told him three or four times to do a thing, he did it; but he never told her about a sick cow until it was too late to call the veterinarian, and if her barn had caught on fire he would have called his wife to see the flames before he began to put them out.(Flannery OConnor, Greenleaf. The Kenyon Review, 1957)As I lay on my bed for hours, watching darkness  steal into the  room, I let my thoughts wander uninterrupted: the days ahead, places I had traveled, people I had known.(Susan Allen Toth,  Leaning Into the Wind: A Memoir of Midwest Weather. University of Minnesota Press, 2003)Blues singer Brownie McGhee played with a steel pick on a steel guitar.His hair fell down in black curls, and my head was covered with black steel wool.(May Angelou,  I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. R andom House, 1969) Curling his hands into fists, Luca tried to  steel himself  for a fight, but already he knew it was pointless. Rifle or not, Stang was a giant of a man and Luca wouldnt stand a chance in a fistfight.(Patrick Woodhead, Beneath the Ice. Random House, 2015) Idiom Alerts The expression steal away means to move quietly and secretly.The prime minister of Bayern, the kingdom on the other side of the mountains, had been visiting at the time, and all wary-eyed parties were so busy entertaining road-weary dignitaries that Ani had been able to  steal away to  the stables a few times to bring to pass a childhood wish.(Shannon Hale, The Goose Girl.  Bloomsbury, 2003)The expressions  steal the show  and  steal the spotlight  both mean to be the center of attention at an event.People in Hollywood always said, Never act with kids or animals. Theyre impossible to work with, and then they look so cute onscreen that they  steal the show.(Arnold Schwarzenegger, Total Recall. Simon Schuster, 2012) Practice Exercises (a) The gym was hung with orange and black crepe paper in honor of Halloween, and the pennants of all the competing schools were fastened to the walls, and a twelve-piece band pumped away blissfully on the years sad tunes - Heartaches, Near You, Thats My Desire. A great cloud of balloons gathered in the _____ girders was released. There was pink punch, and a local girl sang.(John Updike, Flight.  The Early Stories: 1953-1975. Alfred A. Knopf, 2003) (b) She liked to drag her fingers along the chain-link fences we passed, and to stop at Maverick Market to buy Diet Cokes and _____ candy bars. I waited outside, worrying shed get caught.(Bret Anthony Johnston, Soldier of Fortune. Glimmer Train, Winter 2011) Answers to Practice Exercises (a) The gym was hung with orange and black crepe paper in honor of Halloween, and the pennants of all the competing schools were fastened to the walls, and a twelve-piece band pumped away blissfully on the years sad tunes - Heartaches, Near You, Thats My Desire. A great cloud of balloons gathered in the steel girders was released. There was pink punch, and a local girl sang.(John Updike, Flight.  The Early Stories: 1953-1975. Alfred A. Knopf, 2003) (b) She liked to drag her fingers along the chain-link fences we passed, and to stop at Maverick Market to buy Diet Cokes and steal  candy  bars. I waited outside, worrying shed get caught.(Bret Anthony Johnston, Soldier of Fortune.  Glimmer Train, Winter 2011)

Comparesion pepsi and coca cola Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Comparesion pepsi and coca cola - Assignment Example Often the treatment received by these multinational corporations in the foreign land is similar to that of the host country. In order to find new markets and resources, companies expand their business operations in the potential markets of the third world countries. However, for sustaining in the new markets, they are often compelled to formulate a new set of strategies that is completely different from that of their home countries. In the course of their operations in foreign market, multinational companies face various impediments in the form of alien culture, varied buyers’ taste & preferences, different political, legal and economic conditions. To sail through these menaces, the foreign companies often undergo mergers with their national counterparts as the latter is more equipped in dealing with local issues. This paper will attempt to analyse the behaviour patterns of multinational companies in the light of different strategies implemented by them in different countries. For this purpose, Pepsi and Coca-Cola have been selected as they are respected names in the world of MNCs. A brief introduction will be given in the beginning of the project which will attempt to analyse its objectives and organisational structures. It will be followed by a discussion on their global business and internal analysis which will not only help to identify their basic nature but will also provide an overall idea of their situation in the world market. The rapid change in lifestyle has suddenly made the beverage industry one of the most profitable in the global market. The two undisputable rulers are PepsiCo and Coca-Cola especially in the ‘cola soft drinks’ section. PepsiCo is a celebrated brand in the international beverage industry. Formed in 1890s by Celeb Bradham, its main objective was to develop digestive syrup that would be delicious as well. Though it has

Audience Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Audience Analysis - Essay Example If a neighbor has the gun, then his or her neighbors will also clamor to have guns; in effect, resulting in an arms race. Because of the recent random mass shootings in which innocent people got killed, citizens now question the wisdom of having the Second Amendment, and the urgent need for gun controls. People who oppose guns come from a wide variety of sectors. The demographic factors are a mixture of concerned parents, peace advocates, worried citizens, and many other groups. In particular, the factors are by gender, age, race, educational attainment, income level, the martial status, party affiliation, religious preference, and the region or geography (Pew Research Center, 2011, para. 4). The politics of gun control and gun rights is complicated; public opinion on this matter has shifted markedly over the years. The audience profile should be analyzed so a speech can be suited to that particular demographic factor; for example, an audience composed mainly of well-educated people will most likely respond to logos, which is an appeal based on logic or reason while an audience composed of females may respond to pathos, an appeal to emotions. It is the duty of a speaker to research his audience in advance, so the speech can be a success. Pew Research Center (2011, January 13). Views of gun control – A detailed demographic breakdown. Pew Research Organization. Retrieved May 24, 2013, from

Square Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Square - Essay Example When Apple becomes the first to adopt this platform, it means Square will lose a lot of clients most so the technology oriented who are the majority in the current market place where convenience is the key determinant (Glover, Stephen and Douglas). The second need for Square Inc to adopt an e business platform is to enable it to extend into the non-US markets and this has to happen at the fastest rates. If this does not happen then the competitors like pay pal would snap the idea and use it to the disadvantage of Square. Square has therefore to be able to adopt the e business platform to catch up with the competition by being able to provide its customers with a variety of products, at affordable costs and with the convenience desired by most of the firms (Glover, Stephen and Douglas). Square will be able to integrate such operations through EMV in some countries and NFC in other countries. This would ensure that their operations are widened for diverse solutions in the vast financia l markets. Businesses face a lot of problems most so those that are involved on the online payment systems such problems range from the problems of uncertainty, the ever expanding global market, and the need for innovation. The largest problem is that which emanates from regulatory requirements. Uncertainty affects many business managers in the manner in which it would affects the operations of such businesses in the credit markets, global economy and how regulations would affect the operations of such businesses. Globalization affects the operations of Square due to the unpredictability of how different cultures would perceive their new products hence their penetration of the new markets (Glover, Stephen and Douglas). Before designing new products on the e business platform, such considerations costs the companies a lot of time in the manner they would conduct the same to get more customers while maintaining the ones they already have. This is because innovation and inventions are paramount most so in the volatile technology market. Square Inc faces a turbulent environment due to the existence of the competitors; this does not make the product design environment sleep because this would cost them from their competitors (Laudon, Kenneth and Carol). The business therefore tries to get the problem of innovation solved while still ensuring the control of the organization is in place. Without ensured control the hands of the law through enacted stiff regulations may also impact on the organization negatively. Regulations on energy, environment and financial policies are the most sensitive and require careful handling. As Square designs their new e business products they must ensure they operate under the regulations to avoid charges which are costly to businesses (Laudon, Kenneth and Carol). According to Harvard business review on business and the environment, the idea of business through the internet has changed how the customers interact with their providers and this has lead to the growth of e business. For companies like Square, e business is important because of several reasons. One is that e business leads to increase in the speed over which transactions are done. For example the time over which clients would do ordering is reduced since it can be done much quickly over such platforms since the internet covers a wide area network. For Square inc, e business would therefore mean better procurement and the

