My Vacation Essay

There is one magical place where my family vacations to most summers. It is quiet, relaxing, beautiful, magnificent, and inspiring. Located in Saranac Lake, in rural New York, this is where my family has some of the best times. We stay in a calm and serene cabin where my Aunt and Uncle live. But I’m getting ahead of myself. Before I can explain what I do during this vacation, I must explain the background and history of this special family gathering. My family is not the type the goes on expensive or classy vacations to the Caribbean. We prefer memorable vacations, whether it is in Florida, Colorado, Cape Cod, or Saranac Lake. The places we go do not matter, but more the events that take place during them. Once my mom’s side of the family had grown, and all my grandparents, aunts, and uncles, had their children, everyone decided it would be fun to have a family reunion of some sort. My Aunt’s cabin sounded like a fun place to meet every summer- and that’s where we have met ever since. Now lots of the kids have grown up, and even though they are older they still enjoy some of the things we did when we first came. Some activities include hiking, swimming, fishing, canoeing, and boating on the lake. Also, playing board games and watching movies when it’s rainy, having cookies down on the dock, or playing a good game of hide and seek in the woods. Vacations to the lake are like an escape from the outside world, and a chance to see nature and still have fun. Every summer is guaranteed to be a blast, in rain or shine. To conclude, my vacations to the lake will always remain memorable and special. I hope that one day I will be able to continue the tradition for my family. Through the years, I have always been sort of jealous of my friends who told about their extravagant vacations to paradise, but I have soon realized that I would never trade my experiences for any of theirs. Why? Because I have something that they will never have. I have a family that loves and cares for each other, and would do anything to make everyone happy. I have a lifetimes worth of memories from only a few days. Finally, I have joy.

A Peoples History Essay

ZINN QUESTIONS – A People’s History of the United States by Howard Zinn Chapter 1 – Columbus, the Indians and Human Progress http://www.historyisaweapon.com/zinnapeopleshistory.html 1. According to Zinn, what is his main purpose for writing A People’s History of the United States? 2. What is Zinn’s thesis for pages 1-11? 3. According to Zinn, how is Columbus portrayed in traditional history books? 4. Why does Zinn dispute Henry Kissinger’s statement: â€Å"History is the memory of states?† 5. What is Zinn’s basic criticism of historian Samuel Eliot Morison’s book, Christopher Columbus, Mariner? 6. What major issues does Bartolome de las Casas bring up regarding Spanish expeditions in the Caribbean? 7. Identify one early and one subsequent motive that drove Columbus to oppress indigenous peoples. 8. What was the ultimate fate of the Arawak Indians? 9. What was the significance of Quetzalcoatl? 10. Compare the strategies and motives underlying the conquest of the Aztecs by Cortez and the conquest of the Incas by Pizzaro. 11. What were the major causes of war between the Powhatans and the English settlers? 12. Discuss the significance of Powhatan’s statement, â€Å"Why will you take by force what you may have quietly by love?† 13. Explain Governor John Winthrop’s legal and biblical justification for seizing Indian land. 14. Explain the main tactic of warfare used by the English against the Indians. 15. According to Roger Williams, how did the English usually justify their attacks on the Indians? 16. What ultimately happened to the estimated 10 million Indians living in North America at the time of Columbus’ arrival? 17. Evaluate the statement: â€Å"If there are sacrifices to be made for human progress, is it not essential to hold to the principle that those to be sacrificed must make the decision themselves?† 18. How does Zinn attempt to prove that the Indians were not inferior? Provide examples.

