Thursday, October 31, 2019

Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 4

Research Paper Example The question remains what the future holds regarding artificial intelligence that is autonomous and able to communicate other systems as well as with humans? An immense amount of research is underway about autonomous robots. The researchers are eager to predict what the future would look like as it is evident from science fiction novels and Hollywood movies. Robots and artificial intelligence are technically different terms, but they are perceived as one. Czech Writer Karel Capek invented the term ‘robot’ derived from the word ‘robota’ meaning labour (Chen, David & Gligorescu, 2011). Artificial Intelligence is a term used to describe for machines that can mimic the intelligence of humans (Chen, David & Gligorescu, 2011). At the moment, many mobile robots and their applications are serving the humans. These robots include wheeled, flying, swimming, crawling and even legged robots. Humanoid robots that copy some aspects of human experiences or behaviour appear in the news now and then. It is considered the mid-stage between human and a robot (Huang, 2011). Moreover, group robotics that understand the ways in which single robots cooperate and communicate is also part of the recent research. Sensors actuators enabling to connect the world, robot intelligence, the software architecture of these machines, methods to control them and the application issues such as localization, navigation or grouping, are now a part of the modern technological culture. It is almost a clichà © to presume that the artificial intelligence in the future would make a dramatic change and offer stunningly new developments for the humans. If the developments are gradual than probably we wont see much difference and will accept it as part of technological evolution. But this is a mystery, maybe the shift will be dramatic due to the courtesy of truly ground-breaking technology. Autonomous robots instil both hope and fear in the minds of humans. These

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

The management of organisational culture is central to contemporary Essay

The management of organisational culture is central to contemporary management ideas and practices - Essay Example â€Å"American management had been preoccupied by rational and systematic aspects of management like organizational structures and strategies whereas Japanese companies had a more holistic approach which included attention to people’s skills and management styles† (Grey, 2009, p.65). Along with the changes happening in the life styles, attitudes and philosophies of people, organizational culture is also undergoing constant changes. Scientific and technological advancements contributed heavily in rewriting some of the traditional and established organizational principles. The introduction of internet and computers has revolutionized the organizational world and the concept of business has changed a lot because of that. Organizational communication strategies underwent drastic changes because of computers, internet and mobile phones. Current organizations realized the importance of a healthy organizational environment for the better productivity of the organization. New techniques like teamwork, outsourcing, offshoring etc like business strategies have gained prominence in the current organizational world in place of the traditional concepts like individual work, insourcing etc. Moreover, current organizations are more particular about doing something for the comm unity in which it operates and also for environmental protection in order to demonstrate their corporate social responsibilities. This paper briefly analyses the current organizational culture existing in the global organizational world. Musacco Ph.D (2009) has pointed out that â€Å"harassment, mobbing, bullying, and emotional abuses are common at the workplaces which resulted in increased fear and minimal trust between workers† (Musacco Ph.D, 2009, p.2). It is difficult for an organization to progress rapidly if the environment does not provide the necessary atmosphere. Most of

