Monday, December 30, 2019

The Sociological Imagination C. Wright Mills - 1822 Words

C. Wright Mills defines the sociological imagination as, â€Å"what they need, and what they feel they need, is a quality of mind that will help them to use information and to develop reason in order to achieve lucid summations of what is going on in the world and of what may be happening within themselves†. Mills also says that the sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. When I read Chapter One: The Promise from C. Wright Mills I had to read it multiple times before I got a small glimpse of what he was trying to say. When I read his definition of the sociological imagination I thought about what it meant to me. The way I understood the sociological imagination is†¦show more content†¦They repeat the process. Unfortunately, I am guilty of this. I try not to do this but it is harder than it looks. My troubles in my life consists of anxiety and depression, insecurities, and love. Putting this on paper is harder than you think because I actually have to talk about my problems. I do not like doing that. I am the type of person to encourage others to talk about their problems and telling them they will feel better after doing so, but that makes me a hypocrite because I do not do that. In the paragraphs to follow you will get a brief picture of why I am who I am and why I act like I do. My first trouble I would like to try and address is love. Love is amazing and it changes your perspective about everything and it is just so great to be in love. So they said. I have been in a relationship for five years now. Love is not always amazing, at least not in my experience. I was young and dumb and alone my freshman year of high school, until a boy asked me out. I thought everything was going to be great, but turns out I was wrong. Cheating, yelling, tears, heartaches, suicidal thoughts, were all words to describe my relationship. But yet I stayed for five years. W hy? I ask myself that question everyday praying for an answer. Yes, he has changed but those thoughts and experiences remain in my mind, playing over and over again. I then start to blame myself and tell myself this is the love you deserve. Do not get me wrong, I love myShow MoreRelatedThe Sociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills857 Words   |  4 PagesThe sociological imagination is simply the act of having the capacity to think ourselves away from the commonplace schedules of our day by day lives keeping in mind the end goal to take a gander at them with a new perspective. C. Wright Mills, who made the idea and composed a book about it, characterized the sociological creative ability as the clear attention to the connection amongst encounter and the more extensive society. The sociological imagination is the capacity to see things sociallyRead MoreSociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills969 Words   |  4 Pages C. Wright Mills defined sociological imagination as the awareness of the relationship between personal experience and the wider society. Understanding and being able to exercise the sociological imagination helps us understand the relationship between the individual and society. Mills focuses on the distinction between personal troubles and public issues. Having sociological imagination is critical for individual people and societies at large to understand. It is important that people areRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination : C. Wright Mills907 Words   |  4 Pagesindividual s life a person will experience what C. Wright Mills refers to as the trap. The trap alludes to a person that can only see and understand their own small scope of life. Their frame of reference is limited to their day to day life and personal experiences that are directly related to them, they cannot see the bigger picture. They do not yet know that the sociological imagination can set them free from this trap and as C. Wright Mills said, In many ways it is a terrible lesson; in manyRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills1315 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"The sociological imagination enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society. This is its task and its promise.† C. Wright Mills writes about the sociological imagination in an attempt to have society become aware of the relationship between one’s personal experience in comparison to the wider society. By employing the sociological imagination into the real world, individuals are forced to perceive, from a neutral position, social structures that, inRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills986 Words   |  4 PagesMills Chapter Summary â€Å"Yet Men do not usually define the troubles they endure in terms of historical change and institution contradiction.† Stated from chapter one of â€Å"The Classic Readings in Sociology† which was based on â€Å"The Sociology Imagination† by C. Wright Mills. As our Sociology 131 class study the works of C. Wright Mills, we learn and examine his views. We learn how he view other things such as marriage, war, and the limitations of men. His view of war is that both sides playRead MoreSociological Imagination By C. Wright Mills942 Words   |  4 PagesSociological imagination according to C. Wright Mills (1959) â€Å"enables its possessor to understand the larger historical scene in terms of its meaning for the inner life and the external career of a variety of individuals† (p.5) Mills in this book of The Sociological Imagination explains how society shapes the people. Mills wants people to be able to use sociological imagination to see things in a sociology point of view, so they can know the difference between personal troubles versus personal issuesRead MoreSociological Imagination, By C. Wright Mills Essay1611 Words   |  7 PagesI SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION CONCEPTUALIZATION As conceived by C. Wright Mills, sociological imagination is the mental ability to establish intelligible relations among social structure and personal biography that is observing and seeing the impact of society over our private lives. Sociological imagination helps an individual to understand on a much larger scale the meaning and effect of society on of one’s daily life experience. People blame themselves for their own personal problems and they themselvesRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination, By C. Wright Mills799 Words   |  4 Pages The sociological imagination, a concept used by C. Wright Mills, is essentially the ability to perceive a situation or act in a much larger social context as well as examining the situation or act from many perspectives. In particular, it plays a paramount role in Donna Gaines Teenage Wasteland. It is a tragic story of 4 teens who together, committed suicide. The teens were deemed as â€Å"dropouts, druggies† [Teenage Wasteland 8.2 ] by newspapers and were still treated with disdain even after theirRead MoreThe Sociological Imagination, By C. Wright Mills1692 Words   |  7 Pagesentire life, can be determined by examining his or her intellect, high school performance, and talents. However, C. Wright Mills proposes a new approach to this idea in his work, â€Å"The Promise.† Mills presents an idea known as the sociological imagination, which examines society on a larger scale to better grasp an individual’s life circumstances (Mills 2). The sociological imagination examines the role of social forces on the lives of individuals (Butler-Sweet, September 5, 2017). For example,Read MoreSociological Imagination, By C. Wright Mills1762 Words   |  8 Pages 10/11/2017 ID 100602667 Soc. 1 FY40 Sociological Imagination The Sociological Imagination, by C. Wright Mills, was a statement that questioned the developing field of sociology, challenging sociologists and the public to take seriously the rise of elites and the decline of American democracy, American community, and American equality. Mills argues that the sociological imagination is a quality of mind necessary to the understanding of the human condition

Sunday, December 22, 2019

Internet Censorship Essay example - 1506 Words

Censorship of the Internet We should demand that all public schools and libraries install and configure Internet Filters. This statement shows how Jeffery Pollock, a candidate for the 3rd Congressional District seat in Oregon, views the Internet. Unfortunately for him, the one thing that he ranted and raved about was the one thing that gave him an unfair disadvantage in the in the upcoming elections. (Blind Ballots) Cyber Patrol, One of the leading Internet censoring companies and is used in over 17,000 schools in the Untied States, actually blocked his website from potential voters. Needless to say, when Mr. Pollock discovered this injustice, some of his views about Internet censorship changed. But Mr. Pollock isn’t the only†¦show more content†¦It would be beneficial to censor the Internet in schools if the censoring program actually worked; sadly none of the programs are good enough and actually do more harm than good. If there is a student who wants to find porn on the Internet, he will bec ause the censoring programs suck. Not only will he find the porn, but also he will not get into trouble for it because since it is censored only good sites that are approved are available. When I was in high school, I did an Ecology paper and the censoring program actually blocked out informational internet pages about black bears and bullfrogs, simply because it contained information about mating habits, which is ridiculous. Many highly respectable organizations are completely against Internet censorship. One such organization is the American Library Association or ALA. The ALA is against any type of censoring software or programs in any of their affiliations across the nation. In Fact, a line in the ALA code of ethics specifically states, â€Å"We uphold the principles of intellectual Freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources.†(Weckert 44) There is no mistaking that the ALA is against censorship. Another highly regarded source is The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, In this Article 19 states â€Å"Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and import information and ideas through anyShow MoreRelatedCensorship And Censorship Of The Internet985 Words   |  4 Pagesissue of Censorship of the Internet in America has become a trending topic. The internet has been commonly c ensored to comply with the Digital Millennium Rights Act, but in recent times our government has been requesting more aggressive censorship in order to provide a safer cyberspace. If the American government began to censor the internet, the restriction will result in suppression of freedom of the press, hindering freedom of speech, and reduce the plethora of information on the internet. If AmericaRead MoreInternet Censorship And The Internet941 Words   |  4 Pages More than two decades ago, the Internet was yet to be ubiquitous in the homes of the general public around the world. Today, global users of the Internet has surpassed the 3 billion mark, or approximately 45% of the world population, a trend that is not likely to slow down anytime soon (World Internet Users Statistics and 2015 World Population Stats, 2014). The idealistic vision of self-governance of the Internet has proved to be insufficient and threats to the Internet’s core principles areRead MoreThe Internet and Censorship940 Words   |  4 PagesThe internet is a diverse pool of information that anyone nowadays can have access to. One of the more controversial topics that involves the internet, is the censorship of the internet. Internet censorship can be defined as the control or suppression of what can be accessed, published or viewed on the internet. It’s been hot topic in recent years because many government organizations have been trying to pass many reforms to help push the censorship of the internet, either directly or indirectlyRead More Internet Censorship Essay1605 Words   |  7 PagesEveryone has heard of the Internet and how it is going to help set the world free. The Internet is the fastest growing form of communication and is becoming more and more common in the home. Companies these days do big business over the Internet, and online shopping has grown tremendously in the last few years. For instance, the online auction site eBay sells millions of items every year online. Many companies are making even more plans to expand their business to the Internet. Unfortunately, there haveRead MoreInternet Censorship1799 Words   |  8 PagesTechnologies Used In Internet Censorship and Control Murdoch (2013) opines the Internet as an entity where control is always fought over for by those that use it. He further demystifies the internet, breaking it down to the two protocols that define it. These are the transmission control protocol – TCP- and the Internet Protocol –Ip. It is these protocols that enable the connection of two separate networks to each other. The protocols enable the easy connection of separate networks, without theRead MoreCensorship And Censorship Of The Internet1754 Words   |  8 PagesCensorship of the Internet is on the rise in highly populated states today. Although the Internet is considered as one of the most significant tools for the public sphere, many users have decried the Internet’s benefits and seen the Internet as a ‘double-edged sword’. Even as the Internet connects most of the world and gives valuable access to information, the same tool allows access to material that may be considered dangerous or harmfu l. The recent increase in discussion on the act of censorshipRead MoreThe Censorship Of Internet Censorship3057 Words   |  13 Pages Internet Censorship Student’s Name: Institution Name: Internet Censorship Internet censorship refers to the suppression and control of what people can access, publish, or view on the cyberspace (Reynolds, 2014). It may be done by regimes or private firms at the command of the government. It can be a government’s initiative is or carried out by regulators. Organizations and individuals may practice self-censorship for religious, business or moral reasons to comply with societal normsRead More Internet Censorship Essay1726 Words   |  7 PagesInternet Censorship The freedom of speech that was possible on the Internet could now be subjected to governmental approvals. For example, China is attempting to restrict political expression, in the name of security and social stability. It requires users of the Internet and electronic mail (e-mail) to register, so that it may monitor their activities. In the United Kingdom, state secrets and personal attacks are off limits on the Internet. Laws are strict and the government is extremely interestedRead MoreInternet Censorship Essay886 Words   |  4 PagesInternet Censorship Presently, it seems that the Internet is playing a very important role in everyones daily life. This multipurpose network has many different functions useful for everyday work and entertainment. Due to the freedom of the Internet various debates and protests have come to disagree with its open form of communication. Because of the misuse of the internet many people believe that there should be some kind of internet censorship, while others are against internet censorshipRead More Internet Censorship Essay802 Words   |  4 PagesInternet Censorship Internet Censorship. What does this mean to us? What is restricted? Censorship is summarily defined as the suppression of objectionable material. That means that material such as pornography, militant information, offensive language, anti-religion, and racism would be restricted in use. Freedom would not only be restricted to material placed on the web, but also what you could access, and where you could explore. Should the right of Freedom of Speech be taken away from

