Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Argument that Autism is Characterized by the Lack of...

Autism is a rare developmental disorder that affects approximately four in every ten thousand children (Baron-Cohen, Leslie Frith, 1985). Employing a clinical perspective, Kanner (1943) (as cited in Sachs, 1995) was the first to provide a description on the disorder of autism. However, in the 1970s, Wing (1970) (as cited in Sachs, 1995) applied a cognitive perspective in describing the mental structure of autism. This essay will therefore argue that autism is characterized by the lack of theory of mind (Premack Woodruff, 1978, as cited in Baron-Cohen et al., 1985), which is a cognitive mechanism. It will further outline empirical evidence derived from the review of two studies, collectively known as false belief tasks. The Sally-Anne†¦show more content†¦Another trial was preformed, where conditions were changed, and included an additional location (experimenter’s pocket) to where the participants could point. The outcome for this study indicated that all subjects p assed the naming, reality and memory questions. For the belief question, 85% of normal preschool and 86% of Down syndrome subjects passed both trials. However, only 20% of the autistic group passed the tested question (Baron-Cohen et al. 1985). Interpretation of these results indicates the vast majority of normal preschool and Down syndrome children could contrast between what they see to be true and what the doll sees to be false. However, the 15% of preschool and 14% of Down syndrome children who failed the belief question need to be taken into account. It may be concluded that at the time of testing, the proportion of preschool children had not yet developed the complete theory of mind, which is a mechanism required to succeed in this study. Also, it can be assumed that the proportion of Down syndrome subjects who failed, simply did not fully understand the question being asked as they have a below average IQ range. Other possible reasons for the two control groups to fail on the belief question may be that they comprehended the question as ambiguous. For example, when asked the belief question, the proportion of the control groups who failed, could have registeredShow MoreRelated High-Functioning Autism through Rain Man Essay4135 Words   |  17 PagesHigh-Functioning Autism through Rain Man A man and his brother walk down the terminal in an airport. They engage in a heated argument over whether they should board an airplane for Los Angeles. The older brother complains about taking an airplane and fears for his life, telling his brother about the crashes that every airline has had. The younger brother becomes annoyed and tells him that every airline has crashed at one point or anotherRead MoreLiterature Review6685 Words   |  27 Pagesat least four beliefs that individuals who fight the anti-vaccination war ascribe to and believe. The general worldview over vaccines is shaped by people’s perception and philosophies in homeopathy,(Battles, 2008) belief in spiritualism, conspiracy theory effects and the total ascription to paranormal belief. In any direction that the current war might be heading to, the internet has been the forefront communication platform over which these beliefs are spread (Kasarda 2013; Jolley and Douglas, KataRead MoreAn Assessment of the Impact of Corporate Social Responsibility on Nigerian Society: the Examples of Banking and Communication Industries18990 Words   |  76 Pagesin terms of CSR undertaken by other stakeholders. Some ten year ago, what characterized the Nigerian society was fragrant pollution of the air, of the water and of the environment. Most corporate organizations are concerned about what they can take out of the society, and de-emphasized the need to give back to the society [their host communities]. This attitude often renders the entire community uninhabitable. A case in mind is the Niger Delta area of Nigeria. This translated to negative integrityRead MoreDeveloping Effective Research Proposals49428 Words   |  198 Pagesthe pre-empirical stage 3.7.2 Questions before methods 3.7.3 Do I need hypotheses in my proposal? 3.8 Review concepts and questions Notes 4 Some Issues 4.1 The perspective behind the research 4.2 The role of theory 4.2.1 Description versus explanation 4.2.2 Theory ver ification versus theory generation 4.3 Pre-structured versus unfolding 4.4 The relevant literature 4.5 Quantitative, qualitative or both? 4.6 Review concepts and questions Notes 5 Methods 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Quantitative data, qualitativeRead MoreBCH190 Essay14810 Words   |  60 PagesAn example of chain molecules would be? (A) cells (B) oxygen molecules (C) proteins (D) mitochondria (E) aspirin 8. Prokaryotic cells: (A) are complex creature and usually do not live in diverse and extreme environments (B) lack a membrane bound nucleus like most bacteria (C) have membrane bound organelles that originated from bacteria (D) are animal type cells with diverse biochemical compartments (E) only live in extreme environment without oxygen 9. The endosymbiontRead MoreChange Management49917 Words   |  200 Pageshave undergone major organizational changes to allow them to increase their ability to create value. Change may be regarded as one of the few constants of recorded history. Often society’s â€Å"winners†, both historical and contemporary, can be characterized by the common ability to effectively manager and exploit change situations. Individuals, societies, nations and enterprises who have at some time been at the forefront of commercial and/or technological expansion have achieved domination, or atRead MoreStephen P. Robbins Timothy A. Judge (2011) Organizational Behaviour 15th Edition New Jersey: Prentice Hall393164 Words   |  1573 Pages91 4 Emotions and Moods 97 What Are Emotions and Moods? 98 The Basic Emotions 100 †¢ The Basic Moods: Positive and Negative Affect 100 †¢ The Function of Emotions 102 †¢ Sources of Emotions and Moods 103 Emotional Labor 108 Affective Events Theory 110 Emotional Intelligence 112 The Case for EI 113 †¢ The Case Against EI 114 †¢ Emotion Regulation 115 OB Applications of Emotions and Moods 115 Selection 116 †¢ Decision Making 116 †¢ Creativity 116 †¢ Motivation 117 †¢ Leadership 117 †¢ Negotiation 117Read More_x000C_Introduction to Statistics and Data Analysis355457 Words   |  1422 Pageswho were not high school graduates was only about 75% Page 123 ââ€"   A Word to the Wise: Cautions and Limitations ............................................... When computing or interpreting numerical descriptive measures, you need to keep in mind the following: 1. Measures of center don’t tell all. Although measures of center, such as the mean and the median, do give us a sense of what might be considered a typical value for a variable, this is only one characteristic of a data set. Without