Sunday, October 27, 2019

Orientalism And The Depiction Of Arabs Through Media Media Essay

Orientalism And The Depiction Of Arabs Through Media Media Essay I am half Egyptian, but was raised in a non-Arab society; therefore I can relate personal experiences into the concept of Orientalism. I connect to the Arab culture, in this case the other, but since I grew up in a Western society, I also express outlooks molded by this environment. Upon visiting Egypt for three weeks in 2001, I was able to contrast the two portrayals and create my own image of Arabs through direct observations. My paper will approach orientalism, specifically dealing with Middle Eastern people, and how the media has altered the Western image of the orient to exaggerate Arabs as a villainous race. Through political speeches, movies, cartoons, video games and news reports in the media, orientalism in the Western world, primarily being the Americas along with Europe, falsifies the Arab image and validates the barbarically threatening notions seen within Western societies. When asked to define an Arab person, people immediately bring forth a specific sketch. It is where these specific images come from that anti-Arab racism and, in this case, orientalism exist. Orientalism is defined as a framework that includes symbols, signs, language, and images to depict the East, and determine how they act differently than the West (Glyn, Meth and Wilis 2009). In othering the Arab population, Orientalists [have] created a stereotype image of the [Middle] East in order to better manage it (Salaita 2006: 248). This categorizes the Western culture as normal, above the abnormal Arab culture which, according to the orient, is habitually in need of being helped. Orientalism unreasonably brings millions of individuals together in one simplified image to which it is wrongly assumed applies to all people of the Arab race. Although I was able to visit an Arab country and note characteristics first hand, orientalism first began through images which were in no way based off of immediate observation, but through the fabricated representations told by others. Without various media sources widely available in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the portrayal of the Arab race developed through European artists and travel writers who conjured ideas and fabricated art with their thoughts of what the people represented (Glyn, Meth and Wilis 2009). Many never witnessed the culture first-hand and worked predominantly off imagination and exaggeration of learned details (Sut 1998). Embellished characteristics that have been inherited in the West through time to represent Arabs include seeing them as: highly sexualized, mysterious, evil spirited, thieving, terroristic, exotic, needy and untrustworthy (Earp and Jhally 2006). This distorted image has been growing in peoples perception ever since the early paintings , and has only strengthened with new forms of media being introduced in the world. Images and media now reach the Western people with increased frequency and efficiency, thus allowing no chance for the dated depictions to dissolve. Edward Said, who is famous for his studies with orientalism, claims the barbaric Arab image is timeless as it was created outside of history. It is eternal as the images created within the colonial era are those same portraits we see today (Glyn, Meth and Wilis 2009). Presently, these colonial images are constantly reinforced through numerous media sources, whilst viewers in society subconsciously take in the commercialized image without question. Moving into the media, the government in the West is an institution that holds the highest power to directly influence the lives of individuals, controlling and deciding what the ideas and images of Arabs their citizens are accustomed to believe in and trust. Political elites thus hold the responsibility in transmitting international issues so that the public may stand informed about what is happening half way across the world. As demonstrated with the Bush-Era and his view on Arabs post September 11th, the United States took to their presidents speeches on the entire Arab race and allowed the media to form their ideas for them. In 2006 George Bush stated, We face an enemy that has an ideology. They believe things. The best way to describe their ideology is to relate to you the fact that they think the opposite of what we think(Kumar 2010: 259). He then later said: Since the horror of 9/11, weve learned a great deal about the enemy. And we have learned that their [the Arabs] goal is to build a radical Islamic empire where women are prisoners in their homes, men are beaten for missing prayer meetings, and terrorists have a safe haven to plan and launch attacks on America and other civilized nations. (Kumar 2010: 260). Bushs remarks are only one example of how a political speech can falsely characterize Arabs and cause countless societies to use the skewed form of media as their source for learning about the other. The media is controlled by the most influential people who can successfully impose specific ideas on those willing to accept them as truth (Sut 1998). In stating the Arab race as a whole to be the enemy, millions of ordinary Arab individuals have their lives, which do resemble Western lives in many senses, being distorted within the Western image. Pinning every single Arab as the enemy is unrealistic and robs the larger part of the race, which is trusting and simply living an average life with no intent of harming the West, of ever being respected. Furthermore, politics is connected to Hollywood as the two rely on one another to formulate images pushed into societies. Therefore Hollywood cinema incorporates Arabs into productions where they are not needed and of no help to the stories. As American producers are the power holders in the movie industry, it is in their authority to determine how the Arab image is intentionally warped and presented (Earp and Jhally 2006). Over three hundred movies today, or 25% of the film industry, demean Arabs with racial slurs and static characters, usually added solely for comic relief or to bring a barbaric presence (ibid). The seemingly innocent Disney shows through the classic Aladdin, stereotypes of those with Arabic decent. With a song in the film it is said that the Middle East is a place where they cut off your ears, if they dont like your face, its barbaric, but hey its home. The video influences young children to grow up with preset images of an Arab who is purely violent and malicious , based off the Arab characters numerous evil actions. Another example of the distorted image is in the Gladiator, where slave traders were, for no reason, Arabs (ibid); In True Lies Arabs were made out as incompetent (ibid); Never Say Never and Jewel of the Nile both show Arabs as prominently imprisoning and oppressing women (Shaheen 2000); Navy Seals justifies the tang and bang of Arabs; and 24 justifies the torture of innocent people because of the idea that Arabs are suspicious and dangerous despite the fact they live in an American community (Earp and Jhally 2006). Film after film, Arabs are robbed of their humanity, yet the repetition in these Western created films recycles the images to the point where the stereotype is transparent and the depictions are expected. In reality, however, many Arab women work outside the home, men are in trusted occupations, families are not secretive and violence is not tolerated (Salaita 2006). The consistent images in the media refuse to show Arabs in the previously mentioned positive light, and thus with never seeing favourable images in the media, the public is hesitant to believe such characteristics are true. Falling in close line with the original European portraits of the other, cartoons today are a form of media where the Arab origin is vastly exaggerated and exploited through harmful humour. One controversial cartoon was published in a Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten, in September 2005 which caricatured Islam and presented the Muslim Prophet Muhammad in twelve intended satirical affairs (Kumar 2010). One of the images shows him with a lit bomb on his head instead of a turban, while another has him with a sword ready to fight, accompanied by two women dressed with only their eyes visible (ibid). The comic was drawn with humour as the objective, however, offended many and caused much debate due to the obvious attached portrayals. Looking once again to Disney, even in the well-known show Looney Tunes, Daffy shoots at three winsome Mexican mice. The mice call Daffy, among other things, Arab Duck!' (Shaheen 2000). The children watching Daffy Duck would have otherwise associated the shoot er with any bad person, but with the comment they learn to connect people who shoot others as Arab (ibid). Because cartoons are colorful images with few words, it is easier for them to slide by as a joke or pun, when in reality the oppressed woman, terrorist men and villainous personas are brought into orientalism as real tags to the Arab nations. Cartoons bring direct ideas, which are simply put, causing readers to instantly absorb the offered stereotype, as they are easier to bring forth when characterizing others than ones own ideas. As children get older they tend to switch from cartoons to video games for immediate amusement, and once again, orientalism is found within the media form. Game makers have the power to create games in any manner they desire, thus in distorting portrayals of the Middle East to suit existing Western ideas, they reel in their desired capital whilst leaving audiences with self-satisfying yet incorrect images. Research done on 90 European and 15 Arab made video games with Arab people holding a key role in game-play have shown that the identities of the Islamic world have been flattened out and reconstructed into a serious of social typologies operating within a broader framework of terrorism and hostility through video games (Sisler 2008:203). Games such as prince of Persia (Broberbunst, 1989), Arabian nights (Krigalis, 1993) and Al-Qadim: The Genies Curse (SSI 1994) are all examples of video games which solidify the image of the orient where Arabs are dangerous, aggressive, untrustworth y and live only in the desert (Sisler 2008). As the video games above have quests, many require the player of the game to save a girl or princess who has been kidnapped by an Arab man (ibid). As well the Arab tend to raise their guns above their heads after a kill and mockingly laugh while adding nothing to the games purpose (Sisler 2008: 209). The idea that the Western player has to save the girl from the Arab and be the hero up against the villain character reinforces the stereotypical image of the Middle East as barbaric. As stereotypes can lower self-esteem, injure innocents, impact policies and encourage divisiveness the images of orientalism need to be removed from society so that people of the Arab race are not faced with deeply rooted prejudices which lack valid ideas about who they are as people individually (Sisler 2008: 204). Additionally videogames based in Arab settings are one-dimensional with little to no variety in scenery. Even though each Middle Eastern nation is unique, the in-game surroundings and setting are rendered frequently by iteration of a limited number of textures and schemes, most often the desert, so that an idea is assumed that no other landscapes or appearances of the nation exist (Sisler 2008: 206). Although video games are often a neglected source of media, the problem behind video games is that most of them are foreign made [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] and bear enormous false understandings that habituate teenagers to violence, hatred and grudges which add to the racist issues within the world (Sisler 2008: 211). With the youth of today absorbing one sided false perceptions of a race at such a young age, the individuals reach adulthood with the ideas often so heavily embedded that one becomes blind to accepting the true image and allows the orientalism depictions to influence actions and jud gments towards the other. Not aimed for purpose of comedy or entertainment, still photography acts similarly to cartoons in creating an imaginative geography [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] which unambiguously divides the world into two unequal parts the known world of the Occident and the larger, different part called the Orient (Trivundza 2004: 489-490). Images used in the media are strategic in that certain absences are intentional to the pictures. This refers to three main factors that ensure that stereotypes remain. First is the absence of diversity, which deals with showing coverage of only specific events and ignoring others (Trivundza 2004). The second fact is the absence of unveiled women, which leaves spectators believing all women of the Arab race are oppressed and forced to cover (ibid). As an Arab myself, I am one of the thousand underrepresented women to prove this image wrong, yet only one in ten photographs in Western Media shows an unveiled Arab (ibid). Third, and finally, is the absence of active subject who are working. Images show them as passive, grieving, and incapable of creating value (ibid). All three absences add to the idea that Arab women are oppressed, the race is lazy and that what applies to one individual applies to all. The absences collectively provide the audience with portrayals that only stand true to a certain extent, and ignore the other realities of the race. In short the media pushes to produce photographs completed with images of backwardness and irrationality (Trivundza 2004: 489-490). Although Orientalism has existed since colonization, it is upon the September 11th bombings of 2001, where many argue the image of the Arab other exploded in news reports, and the characteristics of Arabs as terrorist and savage were highlighted. Since the bombings took place in the United States, the West felt that the attacks [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] provided an ostensibly empirical pretext to legitimize anti-Arab racism, but in no way did 9/11 actually create anti-Arab racism (Salaita 2006: 251). This means that 9/11 did not create anti-Arab racism but instead validated it (Salaita 2006). Upon watching the news on television, the most barbaric images with high violence and extremists are shown to evoke emotions within the audience, and solidify the images orientalism generates. Even when it had been proven Saddam Hussein was in no way linked to the actions of Al-Qaeda, the public continued to rely on embedded conceptions through the news to believe Iraq posed as an immediate threat to th e US (Glyn, Meth and Wilis 2009). As well, in certain cases voiceovers are done so that the English Western viewers can make sense of situations, yet, the translations are at times improper and edited by Western stations to only present specific words (Sut 1998). The news adjusts story details because they have the control to do so, and because they know that communities are powerless as to what they are shown. In maintaining their own Western image, news of how the US has killed innocent Arabs, or how their soldiers abused those held captive by leaving them naked in compromising positions to the entertainment of soldiers, rarely, if ever, hit TV screens (Sut 1998). The news is presented so that harm on the Arab communities is deserved and justified, while harm to the Wests is for no apparent reason. Additionally, videos on the news are specially selected to include mass amounts of people to appear as though the evil and negative emanation gives off a frightening and threatening imp ression that can be applied to the race as a whole (ibid). The images of rallys and swarms are not representative of the entire race, but as it primarily what is shown in the West, it is clear why the image is believed. Between Arab countries vast differences exist, for example Egypt compared to Algeria shows immense lifestyle differences and culture, but with Western news, Arab unites all the Arabian countries as identical. One specific example of where orientalism wrongly accused Arabs through the news was in 1995 with the Oklahoma City bombings (Sut 1998). Immediately after the attack, countless news reports aired which forcedly claimed the Arabs were behind the attack and that it was linked to a Muslim plan. The bombing, unlike any media claims, was actually performed by a Caucasian male within the state itself (ibid). Audiences were told to be aware of Arab citizens who looked suspicious, and even Edward Said had been contacted personally, when he had no personal connection to anything of the matter (ibid). After the white male had been convicted, he was in no sense labeled a terrorist, where as the Arabs had attracted the allegation without one piece of actual proof. The bombing revealed that the portrayal of Arabs within Western news jumps to conclusions based on the stereotypical images that the Global North has been bred to believe. With such generalized depictions of the Arab peoples, many struggle to understand how the images have remained in the media. Unfortunately almost all Arab countries have no democracy and therefore require Western patronage to function (Sut 1998). The Arabs have given way to the power of money and allow the images to be presented because if they were to stand up and protest or enforce policies, the West would be quick to threaten dropping all assistance (ibid). Money sadly pays off the the other to allow the images to continue, and the West, as capitalists, continues to do just that. As James Baerg, Director of Program Practices for CBS-TV in New York City said [Arab stereotyping] is the same thing as throwing in sex and violence when an episode is slow, implying that insulting humour it is a quick fix to boost sales (Shaheen 2000: 22). Middle Eastern countries are aware of how they are seen by the West, but are currently faced with too many other issues to focus on changing the image . In imagining speeches, news, movies, or cartoons without the exaggeration or unnecessary use of Arab characters, it is possible to conceptualize a true image, which would not distort how the majority of Arab individuals live. Through my paper it is evident that media has the power in displaying images they know most Western citizens will be unable to experience themselves, and therefore impose Orientalism. As it is easier to carry on the false image from history to the present than recreate and adjust how people see Arabs, few have found success in changing the representations. So will the image of the orient ever dissolve? And if so will it be in the medias hands? Or will Arabs stand as a race to change the image of the orient? Only the future will answer the questions, but it is still unusual how many people today believe in the phrase seeing is believing, but when seeing is done through anothers eyes (the media) before our own, the phrase seems to lose no value.

