A Red Shifted Variant Of Channelrhodopsin Allows Deep...

Lin, J.Y., Magne Knutsen, P., Muller, A., Kleinfeld, D., Tsien, R.Y. (2013) ReaChR: a red-shifted variant of channelrhodopsin enables deep transcranial optogenetic excitation. Nature neuroscience, 16 (10), 1499-1507. This paper focusing on a res-shifted variant of Channelrhodopsin shows that using red light can improve transcranial excitation because of the properties of red light. Red light is less scattered by tissue and is absorbed less by blood than previously used wavelengths. This development is very important for the potential use of optogenetics in chronic studies to treat neurological disorders, as cranial windows can be avoided. The opsin created is called ReaChR and has a spectral response to light at wavelengths greater than†¦show more content†¦Raimondo, J.V., Kay, L., Ellender, T.J., Akerman, C.J. (2012) Optogenetic silencing strategies differ in their effects on inhibitory transmission. Nature neuroscience, 15(8), 1102-1104. It is important to know that optogenetic silencers can have different effects on synaptic transmission. For example, a light-driven inward Cl-pump, NpHR, causes changes in the reversal potential of the membrane potential of GABA receptors causing a spike after illumination. Arch, also an inward Cl- pump, on the other hand does not result in a spike after illumination. This article provides useful insight of light-activated proteins that can be used as modulators. The ability to change GABA membrane potential can be extremely useful when working with Parkinson models since these receptors are involved in some of the Parkinson’s symptoms. Tà ¸nnesen, J. et al. (2011) Functional Integration of Grafted Neural Stem Cell-Derived Dopaminergic Neurons Monitored by Optogenetics in an In Vitro Parkinson Model. PlosOne, 6(3), 1-10 Intrastriatal grafts of stem cell-derived dopamine neurons induce behavioral recovery in animal models of Parkinson’s disease. This could possibly be used in non-animal models, however previously it was unknown how these transplanted grafts integrated in the host circuitry. By using optogenetic activation of grafted cells and inhibition of host neurons, Tà ¸nnesen and colleagues were able to

An Impartial Perspective on Personal Philosophy Essay Samples

An Impartial Perspective on Personal Philosophy Essay Samples The True Meaning of Personal Philosophy Essay Samples I am able to learn to be an active listener when it has to do with important info. Unlike another type of essays, personal essays are somewhat more flexible and versatile. To secure more reliable outcome, it's highly recommended that you consider independent reviews. They have sites that offer direct contacts between writers and customers and permit them to discuss details and get the ideal result. It is possible to also acquire several discounts on our site which will help you to save some more money for future orders or anything you want to spend them on. After some moment, you are going to be in a position to cover future orders with the accumulated amounts. These samples will allow you to accomplish the endeavor. The sample essay outline samples are useful for a big amount of people chiefly those who want to compose an essay on a particular topic. The cost of an essay rides on the total amount of effort the writer has to exert. But he's also known for being the father of contemporary Western philosophy. In fact, the majority of philosophers specialize in studying in 1 time period and its connection to philosophy. Employ a professional writer and get your non-plagiarized essays, law term. The ideal way to ascertain the Personal Philosophy of Success is to realize the definition of succeeding. Philosophy of life will differ between each individual. Philosophy of education can likewise be regarded as a normative theory in education. My Personal Philosopy My Personal Philosophy A teacher's individual philosophy of education is a crucial element in their approach to guiding children along the course of enlightenment. This advice might help you identify a dependable firm. Fortunately, we're here to provide a dependable group of expert writers with all the relevant skills necessary to develop the best essays on political philosophy essay topics and a lot more. One other important strategy that I've included to my private philosophy is being focused on my future objectives. One of the success strategies that I've incorporated inside my private philosophy is flexibility. There's solution to any challenging endeavor. The human wants, therefore, have a tendency to be dynamic and unlimited. Contrary to other academic disciplines philosophy is a complicated topic which requires the student to submit a paper that's both exemplary and relevant. And this isn't the close of the story yet. While it's not feasible to find a person to write you a paper at no cost, it's possible to acquire the philosophy of religion essay topics written