Saturday, December 14, 2019

The Indigo Spell Chapter Two Free Essays

MS. TERWILLIGER REFUSED to say much more after that. She drove us back to Amberwood and hardly seemed to know I was there. We will write a custom essay sample on The Indigo Spell Chapter Two or any similar topic only for you Order Now She just kept muttering things to herself like, â€Å"Not enough time† and â€Å"Need more proof.† When she finally dropped me off, I tried pressing her for more information. â€Å"What was all that about protecting myself?† I asked. â€Å"Protection from what?† We were parked in the fire lane again, and she still wore that distracted look. â€Å"I’ll explain later, in our session tomorrow.† â€Å"I can’t,† I reminded her. â€Å"I’m leaving right after my regular classes. Remember? I have a flight to catch. I told you about it last week. And yesterday. And earlier today.† That brought her back to attention. â€Å"Did you? Well, then. I suppose we’ll make do with what we must. I’ll see what I can have for you in the morning.† I left her for my bed after that, not that I could get much sleep. And when I showed up to her history class the next morning, she was true to her word. Before the bell rang, she walked up to my desk and handed me an old book with a cracked red leather cover. The title was in Latin and translated to Elements of Battle, which sent a chill down my spine. Spells to create light and invisibility were one thing. There was a practicality to them that I could almost rationalize. But battle spells? Something told me I might have a little trouble with those. â€Å"Reading material for the plane,† she said. She spoke in her usual, addled scholar voice, but I could see a glint of that anxiety from last night in her eyes. â€Å"Focus only on the first section. I trust you’ll do your usual thorough job – and then some.† None of the other arriving students paid any attention to us. My last class of the day was an independent study session on late-antique history, which she served as my mentor for. More often than not, she used the session as a passive-aggressive way to teach me magic. So, her giving me books like this was nothing out of the ordinary. â€Å"And,† she added, â€Å"if you could find out where that neighborhood is, it would be extremely useful.† I was speechless for a few moments. Locate one neighborhood in the greater Los Angeles metropolitan area? â€Å"That’s . . . a very large area to cover,† I said at last, choosing my words carefully with witnesses around. She nodded and pushed her glasses up her nose. â€Å"I know. Most people probably couldn’t do it.† And on that semi-complimentary note, she returned to her desk at the front of the classroom. â€Å"What neighborhood?† asked a new voice. Eddie Castile had just arrived and slid into a neighboring desk. Eddie was a dhampir – possessing a mix of human and vampire DNA that had been passed down from days when the two races mixed. For all intents and purposes, though, he was indistinguishable from an ordinary human. With his sandy-colored hair and brown eyes, he also bore enough resemblance to me to support our cover story that we were twins. In reality, Eddie was here at Amberwood as a bodyguard for Jill. Dissidents among her own kind, the Moroi, were hunting her, and even though we’d seen no sign of them since coming to Palm Springs, Eddie was always vigilant and ready to pounce. I slipped the red leather book into my messenger bag. â€Å"Don’t ask. Another of her wacky assignments.† None of my friends – save Adrian – knew about my involvement with Ms. Terwilliger’s magic use. Well, and Jill by default. All Moroi possessed some sort of elemental magic. Adrian’s was a rare and powerful one called spirit, which could work miracles of healing. He’d used that magic to bring Jill back from the dead when assassins had killed her. Doing so had made Jill â€Å"shadow-kissed† – that is, it created a psychic bond between them, one that allowed Jill to feel his emotions and sometimes see through his eyes. As a result, Jill knew more about what went on between Adrian and me than I liked. I took my car keys out of my bag and reluctantly handed them over to Eddie. He was the only one I trusted to drive my car, and I always let him borrow it when I left town, in case he needed to run errands for our group. â€Å"Here you go. I better get it back in one piece. Do not let Angeline near the driver’s seat.† He grinned. â€Å"Do I look suicidal? I probably won’t even use it. Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you to the airport later?† â€Å"You’d miss class,† I said. The only reason I was able to cut school early was because of the unusual nature of my independent study. â€Å"I wouldn’t mind, believe me. I’ve got a science test.† He grimaced and lowered his voice. â€Å"I hated physics the first time, you know.† I couldn’t help a smile. Both Eddie and I were eighteen and had graduated high school, me through homeschooling and him through an elite Moroi and dhampir academy. We couldn’t pose as students without going through the motions of class, however. While I didn’t mind the extra work, Eddie wasn’t as taken with a love of learning as I was. â€Å"No thanks,† I told him. â€Å"A cab will be fine.† The bell rang, and Eddie straightened up in his desk. As Ms. Terwilliger called the class to order, he whispered to me, â€Å"Jill’s really bummed she can’t go.† â€Å"I know,† I murmured back. â€Å"But we all know why she can’t.† â€Å"Yeah,† he agreed. â€Å"What I don’t know is why she’s mad at you.† I turned toward the front of the classroom and pointedly ignored him. Jill was the only one who knew about Adrian’s declaration of love, thanks to that bond. It was another one of those things I wished hadn’t been shared, but Adrian couldn’t help it. Although Jill knew vampire-human romances were wrong, she couldn’t forgive me for hurting Adrian so badly. To make things worse, she was probably personally experiencing some of his pain. Even if our other friends didn’t know what had occurred, it was obvious that something wasn’t right with Jill and me. Eddie had picked up on it right away and immediately interrogated me. I’d given him a vague excuse about Jill not liking some rules I’d instated for her here at school. Eddie hadn’t bought that, but Jill had been just as close-mouthed on the matter, leaving him clueless and frustrated. The school day zipped by, and before long, I was in a taxi and on my way to the airport. I’d packed light and only had one small suitcase and my messenger bag, both of which could be carried on. For what seemed like the hundredth time, I took out a small silver and white gift bag and examined its contents. Inside was an expensive crystal sun catcher, the kind meant to be hung on a porch or in a window. It depicted two doves in flight, facing each other. Wrapping it back in its tissue paper, I returned it to its gift bag and then my own bag. I hoped it would be an acceptable gift for the upcoming event. I was going to a vampire wedding. I’d never been to one before. Probably no Alchemist had. Although we worked with the Moroi to protect their existence, the Alchemists made it clear they wanted no involvement that went beyond business contact. After recent events, however, both groups had decided it would be good to improve our professional relations. Since this wedding was a big deal, a few other Alchemists and I had been invited. I knew the couple, and in theory, I was excited to see them married. It was the rest of the event that made me nervous: a huge social gathering of Moroi and dhampirs. Even with other Alchemists there, we’d be hopelessly outnumbered. Being in Palm Springs with Eddie, Jill, and the others had gone a long way in improving my feelings toward their kind. I got along with that little group well and now considered them friends. But even as liberal as I was in such matters, I still possessed a lot of the anxiety other Alchemists had inside the vampiric world. Maybe Moroi and dhampirs weren’t creatures of evil, like I’d once believed, but they certainly weren’t human. I kind of wished my Palm Springs friends were coming with me, but that had been out of the question. The whole point of Jill and the rest of us being in Palm Springs was to hide her away and keep her safe from those trying to kill her. Both Moroi and Strigoi tended to avoid sunny, desert regions. If she suddenly showed up at a major Moroi function, it would defeat the whole purpose. Eddie and Angeline, another dhampir protecting her at Amberwood, had to stay behind as well. Only Adrian and I had been invited to the wedding, and we were thankfully on separate flights. If anyone had noticed that he and I were traveling together, it could attract attention back in Palm Springs, which could then expose Jill. Adrian’s flight wasn’t even leaving from Palm Springs. He was flying out by way of Los Angeles, two hours west, just to make sure we weren’t linked together. I had to connect through a different flight in Los Angeles, which reminded me of Ms. Terwilliger’s task. Find one neighborhood in all of Los Angeles’s greater metropolitan area. Sure, no problem. The only thing I had going for me was that the Victorian houses were so distinct. If I could find some historical society, there was a good chance they could direct me toward areas matching that description. It would narrow my search considerably. I reached my gate at LAX an hour before the scheduled flight. I’d just gotten cozy with Ms. Terwilliger’s book when an overhead announcement declared, â€Å"Paging passenger Melrose. Please come see a customer service agent.† I felt a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. Gathering up my things, I approached the desk and was greeted by a cheery airline representative. â€Å"I’m sad to tell you this flight has been overbooked,† she said. From her peppy voice and big smile, she didn’t seem sad at all. â€Å"What’s that mean for me, exactly?† I asked, my dread growing. â€Å"I have a confirmed seat.† I dealt with bureaucracy and red tape all the time, but overbooking flights was something I’d never understood. How did that even happen? It wasn’t like the number of seats was a surprise to them. â€Å"It means that you’re no longer on the flight,† she explained. â€Å"You and a couple other volunteers gave up your seats to accommodate that family. Otherwise, they would’ve had to be split up.† â€Å"Volunteers?† I repeated, following her gesture. Off to the side of the seating area, a family with seven children smiled back at me. The children were tiny and adorable, with big eyes and the kind of cuteness you saw in musicals about orphans finding new homes. Outraged, I turned back toward the agent. â€Å"How can you do that? I checked in way ahead of time! I have a wedding to get to. I can’t miss it.† The woman produced a boarding pass. â€Å"We’ve more than made up for it. We’ve booked you on another flight, to Philadelphia – one that’s leaving sooner. And you’ve even been upgraded to first class for your inconvenience.† â€Å"That’s something,† I said. I was still annoyed at this, simply out of principle. I liked order and procedure. Altering those threw off my world. I looked down at the boarding pass and then did a double take. â€Å"It’s leaving now!† She nodded. â€Å"Like I said, sooner. I’d hurry up if I were you.† Then, on cue, I heard a last-call announcement for my new flight, saying all passengers need to be on board now, as they were about to shut the cabin doors. I wasn’t the swearing type, but I almost was then – especially when I saw that my new gate was on the opposite side of the terminal. Without another word, I grabbed my things and sprinted toward the gate as quickly as I could, making a mental note to write a letter of complaint to the airline. Through some miracle, I made it just before my new flight was closed to passengers, though the agent working that gate sternly told me that next time, I should plan ahead and allow more time. I ignored her and headed into the airplane, where I was greeted by a much nicer flight attendant – especially when she saw my first class ticket. â€Å"You’re right here, Miss Melrose,† she said, pointing to the third row of the cabin. â€Å"We’re so glad you could join us.† She helped me put my suitcase in the overhead bin, which proved to be pretty difficult since other, earlier passengers had taken up most of the space. It required some creative knowledge of spatial relations, and when we finally managed it, I practically passed out into my seat, exhausted from this unexpected flurry of excitement. So much for a relaxing trip. I had just enough time to fasten my seat belt before the plane began backing up. Feeling a little steadier, I plucked the safety card from its pocket so that I could follow along with the attendant’s presentation. No matter how many times I flew, I always thought it was important to be up to speed on procedures. I was watching the attendant fasten an oxygen mask when a familiar and intoxicating scent washed over me. In all of the chaos of making this flight, I hadn’t even bothered to pay attention to my seatmate. Adrian. I stared in disbelief. He was watching me with amusement and had no doubt been waiting to see how long it would take me to notice him. I didn’t even bother asking what he was doing here. I’d known he was flying out of LAX, and through some wacky twist of happenstance, I’d been bumped to his flight. â€Å"This is impossible,† I exclaimed. The scientist in me was too amazed to fully realize the uncomfortable nature of the situation I now found myself in. â€Å"It’s one thing for me to get moved to a new flight. But to end up next to you? Do you know what the odds of that are? It’s incredible.