Five Forces Model for Industry Analysis Essay Example for Free

Five Forces Model for Industry Analysis Essay New Entrants The online bookstore industry that Amazon.com has pioneered in was, at first, very hard to penetrate. There were different barriers such as distributing capabilities and the variety of the selection offered that are supposed to be hurdled. Amazon successfully solved the tricky parameters as being the first one to get into the whole idea of online retail. With being the first, they had the luxury to set what were the norms for the industry. Factors that may lower these barrier tactics would be a wider selection and the ability to go to an actual bookstore to exchange or return books or other products. This network of actual retail spaces makes it easier for the consumer to return or exchange the products they were not satisfied with. These handicaps of Amazon were the basis for the emergence of book retail giants Barnes and Noble and Borders in the online shopping industry. Industry Competitors The major competitors of Amazon are Barnes and Noble and Borders. Barnes and Noble is a retail giant offering books and CDs both in their outlets all over the country. It opened their online industry in 1997 and has become the fourth largest e-commerce sites today. Focused largely on the sale of books, music, software, magazines, prints, posters, and related products, the company has capitalized on the recognized brand value of the Barnes Noble name to become the second largest, and one of the fastest growing, online distributors of books. Their advantage to Amazon is the brand name and the availability of actual retail outlets in which consumers could go in to exchange or return products easily. They also have an established book selection based in their retail operations. Borders is another multi-media retail store found in major cities around the country. Started out as a small bookshop in the college town of Ann Arbor, Michigan, it has since expanded into one of the finest bookstores. In 1992,  Borders was bought by the Kmart group which further flourished the company into a Multi Media Giant with a wide selection of Audio, Video and Books found throughout the United States. The Online Bookstore industry have become a fierce business which involves discounts, varied selections and fast delivery in which all three companies are challenging each other. Buyers The consumers of this industry can be found in every corner of the population. These are mostly people who have had some form of higher education and have access to the Internet and computers. The segment of online shoppers has increased dramatically in recent years due to the convenience of shopping in the comforts of the home and the accessibility of the Internet. These developments have made it easier for consumers to log on and buy on the Internet. Consumers also tend to compare prices among the retail leaders such that buyers are able to buy products with very big discounts compared to ones bought in actual retail outlets. The bargaining power of the consumer is based on the competitive strategies of each active firm in the industry. Thus, consumers can challenge one firm for charging more than the other one such that the firm will beat the price of the competing firm. Suppliers Amazons suppliers range from the publishing and media houses to electronics manufacturers. Amazon buys all their books, videos and audio CDs from the multi media houses and publishing giants such as Time Warner, Doubleday etc. Amazon also has alliances with other bookstores to cover orders that they cannot serve. Substitutes The substitutes for Amazon and other online bookstores are the actual book  retailers and music stores such as Barnes and Nobles, Virgin Megastore, Tower Records, Sam Goody and other small mom-and-pop outlets. With the rise of online retail, there will be little impact from these substitutes. One impact would be some consumers who would like to hold or listen to their purchases prior to buying and those who are into the whole shopping experience. Barnes and Nobles have jumped into online retail and have succeeded into diversifying into the new e-commerce industry. Industrial Organization Model Degree of Competition Due to the shift of focus for Amazon, it has become the Earths biggest anything store. Its competitors have expanded from just online book retailers Barnes and Nobles and Borders to top audio retailers CDNOW.com and online auction house EBAY.com. Amazon has an overall lead of 40% market share against the other online retail firms. Their international business has more than doubled over the past 2 years and this growth increased Amazons share in the online business market. Life Cycle Amazon, in its first years, had negative income but the rise of e-commerce sites and being the pioneer made the succeeding years led to boom time for them. Their growth period was during 1994 to 1995 when they were the first of its kind in the world. They incurred very high costs in terms of distributions to customers. Still with a negative income, Amazon went public in 1997 and had one of the biggest IPOs of the time. With investors banking on future positive cash flow