for you cheaply. Knowing about the outlines and formats for a variety of kinds of essays is an excellent way to augment the way in which you prefer to state your opinions. The on course textbook has showed me steps about how to control a prosperous life in addition to a personal life. The philosophy of life essay examples you will find should help you choose the ideal alternative for yourself. Our primary goal is to be certain that we address all of your essay writing needs. This statement can be quite hard to write as you must locate the perfect'' words to describe how you're feeling about education. You should have your reasons, and our primary concern is that you wind up getting an excellent grade. On the other hand there's not anything wrong with getting assistance from a great consultant on the right outline format. Understandably, you might find it challenging to have a dependable business to provide the very best example of philosophy in life essay at a pocket-friendly pace. In my definition, being success means that you may reach and accomplish your targets or what it is you are dreaming. As is true with issues like political philosophy essay topics, you're predicted to inquire into the ethical nature of various societies and how each individual fits into it. By visiting our site, you will discover an illustration of philosophy in life essay that you're able to utilize to understand the grade of work we can deliver for you.

Notre dame free essay sample

Notre-Dame de Paris French for Our Lady of Paris, also known as Notre-Dame Cathedral or simply Notre-Dame, is a historic Catholic cathedral on the eastern half of the Ile de la Cite in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. The cathedral is widely considered to be one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and among the largest and most well-known church buildings in the world. The naturalism of its sculptures and stained glass are in contrast with earlier Romanesque architecture. As the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Paris, Notre-Dame is the parish that contains the cathedra, or official chair, of the archbishop of Paris, currently Cardinal Andre Vingt-Trois. The cathedral treasury is notable for its reliquary which houses some of Catholicisms most important first-class relics including the purported Crown of Thorns, a fragment of theTrue Cross, and one of the Holy Nails. In the 1790s, Notre-Dame suffered desecration during the radical phase of the French Revolution when much of its religious imagery was damaged or destroyed. An extensive restoration supervised by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc began in 1845. A project of further restoration and maintenance began in 1991. Notre-Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress(arched exterior supports). The building was not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around the choir and nave but after the construction began, the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic style) grew ever higher and stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward. In response, the cathedrals architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued the pattern. Many small individually crafted statues were placed around the outside to serve as column supports and water spouts. Among these are the famous gargoyles, designed for water run-off, and chimeras. The statues were originally colored as was most of the exterior. The paint has worn off, but the gray stone was once covered with vivid colors. The cathedral was essentially complete by 1345. The cathedral has a narrow climb of 387 steps at the top of several spiral staircases; along the climb it is possible to view its most famous bell and its gargoyles in close quarters, as well as having a spectacular view across Paris when reaching the top. The design of St. Peters Anglican Cathedral in Adelaide, Australia was inspired by Notre-Dame de Paris. NOTRE-DAME CATHEDRAL HISTORY Notre-dame that means â€Å"our lady† is dedicated to Mary, mother of god and is one of the most visited and notable monuments in Europe. There are 37 representations of Mary in the cathedral. The cathedral is about 850 years old and is located on the small island in the middle of Paris surrounded by the Seine called Ile de la Cite. The construction started with the first stone being laid 1163 by Maurice de sully and king Louis VII encouraged the big project, it was completed 1345, with other words the construction of the cathedral took about 200 years to finish. Notre-dame has had a long and certainty interesting history, at one point 1431 the English king Henry VI was crowned inside the cathedral. Notre-dame has witnessed some great events in French history 80 kings, two emperors, 5 republics and two world wars. Before crusaders went on â€Å"holy-wars† the used to pray at the site of the cathedral for Mary to protect them during the war. Some parts of the Church was destroyed during the 17th century and some parts were found in 1970 in the â€Å"latin quarters† almost 200 years later, intact. 