Thursday, October 31, 2019

The main reason cause global warming Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The main reason cause global warming - Essay Example This is normally done in order to protect the public from involuntary smoking because public smoking often exposes them to the effects of second-hand smoking which includes increased risk of emphysema, cancer, heart diseases and other illnesses. The regulation of smoking is important to the economy because public smoking presents a lot of dangers to the third parties. Individuals can still smoke at their own pleasure but not publicly because we also have children to protect. If children grow in an environment where smoking is the order of the day, then they are very likely to end up smoking because of the poor example shown to them by the adults. The United Sates government has always discouraged people from smoking through heavy taxation and limitless adverts that teach the public on the dangers of smoking. Several other countries like South Africa, Italy and New Zealand also practice the same and have restricted the areas where people can smoke. These bans apply mostly to enclosed areas like bars, shops, offices, restaurants, trains and theatres. Banning smoking in public places has different effects on the economy as a whole but the net effect is positive. Scientists agree that smoking is dangerous to the health of the smoker and those around him. Smoking tobacco can cause strokes, cancer and other heart diseases. The problem is that these effects are not limited to the smokers because the people close to them also inhale this smoke involuntarily. These people are exposed to these dangers but they have no choice since they are just forced into it. This calls for the government to come in and protect them through legislations like banning smoking in public places. These bans also discourage people from smoking because they can only do so privately in certain selected areas. Through the reduction in smoking hours, their smoking rates are often reduced

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 3

Strategy - Essay Example Porter argues that the ability to perform particular activities and to manage the linkages between these activities is a source of competitive advantage.   The above diagram shows an example of a corporate value chain analysis that can be applied to general manufacturing process of a Cadbury’s product. The analysis can help identify the company’s core competencies and weakness throughout the manufacturing process and whether competitive advantage is created or lost because of this. Internal Factor analysis summary (IFAS) External factors Analysis Summary (EFAS) Porter’s five forces applied to Cadbury plc Force Strong/Weak Threat to Cadbury Industry/ Competitor/Competitive rivalry Strong There are three main competitors within the confectionery industry, Cadbury , the market leader followed by Mars and Nestle, The competition between the three companies is very strong and each company aims to be the market leader Corporate strategy Chen et al (2009) states that â€Å" Corporate strategy is primarily about the choice of direction for a firm as a whole and the management of its business or product profile. Cadbury’s corporate directional strategy after their success in 2008 is growth. This is one of Cadbury’s main priorities for the future. Working alongside the company’s business strategy , Cadbury will work towards achieving horizontal growth. This is achieved by Cadbury expanding its products into other geographical locations and/or increasing the range of products and services it offers(Chen et al 2009) Cadbury hope to achieve horizontal growth by focusing on five key brands, Cadbury, Trident, Halls, Green and Black’s and The Natural Confectionary Company Cadbury are doing this as an action towards achieving their vision as it is believed that these brands have the strongest potential in new and existing markets on a global level A key factor towards Cadbury mentioned throughout the report, is lack of sales a nd revenue generated by Cadbury outside of western Europe. Therefore concentrating on specific brands that are thought to be the most successful on a global scale will help the company launch new products in other countries , hopefully

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Social Network Self Image And Esteem Media Essay

