Effects of Rock on Youth essays

Effects of Rock on Youth essays IT HAS POWERS FOR EVIL AS WELL AS FOR GOOD." On April 20, 1999, two teenagers killed 12 of their peers, a teacher, and themselves at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colo. The Littleton killers idolized shock-rocker Marilyn Manson, The facts of these and other instances of youth violence parallel the music these boys consumed. Manson dwells on revenge and violence against the objects of his hatred. In one song, he says he will shoot the next bully who bothers him. In another song, he responds to the selective judgments of others by saying get your gun. And in another song, he says, Im gonna hate you tomorrow because you make me hate you today. link between media violence and real life violence has been proven by science time and again. . Television violence begets real-world violence music is as powerful as television for people in general. Music is more powerful than television for young people in particular. Tons of research has been done on the interrelationship of music and human behavior.... [M] usic affects human behavior. It affects our moods, our attitudes, our emotions, and our behavior. Music alters and intensifies their moods, furnishes much of their slang, dominates their conversations and provides the ambiance at their social gatherings. Music styles define the crowds and cliques they run in. Music personalities provide models for how they act and dress." "Music can make a good mood better and allow us to escape or work through a bad one," But it can also be used to enhance bad moods, which has led some to believe music lyrics about suicide and violence against women have occasionally led troubled youth to commit suicide or violent crimes. Labels warning of explicit lyrics on recordings prompt adolescents in general to like the music less. They see it as "tainted fruit," rather than as "forbidden fruit who view Madonnas video of ...

The Bet by Anton Chekhov

The Bet by Anton Chekhov After reading the bet one can see Through the prisoner's decision, the author proves to the reader that money is evil, money teaches life lessons, and when human will is tested it can be impossible to break.This story proves once and for all money is the root of all evil. When the young man told the older man, "The death sentence and the life sentence are equally immoral, but if I had to choose one I would choose the second." This quote caused such excitement for the younger man, but he had no idea what he was soon to get himself into. As the older man made the 2 million/ 5year bet the younger man being young, naive and only thinking of MONEY caused him to over react. The young man said, "I'll take the bet, but I would stay not five but fifteen years!" When the young man made this bet he was corrupted by money and not thinking about anything but his greed.Anton Pavlovich Chekhov. Oil on canvas. From the c...If he would of though about the bet for one day he was of realized he was los ing the best years of his life. So after reading this one has proven that money causes spilt second decisions to be made all the time, and it usually turns out for the worst.In " The Bet" money teaches a few life lessons. When the man is about half was though his "sentence" he realized that he had learned so much that it is a reward in itself. The anther wrote, " In the sixth year the prisoner began zealously studying Languages, Philosophy, and History." If it wasn't for the Two Million he probably would never even thought about trying to teach himself Languages, Philosophy and many other teaching. So pretty much in an indirect...

Information Technology - Analyze the impact of the digital economy on Essay

Information Technology - Analyze the impact of the digital economy on the company IKEA - Essay Example At the showroom, customers were able to see and handle the furnishings before purchasing them and the company was able to present its products with function, quality and low price.(www.ikea.com). In response of competitor induces boycott of IKEA showrooms by customers, the Company began to design its own furniture, producing the unique flat products, which the customer was able to assemble at home. Such furniture also occupied less storage space and there was less scope for damages occurring during transportation of the products. The IKEA stores were based on the self service model , and customers were able to walk around the IKEA showrooms, inspect furniture and then select the pieces they liked, which were provided to then in flat designs for easy transportation with less damage.(Jeffreys 1992). The Company soon expanded into other countries and its global sales now totals over $17.7 billion annually. The success of IKEA has been largely due to its policy of offering quality products with low prices. The Company accomplishes this by maintaining a network of global suppliers who bid competitively for projects and the Company is thus able to manufacture and supply the products to IKEA at the lowest prices.(Solomon, 1991). It is constantly on the lookout for ways and means by which it can reduce its costs in order to continue to supply low cost yet quality products to its customers. As a part of this strategy to reduce costs, the company was examining ways and means to consolidate its supplier base such that the focus was on those suppliers located in low cost countries. However, longer lead times, higher demands on the planning process and an inability to quickly adapt to change were some of the drawbacks which IKEA sought to address through IT solutions. The Company has incorporated software developed by JDA – Demand and Fulfillment Solutions, with the Demand Management solution able to support all the 12,000 items in

