Thursday, November 28, 2019

American Revolution and the Battle of the Chesapeake

American Revolution and the Battle of the Chesapeake The Battle of the Chesapeake, also known as the Battle of the Virginia Capes, was fought September 5, 1781, during the American Revolution (1775-1783). Fleets and Leaders Royal Navy Rear Admiral Sir Thomas Graves19 ships of the line French Navy Rear Admiral Comte de Grasse24 ships of the line Background Prior to 1781, Virginia had seen little fighting as the majority operations had taken place far to the north or further south. Early that year, British forces, including those led by traitor Brigadier General Benedict Arnold, arrived in the Chesapeake and commenced raiding. These were later joined by Lieutenant General Lord Charles Cornwallis army which had marched north following its bloody victory at the Battle of Guilford Court House. Taking command of all British forces in the region, Cornwallis soon received a confusing string of orders from his superior in New York City, General Sir Henry Clinton. While initially campaigning against American forces in Virginia, including those led by the Marquis de Lafayette, he was later instructed to establish a fortified base at a deep-water port. Assessing his options, Cornwallis elected to utilize Yorktown for this purpose. Arriving at Yorktown, VA, Cornwallis constructed earthworks around the town and built fortifications across the York River at Gloucester Point.    Fleets in Motion During the summer, General George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau requested that Rear Admiral Comte de Grasse bring his French fleet north from the Caribbean for a potential strike against either New York City or Yorktown. After extensive debate, the latter target was chosen by the allied Franco-American command with the understanding that de Grasses ships were necessary to prevent Cornwallis escaping by sea. Aware that de Grasse intended to sail north, a British fleet of 14 ships of the line, under Rear Admiral Samuel Hood, also departed the Caribbean. Taking a more direct route, they arrived at the mouth of the Chesapeake on August 25. That same day, a second, smaller French fleet led by the  Comte de Barras departed Newport, RI carrying siege guns and equipment. In an effort to avoid the British, de Barras took a circuitous route with the goal of reaching Virginia and uniting with de Grasse. Not seeing the French near the Chesapeake, Hood decided to continue on to New York to join with Rear Admiral Thomas Graves. Arriving at New York, Hood found that Graves only had five ships of the line in battle condition. Combining their forces, they put to sea heading south towards Virginia. While the British were uniting to the north, de Grasse arrived in the Chesapeake with 27 ships of the line. Quickly detaching three ships to blockade Cornwallis position at Yorktown, de Grasse landed 3,200 soldiers and anchored the bulk of his fleet behind Cape Henry, near the mouth of the bay. The French Put to Sea On September 5, the British fleet appeared off the Chesapeake and sighted the French ships around 9:30 AM. Rather than swiftly attack the French while they were vulnerable, the British followed the tactical doctrine of the day and moved into a line ahead formation. The time required for this maneuver allowed the French to recover from the surprise of the British arrival which had seen many of their warships caught with large portions of their crews ashore. Also, it allowed de Grasse to avoid entering battle against an adverse wind and tidal conditions. Cutting their anchor lines, the French fleet emerged from the bay and formed for battle. As the French exited from the bay, both fleets angled towards each other as they sailed east. A Running Fight As wind and sea conditions continued to change, the French gained the advantage of being able to open their lower gun ports while the British were prevented from doing so without risking water entering their ships. Around 4:00 PM, the vans (lead sections) in each fleet opened fired on their opposite number as the range closed. Though the vans were engaged, a shift in the wind made it difficult for each fleets center and rear to close within range. On the British side, the situation was further hampered by contradictory signals from Graves. As the fighting progressed, the French tactic of aiming for masts and rigging bore fruit as HMS Intrepid (64 guns) and HMS Shrewsbury (74) both fell out of line. As the vans pummeled each other, many of the ships to their rear never were able to engage the enemy. Around 6:30 PM the firing ceased and the British withdrew to windward. For the next four days, the fleets maneuvered within sight of each other. However, neither sought to renew the battle . On the evening of September 9, de Grasse reversed his fleets course, leaving the British behind, and returned to the Chesapeake. Upon arriving, he found reinforcements in the form of 7 ships of the line under de Barras. With 34 ships of the line, de Grasse had full control of the Chesapeake, eliminating Cornwallis hopes for evacuation. Trapped, Cornwallis army was besieged by the combined army of Washington and Rochambeau. After over two weeks of fighting, Cornwallis surrendered on October 17, effectively ending the American Revolution. Aftermath and Impact During the Battle of the Chesapeake, both fleets suffered approximately 320 casualties. In addition, many of the ships in the British van were heavily damaged and unable to continue fighting. Though the battle itself was tactically inconclusive, it was a massive strategic victory for the French. By drawing the British away from the Chesapeake, the French eliminated any hope of rescuing Cornwalliss army. This in turn allowed for the successful siege of Yorktown, which broke the back of British power in the colonies and led to American independence.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