Hume and his contemporaries Essay

Live art performances, marked by an overture of spirituality, consciousness, physical introductions to pain, drawn further on to include specific rituals, symbolisms, varied states of emotions brought by self-inflicted hurt and eventually, culminating in a wild display of frenzy and shocking images, are less likely to please the uninitiated audience than it will provoke a sense of awe and wonderment among performance art critics. In a similar situation, Marina Abramovic’s attempts to upend the static discourses of physicality, mental states of mind and art that pervade current Western hegemony, understandably, can only be regarded in the extremes by people steeped firmly into formal traditions. Either her method of performance will elevate its spectators to a heightened degree of appreciation, therefore merit a thunderous welcome to a novel brand, sui generis, of art of our time at the end of each scene; or her gruesome didactics on the body’s threshold for pain, simply fails to pass muster. Her performance practice, a risk more than anything else, certainly inspire debates on whether or not to set moral, perhaps even social limits to art in order to determine, in precise and concrete terms, at which point creativity and imaginative art themes and performances become either delightful to the senses or noxious to the sensitivities of the general public. The idea of drawing the line along and between different shades of extremes, although already evinced clearly in the works of Marina Abramovic, seems to fit the consensus on the idea of censuring the bold and burlesque, stripping it off its material enunciation and expression to mitigate the horror and revulsion inherent in the exposition, or in the worst case, totally ignore it until the novel yet misunderstood facade fades from inattention. However, thanks mainly to Marina Abramovic’s unwavering desire to reach her audience, despite the sometimes hostile reception during her performances itself, in ways that continually push the envelope of spectator tolerance, did she carry her work from the esoteric art circles to mainstream. To wit, in one of her collaborative performances with Ulay, entitled Incision (1978), while purposively eliciting reaction, probably direct participation, from their audience, one of the spectators primed the climactic resonance of the work by jumping into the stage to kick Marina Abramovic as she was lying prostate right in the middle of the act. In her biographical work, she writes that although she expected the attack to happen any moment during the performance, she did not realize the immediacy and steeled resolution of that man who assailed her (Abramovic, 1998). Photographs of the show caught the man with a leg lifted, jumping into the air. â€Å"The next photograph shows Abramovic lying on the floor, and the man seems to be landing from a kicking action [†¦] the audience’s interrogation manifested in a spontaneous physical attack (Tang, 2005). Ethical and moral questions, as well as aesthetic controversies have been discussed quite animatedly as early as the 18th century. Philosophers, like David Hume, have started to addressed the tough issues about morality, art and taste—the chief concerns that pervaded his era. Cynthia Freeland, introducing the notions of Taste and Beauty, in a book about defining the slippery strands of art, writes that Hume and his contemporaries â€Å"would not have approved of blasphemy, immorality, sex, or the use of body fluids as appropriate in art† (Freeland 2001). As a caveat to this general statement, it must be understood that even though 18th century consciousness all the way up to the present have not been too open in giving cognizance to art that smack of Marina Abramovic’s own brand of carnal art expressions, there are already extant cultural and social systems which places importance into shamanistic and ritualistic gestures. Among art critics and historians, some pursue a theory of art as ritual: â€Å"ordinary objects or acts acquire symbolic significance through incorporation into a shared belief system† (Freeland, 2001). In the same vein, Freeland further digs deep in history to provide evidence in varied cultural rituals that depict blood and physical pain. She avers that â€Å"when a Mayan king shed blood before the multitude in Palenque by piercing his own penis and drawing a thin reed through it three times, he exhibited his shamanistic ability to contact the land of the undead† (2001). Other modern artists try to recreate a similar sense of art as ritual, just as much as Marina Abramovic has had for the last three decades. Diamanda Galas, for instance, â€Å"fuses operatic wizardry, light shows and glistening blood in her Plague Mass† (2001), supposedly to exorcise pain in the era of Aids. Herman Nitsch, Viennese founder of the Orgies Mystery Theater, promises â€Å"catharsis through a combination of music, painting, wine-pressing, and ceremonial pouring of animal blood and entrails† (Nitsch, n. d. in Freeland, 2001). As it turns out, these very rituals are ingrained in Western traditions. Illuminating examples of which are the amount of blood depicted in European’s, and verily much of the cultures in the modern world today, two main belief discourses: that of the Judeo-Christian and the Greco-Roman. By taking a cursory review of religious and classical texts of Western traditions, we are able to immediately uncover a plenitude of blood representations and ritualistic sacrifices. In the Old Testament, Yahweh is seen to require â€Å"sacrifices as parts of His covenant with the Hebrews† (Freeland, 2001). Similarly, Agamemnon â€Å"faced a divine command to slit the throat of his own child [†¦] the blood of Jesus is so sacred that it is symbolically drunk to this day by believing Christians as promising redemption and eternal life† (2001). Such myths and religious stories are rather germane to Western art. We read of Homeric heroes wining the favors of their gods and goddesses by sacrificing animals. Likewise, the tragedies of Lucan and Seneca â€Å"piled up more body parts than Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Sreet† (2001). Not surprisingly, likewise, Renaissance paintings are never without a hint of blood draped at the canvassed in hard red-acrylic paint whilst Shakespeare’s tragedies typically concluded with swordplay and stabbings. The preceding examples of ritualistic performances which involves blood and sacrifices, death and disease, murder and trials, are very instructive with regards to our penchant for the macabre and the dreadful. It is in these premises that Marina Abramovic draws much of her inspiration to create an art, pro forma, that bespeak of our capacity to endure scenes of gore and violence—if only on a less exacerbated state. Her performance, for the most part, certainly places importance on the symbolic values of ceremonies, gestures and artifacts. Albeit appearing random and spontaneous, her methods establish a logical connection between her consciousness while performing and her body’s means of coping with the strength of self-infliction. In the nascent days of her art, she has performed controversial after controversial explorations into the limitations of the mind and the body. Rhythm 10, in 1973, was the first in a series of abject surrender to the inevitability of suffering. Alone in the stage, she prepared a set of knives to be used as piercing objects in a risky game of Russian hand roulette. Without signs of hesitation, she proceeded to stab the spaces between her fingers in a rough yet determined fashion. Each time she made the mistake of cutting her flesh; she dropped the knife and took out another one to repeat the process all over again until she made use of all ten knives (Abramovic, 1998). The following year, in the performance entitled Rhythm 5, she sought to re-evoke the energy of extreme body pain by constructing a huge star soused with combustible petroleum liquid. At the onset, the structure as lit to flames, and while she was standing right outside the contraption, she religiously clipped her fingernails, cut her hair and them inside the burning star. The denouement of the program was when she danced around and then flew across the flames into the center of the burning star. Serious and life-threatening complications ensued when the smoke that engulfed her from inside asphyxiated her to the point that she no longer had control of her actions. The medical team and the audience, who were all there to watch, started to suspect that something was terribly amiss. Fortunately, the quick responses from the stand-by technicians saved her from an untimely death caused by severe smoke inhalation (Abramovic, 1998). In the same year and the years that followed, Marina Abramovic designed similar art experiments that were meant to test the limits of herself and her body, and later the audience and their tolerance for vicarious agony through her body. Rhythm 2 and Rhythm 0, were performed with the hopes of proving that the consciousness can go beyond the rubric of psychological triggers in mind. The sole aim of both was to uproot the inherited tendencies of the mind to reel from stark images and provocative gestures. She sought to cultivate in the audience a sense of indifference in order that one may reach a virtual catharsis what with all the sharp and strong representations between the body and suffering. For artists like Marina Abramovic, it is clear to them that what they are performing, and while in the act of performing, there is a higher purpose that they wish to achieve regardless of the methods by which these are made possible. They have a firm understanding and appreciation for every act and gesture that they make. None of such are done without rhyme and reason. For artists like Marina Abramovic, everything that happens during any performance, in spite of the harsh opinions of critic that meet them right afterwards, makes a lot of sense. However, audiences who see and react to these artists do not enter, much less share the beliefs and values, or with prior knowledge of what will transpire, with that of the artist. When asked about the origins of her creativity and ideas for her art performance, Marina Abramovic happily recalls her childhood memories with her parents. As if to show indeed that her style was a result of previous life experiences that may be susceptible to a psychoanalytical reading, she narrates: â€Å"A long time ago I made a piece called Art Must Be Beautiful, Artist Must Be Beautiful. At that time, I thought that art should be disturbing rather than beautiful. [†¦]My life is full of such contradictions. [†¦] My father and mother are divorced. As an adult, I recently wanted to go back to help them because of the war. With the embargo, there is nothing in the stores. [†¦] I called my father to ask him what he needs, and he dictates a long list – antibiotics, bandages, penicillin, toilet paper, coffee, sugar, powdered milk, all these basic things for survival. Then I call my mother and ask what she needs. She says, â€Å"I need Chanel lipstick, Absolute Red, Number 345, and hair spray. † I am between these two. † (Abramovic, 2005) Most modern art, in this case, within the context of theatre, videos and live performances, fail to provide ample background reinforcement against the dominant traditions and systems of belief. What invariably happens is that the audiences will remain ignorant to, consequently, unappreciative of the complexities and undertones of the supposedly artful, meaningful and profound gestures. The audience, instead of sharing that same degree of catharsis, sacrifice and initiation, will shy away. They themselves are alienated from the performance so much that they are brought far afield the community, forcing them to abandon the art because of pure shock and horror, largely as a result of their ineligibility to feel as the artists do (Freeland, 2001). Damien Hirst, the ‘Britpack’ artist who sparked controversy in the 1990s with his motley display of macabre high-tech exhibits of â€Å"dead sharks, sliced cows, or lambs in glasses of formaldehyde, [†¦] has parlayed his notoriety into success with his popular Pharmacy restaurant in London† (Freeland, 2001). By no means, therefore, are the works that revolve around symbolisms, spirituality, humanity and fatalism seldom reflects the nature of most of our ritualistic traditions. Symbols of pain and suffering that are central to many religions, cultural systems, political and social units, may come off to the lay person as undesirable and may even cause the same panic as had the man in Marina Abramovic’s performance. Art performance that utilizes imageries that hint at violence, torture and distress, when it is performed in the public who has no inkling of its context, meaning and history are in danger of misconstruing art for capricious display of filth and tripe. As with all in theatre, the performer must work â€Å"against mutual projection between audience and performer†, the identification in which â€Å"[we] believe so readily in the other as the keeper of our treasure and our disease† (Tang, 2004). Valie Export, a similarly omnipresent and provocative figure in the world of art performance, shares the same problems of audience interaction, although not as much as Marina Abramovic. Beside art performance, her repertoire includes film, text, painting and photography to name a few. These avenues of artistic expression gravitate towards her criticisms for feminism and gender. A staunch activist and a progressive performer, she has oftentimes been called a woman living an anachronistic life. This is due to her revolutionary ways to present her ideas that even her colleagues, who without proper notice of her intentions to perform, usually end up dismissing her as too fanciful and idealistic. Her works on ‘Asemie or the Inability of Expressing Oneself Through Facial Expressions’ (1973) and ‘Touch Cinema’ (1968) garnered both fame and distress. Chief of the reasons that contributed to an admixture of reception from the critics and audience is the fact that her ideas do not create strong meaningful associations that the people can readily identify with. Humor and parody may be part and parcel of her work as a performer, but these effects are not what she contemplated to be so. Indeed, while she wanted to catch the attention of her spectators, her ultimate goal is to instruct them of the subtle messages regarding feminism, modernism and ritual art. Export, along with the controversial artists at the turn of the 21st century, became (in-)famous in the recent decades because of her startling presentations of objects and her body (Mueller, 2004). Of her earlier works, ‘Aktionshose: Genitalpanik’ or ‘Action Pants: Genitals in Panic’ (1968), Export engaged the audience, piquing their imagination and belief, with a series of photographs, simultaneously permitting them to engage her as the tangible representations of the images presented in the collage. In an art theater in Munich, dressed to the nines, with the crotch cut out of her pants, Valie Export threaded each row person-to-person, showed her outfit thereby giving the film-viewing public with a palpably visual representation with a real female body. In doing so Export tackled the pornographic reduction of women in static representations just when ideas of feminism and gender were starting to develop during that time. Her message is commensurate to a direct, unapologetic, political affront to the abstract objectification of the female body as a fetish. She moved an aesthetic gesture beyond the representational context of the safe boundaries of art into an actual encounter with a public. Export effectively brought to the fore the various dimension of simple, albeit arresting, bodily gestures â€Å"both to produce and to represent action [. . . ] by stressing the moment and the process of its own production† (Stiles, n. d. ). Export repudiated the representational static sign and discharged an interventionist act by revealing her yonic-self to the public vis-a-vis the photos on the display. Art performance, in the recent decades since its entrance in the mainstream, has, and is continuing to encompass a wide field of human proclivities which spans across a whole, comprehensive range of emotions, symbols and design. Although traditional views on aesthetics and taste still influence much of the productions in the art, more and more innovative, socially-informed, stunningly beautiful works of art performance are being (re-)invented and (re-)discovered every time. It doesn’t matter whether these newly created art forms subscribe to tradition or to the taste of the general public. What matters most is the never-ending quest to plumb the full extent of our humanity as individuals and as a community. Art performance is yet to supplant, at least equal the popularity of video-films, cinema, photography and painting in terms of the instances that these are demanded by the public. But with the works of Marina Abramovic, Ulay, Damien Hirst, Valie Export et al and their boundless passion to break the mold and stun the public to enlightenment, art performance can be considered as a significant cornucopia of art studies and of artistic expression. A number of critics do give favorable comments to Marina Abramovic’s performances and ingenuity, Valie Export’s live photography sessions, Hirst’s â€Å"gleaming vitrines with suspended animals inside† (Freeland, 2001). However, it must be noted that even if the critics find them beautiful and artful still its startling content warrants full attention; nothing short of shallow and pedantic in all respects of praise and criticism. Freeland writes, perhaps disinterestedness has some small and specific role in approaching difficult art by enabling us to try harder to look at and understand something that seems very repugnant to the senses (2001). The work’s content and the artist performing are just as crucial as the theories that surround art performance. It is not so much as merely an arbitrary act done through the caprice of a strange art performer. It is instead, a manifestation of our natural tendencies, our history, our sense of taste and what is beautiful, our entire spirituality and lastly, our consciousness set against the body as a tool to perceive reality. Art performance as practiced by these artists is a celebration of the body and of our community. An excellent performance and performer do more than take the audience to elevated heights, but also give them a sense of being truly and undeniably alive. And such, makes all the difference. References Abramovic, M. (2005). Marina Abramovic: the biography of biographies. New York & London: Charta Publishers. Abramovic, M. (1998). Artist body: performances 1969-1998. New York & London: Charta Publishers. Freeland, C. (2001). But is it art? : blood and beauty. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc. Mueller, R. (1994). Valie Export: fragments of imagination. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. Stiles, C. (n. d. ). Aktionshose: genitalpanik (action pants: genital in panic). Retrieved January 15 2008, The Galleries at Moore database. Tang, A. (2005). Gazing at horror: body performance in the wake of mass social trauma. (Masters of Arts program, Rhodes University 2005). .