Foundations of Communication Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Foundations of Communication - Term Paper Example Epistemology aims to answer the following questions: How is the concept of justification to be understood? What makes justified beliefs justifiable? Is justification, in relation to one’s own mind, internal or external? From the Copernican Revolution (1600) to the Revolution in Germany (1848), there have been pockets of historical periods in our history that have addressed various issues regarding to the aspects related to epistemology that have been discussed by some of the most renowned scholars. They include: Copernicus and Gallileo, Descartes and Bacon, Spinoza and Hobbies – Locke, Hume, Kent and Hege. Copernicus main task was to carry out investigations on how improvements in methods of constructing the calendar, and Galileo never rejecting knowledge from his predecessors, used this as backing for his further arguments. Galileo’s epistemology aimed to separate ethics from knowledge (e.g. of nature) i.e. Separation of science from the legitimate domain of the church. The main issues about knowledge and communication involved the right of people to investigate questions which were capable of falsification in reasoning, while the religious leaders could confine themselves to determining what was necessary to go to heaven and avoid destructions of hell (Burke 77). Descartes and Bacon vehemently proposed the total discard legacy of the supposed knowledge from the past. They argued or suggested that knowledge should start from the beginning in order to build an adequate knowledge of the world. The epistemological issues that scholars struggled with here were rationalism and empiricism. The main issues about communication and knowledge addressed were separation of subject and object i.e. this also necessitated the aspect of priority to be given to the subject or the object which can be classified as an act of knowledge (Burke 33). During Spinoza and Hobbies – Locke’s period, Spinoza (Descartes admirer in Europe) and Hobbes-Locke (Bacons pupil in England), addressed with the separation and differentiating of a subject and object which did not have any relation i.e. did not know each other. (Period referred to as being concerned with the dichotomy of dualism and monism). The main issues about communication and knowledge included the connection between nature and consciousness. The objective existence of the material world is not questioned neither is the validity of the impressions made by nature upon the senses deemed in any way problematic (Burke 45). In the Hume and the enlightenment period, the main aspects of conflict were between dogmatism and skepticism. According to Hume, his skepticism is in some measure a reaction against the dogmatism of the mechanistic followers of Newton and in part an attempt to reconcile Berkely’s clerical and reactionary subjective idealism with the requirements of everyday life with science. Hume is the founder of Utilitarianism in ethics. He further declares that the satisfaction of human needs is the sole criterion of morality. The main issues about communication and knowledge is the fact that how can it be proved that the industrialist who produces the most is the most moral person of all. During this historical period, Kant tended towards empiricism (Was greatly influenced by scepticism of David Hume). In his philosophy, he attempts to establish a system of concepts and categories in order for the resolving of struggles

Antimony Essay Example for Free

Antimony Essay The ancient Egyptians used it as makeup and today we use it in many ways, â€Å"it† is the element antimony. Discovered by the ancients, this element serves many purposes (it is no longer used as eyeliner, like it was for them), but also has many negative effects on people and the environment. Antimony is a metalloid found in group 15. It is a silvery lustrous rock, and its standard state is a solid. It is a poor conductor of heat and electricity. Antimony has many universal applications that are meant to be beneficial to people. One of its usages is in its form of antimony trioxide, is made into a flame retardant frequently used in toys and seat covers. Of its many functions, antimony is commonly used as an alloy to make other metals stronger. It is primarily alloyed with lead to make it harder. Its alloys are frequently used in batteries and cables. It is also used in some food packaging, usually used as a catalyst in manufacturing polyethylen terephthalate. One can come in contact with antimony in many ways. Antimony is found in the environment, but found in very low levels. The majority of antimony comes from the resources humans use. The antimony used in human products increase the amount of antimony in the natural environment. There is some antimony in soil, but high concentrations of it are found in wastes sites. The most common ways antimony can enter the body is simply consuming it or breathing its dusts in. Also contact with soil with high amounts of antimony can increase unwanted exposure. Since antimony is used to produce some types of food packaging, such as plastic water bottles, consumption is much more likely than breathing it in and touching toxic soil. The use of antimony in the medical field is very scarce considering it has negative side effects. To name a few, some utilizations are, compounds of antimony are used as antiprotozoan drugs and veterinary purposes, tending to be used as a skin conditioner, which is quite ironic considering what antimony is known for doing to skin. Antimony is known for having negative health effects. Antimony as well as its compounds are known to be toxic. If one has too much exposure to antimony it can cause major health impairments. A modest exposure to antimony by breathing it in can have an effect on skin and eyes. A skin condition that one can get by contacting antimony is antimony spots. It is a rash of pustules around sweat glands. Its effect on eye health consists of ocular conjunctivitis. Extreme amounts of antimony exposure can lead to more severe effects on the heart and lungs as well as skin and eyes. And although not proven, antimony and some of its products have been linked to cancer. The only way to prevent any of the bad conditions some antimony product provide, one needs to make sure that one gets as little exposure as possible. It is impossible to steer completely clear of antimony, and it is not necessary, a little exposure will not kill a person, but too much of something is never good.

