Sociological Theories and Gang Violence - 3259 Words

SOCIALOGICAL THEORIES and GANG VIOLENCE Abstract The sociological analysis of gang membership explores the different types of effects that arise due to criminal involvement. Because of the social conflicts that are associated with gang membership, this paper will explore the different theories of social learning and both personal and control issues that relate to the recent surge in crime across Chicago. As we open the doors of a crime ridden society, the truth begins to unfold. It isn’t just the thought of helping, it is the action that remains the barrier between living a life of crime or a life that carries hope. The number of violent encounters has readily declined, yet, violence has flooded the streets of†¦show more content†¦Based on Ronald Akers ideology of social learning theory, many people commit crimes based on the observations they encounter. These observations can come from a number of sources such as, media, family, and peers. Family and friends as well as the social norms of a neighborhood can be influential to an individual because of acceptance. This theory also says that based on positive or negative reinforcements an individual’s behavior will be based on the rewards or punishments that are given. If given an opportunity to change the violence that occurs among neighborhoods there are many who choose to do so (Akers, 1990). Social control and social learning both suggest that behavior is a choice based . However, when looking at the two theories they actually take a different stance. Social learning theory suggests that individuals join gangs to feel that sense of security as well as living the glamorized lifestyle and their attempt to fill the void of an absent parent. Social learning theory is best stated as learned behavior based on the environmental and social attachment that one has to a community. Social learning is telling us that people have a choice to make a rationalized decision based on their observations of others, but remain adamant to state that their interactions with the social surroundings will be taken into consideration as well (Lilly, Cullen, Ball, 2011). Social and personal Control, by Reiss suggest that deviant behavior is based on the bondShow MoreRelatedThe Sociological Theory Of A Gang Membership And Gang Violence1615 Words   |  7 PagesIn recent years gang membership and gang violence have increased. Why are the youth in America turning to gangs and why has violence increased within the gangs? Is it based on their socioeconomic status within their neighborhood? Is it the need to belong? Is it the need to establish who is in control of the neighborhood? Or is it the lack of good parental role models within the home? The sociological theory that I’m basing my research on is functionalism. Functionalism is a framework that definesRead MoreThe Role of Law Enforcement in Curbing Gang Violence1041 Words   |  4 Pagesis to prevent gang activity. Gang activity is certainly not a new phenomenon, but has been part of human history since Ancient Times (Rome, Greece, the Middle Ages, etc.). In most countries, gang violence patt erns the sociological development of society and the evolution of criminal activity - as criminal activity becomes more sophisticated, so do gang activities. While most sociological theories tie gang behavior to youth violence, one can trace a number of changes in gang violence to the way organizedRead MoreSummary : Youth Gang And Violence1615 Words   |  7 PagesMarch 27, 2016 Analytic Essay Youth Gang and Violence Delinquent Behavior â€Å"Gang† â€Å"Youth Gang† and â€Å"Street Gang† are just labels used to describe young people consisting of three or more individuals organized to achieve a typical objective and who share a common identity. There is no single and universally accepted definition of gang, gang member and gang activities in the United States, however, the Federal Definition according to National InstituteRead MoreBaltimore Riots : Option 1992 Words   |  4 Pagesthe events pose sociological interests that are different from other recent riots and protests. In addition, the context is different because unlike past riots where ethnic race was a contributor, this riot was more about social injustice and class stratification. Furthermore, these riots show that even though the carnage is localized to one city, and sometimes even just a few blocks, the repercussions can ripple countrywide. Finally, within sociology, there are many theories as to why socialRead MoreThe Gang Th at The Author, Sudhir Venkantesh1148 Words   |  5 Pages I would describe the gang that the author, Sudhir Venkantesh, studies in this book as a deviant group because they are not following usual or accepted standards in social behavior. â€Å"Deviance is a behavior, trait or belief that departs from a norm and generates a negative reaction in a particular group†. (Real World, Kerry Ferris, Jill Stein, p 153) According to this definition we can definitely see gangs departing from a norm by committing many crimes and not obeying the laws. One example to deviantRead MoreThe Problem Of Violence And Violence1702 Words   |  7 Pagesthe UK’s Government has reviewed the existence of gangs and the extent of violence caused by these gangs. An intensive prevention strategy has been put into place and has been running for a small number of years. Failing to evaluate the effectiveness of the project; the Home Office have spent over  £10 million on their ‘Ending Gang and Youth Violence’ programme (House of Commons, 2017 ). It is paramount that a unified definition of the term ‘gangs’ is understood by the Home Office and Police forcesRead MoreSocial Disorganization Theory And Crime998 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Power , Social Disorganization Theory and Crime Introduction: In the television show â€Å"Power†, organized crime is the most prevalent form of crime displayed. Organized crime can be defined as a methodically unlawful activity for profit on a city-wide. interstate and worldwide scale. The act of engaging in criminal activity as a structured assembly is called racketeering in the United States. The premise of this project is to research social disorganization theory as it pertains to the televisionRead MoreCity of God949 Words   |  4 Pagesvaries from that of sociological theorists, I think we can both conclude that this movie is an extreme representation as to what can occur when society shuns away disadvantaged youths to a place that lacks justice as well as ethical and moral responsibilities. Sociological perspectives regarding crime emphasize the interconnections between conformity and deviance in different social contexts (cite). In the following paper I will attempt to analyze three sociological theories and apply their viewsR ead MoreAnalysis Of The Film City Of God 1428 Words   |  6 PagesThe film, â€Å"City of God† portrays numerous of brutal acts of violence and crime. This film depicts the deviant acts of a sociopathic gang leader, Li’l Ze and his fellow members. He recruits numerous of young kids and teaches them how to become a hood. He kills those who try to stop him from getting what he wants, which is being the one and only drug dealer. He leaves the town of Rio in distraught and in fear of their own life. Even when someone tries to get out of the slum and wants to begin a brandRead MoreA Sociological Aspect of Gang Activity1743 Words   |  7 PagesGangs can be classified as a group of adolescents who are perceived to be a threat to society, are mostly recognized by their name and territorial power, and have been involved in numerous acts that violate criminal law procedures in North America. (Esbensen, Winfree, He and Taylor, 2001). The first theme that was present in the p ieces of literature collected was the lack of opportunities. As previously stated before, becoming involved in a gang starts at a young age. An article titled â€Å"Youth Gangs

Teenage Pregnancy Prevention Through Prescription...

Teenage Pregnancy Prevention through Prescription Contraceptives Denise Houy George Washington University NURS 6205 June 6, 2016 Teenage Pregnancy Prevention through Prescription Contraceptives What’s the issue? Teenage and unplanned pregnancy is always a trending topic in society. The United States has made substantial progress in reducing teenage birth rates during the past several decades, but rates remain high, particularly compared with rates in other developed countries (Godfrey, 2015).With the rates being so high in the United States still, we still need to continue promoting prevention of teenage pregnancy so that there will be a continue of decline in rates. There are many ways to prevent teenage or unplanned†¦show more content†¦One option of public assistance that teenagers have access to and can apply for is through the Affordable Care Act (ACA), where they can see if they are eligible for Medicaid. For individuals up to the age of 21 years in Virginia that cannot afford prescription contraceptives would be a benefit to Senate Bill 404. This bill requires the State Board of Medical Assistance Services to include in its state plan for medical assi stance a provision for the payment of medical assistance for any prescribed drug or device approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration for use as a contraceptive and requires such provision to provide payments to dispensers for dispensing of prescription contraceptives intended to last for a 12-month period (S. 404, 2016). This will provide medical assistance and reimbursements or payments for FDA approved prescription drug or devices for contraceptives for a period of 12 months. What’s the background and significance? Although there has been a tremendous decline in teenage pregnancy and birth rates in the United States since 1991, rates are the highest of any western industrialized nation and comparable countries (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2016). Roughly one in four girls will be pregnancy at least once before age 20 (National Conference of State Legislatures, 2016). There are many disparities among teens in the United States that include racial and ethnic lines, geographic regions, rural and urban areas, and

“A business report of E-commerce for VG Jones” Free Essays

Electronic commerce on the Internet will, before the end of the century, profoundly redefine many basics of business. A fundamental new rule for business is that the Internet changes everything. Internet-driven electronic commerce is essential for organizations entering a virtual distribution marketplace and wishing to survive in it. We will write a custom essay sample on â€Å"A business report of E-commerce for VG Jones† or any similar topic only for you Order Now Just as â€Å"location, location, location† defines value in real estate, in business today it’s connectivity that equals competitiveness. Many Information Superhighway enthusiasts believe that networks of small firms or individuals constitute a new organizational form that will prove its superiority to both large, hierarchical corporations, on the one hand, and anarchical market relationships, on the other. Millions of consumers and businesses are waiting in line to participate in the expansion of intergalactic and gigantic virtual marketplaces. Most organizations now must compete in two marketplaces: a physical (traditional) one and the emerging electronic one, mediated by the Internet. The electronic highway is not merely open for business; it is relocating, restructuring, and literally redefining business in America.2 Analysis of Amazon.com Amazon.com Advantage is a proven and powerful means of distribution and order fulfillment. Work directly with the Internet’s leading retailer to market your products to customers.11 Access to tens of millions of Amazon.com customers around the world Leverage Amazon’s remarkable selling power with your whole catalog — including Not Yet Released and backlist items Your titles are eligible for Amazon’s world-class marketing programs like personalization and auto-merchandising Your products are available to ship to customers within 24 hours Control most aspects of your product’s Detail Pages Receive quick and easy payments when your products sell Enjoy limited returns Support from our member services team 7 days a week Log in to your online account to confirm POs, add titles, and review sales reports Launched in 1996, Associates is Amazon.com’s affiliate marketing program. By linking to Amazon products and services you can add compelling content for your site visitors enjoyment and receive up to 8.5% in referral fees for doing so. As one of the first online affiliate marketing programs, Associates has a 10-year track record of developing solutions to help website owners, Web developers, and Amazon sellers make money. Our latest innovations include aStore, Omakaseâ„ ¢ Links, and Product Previews. Current participants in the Amazon Associates program include large, well-known sites, niche content sites and blogs, comparison shopping engines, search engine marketers, and everything in between. Visit our Current Associates page to see how some of these members are using our solutions. How the Program Works Associates drive internet traffic to Amazon.com through specially formatted links that allow us to track sales and other activity. Associates earn up to 8.5% in referral fees on all qualifying revenue made through their links. We send quarterly payment to Associates. Once you join the program, we will give you access to Associates Central, our extranet exclusive to our Associates. This is the place where you will build your links, view your traffic and earnings reports, and read about the latest news and opportunities available to you through the program. 11 Participation is Easy and Free Complete the online application. Create post your links to Amazon.com using our Build Links tool in Associates Central. Begin tracking your traffic and earnings reports online. Reports are updated daily. Put Amazon.com Corporate Accounts to work for you! Whether you’re a purchasing manager, teacher or professor, small business owner, librarian, clergy member, or government worker, our Corporate Accounts program enables you to purchase everything you need quickly, easily, and conveniently. For a limited time, we’re offering mylar jackets for no additional cost. To take advantage of this offer, simply use the coupon code, OKUTFCMX, when placing your order. Amazon can now integrate with major procurement systems like Ariba, SAP, Oracle and PeopleSoft. You can now have a customized Amazon website that fits your Intranet look and feel with a seamless integration to your procurement system.11 How to cite â€Å"A business report of E-commerce for VG Jones†, Papers