Mateship Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Mateship - Essay Example He spoke with his wife and they had determined that if they portioned there money properly they would be able to purchase a home, with a small amount of livestock and farmland. If they were able to reach their quotas they would be able to continue to support themselves and their infant daughter Abby. As Alex continued to look outside his window he became increasingly worried. While the first few years after moving to their new home had gone as they had hoped, in recent years they had experienced tremendous hardship. A spread of disease had overtaken much of their cattle, causing them to use the profits they had saved throughout the earlier years to buy new livestock. While the farmland had been the backbone of their existence, the recent drought had placed them once again on hard times. Added to this difficulty the couple’s infant daughter Abby was now a five year child with increasing demands; should be need to be sent to school in the upcoming year and the family worried abo ut having the money to support her education. Alex worried that if things did not soon improve he would have to sell the farm and admit catastrophic failure. While Alex and his family had enjoyed their lives and had become accustomed to the relative solitude, it did mean that they had to rely only on themselves in these challenging situations. Alex considered his solitude. He thought that of all the friends and family he had known throughout his life and recognized that there was nobody that could help him. He began to think about his surroundings. There was not another neighbor for nearly twenty-miles in any direction, except the lone estate on Douglas Hill. He had never ventured to this estate. It was clearly the home of a rich man, as it had fantastic architecture and was surrounded by a large and expensive fence. Alex recognized that there was farmland in the back and that the owner must have a reservoir of water he saved for droughts. Still, Alex had always been intimidated by entering the area of the home as he recognized the individual probably wanted nothing to do with a poor farmer like himself. Alex thought to himself – desperate times call for desperate measures – and set out to the estate. When Alex reached the estate he pressed the buzzer outside the gate. A light came on and he spoke into it identifying himself. He heard nothing on the other end and began walking away; as he was walking away the gates began to open. Alex turned around and walked towards the estate. When he reached the door Alex remained intimidated as he knocked on the door. He waited for a moment, expecting to be sent away or disregarded. Suddenly the door opened. ‘Howdy mate!’ a smiling middle-aged man in a hat said. Alex was taken aback. He had expected an old and serious gentleman, but had found an upbeat and casual person. Alex explained to the individual that he lived in the house a mile away. Before he could explain why he came, the man invited h im in. He introduced himself, saying his name was Steve. Alex was still slightly intimidate, but had become increasingly relaxed by Steve’s friendly demeanor. The two men walked into the home and onto the back porch. Steve retrieved some beers and they sat and talked about the area. Steve told him he had move there twenty-years ago and had started out from humble beginnings and built his farm and wealth up from nearly nothing. The conversation shifted to the drought and Alex told him about the dire straights his family had fallen into as a direct result. Understanding

Analysis of a Work of Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of a Work of Art - Essay Example Upon careful analysis, one can understand the techniques used by the artist as well as understand the subject matter that he tried to depict. The paintings were bought off by the museum at an auction, which sold the various components of art that existed within the villa since the late 1900. The villa was thought to be owned by Publius Fannius Synistor and Lucius Herennius Florus, however, there is no clue as to who was the first owner and who it was that commissioned the paintings (JSTOR 17). This work of art belongs to the Late Republican Roman period, somewhere between 50-40 BC (The Metropolitan Museum of Art 1). The work of art reveals a quite impressive garland made out of fruits and leaves, which has been suspended from a â€Å"brilliant wall of simulated masonry† (1). The garland has a sacrificial bull’s head, that is, the bucrania, from which a red thread hangs tied to a wicker basket that contains ivy leaves and out of which a snake is uncoiling (1). The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Works of Art: Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History."  The Metropolitan Museum of Art. N.p.,  2014. Web. 19  July  2014.

Civil Rights Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Civil Rights - Essay Example (Suffrage) This has brought us to the issue of Selma Civil Rights Movement, which happened sometimes many years back. It’s occurred due to the violation of Blacks right to Vote. â€Å"In 1963, Selma, Alabama, was a small town of about 30,000 people. It was located in Dallas County, where only 1% of eligible blacks were registered to vote. Many blacks were apathetic about voting, which they saw as "white folks business." As in Mississippi, it was supremely difficult for blacks to register to vote†. (Birmingham) It’s also another movement made of Civil Right. Is â€Å"often referred to as the SCLC, was one of the most significant participants in the civil rights movement in the 1950s and 1960s†. (Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC)) â€Å"The SCLC had its origins in several mid-twentieth-century phenomena. Blacks returning from service in World War II (1941-45) were no longer willing to accept injustices at home that they had fought against abroad; black southern churches were powerful social institutions; blacks were becoming more involved in the Democratic Party;†. (Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) ‘Sit in at Technical College, was also part of the Civil Right Movement in the United State, which occurred in the year 1960. â€Å"In 1960 four freshmen from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro strolled into the F. W. Woolworth store and quietly sat down at the lunch counter.†. (Sits In Freedom Rides and Demonstrations) They were the first blacks to attend school mixed with white. â€Å"They later came to be called, were the first black teenagers to attend all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, in 1957. These remarkable young African-American students challenged segregation in the deep South and won. Although Brown v. Board of Education outlawed segregation in schools, many racist school systems defied the law by

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, Essay - 1

Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you - Essay Example It was getting late. My stomach rumbled to the thought of jerk chicken. Even though I was ignorant to what exactly the â€Å"jerk† component to the chicken was, I still wanted some to ease my demanding stomach. An American tourist, whom we had met earlier, had told us, â€Å"It’s an authentic Jamaican must-have. And the woman down about a quarter mile from here sells the best. Just look for the pink roofs.† I moved down to the beach from our cottage, letting my legs transport me to the transient line between the wet and the dry sands. The wind had stopped, leaving only calmness on the ocean surf coming in to greet me. Being alone, I could be myself, and allow the natural beauty open my mind to the foreignness of the landscape. I moved slowly down the beach, and as the pink roofs came into view, I emerged out of my reverie. The marketplace was crowded. There were no tourists in sight, and populated by merchants with dark metal food stands. Before I arrived, the community stood lively and laughing. After I arrived, the crowd fell silent. As I started to search for jerk chicken, a group of men approached. Their forearms and hands bulged with muscles. Their clothes held the dark dirt of the fields and were severely tattered in some parts, as if the men had just been done with a day of work. A familiar emotion came over me: fear to look into any one of their faces. I remember one of the men stepping to the front of the pack. Venturing no further up than his chest, I noticed a long diagonal gash running down his midsection. I wanted to cower down and crawl away. After a moment of silence, I mustered the courage to look up into his eyes dark, unforgiving, and questioning. He taunted, â€Å"Hi, litt’l girl! Dis ain’t da beach!† I ran, the gravel beneath my bare feet did not even faze me. My peaceful journey along the

Banking Crises in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Banking Crises in UK - Essay Example By doing so, banks are actually diverting their resources to potentially unproductive activities as the regulatory compliance may not directly provide the desired benefits in terms of monetary return. The emerging trends in the regulations in the financial as well as corporate markets are increasing in numbers and intensity as the increasing mismanagement and corporate scandals have forced regulatory authorities to look for the legal frameworks which help achieve the organizations more transparency as well as flexibility in their approach and responsibilities towards all the stakeholders in the firms. Some of the external events like the 9/11 incidents also played a major role in bringing in the new regulations into place so that traditional business channels specially the financial institutions are not being used for potentially harmful activities including terrorism. It was because of these reasons that regulations like BASEL II, Sarbanes Oxley, and The European Commissions Financial Services Action Plan were enforced to rationalize and revamp the existing regulatory framework. Thus the challenges are various to the banking sector as a whole and to the UK financial sector especially as London is now largely being considered as the international hub of the financial activities all over the world. In order to The essay will look into the present crisis banking sector is facing currently all over the world and UK especially. External environment for the UK Banking and Finance Companies In order to analyze the external environment for the UK Banking and finance companies, it is very important that we need to take a very comprehensive view of the factors involved into the overall banking scenario in the world. The globalization is taking its roots on more firm basis and it is because of this reason that the economic resources are being shifting from the more developed countries to the emerging economies such as China, Brazil, India and Russia. The emergence of the BRIC has therefore effectively shifted the economic resources and with it the economic activities therefore now since most of the activities are being performed in those geographical locations therefore like all other businesses, the banks are also shifting themselves to these locations to concentrate on the market development and penetration into these countries. (Hale, 2004). Thus the trends in globalization are forcing banks and other financial institutions in UK to face challenges from the banks working in those areas as most of the international syndications are being done by the regional banks in those regions and the overall market share of the UK Banks is shrinking. Further to this, banking sector over the period of time has seen a period of consolidation allowing a wave of mergers and acquisitions. Banks, over the period of time has improved their competencies by acquiring and merging with more efficient banks in order to gain more and more market space. Further Information technology is a new and emerging trend in the market which suggests that the banks are increasingly becoming more competitive in this area.(Grealish,2004) One of the most important challenges that are being faced by the UK Banks is the fact that the impact of US subprime mortgages is going to hit or have already hit the UK banks. The subprime mortgage crisis which has started into US is slowly being engulfing

Gambling Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Gambling - Research Paper Example There was a time when gambling was considered illegal or a disrespectful activity but now it has become a Multi-billion dollar activity in most parts of the world. In many parts of the world funding charities and other voluntary works are heavily funded with the money raised from gambling. People tend to fantasize that what they would do when they would win the lottery but mostly people rely on buying lottery tickets and some occasionally gamble with intentions that their lives are not seriously affected with it. After the approval of legalizing gambling in the United States, there has been a significant decline in certain types of gambling which include buying lottery tickets and mostly bingo for different cash prizes (Pew Research Center 2006). Gambling in the view of many people is the most popular kind of fun enjoyment activity today. Most of the people indulge in gambling because they feel a rush or another kind of feeling each time they place a bet whether it is on sports on its casino gambling. Mostly it is a tool to have fun among most of the people. Since gambling is being legalized in many parts of the world, therefore legislative bodies have imposed many laws for safe gambling. All in all the basic reason behind legalizing gambling was the establishment of gambling places which plays an important role in the economic development. Many religious groups protested against the legalization of gambling and they mainly focused on the key points that it will threaten the stability of the community (Azmier 2000). After the Gambling was legalized in the United States of America, it was evident that people started to spend more money on legal gambling now and this is a significant change if compared to history. The legalization of gambling encouraged people to gamble more than the limit they could afford. Buying lottery tickets has increased significantly in United States of America and a large proportion of people believe that it is a way to