Friday, October 25, 2019

The Last Man and the Plague of Empire Essay example -- Shelley The Las

The Last Man and the Plague of Empire      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I find myself in easy agreement with Alan Richardson's perceptive account of The Last Man as a novel written in the service of British colonial interests and of Mary Shelley as an individual swept up in the collective arrogance of nineteenth-century imperial England.    In one striking example of the novel's colonialist complicity, Lionel Verney presumptuously declares that England's prime resource is its people (its "children" [323]) whereas the greatest assets of the equatorial regions are their commodities--their spices, plants, and fruits. Verney further sentimentally recalls Britain's history of unshrinking exploration (read colonization and economic exploitation) of foreign nations under the crown's sponsorship, as he grieves for lost "times when man walked the earth fearless, before Plague had become Queen of the World" (346). It appears crystal-clear that The Last Man contains fewer sites of resistance than are present in Frankenstein and more moments of racism, jingoism, and religious contempt; therefore, in order to facilitate conversation, I will address here primarily the possible meanings of the novel's few heteroglossic moments, including the "ironic twist or two towards the end" that Alan Richardson mentions, in addition to posing some suggestive, or polemical, questions.    The horror of The Last Man may for Shelley lie in its revelation that the operations of nature obliterate both civilized and barbaric, Christian and Mahometan, with the same moral neutrality. In the end, Adrian, the sophisticated "blue-eyed boy" (27), a stand-in for Percy Shelley, s... ...e United States, 1898-1935.    http://www.accinet.ent/~fjzwick/ail98-35.html (December 2003). Greenblatt, Stephen Jay. Learning to Curse: Essays in Early Modern Culture.New York: Routledge, 1990.    Holmes, Richard. Shelley: The PursuitLondon: Penguin,1974.    Kipling, Rudyard. "The White Man's Burden." McClure's Magazine 12 (Feb.1899). http://www.accinet.net/~fjzwick/kipling.html In Jim Zwick,ed., Anti-Imperialism in the United States, 1898-1935. http://www.accinet.ent/~fjzwick/ail98-35.html (January 2004).    Richardson, Alan. Romantic Circles: "The Last Man and the Plague of Empire." http://prometheus.emory.edu/RC/mwsprogram.html (September 2003).    Shelley, Mary W. The Last Man. Betty T. Bennett and Steven E. Jones, eds. http://www.rc.umd.edu/editions/editions.html#mws   September 2003

Thursday, October 24, 2019

How was Macbeth’s fall from grace a tragedy? Essay

Shakespeare presents an image of Macbeth originally as a hero, a role model of courage and bravery. However his indiscernible fascination with darker forces, portrayed by the witches, and whilst he is aware of the treachery in his subsequent actions throughout the play, his ambition engulfs his better judgement, where he contributes to his downfall from such greatness, and thus his character is human, enhancing such a tragedy. Macbeth experiences a sudden disastrous reversal in fortune where his material wealth rapidly multiplies and his personal values swiftly decrease, leaving him loveless, as well as childless, and eventually lifeless, factors which are remnant of Shakespearean tragedies. Even as he retains comprehension of his fate, approaching the play’s finale the audience experiences a certain catharsis, in which they feel pity for his misfortune, even if this character has behaved appallingly, in that his ambition and Lady Macbeth had pressure him to transform someone he himself did not like. Originally, Macbeth is portrayed as an image of prominence, and his relentless enthrallment with supernatural forces results in circumstances whirling out of his control. ‘Brave Macbeth†¦like Valour’s minion carved out his passage†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ and thus assisted significantly in the victory which ensued, earning him a multitude of respect from not only the people, but King Duncan. In fact, the worthy King does see to it that as an added prestige and a gift of gratitude to such a noble gentleman, the title of Thane of Cawdor which has been retrieved from a most ‘disloyal traitor,’ and somewhat ironically considering Macbeth’s fate, ‘what he has lost, Macbeth has won.’ It appears, that upon the meeting of the three witches, who do deliver the three prophecies that indicate such a prosperous future for Macbeth, he is fuelled by his own ambition. It could be argued that this is beyond his own control, a mere circumstance often viewed in tragedies, where other characters and conditions are unrestrained by the protagonist, as it is realized that the witches have arranged to ‘meet with Macbeth’ and tempt him, yet he is aware of the possibility of their lies as ‘imperfect speakers’ and thus, his ‘rapt’ removes the possibility of his providence being unpreventable. The reader forms an impression of Macbeth prior to his personal introduction into the play, and thus Shakespeare employs a clever technique in placing Macbeth on a pedestal from our perspective prior to his  arrival. Unexpectedly, Macbeth experiences a sudden reversal in fortune, where he is forced to maintain criminal conflict in order to preserve his status which he has come to rely upon, and in doing so, manages to lose all that was initially dear to him. In what seems like moments, Macbeth achieves the Thane of Cawdor alongside the King of Scotland, but eludes the intimacy he once shared with his wife, and once such a conspirator, leaves her an innocent spectator to ‘applaud the deed.’ The gradual separation of Macbeth and his Lady is strangely sardonic, especially subsequent to the death of Lady Macbeth, where his perspective offers that ‘she should have died hereafter’ resignedly, similar to his manner upon achieving realization that his death is impending, thus presenting a double meaning in referral to himself and his deceased beloved. Shakespeare displays a sharp contrast in which Macbeth seems to have at one instant everything a man could desire including a kin gdom and pregnant wife, afterwards he is found to be truly alone, ‘abhorred tyrant, stripped of his love, child and eventually life. Such abrupt affluence exchanges in which a protagonist moves from happiness to misery, perhaps even death is often a result of dramatic conflict, typical in an Elizabethan tragedy. Disasters which are to follow Macbeth’s foremost crime are inevitable, and his awareness of this increases his humanity, as he has a flaw of pride which eventually is fatal. His evident ignorance of the many signs which do indicate to him to discontinue this murderous work are either for his own personal objectives as he has ‘no spur†¦but only vaulting ambition which o’erleaps itself’ or for that of Lady Macbeth’s taunts which stimulate him as she insults his manhood in her opinion of him as a ‘coward in thine own esteem.’ Early in the play, he does establish the distrustfulness of the witches, as ‘the instruments of darkness’ and with knowledge of their ‘imperfect’ speech he still allows their words to effect him greatly, so much as to he ‘is in blood, Stepped in so far that †¦should wade no more, returning were as tedious as go’er.’ Upon knowledge of Macduff’s flight, Macbe th’s overruling passion for his prominence engulfs his better judgement, and he does order to murder of ‘his wife, his babes, and all  unfortunate souls that trace him in his line.’ Macbeth’s judgment is so weakened by worship for the position he holds that barbarian acts of murder to innocent women and children is no longer beneath him, and Shakespeare presents this in such little light that it appears to be of no importance to Macbeth at all. Prior to Macbeth’s death, the audience experiences a purgation of emotions, almost a catharsis in which empathy is felt for the protagonist, due to the fate dominated by supernatural forces which he appeared to never have true influence over. For his fate was partly predetermined, and his eventual loss followed by a release from such a suffered life is partly relieving, and partly saddening, as his eventual outcomes differ so greatly from his intentions. This misfortune he experiences may be larger than he deserves. Macbeth was once ‘valour’s minion’ and now communicates and consorts with ‘black and midnight hags,’ a procedure used to represent his obvious downfall. Formerly, upon the initial assassinations Macbeth does commit, we see glimmer of conscience when he ‘could not say Amen.’ His discarding of God’s ways in the Elizabethan era would have caused uproar from certain people, yet others would be moved to pity with empa thy for somebody who could lose such faith in God. In fact, Macbeth pities himself, when he realizes that to ‘know my deed, ’twere best not know myself’ and thus the reader commiserates with Macbeth in his regret. Finally, the reader experiences such compassion as Macbeth admits he has ‘lived long enough’ and cares not about his lack of army, and only wishes to die fighting, a soldier, the way he did begin, and agrees to ‘let them fly all.’ In termination, Macbeth’s fall from grace is a tragedy in the way in entails many such factors, involving elements of catharsis, as well as a sudden reversal in fortune for the protagonist. The circumstances beyond Macbeth’s control also contribute to his collapse, thus his disgrace was premeditated, and the pity exploited amongst the audience for Macbeth allows for a purgation of emotion, leading to the belief that the tragedy’s conflicts were a result of human flaws and perhaps his death was whilst deserved for his actions, perhaps not his beliefs.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Ancient Chinese Dynasties Essay

There were many Chinese dynasties that rose and fell throughout China’s history. The history of China, in a way, is a history of battles and wars. These wars were so important that they changed the structure of Chinese culture both then and now. Three dynasties that rose and fell during ancient China were the Han, the Tang, and the Song. The rise and fall of these great dynasties form a link that runs through Chinese history. The Han period was one of the golden ages of Chinese civilization. The Han dynasty lasted from 206 B. C. to A. D. 220. It began when the prince of Han, Liu Bang, took the title Gao Zu and began to restore order and justice to his new empire. He lowered taxes and reduced the Qin emperor’s harsh Legalist policies. These policies created a strong basis for the Han dynasty. The most famous emperor, Wudi took China to a new level. During his reign from 141 BC to 87 BC, he strengthened both the government and economy. Economic expansion, strengthening the palace at the expense of the civil service, weakening the states hold on the peasantry and the rise of the rich and the gentry were all factors that led to the adoption of Confucian ideals. Han emperors made Confucianism the official belief system of the state. Under Wudi, China conquered many lands, expanding their power and influence. The Han Dynasty now controlled northern Vietnam and the Korean Peninsula. Wudi sent explorers toward Central Asia, eventually opening up the famous trade route known as the Silk Road. However, signs of decay began to appear throughout the dynasty which put an enormous burden on the economy. Weak emperors allowed canals and roads to fall into disrepair. Burdened by heavy taxes, and crushing debt, many peasants revolted. Thousands of rebellious peasants abandoned their villages and fled to the mountains. In AD 220 warlords overthrew the last Han emperor. After four hundred years of unity, China broke up into several kingdoms. The Han dynasty was over. After the Han dynasty collapsed, China remained divided for nearly four hundred years. It was not until the development of the Tang dynasty, in 618 that China was restored to its earlier glory. The tang was an imperial dynasty of China. Its territory was acquired through the military campaigns of its early rulers and was greater than that of the Han period. Tang rulers carried empire building to new depths. Chinese armies forced the neighboring lands of Vietnam, Tibet, and Korea to become tributary states. It is estimated that the population had grown by the 9th century to about eighty million people. The Tang Dynasty was largely a period of progress and stability. They rebuilt the bureaucracy and enlarged the civil service system to recruit talented officials trained in Confucian technology. Chinese culture flourished and further developed during the Tang era. It is considered the greatest age for Chinese poetry. Tang emperors began to lose territories in Central Asia to the Arabs. Corruption, high taxes, drought and famine all contributed to the downfall of the Tang Dynasty. In 1907, a rebel general over through the last Tang emperor, which brought the dynasty to an end. The Song Dynasty lasted for more than three hundred years. It began in 960, when a educated general reunited most of China. The Song controlled less territory than the Tang dynasty did. The dynasty was constantly threatened by invaders in the north. Despite military obstacles, the culture brought rise to a new religion. Education expanded the growth of literature and the arts. Foreign trade flourished and Chinese cities prospered as centers of trade. Positions in government were no longer held by aristocrats and were instead given to people with experience and degrees. This made the government stronger and formed new concepts. Chinese wealth and culture lead East Asia even when its militaries did not. Most problems in this dynasty were due to military power. A combination of corrupt officials and weak emperors contributed to its downfall. China has a long and mysterious history of almost five thousand years. China can trace her culture back to a blend of small original tribes which have expanded until they became the great country we have today. Each rise and fall of a dynasty created new leaders, new laws, new rules, and usually new expansion. Chinese history is that of alternating periods of political unity and disunity. The rise and fall of many dynasties created a rocky path in Chinas history.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Complete List of FREE SAT Math Practice Problems