Social Network Self Image And Esteem Media Essay Social Networking is the act of interacting and networking with others in a social online environment via the use of a website It includes a variety of technology tools on the internet which helps the society interact and exchange media, information and resources such as pictures, songs, articles and ideas it could be through text, audio, video, images, and other multimedia communications. Social Networking has escalated to a point where it becomes part of peoples everyday living. These sites have provoked a lot of controversies and reactions; they have increased well overtime and have become so popular around the world mostly because of the freedom that comes with it. Just in a little while you can make friends across the globe, get to know so much about them and their cultures and beliefs. It is the fastest growing tool of communication on the internet and just like all other sites on the internet it has its advantages and disadvantages, I realized that it has most especially influ enced the society on their self-esteem or self-Image negatively and I proposed this study to explore the effects of a particular social network face book how it has affected how we feel about or see ourselves, others and the world at large but also how we can use it to our advantage instead. This study seeks to understand how these networking sites affect its users psychologically. We know that Human communication in its most primitive form has been in existence since the genesis of humans. However, the past three decades has shown that the basis of how people exchange information has taken a different dimension. One reason for this change is the development in the technology of communication, such as: the use of Internet, instant messaging, and social networking sites, just to mention a few. Researchers pondered in time past if the Internet would improve the traditional face-to-face (FTF) communication (Flaherty, Pearce, Rubin, 1998; Barber, Mattson, Peterson, 1997;London, 1993) . Researchers today are still arguing whether that transformation has come to pass (McLeod Ho, 2008) and what the effects of that substitution will be. TABLE OF CONTENTS Pageà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦.. Abstractà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦. Introductionà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦ 1 Research Questionsà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦. 2 Research Objectivesà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦ 3 2.0 The Problem Statementà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦.. 3 2.1 Significance of the studyà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦. 4 2.2 Structure of the researchà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦ 5 List of Figures Social Networking Websitesà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚ ¦.. CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Social networks have had a great impact on our self-image and esteem from the onset the reason may be because it doesnt allow readers, viewers or listeners to participate in the creation or development of the content. It is a platform for people from all over the globe to come together and socialize with each other. It is so fast growing we can see that it has captured the attention and minds of millions. Jen Comas Keck studied that over half of the women she interviewed said that looking at pictures and status updates on social networks sites made them more self-conscious about their body and their weight. In the same study she said that  the most avid female social media users were also more likely to be unhappier and less content with their lives than others.  (Jen Comas Keck, 2012). Its hard to deny the addictive qualities of the social media. If you cant stay off it and what you see is making you feel bad about yourself, I think we can agree that it can be pretty dangerous for your self-esteem.  It seems like nowadays, having a positive body image isnt something that comes naturally for most people. It has to be worked towards.   Even though these social network sites undoubtedly serve as some kind of entertainment for us it is an undeniable fact that it is also affecting us on some deeper level. Face book has made life seem like a competition for most people because it involves whos the best of what or whos more sexy or appealing to the general public. Fig 1: Social Networking Websites Angela Haupt shows that she blamed Facebook for the promotion of poor body image. She said The popular social networking site may be promoting poor body image among its users, according to a new survey from the Centre for Eating Disorders at Sheppard Pratt in Maryland. About 75 percent of Facebook users said they were unhappy with their bodies, and 51 percent said seeing photos of themselves on the site made them more weight conscious. Slightly more than 30 percent said they felt sad when they compared Facebook photos of themselves to their friends photos. People are now constantly aware of their appearance, thanks to Facebook, (Steven Crawford) A common reaction is, I need to be thinner. And its that kind of thinking that can lead to hazardous dieting. Facebook is an influential factor in developing severe eating disorders. Dr Gwenn OKeeffe stated that For some teens, social network sites is the primary way they interact socially, rather than at the mall or a friends house, OKeeffe said in a prepared statement. A large part of this generations social and emotional development is occurring while on the Internet and on cell phones. Parents need to understand these technologies so they can relate to their childrens online world à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬ and comfortably parent in that world. 1.1 Research Questions How does face book affect the self image or self esteem of its users and about the addiction it causes also the effects of cyber bullying? What are the categories of people mostly affected by these effects of face book? What can be done to avoid or at least reduce the impact of the hazard caused by face book and turn it to our advantage? 1.2 Research objectives 1. To investigate the effects face book has on its users. 2. To investigate the categories of people affected most by the effects caused by face book. 3. To investigate ways to avoid or reduce such conflicts on face book and how to improve self worth even while using the social network. 2.0 THE PROBLEM STATEMENT Face book was invented by a Mark Zuckerberg in 2004, he is a computer programmer and internet entrepreneur (management of face book newsroom {2012}) face book was created as a platform for communication between friends, classmates and the world at large. It was aimed at creating a forum where people can interact freely with each other through their ideas, thoughts, pictures and personal conversations. It took a turn around when it was realized that people started using it as an opportunity to showcase themselves mainly through their pictures and those with more attractive pictures were giving more attention now causing the less attractive to feel unwanted and even a bit depressed. Researchers have proven that it actually detracts from a strong sense of self-worth, (Amanda Forrest and Joanne Wood in  Psychological Science) studied that those with low self-esteem frequently post updates that work against them. They tend to criticize their friends with negative details of their lives, making them less likeable as friends but those with high self esteem were well received. Face book is like a world of fantasy but people take it too serious and tend to be hurt by everything they read or see and are easily hurt when it seems like everyone is having more fun than them. 2.1 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY The main purpose of this research paper is to identify the effects face book has on its users and to find ways to help reduce the problems by giving my opinion and bringing up suggestions in which we can be on face book without feeling bad about ourselves. 2.2 STRUCTURE OF THE RESEARCH: The structure of my research will be as thus: Chapter 1 Introduction The first chapter will discuss the background study and introduction about this research. This includes the research question, objectives and scope of the research amongst others. Chapter 2 Literature Review This section will discuss the secondary data and other relevant information related to my research and the views of previous researchers too. Chapter 3 Research Methods Ill present the various techniques I used for my research and Ill discuss the method of data collection too. Chapter 4 Data Analysis Ill discuss the analysis of the data collected. Chapter 5 Conclusion and Recommendations and Limitations This will be the last chapter Ill discuss about my findings of the research and recommend on solutions I find suitable. Limitations Summary, Bibliography and References. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 INTRODUCTION: The social networking sites are defined by the oxford dictionary as a network of social interactions and personal relationships also a dedicated website or other application which enables users to communicate with each other by posting information, comments, messages, images, etc (online oxford advanced dictionary) These social networking sites can be seen as a site which lays its focus on connecting people who share common interests, or activities. It provides a means which enables users to interact with others over the internet that is instant messaging or email. These sites are meant to aid users share interests, ideas, activities etc with other people in the same network groups. Below are examples of well known social networking sites. Facebook Twitter Badoo Bebo Hi5 Tagged Skyrock Flicker Youtube Linkedin Facebook is a renowned social network site which was established in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg alongside his roommates and fellow Harvard University students Carlson, Nicholas (March 5, 2010)At Last à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬The Full Story Of How Facebook Was Founded. At first the membership of the site was limited only to the founders and students of Harvard University it was however extended to other students in Boston and gradually it spread to other Universities in the United States and now all over the world. It is without a doubt the most popular social network site on the internet and all over the world. I believe facebook Brings together every kind of social group in one place and allows them interact, I believe everyone have different reasons why they join Facebook, some for businesses, pleasure, catching up with old friends or making new ones, some to discover the trend in music or arts or advertise their products or businesses it can be used in a lot of ways and honestly it depends on what it can do for you, while some have found it to be very beneficial and advantageous, others have really had a tough time on it. I will be discussing some of the advantages as well as disadvantages of Facebook as a social networking site below: Advantages: it is undeniable that it has become a very good form of communication because it has become universal and almost everyone has a Facebook account whether they are active or not; it helps people keep in touch with the world or reconnect old friends, or even help people meet and make new friends. Also it is now one of the best ways to stay informed about the latest news, business, fashion trends, arts, music and a whole lot of things. Well we can see that these social networks interconnects family, friends through constant communication or being up to date in each others lives when it is impossible to communicate face to face. Social networks since they began have made it easier for everyone to be more involved and educated about whats going on around the world. People in Africa can meet and learn things about people in the UK and vice versa there is no barrier geographically. There has been an increase in inter racial friendship and more knowledge about other cultures, beli efs and ethics are being learnt daily. Before social media sites began, we gained knowledge about other countries or people mainly through the media {TV, radio, newspapers etc.} but now we dont really need the media because with the social sites we can learn about all we need to know by interacting personally with citizens of the country or see the news from different perspective in an unbiased way, and sometimes we stay more informed with this sites because not everyone watches the news or read the papers, but one can accidentally read or hear about it on social networks. It has in a huge way helped people to air their views and opinions on certain issues, people can talk freely about politics, music, arts and so many other issues, even celebrities now have an easier avenue to inform their fans on the tours, their lifestyles, and also determine their fan base all around the world. Interestingly, some of these sites such as facebook have helped in solving some crimes, e.g. there was a case of some criminals who had stolen and came on facebook and bragged about it. They were tracked down by the authorities through that. It is also used as a forum to raise funds for charities or raising awareness about certain illnesses. There is an instance of a life being saved by an organ donor because of a post on a facebook. These social networks are free so its a cheaper way to keep in touch with people and for business owners it doesnt cost them anything to advertise their products and keep in touch with their consumers. From all the points above we can see that these social networking sites help us broaden our knowledge and widen our culture. Disadvantages: Just as everything with an advantage it also has its disadvantages. Personally I think the disadvantages have a larger and most standing effect, which is one of the reasons why I have chosen to talk about them. One of the most common is identity theft or fraud. Overtime these sites have been used by people to scam and assume the identities of whoever they want to Impersonate, most of the accounts are hacked into or pictures of people taken due to the low level of privacy people have on these sites and are used for fraudulent purposes. Another great disadvantage I want to consider is the Addiction; these sites can be so addictive and time consuming that the individual loses the will to do anything else except stay online at all times, cyber bullying is another great disadvantage because this affects the individual deeply and has been the cause of depression which leads to suicide. Our self esteem and self image are at a huge risk because the world is becoming more diffi cult to please and certain standards are being raised that one has to meet up to, a lot of people have to bother with self image and self esteem issues everyday of their lives and now with all these social networks everywhere it has become harder to deal with because they out their lives out there hoping to be appreciated but in return get bullied or made fun of, this will hurt their pride and demoralize them even. I intend to carefully take out time and explain these terms I mentioned above and show how they pose as a life changing problem to individuals. Almost everyone these days has access to the internet, even