A Balanced Chemical Equation by Experiment Essay Example for Free

A Balanced Chemical Equation by Experiment Essay Introduction The purpose is to use the mole relationships to prove the validity of the balanced chemical equation and that the final product of the experiment would confirm the balanced equation. The hypothesis made is that the experiment would in fact confirm the balanced equation. This is because, by balancing the equation two products that do exist are hypothetically formed. By the end of this experiment it will be seen whether the products calcium carbonate and sodium chloride will be made upon mixing calcium chloride and sodium carbonate together. The dependent variables are the amount and the chemical composition of the product formed and the independent variables are the individual amounts of deionized water, calcium chloride and sodium carbonate. Therefore, if calcium chloride and sodium carbonate are mixed together, then the reaction will produce calcium carbonate salt and sodium chloride. Materials * Stirring rod * Electronic balance * Fine filter paper * Deionized water * 2 small beakers * Sodium carbonate * Erlenmeyer flask * Graduated cylinder * Calcium chloride * Safety glasses * Funnel Procedure 1. The groups name was marked in pencil on the rim of the filter paper. 2. The mass of the filter paper was measured and recorded. 3. A clean dry small beaker was put on the electronic balance and was tarred. 2.138 grams of sodium carbonate crystals were added and the exact mass was recorded. 4. A different beaker was then put on the electronic balance and was tarred. 1.040 grams of calcium chloride was added to and the exact mass was recorded. 5. Approximately 25 mL of deionized water was added separately to each of the beakers. Each beaker was stirred with different ends of a stir rod until the solids were dissolved. 6. The calcium chloride solution was poured into the sodium carbonate solution. 7. The funnel was rested in a tall Erlenmeyer flask and the liquid was poured through into the filter paper which lined the inside of the funnel. This collected the solid. 8. Two separate 10 mL quantities of deionized water was poured through the filter paper. 9. The beakers and stir rods were cleaned and returned to their appropriate places. 10. When dried, the mass of the filter paper and soil was measured and recorded and discarded into the garbage. Results Quantitative Results Na2CO3 2.138 grams CaCl2 1.040 grams Final Substance (Na2CO3 + CaCl2 ) 2.125 grams Filter Paper Qualitative Results Na2CO3 * When mixed with water, foam appeared at the side and the surface of the solution * There was also a white flaky substance that formed CaCl2 * When mixed with water, the solution fogged up with foamy substance at the sides of the solution * Tiny bubble like substance also formed at the side Final Substance (Na2CO3 + CaCl2 ) * When the two substances mixed together, a white powdery precipitate was formed. * The flakes of powder were easily broken down. Calculations Conclusion The initial hypothesis stated can now be proved correct as after completing the experiment, the statement, which stated that the experiment would prove the balanced chemical equation true. As in the balanced equation CaCO3 was formed, this is in fact calcium carbonate, which is the salt that was produced. It is known that a chemical reaction took place because a precipitate was formed, one of the indications of a chemical equation. Also, this is a double displacement reaction. The information given by coefficients in a balanced equation can be understood to represent the relative number of molecules of that substance and as the relative number of moles involved in the reaction. Equations must be balanced because: Law of Conservation of Matter: Atoms can be neither created nor destroyed in an ordinary chemical reaction, so there must be the same number of atoms on both sides of the equation. The mass of all the reactants (the substances going into a reaction) must equal the mass of the products (the substances produced by the reaction). By using the percent yield, the success of the experiment can be determined. The higher the number of the percent yield (closer to 100%) is an indication that the experiment was more successful. The percent yield of this experiment is 99.68% 100.32%, which indicates that the reaction was successful, but the change of 0.32% is also to be noted. This change may have been caused because of incorrect mass data. Possible errors that could have occurred involve an inaccurate measure in mass of the final substance. When pouring the calcium chloride into the sodium carbonate, there was a residue left in the beaker that held the calcium chloride therefore not all of the substance was poured into the sodium carbonate. This also occurred when the final solution was poured through the filter paper. This would have led to a change in the mass data of the initial products to produce the insoluble calcium carbonate salt. Another error that could have occurred includes the fact that the product produced was kept overnight exposed to dust particles which may have mixed with the product and changed the mass data or the chemical composition of it. Also, there may have been impurities within the instruments used to perform the experiment. As other classes also use the same instruments, it can be determined how well they were cleaned and what chemical residue may have been left on the instruments. Modifications to the procedure of this lab that can lead to fewer errors include and more reliable results would be to check the utensils used for the experiment very well and to clean them with a cleaning agent to cancel out the possibilities of chemical residues left on them. Also, leaving the filter paper with the product in an airtight container or other vessel that would allow for steady temperatures and not let any substances in or out of the vessel.

