The Land of Opportunity Essay Example

The Land of Opportunity Paper Land of OpportunityHow does social class define who we areWhy do you think History books leave out issues of social and economic inequalityThat opportunity is not equal in AmericaAccording to Loewen, social class is probably the single most important variable in society.From the womb to tomb, it correlates with almost all social characteristics of people that we can measure. * Affluent expectant mothers are more likely to get prenatal care, receive current medical advice, and enjoy general health fitness, and nutrition. * Many poor and working- class mothers- to- be first contact the medical profession in the last month, sometimes the last hours, of their pregnancies. * Rich babies come out healthier and weighing more than poor babies.In terms of education: * Rich teenagers enroll in the Princeton Review or other coaching sessions for the SAT. * To no ones surprise, social class correlates strongly with SAT scores.After college: * Most affluent children get white collared jobs. * Mo st working class children get blue- collar jobs.Social class buys life even in the midst of danger: * More recently, social class played a major role in determining who fought in the Vietnam War: despite the universal drafts, sons of affluent won educational and medical deferments through most of the conflict. * The all-volunteer army that fights in Iraq relies even more on lower class recruits, who sign up as a way out of poverty. * The night the Titanic sank across the Atlantic in 1912, social class proved to be a key determinant of who survived and who perished.The effects of social class in America James W. Loewen, essay â€Å"The Land of Opportunity,† discusses how many times Americans don’t know about social classes and the effects they have on society. Loewen argues that the common American people aren’t given equal opportunity in this day in age. He says that American history books have great influenced what we see