Case study: Behavioral Appearance Behavioral Appearance

Case study: Behavioral Appearance Behavioral Appearance To those who find themselves in contact with schizotypal individuals they often range appearing eccentric and aberrant to outright bizarre in their actions. Their behavior is clearly erratic. School and employment histories of these individuals show marked deficits and irregularities. Not only are they frequent dropouts, but they drift from one source of employment to another. If married, they are often separated or divorced. At times, their behavior appears eccentric, that is, they prefer social isolation and may engage in activities that other find curious. In more severe cases, their behavior may seem clearly bizarre. The presence of odd speech patterns is an example. Schizotypal individuals may verbally digress or become metaphorical in their expressions. According to the DSM-III, Often, speech shows marked peculiarities; concepts may be expressed unclearly or oddly or words used deviantly, but never to the point of loosening of associations or incoherence (American Psychiatric Association, 1980, p. 312) Interpersonal Conduct Interpersonally, schizotypals experience a life of isolation, with minimal personal attachment and obligations. As their lives progress it is not uncommon to find these individuals drifting into increasingly superficial and peripheral social and vocational roles. These individuals have virtually no close friends or confidants. They have great difficulty with face-to-face interaction. They commonly experience intense social anxiety at relatively minimal social challenge. For these reasons, we believe the interpersonal conduct of schizotypals may be categorized as ranging from being interpersonal detacted and secretive to inaccessible. Cognitive Style The cognitive style of schizotypal individuals may be ruminative and autistic in less severe variations to blatantly deranged in more severe forms of the disorder. The cognitive slippage and interference that characterize the thought processes of this disorder in its milder forms are simply amplified here. Schizotypals are frequently unable to orient their thoughts logically. They tend to become lost in a plethora of irrelevancies. Their thinking appears scattered and autistic as the disorder manifests itself in its more severe variations. According to the DSM-III, these individuals may report magical thinking (i.e., clairvoyance, telepathy, a sixth sense, or just extreme superstitious behavior). Similarly schizotypals may experience recurrent illusions where they report the presence of a person or force not actually there. Psychotic thought, when it does occur, is transient and not indicative of a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Affective Expression The deficient or disharmonious affect of many of these patients deprives them of the capacity to relate to people, places, or things as anything but flat and lifeless phenomena. Their affective expression ranges from being apathetic to insentient and deadened. On the other hand, some schizotypal individuals seem in a constant state of agitation. Their affective expression ranges from being apprehensive, perhaps even frantic in their affective expression. We will present more on these clinical variations later. Self-Perception Schizotypal individuals often view themselves as forlorn and lacking meaning in life or, in more severe cases, on introspection, they may see themselves as vacant. They may experience recurrent feelings of emptiness or of estrangement. Experiences of depersonalization and dissociation may also be present in these patients. In sum, schizotypals appear virtually self-less as they look inward towards self-appraisal. Primary Defense Mechanism The schizotypal personality disorder is characterized by extreme social and affective isolation as well as autistic and bizarre cognitive functioning. The defense mechanism commonly used by individuals who possess this disorder is undoing. Undoing is a self-purification mechanism in which individuals attempt to repent for some undesirable behavior or evil motive. In effect, undoing represents a form of atonement. In severly pathological forms, undoing may take the form of complex and bizarre rituals, or magical acts. These rituals, such as compulsive hand washing, are designed to cleanse or purify the individual. These compulsions not only cause these individuals discomfort, but they may also consciously recognize them as absurd. Nevertheless, individuals employing such a mechanism appear to have lost the ability to control these acts as well as the ability to see their real meaning. Differential Personality Diagnosis The schizotypal personality disorder is likely to be confused with another severe personality disorder, the borderline disorder. Both the schizotypal and the borderline patterns represent severe personality disorder. Furthermore, according to the present biosocial learning theory, they both emerge when the less severe personality variants decompensate. Yet, there are marked differences in these two disorders. The schizotypal disorder features schizophrenic-like symptoms. These symptoms reflect disturbances in cognitive processes. Thus, the schizotypal is characterized by perceptual pathology as well as social withdrawal and isolation. The most obvious feature of the borderline disorder, on the other hand, is instability of mood. The symptoms of the borderline reflect disturbances in affect rather than cognitive. Finally, the borderline individual is interpersonally dependent, unlike the socially isolated schizotypal. A final note should be made regarding the schizotypal disorder in contrast to the Axiz I schizophrenic disorders. Axis I disorders are characteristically more severe and of relatively shorter duration. The Axis II schizotypal disorder represents the operation of internal, ingrained, and more enduring defects in the patients personality. Although schizophrenic episodes often reflect a psychosocial stressor, the schizotypal disorder represents an underlying and persistent characterological pattern. CLINICAL VARIATIONS The description of the schizotypal personality disorder presented in the previous section portrays the generic aspects of this disorder. It is more common, however, to see the schizotypal pattern manifest itself in one of two major variations. The two major clinical variations of the schizotypal disorder are (1) the schizotypal-schizoid pattern and (2) the schizotypal-avoidant pattern. Schizotypal-Schizoid Variation Schizotypal-schizoid individuals are characteristically drab, sluggish, and inexpressive. They display a marked deficit in their affective expression and appear bland, untroubled, indifferent, and unmotivated by the outside world. Their cognitive processes seem obscure and vague. Such individuals seem unable to experience the subtle emotional aspects of social exchange. Interpersonal communications are often vague and confused. The speech pattern of these individuals tend to be monotonous, listless, or at times, inaudible. Most people consider these individuals as strange, curious, aloof, and lethargic. In effect, they become background people satisfied to live their lives in an isolated, secluded manner. Case 11.1 portrays such an individual. Schizotypal-Avoidant Variation Schizotypal-avoidant individuals are restrained and isolated. Similarly, they are apprehensive, guarded, and interpersonally withdrawing. As a protective device, they seek to eliminate their own desires and feeling for interpersonal affiliation, for they expect only rejection and pain from interacting with others. Thus, apathy, indifference, and impoverished thought, which we saw in the cognitive and affective insensitivity, is presented here as a result of an attempt to dampen an intrinsic oversensitivity. The case of Harold T. is a study of a schizotypal-avoidant individual. SELF-PERPETUATION OF THE SCHIZOTYPAL PERSONALITY DISORDER The prognosis for the schizotypal personality disorder is perhaps the least promising of all the personality disorder discussed in this text. Let us examine why. The self-perpetuating spiral of deterioration that occurs in the schizotypal disorder is fostered by three major factors: (1) social isolation, (2) dependency training, and (3) self-insulation. Social Isolation Individuals who possess the schizotypal disorder are often segregated from social contact. They are kept at home or hospitalized with minimal encouragement to progress on a social basic. Social isolation such as this serves not to perpetuate the difficulties these individuals have with cognitive organization and social skills, but also serves to worsen the status of both. In many instances, the social isolation seems to stimulate a regression on the part of these individuals. They will tend to lose what cognitive and social abilities they may have had before the isolation. Jane W. was clearly capable of returning to society if she had been provided adequate social support. Without such support, the only option was to keep her institutionalized. Dependency Training Often found in conjunction with social isolation is the tendency on the part of those around schizotypal individuals to be overly protective. They will tend to patronize or coddle them. Such overprotection tends to reinforce dependent behavior on the part of the schizotypal. According to Millon (1981), Prolonged guidance and shielding of this kind may lead to a progressive impoverishment of competencies and self-motivation, and result in a total helplessness. Under such ostensibly good regimens, schizotypals will be reinforced to learn dependency and apathy (p. 427). Self-Insulation Finally, not only through mismanagement and neglect will the schizotypal disorder be perpetuated, but also through the tendency of these individuals to insulate themselves from outside stimulation. As we described earlier, to protect themselves from painful humiliation, rejection, or excessive demands, schizotypals have learned to withdraw from reality and disengage themselves from social life. Even though exposed to active social opportunities, most of these individuals will participate only reluctantly. They prefer to keep to themselves-to withdraw. Without active social relationships, these individuals will simply recede further into social isolation, apathy, and dependency. Thus, the disorder is perpetuated. The case of Harold T. demonstrates a condition in which his ability to insulate himself has served as an effective barrier to rehabilitation. His apathy, lack of verbal communication, and habit of drawing strange and religiouslike pictures has effectively insulated him from other and has removed any hope of improvement for almost 10 years. So, in summary, we see that through social isolation, dependency training, and self-insulation, the schizotypal disorder is perpetuated. Although the motives for socially isolating and overprotecting these individuals are