Salsa Music Essay Example For Students

Salsa Music Essay Salsa Music a popular genre of Latin American music. Since itsemergence in the mid-1960s, salsa has achieved worldwidepopularity, attracting performers and audiences not only in LatinAmerican communities but also in such non-Latin countries as Japanand Sweden. In terms of style and structure, salsa is areinterpretation and modernization of Cuban dance-music styles. It emerged around 1900 as an urban, popular dance-music style inCuba. It derived some features from Hispanic music, including itsharmonies and the use of the guitar and a similar instrument calledthe tres. To these, it added characteristics of the rumba, a style ofdance music with Afro-Cuban origins. Features derived from therumba include a rhythmic pattern known as clave and a two-partformal structure. This structure consists of a songlike first sectionfollowed by a longer second section featuring call-and-responsevocals and instrumental improvisations over a repeated chordalpattern. By the 1940s the son had become the most popular dancemusic in Cuba, Puerto Rico, and much of urban Africa; Puerto Ricanswho moved to New York City brought the son with them. The 1950s were a particularly dynamic period for Cuban dancemusic. Cuban and Puerto Rican performers in Havana, Cuba, andNew York City popularized the mambo as a predominantlyinstrumental, big-band style. The mambo, together with themedium-tempo chachach?, enjoyed considerable popularity in theUnited States. Most importantly, the son was modernized byadaptation to horn-based ensembles of 10 to 15 musicians anddistinctive, often jazz-influenced instrumental styles. By the 1950s, New York City had become host to a large andgrowing Puerto Rican community. A wave of social and politicalactivism, cultural self-assertion, and artistic ferment swept throughthis community in the 1960s. The newly founded Fania Recordssuccessfully promoted several young performers of Cuban-styledance music, and the music?now repackaged as salsa?becamelinked to the sociopolitical effervescence of the era. Bandleaderssuch as Willie Colon, Rub?n Blades, Johnny Pacheco, Ray Barretto,and Eddie Palmieri led the musical movement, in which salsabecame a self-conscious vehicle for Latino pride, unity, andmobilization throughout the Hispanic Caribbean Basin countries andamong Latino communities in the eastern United States. Mostimportantly, however, salsa, with its intricate and driving rhythms,its brilliant horn arrangements, and its searing vocals, served as anexuberant and exhilarating dance music. By the mid-1970s, salsa had become the dominant popular musicidiom in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, with Venezuela andColombia emerging as music centers to rival New York City. Butduring the 1980s, salsas themes of Latin unity and sociopoliticalidealism diminished. In addition, the genre faced new competition,especially in New York City and Puerto Rico, from the merengue, adance-music style from the Dominican Republic. Nevertheless, salsahas remained popular among younger generations of Latinos, whotend to favor a smoother, more sentimental style known as salsarom?ntica, popularized by such bandleaders as Eddie Santiago andTito Nieves. Notable salsa singers of the 1990s included LindaIndia Caballero and Mark Anthony.

Australians Dreamtime Essays - Culture, , Term Papers

Australians' Dreamtime I am going to describe anthropologically the aboriginal Australians' Dreamtime.The Dreamtimeis a term that depicts unique stories and beliefs that are claimed and held by different Aboriginal groups within Australia. The historical background of the Dreamtime word and its implications says something about the development of the ideas held aboutthe Aboriginal world, and how they are expressed through art. The Dreamtime appeared as a word to portray the Aboriginal Creation mythology, and was first used in the 1890s. It was developed from Aranda culture by a white man who was based in Alice Springs and had a very good working knowledge of the local Aboriginal languages. During the mid-1890s the Dreamtime was popularized in the work of Baldwin Spencer, who was a prominent anthropologistworking atthetime. The Dreamtime word has since gone into general usage in Australia as a description of the religious beliefs of Aboriginal communities, and has come down through the twentieth centur y as a widely understood term. Traditions Aboriginal religion revolves around the Dreamtime. Totems are also an important part of Aboriginal religious identity. Totems are symbols from the natural world that serve to identify people and their relationships with one another in the social world. For instance, a family or clan may be associated with a certain bird. That bird's nature, whether it is ferocious or peaceful, a bird of prey or a songbird, is associated with the family or clan that uses it as its totem. The religious world of the Aboriginal Australians is inhabited by ghosts of the dead, as well as a variety of spirits who control certain aspects of the natural world, such as the Rainbow Serpent, who brings rain. Rituals are performed to placate these spirits and to increase the fertility of certain species of animals that are important to the Aborigines. Since the colonization of Australia, many Aboriginal people have converted to Christianity, either by choice or through t he influence of education in mission schools. For generations, European colonists would remove children from Aboriginal families and send them to Christian schools. This practice was thought to be in the best interests of the Aborigines. Resentment over these kidnappings is still strong. Cultural relativism wrongly claims that each culture has its own distinct but equally valid mode of perception, thought, and choice. Cultural relativism, the opposite of the idea that moral truth is universal and objective, contends there is no such thing as absolute right and wrong. There is only right and wrong as specified by the moral code of each society. Within a society , a standard of right and wrong can be inviolate. Cultural relativism maintains that man's opinion within a given culture defines what is right and wrong. Cultural relativism is the mistaken idea that there are no objective standards by which our society can be judged because each culture is entitled to its own beliefs and accepted practices. No one can object to any society's intolerance that reflects its indigenous worldview. Because there is no objective moral truth that pertains to all people and for all times, one moral code is no be t ter or no worse than any other. Different scholar s have given their understanding of the term ethnocentrism. According to anthropologists, the concept combines the belief that one's own culture is superior to other cultures, with the practice of judging other cultures by the standards of o ne's own culture. Ethnocentrism is also defined as a feeling that one's own group has a mode of living, values and patterns of adaptation that are superio r to other groups . Ethnology is the scientific study of the origin and functioning of humans and their cultures. It is a major branch of cultural anthropology. The researcher has observed that people in developed countries of Europe and America tend to despise other nations and their customs terming them as queer and foolish, just because they are different from their own. The "western church' has not been spared from prejudices and biases about African religion as revealed by missionary's attitudes. It is believed that ethnocentrism is a major cause of problems between the wes tern industrialized portion of the world and the developing nations. Ethnicity and the related concept