What Critical Thinking Is and How to Develop It

What Critical Thinking Is and How to Develop It The concept of critical thinking has been defined in many complex ways, but for young students new to the concept, it can best be summed up as thinking and judging for yourself. When you develop critical thinking skills, you will learn to evaluate information that you hear and process information that you collect while recognizing your implicit biases. You will analyze the evidence that is presented to you in order to make sure it is sound. Recognize Common Fallacies Fallacies are tricks of logic, and understanding them is the best way to avoid falling for them. There are many types of fallacies, and the more you think about them, the more readily you will recognize them all around you, especially in advertisements, arguments, and political discussions. Bandwagon Appeals: Bandwagon appeals argue that you should follow along with something because everyone else believes it.Scare Tactics: A scare tactic is the use of a  scary story as an example to make you more likely to believe some underlying assumption.Appeal to Emotion: An appeal to emotion uses a fiery speech or a tragic story to convince someone to side with you.False Dichotomy: Often there are many sides to an argument, but a false dichotomy presents an issue as one side versus the other. Characteristics of Critical Thinking To become a critical thinker, you must develop a few skills. Recognize assumptions you carry with you. Have you ever wondered why you believe the things that you believe? Do you believe things because you’ve been told to believe them? Step outside your own beliefs to observe from a neutral viewpoint. Be aware of assumptions and learn to self-reflect.Process information honestly. People sometimes pass along information that is not really true (i.e. the fake news crisis).Recognize a generalization. Girls don’t like bugs. Old people are wise. Cats make better pets. These are generalizations. They’re not always true, are they?Evaluate old information and new ideas. There was a time when doctors thought leeches could cure us. Recognize that just because something is commonly accepted, doesnt mean it is true.Produce new ideas based on sound evidence. Detectives solve crimes by collecting bits of truths and putting them all together like a puzzle. One small deceit can jeopardize an investigation. The entire truth-seeking process is destabilized by one piece of bad evidence, leading to a wrong conclusion. Analyze a problem and recognize the complex parts. A mechanic must understand how an entire engine works before s/he can diagnose a problem. Sometimes it is necessary to deconstruct an engine to figure out which part isn’t working. You should approach big problems like this: break them down into smaller parts and observe carefully and deliberately.Use precise vocabulary and communicate with clarity. The truth can be blurred by fuzzy language. It is important to develop your vocabulary so you can communicate truths accurately.Manage emotions in response to a situation or problem. Don’t be fooled by stirred up, emotional plea or angry speech. Stay rational and keep your emotions in check as you encounter new information.Judge your sources. Learn to recognize hidden agendas and bias when you collect information. As students progress from high school into college and graduate school they must develop critical thinking skills in order to carry out research. Students will learn to identify good sources and bad sources, make logical conclusions, and develop new theories.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Reflective Assessment Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Reflective Assessment - Research Paper Example In 2oo4, IDEA has proclaimed that children with disabilities learn more efficiently with the assistance of technology and services (Dalton, 2006). AT has not only facilitated the special needs students, but it has also contributed positively in enhancing and developing the restrained abilities of children belonging from different regions and cultures. The change in the structure of teaching method and delivery of instructions by IDEA, further recommend to the educators to be aware of the significance of AT in Education. Teachers develop, monitor, generate and deliver instructions by keeping in regard the grasping ability of students and eventually engaging them into learning process. Thus, the resources (AT) becomes more comprehend able and accessible to those who do not posses any disability or their disability has not been identified yet. The difference between IT (Instructional Technology) and AT (Assistive Technology) is often misunderstood. The awareness of human learning process linked to the task of teaching and learning is known as Instructional Technology. To evaluate the purpose of IT, the probable outcomes like instructional usefulness, instructional appeal and instructional competence is taken into consideration. Therefore, the above mentioned tools are necessary for the planning required, for instructional interventions, and the requirement of AT devices and sources according to the subject or concept. Deficiency of reading can be taken into regard as a skill and as a mean to attain information. When children with special needs use special software, developed to assist them learn phonetic pronunciation, recognition and fluency, they come into the category of IT in education. On the other hand, if the software provides audio textual information to enhance the information specifically related to the subject then it is a part of AT (Parette & Peters, 2007). Experts have highlighted the need to assess the difference between

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Macro Economis - Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Macro Economis - - Essay Example Macroeconomics As noted above, this present paper is based on the concept of macroeconomics, which has been described by Bauman and Klein (2011) as the branch of economics that majorly deals with the wider perspective of the national economy rather than a single segment of the economy. With reference to the writings by Mankiw (2011, p23) macro-economic is stated as â€Å"a branch of economics that focus on the trends and movements in the entire economy,† and some of these movements and trends concern employment, inflation, price levels, rate of growth, national income, and gross domestic product of a particular country, or region/ economic block. In comparison to the other branch of economics, Chung et al. (2007) stated that microeconomics mainly focus on smaller aspects of the economy such as the behaviour of consumers and business organisations, and how this affects quantities and prices within a particular market. According to Buiter (2010), even thou the field of macroecon omics is broad, it largely focuses on two critical areas of studies, which include the study on the causes and repercussions of short-run business cycles on the national income and the study on determinants of long-run economic growth. Dale et al. (2010) stated that usually the central government as well as the large corporations, utilise macroeconomic forecasts and models primarily to develop and evaluate economic policies and business strategies. Macroeconomic objectives In the previous sub-section, it was stated that macroeconomics is simply a branch of economics that focuses on the wider aspect of the economy; however, Keynes (2011) further added that macroeconomics also concerns itself with the conscious and deliberate management of economic variables within an economy in order to attain certain objectives. It is of essence to note that macroeconomics relies on three critical policies to attain its objectives, and these policies include the monetary policies, fiscal policies an d supply-side policies. Monetary policies are defined by Krugman and Wells (2009), as measures that are adopted by the central government through the central bank in order to increase or decrease the supply of money in circulation while fiscal policies are the policies of the central government, which focus on the country’s budget and especially issues pertaining to borrowing and taxation. As for supply-side policies, they are mainly devised to ensure that the market works efficiently. According to the writings by Bauman and Klein (2011), they wrote that the top objectives of macroeconomics include price stability, exchange stability, full employment, growth of the economy, and the balance of payment equilibrium. a) Price stability According to Buiter (2010), the maintenance of price stability is crucial to the national economy because higher price levels contribute to various problems pertaining to consumption, distribution, exchange, and production. For example, inflation d istorts economic calculations as well as expectations and it generates varying problems in different sections of the economy. Moreover, Buiter (2010) stated that during inflation creditors lose while debtors gain. Furthermore, inflation strains the relationship between capital and labour, and the distribution of national income becomes