REPORT ON MISSOURI :: essays papers

REPORT ON MISSOURI GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS Missouri has had four constitutions: 1820, prior to statehood; 1865 and 1875, in the aftermath of the Civil War; and 1945. Amendments to the constitution may be proposed by a majority of the legislature or by petition signed by 8% of the voters in two-thirds of the state's congressional districts. Proposed amendments must be approved by a majority of the voters in a statewide election. A constitutional convention must be called every 20 years to review the constitution for possible changes. The Missouri general assembly is composed of the senate of 34 members, half of whom are elected every 2 years for 4-year terms, and the house of representatives, with 163 members, all of whom are elected every 2 years. The general assembly meets annually. The governor is elected for 4 years and may succeed himself once. The chief judicial officers are the 7 supreme court judges. The Missouri Plan for selecting judges, adopted in 1945, has become a nationwide model for the nonpartisan assignment of judges. Each of Missouri's 114 counties is governed by a 3-member elected county commission. St. Louis functions as an independent city with county status. Both the Democratic and Republican parties have considerable electoral strength in Missouri, but since World War II the Democrats, strongest in the cities and the Bootheel, have more often controlled the legislature. Elected state offices and Missouri's representation in the U.S. Congress have been rather equally divided between the two parties. Missouri's Democrats tend to have a more conservative political philosophy than Democrats nationally. Republicans retain strength in suburban regions and in the southwestern part of the state. STATE SYMBOLS The state flower is the Hawthorn. The state bird is the Eastern Bluebird. And the state tree is the Dogwood. Government Configuration Missouri has had four constitutions: 1820, prior to statehood; 1865 and 1875, in the aftermath of the Civil War; and 1945. Amendments to the constitution may be proposed by a majority of the legislature or by petition signed by 8% of the voters in two-thirds of the state's congressional districts. Proposed amendments must be approved by a majority of the voters in a statewide election. A constitutional convention must be called every 20 years to review the constitution for possible changes. The Missouri general assembly is composed of the senate of 34 members, half of whom are elected every 2 years for 4-year terms, and the house of representatives, with 163 members, all of whom are elected every 2 years.