The Top 9 ACT English Strategies You Must Use

The Top 9 ACT English Strategies You Must Use SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The ACT English section can be intimidating. You have to know grammar rules that may seem obscure to you, and the ACT folks even expect you to know how to properly use commas. Not only do you have to know your grammar, but also you have to to know how to analyze ACT English passages, and you have to know how to organize them. You're tested on a wide range of skills and you don’t have much time to answer each question. If you’re wondering how to possibly go about studying for ACT English and improving your score, then this is the post for you. In this article, I’ll give you my top 9 strategies to help you ace the ACT English section. These are meant to be study tips that will require time and diligence. The most important advice I can give you is to keep practicing. Focus your studying on areas that need improvement. However, that's advice that anyone can give. If you can successfully execute the following specific strategies, I guarantee your ACT English success: Know the Format Determine the Best Way for You to Approach the Passages Learn the Grammar Rules Use Official Practice Tests Categorize Missed Questions Carefully Review and Analyze Real ACT Questions Simulate Test Day Conditions Use Your Target Score to Focus Your Study Plan Think About the Differences Between Answer Choices #1: Familiarize Yourself With the Format If you know the format of the ACT English section well, you'll be more comfortable with the test and can reducetest day anxiety. You should know that you have 45 minutes for 75 questions. There are five passages. The questions test your knowledge of standard written English and rhetorical skills. Most ACT English questions refer to underlined portions of a sentence within a passage, and you have to determine how to correct the underlined portion. Here is an example: Additionally, you should know the content distribution of the questions to help prioritizeyour studying. This is the general breakdown of the distribution of questions that appear in ACT English: Usage/Mechanics Punctuation (10-15%)- Commas, Other Punctuation Grammar and Usage (15-20%)- Subject-Verb Agreement, Faulty Modifiers, Verb Tense and Forms, Pronoun Agreement, Pronoun Case, Adjective and Adverb Errors, Idioms Sentence Structure (20-25%)- Parallelism, Faulty Modifiers, Run-Ons and Fragments, Relative Pronouns, Verb Tense and Forms Rhetorical Skills Strategy (15-20%)- Add/Delete, Relevance, Author Main Goal, Author Technique Organization (10-15%)- Macro Logic, Transitional Logic Style (15-20%)- Word Choice and Diction, Pronoun Agreement, Wordiness and Redundancy, Formality I put a few of the grammar rules in two of the categories because those rules can be tested in multiple ways. For example, a question testing pronoun number agreement would be a grammar question and a question about an ambiguous pronoun would be a style question, but you can learn about both of those rules in the post on pronoun agreement. Also, because most of the writing style questions are related to grammar concepts, the majority of the ACT English section is based on specific rules that you can master before you take your ACT. The organization and strategy questions test your reading comprehension and ability to analyze parts of a passage or the passage as a whole. It's very important that, before you take the ACT, you're comfortable with the content, the types of questions, and completing the ACT English section in less than 45 minutes. Get comfortable with ACT English. #2: Figure Out the Best Way to Approach ACT English Passages There are multiple ways to approach ACT English passages and you should determine the best approach for you well before test day. These are the possible approaches you can use: paragraph by paragraph, answer as you go, sentence by sentence, or passage first. For a thorough explanation of how to choose and test your method, check out this article on how to approach ACT English passages. Make sure to use your preferred approach on practice tests to hone it and determine its effectiveness. Using the same approach maximizes your efficiency; therefore, you need to use the same approach consistently. If you're not achieving your desired results on practice tests and questions, you can consider changing your approach. However, once you decide on the best approach for you, stick with it. Drill it enough so you use it without even thinking about it. #3: Know What Grammar Rules the ACT Tests The ACT tests the same grammar rules over and over, so knowing these rules will be crucial to your success on ACT English. Since the concepts also tend to appear in the same ways, it's also helpful to make sure you understand how the ACT structures the questions. Some of the more commonly tested grammar topics are commas, wordiness and redundancy, and verb tenses and forms. Read the PrepScholar blogs on each grammar rule: Subject-Verb Agreement Commas Punctuation Pronoun Agreement Pronoun Case Idioms Word Choice and Diction Errors Run-On Sentences and Fragments Parallel Structure Faulty Modifiers Adjective and Adverb Errors Verb Tense and Forms Wordiness and Redundancy Relative Pronouns If you understand the ACT grammar rules and how to apply them, you'll do well on the ACT English section. #4: Focus on Using Real Practice Tests to Study The best practice questions are those that come from actual ACTs. Those are most representative of what you'll find when you take your real ACT. Unfortunately, many unofficial materials aren't true to the test. The practice questions from many prep books or websites don't cover the right concepts, they're presented in a different format, and they're either much easier or more difficult than the questions on the ACT English section. Make sure you're using the best sources for ACT English practice. If you're using bad materials, you're not using your study time effectively, and your efforts are less likely to produce your desired results. If you want additional content review or explanation, check out our articles on the best ACT prep books and websites. Also, the PrepScholar program is written by experts who have extensive teaching experience and scored in the 99th percentile on the ACT. The practice questions are based on real ACT questions. #5: Categorize and Review Missed Questions This strategy may sound weird or hard, but it's actually extremely important. When you do ACT English practice, keep track of all the questions you miss or are unsure about. Then, categorize thesequestions by the grammar rule that's being tested or by the specific type of rhetorical skills question. Why You Should Categorize Questions Categorizing all of the questions you missor guesscorrectly on will help you determine where you have skill deficiencies. Then, you can focus your studying on the areas on which you have weaknesses. The ACT English section tests the same types of questions repeatedly. If you know how to correctly answer each type of question, no question should confuse you when you take the test. How to Categorize Questions Ideally, you should be able to categorize questions on your own. However, if you need help determining the type of question, there are some sources you can use that provide real ACT example questions and thorough explanations to those questions. On the PrepScholar blog, we have written articles on every grammar rule and type of rhetorical skills question that appears on the ACT. Each PrepScholar article has example questions, explanations, and offers strategies for answering questions related to the topic. The ACT website has free English practice and explanations for the answers. Additionally, The Real ACT Prep Guide has 5 official ACTs with detailed explanations of all of the test questions. Learn from your mistakes! #6: Review Examples of Questions Related to Each Grammar Rule and Type of Rhetorical Skills Question This strategy will help you increase your familiarity with and comprehension of all of the different types of questions that appear on the ACT. Create a study guide of real ACT questions for each grammar rule and each type of rhetorical skills question. Compile questions fromthe PrepScholar blog, official ACT tests, and other quality source material in a notebook or computer document, and organize them according to question type (e.g. subject-verb agreement, relevance, etc.). For each question in this study guide, you should be able to understand and explain how to arrive at the correct answer.I recommend doing this in addition to keeping track of your missed questions, which you should also categorize and review. If you spend ample time reviewing these questions, you'll solidify your understanding of the concepts and be much more confident with the material on the ACT English section. #7: Take Timed Practice Tests Simulating Test Day Conditions Taking the ACT can be a mentally draining, pressure-filled experience. To alleviate your test day anxiety and build up your endurance, you should take 3 full length, timed practice tests prior to your real ACT. Use a timer and take only the ACT-allowed breaks. It's important to practice maintaining focus for such a long period of time. Also, taking practice tests will enable you to determine if you're having issues with time management. If you're running out of time on the ACT English section, monitor your time spent per question when you're doing practice questions. You should spend less than a minute on each question and easier questions should take less than 30 seconds. To complete the ACT English section in the allottedtime, you can spend no more than an average of 36 seconds per question. If you're finishing with more than 5 minutes left and getting more than a couple of questions wrong, slow down. You're rushing. Read questions more carefully and look at the answer choices more closely. With the time you have left over, review the questions you're unsure about. #8: Use Your Target Score to Focus and Inform Your Studying Knowing your ACT English target score can give you a better idea of how and what to study. Because your ACT score is an average of your section scores, your ACT English target score should roughly match your ACT composite target score. If you're particularly good at English or applying to a humanities program, your ACT English target score can be slightly higher. If you're better at math and science or applying to an engineering program, your ACT English target can be slightlylower than your ACT composite target score. Based on your ACT English target score, you can determine roughly how many questions you need to get right to reach your goal. Refer to this article for information on how the ACT is scored and a sample conversion table for the ACT English section. Typically, if you want to get a 36 on ACT English, you need to get every single question right. Therefore, you need to know how to correctly answer every type of grammar and rhetorical skills question. If your goal is a 25, you need to get about 58 questions right out of 75 (the exact number varies based on the scale for that edition of the test). To reach this target score, you should focus your studying on the most commonly tested rules. If you can master the basics and the most common types of questions, you should have no trouble reaching this goal. Make sure to review the article on the distribution of appearance of the grammar rules on the ACT. Use your target score to help you. #9: Consider How Answer Choices Are Different From Each Other For grammar questions, the answer choices can provide clues indicating the specific grammar rule that is being tested. When you're doing practice questions, consider how the answer choices vary from one another. If the only difference between choices is the presence and placement of commas, it's a comma question. If the answer choices only vary in that they're different tenses of the same verb, it's a verb tense question. Check out this real ACT example question: Just from looking at the answer choices, we can tell this is a verb tense question. In case you're wondering, the correct answer is J. The verb tenses in the first and second sentences should be consistent. Also, keep in mind that one question can test multiple grammar rules. For example, a verb question mighttest your knowledge of both verb tenses and subject-verb agreement. If you follow the 9 strategies I gave you in this post, you'll be able to ascend to the top of Mount ACT English. You'll be proud of your discipline, confident in your skills, and grateful that you read this article. What's Next? To supplement the information in this article, make sure to study the top tips for ACT English and the 5 critical concepts you must understand to ace ACT English. You'll also want to review the most common ACT English mistakes so you don't fall into the common ACT English traps. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this English lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

IN PATIENTS WHERE INFECTION IS A CONCERN FOR WOUND HEALING IS TAP Research Proposal

IN PATIENTS WHERE INFECTION IS A CONCERN FOR WOUND HEALING IS TAP WATER AS EFFECTIVE AS STERILE SALINE IN WOUND CLEANSING - Research Proposal Example There is no evidence that using tap water to cleanse acute wounds in adults increases infection and some evidence that it reduces it. However there is no strong evidence that cleansing wounds per se increases healing or reduces infection. In the absence of potable tap water, boiled and cooled water as well as distilled water can be used as wound cleansing agents. PICO QUESTION: In postsurgical patients who are for hospital discharge with wounds that require regular cleansing and irrigation, does wound cleansing using tap water have significant effects compared with using 0.9% normal saline solution in terms of wound healing or infection? Selection of potential articles, assessment of methodological quality and data abstraction was conducted independently by two reviewers. Trials with similar patients, comparisons, and outcomes were pooled. The data were analysed using Cochrane Review Manager 4.2. Where pooling was inappropriate, trials are discussed in a narrative review. Fourteen randomised controlled trials were included that compared various solutions for wound cleansing. The evidence indicates that there is no difference in the infection and healing rates in acute and chronic wounds cleansed with either tap water or normal saline. The evidence supports the use of potable tap water for cleansing lacerations in both adults and children and postoperative wounds in adults only. Potable tap water as well as boiled and cooled water is also an effective wound cleansing solution. This finding, however, is based on a trial that had a small sample size. PICO QUESTION: In postsurgical patients who are for hospital discharge with wounds that require regular cleansing and irrigation, does wound cleansing using tap water have significant effects compared with using 0.9% normal saline solution in terms of wound healing or