if they dont have a laptop or desktop they have their hand phones which they can equally use to access facebook. Addiction Can be defined as  the continued use of a  mood altering substance  or behaviour despite adverse dependency consequences (Angres DH, Bettinardi-Angres 2008),  or a neurological impairment leading to such behaviours. {American Society for Addiction, Medicine (2012)}. It occurs when a person is engaged in activities that are pleasurable to them but as they engage more often it becomes a compulsion than voluntary act and it begins to interfere with their normal daily activities, schedules or responsibilities. Addiction can either be on substance dependence or drug addiction which is the most common or behavioural addiction (sex, internet, gambling etc). Medilexicons  medical dictionary defined it as  Habitual psychological or physiologic dependence on a substance or practice that is beyond voluntary control. Fig 2: Facebook Addiction Behavioural Addiction: This is the type of addiction that doesnt depend on drugs; it is in no way substance-related {Albrecht U, Kirschner NE, GrÃÆ' ¼sser SM. (2007)}, it can also be known as a process addiction (Shaffer, Howard J. Understanding the means and objects of addiction: Technology, the internet, and gambling) It includes an exigency to frequently engage in a particular activity until there is a serious destructive repercussion which affects the individual physically, socially, mentally, and even financially. The proof of definite addiction is known when despite all these consequences the individual remains persistent. Its not in all cases that the substance or behaviour which causes addiction is harmful; sometimes a seemingly harmless activity or substance like chocolate, internet, coffee and a lot more arent harmful in nature but the excessive and repeated use of them can lead to a strong addiction and become harmful. The facebook addiction is a behavioural one its Addiction can lead to over-exhilaration, and cause apprehension and stress, wreck relationships, and can stand as a menace  to the family entity. The lack of interpersonal physical attraction can be quite harmful. Previous studies have shown that facebook can be very addictive because people stay on the internet all day, not only through laptops or desktops but through hand phones too because most of these sites now have applications on phone, thereby making it easier for accessibility at any time and place. People actually ignore their real lives for social networks, they prefer to spend time with their online friends than face real life, theres been complains from a lot of parents about their kids addiction to social networks and how it distracts them even from doing homework , house chores and prevents them from socializing with their peers. These social networks place no limit to what information can be placed out there for everyone to see; most people tend to share too much information about themselves or family or even about others. Most times this information has encouraged cyber-stalking. Besides the addiction and it makes its users to decline in face to face communication with other individuals, people hide behind the computer screen and assume any sort of personality but in reality they are far from the appearances they put up on the internet, it is also scary because in as much as they can assume a personality so can anyone else, so people are usually deceived by whatever they are led to believe on these social networks. In my country Nigeria, there was an incident which occurred involving a girl who met some guys on facebook and started off as friends and got very close and they decided after a while to meet up physically, things turned out for the worse when she got raped by them and almost killed. She was a vi ctim because she was gullible and got carried away by everything she perceived them to be on facebook. It is so evident to see that anyone can assume any identity on the internet. Theres an outline below on the effects of facebook addiction on us: Concentration loss: when our ability to concentrate is being jeopardized it causes disruptions and makes us always lag behind in our work or everyday life. Stress: this is an important effect of facebook addiction; it causes us to be stressed out thereby lowering our emotional ability to understand. The need to always be online: it gives us this endless need to always be online even if theres nothing serious to do online. Comparison: people mostly use facebook to show-off so when we see all the fun activities and happy posts of people it breeds jealousy and resentment. It makes us unconsciously compare our lives and activities to others Living an imaginary life: it debilitates our contentment with real life happenings and can lead to depression. Time wastage: it occupies our time thereby leaving us no room to engage in other profitable activities. Physically: it can affect us physically because sitting for long and staring at the computer can either hurt our backs or make our eyes blur. Mental disorder: it can cause us to deteriorate in other activities and cause stress. When a point is reached where the tension and despair supersedes any pleasure or benefit which was once gotten from the habit then it is safe to say the individual is very addicted to that cause. Cyber bullying This is the type of bullying which take place via electronic devices, either through email, instant messaging, cell phones, chat rooms etc. People use technology to harass or send threats has been on the increase since social networking sites became so popular; it has a very devastating impact on its victims such as depression, loneliness and suicide. People are so mean online, whether its friends or people you know to total strangers. Cyber bullying can take form in different ways: Through abusive texts and emails Posting nasty messages or pictures Emulating others online Ignoring others online Inappropriate tagging of pictures Inappropriate conversations Posting personal information about people online Sometimes it is even stretched out by an individuals account being hacked into and the hacker poses as the individual and uses the account to harm the individuals personality or reputation. There are also so many instances on suicidal cases caused by cyber bullying but despite all these it is still on the increase and more people are affected daily. Cyber bullying is very different from bullying that take place face to face because; The bully can assume a sense of anonymity. It is very difficult to avoid and can take place at any time sometimes for 24hrs. The individual can be targeted wherever they are, it can be obtrusive. It takes place on a social platform so it has a larger number of spectators. Anonymity is an active compelling force, the thought of being hidden behind a fake-screen name gives us this feeling of invincibility and invisibility so we feel we can do and say anything we want. Nevertheless on facebook we are not as anonymous as we think in fact there can hardly be anonymity on facebook, most times even with our identities being known we still act inappropriately. Were less self-conscious on facebook because the interactions happen over cyberspace and we cant see the physical response of the individual we are remitting. In such cases it is hard to lay emphasis on things that actually matter like getting to know each other and our differences; instead we spend our time barbarizing each other. When online people forget the term treat others how you would want to be treated they just act totally out of place. Ive seen good, nice people behave like jerks on facebook just because they feel invincible. Fig 3: Cyber bullying Mostly self image and self esteem are mistaken to be the same thing, even though they are closely related they are different. Self Image It is known as the mental picture which one has already in their minds about themselves or about how others view them. Wikipedia online defines it as the picture in ones mind that is hard to change, that represents not only details that are feasibly available to objective probe by others (height, weight, hair colour, etc.), but also personal experiences or by  the judgments of others which also contributed in teaching the person about themselves or how they perceive themselves What do you believe people think about you? Self image can be seen from three different perspectives: The first is an outcome of how the individual sees himself The second results from how others actually see the individual Lastly, this results from how the individual perceives others see him. Sometimes these perspectives might not be the truth about an individual and at times all three can be accurate. Self image is a very important part of anyones life because it has a huge impact on how we live and relate with others. Poor self-image is mostly as a result of so much negativity of criticisms one has heard about themselves either from childhood or even as grownups. Children and teenagers mostly fall victims of poor self-image because they are still very vulnerable and prone to believe anything people say about them, mostly because they are not very mature to evaluate those things said and able build a good self-esteem on their own. There are some set of people who naturally have this feeling of unworthiness they are easily exposed to exhibit a poor self-image. Poor self-image can arise mostly from the type of personality one has or exhibits. When evaluating others the level of self-esteem of the evaluator comes into play because it is most likely that they will present their judgement based on how they feel about themselves. When individuals evaluate someone, they are less likely to evaluate that person negatively if their self-images had been strengthened through a self-affirmation procedure, and vice-versa they are likely to evaluate that person stereotypically if their self-images have been intimidated by negative feedback Fein, S., Spencer, S.J. (1997. Individuals may restore their self-esteem by disparaging the member of a stereotyped group Florack, A., Scarabis, M., Gosejohann, S. (2005) Our self image can be greatly affected by what we see or hear about ourselves. Fig. 4: Self image I believe Social networks are a form of an illusion which allows people to live in a fantasy and are allowed to exaggerate on anything they deem fit. Self Esteem This Reflects on the total emotional appraisal of an individual on his worth. It is a way one judges himself or the attitude with which one views himself; it circumscribes ones belief of ones self {for example, am I worthy, and am I adequate} it swirls up deep emotions such as elation, depression, hate, pride and embarrassment (John P. 2009). The self-concept is what we think about self; self-esteem is the positive and negative evaluations of our self and our feelings towards it (E.R. Smith/D. M. Mackie, Social Psychology 2007). Self-esteem is closely related to self consciousness; it explains the self judgemental side of an individual which appends worthiness feelings, discouragement and closely related feelings. Self esteem has very little to do with how others view the individual it is mainly ones self-judgement of their appetency. It can also be seen as self confidence or self respect, it is a very important and delicate part of our existence because it affects even the life changing decisions we make, helps us face challenges in life, it even broadens our understanding on solving problems. It also gives us a sense to our right to be happy and respected. Self-esteem is being hurt when individuals feel inconsistent with the happenings of the world or they feel centred in a way of not being able to meet up to standards, or even feelings that they are being closely watched and scrutinised for one reason or the other. It is closely related to our well being psychologically so it is to be treated with carefulness as a delicate part of us. Self worth, self respect, self integrity and self regard are all synonyms associated with self esteem. It is an opinion of how people see themselves, for example personally I consider myself a good person and I feel particularly good about it, now that is my self esteem it is my opinion about myself but if everyone around me thinks differently and constantly points out how bad of a person I am, eventually these thoughts will begin to seem true to me and that is the same way facebook affects our self esteem and messes our mind up. Everyone no matter how perfect they seem face lack of confidence in some instances, but some people just have a very low opinion of themselves with this constant feeling of being inadequate, so they are very sad and unsatisfied with themselves almost all the time, and its difficult though not impossible to change this mindset so it causes anxiety and depression to the individual. Having a high self esteem is healthy because it boosts ones likeness for their selves thereby making it easy to set and accomplish certain goals. Fig 5: Self esteem There are certain traits which an individual with low self esteem portrays which are very evident, below are the most common. Always ignoring their positive or good qualities Exorbitantly critical about themselves. Always uses contravening words to describe themselves. E.g. Ugly, fat, foolish, etc. They always indulge in negative self talk which curtails them talking bad about themselves to themselves. Hardly believes in compliments, sometimes might even misunderstand it and think theyre being made fun of instead. Always blames themselves for everything that goes wrong, even uncontrollable forces or actions of people Never takes credit for their accomplishments, instead believes luck plays a huge role in it. Self esteems main problems occurs when individuals compares themselves with others, it causes a deep frustration and also when they dont get more comments or likes as they feel they deserve or even try to compare it to that of their friends through. This can cause serious strife and unnecessary envy amongst friends or even family members. CHAPTER THREE RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Introduction This chapter of my research study is focused on the research methodology which was used in this project, as well as identifying and sampling the population involved. The research hypothesis and framework were developed in this chapter, also the methods that were used in distributing and collecting the questionnaire will also be discussed. Furthermore it explains the methods used to conduct the research elements of the study, so it stretches out to discuss the research design, the purpose for the research, subjects and material tools and steps taken. The scope of the study will be identified here. I will specify the sources of my information, the technique of research, and the methodology of sampling. Type of Research This research is an applied one made with an effort to expand my knowledge and any other researcher in the field of social networks and most especially its effects. It will also serve as a fundamental for future research by scholars in that particular field. Purpose of the research This study is an analytical research which seeks out to explain how these social networking sites work and the long lasting effects it has on us. This research is expository also as it can help users of facebook aware of the damage it can create for them, t