SAT Essay Rubric Full Analysis and Writing Strategies

SAT Essay Rubric Full Analysis and Writing Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips We're about to dive deep into the details of that least beloved* of SAT sections, the SAT essay. Prepare for a discussion of the SAT essay rubric and how the SAT essay is graded based on that. I'll break down what each item on the rubric means and what you need to do to meet those requirements. On the SAT, the last section you'll encounter is the (optional) essay. You have 50 minutes to read a passage, analyze the author's argument, and write an essay. If you don’t write on the assignment, plagiarize, or don't use your own original work, you'll get a 0 on your essay. Otherwise, your essay scoring is done by two graders - each one grades you on a scale of 1-4 in Reading, Analysis, and Writing, for a total essay score out of 8 in each of those three areas. But how do these graders assign your writing a numerical grade? By using an essay scoring guide, or rubric. *may not actually be the least belovà ¨d. Feature image credit: Day 148: the end of time by Bruce Guenter, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. The Complete SAT Essay Grading Rubric: Item-by-Item Breakdown Based on the CollegeBoard’s stated Reading, Analysis, and Writing criteria, I've created the below charts (for easier comparison across score points).For the purpose of going deeper into just what the SAT is looking for in your essay, I've then broken down each category further (with examples). The information in all three charts is taken from the College Board site. Reading The biggest change to the SAT essay (and the thing that really distinguishes it from the ACT essay) is that you are required to read and analyze a text, then write about your analysis of the author's argument in your essay. Your "Reading" grade on the SAT essay reflects how well you were able to demonstrate your understanding of the text and the author's argument in your essay. Score Reading 1 (Inadequate) The response demonstrates little or no comprehension of the source text. The response fails to show an understanding of the text’s central idea(s), and may include only details without reference to central idea(s). The response may contain numerous errors of fact and/or interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes little or no use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating little or no understanding of the source text. 2 (Partial) The response demonstrates some comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) but not of important details. The response may contain errors of fact and/or interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes limited and/or haphazard use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating some understanding of the source text. 3 (Proficient) The response demonstrates effective comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) and important details. The response is free of substantive errors of fact and interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes appropriate use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating an understanding of the source text. 4 (Advanced) The response demonstrates thorough comprehension of the source text. The response shows an understanding of the text’s central idea(s) and of most important details and how they interrelate, demonstrating a comprehensive understanding of the text. The response is free of errors of fact or interpretation with regard to the text. The response makes skillful use of textual evidence (quotations, paraphrases, or both), demonstrating a complete understanding of the source text. You'll need to show your understanding of the text on two different levels: the surface level of getting your facts right and the deeper level of getting the relationship of the details and the central ideas right. Surface Level: Factual Accuracy One of the most important ways you can show you've actually read the passage is making sure you stick to what is said in the text. If you’re writing about things the author didn’t say, or things that contradict other things the author said, your argument will be fundamentally flawed. For instance, take this quotation from a (made-up) passage about why a hot dog is not a sandwich: â€Å"The fact that you can’t, or wouldn’t, cut a hot dog in half and eat it that way, proves that a hot dog is once and for all NOT a sandwich† Here's an example of a factually inaccurate paraphrasing of this quotation: The author builds his argument by discussing how, since hot-dogs are often served cut in half, this makes them different from sandwiches. The paraphrase contradicts the passage, and so would negatively affect your reading score. Now let's look at an accurate paraphrasing of the quotation: The author builds his argument by discussing how, since hot-dogs are never served cut in half, they are therefore different from sandwiches. It's also important to be faithful to the text when you're using direct quotations from the passage. Misquoting or badly paraphrasing the author’s words weakens your essay, because the evidence you’re using to support your points is faulty. Higher Level: Understanding of Central Ideas The next step beyond being factually accurate about the passage is showing that you understand the central ideas of the text and how details of the passage relate back to this central idea. Why does this matter? In order to be able to explain why the author is persuasive, you need to be able to explain the structure of the argument. And you can’t deconstruct the author's argument if you don’t understand the central idea of the passage and how the details relate to it. Here's an example of a statement about our fictional "hot dogs are sandwiches" passage that shows understanding of the central idea of the passage: Hodgman’s third primary defense of why hot dogs are not sandwiches is that a hot dog is not a subset of any other type of food. He uses the analogy of asking the question â€Å"is cereal milk a broth, sauce, or gravy?† to show that making such a comparison between hot dogs and sandwiches is patently illogical. The above statement takes one step beyond merely being factually accurate to explain the relation between different parts of the passage (in this case, the relation between the "what is cereal milk?" analogy and the hot dog/sandwich debate). Of course, if you want to score well in all three essay areas, you’ll need to do more in your essay than merely summarizing the author’s argument. This leads directly into the next grading area of the SAT Essay. Analysis The items covered under this criterion are the most important when it comes to writing a strong essay. You can use well-spelled vocabulary in sentences with varied structure all you want, but if you don't analyze the author's argument, demonstrate critical thinking, and support your position, you will not get a high Analysis score. Score Analysis 1 (Inadequate) The response offers little or no analysis or ineffective analysis of the source text and demonstrates little or no understanding of the analytic task. The response identifies without explanation some aspects of the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s choosing, Or numerous aspects of the response’s analysis are unwarranted based on the text. The response contains little or no support for claim(s) or point(s) made, or support is largely irrelevant. The response may not focus on features of the text that are relevant to addressing the task, Or the response offers no discernible analysis (e.g., is largely or exclusively summary). 2 (Partial) The response offers limited analysis of the source text and demonstrates only partial understanding of the analytical task. The response identifies and attempts to describe the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing, but merely asserts rather than explains their importance, or one or more aspects of the response’s analysis are unwarranted based on the text. The response contains little or no support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response may lack a clear focus on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. 3 (Proficient) The response offers an effective analysis of the source text and demonstrates an understanding of the analytical task. The response competently evaluates the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing. The response contains relevant and sufficient support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response focuses primarily on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. 4 (Advanced) The response offers an insightful analysis of the source text and demonstrates a sophisticated understanding of the analytical task. The response offers a thorough, well-considered evaluation of the author’s use of evidence, reasoning, and/or stylistic and persuasive elements, and/or feature(s) of the student’s own choosing. The response contains relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen support for claim(s) or point(s) made. The response focuses consistently on those features of the text that are most relevant to addressing the task. Because this category is so important, I've broken it down even further into its two different (but equally important) component parts to make sure everything is as clearly explained as possible. Part I: Critical Thinking (Logic) Critical thinking, also known as critical reasoning, also known as logic, is the skill that SAT essay graders are really looking to see displayed in the essay. You need to be able to evaluate and analyze the claim put forward in the prompt. This is where a lot of students may get tripped up, because they think â€Å"oh, well, if I can just write a lot, then I’ll do well.† While there is some truth to the assertion that longer essays tend to score higher, if you don’t display critical thinking you won’t be able to get a top score on your essay. What do I mean by critical thinking? Let's take the previous prompt example: Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich. An answer to this prompt that does not display critical thinking (and would fall into a 1 or 2 on the rubric) would be something like: The author argues that hot dogs aren’t sandwiches, which is persuasive to the reader. While this does evaluate the prompt (by providing a statement that the author's claim "is persuasive to the reader"), there is no corresponding analysis. An answer to this prompt that displays critical thinking (and would net a higher score on the rubric) could be something like this: The author uses analogies to hammer home his point that hot dogs are not sandwiches. Because the readers will readily believe the first part of the analogy is true, they will be more likely to accept that the second part (that hot dogs aren't sandwiches) is true as well. See the difference? Critical thinking involves reasoning your way through a situation (analysis) as well as making a judgement (evaluation). On the SAT essay, however, you can’t just stop at abstract critical reasoning - analysis involves one more crucial step... Part II: Examples, Reasons, and Other Evidence (Support) The other piece of the puzzle (apparently this is a tiny puzzle) is making sure you are able to back up your point of view and critical thinking with concrete evidence. The SAT essay rubric says that the best (that is, 4-scoring) essay uses â€Å"relevant, sufficient, and strategically chosen support for claim(s) or point(s) made.† This means you can’t just stick to abstract reasoning like this: The author uses analogies to hammer home his point that hot dogs are not sandwiches. Because the readers will readily believe the first part of the analogy is true, they will be more likely to accept that the second part (that hot dogs aren't sandwiches) is true as well. That explanation is a good starting point, but if you don't back up your point of view with quoted or paraphrased information from the text to support your discussion of the way the author builds his/her argument, you will not be able to get above a 3 on the Analysis portion of the essay (and possibly the Reading portion as well, if you don't show you've read the passage). Let's take a look of an example of how you might support an interpretation of the author's effect on the reader using facts from the passage: The author’s reference to the Biblical story about King Solomon elevates the debate about hot dogs from a petty squabble between friends to a life-or-death disagreement. The reader cannot help but see the parallels between the two situations and thus find themselves agreeing with the author on this point. Does the author's reference to King Solomon actually "elevate the debate," causing the reader to agree with the author? From the sentences above, it certainly seems plausible that it might. While your facts do need to be correct, you get a little more leeway with your interpretations of how the author’s persuasive techniques might affect the audience. As long as you can make a convincing argument for the effect a technique the author uses might have on the reader, you’ll be good. Say whaaat?! #tbt by tradlands, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped and color-adjusted from original. Did I just blow your mind? Read more about the secrets the SAT doesn’t want you to know in this article. Writing Your Writing score on the SAT essay is not just a reflection of your grasp of the conventions of written English (although it is that as well). You'll also need to be focused, organized, and precise. Score Writing 1 (Inadequate) The response demonstrates little or no cohesion and inadequate skill in the use and control of language. The response may lack a clear central claim or controlling idea. The response lacks a recognizable introduction and conclusion. The response does not have a discernible progression of ideas. The response lacks variety in sentence structures; sentence structures may be repetitive. The response demonstrates general and vague word choice; word choice may be poor or inaccurate. The response may lack a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a weak control of the conventions of standard written English and may contain numerous errors that undermine the quality of writing. 