Are You Ready for the Next Edition of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile Your Input Requested!

Are You Ready for the Next Edition of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile Your Input Requested! IMPORTANT: SURVEY LINK ENCLOSED! Win *your choice* of $50 off any service from The Essay Expert – or a $25 Amazon gift card! CLICK HERE TO ACCESS MY SURVEY Last week, LinkedIn officially announced to the world its upcoming changes, which have started to roll out across its platform. With membership in the U.S. at approximately 133 million, and worldwide membership up to 467 million, it’s more important than ever to stand out on LinkedIn. Thankfully, as far as I can tell, effective LinkedIn strategies have not changed with the new platform. You still need to follow my 3 Ls: Locatability (have 500+ connections and use keywords effectively) Likeability (have a personable, professional photo and a unique Summary section) ALiveness (stay active on LinkedIn and network off the site as well) My hope is that the free platform will be more user-friendly- that it will be easier to post articles, easier to keep track of important notifications, and easier to figure out how you’re connected to people and companies. What’s clear is that many things will look different and be organized differently; that the Advanced Search function will function differently; and that you will no longer be able to use Notes and Tags unless you have Sales Navigator. Here are LinkedIn’s videos on the new changes. LinkedIn Desktop Redesign Puts Conversations and Content at the Center How to Make the Most of the New LinkedIn Search As the author of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile, I face my own dilemmas about how to handle these new changes. Not to worry: I will be revising my e-book, and if you are subscribed, you will get the new version! I have other questions as well, however, as to when to publish my next e-book version and whether to create a new print book at all. I thought I’d ask you to help me out. Would you be so kind as to complete this quick 6-question survey? I would be very grateful! And youll be entered to win *your choice* of $50 off any service from The Essay Expert or a $25 Amazon gift card! CLICK HERE TO ACCESS MY SURVEY Your input will help me greatly in making decisions about future publishing decisions. Thank you! If you’d like the current e-book of How to Write a KILLER LinkedIn Profile, complete with lifetime updates, click here. For the print version, click here. Save

Colored Fire - Where to Find Metal Salts for Colorants

Colored Fire - Where to Find Metal Salts for Colorants Ive received many requests for information about where to find the metal salts that can be used to make colored fire. Heres a list of common sources of these metal salts. If the salts are in liquid form, simply soak pinecones or logs or whatever you are burning in the liquid and let the fuel dry before use. If the salts are solids, your best bet is to try to dissolve them in a bit of alcohol and then apply them to your fire fuel. You can use water but expect a longer drying time. Fire Color - Source Green - Boric acid is probably your best source of green. Boric acid most commonly is sold as a disinfectant in the pharmacy section of a store. Copper sulfate is another metal salt that produces green fire. You can find copper sulfate, usually diluted in liquid form, in products used to control algae in pools or ponds. White - Magnesium compounds can lighten a flame color to white. You can add Epsom salts, which are used for a variety of household purposes. I usually see Epsom salts sold in the pharmacy section of stores for use as a bath soak, but the salts commonly contain sodium impurities, which will produce a yellow flame. Yellow - Your usual fire will be yellow already, but if you are burning a fuel that produces a blue flame, for example, you can turn it from green to yellow by adding sodium salt, such as common table salt. Orange - Calcium chloride produces orange fire. Calcium chloride is sold as a desiccant and as a road de-icing agent. Just be sure the calcium chloride isnt mixed with sodium chloride or else the yellow from the sodium will overpower the orange from the calcium. Red - Strontium salts produce red colored fire. The easiest way to get strontium is to break open a red emergency flare, which you can find in the automotive section of stores. Road flares contain their own fuel and oxidizer, so this material burned vigorously and very brightly. Lithium produces a beautiful red flame, too. You can get lithium from certain lithium batteries. Purple - Purple or violet flames may be produced by adding potassium chloride to the fire. Potassium chloride is sold as lite salt or salt substitute in the spice section of the grocery store. Blue - You can get blue fire from copper chloride. I am not aware of a widely-available source of copper chloride. You can produce it by dissolving copper wire (easy to locate) in muriatic acid (sold in building supply stores). This would be an outdoors-only type of reaction and not something I really recommend doing unless you have a little chemistry experience... but if youre determined, dissolve a piece of copper in a solution of 3% hydrogen peroxide (sold as a disinfectant) to which you have added sufficient muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) to make 5% HCl solution.

VISUAL CULTURE Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

VISUAL CULTURE - Essay Example The author strongly argues the value of the paintings, sold in millions is created by auction houses and dealers rather than the critics and curios. Is Dance at Le Moulin de la Galette a brand painting which has acquired created value by the dealers or is it truly a masterpiece on canvas? To know this we should explore and analyze every minute visual aspect of the painting through our brain and heart. This essay aims conducting a thorough analysis on the visual structure and the meaning Dance at Le Moulin de La Galette tries to communicate. Richard Howells (2012) suggests examining a painting contains five key features. We have to analyze what kind of painting it is, what does it show, the location of the painting, the time or era it was drawn, what is shown and what is left out in it for us to make out. In technical terms we have to concentrate on the usage of key elements like the usage of line, brush strokes, light usage, the forms present in the painting, the color and texture to conduct a good analysis. Any person can do this analysis devoid of their art or historical background. But, determining a painting’s true value requires viewing it through the heart and mixing a bit of philosophy with the technicality to note the ‘absence’. We can interpret it in simple terms as reading between the lines or rather as reading between the brushstrokes (Kenny n.d.). Each painting has something absent, which we do not realize until we view the painting. Then we start to reflect about the absence and its loss (Berger 2009). Again as Howells (2009) mentioned, just reading the content of the painting alone is not important. Understanding its form and the interpreting the inner meaning identifying the absence is the key point of good visual analysis. Drawn by Renoir at 1876 in Paris, this painting has achieved its iconic status owing to its masterful brushstrokes (a major reason for