for this company, Amazons market value soared. Many people caught on with the idea of online shopping, thus, Amazons success. Amazons success as an online retailer prompted bricks-and-mortar rivals Barnes and Noble and Borders to join in. Competition decreased Amazons profitability so in the past couple of years, Amazon has expanded to more than books, audio and video to electronics and other retail concepts. Social Relevance Amazons products are marketed for every consumer possible. Books, audio, video and electronics are appreciated by majority of the population especially those who have access to the Internet. Amazon is active in pursuing literacy programs for young children by collaborating with the makers of the Dr. Seuss books. They have actively participated in the Dr. Seuss shops, story telling sessions and Dr. Seuss days. Degree of Globalization Amazons strength internationally lies within its networks in major ports and cities around the Globe. Amazon first started out in Seattle but as soon as they have established a niche market, they have opened shop all over the nation and in cities such as London, Berlin, The Hague, Paris, Tokyo, Singapore and many more. These branches overseas improves their delivery service to a wide consumer base. Extent of Government Control There has not been many government regulations regarding online retailing. A group of CEOs whose firms that are engaged in such practices have formed an organization called Global Business Dialogue. This GBD group supports the development of a seamless global system that delivers the broadest array of goods and services to the largest number of consumers at the most competitive prices. This work effort will: offer recommendations to the WTO, including making the moratorium on online tariffs permanent; and collaborate with governments to target and eliminate discriminations against, or other non-tariff barriers to global trade in, electronic commerce. This working group will also provide an avenue for the GBDs to consider and promote the growth of the electronic marketplace in an environment unencumbered by detrimental taxation. Degree of Vertical Integration Amazons primary value chain includes purchasing/sourcing, marketing, distribution and after-sales services, which includes returns and exchanges from unsatisfied customers. Their main focus is in the purchasing/sourcing and in the distribution of the products to the consumers. Their investments are therefore, geared towards warehouses in key points of high consumer demand areas and an efficient delivery and distributing system to service all its consumers. Thus, Amazon controls most of its distributing system that spans across borders. Inter Organization of Network Economics Amazon in its efforts to sustain its market leadership in the online retailing industry has tied up with various online organizations. Netscape Navigator and Amazon will offer members of Netscape Netcenter a co-branded storefront where Earths Biggest Bookstore will be easily accessed through Netscape Netcenter (home.netscape.com). In addition, Amazon.com has multi-year exclusive and premier bookseller relationships with 5 of the top 6 sites on the World Wide Web: AOL.com, Yahoo!, Netscape, GeoCities, and Excite. These partnerships widen Amazons presence in the World Wide Web. Sensitivity to Business Cycles The Online retailing business has a very quick cyclical growth. Amazon being one of the firsts to venture in this type of commerce are all ready in what seems to be in their decline stage where market share is declining. Therefore, Amazon is expanding to different industries within online retailing. Amazon and other online retailing firms are very sensitive to business cycles due to the speed of technology involved in the services they offer. Dynamics of New Knowledge Generation Online retailing relies on the work of an excellent distribution system. Amazon has invested their money into expanding their network of distribution centers around the globe. They also have investments in creating better  technology for tracking orders and giving efficient delivery systems for their customers. Amazon.com has remained on top of the online retailing business despite the entrance of giants such as Barnes and Nobles and Borders. Their success is attributed to two factors; timing and continuing to invest heavily into the inventory and distribution systems. Amazon, by being the first of its kind, has a big lead over the nearest competitors due to their experience and its reputation as the first movers. Their thrust remains on improving efficient delivery systems across borders and to build name recognition as the number one retailing firm in the Internet. They have also ventured into different retail options to keep that lead. Marketing, Innovative inventory and distribution systems, and name recall have helped Amazon build a sustainable competitive advantage. In order for any online retail company to remain prosperous and income generating, they must invest a lot of time and money into research and development of more efficient operations and distributions systems. This proved to be key for the Market Leader in online retailing, Amazon.Com.