A Baby’s Development in the First Nine Months

Child Name: Harlow 1. How does your baby’s eating, sleeping and motor development compare to the typical developmental patterns in the first 9 months? p. 102 – p. 109 a. 5 points for describing VC’s behavior in each of at least two domains and referring to what might be expected at these ages. (10 points) Based on the pediatricians report, Harlow is able to digest new foods well, so the doctor recommends that Harlow eat a variety of foods from the family dinner (ground up). The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Family Physicians suggest that babies can start solids at around 6 months, although they aren’t needed to until 9 – 12 months† (p. 100). Therefor, my virtual child Harlow is coming along very well with her eating development. Harlow is also keeping up pretty well with her sleeping patterns. She is following the typical guidelines of a 9-month year old with trying to sleep through the whole night and napping duri ng the day. Harlow readily adapted to the new people and situations in the pediatrician's office.She made eye contact, smiled at them, and vocalized to them quite a bit. Harlow has strong emotional reactions and has difficulty soothing her back down. The doctor advises patience in dealing with Harlow's emotions. Harlow's motor skills are typical for age: crawling, sitting up, and standing up, but not walking yet. â€Å" These initial efforts are he forerunners of crawling, in which babies coordinate the motions of their arms and legs and propel themselves forward. Crawling appears to typically between 8-10 months†. So far Harlow’s progress is on point to how her sensory motor skills should be at this age. . At 8 months of age was your child an â€Å"easy†, â€Å"slow to warm up†, or â€Å"difficult† baby in terms of Thomas and Chess’s classic temperamental categories? On what do you base this judgment? p. 145 b. 5 points for explaining the c ategory, and 5 points for a supporting observation on VC’s behavior (10 points) At 8 months Harlow I would say Harlow would be considered and â€Å"Easy Baby†, Thomas and Chess describes this profile as easy babies have a positive disposition. Their body functions operate regularly, and they are adaptable.They are generally positive, showing curiosity about new situations, and their emotions are moderate or low in intensity (p. 140) Harlow definitely fits in this 40% of infants. Harlow is always happy and very curio with toys, people, and reactions. She tends to show moderate easing up to low intensity as well. Set #2: – VC at 19 mos – choose 2 of 3 questions (35 points max) 4. Describe and give examples of changes in your child’s exploratory or problem solving behavior from 8 through 18 months and categorize them according to Piagetian and information processing theories. p. 114 – p. 120 a. points for describing an improvement or a qualitat ively new behavior and 5 points for explaining it using a specific Piagetian or information processing concept to classify the child’s behavior (10 points) At 8 months, my childs substage was Secondary circular reactions. During this period, my child took major strides in shifting their cognitive horizons beyond herself, and begun to act outside the world. For example instead of just picking up a toy, she began using buttons, or using the toy in the correct form and purpose it was created. At 18 months, my child moved on to Beginnings of thoughts stage.This stage Piaget argued is the only stage that infants can imagine where objects that they cannot see might be. My child was able to start plotting things in her head. 6. Is your child delayed or advanced in any area of development according to the 19-month developmental examiner’s report? Based on what you have studied, do you think this is most likely a result of specific biological or environmental factors? 5 point f or describing an area of delay or advancement, 5 points for a hypothesis and 5 points for evidence regarding biological or environmental factors from the lecture or readings (15 points)I feel that my child is advanced according to the 19 month development examiners report. I feel that it has a lot to do with biological factors. As my child grew older she became way more aware of things and more curious. This led her to go through all the 19 stages and succeed to the next stage. First she started using her mouth to touch things, then started using her hands and figuring out exactly what the object was made to do, then figured out where the object may go if it fell or it was set under a blanket, she ad the understanding that the object wasn’t gone, but instead it just was placed under something she couldn’t see. Set #3 – VC at 30 mos – choose 3 of 4 questions (40 points max) 7. Describe your child’s communication and language development in the first 30 months. Is your child developing at a typical or atypical rate? a. 5 points for a general description of his/her language development and 5 points for discussing specific evidence of either normal or atypical development (10 points)In the first 30 months, my child’s communication and language development is very well. Around 2-3 months until the age of one, Harlow was making speech like but meaningless sounds. After five months she her babbling expanded, and by 14 months she was saying her very first words. Around 19 months, Harlow was able to use short sentences. The only thing Harlow lacks in she has a small problem with underextension with words, for instance â€Å"blankie†. These are all very clear clarifications that Harlow is on a good and on track level for her language and communication. . Have there been any environmental events in your child’s first 2 1/2 years that you think might have influenced his or her behavior? On what do you base your hypot heses? a. 5 points for each of two environmental events – be sure to explain how you think they influenced your child (10 points) Two environmental events that that may have influences my childs behavior would be, Me not paying enough attention to Harlow. I think this influenced her in not being able to trust me or others like she should.Now Harlow sees the word as being harsh and unfriendly, this leads her to have difficulties forming close bonds with others. ( trust verus mistrstrust stage). Since I have encouraged Harlow to explore and be free in safe boundries, she has developed great independence ( autonomy versus shame and doubt stage). 10. Analyze your own parenting philosophy and practices. What principles from learning or social learning theory, Bowlby, Ainsworth, Piaget, Vygotsky, information processing theory, neuroscience or other theories do you appear to have relied on in making your parenting hoices or interpreting your child’s behavior? Include three pr inciples and identify one or more theorists who espoused these principles in your answer. a. 5 points for discussing an example from your parenting that fits a concept or principle from each of three theories you select from the list above (15 points) I noticed 3 main theories from the list above that I have used as a parent. 1. ) Ainsworth Strange Situation and Patterns of attachment- I followed and would say has developed Harlow into having an ambivalent attchement pattern.This is a style of attchament in which children display a comnination of positive and negative reactions to their mothers; they show great distress when the mother leaves, but upon the return they may simultaneously seek close contact but also hit a kick her. 2. ) Classical Conditioning – I have found that Harlow stops crying when I pick her up becuae she has learned to associate being picked up with subsequent feeding. Pavlov discovered this theory y, repeatedly pairing two stimuli, such as the sound of a bell and the arrival of meat , he could make hungry dogs learn to respond not only when the meat was presented, but even when the bell was sounded without the meat. (p. 86) 3. ) Erikson’s Theory of Psychosocial development- this is a theory that considers how individuals come to understand themselves and the meaning of others- and their own- behavior. My child developed that autonomy-versus-shame-and-doubt-stage because around the age 18 months to 3 years, I gave my child freedom to explore, and she developed independence from this.