Colombian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Colombian Entrepreneurial Ecosystem - Essay Example The armed conflict in Columbia had drastic effects on all sides: the government forces, the guerillas, and even the civilians. A large number of people, approximately 90,000, lost their lives with millions of people being forcibly displaced. Several other people were kidnapped with many being disabled by landmines and explosion of bombs. Properties such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructures were destroyed in the process of the soaring conflict, hence leading to massive physical destructions. The armed conflict started because of protest for the rights of the poor Columbians with the desire to be protected by government against social injustices and unequal distribution of resources including land and wealth, which made the people of Columbia dissatisfied. Out of these, there came up strategic protests to forcefully demand these rights by taking over governance by force and violence (Acs &Szerb 113). This struggle was undertaken by different groups at regional and subdivision levels through conflicts. Their anger was directed to state utilities, infrastructure and regions perceived to be beneficiaries of public resources, such as those in strategic routes of transportation of weapons, drugs and food. Other areas attacked are those seen to harbor state forces or those which provide them with resources. This Columbian conflict had far-reaching effects on the business sector in Columbia and its environments. It affected the entrepreneurial performance, which includes the regulatory framework, access to capital, access to R&D technology, entrepreneurial capabilities, market conditions and culture. By affecting these determinants, the conflict changed and determined how entrepreneurship is carried out in Columbia. Entrepreneurs were affected both directly and indirectly by the conflicts in Columbia. Entrepreneurs faced high transactional cost because of the unfavorable business climat e resulting from the conflicts. Merchandizing was spoiled due to the disrupted network and infrastructure since goods and services relying on them could not reach their destination. Businesspersons also lost international partners because the conditions were unfavorable for business. This led to loss of business opportunities, which made many companies close their business. Entrepreneurs could not invest freely for fear of being victimized and kidnapped, extorted or attacked. The room for expansion was limited by competition for territory, which was managed by guerilla groups. With high insecurity, finance meant to be used in business was invested to cover for security and insurance of their investments. Huge amounts of finances were spent in efforts to control conflicts with development projects and peace initiatives started in Columbia. This strained businesses and even led to closure of some. The entrepreneurship culture was eradicated and individuals were stopped from investing because of insecurity in the market. Prices of natural and industrial goods increased because of decreased production as demand increased; the low production was witnessed as a result of insecurity and instability in the country during the war. Regulatory Framework in Colombia Whereas laws have been enhanced, the implementation approaches in Colombia are weak because of mainly the idea that defense spending is exploiting the civilian economy and entrepreneurial growth. During the 1990s, defense budget averaged 1.36% of the total GDP. Even up to early 2000s, the

MGM International Resorts Case Analysis Memo Essay Example for Free

MGM International Resorts Case Analysis Memo Essay To: James J. Murren From: Date: November 18, 2013 Subject: Issues of MGM International Resorts I am writing this letter in order to address the slow recovery of your company. It has come to my attention that your company, MGM International Resorts, is facing some major issues as the gaming and hospitality industry struggles to recover. In this letter I plan to address the industries problems, and the specific issues that your company is facing. One of the major issues facing MGM International Resorts is that it is that the industry has a lot of overcapacity as demand has dropped from pre-recessionary evels when many big projects have been planned. This is evidenced by your companys ambitious pre-recession project CityCenter, the largest private development project in United States history. CityCenter ended up opening to little fanfare. The biggest sources of revenue in the industry were conventions. Due to the economic downturn in 2008, revenues from Conventions have decreased dramatically and have not fully recovered. Trade shows, associations and corporations traditionally paid a premium to meet in Las Vegas. Now with fewer organizations meet in Las Vegas, they can now negotiate lower prices. There are now increased leisure travelers going to Las Vegas to fill discounted rooms but does not help you increase revenue much as they do not like to spend money on your high end shopping and dining venues. Americans are also deciding more carefully spend their money preferring staycations in order to save money on increasing airfares and travel costs. This is mainly due to the decrease in discretionary spending of 43 percent from December 2007 to January 2011. The road to recovery from the start of the economic recession for the industry is slower than predicted. Your company also aces strong competition from competitors such as Wynn Resorts and Las Vegas Sands who have managed to fare in the recession substantially better. MGM Resorts Internationals financial statements are not very good relative to your competitors. Your company had a degradation of financials compared to your competitors whom of which fared the recession much better. Your company is highly leveraged with net debt to EBITDA of 1 1. 5 times. Boyd, Las Vegas Sands have lower debt leveraging at 8. x, 3. 3x, 3. 4x, and 1 . 9x respectively. You are also not as widely diversified in regional American markets such as in the Northeast. Your company has recently lost money posting a net loss of 1,437. 4 million in 2010. I will first analyze the health of the gaming and hospitality industry in Las Vegas in which you compete using Porters Five Forces of Competition Model. The indus try faces a lot of substitutes which your customers flock to. There is online gambling. This may keep people from flocking to casinos to gamble as they can conveniently do it at home. There are also closer example of this would be Empire City Casino in Yonkers, NY. It is only half an hour way from New York City and very convenient for those in the area who would Just like to gamble for a night and return home. You do not face a very large threat from new entrants as the capital requirements to enter the gaming and hospitality industry are very high. Customers are able to easily switch from staying on your properties to another companys property. Your company also possesses a wide variety of products that are differentiated. That being said, Industry Rivalry between you and your competitors are very high. All companies in the industry are on fairly qual ground ever since the recession. The costs to exit this industry are also very high. Customers again have very low switching costs and may switch between different properties as they see fit and the large excess in capacity in the industry means that you and all your competitors are cutting prices on rooms and services in order to attract business. The industrys suppliers of hospitality related supplies, such as food bed sheet and soap, and casino/gaming specific supplies, such as slot machines and thousands of decks of cards, have very weak bargaining power. The ew large companies within the gaming and hospitality industry have the bargaining power with when it comes to its two supplier lines as there are many of these suppliers to buy from while only a few large companies that are willing to buy. The ability to use a companys size to negotiate price and length of contracts for expensive high luxury furnishings and exclusive rights to a show or celebrity chef also gives the gaming and hospitality industry strength. While bargaining power of the suppliers is weak, the bargaining power of buyers is very strong. Customers have ery low switching costs and again the large excess in capacity in the industry means that you and all your competitors are cutting prices on rooms and services in order to attract business. Conventions, which are a large part of revenue have been on the downturn compared to capacity, again forcing prices downward. Buyers in the industry are also very price sensitive with many opting to take staycations where vacationers enjoy their time off closer to home. All of these forces add up to an industry that is relatively weak and recovering very slowly. Using the growth-share nalysis, your company is positioned as a cash cow which is very good. Your company has high market share in a slow growing industry. The company should worry though as it is close to being a dog of the industry as it has a lot of debt from ill-timed large projects such as CityCenter and must worry about other companies stealing market share as they are recovering faster. The industry is very capital intensive which means a lot of revenue is being reinvested back into the business. I will now analyze your company through SWOT Analysis. Your company has quite a few strengths that ill help your company into the future. Your companys large size gives it the upper hand in negotiating the best prices from its suppliers. It is very advantageous that your company caters to a wide range of customers from the high-end consumers with resorts such as the Bellagio offering exclusive products to the value-minded consumers with Circus Circus. Your ability to provide superior customer service by recruiting, training and retaining the best most motivated individuals is very valuable in your company. Your marketing and sales activities are another strong suit which compliments your services.