Neolithic Art and Architecture Paper Essay Example for Free

Neolithic Art and Architecture Paper Essay During the â€Å"New† Stone Age, also known as the Neolithic Period, art and life in general began to change drastically for humans. Many new onsets began to bloom, for example humans of this time period had begun to live in single locations versus before they were nomadic hunter-gatherers. This new life introduced new challenges and new opportunities. Within this paper I will discuss three Neolithic Locations, Jericho, Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k, and Stonehenge. Also, what made each of these sites significant, what new forms of buildings were present at each, and what is still perplexing modern day historians and archaeologists about these sites. I will start with the oldest of the three locations from above, Jericho. Jericho is a city of Palestine, but has been under the occupation of many. Its most important fact is that it is one of the oldest known permanently occupied cities in the world, occupied during the Natufian era (10,800 – 8,500 BCE) to present day. It was primarily occupied during a time known as the Pre-Pottery Neolithic Period (PPN: 8,500 – 6,000 BCE), which is further broken down into two more time frames called PPNA (8,500 7,300 BCE) and PPNB (7,300 – 6,000 BCE). Along with being one of the oldest known cities, Jericho shows us that humans of the Neolithic Period had begun to create permanent structures for living. After the domestication of plants and animals it is believed that Jericho was chosen to be a permanent settlement because it was a plateau of the Jordan River valley with a spring that supplied a constant source for water. During the PPNA, oval homes made from mud bricks with roofs made from wooden branches covered in earth began to appear at Jericho. Around 7,500 BCE, a rock-cut ditch and thick walls approximately 5 feet wide surrounded the city. Within the wall there is a single circular tower (fig. 1), approximately 30 feet high and almost 33 feet in diameter. These walls and towers mark the beginning of monumental architecture. Later, during the PPNB era the architects of Jericho began building the homes with rectangular  mud bricks and a plaster-like mud mortar, these houses were made into rectangular shapes due to the rectangular bricks. During this time we can also find evidence of new forms of art, plastered human skulls. It is believed these heads may have been used for a cult or religion of some sort. The heads were formed around a human skulls with the plaster-like mud mortar and then shells were placed in the eyes, and traces of paint were also found to shown a resemblance of skin and hair (fig 2). Next, let’s discuss another major settlement of the Neolithic Period that was formed between 7,000 and 5,000 BCE, Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k. This site is important because it is possible to retrace human evolution of the Neolithic culture over the period of approximately 800 years. The people of Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k were Neolithic weapon and toolmakers, especially in the use of obsidian. More importantly though was the village itself, it’s architecture and the art that thrived within. Most important about its architecture is that adjoining buildings, meaning it had no streets, formed this village. In July of 2012, Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k was inscribed as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Site. There are two types of buildings that were constructed within Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k, houses and shrines. The houses were made of mud bricks that were strengthened by timber frames. These homes contained no doors, but openings at the top that served as an entrance and a chimney. The interiors were plastered and painted; with platform shelving that was used as sites for sleeping, eating, and working (fig. 3). The dead of Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k were buried right under platforms of the homes. Although the houses of Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k were decorated on the inside there were other buildings slightly larger that contained more decoration, ornate murals, animal heads, paintings and figurines, are the shrines. These buildings still intrigue archaeologists today, as we do not know their true purpose. Along with the architecture of Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k, you see the beginning of narrative paintings. Although people had begun to raise animals of their own, hunting still played a major part in human life. This is shown in wall painting from Level III of Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k (fig. 4). Also at Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k, we