† â€Å"Some might call it fate,† he said. â€Å"Or maybe there just aren’t that many flights to Philadelphia.† He raised a glass of clear liquid to me in a toast. Since I’d never seen Adrian drink water, I had to assume it was vodka. â€Å"Nice to see you, by the way.† â€Å"Um, you too.† The engines roared to life around us, momentarily sparing me from conversation. Reality began sinking in. I was trapped on a five-hour flight with Adrian Ivashkov. Five hours. Five hours sitting only a few inches from him, smelling his overpriced cologne and looking into those knowing eyes. What was I going to do? Nothing, of course. There was nowhere to go, nowhere to escape since even first-class passengers weren’t allowed parachutes. My heart began to race as I frantically groped for something to say. He was watching me in silence, still with that small smirk, waiting for me to lead the conversation. â€Å"So,† I said at last, staring at my hands. â€Å"How’s, uh, your car?† â€Å"I left it out on the street. Figured it’ll be fine there while I’m gone.† I jerked my head up, jaw dropping. â€Å"You did what? They’ll tow it if it’s left there overnight!† Adrian was laughing before I even finished. â€Å"So that’s what it takes to get a passionate reaction, huh?† He shook his head. â€Å"Don’t worry, Sage. I was just kidding. It’s tucked away safely in my building’s parking lot.† I felt my cheeks burn. I hated that I’d fallen into his joke and was even a little embarrassed that I’d just flipped out over a car. Admittedly, it wasn’t just any car. It was a beautiful, classic Mustang that Adrian had recently purchased. In fact, he’d bought it to impress me, pretending he couldn’t drive manual transmission in order to spend more time with me while I taught him. I thought the car was amazing, but it still astonished me that he would have gone to that much trouble for us to be together. We reached our cruising altitude, and the flight attendant returned to get Adrian another drink. â€Å"Anything for you, miss?† she asked. â€Å"Diet Coke,† I said automatically. Adrian tsked once she was gone. â€Å"You could’ve gotten that for free back in coach.† I rolled my eyes. â€Å"Do I have to spend the next five hours being harassed? If so, I’ll go back in coach and let some lucky person ‘upgrade’ to my seat.† Adrian held up his hands in a placating gesture. â€Å"No, no. Carry on. I’ll entertain myself.† Entertaining himself turned out to be doing a crossword puzzle in one of the in-flight magazines. I took out Ms. Terwilliger’s book and tried to read, but it was hard to focus with him beside me. I kept sneaking glances out of the corner of my eye, partly to see if he was looking at me and partly just to study his features. He was the same Adrian as ever, annoyingly good looking with his tousled brown hair and sculpted face. I vowed I wouldn’t speak to him, but when I noticed he hadn’t written anything in a while and was tapping his pen loudly on the tray, I couldn’t help myself. â€Å"What is it?† I asked. â€Å"Seven-letter word for ‘cotton gin pioneer.'† â€Å"Whitney,† I replied. He leaned over and wrote in the letters. â€Å"‘Dominates the Mohs’ scale.’ Also seven letters.† â€Å"Diamond.† Five words later, I realized what was happening. â€Å"Hey,† I told him. â€Å"I am not doing this.† He looked up at me with angelic eyes. â€Å"Doing what?† â€Å"You know what. You’re luring me in. You know I can’t resist – â€Å" â€Å"Me?† he suggested. I pointed at the magazine. â€Å"Random trivia.† I angled my body away from him and made a big show of opening my book. â€Å"I have work to do.† I felt Adrian look over my shoulder, and I tried to ignore how aware of his proximity I was. â€Å"Looks like Jackie’s still got you working hard in her class.† Adrian had met Ms. Terwilliger recently and had somehow charmed his way into a first-name basis. â€Å"This one’s more like an extracurricular activity,† I explained. â€Å"Really? I thought you were pretty against doing any more with this stuff than you had to.† I shut the book in frustration. â€Å"I am! But then she said – † I bit off the words, reminding myself that I shouldn’t engage with Adrian any more than I had to. It was just too easy to slip back into old, friendly behaviors with him. It felt right when, obviously, it was wrong. â€Å"Then what?† he prompted, voice gentle. I looked up at him and saw no smugness or mockery. I didn’t even see any of the burning hurt that had plagued me these last few weeks. He actually looked concerned, which momentarily distracted me from Ms. Terwilliger’s task. Seeing him this way contrasted drastically with what had followed in the wake of our kiss. I’d been so nervous at the thought of sitting with him on this flight, and yet, here he was, ready to support me. Why the change? I hesitated, unsure what to do. Since last night, I’d been turning her words and the vision over and over in my head, trying to figure out what they meant. Adrian was the only person who knew about my involvement with her and magic (aside from Jill), and until this moment, I hadn’t realized how badly I was dying to discuss this with someone. So, I cracked and told him the whole story of my desert adventure. When I finished, I was surprised to see how dark his expression had become. â€Å"It’s one thing for her to try to get you to learn spells here and there. But it’s a totally different thing for her to drag you into something dangerous.† His ardent concern surprised me a little – but maybe it shouldn’t have. â€Å"From the way she talked, though, it wasn’t like it was her doing. She seemed pretty upset about . . . well, whatever all this means.† Adrian pointed at the book. â€Å"And that’ll help somehow?† â€Å"I guess.† I ran my fingers over the cover and embossed Latin words. â€Å"It has protection and attack spells – things that are a bit more hard core than what I’ve ever done. I don’t like it, and these aren’t even the really advanced ones. She told me to skip those.† â€Å"You don’t like magic, period,† he reminded me. â€Å"But if these can keep you safe, then maybe you shouldn’t ignore them.† I hated admitting when he was right. It only encouraged him. â€Å"Yeah, but I just wish I knew what I was trying to stay safe from – no. No. We can’t do this.† Without even realizing it, I’d slipped into the way things used to be, talking to Adrian in that easy, comfortable way we had. In fact, I’d even been confiding in him. He looked startled. â€Å"Do what? I stopped asking you for crossword help, didn’t I?† I took a deep breath, bracing myself. I’d known this moment was coming, no matter how much I wanted to put it off. I just hadn’t expected it to come while on a plane ride. â€Å"Adrian, we have to talk about what happened. Between you and me,† I declared. He took a moment to consider my words. â€Å"Well . . . last I knew, nothing was happening between you and me.† I dared a look at him. â€Å"Exactly. I’m sorry for what happened . . . what I said, but it was all true. We have to move past this and go on with our lives in a normal way. It’s for the good of our group in Palm Springs.† â€Å"Funny, I have moved past it,† he said. â€Å"You’re the one bringing it up.† I blushed again. â€Å"But it’s because of you! You’ve spent the last few weeks all moody and sulking, hardly ever talking to me. And when you do, there’s usually some nasty barb in it.† While recently having dinner at Clarence Donahue’s, I’d seen one of the most terrifying spiders ever come crawling into the living room. Mustering all my courage, I’d caught the creepy little beast and set him free. Adrian’s comment on my brave act had been, â€Å"Wow, I didn’t know you actually faced down things that scared you. I thought your normal response was to run kicking and screaming from them and pretend they don’t exist.† â€Å"You’re right about the attitude,† he said now, nodding along with my words. Once again, he looked remarkably serious. â€Å"And I’m sorry.† â€Å"You . . . are?† I could only stare. â€Å"So . . . you’re done with all of that . . . stuff? Done with, uh, feeling that way?† I couldn’t bring myself to elaborate. Done with being in love with me. â€Å"Oh, no,† he said cheerfully. â€Å"Not at all.† â€Å"But you just said – â€Å" â€Å"I’m done with the pouting,† he said. â€Å"Done with being moody – well, I mean, I’m always a little moody. That’s what Adrian Ivashkov’s all about. But I’m done with the excessive stuff. That didn’t get me anywhere with Rose. It won’t get me anywhere with you.† â€Å"Nothing will get you anywhere with me,† I exclaimed. â€Å"I don’t know about that.† He put on an introspective look that was both unexpected and intriguing. â€Å"You’re not as much of a lost cause as she was. I mean, with her, I had to overcome her deep, epic love with a Russian warlord. You and I just have to overcome hundreds of years’ worth of deeply ingrained prejudice and taboo between our two races. Easy.† â€Å"Adrian!† I felt my temper beginning to flare. â€Å"This isn’t a joke.† â€Å"I know. It’s certainly not to me. And that’s why I’m not going to give you a hard time.† He paused dramatically. â€Å"I’ll just love you whether you want me to or not.† The attendant came by with hot towels, putting our conversation on hold and allowing his slightly disturbing words to hang in the air between us. I was dumbfounded and couldn’t muster a response until after she came back to collect the cloths. â€Å"Whether I want you to or not? What on earth does that mean?† Adrian grimaced. â€Å"Sorry. That came off creepier than I intended. I just mean, I don’t care if you say we can’t be together. I don’t care if you think I’m the most evil, unnatural creature walking the earth.† For the briefest of moments, his choice of words threw me back in time, to when he’d told me I was the most beautiful creature walking the earth. Those words haunted me now, just as they had then. We’d been sitting in a dark, candlelit room, and he’d looked at me in a way that no one ever had – Stop it, Sydney. Focus. â€Å"You can think whatever you want, do whatever you want,† Adrian continued, unaware of my traitorous thoughts. There was a remarkable calm about him. â€Å"I’m going to just go on loving you, even if it’s hopeless.† I don’t know why that shocked me as much as it did. I glanced around to make sure no one was listening. â€Å"I . . . what? No. You can’t!† He tilted his head to the side as he regarded me carefully. â€Å"Why? It doesn’t hurt you or anything. I told you I won’t bother you if you don’t want me to. And if you do, well, I’m all about that. So what’s it matter if I just love you from afar?† I didn’t entirely know. â€Å"Because . . . because you can’t!† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"You . . . you need to move on,† I managed. Yes, that was a sound reason. â€Å"You need to find someone else. You know I don’t – that I can’t. Well, you know. You’re wasting your time with me.† He remained firm. â€Å"It’s my time to waste.† â€Å"But it’s crazy! Why would you do that?† â€Å"Because I can’t help doing it,† he said with a shrug. â€Å"And hey, if I keep loving you, maybe you’ll eventually crack and love me too. Hell, I’m pretty sure you’re already half in love with me.† â€Å"I am not! And everything you just said is ridiculous. That’s terrible logic.† Adrian returned to his crossword puzzle. â€Å"Well, you can think what you want, so long as you remember – no matter how ordinary things seem between us – I’m still here, still in love with you, and care about you more than any other guy, evil or otherwise, ever will.† â€Å"I don’t think you’re evil.† â€Å"See? Things are already looking promising.† He tapped the magazine with his pen again. â€Å"‘Romantic Victorian poetess.’ Eight letters.† I didn’t answer. I had been rendered speechless. Adrian never mentioned that dangerous topic again for the rest of the flight. Most of the time, he kept to himself, and when he did speak, it was about perfectly safe topics, like our dinner and the upcoming wedding. Anyone sitting with us would never have known there was anything weird between us. But I knew. That knowledge ate me up. It was all-consuming. And as the flight progressed, and eventually landed, I could no longer look at Adrian the same way. Each time we made eye contact, I just kept thinking of his words: I’m still here, still in love with you, and care about you more than any other guy ever will. Part of me felt offended. How dare he? How dare he love me whether I wanted him to or not? I had told him not to! He had no right to. And the rest of me? The rest of me was scared. If I keep loving you, maybe you’ll eventually crack and love me too. It was ludicrous. You couldn’t make someone love you just by loving them. It didn’t matter how charming he was, how good looking, or how funny. An Alchemist and a Moroi could never be together. It was impossible. I’m pretty sure you’re already half in love with me. Very impossible. How to cite The Indigo Spell Chapter Two, Essay examples