Inheriting My Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Inheriting My Culture - Essay Example I remember very well it was on the 24th of August 2009, a Thursday afternoon when I received a call from my mother. Little did I know that this would be the call that would change my attitude towards the culture of my people. I was with my friends shooting pool at the campus lounge. She told me that my grandfather who we nicknamed â€Å"Pa† had asked for me to go visit him in hospital. At the time he was eighty years old and had been diagnosed earlier in the year with throat cancer. By the time the cancer was caught it had grown so much that the doctors said he had a maximum of eight months to leave. So after being given the news by my mother I left my friends and decided to go see him. On reaching the hospital I found my mum and my extended family waiting in the hall way with most of them soaked in tears. Instantly I assumed the inevitable had happened and I also broke down into tears. When my mother saw me she told me that my grandfather was still alive but the doctors had informed them that he only had a few hours of life. I went to the cancer ward and entered his room. When he heard the door he immediately asked;† Chang is that you?† and I answered while crying; â€Å"yes grandfather†. He turned his head with a lot of effort after noticing I was crying and stretched out his hand towards me and told me that there was no need for crying because he was going to a better place. I went closer to him and held his hand. He told me that there was not much time left and that he had something to important to tell me. He pointed at the closet and told me to go pick a brown leather bag. I did as he instructed and brought it to him. He asked me to open th e bag and after opening the bag I saw two sets of painting brushes and some ink. This is where he informed me that we come from a family of brush painters and that the art was handed down from father to son for hundreds of years. He then told me that since my father was not alive and I was the oldest male child in our family that it was my turn to continue the family culture and that I should also hand it down to my siblings in future. He started coughing heavily and managed to utter â€Å"do not forget your roots Chang† before the doctors and nurses came in and asked me to go outside. I went to the hall way and five minutes later the doctor came to where we had sat in the waiting hall while nodding his head. Everyone broke into tears as we found out â€Å"Pa â€Å"had passed on. According to our culture, if an elderly person dies, a wake should be held for at least three days then the body is cremated. Due to financial constraints, the family decided to hold a wake for my grandfather one week after we had raised money to clear the enormous hospital bill. I decided to research on the tools my grandfather left me in order for me to paint a picture within that one week for it to be displayed during the wake in memory of my late grandfather. After doing a lot of research in the library about the painting brushes my grandfather left me I discovered that I come from a generation of remarkable painters. I discovered that our family was specifically renowned for a type of painting known as Chinese brush painting. This is a type of art painting in China where once a paint brush strokes the Painting paper with painting ink, it is neither corrected nor is it improved (Cherrett, 2). No sketch or model whatsoever is used in the course of brush painting. From the

Network Management Tools Scholarship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5750 words

Network Management Tools - Scholarship Essay Example The big burst through that enabled the streaming revolt was the implementation of a new Internet protocol called the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) and new indoctrination modus operandi that compressed audio files into tremendously small packets of data. UDP made streaming media reasonable by transmitting data more resourcefully than prior protocols from the host server over the Internet to the client player or end listener. More up to date protocols for instance the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) are making the transmission of data even better at your job (Tenenbom, 1996).UDP and RTSP are idyllic for audio dissemination given that they place a high precedence on unremitting streaming rather than on utter document sanctuary. Disparate TCP and HTTP transmission, when a UDP audio packet drops out, the server keeps sending information, reasoning only a brief malfunction as an alternative of a massive gap of silence. TCP, on the other hand, keeps trying to resend the lost packet befor e distributing anything more, cause greater delays and breakups in the audio broadcast (Brenton, 2003). Former to UDP and RTSP transmission, data was sent over the Web for the most part via TCP and HTTP. TCP transmission, in difference to UDP and RTSP transmission, is planned to constantly transfer text documents, email, and HTML web pages over the Internet while enforcing maximum steadfastness and data veracity rather than correctness. Since HTTP transmission is based on TCP, it is also not complementary for transmitting multimedia presentations that rely on time-based...UDP and RTSP are idyllic for audio dissemination given that they place a high precedence on unremitting streaming rather than on utter document sanctuary. Disparate TCP and HTTP transmission, when a UDP audio packet drops out, the server keeps sending information, reasoning only a brief malfunction as an alternative of a massive gap of silence. TCP, on the other hand, keeps trying to resend the lost packet before distributing anything more, cause greater delays and breakups in the audio broadcast (Brenton, 2003). Former to UDP and RTSP transmission, data was sent over the Web for the most part via TCP and HTTP. TCP transmission, in difference to UDP and RTSP transmission, is planned to constantly transfer text documents, email, and HTML web pages over the Internet while enforcing maximum steadfastness and data veracity rather than correctness. Since HTTP transmission is based on TCP, it is also not complementary for transmitting multimedia presentations that rely on time-based processes or for large-scale broadcasting (Brenton, 2003).

Macro Environmental Analysis Of Italy

Macro Environmental Analysis Of Italy Political aspects The Italian politics and government are a fusion of democracy and republic, with peoples representatives in the parliament ruling the country. Italys Chief of state is President Giorgio Napolitano. Premier Minister Silvio Berlusconi is the head of the state in Italy. He administrates a multi-party system for successful running of the political activities. Italy was a founding member of the European Union (EU). Today Italy is a member of many significant international organsations like MIF, UN, G8, NATO, OECD, GATT/WTO or the OSCE. Italy has been a member of WTO since 1995 and it is also important to say that all EU member states are WTO members. So Italys trade policy is almost the same as that of other members of the European Union. This fact makes clear that WTO trading partners have less problems in trading because of the removal of all barriers to international trade in goods and services. Demographical aspects Italy has developed into an industrial country, which is divided in two parts. The first part is the industrial developed north, which is dominated by private companies. The second part is the agricultural south. The unemployment in the south is pretty high and it is clearly to see that this part of Italy is less developed. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is one of the most important economical indicators. For Italy the GDP is $1.823 trillion in 2008. But one has to keep in mind that this number does not refer to the population. If one wants to take in this aspects one should look at the GDP (PPP). For Italy this is $31,300 this means how much the average person living in Italy hast to spend. As an investor this number might become very handy because one can see how much money a country has to consume in luxury goods. Instead of being able to afford ones basic needs. The real GDP growth rate in Italy achieved an amount of -1% in 2008. The main industries in Italy are tourism, machin ery, iron and steel, chemicals, food processing, textiles, motor vehicles, clothing, footwear, ceramics. The main resources of Italy are mined products like coal, zinc, natural gas and a crude oil reserves. Macro environmental analysis of India Political aspects India is a democracy. The people of India elect their governments at all levels (Union, State and local) by a system of universal adult franchise; popularly known as ‘One man one vote . The central government exercises its broad administrative powers in the name of the President, whose duties are largely ceremonial. The constitution designates the governance of India under two branches namely the executive branch and Real national executive power is centered in the Council of Ministers, led by the Prime Minister of India. India suffered political instability for a few years due to the failure of any party to win an absolute majority in Parliament. However, political stability did not change Indias economic course though it delayed certain decisions relating to the economy. Membership of international organizations: ADB, AfDB (nonregional member), ARF, ASEAN (dialogue partner), BIMSTEC, BIS, C, CERN (observer), CP, EAS, FAO, G-15, G-20, G-24, G-77, IFAD, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, LAS (observer), NAM, OAS (observer), PIF (partner), SCO (observer), UN, UNESCO, UNWTO, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO International Relations: International relations ships between India and a lot of the countries in our world have been relatively good. Trade Policy: India is a member of the World Trade Organization and its predecessor the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). While participating in its council meetings, India has been crucial in voicing the concerns of the developing world. For instance, India has continued its opposition to the inclusion of such matters as labour and environment issues and other non-tariff barriers into the WTO policies. Despite reducing import restrictions several times in the 2000,India was evaluated by the World Trade Organization in 2008 as more restrictive than similar developing economies, such as Brazil, China, and Russia. The WTO also identified electricity shortages and inadequate transportation infrastructure as significant constraints on trade. Its restrictiveness has been cited as a factor which has isolated it from the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 more than other countries, even though it has reduced ongoing economic growth. Demographical aspects India has a total population of 1,17 billion people in 2009 and growth rate of 1.5 % in 2009 with an average age of 25 years. India has a lot of young people and with a Birth rate of 21.76 births/1,000 it has the highest birth rate of the three countries. Little over a quarter of the population in India lives in citys with 29% this is relatively low. However the degree of urbanization in india is 2,4% wich is also the highest urbanization rate of our three countries. The labour force in india is the second largest in the world with 523.5 million people in 2008 it is also the biggest of our three countries. There is a lot of difference in education levels in india. There is a strong line between really high education and people that are not or poorly educated. Comparison between Italy and India Political aspects India is a democracy, Italy is a fusion of democracy and republic. This means that both countries are free and people who live there make the decisions. The people of India elect their government by a vote, which have the function of a President. Italys leader is President Giorgio Napolitano and Premier Minister Silvio Berlusconi. India is one of the major producing countries of coal. It also has significant deposits of iron, manganese, mica, bauxite, titanium, bromine, natural gas, diamonds, petroleum and limestone. The natural resources for Italy are mainly mined products like coal, zinc, natural gas and a crude oil reserves. India is not a member of the EU like Italy, which was a founding member of the EU, nevertheless international relationships between India and a lot of other countries have been relatively good. Demographical aspects India has a population of 1.166.079.217 habitants. In comparison Italys population is 58.000.000. Apart from the major difference in population, the demographical aspects for India and Italy are unequal. India has a population growth rate of 1.548% whereas Italy has a growth rate of -0.047%. The population in India is quite young in comparison with the population of Italy. In year 2005 Indias urbanization had an annual rate of 2.4%, Italy only 0.4%. These facts show us that there are a lot of differences between the two countries. Economical aspects As an economical indicator, often it is reffered to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). For India the GPD is $3.297 trillion with an annual growth of 6.7%. In Italy this amount is $1.823 trillion with a clear smaller growth rate of -5.1% per year. Both countries have in common that most of the GDP is made in the service sector. In Italy the service sector makes up 71% of the total GDP while in India it is 53.4%. Italys major exports are precision machinery, motor vehicles (utilitaries, luxury vehicles, motorcycles, scooters), chemicals and electric goods, but the countrys more famous exports are in the fields of food and clothing. Indias major export commodities included engineering goods, petroleum products, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, gems and jewellery, textiles and garments, agricultural products, iron ore and other minerals. Italy and India in comparison to The Netherlands Political aspects In the Netherlands the form of government is not similar to the ones from India or Italy. It is a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy state. The administration constitutionally consists of the Queen and the Cabinet Ministers. By the early eighties the Dutch welfare state had become the most extensive social security system In the world but the welfare state came into crisis when spending rose due to dramatic high unemployment rates and poor economic growth. The centre-right and centre-left coalitions wanted the Dutch welfare state to create new jobs and to bring the budget deficit under control. So that they reduced social benefits, lowered the taxes and deregulated the businesses. With these solutions the economy was recovered and the budget deficit and unemployment were reduced considerably. The Netherlands has a total of 11 Parties and the major political parties are CDA (Christian Democratic Appeal), PvdA (Labour Party), SP (Socialist Party), and VVD (Peoples Party for Freedom and Democracy). The Dutch Parliament consists of a Second Chamber and a First Chamber. Both chambers of parliament discuss proposed legislation and review of the actions of the cabinet. The CDA has the most seats in the Chambers. Membership of international organizations: The Netherlands is an active and responsible participant in the United Nations system as well as other multilateral organizations such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), World Trade Organization (WTO), and International Monetary Fund. Trade Policy: In 2007 the exports of the Netherlands were $457.2 billion. The main export commodities are machinery and equipment, fuels, chemicals and foodstuffs. The Netherlands is a strong proponent of free trade and is a member of international forums like WTO and OECD. The share of foreign trade in its GDP is more than 125%. The Netherlands top three export partners are Germany, Belgium and France. Demographical aspects With 16.5 Million inhabitants The Netherlands have a high population density of almost 400 people per square kilometres. The birth rate exceeds the death rate with 10.9/1000 people against 8.68 death/1000 population and a very high net immigration rate with 2.72 migrants/1000 people also contributes to this. Therefore the Dutch population increased by 50% since the 1960s. Lately the population boom is slowly declining. The population is mostly divided in middle-sized cities. Economical aspects between the different countries Economical aspects of the Netherlands The Netherlands has a prosperous and open economy, which depends heavily on foreign trade. Its economy is also noted for stable industrial relations, fairly low unemployment and inflation and a sizable current account surplus. From 2004 till 2006 the GDP went from about $610 billion up to $670 billion. The GDP per capita in the Netherlands is the highest of the tree mention countries. The country has been one of the leading European nations for attracting foreign direct investment and is one of the four largest investors in the US. The pace of job growth reached 10-year highs in 2007, but economic growth fell sharply in 2008 as fallout from the world financial crisis constricted demand and raised the specter of a recession in 2009. Main industries: Natural gas; Dutch industry is diversified and includes a variety of businesses that range from manufacturing, mining, and energy production to construction and chemical manufacturing. Economical aspects of Italy Italy has developed into an industrial country ranked by both the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund as the worlds seventh largest economy in USD exchange-rate terms and tenth largest in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP) by World Bank, IMF and the CIA World Factbook. More recently, Italy has faced sluggish economic growth and reduced international competitiveness. Italys economic strength is in the processing and the manufacturing of goods, primarily in small and medium-sized family-owned firms. The country has been less successful in terms of developing world class multinational corporations. Economical aspects of India India has had a market based system from 1991 till now. Before that the government blocked a lot of the import/ export products to protect the people. India achieved 9.6% GDP growth in 2006, 9.0% in 2007, and 6.6% in 2008 this probably due to the global economic crisis putting the country on position 28 in the world. The GDP (purchasing power parity) did however grow from $2.816 trillion in 2006 to $3.069 trillion in 2007 to $3.297 trillion in 2008 placing india on position 5 according to the cia world factbook. Most of this (53.4% 2008) comes from the services sector in India. Conclusion Which country will have the best market to export goods and products to? India is a very interesting country to trade with. The economy is on a strong growth trajectory and predictions are that it keeps growing. All India has to do is keep their market open and keep on working on improving their infrastructure and educational system, this would also improve their GDP per capita. India has also barely been affected by the economic crisis of 2008/2009 Italy on the other hand has had a real problem since the beginning of the crisis, in the EU Italy has taken one of the hardest hits on GDP (PPP) and GDP Growth rate, however, even before the start of the crisis the Italian economy had already been ‘sluggish. In the end, it all depends on what goods and products you are planning to export. Italy has few natural resources because Italy has specialized on industry and building luxury goods and for all this you need materials so exporting natural resources would be best here. In India we would export capital/consumer goods, if the economy keeps growing as predicted than that combined with the fact that the liberalization of import taxes continues also adding a population of over 1 billion people. Makes it one of the biggest potential markets in the world at this time. Concluding that both of the countries have their advantages, the EU in Italy and the market potential of India, we prefer India to trade with. Sources: www.cia.gov www.demographic-research.org www.economist.com www.geohive.com www.oecd.org www.oup.com www.wikipedia.org www.de.statista.com www.economicshelp.org www.wiki.answers.com