find what now referred to as the first map, or the first landscape painting (fig. 5). This landscape painting remained unique for thousands of years, and with carbon dating this painting was executed in or around 6,150 BCE. In addition to painting, at Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k we find sculpture, weaving, pottery  and even techniques of smelting lead. Now let us move on to the most intriguing and puzzling place of these three Neolithic sites, Stonehenge. Stonehenge is a formation of rocks as high as 17 feet and weighing as much as 50 tons. Because these stones are so large historians have called them megaliths, meaning great stones. Stonehenge exists on the Salisbury Plain of southern England. Stonehenge itself is a megalithic monument constructed over the course of several years, in several phases. Stonehenge Phase 1, known as the earthwork monument. The first phase of Stonehenge was begun around 2,950 to 2,900 BCE. During phase one Stonehenge consisted of four sections and two entrances (fig. 6). The four sections are as follows from outside to inside: the Outer bank, the Ditch, the Circular bank, and the Aubrey Holes. The ditch, which is enclosed by two earthen banks, has the same center as the 56 Aubrey Holes inside it, therefore telling historians they came from the same time period. The second phase of Stonehenge is one that still perplexes historians, but the best evidence we have tells us it occurred sometime between 2,900 BCE and 2,550 to 2,400 BCE. During this time of its construction all evidence shows us that Stonehenge was more than likely being used as a cremation site. This phase it is known as the timber monument. All across the in circle of Stonehenge and around both entrance excavations have revealed post-holes which indicate that at this stage in Stonehenge’s construction it was made from timber and not the megalithic stones that now stand. These post-hole sites are divided into three distinct locations, the northeastern entrance, the southern entrance and the confused central pattern. The patterns displayed in the confused central pattern raise many concerns for historians and this is something that still raises questions for them, as it is unknown exactly how big the structures were or how they looked at this time. The third and final phase of Stonehenge is known as the stone monument. This is when what we see today was added to this monument. There are two types of megalithic stones found at Stonehenge, the bluestones and the sarsen stones. The final stage took the form concentric post-and-lintel circles. There are four circles and two horseshoes that were formed in the final stage of Stonehenge. The first two circles formed inside of Stonehenge’s Circular bank are referred to as the Rings of Y and Z Holes. These holes show evidence that Stonehenge may have never been completed, as holes were dug prior to placing stones inside the  monument. Inside of these two circles was a large circle formed out of sarsen stone lintels, then followed by a circle of bluestones. Inside of the two stone circle were the horseshoes, one made of sarsen stones and another inside of that made out of bluestones, with a single stone called the Altar Stone in the center of the bluestone horseshoe (fig. 7). Along the Circular bank four more stones appear, known as the Station Stones. Only two of the four stones still remain, but when you run a line between each of stones it forms a rectangle whose center pinpoints the exact center of the monument. From the center of the monument traveling out toward the northeast entrance you see the last two megaliths of Stonehenge, the Slaughter Stone and the Heel Stone. The Heel stone aligns with the center of Stonehenge at the midsummer solstice, thus giving historians the belief that Stonehenge was used a Calendar. The true use of Stonehenge may never be known, as evidence has also proven that Stonehenge might have been used as an observatory of astronomical aspects. Of these three sites we have learned a lot about our past. We have discovered many forms of artwork, and architectural changes to the human culture. But what we know of these sites is still growing. What will the future hold for us? While we continue to excavate and research these sites, will we find that the humans of Neolithic times were smarter or as smart than we are today? Are there any more new architectural discoveries to be found at these sites? Will we find more art that change the way we look at Art History? These three locations are a vast pile of knowledge still waiting to be discovered and hopefully it will not take us as long to discover the knowledge as it took the ancients to create the locations. Figure 1, Great Stone Tower, Jericho. Reproduced from smarthistory, http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/jericho.html. Figure 