Arthur Birling at the Beginning of Act One in An Inspector Calls Essay

Arthur Birling at the Beginning of Act One in An Inspector Calls JB Priestly wrote the play of ‘An Inspector Calls’ in 1945 but set the play in 1912, Edwardian Britain. The writer intentionally set the play in 1912 to make the audience aware of social conscience. Another reason why the play was set in 1912 was because, some of the historical events mentioned in the play, the audience would be familiar with as they would have lived through the time and would know the real results of how they ended and what the causes were because the era from which he set was very different to when he wrote the play. In the play, when these events are mentioned, Arthur Birling says the opposite to what actually happens such as when Birling said there would be no war, world war 1 started two years later and world war 2 ended in mid 1945; there were sturdy comparisons and discrimination between the upper and lower classes in the 1912 era but the class distinctions had significantly reduced in 1945 as a result of two world wars; the ruling classes saw no necessities in changing the status quo but in the time in which ‘An Inspector Calls’ was written, there was a great passion for social change in the classes and immediately after world war 2, Labours Clement Attlee won a landslide victory over the conservative Winston Churchill. The main events mentioned in the play are the world wars, would ‘never happen and the Titanic, which was ‘unsinkable, absolutely unsinkable’. One evening of happiness and bliss brings the Birling Family and Gerald Croft to distress and truth, as they are celebrating the engagement party of their Daughter Sheila to Gerald until an inspector calls regarding the death of a young girl who had poisoned ... ...himself he and his family have no part in the girl’s death and so it would be necessary for the inspector to leave but then finds out he and his family played the most important part in the girls death, and even after hearing that, he still tries to turn a blind eye. Some ideas and themes J B Priestly was trying to convey through the character of Arthur Birling were Cause and Effect and Social conscience. Clues, which are given in the play to the audience about the result of Arthur Birling as the play progresses, are all found with the language Birling uses to speak about himself. Also, His characteristics show that as the story progresses, when Birling is hit with a mistake he thinks he never made, he will face a major downfall in his position in the society, and will lose respect from family members employees and everyone else who has respected him.