usually good, that is, with best interests of the patient in mind, the tactics are actually counterproductive for they deprive the patients of the opportunity to develop social skills while reinforcing dependency. The schizotypals own tendency to insulate himself/herself from social contact serves to exacerbate the disorder even further. Such self-insulation serves to foster and further perpetuate the spiral of cognitive and social deterioration that typifies the schizotypal disorder. Schizotypal Personality Disorder DSM-IV Criteria A pervasive pattern of social and interpersonal deficits marked by acute discomfort with, and reduced capacity for, close relationships as well as by cognitive or perceptual distortions and accentricities of behavior, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by five (or more) of the following: Ideas of reference (excluding delusions of reference) Odd beliefs or magical thinking that influences behavior and is inconsistent with subcultural norms (e.g., superstitiousness, belief in clairvoyance, telepathy, or sixth sense; in children and adolescents, bizarre fantasies or preoccupations) Unusual perceptual experiences, including bodily illusions Odd thinking and speech (e.g., vague, circumstantial, metaphorical, overelaborate, or stereotyped) Suspiciousness or paranoid ideation Inappropriate or constricted affect Behavior or appearance that is odd, eccentric, or peculiar Lack of close friends or confidants other than first-degree relatives Excessive social anxiety that does not diminish with familiarity and tends to be associated with paranoid fears rather than negative judgments about self Reproduced with permission from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition. Copyright 1994 American Psychiatric Association. Therapy The schizotypal is perhaps one of the easiest personality disorders to identify but one of the most difficult to treat with psychotherapy. The thought disorder and accompanying paranoid ideation work to distort communication between therapist and client and inhibit the formation of a trusting therapeutic alliance. Moreover, because schizotypals are inherently isolative and nonrelational, the therapist may sometimes be experienced as an intrusive presence. Because the alliance is the very foundation of therapy, medication is often needed before lasting progress can be made, especially with subjects who express the disorder severely. THERAPEUTIC TRAPS The expectations of the therapist and their influence on therapy are particularly important and may require careful monitoring. Most schizotypals initially see the therapist as attacking or humiliating (Benjamin, 1996). As anxiety increases, they may retreat further behind a curtain of disordered communication as a means of shielding themselves and confusing the intruder. Occasional retreats are universal. Therapists who become vexed when greeted with silence and emotional distancing only create an atmosphere that justifies such a reaction. Instead, the need for distance must be respected, without conveying feelings of disapproval or inducing guilt, to which many subjects are especially sensitive. Not pushing too hard or too fast can prevent severe anxiety and paranoid reactions. Extraordinary patience may be required because schizotypals repeatedly misperceive aspects of the therapeutic relationship and then act on these misperceptions. Subjects who believe they have privileged access to information beyond the five senses sometimes apply their extrasensory powers to therapy and the therapist, believing that they can read the therapists mind or arrive at conclusions about what the therapist secretly desires on the basic of tangential or irrelevant cues. Accordingly, communication should be simple, straightforward, shorn of psychological jargon, and require a minimm of inference. Schizotypals find it difficult enough to bring order to their own thoughts, much less penetrate ambiguities and double messages carelessly introduced by others. The concrete is to be preferred over the poetic because the latter is naturally rich in connotations, which play havoc with schizotypal cognition. Special attention to the countertransference is in order, for unconscious feelings emitted by the therapist bring an unknown complexity to communication and are especially likely to be misconstrued by subjects. STRATEGIES AND TECHNIQUES What can be done in therapy often depends on the extent to which the thought disorder intrinsic to the syndrome can be controlled. Otherwise, every aspect of therapy becomes more complicated. Further, the appropriate goals and strategies for any particular subject depend on whether his or her symptoms most resemble an exaggerated schizoid pattern, an exaggerated avoidant pattern, or a mixture of the two. Strategies and techniques appropriate for the dominant underlying personality disorder can be used to supplement the primary goals of treating the schizotypal pattern (refer to the appropriate chapter). Establishing a more normal pattern of interpersonal relationships is a primary goal of therapy. Social isolation intensifies cognitive deficits and allows social skills to atrophy. Contatc with a therapist can prevent further deterioration. Because patterns of disordered family communication typify the early developmental environment of these subjects, therapy offers the chance for a novel, corrective interpersonal relationship through steady support and euthenticity. Accordingly, as emphasized by Benjamin (1996), the basic skills of humanistic therapy, including accurate empathy, mirroring, and unconditional positive regard, become particularly important. Benjamin states that the therapeutic alliance may represent a chance to experience a nonexploitive protectiveness, one that eventually permits the schizotypal to give up management of the universe by magical means (p. 360). After an alliance has been established, subject can be encouraged to voice distortions of reality as they occur, and these can be discussed in the context of the therapeutic relationship. Benjamin (1996) further stresses that many schizotypals are likely to belive that harm may come to the therapist through their association. As such ideas are voiced, they can be tested realistically and tactfully refuted. In general, interpersonal therapy should enhance subjects sense of self-worth and encourage the realization of positive attributes, an important step in defeating detachment, rebuilding motivation, and providing confidence necessary to take the first steps toward constructive social encounters outside therapy. Because schizotypals have difficulty sorting the relevant and irrelevant in interpersonal relationships, therapists may find that much of their time is spent helping the schizotypal test interpersonal reality and gain perspective on which behaviors might be appropriate in whatever situations are current in the subjects life. Repeated discussions of essentially similar situations may be necessary, as many schizotypals fail to realize that these are but variatio ns on a theme. Basic social skills training are often helpful. Modeling behaviors provides an example that even concrete subjects can imitate. The ability to appraise interpersonal realities appropriately is an important step in decreasing social anxiety and accompanying paranoid symptoms while creating a capacity for appropriate affect and a sense of reward. From a cognitive perspective, psychotherapy must adapt to the schizotypals limited attentional resources and tendency to intrude tangential factors. Because many schizotypals are either overly concrete or overly abstract, learning may be generalized to other settings and situations only with great difficulty. Simplicity and structure help prevent the lessons of therapy from being obscured by the discombobulating effects of thought disorder. Furthermore, cognitive techniques allow the content of thought to be identified and eventually modified. This suggests that the combination of medication and cognitive therapy should be particularly effective. Writing in Beck et al. (1990), Ottaviani indicates that the first step is to identity characteristic automatic thoughts, such as, I am a nonbeing, as well as patterns of emotional reasoning and personalization, reviewed previously. Moreover, she suggests that assumptions underlying social interaction present an especially profitable avenue for change, as schizotypals usually believe that other dislike them. Subjects must be taught to act as naÃÆ'Â ¯ve scientists and test their thoughts against the evidence. Feelings do not make facts; instead, each cognition is a hypothesis and should be disregarded if found inconsistent with the objective evidence. Even bizarre thoughts can be dealt with in this way. The thought, I am leaving my body, for example, can be countered with prepared countercognitions: There I go again. Even though Im thinking this thought, it doesnt mean that its true (p. 141) Because an effective grasp of objective reality is the Catch-22 of the cognitive approach, Ottaviani further suggests that schizotypals also be taught methods for gathering contrary evidence. Subjects can list evidence inconsistent with their predictions, for example. Going beyond content, cognitive style interventions can also be made. Rambling can be countered by requests for summary statements, and global statements can be countered by asking for elaboration. Finally, where subjects are not too paranoid or bizarre, group settings can be used to practice social functioning and provide feedback about distorted cognitions. Because classical psychodynamic therapy is inherently unstructured, its use is probably not advised. As noted by Stone (1985), the purpose of psychodynamic therapy should be to internalize the therapeutic alliance. Because the early home environment of most schizotypals is likely to feature fragmented and chaotic communications, the ego boundaries of the schizotypal subject are only poorly developed. The interpretation of conflict not only disregards their desire for distance but also plays into their fear of engulfment. Accordingly, silence should be accepted as a legitimate part of the personality (Gabbard, 1994). Once this acceptance is felt, the subject may then begin to reveal hidden aspects of the self that can be adaptively integrated. Analytic procedures such as free association, the neutral attitude of the therapist, and the focus on dreams may foster an increase in autistic reveries and social withdrawal. Probably the most useful analytic suggestion comes from Rado (1959), who suggests that identifying and capitalizing on some source of pleasure, however small, is a superordinate therapeutic goal. Motivation develops from the capacity for pleasure, and ultimately, only this can balance the painful emotions, attach the schizotypal to the real world, and prevent the dissolution of the self and cognitive disintegration that results from autistic withdrawal.