Friday, December 6, 2019

If George Gibbs were gay Essay Example For Students

If George Gibbs were gay Essay In my hometown, Springfield, Ore., a controversy has been raging about gay rights. A conservative statewide group, the Oregon Citizens Alliance, collected enough signatures on a petition to put a measure on last Mays ballot prohibiting city agencies from promoting, encouraging or facilitating homosexuality, pedophilia, sadism and masochism. The measure passed, and now Springfield is the only city in the state, perhaps in the country, that places such limitations on the civil rights of gays. Unfortunately it may be joined soon by other cities and entire states. Following its success in Springfield, the OCA has also placed a statewide measure on the November ballot. Measure Nine would require state schools to teach that homosexuality is abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse. In the state of Colorado a similar group, Colorado for Family Values, collected nearly twice as many signatures as needed to put an anti-gay measure on the ballot there in November and groups are organizing in numerous other states. Last fall, when the OCA was collecting signatures, as well as trying to disband the Springfield Human Rights Commission because of its support of gay rights, I decided to write a play about the issue. I called it Springfield, USA because there are Springfields in at least 18 different states, and the events of this play could take place in any of them. Springfield, USA is written in the style of Our Town, but set in 1992. It deals with the issues facing us today. The plot of the piece, which had a rousing local production in an old downtown movie theatre just before the May election, is quite simple. The narrator is the female mayor of the town, played in our production by a former Springfield mayor. As in Our Town, two families are featured: the Carvers and the Turnquists. Darrell and Kathy Carver, the parents of two teenage sons, are ultra-conservative fundamentalists. Darrell is a member of the city council attempting to disband the citys human rights commission because it supports gay rights. Next door are the liberal Turnquists: Marianne, a divorced mother who works for the railroad, and Jennifer, her teenage daughter. Ultimately, the Carvers younger son Caspar is driven to suicide by his parents refusal to accept his homosexuality. He goes to a kind of gay heaven, where he meets a number of amusing celebrities: Aristotle, John Milton, Willa Cather and Hans Christian Andersen. Allowed to return to earth for a visit, Caspar sees his parents and friends give testimony at a city council meeting held to decide the fate of the human rights commission and realizes he should have stayed and fought. Our local production was hugely successful, with audiences laughing, cheering and applauding throughout. It generated more media coverage than most plays produced locally for as long as I can remember. In only three performances, we reached an audience of over 800 (very large for this market). With a nationwide surge in hate crimes, I felt I had to write this play, even if Robert Brustein would call it theatre of guilt. I knew Id never change the minds of any hardcore homophobes, just as theyd never change mine with quotes from Leviticus, but I hoped to sway the fence-sitters. I may have swayed a few. I learned, however, that the majority of our audience members came from Eugene, the university town across the river, or from even farther away. They couldnt vote in Springfield, but the fact that they came to a play here was unusual in itself, something akin to New Yorkers going to see a play in Newark. A barrier of sorts had been broken. One fairly conservative city council member came to the play, after being assured he wasnt a character in it. He and his wife sat at the rear of the auditorium and looked uncomfortable, but they stayed until the end. Another council member (an OCA supporter) accused the play which he hadnt seen of trashing the conservative family. I wasnt surprised. I had expected opposition, right from the moment our liberal mayor urged a local production before the May election. .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 , .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 .postImageUrl , .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 , .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464:hover , .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464:visited , .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464:active { border:0!important; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464:active , .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464 .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .ubdd4d8f946fb69b3757ca09ebe8c8464:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Charles Busch: some kind of diva EssayFor some months there had been political vandalism in the community, coming from both sides. On the evening of our second performance, someone smashed the windows of two cars parked outside the theatre. The next night the police put on an extra patrol. There were no problems that night, but a few days later a dozen broken eggs decorated the doors of the theatre. Our towns and small cities were probably never as innocent as the town portrayed in Thornton Wilders classic. When he wrote Our Town in 1938, the world was on the verge of war. It must have been comforting to look back to a seemingly simple age the turn of the century a mere 40 years earlier. If Wilder were to write Our Town today and set it in 1950, however, he wouldnt be able to portray that year as an innocent time, sandwiched as it was between World War II and the Korean War. Its no longer possible to look back to innocence. I had to face facts. I had to set my play in 1992, when even our smallest communities are splitting into deeply opposed factions. Springfield, Oregon cant be very different from Springfield, Ohio, Springfield, Colorado or even Springfield, Florida.

Monday, November 25, 2019

Ethics & Sales Managers essays

Ethics & Sales Managers essays Sales managers play very important roles in developing and creating a sales force and a sales strategy that is based and focused on ethical concerns. Slaes managers have the ability to influence the ethical atmosphere of a company or organization during the selection and strategy developing process. Most likely they will be involved directly when the hiring process begins. They will also be accountable for training of the new team of sales representatives. It will be within a mangers job description to develop and implement a code of ethics. He or she will have to teach it during the training period and enforce from there on. When managers are making decision that concerns ethical issues, there are various factors determining the outcome of the decision. " Personal moral philosophy" is one of the factors. This idea is based primarily upon some ethical theories relating to deontology, teleology, and ethical skepticism. : Within this framework, individual's moral philosophies can be parsimoniously represented by the extent to which they are relativistic and idealistic. Although empirical studies have examined moral philosophy and it's impact on the ethical decision making of marketers to date, there has not been a large-scale national study of sales managers' moral philosophies. The perception exisits that those in sales and sales management have lower ethical standards than those in other business occupations" (Bass; Barnett and Brown, 1998). For years, public perception towards sales persons has been wined down to having low ethical standards. This negative perception creates a problem for the sales profession. Well-qualified people hesitate when initiating a career in this area with the reputation it carries. This is why it is is somewhat difficult to develop an effective sales mechanism where it would satisfy every party involved. Some reasons for this low perception for ...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Increasing use of Public Libraries Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Increasing use of Public Libraries - Essay Example Because of this reason, the role of private libraries in providing information to the public has been limited under the increased power of private institutions and organizations that could provide to the public advanced facilities in terms of research. Through the years, the leaders of public libraries managed to improve the facilities and the resources available to the public, a fact that led to the decrease of distance between the public libraries and the libraries of private institutions. The recent financial crisis favored the increase in use of public libraries, a trend that has been reported in a series of surveys conducted across USA. The current performance of public libraries is presented in this paper; reference is made to the empirical studies developed in the particular field. It is proved that the increase in the use of public libraries is continuous and the prospects for future growth are significant. 2. Public Libraries use – trends and challenges In order to ev aluate the level of use of public libraries it would be necessary to refer to relevant data, as published by governmental and non-governmental organizations. Emphasis will be given on the trends of use of public libraries in USA; however, figures related to the use of public libraries in other countries, for example, Canada and UK, are also presented in this study aiming to verify the findings regarding the use of public libraries across USA. One of the most common sources for evaluating the level of use of public libraries is the Public Library Data Service survey, which is developed annually; the above survey shows the annual changes in the use of public libraries in USA. Also, through the findings of the specific survey the factors that support the use of public libraries are revealed. The most recent survey of such kind, in terms of the availability of its findings is the one developed in 2009 – where data from 852 libraries are presented. The survey is based on ‘da ta provided by public libraries in USA and Canada’ (Varvel 2010). The findings of such surveys (referring to the years from 2003 up to 2009) are presented and analyzed in the study of Varvel (2010) where emphasis is given on the following issues: a) the number of visits of libraries that serve a small population, i.e. under 5,000 people, has been increased at 2.7 times, while the libraries serving from 5,000 to 49,999 people has achieved an increase in the number of their visitors at a level of 1.75 times; libraries serving large populations had the lowest performance – in terms of the increase of the number of their visitors (Varvel 2010). This means that for the period 2003 up to 2009, the libraries serving small populations had the highest rate of performance – regarding the increase of the number of their visitors; b) libraries serving less than 5,000 people also managed to reach the highest level of in-library use of material; again, the libraries serving h igh population presented the lowest percentage of in-library use of material (Varvel 2010); c) in 2009, the percentage of public libraries using a website has been reduced reaching the 92.43% - compared to the 98.17% of 2008; it is expected that the decrease of the number of libraries using website will affect their performance since most people prefer to access the libraries online and retrieve the information required. On the other