The Current Zynga Strategy Diamond Marketing Essay

The Current Zynga Strategy Diamond Marketing Essay Launched in 2007, Zynga has expanded its portfolio from exclusively Facebook API services to provide independent and multiplatform social gaming on personal computers, tablets and mobile devices (Zynga, p 1-2, 2013). However, less than a year after appearing on the stock exchange Zynga has fallen on hard times (Zynga, p 1, 2013). The challenge of satisfying evolving consumer needs and the microeconomic climate have severely impacted your bottom line. Your stock price has fallen over 70% and you have recorded net losses of nearly $53 million in Q3 2012 alone (Zynga, p 1, 2013). In order to stay relevant in todays market and return Zynga to the social gaming pioneer it once was, you must employ radical changes. I have identified four main challenges facing Zynga today. Firstly, Zynga is in the business of casual gaming with a social twist. But because casual games notoriously have the shortest life cycle it is hugely problematic that Zynga has neither innovated nor replicated successful games at the same rate that customers have grown tired of the available offerings. Secondly, Zynga does not have a sustainable source of revenue due to considerable customer churn. Cycling through customers and not generating repeat business is not a strategy for a freemium company. Thirdly, while Zynga is moving towards a more independent business model, the business was built on and still largely depends on Facebook. The close association between your corporations and your recent decision to sever ties with the social media giant has been negatively affecting your bottom line. Lastly, the corporate culture in place at Zynga thrives on imitation. Rather than being forward thinking and innovative, Zynga ha s enjoyed enormous success by mimicking already popular games and reverse engineering them for a simpler, social experience. Given these challenges I have developed a strategic recommendation to reinvent Zynga. Zynga must return to its original ambitions of being an independent social gaming giant and create a social gaming ecosystem unlike any other. By partnering with hardware manufacturers and developing a new operating system Zynga can not only reclaim its lost share of the social gaming market, but capture a population of consumers with unmet social gaming needs. With this innovative model, Zynga will once again demonstrate financial success. Goals and Objectives: The ultimate goal of my strategic recommendation is to revert Zyngas declining financial status and decreasing Monthly Average Users (MUAs). The new business model will pursue the goals upon which the company was founded upon: Reach, Retention and Revenue; however, these goals may only be achieved if Zynga remains true its original ambitions and strives for stable growth built on its own success, rather than piggybacking off the growth of another corporation. Contextual Analysis: Mark, you created Zynga to address an unrealized consumer need: socially integrated gaming. But while you correctly predicted that consumers wanted an immersive and integrated social gaming experience, as they do with most other tech experiences, you failed in your execution. The original customer reach, retention and revenue model aided the explosive growth you enjoyed in the past, but it did not create a foundation for your company to be further built on. You were too consumed with rapidly growing the company and collecting profits to see that strategically Zynga would have benefited from a slower, more premeditated climb to success. Your original ambitions to build an independent company were correct, yet instead you chose to piggyback off of the success of Facebook to catapult yourself into overnight, mass-market penetration. Accordingly, there are four challenges facing Zynga. Firstly, Zynga is in the business of casual gaming with a social twist. That is, simple games with uncomplicated, vibrant graphics and easy inputs and controls. Since casual games are not intimidating and easy to play, they appeal to a large audience (primarily [60%] a normally disinterested group of middle aged women). However, casual games notoriously have the shortest life cycle (Microsoft ). In fact, most estimates give casual games a 300 day life cycle (______). The gameplay in Zyngas games is particularly known for its simplicity (_____). Look at Farmville as an example. A users constant diligence and effort will ultimately be rewarded if they maintain their crops and animals (unless they choose to buy virtual currency with real currency to speed up the game). It is evident that there is hardly any skill component involved in casual gaming. Accordingly, game fatigue occurs relatively quickly. Your frequent introduction of new games is evidence that you understand this trend; ho wever, what you have not accounted for is that users become exhausted by the entire category of simple games. Once you have built a farm, city, mafia and castle using virtually indistinguishable principles, a similar game is less likely to be pleasing. This is especially true in a category of games that Zynga succeeds in: non goal-oriented games. That is games that have no definitive end or prize. It is hugely problematic that your company has neither innovated nor replicated successful games at the same rate that customers have grown tired of the available offerings. Cycling through customers and not generating repeat business is not a strategy. Secondly, you have neither a stable, nor sustainable source of revenue due to the previously discussed customer churn. Zynga operates on a freemium, free-to-play model. That is, the vast majority of your customers play your games for free while only a small portion of users constitute paying customers. Financial analysis reveals that over 83% of your revenue is generated by less than 3% of your customers. As such, Zynga faces grave financial risks if you lose the attention and enthusiasm of your core 3% of paying customers. Thirdly, while Zynga is moving towards a more independent business model, your business was built on and still largely depends on Facebook (Zynga 10-K, 2013). In 2012 86% of Zyngas revenue was from Facebook API services and revenues were down 20% from the prior year, while Facebook reported a 40% increase in gaming profit (Zynga, p , 2013) (Zynga 10-K, 2013). Note this discrepancy. Although the social nature of your games requires the use of a social network platform, Facebook is a social media monopolist. As such, you are buying and using services providing by a monopolist. This has severe financial implications for Zynga. When a company does not make considerable profits, it is not in Facebooks interest to charge a high transaction fee. Instead, Facebook encourages use of its services by maintaining low fees since the applications use increases the usage of Facebooks platform. However, if the company becomes financially successful, as Zynga did, Facebook begins to charge higher tra nsaction fees. This is standard microeconomics and a problem plaguing Zynga. Facebook is capitalizing on your success by taking over 30% of each transaction your games attract (Zynga, p , 2013). Additionally, the close association between your corporation and Facebook, as well as your recent decision to sever ties with the social media giant has been and will continue negatively affecting your bottom line. While costumers may recognize your games, your corporate brand has been dissolved and shadowed by Facebook. You should not have so closely associated Zynga with Facebook and so heavily relied on Facebook to grow your company. While Facebook will always have game developers to replace you, you will not always have the customer awareness you enjoyed on while using Facebooks API services. You are competing in an industry where you are highly replaceable and are at the mercy of your customers in your fight to stay relevant (Exhibit A). Lastly, the corporate culture in place at Zynga thrives on imitation. Zynga is present in the rapidly evolving industry of gaming in which technology is critical. Such an industry requires companies to be at the forefront of change and lead innovation. Normally companies employ sizeable RD teams that look to new game development (in your case to combat game fatigue and customer churn) as well as new distribution channels (in your case to combat the dependence on Facebook). You did genuinely pioneer social gaming, but that is where you stopped. While copying competitor games worked in the short term, it is not a sustainable strategy. You must refocus on innovation. Furthermore, this attitude blinded you to the importance of the smartphone as a new gaming platform. Only recently have you realized the potential of mobile games. Rather than being forward thinking and innovative, Zynga has enjoyed enormous success by mimicking already popular games and reverse engineering them for a simpl er, social experience. Strategic Options Alternatives: With regard to customer acquisition and retention, Pincus wondered whether Zynga should invest to improve its viral distribution model, or if the company needed to encourage users to connect with strangers who also happen to be Zynga game players. One of the unmet needs social media sites address is the desire to meet new people. Consumers enjoy being around like minded individuals and tend to seek out and gravitate to those who share similar interests and values. In most cases an individual has a set amount of friends in their social network that closely share their values, but not necessarily enough to satisfy their social needs. As such, it is in Zyngas best interest to encourage users to connect with strangers who also enjoy social gaming. Consumers would be attracted to the idea that they would be introduced to those most like them satisfying their social need. Furthermore, for Zynga the viral avenue is slowly disappearing since Facebook has amended its algorithm to limit game post viability to those who are not signed up for the Zynga services. Additionally, depending on a viral distribution model implies that there is a large enough customer base to promote to. Zyngas creation of an independent platform is a positive and progressive step, but you must remember that you will not have the same customer base that Facebook has, and it certainly will not attract 1 billion users overnight. With regard to product, Pincus debated whether he should invest primarily in evolving existing successful casual games, or if he should invest to expand Zynga into other markets, such as real money gambling and mid-core gaming. Zynga should invest in other markets. Social games have a very short life cycle and are becoming increasingly more expensive for Zynga to create and maintain. As such, Zynga should focus on investing and developing games that are more interactive, slightly more complex and retain customers for longer periods of time such as gambling games and mid-core games as these markets theoretically address the problems facing Zynga. With regard to corporate strategy, Pincus had to decide whether Zynga should continue to focus on being a content producer, or if it should focus on becoming a platform for hosting its own and 3rd party developers games. Zynga should not limit itself on content development as its only competency. You should begin building a platform or operating system or even venturing into hardware manufacturing in order to release yourself from the fetters of Facebook. In truth, this is the hardest strategy because it has the highest risk, but if properly implemented, it would also reap the great ROI as well as serve as the most long term option. Strategic Recommendation: Successful tech companies are those that do not just create products, services or experiences, but rather immerse their users into complete, closed ecosystems. Google, Amazon and Apple are three examples of lucrative companies that have enjoyed stable growth throughout the past decade of tumultuous technological uncertainty. They have fully integrated their consumers by enticing them to choose a digital lifestyle that is almost controlled by their gadgets and software. For instance, Google has vertically and horizontally integrated to provide social services (Google+) and created not one, but two platforms (Android and Chrome) available on a multitude of devices (computers, tablets, smartphones) to engage consumers on all levels. Apple has done the same with its iPhones, Macs and iPads and its OS. Amazon has the Kindle and Amazon Prime. In each company, consumer hardware is fully integrated with the other products and the platform/software addresses both known and unmet social needs. This occurs while the hardware and software provide the standard professional and personal solutions expected of computing devices. Even Facebook, your rival is making its foray into software and hardware integration with the release of its operating system: Home. Like Google, Apple and Amazon, Facebook will now have its own ecosystem to lock its users into. Creating an ecosystem employs the walled-garden concept where a company locks a consumer into its product by providing all the services necessary to address the consumer needs and effectively locks a consumer into the product. Zynga should follow lead and focus on creating a social gaming ecosystem with high walls (barriers to entry) by leaving the consumer facing high switching costs. The best way to create this ecosystem is by developing your own, independent platform and operating system and partnering with hardware manufacturers to deliver integrated devices to fanatical gamers. Implementation Plan Zynga should begin to secede from Facebook in a gradual 3 year plan. Each year you should refrain from renewing 1/3 of the games on the Facebook API service. Zynga should begin with the weakest performing games and gradually the best games to retain maximum customer awareness through the succession process. The goal will be to not only retain current Facebook customers and move them to Zynga.com, but also to generate enough buzz to secure to customers directly through Zynga.com. By slowly transitioning existing Facebook users to Zynga.com the customer base of your social network will grow and attract new users. Year One: Zynga should reach out to hardware manufacturers HTC is a great candidate to negotiate a contract and develop a smart phone and tablet adapted for Zynga games. Simultaneously, Zynga should begin developing the OS and gaming platform for the device. It is also important to reach out to retailers and wireless companies to secure subsidy contracts for the new device. It is also necessary for Zynga to pursue marketing and promotional partnerships with both the device manufacturer(s) and the wireless carrier(s) in order to split the cost of an aggressive marketing campaign. Year Two: During Q1 and Q2, Zynga should begin production and continue the marketing campaign. Zynga should also focus on developing a robust network of games to be deployed on its device. It would benefit Zynga to allow third party developer rights to innovate games for Zynga. In Q3 Zynga should begin selling the device. Year Three: Zynga should focus on a 10 month life cycle for its devices to stay relevant to consumers. As such, RD and production of the generation two Zynga device should take place during the middle of Q1 2016 and conclude at the end of Q2 2016. Sales of the gen 2 device should begin at the beginning of Q3 2016. Exhibit 1: Porters Five Forces: Competitive Rivalry High Zynga, Wooga, 5 Minutes, Playfish, Playdom, Kabam, Crowdstar, EA, among others. Power of Buyers Moderate to High Customers dictate the content and their needs change daily. Because there are so many alternate companies providing the same/similar services, game providers have to adapt to retain customers. Power of Suppliers Moderate to High While there are many game hosting platforms, few garner the attention of mass amounts of users. As such, the power of the supplier fluctuates based on its user base. Threat of New Entrants Very High The cost and time required to develop a social game is very low (single-digit millions and months) relative to the cost of developing a more traditional graphic-intense console game (tens of millions and years). This lower cost allows much smaller game developers to try their hand at developing the next big hit and has resulted in a proliferation of new competitors. Substitute Products Very High There are not only identical products out there by competitors, but also there are many substitute products: hardcore games, board games, tv, blogs, anything people use to pass the time. Exhibit 2: Current Zynga Strategy Diamond Arenas Casual gaming Vehicles exclusivity contracts, social platforms (mainly Facebook), early stages of their own social platform. Differentiators highly integrated social features. Economic Logic freemium business model. 97% of consumers receive free services while 3% of consumers pay to advance quickly through game and receive premium services. Monetization relies on 3 revenue streams, affiliate offers, virtual goods sales and advertizing Staging biweekly game updates. Release new games every ____.