Poverty in Canada Essay

Despite having one of the highest  standards of living among all the developed nations, and despite being voted numerous times in recent years by the United Nations as the best country in the world in which to live, experts agree that poverty is prevalent in Canada today. Unfortunately, that is more or less where the agreement ends. Exactly how prevalent and how serious a problem poverty is in Canada is an open question that has been hotly debated for the last 10 years. There have been two times in the past 300 years when economic structural changes have occurred in the world that have been so massive and so far-reaching, that the impact on societies has been nothing short of monumental. The first time was in the Industrial Revolution which began in the early 1700s and caused massive societal transformations, especially in the western world, changing life from agrarian-based societies to industrial-based societies. The second time was in the early 1980s with the beginning of the â€Å"Information Revolution.† Today, a rapid, world-wide, economic transformation is taking place that is changing our societies from industrial-based societies to information-based societies, the 3rd wave. These changes are part of a greater phenomenon called â€Å"globalization† . The improvement in technology lead to a desire to make trades with other countries, and therefore allowing foreign companies to sell in Canada and thereby compete with Canadian companies, and vice versa (â€Å"Laisser faire, laisser passer† – Adam Smith).This increased competition lead to ever greater pressures on Canadian companies to reduce their costs of producing goods. Companies closed down and went looking in third world countries because labour is cheaper. At the same time, technology was replacing human labour; employees lost their jobs, being replaced by machines that could do the job faster and more efficiently. This eliminated the manufacturing, low-to-medium skills, well-paying jobs, which didn’t require a very high level of education. While now, our labour markets into high-skills, high-paying jobs on one end of the spectrum, and low-skills, low-paying jobs  on the other end. Therefore, one way would be for people have to get a better education to get a better job, get better money, and get themselves out of poverty, which runs along the views of Plato. But who are the poor in Canada? Are there any identifiable persons or groups who are more likely to be poor than others? Is age a factor? What about gender, race? What about geographical factors? Does living in certain parts of the country make you more likely to be poor than living in other parts? According to Smith, there is in every society an absolute minimum standard of living which consists of survival necessities (shelter, food and clothes), plus additional non-survival necessities as determined by each society’s customs (such as owning a linen shirt and a pair leather shoes in his day). Together these necessities meet not only a person’s basic survival needs, but also allow that person to participate in society with dignity and without the shame and stigma often attached to being poor. To allow any person to live below this minimum standard would, to use Smith’s term, render that society â€Å"indecent.† The following studies have been made by Kevin Lee from the Canadian Council on Social Development: â€Å"1. From 1990 to 1995 the total number of poor people in Canada increased dramatically. During this period, Canada’s total population increased by 6.1 percent, whereas the population of those considered poor increased by 28.6 percent, far outstripping the overall growth. 2. Poverty is largely an urban phenomenon. In 1990, 66.6 percent of the poor population in Canada lived in metropolitan centers. 70 percent of all poor people live in Montreal, Vancouver or Toronto. Between 1990 and 1995, poverty rates rose in every city examined. 3. Poverty rates varied substantial between cities. Cities in Quebec had the highest poverty rates while cities in southern Ontario had the lowest. For example, Montreal had the highest rate in Canada, 2.5 times higher than Oakville, which had the lowest rate. 4. Certain population groups were more likely to be poor than others. These included: * Single-parent families, whose poverty rate was 2.45 times higher than the average. * Aboriginal persons, whose poverty rate was 2.26 times higher than the average. * Recent immigrants, whose poverty rate was 2.17 times higher than the average. * Visible minorities, whose poverty rate was 1.53 times higher than the average. * Persons with disabilities, whose poverty rate was 1.47 times higher than the average. 5. Poverty rates varied considerably according to age and gender. The young and the elderly are more likely to experience poverty. The incidence of poverty declines with age until age 45 to 54, after which it rises again. Women in every age groups are more likely to live in poverty, and women seniors above age 75 are the most like of any group. Among males, boys up to age 14 had the highest poverty rate. Children and youth made up one third of the total poor population. 6. Poverty rates varied based on education levels. As expected, in every city examined persons with less than high school education were more likely to be poor than those with a post-secondary level education. However, at least 6 percent of post-secondary graduates in every city lived in poverty, and in six cities that rate was over 20 percent. 