Monday, November 18, 2019

Buyer behaviour- how buyer Behaviour Is Used In the Context of Essay

Buyer behaviour- how buyer Behaviour Is Used In the Context of Marketing - Essay Example Also gives the reader an insight about the influence of buyer behaviour on the development of Nestle MilkPak’s marketing mix within the packaged milk industry; it shows how the product, price, placement, and promotion of the product have been altered to best fit the consumers’ choice and also encourage positive buyer behaviour, which in turn induces consumer loyalty and attracts more consumers. In addition to this, the report also discusses the different marketing communication channels and how they are being used by the company to influence the consumer decision-making  process with regard to the consumer decision-making model, the technique that has been applied by the company and how it influences the purchase of their product.   Aims and Objectives: Following are the aims and objectives of the report: To understand the importance of buyer behaviour in the Packaged Milk Industry, specifically for Nestle MilkPak with regard to market segmentation, target market as well as product positioning. The influence of buyer behaviour on the development of Nestle MilkPak`s marketing mix within the packaged milk industry i.e. ... applied by the company and how it influences the purchase of their product.   Nestle The Company: In 1866, Henri Nestle founded the Nestle Company in Vevey, Switzerland and its headquarters are still based there to date. Its factories and operations are spread all over the world, with approximately 280,000 global employees. Its sales for 2010 were almost CHF 110 bn. Nestle is one of the top Nutrition, Health and Wellness companies in the world, pursuing the mission of "Good Food, Good Life". The company aims towards providing its consumers with tasty and nutritious food in a wide range of food and beverage categories. (Nestle.com 2011) Nestle MilkPak: MilkPak by Nestle is well known for its nutritious value and uncontaminated natural taste. It has added nutritious value of Iron, Vitamin C and Vitamin A, which is very beneficial for the health of the entire family. MilkPak is harmonized UHT milk that benefits from NESTLE’s expertise and is brimming with healthiness, wellness and nutrition. A single glass of MilkPak fulfils 20% Iron, 41% Calcium, 18% Vitamin A and 20% Vitamin C of an individuals’ daily requirement, as stated by Nutritional Reference Values, CODEX Alimentarius. (Nestle.pk 2007) Milk, as well as dairy products,  contain a vast quantity of nutrients and provide a shortcut of the supplying of these nutrients to the diet within moderately few calories. (The Dairy Council 2011) Milk is an important source of nutrition and its hygienic quality is important from public health point of view. (K. Muhammad, I. Altaf, A. Hanif, A. A. Anjum* and M. Y. Tipu 2009) Market Segmentation: Market segmentation can be divided into two broad categories, namely descriptive and behavioural. The descriptive market segmentation is done on the basis of descriptive

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Introduction Of Globalization Economics Essay