The Entity Relationship Diagram

The Entity Relationship Diagram Design the database system for Petcare. Petcare is a medium sized veterinary surgery with six branches across London. They want a database system developed to handle the records of the animals they care for, prescriptions and appointments. Entity-relationship diagram An entity-relationship diagram (ERD) is a data modeling technique that creates a graphical representation of the entities, and the relationships between entities, within an information system. This diagram is often used as a way to visualize a relational database: each entity represents a database table, and the relationship lines represent the keys in one table that point to specific records in related tables. ERDs may also be more abstract, not necessarily capturing every table needed within a database, but serving to diagram the major concepts and relationships. Definition of relationship A relationship is some association between entities. Relationship is shown by line between entities. Relationship lines indicate that each instance of an entity may have a relationship with instances of the connected entity, or vice versa. Definition of entity attribute An entity is characterized by a number of properties or attributes. Values assigned to attributes are used to distinguish one entity from another. Definition of Optionality and Cardinality Symbols at the ends of the relationship lines indicate the optionality and the cardinality of each relationship. Optionality expresses whether the relationship is optional or mandatory. Cardinality expresses the maximum number of relationships. Before analyzing the entities, let have a look the definition of entity. An entity can define as a thing which an organization recognizes as being capable of an independent existence and which can be uniquely identified. In addition, an entity is an abstraction from the complexities of some domain. Each entity is shown in box within the ERD. In this case study, the entities of the Veterinary Surgery are identified as followed: Owner is represented owners of animals which included name, address, home telephone number and mobile telephone number; Animal is represented information of an animal which included sex, age and owner Breed is represented information of breed for each animal type AnimalType is represented type of animal (dog, cat, rabbit, etc) Appointment Petcare keep the following information: the animal the appointment is for, the owner of the animal who requested the appointment, which veterinary doctor the appointment is with, the time and date of the appointment, the diagnosis made and the charge made for the appointment Prescription is represented record shows the period, in days, that the drug must be taken for. The cost of the medication is also recorded Drug contains the name of the drug DrugType contains the name of the drug type (Anti-biotic, Painkiller, Behaviour modification, Ear medication, Skin medication) Vet is represented the following information kept about them: name, address, home telephone number, and mobile telephone number Branch is kept for each branch of Petcare. This records the name of the branch (Enfield, Islington, Hackney, Holloway, Chingford or Leyton), address of the branch, telephone number, opening hours and emergency contact telephone number. Identifying the relationships for the model: Relationships mean that in a relational database, all entities have bonds between them, expressed as relationships. The relationship is a link between to entities, and it tells us something about which relationships exists between our entities. In the ER approach, more than one relationship can exist between any two entities. What is one-to-many and many-to-many Entity Relationship~ One-to-Many Entity Relationship is by far the most common relationship type. It consists of either a one through many or a zero through many notations on one side of a relationship and a one and only one or zero or one notation on the other. However, we can summarize all the entities to the Entity Relationship Data Model. Diagram for Entity Relationship Data Model which describes the content and structure of the data held by Petcare. Owner Breed Animal Prescription Drug DrugType AnimalType Appointment VetAnimalType Vet Branch Fig 1 entity relationship diagram for the Petcare. Normalized Tables Table is a data (value), which is the model of the vertical columns (which identifies the name) and the horizontal lines. A specified number of columns in the table, but may be any number of rows. Each row to identify the subset of the values in the column, which has been identified as a candidate key. Table in another term relationship, although there is the difference that a table is usually a multi-set (bag) as a series, and does not allow copies. In addition, the actual data rows, the panels are generally associated with some other meta-data, such as restrictions on the table or the values in columns. Primary key: Primary key is a field or combination of fields that uniquely identify a record in the table, so each tag can be placed without confusion. Primary key is the field (s) (primary key can be made up of more than one field) that uniquely identifies each record, ie the primary key is unique to each record and the value will never be duplicated in the same table. A constraint is a rule that defines what data are valid for the area. So the primary key constraint is the rule which says that the primary key field can not be empty and can not contain duplicate data. Database systems usually have more than one table, and these are usually related in any way. For example, a customer table and an Order table relate to each other on a unique customer number. The customer table will always be a record for each customer, and the Order table has a record for each order that the customer has. Foreign keys: A foreign key (sometimes referred to as the reference key) is a key used to link two tables together. Typically, you will have a primary key field from one table and paste it into another table, which becomes the foreign key (the primary key in the original table). A foreign key constraint that the data in the foreign keys must be consistent with the primary key of the table is linked. This is called reference integrity is to ensure that data entered is correct and is not unique Definition of Normalization Database normalization is a technique to reduce to the minimum duplication of information for designing relational database tables and in doing so to maintain the database for certain types of structural and logical problems, that is to say data anomalies. For example, when a given piece of information has multiple instances to be found in a table, this possible happen that these instances will not be kept consistent during the data in the table is updated, leading to a loss of data integrity. The such kind of problems are less vulnerable to a sufficiently normalized table, because its structure reflects the basic assumptions of the multiple instances of the same information should be used when a single instance of only. There are rules for UNF, 1NF, 2NF, 3NF, BCNF, 4NF, 5NF and domain-Key NF. Most textbooks mention 5NF and DKNF only in passing and note that they are not particularly applicable to be design process. Normalization is really about the formalism of simple ideas. All too often, the simplicity is lost in esoteric terminology and papers are often excessively concerned with the formalism and provide very practical insight. In this project, why need a normalization the database, it is because normalization is about designing a good database i.e. a set of related tales with a minimum of redundant data and no update, delete or insert anomalies. Normalization is a bottom up approach to database design, The designer interviews users and collects documents reports etc. The data on a report can be listed and then normalized to produce the required tables and attributes. First normal form to second normal form: To move form first normal form to second normal form I remove part-key dependencies. A relation is in second normal form if and only if it is first normal form every non key attributes is fully functionally dependent on the primary key Take for instance the table named Animal here I have a tow compound key BreedID and AppointmentID. BreedID and AppointmentID have influence on the Animal. Hence I brake out the determinant and dependent data items into their own table. Second normal form to third normal form: To move form second normal forms to tired normal form I remove inter-data dependences (non-key dependences). A relation is in third normal form if and only if it its in second normal form and every non-key attribute is non-transitively dependent on the primary key A use full mnemonic for remembering the relation for normalization is the distortion of the legal Oath presented below: No repeating group The data items depended upon the key. The while key And nothing but the key So help me code. Boyce-Codd Normal Form (BCNF) A relation is in Boyce-Codd normal form (BCNF) if and only if every one of its important functional dependencies is a candidate key. The definition of BCNF is handling certain situations which 3NF does not deal with. To distinguish the characteristics of a relation between 3NF and BCNF are given below. Since it is such a relationship is unlikely to have these properties, in the real life design the most case of the relations in 3NF are also in BCNF. Therefore many authors propose a vaguely distinction between 3NF and BCNF when it involves about giving advice to normalize a design for long term. As the relations in 3NF and BCNF are slightly difference, it is a bit difficult to bring up with significantly examples. To be strictly conforming to the definition of 3NF does not handle a relation that: 1. Has multiple candidate keys, which 2. Those candidate keys are composite, and 3. The candidate key overlap. For example, the candidate keys have at least one common attribute. Here is all tables after normalization: OwnerID Name Address HomePhoneNumber Mobile Table 2.11 VetAnimalType Using a Database Management System (DBMS) set-up all of the above normalised tables A Database Management System (DBMS) is a set of computer software programs. It controls the creation, maintenance, and the use of the database with computer as a platform or of an organization and its end users. It allows the organizations to place control of organization-wide database development in the hands of database administrators and other specialists. A DBMS is a set of system software. It helps the use of integrated collection of data records and files known as databases. It allows the programs of different user application to access the same database easily. A DBMS is a set of software programs that controls the organization, storage, management, and retrieval of data in a database. DBMSs are categorized according to their data structures or types. The DBMS accepts requests for data from an application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. The queries and responses must be submitted and received according to a format that conforms to one or more applicable protocols. When a DBMS is used, information systems can be changed much more easily as the organizations information requirements change. New categories of data can be added to the database without disruption to the existing system. A DBMS includes four main parts: data structure, modeling language, database query language, and transaction mechanisms: Components of DBMS Data Definition Subsystem helps user to create and maintain the data dictionary and define the structure of the files in a database. DBMS Engine accepts logical request from the various other DBMS subsystems, converts them into physical equivalent, and actually accesses the database and data dictionary as they exist on a storage device. Data Manipulation Subsystem helps user to add, change, and delete information in a database and query it for valuable information. Software tools within the data manipulation subsystem are most often the primary interface between user and the information contained in a database. It allows user to specify its logical information requirements. Data Administration Subsystem helps users to manage the overall database environment by providing facilities for backup and recovery, security management, query optimization, concurrency control, and change management. Application Generation Subsystem contains facilities to help users to develop transactions-intensive applications. It usually requires that user perform a detailed series of tasks to process a transaction. It facilities easy-to-use data entry screens, programming languages, and interfaces. Microsoft Access 2003 to setup normalized tables and designed test data. Set-up and test all of the following queries using Structured Query Language (SQL). Structured Query Language (SQL) is a computer language which is designed for managing data in a relational database management system. It lets users to access and manipulate the database. The following task is to display how the Structured Query Language helps users to managing data in the Academic Human resources department system. An SQL query manifests itself as a series of commands or statements. Queries may include arithmetic calculations and can use query elements or procedures stored in the system. SQL databases are designed from using SQL queries The SQL language is used to ask database questions for the data stored inside the database: what is the value of the element stored in Name index?, or what is the relationship between the data name and salary?. Manipulative commands, like insert data or update record are also issued using SQL queries. A Data Definition Language allows SQL queries to create or administer the data structures, the tables of data, which constitute the database. The actual syntax used is a little more strict and regimented than these natural language phrases suggest, but in effect this is the type of communication that will take place between a relational database and the person or device querying it using SQL. Provide printouts of SQL code for each query and the output produced when you run the query in the database you have developed: Display the names and addresses of the branches of Petcare and the names of all the veterinary doctors working at each of the branches. Any specialism(s) of the veterinary doctors should also be shown. Below is the SQL code for create the table. SELECT Branch.BranchName, Branch.Address, VET.VetName, AnimalType.AnimalTypeName FROM (AnimalType INNER JOIN VetAnimalType ON AnimalType.AnimalTypeID = VetAnimalType.AnimalTypeID) INNER JOIN (Branch INNER JOIN VET ON Branch.BranchID = VET.BranchID) ON VetAnimalType.VetAnimalTypeID = VET.VetAnimalTypeID; Display all the appointments for the whole of the Petcare organisation. This should be ordered by date. The result should display the branch the appointment is at, the name of the veterinary doctor the appointment is with, the date and time of the appointment, the name of the animal the appointment is for, the type of animal and the breed of the animal. Below is the SQL code for create the table. SELECT Branch.BranchName, Vet.VetName, Appointment.Date, Appointment.Time, Animal.AnimalName, AnimalType.AnimalTypeName, Breed.BreedName FROM (Branch INNER JOIN Vet ON Branch.BranchID = Vet.BranchID) INNER JOIN ((AnimalType INNER JOIN Breed ON AnimalType.AnimalTypeID = Breed.AnimalTypeID) INNER JOIN (Animal INNER JOIN Appointment ON Animal.AnimalID = Appointment.AnimalID) ON Breed.BreedID = Animal.BreedID) ON Vet.VetID = Appointment.VetID Task 5 assumptions and Improvements Assumption For the design the Petcare database system, we have made some assumptions before the implementation of the database. The entity relationship diagramming is created to identify each entity, relationship and attributes. The assumptions are the follows: We must need to assign vet to any new appointment. Since each doctor only can work at one Branch at a time and they can specialize more than one type of animal. This mean all branch can for any type of animal to make appointment. set all the primary keys and foreign keys in all of the tables, each table have their unique ID. Each table should have a primary key, and each table can have only one primary key. In the task 3, we are using DBMS, Microsoft Access 2003, to setup normalized tables and designed test data. In the task 4, we are using SQL statements base on Microsoft Access 2003 to query our database to investigate the database system can be fulfills the requirements or not. Base on using the Entity relationship data model that describes the content and structure of the data help by the department. At the real environment, we can consider the database on three levels of abstraction: external, conceptual, and internal. The external level also has the users views of the database. This is depending on their needs, different users access different parts of the database. Improvements Object-orientation and databases Both object-oriented programming and relational database management systems (RDBMSs) are extremely common in software today. Since relational databases do not store objects directly (though some RDBMSs have object-oriented features to approximate this), there is a general need to bridge the two worlds. The core of object-relational thinking is the ability to incorporate greater levels of abstraction into data models. This idea represents a major shift in the way that data modeling is done. Current relational databases are usually highly normalized but with little abstraction. Each thing of interest is instantiated as a relational table. As a result, systems frequently require numerous database tables and an equal number of screen modules and reports. The program modules are usually based directly on these tables with user workflow only instantiated through the way that the hundreds of screen modules interact. The object-oriented (OO) approach to data modeling will be something of a change for people familiar with entity relationship modeling. Even though we still end up with tables and relationships at the end of the process, the way to think about the modeling process has to change. Object-relational data models have several advantages over traditional data models: They require fe wer entities (or classes in object-oriented terminology); They are more robust, in that they will support not only the specific user requirements gathered during the analysis phase, but will also usually support a broader class of requirements; They are more stable in that, as new requirements arise, the models will require fewer changes than traditional models Data is not information unless it is valued. Information value provides profit or gain only when accessible or used. Accessibility and use, through organized systems, provides competitive advantage. Speed determines the degree of competitive advantage. Computerized database systems are thus, the ultimate method of high-speed information retrieval. It is not difficult to build an organized database system. The difficulty lies in the laborious, mundane task of collecting, categorizing and maintaining the massive amounts of data. Information is not valued unless it is legitimate. It must be valid and true to be worthy of use in decision-making. So, it is critical that all aspects of our system provide quality. To quote statistics based on erroneous data is considered foolish or criminal. The core of object-relational thinking is the ability to incorporate greater levels of abstraction into data models. This idea represents a major shift in the way that data modeling is done. Current relational databases are usually highly normalized but with little abstraction. The database systems have become so important to organizations that the activity is devoted to planning for, monitoring and administering the systems. We can focus on the planning and managerial activities relevant to database. It is defined the concept of data administration, the scope of the data administration function, relate the costs and benefits of having a data administration functions. It also defines the concept of a data dictionary and considers the issue of database security. The data control is primary function for the database administrator (DBA). The DBA needs to be able to do three main things: Prevent would-be users from logging-on to the database Allocate access to specific parts of the database to specific users Allocate access to specific operations to specific users For the DBMS toolkit to review the database, the interface is essential function of most ICT systems it to interact with users. The three aspects are the content, control and format. The interface can be seen as collection of dialogues between the user and the ICT systems.