Friday, October 25, 2019

Theories of Post-Coloniality: Edward W. Said and W.B. Yeats :: Essays Papers

Theories of Post-Coloniality: Edward W. Said and W.B. Yeats (Citations from Said’s essay â€Å"Yeats and Decolonization† as published by Bay Press, not the Field Day pamphlet) Post-colonial theory, a mode of thought which accepts European Imperialism as a historical fact and attempts to address nations touched by colonial enterprises, has as yet failed to adequately consider Ireland as a post-colonial nation. Undoubtedly, Ireland is a post-colonial nation (where ‘post-’colonial refers to any consequence of colonial contact) with a body of literary work that may be read productively as post-colonial. Although colonialism, as a subject for Irish criticism and theory, has been tentatively broached (for example, see Celtic Revivals (1985) by Seamus Deane) Edward Said’s lecture â€Å"Yeats and Decolonization†, published as a pamphlet by Field Day in 1988, was an important catalyst for post-colonial study of Irish literature and culture. The premise of this now seminal study is that Yeats was a poet of decolonisation, a muse expressing the Irish experience of the dominant colonial power of Britain. Rather than reading Yeats’s poetry from the conventional perspective of high European modernism Said explains that â€Å"he appears to me, and I am sure many others in the Third World, to belong naturally to the other cultural domain† (3). Using this as his point of departure, Said enters into a line of argument which claims that Yeats was a central figure in debating and asserting an overt drive towards the construction of a national Irish identity as a vital act of decolonisation. Further, Said places Yeats within a global framework of anti-Imperialism, drawing parallels between the Irish poet and Third world writers and theorists such as Fanon, Neruda and Achebe. Though an incredibly influential essay, the reverberations of which may still be felt in Inventing Ireland and other texts, it is also a work that demands close analysis and is replete with short-sighted and ill-informed ideas. Said locates Ireland among territories like India, South America, Africa and Malaysia as a site of colonial contention. In doing so he emphasises Ireland’s role, and thus Irish literature, in colonial history as a member of the peripheral (from a Eurocentric viewpoint) Third World. According to this â€Å"bog dwellers† are paralleled as the Irish counterpart to â€Å"innumerable niggers, .... babus and wogs† (6). Yet, this argument, in retrospect, does not hold. Denis Donoghue (â€Å"Confusion in Irish Studies†) has explicitly condemned post-colonial theory for adopting a global paradigm of colonial experience as a discourse which treats all Empires as homogenous.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Leslie Annexstein & Eileen Ordover Essay

The issue of equity is one that remains and will continue to be relevant to organization managers. This has been particular challenging in industries that have been associated with particular genders, cultures or demographics which has increased the factors affecting individual performance and participation in organizations (Reeve, 2005). As shown in the article for the study, the issue has shown a great sensitivity to developing issues while at the same remains as an effective benchmark of changes in social perspectives. The sentiment expressed highlights not only the role of management in equal employment opportunities. Leslie Annexstein, Eileen Ordover, Levon Esters, Blannie Bowen and Edward Reeve are given credit in particularly for their efforts in the empowerment of women, the disabled as well as bridging social disparities. However, there is also acknowledgement that even with such advancement in research, legislation and social policies, equalitarian ideals are still far from being realized. It is troubling to think that despite legislation and popular acknowledgement of the need and value of diversity and equal opportunity that such disparities would persist. Therefore, the challenge is one that has to be taken up not only in the interest of social responsibility but as a means of ensuring one’s own welfare in the future (pp. 5-6). How can there be real sensitivity for diversity, in particular for language, cultural and social differences? Are current standards and measures able to accommodate for developing needs? What is the long term consequence of the inability to address issues? How the issues impact individual members of society? Reference Reeve, Johnmarshall (2005). Understanding Motivation and Emotion. New York: John Wiley & SonsMook, D. G.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Franz Josef Haydn essays

Franz Josef Haydn essays Franz Josef Haydn was born on March 31 1732, in Rohrau, a village in Austria near the boarder of Hungary. Music was like an instinct for Franz Josef. During the evening Mathias (father) would play the harp, Elizabeth (mother) would sing, as the children sat at their feet and listened. Of these younger Haydns, Franz Josef was most affected by the music he heard, and most clearly showed musical ability. When his father discovered him one day, sitting outside the schoolhouse and pretended to play the violin by scraping two sticks of wood together, he wanted to give his boy the best music training as possible. So he got his relative, Johann Mathias Franklin, a choirmaster, who would teach the boy of six the violin and harpsichord. Hayden later recalled that he received more blows than victuals from his teacher. Haydn composed his first string quartet in 1755 on the encouragement of a musical amateur, von Furnberg who conducted chamber music performances at his home. At this time Hayden married Maria Anna Keller, daughter of a wig-maker. This was an ill-fated marriage. She was not interested in her husbands art, frequently using his manuscripts as curling papers. There were endless fights. The couple lived together several unhappy years, and then separated forever. Hayden supplied her with a generous income until the end of his life in 1809. The song that I listened to was symphony number 97 in C Major. It starts like it is a bad, dark place but then it changes into a light beautiful place. The song makes me feel happy and joy filled. It is really upbeat and it makes me think of summer and warm sunny days. Some parts get really soft and then they get low, alarming, and loud. My favorite part is in the ending when it goes real high then low then high again and then holds a long low note. I really enjoyed this song and I like dancing to it. ...

Monday, October 21, 2019

How to Prepare for an Exam Two Months Away by Yourself

How to Prepare for an Exam Two Months Away by Yourself If youre taking a standardized test like the SAT or GRE (or others) and are planning to prep by yourself, you need months, not weeks or days to prepare for a test like this. Now some people will try to prepare for a test like this by cramming just a few minutes ahead of time, but a good test score is not in their future! In your case, youve given yourself two months, which is a decent amount of time to prepare for an exam like the one youre taking. Heres the study schedule. Month 1 Preparation for the SAT Week 1 Make sure youve registered for your exam!Buy a test prep book for your specific test.  Review the dos and donts of studying with test prep books. Review the test basics: contents, length, price, test dates, registration facts, testing strategies, etc.Get a baseline score. Take one of the full-length practice tests inside the book to see what score youd get if you took the test today. Make note of that score.  Map out your time with a time management chart to see where test prep can fit in. Rearrange your schedule if necessary to accommodate test prep. Week 2 Begin coursework with your weakest subject (#1) as demonstrated by the baseline score.Learn the components of #1 fully: types of questions asked, amount of time needed, skills required, methods of solving types of questions, knowledge tested.  Answer #1 practice questions, reviewing answers after each one. Determine where youre making mistakes and correct your methods. Keep learning content of this section.Take a practice test on #1 to determine level of improvement from baseline score.Fine tune #1 by going over questions missed to determine what level of knowledge youre missing. Reread information until you know it! Week 3 Move on to next weakest subject (#2). Learn the components of #2 fully: types of questions asked, amount of time needed, skills required, methods of solving types of questions, etc.Answer #2 practice questions, reviewing answers after each one. Determine where youre making mistakes and correct your methods.Take a practice test on #2 to determine level of improvement from baselineFine tune #2 by going over questions missed to determine what level of knowledge youre missing. Review that material. Week 4 Move on to strongest subject/s (#3). Learn the components of #3 fully (and 4 and 5 if you have more than three sections on the test) (types of questions asked, amount of time needed, skills required, methods of solving types of questions, etc.)Answer practice questions on #3 (4 and 5).Take a practice test on #3 (4 and 5) to determine level of improvement from baselineFine tune #3 (4 and 5) by going over questions missed to determine what level of knowledge youre missing. Review that material. Month 2  Preparation for the SAT Week 1 Take a full-length practice test, simulating the testing environment as much as possible with time constraints, desk, limited breaks, etc.Grade your practice test and cross-check every wrong answer with the explanation for your wrong answer. Determine what youve missed and what you need to do to improve. Go over the sections where you missed the most.   Week 2 Take another full-length practice test, simulating the testing environment again. Again, go through every missed problem, looking for weaknesses. Go back to the book and see if you can improve by yourself. Still need additional help? Find a tutor who can meet with you for a last-minute session.   Week 3 Go back through weakest section (#1) and work through the problems again, memorizing testing strategies, reviewing practice problems, and whittling down the time it takes you to work through the questions.Review with a tutor if youre still not mastering the content.   Week 4 Eat brain food.Get plenty of sleepReview test tips to make your test-taking more efficient.Plan some fun evenings to help you relaxTwo days before the test, read testing strategies for the exam, memorize the testing directions as printed in the book or online.  Pack your testing supplies the night before: an approved calculator if youre allowed to have one, sharpened #2 pencils with a soft eraser, registration ticket, photo ID, watch, snacks or drinks for breaks.Relax. You did it! You studied successfully for your test, and youre ready. So take a deep breath, okay?