Complete List of FREE SAT Math Practice Problems SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Need to study for the SAT Math section but don’t know where to start? On a budget, too? Not to worry! In this article,we've put together a comprehensive list of all the best (and free!) SAT Math study materials and guides currently available online. Note: For info on the best SAT study materials you have to pay for, check out our picks for top SAT prep books. Feature Image: Alan O'Rourke/Flickr The Importance of Using High-Quality SAT Math Materials It is incredibly important to get your study materials from the right places. The SAT is a very specific kind of test, and there are many (many!) websites and programs out there that, sadly, offer only poor-quality SAT resources. If you study using mainly inferior SAT materials, you won't get a clear sense as to how you’ll do on test day. Test prep is about assessing and improving upon your current level, but you won’t be able to do this if you get a false sense of your skills based on poor study materials. Ultimately, products and test questions that don’t accurately reflect the SAT are a waste of time. Therefore, it's best to prioritize official SAT materials. The SAT is designed by the College Board, and their free materials are by far the best place to start studying. From here, you can branch off into programs and materials that use (or closely resemble) official SAT material. Now, let's look at the best resources you can use for free official SAT Math practice questions. Ready, set, go! Top 5 Free Resources for Quality SAT Math Practice In this section, we go over the top five free resources you can use for quality SAT Math prep. #1: The College Board As the creator and issuer of the SAT, the College Board is the best place to begin for collecting your free SAT Math study materials. The official website offers full-length SAT practice tests and practice questions for all sections. Free Official Full-Length SAT Practice Tests 10 official practice tests are currently available online. Each test comes with an answer key and in-depth answer explanations to help you understand why you got questions wrong. Practice Test 1: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 2: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 3: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 4: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 5: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 6: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 7: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 8: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 9: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Practice Test 10: Questions | Answers | Answer Explanations Free Official SAT Math Practice In addition to full-length tests, the College Board offers several SAT Math practice questions (as well as sample questions for all other sections of the test). For SAT Math, there are 30 calculator-permitted questions and 18 no-calculator questions. Though it's not quite a full SAT Math section, it gives you an opportunity to get more exposure to the kind of math you'll see on test day. As you answer each question, try not to look at the correct answers right away. Instead, write your answers on a piece of paper as you take the "test." When finished, refer to the official answer explanations; this will help you understand what your strengths and weaknesses are. Old Official Full-Length SAT Practice Tests While the newest practice tests will be most useful for your prep, you can also use any of these four old (pre-2016) SAT practice tests. Most math questions on these should be helpful- just note that these days geometry is less important and data interpretation is more important. SAT Practice Test 2013-14: Questions | Answers SAT Practice Test 2012-13: Questions | Answers SAT Practice Test 2007-08: Questions | Answers SAT Practice Test 2004-05: Questions | Answers You might notice that there are some missing years (e.g,. 2005-06, 2006-07, etc.). This is because the tests for these years are repeats of the ones above. In other words, the four tests linked above are the only free SAT tests available from the past 10 years (excluding the newest ones). No need to weigh the pros and cons here- all of the resources we recommend are guaranteed to help you get a great SAT Math score! #2: Khan Academy Khan Academy is a nonprofit and partner of the College Board that offers a free online SAT prep program and practice questions. While most of the questions come from official SAT practice materials (such as those linked above), others have been created or adapted with approval from or in tandem with the College Board itself. Sign up for a free Khan Academy account to get access to SAT study questions and materials, complete with guides and explanation videos to aid your studying. #3: PrepScholar SAT Blog Here at PrepScholar, we offer tons of free resources, including detailed guides on every SAT math topic and a complete collection of our best SAT Math articles. All our guides include definitions and explanations, examples of how you’ll see the topic on the test, and real SAT practice questions with detailed answer explanations. Browse our SAT Math guides below to get started! All guides are arranged by topic. Numbers Integers (Basic) Integers (Advanced) Fractions, Ratios, and Proportions Statistics (Mean, Median, Mode) Probability Sequences // Algebra Single Variable Equations Systems of Equations Functions Coordinate Geometry Points Lines and Slopes Reflections, Translations, and Rotations Plane and Solid Geometry Lines and Angles Circles Triangles Polygons Solid Geometry Trigonometry Trigonometry Formulas The 28 Critical SAT Math Formulas You MUST Know In addition, we have strategy guides that will help you solve numerous SAT Math problems across the board: Plugging in Answers Plugging in Numbers If you find our guides and quizzes helpful, you can also sign up for a free five-day trial to our test prep program. Our program assesses your current strengths and weaknesses and adapts based on your progress. It gives you practice questions tailored to your areas of needed improvement and provides answer explanations for all questions. All our questions are based off real SAT test questions and, though the full program is not free, we guarantee your money back if you do not improve by 160 points. #4: CrackSAT.net CrackSAT is a free, unofficial SAT website offering PDFs of official SAT practice tests and an array of both official and unofficial SAT Math questions. Many of the questions on CrackSAT come from SAT prep books by well-known test-prep companies including The Princeton Review and Kaplan. Though generally solid, unofficial SAT questions can vary wildly in quality, so don't rely on only these to give you a sense of your math abilities. Rather, it's best to use this website after you've exhausted all the official SAT resources above. What's especially nice about this website is its organization: math questions are available in both multiple-choice and grid-in categories to give you the full range of math practice. You can also browse problems by concept (e.g., linear functions, exponents and radicals, etc.). #5: Ivy Global SAT Practice Tests Finally, if you want to practice math in the context of more full-length SAT practice tests, use Ivy Global's two unofficial practice test PDFs (SAT Online Practice Test 1 and Practice Test 2). These resources closely follow the format of the SAT and are both highly realistic. However, they're not perfect. Some of the questions on the Math sections are a little too easy and not as similar to those on the SAT as they could be. There are also no answer explanations, making it difficult to determine how to find the right answers for math questions you get wrong. // You've gathered all your study material ... so now what? Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free, SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! How to Use SAT Math Study Materials Effectively: 6 Tips It's just as important to know how to best utilize your SAT study materials as it is to know how to access them. These six tips will help you achieve your highest SAT Math score on test day. #1: Take a Full Practice Test in One Sitting You're probably most concerned about your SAT Math score, but it's still important to take a full SAT practice test so you can see how you'll fare on test day. Although answering one or two Math questions might not be too much of a challenge for you, in truth the SAT is a marathon- and if you aren't prepared, you'll likely be exhausted by the end of it. And exhaustion can lead anyone to make mistakes! So before you dedicate your focus to the SAT Math section, take an official SAT practice test to see how your Math score fits into the larger test-taking picture. Make sure to take the whole test in one sitting; this will help you build endurance for test day. #2: Use Proper Timing and Pace Yourself As you take SAT practice tests and any Math-specific sections, be sure to use the same time limits you'll have on test day. The chart below shows how much time you'll have on each SAT section as well as how much time you should (approximately) spend per question: SAT Section Total Time # of Questions Time per Question Reading 65 minutes 52 75 seconds Writing and Language 35 minutes 44 48 seconds Math No Calculator 25 minutes 20 75 seconds Math Calculator 55 minutes 38 87 seconds Essay (Optional) 50 minutes 1 50 minutes You'll have about 75 seconds per question on No Calculator Math section, and 87 seconds per question on the Calculator Math section. Some questions might take you less or more time, but keep practicing so that you're not consistently spending too long on a single math question. Remember that accuracy is only half the battle- you have to actually finish the questions within the time limits if you want to get a high Math score! That said, don’t worry if you run out of time while taking your first SAT practice test. This is completely normal and gives you a starting point from which you can later improve. #3: Review Your Mistakes It's one thing to take an SAT Math test, but you also need to look over your results and identify any patterns in your correct and incorrect answers. Do you tend to get the last few questions wrong on each Math section? Do function questions just seem to throw you for a loop? First, figure out what went wrong. Then, see how you can pick up some easy points and diligently target those areas in your prep. (Remember that each Math question, no matter its difficulty, is worth the same number of points!) #4: Target Your Biggest Weaknesses Once you've pinpointed patterns in the errors you make, it's time to dig deeper and examine your biggest weaknesses. Your ultimate goal will be to tailor your studying so that you can focus on improving the areas you struggle with the most. Since your overall objective is to answer as many questions as accurately as possible, you'll want to dedicate the majority of your study time to improving your weaknesses, rather than to reviewing material you already know well. Refreshing your known material again and again might make you feel productive and confident, but it doesn't do a whole lot to improve your score. Your best bet is to focus on your problem areas by practicing and expanding your knowledge base. #5: Set a Study Schedule Don’t be tempted to cram right before the test. You might have a busy schedule and feel as if your only option is to cram for the SAT, but improvement really happens over time. We generally advise giving yourself at least three to six months to study for the SAT. If you don't have a lot of time left before test day, however, don't give up! No matter how much time you've got for studying, it is possible to come up with a balanced SAT study plan. First, calculate the amount of time you have before your test date. (For example, say you've got a month before your test.) Next, assign yourself at least three full practice tests (in addition to your normal study materials) and spread them out over the course of your study schedule. If you only have a week or so before test day, this probably won’t be possible. In this case, try to fit in at least one or two practice tests wherever you can. Nothing else replicates the SAT experience like a full practice test does, so don't underestimate its importance in your prep! #6: Not Seeing Any Improvement? Get Additional Prep Help Some students prefer to do all of their SAT studying by themselves, but others work better with a little guidance. If the SAT subject matter just isn't making sense to you or you need help prioritizing your time, an SAT tutor or prep program (or both!) are excellent options to try. Both can give you that final push you need to stay focused and maximize your SAT Math score. At PrepScholar, we offer expert SAT tutoring services in addition to a fully customizable SAT prep program. For more info, read our guides on how to find the best SAT tutor for youand how much you should spend on tutoring. Targeted and careful practice, rest, and confidence: the perfect recipe for SAT success. What’s Next? Don't know where to start? Take a look at our list of all math topics on the SAT Math section, and target your weaknesses with our individual SAT Math guides. Want to know what the hardest SAT Math questions are? We've compiled a list of the 13 most challenging SAT Math questions, along with answer explanations for each. Bitten by the procrastination bug? Time running out until test day? Check out how to beat the urge to procrastinate, and learn how to balance time for your studies. Looking to get a perfect SAT Math score? Dig into our guide to getting a perfect 800 on SAT Math, written by a perfect scorer! Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Math strategy guide, you'll love our program. Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial: //