The Character of Brutus in Julius Caesar Essay -- Julius Caesar Essays

The Character of Brutus in Julius Caesar      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brutus was a very important character in the play Julius Caesar written by William Shakespeare. He helped plan a plot against one of the most powerful people in Rome and killed the king to be. Brutus was well renowned for his deep thinking, his honor, and most importantly, his belief in stoicism.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Brutus's stoic qualities played a major role in his character. He trusted his wife Portia very much. In fact, he trusted her so much that he was even going to tell her about the plot against Caesar.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "You are my true and honorable wife,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   As dear to me as are the ruddy drops   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   That visit my sad heart"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ( II, i, 289-290)    She cared very much for him. She was willing to slice her thigh open just to prove her loyalty and trustworthiness to her noble husband. He also cared very deeply about his wife and he loved her very dearly.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "O ye gods,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   render me worthy of this noble wife!"   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ( II, i, 303-304)    Because of his profound stoicism, Brutus did not seem to show his graditude much when Portia killed her self. He simply drank wine to get ride of the pain and told Cassius to never speak of his wife again.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "Lucius a bowl of wine!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I did not think you could have been so angry,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   O Cassius, I am sick of many griefs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Of your philosophy you make no use   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   If you give place to accidental evils.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   No man bears sorrow better. Portia is dead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Ha! Portia!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   She is dead.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   How 'scaped I killing whe... ...   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ( I, ii, 79-90)    Brutus had thought very deeply about joining the conspiracy. He had stayed up all night brooding about it. He feared that Caesar was gaining too much power and that soon Caesar would become king. If Caesar became king Brutus's dreams of Rome's Democracy would be shattered.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In conclusion Brutus was a very well respected man in Rome. He helped restore Rome to its original Democratic system. He ended up killing himself at the end of the play because of all the pressure. He had said at the end when he killed himself that      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   "....Caesar, now be still.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   I killed not thee with half so good a will."   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   ( V, v, 50-51)    Work Cited: Shakespeare, William. Julius Caesar. Ed. Alan Durband. London: Hutchinson & Co. Publishers Ltd., 1984.   

Revenge in Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights Essay -- Wuthering Heights

Wuthering Heights:  Ã‚   Revenge – The Strongest Theme  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     When Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, first appeared in 1847, it was thought to be obscene and crude (Chase 19).   To the common person, it was shocking and offensive, and it did not gain popularity until long after it was first published.   When the piece of literature became widely read and discussed, however, Bronte was declared as a â€Å"romantic rebel against repressive conventions and a writer who made passion part of novelistic tradition† (Chase 19).   Unlike earlier writers, Bronte used factors from her own life and passions that she personally held to construct her classic novel.   For example, Joseph’s bible-thumper character most likely symbolizes her father, who was a minister.   However, Bronte’s book is not only a breakthrough to literature in these ways.   The narration of the story is also very unique and divergent because there are multiple narrators.   Bronte’s character Lockwood is used to narrate the introductory a nd concluding sections of the novel whereas Nelly Dean narrates most of the storyline.   It’s interesting that Nelly Dean is used because of her biased opinions.   In addition, the structure of Wuthering Heights displays a uniqueness.   Just as Elizabethan plays have five acts, Wuthering Heights is composed of two â€Å"acts,† the times before and after Catherine’s death.   However, unlike stereotypical novels, Wuthering Heights has no true heroes or villains.   â€Å"Although this work was written in the Romantic Period, it is not a romance.   There are no true heroes or villain... ...built up anger and resentment inside him and towards others.   The hurt that Hindley feels is clearly understood, but sympathy for Hindley is only temporary because it is still his own fault for his predicaments.   Hindley’s loss of Wuthering Heights to Heathcliff and his mysterious death reflect how revenge does not make anything better, only worse.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Bronte corroborates that revenge is not only a harsh and rash way to live life, but is counter-productive and hurtful.   Out of all of her major themes, revenge is the most imminent.   The self-hurt involved with vengeance shows there are better ways to solve conflicts.   Bronte sends a great message across by showing how negative revenge can be.   There is no solution to obeying the spontaneous reaction of this negative reprisal.