Learning to Become Literate :: essays research papers fc

Learning to Become Literate   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"In any literate society, people constantly see the best way to teach children how to read and write so that the younger generation can become fully functioning members of that society.† (Savage 15) This is obviously an important goal of any society that wants their children to be well educated and succeed in the world. Learning to be literate is a very important developmental milestone that is recognized cross-culturally. Its social importance is shown in the fact that in school; literacy makes up 2/3 of the three â€Å"R’s†. (Savage 15)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When becoming literate the most important thing a child can learn is that they can in fact learn in the way their school wants them to. They can be part of the school society and feel like they fit in with their friends who use literacy to communicate and play. â€Å"The bond between the teacher and the taught is strengthened; exploration, discovery, ambition and achievement expand and flourish.† (Meek 1) Reading and writing opens up a new world of opportunities for children and therefore is continuous research being done in order to ensure that the best methods of teaching our children are implemented. However studies show that a large portion of this milestone occurs before formal education is ever begun. (McLane and McNamee 4) 2 The fact that we wait so long to start to teach our children literacy is absurd. Teaching reading and writing should be done to all children in day care facilities, child development centers as well as head start programs and preschools. We cannot however just take the programs currently used in first grade classes and apply them to children in day cares and preschools. These would be developmentally inappropriate. (Strickland and Morrow 5) The program used for these younger learners must be based around â€Å"meaningful activities that involve reading and writing in a wide variety of ways.† The children should want to participate in the literate society that they are surrounded by everyday in their classroom, home and community. If this is accomplished there will automatically be a connection between literacy and experience, which is very beneficial to the learning process. Most importantly in the early childhood literacy curriculum that we apply the focus should always be on the child’s learning and not on the teaching. (6) Since a large portion of learning to become literate occurs prior to formal education parents need to be aware of what they can do before their children reach school age.

Dewey the Library Cat Book Summary Essay

The book tells the story of Dewey Readmore Books, a cat who found its way into a library book drop box one cold winter morning. Vicki Myron, the librarian found a frost bitten and freezing kitten and saved him. She immediately fell in love with him and nursed him back to health. The library eventually adopted the kitten, and had a contest to name him, Dewey Readmore Books. He lived 19 years in the Spencer Library, and became famous around the world. His story traveled around the world, and news crews came from as far as Japan to tell his story. Dewey also tells the story of the town of Spencer, Iowa. The town was in a depression. Dewey inspired the town to do better and to improve. He brought hope to the small town. Dewey was a cat who was able to transform a town. There are some funny parts in the book. Dewey always seemed to get into trouble in the library. Dewey’s addiction to rubber bands and miniature boxes is also quite funny. When Dewey gets old and becomes less playful and inactive, the town loses interest in its kitty. The author talks about the way our culture focuses on the young and beautiful and how we throw away the old. Dewey’s â€Å"mom† and head librarian, Vicki Myron, stands up for and cares for Dewey. She also becomes involved with people who are less valued as they age and function less in society. The book also tells the story of Vicki Myron’s struggles as a single mother. She had to develop a relationship with her own daughter, and Dewey helped that relationship. She also had many health issues and Dewey helped her deal with them. My favorite part of the book was Vicki first found Dewey. The way she cared for him during his recovery was amazing. The entire story was very good and I cannot think of anything bad about the book. I would recommend this book especially for cat lovers. Even if you do not love cats you cannot help but love the story of Dewey Readmore Books.

Movie Evaluating Criteria and Standards †Humanities Informal Essay

Movie Evaluating Criteria and Standards – Humanities Informal Essay Free Online Research Papers Movie Evaluating Criteria and Standards Humanities Informal Essay The evolution and widespread use of the genre in feature films, along with the tremendous amount of releases now offered to the movie-going public has now instilled in me a sense of standards for evaluating each film I view. With the many genres, however, I find myself using a different set of sub-standards that evaluate a particular genre. The particular genres that I enjoy viewing, and, hence evaluating, are science fiction / fantasy, action, comedy, horror, and drama. I am currently writing a script for a science fiction story that could easily be used as a movie, book, or even video game. Thus, I find myself being the most scrutinizing with this genre. When I see a science fiction or fantasy movie, I usually look for projected realism. This is a term I have created for myself to evaluate the ideas and actions presented within the framework of the universe created. Obviously, science fiction or fantasy movies with magic, space warp, etc, are not going to be â€Å"realistic† in the classic sense. Projected realism means, in a direct definition, â€Å"Ok, we have this galaxy (or this magical world or whatever). Given the physical laws (magic, light sabers, etc.) that are given to us with the film, would this particular scene really happen?† For example, the Force is supposed to be this mystical controlling power that can move objects with the mind. Would Darth Vader really want to toss large metal objects at Luke if he could rationally do something else? It is unfair to discard a science fiction story by the merits of its physical laws (i.e. Bavmorda couldn’t really turn people into pigs- magic doesn’t exist!) because, by virtue of its genre, that is what the writer has created for us. What I, as a viewer, have to do is put myself into that created world and become involved with its fictional physical laws to truly evaluate it. For a comedy, it is obvious what specific constraints I put on that genre- it has to make me laugh. Although there are a few areas of gray matter, for the most part, comedies fall into two major categories: dumb comedies and smart comedies. Dumb comedies are those that are centrally slapstick, normally require breakage of the laws of physics and of chance, and do not require any sophistication to laugh at. Dumb and Dumber, the Airplane series, The Naked Gun sequels, and most spoofs are considered to be in this category. It must be understood that I enjoy most of these very much. The criterion for these, however, is unique. They must make me laugh, and must not be so poorly written that I look at it and mutter, â€Å"what the heck was that in there for?† The majority of movies that cause me to say that are those with numerous sexual jokes. Although I do admit that some sexual jokes make me laugh, for the most part, they contain very little humor and rely more on the sexuality o f the situation than the humor to cause the laughter. For the perverse, the goal is accomplished, but for myself, it does need to contain some actual humor. The sophisticated, or â€Å"smart comedies† include those that are funny, but realistic fiction- given those circumstances and those characters, the laws of nature and physics would allow that story to actually happen. Most romantic comedies, e.g. My Best Friend’s Wedding, While You Were Sleeping, are smart comedies. Unless the humorous situations are poorly written (which is essentially my central criterion), I find that the romantic comedies I dislike are few and far between. Other comedies, such as Greedy, Clue, Trapped in Paradise, and the Father of the Bride movies are also â€Å"smart† movies. They have a realistic base, and are intelligently planned out. In truth, these are the most difficult comedies to make, which is why I have such great admiration and respect for them. Horror movies must scare me; suspense movies must put me in suspense. These criteria are obvious and apply to essentially all the movies in those genres. However, I do have a set of criteria that I apply to basically all of the films I see. The first aspect of a screenplay that I notice is its meaning. If a film has no meaning, then it is merely entertainment. I do not frown on entertainment for its own sake, and, as such, enjoy many a motion picture devoid of any purpose. However, the movies that I do not mind seeing and evaluating numerous times are those that the writer intended to display a greater meaning or purpose than normally granted to the public. Additionally, when I look at a film that has a message or a purported meaning, I try to dissect the symbolism. Several years ago, I used to over-evaluate movies and try to find symbols in almost every single aspect of the screenplay, but now, with my increased maturity, I have narrowed my view to those aspects of a film that truly attempt to express a point of human truth. It is not often that I see a meaningful movie that aims to express an eternal principle and does it very well. However, this July, a film was released that exemplified that criterion and did it so well that have I gladly paid to see it three times. This was the movie, Contact, with Jodie Foster. This film expressed the eternal principle of God with such skill that I left the theater with an altered personal philosophy. â€Å"Is there a God?† The movie poses the question very directly and never attempts to definitively answer the question but displays the many complications and truths inherent in maintaining either a theistic or an atheistic point of view towards this matter. This is why I liked the movie. It denounces the classic scientific principle of â€Å"if there is no evidence, then it is not true† without denouncing science as a holistic concept. It shows that things can be true without physical evidence. The movie showed that some things just cannot be proven with our limited methods of expression and explanation. Contact definitely had a meaning. It vindicated belief without true knowledge (i.e. human impression) and vindicated a liberal view of science as the study of wholeness of the universe, including God and the scientific laws inherent in such a higher power. I sincerely doubt there was anyone who walked out of the theater without being touched in some aspect. It is a film with direct elements and symbolism to be praised and emulated. Research Papers on Movie Evaluating Criteria and Standards - Humanities Informal EssayWhere Wild and West MeetHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows EssayHip-Hop is ArtMind TravelComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoHonest Iagos Truth through Deception19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andStandardized TestingResearch Process Part One