1786 geographers decided that all distances in France should be measured from Notre-dame. During the revolution the church was used as an storage for food and stable for horses. During the 17th century the Cathedral was in so bad shape it was nearly demolished, but Napoleon decided to reconstruct and rebuild the Cathedral and was later crowned emperor of France 1804 by pope Pius VII inside the newly rebuilt cathedral with its 8000 pipes of the Cathedrals grand organ. 1831 we met for the first time Quasimodo the fictional person Victor Hugo created and wrote about in his book â€Å"the hunchback of Notre-dame†. Which is about the ugly Quasimodo with a hunchback and his impossible love to the beautiful girl Esmeralda. That later became a Disney movie. During 1871 the cathedral almost burnt down by the communards but survived almost unscathed. During the Second World War all of the glass windows were taken out of the cathedral due to the rumors that German soldiers would destroy the newly renovated new glass windows. The reconstruction of Notre-dame took 23 years  to finish. One of the windows called the â€Å"Rose window† had a special archeological value because it was the biggest window produced in the 13th century. When the Second World War ended General de Gaulle rushed to the cathedral to pray in thanksgiving. 1991 a ten-year program of maintenance and restoration was initiated. DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGES DURING THE 200 YEARS Maur ice de Sully was bishop of Paris from 1160 to 1196. He provided to rebuild a cathedral church dedicated to the Virgin Mary (Notre-Dame) and making it a bishop’s church, a canon church and a baptistery. Notre-Dame’s first stone was laid in 1163 in the asset of Pope Alexander III. The new building was included the new art movement as the gothic style. The first unknown builder began with a double side aisle plan without a salient transept ,a four story construction with tribunes, large, 32. 5 metre sexpartite arches, predominantly horizontal lines, original archwork in the curved part of the deambulatory, alternating strong and weak pillars between the first and second aisles. In 12th– early 13th Century ; The construction was managed by four major builders: 1163-1182 : construction of the choir and its double deambulatory. The choir’s high altar was given on 19 May 1182 by Henri de Chateau-Marcay, the Papal legat, assisted by the bishop Maurice de Sully. 1182-1190 : construction of the last three bays in the nave, the side aisles and the tribunes. 1190-1225 : edification of the facade courses and the first two bays in the nave, connection of the two bays to the upper facade and the Gallery of Kings. 1225-1250 : upper gallery and two towers on the facade, modification and expansion of the upper windows and fitting out the nave side chapels between the flying buttresses abutments. In the late 13th – early 14th Century ;The builders were Jean de Chelles, Pierre de Montreuil, Pierre de Chelles, Jean Ravy, Jean le Bouteiller. Transept arms were extended as North counter-brace (Cloister Portal and North Rose Window) and South counter-brace (Saint-Etienne Portal and South Rose Window). Construction of the choir chapels and the apse between the buttresses. Installation of the large flying buttresses in the choir and the 15-metre apse. Erection of the tribune and a historiated stone screen around the choirand the sanctuary. Changes in the 17th and 18th Centuries; The sanctuary and the choir were renovated by Robert de Cotte . South Rose Window was restorated. The 12th and 13th century stained glass windows with white windows was replacement in the mid-18th century by the Le Vieil brothers. The new sacristy and Central Portal were created by Soufflot. All the major portal statues was destroyed and 28 statues was destroyed from the Gallery of Kings during the Revolution. In the early 19th century; The government of King Louis-Philippe I decided to the restoration of the Paris cathedral and the construction of a sacristy in 1844. The restoration project was given to Eugene Viollet-le-Duc and Jean-Baptiste Lassus. In 1857, after the death of Lassus, Viollet-le-Duc was the only sole builder. in this period,the Spire was rebuilt. The sculptures were restored by fifteen sculptors. The new sacristy was built. New windows were installed by master glassworkers ( Alfred Gerente, Louis Steinheil, Antoine Husson, Marechal de Metz, Didron the Elder). The central portal was renovated to the pre-Soufflot state. Part of the Treasury and the furniture were reconstituted. Also wall paintings in the side chapels were changed. The great organ was repaired. Modern Period; There was an intense debate over whether to replace the nave’s 19th century grisaille windows with coloured windows in 1965. In the end, master glassworker Jacques