Monday, December 16, 2019

Great Expectation Coursework Free Essays

The first visit Pip had to Miss Havisham’s house frightens and intimidates him ‘the passage were all dark, and that she had left a candle burning.’ Dickens uses dark imagery to show a bit of clue to the audience the kind of person Miss Havisham is and it emphasises the dark side of Miss Havisham. This makes Pip scared because this is because this is different to where he came from, the house was huge. We will write a custom essay sample on Great Expectation Coursework or any similar topic only for you Order Now This shows how different his life is compared to Miss Havisham and Estella and how mysterious the house seems to him and us. Dickens creates a frightening atmosphere by describing the house in a really sinister way, ‘grass was growing in every crevice.’ Dickens has portrayed the house as being uncared for because it tells and shows us that Miss Havisham hasn’t cared for herself so if she can’t do that, she obviously won’t care for her house. It shows how mysterious scary and Miss Havisham is. Dickens describes Pip as ‘half afraid’ towards Miss Havisham and the house. This shows how the reader understands his trepidation. Pip’s social background is much lower compared to Miss Havisham and Estella, his mum and dad are dead, and he lives with his sister and her husband Joe, who is a blacksmith. His sister is worried and afraid Pip will follow in the footstep of her husband and wants him to achieve ‘great expectations’. Pip comes from a poor and low status background, so seeing a house like Miss Havisham’s has different feelings, he feels amazed but at the same time worried. ‘This was very uncomfortable, and I was half afraid.’ Estella treats Pip in a very controlling and rude way. She makes him feel useless and shows him how lower class he is compared to her. She treats him like a dog, always controlling what he does and always saying stuff about how he looks. ‘He is a common labouring boy, and what coarse hand he has.’ This makes Pip start to see who he really is and he begins to worry about how he looks, because before he didn’t really consider himself inferior. Pip also tried to be nice to Estella but every time he tried she never seemed to care or notice. ‘After you miss’ to this she returned ‘don’t be ridiculous boy, I am not going in.’ This is done by Dickens to tell the audience that throughout the novel Pip will go through some adventure and Estella treatment towards him was one of them. It was the beginning. The house would really intimidate Pip because the Satis House compared to his house is like a palace ‘the great front entrance had two chains across it outside.’ Also all of the riches he sees ‘jewels sparkled on her neck.’ This shows a different side of Pip because of his reaction and also to describe what exactly was inside the house and to describe the opposite of Pip’s life. The entrance to the house was mysteriously dark. Pip has also never seen such wealth before, so his expectations changes after his first visit. He becomes ashamed of himself, his background and Joe. When Pip first sees Miss Havisham, his reactions are stunned and shocked. Dickens also writes that he feels Miss Havisham is ‘the strangest lady, he has or will ever see.’ The impression given to the reader is that he is scared and full of anticipation. This shows how odd the house is and how Miss Havisham is a contrast to Pip’s life. When Miss Havisham speaks to Pip, she asks him lots of strange questions which makes her seem impatient ‘call Estella, she repeated, flashing a look at me. You can do that, call Estella at the door.’ She speaks to him like he is a servant, always giving him instructions like she owns him or has power over him. ‘Call Estella, you can do that.’ She also moves her hand around a lot, which makes her appear really arrogant and bossy. ‘With an impatient movement of the fingers of her right hand.’ Pip felt very nervous and anxious before he entered Miss Havisham’s room. Dickens describes him as being ‘half afraid’ and he is scared of the dark. Dickens also presents Pip as being very small and scared. This is to emphasise the strangeness of the house and how Pip is out of place. Dickens uses imagery to describe Miss Havisham as dying or dead, he also describes her as a skeleton, ‘had shrunk to skin and bone.’ The symbolism used is of a dead person. ‘Skeleton seemed to have dark eyes that moved and looked at me.’ Dickens has done this to make the reader shocked because he wants us to feel disgusted and disturbed, and also to infer that she is half dead because of her emotional state. The effect of Miss Havisham’s treatment on Pip is that he starts to notice who he really is ‘I began to consider them a very different pair, her contempt for me was so strong, that it become infectious and I caught it.’ He also begins to feel ashamed of his social life and he sees the differences between himself and Miss Havisham. Miss Havisham also becomes bossy towards Pip and starts to control him using imperatives ‘play, play, play!’ This would make Pip feel useless, insulted and ashamed of his family and probably wished he had a higher status like Miss Havisham and Estella. Estella’s treatment towards Pip would affect him by making him feel depressed and make him think that Estella has power over him. Pip feels very strange towards Estella. He is in love with her but she doesn’t seem to care. She talks to him like a 5 year old boy. ‘Don’t be ridiculous boy.’ This will make Pip feel like he is the servant while Estella is the master. Estella tries really hard to put Pip down and it usually works. ‘Her contempt for me was so strong, that it became infectious and I caught it.’ It was like Estella had a disease and that has been given to Pip. She also calls him names ‘a stupid, clumsy, labouring boy.’ At this point of the story, I think Pip feels ashamed of his family especially Joe. To Pip, Estella was his angel of light, his star. ‘Her light came along the dark passage like a star.’ So without Estella, Pip can’t see, he’s nothing. However, like a star, Estella is cold, hard and out of reach. In the story each of the characters are controlled by one and another. Miss Havisham controls Estella and Estella controls Pip. She wants to get revenge on a male because of what happened with her ex. So she’s using Estella to get revenge ‘well? You can break his heart.’ Estella is controlling Pip because of Miss Havisham also because she is ‘self – possessed’ and too full of herself. Pip is a pawn in their little games. The immediate effects on Pip of his first visit are that he begins to see the differences between himself, Estella and Miss Havisham. ‘I took the opportunity of being alone in the court – yard to look at my coarse hands and my common boots.’ He believes what he has been told by Estella and starts to call himself he exact words. He begins to believe he really is not worth it. This has a long term effects in the novel because he becomes a complete different character who looks down at other people, just like Estella and Miss Havisham. Dickens did this to tell the reader that money can change people’s character and no matter how much you have there is still a place in your heart that remembers who you were before. The long term effect on Pip of his first visit, are that he starts to become ashamed of his family especially Joe. ‘I wished Joe had been rather more genteelly brought up, and then I should have been so too.’ He also starts to hope that he doesn’t end up as a blacksmith like Joe. As the time goes on he becomes a snob. Dickens is showing the negative effects of money/elevation in status. The Satis House is like the opposite of Pip’s life. He lives in a small house and the Satis House is like a palace, compared to his. It can be seen as a symbol for changing Pip’s personality, background and his heart. Also it changes his behaviour from being nice, to becoming a rude boy and full of himself, just like Estella. Pip’s visit to the house, is very important because throughout is childhood he had never really had much fun and also his family hope that he can gain an higher status by going to the Satis House. But for his sister she’s hoping by Pip going there he may become wealthy one day and they/she would have a better life. So everything Miss Havisham instructs him to do, he has to obey her ‘with the fear of my sister’s working me before my eyes, I had a desperate idea of starting round the room in the assumed character of Mr Pumblechook’s chaise – cart.’ In the novel Dickens is trying to say that no matter how wealthy you are or how nice you are money can change people. He is trying to tell us that the low social class people (Pip’s family) were provoked by the amount of wealth they saw, and that intimidated them to want to be rich and rise in status. The reader’s opinion of the effect of Satis House on Pip’s future, is that if he didn’t go to the house, he would be a different character, a different person. So it’s the sister’s fault for most of the way Pip has changed, but also Miss Havisham and Estella’s fault because if he didn’t meet them, he wouldn’t be rude or have knew about so much wealth. He would be happy the way he was. The whole of the novel hinges that Pip will obviously become a snob and that Pip and Estella might not really get together at first but anything could happen after that. How to cite Great Expectation Coursework, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Drovers Wife free essay sample

In our prescribed text, ‘The Drover’s Wife’, by using an anonymous bush woman as his protagonist, Lawson extends his narrative beyond the story of a particular individual, to encompass the stories of all such women. The narrative emphasizes their fierce independence as they battle a hostile environment to ensure their survival and the survival of their families. The harshness of their environment is established in the opening paragraphs through the cumulation of negative visual and auditory images such as ‘The stunted, rotten apple trees’ and ‘a few sheoaks†¦. ighing above the narrow, almost waterless creek’. The harshness si similarly reflected in the adjectives which describe ‘four ragged, dried-up looking children’ and ‘the gaunt sun-browned woman’. Thus by linking the environment to its inhabitants, Lawson’s omniscient third-person narrator shapes our understanding that the unique Australian trait s of resilience and courage are the product of an interaction with a hostile environment. The repetition of ‘black’ in ‘a black one’ and in the alliterative ‘black brute’ reflect the white colonial perspective of danger and evil. Further reinforcing the horrifying realism of the dangers is the onomatopoeic repletion of ‘thud, thud’ and the biblical allusion in ‘the original curse’ to convey the wilderness to which the woman and her children have been exiled. The negative connotations of ‘worn-out’ and ‘sickly’ remind us that Lawson’s narrative has created a bush world of ceaseless struggle, a world where human beings are at the mercy of an unforgivingly hostile environment. Thus the narrative serves as a voice for individuals who carved new lives in an alien world and became part of the Australian myth. My related text which is the ABC documentary ‘A few Good Songs’ conveys the idea that documentaries also tell stories to entertain and to convey ideas. The documentary opens with images of the documentary’s narrator walking through the streets of Soho, the area in London where Cat Stevens grew up. The narrator begins the documentary with the rhetorical question, ‘Who was Cat Stevens and who is Yusuf Islam’? The question introduces the transformation that the subject of the documentary underwent, from pop star of the past to the devout Muslim of the present. In his early life Steven’s explains that he felt the need to escape the monotony of his life. He escaped to the roof ‘to get away from the lower earth, to look to the sky’. This need to rise above the ordinary is also shown as he recounts how he used to write songs while doing the washing up in the family’s restaurant. The interviews with Stevens and his narration and guided tour through his old neighbourhood create a feeling of intimacy with the audience and allow the responder to empathise with Steven’s unusual story. Music is an important aspect of this documentary as Steven’s music provides an insight into his changing concerns and his quest for self-fulfilment. He notes ‘songs are the narrative to my life’ and this is illustrated as the documentary traces his musical and spiritual evolution. The documentary creates a cold isolation of Stevens’ hospital ward through a dramatisation. This technique of recreation is also used when the story of Stevens’ near drowning is recounted. Stevens’ states that he believes he was saved by the hand of God. At this point the documentary cuts to a mosque and the call to prayer is heard on the soundtrack. This juxtaposition of shots effectively conveys how influential this experience was in Stevens’ conversion to Islam. Video-footage is utilised to show the different stages in Stevens’ life. Similarly, in our prescribed text ‘The Loaded Dog’, the narrative contributes to the creation of Australian myths by the composer’s ability to spin a yarn. Balancing the life-threatening aspects of the hostile environment of the outback with the larrikin nature of the characters, allows Lawson to tell story that is both entertaining and inspiring. The defining feature of the narrative is its humour as a reflection of the larrikin nature of the characters. Equally the hyperbole, that is a feature of pub yarns, conveys to us the overwhelming impact of the environment on their consciousness- an impact that is manifested in the black humour of their tales of survival. Thus the bizarre attempt by Dave, Jim and Andy to ‘blow the fish up in the bag waterhole with a cartridge’ becomes an outrageous attempt to outwit nature which denies them access to ‘fresh-water cod, bream, catfish and tailers’. The balance between the use of cumulative adjectives a red, idiotic, sobering grin’ and the authorial intrusion ‘he seemed to take life, the world†¦. and his own instincts as a huge joke’ mirrors the larrikin nature of men and their dog. It shapes our perceptions of the ability of both man and beast to cope with an essentially hostile outback. Lawson uses cartoonish visual images of the men following each other chased by the dog and of the sapling bending under the weight of Jim to deposit him near the live cartridge, to undercut the immediacy of danger by concentrating our attention on the slap-stick comedy that is unfolding. Paragraph 3- ‘In the Ghetto’) P. S Need to get notes on this. Through our study on Telling Stories i have become aware that composers tell stories to entertain and to convey ideas. Our study on Henry Lawson’s texts has made me aware of the power in which composers have of telling stories and the effects they may have . The ABC Documentary ‘A Few Good Songs’ conveys the idea that documentaries also tell stories to entertain and to convey ideas.