The Quasi-adjective Couple

The Quasi-adjective Couple The Quasi-adjective Couple The Quasi-adjective Couple By Maeve Maddox Many English speakers cringe to hear the following construction: Jack has a couple tickets for the play. Counting myself among the cringers, I prefer the standard construction: Jack has a couple of tickets for the play. I prefer the latter usage because I cant accept couple as an adjective describing tickets. To me the dropped of comes across as slovenly speech. As a noun couple means a union of two. It had its origin as a hunting term for a leash for holding two hounds together. In modern usage it often means a man and woman united by love or marriage. Well, now it can also mean a man and man or a woman and a woman etc. As a verb couple means to tie or fasten together in pairs, or to join or connect in any way. The OED offers two main entries for couple, one as noun and one as a verb. The adjectival use is noted under the noun entry: quasi-adj. a couple more (..), two more (colloq.). All of the OED examples given for this colloquial use of couple are used with the word more: Just you hang on for a couple minutes more a couple more cops to hold them at a decent distance I wonder if I could dictate a couple more letters Its going to be a couple more months..before we decide what to do. The dropping of the of in expressions in which couple is followed by a word other than more is described as a U.S. colloquialism. The spelling coupla is also documented and given an entry as a U.S. colloquial form of couple of. One of the examples is from the writing of English writer Dorothy Sayers: 1934 Nine Tailors III. II. 276 Hed had nothing to eat..for a coupla days. It seems to me that the spelling coupla has a certain merit. At least it sounds like an adjective, whereas a couple tickets just sounds incorrect. Merriam-Webster Unabridged treats couple as a genuine adjective meaning two and gives the examples a couple more oaths and a couple nights ago. If couple in these examples means two, I wonder why the article a would be necessary: a two more oaths; a two nights ago. No amount of carping will alter the fact that the a couple tickets construction is here to stay, but you wont catch me using it. 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 Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:7 English Grammar Rules You Should Know15 Types of DocumentsDealing With A Character's Internal Thoughts

Role of Relationship Marketing in Online and Traditional Marketing Dissertation

Role of Relationship Marketing in Online and Traditional Marketing Approaches - Dissertation Example This research will begin with the statement that with the introduction of new technological platforms in which to attract customers, the use of online marketing strategies has increased exponentially in recent years. However, there is no clear evidence of how this transition from traditional marketing to online marketing is affecting the telecommunication industry of the United Kingdom. Moreover, the role of relationship marketing in both online and traditional marketing is yet to be explored. Popularity of online marketing has increased in the recent years. With the increase in the numbers of internet users, marketers are more inclined to approach consumers using online sources. Online marketing is providing businesses with an opportunity to attain more with given level of inputs. There is a clear shift from traditional marketing to online marketing however it is yet to be explored how this transition is affecting the telecommunication industry of the United Kingdom. In a comparativ e sense, there are questions of how different online marketing strategies vary from traditional marketing and in what ways they relate to each other. Clearly, there is a link between the two forms of marketing but less evidence exists on the role of relationship marketing in both traditional and online marketing approaches. This study will explore how these two approaches of marketing are similar or different and what is role of relationship marketing in enhancing the effectiveness of these modes.... using the focus group interview methodology has identified major trends and themes in online and traditional marketing techniques used by Virgin Mobile, UK. These results present implications for the players in the telecommunication industry. 1. INTRODUCTION Popularity of online marketing has increased in the recent years. With the increase in the numbers of internet users, marketers are more inclined to approach consumers using online sources. Online marketing is providing businesses with an opportunity to attain more with given level of inputs (Haegele, 2001). There is a clear shift from traditional marketing to online marketing however it is yet to be explored how this transition is affecting the telecommunication industry of the United Kingdom. In a comparative sense, there are questions of how different online marketing strategies vary from traditional marketing and in what ways they relate to each other (Mirzaei, 2012). Clearly, there is a link between the two forms of marketin g but less evidence exists on the role of relationship marketing in both traditional and online marketing approaches. This study will explore how these two approaches of marketing are similar or different and what is role of relationship marketing in enhancing the effectiveness of these modes. 1.1 Research Aims and Objectives The aim of the research is to â€Å"examine the differences and similarities between online marketing and traditional marketing while exploring the role of relationship marketing in both these forms; UK's telecommunication industry (specifically Virgin Mobile) is selected as a case for the assessment†. Following are the objectives of this study: 1 To compare traditional marketing and internet/social-media marketing approaches used by Virgin Mobile, UK from a

How Convincing Is Porter's Model of National Competitive Advantage in Essay

How Convincing Is Porter's Model of National Competitive Advantage in Explaining the Workings and Achievements of Major Nation - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that international competitiveness of different countries is a great concern on governments and organizations. Countries do their best in order to ensure that they remain competitive in the international market. The interest on the competitiveness of countries has led to debates on the understanding and the true meaning of the international competitiveness of different countries. The purpose for the debates is due to the assumptions that underlie the theories of management that the competitiveness of firms may be transferred to countries. This was popularized by porter according to his diamond framework. Corporate strategies should be looked at from a global context. In spite of any given organization not having any plans of exporting or importing any goods directly. The management team of the organization is supposed to consider the international environments. This is because the action that the different organizations make on such issues as the competitors, sellers, buyers, substitute providers and the persons joining the market usually have a great influence on the domestic market. Michael Porter came up with a model that may be used to analyze the reasons as to why some nations may be more competitive compared to others and some given industries may be more competitive within a nation compared to others. This model may be used as a factor of determining national advantage and it is mostly referred to as the Porter’s diamond. The model suggests that an organizations national home base plays a great role in defining the extent that the organization is likely to be successful in the global scale as well as having a competitive advantage. The home base is able to provide some basic factors that may act as support for success and may at time hinder some organizations in building advantage grounds in a global competition. This model distinguishes four different determinants. The first determinant is the factor co ndition. This is the situation in a given country based on the factors of production such as infrastructure and skilled labor which may be relevant to make the country competitive in some industries. These factors may be placed in groups that include human resources, material resources, knowledge resource, infrastructure and capital resources. These factors also include research quality done by universities, liquidity of the national stock market or deregulation of the labor market. These factors may provide some advantage in the market and may act as a competitive advantage. The second condition is the home demand conditions. This condition describes the amount of home demand that the services and products produced in a given country are demanded within the country. The demand at home may influence the factor conditions. It helps shape the direction that the product development and innovation take. This model states that the demand within a country may shape the competitiveness of the country in the global market. The third condition is the supporting and related industry. When a country has one industry that is successful, it may reinforce internationalization and innovation in the industry at a later stage on the value system. Both the supplying industries and the related industries play a great role in a country’s competitiveness. These industries may coordinate some given activities together in the market, especially those that are related, which will in turn offer competitive advantages. The last condition is the structure, strategy and rivalry of the firm. In different nations, some factors such as management structures, interaction between companies and working morale may be shaped differently. This may provide some disadvantages and advantages for particular industries.