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Americas intolerant history Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Americas intolerant history - Essay Example The chapter gives the detailed deliberation of the American history and a basic impact of American ideology. The chapter clearly defines how the reformations gradually took place to give the shape to the present society. It clearly gives a panoramic view of American intolerance.The chapter has given minute details about the sufferings of women, and non-WASP communities especially of immigrants. It clearly indicates the attitude of the native Americans and their feeling of supremacy and dominance. The chapter defines how marginalized groups achieved success after years of oppression, strife and resistance. The chapter gives the view of struggle that envisaged success inspite of the fact that it was years of tolerance of these communities and now they are able to enjoy the fruits of it. The contented feeling of these communities help America to be on the road of metamorphosis for equality and togetherness and also the feeling of belongingness. The chapter provides the documented facts through history that proves the authenticity and the truth that this chapter embraces. It discuss out the social reforms, religious reforms and racial harmony that took an era to get stabilized and to get the present vision. The chapter also concludes with the most significant act of defiance against intolerance the civil right movement of the twentieth century. The chapter signifies- WASPs- initially the most significant portion of the population comprised of White Anglo- Saxon Protestants who had four main values defining ethnicity : a. The brief democracy that promoted equality, freedom and individualism b. A brief in private economic enterprise and success c. A brief in the Protestant branch to the Judeo-Christian religion d. A belief in secularism defined by rationality, progress and scientific advancement. The chapter provides the details of intolerance of WASPs for those who do not follow their regulations. The Native Americans, Mexicans and African Americans were given the bottom category in the social hierarchy, whereas, , groups with less physical distinctions received greater acceptance (Purpura, 2000). WASPs were the main stream in establishing the early economic, political, social and religious foundations of America. The non-WASPs were pressurized to conform traditional culture and learn English and abandoning opposing cultural values. The chapter implies the established laws and quota for immigration, resulted in discrimination against individuals who were least like the WASPs in appearance. The chapter also implicates the Nativism which depicts that the European Protestants established themselves as the "native core" of US they were openly hostile to the cultural influences of other immigrant groups. They also found that useful and cheap labor is provided by immigrants. They observed themselves as the true Americans. Those immigrants who did not embrace Protestantism were ostracized and reminded of their inferiority by the action of nativist mob. These mobs were fiercely protective of all cultural values that they considered to be truly American and included anti-immigrants leagues, the various manifestations of the Ku Klux Klan and political parties such as Know Nothings (Perry 2000a). The chapter presents the fact that after Revolutionary war nativism, or practice of protecting the indigenous culture through conscious effort, began to take hold. Programs and policies were developed so as to encourage non-WASPs to adopt WASP values and traditions. It also envisage that 1800s onsets the scientifically justified racial ideologies that further supported the WASP- held negative perceptions of immigrants. The chapter highlights WASPs believed themselves to be inherently superior- physically, culturally, intelligently and politically. The chapter emphasize WASP-based political movement centered on a hatred of

Monday, November 18, 2019

Special Features of Managing Human Resources Research Paper

Special Features of Managing Human Resources - Research Paper Example 2. Human resource management is a distinctive approach to employment management which seeks to achieve competitive advantage through the strategic deployment of a highly committed and capable workforce using an array of cultural, structural and personnel techniques. (Guest, 1999) There are a number of things to notice in Storey's listing. Firstly, human resource management is clearly not simply the province of the human resource manager. Line managers play a critical role in human resource management and, in fact, could be argued to be the main organisational exponents of people management. Secondly, human resource management is firmly embedded in business strategy. Unlike the personnel manager, the HR manager is part of the top level strategic team in the organisation and human resource management plays a key role in the achievement of business success. Thirdly, the shaping of organisational culture is one of the major levers by which effective human resource management can achieve its objectives of a committed workforce. Thus, human resource management is concerned not only with the formal processes of the management of people but also with all the ways in which the organisational culture is established, re-inforced and transmitted. 3. Organizational development and innovation is ...ues, strategies, structures and practices so that the organization can better adapt to competitive actions, technological advances, and the fast pace of other changes in the environment. Organization development helps managers recognize that organizations are systems with dynamic interpersonal relationships holding them together. The reasonable next step was to try to change groups, units, and entire organizations so that they would support, not necessarily replace, change efforts. In short, the general objective of organizational development is to change all parts of the organization in order to make it humanly responsive, more effective, and more capable of organizational learning and self-renewal. It relies on systems orientation, causal models, and a set of key assumptions to guide it.4. The flexible model of working shows the ability of the company to also consider the needs of the employees in terms of time. This model shows h ow flexibility affects both the employers and the employees. There are advantages and disadvantages with using this model. The term flexible working refers to working practices, mutually agreed between employee and employer, which cover working hours, locations or patterns of work. Such arrangements have to comply with the law on working time, including hours, rest breaks and the working week. 5. As work has become less central to people's lives, vying for time with family and leisure, many have become concerned with what is termed the 'work-life balance'. 'Work-life balance is about people having a measure of control over when, where and how they work. It is achieved when an individual's right to a fulfilled life inside and outside paid work is accepted and respected as the norm, to the mutual benefit of the individual, business and