2, Plastered Skulls from Yiftahel. Reproduced from smarthistory, http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/jericho.html. Figure 3, On-site restoration of a typical interior, Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k, 2005. Reproduced from Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Catal_H%C3%BCy%C3%BCk_Restauration_B.JPG. Figure 4, Deer Hunt, 5750 BCE. Level III, Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k, Turkey. Museum of Anatolian Civilization, Ankara. Reproduced from Fred S. Kleiner, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, A Global History (Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2011), 26. Figure 5, Landscape with volcanic eruption, 6150 BCE. Level III, Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k, Turkey. Museum of Anatolian Civilization, Ankara. Reproduced from Fred S. Kleiner, Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, A Global History (Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2011), 27. Figure 6, Stonehenge: Phase 1. Reproduced from David Souden, Stonehenge Revealed (New York, NY: Facts on File Inc., 1997), 31. Figure 7, Stonehenge: Phase 3, inner circles. Reproduced from David Souden, Stonehenge Revealed (New York, NY: Facts on File Inc., 1997), 39. Bibliography German, Senta. Çatal Hà ¶yà ¼k. http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/catal-hoyuk.html (accessed 12 January 2013). German, Senta. Jericho. http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/jericho.html. (accessed 12 January 2013). German, Senta. Stonehenge, Salibury Plain, England. http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/catal-hoyuk.html. (accessed 12 January 2013). Hirst, K. Kris. â€Å"The Archaeology of the Ancient City of Jericho,† Jericho (Palestine). http://archaeology.about.com/od/jterms/qt/jericho.htm. (accessed 12 January 2013) Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages, A Global History (Boston, MA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning, 2011. Souden, David. Stonehenge Revealed. New York, NY: Facts on File Inc., 1997. Wikipedia. Çatalhà ¶yà ¼k. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87atalh%C3%B6y%C3%BCk. (accessed 12 January 2013). Wikipedia, Jericho. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pre-Pottery_Neolithic. (accessed 12 January 2013). Wikipedia, Stonehenge. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stonehenge. (accessed 12 January 2013). Wikipedia, UNESCO. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UNESCO. (accessed 12 January 2013). Wikipedia, World Heritage Site. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site. (accessed 12 January 2013).

Sheep Heart Dissection Physical Education Essay

Sheep Heart Dissection Physical Education Essay Like human hearts, a sheeps heart contains two atria and two ventricles. These four chambers work together to pump deoxygenated blood to the lungs and oxygenated blood to the rest of the body; this allows blood to circulate the body in a regular manner. The important reason for carrying out this experiment is to examine and understand the structural features of the heart which will help us appreciate how the heart operates. It is vital that location of both and exterior and interior vessels and chambers are clear before any dissection takes place. It is important to note that when looking at the heart its like looking at a mirror reflection, hence the right side of dissection is actually the left side of the heart and vice versa. From the anterior view the location of all four chambers (two upper atria and two lover ventricles) should be noted, the left and right side of the heart should be separated by a line of fat and vessels called the interventricular sulcus. The heart muscle, unlike the rest of the bodys muscle, is unique to its function. It requires no energy (ATP Æ’Â  ADP) in order to pump. Cardiac muscle has the characteristic automaticity, what this means is that the heart is under no influence of hormones of neurons for it to beat, the cells themselves have their own beating power. The hearts cells are part of a system known as the hearts conducting system. Special cells within the heart (part of the SA and AV nodes) are responsible for the heart beat, however if circumstances in the body change and the heart is required to pump more or less blood to the body then the autonomic nervous system plays a role via special nerves called the sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves. The heart circulates blood around the body, it is nothing but two pumps joined in a single organ. The left ventricular wall (left myocardium) is thinker than that of the right ventricular wall (right myocardium), this is due to the reason that the right side of