Cognitive Competence

Tomorrow’s Leader Term paper Topic: Cognitive Competence Wai (Synergy) Content Part 1 1. Definition cognitive competenceP. 3-4 2. Theory of cognitive competenceP. 5-8 3. Factors affecting cognitive competenceP. 9-10 4. Importance of cognitive competence in leadershipP. 11-12 5. Ways to enhance the level of cognitive competenceP. 13-14 Part 2 Self evaluationP. 15-17 Part 3 ReferenceP. 18-19 Part 1 Definition of cognitive competence 1. Cognitive competence is defined as the ability to perform adequately those cognitively complex tasks considered essential for living on one's own in this society. Willis SL. (1996). Everyday cognitive competence in elderly persons: conceptual issues and empirical findings, Oct;36(5):595-601) 2. The ability to develop and apply the cognitive skills of self-talk, the reading and interpretation of social cues, using steps for problem-solving and decision making, understanding the perspective of others, understanding behavioral norms, a positive attit ude towards life, and self –awareness. (The W. T. Grant Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence (1992: 136)) 3. Academic and intellectual achievement. include the ability to use logic, analytic thinking, and abstract reasoning) (Catalano, R. F. , Berglund, M. L. , Ryan, J. A. M. , Lonczak, H. S. , ; Hawkins, J. D. (2002). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Prevention and Treatment, 5 (15), 1-106. ) This three definitions are little bit different. The third one is too narrow as it just mentioned academic and intellectual achievement. The second one, on the other hand, is not specific enough. In my understanding, I think cognitive competence is best defined using the first two definitions. Cognitive competence is defined as the ability to perform adequately those cognitively complex tasks considered essential for living on one's own in this society. It also includes unde rstanding the perspective of others, understanding behavioral norms, and self –awareness. † Theory Hui & Sun’s model (2007) This model divides cognitive competence into three types of thinking: 1. Creative thinking, a way of looking at problems or situations from a fresh perspective that suggests unorthodox solutions (which may look unsettling at first). 2. Critical thinking, which includes reasoning, making references, self-reflection, and coordination of multiple views. Critical thinking has been described as â€Å"the process of purposeful, self-regulatory judgment, which uses reasoned consideration to evidence, context, conceptualizations, methods, and criteria. † (Facione, Peter A. Critical Thinking: What It is and Why It Counts, Insightassessment. com) 3. Rational thinking refers to logical or reasoning being involved in the thought process. It refers to providing reasons or rational behind thoughts or ideas. It adds an element of calculation and planning to a steam of thoughts rather than basing them on emotion or personal opinion. It is a kind of objective process of thinking and an analytic approach to any problem. Rational thinking is based on reasons or facts and is hence much more calculating and realistic. Geiwitz’s model This model divides cognitive competence into three steps of thinking: 1. Know what, to know what is the problem 2. Know how, to know how the problem can be solved 3. Know why, to know why choose particular method to solve the problem, or to evaluate the method currently used. What How Why In Hui and Sun’s model, creative thinking is the innovative way of thinking. It allows people to invent new things or idea. Critical thinking is used when commenting on something, e. g. in writing editorials. As for rational thinking, it is used when analyzing. In my opinion, the second model is easier to understand. And it shows progressive levels of cognitive competence, whereas the first model only divides our thinking into three different ways. Therefore, I would further explain cognitive competence using the second model for reference. Take the example of inventors of the world’s first airplane – the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur. This is an good example to illustrate the concept of cognitive competence and the Geiwitz’s model. Applying the Geiwitz’s model, the Wright brothers’ aim was to create a â€Å"flying machine†, this is the â€Å"know what† level of cognitive competence. They then started to think and design this machine, and this is the â€Å"know how† level of cognitive competence. Finally they evaluated the products (what’s good and not good about it) and thought how to improve further. The â€Å"know how† and â€Å"know why† steps repeated. And finally an mature airplane was invented. Start Know what: to invent a flying machine Know how: How to built a better flying machine Know why: Why this model is good/not good enough Repeat A satisfatory model is invented Another example to illustrate is the development in high jump styles. The styles used in high-jumping has changed from initially scissors style, to straddle style, and finally the Fosbury style which is still using nowadays. Start Know what: to jump high Know how: What jumping style Know why: Why this style is good/not good enough Repeat A satisfatory syle is invented Factors affecting cognitive competence I think the factors affecting the development of one’s cognitive competence can be divided into intrinsic factors and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic factors are those confine to yourself, while extrinsic factors are those influenced by the environment. For intrinsic factors, I think there are: intelligence, personalities, knowledge and past experience. For intelligent, I think it is not difficult to imagine that it is important for high cognitive competence. Intelligence is particularly important for the â€Å"know how† and â€Å"know why† stage. Only if you are wise enough can you think of a new way to solve problem that no one has ever think of or find out what is the problem of existing method being used by other people. Moreover, intelligence is kind of inborn; therefore, cognitive competence is also inborn to a certain extent. As for personality, I think people with different personality may affect his/her performance in problem solving and the presentation of his cognitive competence. For example, if a person lacks confidence and likes to deal with problem in a low risk aspect, he/she may not abandon the existing widely used method to tackle the problem and use new methods even though he is clever enough to think of many other new potential methods. They may only attempt the new ways when they are 100% more effective and safer than the existing ones. Knowledge and past experience are very similar. They both can be regarded as memory. They are very important factors that affect cognitive competence. When tackling problems, memory always acts as your â€Å"reference†, it gives you basic information and background about the problem. And help you to figure out the solution in relation to this â€Å"reference†. Like the case of the Wright brothers, when they tried to invent a flying machine, their knowledge in engineering gives them basic information of how to build it. It is interesting to notice that sometimes past experience may hinder our cognitive performance. For example, when you are dealing with a project you are very familiar with, you might too much into your experience and knowledge and think that it is impossible to explore new methods. For extrinsic factors, there are: Environment (e. g. family background, situation of the problem) and the nature of problem Environment is the major extrinsic factor affecting one’s cognitive competence. It determines many of intrinsic factors including past experience, knowledge and even personality. Environment can also affects ones attitude to deal with the problem, thus performance of cognitive competence. For example, the due date of your proposal is tomorrow morning and now is already three o’clock in the morning and you haven’t even started yet. I am sure you may feel desperate and will not spend much time to think of the new ideas. Moreover, family socialization also affects cognitive competence and intelligence of people. (Grundmann, M. ; Teo, Thomas; Socialization, intelligence, and cognitive competence (1997)) Another one is the nature of the problem. It determines one’s past experience and knowledge are useful or not. It is because the past experience and knowledge can not apply to all situation. Importance of cognitive competence in leadership Cognitive competence is important in