The Enlightenment Puritanism Essay - 807 Words

The Enlightenment period, also known as The Age of Reason, was a period of social, religious, and political revolution throughout the 18th century which changed the thoughts of man during this â€Å"awakening† time. It was a liberation of ignorant thoughts, ideas, and actions that had broken away from the ignorant perception of how society was to be kept and obeyed thus giving little room for new ideas about the world. Puritan society found these new ideas of thought to be extremely radical in comparison to what they believed which was a belief of strong rational religion and morality. Enlightened society believed that the use of reason would be a catalyst of social change and had a demand of political representation thus resulting in a time†¦show more content†¦This had an adverse effect on the churches’ power which was lessened because of the influence of new â€Å"radical† thoughts of religion. Because of ideas that the Enlightenment brought forth fro m writing, they also made a significant impact on how politics transitioned from the old theocratic view of government into a democratic institution. Next, the new ideal of government started bringing new ideas of how the government should be established. The old theocracy view of the Puritans gave power to the ministers of the older settlements which limited all power from the people. An example of political philosophy ideas that were proposed was the introduction of empiricism by John Locke which profoundly influenced American society to the thought that government had an emphasis of a social contract which created a consistency between society and the laws of nature. This meant that power would reside with the people rather than the state. The Puritan government, before the Enlightenment, was shrouded in myth and radical religious rule where they believed that God had everything to do with how they made decisions. Enlightenment philosophers that would eventually come to be, such as Thomas Jefferson, introduced the Constitution which stated: that the government would be â€Å"for the people, byShow MoreRelatedPuritanism And Its Effect On Society1457 Words   |  6 PagesPuritanism can be described as belonging to a covenant relationship with the Lord with expectation to free them from their sins (â€Å"Puritanism/Religion†). Studies from â€Å"Puritanism/Religion† show that what set Puritanism apart from the rest was the way it was preached and the intense experience it gave many. The style and teaching of the Bible have evolved over time. According to the â€Å"Journal of Church and State,† the Puritans connected a covenant relationship with unifying themselves (2014). McMahonRead MoreFranklin: Puritan or Enlightenment? Essay868 Words   |  4 PagesIs Franklin a Puritan or Enlightenment Thinker About Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin came from a very simple Calvinist background. Ha dad little formal education, but he made it through his own efforts and became a rare genius in human history. Everything seems to meet in this one man, mind and will, talent and art, strength and ease, wit and grace and he became almost everything: a printer, essayist, scientist, statesman, philosopher, political economist, ambassador, etc.-#161;#176;JackRead MoreThe Enlightenment : The Age Of Reason1126 Words   |  5 PagesThe Enlightenment, also known as the Age of Reason, was an important period in the history of Western Civilization during the 17th and 18th centuries - a time of social turmoil where societies were divided between social groups and struggled for freedom, equality and democracy (Seidman, 2008: 6). This time gave rise to remarkable social thinkers, known as Enlighteners, who pioneered a new science of society (Seidman, 2008: 5). These highly educated Enlighteners believed the world could be rationallyRead MoreThe 17th Century Puritan Influence on the Writings of Thomas Paine1578 Words   |  6 Pagesï » ¿Common Knowledge: 17th Century Puritan Influence in Common Sense There can be little doubt as to the fact that Thomas Paine was one of the most incisive minds of the Enlightenment, an intellectual movement that began in Europe and quickly spread to the surrounding continents including the United States of America, where Paine immigrated to. The embracing of concepts such as Deism and other ideas that favored mans prowess and knowledge over the traditional influence of a divine power during theRead MoreThe Deacons Masterpiece by Oliver Wendell Holmes: Making Fun of the Logical Fallacies That Pervade a Puritanical Worldview621 Words   |  3 Pagesdoctrine is humorously false. Concerned about the weak links in one-hoss shay construction, the titular Deacon sets about to build one that lasts what he presumes to be forever. Here again, Holmes criticizes the rigidity of thinking that pervades Puritanism. It is completely illogical to conceive of a product that truly lasts forever; or to build something that is so perfect that it never breaks down. The sort of absolutist thinking that promotes religious fundamentalism is precisely what guides theRead MoreEssay on Liberalism has Helped Shape Western Political Philosophy1034 Words   |  5 Pagesessay will shape how and why Liberalism has changed and evolved over time to ensure that people are living in the best society possible. I will also explain how deeply rooted ideas have shaped the way we live today. According to John Ryder, â€Å"the puritanism of the seventeenth century laid the foundation for the persistent American view of the uniqueness of the American experience with all its achievements and shortcomings.† Even today we have our own opinions and values on religion and government,Read MoreEnlightenment and Puritans782 Words   |  4 Pages The Enlightenment period, also known as The Age of Reason, was a period of social, religious, and political revolution throughout the 18th century which changed the thoughts of man during this â€Å"awakening† time. It was a liberation of ignorant thoughts, ideas, and actions that had broken away from the ignorant perception of how society was to be kept and obeyed thus giving little room for new ideas about the world. Puritan society found these new ideas of thought to be extremely radical in comparisonRead Morereligion in the colonies773 Words   |  4 Pagessaw the Native Americans as savages. However, William Penn held the utmost â€Å"Quaker† perspective. He believed that they should be treated as equals and he admired their language, diet, customs, and manners, and their overall way of life. The Enlightenment period also arose. It was more so intellectual and scientific. It is among the elite. It began in the 1500s and peaks by the 1600s with international scientific influences. The origins began with Galileo Galilei (Italian), Rene Descartes (France)Read MoreEnlightenment, Transcendentalism, and Puritan Theology Essay1840 Words   |  8 PagesEnlightenment, transcendentalism, and puritan theology: 3 philosophies that shaped 3 centuries in America. Since the time periods of each philosophy overlapped with the others, all 3 had similarities as well as differences. From these philosophies came different writers with different views, shaping American prose. A major Enlightenment author was Thomas Paine. Thomas Paine wrote a piece called The Age of Reason. In this piece he fully encompassed the ideologies of the Enlightenment. These includedRead MoreHow Education Should Be Structured Essay2015 Words   |  9 PagesSince the birth of Puritanism in what is now the United States of America, education has been shaped and molded time and time again with each movement of North American history. Most early American literature was persevered not in the form of novels, but in letters, diary and journal entries, and memoirs. These works often focused on the daily struggle of the author and the author’s love for God even in straining situations. The Pilgrims, as well as the Puritans, believed that a firm education was

Project Management Scheduling - 1657 Words

Title Successful Project Management Scheduling outcomes: A Theoretical Comparative Analysis of networking techniques between Event, Chain with other traditional methodologies Research Question Why it is important to conduct a comparative analysis of Event, Chain with other traditional methodologies and investigate how it contributes in being Successful scheduling techniques in Project Management discipline? Introduction to Dissertation Nowadays, Project scheduling plays lot of benefactor in executing any type of project in allotted time and cost. Project scheduling is a vital stage in project development phase due to technological advancement in information technology where lot of IT projects have led different way of†¦show more content†¦CCPM methodology tackles resource contention before the project begins, aggregate the safety in specified locations (buffers) rather then leaving it. The critical chain path typically is not the same as the traditional critical path. CCPM is not merely a scheduling technique. The CCPM methodology explicitly states that without the necessary changes in the scheduling rules will not only fail to achieve improvement but may actually degrade performance. Event chain methodology, a new way of scheduling is an uncertainty modeling and schedule network analysis technique that is focused on identifying and managing events and event chains that affect project schedules. Event chain methodology helps to mitigate the negative impact of psychological heuristics and biases, as well as to allow for easy modeling of uncertainties in the project schedules. Event Chain Methodology Objectives: 1. Mitigate effect motivational and cognitive biases in estimating and scheduling. In many cases, project managers intentionally or unintentionally create project schedules that are impossible to implement. 2. Simplify the process of defining risks and uncertainties in project schedules, particularly improve the ability to provide reality checks and visualize multiple events. 3. Perform more accurate quantitative analysis while taking to an account such factors as relationship between different events and actual moment of the events. Intaver Institute (N.D) Virine and Trumper (2007)Show MoreRelatedThe Scheduling Of Project Management1045 Words   |  5 PagesHypothesis: The scheduling in project management is the discipline for stating how to complete a project within a certain timeframe, usually with defined stage, and with designated resources. The project schedule reflects all of the work associated with delivering the project on time. It shows how the work will progress over a period of time and takes into account factors such as limited resources and estimating uncertainty. Without a full and complete schedule, the project manager will be unableRead MoreProject Management : Resource Scheduling1444 Words   |  6 PagesResource Scheduling One critical aspect of a successful project is that of resource scheduling. Resources, such as people, materials, and equipment need to be available at the scheduled task start date otherwise the project may be delayed resulting in costly repercussions. According to Gray and Larson (2014), it is important to consider resource constraints before the project begins in order to reduce the likelihood of project failure or expensive delays. There are two types of resource constraintsRead MoreProject Management : Planning And Scheduling1039 Words   |  5 PagesPlanning is always helpful for any project even its small or big project. A project without planning has negative impact on their result. Proper planning will consider all task before implementing them into business and can give idea about all possibilities. It can help to break big task into small task and make process smoother. Planning is helping project manager to use their past knowledge in future project. Project planning is the process where project manager decide all the steps to implementRead MoreProject Management: a System Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and Controlling2193 Words   |  9 Pagesdesigned to ensure that the lessons from the successful London 2012 construction programme are retained for other projects has been guaranteed. ODAçš„ä ½Å"ç” ¨ The Olympic Delivery Authority’s (ODA) Learning Legacy website is packed with case studies and reports based around ten themes, promoting successes in areas including health and safety, sustainability, procurement, transport and project management. It comprises more than 300 papers put together by the ODA and its supply chain of companies from all overRead MoreResource Scheduling Methods: Analysis609 Words   |  3 PagesResource Scheduling Methods Analysis It has been said, â€Å"A schedule is†¦ An instruction to a fool†¦ A guide to a wise person. In retrospect scheduling is an important part of project management to anyone that has and ever will be engaged in such a task.. This monograph will be an analysis of the concept of resource scheduling, evaluation of various methods used to schedule resources, the benefits and challenges associated with each, and methods of when each would be most appropriate. As well a choiceRead MoreImplementation Process And Time Scheduling Process Before Start Construction Phase Essay1536 Words   |  7 PagesABSTRACT With increasing projects size, needing for planning and control become matter of urgency, so this research aim to develop integrate cost estimate process and time scheduling process before start construction phase. Most of construction companies make project scheduling without attention to add planned resources (labor-equipment-material) with its direct and indirect costs to get total project cost. So it is needed to be estimate project direct and indirect cost before start constructionRead MoreProject Scope Of Earned Value Management925 Words   |  4 PagesEarned Value Management started back in the early sixties when the Air force started using the program. In recent years, the program has become a part of the federal project risk management system and is mandatory tool used for US government contracts. Earned Value Management helps to analyze many parts of a project such as the cost variance, schedule variance, cost performance, and schedule performance. Earned Value management measures the performance of a project by finding variances between theRead MoreA New Methodology For Monitoring Using Smartphones Essay1282 Words   |  6 PagesRecent studies have attempted to automate monitoring progress of construction projects. Typical practice for progress tracking mostly depends on supervisors daily or weekly reports, which requires Intensive manual data collection. This paper presents a new methodology for monitoring using smartphones. This is done by proposing newly developed applications called â€Å"BIM Track† and â€Å"BIM Phase† using Building Information Modelling. Building Information Models usage rapidly enlarged in the past years.Read MoreProject Evaluation And Review Technique Essay714 Words   |  3 PagesProject Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) and Critical Path Method (CPM) decision support systems are widely used for projects management. Traditional PERT relies on engine called stochastic analysis that focuses on managing schedules for stochastic project environment. Therefore, the estimated schedule is highly stochastic. A good approximation in beta distribution is obtained only when cv ≠¤ 0.66. But it is found that 80% of the p rojects violate the approximation limit that is provided by theRead MoreProject Scheduling By Simulation Modelling Technique1088 Words   |  5 Pages Project Scheduling by Simulation Modelling Technique Ramkumar Harikrishnakumar Wichita State University Abstract In the present scenario of manufacturing, agile manufacturing calls for flexibility in the global market which involves rapid changes. Flexible manufacturing technology such as agent manufacturing plays a vital role to achieve agility in the system. (Yeung, W. 2012) in job shop floor the project scheduling technique provides the dynamic and unique way of dispatching the jobs if