Monday, October 21, 2019

How to Talk About Failure in a Job Interview

How to Talk About Failure in a Job Interview When you’re putting together your resume and getting ready for an interview, you focus on making yourself look as perfect as possible. This is not a process where you want to let self-doubt and self-esteem issues creep in. Yet all that positive thinking and prep can be undone by one or two little questions in an interview. â€Å"Where could you use some improvement?† Or, â€Å"Can you tell me about a time when you failed.† After positioning yourself as kind of an uber-candidate, this can be a tricky navigation. You want to show an appropriate amount of honesty and humility, but who likes reliving past failures, let alone disclosing them to a potential employer? There are ways to do it that can help you get past these spots, without derailing your image as a confident, competent interviewee. Here are some things to consider when you talk about failure in a job interview.DO take it seriously.â€Å"I’m addicted to Mountain Dew† is not the way to go her e. The interviewer is trying to get a sense of your level of self-awareness, and whether or not there are any red flags or major gaps.DON’T use a clichà ©d comeback.â€Å"I care too much.† â€Å"I work too hard.† â€Å"I am too dedicated to my job.† The interviewer isn’t looking for a beauty pageant answer†¦he or she is looking for someone who can be frank about shortcomings, and self-aware enough to try to overcome them. Backdoor bragging that tries to show that you’re just too well-liked or too diligent at work will most likely earn you an eye roll.DO be honest†¦It’s okay to admit you’re not perfect. This is one question in an interview that is 99% about your accomplishments and qualifications, so approach it honestly and candidly. The interviewer will appreciate your candidness.†¦But DON’T treat it like a confession.This is not the time to list all of your drawbacks. (Unless you’re applying for the CIA, in which case you might as well be honest, because they will find out.) Ahead of time, think about one or two areas where you know you need improvement, and make sure they’re not red flag-worthy. For example, if you’re not great with numbers, don’t answer the question with, â€Å"I suck at math.† Basically, anything that makes you seem â€Å"bad† at something is not the right choice here.DO perform the spin-pivot move.Whatever you do go with, make sure you use it to emphasize strengths you do have. With the bad-at-math example, you can emphasize that you prefer creative problem solving to hard-and-fast numbers. Frame it as a choice between A (weakness) and B (strength), and talk about how you’d choose B.DON’T use anything in the basic job description as your weakness.If you despise being around kids, and are applying for an elementary school position, well- what are you doing there? But more importantly, if you’re aske d about an area where you could improve, mention that you’re always looking to improve your ability to relate to students.DO emphasize that you’re a work in progress.Part of what an interviewer is trying to assess is your growth potential. When you talk about any challenges or areas of improvement you have, be sure to say that you’re aware of your limitations in X area, and that you’re constantly seeking to be better/more efficient/stronger.DO avoid using words like â€Å"weakness,† even if the interviewer uses it first.Instead, frame it as a challenge, or avoid using negative nouns altogether.Getting past this moment in an interview can be awkward, but if you do some thinking ahead of time about your challenges and how you plan to turn those into strengths, you should be back in safe, â€Å"I’m awesome† territory in no time.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