Saturday, October 19, 2019

A Dirty Job Chapter 2

After that, it was a memory out of a sleepwalk, scenes filmed from a zombie’s eye socket, as he ambled undead through explanations, accusations, preparations, and ceremony. â€Å"It’s called a cerebral thromboembolism,† the doctor had said. â€Å"A blood clot forms in the legs or pelvis during labor, then moves to the brain, cutting off the blood supply. It’s very rare, but it happens. There was nothing we could do. Even if the crash team had been able to revive her, she’d have had massive brain damage. There was no pain. She probably just felt sleepy and passed.† Charlie whispered to keep from screaming, â€Å"The man in mint green! He did something to her. He injected her with something. He was there and he knew that she was dying. I saw him when I brought her CD back.† They showed him the security tapes – the nurse, the doctor, the hospital’s administrators and lawyers – they all watched the black-and-white images of him leaving Rachel’s room, of the empty hallway, of his returning to her room. No tall black man dressed in mint green. They didn’t even find the CD. Sleep deprivation, they said. Hallucination brought on by exhaustion. Trauma. They gave him drugs to sleep, drugs for anxiety, drugs for depression, and they sent him home with his baby daughter. Charlie’s older sister, Jane, held baby Sophie as they spoke over Rachel and buried her on the second day. He didn’t remember picking out a casket or making arrangements. It was more of the somnambulant dream: his in-laws moving to and fro in black, like tottering specters, spouting the inadequate clichs of condolence: We’re so sorry. She was so young. What a tragedy. If there’s anything we can do†¦ Rachel’s father and mother held him, their heads pressed together in the apex of a tripod. The slate floor in the funeral-home foyer spotted with their tears. Every time Charlie felt the shoulders of the older man heave with a sob, he felt his own heart break again. Saul took Charlie’s face in his hands and said, â€Å"You can’t imagine, because I can’t imagine.† But Charlie could imagine, because he was a Beta Male, and imagination was his curse; and he could imagine because he had lost Rachel and now he had a daughter, that tiny stranger sleeping in his sister’s arms. He could imagine the man in mint green taking her. Charlie looked at the tear-spotted floor and said, â€Å"That’s why most funeral homes are carpeted. Someone could slip.† â€Å"Poor boy,† said Rachel’s mother. â€Å"We’ll sit shivah with you, of course.† Charlie made his way across the room to his sister, Jane, who wore a man’s double-breasted suit in charcoal pinstripe gabardine, that along with her severe eighties pop-star hairstyle and the infant in the pink blanket that she held, made her appear not so much androgynous as confused. Charlie thought the suit actually looked better on her than it did on him, but she should have asked him for permission to wear it nonetheless. â€Å"I can’t do this,† he said. He let himself fall forward until the receded peninsula of dark hair touched her gelled Flock of Seagulls platinum flip. It seemed like the best posture for sharing grief, this forehead lean, and it reminded him of standing drunkenly at a urinal and falling forward until his head hit the wall. Despair. â€Å"You’re doing fine,† Jane said. â€Å"Nobody’s good at this.† â€Å"What the fuck’s a shivah?† â€Å"I think it’s that Hindu god with all the arms.† â€Å"That can’t be right. The Goldsteins are going to sit on it with me.† â€Å"Didn’t Rachel teach you anything about being Jewish?† â€Å"I wasn’t paying attention. I thought we had time.† Jane adjusted baby Sophie into a half-back, one-armed carry and put her free hand on the back of Charlie’s neck. â€Å"You’ll be okay, kid.† Seven,† said Mrs. Goldstein. â€Å"Shivah means ‘seven.’ We used to sit for seven days, grieving for the dead, praying. That’s Orthodox, now most people just sit for three.† They sat shivah in Charlie and Rachel’s apartment that overlooked the cable-car line at the corner of Mason and Vallejo Streets. The building was a four-story brick Edwardian (architecturally, not quite the grand courtesan couture of the Victorians, but enough tarty trim and trash to toss off a sailor down a side street) built after the earthquake and fire of 1906 had leveled the whole area of what was now North Beach, Russian Hill, and Chinatown. Charlie and Jane had inherited the building, along with the thrift shop that occupied the ground floor, when their father died four years before. Charlie got the business, the large, double apartment they’d grown up in, and the upkeep on the old building, while Jane got half the rental income and one of the apartments on the top floor with a Bay Bridge view. At the instruction of Mrs. Goldstein, all the mirrors in the house were draped with black fabric and a large candle was placed on the coffee table in the center of the living room. They were supposed to sit on low benches or cushions, neither of which Charlie had in the house, so, for the first time since Rachel’s death, he went downstairs into the thrift shop looking for something they could use. The back stairs descended from a pantry behind the kitchen into the stockroom, where Charlie kept his office among boxes of merchandise waiting to be sorted, priced, and placed in the store. The shop was dark except for the light that filtered in the front window from the streetlights out on Mason Street. Charlie stood there at the foot of the stairs, his hand on the light switch, just staring. Amid the shelves of knickknacks and books, the piles of old radios, the racks of clothes, all of them dark, just lumpy shapes in the dark, he could see objects glowing a dull red, nearly pulsing, like beating hearts. A sweater in the racks, a porcelain figure of a frog in a curio case, out by the front window an old Coca-Cola tray, a pair of shoes – all glowing red. Charlie flipped the switch, fluorescent tubes fired to life across the ceiling, flickering at first, and the shop lit up. The red glow disappeared. â€Å"Okaaaaaaay,† he said to himself, calmly, like everything was just fine now. He flipped off the lights. Glowing red stuff. On the counter, close to where he stood, there was a brass business-card holder cast in the shape of a whooping crane, glowing dull red. He took a second to study it, just to make sure there wasn’t some red light source from outside refracting around the room and making him uneasy for no reason. He stepped into the dark shop, took a closer look, got an angle on the brass cranes. Nope, the brass was definitely pulsing red. He turned and ran back up the steps as fast as he could. He nearly ran over Jane, who stood in the kitchen, rocking Sophie gently in her arms, talking baby talk under her breath. â€Å"What?† Jane said. â€Å"I know you have some big cushions down in the shop somewhere.† â€Å"I can’t,† Charlie said. â€Å"I’m on drugs.† He backed against the refrigerator, like he was holding it hostage. â€Å"I’ll go get them. Here, hold the baby.† â€Å"I can’t, I’m on drugs. I’m hallucinating.† Jane cradled the baby in the crook of her right arm and put a free arm around her younger brother. â€Å"Charlie, you are on antidepressants and antianxiety drugs, not acid. Look around this apartment, there’s not a person here that’s not on something.† Charlie looked through the kitchen pass-through: women in black, most of them middle-aged or older, shaking their heads, men looking stoic, standing around the perimeter of the living room, each holding a stout tumbler of liquor and staring into space. â€Å"See, they’re all fucked up.† â€Å"What about Mom?† Charlie nodded to their mother, who stood out among the other gray-haired women in black because she was draped in silver Navaho jewelry and was so darkly tanned that she appeared to be melting into her old-fashioned when she took a sip. â€Å"Especially Mom,† Jane said. â€Å"I’ll go look for something to sit shivah on. I don’t know why you can’t just use the couches. Now take your daughter.† â€Å"I can’t. I can’t be trusted with her.† â€Å"Take her, bitch!† Jane barked in Charlie’s ear – sort of a whisper bark. It had long ago been determined who was the Alpha Male between them and it was not Charlie. She handed off the baby and cut to the stairs. â€Å"Jane,† Charlie called after her. â€Å"Look around before you turn on the lights. See if you see anything weird, okay?† â€Å"Right. Weird.† She left him standing there in the kitchen, studying his daughter, thinking that her head might be a little oblong, but despite that, she looked a little like Rachel. â€Å"Your mommy loved Aunt Jane,† he said. â€Å"They used to gang up on me in Risk – and Monopoly – and arguments – and cooking.† He slid down the fridge door, sat splayed-legged on the floor, and buried his face in Sophie’s blanket. In the dark, Jane barked her shin on a wooden box full of old telephones. â€Å"Well, this is just stupid,† she said to herself, and flipped on the lights. Nothing weird. Then, because Charlie was many things, but one of them was not crazy, she turned off the lights again, just to be sure that she hadn’t missed something. â€Å"Right. Weird.† There was nothing weird about the store except that she was standing there in the dark rubbing her shin. But then, right before she turned on the light again, she saw someone peering in the front window, making a cup around his eyes to see through the reflection of the streetlights. A homeless guy or drunken tourist, she thought. She moved through the dark shop, between columns of comic books stacked on the floor, to a spot behind a rack of jackets where she could get a clear view of the window, which was filled with cheap cameras, vases, belt buckles, and all manner of objects that Charlie had judged worthy of interest, but obviously not worthy of a smash-and-grab. The guy looked tall, and not homeless, nicely dressed, but all in a single light color, she thought it might be yellow, but it was hard to tell under the streetlights. Could be light green. â€Å"We’re closed,† Jane said, loud enough to be heard through the glass. The man outside peered around the shop, but couldn’t spot her. He stepped back from the window and she could see that he was, indeed, tall. Very tall. The streetlight caught the line of his cheek as he turned. He was also very thin and very black. â€Å"I was looking for the owner,† the tall man said. â€Å"I have something I need to show him.