leadership. A research points out that cognitive skills were found to be directly correlate with high-level of leadership performance in a MLE (Military Leadership Exercises) research. (Marshall-Mies et al. , 2000) Often included intelligence, general skills, crystallized skills (e. g. oral and written expression and comprehension), and creative or divergent thinking capacities are cognitive capabilities that should influence leadership performance. (Connelly, Gilbert, Zaccaro, Threlfall, Marks & Mumford, 2000). I also agree that cognitive competence is important in leadership. First of all, leader with higher level of cognitive competence can deal with different kinds of problems with his own way of thinking. That means they can find out his own most effective way to tackle the problem without copying others method. This gives the leader independency that he does not need to rely on others too much. It also gives them maturity that they can have their own way of thinking. Independency and maturity surely are the important factors of a leader. This makes people happy and feeling safe to follow you. Secondly, leader with high level of cognitive competence can have great contribution to the team. They can give out a lot of useful ideas that no one has thought of before. This already makes them the strongest ones or the most unique ones in the team. People would love to follow leaders which are stronger than them. Again, this makes them feel safe. Finally, leaders with high level of cognitive competence can have a clear mind and know what is wrong in the team. They know what the team should do (goal). And they evaluate the performance of the team, and find out what should be improved. That means they are not only using cognitive skills in problem solving, but also in team management. It is because â€Å"team management† itself is already a task. People with higher cognitive competence usually have higher IQ and are conflicts encountering (Heydenberk R. A. and Heydenberk W. R. , Increasing Meta-Cognitive Competence through Conflict Resolution(2005)) Ways to enhance the level of cognitive competence Before discussing how to enhance the level of cognitive competence, I think we should first identify what cannot be changed or be improved. They are called constrains. Through understanding what are the constrains, we can focus on what can and what should be improved. The constrains include family background, intelligence and personality. These factors are sort of fixed, or can only have little change. So, to raise the level of cognitive competence, I think it is effective that we try to learn as much as possible. This is to enhance our knowledge and enrich our experience. As mentioned, knowledge and past experience are two important factors affecting one’s cognitive ability. This is because they are our own sources of information about the problem being coped. We can make use of this information to find a way to solve the problem. We may not figure out any new method, at least we know how people deal with it previously. In Janet E, Et Al, The Role of metacognition in Problem Solving, four steps of thinking is also mentioned to guide people to solve problems. They are: 1. Identifying and defining the problem 2. Mentally representing the problem 3. Planning how to proceed 4. Evaluating what you know about your performance This way of thinking can help people to organized their thoughts, so that they can deal with the problem step by step. I think it is a quite useful way to improve cognitive performance because it makes people organized and focus on one job at a time. This prevents them from being interrupted from different sources. Furthermore, it helps people to think logically. Part 2 Self-reflection Hong Kong students are known to be a copycat. We are blamed to have low level of creativity and afraid to try new things. People always say that we just copy things from others or textbooks without digesting them. But I think it is not totally my case. I am not a stupid student. I used to be very creative in primary school. Others describe me as naughty. It is because all my creativity is used in inventing new ways to play tricks on my classmates. I remember one time I played a game in an activity class. My teacher ask my group to use a deck of playing cards to build a tower as high as we can. Then we started. Other groups are using the traditional method (see left). Obviously it requires high technique. Therefore they can only built towers with few floors high. But I figured out another method. I folded up two cards, turned them sideway to make two â€Å"L† shape walls, put them facing each other to make a square wall, on top of it I placed a flat card. And I repeated to do this. Of course, my team built the highest tower. But guess what happened next. My teacher told us that was against the rules. Playing cards are not supposed to be folded (She didn’t tell us before the game). We lose that competition at the end. I think, after this event, my creativity started to slowly bury in my heart deeply. When I recall this event, I discover one important thing. That is our creativity is often being restricted by our teachers, and our education system. Teachers set all the projects, homework with rules and restrictions, trying to make them easier to mark and compare. But this made our assignments all looking the same. Examination questions have all the model answers, this made our student the same person who can only memorize answers without digesting the questions and answer them in their own way. Not that I don’t have critical thinking and creativity. It is just because they have to be thrown away to survive in HK’s education system. Take the example of A-level exams, the curriculum is very tight that teachers even cannot have time to teach us all the topics included. How would I have time to individually explore all the topics taught? Instead, in order to get high grades in this exam, I spent most of the time on memorizing past paper’s model answers. I know it would not help my cognitive development, but getting into a good university is more important to me. I believe this is also the problem of many students. Now, when I am given a problem to solve, I still try my best to explore the alternatives. May be this is due to my personality. I just don’t like to be the same with others. I like to be unique. But I think I am not creative as I was small anymore. Apart from the reason about the restrictions set by teachers just discussed, another possible reason may be due to my own knowledge and experience. As I mentioned in part 1 of this report, knowledge and experience, although can help to solve your problem, they sometimes hinder your cognitive performance. Sometimes this happens to me. I just rely too much on the knowledge and experience, and cannot think out of the box. But the major reason is still because of the education system in HK. But in the university, a place to train student’s critical thinking and creativity, I think that this problem would become less severe. To improve my cognitive abilities, I think the best way is to train to have independent critical thinking. Don’t rely too much on knowledge from any sources and my own or others’ past experience. Always try my best to look for other possible alternatives. Although this might spend a lot more time and at the end there may not come up any new things. But I think the process can also help me to develop my cognitive skills. Although it might hinder my cognitive performance, I think it is still important to enrich my knowledge and broaden my horizon. This is because learning more can let me compare different theories and thus train my independent critical thinking. They are also my valuable first encountered source when any problem comes to me. Part 3 Reference Willis SL. (1996). Everyday cognitive competence in elderly persons: conceptual issues and empirical findings, Oct;36(5):595-601 The W. T. Grant Consortium on the School-Based Promotion of Social Competence (1992: 136) Catalano, R. F. , Berglund, M. L. , Ryan, J. A. M. , Lonczak, H. S. , & Hawkins, J. D. (2002). Positive youth development in the United States: Research findings on evaluations of positive youth development programs. Prevention and Treatment, 5 (15), 1-106. Grundmann, M. ; Teo, Thomas; Socialization, intelligence, and cognitive competence (1997) Marshall-Mies et al. , 2000 Connelly, Gilbert, Zaccaro, Threlfall, Marks & Mumford, 2000 Heydenberk R. A. and Heydenberk W. R. , Increasing Meta-Cognitive Competence through Conflict Resolution(2005)