AGL and Genesis Energy Limited

Question: Discuss about the AGL and Genesis Energy Limited. Answer: Introduction Since the inception of M/s AGL Energy Limited ( MAIN COMPANY), it has been one of Australias largest players in energy companies. It has been incorporated in 1837 and from that day itself the company has been developing new and innovative technologies which have helped the customers not only in Australia but across the Globe. The major invention has first started in 1841 with the introduction of stoves majorly for the benefit of house wives. In recent year the company has served their customers with storage device for battery which in the opinion of the company will help in reducing the usage of electricity. (Cited in Official Website) Another Company being the competitor - M/s Genesis Energy Limited (COMPETITOR COMPANY) has been incorporated in 1999. The company though incorporated in the recent years has come up with new inventions in the field of energy which had helped the company to have goodwill in the market and in the current scenario it has emerged as one of the biggest competitor to M/s AGL Energy Limited. Due to this the companys customer base has been increased across New Zealand. The company operates and functions in the manner similar to the former company. (Cited in Official Website) The aforesaid companies have been selected for making comparison and identifying which company is better from the perspective of various investors. Analysis of Financial Statements With Financial Ratios Statement showing Profit and Loss for the year 2014 2015 Though Revenue of the company has been increase in absolute terms but it has been considerably decreased in relative terms from the year ending 2014 to 2015 by approximately 5.02%. Though revenue has been increased from 2014 to 2015 but the Net Profit margin has been considerably decreased from 2014 to 2015. The decrease has been counted because of increase in Indirect Expenses including Interest cost on finance taken by the company from Financial Institutions and related administration and Selling Overheads. EPS has been suffering considerable decrease in trend over the past 5 years from 113.9 in 2011 to 33.3 in 2015. Statement showing Asset Liability Trade receivable has been decreased from the year 2014 amounting to 1902 m$ to 1894 m$ in 2015. It shows decrease in net working capital and ensures good debtor collection procedure of the company. Inventories has been considerably increased by 205 m$ in 2015 from 2014 resulting in blocking of funds of the company. Due to which the company has to borrow more funds from Financial Institutions resulting in increase Finance Costs of the Company. It has also affected Liquidity position of the company as Cash Cash Equivalents has been decreased drastically to 296 m$ in 2015 from 493 m$ in 2014. Statement showing Cash Inflows and Cash Outflows Cash Flows from Investing Activities have been decreased to 2175 m$. It lays down the fact that the company Investment decisions are not up to the mark. The major payment has been made in acquiring the businesses. But no synergies have been created through such acquisitions. (Alvarez and Fridson, 2005) Cash Flows from Operating Financing Activities are positive which show that company is efficient in operations and taking financing decisions. Statement showing Equity Equity means share Capital which is issued and paid up, General Reserves and Other Reserves which are free for distributions as dividend and the balance of Profit and Loss Account which has been ploughed back into the business. (FGL,2013) The Equity of the Company in the year 2015 is 8815 m$ in relation to 2014 which is 7588 m$. Competitor Company: Statement showing Profit and Loss for the year 2014 2015 Though Revenue of the company has been increased by 92 m$ from 2014 to 2015, the Net Profit Margin has been increased by 55.60 m $ from 2014 to 2015.It shows that the company is working efficiently and effectively and have reduced burden of Indirect Expenses and have thereby increased the margins. Indirect Expenses includes Employee Costs and other Operating Expenses. (Alvarez and Fridson, 2005) Statement showing Asset Liability The Company has an efficient Inventory Management system as the Inventory levels have been considerably decreased by 20% from 2014 to 2015. Though it shows the good company policy but in fact it can be major setback for the company. Its because every company shall have minimum Inventory Level. Contrary to the above point the Companys Cash balance has been decreased from 2014 to 2015 and the corresponding borrowings have been increased. Investment in Current and Non Current derivatives has been remarkably increased by 500% approximately from 2014 to 2015. It restricts the Going Concern assumption of the Company as derivatives are neither tangible assets nor intangible but are always regarded as vulnerable in nature. Statement showing Cash Inflows and Cash Outflows Cash flows from the financing activities has been decreased from 220.40 m$ in 2014 to 272.20 m$ in 2015. The decrease is mainly due to the repayment of borrowing that has been taken earlier by the company and the payment of higher dividends to their shareholders. Cash flows from operating and investment activities has been increased over the year but at the end there has been net decrease of 2.3m$ in the year 2015. Statement showing Equity Equity means share Capital which is issued and paid up, General Reserves and Other Reserves which are free for distributions as dividend and the balance of Profit and Loss Account which has been ploughed back into the business. The Equity of the Company in the year 2015 is 1825.40 m$ in relation to 2014 which is 1880.70 m$. The decrease has been suffered mainly because of high change in Cash Flow hedge reserve. Variations In Ratios And Their Causes Profitability Ratio includes Net Profit Margin ratio and Return on Shareholder Funds. The Net Profit Margin ratio is an alarming situation for company as the Net Profit margin has been decreased by 100% from 2014 to 2015. (FGL,2013) Liquidity Ratio includes Current ratio and Liquidity ratio. Although the ratios has been decreased from the year 2014 to the year 2015, but the value of the ratios are as per the industry standards. The change is mainly because of increase in Current Liabilities and Provisions. (FGL,2013) Capital Structure includes composition of the capital of the company including equity share capital, loans and borrowing from financial institution and others. Capital Structure Ratio calculates the adequacy of the composition of capital. As per the ratios so calculated for the company, the capital structure of the company is adequate (Alvarez and Fridson, 2005). In judging market performance of the company, earning per share play important role. The companys EPS has been declined from 0.98 in 2014 to 0.33 in 2015. (Alvarez and Fridson, 2005) Competitor Company As the Net Profit margin of the company has been increased considerably, the ratios including Net Profit margin and Return on Shareholders Equity has been increased. Current and Liquid Asset ratio of the company is not better and up to mark as per industry norms. Capital structure of the Company has become better in terms of Debt equity Ratio. Indicator of Market Performance has been increased including Earning per Share. Comparison of Two Companies M/s Genesis Energy Limited has earned higher Net Profit Margins due to which the Return on Shareholders Equity has been increased. Whereas in case of M/s AGL Energy Limited Net Profit Margin has been decreased and thus, thereby decreasing the Return on Shareholders Equity. Main Company has better Liquidity position in terms Current Ratios and Liquid Asset Ratio as and when compared with the Competitor. This is majorly due to increase in Inventory Level of the Main Company. Though Capital Structure of both the Companies are adequate but Main Company enjoy privilege over the competitor company. Competitor Company has higher Net Profit Margins and therefore have better EPS than the Main Company. (Cited in Zions Official Website, 2005) Conclusion M/s AGL Energy Limited (MAIN COMPANY) and M/s Genesis Energy Limited (COMPETITOR COMPANY) operates in the same Industry. Both companies have strong customer base but the Main Company is operating across the Globe while the Competitor Company is operating in New Zealand only. They both have adequate Capital structure but the Competitor Company have higher Net Profit Margins. Due to this, the Competitor Company has been emerged as Main Competitor for Main Company. In the way to conclude with the above analysis, the pace of the performance as well as the growth of the Competitor Company is much better than the Main Company. Recommendation An Investor should perform an exclusive study which shall include not only the Study of Financial perspective which includes Financial Ratios but also Study the Historical development and Growth perspective of the Company over the past years since the date of its incorporation. In view of the analysis made through this report, the Competitor Company is performing well and better than the Main Company. On the other hand, if the past developments and achievements of both companies are under taken then the Main Company will be the better one. Therefore, and investor should take into consideration all the perspective before entering into any decision of an investment. As per the report, our recommendation to the Investor is to Invest in Competitor Company M/s Genesis Energy Limited in order to have higher earnings. References Main Company (AGL Energy Limited) Official Website available on https://www.agl.com.au/about-agl accessed on 26-08-2016. Competitor company (Genesis Energy Limited) official website available on https://www.genesisenergy.co.nz/home accessed on 26-08-2016. FGL,(2013),Accounting Ratios available on https://frostgroup.co.uk/articles/2013/accounting-ratios accessed on 27/08/2016. Zions Bank Official Website,(2005) How to Analyse your business using Financial Ratios, available on https://www .zionsbank.com /pdfs/ biz_ resources_book-6.pdf Accessed on 28/08/2016. Alvarez F and Fridson M, (2005), Financial Statement Analysis A Practitioners Guide, available on https://www.up.m-e-c.biz/up/Mohcine/Pictures%20BOOK/Wiley%20Finance,.Financial%20Statement%20Analysis%20-%20A%20Practitioner's%20Guide,%203rd%20Edition.pdf accessed on 27/08/2016.