2 (Partial) The response demonstrates little or no cohesion and limited skill in the use and control of language. The response may lack a clear central claim or controlling idea or may deviate from the claim or idea over the course of the response. The response may include an ineffective introduction and/or conclusion. The response may demonstrate some progression of ideas within paragraphs but not throughout the response. The response has limited variety in sentence structures; sentence structures may be repetitive. The response demonstrates general or vague word choice; word choice may be repetitive. The response may deviate noticeably from a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a limited control of the conventions of standard written English and contains errors that detract from the quality of writing and may impede understanding. 3 (Proficient) The response is mostly cohesive and demonstrates effective use and control of language. The response includes a central claim or implicit controlling idea. The response includes an effective introduction and conclusion. The response demonstrates a clear progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay. The response has variety in sentence structures. The response demonstrates some precise word choice. The response maintains a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a good control of the conventions of standard written English and is free of significant errors that detract from the quality of writing. 4 (Advanced) The response is cohesive and demonstrates a highly effective use and command of language. The response includes a precise central claim. The response includes a skillful introduction and conclusion. The response demonstrates a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay. The response has a wide variety in sentence structures. The response demonstrates a consistent use of precise word choice. The response maintains a formal style and objective tone. The response shows a strong command of the conventions of standard written English and is free or virtually free of errors. Because there's a lot of different factors that go into calculating your Writing score, I've divided the discussion of this rubric area into five separate items: Precise Central Claim Organization Vocab and Word Choice Sentence Structure Grammar, Etc. Precise Central Claim One of the most basic rules of the SAT essay is that you need to express a clear opinion on the "assignment" (the prompt). While in school (and everywhere else in life, pretty much) you’re encouraged to take into account all sides of a topic, it behooves you to NOT do this on the SAT essay. Why? Because you only have 50 minutes to read the passage, analyze the author's argument, and write the essay, there's no way you can discuss every single way in which the author builds his/her argument, every single detail of the passage, or a nuanced argument about what works and what doesn't work. Instead, I recommend focusing your discussion on a few key ways the author is successful in persuading his/her audience of his/her claim. Let’s go back to the assignment we've been using as an example throughout this article: "Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich." Your instinct (trained from many years of schooling) might be to answer: "There are a variety of ways in which the author builds his argument." This is a nice, vague statement that leaves you a lot of wiggle room. If you disagree with the author, it's also a way of avoiding having to say that the author is persuasive. Don't fall into this trap! You do not necessarily have to agree with the author's claim in order to analyze how the author persuades his/her readers that the claim is true. Here's an example of a precise central claim about the example assignment: The author effectively builds his argument that hot dogs are not sandwiches by using logic, allusions to history and mythology, and factual evidence. In contrast to the vague claim that "There are a variety of ways in which the author builds his argument," this thesis both specifies what the author's argument is and the ways in which he builds the argument (that you'll be discussing in the essay). Organization While it's extremely important to make sure your essay has a clear point of view, strong critical reasoning, and support for your position, that's not enough to get you a top score. You need to make sure that your essay "demonstrates a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas both within paragraphs and throughout the essay." What does this mean? Part of the way you can make sure your essay is "well organized" has to do with following standard essay construction points. Don't write your essay in one huge paragraph; instead, include an introduction (with your thesis stating your point of view), body paragraphs (one for each example, usually), and a conclusion. This structure might seem boring, but it really works to keep your essay organized, and the more clearly organized your essay is, the easier it will be for the essay grader to understand your critical reasoning. The second part of this criteria has to do with keeping your essay focused, making sure it contains "a deliberate and highly effective progression of ideas." You can't just say "well, I have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion, so I guess my essay is organized" and expect to get a 4/4 on your essay. You need to make sure that each paragraph is also organized. Recall the sample prompt: â€Å"Write an essay in which you explain how Hodgman builds an argument to persuade his audience that the hot dog cannot, and never should be, considered a sandwich.† And our hypothetical thesis: The author effectively builds his argument that hot dogs are not sandwiches by using logic, allusions to history and mythology, and factual evidence. Let's say that you're writing the paragraph about the author's use of logic to persuade his reader that hot dogs aren't sandwiches. You should NOT just list ways that the author is logical in support of his claim, then explain why logic in general is an effective persuasive device. While your points might all be valid, your essay would be better served by connecting each instance of logic in the passage with an explanation of how that example of logic persuades the reader to agree with the author. Above all, it is imperative that you make your thesis (your central claim) clear in the opening paragraph of your essay - this helps the grader keep track of your argument. There's no reason you’d want to make following your reasoning more difficult for the person grading your essay (unless you’re cranky and don’t want to do well on the essay. Listen, I don’t want to tell you how to live your life). Vocab and Word Choice In your essay, you should use a wide array of vocabulary (and use it correctly). An essay that scores a 4 in Writing on the grading rubric â€Å"demonstrates a consistent use of precise word choice.† You’re allowed a few errors, even on a 4-scoring essay, so you can sometimes get away with misusing a word or two. In general, though, it’s best to stick to using words you are certain you not only know the meaning of, but also know how to use. If you’ve been studying up on vocab, make sure you practice using the words you’ve learned in sentences, and have those sentences checked by someone who is good at writing (in English), before you use those words in an SAT essay. Sentence Structure Creating elegant, non-awkward sentences is the thing I struggle most with under time pressure. For instance, here’s my first try at the previous sentence: â€Å"Making sure a sentence structure makes sense is the thing that I have the most problems with when I’m writing in a short amount of time† (hahaha NOPE - way too convoluted and wordy, self). As another example, take a look at these two excerpts from the hypothetical essay discussing how the author persuaded his readers that a hot dog is not a sandwich: Score of 2: "The author makes his point by critiquing the argument against him. The author pointed out the logical fallacy of saying a hot dog was a sandwich because it was meat "sandwiched" between two breads. The author thus persuades the reader his point makes sense to be agreed with and convinces them." The above sentences lack variety in structure (they all begin with the words "the author"), and the last sentence has serious flaws in its structure (it makes no sense). Score of 4: "The author's rigorous examination of his opponent's position invites the reader, too, to consider this issue seriously. By laying out his reasoning, step by step, Hodgman makes it easy for the reader to follow along with his train of thought and arrive at the same destination that he has. This destination is Hodgman's claim that a hot dog is not a sandwich." The above sentences demonstrate variety in sentence structure (they don't all begin with the same word and don't have the same underlying structure) that presumably forward the point of the essay. In general, if you're doing well in all the other Writing areas, your sentence structures will also naturally vary. If you're really worried that your sentences are not varied enough, however, my advice for working on "demonstrating meaningful variety in sentence structure" (without ending up with terribly worded sentences) is twofold: Read over what you’ve written before you hand it in and change any wordings that seem awkward, clunky, or just plain incorrect. As you’re doing practice essays, have a friend, family member, or teacher who is good at (English) writing look over your essays and point out any issues that arise. Grammar, Etc. This part of the Writing grade is all about the nitty gritty details of writing: grammar, punctuation, and spelling. It's rare that an essay with serious flaws in this area can score a 4/4 in Reading, Analysis, or Writing, because such persistent errors often "interfere with meaning" (that is, persistent errors make it difficult for the grader to understand what you're trying to get across). On the other hand, if they occur in small quantities, grammar/punctuation/spelling errors are also the things that are most likely to be overlooked. If two essays are otherwise of equal quality, but one writer misspells "definitely" as "definately" and the other writer fails to explain how one of her examples supports her thesis, the first writer will receive a higher essay score. It's only when poor grammar, use of punctuation, and spelling start to make it difficult to understand your essay that the graders start penalizing you. My advice for working on this rubric area is the same advice as for sentence structure: look over what you’ve written to double check for mistakes, and ask someone who’s good at writing to look over your practice essays and point out your errors. If you're really struggling with spelling, simply typing up your (handwritten) essay into a program like Microsoft Word and running spellcheck can alert you to problems. We've also got a great set of articles up on our blog about SAT Writing questions that may help you better understand any grammatical errors you are making. How Do I Use The SAT Essay Grading Rubric? Now that you understand the SAT essay rubric, how can you use it in your SAT prep? There are a couple of different ways. Use The SAT Essay Rubric To...Shape Your Essays Since you know what the SAT is looking for in an essay, you can now use that knowledge to guide what you write about in your essays! A tale from my youth: when I was preparing to take the SAT for the first time, I did not really know what the essay was looking for, and assumed that since I was a good writer, I’d be fine. Not true! The most important part of the SAT essay is using specific examples from the passage and explaining how they convince the reader of the author's point. By reading this article and realizing there's more to the essay than "being a strong writer," you’re already doing better than high school me. girl sleeping on a couch holding a mirror by RickBrenda Beerhorst, used under CC BY 2.0/Resized from original. Change the object in that girl’s left hand from a mirror to a textbook and you have a pretty good sketch of what my junior year of high school looked like. Use The SAT Essay Rubric To...Grade Your Practice Essays The SAT can’t exactly give you an answer key to the essay. Even when an example of an essay that scored a particular score is provided, that essay will probably use different examples than you did, make different arguments, maybe even argue different interpretations of the text...making it difficult to compare the two. The SAT essay rubric is the next best thing to an answer key for the essay - use it as a lens through which to view and assess your essay. Of course, you don’t have the time to become an expert SAT essay grader - that’s not your job. You just have to apply the rubric as best as you can to your essays and work on fixing your weak areas. For the sentence structure, grammar, usage, and mechanics stuff I highly recommend asking a friend, teacher, or family member who is really good at (English) writing to take a look over your practice essays and point out the mistakes. If you really want custom feedback on your practice essays from experienced essay graders, may I also suggest the PrepScholar test prep platform? I manage the essay grading and so happen to know quite a bit about the essay part of this platform, which gives you both an essay grade and custom feedback for each essay you complete. Learn more about how it all works here. What’s Next? Are you so excited by this article that you want to read even more articles on the SAT essay? Of course you are. Don't worry, I’ve got you covered. Learn how to write an SAT essay step-by-step and read about the 6 types of SAT essay prompts. Want to go even more in depth with the SAT essay? We have a complete list of past SAT essay prompts as well as tips and strategies for how to get a 12 on the SAT essay. Still not satisfied? Maybe a five-day free trial of our very own PrepScholar test prep platform (which includes essay practice and feedback) is just what you need. Trying to figure out whether the old or new SAT essay is better for you? Take a look at our article on the new SAT essay assignment to find out! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by SAT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