Le Chevallier was selected to make these windows, non-figurative grisailles with splashes of colour. The great organ, which in the 20th century became the world’s most famous, underwent major restoration work done by a group of French organ builders in 1990 to 1992. There is a major cleaning work on the west facade since 2000. The last changes, made in 2004, led by cardinal-archbishop Jean-Marie Lustiger, the passage between the two transepts was consolidated. STRUCTURE Notre-Dame de Paris’s structure is one of the oldest in Paris, along with Saint-Pierre de Montmartre Like most of French cathedrals, Notre-Dame de Paris is based on the form of a Latin cross. The nave has ten spans, the choir five spans. The axis is slightly deviated to the left (North) with respect to the axis of the nave. The apse is semi-circular in five sections. The nave is flanked by double aisles which are extended by a double ambulatory, all with side chapels (except the first three bays) and radiating (29 in total, with a total of 37 bays quadrangular). The structure of cathedral is obviously Gothic. It is based on flying buttresses and buttresses. These buttresses were introduced in 1175, to take the vaults of the aisles. Notre Dame de Paris was among the first buildings in the world to use the flying buttress (arched exterior supports). The building was not originally designed to include the flying buttresses around the choir and nave. After the construction began and the thinner walls (popularized in the Gothic style) grew ever higher, stress fractures began to occur as the walls pushed outward. In response, the cathedrals architects built supports around the outside walls, and later additions continued the pattern. The elevation of the cathedral is the same as the first Gothic churches in France. It is based on a three-level floor. First level: Large pointed arches on columns Second level: Tribune communicating with the nave by three arches. Third level: high windows and a circular top Technically, the establishment of warheads required steep roofs, those of Notre-Dame de Paris is 55  °. In addition, the scarcity of large timber, due to land clearing and urban development at that time, made it necessary to use smaller wood and therefore lighter section that allowed the rise of timber and the accentuation of their slope. In the choir, there is a first frame with timber felled to 1160-1170 (it is estimated that some could have 300-400 years, which brings us to the eighth or ninth centuries! ). The first frame is gone, but the woods were reused in the second frame established in 1220. They are still there today. This wooden structure is based on a roof frame consisting of lead 1326 tables 5 mm thick weighing 210 000 kilograms. The eleventh and twelfth centuries, the roofs of churches flat tiles were covered because of abundant clay deposits. Paris, being away from such deposits, they preferred lead. ANALYSIS FACADE Elements Gothics The ogival or pointed arch, the ribbed vault and the flying buttresses, with these three elements revolutionized medieval Gothic architects construction. The ogival or pointed arch The use of the pointed arch plays a dual role: 1 built, reducing the lateral thrust allowing the development of lighter and daring constructions, 2 plastic, because it gives the buildings an aspect of verticality projection upwards.. typical of the Gothic style. Ogival vault The vault by a series of arcs that intersect with structural function is formed Brackets The Struts The pillars Capital H-facade Facade: The western or main facade has a perfect body balance horizontal and vertical lines. It is organized into three superimposed floors with two square towers at the ends. The horizontality is marked with three superposed: In the upper body an arcade is located, as a clerestory. The central level is occupied by windows and central rosette. The lower level is occupied by the three covers. The verticality is marked by two towers at the ends and finished in terrace. Delimiting the three bodies buttresses supporting the towers are located. First level (3 covers) Door of Santa Ana (South) A tympanum with a semicircular lintel with a slight pointing is observed. It is chaired by a Madonna with a child in her lap. At the top there are sculptures of angels and vegetable decoration. On either side are two separate censing angels. At the ends of the tympanum we find the figure of a bishop and a scribe and the opposite side a kneeling king. Door Judgement (central) At the top of a Christ with cruciferous nimbus Man appears showing the wounds of the hands. On both sides, two angels carrying the instruments of the Passion, while St. John and the Virgin intercede for mankind. In the central part is shown, from left to right, the blessed, looking to Christ, the Archangel Michael is weighing souls, with two demons who try to tip the scales in your favor. The convicts, bound by chains, are pushed by two other devils. The