Effects of Growing Up in a Dysfunctional Family Essay

When some people look back on their childhood they see happy times full of family memories, traditions, love, and encouragement. When I look back on my childhood I remember drug abuse, visiting my step father in jail, going without utilities, and playing the role of a mother at the age of eight. I knew I was different from other children. I knew that my parents depended on me to play the role of an adult. They depended on me to get up every morning and get my brother and sister on the school bus. I knew they depended on me to go straight home from school every day so I could babysit. I would wake my mom up for work so she could work two jobs to support us and then I would cook dinner. Homework, friends, and things I wanted came last and I knew I didn’t have a choice. Indeed, my family was, and is, dysfunctional. What is dysfunction? Dictionary. com defines dysfunctional as any malfunctioning part or element. Dysfunction contains many aspects of unhealthy relating. Unhealthy relating can include such things as manipulation, using guilt or anger as motivation and at its most severe, abuse, including verbal, physical, and sexual abuse. Dysfunction is something that is passed down from generation to generation until it is implemented into the family. From family to family there are different levels of dysfunction which span from mild dysfunction, to moderate dysfunction, and even severe dysfunction. A child growing up in a mildly dysfunctional environment tends to have an easier time fitting into society and functioning normally in life and their life may not be effected at all. One example of a mild dysfunction is a parent treating a child like an adult or making the child take care of the adult either emotionally or physically. The adult treats the child as if they were an equal rather than a child. This results in the child having difficulties later in life in relationships getting their own needs met. This comes from having to give up a lot of these needs as a child to take care of the parent. An example of moderate dysfunction in a family is having a parent who is an alcoholic or drug addict. Because the child sees this on a regular basis, these behaviors are deemed to be â€Å"normal† or â€Å"accepted† behavior. The parents’ drug and alcohol abuse increases the risk of a child abusing drugs or alcohol causing a strain in the child’s relationships later in life. Parents who use drugs tend to become emotionally absent and may, under the influence, scare the child, and may consistently disappoint the child. Severe dysfunction is the highest level of dysfunction. This occurs when a parent physically or sexually abuses the child on a regular basis, which severely damages the child on many levels. Children who grow up in these environments tend to need a lot of help and lengthy treatment to heal. Some children are not able to heal at all and without help, the patterns of abuse are likely to be passed down to the next generation. Along with different levels of dysfunction there are specific roles each person in the family plays. There is the dependent, the enabler, the hero, the scapegoat, the lost child, and the mascot. The only exception is the only child. An only child tends to take on multiple roles, at the same time or alternating between roles. Because of this, the only child tends to have a great deal of confusion and overwhelming pain. The dependent is the spouse that causes the family problems. The dependent, also known as the problem spouse, has a serious problem and it impacts every other member of the family and is taken care of by every member of the family. The enabler is the spouse that allows the dependent to continue his or her actions so that the dependent does not have to face consequences of his or her own actions. The enabler feels angry and resentful about having to pick up the slack of the dependent; they feel powerless to do anything to stop it. The enabler feels that they should act this way because without them holding everything together the family will fall apart. Since the family’s survival is dependent on the enabler, they may pay the cost of stress-related illnesses, never having his or her own needs met, and be a sufferer for the cause of the family. Ironically, because the enabler permits the dependent’s behavior, they are also preventing the corrective experience that crisis brings, which may be the only thing that stops the dependents downward spiral. The hero is usually the oldest child. They are also named as â€Å"the good child† or â€Å"the caretaker†. The hero takes on the role of a parent and feels responsible for the emotional health of the family. The hero is characteristically an over-achiever and over-responsible. The family looks at the hero’s as a source of humility and honor, and it makes the family feel as if they are doing well. The hero may do well in school and be good at sports and obtain good employment while inside the hero suffers from feelings of insufficiency, failure, or guiltiness. These feelings derive from thoughts that no matter how well the hero does, it will not heal the wounds of their family. The hero’s obsessive drive to accomplish something may lead to stress-related illness as well as compulsive over working. Since the hero tries so hard to do well, he or she often obtains a great deal of positive attention. However, inwardly, the hero feels empty and unable to express their true feelings. The second born usually plays the role of the scapegoat and is also known as â€Å"the problem child†. The scapegoat is characteristically the trouble maker and is blamed for the majority of the family’s problems. He or she acts out in anger or defiance because of the built up feelings they harvest inside because all the families attention goes toward the dependent or the hero and they are being ignored. The scapegoat often gets labeled as the family’s problem because of their experimentation with alcohol, drugs, promiscuous sexuality, involvement in adolescent gangs, or criminal activity. It is often the difficulty of the scapegoat that leads the family into treatment or counseling. Along with drug or alcohol abuse, the scapegoat’s acting out may bring with it early pregnancy when they are not prepared, or incarceration. The irresponsible attitude and hostility tends to lead them to acts of violence against themselves or others. This defiance affects their opportunity to obtain adequate income leading them into outright criminality to earn a living. The scapegoat has lost touch with their morality, casting them in the role of a rebel. The characteristically shy, lonely, isolated child is dubbed as the lost child. The lost child feels like an outsider and feels like their parents and siblings ignore them. The lost child removes themselves from the chaos of their family, often engaging in their own fantasy world. The lost child has trouble identifying themselves and discovering who they are. They are often confused about their sexual identity and have weak communication skills and difficulties with intimacy. The only way the lost child knows how to seek attention is by wetting the bed, and getting sick with asthma or allergies. They take care of themselves by easing their pain with overeating, or drowning their problems with alcohol or drug abuse. Low self-esteem usually ends all attempts of achievement. The lost child often has few friends and has trouble finding a marriage partner later in life. Instead, he or she tends to comfort their lack of intimate relationships with pets or other material possessions. The lost child is often stuck in his or her own isolation preventing them from getting professional help. Clowning and hyperactivity are the main characteristics of the mascot who is often the youngest child. The mascot attempts to be the center of attention, or tries to make the family feel better through his or her comical relief. They use their comic efforts as a defense mechanism. Even though the mascot is protected from tribulations of life, they still feel intense anxiety and concern. Because the family tends to try to protect the mascot, he or she is often unprepared and immature when they grow into adulthood. The only way they know how to deal with problems is to change the subject or by fooling around. Since the mascot uses comedy frequently, they are rarely taken seriously and are often a subject or subjected to criticism or rejection. The mascot may develop a learning disability because of struggling with concentration and focusing in school. They tend to be unaware of their feelings because they fear their own emotions. Since the mascot fears their own inner feelings, it prevents them from getting the help they need; often leading to intense depression and even suicide. Growing up in a dysfunctional family changes a child’s outlook on life. It changes the way they grow up, the way they act, and the way they view normal behaviors. Children in a dysfunctional family miss necessary milestones in growing development to prepare them for adulthood. They, in other words, grow up too fast. Children of severely dysfunctional families are often subjected to sexual abuse becoming the substitute spouse for the parent of the opposite sex. Children of dysfunctional families have their boundaries violated by their parents. Children either do not have any freedom or too much freedom. When a child grows up in a physical or sexual abusing family their physical boundaries are desecrated leading them to not being able to set boundaries in adult relationships. When a parent is intoxicated most of the time it creates confusion about which behaviors are appropriate and which are not. Children growing up seeing these kinds of behavior on a daily basis see these behaviors as normal. These children of dysfunctional families grow into teenagers with more emotional problems. Many of them end up using drugs severely or turn to alcohol. Teenagers who were sexually abused, or molested, have a tendency to have many sexual partners because they were forced to have sex as a child, they have a conscience thought that they cannot say no. Many teenagers from a dysfunctional family try to escape the realities and runaway to try to find a better life. They in fact find prostitution, drug use, and some even find death. Females from a dysfunctional family triple the chance of having a baby before the age of twenty. When children from a dysfunctional family grow up they become adults. These adults can lead their lives in one of two directions: either role with the dysfunction and not try to stop it and raising their children the same way, or they can fight it and try to change it to keep it from spreading to the next generation. When someone chooses to not fight it, they inflict the same pain on their children as they had experienced without truly realizing it. Since they saw dysfunction their whole lives they feel like it is normal and there is no problem with it. When someone chooses to overcome it, they inflict a great deal of stress on themselves. Some participate in counseling, or therapy, and some try to fight it on their own. Some people may not be able to completely erase the dysfunction. It may take generation after generation to change. For example, someone from a severely dysfunctional family may try to change the dysfunction in their own family but, in fact, only change to a moderately dysfunctional family. Then someone from a moderately dysfunctional family may only be able to change it to a mild dysfunction in their own family. It takes generations of work to change the ways of the family. There are many ways, many different routes people can take to try to overcome the dysfunction they have dealt with throughout their childhood. Many try counseling or therapy. Some just try to fight their way through it. Either way there are many ways to overcome it and change your life. It takes drive and fight to change patterns of dysfunction but with work and determination it is possible. I grew up in a family of severe dysfunction. I am twenty five years old and have seen more than anyone else I know my age. I played the role of the hero, the lost child, and the replacement spouse. I have dealt with more than I should have at any age. But after all this, I know I can and will do better for my family. In my opinion, anything can be overcome, anything can be changed. There are so many ways for a family to be dysfunctional and so many different roles for a child who deals with that kind of pain. Everything can be overcome and changed for the better. Children from a dysfunctional family do endure a great deal of pain and it changes their lives forever.