The Introduction Of Globalization Economics Essay Term Globalization is difficult to explain because it may come with a lot of meaning but according to Griffin Pustay Globalization can be defined as the inexorable integration of market, nation-states and technologies à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ in a way that is enabling individuals, corporations and nation-states to reach out the world farther, faster, deeper and cheaper than ever before (Griffin Pustay, 2012, p.32) In general, Globalization certainly had many changes in the world we live in; thus, it talks more about the trend towards countries joining together economically through society, politics and education and they view themselves not only through their national identify but also as part of the world as a whole. It is to be said that, Globalization has brought all nations people closer through a common medium like the economy or internet. In the bigger picture, Globalization refers to the growing economic interdependencies among different countries and thus it reflects the increment in business of goods and services and capital flows across the countries border. It provides advantage to companies to function across the globe in different countries and environment. Technological Advancement Transportation: One silent revolution which has brought changes in international business is due to transportation technology. Due to advancement in technology, it`s foreseeable, the amount of reduction in transportation cost in last two decades and has greatly impacted in declining communication cost as well. Across the globe; various businesses and government have adopted technology for faster communication and effective management for overseas business which stimulates fast economic, production and market globalization, resulting in rapid improvement over transportation and communication made trading easier and more over cheap to reach new market anywhere across the globe. The heavy reduction in transportation cost has made companies to move its resources across globally at much lesser rate. However, it`s easy to predict and to say that globalization isnt short of its supporters such as General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT); who is helping in cutting down more and more tariff to bring up more opportunities to increase in overseas trade activities and investment and World Trade Organization (WTO); who is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between the nations. In short, technological transportation changes in past decades has brought not only different countries together but also has given them more opportunities in doing international business. Drivers of Globalization: The obvious benefits of globalization are mostly accompanied by Multi-national Companies (MNC). Globalization has led to an unprecedented  expansion of multinational companies. Thus, they have become very large and powerful. For instance, some companies are worth more than the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of entire country. Mainly Multi-national companies have massive good or ill effect on country whereby they do business. (Tutor2u, 2012) Pros and Cons of Globalization on Asia-Pacific Region: In today`s time Globalization is widely used to recognize worldwide phenomena. It`s gives positive meanings to those who can advocate greater economic integration across the national borders; Resulted in rapidly growing international flows of goods, capital and investments, while it has given threats to. The following discussion is about pro and cons of globalization that has brought into Asia-Pacific region. Pros of Globalization: Economic Growth: Economic globalization is the process of integration of the world`s economy. It refers to the reduction and removal of barriers; such as trade restrictions, quotas, tariffs and restrictions between national borders in order to import goods, services and capital from others nations. Hence, it results to reap more opportunities for a country to promote trades and brings more investments which leads to more economic growth and helps in creating more job opportunities for locals. Employment Opportunities: Globalization led towards developing countries world-wide, as a lot of international companies are locating up their factories in developing countries like ; China, India, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand. Thus, it helps in creating more job opportunities for the locals especially for countries like India and China whereby there population across billions, resulting in providing not only skilled workers but also a cheap source of labor which captivates certain industries to set up their factories and plants as it also helps in improving their standard of living. More Opportunities for Consumers: Developing countries symbol of an open economy, which emphasizes more on international trade and foreign investments helps in expanding choices for consumers ; As they can have a greater choice of products to purchase than ever before and helps in bring more funds and technologies from abroad. Thus, with increase in choices and technologies helps in raising their standard of living. Example: Numbers of companies in America has actually travelled to Japan to take a look as how Toyota company run its factories. Not only MNC`s but also government agencies from different countries have showed some interest in knowing their methods and practices. Whereby, at the first place, Americans were the one who introduced continuous improvement concept as in today`s time, Toyota is practicing that concept. It`s just not the only example, as there are many other examples; in which one country generates idea and progressively it spreads to other part of globe. This is only possible with the concept of globalization as without it; it would have never been possible. Cons of Globalization: Reduction in Economic Growth: Where Globalization has given a lot of opportunities across the globe in same way it has created some negative impacts over job ratio and economic growth to such countries where ratio of importing is more than exporting. It`s important for countries across the globe to maintain balance of trade, whereby when import by one country is equal to export by the other country in monetary terms if the payments is in excess (Negative Balance) is called Trade Deficits or ;Trade Surplus ; where there`s a positive balance. When any industry gets failed to survive in any country under intense international competition, then that country starts relying more on imports which led to imbalance of trade, resulting in net exports will decrease as well as GDP and economic growth. (Libraryofeconomicsandliberty, 2012) Adverse Effect on Environment: Although globalization has only become a widely recognized phenomena in the last few decades but its effect on environment is apparent. Many viewed global actions as threating not only to environment but also to culture and traditions too. Example; Proposition is fairly simple, the reason why economic growth is at upstretched is due to natural resources such as oil, timber, metal, gold etc. But it`s feasible these natural resources are finite amount of available for human consumption. More importantly, these resources are heavenly used as if n for enormous economic expansion of large developing countries such as India and china. All these facts together makes us realize that sooner or later it would result to degradation of ecological system and possibly become the single most critical threat for continuing of current globalization. (Bernhardsdottir E., 2010) In Relating, High tech industries; computers and electronics have expanded globally, which is contributing to heavy environmental cost due to manufacturing of semiconductors which contains several chemicals that harms human health. Widening Income Gap: The increase in trade and capital flows influenced by globalization led to raise demand of workers and push up their wages for certain skilled labors in various industries which do gives competitive advantage but on other hand, demand of unskilled workers declines, so their wages. This widens the income gap in the country. Countries like India, China, Russia and Eastern Europe have dense workforce available, hence forcing down the wages everywhere. In today`s time, companies tend to invest and locating their plant where they can acquire lowest paid workers. At the same time, due to advancement in technology in each and every sector; demand of skilled workers are increasing as well and on other hand, technology is making a lot of workers jobless. The result is widening income gap is stretching across the world between highly skilled workers and unskilled workers, top one rising rapidly, the middle one rising slower and bottom one ceased or even declining. (Channelnewsasia, 2012) Pros and Cons of Globalization Over Business Organization: Technology advancement had a great impact over the workplace in past few decades. Pros of Globalization over Business Organization: Expanded Marketing: If we look from business perspective, one positive effect of globalization over companies is that of expanded markets which contributes that if a business was selling its product and service locally only, can start selling its product and services overseas as a result expansion in market to take advantage of opportunity and gain a competitive advantage. Globalization has transformed the business environment into a more competitive one and has given a lot of new opportunities for expansion of organization. E-commerce mainly consisting of distributing, buying, selling, marketing and servicing of product and service over electronic communication; internet has given a lot of boost to companies to expand their product or service across the worldwide. Example: In today`s time, several companies doing e-commerce through the use of distribution channel like e-bay, amazon etc. are expanding up their market across the world in a faster way. One reason why marketers prefer e-commerce is due to few involvement of intermediaries in distribution channel, the advantage of this is that fewer intermediaries means fewer middleman involved which eventually allows smooth transaction between manufactures and consumers. Another example, through which companies are able to capture their market is through the use of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and the list goes on. Today, companies are taking advantage of social media sites by creating their profile and posting regular updated advertisement to capture global market. Gains to Owners: Globalization permits free movement of new communication technologies such as Use of internet, E-mail, Mobile phones and satellite broadcasting offer to people and providing them more opportunity to communicate in groups and gets access to information from both close and distant source quickly from across the world. Having information on fingertips, Multinational companies are tend to respond faster to the changing factor of wages and enables them to shift their units from high-wage country to low-wage country, which ultimately bring benefit to the owner and gain a competitive advantage over others. (Internationaleconomics, 2012) Managing Competition: It`s feasible to say that international business faces more competition than other businesses, as a company on other part of the world may be producing same level of product, information technology provides company speed of communication which enables them to stay ahead of their competitors. (Ehow, 2012) Example: Software like Skype, Voice over instant protocol; allows workers to perform their job from any location via these software which can be access with internet connection. Hence, it removes the barrier and enables companies to communicate anywhere in the world and moreover in today`s time it`s one of the cheapest medium or we can its cost efficient. Cons of Globalization over Business Organization: Dependency: Today`s society are more advanced and relies more on technology, this means more companies are depending on technology like computers and other form of technology for accomplishing their day-to-day activity. So anyhow if any of their machines breaks or computer gets crashes, their work halts for the time until the problem is solved. Hence, this kind of dependency put people at distinct disadvantage.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Essay --