lower part shows the Resurrection of the dead to be judged by Christ. Dead out of the graves clothes for identification of their status or occupation, while angels at the ends touch the trumpets heralding the trial will begin. Door of the Virgin (north) At the top of the scene of the Coronation of the Virgin, who is seated next to the Almighty is sculpted. They are accompanied by angels, two kneeling at the ends, pose motivated by its location, and a third crowning the Virgin. In the center is the scene of the Dormition of the Virgin or death. Mary is lying on his bed, surrounded by the apostles and two angels who start lifting the Assumption. In the lower register, in place of the lintel, is representing the Patriarchs, flanking a canopy under which lies the Ark of the Covenant, containing the Tablets of the Law by which Yahweh established by the Old Law Moses, of great symbolic value. Second level Gallery of kings About 20 feet above the ground, a gallery with 28 statues rises above the portals. Each statue, 3. 5 meters high, represents the 28 kings of Judea who preceded the coming of Christ. Of the original medieval statues only fragments remain, as during the Revolution were destroyed by believing that represented French kings. Central portal on the large circular rosette, nearly 10 feet in diameter, one of the highlights of the stained glass facade stands. Above the rosette, a row of columns and then the two bell towers complete face west. The rosette is the symbol of Virgin Maria. On either side there are mullioned windows. Third level The third body is composed of two towers that house the bells. The total height of the towers is 69 meters. At the base of the towers Gallery of chimeras is observed. The origin of the gargoyles back to the Middle Ages and is related to the rise of the bestiaries and the torments of hell Gargoyles meet three basic functions: Drain rooftops. Were used for the drain of the cathedral, giving off water through the holes in the mouth of the sculpture Decorate these drains looking therefore an aesthetic purpose. Scare away witches, demons and other evil spirits. Measures: In addition to the plant in the form of a cross, the cathedral has a facade of 40 meters wide, a length of 130 meters and a maximum height of 69 meters. Contains 5 ships, 37 chapels, three rosettes with 13. 5 meter diameter each and a total of 113 windows. Made of white granite. DETAILS Organ Though several organs were installed in the cathedral over time, the earliest ones were inadequate for the building. The first noteworthy organ was finished in the 18th century by the noted builder Francois-Henri Clicquot. Some of Clicquots original pipework in the pedal division continues to sound from the organ today. The organ was almost completely rebuilt and expanded in the 19th century by Aristide Cavaille-Coll. The position of titular organist (head or chief organist) at Notre-Dame is considered one of the most prestigious organist posts in France, along with the post of titular organist of Saint Sulpice in Paris, Cavaille-Colls largest instrument. The organ has 7,374 pipes, with ca 900 classified as historical. It has 110 real stops, five 56-key manuals and a 32-key pedalboard. In December 1992, a two-year restoration of the organ was completed that fully computerized the organ under three LANs (Local Area Networks). The restoration also included a number of additions, notably two further horizontal reed stops en chamade in the Cavaille-Coll style. The Notre-Dame organ is therefore unique in France in having five fully independent reed stops en chamade. Bells The cathedral has 10 bells. The largest, Emmanuel, original to 1681, is located in the south tower and weighs just over 13 tons, and is tolled to mark the hours of the day and for various occasions and services, ringing in a resounding E?. This bell is always rung first, at least 5 seconds before the rest. Until recently, there were four additional 19th-century bells on wheels in the north tower, which were swing chimed. These bells were meant to replace nine which were removed from the cathedral during the Revolution and were rung for various services and festivals. The bells were once rung by hand before electric motors allowed them to be rung without manual labor. When it was discovered that the size of the bells could cause the entire building to vibrate, threatening its structural integrity, they were taken out of use. The bells also had external hammers for tune playing from a small clavier. On the night of 24 August 1944, as the Ile de la Cite was taken by an advance column of French and Allied armoured troops and elements of the Resistance, it was the tolling of the Emmanuel that announced to the city that its liberation was under way. In early 2012, as part of a â‚ ¬2 million project, the four old bells in the north tower were deemed unsatisfactory and removed. The plan originally was to melt them down and recast new bells from