the heart only pumps blood (deoxygenated) to the lungs, whereas the left side pumps blood (oxygenated) to the entire body. Materials and methods: Preserved sheep heart Dissecting pan Surgical scalpel Surgical scissors Dissection: The aim is to obtain a frontal section through the left and right side of the heart. During the dissection I had to be very cautious not to cut any valves of vessels that would result in negative results. I first located the interventricular sulcus; from there I identified the right ventricle and the left ventricle. The right side of the heart was to the left of the sulcus, after identifying the superior vena cava I then made an incision using the scissors through the vena cava till the top of the atrium. At this point using a scalpel would be easier, I therefore continued the incision using the scalpel through the wall of the right atrium down to the bottom of the right ventricle. The right side is now split into two part, I pulled these two apart and immediately identified the tricuspid valve that separated the atrium from the ventricle. The presence of the tricuspid valve indicated and confirmed that the incision was made through the right side of the heart. Moving on to the left side of the heart, I located the pulmonary artery and using the scalpel I made an incision through it down to the bottom of the left ventricle. The semi-lunar valve of the pulmonary vein was present, as was the bicuspid valve that separates the left atrium from the left ventricle. My final incision was made through the aorta; this incision was done to observe the aortic semi-lunar valve. Several pictures were taken for the results section. Results: Anterior (stern-costal) surface view Vena cava Pulmonary artery Right atrium Right ventricle Interventricular sulcus Pulmonary vein Aorta Left atrium Left ventricle Heart apex The left and the right sides of the heart are divided by a line called the interventricular sulcus. Right side of the heart: The picture on the right shows the tricuspid valve clearer than the one below it. Tricuspid valve Tendons Papillary muscles Right ventricle The below picture has been provided as the one above does not show ALL the right side of the heart. Tendons Wall of right ventricle (thinner than that of left ventricle) Vena cava Right atrium Tricuspid valve Semi-lunar valve From the picture above we can tell that the right ventricular wall is thinner than the left ventricular wall. The reason for this is due to how the heart works and how it circulates blood and to where (see introduction section on page 1). We can compare this picture to the one below, where the left ventricular wall is obviously thicker. Left side of the heart: Aorta Pulmonary vein (cut) Left atrium Bicuspid valve Tendons Papillary muscles Left ventricle (thick) Superior view of heart: Right atrium Vena cava Pulmonary vein Cardiac skeleton Aorta Left atrium Pulmonary artery Conclusion: The dissection was a relative success, all the chambers, vessels and valves were identified. After intense analysis of the interior of the heart , the heart has two sides, the right side of the heart received deoxygenated blood via the vena cava from the superior and inferior sides of the body. This deoxygenated blood travels through the vena cava into the right atrium, down the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle. When the ventricles contract the deoxygenated blood in the right ventricle is pumped through the pulmonary artery passing the semi-lunar valve. This deoxygenated blood then travels to the capillaries of the lungs where they exchange waste products such as carbon dioxide for oxygen. The blood is not oxygen-rich therefore oxygenated. The oxygenated blood then travels from the capillaries of the lungs to the pulmonary vein which leads to the left atrium of the heart, once the oxygenated blood is in the left atrium it is pushed (atrium systole) through the bicuspid valves into the left ventricle when it is then further pumped (ventricular systole) though the aortic semi-lunar valves into the aorta where it is distributed to the rest of the body where oxygen is required. A lab and gloves was worn to prevent biological contamination, after the dissection the gloves were put into biological waste bins and hands were washed with antibacterial after taking off the labcoats. Evaluation: More dissection practice would bring more accurate results, although I have dissected a sheeps heart more than a few times. Different sizes of hearts would have portrayed the different sizes of valves and vessels; it would bring more attention to how the heart evolves. As this practical involved sharing a single sheeps heart between three students, room for error was encountered. Different cuts and incisions wanted to be made, however the results came out accurate.