† â€Å"There’s been a death in the family,† Jane said. â€Å"We’ll be closed for the week. Can you come back in a week?† The tall man nodded, looking up and down the street as he did. He rocked on one foot like he was about to bolt, but kept stopping himself, like a sprinter straining against the starting blocks. Jane didn’t move. There were always people out on the street, and it wasn’t even late yet, but this guy was too anxious for the situation. â€Å"Look, if you need to get something appraised – â€Å" â€Å"No,† he cut her off. â€Å"No. Just tell him she’s, no – tell him to look for a package in the mail. I’m not sure when.† Jane smiled to herself. This guy had something – a brooch, a coin, a book – something that he thought was worth some money, maybe something he’d found in his grandmother’s closet. She’d seen it a dozen times. They acted like they’ve found the lost city of Eldorado – they’d come in with it tucked in their coats, or wrapped in a thousand layers of tissue paper and tape. (The more tape, generally, the more worthless the item would turn out to be – there was an equation there somewhere.) Nine times out of ten it was crap. She’d watched her father try to finesse their ego and gently lower the owners into disappointment, convince them that the sentimental value made it priceless, and that he, a lowly secondhand-store owner, couldn’t presume to put a value on it. Charlie, on the other hand, would just tell them that he didn’t know about brooches, or coins, or whatever they had and let someone else bear the b ad news. â€Å"Okay, I’ll tell him,† Jane said from her cover behind the coats. With that, the tall man was away, taking great praying-mantis strides up the street and out of view. Jane shrugged, went back and turned on the lights, then proceeded to search for cushions among the piles. It was a big store, taking up nearly the whole bottom floor of the building, and not particularly well organized, as each system that Charlie adopted seemed to collapse after a few weeks under its own weight, and the result was not so much a patchwork of organizational systems, but a garden of mismatched piles. Lily, the maroon-haired Goth girl who worked for Charlie three afternoons a week, said that the fact that they ever found anything at all was proof of the chaos theory at work, then she would walk away muttering and go out in the alley to smoke clove cigarettes and stare into the Abyss. (Although Charlie noted that the Abyss looked an awful lot like a Dumpster.) It took Jane ten minutes to navigate the aisles and find three cushions that looked wide enough and thick enough that they might work for sitting shivah, and when she returned to Charlie’s apartment she found her brother curled into the fetal position around baby Sophie, asleep on the kitchen floor. The other mourners had completely forgotten about him. â€Å"Hey, doofus.† She nudged his shoulder with her toe and he rolled onto his back, the baby still in his arms. â€Å"These okay?† â€Å"Did you see anything glowing?† Jane dropped the stack of cushions on the floor. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Glowing red. Did you see things in the shop glowing, like pulsating red?† â€Å"No. Did you?† â€Å"Kind of.† â€Å"Give ’em up.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"The drugs. Hand them over. They’re obviously much better than you led me to believe.† â€Å"But you said they were just antianxiety.† â€Å"Give up the drugs. I’ll watch the kid while you shivah.† â€Å"You can’t watch my daughter if you’re on drugs.† â€Å"Fine. Surrender the crumb snatcher and go sit.† Charlie handed the baby up to Jane. â€Å"You have to keep Mom out of the way, too.† â€Å"Oh no, not without drugs.† â€Å"They’re in the medicine cabinet in the master bath. Bottom shelf.† He was sitting on the floor now, rubbing his forehead as if to stretch the skin out over his pain. She kneed him in the shoulder. â€Å"Hey, kid, I’m sorry, you know that, right? Goes without saying, right?† â€Å"Yeah.† A weak smile. She held the baby up by her face, then looked down in adoration, Mother of Jesus style. â€Å"What do you think? I should get one of these, huh?† â€Å"You can borrow mine whenever you need to.† â€Å"Nah, I should get my own. I already feel bad about borrowing your wife.† â€Å"Jane!† â€Å"Kidding! Jeez. You’re such a wuss sometimes. Go sit shivah. Go. Go. Go.† Charlie gathered the cushions and went to the living room to grieve with his in-laws, nervous because the only prayer he knew was â€Å"Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,† and he wasn’t sure that was going to cut it for three full days. Jane forgot to mention the tall guy from the shop. A Dirty Job Chapter 2 After that, it was a memory out of a sleepwalk, scenes filmed from a zombie’s eye socket, as he ambled undead through explanations, accusations, preparations, and ceremony. â€Å"It’s called a cerebral thromboembolism,† the doctor had said. â€Å"A blood clot forms in the legs or pelvis during labor, then moves to the brain, cutting off the blood supply. It’s very rare, but it happens. There was nothing we could do. Even if the crash team had been able to revive her, she’d have had massive brain damage. There was no pain. She probably just felt sleepy and passed.† Charlie whispered to keep from screaming, â€Å"The man in mint green! He did something to her. He injected her with something. He was there and he knew that she was dying. I saw him when I brought her CD back.† They showed him the security tapes – the nurse, the doctor, the hospital’s administrators and lawyers – they all watched the black-and-white images of him leaving Rachel’s room, of the empty hallway, of his returning to her room. No tall black man dressed in mint green. They didn’t even find the CD. Sleep deprivation, they said. Hallucination brought on by exhaustion. Trauma. They gave him drugs to sleep, drugs for anxiety, drugs for depression, and they sent him home with his baby daughter. Charlie’s older sister, Jane, held baby Sophie as they spoke over Rachel and buried her on the second day. He didn’t remember picking out a casket or making arrangements. It was more of the somnambulant dream: his in-laws moving to and fro in black, like tottering specters, spouting the inadequate clichs of condolence: We’re so sorry. She was so young. What a tragedy. If there’s anything we can do†¦ Rachel’s father and mother held him, their heads pressed together in the apex of a tripod. The slate floor in the funeral-home foyer spotted with their tears. Every time Charlie felt the shoulders of the older man heave with a sob, he felt his own heart break again. Saul took Charlie’s face in his hands and said, â€Å"You can’t imagine, because I can’t imagine.† But Charlie could imagine, because he was a Beta Male, and imagination was his curse; and he could imagine because he had lost Rachel and now he had a daughter, that tiny stranger sleeping in his sister’s arms. He could imagine the man in mint green taking her. Charlie looked at the tear-spotted floor and said, â€Å"That’s why most funeral homes are carpeted. Someone could slip.† â€Å"Poor boy,† said Rachel’s mother. â€Å"We’ll sit shivah with you, of course.† Charlie made his way across the room to his sister, Jane, who wore a man’s double-breasted suit in charcoal pinstripe gabardine, that along with her severe eighties pop-star hairstyle and the infant in the pink blanket that she held, made her appear not so much androgynous as confused. Charlie thought the suit actually looked better on her than it did on him, but she should have asked him for permission to wear it nonetheless. â€Å"I can’t do this,† he said. He let himself fall forward until the receded peninsula of dark hair touched her gelled Flock of Seagulls platinum flip. It seemed like the best posture for sharing grief, this forehead lean, and it reminded him of standing drunkenly at a urinal and falling forward until his head hit the wall. Despair. â€Å"You’re doing fine,† Jane said. â€Å"Nobody’s good at this.† â€Å"What the fuck’s a shivah?† â€Å"I think it’s that Hindu god with all the arms.† â€Å"That can’t be right. The Goldsteins are going to sit on it with me.† â€Å"Didn’t Rachel teach you anything about being Jewish?† â€Å"I wasn’t paying attention. I thought we had time.† Jane adjusted baby Sophie into a half-back, one-armed carry and put her free hand on the back of Charlie’s neck. â€Å"You’ll be okay, kid.† Seven,† said Mrs. Goldstein. â€Å"Shivah means ‘seven.’ We used to sit for seven days, grieving for the dead, praying. That’s Orthodox, now most people just sit for three.