the material. However, a legal challenge resulted in the bells being saved in extremis at the foundry. As of early 2013, they are still merely set aside until their fate is decided. A set of 8 new bells was cast by the same foundry in Normandy that had cast the four in 1856. At the same time, a much larger bell called Marie was cast in the Netherlands—it now hangs with Emmanuel in the south tower. The 9 new bells, which were delivered to the cathedral at the same time (31 January 2013), are designed to replicate the quality and tone of the cathedrals original bells. Gargoyles : Notre Dames Gargoyles have been built around 1240. Their main purpose is to regulate and evacuate the rain water far from the walls, to avoid that they get dirty. They have got the shape of fantastic and monstrous creatures. At the beginning of Notre Dames building, there were less gargoyles and their shape was rougher. They also have an esoteric role which can be interpreted in different ways. This role is to keep evil creatures away from the cathedral, and also to remind that the good is inside the building. Another role could be the the purification image they offer by getting rid of soiled water. There are also a lot of Chimeras at the top of the cathedral, which are statues of fantastic creatures. They only have a decorative purpose and were built much later than gargoyles by Eugene Viollet-le-Duc. Inside the cathedral, the nave is surrounded by 14 side chapels built between the flying buttresses of the nave. Theses chapels are highly decorated by the Mays des Orfevres. These 76 paintings were offered by the goldsmith friary in the 17th century. The transept which is a transversal nave of the principal one give to the structure the shape of a cross. It also permit to reinforce the structure of the cathedral. In Notre Dame, the transept (14meters) is larger than the nave (12 meters).

One Direction Where We Are Tour Review free essay sample

Throughout my high school experience, One Direction has always been present in my life.I’m embarrassed to say that I know way too much about those five british boys. About five years ago, Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Zayn Malik, Louis Tomlinson, and Liam Payne all auditioned for the TV show â€Å"The X Factor† as solo artists until Simon Cowell decided their careers would skyrocket much faster if they were put together as a boyband. Since then, One Direction have come out with three albums, sold millions of records, and gone on three sold out tours. I have been to at least one show of each of their tours and I believe it’s safe to say that the most recent one they have been on, the Where We Are tour, has definitely been the best. Three weeks ago, I attended my fourth One Direction concert. Although I wouldn’t characterize myself as much of a fan anymore, I still had a fantastic time. We will write a custom essay sample on One Direction Where We Are Tour Review or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The concert took place at the Rose Bowl in pasadena which could not have been more convenient considering the Rose Bowl is a five minute drive from my house. The first opening act was a solo singer named Jamie Scott who I had never heard of until then. He was an adorable british indie singer who did a great job of blowing me away. All he did was sit on a stool but his pure talent made it quite the performance. I knew right about then that the night would be great. Next up on stage was an Australian pop-punk band called 5 Seconds of Summer. I have known and loved them for a bit over a year now because they toured with One Direction on their last tour. I knew about half of the songs they performed so the excitement really pumped me up for One Direction to come on. The set lasted about an hour but it seemed so much shorter because of the pure ecstasy they filled the crowds hearts with. Being a One Direction fan and being a 5 Seconds of Summer fan kind of goes hand in hand in the world of boybands. After those Australian cuties got off the stage, the night was really about to begin. The stadium was being filled with anticipation and excitement as the wait for One Direction started to come to a close. The ten second countdown stretched on for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, the boys took the stage. The screams from tens of thousands of girls resulted in the first song, â€Å"Midnight Memories,† barely being heard. Considering everyone knew all of the words anyway, that hardly mattered. Being in row 21, seat 9, really made the experience that much more unreal. Around ten feet to my left, there was a long runway that connected to the stage to allow the boys to get closer to the crowd. I was within throwing distance of the biggest current boy band in the world and I could not have had a better time. As the night went on, the show only got better. Those five twenty-something year olds each have a unique and beautiful voice. They found the perfect balance of slow songs and fast songs which gave everybody in the crowd something they enjoyed listening to. Each concert I have gone to, they have played different songs which only adds to the excitement. Before the concert, I was wondering which songs were going to be sung and I was extremely satisfied with the ones I heard. All of my expectations had been fulfilled and they truly outdid themselves. The main album featured in this tour is called Midnight Memories although they also featured songs from Take Me Home and Up All Night. In my opinion, the bests of the night were â€Å"Little Black Dress,† â€Å"Better Than Words,† â€Å"Kiss You,† and the closing song, â€Å"Best Song Ever.