Saturday, November 30, 2019

Yellow Wallpaper Essays (498 words) - Mental Illness In Fiction

Yellow Wallpaper ?The Yellow Wallpaper? A major theme in ?The Yellow Wallpaper? by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is that solitary confinement and exclusion from the public results in insanity. The use of imagery and setting helps illustrate this theme throughout the story. The unnamed protagonist in this story suffers from a nervous disorder which is enhanced by her feeling of being trapped within a room. The setting of the vast colonial mansion and particularly the nursery room with barred windows provides an image of loneliness and seclusion experienced by the protagonist. Another significant setting is the mansion connected by a ?shaded lane? (66) to the beautiful bay and private wharf. It is possible that in her mind, she sees a path which leads to the curing of her illness where happiness and good health awaits at the end. The reason the lane is ?shaded? is because she is uncertain whether or not this path can be traveled. Upon moving into the mansion, she immediately becomes obsessed with the nursery room wallpaper with ?sprawling, flamboyant patterns committing every artistic sin? (64). Her days and nights are so uneventful that she finds relief in writing a journal which becomes more tiresome as her sickness progresses. In every few paragraphs in her journal, she analyzes the wallpaper. Through the imagery she evokes from the wallpaper, it can be seen that she is really analyzing herself and her illness subconsciously. For example, she begins to see ?a strange, provoking, formless sort of figure that seems to skulk about behind that silly and conspicuous front design? (67). She describes her illness (as seen in the wallpaper) as ?not arranged on any laws of radiation, or alternation, or repetition, or symmetry, or anything else that I ever heard of? (68). In other words, she cannot make any sense of what is causing her illness. A pivotal moment in the story is when the woman protagonist is concerned only with the yellow wallpaper in her journal. In lieu of her obsession with the wallpaper, she becomes engaged in the actions of the women she sees in the wallpaper which, of course, is really her own actions. The women ?is all the time trying to climb through [the wallpaper]? (72). At this moment, she is desperate to escape her illness but she is unable to because her confinement in the room has already affected her more so than she realizes. The imagery of this situation is described when ?the pattern strangles [the women] off and turns them upside down, and makes their eyes white!? (72). In the end or in her last day at the mansion, the isolation intensifies her illness to the point where she is no longer curable and insanity takes over. The protagonist finally recognizes the fact that the women she witnesses is really her own frame of mind and proclaims ?I shall have to get back behind the pattern when it comes night, and that is hard!? (75). She believes that she has at last gained her freedom from the illness when in reality, the exact opposite has occurred. The incessant creeping is the final summation to her insanity. Psychology

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

15 NeuroMarketing Mind Hacks You Need To Be Using

15 NeuroMarketing Mind Hacks You Need To Be Using Can we really hack into the minds of our buyers and influence their decisions?  Some say we can, and theyve got the evidence to prove it. Research suggests that there are definite behavioral patterns that most people follow almost automatically, and understanding those patterns gives you  an edge in your niche. 15 NeuroMarketing Mind Hacks You Need To Be Using via @LarryGMaguire The Power Of  NeuroMarketing Since the time of the advertising greats like Claud C. Hopkins, the role of psychology in the decision making and buying habits of people  has been recognized and well documented. It has birthed a field of study commonly known as NeuroMarketing. And its findings will  give you deep insight into your buyers' and readers' behavior  to understand  what works and what doesn't in convincing them to buy from you. Call it what you like, NeuroMarketing or otherwise, the truth of the matter is everything you do on your site affects the perception of you and your product or service in the mind of your visitor. So, let's take a look at  the  NeuroMarketing  tactics and strategies that have been tried, tested, and shown to be effective at relaying our message to our buyers in their terms. Design  Your Content To Be Easily Recognized Design certainly influences your reader and positions your credibility from the get-go. So here are a few design hacks that will help you build your brand and grow your readership. 1. Brand your content to be recognizable anywhere it shows up. Research suggests  that we do indeed process advertising even if we don't consciously consider it. Big brand marketers know that once they build brand momentum, they need to continue building awareness their message. Think of when you ask yourself, â€Å"Where did I see that before?† Once you build brand momentum, continue building awareness for your message. #neuromarketingHow you can use unconscious branding. First, look into  branding for your blog. To make an impact, use your brand logo everywhere. Here  are  just a few examples of how you can do this: Insert your logo in your custom blog post images. Use your logo in your email signature. Insert your logo in your social media header images. Attach a branded image to your tweets and other social media posts. Use the same profile image across all platforms on the Internet. 2. Use color that connects with the emotions you want your readers to feel when they interact with your content. People make up their minds within 90 seconds of their initial interactions with products. About 62†90% of the assessment is based on colors. To top that off,  certain colors affect people in different ways, depending on our experiences.  Generally, it is agreed that certain colors evoke set  feelings in most people, and when  marketers use these colors, then they can influence people to make the right decisions. People make decisions within 90 seconds of seeing your product.  #neuromarketingHow you can use color in your marketing. Julie Neidlinger  already covered this  perfectly  in her post  about the psychological effects of color on your readers. Check out that robust post for tons of detail on this topic. 3. Use fonts that help your readers focus on the message rather than the design. The use of font type and style has a direct effect on the number of eyeballs that browse your content. Certain typefaces are associated and work well with particular professions, so choosing one that communicates your message  and matches your brand will help you connect with your readers. How to use typefaces correctly. I use Canva quite a lot. I think it's a great tool for building custom images with a good selection of Google fonts to choose from. I tend to use two typefaces in my custom images in order to keep my message consistent. Consider the following when selecting fonts for your blog and designs: Choose a look and feel that communicates your message. Stay consistent and use the same typefaces throughout your material. Use bold where necessary to increase the impact of one or more words in a sentence. Play around with color to contrast your message. Play with kerning. Kerning is the space between letters and can impact your message quite a bit. Center your text on an image or in the body of an article to  increase the impact. Check out this article and this one to understand the effect of typeface on your designs. 4.  Lay out your content so scanners can easily understand everything without reading it. Make your content as readable and scannable as possible. Bullet point key points or features and break your content up with images and quotes. Lay out your content to be easily scannable. #neuromarketingHow you can format for scanning. Lists: List posts are one of the most popular and shared post types. Use lists to break out important points that you want your readers to take away from your material. Don't just use boring default bullets, try make your bullets or numbers stand out more by using color or an image icon. Subheads:  Subheads expand on your heading and provide the reader a little more detail about your article or offer while further inviting the reader to move further into your content. Custom Images:  Use Canva to create custom images that you can place strategically within your posts, again, to highlight important points you want your readers to share and take away. The Sumome plugin allows your readers to share these images with a predefined tweet accompanied by your Twitter handle. Great for spreading the word! :  Use   a couple of times within the body of your posts to highlight or close out on an important point.  Ã‚  also allows your readers to quickly share your content with followers on Twitter. Break up long strings of text in your content with lists, subheads, and images. #blogging5. Suggest  action  with images. You have only 50 milliseconds to make an impression.  The  images you create, or get from other sources online and use on your site, will determine who you are and what you represent in the minds of your visitors quicker than a scalded cat off a hot stove. In Western society, your readers' eyes move top to bottom and left to right. And the reason for this is pretty obvious: It's the same way people read a book. If you use images of people, then the direction of their gaze can direct your readers' attention to where it's needed. Check out the highest converting landing page on LeadPages: How you can use images to direct your readers to action. In the image above, note the direction of the gaze of the pretty girl toward the opt-in box. It directs the visitor to take action and enter their info. You can use images to coax a particular response from your visitors. Make Your Readers Comfortable To Gain Their Trust Subliminal intention  passes below the normal limits of perception. So there are a few things you can do to help your readers feel comfortable with your brand  right from the get-go. 6. Show you’re confident, and your readers will be confident in your content and products. Research  shows that people readily accept the opinions of those they see as confident, even though past record may not be perfect. You can take advantage of this and give people what they want according to their preferences- you simply need to find out what floats their boat, and be confident in  your convictions. How to display confidence in your writing. Well there's only one real answer to this, and you certainly can't fake it. Research. Research until you get to the core of the information, and you will  have the ability to deliver the required information with certainty. There's a lot of rehashing of information online with many bloggers simply compiling information from others which results in vacuous content with no real substance whatsoever. If you want to display confidence in your writing, you must research deeply. Get off the fence, give your own opinion, and be definite about it. Find the research articles and link to them directly where you can. 7. Publish positive content to gain positive readers. Positive content performs better than negative  and is more likely to go viral.  Researchers  found that although content that is positive achieves greater virality, the content must arouse a high degree of positive emotion. Positive + emotional content is more likely to be shared. #neuromarketingThey also found that negatively centered content can also make the list if it arouses this high degree of emotion. How to use positive affirmation. Well, it's simple really. Focus on delivering your chosen message in a positive light. You may need to show your readers the potential negative effect of them doing the opposite, or taking some other choice, but you do want to finish on a positive note giving the benefits. Including a story of some personal experience can often deliver that x factor that makes the difference. Once you demonstrate that you understand them, offer them the solution to their problem. Your solution. 8. Help your readers easily understand what they don’t know. People avoid the unknown like the plague. If a product has little information or appears to be unfamiliar, then a buyer won't choose it. In other words, people are more likely to choose something they know the results of, preferring a known probability over an unknown probability. How to use the ambiguity effect. Offer Metaphors: When offering someone an option, try to deliver it with the addition of a metaphor. Metaphors help bring comfort, meaning, and familiarity to making choices. Make It Easy:  Keep the option you'd like your reader to select  simple and to the point, clear and concise. Use Stats: People trust statistics and rarely do their own research. Be the resource to use this to your advantage. 9. Make your content so easy to understand that it’s a no-brainer to check out your stuff. Familiarity brings cognitive fluency and reinforces the idea that repetition is the mother and father of all learning.  Fluency is the ease or difficulty in completing a mental task and can really influence your visitors' decision making. How you can use cognitive fluency. Make it easy for your readers to digest your information and make decisions. Publish consistent content that is easy to read and requires little effort to understand. Help your readers complete simple mental tasks to influence their decision making. Use subheads, images, and bullet points to break up the content. Write sentences no longer than 25 words, and paragraphs no more than 3 sentences long. Use white space to your advantage- use a less is more approach. Offer a clear call-to-action on every page and think about including it several times on the page. Write Your Blog Posts To Captivate And Maintain Readership Keeping and maintaining readership is super important, and you can use the psychology of marketing to keep folks interested. 10. Write awesome headlines that inspire action. Benefit + Time + Outcome is a headline formula that has been proven to be very effective. You obviously need to be selective about the number of words you use and how you put them together, but the formula works. The elements of the formula  don't always need to be included, but it seems to be very effective when they are all together. The elements break down like this: Benefit:  Outline the benefit to the reader in their terms and as simply as you can. Time:  Include a time frame when they can expect to reap the rewards of using the system. Outcome:  Show what the outcome will be if the reader uses your system. 11.  Draw on emotion to make a lasting impression. Emotion sells. I was at a business network meeting, and one of the fundraising members  showed us a YouTube video of a group of children who were the casualties of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in the 1980s. Well, I can tell you there wasn't a dry eye in the house!  Needless to say he filled his contribution bucket that night. The point is: Emotion sells. When you  rock emotional energy in your writing, you're  well along the way to capturing the attention of your readers. But how do you achieve that? How you can use emotion in your articles. Include  your own emotional connection with the content you are producing, and choose words to  convey emotion. Try this list of power, emotional, common, and uncommon words to  add greater impact to your articles. Also use the headline analyzer  to measure the effectiveness of your headlines and subheads. No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. - Robert Frost 12.  Build awareness with lots of touch points. Attention bias is where consumers are influenced overwhelmingly by their recurring or established thought patterns. An example of this is where you might have a love of hats. This love of hats leads to a tendency to notice hats above all other clothing. Marketers take advantage of this behavior pattern all the time.  They want to become established in your thought patterns.  And they start young, understanding that the earlier they get hold of you, the better is it for their brand recognition later. How you can use attention bias. Keep at it. Whatever methods you are using to get your brand out there, keep doing it. You must stay in the minds of your readers. Publishing and sharing something is better than nothing, and the more you get your stuff under the eyeballs of readers, the better. Post on social media every day. Blog consistently. Share your stuff again and again. Repost your articles on sites that are happy to accept them Guest post original articles. 13.  Use social influence to inspire engagement. People appear more attractive in a group than in isolation- that's the cheerleader effect. No one likes to be isolated. Group mentality has great momentum and influence in the decisions of your buyers. People naturally want to stay in the crowd where it's safe, so you can find ways to appeal to that bias. How you can use the cheerleader effect. Use a bunch of testimonials together, rather than only one or two. Use reviews as a means of showing other people's engagement with you or your product. 14. Confirm what your readers want to hear. Confirmation bias is the human tendency to search for and interpret information in a way that confirms our  preconceptions. Well, give 'em what they want and don't try to change their mind. If someone is already predisposed to your solution, then they will likely buy.