Characteristics of Criminal Homicides :: essays research papers

Michael Woodworth and Stephen Porter. (August 2002). In Cold Blood: Characteristics of Criminal Homicides as a Function of Psychopathy. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, Vol. 111, No. 3, 436-445. Overview   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  This study examined the correlation between psychopathy and the characteristics of criminal homicides committed by offenders. Problem   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"It was hypothesized that the homicides committed by psychopathic offenders would be more likely to be primarily instrumental (I.e., associated with premeditation, motivated by an external goal, and not preceded by a potent affective reaction) or â€Å"cold-blooded† in nature (Pg. 436).† However, homicides committed by nonpsychopaths often would be â€Å"crimes of passion† associated with a high level of impulsivity/reactivity and emotionality. Method   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A sample of 125 Canadian offenders were selected for the study. The entire sample was examined in two different ways. First, dual coding was used on a random selection of 21 offenders. These people were asked questions and scored a number of points depending on their responses. All file information on these offenders were made available to the blind coder. Second, a set of 33 cases were randomly selected for dual coding. These cases were different because all details were not made available to the blind coder. Results   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The results confirmed the hypothesis; â€Å"homicides committed by psychopathic offenders were more instrumental than homicides by nonpsychopaths. Almost all (93.3%) of the homicides by psychopaths were primarily instrumental in nature compared with 48.4% of the homicides by nonpsychopaths (Pg. 436).† Conclusion   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The authors’ conclusions from their study went to prove what they believed to be the outcome. Nothing was found to be shocking or a surprise when reviewing the end results.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I feel the authors conclusions â€Å"hit the nail right on the head.

Three Essays on Proust :: Essays Papers

Three Essays on Proust Introduction In Candace Vogler’s Philosophical Perspectives on the Humanities class last winter, we were asked to write six short essays relating Marcel Proust’s Swann’s Way to several cognitive philosophy texts, including Rene Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy and George Berkeley’s Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous. Our task was to make the ideas of Proust, Descartes, and Berkeley communicate with one another—to juxtapose and compare their ideas about what constitutes experience, what constitutes divinity, what is knowing, what is being. This is what these three essays attempt to address. A note on the texts: Proust’s Swann’s Way is the first volume of his eight-volume continuous narrative Remembrance of Things Past or In Search of Lost Times. (In the original French, it is A la recherche du temps perdu.) It is the story of a man’s life, a first-person memoir, a fictional autobiography. Swann’s Way is the story of this character’s love for his mother and for the girl Gilberte and his retelling of his friend Swann’s love for the woman Odette. In class, we called the un-named character/narrator "Marcel"—"old Marcel" when he is the grown-up man recounting the story of his childhood and "young Marcel" when he is the child. Marcel Proust is a distinct entity—of course, the author of the novel. Swann’s Way is written in four books, the Overture, Combray, Swann in Love, and Place-Names: The Name, all of which are mentioned in the essays. Descartes’ Meditations on First Philosophy questions and defines knowledge and existence. Descartes too, uses a first-person voice, whom we called "the Meditator." It is the Meditator who goes through the method of progressive doubt and re-founds all knowledge on the basis of "the cogito": Thus, after everything has been most carefully weighed, it must finally be established that "I am, I exist" is necessarily true every time I put it forward or conceive it in my mind. Berkeley’s Dialogues between Hylas and Philonous is an argument between the Cartesian thinker Hylas and the Berkelean Philonous. In the first of these dialogues, Berkley argues that the Cartesian notion of substance is incoherent and that the word "matter" as Descartes uses it is meaningless. Essay One All these memories, superimposed upon one another, now formed a single mass, but had not so far coalesced

The Burial of My Mother Essay -- Personal Narrative, essay about my fa