† They sat shivah in Charlie and Rachel’s apartment that overlooked the cable-car line at the corner of Mason and Vallejo Streets. The building was a four-story brick Edwardian (architecturally, not quite the grand courtesan couture of the Victorians, but enough tarty trim and trash to toss off a sailor down a side street) built after the earthquake and fire of 1906 had leveled the whole area of what was now North Beach, Russian Hill, and Chinatown. Charlie and Jane had inherited the building, along with the thrift shop that occupied the ground floor, when their father died four years before. Charlie got the business, the large, double apartment they’d grown up in, and the upkeep on the old building, while Jane got half the rental income and one of the apartments on the top floor with a Bay Bridge view. At the instruction of Mrs. Goldstein, all the mirrors in the house were draped with black fabric and a large candle was placed on the coffee table in the center of the living room. They were supposed to sit on low benches or cushions, neither of which Charlie had in the house, so, for the first time since Rachel’s death, he went downstairs into the thrift shop looking for something they could use. The back stairs descended from a pantry behind the kitchen into the stockroom, where Charlie kept his office among boxes of merchandise waiting to be sorted, priced, and placed in the store. The shop was dark except for the light that filtered in the front window from the streetlights out on Mason Street. Charlie stood there at the foot of the stairs, his hand on the light switch, just staring. Amid the shelves of knickknacks and books, the piles of old radios, the racks of clothes, all of them dark, just lumpy shapes in the dark, he could see objects glowing a dull red, nearly pulsing, like beating hearts. A sweater in the racks, a porcelain figure of a frog in a curio case, out by the front window an old Coca-Cola tray, a pair of shoes – all glowing red. Charlie flipped the switch, fluorescent tubes fired to life across the ceiling, flickering at first, and the shop lit up. The red glow disappeared. â€Å"Okaaaaaaay,† he said to himself, calmly, like everything was just fine now. He flipped off the lights. Glowing red stuff. On the counter, close to where he stood, there was a brass business-card holder cast in the shape of a whooping crane, glowing dull red. He took a second to study it, just to make sure there wasn’t some red light source from outside refracting around the room and making him uneasy for no reason. He stepped into the dark shop, took a closer look, got an angle on the brass cranes. Nope, the brass was definitely pulsing red. He turned and ran back up the steps as fast as he could. He nearly ran over Jane, who stood in the kitchen, rocking Sophie gently in her arms, talking baby talk under her breath. â€Å"What?† Jane said. â€Å"I know you have some big cushions down in the shop somewhere.† â€Å"I can’t,† Charlie said. â€Å"I’m on drugs.† He backed against the refrigerator, like he was holding it hostage. â€Å"I’ll go get them. Here, hold the baby.† â€Å"I can’t, I’m on drugs. I’m hallucinating.† Jane cradled the baby in the crook of her right arm and put a free arm around her younger brother. â€Å"Charlie, you are on antidepressants and antianxiety drugs, not acid. Look around this apartment, there’s not a person here that’s not on something.† Charlie looked through the kitchen pass-through: women in black, most of them middle-aged or older, shaking their heads, men looking stoic, standing around the perimeter of the living room, each holding a stout tumbler of liquor and staring into space. â€Å"See, they’re all fucked up.† â€Å"What about Mom?† Charlie nodded to their mother, who stood out among the other gray-haired women in black because she was draped in silver Navaho jewelry and was so darkly tanned that she appeared to be melting into her old-fashioned when she took a sip. â€Å"Especially Mom,† Jane said. â€Å"I’ll go look for something to sit shivah on. I don’t know why you can’t just use the couches. Now take your daughter.† â€Å"I can’t. I can’t be trusted with her.† â€Å"Take her, bitch!† Jane barked in Charlie’s ear – sort of a whisper bark. It had long ago been determined who was the Alpha Male between them and it was not Charlie. She handed off the baby and cut to the stairs. â€Å"Jane,† Charlie called after her. â€Å"Look around before you turn on the lights. See if you see anything weird, okay?† â€Å"Right. Weird.† She left him standing there in the kitchen, studying his daughter, thinking that her head might be a little oblong, but despite that, she looked a little like Rachel. â€Å"Your mommy loved Aunt Jane,† he said. â€Å"They used to gang up on me in Risk – and Monopoly – and arguments – and cooking.† He slid down the fridge door, sat splayed-legged on the floor, and buried his face in Sophie’s blanket. In the dark, Jane barked her shin on a wooden box full of old telephones. â€Å"Well, this is just stupid,† she said to herself, and flipped on the lights. Nothing weird. Then, because Charlie was many things, but one of them was not crazy, she turned off the lights again, just to be sure that she hadn’t missed something. â€Å"Right. Weird.† There was nothing weird about the store except that she was standing there in the dark rubbing her shin. But then, right before she turned on the light again, she saw someone peering in the front window, making a cup around his eyes to see through the reflection of the streetlights. A homeless guy or drunken tourist, she thought. She moved through the dark shop, between columns of comic books stacked on the floor, to a spot behind a rack of jackets where she could get a clear view of the window, which was filled with cheap cameras, vases, belt buckles, and all manner of objects that Charlie had judged worthy of interest, but obviously not worthy of a smash-and-grab. The guy looked tall, and not homeless, nicely dressed, but all in a single light color, she thought it might be yellow, but it was hard to tell under the streetlights. Could be light green. â€Å"We’re closed,† Jane said, loud enough to be heard through the glass. The man outside peered around the shop, but couldn’t spot her. He stepped back from the window and she could see that he was, indeed, tall. Very tall. The streetlight caught the line of his cheek as he turned. He was also very thin and very black. â€Å"I was looking for the owner,† the tall man said. â€Å"I have something I need to show him.† â€Å"There’s been a death in the family,† Jane said. â€Å"We’ll be closed for the week. Can you come back in a week?† The tall man nodded, looking up and down the street as he did. He rocked on one foot like he was about to bolt, but kept stopping himself, like a sprinter straining against the starting blocks. Jane didn’t move. There were always people out on the street, and it wasn’t even late yet, but this guy was too anxious for the situation. â€Å"Look, if you need to get something appraised – â€Å" â€Å"No,† he cut her off. â€Å"No. Just tell him she’s, no – tell him to look for a package in the mail. I’m not sure when.† Jane smiled to herself. This guy had something – a brooch, a coin, a book – something that he thought was worth some money, maybe something he’d found in his grandmother’s closet. She’d seen it a dozen times. They acted like they’ve found the lost city of Eldorado – they’d come in with it tucked in their coats, or wrapped in a thousand layers of tissue paper and tape. (The more tape, generally, the more worthless the item would turn out to be – there was an equation there somewhere.) Nine times out of ten it was crap. She’d watched her father try to finesse their ego and gently lower the owners into disappointment, convince them that the sentimental value made it priceless, and that he, a lowly secondhand-store owner, couldn’t presume to put a value on it. Charlie, on the other hand, would just tell them that he didn’t know about brooches, or coins, or whatever they had and let someone else bear the b ad news. â€Å"Okay, I’ll tell him,† Jane said from her cover behind the coats. With that, the tall man was away, taking great praying-mantis strides up the street and out of view. Jane shrugged, went back and turned on the lights, then proceeded to search for cushions among the piles. It was a big store, taking up nearly the whole bottom floor of the building, and not particularly well organized, as each system that Charlie adopted seemed to collapse after a few weeks under its own weight, and the result was not so much a patchwork of organizational systems, but a garden of mismatched piles. Lily, the maroon-haired Goth girl who worked for Charlie three afternoons a week, said that the fact that they ever found anything at all was proof of the chaos theory at work, then she would walk away muttering and go out in the alley to smoke clove cigarettes and stare into the Abyss. (Although Charlie noted that the Abyss looked an awful lot like a Dumpster.) It took Jane ten minutes to navigate the aisles and find three cushions that looked wide enough and thick enough that they might work for sitting shivah, and when she returned to Charlie’s apartment she found her brother curled into the fetal position around baby Sophie, asleep on the kitchen floor. The other mourners had completely forgotten about him. â€Å"Hey, doofus.† She nudged his shoulder with her toe and he rolled onto his back, the baby still in his arms. â€Å"These okay?† â€Å"Did you see anything glowing?† Jane dropped the stack of cushions on the floor. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Glowing red. Did you see things in the shop glowing, like pulsating red?† â€Å"No. Did you?† â€Å"Kind of.† â€Å"Give ’em up.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"The drugs. Hand them over. They’re obviously much better than you led me to believe.† â€Å"But you said they were just antianxiety.† â€Å"Give up the drugs. I’ll watch the kid while you shivah.† â€Å"You can’t watch my daughter if you’re on drugs.† â€Å"Fine. Surrender the crumb snatcher and go sit.† Charlie handed the baby up to Jane. â€Å"You have to keep Mom out of the way, too.† â€Å"Oh no, not without drugs.† â€Å"They’re in the medicine cabinet in the master bath. Bottom shelf.† He was sitting on the floor now, rubbing his forehead as if to stretch the skin out over his pain. She kneed him in the shoulder. â€Å"Hey, kid, I’m sorry, you know that, right? Goes without saying, right?† â€Å"Yeah.† A weak smile. She held the baby up by her face, then looked down in adoration, Mother of Jesus style. â€Å"What do you think? I should get one of these, huh?† â€Å"You can borrow mine whenever you need to.† â€Å"Nah, I should get my own. I already feel bad about borrowing your wife.† â€Å"Jane!† â€Å"Kidding! Jeez. You’re such a wuss sometimes. Go sit shivah. Go. Go. Go.† Charlie gathered the cushions and went to the living room to grieve with his in-laws, nervous because the only prayer he knew was â€Å"Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep,† and he wasn’t sure that was going to cut it for three full days. Jane forgot to mention the tall guy from the shop.