Fort Bragg: My First Road Trip Essay -- Personal Narratives Freedom Es

Fort Bragg: My First Road Trip When you are a teenager you reach a certain point in your life when you want to be independent. You get this feeling that you want to do something on your own to prove you can. When I was seventeen, in the fall of 2001, I had that feeling that I needed to do something on my own. I needed an adventure to show everyone that I was old enough to be on my own for once. I needed something exciting and new. I talked to my friend Annie and we came up with a plan for our adventure. We decided to go on a road trip to Fort Bragg in North Carolina, and this is my story. It was our first road trip with no adults to watch over us or to help us in any way. Annie had a cousin named Steve who was a paratrooper at Fort Bragg. Steve was getting ready to leave for Kosovo to go on a peace keeping mission in November. Steve would be gone for six months and Annie wanted to see him before he left. The reason we picked the month of October to go on our road trip was because Annie’s parents were in Germany visiting her sister. If her parents were home then they would not of allowed us to go to North Carolina. Annie called her parents and told them that we were going camping for the weekend. They said Annie could go and to call them when we got to the camp site. Annie’s parents did not trust her, so of course we had to lie a little bit. My mom, on the other hand, was a pretty understanding person so we told her where we were really going. She said that it was okay for us to go, but she did not want me to take my car. I told her that we were taking Annie’s parents Cadillac, but we really did not because they would notice the mileage. Our first choice of a car was Annie’s Volkswage... ... wait was and they said twenty-five minutes, so we put our name on the list. We were shocked; we thought that the wait would be a lot longer than twenty-five minutes. We went outside and sat on a bench in front of the restaurant while we waited. They finally called our name and we went inside. We ordered our food and made small talk while we waited. Then it was time to say goodbye. We followed them to the exit of the base and beeped as we drove away. Road trips are fun and exciting especially if you are on your own. The road trip to Fort Bragg was an excellent adventure and I will always remember it. The trip was also a good experience for my first road trip. Sure some embarrassing events occurred during the trip, but it was all in fun. I can not wait until my next adventure. I know it will be as wild and crazy, if not more, as my first road trip was.