The phone rang early the morning of July 21, 2013. It was a call from my brother-in-law telling me the news of my mother's death. The news came as no surprise. She was diagnosed with terminal cancer in May of 2013, and her death had been expected. I had been trying to prepare myself for this day ever since I had heard the diagnosis. Once I awoke, I packed and started the journey home from State University, where I had been staying with friends while attending a business seminar. I had spent three years at State University and had made this drive home often. This time, however, everything seemed different. All the trees seemed brighter, more colorful, and more full of life. Maybe when one thing has died, it adds life to something else. Could this be the natural order of things? In just those few moments, I felt my life change. I suddenly realized that I could no longer be a child. Not more than twenty minutes into my drive, I found myself suddenly overcome by reality, and grief became my driving companion. There was a song on the radio that stirred all my emotions into nervous gumbo. I felt everything from anger to happiness, from betrayal to fortunate. As I continued, I started to see my life unfold in front of me in a thousand different ways. This was a pivotal point in my life, and what I did now would affect the rest of my life. Could I even have a life after this? The questions I asked my God and myself that day are too many to count. This was pure emotional trauma, and at the age of twenty-one, I was not ready to handle this life on my own. The drive took me through the home of my youth. As I arrived in McCormick, I saw all the familiar sights. My mind started to drift back to when everything w... ... I hate this tradition. Why would anybody want to throw a party in your honor on the one day they know you cannot make it? I attended just to see what would happen. We ate a lot, and everyone told us how sorry they were. As I looked at them and at us, I realized people really do not handle death well. We as a society need to come up with a better set of rules to follow when it comes to funerals. Years have passed since I watched the burial of my mother. The only physical contact I have now is the occasional trip to the grave site, and the only reason I go is to do ground maintenance. Pulling weeds and placing flowers on the grave is a family duty. Even after you die, it is necessary that you portray a good image, and I feel a responsibility to my mother and her memory. It is still important to me that I live the type of life that would make her proud.

The researchers built their study

The research article by Suniya Luthar, Karen Shoum and Pamela Brown (2006) entitled â€Å"Extracurricular involvement among affluent youth: A scapegoat for ubiquitous achievement pressures† attempted to determine the extracurricular involvement of high status secondary students and how this affected their academic performance and whether it was directly the source of the pressure to achieve.The researchers built their study on the notion that children from affluent communities are overscheduled and have too many things to accomplish at a given day because it is expected by their parents.They said that children’s involvement in extracurricular activities are imposed by their parents and thus places undue stress and pressure for the student to succeed and achieve. Although, some researchers had found evidence to support the assumption that involvement in extracurricular activities improved academic performance as groups, clubs and teams provide opportunities for healthy c ompetition fostering the need to achieve as a desirable motive for subsequent endeavors.Moreover, the researchers mainly focused their attention to affluent children or students who come from affluent families because they are more likely to be pressured by their parents to succeed. At the same time, affluent students have more chances of cultivating their interests in extracurricular activities because they have the resources to do so.  The authors defined extracurricular involvement as the degree to which students participate in activities that are not directly associated to their academic performance and has no bearing on their academic grades and is conducted outside of regular school hours with the presence of a coach or trainer. Extracurricular involvement was measured in terms of four broad categories; sports, arts, academics and civic.The researchers hypothesized that upper class students are overscheduled and thus have more adjustment issues, however, they were more incli ned to believe that hours spent in extracurricular activities are not to blame but the family processes that are related to academic achievement are the cause. The family processes include parent’s emphasis on achievement; parental criticism, high achievement expectations and values that promoted getting ahead of others, lack of adult supervision after school and how often children ate dinner with parents.The methods used to test the hypothesis of the researchers were varied; they used self-report questionnaires to obtain information on maladjustment indicators such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse, while they used school grades and teacher rating behavior to measure academic performance and behavior.The researchers also used a two dimensional framework in assessing their research outcomes, examining extracurricular activities and involvement per se, and how extracurricular activities competed with the measured family outcomes.The results of the study indicated tha t there were minimal links between extracurricular activities and pressure leading to adjustment problems. The researchers found that there is a weak relationship in the time spent in sports, academic, arts and civic activities to that of behavioral maladjustments and competence.The researchers however found evidence that supported the hypothesis that parental expectations were more detrimental to the student’s adjustment. It was found that parental criticism and lack of adult supervision had a more negative effect to student behavior than other variables.