How to Write the Wake Forest University Essays 2018-2019

Situated in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Wake Forest is one of the premier liberal arts universities in the nation. Known for its small classes and faculty engagement, Wake Forest values an education of the entire person. With an undergraduate enrollment just over 5,000 and a strong sense of school pride, Wake Forest fosters a tight-knit community. The university maintains accomplished programs in the social sciences, business, and a variety of other fields. Wake Forest also holds a unique status as a prestigious liberal arts school with a robust research focus. Maintaining an acceptance rate of only 29% and median ACT scores of 28-32, Wake Forest’s admissions process is competitive. But beyond test scores and grades, Wake Forest also emphasizes essays. With this comprehensive guide, we will provide you with all the tools necessary to tackle the Wake Forest application essays. 1. What piques your curiosity? (75-150 words) 2. Discuss the work of fiction which has helped you most to understand the complexities of the world. (100-300 words) 3. Identify a cultural norm or current political reality with which you disagree. How have you sought or might you seek to change it? (75-100 words) 4. Describe an instance in which you observed or exhibited â€Å"character.† (75-150 words) 5. Pro Humanitate, which means â€Å"for humanity,† is Wake Forest’s motto. If you had a personal motto, what would it be? (100 characters) 6. Kendrick Lamar won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first non-classical or jazz musician to win the award. Whom do you believe will be the next person to break boundaries in artistic, scientific or literary accomplishment? (150 words) 7. List five books that you have read that intrigued you. Include a brief letter asking to be considered for the Farr Scholarship, describing how you became interested in entrepreneurship and how you plan to continue these interests at Wake Forest. What piques your curiosity?   (75-150 words) Like many supplemental questions, this prompt is designed to help give the admissions officers a more holistic view of you.   Your response to this question can truly be anything that fascinates you!   Consider writing about an interest, activity, hobby, idea, philosophical concept, piece of art, or something entirely different.   Admissions officers aren’t looking for a specific answer but rather that you can thoughtfully and excitedly discuss a topic of your choice. Below are some questions to get you started on thinking of a subject to write about: Ensure that you don’t spend the entire time explaining simply what piques your curiosity.   Rather, consider why it piques your interest and how this has impacted you or contributed to your understanding of the world.   So, instead of simply describing your interest in vinyl records, dive into how you love poring through stores to find exciting new pieces of music and how this interest has brought you new friends and helped you to expand your musical horizons. You can also take this essay as an opportunity to discuss something that is truly meaningful to you.   For instance, a student who is fascinated by Latin American culture could discuss her interest in the Carnival celebrations of Brazil and how learning about these celebrations have helped her to connect with her Brazilian roots. Alternatively, a student could use this essay as an opportunity to discuss his favorite hobby.   For example, a student who loves to collect coins could discuss how the sheer volume of coins produced fascinates him and that coins have helped him to develop a deeper understanding of the financial underpinnings of America. Whatever you choose to discuss, make sure to explain why it interests you and how it contributes to your identity or knowledge of the nuances of the world. Discuss the work of fiction which has helped you most to understand the complexities of the world. (100-300 words) If you love reading fiction on your own, this question will likely be a breeze as you can think of endless books that have helped you to understand the complexities of the world. However, if you don’t spend as much time reading on your own, this question could be a bit more difficult. If possible, try to avoid choosing a book that was required reading for class. Many other students are likely going to choose literary classics such as To Kill a Mockingbird or The Scarlet Letter . But, if nothing else comes to mind, don’t be discouraged if you have to pick a book that was required reading for class. Consider that one thing admissions officers look for in this essay is your ability to synthesize abstract information and bring this conceptual understanding to real-world issues.   With this in mind, let’s consider the main steps to rocking this essay: An example of the above would be writing about Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon . You could describe how the main character’s struggle to find an identity forced you to consider your own role within your culture and the world at large. That is, this work of fiction prompted you to strive to connect with your family in a new way. Another example would be discussing how, through reading Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi, you came to a deeper understanding of the incredible nuances of racial identity. The key here is not to simply discuss the book in depth (SparkNotes exists if an admissions officer wanted a summary), but rather to delve into how the book has influenced your world perception. If you are struggling to find an appropriate book, keep in mind that the prompt only asks for a work of fiction, meaning that other possibilities such as TV shows or movies could make for strong essays. â€Å"Cultural Norm/Political Reality† Essay Identify a cultural norm or current political reality with which you disagree. How have you sought or might you seek to change it? (75-100 words) Don’t be afraid of this prompt if you aren’t an avid social activist. Keep in mind when choosing a subject that cultural norms are any form of attitude or behavior that are deemed normal by society. Although this question lends itself well to someone who is passionate about political issues, a great response is still possible if you aren’t fascinated by politics. With this essay, Wake Forest is trying to assess whether you can think critically about social and political issues. No matter what you choose to write about, the best essay will come from you truly being animated about your subject. A powerful essay could stem from a student’s frustration with the current political gridlock resulting from a lack of honest communication between the two parties. In response, the student could describe how she started hosting an open space weekly where individuals of all political backgrounds could come to discuss important local issues in a supportive environment. Alternatively, you could discuss how you disagreed with the cliquish nature of your high school and fought against it by promoting school-wide events that everyone would enjoy. The space here is rather short so try to spend more time discussing why you disagree with something and what you’ve done to change this rather than describing the problem. Admissions officers want to hear about you, so do your best to provide a personal story. For instance, a student could discuss his personal experience of deleting social media in response to an internal dislike of how social media has begun to trump actual social interaction. One last word of caution: keep in mind that you may want to avoid extremely controversial topics that people have a very visceral reaction to, such as abortion. If you do choose to approach such a subject, take care to approach it tactfully. Describe an instance in which you observed or exhibited â€Å"character.† (75-150 words) With this prompt, there are two main pathways through which you can formulate your answer. You can either describe an example of how you personally have exhibited character or depict an event where you observed character from someone else. I will describe how to approach the two possibilities independently of each other. Since the prompt ambiguously uses the term â€Å"character,† feel free to define â€Å"character† in whatever manner you like within reason. Great responses to these questions are often centered around a story and use that story to define the elusive term of â€Å"character.† This essay provides a perfect opportunity to highlight a time where you showed integrity. Your response truly gains meaning when discussing how you overcame a strong temptation to showcase character. To illustrate, a cross country runner could describe her experience watching the runner ahead of her cutting a corner to extend a lead and feeling intense pressure to do the same in order to catch her opponent. But, due to a sense of righteousness, the runner decides not to cut the same corner and ends up losing the race by half a step. This essay would excel because it delves into the nuances of exhibiting character and tells us a great deal about the runner’s values. Just as important as describing the event is discussing what you learned from the experience. For instance, the runner from above could describe how losing that race showed her that maintaining character in a difficult situation like that can be the toughest, but most rewarding, decision that you can make. Striking a balance between what happened and what it taught you is vitally important as is tying your experience back to the idea of character. Keep in mind that you don’t have to personally know the person that you observed exhibiting character. As long as you know the story and can relate how it impacted you, the event can make for an effective essay. Even though the subject of the essay may be someone else, admissions officers still want to hear about you. For example, a great essay could stem from a student observing a local community leader start a project to provide additional housing to help shelter the homeless population. This student could describe how the community leader’s character inspired him to give back to his community by volunteering at this new homeless shelter every week. Observing character can also come from a more personal level.   For instance, if your mom embodies the ideal of living with character, feel free to discuss this. A powerful essay could describe how your mom’s relentless self-sacrifice of working full-time while heading back to school all in order to provide for your future has inspired you to seek a career in education where you can similarly inspire and empower youth. Pro Humanitate, which means â€Å"for humanity,† is Wake Forest’s motto. If you had a personal motto, what would it be? (100 characters) The most simplistic definition is that a motto is a short phrase by which you live your life. The most important thing here is that the motto that you choose is true to who you are. I can’t say this enough: Avoid anything cliche! Things like â€Å"be the change that you want to see in the world† or â€Å"work hard† are great ways to live your life but not so good for this prompt. Admissions readers will have read those same lines hundreds of times and are itching to read a motto with some personal flair. When choosing a motto, consider what you care about most. Wake Forest rewards students who are reflective in their responses, so take some time to think this one through. Some questions to ask yourself when trying to think of a motto: Students always find this one a little tough so I’ve put some examples below. This is also a chance to take a risk, show your quirky side, or make a clever pun.   Creativity here is greatly appreciated by admissions officers.   Keep in mind that this is an open-ended question, so don’t feel limited in any way by the options below: If there is a certain famous quote or motto that you believe truly does represent you better than anything else, then feel free to use it. Extra tip: You are likely going to have an epiphany and figure out an awesome answer to this one when you least expect it, so give yourself some time! Kendrick Lamar won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Music, becoming the first non-classical or jazz musician to win the award. Whom do you believe will be the next person to break boundaries in artistic, scientific or literary accomplishment? (150 words) With this essay, Wake Forest really wants to learn more about what truly interests you. The following advice might seem strange, but it’s not as important who you choose. Rather, it’s more important why you chose him or her and how that choice reflects upon you and your interests. Let’s take a quick second to piece together some things you should think about when choosing who to write about: Although the person can certainly be someone that you know, take care to showcase that this person truly has a chance to break boundaries in their respective field. A great example of someone breaking the boundaries of scientific accomplishment is Andrew Ng. A student could discuss how Ng’s work at Stanford to revolutionize healthcare through the application of artificial intelligence to medicine fascinates him as this provides for vast potential for increases in efficiency. The student could then proceed to describe how Ng’s work has inspired him to explore this relatively uncharted field of computer science and healthcare. Once you have someone to write about, ensure that you also leave space for discussion about the impact that this individual has had on you. At the end of the day, the admissions officers care a lot less about this individual and a lot more about that individual’s impact on you. This essay provides the perfect opportunity for you to really discuss your interest in a specific field and show how it has influenced you.    List five books that you have read that intrigued you. Since the prompt also provides you with the option to list whether or not the book was required reading, try if at all possible to provide three or more books which weren’t required reading for your classes.   The books that you read that weren’t required for class showcase a desire to learn and give a better representation of your interests. Don’t worry too much about the rigor of the books that you choose.   Admissions officers aren’t looking to see whether you can read difficult books, they are really just looking to see what stimulates you intellectually.   Don’t try to impress admissions officers by choosing random books that you’ve never read; the best way to go about this question is by providing books that truly intrigued you. Overall, don’t sweat this one too much.   Be genuine with the books that you’ve read, as the admissions officers just want to see that you maintain some literary interests. Be bold and really go for something unique with this prompt.   Remember that admissions officers reward creativity and innovation.   And keep in mind that you can write about anything that interests you, so don’t feel limited in any way by my examples above! Include a brief letter asking to be considered for the Farr Scholarship, describing how you became interested in entrepreneurship and how you plan to continue these interests at Wake Forest. The Farr Scholarship is designed for students who have shown great potential and interest in the field of entrepreneurship .   As a university dedicated to providing its students with a variety of opportunities to innovate freely, Wake Forest actively seeks students who can take advantage of its entrepreneurial offerings.   This essay consists of two main components: describing your interest and showcasing how Wake Forest can help you in these pursuits. Ideally, a student applying for this scholarship has made some significant entrepreneurial pursuit.   But, don’t be afraid to answer this prompt if you haven’t had any direct business experience.   An entrepreneurial approach to an existing problem comes in many different forms. For instance, you could explain how your experiences in Virtual Enterprise, FFA, or software development have led to a desire to launch new programs in these areas.   You should also take the time to describe where you see these entrepreneurial pursuits taking you in the future.   Ensure that you truly demonstrate your passion for entrepreneurship .   This is typically best expressed by discussing through a story your own personal experience doing something, such as starting a local tutoring organization to aid underserved 7th-grade students that you’ve helped slowly expand into five different cities. No matter your experience, ensure that you also emphasize how Wake Forest will help you to bring your ideas into the real world . One of the many ways Wake Forest fosters innovation is through its Center for Entrepreneurship.   Take time to look through and discover how Wake Forest can help you accomplish your entrepreneurial goals.   For example, a student interested in founding a socially aware company that sells reusable straws and donates part of their proceedings to clean up environmental damage caused by plastic could work to refine their idea by working with Deacon Springboard and even pursuing an entrepreneurship minor. The key is to be specific! Wake Forest really wants to see how you plan to take advantage of its entrepreneurial offerings. By effectively linking your entrepreneurial interests with the diverse opportunities at Wake Forest, you will piece together a powerful essay for this scholarship. Presidential Scholarship:  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Special Talent† Essay Please describe the special talent or ability which qualifies you for participation in the Presidential Scholarship program. Discuss a significant experience you have had or something you have read that has influenced the development of your talent. (Response required in 1 page) The Presidential Scholarship is designed only for students who have shown great talent in art, dance, debate, music, or theatre.   So, choosing your topic for this essay shouldn’t be too difficult as you likely have already demonstrated immense talent in one of these fields.   You will also have to submit supplementary materials that showcase this talent to the admissions officers.   With this essay, the admissions officers want to hear about your special skill from your perspective and see how you have developed this talent over time. This essay can be a bit tricky to write if your personal statement already described this skill in great detail. If this applies to you, take care not to repeat any information and make the content of this essay as original as possible. The key to this essay is finding a significant experience around which to frame the essay.   Some examples include: Once you have decided upon a significant experience, the rest of the essay should flow quite smoothly.   Ensure that you use this significant experience to describe in detail your special talent or ability. Wake Forest is looking for a unique student body so strive to demonstrate what makes your mastery of this ability or talent special.   Also, keep in mind that this essay is still all about you .   Avoid discussion of Wake Forest in this portion as the next essay will provide plenty of room for you to discuss how Wake Forest will help you develop this skill. Successful essays for this prompt showcase an arc of development .   By demonstrating how the significant experience has played a role in the growth of both your skill and of you as an individual, you demonstrate a maturity that admissions officers love to see.   For instance, a pianist could describe how his first solo performance in front of a crowd electrified him and helped him to fully express himself for the first time.   By finally being able to effectively reveal his emotions, he gained a deeper understanding of the empowering nature of music. Why do you wish to attend a liberal arts university? What do you expect to gain from four years at Wake Forest, and what could you contribute to the University in regards to your area of talent? (Response required in 1 page) With this essay, Wake Forest gauges how applicants see themselves contributing to the university and how seriously applicants have looked into how they will fit in at Wake Forest. The key here is to showcase to the admissions officers that you see yourself thriving at Wake Forest.   But remember, this question is still about you .   There are two foundational steps to taking on this essay: research and personalize . For this step, find out as much about Wake Forest as you possibly can. The more that you know about the university, the more easily you will be able to express why you want to be a Wake Forest Demon Deacon. Wake Forest hopes with this essay to find out which students are thoughtful in how they will fit in at the university. Helpful resources for this include: Keep in mind that you will need to address all three parts of the prompt: why you wish to attend a liberal arts university, what you expect to gain from your four years at Wake Forest, and how you can contribute to the university through your talent.   So while researching the university, you should be focusing on these three key points.   Remember, the essential aspect here is to learn how you can apply your talent to help the school while taking advantage of Wake Forest’s opportunities and unique characteristics.    Your essay should give admissions officers a compelling idea of what you will bring to Wake Forest.   Although admissions officers don’t expect you to necessarily major in something related to your talent, they do expect you to continue to pursue it in some way.   So, one of your top priorities should be describing how you will take advantage of Wake Forest’s offerings to further develop your talent. Be sure to also discuss your interest in pursuing a liberal arts education.   For instance, a dancer could describe how a liberal arts education would allow her to explore her various interests in biology, literature, and dance.   In order to be even more impactful, choose specific aspects of the university such as certain classes or clubs that interest you.   The student above could describe how the course â€Å"Biology and the Human Condition† would allow her to delve into her dual interests of biology and what it means to be human.   Ã‚  The aspects of Wake Forest you choose to hone in on do not all need to be academic. For example, Wake Forest is known for its high-quality athletics and school spirit. A powerful example could describe how an applicant who planned and promoted school events during high school strives to cultivate a school identity wherever she goes. Wake Forest seeks students who are passionate and authentic . To demonstrate these qualities in your writing, strive to show, not tell . If writing about your interest in Wake Forest’s study abroad program, don’t tell the admissions officers that you like traveling and immersing yourself in foreign cultures. Rather, share an anecdote about how visiting Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London opened your eyes to the role that art plays within society. Start early and give yourself sufficient time to think through these various prompts.   Wake Forest rewards students who are thoughtful in their responses and demonstrate a great interest in their topics of choice.   Wake Forest’s diverse and open-ended essay prompts give you the ability to really make your case for why you are someone they want at their university. When putting all of these essays together, consider each of the different prompts as a way to highlight a separate aspect of who you are as a person.   Try to avoid writing about the same interest in multiple essays if possible.   In this way, the essays will all meld beautifully together to provide a unique representation of you as an individual.   Take advantage of the opportunity that Wake Forest provides to reveal who you are beyond GPA and test scores. And above all, be genuine .   Admissions officers reward students who write passionately about what they are interested in, not what they think might interest admissions officers.   Write about what you love, and you will slowly begin to fall in love with the admissions process. Good luck tackling Wake Forest’s application questions. You got this! Want help on your Wake Forest application or essays? Learn about our College Apps Program. Want us to quickly edit your college essay? Submit it to our Rapid Essay Review program , and we’ll get it back to you quickly with comments from our expert team.†