† Those select songs were filled with energy and pure joy from all five band mates and it was thrilling to see how much fun t hey were having up there on stage. Out of all the boy bands in todays era, I would say confidently that One Direction is my favorite. They seem to have so much personality and quirkiness to them compared to other similar bands. They will always have a special place in my heart for One Direction even if I’m not a diehard fan anymore. Every rose has its thorn, and this concert definitely did have some drawbacks. Parking for the event was highly expensive and it took around an hour to leave the parking lot at the end of the night. The last thing I wanted to do at 11 o’clock on a Thursday night was wait in traffic so that aspect of the show was definitely not the best. I definitely still did enjoy the show but on top of everything, having a sinus infection really did not help either. I tried to forget how stuffed up I was and enjoy the whole night but it resulted in me coughing and sneezing everywhere. In my opinion, it was all worth it because when I think back on it, I don’t think about how sick I was or how incredibly annoying parking was, I think about how much fun I had when the music was playing. If I had to rate the concert from 1-10, I would definitely give it a 9. The drawbacks really did not have a strong impact on how great that night was. It may not be something you think would appeal to you, but you would be surprised by the amount of fun you might have. This band appeals mostly to teenage girls but I think that if anyone would really give them a chance, they might just find themselves dancing and singing along when they are driving alone in their car. It was event not to be missed and I cannot wait for my next opportunity to see One Direction live.

Final For BUS Essay

Final For BUS Essay Final For BUS Essay Question: How can we increase the graduation rate at Clinton Community College? Answer: If you want to increase the graduation rate at Clinton, they would first need to increase the amount of students enrolled at Clinton. To get more students the first thing that college needs to do, is market more to students. Once the college starts to market there could be an increase in the population here. To start the marketing, they could put it on social media, they could present at schools, and they could sponsor sporting events or whatever they could. Once they get their names out, they could easily increase the population and people from around the nation would start out here. They need to get the slogan out that it is a great startup for college. The next thing Clinton needs to accomplish would be a SWOT analysis. Strengths for Clinton would be, it is the only community college in the area. It is cheap compared to most of the colleges around here. It is one of the top community colleges in the nation. It is a smaller school so it is an easier learning environment and it has a lot of transportation here. They have a bus route that is set up for the dorms. They give out easy scholarships to students who have strived in high school and now are on the path to college. The weakness of Clinton would be that the kids around here think down about Clinton. When the weather is bad the roads to Clinton are bad. We are up a hill so when it gets bad outsides it can make it hard to get here. It is a small school in a small area, the parking lot can be frustrating to the students here. Opportunities for Clinton would be more attractions around here, make the dorms more favorable to students, and add more buildings to the campus. If the enrollment rate increases they would acquire more money and they could put it toward increases each building or make a new one. The threats for Clinton are Plattsburgh State, and the bad words of mouth from the locals and how no one from around here wants to stay here. That can deter from the enrollment here at Clinton. The next thing that Clinton could do is they need to apply the Maslow Theory to their students. The first step in the Maslow Theory is to get the physiological needs taken into consideration for each of the students considering coming to Clinton. The college needs to make sure that each of the building accommodates to each student. Steps