The Rise of the New World in The Oresteia

The Rise of the New World in The Oresteia The Rise of the New World in The Oresteia Oh but a mans high daring spirit, Who can account for that? Or womans desperate passion daring past all bounds? She couples with every form of ruin known to mortals (The Libation Bearers 579-81) This lyrical excerpt from the chorus of The Libation Bearers in a highly pensive note marks the finale of the scene that takes place at Agamemnons grave, near the palace of Argos. That is when the two siblings, Orestes and Electra, reunited after a long time, planning the murder of their mother Clytaemnestra and her lover, Aegisthus. It has to be mentioned that matricide or patricide were considered to be the most atrocious crimes in ancient Greece. However, such a dire act was slightly justified by Clytaemnestra, who has murdered the siblings father, and by Apollo who himself requested the punishment. What really stands out here, in The Libation Bearers lament, is the great division between men and women in terms of the source of their madness: the hubris, the excess, the lavishness, all being bringers of doom. Clytaemnestras madness is indirectly but strongly tied to her instincts and sexuality as the desperate passion daring (The Libation Bearers 580). Based on the trilogy, these are the kinds of excesses rendered by the womanhoods greatest asset, the ability to give birth. On the other hand, the hubris of the men is related to boldness, audacity, and overconfidence in a warriors strength. Such distinction between the hubris of the men and that of the women demonstrates a very strong connection between the female and the chthonic forces, and it ties the social function of the master or ruler to masculinity. The chthonic forces of the Greek pantheon are rather ambiguous elements. Aeschylus definitely refers to them in The Oresteia as to the forces of the underworld that is closely tied to fertility as well as to envy, lust, and sensuality. They are depicted as the monsters or creatures of darkness and dread. In order to justify the killing of her husband Agamemnon, Clytaemnestras complex plea put forward the sacrificial rite of her daughter Iphigenia, born in blood and pain, for the purpose of winning the war, denying her maternal right associated with the warrior master. Besides, the image of Iphigenias death on the altar by the insistence on blood and pain depicts a reversed echo of her birth. Even so, this entitlement is soon shadowed to a mere pretext once Clytaemnestra accuses the long absence of Agamemnon from the conjugal bed. Finally, her desperate passion daring in the end satisfied by Aegisthus, is revealed as the real reason that stands behind Clytaemnestra murdering Agamemnon. The elders of the city, representing the chorus of the trilogys first part, are regarding the murderous wife in the terms as depicted above. Thus, they are indignantly contesting any rights her paramour Aegisthus has taken as the new leader of the city. Consequently, Orestes and Electra are not considering Clytaemnestra to be the mother who gave them birth, but as the one who has killed their father, stripped them of all rights, sent them to a social death in favor of her lover. As a lover, Clytaemnestra appears to be a creature of reversed birthing, and Orestes nurse is convinced that the display of her pain about the news of Orestes death is fake. It is said to be a mask underneath which the joy that the potential candidate to the throne of Argos and therefore, her lovers adversary hides, is now gone. These are the results derived from the sequence that ends with The Libation Bearers excerpts at Agamemnons grave. Even there, in a place and at a time where reminiscence and the current state of affairs could have brought it up, nobody, not even Orestes and Electra mentioned the sacrifice of Iphigenia. There was no love that was lost between them and Agamemnon, as it was he who had reduced their social ranking to mere servants, as their status of spoils of war entitled him. If we take in consideration the deities that are joining the family conflict, the Furies on Clytaemnestras side and Apollo on Agamemnons side, and also the fact that the female monsters are the daughters of the Night, who take the interference of the new gods as a trespassing, there is a reason to think that Aeschylus has chosen The Oresteia to celebrate a significant change in the society. The old gods are the chthonic gods, the masters of birth. In the last part of The Oresteia, the chorus of the Furies threatens the citizens of Athens with the drought of the land that would occur if the Areopagus (judicial body assembled by the elders) ruled for Orestes, therefore justifying the murder of his mother and also depriving them of the right to punish him. The new gods, on the other hand, The Olympians, are those of the city. Athena herself, who presides over the trial of Orestes, is a goddess without a mother, who was born from the head of Zeus and represented the full-fledged woman th at was set free because of her connection to the chthonic mystery of blood and pain. The act of revenge in the human world, like the one that started the Trojan War, becomes a struggle of the gods, with dominion being the prize. The triumph of the new gods over the old ones now reduced to positions of underlings and has also a deeper meaning, since it consecrates a downgrade of the woman rights in society. The trial of Orestes also challenges the role of the woman as birthing mother on the grounds of the warrior goddess birth, in favor of the role of nursing mother. Just like the old chthonic gods lost their positions, everything thats tied to them in the new society has to disappear or to be significantly altered to fit the new mindset. Set free from the fears of the daughters of the night, the Areopagus denies women any right to lead, rule, and in general to participate in the life and well-being of the state, in any way. With the exception of Athena herself, the judicial body is comprised only of men. There is no mentioning of any other form of social life anywher e in The Oresteia, because Clytaemnestra, the murderous wife, does not assume the leading role of her husband after having killed him, offering it to Aegisthus, her lover. The old days of the world can only be deduced from the existence of the conflict of the gods which was diplomatically solved in favor of the new gods by means of granting the old temples and offerings from the citizens of Athens. Thus, the old deities that are tamed and are now known by the name of Eumenides can participate in the well-being of the new harmonious way of life. From this perspective, The Oresteia does not only celebrate the triumph of the powers of light, of rightful justice over the dark right of an eye for an eye, but it also celebrates the triumph of a new world, a world of men. The city/state that stands for this new world is a symbol of goddess, but a warrior goddess is a maiden that has no husband. Her other half is her twin brother Apollo, the god of light. The human womanhood, as the subordinate part of mother and wife, will still maintain a guileful role of duplicity, closely tied to the darkness that is ruled by monsters and is seen as the dominant characteristic when the heroine manifests the lover.