7. Poverty rates varied based on occupational skills levels. As expected, persons with lower skills levels had a higher incidence of poverty, however  high-skills workers still had high poverty rates in some cities. For example, in Montreal almost 20 percent of high-skills workers were living in poverty as compared to 4.5 percent in Gloucester or Burlington. 8. The average income for working-age families in Canada was $60,400. 9. The average income for working-age â€Å"poor† families in Canada was $14,500.† Taken from http://www.ccsd.ca/pubs/2000/up/ But another question prevails here: How should we help them? Canada has been using a lot of different methods to try and help them. We can find numerous shelters for the homeless, which also provides them with food and water. All this is free for them, but it’s not helping them get out of poverty, it is like a breathing device for them. Without it, they would die. There are other people who do have a home, as humble as it might be, but they are having troubles paying for it, since they cannot find a job. The government supplies those people with an amount of money weekly. This is called the Welfare system, but it is not working as well as in Sweden. This may be because the people are taking this money, and instead of spending it on food and vital needs, some of them go and buy cigarettes, alcohol, and drugs. On the other hand, some people are wisely investing it in education, and vital needs. This makes us wonder if our tax money is being spent wisely. Should the government tax the working people to give and income to the non-working people? There are many points of view about this subject. We may think that it is unfair that you are working to help them, without getting anything in return. We may feel like we are being obliged to care for the less well off. But in fact, by giving them little boost, they are helping us back. If they get a chance at a better education, they could get a job, or even open their own company, which would create employment, and in its turn would increase consumption, and make the economy go round. We would all benefit from this. If this starts off, there would be enough jobs for everyone, thus getting the present poor people out of poverty and help the next generation be poverty free. Of course I am exaggerating, there would  never be 0% poverty, but there might be a possibility of a 100% educated population. Once this has been reached, more innovations will be accessible, and the updated Adam Smith wo uld come in play: â€Å"Laisser innover†, also known as R&D. This could help in many ways, a good example would be space technology. The exploration of space has, ever since it began in 1962 with the launch of Yuri Gagarin, been a controversial subject among the peoples of this planet. The controversy surrounds the spending of billions and billions of dollars on the pursuits of space exploration. The thread of the most common argument against space is that there are more pressing problems here on our planet such as pollution, overcrowding, disease, poverty etc. that this money could be spent on. Will taking moneys from space exploration and investing more money in these immediate problems help them? There is no doubt that by investing more in these problems that there will be measurable improvements in all problems. In fact given a conscious effort to spend wisely any problem could be helped. So the question becomes does space exploration help this planet? Can exploring space on its own justify the investment? The most obvious area where space exploration has benefited our immediate lives is right in every ones own living room. The television newscasts which you watch have been more than likely been transmitted via satellite. The satellite has also allowed trans-continental telephone calls, emergency tracking and a host of other uses. These are measurable benefits in the present, but the question begs as to why we spend money on theoretical research on quasars, missions to the moon, and experimental technologies which seem like science fiction to most people. The answer to this question lies in the benefit of space exploration that we see today, that is, in satellite communications. More than thirty years ago when Sputnik was first launched that was deemed a marvel of science and technology, almost science fiction. No one person could foresee the benefits that could be gleaned from the launch of this simple spherical metal ball which bounced radio signals back to earth. The point here is that the investment in this project paid off, in what we see today in the form of TV  news, phone calls and direct broadcasting television. It is important to point out that the Sputnik launch and all other attempts including the American Echo project were good investments but there are space projects which failed miserably such as the Russian attempt at building a Super Booster, now called Energia. Millions of dollars were wasted in this failed project. What I am trying to illustrate is that there are good and bad ideas, good and bad investments not only in space exploration but in any field of science. This is what drives the advancement of knowledge. Space exploration in the broadest sense gives us the future. It is an investment not for the short term but for the long term. It allows us to study different environments, allows technology to develop and allows ideas to be tested. No one can argue that Sputnik was not a wise investment so how can we possibly know that sending missions to the moon is not. The responsibility lies with us to determine what is important and worth pursuing.