MSc International Marketing Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

MSc International Marketing Management - Essay Example The central component is still people. All the expertise and products in the world can never substitute that one precious human resource. The Export Marketing Research has undergone a sea change in the last few decades. Since the advent of globalisation markets both domestic and international have made information gathering a vital process in establishing a business. The proposed research dissertation would analyse the differences that exists in the domestic marketing research and the international marketing research through Export Marketing Research. Export marketing research has covered a number of theoretical and practical matters such as calibration and customisation, export growth processes, barriers to exporting, export operation, etc. Rapid changes in technology, institutionalised, parliamentary, economic and attitudes throughout the globe present challenges for the future growth of export marketing enquiry. The appearance of churning and ultra-competitive business environs calls for exporters to regard the bases and sustainability of their competitive benefit to overseas markets. Specifically, future research has to concentrate on the recognition of the exact export marketing capacities that firms should build up or gain, the capacity to purchase or channelise them across markets, and the talent to continuously upgrade the aspects by using appropriate organisational learning routines. Of significant magnitude are the procedures utilised to formulate capacity-based strategies and to supervise relationships with internation al customers. The literature review of the different authors pertaining to international marketing management through export marketing research includes Bentley (1986) who defines information as "being data that are meaningful, useful to the user and which, ideally, should be comprehensive, yet concise, accurate, applicable, timely and available." As such information is rarely available in such a readily digestible form, organizations have had to develop either formal or informal methods to collect, analyse and disseminate it. Though there have undoubtedly been many successful management decisions based on experience of the management which has an inner feeling of what can be good for an organisation, the consensus among marketing theorists (Deshpande and Zaltman, 1982; Kast and Rosenzweig, 1979; Stoner, 1978), is that objective information is a prerequisite basis on which to found management decisions which will reduce risk and uncertainty. The types of marketing research information used by comp anies have been covered by Luck and Rubin (1987), Kinnear and Taylor (1991) and Churchill (1987) among others. Whilst these authors willingly prescribe the types of information which should be sought, they are not so forthcoming when discussing the types of information that companies actually collect. Similarly the international marketing research textbook by Douglas and Craig (1983) takes more of a prescriptive, rather than a

Fishers narrative paradigm Essay Example for Free

Fishers narrative paradigm Essay One could argue, for instance, that the narrative of Translators without Borders ultimately sustains and justifies an ethics of consumerism through the commoditization of human grief. By blurring the boundaries between commercial and humanitarian agendas, the narrative accommodates itself to the established cosmetic use of good causes by big business to improve its image and deflect attention from its less savory practices. Finally, the Translators Without Borders story feeds into hegemonic cultural narratives of social responsibility that are ultimately designed to make the donors feel good about themselves rather than directly address the needs of the recipients. This is evident in Lori Thicke s article, published in Multilingual Computing and Technology, where she explains the attraction of the humanitarian exercise as follows: Giving away translations for Ð ° worthy cause is Ð ° win-win scenario. Eurotexte feels good about it. The translators feel good about it, and they see Eurotexte as an agency that really cares which we do. And last but not least, our customers consider this to be Ð ° point of distinction. (2oo3:4) In the final analysis, as Hinchman and Hinchman point out, we extend or withhold allegiance to communities depending on our rational judgments concerning the narratives on which they are based (1997:238) Fishers narrative paradigm, as І have tried to demonstrate with the narrative of Translators Without Borders, offers us Ð ° framework not only for making rational judgments but also for assessing narratives in terms of fidelity and, thus, their ethical import. Gumperz (1982) demonstrated that speakers in Ð ° conversation are engaged in an ongoing and immediate process of assessing others intentions and producing responses based on the assessment of those intentions. He calls this situated or context-bound process of interpreting meaning conversational inference and the meanings themselves are flexible and evolve as conversations proceed (Gumperz 1977). To talk back and forth-to speak as well as listen-entails both sending and receiving multiple levels of meaning. In numerous examples, he illustrates how meanings are conveyed from multiple levels of language consisting of, but not limited to, lexical or phonological choice, syntactic patterns, use of formulaic expressions, code-switching, prosodic cues (intonation and stress), and paralinguistic (e. g. , pitch, register, rhythm, and volume). Meaning is not only determined by features of language, but also, as Gumperz demonstrates, by background expectations, prior knowledge or relationships, roles, cultural knowledge, and other social knowledge. According to Gumperz, interpreting meaning is Ð ° process of contextualization in which Ð ° listener associates certain kinds of cues within the language, called contextualization cues, with information content on the one hand and with background expectations, or social knowledge, on the other ( Gumperz 1978; 1982). Contextualization cues refer to any aspect of the surface form of utterances that, when attached to message content, function as Ð ° way of signaling how to understand what is said. These cues signal to listeners when speakers have made their points, which information is foreground and which is background, what the relationship is between comments, how what is said should be heard (whether anger or joking is meant), and many other kinds of information. Adopting Ð ° cross-cultural perspective, Gumperz developed Ð ° method for investigating the process of contextualization cues by examining situations where they fail to work. When speakers share similar cultural backgrounds, then contextualization cues are also shared and speakers rarely misunderstand. However, when cues are not shared, misunderstandings prevail. Schiffrin ( 1994) interprets his main contribution as emanating from his studies of the way people within Ð ° larger culture, who are members of smaller, distinct cultures, may share grammatical knowledge of Ð ° common language (such as English) but may also contextualize what is said differently than Ð ° member of the larger culture. In this way, messages are produced that are understood perhaps partially, but not completely, such that people take away different interpretations of what was said and done. The following is Ð ° well known example from Gumperz (1982: 3o) cited by Schiffrin (1994: 7): Following an informal graduate seminar at Ð ° major university, Ð ° black student approached the instructor, who was about to leave the room accompanied by several other black and white students, and said: Could І talk to you for Ð ° minute? І am gonna apply for Ð ° fellowship and І was wondering if І could get Ð ° recommendation? The instructor replied: oK. Come along to the office and tell me what you want to do. As the instructor and the rest of the group left the room, the black student said, turning his head ever so slightly to the other students: Ahma git me Ð ° gig! (Rough gloss: І am going to get myself some support. ) Before exploring how different interpretations were made by listeners, this example can serve to illustrate what interactional sociolinguistic data is and how its analysis proceeds. First, Ð ° sociolinguist analyzes actual utterances that have been written down immediately or recorded on tape by an investigator. Significant to sociolinguistics is that these are not data generated from the analysts mind or experience but rather have been actually uttered by Ð ° human being in Ð ° natural context. Second, examples from data are always accompanied by Ð ° brief explanation of the contextthe physical setting, social roles, relationships of other participants, and other information. Any utterance can be the focus of analysis by asking, how was this utterance understood by the people who heard it, and how did these participants arrive at their interpretation? For the sociolinguist, this entails describing the grammatical knowledge of participants and the socio-cultural knowledge that listeners rely on to understand the messages conveyed. Specifically, such an analysis accounts for the way explicit linguistic signs, such as word choice, intonation, rhythm, stress, and lexical and phonetic choices indicate speaker intent and also how social knowledge influenced Ð ° listeners interpretation. When these cues are tacitly shared by speakers, interpretive processes tend to go un-remarked. However, when Ð ° listener does not react to Ð ° cue or is unaware of its function, interpretations vary, misunderstandings occur, and judgments are made.

Essay --

Dubliners by James Joyce is a novel with a collection of short stories. A mutual theme establish throughout Dubliners is the feeling of paralysis that is felt by the characters in the stories. It is not hard to detect the idea of paralysis after reading Dubliners but can easily be overlooked. Therefore, the idea of paralysis is a common theme. In most of the stories in Dubliners, such as â€Å"The Sisters†, â€Å"Araby†, â€Å"Eveline†, and â€Å"The Dead† a character has a want, but has difficulties to overcome. Yet, would eventually yield and not pursue his/her aspiration. The events of paralysis demonstration the characters’ incompetence to change their own lives. They have the chance or opportunity to change their lives, but freeze up when push comes to shove. â€Å"The Sisters† is the first story in Dubliners and is about a priest who died. Father Flynn was friends with a young lad. Also, Father Flynn had two sisters giving the story its title. The world paralysis even in italics is mentioned in the first paragraph of â€Å"The Sisters†. Therefore, Joyce not only mentioning paralysis in the first paragraph, but making it italics. Should give the reader an indication of how important paralysis is going to be not only in â€Å"The Sisters† but throughout the entire novel. â€Å"The first story of the Dubliners collection, â€Å"The Sisters†, opens the Dubliners sequence and explicitly introduces the topic of paralysis, one of Joyce’s major concerns† (Walter 3). However, like before it is easy to miss this important detail or to go as far as to miss understanding the context of paralysis. â€Å"Every night as I gazed up at the window I said softly to myself the word paralysis† (Joyce 3) . The explanation for this possible misunderstanding is that the character wh... ...out â€Å"Eveline†. Eveline is once more torn between doubts and hopes, fear and joy. She thinks about the possible disappointment of Frank and asks herself if she could still draw back after all he had done for her. She is paralyzed and afraid of the oncoming. The final example â€Å"The Dead†, he precisely discusses that he dislikes his country and is tired of it. It seems that someone who dislikes his own country would leave and go elsewhere. However, Gabriel does not leave instead he remains numb and paralyzed. This is the paralytic mind of the people of Dublin. They are stuck in their old ways and they cannot change from them because they are too scared of change. All the short stories in Dubliners, can be seen as a collection to a novel itself because it has a general theme for all of its characters regardless of age or gender and that one theme is paralysis.

The Important Role of Water in Toni Morrison’s Beloved Essay -- Critic

Water has always been a source of life but many do not take into account it's strength and ability to kill. From its cleansing nature, it washes away dirt; from its’ powerful potency it holds total destruction. With its flowing characteristic, water is able to form to any shape and make its’ way around any object. The multiple possibilities water possesses, engages, while takes away the mystery. In Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved, water manipulates many factors causing destruction in the community. The direction it leads Beloved in, takes her from the past into the life of society while altering the notions of the future. The water creates a portal for Beloved taking her through death and life to a sense of belonging because it holds life-giving vitality as well as the ability to take life allowing her to move back and forth through worlds as the past gives possibility to the future. The water yields a home for Beloved as she finds herself lost and confused. As Beloved emerges from the water, she searches for a place of belonging in the life she left behind. â€Å"I come out of the blue water†¦ I need to find a place to be (213).† Because she has been lost inside the spiritual world, she searches for a â€Å"home† after being reborn. Once she finds this home, she is able to accept herself and can begin taking revenge on Sethe for what she did to her. Her simple beginnings of praising and worshiping her mother, captures Sethe’s complete devotion and love. â€Å"Rainwater held on to pine needles for dear life and Beloved could not take her eyes off Sethe (57).† With Beloved constant flattering nature, Sethe handed herself over to Beloved and she became part of the family. Beloved’s evil ways of manipulating Sethe into caring more about her than Den... ...returns to help Sethe. â€Å"Stay there. Don’t move. Let me heat up some water. Is it all right, Sethe, if I heat up some water?† (272). Paul D gets rid of the frozen water in Sethe’s life. This paves the road for different possibilities in her and the rest of the townspeople’s lives. Although Sethe is devastated from Beloved’s disappearance, the melting of ice lets her change and focus on the future instead of the past. Beloved finds a sense of belonging in returning to life after searching through death as she moves through the portal created by water. Its soft nature cleanses and washes away the bad but also holds the capability to destroy life. Water eases Beloved’s transportation between worlds. It has always been a source of wonder and continues to amaze people. The passion of water alters anything in its path paving its own path regardless of its surroundings.