Kailey Knowles Period 2 December 10, 2013 Oedipus Cycle Analysis Creon as a Tragic Hero As once said by Aristotle, "A man doesn't become a hero until he can see the root of his own downfall". A tragic hero is often seen as someone with great stature who is noble yet imperfect, and experiences suffering due a moral flaw. In Sophocles’ Ancient Greek play The Oedipus Cycle, Creon represents the true tragic hero when his flawed actions and excessive pride create the path towards his demise. Creon’s declination begins in Oedipus at Colonus when his infatuation with power and control begins to arise, in turn bringing forth a rigid side to his character. The battle over the kingship of Thebes is a pivotal point in Creon’s development. He goes to drastic measures when threatening the lives of Oedipus’ daughters in order to bring him back to Thebes, and in conversation with Oedipus, Creon says, â€Å"Your daughters: one of them I have just now / Had seized and carried off; now I’ll take this one† (129). His forceful and domineering actions towards his brother-in-law begin to peel back the layers of his intentions. In Oedipus Rex, Creon did not want the throne, nor did he enjoy attention, but he now finds pleasure in being the head figure of leadership. The first signs of Creon’s craving for personal pleasures are unravelled as he begins to act under the influence of his Id, â€Å"a demand to take care of needs immediately† (Bo eree). The animalistic tendencies, destructive nature, and amoral actions are all induced by the Id, and Creon unconsciously begins to tap into that part of his mind as he strives to gain power. All other emotions and opinions of others are disregarded and Creon makes it his goal to become king, seemingly stopping at nothing t... ...ng presence of his superego that was lacking throughout the earlier areas of his life. Superego is the â€Å"internalization of punishments and warnings† (Boeree) which plays a part in Creon’s growth of emotions that he struggled with early on. His previous impulses of pleasure and aggressions have been masked by his superego. Creon’s ability to have an anagnorisis in Antigone helps contribute to his role as a tragic hero. The once King of Thebes had everything in life to be content with, but the relentless attitude of his own superiority ushered him to his downfall. While he lost his grip on his relations with others and experienced an overwhelming influence of his Id, and it was too late by the time he realized, Creon nonetheless had an epiphany about his actions and understood his faults. Through his perils and travails, Creon earns the title of a true tragic hero.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Research Paper on the Motivations of Alcohol Consumption on College Campuses Essay