Thesis

Thesis- To Be Unstuck In Time And Fight Or To Be Against War And Not F Essay Thesis- To be unstuck in time and fight or to be against war and not fight. I. How Kurt Vonnegut uses Fragmentation. A. Keeping Dresden fresh in the readers mind. We will write a custom essay on Thesis- To Be Unstuck In Time And Fight Or To Be Against War And Not F specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now 1. Billy goes back to Dresden reader goes with him. 2. First hand account of the massacre. a. Live through the horrors of warb. The reader is able to reflect on the horrors of war. II. Time there is no past,present or future in Slaughterhouse-five. A. Billy learns this view of all time existing from a group of aliens calledTralfamadorians. 1. There way of looking at time is comparable to a humans way of looking ata stretch of the Rocky Mountains.2. All things are destined to happen. B. Constantly seeing things through Billys eyes. 1. Reader is with Billy wherever he goes. 2. so it goesIII. Vonnegut presents the war experience as one that still goes on. A. Billy never leaves the war. 1. The reader does not leave the war2. Reader is not able to experience the war. B. Horrific details1. Saves the actual account of the bombing until the reader entrenched in thenarrative. 2. Reader is denied the luxury of saying that he or she has seen worse. IV. Billy steps out of time. A. Planet Trafalmadore1. Heavenly2. Billy is only allowed to have peace hereB. Aliens teach Billy. 1. View his own line as a long line rather than concentrating on one point inparticular. 2. View the novel as a whole rather than pieces of events. V. Verge of Billy breaking up. A. Pressures of the outside worlds. 1. Finds himself in different events. 2. a constant state of stage frightB. Splitting himself into different parts. 1. Husband,soldier and employer2. Seems to be spread a little too thin to handle all of these roles. VI. Billy agesA. Becomes separated from himself1. Play a role at each stage of his life. 2. Even when he steps out of time he is still performing. B. Billy is always on stage1. The dangers of role playing surfaces with the example of Billy Pilgrim. 2. Billy is a person who must pretend in order to be..

Themes in Night by Elie Wiesel Essays

Themes in Night by Elie Wiesel Essays Themes in Night by Elie Wiesel Paper Themes in Night by Elie Wiesel Paper The three main themes in the book Night, are inhumanity, faith, and the father/son bond. Inhumanity is a major part of what happened in the book Night. Everyone who was a victim was not treated fairly whatsoever. The book talks a lot about how the Nazis killed tons of people and were very cruel towards them all the time. The Nazis sent everyone to concentration camps, some were death camps and others were labor camps. In the camps if you were sick or ill the Nazis would most likely kill you. They had many ways of killing people such as gassing them, shooting them, working them to death, not giving them enough food or water, etc. â€Å"Babies were thrown into the air and the machine gunners used them as targets.† I find this quote from the book very disturbing. I don’t see how someone could kill innocent people. To get to the concentration camps they had to take a train. The conditions of the train were very bad it was really crowded, they had to stand in their own feces, some even died before they made it to the camps. The Nazis spilt up families. They separated the boys and the girls. You couldn’t see them anymore unless you were the same gender. A lot of people never got to see their family again. The Nazis were very inhumane towards the Jews and did not care or think about what they were doing. Elie and his father’s bond is another major part in the story. Since Elie was spilt up from his mother and sisters all he had was his dad. Also since he was a kid still and terrified of what was happening he wanted to always be with his father. Even from the beginning of the story before everything happened they were still very close. They were usually always by each others side during it all, they would make sure the other was okay. They would share food or water if the other needed it. They constantly were talking like everything was okay. â€Å"Please I would have liked to be by my father.†

Rankle

Rankle Rankle Rankle By Maeve Maddox A reader declares: I rankle Or get rankled when I hear someone, usually, an athlete, is under rated. What does this mean? The question asks about the term underrated, but this post will focus mainly on rankle. First, the verb underrate: underrate: to estimate at too low a value or worth. Ex. Research shows men tend to overrate themselves and women underrate themselves. Further explanation of underrate does not seem necessary. The reader is correct in the observation that the term is frequently used in reference to athletes. For example, a Google search brings up several lists of â€Å"the most underrated sports figures†: 10 Most Underrated Athletes of All Time The 25 Most Underrated Sports Superstars of All Time The List: Underrated all-time athletes 10 of the most underrated sports stars of all time The 5 Most Underrated Athletes The 25 Greatest Underrated NBA Players of All Time Now, to rankle. Taken into English from Old French, the verb rankle initially meant â€Å"to fester† or â€Å"to suppurate.† A wound that rankled was in the process of rotting. Over time, the word has dwindled in figurative use to mean to annoy or to irritate. Rankle conveys a sense of ongoing emotional hurt or bitterness. The verb may be used transitively or intransitively. Here are examples of current use: After less than three months on the job, LePage has already managed to rankle more constituencies with his bluntness than any Maine governor in recent memory.- Deseret News Christie’s Cowboys Support Rankles Some New Jersey Residents- Wall Street Journal My father didn’t get his due. That still rankles.- Shadaab Khan $10 bill change rankles descendant of Alexander Hamilton- New York Times [Rod] Serling was not just another freelancer and he rankled at the perceived affront to his work- Jeannot Szwarc Are you rankled by your cankles? A new liposuction treatment may help- Daily Mail Note: The word cankle is a new one on me. Word flags it as a misspelling. Cankle does not appear in the OED or on the Ngram Viewer, but Merriam-Webster offers a citation from The Philadelphia Inquirer dated 2001 and defines cankle as: a wide, thick, or fat ankle that appears indistinguishable from the lower calf. Cankle is a portmanteau: calf + ankle. As for rankle, It’s a good word to convey a festering annoyance of long duration. 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 Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:30 Synonyms for â€Å"Meeting†Hyper and HypoUsing Writing Bursts to Generate Ideas and Enthusiasm

Principles and Practices of Effective Leadership - Critical Thinking Essay

Principles and Practices of Effective Leadership - Critical Thinking Mod 1 - Essay Example Both business leaders are globally recognized as the icons in their unique United States market segments. Bill Gates implemented a task oriented leadership style, demonstrating effective leadership. Task-oriented leadership style focuses on behavior that prioritizes accomplishment of assigned tasks and responsibilities (Carroll, 2008). Under the task-oriented leadership style, Bill Gates focused on creating more and more new products for his established company, Microsoft. Whenever, Bill Gates was able to successfully create strong popular demand for his new products and services in uncharted computer-based market segments, Bill Gates would do everything in his power to retain the newly gained market segment position. As a busy executive, Bill Gates prioritize generating higher interest in developing, selling, and other management and marketing functions of his Microsoft Company. The task-oriented leadership style includes Bill Gates’ holding regular meetings with his line and staff employees and managers. Bill Gates would reprimand subordinates who did not meet established goals and objectives on time. Bill Gates’ task-oriented leadership style pushed the line and staff employees and managers to prioritize meeting prescribed organizational goals and objectives. The leadership style ensures Bill Gates that all his prescribed organizational goals, visions, missions, and objectives are eagerly met by the subordinates and managers. Under the task-oriented leadership style, Bill Gates assigned each employee specific tasks and responsibilities. Similarly, Donald Trump implements the autocratic leadership style, demonstrating effective leadership. The leadership style focuses giving specific instructions on what should be done. The employees are not allowed to contribute their opinions or recommendation to the decision making process (Daft, 2010). Donald Trump is very effective using the autocratic leadership

Corrections Corporation of America Company Essay

Corrections Corporation of America Company - Essay Example Ethical Factors The ethical factors surrounding the current changes in the justice and correction departments in the US regard the moral consequences and the general good of the nation. The early release of incarcerated individuals may have an impact on the recidivism and security of the country at large. Rehabilitation and correctional efficiency of criminals reduces even with an increase of cost in public prison facilities. The effect of the current state policies affects all individuals, from individual citizens to the individuals incarcerated. Company’s Current Strategy The CCA is planning to expand its market to Europe and other countries. In Europe, the market for private prison services in increasing, a change attributed to the changing justice policies in those nations. In the US, the company has remained behind its competitors in expansion, preferring to wait for clarity on the current situation and its expected-persistent duration (Tella and Winig, 2010). The current adoption of cost control policies by states will result in leniency in law and justice, which will further result in increase in crime nationwide. Additionally, CCA suffers economically if its correction facilities do not maintain an acceptable level of incarcerated criminals. ANALYSIS EXTERNAL ANALYSIS The history of private prison industry dates back to 1984, with CCA taking over the management of a prison facility in Tennessee. The company has since grown to become the leader in the industry, commanding nearly 50% of the prison beds under private correctional services (Tella and Winig, 2010). Industry Structure & Trends The private prison services industry offer correctional services to the nation, the main customers being federal and state... The paper tells that the history of private prison industry dates back to 1984, with CCA taking over the management of a prison facility in Tennessee. The company has since grown to become the leader in the industry, commanding nearly 50% of the prison beds under private correctional services. The private prison services industry offer correctional services to the nation, the main customers being federal and state governments in the US. These companies work on a contractual basis, typically three to five years, but most of the contracts incorporate clauses that allow the government to terminate their agreement. The growth of the industry depends on a number of uncontrollable factors, which include sentencing patterns in different jurisdictions, crime rates, and acceptability of prison services privatization. Specialists in the industry argue that business is headed downwards for new comers as more states try to reduce prison overcrowding and expenses. According to the article, almost half of the new inmates were sent to private prison facilities in 2009. The article cites one analyst suggesting that established firms in the industry who have focused on their competencies will continue to grow despite the budget crisis. The policies regulating private prison use varies from state to state, with some states banning the private prison altogether, like New York, Louisiana, and Illinois. Outside the US, privatization of prison services has not been embraced fully. Nonetheless, countries, especially in the European region, are adopting the system, with Australia having a record 17%.