Impact of the Internet in Our Life

Available online at www. sciencedirect. com Computers in Human Behavior Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 www. elsevier. com/locate/comphumbeh Impact of the Internet on our lives: Male and female personal perspectives Ann Colley *, John Maltby School of Psychology, University of Leicester, Henry Wellcome Building, Lancaster Road, Leicester LE1 9HN, UK Available online 30 October 2007 Abstract Gender di? erences in Internet access and usage have been found in a number of previous investigations. The study reported here extends this work by providing an analysis of the impact of the Internet on men’s and women’s lives.A content analysis of 200 postings from men and 200 from women, on the topic of ‘‘Has the Internet changed your life’’ invited by a news website, was undertaken then examined for gender di? erences. Results showed more women’s postings mentioned having made new friends or having met their partner, renewin g old friendships, accessing information and advice, studying online, and shopping and booking travel online, while more men’s postings mentioned that the Internet had helped or given them a career, positive socio-political e? ects, and negative aspects of the technology.The results are interpreted as supporting the view that the Internet represents an extension of broader social roles and interests in the ‘‘o? ine’’ world. O 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Internet; Gender; Gender roles; Gender di? erences 1. Introduction ‘‘The Internet is my job, my high street, my supermarket and my international social playground’’ (Female participant 63). Usage of the Internet continues to increase worldwide. In the UK 57% of households now have access, in comparison to 46% four years ago (National Statistics, 2006).The * Corresponding author. Tel. : +44 (0) 116 229 7188; fax: +44 (0) 116 229 7196. E-mail address: [ema il  protected] ac. uk (A. Colley). 0747-5632/$ – see front matter O 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10. 1016/j. chb. 2007. 09. 002 2006 A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 Digital Future Project in the US has found that 78. 6% of Americans went online in 2005, with an accompanying increase in the amount of time spent per week on the Internet (Centre for the Digital Future, 2005).A number of factors have been found to relate to access and use, including socioeconomic variables, demographic variables, and education (e. g. Bimber, 2000; Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). One signi? cant area of research over the last decade has investigated the impact of the Internet upon di? erent social groups and inevitably work on gender di? erences has been at the forefront, with concerns about the presence and impact of a ‘‘gender gap’’ in Internet access and usage. A number of investigators (e. g. Sherman e t al. , 2000) have investigated this gender gap in Internet use.Bimber (2000) found gaps in both access and use among US adults, and concluded that, while access di? erences can be accounted for by socioeconomic and other factors that a? ect women and men di? erentially, the gap in use was due at least in part to gender-speci? c factors such as the male stereotype of computers, cultural associations between gender and technology and gendered cognitive and communication preferences. However, there is growing evidence that the gender gap in access is closing or has closed with more women coming online, and that the gap in use of the Internet is still present but may also be closing (e. . Cummings & Kraut, 2002; Ono & Zavodny, 2003; Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). There continues to be a gender gap in usage in the UK: the latest ? gures from adults in a nationally representative sample of UK households show that 40% of women had never used the Internet in comparison with 30% of men , and 55% of women had used the Internet within the 3 months prior to the survey in comparison with 65% of men (National Statistics, 2006). In addition, there are further gaps in the frequency and nature of use that appear to remain (Odell, Korgen, Schumacher, &Delucchi, 2000; Ono & Zavodny, 2003; Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). One of the issues that was highlighted early on in investigations of the gender gap, concerns the negative e? ect of the link between the Internet and computer technology. This area grew from work on gender di? erences in computer attitudes and use more generally, which showed more negative computer attitudes (Durndell & Thomson, 1997; Whitley, 1997), lower female self-con? dence and higher computer anxiety among females (McIlroy, Bunting, Tierney, & Gordon, 2001; Todman, 2000).The possibility raised in the literature was that girls and women were being discouraged from using the Internet because of its delivery via a computer interface, and because of t he association of the kinds of operations required to interact with it with traditional masculine technology. Indeed, computer attitudes and Internet attitudes have been found to be linked (Liaw, 2002; Schumacher & Morahan-Martin, 2001), and experience using the Internet has been found to predict both (Liaw, 2002). Durndell and Haag (2002) found higher computer self-e? acy, more positive Internet attitudes, longer Internet use and lower computer anxiety among male than female students, and gender was independently linked to Internet experience. Similarly, Joiner et al. (2005) found that a signi? cant relationship between gender and use of the Internet remained, after controlling for Internet identi? cation and Internet anxiety. This may be due to a number of other factors, and Joiner et al. suggest that self-e? cacy and expectancy of success may be fruitful areas to pursue. In addition, it seems that there are di? erential e? cts of experience upon anxiety in using the technology am ong men and women: Broos (2005) found that experience decreased anxiety among men but had little e? ect for women. Alongside investigations of the gender gap in use of the Internet, there is a growing body of research on di? erences in the use of the Internet for di? erent functions by males A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 2007 and females. This is a crucial area to pursue in order to understand the gender gap, since amount of use is inextricably linked to the functions erformed and the bene? ts of them for an individual. The number of potential functions of the Internet is very substantial and the activities are diverse. The current top Internet activities in the US are e-mail (top), general sur? ng, access to news, shopping, reading entertainment news, ? nding information about hobbies, online banking, accessing medical information, instant messaging and accessing information about and booking travel (Center for the Digital Future, 200 5).The available evidence points to variations in exploiting these functions of the Internet by its male and female users: women are more likely to regard it as a tool or means to an end, while men regard it as technology to play with and master (Singh, 2001; Turkle, 1984). For example, Tsai and Lin (2004) found gender di? erences in perceptions of the Internet among adolescents: males perceived its use as a source of enjoyment or ‘‘toy’’, while females took a more practical approach and perceived it as a ‘‘tool’’, ‘‘technology’’ or ‘‘tour’’ (providing the ability to navigate around di? rent sites and people). One area of Internet use that has attracted attention among investigators is interpersonal communication. This is due to the association of functions facilitated by electronic communication with the expressive and communal aspects of femininity, such as the potential for use in self-expression and the facility to communicate readily with family and friends. Thus, it was expected that women might engage with the Internet for such purposes, despite having lower self-e? cacy in relation to computer use.Jackson, Ervin, Gardner and Schmidt (2001) predicted that women would use e-mail more and men use the Web for information more, based on the greater interpersonal orientation of women and greater task orientation of men. This prediction was supported in a large sample of Anglo-American undergraduates, even after computer self-e? cacy, loneliness and depression were controlled for. Wasserman and Richmond-Abbott (2005) found that women use e-mail slightly but not signi? cantly more than men but that men use chat rooms more. A similar ? nding was obtained by Sherman et al. 2000) who found higher participation in chat groups among men, but higher e-mail use among women, and these di? erences remained among successive cohorts of students in the late 1990s, despi te generally higher use of the Internet. Women’s preference for e-mail and men’s for chat rooms re? ects the di? erent purposes of the two types of communication: e-mail facilitates personal contact with friends and family, while chat rooms can be anonymous and provide an arena for the display of power di? erentials present in society more generally (Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). There are some null ? dings with respect to gender di? erences in e-mail use (e. g. Joiner et al. , 2005; Schumacher & Morahan-Martin, 2001), but methodological di? erences between studies may account for such disparities. With respect to other uses of the Internet, there is evidence that some of these too are gendered. Men are more likely to use game web sites (Joiner et al. , 2005; Sherman et al. , 2000; Weiser, 2000), download material (Joiner et al. , 2005; Teo & Lim, 2000), browsing or seek specialist information (Jackson et al. , 2001; Joiner et al. , 2005; Teo & Lim, 2000; Weiser, 2000). These ? dings provide additional support for the notion that men’s use of the Internet is more task-oriented than women’s, and the tendency for women to use e-mail more accords with their greater interpersonal orientation (Jackson et al. , 2001). They also support the male ‘‘toy’’ versus female ‘‘tool’’ distinction (Tsai & Lin, 2004). The research literature on gender and the Internet suggests that gender stereotypes play a powerful role in this as in other areas of human activity. Sherman et al. (2000) concluded 2008 A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 hat we need to appreciate that ‘‘online behaviors and attitudes are extensions of o? ine social processes and relationships’’ (p. 893). If that is the case, what impact has the Internet had on the everyday lives of the men and women who use it? With respect to women, Morahan-Martin (2000) concl uded that it has brought both promise and peril. The perils are an inevitable consequence of the features that empower – freedom of expression and free access to information, since these also permit the ampli? cation of behaviors and perspectives that support the gendered power di? rential. What has been its impact upon men? Is the Internet just another arena in which gender is performed? The empirical research reviewed here has focused upon usage and patterns of usage, rather than impact from the point of view of the user. The purpose of the data analysis reported here is to provide a picture of the impact of the Internet on the everyday lives of men and women. 2. Method 2. 1. Participants and data collection On 24th July 2006, the BBC News website posted a topic for discussion on its ‘‘Have Your Say’’ discussion section (http://news. bbc. co. k/1/hi/talking_point/default. stm), with the title ‘‘Has the Internet changed your life? â€⠄¢Ã¢â‚¬â„¢. The invitation issued to prospective contributors was to post personal stories about life in the digital age and how the Internet has changed their lives. The majority of contributors to this site used names rather than pseudonyms. There were substantially more postings from men, but the site was monitored until there were 200 postings from female contributors, then these together, with 200 postings randomly selected from among the male contributors were downloaded for analysis.The sample came from approximately 1200 postings during the period 24th July and 4th August. Selection for analysis was only undertaken if the name of the contributor was unambiguously male or female. The majority of the postings (92%) gave the town or country of origin, with 48% of the total postings being from the UK, 25% from the US and Canada, 7% from mainland Europe, and the remainder from the rest of the World. 