Friday, October 18, 2019

Dad The Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Dad The - Movie Review Example For DAD we can say that the sender that is the director has been able to successfully transmit the message of family ties to the receiver that is the audience through an effective channel that is the movie. Along with the sensitive issue which has been handled by the movie very efficiently, the movie has also shown perfect physical appearance of actors through make-up and the artifacts which have been used were also of high quality. Thus the movie has achieved both technically as well as aesthetically. Dad was an old man who had retired from his blue collar job and his wife Bette (played by Olympia Dukakis) was constantly regulating and complementing his life. It is true that work is worship but work cannot go to such an extent that we start avoiding our near and dear ones especially our parents because it is for this bonding of love that we work hard so that we can make them happy. In the movie we see that John Tremont, son of Jake Tremont is a workaholic and his only goal in life is work more and more. Suddenly when his father fell sick John returns to his family and realizes that he was missing one of the best things of life that is family ties and in the process he rediscovers his emotional self which is very different from the cognitive self and the material self and he says after returning, â€Å"This place hasnt changed a bit†. The movie works as an intensifying instrument for family ties. As John returns a feeling of remorse is triggered in him and he decides to let go off the past and start anew. Jake is a man of high self-esteem and is not ready to take assistance from anybody but his pathetic physical condition pushes hi m towards a situation of acceptance. He is as if engulfed by a fallacy of helplessness. The movie was basically hinting on the symbiotic relationship of a family life and the trigger words of it which the director wants to portray is â€Å"identify your feelings† towards your close ties. During the

Clinical Journal(s) X4 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Clinical Journal(s) X4 - Research Paper Example A yellow bracelet and socks were worn by the patient to provide warning of the falls precaution requirement for the patient. Issue Encountered I observed the patient walking in the unit, and also moving out of the unit, without being stopped by any of the staff nurses. The issues here are the negligence of a system put in place for patient safety, and the confusion in me whether to intervene or not. Ultimately, I did warn the patient not to ambulate in the unit and also out of the unit. Questions Related to Practice Evidence from a long-term study of a large number of post operative patients in surgical units shows that 1.6% of surgical inpatients have one or more postoperative falls, with significant morbidity risk (Church et al, 2011). A possible cause of this risk for falls in postoperative patients is the use of strong analgesics of the opiate and opiate-like group to provide pain relief. These pain medications carry a high risk of falls in patients, from dizziness that is caused by them (Vestergaard, 2008). Recognition of the fall risk in postoperative patients assists in putting in place systems to reduce the risk of falls for patient safety. Effective falls prevention systems in hospitals may be costly, but taking into consideration the higher economic costs to patients in terms of morbidity, length of stay in hospitals, and costs associated with it, falls prevention systems are useful in hospitals (Spetz, Jacobs & Hatler, 2007). In this hospital a yellow colored bracelet and socks has been introduced in the system for falls prevention, to warn nurses of the fall risk potential of the patient, and that ambulation has to be prohibited. Yet, none of the staff nurses paid heed to the requirements of the falls prevention system, negating the effect of the falls prevention system, and reducing the safety of the patient. Money is being spent by the hospital to enhance patient safety through the falls prevention system. What needs to be done is for the nurses t o be conscious of the requirements of the falls prevention system, and be more vigilant to prevent postoperative patients with fall risk warnings moving around. Professional Growth I believe I am growing as a nursing professional through the experience of this event. I have learnt that there is the risk for falls in postoperative patients from the analgesics that are administered to them for pain relief. Systems for fall prevention are used for patient safety, which have to be adhered to, for effectiveness in the patient safety objective. I have also learnt that postoperative patients are likely to be unaware of the risk of falls from the pain medication that they take, and are likely to move around. It is the responsibility of the nurses to educate patients on these aspects, with the aim of making them desist from attempting to move around. Action and Non-action The postoperative patient on pain medications was moving around, though he was not supposed. The non-action part lay in n one of the staff nurses taking any steps to prevent his moving around, which may have resulted in a fall. I communicated to the patient that he should not be moving around the unit, and got him back to his bed. In addition, I informed my preceptor of my experience. She took steps to convene a meeting of all nurses, where the discussion was on effective implementation of the falls prevention system that was in use in the hospital. Safety Risk Opiate and opiate-like pain medications administered to

Simplifying Expressions Speech or Presentation Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Simplifying Expressions - Speech or Presentation Example Expressions are solved by moving terms around, combining like terms, applying the real numbers’ properties. There are several ways in which the properties of real numbers help in the simplification of the algebraic expressions. For instance, the distributive property of real numbers is applied to multiply the terms inside the parenthesis with the real numbers outside them which results into the parenthesis removal. Likewise, terms are moved to different places in the expressions with the help of the commulative property of real numbers. Concluding, we have to deal with real numbers in everyday life as the principles discussed in this assignment have application in matters as simple as totaling the price of items bought at a grocery store for the bill to as complex matters as engineering designs and calculations. In all the cases, expressions are solved using the same distributive and commulative properties of real numbers that have been discussed. Hence, knowledge of the principles of real numbers is essential to achieve accurate results in mathematics including