Potato Salad Americans Essay Example for Free

Potato Salad Americans Essay 1. Go to the Cooking Light website or any other website that gives you healthy recipes and chose a recipe you would like to try. Website you used: Cooking light . com Recipe you chose ? copy and paste the recipe including nutrition information in the space below. How to Make Potato Salad Americans can definitely agree on one thing: Potatoes are our favorite veggie. Each of us eats about a whopping 130 pounds per year. During the summer months (if not year-round), you can safely bet that loads of potatoes find their way into the ubiquitous potato salad. Honestly, can you have a cookout or picnic without one? Despite regional interpretations, theres really one basic way to make this popular dish. And here, well show you how to master the technique and turn out a variety of unique, healthy salads. Step One: Cut to Size Cut potatoes into uniform shapes and sizes so theyll cook evenly. If theyre different sizes, some will become mushy while others still have an undesirable crunch. Low-starch varieties, like red potatoes, work best in potato salads. Step Two: Start in Cold Water. Be sure to start with cold water when boiling potatoes. This works to solidify the outer surfaces and helps prevent them from getting too soft as the interior cooks, so the potatoes will hold their shape nicely in a potato salad. Step Three: Add Dressing Make the dressing while the potatoes cook, and toss them with the dressing while theyre still warm so theyll absorb maximum flavor. If using dairy products, like sour cream, allow the potatoes to cool slightly before tossing to prevent curdling. Step Four: Add Additional Flavors and Ingredients Customize your salad. For example, add your favorite veggies, fresh herbs, or salad greens. You can even give the salad an international flair: Lemongrass adds Thai flavor; chutney lends an Indian taste. 2. Try out the recipe, take a picture of you with the prepared meal and report back to class what you thought of this recipe. Would you recommend it? Will you make it again? Anything you would change the next time? To get full credit for this assignment, you need to show your picture to your instructor. Initial of instructor.

Transnational Networks of Support for the Zapatista Rebellion :: Zapatista Rebellion Globalization Essays

Transnational Networks of Support for the Zapatista Rebellion Globalization, the term used to describe the dominant framework of international relations following the cold war, is affecting many aspects of politics and social experience. This is seen in the Zapatista rebellion and movement in Chiapas, Mexico that has benefited from globalization and transnational support. This paper examines the relationship of transnationalism and social movements with the Zapatistas as a case study. In particular, this paper argues that the Zapatistas are part of the anti-globalization cycle of protest. As a result, they have used the master frame of this cycle of protest and aligned that frame in light of their particular situation. Because this frame was resonant with transnational activists a network of support was formed, which pressures the government from above, increasing the chances of success of a movement. The paper concludes by examining the implications of the Zapatistas for social movement research, with particular regard for Tarrowâ €™s â€Å"strong thesis† about movements in a transnational era While the roots of the Zapatista movement stretch well back, the rebellion entered the public’s consciousness on 1 January 1994 when several thousand indigenous Mexicans, mostly Mayans, wearing ski-masks and carrying antiquated rifles and wooden sticks briefly seized several major urban centres in Chiapas, Mexico before withdrawing under pressure from the Mexican military. A cease-fire was declared on 12 January and since then the two sides have not directly fought one another. Since the cessation of hostilities, the rebellion has essentially transformed into a social movement.[1] The transformation was capped by a march on Mexico City March 2001 in which a caravan of Zapatistas, protected by the Mexican government, moved from Chiapas throughout Mexico to a climax in the zocalo in Mexico City. Subcomandante Marcos, the spokesman and de facto leader of the movement, addressed a huge rally and other comandantes addressed the Mexican Congress. Many observers compared this moment to Martin Luther King’s â€Å"I Have a Dream† speech during the American civil rights movement. (Klein 2001) Since the beginning of this movement/rebellion, the Zapatistas have demonstrated a unique ability to attract support from activists outside of Mexico. I refer to this support as transnational because it is rooted in no particular territory and spans much of the developed world.

Creative Story Essay

Later at the picnic, Sharon was seen with a debonair and handsome man. The man had puffed muscles, straight long hair and a surfing board in his arm. Although Sharon had this habit of mingling too much with adult men but we sensed some danger with this man. Maryann and I talked to Gray about this but he was too busy with his drinks and his girlfriends. Gray was an old and mutual friend of ours but asking for his help was futile at this moment. Maryann and I returned to the backyard of the hut, where Sharon was spotted with the man. To our surprise, she was not there and the man had also disappeared from there. Maryann and I looked at each other’s faces and then ran towards the garage to check Sharon’s car. No sign of Rolls Royce Phantom that was owned by the wealthy Sharon. Her inherited wealth had attracted a lot of young and charming men towards her and many tried to marry her to have a share in her wealth, but Sharon did not understand most of the men’s intention. She was fooled easily by the warmth and honey filled conversations of such men. However, Maryann and I were living with Sharon and we had every right to protect Sharon from these dangers. When we could not find the car, we panicked. We tried calling Sharon but her cell phone was turned off. I was facing a dilemma of whether to make a phone call to our uncle, Fargo, who was in FBI or make a phone call to 911. It was hard to decide because the Fargo uncle has had some sexual encounters with Sharon in the past and we did not want that to happen again. So I took out my cell phone and started dialing 911. The phone was on my ear as I was making the phone call and there was a strong beam of car light upon us in the garage. A car came slowly accelerating towards us and the number plate said AA-42321-V. This made us happy; I dropped the phone and leaped towards the Phantom, just to see the corpse of Sharon lying in the car and the driver bleeding to death.

How To Find A Job Effectively

Everyday someone is looking for a job. Whether that person is a recent graduate, a person laid-off from work, or a person that wants a different job, their diligent search turns into a carefully planned search for employment. It is important that a person knows how to search effectively for a job. There are three effective ways to look for a job: use a variety of resources, do a resume, and go on interviews. One way a person can look for a job effectively is to use a variety or resources, such as the newspaper, the Internet, or the local Job-Service Agency. The newspaper can be used to help find a job by looking at the job listings in the classified ad sections. The job listings in a newspaper vary depending on what is listed. One can find the classified ads by using the newspaper s index, which is located in the front of the newspaper. Another resource that can be used is the Internet. The Internet contains many search engines that can be used to find a specific job. One can even apply for jobs over the Internet. A person can also use the local Job-Service Agency to find a job. A Job-Service Agency can help the unemployed person find a job in the area where he or she lives. The Job-Service Agency tries to match ones skills with the jobs that are available. Generally, when a person writes a resume, he or she should avoid using the words I and My; be meticulous; and be able to keep track of where one submits his or her resume. Since a resume is about ones work history, the words I and My should not be used. Writing the words I and My for every statement is repetitious and clutters the resume with unnecessary words. It is perfectly acceptable to write a resume with incomplete sentences. A person must also be meticulous and look for errors in the resume. A resume should never be submitted with typos and other blatant mistakes. When a person sends a resume with many mistakes, this implies that one does not pay attention to details or has poor communication skills. In addition, when submitting resumes, it is important to keep track of where they are sent. This is a good idea, so that one does not submit his or her resume more than once at the same place. Being organized is a crucial step in writing and submitting resumes. When going on an interview, attire, body language, and manners count. First impressions are very important. Ones overall appearance is the first thing that an interviewer notices. A person should dress neat and in a professional manner. In addition, one should be aware of his or her body language. Being alert and answering questions in a timely and polite way is important. The tone of voice, posture, and gesture gives clues about ones manners. A positive attitude along with good manners can have a lasting impression. Manners count. No one wants to work with someone who is rude and disrespectful. In summary, if a person uses a variety of resources, do a resume, and go on interviews this will help one effectively find a job. It is essential that a person know how to effectively find a job, so that one becomes successful in his or her search. When a person does know how to find a job effectively, it will be hard for them to find a job. This will often lead to a person not finding a job at all. Therefore, if one uses these three effective ways to search for a job carefully, he or she will have no problem finding a job.

The Roman Empire and the Gladiator Games essays

The Roman Empire and the Gladiator Games essays The Roman Empire was the undoubted pinnacle of society prior to the Middle Ages, and nothing came close to expressing its might, culture, and subjects as the Gladiatorial games did. Views on such Roman sports being cruel and barbaric are merely superficial as these events were deeply integrated within this ancient empire, representing its ideals. Often these were spectacular battles in awe-inspiring arenas which were themselves an architectural masterpiece of those times. Above all, the games portrayed the glory of success, the satisfaction of which nothing else could give. To the Romans, from the Emperor to the commoner, their empire was the epitome of power. These games were showpiece events that displayed the might and glory of victory that Romans hold so close to their hearts, especially so, at a time when war and territorial conquests was getting infrequent. As seen in Gladiator, the sight of a victorious competitor in the arena after a bloody battle brought immense cheering and approval from the fans. Only the best gladiators were deemed appropriate to compete in the Colosseum which greatly raised the games' standard. The replication of these games in the provinces served to highlight the influence these games had and indirectly integrated these towns closer to the central axis of power, Rome (referred to as "the light" in the movie). The battle arenas themselves symbolized power in the architectural sense. The Colosseum was the largest and perhaps most elegantly crafted structure in Rome, and it was only fitting that such a magnificent arena sh ould stage important events such as gladiatorial games. With their obsession of power and glory, it is no wonder that the crowds are fickle enough to change "allegiance" to whichever group of gladiators is winning the battles at the moment as seen in the battle between the charioteers and the slave gladiators in the movie. The sponsor of the Games (usually the Emperor) also showed his o...