Friday, November 15, 2019

Report on Critical Review of Binary Search Tree Algorithm

Report on Critical Review of Binary Search Tree Algorithm What is Binary Search Tree? Binary search tree (BST) is a dynamic data structure, which means that its size is only limited by amount of free memory in the computer and number of elements may differ during the program executed. BST has aComparableKey (and an associated value) for each. All elements in its left sub-tree are less-or-equal to the node (, and all the elements in its right sub-tree are greater than the node (>). Assumexbe a node in a binary search tree. Ifyis a node in the left sub-tree ofx,thenkey[y] [x].Ifyis a node in the right sub-tree ofx,thenkey[x] [y]. A main pro of binary search trees is fast searching. There are three type of binary search tree: Inorder traversal Preorder traversal Postorder traversal In inorder traversal, the left sub-tree of the given node is visited first, then the value at the given node is printed and then the right sub-tree of the given node is visited. This process is applied recursively all the node in the tree until either the left sub-tree is empty or the right sub tree is empty. Java code for inorder traversal: public void printInorder(){ printInOrderRec(root); System.out.println(); } /** * Helper method to recursively print the contents in an inorder way */ private void printInOrderRec(Node currRoot){ if ( currRoot == null ){ return; } printInOrderRec(currRoot.left); System.out.print(currRoot.value+, ); printInOrderRec(currRoot.right); } In preorder traversal, the value at the given node is printed first and then the left sub-tree of the given node is visited and then the right sub-tree of the given node is visited. This process is applied recursively all the node in the tree until either the left sub-tree is empty or the right sub tree is empty. Java code for preorder traversal: public void printPreorder() { printPreOrderRec(root); System.out.println(); } /** * Helper method to recursively print the contents in a Preorder way */ private void printPreOrderRec(Node currRoot) { if (currRoot == null) { return; } System.out.print(currRoot.value + , ); printPreOrderRec(currRoot.left); printPreOrderRec(currRoot.right); } In postorder traversal, the left sub-tree of the given node is traversed first, then the right sub-tree of the given node is traversed and then the value at the given node is printed. This process is applied recursively all the node in the tree until either the left sub-tree is empty or the right sub-tree is empty. Java code for postorder traversal: public void printPostorder() { printPostOrderRec(root); System.out.println(); } /** * Helper method to recursively print the contents in a Postorder way */ private void printPostOrderRec(Node currRoot) { if (currRoot == null) { return; } printPostOrderRec(currRoot.left); printPostOrderRec(currRoot.right); System.out.print(currRoot.value + , ); } Full code example for BST //Represents a node in the Binary Search Tree. class Node { //The value present in the node. public int value; //The reference to the left subtree. public Node left; //The reference to the right subtree. public Node right; public Node(int value) { this.value = value; } } //Represents the Binary Search Tree. class BinarySearchTree { //Refrence for the root of the tree. public Node root; public BinarySearchTree insert(int value) { Node node = new Node(value); if (root == null) { root = node; return this; } insertRec(root, node); return this; } private void insertRec(Node latestRoot, Node node) { if (latestRoot.value > node.value) { if (latestRoot.left == null) { latestRoot.left = node; return; } else { insertRec(latestRoot.left, node); } } else { if (latestRoot.right == null) { latestRoot.right = node; return; } else { insertRec(latestRoot.right, node); } } } //Returns the minimum value in the Binary Search Tree. public int findMinimum() { if (root == null) { return 0; } Node currNode = root; while (currNode.left != null) { currNode = currNode.left; } return currNode.value; } //Returns the maximum value in the Binary Search Tree public int findMaximum() { if (root == null) { return 0; } Node currNode = root; while (currNode.right != null) { currNode = currNode.right; } return currNode.value; } //Printing the contents of the tree in an inorder way. public void printInorder() { printInOrderRec(root); System.out.println(); } //Helper method to recursively print the contents in an inorder way private void printInOrderRec(Node currRoot) { if (currRoot == null) { return; } printInOrderRec(currRoot.left); System.out.print(currRoot.value + , ); printInOrderRec(currRoot.right); } //Printing the contents of the tree in a Preorder way. public void printPreorder() { printPreOrderRec(root); System.out.println(); } //Helper method to recursively print the contents in a Preorder way private void printPreOrderRec(Node currRoot) { if (currRoot == null) { return; } System.out.print(currRoot.value + , ); printPreOrderRec(currRoot.left); printPreOrderRec(currRoot.right); } //Printing the contents of the tree in a Postorder way. public void printPostorder() { printPostOrderRec(root); System.out.println(); } //Helper method to recursively print the contents in a Postorder way private void printPostOrderRec(Node currRoot) { if (currRoot == null) { return; } printPostOrderRec(currRoot.left); printPostOrderRec(currRoot.right); System.out.print(currRoot.value + , ); } } //Main method to run program. class BSTDemo { public static void main(String args []) { BinarySearchTree bst = new BinarySearchTree(); bst .insert(10) .insert(40) .insert(37) .insert(98) .insert(51) .insert(6) .insert(73) .insert(72) .insert(64) .insert(99) .insert(13) .insert(9); System.out.println(The Binary Search Tree Example); System.out.println(Inorder Traversal:); bst.printInorder(); System.out.println(Preorder Traversal:); bst.printPreorder(); System.out.println(Postorder Traversal:); bst.printPostorder(); System.out.println(); System.out.println(The minimum value in the BST: + bst.findMinimum()); System.out.println(The maximum value in the BST: + bst.findMaximum()); } } Output example Linear Search Algorithm Linear search, also known as sequential search, is a operation that checks every element in the list sequentially until the target element is found. The computational complexity for linear search isO(n),making it mostly much less efficient than binary searchO(log n).But when list items can be arranged in order from greatest to lowest and the possibility appear as geometric distribution (f (x)=(1-p) x-1p, x=1,2),then linear search can have the potential to be greatly faster than binary search. The worst case performance scenario for a linear search is that it needs to loop through the entire collection; either because the item is the last one, or because the item isnt found. In other words, if havingNitems in the collection, the worst case scenario to find an item isNiterations. This is known asO(N)using theBig O Notation. The speed of search grows linearly with the number of items within the collection. Linear searches dont require the collection to be sorted. Example java program to show linear search algorithm class LinearSearchDemo { public static int linearSearch(int[] array, int key) { int size = array.length; for(int i=0;i { if(array[i] == key) { return i; } } return -1; } public static void main(String a[]) { int[] array1= {66,42,1,99,59,53,16,21}; int searchKey = 99; System.out.println(Key +searchKey+ found at index: +linearSearch(array1, searchKey)); int[] array2= {460,129,128,994,632,807,777}; searchKey = 129; System.out.println(Key +searchKey+ found at index: +linearSearch(array2, searchKey)); } } Output example Why Linear Search? Alinear searchlooks down a list, one item at a time, without skipping. In complexity terms this is an O(n) search where the time taken to search the list gets bigger at the same rate as the list does. Binary searchtree when starts with the middle of a sorted list, and it see whether thats greater than or less than the value it looking for, which determines whether the value is in the first or second half of the list. Skip to the half way through the sub-list, and compare again. In complexity terms this is an O(log n) search where the number of search operations grows more slowly than the list does, because it is halving the search space with each operation. For example, suppose to search for U in an A-Z list of letter where index 0-25 and the target value at index 20. A linear search would ask: list[0] == U? False. list[1] == U? False. list[2] == U? False. list[3] == U? False. . .. †¦ list[20] == U? True. Finished. The binary search would ask: Comparelist[12](M) with U: Smaller, look further on. (Range=13-25) Comparelist[19](T) with U: Smaller, look further on. (Range=20-25) Comparelist[22](W) with U: Bigger, look earlier. (Range=20-21) Comparelist[20](U) with U: Found it. Finished. Comparing the two: Binary search requires the input data to be sorted but linear search doesnt. Binary search requires anorderingcomparison but linear search only requires equality comparisons. Binary search has complexity O(log n) but linear search has complexity O(n). Binary search requires random access to the data but linear search only requires sequential access. (it means a linear search canstreamdata of arbitrary size) Divide and Conquer Algorithm Divide and conquer is a top-down technique for designing algorithms that consists of dividing the problem into smaller sub-problems hoping that the solutions of the sub-problems are easier to find and then composing the partial solutions into the solution of the original problem. Divide and conquer paradigm consists of following major phases: Divide Breaking the probleminto several sub-problems that are similar to the original problem but smaller in size. Conquer Solve the sub-problemrecursively (successively and independently). Combine these solutionsto sub-problems to create a solution to the original problem. The similarity with Binary Search Tree, it is a degenerate divide and conquer search algorithm but with no combine phase. It searches for akeyin asortedvector then returning theindexwhere the key was found or return -1 when not found. It also reduces the problem size by half each recursion. The algorithm definition: Divides sorted vector into 2 halves. The lower halves contain values less or equal the key and the higher half values greater than or equal the key. If the low index exceeds the high index the key is not in the vector. Compute the middle index of the vector. If the key equals the value at the middle of the vector, the index of the middle is returned If the key is less than the value at the middle of the vector, the lower half is searched If the key is greater than the value at the middle of the vector, the higher half is searched Only one of the halves is searched, reducing the problem size by half each time. Recursion Technique Recursionis a technique of solving problems that includes breaking down a problem into smaller and smaller sub-problems until get to a small enough problem that it can be solved trivially. Normally recursion includes a function calling itself. While it may not would appear to be much at first glance, recursion allow to write elegant solutions to problems that may otherwise be extremely hard to program. It is very similar with binary search tree that using divide and conquer technique which is breaking down problem into sub-problems. A binary search or half-interval search algorithm discover the position of a specified value within a sorted array. In each step, the algorithm compares the input key value with the key value of the middle element of the array. If the keys match, then a matching element has been found so its index is returned. Otherwise, if the looked key is less than the middle elements key, then the algorithm repeats its action on the sub-array to the left of the middle element or, if the input key is greater, on the sub-array to the right. If the remaining array to be searched is reduced to zero, then the key cannot be found in the array and a special Not found indication is returned. Every repetition eliminates half of the remaining possibilities. This makes binary searches very efficient even for large collections. Binary search requires a sorted collection. Additionally, binary searching can only be applied to a collection that allows random access (indexing). Worst case performance: O(log n) Best case performance: O(1) Recursion is utilized as a part in this algorithm because with each pass a new array is created by cutting the old one in half. The binary search procedure is then called recursively, this time on the new array. Commonly the arrays size is adjusted by manipulating a beginning and ending index. The algorithm exhibits a logarithmic order of growth because it essentially divides the problem domain in half with each pass. Conclusion The conclusion is there is never be the best approach to follow blindly, each of these algorithms has its pros and cons. So, if there is any scenario or problem, it should be analyze first and adopt one of these algorithms to find what’s suit. REFERENCE Implement Binary search in java using divide and conquer technique. Java search algorithm programs. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at:http://java2novice.com/java-search-algorithms/binary-search/. [Accessed 26 October 2014]. Best searching algorithm | java coding algorithms. 2014 [ONLINE] Available at:http://tekmarathon.com/2012/10/05/best-searching-algorithm-2/. [Accessed 26 October 2014]. Linear Search. 2014.Linear Search. [ONLINE] Available at:http://algorithms.openmymind.net/search/linear.html. [Accessed 26 October 2014]. Java Recursion with examples. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at:http://danzig.jct.ac.il/java_class/recursion.html. [Accessed 26 October 2014]. Divide-and-Conquer Algorithms. 2014.Divide-and-Conquer Algorithms. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.personal.kent.edu/~rmuhamma/Algorithms/MyAlgorithms/divide.htm. [Accessed 26 October 2014]. Binary Search Trees. 2014.Binary Search Trees. [ONLINE] Available at:http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~vernon/cs367/notes/9.BST.html. [Accessed 27 October 2014]. Binary Trees . 2014.Binary Trees. [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~adamchik/15-121/lectures/Trees/trees.html. [Accessed 27 October 2014]. Data structures Why is Binary Search a divide and conquer algorithm? Stack Overflow. 2014. [ONLINE] Available at:http://stackoverflow.com/questions/8850447/why-is-binary-search-a-divide-and-conquer-algorithm. [Accessed 27 October 2014].

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Ethanol as an Alternative Energy Source Essays -- Biofuel Bio Fuel Ess

Biofuels: Ethanol an Alternative Energy Source Abstract In today's society, when someone wants to go to the movies, work, school, library, or mall, they drive to their destination. The average amount of gasoline consumed per year is about 146 gallons in the U.S. (Biofuels for Transportation, p1). Discoveries of huge petroleum deposits kept gasoline cheap for decades and biofuels were forgotten (Leen, p1). However, with the recent oil prices, along with growing concern of global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions, biofuel regained popularity (Leen, p1). Ethanol, a renewable fuel made from plants was added to gasoline to increase octane and help the engines burn more efficiently and cleanly (West,p1). Introduction Ethanol or ethyl alcohol (EtOH) is an alternative energy source which produces a fuel with higher octane rating and fewer emissions than unblended gas (West, p1). Some sources used to make ethanol are sugar canes, maize, sorghum, fruit and vegetable waste, barley, wheat, potatoes, molasses, cotton, or any other plant that contains a large amount of sugar. But the leading U.S fuel crop is corn. Corn byproducts allow more fuel to be made from the same amount of corn by breaking down the starches in its cell walls (Benefits, p3). The enzyme Tran 2 increases production of alcohol from corn by 2% to 3% (Benefits, p3). There are four steps toward making ethanol. First, the feedstock is ground for easier processing, then when the sugar is dissolved from the ground materials, the microbes feed on the sugar producing ethanol and carbon dioxide as byproducts (West, p2). Lastly, the ethanol is purified to achieve the correct concentration (West, p3). This grain alcohol is a colorless and flammable as well as drin... ...http://journey tofor ever.org/ethanol.html>. 2. Martinez, Scott. Ethanol. 12 Sept 2005. WiseGeeks, Wisegeek.com/ what-is-ethanol-fuel.htm>, 22 July 2008. 3. Sunshine John. What is Ethanol Fuel? 8 July 2008. Ethanol. 20 July 2008. . 4. Unknown. Biofuels. Alternative Energy. 25 July 2008. . 5. Unknown. Genomes to Life. 2007 July 10. Biofuels for Transportation. 19 July 2008. . 6. Unknown. The Benefits of Biomass. 2006 Sept 18. Bioenergy. 18 July 2008. . 7. West, Lester. What is Ethanol? 13 March 2005. About. 17 July 2008. ethanol.htm>.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Chimerism in Humans