Friday, November 22, 2019

College Transfer Acceptance Rates Which Schools Accept the Most Students

College Transfer Acceptance Rates Which Schools Accept the Most Students SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Transferring from one school to another is a wise or even necessary choice for many students, but it’s not without obstacles. College transfer acceptance rates are actually lower than freshman acceptance rates, meaning competition is higher. This might sound like it’s cause for alarm, but, like applying as a freshman, it just means you need to be prepared. If you need or want to transfer but aren’t sure where to go, check out some of the colleges with the best transfer acceptance rates. Reading transfer rates might make you feel like this, but don't get discouraged! Why Is the Acceptance Rate Lower for Transfer Students? Knowing the reasons why transfer acceptance rates are lower will help you better understand what schools are looking for.You can address these concerns about transfer students in your essay, demonstrating that you're a great candidate . Don't panic- it’s not impossible to be a successful transfer student! Because transfer students have already proven they can succeed in a college setting, it seems counter-intuitive that their acceptance rates would be lower.However, due to a lack of information on transfer student graduation rates as well as many misconceptions about transfer students, it's only recently that colleges have begun to court them. In the past, many colleges assumed that accepting transfer students would lower graduation rates. In fact, transfer studentsand students who start at a four-year school have the same graduation rate of 60 percent. The difference is that only 28 percent of community college students overall graduate within four years, and 60 percent of them never transfer. The low graduation and transfer rates may signal to colleges that community college students in particular aren't ready for four-year education, despitetheir graduation rate being the same as four-year students. Transfer students also tend to take more time to graduate, which is often because they aren’t enrolled full-time- many work or care for families while in school as well.Another common belief among colleges was that students who attended community college instead of a four-year school right after high school did so because they weren’t ready for a four-year education academically. As time has gone on, studies have shown that even top-scoring community college students don’t move on to four-year school, suggesting it’s not academic readiness, but rather some other obstacle- money being one of the biggest. Many transfer students are at lower income brackets than students who enroll directly to four-year universities. Low-income students typically have lower enrollment rates, but without surveying students directly, colleges may have assumed that transfer students just weren't ready for universities. In fact, one of the many reasons that transfer school enrollment was lower for low-income students is that many schools lacked scholarships and grants for incoming transfers, raising the financial burden. Coupled with many credits not transferring and therefore requiring more classes at a higher cost, the financial burden on low-income students was simply too high for a long time. However, things are changing- many schools have created pathways for students to move from community college to four-year schools with few obstacles. Good news! College transfer acceptance rates are improving! Why Are College Transfer Acceptance Rates Changing? There are a couple reasons that colleges are now beginning to accept transfer students at higher rates. One of the largest is that undergraduate enrollment has decreased, leaving more room for transfer students to take those spots. With lower undergrad enrollment, colleges need to find a way to make up the difference, and two years of tuition from a transfer student is more beneficial to colleges than having no tuition at all. But an even bigger reason is that elite colleges have a reputation as having largely homogeneousstudent bodies. Princeton admitted its first transfer students recently, which serves to add diversity to a college typically seen as white and wealthy. So though admission rates for transfer students are lower than rates for freshmen, that doesn’t mean you’re up against insurmountable odds. The processes for transfer students are changing, and planning ahead will protect you from many of the common obstacles transfer students run into. How Many Transfer Students Get In? Transfer acceptance rates vary between schools. Some- like Princeton- are just now beginning to accept transfer students after decades of having policies against them. Almost half of all college students enroll in two-year public schools, and 37 percent of all college students transfer at some point in their education. According to NACAC in 2010, the transfer acceptance rate is 64 percent overall. In the last eight years, however, significant strides have been made in simplifying the process for transfer students of all kinds. Of all two-year college students who transfer, some 42 percent go on to earn a bachelor’s degree- a substantial increase over the number of all two-year college students (around 13 percent) who earn a bachelor's degree.That’s actually slightly higher than the national average for earning a bachelor’s degree within four years. However, just 33 percent of students transfer within six years, extending the time they spend in school. Again, while all this looks bleak, it’s important to note that things are improving. With programs designed to smooth the process for transfer students by providing transparency about credit transfer, more financial assistance, and more interest in courting these students, rates are improving overall. If you want this to be your study space, plan early. Which Schools Have the Highest Transfer Acceptance Rates? Planning to transfer colleges is much like planning to attend a four-year school straight out of high school. You should develop a list of potential colleges to transfer to so that you can attend the school that best suits your needs, and having a variety of schools with different transfer acceptance rates is a great way to do that. Because there used to be some stigma that transfer students weren’t ready for a four-year education, there’s sometimes an assumption that transferring prevents you from getting into good schools. Though many Ivy League colleges do have extremely limited transfer programs, there are still many top universities that not only accept transfer applications, but one of them- University of California: Los Angeles- is both a top-ranked school and one of the biggest accepters of transfer students. Read on to find out which schools accept the most students and what acceptance rates the top schools have! 20 Schools That Accept the Most Transfer Students The biggest reason that some schools have higher transfer percentages is that they’ve instituted programs to make that pathway easier. Often, these schools will partner with local community colleges through articulation agreements, which help ensure that more credits transfer appropriately. These schools take some of the most transfer students in the US: School Transfer Acceptance Rate Number of Transfer Students Admitted San Francisco State University 72% 16,904 University of Maryland University College 99% 16,434 California State UniversityLos Angeles 63% 13,076 San Jose State University 62% 10,409 University of CaliforniaDavis 61% 10,317 California State UniversitySacramento 81% 10,144 University of Central Florida 67% 9,938 California State UniversityLong Beach 30% 9,159 California State UniversityNorthridge 50% 9,109 California State UniversityFullerton 34% 8,586 California State Polytechnic UniversityPomona 54% 8,324 University of Houston 86% 7,772 Florida International University 73% 7,352 University of South Florida 61% 7,343 University of CaliforniaLos Angeles 25% 5,720 University of North Texas 80% 5,593 Texas State University 89% 5,553 San Diego State University 20% 4,885 University of TexasArlington 69% 4,199 Liberty University 55% 2,7 University of Maryland University College, which has a whopping transfer acceptance of 99 percent, has partnerships with all 16 community colleges in the state, as well as 90 more throughout the US. Likewise, University of Central Florida has a variety of programs intended to make the transfer process smoother, including guaranteed admission for students at many colleges. If you can, find a school partnered with your current college to make the entire transfer process easier. Instead of worrying about classes that don’t match up and lost credits, you’ll know which courses you need to take and when. If these programs aren’t available, you’ll have to make your own. Do as much research as you can as early as possible to avoid losing credits or running into other obstacles while trying to transfer schools. Top schools are taking more transfer students today than they have in the past. Transfer Rates at Top 20 Schools Just like acceptance rates at top universities, transfer rates to schools like Princeton and Harvard are very low. Princeton previously accepted no transfer students at all, but since 2017 has been accepting just a handful of students per year.Princeton isn't the only one- more and more schools are increasing their outreach to college transfer students. Here are the transfer acceptance rates at US News' top-ranked national universities: School Transfer Acceptance Rate Number of Transfer Students Admitted Princeton University n/a 20 Harvard University 1% 16 Columbia University 6% 170 Massachusetts Institute of Technology 4% 24 University of Chicago 5% 48 Yale University 0% 30 Stanford University 1% 31 Duke University 5% 26 University of Pennsylvania 8% 221 Johns Hopkins University 10% 3 Northwestern University 15% 282 California Institute of Technology 1% 3 Dartmouth College 1% 4 Brown University 5% 95 Vanderbilt University 29% 404 Cornell University 17% 852 Rice University 9% 54 University of Notre Dame 26% 235 University of CaliforniaLos Angeles 25% 5,720 Washington University in St. Louis 20% 228 These top schools are selective, but not impossible to get into. Vanderbilt has a 29 percent acceptance rate for students, and the University of California- Los Angeles takes almost 5,000 transfer students per year, despite its acceptance rate of 25 percent. Though you'll need to be truly exceptional to make it into Yale or Princeton as a transfer student, that's also true of applying straight out of high school.If you want to make it into the Ivy Leagues, plan early and make your application stand out, and always apply to multiple schools. With a strong enough application, you'll have your choice of schools to pick from, regardless of how low or high their acceptance rate is. Get your application in order and you'll be feeling great about transferring. How to Boost Your Acceptance Chances Though all this information is helpful in understanding the transfer process, acceptance isn’t just up to luck. With lower acceptance rates overall, you’ll need a highly polished application to stand apart from everybody else.(coming soon - "what universities look for in a transfer student") #1: Prepare Early The number one thing you can do to make your transfer process easier is to start early. If you’re attending community college, start thinking about what schools you’ll want to transfer to and work with an adviser to create an academic plan. If you’re transferring for other reasons, such as a program change or because you’re in the military, start doing some research right away.It’s better to do some unnecessary work in looking up school requirements than to realize your credits won’t transfer and there’s no way to fix it. The sooner you start, the more time you have to create a plan that’s going to benefit you in the long run. #2: Coordinate With Transfer Schools The easiest way to transfer schools is to find a school that’s part of an articulation agreement with your current college. These agreements mean there are already clear guidelines for what courses transfer and which don’t, eliminating some of the hassle and worry.If there’s no articulation agreement and your schools aren’t in contact with one another, see if your new school has a transfer department you can coordinate with. The more information you can get for what credits will transfer and which won’t, the better off you’ll be. Getting in touch early, even if you’re not accepted, can give you a better idea of what your next college will expect and help you plan out your time at your current school to be more efficient. #3: Treat Your Application Like You’re a Freshman Though it might seem like transfer students should have an edge in college admissions because they already have some experience, that’s not necessarily true. Don’t assume you’re going to have an easier time applying- treat your application with the same care and thoughtfulness you would if you were a freshman trying to make your first good impression. The further you get from high school, the less your high school grades and test scores matter. You can replace them with college grades if you have them. Your letters of recommendation should be from college professors rather than high school teachers, as well. But keep in mind that admissions is still competitive, and that you’ll need to stand out. Take your application seriously, and treat it as though they won’t be impressed by your prior experience as a college student- they should be impressed by you and your journey as a student, not just that you have college courses under your belt. #4: Write a Great Essay Essays aren’t the most important factor when transferring schools, but they are a great place to flesh out your application. In your essay, you should address your reasons for transferring, but be sure to stay positive. Instead of framing any dissatisfaction with your current school as a negative (such as, â€Å"The gym is old and crumbling, and there are no nice places to study on campus.†), focus instead on the positives of the school you’re applying to (such as, â€Å"[College]’s facilities consistently impress me- it’s not hard to see myself making friends on the tennis court or curling up with a book in the library.†] Follow all the best practices for writing college essays, but do be sure to fold your college experience in if you can. Why transfer now? Why transfer to this school in particular? What have you learned from your time in college, and what do you hope to learn in the next years of your program? You should be able to confidently answer all of these questions, even if they don’t come up in your essay. What's Next? Getting your transfer application in order can be confusing. What do you need? What don't you need? This guide has all the info on whether or not you'll need your SAT scores to transfer. Even if you don't dream of attending an Ivy League, a Harvard-worthy app makes you a shoo-in for other colleges. Learn more about crafting an amazing Ivy League application! Transfer students need to be just as judicious about choosing the right college as those entering college right out of high school. You'll need a good list of schools to apply to, and this guide can help! Want to build the best possible college application? We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service. We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools, from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in.