Friday, October 18, 2019

Book review (Margaret Lock's East Asian Medicine in Urban Japan) Essay

Book review (Margaret Lock's East Asian Medicine in Urban Japan) - Essay Example ionism in the pluralistic medical systems in Japan and inspire the readers to borrow the holistic approach from the East Asian medicine and reevaluate the cultural biases of biomedicine. Although I highly appreciate Lock’s work, I will review this ethnography with a critical eye. There are two underlying assumptions concerning the study. Firstly, the book attempted to map a larger picture of the East Asian medicine in Japan from the eighth century to the late twentieth century, in which East Asian medicine was seen as Chinese medicine in Japan. The Japanese term Kanpo, literally, â€Å"Chinese method,† was thought to be a medical system learned from China, maintaining its Chinese flavor over 1300 years in Japan. Secondly, Lock assumed that the actual interviews that include only 50 Kyoto families, 2 schools, 8 herbal pharmacies, and dozens of patients and practitioners can represent the Japanese people’s thoughts concerning the practices of a pluralistic medicine in the 1970s in an urban setting in Japan. The samples are not considered large enough to draw up generalizations and to make assumption regarding a whole urban population. The ancient capital of Kyoto is also assumed to be representative as a model of a modern city in Japan. Based on these assumptions, Lock analyzed the East Asian medicine from three perspectives. Firstly, she uses a historical approach to analyze the classic Chinese medical works as the theories of East Asian medicine in a pre-industrialized Japan. The Japanese cultural ethos is analyzed as a less important force compared to the Chinese philosophies and Buddhist thoughts. Secondly, she uses a cultural anthropological approach to analyze her limited interviews and case studies in Kyoto to represente an issue of the adopting the East Asian medicine. Except for Tokyo and Osaka, other major Japanese cities other than Kyoto are barely mentioned. Thirdly, she used a critical anthropological approach to analyze the East Asian

Critical Thinking Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critical Thinking Reflection - Essay Example Most government in the world are developing methods to improve on the lives of their citizens. America is no exception. This part of the paper will be looking at how America can reduce its citizens’ poverty. There are several methods through which the issue of poverty can be addressed. The most important is through creating jobs. The best pathway to avert poverty is through a decent income. America needs about 5.6 million new jobs so that the country can avoid heading deeper into poverty (Sherman, 2011). To create jobs, the federal government should consider investing in strategies such as rebuilding infrastructure, renovating abandoned housing structures, developing non-renewable energy, and so on. Raising the minimum wage is also another method of combating inequality. Today’s minimum wage is $7.25 which cannot be able to lift a family of three out of poverty. If the minimum wage is raised from that figure to about $10.10, nearly 20 percent of children will see their parents receive a raise which will reduce poverty (Wage & Primer, 2014). Gender inequality is one of the contributing factors of poverty in most parts of the world. Women usually earn less than their male counterparts even when they are doing the same job and have same level of qualification. If the wage gap is closed, poverty in women will be cut by half and will add almost half a trillion dollars to the US GDP (Seguino, 2009). To bridge this gap, employers should be held accountable if they have any discriminatory salary practices. The above question required the use of critical thinking to develop not only a logical but also relevant and accurate response. In America, poverty is not as pervasive as it is in countries for instance in Asia or Africa. The process of critical thinking helped in gathering the information presented in Part â€Å"1† of the paper. To identify the actual number of people that are in poverty, it is crucial to first understand and define what poverty is, which I

Ronald Reagan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ronald Reagan - Essay Example Franklin Delano Roosevelt's populist rhetoric attracted Reagan to him and later influenced Reagan's speaking style† (Reagan 2020). During the early stages of his career, he landed a job as radio sports sportscaster, â€Å"first at WOC in Davenport, IA, later a full time staff announcer at WHO in Des Moines† (United States. Presidents p. vii). â€Å"However, his biggest break came in the year 1937, when he joined a screen test and succeeded him a contract in Hollywood. Reagan was a famous movie actor during the next two decades and he graced in a total of 53 films† (The White House). â€Å"Account of his personal life included a first marriage to actress Jane Wyman while filming the movie Brother Rat. His first child Maureen was born and Michael Reagan was adopted before their divorce in 1949† (United States Presidents viii). â€Å"In 2001, his first child Maureen passed away†( The White House). â€Å"In 1952, he remarried to a fellow actress in the person of Nancy Davis, with whom had two children, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott† (The White House). â€Å"Reagan and Davis appeared only in one film entitled Hell Cats of the Navy which was filmed in 1957. In 2002, they celebrated their golden wedding anniversary†. ... â€Å"In 1952, he campaigned as a Democrat for Eisenhower. Reagan accepted a job as spokesman for the General Electric Company† (Reagan 2020) which allowed him to â€Å"tour the country by giving speeches as General Electric’s spokes person† (United States President p. viii). He became an advocate for conservatism as this was evident during his speeches. â€Å"In 1960 Reagan joined the campaign of Richard Nixon when he ran for Presidency. In 1962, he officially made a swing to another party which is Republican. It was during his speech in the year 1964, where he appeared on a television address for Goldwater, A Time for Choosing, which officiated his bid to enter a political career. There were several groups who supported his political career, particularly, the group of California businessmen who placed him in his gubernatorial bid. His first autobiography entitled Where's the Rest of Me?  was published in 1965† (Reagan 2020). â€Å"Reagan was elected G overnor of California in 1966 by a margin of a million votes† (The White House). It was during this time when he conquered the incumbent governor then, Edmund G. Brown by a landslide of over a million votes. His success in the election as governor prepared him to become a leading contender for the Republican Presidential race in 1968 (Reagan 2020)†. â€Å"In the same year of 1968, he made a tentative run for the presidency, while waiting until the Republican National Convention to announce his candidacy† (Reagan 2020). He gave his support to Richard Nixon as he joined his massive supporters. â€Å"He sought for re-election as governor and won in 1970† (The White House). â€Å"In the year 1974, months after the expiration of his term as Governor, he began to write for a syndicated