Chimera according to the genome glossary is an organism which possesses cells or tissues with a different genotype. This can be caused due to mutated cells of the host organism or cells from a different organism or species. According to Greek mythology, the original â€Å"Chimera† (pronounced as kih-MEE-ra, and the adjective form â€Å"chimerical† pronounced as kih-MER-ih-cal) was a fire-breathing female monster with the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the hindquarters of a dragon. The terrifying Chimera may have merely been a product of a substandard family environment — her father was the giant Typhon, her mother the half-serpent Echidna. Her siblings were the Cerebrus (the three-headed hound who eventually found work guarding the gates of Hell), Hydra (a nine-headed aquatic monster) and Orthrus (the runt of the litter, a prosaic two-headed dog). As per the mythology, Chimera pounced around making everyone wretched until one day a man named Bellerophon, riding on the winged horse Pegasus slays her. [Author unknown, Chimera, 2004] Though believed to be a mythological epic, it was found that cases of Chimera were actually prevalent in humans when certain intriguing criminal cases erupted. One such case was when a woman has been raped by a man and the women claimed a particular person to be the culprit. However, the crime justice authorities had found it difficult to convict the suspect. It so happened that the DNA taken from his blood sample did not match the DNA of the suspect. However, extensive investigation and the victim’s statements revealed it to be same person being responsible for the crime. When another series of DNA tests were taken from the suspect, this time from his hair sample it was found that the DNA sample perfectly matched. This revealed a breathtaking phenomenon among human genome which has resulted in various problems in the criminal justice system. Those people who have two types of DNA in their body are called chimeras after the mythological creature with a head of lion, body of a goat and a tail of a serpent. These people are sometimes also referred to as mosaics. It has found that these people have two different types of DNA in various parts of their body. Though a rare occurrence, this could have been due to various reasons. [Vladar, 2004] One of the common reasons is that chimeras are formed if developing fraternal twin embryos join together to become one embryo. This is something which is completely opposite of identical twins who are formed when a single embryo splits into two. This occurrence takes place in the very early stages of the embryo development i.e. when it is still in the form of unspecialized cells, so when it develops the baby that is born is healthy but with two types of DNAs. It is also found that fraternal twins don’t have same set of DNA, however, they the two fraternal twin embryos fuse together it results in chimera. Another reason for chimeras to form is when developing fraternal twin share the same blood supply. This usually happens when the twins with different DNA share a placenta in the mother’s womb and cells from their blood mix together. This results in the twins being chimeras based on only their blood as other cells are not affected by the blood supply. Chimeras are also formed through some mistakes or mutations taking place in the division of the cells in the development embryo. This mainly takes place when the cells split into two so that they are able to be formed into more of themselves for the growth of the embryo. It also results in the the doubling up of the DNA by the cells which gets divided between the two new halves. During this process, if something goes wrong, then some new cells result in having different DNA. If this happens in the early stages of the development, then the tissues which are developed from the cells will have different genotype. It is difficult to gauge the exact number of chimeras in the world. We are able to find out whether a person is a chimera or not only when his / her DNA is analysed. This causes varied problems with regards to solving of crime cases and also results in complication with regards to donation of organs. In recent years, exciting results have been found out that a section of genetically incompatible cells may contribute to conditions like infertility, autism and Alzheimer's disease. [Migliore, L et al, 1999] Human chimeraism came into being with advent of blood typing and it was found that some people had more than two types of blood group. Most of the cases of chimeraism are the blood chimeraism i.e. non-identical twins sharing a blood supply in the womb. Twin embryos often share a blood supply in the placenta, allowing blood stem cells to pass from one embryo and settle in the bone marrow of the other, seeding a lasting source of blood. As a result, almost 8% of non-identical twin pairs have chimeric blood. [van Dijk, B A; Boomsma, D I and de Man, A J M, 1996] Apart from those who have chimera due to different blood types, there are even larger numbers of people who have this phenomenon due to carrying smaller numbers of different blood cells that may have passed through the mother and the fetus across the placenta or persist from a blood transfusion. It has also been analysed that the presence of some foreign white blood cells might be the cause for autoimmune diseases wherein the immune system affects the body’s own tissues. [Nelson, J L, 2002] True chimeras are usually identified when they possess male and female cells resulting in the formation of hermaphrodites or any related problem in the person’s sexual organs and their chromosomal sex is identified by their blood test. So the real number of chimeras and mosaics are much more than those that have been identified till date. Unless and until a chimera comes forward to get his blood sampled or has been convicted for a crime, it wouldn’t be possible to know whether he actually is a chimera. This has resulted in further complication in solving some crime justice cases. It has been also analyzed that with the increase in in-vitro fertilization (IVF), there has an increase in the cases of chimeras. To avoid infertility among women, IVF has been quite common in the present day scenario. In this process, two or more embryos are placed in a woman’s uterus so there is an increased success rate. This results in 25% more cases of twin pregnancies than expected. With the increased number of twins, there is likelihood of more cases of chimeras. This was proved by Bonthron who found out that the British hermaphrodite boy who was a chimera was formed by IVF. Strain, L; Dean, J C S; Hamilton, M P R and Bonthron, D T – 1998] According to various tests undertaken along with ultrasound examinations performed on the mother who was carrying the single fetus, the baby that was born had a normal right testis and a semi-developed left testis. An operation was conducted when the child was 15 months old and the surgeons removed â€Å"an abnormal gonad and vas deferens.† Pathology studies later exposed that these were actually an ovary with a fallopian tube attached. Studies revealed that the child's chromosomes had both female (XX) and male (XY) cell lines. This was explained to be that the child was an exceptional case of a true chimera which was a mixture of two embryos from separately fertilized eggs. The other likelihood was that two different sperm had unusually developed into a single mature egg before cell division had taken place. To distinguish between these possibilities, the researchers analyzed DNA near the centromeres of the child's chromosomes, which are involved in cell division. [Author unknown, DNA puzzle of mother ‘made of two women', 2004] Apart from this, the study conducted also revealed that chimerism can occur naturally, resulting in children with vague genitalia, however published data on the phenomenon is very restricted and many XX/XY children may go unnoticed. Even so, the fact that chimerism occurred in a child born following in vitro fertilization should be taken seriously. [Author unknown, 2004 In Vitro Fertilization Results In Chimera, 2004] Considering these above points, it is becoming more and more difficult for the crime justice system to analyze the crime due to the increase in the cases of chimeraism and mosaicism which in turn is increasing with the increase in in-vitro fertilization. The criminals are able to move about freely as their blood samples usually differ from their other DNA samples taken from different parts of the body. It is also becoming difficult for the crime justice system as well as the medical system to analyze the exact number of chimeras as it is very difficult with the increase in mutations.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The Relationship Between Personality Types, Test Anxiety and Self-Esteem with regards to Academic Achievement