Addressing Envelopes

Addressing Envelopes Addressing Envelopes Addressing Envelopes By Maeve Maddox Heres a question from Alfonso Rodriguez from Lima, Peru: Would you be so kind as to tell me what is the correct way to write down an address when the building has no number, I think there is an abbreviation form. If any of you readers outside the U.S. know of an abbreviation that designates a building without a street number, please tell us in the comments. In the United States, new construction requires the existence of a street number before a building is built. As for older buildings, according to the person I talked to at the USPS 800 number, all buildings in towns have street numbers. Rural addresses may make use of the abbreviation RR: D.Q. Jones RR 5 Box 19 Molesville TX 77293 Many buildings have both names and street addresses. If a building is well-known in the town where it is, the name can serve in lieu of a numbered address, as long as the town and state are included. For example, an envelope addressed to someone at the Empire State Building, New York, N.Y. would probably reach its destination without the address 350 5th Ave. USPS address-reading machinery reads addresses from the bottom up: 4†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦D. Q. Jones 3†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..12233 Jefferson Ave Apt 1 2†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. Newport News, VA 23602 1†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦USA According to the official USPS guidelines, designations such as Apt (apartment), Dept (department), and Ste (suite) go on the same line as the street address: 234 Hilltop Dr Apt 504 Greenwich PA 23853 NOT 234 Hilltop Dr Apt 504 Greenwich PA 23853 In the event that the space available for the address is not large enough for Apt to be written out, the symbol # can be used in its place: 234 Hilltop Dr #504 Greenwich PA 23853 It a street address is especially long, some of the vowels may be omitted. For example, 23 Espendhade-Dogwood Terrace could be shortened to: 23 Espnshd-Dgwd Ter. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Opening Lines to Inspire the Start of Your Story10 Techniques for More Precise Writing15 English Words of Indian Origin