2. 2. Data coding A content analysis was undertaken to derive category frequencie s for analysis.Coding was undertaken based upon content categories derived both from the existing literature and from a sample of the postings. These categories were: 1. Easy and cheap contact with family and friends (through e-mail, instant messaging etc. ) 2. Made new friends (through chat room, discussion forum, etc. ) 3. Renewed contact with old friends/family 4. Met partner/spouse (through chat rooms, dating sites etc. ) 5. International news sites 6. General information acquisition/research 7. Therapeutic/medical advice 8.Support for those with access/mobility problems 9. Entertainment (music, radio, movies, games, hobbies) 10. Travel booking A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 2009 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Online education Trading Banking Shopping Job enhancement (increased e? ciency/? exibility) Job hunting Assisted career path Job in industry Studying online Socio-political e? ects (global access to information, democ ratization of information, bringing humanity together) 21. Negative e? cts (pornography, phishing, spam, viruses, bad use of time, addiction, reduction of face-to-face contact, availability of illegal items, proliferation of uncensored information, etc. ) Reliability of coding was established in a 20% sample from the postings. Across all categories this yielded substantial agreement (Cohen’s Kappa = 0. 78), with no individual categories yielding ? gures below the substantial range (Landis & Koch, 1977). Gender di? erences were then examined using v2 tests. 3. Results Gender di? erences were found in the frequency with which a number of the categories were present in the postings (see Table 1).Chi square tests revealed that a higher proportion Table 1 Frequency of appearance of coding categories by gender Category Contact with family and friends Made new friends Renewed contact with old friends/family Met partner/spouse International news sites General information acquisition/ research Therapeutic/medical advice Support for access/mobility problems Entertainment Travel booking Online education Trading Banking Shopping Job enhancement Job hunting Assisted career path Job in industry Socio-political e? ects Negative e? ects * ** % Men 25. 0 10. 0 4. 0 8. 5 9. 5 25. 5 2. 5 4. 0 12. 5 1. 5 2. 0 3. 0 6. 12. 5 6. 0 1. 5 12. 0 12. 0 12. 5 31. 0 % Women 30. 5 20. 5 20. 0 22. 5 19. 5 36. 0 7. 0 5. 0 10. 0 6. 0 6. 5 7. 0 7. 0 20. 5 7. 5 3. 5 4. 0 6. 0 5. 0 21. 0 v2 (1) n. s. 8. 53** 5. 50* 14. 97** 8. 07** 5. 18* 4. 48* n. s. n. s. 5. 60* 4. 98* n. s. n. s. 4. 63* n. s. n. s. 8. 70** 4. 40* 7. 05** 5. 20* p < . 05. p < . 01. 2010 A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 of women’s postings mentioned having made new friends, having renewed contact with old friends or family members, having met their partner or spouse online, access to international news sites, being able to ? d information easily, accessing medical or ther apeutic advice, studying online, booking travel online and shopping online. A higher proportion of men’s posting mentioned that the Internet had played a role in their career path, that they had found employment in the industry, positive socio-political e? ects and negative aspects of the Internet. 4. Discussion The ? ndings from this study extend those of existing research on Internet usage by providing information on what men and women perceive as important to them. In some cases the ? ndings accord with the usage data, while in others they do not.With respect to interpersonal communication, our ? ndings show no di? erence in the frequency with which Internet-assisted contact with friends and family was cited as being an aspect of the Internet which had changed the lives of men and women. It is worth noting however, this was the second most frequent category occurring in postings from both sexes. Studies of usage have produced a range of results on gender di? erences in the use of e-mail, although on balance the ? ndings have suggested slightly more or signi? cantly more use by women (e. g. Sherman et al. , 2000; Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). Our ? dings suggest that the impact upon men’s and women’s lives may be similar, although of course there may be di? erences in the way in which men and women enact relationships electronically (Boneva, Kraut, & Frohlich, 2001). Di? erential impact is evident in women’s higher frequency of mention of using Internet sites to make new friends, meet partners and renew old acquaintances, supporting the notion that women’s interpersonal orientation will in? uence their Internet behavior (Jackson et al. , 2001). This ? nding is of interest in the context of men’s greater usage of chat room sites found by Sherman et al. 2000) and Wasserman and Richmond-Abbott (2005), although our content category was not speci? c to chat rooms alone. It is nevertheless possible that men and women use such sites for different purposes and gain di? erent kinds or rewards from them: our data suggest that women place greater value on the facility to expand their social networks, whereas it is possible that men’s motives may be more mixed. Wasserman and Richmond-Abbott’s suggestion that men may be more likely to use them to play interpersonal games and display power may be relevant here, and accords with ? dings that men are more likely to be dishonest in chat room interactions (Whitty & Gavin, 2001) and lie about their sex, education, income and occupation (Whitty, 2002). There is a growing literature on the nature of online relationships and the characteristics of those who participate in them (e. g. Cheng, Chan, & Tong, 2006; McCown, Fischer, Page, & Homant, 2001) and it would be pro? table to examine gender di? erences in motivation to engage in interpersonal behaviors on the Internet in more detail. The most frequently cited positive e? ct overall was the abil ity to access general information on the Internet, although it was present in a higher proportion of women’s than men’ postings. This result contrasts with the usage ? ndings (Jackson et al. , 2001; Joiner et al. , 2005; Teo & Lim, 2000; Weiser, 2000), but supports the notion of women’s more practical approach and stronger perception of the Internet as a ‘‘tour’’ (Tsai & Lin, 2004), which may also explain their more frequent mention of news sites. The women’s more practical approach is also evident in their higher frequency of mention of accessing A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2005–2013 011 online education, therapeutic advice, booking travel and shopping. However, gender differences were not present in other practical uses such as trading, banking and accessing sources of entertainment. In order to explain the pattern of ? ndings, it is necessary to take into account the broader context of g ender di? erences in social role demands and accompanying gender-related traits (e. g. Eagly, 1987; Eagly, Wood, & Diekman, 2000), in which the domestic vs. external distinction di? erentiates the focus and interests of women and men. Our data suggest that this distinction may underpin the impact of the Internet on men and women.The Internet in? uences women’s lives more than men’s in facilitating new interpersonal interactions, providing access to information from the domestic sphere, and facilitating the purchase of goods, and in? uences men’s lives more than women’s by providing employment or assisting career development. In addition there was greater evidence in the postings from men of awareness of the global impact of the technology, for example, ‘‘Never have so many people been empowered to make a real di? erence and get their message heard’’, (male participant 159).This external awareness is also evident in men’s m ore frequent mention of the negative impacts, ‘‘A disadvantage is the anonymity. . .. idiots can spread their madness, insult others etc. all without fear of being uncovered. A 60-year-old suddenly becomes an 18-year-old and vice-versa’’, (male participant 108). The gender di? erence in relation to negative impacts, however, raises several further possibilities. One may be that women’s greater interpersonal orientation simply results in a tendency to emphasize the good rather than the bad in responding to the discussion issue on the site.Alternatively, women’s more domestic focus may make them less concerned about the broader context and in particular the ‘perils’ of the Internet in relation to power and exploitation (Morahan-Martin, 2000), so ironically, one outcome of the tendency of the Internet to re? ect traditional gender divisions may be to reduce women’s awareness that this is the case. There are some limitations as sociated with using this kind of methodology which are shared with studies of computer-mediated communication in discussion lists (e. g.Herring, 1993), and which relate to the lack of information on the sample. For example, no data on age is available and this may be a relevant variable in relation to impact, since younger users will have grown up with the Internet, while older users will have adapted to its use. However, there is no reason to assume that their distributions among the males and females in the sample should vary and introduce a systematic bias. There is no information available on experience, which may show a gender di? erence since women’s widespread use of the Internet has been more recent than that of men.Whether or how length of experience might in? uence perceptions of the impact of the Internet cannot therefore be answered here but would be a suitable topic for further investigation. Finally, the sample is drawn from those who visit a news website rather than users of the Internet in general so could be regarded as representing a part of the population with a particular pro? le of interests. However, news websites are visited by a signi? cant proportion of the population: this was the third largest use of the Internet in a US survey for 2005 (Centre for the DigitalFuture, 2005) and 35% of a recent sample of UK citizens had accessed on-line news in the last three months (National Statistics, 2006). One signi? cant advantage of using this kind of data is that the areas appearing in the sample of postings are those that spontaneously occur to those submitting them, without prompting from an investigator. Consideration of the advantages and limitations of using the postings as data raises a further gender di? erence, which relates to the acquisition of the quota sample used. There were very substantially more postings on the site from men than women, even when ambiguous 012 A. Colley, J. Maltby / Computers in Human Behavior 24 (2008) 2 005–2013 names were discounted. While this may partly re? ect a residual gender gap in access, it also provides a clear illustration of the di? erent uses of the Internet by men and women, which are attributable to socio-cultural factors and therefore likely to remain (Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005). Interestingly, Fuller (2004) found that use of the Internet by men and women in the US for political activities, such as accessing information was broadly equal but that women were less likely to post to a political discussion group.It seems, therefore, that it is the opportunity to engage in an anonymous form of interpersonal interaction in which knowledge and power may be displayed (Wasserman & Richmond-Abbott, 2005) that attracts more male postings to sites like the one studied here. The analysis of this sample of postings has produced a picture of what men and women who use the Internet regard as the areas with major impact on their lives. 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Exercise in Building and Connecting Sentences