Jamaican Creole vs Standard English Essay

As we can see, this is not the situation in Jamaican Creole. Case is always demonstrated by position. Any pronoun before the verb is the subject, and after the verb it is either the direct or indirect object. Other features to note are the lack of gender and absence of nominative and accusative case forms. Also lacking in Jamaican Creole are possessive pronouns like my, your, his, her, its, our, their. To demonstrate possession, Jamaican Creole either has the simple pronoun directly in front of a noun, (for example ‘my book’ would be ‘mi buk’), or adds the prefix fi-, (as in ‘fi-mi buk’ also meaning ‘my book’). Plural Marking Plural marking in Standard English is a hodgepodge of different forms borrowed and assimilated from many languages. The original Old English way of making plurals was either the addition of -n or -en or the changing of the vowel sound, as it is for Modern German. Those original Old English plural markers surviv e in a few Modern English words. For example child/children, man/men, ox/oxen, foot/feet. The Norman French way of making plurals was to add an -s, -es or an -x. Only the first two forms were borrowed into English at first, producing forms like hand/hands, eye/eyes, bus/buses. Recently the -x ending had been borrowed for words like bureau/bureaux, adieu/adieux, chateau/chateaux, but it is pronounced as if the x were an s. During the renaissance, Classical Latin and Classical Greek became fashionable, and although being extinct languages, they added a great deal both to the grammar and vocabulary of the English language, particularly in the fields of science and invention. Plurals produced at this period of time include datum/data, octopus/octopi, medium/media, index/indices, helix/helices, matrix/matrices. These plural forms cause the  most confusion not just to foreign speakers but also to a lot of people who speak English as their first language. Plural marking in Jamaican Creole is much more logical and easier to learn. In fact Jamaican Creole behaves like Japanese for the most part in that it does not generally mark the plural of nouns. To indicate plurality, animate nouns (and sometimes other nouns to be stressed) are followed by the suffix -dem. This produces structures such as ‘di uman-dem’ or ‘di pikni-dem’ meaning ‘the women’ and ‘the children’ respectively. Tracing roots of Jamaican CreoleThe unique vocabulary and grammar of Jamaican Creole did not just simply spring up as an easy way for plantation slaves from different tribes to talk to one another. Many words, phrases, and structures have an interesting etymology. (Etymology is a linguistic term for the history of the development of a word). In Middle English, there was a distinction between singular ‘thou’, and plural ‘you’. This distinction has been almost completely erased apart from in some North Yorkshire dialects where the singular form ‘tha’ is still used. E.g. ‘tha’s nice’ means ‘you are nice’. In some English dialects an attempt has even been made to replace the missing pronoun. In Southern States of America ‘y’all’ is used; in Scouser (a dialect found in Liverpool) ‘youse’ or is used; and a common form in London is ‘you-lot’. In Jamaican Creole, the pronoun ‘oonu’ is found and this is similar to the form it has in modern Igbo (spoken in Nigeria) which was the most likely donor language. Forms of the pronoun (such as uno, unu, unoo) can be found in widely scattered parts of Africa in the Nubian and Nilotic language families and even as far as the Negrito languages of Malaysia. The word ‘seh’ as in ‘im tel mi seh†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (he told me that†¦) has similar origins. Wo w!!! Another interesting word commonly used is ‘pikni’, meaning ‘child’. The word was borrowed originally form Portuguese ‘picaninni’. Prior to British dominance, it was used by Portuguese masters to refer to black slaves, who picked up the word and began using it to refer to their own children. In Jamaica today, despite its innocent original meaning (child), it has acquired a pejorative connotation because of its history in Jamaica. Two more interesting words that have spread across the English speaking world, but have their origins in Jamaica, are ‘buddy’ and ‘cuss’. These was a mispronunciations of ‘brother’ and ‘curse’ respectively. The first recorded use of ‘buddy’ was in 17; whereas the word ‘cuss’ is a word that has entered our vocabulary only since the  late 1940s. The difference in age of these terms shows how much influence Jamaican Creole has on the English speaking world, The word ‘buddy’ is even found in the Oxford English Dictionary and ‘cuss’ is used so much among the younger generation in particular, that it is only a matter of time before it too is added to the OED. in view of the popularity of fashionable culture and music forms that have their origin in Jamaica Jamaican Creole is likely to continue to have considerable influence of English as a global language, but should it be classed as a dialect of English or should it have official recognition as a language in its own right? Language Standardisation. There are more salient differences between Jamaican Creole and English than there are between Swedish and Norwegian, yet the latter are classed as two separate distinct languages. Swedish and Norwegian people have almost no difficulty understanding one another, whereas some Englishmen will not have a clue what a Jamaican is saying. Similar cases are Czech and Slovakian, and Punjabi and Urdu, of which the spoken form is the same but only the written form is different. Many people who have stated that saying ‘mi de a di paak’ as opposed to ‘I am in the park’, sounds childish, are completely ignorant of the fact that ‘mi/me’ is a common indigenous Niger-Kongo form of the first person pronoun. I would have been easy for early Jamaicans learning this strange alian language, to continue using ‘mi’ in that position rather than switching to ‘I’. Also the English at that time didn’t exactly have schools and colleges to te ach blacks the proper way of forming the first person singular nominative pronoun.

Energy Drinks, the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Essay

Energy drinks, also known as power boosters, are soft drinks that contain nutrients and good flavor. The name of some energy drinks are Red Bull, Rockstar, and Monster. These drinks help improve and boost energy levels. People who drink power beverages experience decrease in stress, muscle strain, and fatigue. Power beverages also help improve speed and reaction. Energy drinks should remain on the market because they help athletes, workers, and students maintain performance, endurance and momentum. The most accepted energy drink is Red Bull. Red Bull contains caffeine and sodium. Caffeine acts as a pick-me-up, giving people the feeling of being awake and alert. Sodium helps to prevent the body from losing water. These ingredients work together to increase energy levels in the human body. Red Bull commercials often feature athletes, students, and workers drinking its products. Some people prefer to drink diet energy drinks. Red Bull is the only brand that offers power drinks in diet, making it the most popular energy drink on the market. Monster Energy, second in popularity, is highly favored by the adult community. It is the energy drink of choice for most athletes. Monster largely relies on a high dosage of sugar and caffeine to boost the user’s energy level. After drinking one can of Monster, users experience a feeling that is similar to drinking three cups of coffee. Rock Star is available in fourteen different flavors and is preferred by the younger generation. People that like to party prefer Rock Star because it prevents them from getting tired. The increased amounts of sugar and vitamins in Rock Star help prevent low energy. This gives party goers power to keep going. Energy drinks are good for people because they keep the human body alert. Â  

Social Psychology Definition Paper

With only the unifying concept of social interaction, social psychology occupies a no-man’s land somewhere between psychology, sociology, physiology, and evolutionary theory in the uncultivated areas of the social sciences (Harold, 2000). Biology offers up the principles of natural selection and adaptation as causal explanations for everything from human mating practices to index finger length, and sociology offers explanations for social structure and organization; it is to social psychology that falls the task of explaining how people think about, affect, and interact with one another on a psychological, biological, and social level (Myers, 2008; Pinel, 2007). If genetic and biological predisposition is the violin and environmental factors the violinist, then the bow of social interaction is the instrument by which the two conjugate to create music for example cognition and behavior. Though, in light of an examination of the main ideas and research methods of social psychology—as well as a comparison between related fields—the particular function of social interaction, as it relates to biology and psychology, comes into focus. Main Ideas of Social Psychology. Social psychologists study a set of strategies for answering questions related to attitudes and beliefs, the way we construe our world, and conformity and independence; rather than simply an objective compilation of findings. Some of the main ideas that social psychology seeks to address are: 1) the construction of our social reality; 2) social intuition; 3) how social influences, personal attitudes, personality, and biology shape our behavior; and 4) how social psychology’s principles can be applied in everyday life (Myers, 2008). The construction of our social reality rests on the materialistic assumption that an objective world exists quite separate from our subjective interpretation of that world, but that we can only view reality through the lens of our beliefs and values. Moreover, it is clear that the mechanism of social intuition—automatic processing, heuristics, and implicit memory—can be very powerful when utilize for fast and frugal snap judgments but it could also be perilous when more reasoned thinking is required. Our behavior is shape by many influences that can be external and internal. We are a social animal, which means that our cultural predispositions define our circumstances. It is also apparent that our attitudes and personality play a significant role in shaping behavior as well. Sometimes offsetting and sometimes reinforcing social pressures. Above all else, the idea that we are bio-psycho-social organisms operating on several levels and at the bequest of many influences assists in explaining the multi-verse of human behavior. At last, the practical application of social psychology’s analytical tools and explanations to the subjective beliefs, attitudes, and relationships of everyday life can help people know themselves better, think smarter, and make better decisions. The specific means by which social psychologists ascertain the aforementioned analytical tools and explanations is encapsulate in the implementation of research Methodology Research Methods of Social Psychology. There is three main avenues through which social psychologists can elucidate the facts of individual social interaction: 1) correlation research; 2) experimental research; and 3) survey research. The very basis of the scientific method is the postulation that a theory can be explain or predicted by means of hypothesis testing, through the medium of observable events. Correlation research seeks to explain naturally occurring relationships among variables, but does not have the ability to differentiate causation between variables. For instance, Einwohner (1999) could show that personal identification as an activist and collective identification with a group are highly correlate with protest behavior, but that the formers do not necessarily cause latter. However, through the instrument of time-lagged correlations it could be determine. Variables came first in a sequence, but it cannot be determine which variable constitutes the cause and which variable constitutes the effect. On the other hand, experimental research is uniquely design to isolate and manipulate variables to the end of illuminating causation. Experimental research accomplishes this huge feet by the use of independent variables, the manipulated experimental factor; and dependent variables, the measured factor that changes as the independent variable is manipulate. By keeping the dependent variable constant and changing only the independent variable, social psychologists can isolate the exact effect that the first has on the second. Finally, survey research uses random sample, a method by which every member of a group has equal chance of inclusion, to extrapolate the results of a representative group onto a population. It is important to note that survey research is only meant to describe present variables and opinions, rather than predict the future likelihood of variables and opinions. Also the effect of question ordering and wording, response options, and unrepresented samples shows the possible pitfalls of bias that can affect survey results. Comparison between Related Fields The field of sociology overlaps with social psychology in some areas; but sociology is primarily concern with how groups and societies interact at the collectivist level, and social psychology is mainly involved with the individual psychology of social interaction. Also of consequence, is the general observation that sociology relies heavily on survey research and correlation research; whereas, social psychology takes into account a wealth of experimental methodology as well (Kearl, 2009). On the other end of the spectrum, clinical psychology overlaps with social psychology in that they both depend heavily on experimental research to verify their perspective hypotheses. The branch of general psychology usually referred to as personality psychology differs from social psychology by its emphasis on the difference between individuals rather than the effect that individuals have on each other. So to summarize, sociology overlaps with social psychology on the left because they both study social interaction, clinical psychology on the right because they both make heavy use of experimental research to validate their hypotheses, and personality psychology in the main because they both seek to understand the individual. Furthermore, sociology differs from social psychology because the former is more dependent on co relational and survey research, and social psychology differs from personality psychology in the emphasis of individual interaction over individual difference, respectively. Conclusion In conclusion, the conglomeration of research areas and methodologies that social psychology occupies is cosmopolitan and parsimonious in scope and applicability, meaning that even though social psychology be concern with several areas of research the field is still dedicate exclusively to understand how people think about, affect, and interact with one another on a psychology, biological, and social level. The practical working out of the field of social psychology in the area of research specifically encompasses the subjects of social intuition, the applicability of the field’s principles on everyday life, the construction of our social reality and what forces influence and shape our behavior. The field of social psychology takes advantage of experimental research, survey research, and company relational research to confirm hypotheses concerning the abovementioned subjects.