College students’ alcohol consumption has been an area of concern for universities for quite some time now. The purpose of my research is to examine the different motivations behind alcohol consumption among undergraduate students at the University of Michigan in comparison to Division 1 athletes also enrolled at Michigan. I seek to find if the stresses of balancing academics and athletics, pressure to perform, and adapting to social change effect the rate in which Division I college athletes consume alcohol compared to their non-athlete peers? Ultimately, I hypothesize from experience there to be a significant difference in the proportion of athletes who consume alcohol in comparison to both the average college student and students affiliated in Greek life. Furthermore, I believe this difference in proportion may be majorly attributed to the high commitment that comes with being a student-athlete. Research on alcohol use among athletes and non-athletes is vital in order to understand why the abuse of alcohol is on the rise around college campuses all over the nation. These two concepts are related because there may be a significant difference between athlete’s alcohol consumption and their non-athlete peers that is imperative to analyze. I want to know if the differences stem from personal motivations or if environments, for example Greek Life, play the predominant role among college students alcohol consumption. Furthermore, within the population of college students, researchers have identified the subpopulation of college athletes as being at an increased risk for heavier alcohol consumption, binge drinking, and drinking-related negative consequences (Anderson, Albrecht, McKeag, Hough, & McGrew). Based on these findings, I set out to explore what the determining factors are that could possibly make college athletes more at risk for alcohol consumption and binge drinking than their non-athlete peers. Literature Review: After analyzing several research articles I found many relevant studies that enhanced my knowledge of alcohol consumption among college students, which really benefitted my research. The first research I found pertaining to my topic was an article done by three doctors from Southern Illinois University. The journal is title, â€Å"College Factors that Influence Drinking† and it seeks to examine the aspects of collegiate environments that influence drinking, rather than student characteristics. The research method and results: â€Å"Method: A literature review of articles primarily published within the last 10 years, along with some earlier â€Å"landmark† studies of collegiate drinking in the United States, was conducted to determine institutional factors that influence the consumption of alcohol. Results: Several factors have been shown to relate to drinking: (1) organizational property variables of campuses, including affiliations (historically black institutions, women’s institutions), presence of a Greek system, athletics and 2- or 4-year designation; (2) physical and behavioral property variables of campuses, including type of residence, institution size, location and quantity of heavy episodic drinking; and (3) campus community property variables, including pricing and availability and outlet density. The overall message behind this research article concluded that there exists undeniable evidence that college students all over the nation drink often and many who drink to harmful levels. Furthermore, the study shows there is consistent information regarding the negative consequences of drinking and that there are also differences relating to housing, athletics, and Greek organization affiliation. Alcohol-Related Injury Among Greek-Letter College Students†, (O’Brian, 2013) The from the Journal of Health Psychology investigated the hypothesis that members of Greek-letter societies are the heaviest drinkers on college campuses, and experience more alcohol-related problems than their peers. The study reports the result of a web-based survey administered to college students from ten North Carolina universities. It concluded that Greek-letter status was a significant independent risk factor for increased injury on college campuses, which warrants a necessary analysis of the these factors that only seems to be increasing. A counselor in Psychology, Jacob Jones Ph. D. , at Indiana State University, also did a relevant study on my topic of college student’s alcohol consumption. His dissertation, titled, â€Å"The Risk Factors of Alcohol Abuse Among College Athletes†, investigates the relationship among alcohol use and athletic identity, competitiveness, drinking game participation, and level of sport participation. He discovered that drinking game participation is a significant predictor of total weekly alcohol use above any other predictor. In addition, he demonstrated that individuals not currently participating in sports with an athletic identity in the same range as current athletes consumed alcohol at similar rates to current athletes, thus supporting athletic identity as an appropriate way of classifying athlete status. This article included findings from a national study in 2001 that indicated that 81% of college students had consumed alcohol in the last year (Wechsler et al. , 2002). In addition, more than half of the 81% of college students who consumed alcohol were considered binge drinkers. Wechsler et al. (2002) identified binge drinking as having five or more beers in a row for men and four or more beers in a row for women. Furthermore, Anderson et al. (1991) found that up to 88% of athletes used alcohol. Researchers have compared the binge drinking behaviors of athletes and non-athletes and found that athletes consume more alcohol and binge drink significantly more than non-athletes (Leichliter et al. 1998; Nelson & Wechlser, 2001; Wechsler et al. , 1997). I will compare these findings with the data I collect with my own research to delve into the reasons behind alcohol consumption and college students. Kathleen Goodman, director of research on undergraduate education at the University of Iowa, explored the impact of binge drinking on a range of college outcomes and the effect of that relationship in her dissertation, titled, â€Å"New Evidence on the Link between Alcohol Use and College Outcomes†. Her overall results suggest that a substantial portion of college students may not be achieving many of the intended outcomes of college due to their frequency of binge drinking. She concluded that students who binge drink at any level fare worse than students who do not binge drink. This evidence relates to my topic because I want to discover why the level of alcohol consumption of college students is constantly increasing if research like Kathleen’s, and many other researchers, display the negative effects of what alcohol can do. Overall, there are many relevant research designs in Sociological studies that pertain to alcohol consumption on college campuses in the United States. As seen above, these articles adequately show that alcohol consumption is on the rise and it is a major issue that must be examined. My goal of determining if athletes are more at risk in comparison to their non-athlete peers was further developed through these five research reviews and a survey that I will be conducting. Research Design: The design of my research started to take shape when I began to operationalize my definitions of unit of analysis, independent variable and dependent variable. The unit of analysis for my research question is individual undergraduate students currently attending a four-year university. The unit of analysis could be individual students, the institution, and/or a certain category of students within the university, etc. , but I concluded drawing my sample from as many students as possible will help draw firmer statements from the data I collected. My study population for my research question consists of a random sample of all undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Michigan. It includes freshman, sophomores, juniors and seniors. I chose this study population because I wanted to acquire a broad age range so my sample will not end up being bias towards a certain age, which will further my analysis of the data because it will show the differences in alcohol consumption between students who are of the legal age to drink compared to students who are not legal to consume alcohol. My sampling frame for my research project consists of a random sample of Division I athletes presently enrolled at the University of Michigan who are listed on an athletic team roster and who describe themselves as â€Å"binge drinker due to personal characteristics†, â€Å"binge drinker due to environment†, â€Å"moderate drinker due to personal characteristics†, â€Å"moderate drinker due to institutional environment†, or â€Å"never/rarely consume alcohol. Furthermore, I did the same thing with undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Michigan who are enrolled in at least 14 credits or more. The reason I decided to only take students in my sample who are enrolled in 14 credits or more is because I want to have the least amount of bias in my sample as I possibly can. By doing this, I eliminated the concern of students having different workloads, which could have otherwise skewed my results if some students had more leisure time tha n others. I ideally wanted to research as many male athletes as well as female athletes as possible. Sample: I chose my sample based on how well of a response I got from the different groups and individuals I sent my research questionnaire to. This technique is known as quota sampling because I am basing my sample on the fact that I believe I can acquire the best proportion of male to female (athletes and non-athletes), students from different backgrounds, and values by using this method of sampling. Although I had to use a form of non-probability sampling, which is in essence not as accurate or reliable as probability sampling, I still infer that my data will be extremely useful in my ultimate goal of unveiling the causes behind alcohol consumption among college undergraduate students and that is why I chose my sample in this way. My sampling frame is different from my study population because my sampling frame is much more specific than my study population. One difference between the two is my sampling frame consists of Division I athletes presently enrolled at the University of Michigan who are listed on an athletic team roster and who describe themselves as â€Å"binge drinker due to personal characteristics†, â€Å"binge drinkers due to institutional environment†, â€Å"moderate drinker due to personal characteristics†, â€Å"moderate drinker due to institutional environment†, or â€Å"never/rarely consume alcohol† as well as undergraduate students currently enrolled at the University of Michigan who are registered in at least 14 credits or more who also describe themselves in the same manners listed above, while my study population is simply a random sample of undergraduate student—freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors—who are currently enrolled at the University of Michigan. Another difference is my sampling frame consists of only the participants that I chose to use for my data because I am using quota sampling for my research; this differs from my study population because my study population could be any student currently enrolled at the University of Michigan. Another difference is my sampling frame might be somewhat skewed towards individuals within the Greek Life community because these students accounted for nearly 40% of my responses. I expected to have about one hundred units in my final sample, but my response rate has proven to be better than I initially expected. After accumulating all my responses from my survey, I received 130 responses out of the 215 total surveys I sent out. This rate, known as the response rate, is calculated by dividing the total number of surveys I sent out by the total number of surveys I received. I calculated this rate to be 60. 5 percent. Moreover, evidently I received responses from a fairly good variety of subjects in my sample, which was one of my initial concerns that was alleviated once I acquired my sample. I know this is a good enough variety of subjects in my sample because, overall, I used selection bias to get as close of variation in subjects as I could. Furthermore, I received surveys from 58 females and 72 males. Of the females, 19 are associated with Greek life, 21 are listed on the roster of a Division I sports team, and 18 females are what I consider a typical college student, not affiliated with Greek Life or on a sports team. Of the males, 28 are affiliated with Greek Life, 30 are listed on a roster of a Division I sports team, and 14 are what I consider a typical college student. Furthermore, my responses are correlated this well due partially to selection bias. Additionally, I have had to discard 11 surveys I received due to response bias from students who are either not taking at least 14 credits, or students who, I believe, did not take my survey seriously. My biggest concern was how many female athletes I will be able to find who will be willing to take my survey due to the fact that I don’t have many connections with female sports teams, but my response rate for female athletes is sufficient enough for my desired research. The characteristics of my sample versus the population I want to represent are valid for my data that I will be analyzing. I have received responses from about 39. 2% athletes, 36. 2% Greek-life affiliates, and 24. 6% regular college students. Finally, my sample may be bias for a couple different reasons. I collected my data by only using one collection method and through my personal viewpoint that I believe would help me accomplish my goal of unveiling the predominant effects behind alcohol consumption. Another bias I most likely have encountered is response bias. I realize that for many college students it might be difficult to remember the exact number of alcoholic beverages one consumed on a given night. Additionally, I also must include that although my survey questionnaire is completely anonymous, most college sports teams have rules against consuming alcohol, which ultimately could make respondents reluctant to answer honestly, and therefore making my results more bias. My dependent variable is the proportion of each category of student that indeed partakes in binge drinking. I measured this by creating a survey questionnaire with many different questions that will ultimately lead me to discover if athlete’s alcohol consumption is, in fact, significantly different due to the demanding commitment that comes with a sport. My independent variable is the category that the student falls into (athlete, Greek life, normal college student). I also measured this variable by creating a survey questionnaire that I handed out to students all around the campus. I gave the survey to students in dorms, fraternity and sorority houses, at the library, in the diag, and other random students who volunteered to partake in my research. My survey questionnaire will help me operationalize my independent variable because I will include questions that will get me to the conclusion of how and why institutional environments play the predominant role in alcohol consumption among college students. Furthermore, my study enters the realm of examining what to do with the information. By analyzing the key variable of why students are binge drinking, institutions within our society can begin to formulate a plan to reduce these causes and, hopefully, reduce binge drinking in the process. Ethical Issues: My inform consent statement was included in every survey that I handed out and before the respondent started the survey I made sure they knew there was no benefit, or risk for that matter, in taking my survey. I included a description of the reasons for my survey by stating, â€Å"This is a project for Sociology 310 at the University of Michigan. The topic of my research is to discover the effects and differences of alcohol consumption of college athletes and their non-athlete peers. † Furthermore, I included a description of human subject involvement with the statement, â€Å"This survey will take approximately 10 minutes. Answering these questions will pose no risk to, nor will you personally gain benefits from the survey. † The next section of the consent from dealt with confidentiality. I informed the respondent they should not include their name anywhere on the survey and that all answers received will be completely anonymous. The final portion of the form notified the respondent that it is completely voluntary; they may stop the survey at any point that they no longer feel comfortable without any repercussions, and finally, they are not forced to answer every question on the survey if they wish not to. Data Collection Instrument: My data collection method consists of a survey questionnaire. I have chosen this method of collection because I believe the most valuable information I can acquire relating to my research question will come in the form of a survey questionnaire. I designed my instrument by producing questions I believe will help me draw conclusions about the effects and differences of alcohol consumption between athletes and regular undergraduate students. This survey is designed to better understand the consumption of alcohol among college students. Please be completely open and honest in providing information about yourself and your use of alcohol. Your individual responses will not be identified with you in any way. All answers will be combined and only overall results reported.