How to Become an Author The Ultimate Guide from a Bestseller

How to Become an Author The Ultimate Guide from a Bestseller How to Become an Author: Your Complete Guide So you want to become an author Well, I’ve got good news and I’ve got bad news. The bad news first: Writing your book wont be easy. If you’re in the middle of that process, you’re nodding right now. But here’s the good news: All that work isa small price for the amazing possibilities it can open to you: Getting published Enjoying a career you love Impacting people with your writing Media attention Royalty income In this extensive guide, my goal is to give you an honest look at how to become a writer- using lessons I’ve learned from 40+ years working with some of the top publishers in the world. Having written 21 New York Times bestsellers myself, I’m confident these lessons will help you in your writing journey. Ready? Let’s do it. What You Will Learn Here’s the short version of everything I cover in this complete, step-by-step post: DON’T Try toBecome an Author Until Youve Studied the Craft and Polished Your Skills Written Things Shorter Than a Book Plugged Yourself into a Community of Writers Writing Your Book Create a Writing Schedule You Can Stick to Research and Plan Keep Your Day Job Become a Ferocious Self-Editor Trying to Land a Publishing Contract How to Get an Agent Selling a Publisher Editing Your Book Like Crazy (Again) with an Editor Should You Self-Publish? An Overview of Self-Publishing How to Set Your Book Apart Choosing the Right Self-Publishing Company The #1 Killer of Self-Published Books Want to save this 5000-word guide to read later? Click here to get a free PDF version you can read anytime. 1. DON’T Try toBecome a Writer Until You’ve I get it. You’re antsy. You’re ready to pen your bestseller right now. You’ve read or heard of writers who had never written a thing before and yet scored with a million-seller on their first try. Throttle back. Those stories become big news because they’re so rare. Don’t bank on winning the lottery. If you want your book (and your message) to go anywhere, make sure you’ve: Studied the Craft There’s no need to write a compelling story by trial and error anymore. Others have already done it for you- and written books about it. So your best bet is to follow proven methods. Great writers are great readers. Sohere’s a list of my favorite 12 books on writing to get you started. The competition has gotten so fierce, you’ll do yourself a favor if you learn how successful authors write before you try to get a second look from a publisher. Take the time to learn what you’re doing. You’ll thank yourself later. Written Things Shorter Than a Book A book shouldn’t be where you start any more than you should enroll in grad school when you’re a kindergartner. A book is where you arrive. Start small, learn the craft, hone your skills. Do some journaling. Write a newsletter. Start a blog. Get articles published in a couple of magazines, a newspaper, an ezine. Take a night school or online course in journalism or creative writing. Publishers are looking for authors with platforms (in short: audiences, tribes, followers, fans). So start building yours now. Any of the pieces above will start building steam behind your writing, and boost name recognition for you as a writer. If you’re planning to start blogging, check out this post on creating an author website. Bottom line:Work a quarter-million clicheÃŒ s out of your system, learn what it means to be edited, become an expert in something, build your platform, and then start thinking about that book or novel. Plugged Yourself into a Community of Writers Think you can do it alone? Then you’re a better writer than I. Almost every traditionally published author I know is surrounded by a helpful community. How else would they deal with things like: Frustration Discouragement Procrastination Wanting to quit I’ve written over 185 books, yet I often wonder whether I can finish the next one. At this stage for me, community means knowing I can be encouraged by colleagues whenever I need it. When you’re starting out, another pair of eyes on your work can prove to be invaluable. Ten pairs of eyes are even better. Join a writers’ group. Find a mentor. Stay open to criticism. One caveat with writers’ groups: make sure at least one person, preferably the leader, is widely published and understands the publishing landscape. Otherwise you risk the blind leading the blind. 2. Writing Your Book Surprisingly, most people never get this far. Whether it’s fear or procrastination or something else, few writers ever make it to the first page. To avoid becoming part of this sad group, you need a plan. So regardless your personal writing method, be sure to cover these bases: Create a Writing Schedule You Can Stick To When you’re an author, writing becomes your job. So treat it that way. Show up and do the work whether you feel like it or not. Writer’s block is no excuse. In no other profession could you get away with getting out of work by claiming you have worker’s block. Try that and see what it gets you- likely a pink slip. Find at least six hours a week to write. Well, find is the wrong word, of course. You won’t find it, you’ll have to carve out the time. Lock these hours into your calendar and keep them sacred. If you can’t think of what to write, then edit. If you can’t edit, plan. You’ll be astonished at your ability to get stuff done when you finally plant yourself in your chair. Challenge: Don’t move until you have scheduled at least six hours. Research and Plan To give your manuscript the best chance to succeed, skip this step at your peril. Excellent preparation will make or break your book. Two main ways you should be preparing: 1. Outline. Regardless how you feel about outlining, you need an idea of where you’re going before you start. If you’re writing a novel, you’re either an outliner or a pantser- those who write by the seat of their pants. (If you’re writing a nonfiction book, an outline is a given.) On the fiction side, the definition of an outliner is obvious. You plan everything beforehand. But pantsers write by process of discovery- or as Stephen King puts it, they â€Å"put interesting characters in difficult situations and write to find out what happens.† Neither is better or worse. But most writers are one or the other (a few are hybrids, largely one over the other but doing a little of both). But, depending on which you are, you’ll approach the planning phase completely differently. If you’re a hardcore outliner (and a novelist), you’ll enjoy my friend and colleague Randy Ingermanson’s Snowflake Method. But if you’re a pantser, check out this post for non-outliners. Itll teach you how to work within a structure while staying free enough to writeon the fly. 2. Do the research. All great stories are rooted in solid research. If your research stinks, your story sinks. If your character drives 10 miles east out of the Chicago Loop, he’d better be in an amphibious vehicle, because he’ll be in Lake Michigan. (And you thought I was joking about sinking.) To avoid such embarrassing errors, do your research. Immerse yourself in the details of your setting. Make sure no characters are wearing ski jackets when it’s 95 degrees outside. Two online research tools that will help you avoid mistakes: The World Atlas A directory of some of the world’s top almanacs Don’t Quit Your Day Job I didn’t become a full-time freelance author until I had written and published nearly 90 books. I had been advised by a veteran author that my freelance income ought to be around three times what I made at my job before I considered going solo. I was stunned. Why so much more? He started listing everything I would have to pay for on my own. Insurance, retirement, all my benefits. I had always been careful to separate my writing and my office work, but during my off hours on business trips I might do some research. No more. Any travel would be on me. Your day job doesn’t have to keep you from writing your book. You might not like this, but I recommend you keep it and spend your after-hours time writing your book. Why? Two reasons: You’ll have steady income- one less thing to worry about- while trying to build your writing career. The structure will force you to be more productive with fewer hours. So, yes, you can have your cake and eat it too- without sacrificing time with family. You lose three hours per night for what, TV? How big a sacrifice is that for your writing dream? How badly do you want to become an author? Become a Writer Ferocious About Self-Editing This section is so important that it has the power to determine whether your book makes a huge splash with readers and publishers- or slides into the editor’s reject pile after the first page or two. Get serious about self-editing. Editors know from the first page whether your manuscript is publishable. I know that doesn’t sound fair or even logical. You’re thinking, It took me months, maybe years, to write hundreds of pages and you didn’t even get to the good stuff! How could they do that to you? Why did they? First, the good stuff ought to be in the first two paragraphs. And if they see 15 adjustments they need to make on the first two pages, they know the cost of editing three or four hundred pages of the same would eat whatever profits they could hope for before even printing the book. To avoid the dreaded â€Å"Thank you, but this doesn’t meet a current need† letter, your manuscript must be lean and mean, besides being a great story and a great read. Here are my 21 rules of ferocious self-editing: Develop a thick skin. Avoid throat-clearing. Choose the normal word over the obtuse. Omit needless words. Avoid subtle redundancies, like: â€Å"She nodded her head in agreement.† Those last four words could be deleted. Avoid the words up and down- unless they’re really needed. Usually delete the word that. Use it only for clarity. Give the reader credit. Once you’ve established something, you don’t need to repeat it. Avoid telling what’s not happening. Avoid being an adjectival maniac. Avoid hedging verbs like smiled slightly, almost laughed, frowned a bit, etc. Avoid the term literally- when you mean figuratively. Avoid too much stage direction. Maintain a single point of view (POV) for every scene. Avoid clichà ©s, and not just words and phrases, but situations. Resist the urge to explain (RUE). Show, don’t tell. People say things; they don’t wheeze, gasp, sigh, laugh, grunt, or retort them. Specifics add the ring of truth, even to fiction. Avoid similar character names. In fact, avoid even the same first initials. Avoid mannerisms of punctuation, typestyles, and sizes. 3. Trying to Land a Publishing Contract Want to save this 5000-word guide to read later? Click here to get a free PDF version you can read anytime. I’m not going to sugarcoat it- this isn’t easy. But if you have a solid plan (and if you’ve followed the guide), you’ve got as good a chance as any. This section will show you how to become an author by revealing the options available. These best practices can vastly increase your likelihood of getting published. How to Get an Agent Your first step in trying to land a traditional publishing deal should be to land an agent- which can be just as difficult, as it should be. There will seem a dichotomy here, because you are likely writing for altruistic reasons- you have a mission, a passion, a message, something burning inside that you must share with the world. Yet agents or publishers will appear to base their decisions solely on the bottom line. If they see sales potential, they will accept it; if they don’t they won’t. But don’t despair. That doesn’t mean they don’t share your passion. It simply means they must make a profit to stay in business- even faith-based publishers who are all about ministry. Though it’s hard to find an agent, it is possible to get traditionally published without one. Most will not consider unsolicited manuscripts, though some will. Check The Writer’s Market Guide and The Christian Writer’s MarketGuide for publishers that don’t require agent-represented manuscript submissions. Some will allow you to submit at writers conferences or through other clients of theirs. Be aware that it’s not unheard of to submit an unsolicited manuscript to dozens of publishers without success. An agent can make your life a lot easier. A plethora of new doors open because of your agent’s connections. Besides the instant credibility of an agent’s approval and the knowledge that your writing has survived a vetting process, you also get valuable input and coaching on how to fashion your query and proposal from someone who understands the publishing industry, knows the players and who’s looking for what, and has experience successfully pitching publishers. Obviously, there are good agents and bad agents. How do you know whom you can trust? The credible agent welcomes scrutiny. So find reviews. Check with other clients. Ask: How did their book turn out? Did they feel taken care of? Were they pleased with the results? Feel free to ask agents: What kinds of books have they succeeded with? Have they succeeded in your genre? Once you compile a list of agents who seem to be a good fit, follow their submission guidelines. They’ll likely ask for a query letter, synopsis, proposal, and perhaps a few chapters. If any ask for any sort of reading fee or other payment up front, eliminate them as candidates and do not respond. Before you do anything else, check out these submission guidelines from two agents I’m familiar with. I’m not necessarily evaluating or endorsing them, except to say that I know them to be ethical and trustworthy and find their guidelines helpful and sound. Their pages will give you a good idea of what typical agents are looking for. Steve Laube’s guidelines Hartline Literary’s guidelines Two things you may be asked for- and which some writers struggle with: 1. A query letter This is an easy way to reach out to an agent, but many prefer more- like a full proposal, which we’ll get to. Most agents prefer submissions of any kind to be electronically submitted as an attachment, not as part of the body of your message. Avoid snail mail. Make your query letter crisp and short. The shorter (while saying what you need to say) the better. A query letter is just what its name implies- it queries the interest of the agent in your book idea. So make it stimulating and intriguing. Remember, you’re selling your book to the agent. Four essential parts of an effective query letter: a. Your elevator pitch This is a summary of your book’s premise, told in the time it would take for the editor to reach his floor if you happened to find yourself in the same elevator car. So it has to be fast and convincing. Here’s the elevator pitch for my very first novel: â€Å"A judge tries a man for a murder the judge committed.† It worked. b. Your synopsis In a paragraph, tell what your nonfiction book is about and what you hope to accomplish with it. Or tell the basic premise of the plot of your novel. The synopsis would naturally go beyond the elevator pitch and tell what happens and how things turn out. (Note: Almost any plot, when reduced to a one- or two-paragraph synopsis, sounds ridiculous.) c. Your target audience and why they’ll enjoy your book Agents need to believe they can sell it before they’ll ask you for more. Help them envision how to pitch it to publishers, but be careful not to oversell. They know the business better than you do and will not be swayed by your assurance that â€Å"everyone will find this amazing.