Human Resources Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Human Resources Development - Essay Example ge of branded products, â€Å"backwards expansion† strategy (saturating the target’s rural market first), innovative marketing strategy and most important of all, human resource management. Walton, from the very beginning, believed that happy and satisfied employees performed well and were responsible for happy customers. Wal-Mart’s success in human resource management is keeping their workforce of 1.3 million or more from unionizing. In addition to that, Wal-Mart has achieved a very good retention rate of their employees and has also ensured discipline and uniformity in an organization that has been growing at such a rapid pace. Wal-Mart’s distinctive human resource management policies can be listed and analyzed as follows: (1) Recruitment: In the realm of employee recruitment, Wal-Mart has targeted college students to add to their workforce.   Wal-Mart achieves this recruitment by fanning out over 80 college campuses. While they are at these colleges, they are also able to expand their demographics by looking at minority fraternities and sororities, which brings all types of people from different backgrounds, races, and genders together in the Wal-Mart family.   Having a wide variety demographic for a workforce, only serves to attract more people to seek employment with Wal-Mart because they are able to show that they have a very open hiring process. (2) Training and Development: Beyond recruitment, Wal-Mart has taken an additional step with college students by offering management training for college students while they are still in school so they are more developed and prepared upon their graduation. This program serves the purpose of making college students consider careers with Wal-Mart, and over the last few years, the program has had immense success.   The company is also highly committed towards employee development and improving their career prospects. It has a policy of recruiting more than seventy percent of its personnel in managerial

Visual space in street art and graffiti Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Visual space in street art and graffiti - Essay Example According to Dickenson, New York city was one of the cities where graffiti art first emerged. These visual artworks were made in as a representation of the â€Å"race, class, gender, ethnicity, nationality, religion etc.† of the artist or group of artists. During this time, the public visual space used for the graffiti in New York was considered as nuances to business establishments. Nonetheless, by the time that New York experienced financial crisis, the poor became poorer. To voice out their sentiments about the social gap, artists went beyond using public walls and utilized the spaces in public transits or subways. In this way, graffiti became â€Å"message-oriented† as it was able to reach a wider audience and allowed others to join in sending a message. More importantly, it became a collective process that encourages creativity wherein artists, or anyone can add, alter, or reestablish the message of the art they see on the streets and the different mobile media. As ide from this, considering that art is a revolutionary process that does not keep still and idle, art medium also evolved with it. In particular, in Brazil, portable forms of graffiti were made, which is known as the lambe-lambes. The most common themes of theses mobile medium and artworks are anchored on the drawings made by children or with â€Å"pop culture icons merged with religious ones†. Another public space used for graffiti in Brazil was the billboards and signage for advertisements and real-estate. These public spaces became visual spaces.

Impact of mining on indigenous communities Essay Example for Free

Impact of mining on indigenous communities Essay Indigenous Peoples pertains to any ethnic group who occupy a particular geographic area by which they have the most primitive historical association (Maybury-Lewis).   Though the term itself does not have a standard definition, the above description is most commonly used to characterize the term indigenous peoples. The common characteristics shared by the indigenous peoples include subsistence-based production which involves indigenous group’s most basic way of production such as agricultural, pastoral, and hunting and gathering (Maybury-Lewis). The usual lifestyle which the indigenous people are said to have is more of a nomadic means. Though indigenous communities are considered only as minority, they can be found at almost all climate regions across the globe. Indigenous Peoples have a very wide range of concerns that are mainly associated with their relationship and interaction among other cultures and civilizations. Though reports said that the promotion of the indigenous peoples welfare is being upheld in many parts of the globe, still there are indigenous communities which experience human rights abuse. Among the most known concerns of the indigenous peoples include land ownership, access to natural resources, protection of the environment against environmental exploitation and degradation, political autonomy, poverty, healthcare services, and racial or cultural discrimination (Maybury-Lewis).

Lithium Essays -- Chemistry Medical Chemical Papers

Lithium Though the drug lithium is used for a number of disorders ranging from acute depression to eating and personality disorders (Paykel, 1992), it's primary use is for bipolar disorder, also known as manic depression. Patients with bipolar disorder "between two poles: depression and its opposite, mania" (Kalat,2004), often with periods of normal behavior in between (Jamison,1993). In addition, the patient is also prone to "mixed episodes" in which symptoms of both mania and depression are present. Intensity of these episodes can range from mild to dangerous, as in the case of a manic depressive mother who severed the arms of her 10 month old daughter (Associated Press, 2005). Despite its genetic origin (Kalat. 2004; Jamison, 1993; DBSA, 2005), the onset of symptoms and behavior is rather late, averaging 18 years of age (Jamison, 1993). There are two types of manic episodes: manic and hypomanic. The DSM describes a manic episode as "a distinct period of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive, or irritable mood," (Jamison, 1993). Symptoms include inflated self esteem, a reduced need for sleep, increased talkativeness and sociability, flight of ideas, distractibility, an increase in goal directed activities (such as work, school or sex), and an excessive involvement in pleasurable activities (PsychologyNet, 2003). The occurrence of these symptoms must not be able be confused with a mixed state (see description below), must impair the individual's ability to function normally, and cannot be explained by the effects of a substance (i.e. alcohol, hallucinogenics) or a medical condition (i.e. hyperthyroidism) in order for the episode to be considered "manic.... ..." The Icarus Project. Retrieved February 28, 2005 from the World Wide Web: http://theicarusproject.net/community/viewtopic.php?t=1187 CONCLUSION Lithium, or, more commonly, Lithium Salt, is an element used to treat bipolar disorder in humans. Bipolar disorder consists of severe highs and lows of mood, ranging from deep depression to extreme mania. The cycling of the disorder depends on the person, but it can vary from many shifts within one day (rapid cycling) to extended periods of each. Lithium is indicated primarily for patients who are not rapid cycling. Like many other medications, the exact effects of Lithium are unknown. Psychiatrists and Chemists have isolated many of the physiological and behavioral changes that occur after the administration of Lithium, and yet the exact cause of its therapeutic effect is not fully understood.