The Relationship Between Personality Types, Test Anxiety and Self-Esteem with regards to Academic Achievement Free Online Research Papers This study was performed to determine if there is a relationship between personality type, test anxiety, self-esteem and academic achievement, which was measured by the students GPA. The study was conducted at a university in Indiana using undergraduate volunteers. The study used a scale from the MBTI to help determine personality types (introvert or extrovert), also Rosenberg’s 10 item scale for self-esteem, and Spielberger’s test anxiety inventory. The hypothesis was that extraverts who have a higher self-esteem, and low test anxiety would have better success with academic achievement than those who are introverts with low self-esteem and high test anxiety. It was found in this study that there was no significant relationship between personality type, test anxiety, self-esteem and academic achievement. The Relationship Between Personality Types, Test Anxiety and Self-Esteem with Regards to GPA. Cognitive styles have been used to explain individuals’ behavior most notable using Carl Jung’s psychological types, as operationalized by Myers (1965) with the Myers – Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Using personality theory, individuals’ dispositions for certain behaviors and actions can be understood. Recent research application of the MBTI include such areas as counseling, communications, learning education, empathetic response, decision making, business investments, general theory of the MBTI, construct validity of the MBTI scales, and convergent validity of the MBTI scales with other personality constructs. Despite the MBTI’s mixed validity and weak predictive value, it has been used extensively over the past 35 years in research and training efforts worldwide (Barbuto Plummer 1998). The MBTI is used to present four scales representing four pairs of preferences: Extraversion and Introversion; Sensing and Intuition; Thinking and Felling; and Judging and Perceiving. These preferences result in 16 learning types. A type is the combination of the four preferences. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is one of the most popular instruments for assessing these preferences. This study will only be using one of the four scales. Extraversion – Introversion preference tells us how people are energized. Extraverts prefer to focus on the outer world of people and things. Extraverts find energy in things and people. They prefer interaction with others and are action oriented (Vincent Ross, 2001). Myers (1980) defined extraverts are the after thinkers; they cannot understand life until they have lived it. Their attitude is relaxed and confident. They expect the waters to prove shallow, and plunge readily into new and untried experiences. Minds outwardly directed, interest and attention following objective happenings, primarily those of the immediate environment. Their real world therefore is the outer world of people and things (Myers, 1980). Introverts focus on the inner world of ideas and impressions. Introverts find energy in the inner world of ideas, concepts, and abstractions. They can be sociable but need quiet to recharge their energies (Vincent Ross, 2001). They are the fore thinkers, and cannot live life until they understand it. Attitude reserved and questioning. They expect the waters to prove deep, and pause to take soundings in the new and untried. Minds are inwardly directed, frequently unaware of the objective environment, interest and attention being engrossed be inner events. Their real world therefore is the inner world of ideas and understanding (Myers, 1980). Extraversion and introversion have their own special dynamics and both attitudes have progressive and regressive properties (Ryckman, 1982). Speilberger (1979) states that an anxiety state may be defined in terms of the intensity of the subjective feelings of tension, apprehension, nervousness, and worry that are experienced by an individual at a particular moment, and by heightened activity of the automatic nervous system that accompanies these feelings. Anxiety will also vary in duration and also in intensity, and fluctuate over time as a function of the amount of stress that impinges upon an individual and that individual’s interpretation of the stressful situation as personally dangerous or threatening. Many students feel anxious or nervous when taking tests in college. Self-Esteem refers to an individual’s personal judgment of his or her own worth (Englert, Weed, Watson 2000). Before the 1980’s, most researchers typically computed correlations between children’s self-esteem and academic success. One comprehensive review of research up to them found that most studies reported positive correlations, usually form 0.20 to 0.40 on a 1.00 scale. But since correlations between IQ and academic performance range from 0.50 to 0.70, such results show, at best, a moderate relationship between self–esteem and academic performance (Moeller 1994). Although this is important, my study will use college students and not children. Asendorpf and Wilpers (1998) found that extraversion and socialablity predicted the overall interaction rate, the number of new peers, and various aspects of relationships with opposite – sex peers. Whether the students reported a partner or not and the number of quality of their non-peer relationships were not affected by their personality. The study that will be conducted here will focus on all aspects of extraverts and introverts, also their self-esteem. Individuals with achieving personality priorities had higher self–esteem than individuals with pleasing personality priorities and individual with detaching personality priorities. They also had higher social interest than individuals with outgoing personality priorities and fewer dysfunctional attitudes than those with pleasing personality priorities and those with detaching personality priorities (Alderian, Kottman, and Rice 1998). Ashby (1998) also found personality types were significantly different on self–esteem, social interest, internal locus of control, and dysfunctional attitudes. In general, these differences were consistent with the theoretical descriptions of each of the personality priorities. This study will also be focusing on achievement and self–esteem, but also that personality types indicated by the MBTI. Speilberger (1979) found that students with high-test anxiety tend to blame themselves for their poor performance, while low test-anxious students did not. He also found that high test- anxious students apparently respond to examination stress with intense emotional reactions and negative self-centered thoughts that impair the performance, while those low in test anxiety react with increased motivation and concentration. Gaudry and Speilberger (1971) found that at the college level, there is evidence that anxiety tends to be associated with lower grades and higher dropout rates. As cited in an article written by Kwan, Bond, Singelis (1997) there has been relative research in which links have been found between self-esteem and the five factors of personality. Concerning the effects of personality on self-esteem, previous work on American samples has found that self-esteem is positively correlated with Extraversion (strong), Openness to Experience (weak), and Conscientiousness (moderate) and is negatively correlated with Neuroticism (strong) (Costa, McCrae, Dye, 1991; Digman 1990; McCrae Costa, 1988). The same personality correlates with self-esteem were also found is Chinese student samples (Ho, 1994; Luk Bond, 1992). It thus seems that the relations between self-esteem and Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness are quite robust across cultures. Therefore they expected that the effects of Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Conscientiousness on life satisfaction be meditated through self-esteem acros s the two cultures. (Kwan et al, 1997) Other relevant research has found that Individuals with achieving personality priorities had higher self-esteem that individuals with pleasing personality priorities and individuals with detaching personality priorities. Ashby et al. also had higher social interests than individuals with outgoing personality priorities and fewer dysfunctional attitudes than those with pleasing personality priorities and those with detaching personality priorities. (Ashby, Kottman, Rice, 1998) There has been much debate regarding whether personality variables exist as discrete classes or on a continuum. Much of the criticism surrounding the MBTI is its treatment of personality variables as discrete classes (Barbuto, 1997). Ross and Broh (2000) found that academic achievement boosts self–esteem and the sense of personal control, but the latter influences subsequent academic achievement. Most previous research on adolescent self–concept has included self–esteem or, less commonly, the sense of personal control but not both. Ross and Broh also stated that the sense of personal control and self–esteem are highly correlated but may have different consequences for academic achievement. My study believes that self-esteem does improve academic achievement. Battle (as cited by Ross and Broh, 2000) stated that in the self–esteem model, adolescents who feel good about themselves do better in school than do those who have low self–worth. Proponents of this model contend that self-esteem leads to academic success. Of course there have been alternative views such as the one cited by Ross and Broh. In contrast to the effectiveness theory of personal control presented her e others have argued that self-esteem does affect academic performance and that the consequences of self–esteem are real, not spurious, for a number of reasons. First according to self- consistency theory, self-esteem shapes our behavior because of the self–consistency motive (Rosenberg 1989), that is people act in a way that is consistent with their self-concept, so that adolescents with high self–esteem would act in ways that maintain their self-esteem (like getting good grades). My variables that are being examined in this study are personality type, test anxiety, self-esteem and it’s relationship to GPA. This research study is designed to find a relationship, if any, between the following variables: self-esteem and test anxiety, introvert / extrovert and test anxiety, GPA and test anxiety, self-esteem and GPA, extrovert / introvert and GPA, extrovert / introvert and self-esteem. The hypothesis was that Extraverts who have a higher self-esteem and low test anxiety would have better success with academic achievement than those who are introverts with low self-esteem and high test anxiety. Methods Participants There were 60 volunteers, 20 males and 40 females, who have participated in this study. The ages ranged from 18 – 44 with a mean age of 22. The participants were students who were enrolled in undergraduate courses at a university in Indiana. Participants who volunteered in this study signed an informed consent form. Questionnaire Rosenberg’s (1965) Self–Esteem scale is a well validated, 10-item measure of global, personal self – esteem. Its average type reliability analysis is greater than .80. Responses were made on a 4- point scale with the anchors of 1 (strongly disagree) and 4 (strongly agree). Half of the items have been formulated and scored in reverse direction to reduce the possibility of an acquiescence response set (Kwan, Bond, Singelis, 1997). The alpha measure for this scale in this research was .856. The Myers – Briggs Type Inventory (MBTI), which is composed of sixteen four letter combinations that represents characteristics about someone’s personality type (Myers 1965). These combinations include Extroverts and Introverts, intuition and Sensing, Thinking and Feeling, Perceiving and Judging. This research only focuses on the scales using Extroverts, Introverts. Gardner (as cited in Hill, 1999) found that test-rest reliability for continuous scores of the MBTI usually exceed .70 and often will surpass .80. Costa and McCrae (as cited in Hill, 1999) found that the MBTI is related to NEO-PI scale and found positive correlations for the E-I scale of .72. Speilberger (1979) Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) is a self-report inventory designed to measure test anxiety (TA) as a situation-specific personality trait. The TAI consists of 20 item or statements, and the respondents indicate on a four-point scale how often they experience the feeling described in each statement. The TAI provides a measure of total TA (TAI-T) as measures of two TA components worry (W) and emotionality (E). Sapp (1993) found that unlike traditional test anxiety measures, the TAI suggests that worry is not the most important component to interfere with test performance. It is the combination of high worry and emotionality scores that affect test performance. Speilberger (1979) found a test-rest reliability of .80 to .81 for two-week to one-month periods, and .62 after six months. Alpha coefficients ranged from .92 to 96. Validity for the TAI was established with a relationship between TAI and other anxiety measures, such as Sarason’s Test Anxiety Scale an d the Liebert and Morris’ Worry and Emotionality Questionnaire. There was also found to be a high correlation of .82 to .83, between the TAI score and the Test Anxiety Scale (Speilberger 1979). The alpha measure for this scale in this research was .94. Academic achievement will be measured on a 4.0 scale. All volunteers will be asked to write their current GPA in a provided space on the survey that will be passed out during normal class hours. The university GPA scales are 0.0 – 4.0. All participants were asked their age, gender, year in college, and department major. Participation was optional and those who wished to decline involvement in the study were given the opportunity to decline. All participants were also assured that their responses would be completely anonymous, that there are no right or wrong answers to any of the questions, and that their true responses are very important for the study. The questionnaires were passed out and respondents were given a week to fill out and turn back in. Results Bivariate correlations were computed for GPA, personality type, test anxiety, self-esteem, sex and age. There were no significant correlations found among the variables being studied. The mean for GPA’s extroverts was 3.03, SD = .47 and for an introvert it was 3.03, SD = .57. The mean for self-esteem’s extrovert was 1.62, SD = .48 and for introvert it was 1.77, SD = .46. The mean for test anxiety for extroverts were 2.06, SD = .68 and for introverts it was 1.89, SD = .62. Discussion The purpose of this study was to determine if there were any correlations between GPA, self-esteem, test anxiety and personality types. There were no correlations found between the variables listed above. In contrast to Ashby (1998) who found that personality types were significantly different in self-esteem, I found no such correlations. In summary, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a powerful tool in examining differences in personality. If there were a higher response rate in the return of the surveys, it is possible that some significance would have been found. Some other recommendations for future research would be to replicate this study with a larger sample regarding other colleges or universities, also to conduct this study comparing universities or colleges to one another. The results may have been affected by the participant’s year in school because a higher-level student may have experienced or developed techniques regarding test anxiety that a freshman may no t have yet developed. Also because this was a voluntary self-report measure, an introvert may be less willing to participate in the survey and less willing to report anxiety levels. The measure’s length may have also been a factor in the results because potential subjects may have been less willing to participate or accurately fill out the MBTI. An alternate scale of introversion / extroversion may have been more appropriate for this study and could have provided more accurate results. A future study involving the MBTI would be to measure the relationship between personality type to those students who complete college to those who withdraw from colleges or universities. References Asendorph, J., Wilpers, S. (1998). Personality effects on social relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 6, 1531-1544. Ashby, J. (1998). Adlerian personality priorities: Psychological and attitudinal differences. Journal of Counseling and Development, 76, 467-475. Barbuto, J.E., (1997). A critique of the Myers – Briggs indicator and its operationalization of Carl Jung’s psychological types. Psychological Reports, 80, 611 – 625. Barbuto, J.E., Plummer, B.A. (1998). Mental boundaries as a new dimension of personality. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 13, 421-437. Englert, D.R., Weed, N.C., Watson G.S. (2000). Convergent, discriminate, and internal properties of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (2nd ed.). Low Self-Esteem Content Scale. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 33, 42-55 Guadry, E., Spielberger, C. D., (1971). Anxiety and educational achievement. Sydney: John Wiley Sons. Hill, A. B., (1999). Personality characteristics associated with academic achivement among developmental college students. (Doctoral dissertaton, The Fielding Institute, 2000). Dissertation Abstracts International, 60, 3288 Kwan, V.S.Y., Bond, M.H., Singelis, T.M. (1997). Pancultural explanations for life satisfaction: Adding relationship harmony to self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 5, 1038-1051. Moeller, T.G. (1994). What research says about self – esteem and academic performance. Education Digest, 59, 34-38. Myers, I.B. (1965). Manual: The Myers – Briggs Type Indicator. Princeton, N.J: Education Testing Service. Myers, I.B. (1980). Gifts Differing. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychologists Press. Nezlek, J.B., Kowalski, R.M., Leary, M.R., Blevins, T., Holgate, S. (1997). Personality moderators of reactions to interpersonal rejection: Depression and trait self-esteem. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 1235-1244. Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and the adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. Rosenberg, M., Schooler, C., Schoenbach, C., (1989). Self – esteem and adolescent problems: Modeling reciprocal effects. American Sociological Review, 54, 1004 – 1018. Ross, E.R., Broh, B.A., (2000). The roles of self-esteem and the sense of personal control in the academic achievement process, Sociology of Education. , 73, 270 –284. Ryckman R.M. (1982). Theories of personality. Belmont, CA: Brooks/ Cole. Sapp, M., (1993). Test anxiety: Applied research, assessment, and treatment interventions. Lanham: University Press of America. Spielberger, C. D., (1979). Understanding stress and anxiety. New York: Harper. Spielberger, C.D., (1980). Test Anxiety Inventory. Palo Alto, CA: Consulting Psychology Press. Spielberger, C. D., Diaz-Guerrero, R., (1976). Cross cultural anxiety. Washington DC: Hemisphere. Vincent, A., Ross, D. (2001). Personalized training: Determined learning styles, personality types and multiple intelligence online. The Learning Organization, 8, 36 – 43. 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