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

James Booker Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

James Booker - Research Paper Example ker recognize the art of music playing like never before and although he was pretty talented himself recognition of music at such an early age made that him the musician he was at his prime. Rightfully so music influence in the life of James booker was effectively extended with a saxophone being gifted to him by his mother as a birthday present. He spent greatest of his juvenile age ashore on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, while at the place his father pastored a church. Although receiving a saxophone in in his age his talent with the instrument was somewhat modest but all the while he truly and to the best of his abilities demonstrated a resilient concern in effectively playing the keyboard. It is safe to complement that his first musicals came by performing with a mere organ in his father’s church sermons. The return to his originated birth place the city of New Orleans came in the preliminary rounds of the adolescence age, and he successfully completed his elementary schooling form the prestigious Xavier Academy Institute. He academized many particular fundamentals of the keyboard playing panache from Tuts Washington and Edward Frank. Booker illustrated to become one of the best and utmost masters of classical music and hence was paraded to play Bach and Chopin as one of his ideal composers along the way of his career. He further to such feats he correspondingly become proficient at and committed to memory the more challenging solos of Erroll Garner, and also some enhancing material by Liberace. Booker’s imperative systematic circumstantial upbringing in close to the collected works of many piano masters had fundamentally empowered him to easily and most notoriously create unique, original and conspicuous understandings, implementation and interpretation of jazz and other supp lementary American prevalent music. These recitals and performances by booker shared essentials of stride, blues, gospel and Latin keyboard flairs. Booker debuted his recordings the

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

SUBBAND CODING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SUBBAND CODING - Essay Example Index terms-- template, markup, discount I. INTRODUCTION The degree to which the bit rate can be reduced or compressed without impairing the quality of the decoded signal strongly determines the efficiency of an encoding technique. Typically, speech and audio signals have a high degree of redundancy which may be exploited to reduce the bit rate. In addition, the human auditory system possesses certain properties which may be useful in reducing the bit rate without compromising the quality of the decoded signal. 1 To take advantage of the aforementioned properties, a variety of techniques have been developed to efficiently represent speech and audio signals in digital form for either transmission or storage purposes. Since two different sub bands in each signal exist, the lower-frequency band and high-frequency band, and most of the energy in the signal is contained in the lower frequencies, it is possible to encode the lower-frequency band with more bits than the high-frequency band. Sub-band coding is a powerful approach where a speech or audio signal is broken down into several frequency bands and each band is digitally encoded separately. 2 II. Sub-Band coding implementation Figure 1 shows the basic configuration of the two- band sub-band design. The input signal represented as xi (n) is divided into two equally spaced frequency bands by low pass filter and high pass filter, represented as H1 and H2 respectively. After deviation, the sampling rate of each sub-band signal is reduced by a factor of 2. For instance, if the sampling rate for the input signal is Fs, then the sampling rate for each of the sub band after the deviation will be Fs/2. Reducing the signal by a factor of 2 follows every after frequency subdivision. By allocating a different number of bits per sample to the signal in the sub-bands, a reduction in the bit rate of the digitalized speech signal can be achieved. Meanwhile, the receiver converts the sub-band signals back to their original sam pling rate by using the similar low pass and high pass filters as the input. The sum of two sub-band signals represented as xo (n) is the reconstructed signal of the input signal (Figure 1). Figure 1 After the input signal has been decomposed into two sub-band signals, each signal is then passed through the Quantizers. The resulting signals are represented as QL and QH in the figure above. Filter design is particularly important in achieving good performance in sub-band coding.2 III. implementing the system using sub-band coding A. Creating a New Paper For writing a paper from scratch using the IEEETRAN.DOT template, or creating an empty document in the template for cutting and pasting text from an existing file in some non-Word format, the following steps should be followed: 1. Copy IEEETRAN.DOT into the template’s directory, e.g., C:\MSoffice\Templates, so that it will be available from within Word. 2. Open Microsoft Word. 3. In the File menu, select New option. In the New dialog, select IEEETRAN.DOT. 4. IEEETRAN.DOT's startup macro will pop up a dialog box requesting to type in text for several of the paper’s elements. Some information may be typed in the box if all the information being asked is not yet available. In fact, the default text can be left in place for the meantime. These elements can always be edited later. Note that the macro will not be repeated when the user re-opens the document. The cursor should now be positioned near the top of the paper, indicating that the program is now ready to begin