Invisible Saviour Siblings Essay

The philosopher Immanuel Kant said â€Å"Treat others as an end and not as means to an end. † People need to value others for themselves rather than for what they can achieve by the means of them. The idea of selecting an embryo, conceived by IVF, which will become a child that can donate for an older sibling suffering from a genetic disease, has created a difficult moral dilemma. Concerns over the creation of what are called â€Å"savoir siblings† are specifically created to help an existing child. In the novel â€Å"My Sister’s Keeper† by Jodi Picoult there is a girl named Anna who was brought in to this world for the purpose to save her sister Kate. Anna suggests that while her method of coming into the world is not conventional, since most babies born are unwanted; she at least was a wanted child. But she is wanted as a product, as a medical treatment, as a donor. Anna came to a decision that she wanted to stop donating to her sister, so she starts a lawsuit for medical emancipation; the right to control her own body. The child is used as something instrumental and has a welcome that is far from being unconditional. Even the label â€Å"savoir† is a misnomer. When we speak of a savoir we refer to someone who has made an active choice to donate. The child never has a choice. When a donation occurs it will have lifelong effects on the body. The possible psychological problem the child will have from being a savior sibling. The parents do not think about the saviour child in the terms of an individual. The parents need to realize that there is a line that separates the value of preserving life and the costs of the quality of life. When a child is born it is up to the parents to make the decisions for them, but what if the parents are not focus on that child? It is their zeal to make things better for their sick child, but the parents have forgotten that their donor child is a person with feelings, not a something just to pick at when needed. In the case of babies who are selected as a source of cells, the â€Å"savior † is passive and is treated as a product. The choices being made about donation is not even being discussed about. Anna is not even being asked about what she wants to do, â€Å"You make it sound like there’s some process involved. Like there’s actually a choice. † (192) the parents are deciding what is for the best. They do not even consult with Anna about how she feels about everything. Anna had to quit hockey because she was missing two many games, but the only reason why she was missing games was that she had to be there when Kate might need something. Her choice to play hockey was taken away from her and no one in her family even cared. They did not even notice when she started to play hockey, so why would they notice when she stopped. There is a big chance that the family would not even listen to Anna if she would have said that she does not want to continue being the donor. The doctors do not ever consult with Anna about what she wanted to do; they only talked to the parents. They never let Anna make her choice. She was brought in this world as a savior sibling, but it did not mean to make her sacrifice her whole life. The use of savior siblings have raised the issue of the possibility of psychological trauma that the created sibling may suffer from knowing that they was created partly for reasons of imposed selflessness. The child could feel as if they had been used. The donor sibling would feel that they were around to provide â€Å"spare parts†, and were not valued for who they are. Remember the adolescent cry â€Å"I did not ask to be born† and add to it the accusation that the parents only had them to save their siblings life. The moment the child is brought in to this world they have a job to perform. How the parents treat Anna makes her feel like her only purpose in life is to help heal Kate. With these feelings it makes her think about what if Kate was not sick, â€Å"It made me wonder, though, what would have happened if Kate had been healthy. Chances are, I’d still be floating up in Heaven or wherever, waiting to be attached to a body to spend some time on Earth† (08). If Kate was healthy would the parents ever thought about having a third child. The parents once said that their family was complete with two children; each child favored a parent. Anna has matured faster than any child her age, because from the start of her life she was not fully allowed to be a child. She learnt early on that Kate was the main focus and everything else became second. Growing up is hard enough, but when there is question on ones existence it can have serious emotional effects. The child becomes lost in their quest for their own identity. Furthermore, if the treatment of the sick child is unsuccessful, their death can be much harder for the savior sibling, as they may feel as if they have failed. The child would have to go through the rest of their life feeling guiltily about not saving their sibling life. Donating an organ is not as simple as it sounds. The donor of the organ has to deal with limitations on their life. In the novel Anna is being pressured by her mother to donate her kidney to her sister Kate. Her mother does not think about the after effects of the surgery. Anna loves to play hockey, but donating her kidney will stop here from playing. Kidney organ donors should not participate in physical activity that could damage their other kidney. Anna’s mother Sara only concern is Kate, so when Anna wanted to go to Hockey camp her mother said no. Her mother is not caring for what Anna wants â€Å"Not because I am afraid of what might to Anna there, but because I am afraid of what might happen to Kate while her sister is gone. If Kate survives this latest relapse†¦.. we will need Anna-her blood, her stem cells, her tissue-right here. (269), she wanted Anna to be where she needed her. If Anna did go through with the surgery something could go wrong, but does her parents ever does comprehend it. If there were no complications with any of these procedures, the savior sibling would still stay in the hospital with stress and pain which they are not gaining any type of personal benefit. The mother will be so worried about Kate after the surgery; she will be by her side and not by Anna’s. The parents should not make an organ donation decision. It has to be Anna’s choice. Going through with a kidney donation, she would lose some quality of her life. While there is potential harm, it is not without potential benefits to the saviour sibling. The donor child might derive pleasure from knowing that he or she has saved his or her sibling’s life and would benefit from the saved child’s company. In this respect, it is appropriate to consider the welfare of the donor child within the context of the family since his or her social, emotional and psychological interests depend on the welfare of the child’s family. Saving the life of the existing sibling is also in his or her best interests. This will ensure a happier family (e. g. no grieving parents) from which the donor child would benefit. There are benefits to the child, but if the child is born and the transplant is made but is unsuccessful, what comes of the family at that point? The donor child would feel that they have fail in their job in helping to keep their sibling alive. If the transplant was successful, there is no time frame for a savior sibling to stop providing transplants for their older sibling. The donor sibling could chose not to donate later in life or chose to no longer accept the role of â€Å"saviour† for which they were originally conceived. The parents might not like that they brought this child in to this world for a certain purpose, but now the child does not want to donate anymore. The savior child would have no support from their family. They would feel that they had only one purpose; to save their sibling. Parents have more choices than ever before and they need to use every resource available to protect the health of their children, but there is a line that should not be crossed. There are potential harmful psychological effects on a child born not for itself, but to save another. If conception of saviour siblings for the donation of cord blood stem cells is permitted, what is to stop donation ending there. There may be an inevitable situation where the donor child will be expected to â€Å"donate† bone marrow in the event that the umbilical cord stem cell transplant fails or the sick sibling relapses and requires further treatment. If the child is under age, then the parents decide the choice for them and of course they would have the savior child donate whatever the sick child needs. Parents are blinded from seeing what is in the best interest for both of their children. The only thing that is on their mind is to save their sick child. If there is no benefit at all to the created saviour child, it appears hard to justify that it is humane and proper to use them to save the life of a sibling. Every parent has to seriously decide the point at which they will halt their efforts to save their sick child regardless of the potential outcome. There comes a point when people have to realize there is nothing they can do. The parents get so consumed in the entire process and the emotions involved in saving your sick child that they may lose the ability to know when to stop. Despite how gut-wrenching it may be, they have to stop, not only for the sake of their other children, but for the sake of their sick child. They should have to realize that there comes a point when vigilance becomes obsession and good intentions get warped and bastardized to the point that they do more harm than good. People should to write to President to have him put regulations on the use of Genetic technology for creation of savoir siblings. A savior sibling cannot lose their quality of life just because they were conceived with the weight of the family on their shoulders. The child should not go through life suffering, for the reason that she was conceived to help heal their sick sibling.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 17