† You can say that your audiences have been enthusiastic or that beta readers have expressed excitement. d. Your personal information Sell the agent on yourself. What qualifies you to write this book? What else have you published? What kind of tribe have you built? Where can they read your blog? Of course you’re including all your contact information. Other query letter tips: Keep it to one page, single-spaced, and 12 pt. sans serif type. Don’t sell too hard- let your premise speak for itself. Follow the agent’s submission guidelines to a T. Proof your letter before sending. Any typo on such a short document makes you look like an amateur. Here’s a great example of a query letter, with a breakdown of why it works, by Brian Klems of Writer’s Digest. 2. A book proposal You’ll find that for most agents, this is the most important document they want to see. Some want only this. Succinctly and completely describe the details of your idea and make them want to read your manuscript in its entirety as soon as it’s ready. Leave nothing out. For nonfiction, include every major issue you’ll cover and the basics of what you’ll say about it. For fiction, rough out the entire plot in a few pages. With a proposal, your query letter becomes a cover letter. Resist the urge to write a long cover letter. Allow your proposal to do the heavy lifting. Three trusted colleagues have produced masterful works on how to write book proposals, so check out what they have to offer: Michael Hyatt: Writing a Winning Book Proposal Jane Friedman: How to Write a Book Proposal (Jane also has some great material on query letters, so search her site for that, too.) Terry Whalin: Book Proposals That Sell Proposals can contain any number of possible components, such as: Premise Elevator pitch Overview Target audience Chapter synopses Marketing ideas Endorsements Your analysis of competing books, and where yours fits Up to three sample chapters More book proposal tips: Tell why you think your book can succeed. Every page in your proposal should make them want to flip to the next page. Despite that a proposal is longer, keep it tight and terse, as short as you can without cutting crucial information. Every word should be designed to pique an agent’s interest, your goal being to be asked to send your entire manuscript. Which should I choose, query or proposal? The competition is so fierce these days, I would lean toward a full proposal almost every time. The only instances when I might fire off a query would be if an incredible opportunity fell in my lap and I thought an agent could help me jump on it before I had time to craft a proposal. For instance, if a major celebrity wanted help with a book and chose you to write it, a fast letter to an agent might get a quick response. Otherwise, take the time to put together a professional proposal that shows an agent you know how to work and can be thorough. But know this: If you spark an agent’s interest, they will immediately ask for more information. So you’ll need a proposal at some point. Keep that in mind and be ready to get busy. Connecting with the Right Publisher Regardless whether you secure an agent, there are five guidelines for submitting your proposal and/or manuscript to publishers: Follow their submission guidelines to a T. Customize your cover letter to each. Know what the publisher wants, and tell them why you believe your book is right for them in light of that. Let it show in your attitude and tone that you realize how few manuscripts are chosen for publication each year, and by the fact that you have done your homework and covered all the bases to ensure you’re giving the publisher everything they need to make a decision on your manuscript. Avoid gushing and flattery, like adding the obvious sentiments, â€Å"I’ll do anything you say, make any changes you want, meet any deadline†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Just present your complete proposal and professionally express that you look forward to hearing from them. A rule of thumb for first-time authors: If you’re writing fiction, while some publishers may ask you to send your completed manuscript after reading your proposal, synopsis, and sample chapters, it’s highly unlikely they will actually offer a contract before they see that completed manuscript. That’s because many people can come up with great ideas, and some can produce promising starts to novels. But few can see their way through to the end. So you’ll have to prove you can do it. If you’re writing nonfiction, you might be able to secure a publishing contract before you have finished your entire manuscript, though that is also rare. Should it happen, the publisher is likely to offer a lot of guidance and input for shaping the rest of the writing- and you’ll have a much better chance of success if you work nicely with your editor. Regardless your genre, publishers won’t take a second look at your manuscript unless it’s presented professionally. Use these submission guidelines: Use Times New Roman font (or at the very least avoid sans serif fonts). Use 12-point type. Left-justify your page. (This means your text should be aligned at the left margin, but not the right. This is also called â€Å"flush left, ragged right.†) Double-space your page with no extra space between paragraphs. Each paragraph should be indented one-half inch. One space between sentences. Microsoft Word .doc or .docx file format. 1† top, bottom, and side margins (or whatever is standard in your Word program). Editing Your Book Like Crazy (Again) with an Editor By the time you get to this point, you’ve already spent hours editing your own work. You’ve rearranged, improved, and cut things that hurt to cut. Be ready to do more. Once a publisher agrees to take your manuscript, you’ll be assigned an editor to make your manuscript the best it can be. This editor will suggest changes, maybe major ones- especially if it’s your first book. Don’t get touchy. Writing is not a solo. It’s a duet between the writer and an editor. Sometimes you’ll have to kill sentences that took hours to write. It’ll feel like disowning your children. Remember, the editor is on your side. Throw a private temper tantrum if you must, but then cool down and listen. Let them to do their job. You can push back respectfully if you feel strongly that they’ve missed your point on something, but do this only when the sting of criticism has worn off and you’re thinking rationally. Keep an open mind and beeasy to work with. They’ll remember. 4. Should You Self-Publish? Want to save this 5000-word guide to read later? Click here to get a free PDF version you can read anytime. If you can score with a traditional publisher, do it. Exhaust your efforts to traditionally publish before resorting to self-publishing. Even honest self-publishing executives will give you this advice. Why? Because with traditional publishing, the publisher takes all the risks, and you’re paid an advance against royalties and royalties based on sales. So nothing comes out of your pocket. With self-publishing, however, you pay for everything from design to editing. Packages can cost upwards of $10,000. Back when self-publishing was referred to as â€Å"vanity publishing,† you could always tell a self-published book from a traditionally published book due to the lack of quality. Schlocky covers, boring titles, the word by before the author’s name on the cover. Too much copy on the front and back covers. Poor typeface and interior design. Lousy writing, editing, and proofreading- sometimes clearly nonexistent. But the game has changed. Publishing your own book is vastly different than it used to be. Your end product can now look much more professional, and your price per book is much more reasonable. Print-on-demand technology now allows for low-cost printing, so you can order as few as two or three books at a time for the same cost per book as you would pay if you were buying hundreds. So, you no longer need to store countless copies in your garage or basement. And self-published books look nicer these days too, because writers have demanded it. How to Set Your Self-Published Book Apart If you resort to this route, realize that you are the publisher now. You have to advertise, promote, and market your own book. But because you’re earning the profits after expenses, not just a royalty, a successful book will net you more money per copy than a traditionally published one. Admittedly, selling enough self-published copies to actually net you more money than you would make selling more traditionally at a lower royalty rate is rare, but it happens. It’s also rare that a self-published book finds its way to bookstore shelves outside the author’s own town. (The hard truth is that it’s not easy for even traditionally published books to place their books in bookstores. Experts say as few as one percent of all published books can be accommodated by bookstores and that the rest must be sold through other channels like the Internet, direct mail, and by hand.) To give your self-published title the best chance to succeed, you need to invest in: A great cover, which will involve purchasing a photo or artwork, type design, and layout Inside layout, type design, and typesetting Editing (resist the urge to use a relative who majored in English or even teaches English; book editing is a specific art) Proofreading (same caveat as above; friends and loved ones who are meticulous spellers are not enough; there are myriad style matters to deal with) Each of these elements will dramatically increase the professional look of your final product and, thus, your hope of selling more books. Do NOT skimp on them. If you’ve ever built a house without a contractor, you have an idea of how complex this will be if you do it right. So despite the fact that many self-published authors swear by it and believe it’s fairer to the author than traditional publishing, I maintain that traditional remains the ideal for authors- except for those unique titles that are targeted to deserving but very limited audiences. Choosing the Right Company to Self-Publish Your Book More than 400,000 books are self-published every year in the United States alone. So there are many companies to choose from. But sadly, many are wolves in sheep’s clothing. They’ll let you create a poor product and tell you it’s great. They’ll â€Å"award† you a contract, telling you their publication board has â€Å"evaluated† your manuscript and â€Å"found it worthy† to be published. They’ll tell you that they’re â€Å"not a subsidy publisher† or â€Å"not a self-publisher† or â€Å"not an independent publisher.† But they’ll use another euphemism to justify the fact that you’re paying â€Å"only for promotion† or â€Å"only for [this many] copies,† or â€Å"only for†¦Ã¢â‚¬  something else, when the fact is that the fee will cover all their costs and will include their profit. They’ll imply they can get your title before the eyes of every bookstore owner and manager in the country. They might even give examples of a few titles of theirs that have sold into some stores or even made some bestseller list. But they can’t guarantee your title will be sold into any store. Because that list your title is on that is â€Å"available† to every store owner and manager is merely a master list of all the books on some distributor’s Internet site of every title in their catalogue. That means your book will get no personal attention from a salesperson and no more emphasis than any of the tens of thousands of other titles on the list. Such companies are using you as little more than a content generator, pretending to have â€Å"chosen† your book from among the many they have to choose from, when the fact is they would publish anything you send them in any form, provided your accompanying check clears the bank. Be wary of any company that: Doesn’t take seriously the editing and proofreading of your book Lets you commit embarrassing typos such as spelling foreword as forward, foreward, or forword Allows the word by before your name on the cover Over-promises what you should expect in the way of personal sales representation, public relations, marketing, distribution, and advertising That said, when you do need to self-publish, legitimate companies with proven track records are ready to assist you. Do your homework and go beyond an Internet search, which will likely turn up beautiful websites for countless companies putting their best foot forward. So find previous customers and ask about their experience. You want a company who will answer every question straightforwardly and without hesitation. If you feel hard-sold, run. A litmus test question for the publisher: Ask if they would advise you to exhaust your efforts to traditionally publish first. I asked this of the head of WestBow Pressâ„ ¢, a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan, and he said he always advises customers that this is the ideal route. That kind of refreshing honesty bodes well for a company. The #1 Killer of Self-Published Books When writers run out of money to invest in their book, too often the first place that suffers is the content itself. Writers may understand that they are not experts in cover design, layout and typesetting, marketing and promotion, warehousing, distribution, and sales. But they overrate their writing and editing and proofreading abilities. So, they invest in those other services and cut corners on editing and proofreading. What they wind up with is a handsome product that looks like a real book but reads like the manuscript that made the rounds of the traditional houses and was rejected. You must determine what will set you apart in a noisy marketplace. That certain something that will set you apart is what it has always been: Writing quality. Having been in the writing game for 50 years and the book business for 40, that is something I am able to tell you. To use an ancient adage, cream rises. That may sound like something scratched on a cave wall. But it simply means that readers recognize quality. You or your agent may be looking for a deal from a traditional publisher. Or you may have chosen to self-publish online, in print, or both. Regardless, you want your manuscript to be of the highest editorial quality you can make it. What does that mean? It means you must: Learn the craft and hone your skills. Rigorously study writing, do exercises, write stories. It can all pay off. Just as with physical exercise, the more the better, but anything is better than nothing. Recognize that writing well is much harder and more involved than you ever dreamed. If you thought writing was merely a hobby, this realization could crush you. So, to push through, remember why you wanted to become a writer in the first place: You have a message, and people need to hear it. Dont trust friends’ and relatives’ flattery. Sure, they’re great for keeping you from quitting. But when you need solid input on your writing, their enthusiasm won’t translate to sales. Accept criticism and input from people who know what they’re talking about. Find an experienced writer or editor who’ll offer honest feedback on your work. Join a writers group. Attend writers conferences. Get a mentor. Free Download: Want your own copy of this guide? You can grabthe full PDF version by clicking here or on the image below: If you really want to become an author, it can be done. You’ll know you’re ready when you’re willing to carve the time from your schedule to write. So how badly do you want it? Tell me in the Comments below.