How To Get People To (Actually) Read Your Content

How To Get People To (Actually) Read Your Content How do you make sure that people are actually reading your content? You may spend a lot of time making sure that your content is converting well and that your readers  are sharing it online, but is it actually being read?  How do you know? With all of the analytics and metrics at our disposal that tell us about  traffic, knowing if your content is being read is often a black hole for marketers. Thats a problem. Why You  Need To Make Sure That Your Content Is Being Read It can take a lot of time to produce great content, no matter how efficient your workflow is. As the old saying goes, time equals money, and it only makes sense to get as much out of your content as you can. After all, theres no ROI in  content that people arent  reading. Theres no ROI  on  content that  people arent  reading.  #ContentMarketingIn addition to driving traffic, content marketing is also about building your reputation as a thought leader in your field.  You need to establish yourself as someone your audience can trust for great advice and leadership. In order to make this happen,  you need to make sure that  you are writing highly-readable content. The other problem you may encounter is that content that is being created but not consumed is demoralizing. There is nothing more frustrating to a writer than content that doesnt seem to be going anywhere. Its up to you to make sure that doesnt happen. There are few things you need to consider about readable content. Consider How Visitors  Read Your Website In 2006, usability consultant Jakob Nielsen used eye tracking visualizations to observe how website visitors actually read your content. In short, his conclusion can be summarized as  F for  fast. His research found that: As readers, our eyes move incredibly fast across a  website. The pattern we use to view the page is not the typical left-to-right method that we learned in school. Rather, we typically read the page in a F-pattern that puts the most emphasis on the headline and the first few paragraphs of text. As readers scroll down the page, they tend to emphasize the left hand side of the page, skimming the remaining content rather than reading  it. Heatmaps from user eyetracking studies of three websites. The areas where users looked the most are colored red; the yellow areas indicate fewer views, followed by the least-viewed blue areas. Gray areas didnt attract any fixations. Jakob Nielsen Nielsens  results feel frustrating, but they are probably accurate. At , we  recently began testing how our own readers consumed our content using  a free heatmap tool from SumoMe. This simple plugin allowed us to create  heatmaps of our very own, using our actual readers as the sampling. This is what we learned about our own blog using heatmaps: Our readers are highly focused on our content because we have a very clean page. This is good. Our content followed the fairly typical F-pattern similar to Nielsons findings. As readers moved down the page, they tended to focus more on the left side of the content. On some posts, many readers didn’t make it past reading 20-30% of our content. Based on clicks, most sharing took place at the pages 35%  mark. Highlighted text, links, and headlines drew  plenty of  attention. Only 10-20% of readers actually make it to the bottom of the post. These finding line up with some of the most popular conclusions and findings regarding content. The longer your content is, the less likely that everyone  will read it.  That said, there are also many benefits of  long-form content so you need to find the right balance. You should also test this out for yourself. Consider Where They  Read Your Content How many people read your blog on their phone or tablet? I bet its more that you think. Research frequently shows that  consuming email,  searching the internet, and using social networks  are some of  the  most popular activities  done on a handheld  device. Many of these activities are resulting in click-throughs that are coming to your site on a mobile device. Do you like what they are finding? After a quick glance in our Google Analytics account, we found that 15% of our total traffic is coming from a mobile device. This is a significant amount of traffic. This means that you need to have a great mobile website or a  responsive website design  that automatically scales your website to work on any screen size. If you are using WordPress, this can be easily solved with a plugin like WPTouch or Automattic’s Jetpack plugin  which  offers a free mobile module that works quite well.   At , weve opted for the responsive design option, which gives our readers the  best experience possible on any device. This option also allows us to keep our lead collection initiates at the forefront as well. Another place that visitors may be  reading your content is from their  RSS reader or social application, such as Feedly. This is a good reason to make sure that your entire article is being included in your RSS feed. While sharing only a portion of your content may help you get a few extra clicks, it wont  make your content  any more  likely to be  read. People are reading your content in RSS readers like Feedly. Another place that your readers may be finding your content is their  email inbox. This is especially true if you rely on an email marketing program to distribute your content. I began thinking about this more when one of my coworkers recently shared how they handled email. They have broken it down so that they only check their email 3 times per day. Each time, they allow for 10-20 minutes, and they take action on all email, meaning that they either reply to it,   archive it, or create a t0-do item or task around the email content.  Ã‚  This method is efficient,  but it is also bad news for your content as it leaves little room for reading and enjoying useful  material. This leads to something that I call the context problem,  which are the reading problems that arise from the context in which your readers are consuming your content. Consider That Visitors  Aren’t Just Reading Your Content The really bad news about your content is that your readers have a lot more going on than just reading what you have to say. Whens the last time you simply sat quietly reading on your couch? Probably not nearly as often as youd like. In addition to reading your content, your visitors are  also  cooking dinner, riding the subway, checking their email, watching a movie, and emailing their mother-in-law  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ at the same time! How are you going to  compete with all of that? 1. Allow Each Sentence To Lead To The Next One of the most basic ways to keep your readers attention is to simply ensure that each sentence you write  compels  your readers to move on to the next. For example, the purpose of your headline is to get your readers to move onto the first sentence. The purpose of the second sentence is to get them to move on to the third. You get the idea. Keep your content compelling all the way through. 2. Follow  The Inverted Pyramid Model When You Write The inverted pyramid is a great tool for structuring your content in a way that readers will appreciate and consume. This is a method that newspaper journalists have been using for years. It works well because it puts the most pertinent information first, essentially embracing the idea that nearly 60% of your readers will never make it the end of the article. This method can also work well for your blog content. 3. Use Images To Make Your Concepts Simple Images are great way to break-up your content and spare your users from a sea of text. By using images to illustrate the concepts you are writing about, you also make them easier to understand and engage with. This type of content is consistent with Nielsens research and focus on scannable text. In many ways, this type of visual content is becoming more important than ever in content marketing. 4. Focus On Easily Scannable  Text In addition to images, you can  break up your content by creating text that is easy to scan and consume. Nielsens study offered several extremely useful tips on this: highlighted  keywords  (hypertext links serve as one form of highlighting; typeface variations and color are others) meaningful  sub-headings  (not clever ones) bulleted  lists one idea  per paragraph (users will skip over any additional ideas if they are not caught by the first few words in the paragraph) the  inverted pyramid  style, starting with the conclusion half the word count  (or less) than conventional writing In this chart, Nielsen gives us a great example of how different writing methods can be used to make text more readable. Source Jakob Nielson Warning: Youre Not Going To Read This, But You May Have Already Shared It We are now well past the 30% point of this post, which means that most of you are no longer reading this article. For those of you who are, heres another jaw-dropper for you to consider: recent research has shown  that there is no correlation between content that has been shared via social media and content that has been read.