Friday, November 8, 2019

The Basics Supply and Demand

The Basics Supply and Demand Supply and Demand analysis is relatively straightforward once the terminology is understood. The important terms are as follows: PriceQuantityDemand and Demand CurveQuantity DemandedSupply and Supply CurveQuantity SuppliedEquilibriumSurplusShortage Basic supply and demand analysis is done one of two ways - either graphically or numerically. If done graphically, it is important to set up the graph in the standard form. The Graph Traditionally economists have placed price (P) on the Y-axis and quantity (Q), as in quantity consumed or quantity purchased/sold on the X-axis. An easy way to remember how to label each axis is to remember P then Q, since the price (P) label occurs above and to the left of the quantity (Q) label. Next, there are two curves to understand - the demand curve and the supply curve. The Demand Curve A demand curve is simply a demand function or demand schedule represented graphically. Note that demand is not simply a number - it is a one-to-one relationship between prices and quantities. The following is an example of a demand schedule: Demand Schedule $10 - 200 units$20 - 145 units$30 - 110 units$40 - 100 unitsNote that demand is not simply a number such as 145. The quantity level associated with a particular price (such as 145 units $20) is known as a quantity demanded.A more detailed description of the demand curve can be found at: The Economics of Demand. The Supply Curve Supply curves, supply functions, and supply schedules are not conceptually different than their demand counterparts. Once again, supply is never represented as a number. When considering the problem from the point of view of the seller the quantity level associated with a particular price is known as quantity supplied. A more detailed description of the supply curve can be found at: The Economics of Supply. Equilibrium Equilibrium occurs when at a specific price P, quantity demanded quantity supplied. In other words, if there is some price where the amount buyers wish to buy is the same as the amount sellers wish to sell, then equilibrium occurs. Consider the following demand and supply schedules: Demand Schedule $10 - 200 units$20 - 145 units$30 - 110 units$40 - 100 units Supply Schedule $10 - 100 units$20 - 145 units$30 - 180 units$40 - 200 unitsAt a price of $20, consumers wish to purchase 145 units and sellers which to provide 145 units. Thus quantity supplied quantity demanded and we have an equilibrium of ($20, 145 units) Surplus A surplus, from the supply and demand perspective, is a situation where, at the current price, quantity supplied exceeds quantity demanded. Consider the demand and supply schedules above. At a price of $30, quantity supplied is 180 units and quantity demanded is 110 units, leading to a surplus of 70 units (180-11070). Our market, then, is out of equilibrium. The current price is unsustainable and must be lowered in order for the market to reach equilibrium. Shortage A shortage is simply the flip-side of a surplus. It is a situation where, at the current price, quantity demanded exceeds quantity supplied. At a price of $10, quantity supplied is 100 units and quantity demanded is 200 units, leading to a shortage of 100 units (200-100100). Our market, then, is out of equilibrium. The current price is unsustainable and must be raised in order for the market to reach equilibrium.Now you know the basics of supply and demand. Have additional questions? I can be reached via the feedback form.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Basswood Tree Description and Pruning Info