Corporate Social Responsibility is Fundamental to Developing a Global Essay

Corporate Social Responsibility is Fundamental to Developing a Global Reputation - Essay Example The company can build sustainable operations by investing in corporate social responsibility. Therefore investing in corporate social responsibility is fundamental to developing a global reputation. This is demonstrated by multinational corporations such as Johnson & Johnson and Starbucks. They have invested in different programmes of corporate social responsibility and thus have been able to face the recent financial crisis more effectively than competitors. The objective of developing a global reputation cannot be attained unless the multinational corporation is able to offer products and services which promote social and environmental standards. By enforcing social and environmental standards, a multinational corporation invests in corporate social responsibility which leads to a global reputation. Introduction Globalization leads to increased international trade through the reduction of tariffs. Increased international trade creates global companies which can be defined as those companies which possess production/marketing operations in more than one country. One of the key success factors for global companies is corporate social responsibility, defined as taking into account the impacts of business operations on the society and the environment in addition to the traditional measurement of the company’s profits. This creates an operational framework in which global companies have to take local concerns into consideration. By conducting operations in a manner which takes into consideration their social and environmental impacts, a global company is able to build a good reputation globally. The objective of this paper is to explore how corporate social responsibility enables a multinational corporation to develop a global reputation. Analysis of key issues Globalization increases the volume of international trade by reducing the national barriers to trade such as tariffs and subsidies. This leads to the creation of a multinational corporation which can conduct production and marketing operations in more than one international market. An example of globalization is China’s entry into the World Trade Organization enabling western companies to set up operations in the fast growing Chinese economy. However the Chinese market is still regulated by the government and there is a considerable level of regional fragmentation in the government regulations. Therefore it is essential for foreign organizations to develop a good reputation in the Chinese market so as to create a good image in the local communities. This is one of the key success factors given the rising level of competitive rivalry as the Chinese market has been liberalized enabling foreign companies to set up their operations in the fast growing market. As a result companies need to develop programs of corporate social responsibility to develop a competitive advantage by developing a global reputation. Global companies can implement programs of corporate social respons ibility by taking into account the triple bottom line (McConnell & Brue, 2007). First the global company has to take into consideration the costs of managing people when it comes to transferring operations to a foreign market. This focus enables the management to conduct operations in a socially responsible manner so that employee satisfaction is maximized. Second, the company has to take into consideration the environmental costs of global operations. This means that the management takes into account the impact of its operations on the planet. Third, the company takes into account the traditional measurement of profits. Therefore the triple bottom line consists of people, planet and profit, also known as the three P’s. By conducting its global operations according to the triple bottom

4 short questions Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

4 short questions - Movie Review Example The play was a major success because of the great measure of its development and the subsequent production offered by the Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. As a result the play was made into a film based on the audience reaction (Letts, 12). The poet T.S. Eliot is quoted and referenced in the play due to the fact that the main concept put across is that of life. Letts uses quotes from one of his poems ‘The Hollow men’ which is a poem that talks more about broken souls. The reason for this is because the play focuses on a dysfunctional family that is in a crisis and is broken. The theme of broken souls based on the poem is followed throughout the play as the drama unfolds. ‘Life is very Long’, this is a quote that is referenced by Beverly when she expounds about life and poetry to Johnna (Lett, 14). Based on the interview conducted on Letts, I do not agree with the blogger’s statement. This is because most of the people in Oklahoma are of the Native American background and thus for Letts to include this character there was strong thematic resonance involved. There was also need to connect with most of the audience that were within that background. Johnna character purpose was to be that of a carer to the family and thus her roles were aimed at providing care and support service especially to Violet who was an addict of prescriptions medicine. Her presence does not affect me as a reader as her character represents a real life situation in Oklahoma (Letts, 16). The character that I identified with is that of Barbara, the eldest daughter. This is due to the fact that she portrayed the role of being a devoted daughter despite the crisis that was in the family and the fact that her mother was an addict. For instance, during a family dinner in act two she stood up in front of everyone and declared that she was going to run things from then henceforth. This scene shows that she

Risk management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Risk management - Essay Example This created a bubble in the housing finance sector and mortgage properties. Investment banks and other financial institutions started to lend money to the mass of people as well as corporate houses for purchase of land or other business purposes. The land and housing properties were kept as mortgage serving as underlying securities for those loans. These loans were granted to the borrowers without looking at repayment feasibility of the loans or without carrying out adequate evaluation of the credit parameters. The credit parameters like income of the borrower, assets available to service the loan, existing liabilities, etc. were ignored by the financial institutions in the mortgage loans. This led to the inflation of the bubble in the housing sector which developed earlier. The bubble finally burst as the borrowers were unable to repay the loans and the defaulters in the mortgage loan market started to become heavy. This led to the devaluation of the mortgages which served as under lying securities. ... w of information to the market led to the erosion of investors’ confidence that reflected in the plunge of share prices of the company (Allen, 1999, p.24). Huge wealth of the investors was eroded in short time thereby causing a situation of liquidity crisis. Several companies like Lehmann Brothers, Bear Stearns, Meryl Lynch, etc. were affected due to fall in the valuation of the companies and inability to return the investment of the shareholders. The liquidity crisis created shortage of monetary supply in the economy which tightened the credit conditions in the economy. This created a global credit crisis which was fuelled by the implementation of revised regulatory standards, enforcement of strict credit parameters and revised policies of the companies to counter the global financial crisis. Role of financial engineering: derivative products were a risk management device Derivatives products are financial instruments that derive its value from the underlying assets such as s tock, interest rates, currencies, commodities, etc. Derivative products involve two parties entering into a contract for payment of a certain amount on a certain date under the agreed terms and conditions. The derivative products may be of two types, namely â€Å"lock† and â€Å"option† derivatives. The lock derivatives enforce the parties entering into the contract to fulfil the payment obligations of the derivative product as per terms and conditions. The â€Å"option’ derivative provides the right to the buyer to enter into the contract but the buyer is not obligated to enter into the contract in â€Å"option† derivatives. The derivative products are used to hedge financial risks and also to speculate financial gains in the time of adverse financial situations. The derivative products were used a