The Life of Cesar Chavez essays

The Life of Cesar Chavez essays Cesar Chavez was a famous labor leader. He helped out the agricultural workers in problems they faced in the work force. Chavez led several strikes to help the migrant workers get a higher pay and started a Labor Movement. Chavez also urged Mexican-Americans to register and vote. The actions that Chavez took called attention nationally. With his attitude and courage he led other Mexican-Americans to speak up and stand up for themselves. Cesar Chavez was a civil rights activist, a former farm worker and a leader. Cesar Estrada Chavez was born on March 31, 1927 near Yuma, Arizona. Chavez was named after his grandfather, who escaped from slavery on a Mexican ranch and arrived in Arizona during the 1880s. Cesar was the second child of a family of six. Chavez began school at age seven, but he found it difficult because his family spoke only Spanish. At age 10, Chavez began life as a migrant worker when his father lost the land during the Depression. Chavez learned many things from his mother. She believed violence and selfishness were wrong and taught these lessons to her children. Chavez and his family packed their belongings and headed to California in search of work. In California, the Chavez family became part of the migrant community, traveling from farm to farm to pick fruits and vegetables during the harvest. They lived in numerous migrant camps and often were forced to sleep in their car. Chavez regularly attended more than thirty elementary schools, often encountering cruel discrimin ation. When he completed eighth grade, Chavez quit school and started working full-time. He also joined the Navy and served his country for seven years. In 1952, Chavez met Fred Ross, who was part of a group called the Community Service Organization (CSO) formed by Saul Alinsky. Chavez became part of the organization and began urging Mexican-Americans to register and vote. Chavez traveled throughout California and ...

Its the Aggregate Demand, Stupid by Bruce Bartlett Assignment - 1

Its the Aggregate Demand, Stupid by Bruce Bartlett - Assignment Example Moreover, the author articulated that the aggregate demand is the major element with respect to the current economic condition that can create jobs and stimulate economic growth of the US. Throughout the article, Bartlett has critically explored the issue concerning the economic growth and downfall of the current labour market of the US. According to the article, it has been perceived that the lack of focus on aggregate demand along with insufficient investment and immaterialized consumption expenditure have to lead to a major downfall of the economy. The current economic policies of the nation are determined to be insufficient to address the needs of creating jobs and stimulating economic growth. However, the only effective measure to attain this goal is perceived to be related to increasing aggregate demand. According to the theoretical context, it is often attributed that the lower growth in the annual consumer spending substantially creates major vulnerabilities in the inflation rates that causes major debacles in the economic growth (Bartlett, â€Å"It’s the Aggregate Demand, Stupid†). In relation to the current policy measures of the Federal Government, the article reveals that Administration is centrally focused on maintaining average growth rather to substantially increase the level of annual consumer spending in the US. However, the mechanism is quite difficult due to the emerging level of unemployment within the states. Therefore, the existing administration is significantly inviting major risk for the nation due to its policy directed towards increasing savings while reducing the consumptions of goods and services by household, business and government. Although the policy of reducing aggregate demand promotes increasing household savings and maximizing the wealth, in long run, the process inadvertently calls for a major financial debacle in the nation.  

Plato and Seneca on Death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Plato and Seneca on Death - Essay Example It demands attention, makes us busy with working for a living and fills us with desires, wants and fears. Our search for the truth is also impeded whenever our bodies are afflicted by disease. The body can be said to be the ultimate inhibiting factor in our desire to wander in our thoughts. True philosophers try to separate the soul from the body in their search for the truth. It is in this regard where death provides an avenue for it is only thru this where the body and the soul can be separated. Philosophy, then, is the quest for knowledge and enlightenment and the only way for this to be achieved is thru the separation of the body and soul. The only way to separate the body and soul is death. Those who truly desire to become philosophers must be prepared to live as close to death as possible. This does not necessarily mean that they should always be in near-death situations. Instead, they should not be too much concerned with the intricacies of the body providing only the basic nourishment it needs. It is due to this that true philosophers and lovers of wisdom do not fear death. Seneca, one the Stoic philosopher, offers a rather compelling manifesto regarding the subject of life and time. The pervading notion during his time was that nature has cursed us with so short a life that it often ends just when we were getting ready for it. This kind of thinking not only afflicts the common people who form the majority of the populace but each and every individual member of society including distinguished men and women who had all the means for a leisurely life. Life, as observed by Seneca in most people, is that it is viewed in terms of postponement. People live as though their life is ensured in the future. They talk about their retirement or the time they will be having their own orchards. Seneca argues that life is finite and is essentially about time. However, the greatest obstacle to living was expectancy wherein we set our sights of what lies in the future while we waste the time we have today. We are thus disposed of that which lay in the hands of Fortune, while letting go of that which was in our own. If we live today and in the present moment, we could live every moment of our life as though it would last forever. Seneca says that everything even darkness and light is contained in a single day. To use the present well is to be aware of this completeness. More days, and months, and years, will or at least may make up our lives if we only made wise of our time. In making the most of our time, we make the most of our life. Life is making use of time and time is making use of life. In this regard, there is not much difference between the two less we perceive life as though we have all the time in the world. 3.0 Plato and Seneca on Death Philosophy and death are intricately entwined in the writings of Plato and Seneca. An analysis of their writings would reveal that share many similarities yet diverge in certain issues. To start with, Plato recognizes that opposites come only from opposites. Since the opposite of life is death and that death comes from life, life can also come from death. Plato would counsel his listeners that death can only lead to immortality as the soul is finally freed from the body but this is only true when the soul already existed without the body. While Plato explains death