Basswood Tree Description and Pruning Info Introduction to the Basswood Tree Basswood, also known as American Linden is a large native North American tree that can grow more than 80 feet tall. In addition to being a majestic tree in the landscape, basswood is a soft, light wood and prized for hand carvings and making baskets. Native American basswood is found on rich, wet soils of the central and eastern United States. In the landscape, is a very beautiful and large tree with a majestic oval canopy mounted on a tall, straight trunk. Mid-summer brings abundant clusters of aromatic, yellow blooms which attract bees who make a prized honey - the tree is often fondly called the honey or bee tree. Taxonomy and Species Range The scientific name of basswood is Tilia americana and is pronounced TILL-ee-uh uh-mair-ih-KAY-nuh. Common names include American basswood, American linden and bee-tree and the tree is a member of the plant family Tiliaceae. Basswood grows in USDA hardiness zones 3 through 8 and is native to North America. The tree is often used as a hedge but only in large tree lawns. It grows rapidly, is very large and needs plenty of space. The tree makes an excellent landscape planting with limited tolerance to urban conditions depending on the cultivar. It is a perfect shade tree and can be used as a residential street tree. American Linden Cultivars There are several great cultivars of American linden including ‘Redmond’, ‘Fastigiata’ and ‘Legend’. The cultivar Tilia americana ‘Redmond’ grows 75 feet tall, has a beautiful pyramidal shape and is drought-tolerant. Tilia americana ‘Fastigiata’ is more narrow in shape with fragrant yellow flowers. Tilia americana ‘Legend’ is a hearty tree with resistant to leaf rust. The tree shape is pyramidal, grows with a single, straight trunk, and with upright, well-spaced branches. All of these cultivars are great as specimens for large lawns and along private drives and public streets. Pests of Basswood Insects: aphids are notorious pests on basswood but will not kill a healthy tree. Aphids produce a sticky substance called honeydew which then introduces a dark sooty mold that will cover objects under the tree including parked vehicles and lawn furniture. Other attacking insects include bark borers, walnut lace bug, Basswood leaf miner, scales and Linden mite can all be troublesome problems. Disease: Leaf rust is a major defoliator of basswood but some cultivars are resistant. Other diseases that infect basswood are Anthracnose, canker, leaf spots, powdery mildew, and verticillium wilt. Basswood Description: Basswood in the landscape grows to a height of 50 to 80 feet, depending on tree variety and site conditions. The trees crown spread is 35 to 50 feet and the canopy is typically symmetrical with a regular, smooth outline. Individual crown forms are consistent with an oval to pyramidal canopy shape. Crown density is tight and the trees growth rate is medium to rapid, depending on the site condition. Basswood Trunk and Branches Basswood branches droop as the tree grows and do require some pruning. If you have regular walking and vehicular traffic, a pruning may need to be done for clearance beneath the canopy. The tree form is not particularly showy but maintains a pleasing symmetry and should be grown with one single trunk to maturity. Basswood Leaf Botanics Leaf arrangement: alternateLeaf type: simpleLeaf margin: serrateLeaf shape: cordate; ovateLeaf venation: pinnateLeaf type and persistence: deciduousLeaf blade length: 4 to 8 inchesLeaf color: greenFall color: yellowFall characteristic: not showy I explain some of these terms in my Botanical Glossary... Necessary Site Conditions The native American basswood grows best on moist, fertile soils where those soils are acid or slightly alkaline. The tree likes to grow in full sun or partial shade and is more shade-tolerant than oaks and hickories. The leaves will show some wilting and scorching after a long dry season, but the tree appears fine the following year. The tree is often found growing along creeks and streams but will take short periods of drought. The trees favorite habitat is on moist sites. Pruning Basswood American linden grows into a very large tree and demands space to develop properly. Naturally occurring trees need no pruning but branches on landscape specimens should be spaced by pruning along the trunk to allow for development to maturity. Removing branches with weak crotches and embedded bark is advised even though the wood is flexible and will not often break from the trunk. Plant basswood as a specimen or shade tree only on property where there is plenty of area available for root expansion. Remember to remove basal sprouts that are prone to grow off the base of the trunk.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Fostering a positive work place Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fostering a positive work place - Article Example Individuals need to put effort in achieving this type of a relationship. Questions therefore are often asked in to clarifying a good working relationship. It is the one that compromise of trust, respect, support and communication. These are the strategies that a good leader can oversee in order to achieve a healthy relationship among their staff. Trust should be a two way traffic, staff should work hard to earn trust from their colleagues and so their leaders. Trust generally involve integrity, believing in someone and giving them a chance in some highly rated activities. This comes with competence, congruency and constancy where competence involves being authentic, real and conscious about ones work e.g. nursing. When this is achieved, one can easily trust another. Congruency shows some level of unity in what have been agreed in unison. Constancy is the ability to be easily accessed or ones availability. Respect is also a thing to look for when trying to achieve a good and healthy working environment. This is through having unconditional positive regard for each other despite the position at work, social background, race, economic background or even the level of education. It is the belief that every human being has a contribution to make in the world. Support is also one of the major point when strategizing about creation of a healthy working environment. It’s the act of being there for each other at no cost. Nursing profession needs unity to moves its many activities in serving people. Communication is the core point to hit when soliciting for a healthy relationship in an organization. It is a good strategy in increasing positive interaction in the work place. Incentives. It is a reward or bonus given in appreciation of a good did or towards an outstanding performance. It is a vice that good leaders should always inculcate in trying to create a positive relation in a work place. Gifts can be given to all the staff at large and also

Friday, November 1, 2019

The Ethical Use of Nuclear Weapons Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Ethical Use of Nuclear Weapons - Essay Example Independence of States. Another ethical use of nuclear weapon s is that it allows a country to enjoy independence. It is important for countries to tread on a course of their own interest and for enjoying that kind of independence nuclear weapons are important otherwise countries will keep on interfering in the affairs of other states. Nuclear weapons also provide countries with political independence (Edwards, 41) as other states cannot impose their own policy on them. The world is ruled by force and nuclear weapons have ensured the security of many countries since its creation (The Week, 1). This is why nuclear weapons are ethical in nature as they secure countries. They are pivotal for maintaining the sovereignty of a country from external threats, both violent and diplomatic. Nuclear weapons are nothing but an extension of human nature and his desire to fight. Human beings are inherently belligerent therefore they will, eventually, find ways to go to war. It is therefore futile t o talk about disarmament as it will not help anything rather more clandestine ways will be developed to fight. Human beings cannot resist fighting and that’s why nuclear weapons are just a representation of human nature. Wars cannot be eliminated and it will be naà ¯ve to think otherwise (Ebert, 1). It also important to understand that human beings have a natural inclination to fight and it was because of violent impulses that state and authority came into existence (The Philosophy of War, 1).