Theories of child development

Theories of child development Describe and evaluate two stage theories of child development Developmental psychologists use theories to formulate hypotheses. There are three main, very broad families of theories related to child development. These are Psychoanalytical Theory, Learning Theory and Cognitive-Developmental Theory. Theories within each of these families attempt to provide developmentalists with comprehensive explanations of just about every facet of human development. Psychoanalytic Theories (e.g. Freud and Erikson) propose that developmental change happens because of the influence of internal drives and emotions on behaviour. Learning Theories (e.g. Pavlov, Bandura etc.) propose that development results from an accumulation of experiences. Cognitive-Developmental Theories (e.g. Piaget and Vygotsky) emphasise the mental processes in development. Freuds Psychosexual Theory is an example of a Psychoanalytical Theory. Freud mainly worked with adults who were suffering from severe mental illnesses and he used his findings to base his work on development. He concluded that behaviour is governed by both conscious and unconscious thought processes and he believed that the libido is the motivating force behind most of our behaviour. One of the main parts of Freuds theory is his idea that a persons personality is divided into 3 parts called the id, the ego and the superego. The id is a persons basic sexual and aggressive impulses. The id contains the libido and motivates a person to seek pleasure and avoid pain. The ego is the conscious, thinking part of a persons personality. One of its main jobs is to keep the needs of the id satisfied. It is also responsible for keeping the three components of personality in balance. Finally, the superego is the part of our personality that acts as a moral judge. When the superego has developed, t he egos task becomes much more difficult. It must satisfy the id without violating the superegos rules. According to Freud, a person experiences tension when any of the three components is in conflict with another. He believed that sexual feelings are vital to personality development however he only believed this because many of his patients had memories of sexual feelings and behaviour in childhood. Freuds most controversial idea was regarding childrens experiences of sexual attraction towards the opposite-sex parent during the phallic stage. He termed these ‘The Oedipus Conflict for a male child and ‘The Electra Complex if the child was female. For example, The Oedipus Conflict states that a male child has sexual feelings for his mother but fears that his father will find out and castrate him. Freud proposed a series of psychosexual stages. He believed that a child passes through each one of these stages. These stages are oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital. He believed that during each stage the libido is fixed around a certain area of the body and a major developmental task takes place. For example, in the oral stage, which Freud believed occurred from birth and lasted until the child was one year old, libido is said to be focussed on the mouth, lips and tongue. Freud believed that during this stage the major developmental task that took place was weaning. In the anal stage, libido is focussed on the anus and toilet training takes place. This usually occurs at ages 1 to 3 years old. In the phallic stage, focus is on the genitals (as it is in the genital stage) and this is where the child tries to resolve the Oedipus/Electra complex. Freud thought that the latency period is not really a psychosexual stage as the libido is not focussed on the body during this period a nd therefore, fixation is impossible. Freud went on to state that if an adult is fixated at one of these stages, they will have certain recognisable characteristics. For example, if an adult is fixated at the oral stage they will develop characteristics such as smoking, overeating, passivity and gullibility. According to Freud, optimum development requires an environment that will satisfy the unique needs of each period. Freuds Psychosexual Theory has been praised because it provides a psychological explanation for mental illness and it emphasises the importance of experiences in infancy and early childhood. It also highlights the importance of the childs earliest relationships with their caregivers. It suggests that a childs needs change with age, so parents and caregivers must continually adapt to the changing child. Eriksons Psychosocial Theory supports Freuds Theory. Erikson (1963) was a neo-Freudian which means that his ideas were built on the strengths of Freuds Theory but he attempted to avoid the weaknesses. Erikson proposed that personality develops in eight psychosocial stages over the course of the lifespan. He believed that personality develops through eight life crises across the entire lifespan. A person finishes each crisis with either a good or poor resolution. The theory also provided psychologists with a number of helpful concepts (e.g. id, ego, superego, unconscious etc) and many o f these terms are not used in everyday language and not just in psychological theory. Freud is often credited with the invention of psychotherapy, which is still practiced today. However, there are many theorists that disagree with Freuds ideas. For example, Baldwin (1967) states that one of the main criticisms of Freuds work is that it focus upon our thoughts and feelings, which presents many methodological problems. Baldwin goes on to comment on the fact that many of the terms that Freud uses (e.g. id, ego etc.) have not been operationalised. Operational definitions of the key terms are vital to a scientific theory as we need precise definitions in order to test the theories properly. This therefore means that the theory is not falsifiable. Freuds theory has also been criticised because of the evidence it presents. As stated earlier, much of the support for Freuds theory came from his own patients, who he used as case studies. He mainly chose to study women as he saw them as being inferior and this meant that his theory displays some very patriarchal issues and can be viewed as being very negative to women, something which feminists have argued for years. Piagets Cognitive-Developmental Theory is used to emphasise the mental processes in development. Piaget (1974) believed that all children seem to go through the same sequence of discoveries about their world, making the same mistakes and arriving at the same solutions. A scheme is an internal cognitive structure that provides an individual with a procedure to use in a specific circumstance. This is a main idea in Piagets model. Piaget believed that each of us starts life with a small repertoire of sensory and motor schemes, such as looking, tasting, touching, hearing, and reaching. As we use each scheme it starts to work better. Piaget proposed 3 processes in order to explain how children get from built-in schemes, such as looking and touching, to the complex mental schemes used in childhood, adolescence and adulthood. Assimilation is the process by which we use a scheme to make sense of an event or situation. The complementary process is accommodation, which involves changing the sc heme as a result of some new information acquired through assimilation. Through accommodation we improve our skills and reorganise our ways of thinking. Equilibration is the process of balancing assimilation and accommodation to create schemes that fit the environment. Piagets research suggested to him that logical thinking evolves in four stages. During the sensorimotor stage, from birth to 18 months, infants use their sensory and motor schemes to act on the world around them. In the preoperational stage, from 18 months to 6 years, children acquire symbolic schemes, such as language and fantasy, which they use in thinking and communicating. Next, is the concrete operational stage, 6-12 year olds begin to think logically and become capable of solving problems. The final stage is the formal operational stage. Here, adolescents learn to think logically about abstract ideas and hypothetical situations. Piaget believed that each stage comes from the one before it, and each involves major restructuring of the childs way of thinking. Research has confirmed that the sequence of stages is fixed and that children progress through them at different rates. Conservation studies, such as those carried out by Ciancio et al (1999) and Sophian (1995), have generally confirmed Piagets observations. Although it does seem as though younger children can demonstrate some understanding of conservation if the task is made very simple, most children cannot consistently solve conservation and other kinds of logical problems until at least the age of 5. However, Boyd and Bee (2008) state that preschoolers are a great deal more cognitively sophisticated than Piaget thought. Boyd and Bee believe that children, as young as 2 and 3, do appear to understand that another person sees and experiences things differently than they do. This therefore suggests that Piaget may have been wrong about some of the ages at which children develop certain skills. However, Bringuier (1980) counter-criticises this by recognising that the age ranges of each of the stages were always meant to be approximate. Piaget may also be wrong about the generality of the stages. For e xample, Boyd and Bee (2008) suggest that most 8 year olds show concrete operational thinking on some tasks but not on others, and they are more likely to show complex thinking on familiar rather than unfamiliar tasks. This therefore suggests that the process of child development may be a lot less stage-like than Piaget first suggested. Piatelli-Palmarini (1980) and Turiel (1996) go on to further argue this point by suggesting that it is very difficult to provide evidence for Piagets theory if the behaviour he suggests is very rarely, if ever, consistent with actually happens. This theory helps to explain how children of different ages think about and act on the world. Piagets research findings have been replicated in nearly every culture since his work was first published in the 1920s. Therefore, not only did he formulate a new theory which forced psychologists to think about child development in a new way, he also provided a set of findings that were impossible to ignore and difficult to explain. He also developed innovative methods of studying childrens thinking that continue to be important today. Feldman (2004) states that the question of how a child moves from one stage to another has been discussed between many critics of Piagets theory. For example, Gruber and Voneche (1977) and Karmiloff-Smith (1992) believe that Piagets stages should not longer be considered by theorists because they are unnecessary. However, Piaget knew that the stages he proposed would have to be modified. Feldman (2004) attempted to present a contemporary version of Piagets stages that he hoped would work better to express Piagets vision of what the stages are intended to represent. Feldman went on to state that a child may not actually behave in ways consistent with the principles of the operating system or overall set of cognitive structures of his or her stage. Feldman (2004) suggests that Piagets idea of equilibration has caused much controversy between theorists with many making efforts to interpret, clarify, critique and revise the concept. Feldman goes on to say that Piaget himself was not satisfied with the way that equilibration explains in detail how the transitions between the stages take place. Piaget (1975) tried to discover an elaborated version of equilibration so as to better capture movement from stage to stage within his theory. The main problem with equilibration is that it lacks a lot of detail. Most critics seem to agree that it is correct, but it leaves many unanswered questions. When equilibration processes are contrasted with structures as a whole, lots of problems arise for the theory. According to Siegler and Munakato (1993) the equilibration model forces us to choose to accept unrealistic transitions that occur from stage to stage or to abandon the idea of structures as a whole. However, if this was to happen, some o f the theorys major claims would be abandoned. Feldman (1995) went on to adapt Piagets theory. In doing so, he adapted it in such a way that the equilibration process would continue to play a central role in cognitive structures, but it no longer has to carry the burden of stage transition alone. The Information Processing Theory supports Piagets Theory. This uses the computer as a model to explain intellectual processes such as memory and problem-solving. It suggests that there are both age differences and individual differences in the efficiency with which humans use their information-processing systems. This theory can be used to explain Piagets Theory. Case (1985) states that this is a neo-Piagetian theory which expands on Piagets Theory rather than contradicting it. However, Boyd and Bee (2008) state that Vygotskys Sociocultural Theory goes against what Piaget proposed. Vygotsky stated that complex forms of thinking have their origins in social interactions rather than in the childs private explorations, as Piaget thought.