Liberty, Property, Security, and Resistance to Oppression Essay

In recent times, France has experienced monumental events that foreshadow quite a different future for France, and the beginning of a new revolutionary regime. Disorder and theft have unfortunately accompanied violent events and in response: the formation of the National Guard. The Guard is composed of professional soldiers, foreign mercenaries, merchant and shopkeepers’ sons, and sons of the most comfortable master workers and journeymen, and other â€Å"active† tax paying citizens of the middle class. With such an important role as to maintain order and law in France and to protect the Constitution, it is presumed that the Commander General of this Guard must be one whom is well versed in commanding a large force. I, Marquis de Lafayette, have this experience. Having been granted the position of Major General and forming close relations with General George Washington in the American Revolution, I performed to the best of my ability on the terms of no pay and as a volunteer. I received a formal recognition from the United States Congress for my services in the Rhode Island expedition, have gained much respect for my tactics in battle, and ensured the Revolution was all but won with my success in the Battle of Yorktown. As a key component in the success of the American Revolution and as a General in the French Army, I ask of you all to now grant me the position of Commander General of the National Guard of Paris. Furthermore, I ask for your support of an important piece of legislature, The Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen. This document sets forth â€Å"in a solemn declaration the natural, unalienable, and sacred rights of man, in order that this declaration, being constantly before all the members of the Social body, shall remind [you] continually of [your] rights and duties; in order that the acts of the legislative power, as well as those of the executive power, may be compared at any moment with the objects and purposes of all political institutions and may thus be more respected, and, lastly, in order that the grievances of the citizens, based hereafter upon simple and incontestable principles, shall tend to the maintenance of the constitution and redound to the happiness of all,† (Declaration of Rights of Man and of the Citizen). Do not let France devolve into anarchy, and let us continue to exercise our universal and natural rights for the benefit of and all and the future of France!

Book of John Essays

Book of John Essays Book of John Essay Book of John Essay One of the major themes of the Book of John is to prove that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God. What makes these miracles so special is the difficulty faced to create them and what each is trying to teach. There are seven main miracles, seven being a significant number throughout the bible, that are used to help better understand Jesus and his true identity. We can also find a last miracle in His resurrection, which in itself is simply put that Jesus is a part of God because of how impossible this action seemed. The last miracle is sometimes skipped as a sign that Jesus is the Christ and Messiah. This book was written from true events which is why it is made important and allows people to see who Jesus is. The reason these events are so significant is because they truly happened and carry a deeper meaning that was is read on the surface. The seven main miracles made by Jesus in the Gospel of John are each unique and significant in meaning to the people and the purpose that is behind each of them. The underlying meaning is what the reader should focus on, even though these miracles are claimed to be eye witnessed, making each of the miracles historically true, in a sense. The first miracle of the seven was the Wedding at Cana. This miracle is where the true glory of Jesus is revealed. This specific miracle leads to Jesus disciples having a deeper faith along with all his followers. This allowed his disciples to have a much more complex understanding of him. Jesus turned water into wine which could represent the old Israel converting into a believing Israel (hence the old wine into new). The turning of wine into water portrayed that Jesus is who all things are truly made. The main point of this miracle was to show that Jesus was the true Son of God which makes him the Messiah and is son-ship of God. The second miracle, or sign, is trying to illustrate that the word of Jesus is The Word of God. It does so by having the official leave and head home once Jesus said miou may go; your son will live. Because the official did not question how exactly it was his son would be cured and simply turned around and started going home meant that he believed Jesus without a doubt. In other words, you could simply say that the high official saw the Glory of God by listening intently. This showed the Jesus was the Glory by him saying something will be done, and even from afar, it happening. It means that despite the distance and how sick the young man was, Jesus can heal and is the healing to humanity and all else. This could parallel with the healing of Israel in the new age. This sign speaks to us about true faith and what can happen once we are devoted completely and believe in our hearts and souls that what Jesus commands shall happen. What made the third sign significant aside from curing a man that was lame is the emphasizes on the tact that the man nad been ill tor t eight years. The curing that Jesus did in this miracle can be applied to healing a lame Israel and will now be estored. This miracle did not have a complex form of working other than having the man listen to Jesus and do what he had been told to do and following orders. The lame man would represent Israel and Jesus would represent God, in a sense. This would mean that if Israel obeyed what was commanded of it, God could heal them from their lameness through his son, the Messiah. The curing of the lame man led to a greater faith in the already believing people, or a bigger doubt in the non-believers. The second part of this miracle focuses on how this healing was done on the Sabbath. Of course, the people that doubted argued that Jesus should be stoned because he broke the law of the Lord by working on the Sabbath. Jesus argument was that since he is the son of God he healed the man alongside God which would then mean that this miracle was allowed to be made since God was the one at work. Since certain people were so blinded by their doubt they saw this as breaking the faith by Jesus saying he was equal to God, in a sense. This made them angry and made them want to stone him. They did not learn the lesson that John was getting at, and they could not realize that in front of them stood Jesus, the true Messiah. No matter what miracle or action was done, their views could not be turned around to believe in Jesus. The fourth sign involves Jesus multiplying bread and fish which can be translated to mean that Jesus is the creative word. He is the giver of life, which is what the bread would represent. Jesus proves himself to be greater than Moses by being the true creator of mans provisions. Jesus points out that he can give physical life, but most importantly give spiritual life because he is the true bread of life. The Messiah is expected to feed people miraculously, which is exactly was Jesus does in the nstance. This would then mean the people recognized that he was a Messianic figure. Due to the misinterpretation because of the earthly minds that people have, they wanted physical life and not the spiritual sense of it. Therefore, they wanted to make Jesus an earthly king instead of the Messianic fgure that he was. Jesus then had to point out the true meaning of what he had done emphasizing that those who go to him in faith will find life. False faith would mean that the people believed in the miracle but not in who Jesus truly was. Receiving life through Jesus would illustrate a rusting response to him and who he truly was, the son of God. Since God is nature and God knows all and controls all, the fifth sign would then be attempting to make Jesus a true part, or equal to God in a fatherly-son way of being. The writer of the book of John focuses more of the mystery of how Jesus was able to cross the water without a boat. Jesus being able to walk on water meant that, just like God, Jesus could control the elements of nature and that he was some-what of a higher power than earthly things. This would mean that Jesus was connected to God in a deep and profound way. This miracle, again, reveals his true glory and would mean that believing and having true spiritual faith in Jesus would lead to true life. The sixth sign becomes significant once we read that the man that was healed was blind completely from birth. This was used to portray that Jesus was the light of the world sine he opens the eyes of those who were spiritually blinded from birth. Jesus also emphasizes that the blind nas not been punished and is not a sinner, tor his purpose in life is to show His Glory which would make the man an important person despite being blinded. This could be used to represent the people who were piritually blinded being healed and seeing who Jesus truly was. The blind man would be a spiritually blinded man instead of the physical blindness. Even those who clam to see are blind because they have not seen the light of life, or realize who Jesus truly is. It is only the true believers that understand the Jesus is the Son of God because their blindness has been healed, and the real consequence is that they will see the light of Glory and light of the world. The seventh sign reveals Jesus as the giver of life, and the giver of eternal life, and there is once again a stress on the term Son of God, and the glorifying of Jesus and n the fact that Jesus is both Son of God and Messiah. The raising up of Lazarus in a way very similar to that of the final resurrection is surely a pointer to that resurrection. It is a physical enactment of the glory of the coming general resurrection. So above all it reveals Jesus as the One Who has life in Himself, and as the One Whose voice as the Son of God can raise the dead. While His glory is not specifically mentioned at the end, it was underlined at the beginning. What has happened has revealed the glory of the Father resulting in He Himself being glorified, nd later in chapter 20 the writer goes on to draw our attention to the fact that Jesus is to ascend to His Father, in other words to the glory which He had had with Him before the world was. Again we have the contrast made in the narrative between those who saw and believed the truth about Jesus, and those whose eyes were closed. Johns hope was that his readers would be among those who saw and believed. Note also the reference by the Chief Priests and the Pharisees to signs, but again they were signs which were misunderstood and never properly interpreted. Although Jesus resurrection isnt identified as a miracle, but as The Resurrection, in the Book of John it can be seen as an eighth sign. This miracle revealed Jesus as the Son of God completely without a doubt. This is the greatest miracle of all and is done my Jesus and himself only. I find it significant that those who truly believe do not have to witness in order to be commended. Thus these eight signs, witnessed to as facts by the disciples, and occurring at specified places, manifest the fact that Jesus is both Messiah and Son of God to those who have true faith, with the consequence that they receive life. Although, they are undoubtedly central to the theme of the Gospel it is also unquestionable that they do not in themselves provide a foundational structure that can explain the whole Gospel, even apart from the prologue and the activities of John the Baptist and the passion narrative, do not build on these signs, but are separate elements in the narrative. Therefore, Johns selection of material is not to be seen as dependent only on the seven signs. He has a wider view. Chapter 7 does, however, in its own way bring out what men were thinking about Jesus. It commences with Jesus brothers encouraging Him to do signs openly, n order to win allegiance from the people, although again they are the wrong kind of signs because the aim was simply physical notoriety. And it goes on to deal with the fact that all were asking questions about Him. But they were not coming to the right answers, because they had not understood the signs. They too were blind. Some, however did respond to His miracles and would appear to have acknowledged His Messian ship, although not in the tullest sense required by John, and this eventually leads on in to a confirmation, and even expansion, of Jesus revealing Himself as the water of life and the giver of the Spirit.