Chapter 17 I've settled into some sort of droning routine here at the hotel, and in that way it reminds me of those times in China. My waking hours are filled with writing these pages, watching television, trying to irritate the angel, and sneaking off to the bathroom to read the Gospels. And I think it's the latter that's sent my sleeping hours into a landscape of nightmare that leaves me spent even when I wake. I've finished Mark, and again this fellow talks of a resurrection, of acts beyond the time of my and Joshua's death. It's a similar story to that told by the Matthew fellow, the events jumbled somewhat, but basically the story of Joshua's ministry, but it's the telling of the events of that last week of Passover that chills me. The angel hasn't been able to keep the secret that Joshua's teachings survived and grew to vast popularity. (He's stopped even changing the channel at the mention of Joshua on television, as he did when we first arrived.) But is this the book from which Joshua's teachings are drawn? I dream of blood, and suffering, and loneliness so empty that an echo can't survive, and I wake up screaming, soaked in my own sweat, and even after I'm awake the loneliness remains for a while. Last night when I awoke I thought I saw a woman standing at the end of my bed, and beside her, the angel, his black wings spread and touching the walls of the room on either side. Then, before I could get my wits about me, the angel wrapped his wings around the woman and she disappeared in the darkness of them and was gone. I think I really woke up then, because the angel was lying there on the other bed, staring into the dark, his eyes like black pearls, catching the red blinking aircraft lights that shone dimly through the window from the tops of the buildings across the street. No wings, no black robe, no woman. Just Raziel, staring. â€Å"Nightmare?† the angel asked. â€Å"Memory,† I said. Had I been asleep? I remember that same red blinking light, ever so dim, playing on the cheekbone and the bridge of the nose of the woman in my nightmare. (It was all I could see of her face.) And those elegant contours fit into the recesses of my memory like a key in the tumblers of a lock, releasing cinnamon and sandalwood and a laugh sweeter than the best day of childhood. Two days after I had walked away, I rang the gong outside the monastery and the little hatch opened to reveal the face of a newly shaven monk, the skin of his bald scalp still a dozen shades lighter in color than that of his face. â€Å"What?† he said. â€Å"The villagers ate our camels,† I said. â€Å"Go away. Your nostrils flare in an unpleasant manner and your soul is somewhat lumpy.† â€Å"Joshua, let me in. I don't have anywhere to go.† â€Å"I can't just let you in,† Josh whispered. â€Å"You have to wait three days like everyone else.† Then loudly, and obviously for someone inside's benefit, he said, â€Å"You appear to be infested by Bedouins! Now go away!† And he slammed the hatch. I stood there. And waited. In a few minutes he opened the hatch. â€Å"Infested by Bedouins?† I said. â€Å"Give me a break. I'm new. Did you bring food and water to last you?† â€Å"Yes, the toothless woman sold me some dried camel meat. There was a special.† â€Å"That's got to be unclean,† said Josh. â€Å"Bacon, Joshua, remember?† â€Å"Oh yeah. Sorry. I'll try to sneak some tea and a blanket out to you, but it won't be right away.† â€Å"Then Gaspar will let me back in?† â€Å"He was perplexed why you left in the first place. He said if anyone needed to learn some discipline, well, you know. There'll be punishment, I think.† â€Å"Sorry I left you.† â€Å"You didn't.† He grinned, looking sillier than normal with his two-toned head. â€Å"I'll tell you one thing I've learned here already.† â€Å"What's that?† â€Å"When I'm in charge, if someone knocks, they will be able to come in. Making someone who is seeking comfort stand out in the cold is a crock of rancid yak butter.† â€Å"Amen,† I said. Josh slammed the little hatch, obviously the prescribed way of closing it. I stood and wondered how Joshua, when he finally learned how to be the Messiah, would work the phrase â€Å"crock of rancid yak butter† into a sermon. Just what we Jews needed, I thought, more dietary restrictions. The monks stripped me naked and poured cold water over my head, then brushed me vigorously with brushes made from boar's hair, then poured hot water on me, then scrubbed, then cold water, until I screamed for them to stop. At that point they shaved my head, taking generous nicks out of my scalp as they did so, rinsed away the hair that stuck to my body, and handed me a fresh orange robe, a blanket, and a wooden rice bowl. Later I was given a pair of slippers, woven from some sort of grass, and I made myself some socks from woven yak hair, but this was the measure of my wealth for six years: a robe, a blanket, a bowl, some slippers, and some socks. As Monk Number Eight led me to meet with Gaspar, I thought of my old friend Bartholomew, and how much he would have loved the idea of my newfound austerity. He often told of how his Cynic patriarch Diogenes carried a bowl with him for years, but one day saw a man drinking from his cupped palm and declared, â€Å"I have been a fool, burdened all these years by the weight of a bowl when a perfectly good vessel lay at the end of my wrist.† Yeah, well, that's all well and good for Diogenes, but when it was all I had, if anyone had tried to take my bowl they would have lost the vessel at the end of their wrist. Gaspar sat on the floor in the same small room, eyes closed, hands folded on his knees before him. Joshua sat facing him in the same position. Number Eight Monk bowed out of the room and Gaspar opened his eyes. â€Å"Sit.† I did. â€Å"These are the four rules for which you may be expelled from the monastery: one, a monk will have no sexual intercourse with anyone, even down to an animal.† Joshua looked at me and cringed, as if he expected me to say something that would anger Gaspar. I said, â€Å"Right, no intercourse.† â€Å"Two: a monk, whether in the monastery or in the village, shall take no thing that is not given. Three: if a monk should intentionally take the life of a human or one like a human, either by his hand or by weapon, he will be expelled.† â€Å"One like a human?† I asked. â€Å"You shall see,† said Gaspar. â€Å"Four, a monk who claims to have reached superhuman states, or claims to have attained the wisdom of the saints, having not done so, will be expelled. Do you understand these four rules?† â€Å"Yes,† I said. Joshua nodded. â€Å"Understand that there are no mitigating circumstances. If you commit any of these offenses as judged by the other monks, you must leave the monastery.† Again I said yes and then Gaspar went into the thirteen rules for which a monk could be suspended from the monastery for a fortnight (the first of these was the heartbreaker, â€Å"no emission of semen except in a dream†) and then the ninety offenses for which one would receive an unfavorable rebirth if the sins were not repented (these ranged from destroying any kind of vegetation or deliberately depriving an animal of life to sitting in the open with a woman or claiming to a layman to have superhuman powers, even if you had them). Overall, there was an extraordinary number of rules, over a hundred on decorum, dozens for settling disputes, but remember, we were Jews, raised under the influence of the Pharisees, who judged virtually every event of day-to-day life against the Law of Moses. And with Balthasar we had studied Confucius, whose philosophy was little more than an extensive system of etiquette. I had no doubt Joshua could do this, and there was a chance I could handle it too, if Gaspar didn't use that bamboo rod too liberally and if I could conjure enough wet dreams. (Hey, I was eighteen years old and had just lived five years in a fortress full of available concubines, I had a habit, okay?) â€Å"Monk Number Twenty-two,† Gaspar said to Joshua, â€Å"you shall begin by learning how to sit.† â€Å"I can sit,† I said. â€Å"And you, Number Twenty-one, will shave the yak.† â€Å"That's just an expression, right?† It wasn't. A yak is an extremely large, extremely hairy, buffalolike animal with dangerous-looking black horns. If you've ever seen a water buffalo, imagine it wearing a full-body wig that drags the ground. Now sprinkle it with musk, manure, and sour milk: you've got yourself a yak. In a cavelike stable, the monks kept one female yak, which they let out during the day to wander the mountain paths to graze. On what, I don't know. There didn't seem to be enough living plant life to support an animal of that size (the yak's shoulder was higher than my head), but there didn't seem to be enough plant life in all of Judea for a herd of goats, either, and herding was one of the main occupations. What did I know? The yak provided just enough milk and cheese to remind the monks that they didn't get enough milk and cheese from one yak for twenty-two monks. The animal also provided a long, coarse wool which needed to be harvested twice a year. This venerated duty, along with combing the crap and grass and burrs out of the wool, fell to me. There's not much to know about yaks beyond that, except for one important fact that Gaspar felt I needed to learn through practice: yaks hate to be shaved. It fell to Monks Eight and Seven to bandage me, set my broken legs and arm, and clean off the yak dung that had been so thoroughly stomped into my body. I would tell you the distinction of those two solemn students if I could think of any, but I can't. The goal of all of the monks was to let go of the ego, the self, and but for a few more lines on the faces of the older men, they looked alike, dressed alike, and behaved alike. I, on the other hand, was quite distinct from the others, despite my shaved head and saffron robe, as I had bandages over half of my body and three out of four limbs splinted with bamboo. After the yak disaster, Joshua waited until the middle of the night to crawl down the hall to my cell. The soft snores of monks filled the halls, and the soft turbulence of the bats that entered their cave through the monastery echoed off the stone walls like the death panting of epileptic shadows. â€Å"Does it hurt?† Joshua said. Sweat streamed from my face despite the chilly temperature. â€Å"I can hardly breathe.† Seven and Eight had wrapped my broken ribs, but every breath was a knife in the side. Joshua put his hand on my forehead. â€Å"I'll be all right, Josh, you don't have to do that.† â€Å"Why wouldn't I?† he said. â€Å"Keep your voice down.† In seconds my pain was gone and I could breathe again. Then I fell asleep or passed out from gratitude, I don't know which. When I awoke with the dawn Joshua was still kneeling beside me, his hand still pressed against my forehead. He had fallen asleep there. I carried the combed yak wool to Gaspar, who was chanting in the great cavern temple. It amounted to a fairly large bundle and I set it on the floor behind the monk and backed away. â€Å"Wait,† Gaspar said, holding a single finger in the air. He finished his chant, then turned to me. â€Å"Tea,† he said. He led and I followed to the room where he had received Joshua and me when we had first arrived. â€Å"Sit,† he said. â€Å"Sit, don't wait.† I sat and watched him make a charcoal fire in a small stone brazier, using a bow and fire drill to start the flames first in some dried moss, then blowing it onto the charcoal. â€Å"I invented a stick that makes fire instantly,† I said. â€Å"I could teach – â€Å" Gaspar glared at me and held up the finger again to poke my words out of the air. â€Å"Sit,† he said. â€Å"Don't talk. Don't wait.† He heated water in a copper pot until it boiled, then poured it over some tea leaves in an earthenware bowl. He set two small cups on the table, then proceeded to pour tea from the bowl. â€Å"Hey, doofus!† I yelled. â€Å"You're spilling the fucking tea!† Gaspar smiled and set the bowl down on the table. â€Å"How can I give you tea if your cup is already full?† â€Å"Huh?† I said eloquently. Parables were never my strong suit. If you want to say something, say it. So, of course, Joshua and Buddhists were the perfect people to hang out with, straight talkers that they were. Gaspar poured himself some tea, then took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After perhaps a whole minute passed, he opened them again. â€Å"If you already know everything, then how will I be able to teach you? You must empty your cup before I can give you tea.† â€Å"Why didn't you say so?† I grabbed my cup, tossed the tea out the same window I'd tossed Gaspar's stick, then plopped the cup back on the table. â€Å"I'm ready,† I said. â€Å"Go to the temple and sit,† Gaspar said. No tea? He was obviously still not happy about my almost-threat on his life. I backed out of the door bowing (a courtesy Joy had taught me). â€Å"One more thing,† Gaspar said. I stopped and waited. â€Å"Number Seven said that you would not live through the night. Number Eight agreed. How is it that you are not only alive, but unhurt?† I thought about it for a second before I answered, something I seldom do, then I said, â€Å"Perhaps those monks value their own opinions too highly. I can only hope that they have not corrupted anyone else's thinking.† â€Å"Go sit,† Gaspar said. Sitting was what we did. To learn to sit, to be still and hear the music of the universe, was why we had come halfway around the world, evidently. To let go of ego, not individuality, but that which distinguishes us from all other beings. â€Å"When you sit, sit. When you breathe, breathe. When you eat, eat,† Gaspar would say, meaning that every bit of our being was to be in the moment, completely aware of the now, no past, no future, nothing dividing us from everything that is. It's hard for me, a Jew, to stay in the moment. Without the past, where is the guilt? And without the future, where is the dread? And without guilt and dread, who am I? â€Å"See your skin as what connects you to the universe, not what separates you from it,† Gaspar told me, trying to teach me the essence of what enlightenment meant, while admitting that it was not something that could be taught. Method he could teach. Gaspar could sit. The legend went (I pieced it together from bits dropped by the master and his monks) that Gaspar had built the monastery as a place to sit. Many years ago he had come to China from India, where he had been born a prince, to teach the emperor and his court the true meaning of Buddhism, which had been lost in years of dogma and overinterpretation of scripture. Upon arriving, the emperor asked Gaspar, â€Å"What have I attained for all of my good deeds?† â€Å"Nothing,† said Gaspar. The emperor was aghast, thinking now that he had been generous to his people all these years for nothing. He said, â€Å"Well then, what is the essence of Buddhism?† â€Å"Vast amphibians,† said Gaspar. The emperor had Gaspar thrown from the temple, at which time the young monk decided two things; one, that he would have a better answer the next time he was asked the question, and two, that he'd better learn to speak better Chinese before he talked to anyone of importance. He'd meant to say, â€Å"Vast emptiness,† but he'd gotten the words wrong. The legend went on to say that Gaspar then came to the cave where the monastery was now built and sat down to meditate, determined to stay there until enlightenment came to him. Nine years later, he came down from the mountain, and the people of the village were waiting for him with food and gifts. â€Å"Master, we seek your most holy guidance, what can you tell us?† they cried. â€Å"I really have to pee,† said the monk. And with that all of the villagers knew that he had indeed achieved the mind of all Buddhas, or â€Å"no mind,† as we called it. The villagers begged Gaspar to stay with them, and they helped him build the monastery at the site of the very cave where he had achieved his enlightenment. During the construction, the villagers were attacked many times by vicious bandits, and although he believed that no being should be killed, he also felt that these people should have a way to defend themselves, so he meditated on the subject until he devised a method of self-defense based on various movements he learned from the yogis in his native India, which he taught to the villagers, then to each of the monks as they joined the monastery. He called this discipline kung fu, which translates, â€Å"method by which short bald guys may kick the bejeezus out of you.† Our training in kung fu began with the hopping posts. After breakfast and morning meditation, Number Three Monk, who seemed to be the oldest of the monks, led us to the monastery courtyard where we found a stack of posts, perhaps two feet long and about a span's width in diameter. He had us set the posts on end in a straight line, about a half a stride away from each other. Then he told us to hop up on one of the posts and balance there. After both of us spent most of the morning picking ourselves up off the rough stone paving, we each found ourselves standing on one foot on the end of a pole. â€Å"Now what?† I asked. â€Å"Now nothing,† Number Three said. â€Å"Just stand.† So we stood. For hours. The sun crossed the sky and my legs and back began to ache and we fell again and again only to have Number Three bark at us and tell us to jump back up on the post. When darkness began to fall and we both had stood for several hours without falling, Number Three said, â€Å"Now hop to the next post.† I heard Joshua sigh heavily. I looked at the line of posts and could see the pain that lay ahead if we were going to have to hop this whole gauntlet. Joshua was next to me at the end of the line, so he would have to hop to the post I was standing on. Not only would I have to jump to the next post and land without falling, but I would have to make sure that my take-off didn't knock over the post I was leaving. â€Å"Now!† said Number Three. I leapt and missed the landing. The post tipped out from under me and I hit the stone headfirst, sending a white flash before my eyes and a bolt of fire down my neck. Before I could gather my wits Joshua tumbled over on top of me. â€Å"Thank you,† he said, grateful to have landed on a soft Jew rather than hard flagstone. â€Å"Back up,† Number Three said. We set up our posts again, then hopped up on them again. This time both of us made it on the first try. Then we waited for the command to take the next leap. The moon rose high and full and we both stared down the row of poles, wondering how long it would take us before we could hop the whole row, wondering how long Number Three would make us stay there, thinking about the story of how Gaspar had sat for nine years. I couldn't remember ever having felt so much pain, which is saying something if you've been yak-stomped. I was trying to imagine just how much fatigue and thirst I could bear before I fell when Number Three said, â€Å"Enough. Go sleep.† â€Å"That's it?† Joshua asked, as he hopped off his post and winced upon landing. â€Å"Why did we set up twenty posts if we were only going to use three?† â€Å"Why were you thinking of twenty when you can only stand on one?† answered Three. â€Å"I have to pee,† I said. â€Å"Exactly,† said the monk. So there you have it: Buddhism. Each day we went to the courtyard and arranged the posts differently, randomly. Number Three added posts of different heights and diameters. Sometimes we had to hop from one post to the other as quickly as possible, other times we stood in one place for hours, ready to move in an instant, should Number Three command it. The point, it seemed, was that we could not anticipate anything, nor could we develop a rhythm to the exercise. We were forced to be ready to move in any direction, without forethought. Number Three called this controlled spontaneity, and for the first six months in the monastery we spent as much time atop the posts as we did in sitting meditation. Joshua took to the kung fu training immediately, as he did to the meditation. I was, as the Buddhists say, more dense. In addition to the normal duties of tending the monastery, our gardens, and milking the yak (mercifully, a task I was never assigned), every ten days or so a group of six monks would go to the village with their bowls and collect alms from the villagers, usually rice and tea, sometimes dark sauces, yak butter, or cheese, and on rare occasions cotton fabric, from which new robes would be made. For the first year Joshua and I were not allowed to leave the monastery at all, but I started to notice a pattern of strange behavior. After each trip to the village for alms, four or five monks would disappear into the mountains for several days. Nothing was ever said of it, either when they left or when they returned, but it seemed that there was some sort of rotation, with each monk only leaving every third or fourth time, with the exception of Gaspar, who left more often. Finally I worked up the courage to ask Gaspar what was going on and he said, â€Å"It is a special meditation. You are not ready. Go sit.† Gaspar's answer to most of my questions was â€Å"Go sit,† and my resentment meant that I wasn't losing the attachment to my ego, and therefore I wasn't going anywhere in my meditation. Joshua, on the other hand, seemed completely at peace with what we were doing. He could sit for hours, not moving, and then perform the exercise on the posts as if he'd spent an hour limbering up. â€Å"How do you do it?† I asked him. â€Å"How do you think of nothing and not fall asleep?† That had been one of the major barriers to my enlightenment. If I sat still for too long, I fell asleep, and evidently, the sound of snoring echoing through the temple disturbed the meditations of the other monks. The recommended cure for this condition was to drink huge quantities of green tea, which did, indeed, keep me alert, but also replaced my â€Å"no mind† state with constant thoughts of my bladder. In fact, in less than a year, I attained total bladder conciousness. Joshua, on the other hand, was able to completely let go of his ego, as he had been instructed. It was in our ninth month at the monastery, in the midst of the most bitter winter I can even imagine, when Joshua, having let go of all constructions of self and vanity, became invisible.