Exercise in Building and Connecting Sentences This exercise will give you a chance to practice condensing and combining sentences using transitional words or phrases.  Combine the sentences in each set into two clear sentences. Add a transitional word or phrase to the second sentence to show how it relates to the first. Heres an example: Retirement should be the reward for a lifetime of work.It is widely viewed as a sort of punishment.It is a punishment for growing old.Sample Combination:Retirement should be the reward for a lifetime of work. Instead, it is widely viewed as a sort of punishment for growing old. When you are done, compare your sentences with the sample combinations  below. Exercise: Building and Connecting Sentences With Transitional Words and Phrases To be self-centered does not mean to disregard the worth of other people.We are all self-centered.Most psychologists would probably accept this position.There are differences in math performance between boys and girls.These differences cannot be attributed simply to differences in innate ability.If one were to ask the children themselves, they would probably disagree.We do not seek solitude.If we find ourselves alone for once, we flick a switch.We invite the whole world in.The world comes in through the TV or Internet.Little girls, of course, dont take toy guns out of their hip pockets.They do not say Pow, pow to all their neighbors and friends.The average well-adjusted little boy does this.If we gave little girls the six-shooters, we would soon have double the body count.We know very little about pain.What we dont know makes it hurt all the more.There is ignorance about pain.No form of illiteracy in the United States is so widespread.No form of illiteracy in the United States is so costly. We drove the wagon close to a corner post.We twisted the end of the wire around it.We twisted the wire one foot above the ground.We stapled it fast.We drove along the line of posts.We drove for about 200 yards.We unreeled the wire on the ground behind us.The historical sciences have made us very conscious of our past.They have made us conscious of the world as a machine.The machine generates successive events out of foregoing ones.Some scholars tend to look totally backward.They look backward in their interpretation of the human future.Rewriting is something that most writers find they have to do.They rewrite to discover what they have to say.They rewrite to discover how to say it.There are a few writers who do little formal rewriting.They have capacity and experience.They create and review a large number of invisible drafts.They create and review in their minds.They do this before they approach the page. When you are done, compare your sentences with the sample combinations below. Sample Combinations To be self-centered does not mean to disregard the worth of other people.  In fact,  most psychologists would probably accept the position that we are  all  self-centered.The differences in math performance between boys and girls cannot be attributed simply to differences in innate ability.  Still,  if one were to ask the children themselves, they would probably disagree.We do not seek solitude.  In fact,  if we find ourselves alone for once we flick a switch and invite the whole world in through the TV or  Internet.Little girls, of course, dont take toy guns out of their hip pockets and say Pow, pow to all their neighbors and friends like average well-adjusted little boys.  However,  if we gave little girls the six-shooters, we would soon have double the body count.(Anne Roiphe, Confessions of a Female Chauvinist Sow)We know very little about pain and what we dont know makes it hurt all the more.  Indeed,  no form of illiteracy in the United States is so wi despread or costly as ignorance about pain.(Norman Cousins, Pain Is Not the Ultimate Enemy) We drove the wagon close to a corner post, twisted the end of the wire around it one foot above the ground, and stapled it fast.  Next,  we drove along the line of posts for about 200 yards, unreeling wire on the ground behind us.(John Fischer, Barbed Wire)The historical sciences have made us very conscious of our past, and of the world as a machine generating successive events out of foregoing ones.  For this reason,  some scholars tend to look totally backward in their interpretation of the human future.(Loren Eiseley,  The Unexpected Universe)Rewriting is something that most writers find they have to do to discover what they have to say and how to say it. There are,  however,  a few writers who do little formal rewriting because they have the capacity and experience to create and review a large number of invisible drafts in their minds before they approach the page.(Donald M. Murray, The Makers Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscripts)