Academic Writing A List of Essay Types

Academic Writing A List of Essay Types Here is a great list of most popular types of essays. Check it out, if you need any type of essay to be written by a professional essay writer, place an order. Academic Writing: What Is an Essay? An essay is a piece of writing, usually from an authors personal point of view. The essay must be well structured (i.e. organized) and presented in a way that the reader finds easy to follow and clear: it must look tidy and not present any obstacles to the reader. It must have a clear readable interesting style. Academic writing must contain an argument or claim. This means it must address an issue or raise a question and present the appropriate data or information to illustrate it in a logical sequence, and then analyze and comment on it critically both by reference to sources and by pointing out any illogicalities, such as inconsistencies or omissions. Students are assessed on their ability to select the appropriate and relevant information to illustrate their argument or claim. Good academic writing has a formal structure, unlike fictional or personal writing. Exploiting this means that readers know what to expect, which greatly helps the communication process. The burden of communication is not carried at the word or sentence level alone but through the overall structure and organization of the text. The content should be individual and reflect the writers argument and research. Essays contain the following basic elements. These may be in the form of paragraphs for undergraduate essays, or sections for postgraduate essays or dissertations. The overall structure of a thesis (as well as, to an extent, the chapters) will have a similar pattern. A definition of an essay is a rather vague, so far I havent seen a clear definition of what an essay is. It could be due to the reason that essay is multifunctional, i.e. it can be used for a variety of purposes, in a variety of settings, in different spheres etc. In view of academic work, lets try to define an essay from the academic standpoint. So, an academic essay can probably be best understood as a testing or trial of the value or nature of a thing. This kind of testing has been recently acquired as a pedagogical tool. In this case, the main purpose of essay writing is to improve students writing skills, to judge the comprehension and mastery of the material learned during classes. This helps to expose their analytical, organizational, critical thinking skills etc. A formal essay would normally ask the student to present his/her views on a given subject, thus making an essay strongly subjective. First person narration is usually strongly discouraged, if not prohibited. Normally an essay would comprise 5 paragraphs (essentially called a five paragraph essay), but there are many other types of essays: descriptive essays, narrative essays, compare and contrast essays, persuasive essays, argumentative essays, definition essays etc. Basically, you name the type of the essay according to the purpose it serves, here you can fi nd a more or less comprehensive list of essays: Art Essay Argumentative Essay Cause and Effect Essay Compare and Contrast Essay Classification Essay College Essay Creative Essay Critical Essay Current Event Essay Deductive Essay Timed Essay Analytical Essay Descriptive Essay Definition Essay Division and Classification Essay Evaluation Essay Exploratory Essay Expository Essay Feedback Essay Informal Essay Inquiry Essay Instruction Essay Interview Essay Scholarship Essay Test Essay Literature Essay Law Essay Narrative Essay Observation Essay Paragraph Essay Personal Essay Persuasive Essay Philosophy Essay Poetry Writing or Essay Process Essay Proposal Essay Pros and Cons Essay Reflective Essay Response or Reaction Essay Review Essay If you need help with any of the above-mentioned essay types, feel free to contact any of our writing professionals, who are always willing to provide you with a top quality paper, ensuring a top score. Here, at   we are available 24/7 to help you! is the service you can trust. Order an essay from a professional essay writer.

Personal Statement for Nursing School Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

For Nursing School - Personal Statement Example This made it possible for me to experience directly some of the situations that nurses have to deal with whether good or bad as I was close to my two nurses who are nurses. Nevertheless, the first time I seriously considered committing myself to the nursing industry was when I was going to college and had to make a choice of the particular course that I wanted to enrol for. I decided to pursue this career path without any additional thought or exploration. Consequently, I decided that I would pursue my interests in nursing fully and put all my efforts to it. Before I arrived at the decision to pursue a career in nursing, I got a chance to shadow my two aunties and some of their colleagues through their interaction with patients. These experiences allowed me to have an idea of the different fields that exist in the hospital such as cardiology, pathology and radiology among others. The time that I spent with these nurses emotionally strengthened the experiences that I had initially heard my aunties talk about. The ability they had to assist people and influence their lives excited me especially the fact that every patient presented a new challenge and a chance to further develop knowledge in the field of nursing. As I was growing up, I observed my grandmother who had to live with us because he suffered from diabetes and I developed the constant need to assist her in any way possible. The visits to the hospitals where my aunts worked gave me a chance to sit in the staff room and listen to the different doctors and nurses talk after their rounds in the hospital. I always listened attentively to their conversations that interested me and was amazed at the capacity they had to diagnose different illnesses. Since I had had a chance to experience personal interactions between medical practitioners including nurses with a patient in the case of my grandmother, I recognized the importance of the relationship between the nurses and the patients. Nurses are supposed to