Future Outlook of Hasbro Essays

Future Outlook of Hasbro Essays Future Outlook of Hasbro Essay Future Outlook of Hasbro Essay Future Outlook of Hasbro Hasbro’s current economic output is at a positive state even though most of the world is going through a recession. Recently there had been a rumor scattering around the market that Hasbro was going to drop the brands: Parker Brothers and Milton Bradley. This newfound rumor came up as â€Å"just plain false† states Mark Morris, public relations director for the Rhode Island-based company through an interview from Games Games Games Magazine. Later in the article he talks about why Hasbro has decided to put both the Hasbro logo and Milton Bradley or Parker Brothers logo on a product (Arneson). Any rumor whether it be bad or good can be detrimental towards a business’s success. Besides the negative rumors Hasbro is not far behind the other toy giant Mattel. With Mattel owning 16% of the toy market share and Hasbro close behind owning 11% there is a lot of tough competition. Through Researching through articles that Hasbro have interviewed in we found that Hasbro is putting a lot of time and effort into the new line of Transformers. They are also putting a lot of effort into developing intuitive ways to reach out to their target audience. With an earning of over four billion dollars I don’t think Hasbro shouldn’t have a problem. In a recent press release by Hasbro we have found that they have kicked innovation to a new level and have come up with some intelligent toys that are sure to be gold on the market. Some of their new releases include a new family television channel called Hub, new Nerf apparel, and new improvements to the age old game of Monopoly (Hasbro, 2010). With our plan of augmented reality and implementing it into the games of Monopoly and Battleship would be skyrocketing our relationship with our consumers. : In this day in age having a relationship with your audience can be very vital. The technology that we have begun to research and create will benefit Hasbro in many ways. As we said before it will benefit our business to consumer relationship and help us get to know the customer a lot better. Second it will usher in a new age of dominance for Hasbro in the toy market. Finally it will give millions of kids a new way to play with their toys which all in all in the main goal. Overall, we have a ton of confidence that Hasbro will succeed in all of their ventures especially when they invest into the augmented reality we have planned out.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Recipe for Success

Chicken Soup for the Soul Recipe for Success Whether you consider yourself a detail-oriented plotter, or a fly- developed strategies that work for you. Some writers can toss a few words together and write a great story with  little effort, but many of us need a formula. I have been published in 23 Chicken Soup for the Soul books. Each true story had universal appeal, a beginning, a  middle, and an end. My stories had unique angles whether via the message, writing style, or level of adventure. A Chicken Soup for the Soul story reads like youre speaking to a friend, but writing one is not as simple as   sitting in your best friends living room, sharing a life event. You must follow a basic recipe and then season  it your way. Imagine this scenario: Youve just discovered a recipe on line for the perfect chocolate cake. You would like to  win the blue ribbon in a baking contest. You gather necessary tools and ingredients, mix, bake, and create what  you hope will be a prize winner. You discover that half the entrants have also found the same recipe and baked  the same cake. Lined up on a countertop, they all resemble one another. Exactly what is it about your masterpiece  that makes it unique? Is it how you decorate it? The elegant presentation? What is your attention-grabber? What  leaves a delightful lingering taste for more? Chicken Soup for the Soul receives more than 1,000 submissions for each book title. Editors whittle selections  down to 200, then select 101 stories for publication. Selected submissions go through several editorial rounds  and are read   Ã‚     Choose the preparation technique that works best for you. Do you free-write and then edit, or edit as you go? Always, before hitting the SEND button, edit one last time.   Ã‚     Every cook adds her own touch, something special which distinguishes her product from the rest. Season carefully. Adding a shot of bourbon (expletives) or a dash of cayenne pepper (wisecracks) to a Chicken Soup story  wont necessarily spice it up. Use metaphor, analogy, and/or humor. Add sensory details to make your reader see  and feel. Inspire. Aim for the goose bumps.   Ã‚     Your title must have immediate appeal. Chocolate Cake or Chocolate Tingle, which recipe heading is more  creative and interesting?   Ã‚     Even if its good, your story may not be chosen. Sometimes editors receive too many of the same type of  story submissions, so not all of them can be chosen regardless how many of them are good. Rejection has little to  do with you and your product, and more to do with editorial needs. Unfortunately, Chicken Soup for the Soul does  not send rejection letters, but they do keep stories on file for consideration for other upcoming books.   Ã‚     The last morsel of your finished product should be as tasty as the first bite. Your story ending should  be as delectable as your opening. Leave the reader with a relatable memory, a powerful, inspirational, take-away  message in no more than 1,200 words. Many writers think there’s a certain magic to landing a Chicken Soup contract. Others liken selection to the  lottery. In reality, it’s common sense and a splash of whimsy.

Experimental plan for lab Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Experimental plan for lab - Essay Example Besides, identification of trace elements and clues in crime scene is a major challenge in the forensic science. Therefore, some of the commonest methods are less accurate and time consuming with low levels of reliability making it difficult to identify the specific culprits especially nowadays that criminals are very knowledgeable. However, according to Hartzell (689) invention of chemical processes like GCMS, which uses trace materials from the crime scene is revolutionising the path taken by forensic scientist and criminal investigators because of its reliability, accuracy and the ability to identify signature molecules even at trace and minute levels. Volunteers will provide the samples by rubbing their fingers across the forehead before using the clean beads from the vials in rubbing between their fingerprints for 15 seconds and then immediately placing the beads in the vial Hartzell-Baguley, Brittany, Rachael E .Hipp, Neal R. Morgan, and Stephen L. Morgan. "Chemical Composition of Latent Fingerprints by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry an Experiment for an Instrumental Analysis Course,." Journal of Chemical Education 48.4 (2007): 689-91.