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Literature review compilations Essay Example for Free

Literature review compilations Essay 1. Rao, V. (1993). The rising price of husbands: A hedonic analysis of dowry increases in rural India. Journal of Political Economy, 666-677. Motivation and objective : Attempts to investigate the reasons behind the increase in dowry . Methods : It adapts Rosens implicit market model to the Indian marriage market and tests predictions from the model with data from six villages in South Central India and from the Indian census Theories : Using utility function, U is assumed to be maximized, given that U is the utility function which represent the household preferences. The function will be U = U(X,W,H). Where X refers to consumption of goods, W refers to the desirable traits of the bride and her family and H is traits of the groom. Main Findings : It is found that a marriage squeeze caused by population growth, resulting in larger younger cohorts and hence a surplus of women in the marriage market, has played a significant role in the rise in dowries. ( Surplus of women over man at marriageable ages) 2. Skogrand, L. M., Schramm, D. G., Marshall, J. P., Lee, T. R. (2005). The effects of debt on newlyweds and implications for education. Journal of extension, 43(3), 1. Motivation and objective : Examines the relationship between newlywed debt, selected demographic variables, and newlywed levels of marital satisfaction and adjustment.. Methods: A 38-item survey was mailed to a random sample of 2,823 newlywed couples in a western state. The couples names were randomly chosen from the marriage licenses that were filed within the state during a six-month period. Husbands and wives were asked to complete their surveys separately.The response rate was 40%, with 1,010 couples responding. Theories and tools : Marital satisfaction was measured using the Kansas Marital Satisfaction Scale (KMSS) (Schumm et al., 1986), and marital adjustment was measured using the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS) (Busby, Crane, Christensen, Larson, 1995). The KMSS and RDAS are established measures for assessing marital satisfaction and adjustment, both having correlation coefficients above .78. Main Findings: The findings from this study indicate that entering marriage with consumer debt has a negative impact on newlywed levels of marital quality. The large majority (70%) of newlyweds in this study brought debt into their marriage relationship. This amount of debt, along with other expenses associated with couples beginning their lives together, are likely to  distract couples from the developmental task of building a strong marriage relationship during the first few months and years of marriage Policy recommendation: .- Because many individuals marry with no more than a high sch ool education, educating individuals about debt and its potentially negative impact on marriage relationships should begin in high school. This may be one way to help couples achieve healthier marriages 3. S. Dalmia (2004). A hedonic analysis of marriage transactions in India: estimating determinants of dowries and demandfor groom characteristics in marriage. Research in Economics 58 (2004) 235–255. Motivation and objective : This paper uses data from a retrospective sample survey to develop and test a framework capable of explaining dowry exchange and groom selection in India. Methods: Using a sample of 1037 households between 1956 and 1994, this paper develops and tests a framework capable of explaining marriage transactions and groom selection in India. Theories and tools : It adapts Rosen’s (1974) implicit market model and takes the view that dowry is a simple economic transaction that functions to ‘equalize’ the value of marriage services exchanged by the households of the bride and groom. Main Findings: Consistent with ethnographic evidence, results indicate that dowries are higher in regions more to the north. Most importantly, contrary to popular belief, it is found that holding groom characteristics constant, real dowries have decreased over time. Finally, in estimating the parameters of the demand functions for a set of groom attributes, results show that the most important determinants of demand for various groom attributes are price of the attribute, bride’s traits, and the socio-economic status of the bride’s h ousehold 4. Siwan Anderson (2007). The Economics of Dowry and Brideprice. Journal of Economic Perspectives—Volume 21, Number 4—Fall 2007—Pages 151–174 Motivation and objective: This paper first establishes some basic facts about the prevalence and magnitude of marriage payments. It then discusses how such patterns vary across countries depending upon economic conditions, societal structures, institutions, and family characteristics. Theories and tools: The descriptions of marriage payments in this paper are synthesizedfrom a patchwork of studies across periods, places, and even epochs, and there are doubtless numerous cases which remain undocumented.  Discussion: Economists’ interest in marriage payments partly stems from their potential to affect the wealth distribution across generations and families. However, economic analysis has not directly investigated these welfare impacts of marriage payments. In this respect, marriage transfers which are destined for the couple, either in the form of dowry or dower, may function differently from those which are paid directly from one set of parents to the other, like bride price or groom price. The former payment is an intergenerational transfer. The latter forms a circulating fund, with receipt for marriages of one gender being used to pay for marriages of children of the other. 5. Sarwat Afzal Imtiaz Subhani (2009). To Estimate An Equation Explaining The Determinants Of Dowry. Iqra University Motivation and objective : The focus of this study is to estimate an equation explaining the determinants of dowry. Methods: The data of 140 respondents is used to examine the variables to determine the dowry size, data set on bride-groom characteristics and dowry. The study has been focused on analysis that dowry paid is dependent on which variables Subject in the rural subcontinent. Since the objective of study is to estimate the equation explaining the determinant of dowry so all the variables given in the data are takes as independent and the dowry paid is taken as dependent variable. Theories and tools: This paper determine the determinants of dowry, using multiple regression analysis, the author used the ANOVA table, R2 value to tabulate the determinants of dowry price. Main Findings: This research suggested that dowry paid is based on the status and the affluence of husband’s family as well as the education of the husband’s father that are the important determina nts of the incidence of dowries. The influence of husband’s father education is accounted as a predictor for the system of dowry paid 6. Edlund, L. (2006). The price of marriage: Net vs. gross flows and the South Asian dowry debate. Journal of the European Economic Association, 4(2†3), 542-551. Motivation and objective : The rise in dowry payments in India has been taken as evidence that women increasingly are at a disadvantage on the marriage  market and must pay for marriage. Moreover, high dowries, it is argued, add to the plight of parents of daughters and have thus contributed to the scarcity of women (brides). However, the logic is curious, and, this paper argues, flawed. The term dowry can mean different things, and it may be useful to distinguish between the assets the bride brings at the time of marriage (gross dowry) and those netted against the groom payments (net dowry). The former is what is generally meant by dowry, while the latter is a concept used mainly by economists Methods: Data are from a retrospective survey of marriages conducted in 1983 by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi- Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). These data have been used in a number of studies of South Asian dowry inflation. ICRISAT conducted a stratified random sample of 40 households each from six villages in South-central India. The first household married in 1923 and the last in 1978. Main Findings: Empirically, the paper has shown that in a much-used data set on dowry inflation, net dowries did not increase in the period after 1950, belying claims of recent increases. Moreover, variables designed to capture marriage-squeeze or male relative to female heterogeneity failed to move dowries in the expected direction. 7. Balwick, J. (1975). The function of the dowry system in a rapidly modernizing society: The case of Cyprus. International Journal of Sociology of the Family, 158-167. Motivation and objective : The purpose of this paper is to examine the functional relationship between the dowry system and modernization for the country of Cyprus. Two inferences tried to be drawn in this paper are attempt to develop is two 1) the dowry system has served a latent function in encouraging a rapid rate of urban, Industrial, and technological development in Cyprus; and (2) that the rapid rate of technological development in Cyprus, along with new concepts of marital arrangement, are weakening the importance of the dowry system Methods: The analysis of this papers topic will begin by considering the function of the dowry system in Traditional Greek Cypriot society, move to a consideration of the function of the dowry system during rapid modernization, turn to a consideration of the effect of modernization upon the dowry system, and conclude by  speculating as to the possible effect which a decline in the dowry system will have upon marriage. Main Findings: modernization is a threat to the continued existence of the dowry system. The argument was made that, besides the major aspects of modernization themselves, the concept of romantic love, as a byproduct of a largely western stimulated modernization process, has been damaging to the dowry system. However, to so speculate about the future effects of modernization in Cyprus only points to the necessity for social scientists to utilize the situations created in developing countries to further examine the relationships between modernization and social structures. 8. Gaulin, S. J., Boster, J. S. (1990). Dowry as female competition. American Anthropologist, 92(4), 994-1005. Motivation and objective : The purpose of this paper is to prove that dowry as a reproductive tactic used by prospective brides and their kin to attract the wealthiest bridegroom. The authors attempt to explain not only the rarity of dowry, but also why it occurs in the societies it does. Methods and theories: The analysis of this papers topic will begin by considering the female-competition model. The female-competition model assumes that, in Homo sapiens as in other animals, the behaviors associated with pair formation can be interpreted as (possibly unconscious) reproductive tactics. The authors interpret the bias in marriage transactions as reflecting a bias in competition for marriage partners. Dowry is their dependent variable; the independent variables in the female-competition model are social stratification and marital form. They grouped the existing categories to create dichotomous variable. Main Findings: The female-competition model is correct; the authors would expect th e largest dowry payments to flow from the middle class to the elite, as women in the middle tier compete for husbands in the highest 9. Rao, V. (1993). Dowry ‘inflation’ in rural India: A statistical investigation. Population Studies, 47(2), 283-293. Motivation and objective : The author of this paper look more directly at the causes of the increase of dowry (investigate the reasons behind the rise in the real value of dowries in rural India)and use unique data collected from a small sample of households by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). Methods and theories: The data used in this paper are from a random sample of 40 households, 30 cultivating and 10 laboring, per village, from six villages in three districts of rural South-Central India. The surveys were conducted by ICRISAT, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics.15 The districts are Akola and Sholapur in Maharashtra state, and Mahbubnagar in Andhra Prades. A quadratic specification of dowry determinants is estimated. Correlations values between variables, OLS , and other statistical tools are being used. Main Findings: The empirical results support the hypothesis that the marriage squeeze has played a significant part in causing dowry inflation. The size of the dowry transfer also seems to be affected by hyper gamy, indicated by the difference in the amount of land owned by the parents of the respective spouses before the marriage. Due to the small size of the sample and the respondents lack of accuracy in reporting their ages at marriage, not much can be said about the impact of age or other potential determinants on the transfer. At the district level, however, the marriage squeeze does seem to matter in reducing differences in the ages at marriage of men and woman. 