Free Essays on The Historical Roots Of New Orleans

5/2/04 The Historical Roots of New Orleans’s Jazz Funerals The history of the colonization of Louisiana and, in particular, New Orleans, explains why Jazz funerals developed into racially diverse public displays of celebration. In the early 18th Century, a Creole culture emerged from the intermixing of African slaves, French settlers, Native Americans, French and Swiss soldiers, and indentured European workers. The intermixing of this diverse group resulted in ethnic alliances between Europeans, Native Americans, and African slaves that did not occur anywhere else in North America. The French colony of New Orleans was continually threatened by the potential revolt of nearby Native American tribes and its African labor force. In 1720, fifteen slaves and indentured servants were accused of attempting to escape the French colony; the accused â€Å"included an 18 year old Native American slave, a 15 year old runaway African slave, and a 27 year old French woman who had been sent to Louisiana by force† (Smith 21). A similar state of oppre ssion caused African, European, and Native Americans to begin to cooperate in their struggle to escape the bondage of slavery. By the early 18th Century, New Orleans was already a diverse urban area where a multiplicity of different ethnicities living in a dense area began to form the New Orleans Creole culture that continues to be seen today in Jazz Funerals, Mardi Gras, Saints Days, and other public cultural events organized by New Orleans social clubs. A French governor, D’Abbadie, characterized the early 18th Century New Orleans population as â€Å"a chaos of iniquity and discord† (Smith 22). The majority of New Orleans residents were enslaved, impoverished, and oppressed peoples who began to develop a Creole culture which valued pleasure as a means to escape the harsh reality of everyday life. â€Å"Garrison soldiers, convicts, loose women, planters, Indians, slaves and free negroes† formed a ï ¿ ½... Free Essays on The Historical Roots Of New Orlean's Free Essays on The Historical Roots Of New Orlean's 5/2/04 The Historical Roots of New Orleans’s Jazz Funerals The history of the colonization of Louisiana and, in particular, New Orleans, explains why Jazz funerals developed into racially diverse public displays of celebration. In the early 18th Century, a Creole culture emerged from the intermixing of African slaves, French settlers, Native Americans, French and Swiss soldiers, and indentured European workers. The intermixing of this diverse group resulted in ethnic alliances between Europeans, Native Americans, and African slaves that did not occur anywhere else in North America. The French colony of New Orleans was continually threatened by the potential revolt of nearby Native American tribes and its African labor force. In 1720, fifteen slaves and indentured servants were accused of attempting to escape the French colony; the accused â€Å"included an 18 year old Native American slave, a 15 year old runaway African slave, and a 27 year old French woman who had been sent to Louisiana by force† (Smith 21). A similar state of oppre ssion caused African, European, and Native Americans to begin to cooperate in their struggle to escape the bondage of slavery. By the early 18th Century, New Orleans was already a diverse urban area where a multiplicity of different ethnicities living in a dense area began to form the New Orleans Creole culture that continues to be seen today in Jazz Funerals, Mardi Gras, Saints Days, and other public cultural events organized by New Orleans social clubs. A French governor, D’Abbadie, characterized the early 18th Century New Orleans population as â€Å"a chaos of iniquity and discord† (Smith 22). The majority of New Orleans residents were enslaved, impoverished, and oppressed peoples who began to develop a Creole culture which valued pleasure as a means to escape the harsh reality of everyday life. â€Å"Garrison soldiers, convicts, loose women, planters, Indians, slaves and free negroes† formed a ï ¿ ½...

Business Investments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Business Investments - Essay Example What does it mean to invest? During our grandparents’ time, it was called â€Å"saving for a rainy day,† which is exactly what investment means to the personal investor, with all its implications about intending it for a future time of need. However, instead of putting that savings under the mattress or burying it in a metal can in the yard, where it remains stagnant, savings nowadays are â€Å"placed† – either in a savings or time deposit with the bank, lending it to the government through government securities, or making it available for business through stocks or bonds – things we call financial assets. It could also be used to purchase land, jewels or works of art, things we call real assets, which grow only more valuable with time. Sometimes, investors prefer to place their savings in one asset, such as a savings deposit. Such a plan may be simple and straightforward, but it has all the disadvantages of the proverbial eggs-in-one-basket: drop the basket and you lose all your eggs – figuratively speaking, that is. The prevailing wisdom is to put some eggs each in several baskets – that is, to put part of one’s savings in each of several alternative investment vehicles. Each â€Å"vehicle† runs in its own way. Some, like Mini cars, are safe but don’t go very fast; some, like Ferraris, race like the wind but tend to crash at the hands of an inexperienced driver. Some, like BMXs, are quick to sell off for cash, while others, like BMWs, take time and effort – and sometimes a middleman – to liquidate at a good price. Let’s take a look at these â€Å"vehicles,† which are also called â€Å"instruments† because they are used to realize future goals. At present, your money is in some sort of deposit account, maybe a savings or time deposit. This is the safest place you could keep your money in. Unfortunately, it isn’t a good investment at all. The best savings account interest rate offered at present is 1.78%

Topic is how did Steve Jobs has influenced people's, or my own ideas Essay

Topic is how did Steve Jobs has influenced people's, or my own ideas - Essay Example I am focused on doing the same because I have decided that I wont do anything I don’t want to as I want to focus my energy in doing what am best at in order to achieve my objectives in life. He always gave the best at what he was doing in order to perfect it with the objective of giving the customers the best there can ever be. One of the major lessons I got from him is that life is short hence I have to maximize the use of my time in order to achieve my goals. Furthermore, mistakes are there to make us better citizens and come back much stronger than before. I take my mistakes as life lessons and I do my best not to repeat them and do things differently so as to achieve my objectives in life. I also study the lives of my friends and other people and get the best out of them and avoid the mistakes that they made in life. This has made me who I am today and I still remain focused on achieving greater things in life. He used his personal life experiences during his speeches and this inspired me a lot as I always aspired to be like him. His insistence on not losing faith during hard times often guides me during difficult times. I now understand that there is no time for being hopeless as life is too short to even think of despairing. I am now focused in everything I do and I don’t despair at all regardless of the hardships I face in life. The various challenges and obstacles that tend to inhibit my success in life only make me stronger and wiser and give me confidence every time I manage to overcome them. My mistakes make me a better person because what is important is not to repeat them and stay focused on discovering new ways of doing things. Through his speeches, I managed to understand and appreciate the importance of utilizing the few resources I have at my disposal. Success is not based on doing big things because you may die struggling to achieve that and not do it at all. It is based on utilizing the available resources to get the best out of them. When he said that people don’t realize what they have until they lose them, I was moved because he was stressing on the importance of guarding what we have and using them wisely in order to get the best out of them. Things like time and natural resources are not renewable and should be well utilized for maximum output. We only live once and aging is not reversible so we should do all the things that we are capable of doing in good time so we don’t regret in the future when it’s a little too late. It is important to be yourself and do things in your own unique way. Being original and sticking to oneself helps in discovering and sticking to personal talents as opposed to imitating what the others are doing. This is very important because it ensures that one concentrates at what he is good at and likes doing as opposed to imitating something that is beyond your ability. Setting personal achievable goals is the basic thing here as it drives one to succeed in a given task within a given time frame. It also eliminates the possibility of trying to achieve impossible things because other people are doing them and succeeding with ease. This goes hand in hand with ignoring those who criticize what you are doing and think that you are either crazy or bound to fail. The society has these kinds of people that will either mock you or pull you down so you don’