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Critically examine the ways in which China is represented in Flowers Essay

Critically examine the ways in which China is represented in Flowers of Shanghai. Your answer must make reference to the ways - Essay Example The director of the movie Hou Hsiao-hsein is an award winning director and one of the leading contributors to the new wave cinema movement in Taiwan. He has been regarded among the best movie directors of 1990s on creating master piece like Flowers of Shanghai. Some movie critics called it an innovative and prettiest movie however, at the same time the movie also invited waves of criticism and it was also expressed by some movie critics that it was a static, dull and boring movie that does not truly deserves to be listed among the top ten best movie of 1990s. Flowers of Shanghai is widely appraised and viewed as finely blended presentation of artistry, beauty, restrain and patience through its major characters. The plot of the story revolves around four prostitutes living in a Shanghai brothel. The movie depicts the power struggle of prostitutes called flower girls, gentlemen callers and the powerful Auntie who run the show for the prostitutes. The flower girls always look for the fa vour from the auntie that she will give them the richest customers and will send more customers to them. Though the movie is filmed in a brothel but there are no sex scenes in the movie. The girls are shown feeding the men and serving them opium and in exchange they were looking for someone to pay their debts and arrange livelihood for them. When the men show their willingness to marry any girl, the auntie plays the role of merchandiser and books them. It is more focused upon the problems and the efforts of the girls to get out of the problem rather depicting the sex scenes. The plot of the movie is set in the time of late nineteenth century where Shanghai was divided in to several foreign concessions and there are several luxurious flower houses created in the British concession that were meant for the make elite of the city. These brothels were not for the common Chinese people but only the elites for whom they were established could visit at these flower houses. These brothels ha ve their own self-contained world and people use their own language. The visitors came here not only for satisfying the sexual desires but also to dine, smoke opium and to relax their mind with different games. The women working at these brothels were given the name of flowers of shanghai and the movie flower of shanghai is mainly based upon the inner lives of these brothels and the flowers of Shanghai working there. The movie uses single stain of music that is repeated over and over. The repetition is an attempt to convey the message that is real life also same incidents occur again and again only the faces of the players are changed but the game remain the same no matter who win and loss. The movie sets the scene of Shanghai, the capital city of China however, it was not filmed in China but it is the proficiency of the director that he selected the set in such a way that the entire film is shot indoor and not even a single shot of sky or outdoor is included in the movie (Reichert, 2003). The director has close connections with China that could be seen in the movie as well. The way he set up the scene of China outside the country shows his strong imaginations and affiliations with the Chinese environment and culture. There are several cinematic techniques used in the movie that add depth and meaningfulness to the story and at the same time it is

Media Comparison Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Comparison Paper - Essay Example The E-business in its simplest form can be described as doing business in electronic form. Online presence is one predominant form of e-business. Today we are living in a society where the marketing techniques hold a great deal of importance. These techniques include marketing communication together with packaging of the product or service. Mass media plays a crucial role in propagating the message from the company to the existing as well as prospective customer. 'Mass media' a perfect combination of 'Mass' i.e. the public and 'media' i.e. the means of communication, is a deceptively simple yet broad term which encompasses Institutions as well as individuals. Electronic media, print media, internet, informal channels etc are all different forms of mass media. Now a days print media stands distinctly apart from other forms of media. While internet is able to provide us instant access to any information that we desire, print media has the potential of holding our attention provided the company is able to come out with a catchy advertisement. This forms the basis for further exploration. Dell seems to have mastered the art of co ming out with catchy ideas while propagating the message through print media. ... ell makes it a point that the advertisement appears distinctively graceful and full of information, sufficient enough for the prospective customer to do some initial research. In addition the company indicates its website address as well, with the information that the products can be customer built depending upon the requirements of the customers. This helps the company in making it a comprehensive marketing communication campaign. Dell.com: Where every day brings a New Deal The homepage of Dell is quite attractive as compared with the latest laptops inviting the visitor to at least have a look on the features. In the products category on the net, the company displays its entire range of products with options for the customer to go through all these products and zero-in on the desired one. Subsequently, the customer is taken on the desired product page, which displays; i. The price of the product ii. The tabs 'Build yours' and 'Build Yours with 64 bit power' for customization of the product1 Once the customer starts making his/her own product e.g. laptop computer with distinctive requirements, the costs of the product gets updated automatically. This feature is generally not found with other companies Once the prospective customer finalizes his/her requirements, the website asks the customer to fill out some of the personal details so that the company executive could get in touch with the person/s. This process hardly takes couple of minutes. Now, it is the turn of the company and its executives to get in touch with the online visitor and offer him/her the products at best possible prices. This is perfectly in line with the theories of communication which say that the visit must be followed up with matching offers to the customer. If the customer feels inclined

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Love and Divorce in Lifespan Development Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Love and Divorce in Lifespan Development - Essay Example By virtue of critically analyzing various stages of development, it can be noted that some of these situations which may take place can end up affecting someone’s future love life. According to Erikson’s theory of socio-emotional development, an individual has to go through four different stages before reaching adolescence. These four stages include Trust versus Mistrust, Autonomy versus Shame and Doubt, Initiative versus Guilt, and Accomplishment/Industry versus Inferiority (Rosenthal, Gurney, & Moore, 1981). If these stages yield no changes when the individual goes through them, it can prove to be a negative development to that person as he or she gets older. If a child does not understand the difference between trust and mistrust, he or she will find that it is difficult to implement them in a future relationship. This is an important stage to see positive development in children. John Piaget also concurs with Erikson’s theory of socio-emotional development. He believes that by the time a child reaches adolescence, he should have already developed the ability to think in terms of reality, to make decisions based on his or her own perceptions, and to observe the environment (Piaget, 1997). These are some of the skills that play important roles as the individual begins to form relationships with others. The decisions that they make in terms of their relationships can affect the way they grow. If they are unable to assess reality and their environment, this will have a bearing on the type of relationship they will have. This also determines the situation that would suit them best which may be risky in that it can strain their future relationships.

Media Comparison Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Media Comparison Paper - Essay Example The E-business in its simplest form can be described as doing business in electronic form. Online presence is one predominant form of e-business. Today we are living in a society where the marketing techniques hold a great deal of importance. These techniques include marketing communication together with packaging of the product or service. Mass media plays a crucial role in propagating the message from the company to the existing as well as prospective customer. 'Mass media' a perfect combination of 'Mass' i.e. the public and 'media' i.e. the means of communication, is a deceptively simple yet broad term which encompasses Institutions as well as individuals. Electronic media, print media, internet, informal channels etc are all different forms of mass media. Now a days print media stands distinctly apart from other forms of media. While internet is able to provide us instant access to any information that we desire, print media has the potential of holding our attention provided the company is able to come out with a catchy advertisement. This forms the basis for further exploration. Dell seems to have mastered the art of co ming out with catchy ideas while propagating the message through print media. ... ell makes it a point that the advertisement appears distinctively graceful and full of information, sufficient enough for the prospective customer to do some initial research. In addition the company indicates its website address as well, with the information that the products can be customer built depending upon the requirements of the customers. This helps the company in making it a comprehensive marketing communication campaign. Dell.com: Where every day brings a New Deal The homepage of Dell is quite attractive as compared with the latest laptops inviting the visitor to at least have a look on the features. In the products category on the net, the company displays its entire range of products with options for the customer to go through all these products and zero-in on the desired one. Subsequently, the customer is taken on the desired product page, which displays; i. The price of the product ii. The tabs 'Build yours' and 'Build Yours with 64 bit power' for customization of the product1 Once the customer starts making his/her own product e.g. laptop computer with distinctive requirements, the costs of the product gets updated automatically. This feature is generally not found with other companies Once the prospective customer finalizes his/her requirements, the website asks the customer to fill out some of the personal details so that the company executive could get in touch with the person/s. This process hardly takes couple of minutes. Now, it is the turn of the company and its executives to get in touch with the online visitor and offer him/her the products at best possible prices. This is perfectly in line with the theories of communication which say that the visit must be followed up with matching offers to the customer. If the customer feels inclined