10. Teays, W. (1991). The burning bride: The dowry problem in India. Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion, 29-52. Motivation and objective : The author consider the issue of dowry, its roots in custom and religious tradition, as well the ways in which the dowry system has become a dowry problem with daily dowry deaths, usually of young and often pregnant women. Main Findings: Females being devalued in the Hindu world. The internalization of that devaluation is evidenced by the numbers of mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law who actively participate in dowry murder. Marriage has become a commercial transaction complete with bargaining. Traditionally dowries were limited by convention and caste-social realities, but now the demands are out of control. The growing trend of dowry murders only reflects the socio-economic crisis in India. 11. Zhang, J., Chan, W. (1999). Dowry and Wifes Welfare: A Theotrical and Empirical Analysis. Journal of Political Economy, 107(4), 786-808. Motivation and objective : This paper offers an alternative analysis. Where dowry are claimed to be not only increases the wealth of the new conjugal household but also enhances the bargaining power of the bride in the allocation of output within that household, thereby safeguarding her welfare. 2 hypotheses: Dowry increases the resources available to the bride’s new family; Dowry increases the bride bargaining position in the family, as well as her welfare. Methods and theories: This study uses data from the 1989 Taiwan Women and Family Survey,an island wide probability survey of women aged 25–60 years of all marital statuses and from different geographical locations. The female respondents provide socioeconomic information on their parents, their husbands, and themselves. An important feature of the data is that these women report transfers on dowries and bride prices related to their marriages. All these variables are then measured using statistical tools. Main Findings: The result supported the theoretical prediction that a dowry improves the wife’s welfare through both income and bargaining effects. The result also shows that a dowry is indeed a property under the wife’s control. Bride-price reduces the transaction cost involved in recovering the appropriate shares of marital output by each party, a dowry enhances the bride’s position in the household and safeguards her welfare. 12. Bishai, D., Falb, K. L., Pariyo, G., Hindin, M. J. (2009). Bride price and sexual risk taking in Uganda. African journal of reproductive health, 13(1). Motivation and objective : This study assessed the relationship of bride price to sexual risk taking based on a large, population based survey. Methods and theories: Data were collected on bride prices for 592 married women in 12 districts in Uganda in 2001. Controlling for covariates, we found that having had a bride price significantly lowered the wifes odds of sexual intercourse with a partner other than the spouse (OR= 0.222; 95% CI= 0.067, 0.737). Controlling for covariates, bride price increased the husbands odds of non-spousal sexual intercourse (OR=1.489; 95% CI= 0.746, 2.972). Main Findings: Bride price payment is statistically significantly associated with lower rates of non-spousal sexual contact in women, but is  not, statistically significantly associated with higher rates in men 13. Dalmia, S., Lawrence, P. G. (2005). The institution of dowry in India: Why it continues to prevail. The Journal of Developing Areas, 38(2), 71-93. Motivation and objective : This article empirically examines dowries in India and provides an institutional and economic rationale for the existence and continued prevalence of the system. Main Findings: Using data on marriage transactions and on the personal and family traits of marital partners the article demonstrates that payments of dowry serve to equalize the measurable differences in individual characteristics of the brides and grooms and their respective households. Thus, dowry qualifies as the price paid for a good match in the marriage market. Results also reveal that the form of inheritance system, the residence of the bride after marriage, and the gender ratio of marriageable women to men have no effect on the incidence and size of dowry 14. Diamond†Smith, N., Luke, N., McGarvey, S. (2008). ‘Too many girls, too much dowry’: son preference and daughter aversion in rural Tamil Nadu, India. Culture, health sexuality, 10(7), 697-708. Motivation and objective : The southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu has experienced a dramatic decline in fertility, accompanied by a trend of increased son preference. This paper reports on findings from qualitative interviews with women in rural villages about their fertility decision-making which is due to the dowry rate. Main Findings: Findings suggest that daughter aversion, fuelled primarily by the perceived economic burden of daughters due to the proliferation of dowry, is playing a larger role in fertility decision-making than son preference. 15. Rozario, S. (2002). Grameen Bank-style microcredit: Impact on dowry and womens solidarity. Development Bulletin, 57, 67-70. Motivation and objective : This article focuses on two specific problems connected with Grameen Bank-style microcredit in Bangladesh: its negative impact on women’s solidarity, and its consequences for the practice of dowry payments. Main Findings: Findings suggest that Unmarried women are not  accepted in the microcredit samities and so cannot receive loans. The argument is that they will get married and go away to their husbands’ village, then who will repay their loan? This denies any opportunity to marginal groups, like unmarried women and, of course, widows and abandoned women. Such policies also mean that unmarried women are made completely dependent financially on the mercy of their families. 16. Kazi Abdur Rouf, (2012) A feminist interpretation of Grameen Bank Sixteen Decisions campaign, Humanomics, Vol. 28 Iss: 4, pp.285 – 296. Motivation and objective : The purpose of this paper is to look at Grameen Bank (GB) Sixteen Decisions campaigns and its implications to feminism; and to examine the degree to which women borrowers of the Grameen Bank are empowered to participate in familial decision-making around dowry and teenage marriage and to develop their public spaces in the community. Moreover, the paper critically looks at the GB women borrowers development through the Sixteen Decisions Design/methodology/approach – The study uses multiple research methods. It reviews and analyzes GB Sixteen Decision texts and feminist literature, uses survey method to collect data from Grameen Bank micro borrowers in 2011 and uses secondary data. Main Findings : This study still finds the gender equality issues exist in the Grameen Bank Sixteen Decisions texts and the Sixteen Decisions campaign strategies for women borrowers empowerment especially due to the issue of dowry. Policy Recommendation: This critical analysis is very important to empower Grameen Bank women borrowers because the campaign should be made more effective in addressing womens issues like dowry-less marriage. Grameen Bank should revise the Sixteen Decisions texts and support borrowers in their anti-dowry and anti-teen age marriage campaign in Bangladesh. 17. Tenhunen, S. (2008). The gift of money: rearticulating tradition and market economy in rural West Bengal. Modern Asian Studies, 42(5), 1035-1055. Motivation and objective : This article examines the rise of dowry system injanta, a West Bengali village in the Bankura district, where the dowry payments are a relatively new phenomenon. The oldest generation in Janta had experienced times when no demands for money or other gifts had been made during marriage arrangements, but since the 1950S huge dowry payments have become the central financial transactions in the region. In addition to oral history interviews on dowry  practices, the author draws from his research on the changes in caste, gender and class relationships in the village. Findings : The gift of money does not merely represent class and economic identities, rather, its intr oduction is connected to a reconstruction of gender and caste identities as well. The article demonstrates how the giving of money has influenced other categories of gifts, while the market logic has drawn from cultural considerations. Yet, money is not the only agent in the process; gifts are essentially about constructing social and cultural identities: the interconnected domains of gender, kinship, caste and class. The introduction of the monetary gift has made it possible to make connections and set a price on different aspects of personhood facilitating and intensifying the connections between different discourses on personhood. 18. Shenk, M. K. (2007). Dowry and public policy in contemporary India. Human Nature, 18(3), 242-263. Motivation and objective :. This paper argues that a functionalist perspective on dowry could lead to improved dowry policy, and that an approach based in human behavioral ecology (HBE) is uniquely suited to this task. Design/methodology/approach – The author develop a behavioral ecology model of Indian dowry and test it with quantitative and qualitative data Main Findings : The author conclude that if dowry legislation is to achieve broad support or bring about effective social change, it must address and support the positive motivations for and effects of dowry and take a targeted approach to dowry violence, which is not uniformly distributed across regions, castes, or social 19. Rao, V. P., Rao, V. N. (1980). The dowry system in Indian marriages: attitudes, expectations and practices. International Journal of Sociology of the Family, 99-113.. Motivation and objective :The study examined the students expectations of dowry for persons with different educational background, their attitudes and feelings about the dowry system, and the practices of dowry payments in immediate and kin families Design/methodology/approach – The questionnaire method was used to collect data from a sample of 585 college students from  India Main Findings The study revealed that the average dowry expectation were not consistent With the number of years of education but were in line with the prestige of education. Non-Hindus, metropolitan residents, high socioeconomic status students, and medical students expected higher dowry than their counterparts. The majority of the respondents considered dowry unimportant in settling a marriage and felt that the present dowry system should be discontinued. However, most of the respondents brothers received dowry while their families gave dowry to their sisters. The kin families also practiced dowry payment at the time of marriage. The students seemed equalitarian in terms of control over the dowry as most believed that both husband and wife should decide how to spend it. Inconsistency in the attitudes are also observed as three-fourths of the sample considered dowry unimportant in the settlement of a marriage but nearly one-third of the males and 40 per cent of their parents expected to receive dowry when the respondents got married. 20. Freed, R. S., Freed, S. A. (1989). Beliefs and practices resulting in female deaths and fewer females than males in India. Population and Environment, 10(3), 144-161. Motivation and objective:. A preference for sons and the low status of females are implicated in the preponderance of males over females as reported in each census of India from the first one taken in the 19th century. A number of cultural practices, some of which are quite ancient, are involved in this such as sexual imbalance and dowry murder. This discussion is sees the determinants of female deaths in India. Design/methodology/approach – This discussion is based both on 19th and 20th century sources and on fieldwork conducted in the North Indian village of Shanti Nagar in 1958–59 and 1977–78. Findings : It is found that dowry act as one of the determinants that resulted in female deaths which is more commonly known as Dowry Murder Policy Recommendation: The modern Government of India has so ught to abolish dowry which would, presumably, put an end to dowry murder.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Philosophy - The Only Truth Ex :: essays research papers

"We are, then, faced with a quite simple alternative: Either we deny that there is here anything that can be called truth - a choice that would make us deny what we experience most profoundly as our own being; or we must look beyond the realm of our "natural" experience for a validation of our certainty." A famous philosopher, Rene Descartes, once stated, "I am, [therefore] I exist." This statement holds the only truth found for certain in our "natural" experience that, as conscious beings, we exist. Whether we are our own creators, a creation, or the object of evolution, just as long as we believe that we think, we are proved to exist. Thinking about our thoughts is an automatic validation of our self-consciousness. Descartes claims, "But certainly I should exist, if I were to persuade my self of something." And so, I should conclude that our existence is a truth, and may be the only truth, that we should find its certainty. From the "natural" experiences of our being, we hold beliefs that we find are our personal truths. From these experiences, we have learned to understand life with reason and logic; we have established our idea of reality; and we believe that true perceptions are what we sense and see. But it is our sense of reason and logic, our idea of reality, and our perceptions, that may likely to be very wrong. Subjectiveness, or personal belief, is almost always, liable for self-contradiction. Besides the established truth that we exist, there are no other truths that are certain, for the fact that subjective truth may be easily refuted. Every person possesses his or her own truth that may be contradicting to another person’s belief. A truth, or one that is true for all, cannot by achieved because of the constant motion of circumstances of who said it, to whom, when, where, why, and how it was said. What one person may believe a dog is a man’s best friend, another may believe that a dogs is a man’s worse enemy. What one may believe is a pencil, to another is not a pencil, but a hair pin. Where one may believe that a bottle is an instrument, one may believe is a toy, where another may believe is a beverage container. Where one will understand the moving vehicle "car," one might understand "car" as a tree.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Lupu Bridge

There are five phases in constructing the Lupu Bridge. First is the foundations. When we talk about foundation it is the lower part that carry all the loads of the structures.The condition of the ground on either side of the Huangpu River are not appropriate for the large thrusts made by an arch bridge. Even though its arch is tied, and the use of reducing the forces transferred to the foundations, its total vertical force is still too much. And also the result of the arch being tied is that the parts of the foundations should be able to remain strong against the force. Since Lupu is located in Shanghai, and the fact that it is located near a river, it has soft soil. Therefore the most suitable option is piled foundations for that reason. Its foundations is composed of 118, 900mm diameter steel tubes ,and each pile is about 65m in length.The larger surface area of the piles and long length mean that they could be friction rather than bearing piles. This is assuming that the soil consists of clay nearer the surface moving into stiffer clay then sand lower down. The pier cap of the main span foundation is 3.5m thick and the one that connect the caps at about 51m centres are the crossbeams.. This connection between the two pier caps will help to somewhat relieve the stresses in the soil in the horizontal direction and reduce the amount of deflection incurred. By the use of 700mm diameter soil-cement stirring piles, the strength of the foundation was strengthened to help resist the horizontal force and limit the displacement due to this force. Each of these stirring piles is connected to each other to improve the integrity of the system. During construction, the foundations have a large number and stirring piles addtion due to working loads of the bridge and also due to the loads imparted on the foundations. Above each abutment the large temporary tower was built during construction. Because of that there will probably be the largest vertical force they will feel and these will impart very large vertical forces into the foundations. With the use of horizontal force impart by the inclined arches, the abutment and foundations must be strengthened in the horizontal. At an inclination similar to arches the abutment would have a high level of prestress in the concrete section and there would also be a piles coming from the abutment.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Nobody Is Perfect Essay

A man and his girlfriend got married in a large celebration. All of their friends and family came to see the lovely ceremony. The bride was gorgeous in her white wedding gown and the groom was very dashing in his black suit. Everyone could tell that the love they had for each other was true. A few months later, the wife comes to the husband with a proposal: â€Å"I read in a magazine, a while ago, about â€Å"How can we strengthen our marriage† she offered. Each of us will write a list of the things that we find a bit annoying with the other person. Then, we can talk about how we can fix them together and make our lives happier together.† The husband agreed, so each of them went to a separate room in the house and thought of the things that annoyed them about the other. They thought about this question for the rest of the day and wrote down what they came up with. The next morning, at the breakfast table, they decided that they would go over their lists. â€Å"I’ll start,† offered the wife. She took out her list. It had many items on it enough to fill 3 pages, in fact. As she started reading the list of the little annoyances, she noticed that tears were starting to appear in her husband’s eyes. â€Å"What’s wrong?†She asked. â€Å"Nothing† the husband replied, â€Å"keep reading your lists.† The wife continued to read until she had read all three pages to her husband. She neatly placed her list on the table and folded her hands over top of it. â€Å"Now, you read your list and then we’ll talk about the things on both of our lists.† She said happily. Quietly the husband stated, â€Å"I don’t have anything on my list. I think that you are perfect the way that you are. I don’t want you to change anything for me. You are lovely and wonderful and I wouldn’t want to try and change anything about you.† The wife, touched by his honesty and the depth of his love for her and his acceptance of her, turned her head and wept. LEARNING 1 In life, there are enough times when we are disappointed, depressed and annoyed. We don’t really have to go looking for them. We have a wonderful world that is full of beauty, light and promise. Why waste time in this world looking for the bad, disappointing or annoying when we can look around us, and see the amazing things before us?

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Typical Course of Study for 10th Graders

Typical Course of Study for 10th Graders By 10th grade, most students have acclimated to life as a high school student. That means they should be primarily independent learners with good time management skills and a sense of personal responsibility for completing their assignments. The goal of  high school coursework for 10th-grade students is to prepare them for life after high school, either as a college student or a member of the workforce. Coursework should also ensure that students are equipped to perform at their best for college entrance exams if secondary education is their goal. Language Arts Most colleges expect a high school graduate to have completed four years of language arts. A typical course of study for 10th-grade language arts will include literature, composition, grammar, and vocabulary. Students will continue to apply the techniques theyve learned from analyzing texts. Tenth-grade literature will likely include American, British, or world literature. The choice may be determined by the homeschool curriculum a student is using.   Some families may also choose to incorporate the literature component with social studies. So a student studying world history in 10th grade would choose titles associated with world or British literature. A student studying U.S. history would choose American literature titles. Students may also analyze short stories, poems, dramas, and myths.  Greek and Roman mythology are popular topics for 10th-graders. Continue to provide students with a variety of writing practice across all subject areas, including science, history, and social studies. Math Most colleges expect four years of high school math credit. A typical course of study for 10th-grade math will have students completing geometry or Algebra II to fulfill their math credit for the year. Students who completed prealgebra in ninth grade will usually take Algebra I in 10th, while students who are strong in math may take an advanced algebra course, trigonometry, or precalculus. For teens who are weak in math or who have special needs, courses such as basic mathematics or consumer or business math can fulfill math credit requirements. 10th Grade Science Options If your student is college-bound, he will likely need three lab science credits. Common 10th-grade science courses include biology, physics, or chemistry. Most students complete chemistry after successfully completing Algebra II. Interest-led science courses may include astronomy, marine biology, zoology, geology, or anatomy and physiology.   Other common topics for 10th-grade science include the characteristics of life, classification, simple organisms (algae, bacteria, and  fungi), vertebrates and invertebrates,  mammals and birds, photosynthesis, cells, protein synthesis,  DNA-RNA, reproduction and growth, and nutrition and digestion. Social Studies Many 10th-grade college-bound students will study United States history during their sophomore year. World history is another option. Homeschool students following a traditional curriculum will explore the Middle Ages. Other alternatives include a U.S. civics and economics course, psychology, world geography, or sociology. Specialized history studies based on a students interests are usually acceptable as well, such as a focus on World War II, European history, or modern wars. A typical course of study may also include prehistoric peoples and the earliest civilizations, ancient civilizations (such as Greece, India, China, or Africa), the  Islamic world, the Renaissance, the rise and fall of monarchies, the French Revolution,  and the Industrial Revolution. Modern history studies should include science and industry, the world wars, the Cold War, the  Vietnam War, the rise and fall of Communism,  the collapse of the Soviet Union, and world interdependence. Electives Electives can include topics such as art, technology, and foreign language, but students can earn elective credit for almost any area of interest. Most 10th graders will begin the study of a foreign language since it is common for colleges to require two years credit for the same language. French and Spanish are standard choices, but almost any language can count toward the two credits. Some colleges even accept American Sign Language.   Drivers education is another excellent option for a high school sophomore since most are 15 or 16 years old and ready to begin driving. The requirements for a drivers education course may vary by state. A defensive driving course can be helpful and may result in an insurance discount.