taken to make sure this happens would be to make sure that all of the buildings are up to date and that each one is well maintained. They need to keep up with each building and they will have successfully succeeded on this step. The second step in the Maslow Theory is the psychological need. This need is basically the safety of each of the students. This is crucial if they want their enrollment rate to increase. If they make the campus safe to the students, there will be no fear and that will take away from students avoiding this college. With no fear comes a better atmosphere as well. There will be a hundred times better learning environment if they feel safe. With a better learning environment comes to better grades, which will eventually lead to a higher graduation rate from Clinton. The third step is to create a social environment here. There are many steps or examples that Clinton could do to make this step actualization. They could start up more clubs that fit in here. With more clubs it could lead to more relationships among the students. They could get study groups that the students set up themselves. One thing Clinton has already accomplished with this is that there is small classes so that the professor can get more on a one on one relationship with each of the students. This could make the students feel better about themselves. Knowing what a teacher is looking for and being able to communicate better with each one is crucial. So, with the smaller class sizes comes better social need with the students. I mean come on, who wants a classroom of 50 plus

The Journey To Become Pope Francis

The Journey To Become Pope Francis Pope Francis is noted for his humility,  dedication to the poor, and commitment to inter-faith dialogue.   He is revered as one of the most popular spiritual leaders of today.   While a resume is likely not part of the papal election process,we researched his career path and composed a resume to illustrate  Pope Francis’ journey to becoming the Pontiff.   Jorge Mario BergoglioSan Roberto Bellarmino. Rome ItalyTheological EducationSalesian School                                                                                                                                                                                                   1980Mentorship under Ukranian Greek Priest Stefan CzmilAwoke hours before class to serve Mass for CzmilCollege Maximo de San Jose                                                                                                                                                            Ã‚  Ã‚  1960  Licentiate in PhilosophyInmaculada Concepcion Seminary                                                                                                                                             Ã‚  1958Studied HumanitiesSecular EducationEscuela Tecnica Industrial No. 27 Hipolito Yrigoyen                                                                                               Ã‚  1954Chemical Technician’s Diploma  Employment AccomplishmentsSan Roberto Bellarmino –  Cardinal-Priest      Ã‚                                                                                                                    Ã‚  2001Awarded cardinal by Pope John Paul IIAppointed to five administrative positions within the Roman CuriaParticipated in 2005 papal conclave that elected Pope Benedict XVIBuenos Aires, Agentina – Auxiliary Bishop                                                                                                                         1992Ordained as Tituar Bishop of Acua serving as principal consecratorCelebrated Holy Thursday washing feet in jails, hospitals, retirement homes and slumsSociety of Jesus of Agentina – Provincial Superior   Ã‚                                                                                                  1973Supervised institutes within province and presided over  deliberationsEnsured orders of the General Chapter and S uperior General were properly carried outFacultades de Filosofia y Teologia de San Miguel                                                                                                        Ã‚  1969Ordained to priesthoodServed as master of novices for province and taught as professor of theologyColegio de la Inmaculada Concepcion – High School teacher                                                                          1960Taught psychology and literatureFostered growth and development of teenagers through lectures and discussionBuenos Aires Nightclub – Bouncer                                                                                                                                              1956Checked IDs and monitored front of house for trou ble makersSwept floors, maintained cleanliness and janitorial dutiesHickethier-Bachmann Laborary   Ã¢â‚¬â€œ   Lab Technician                                                                                                Ã‚  1952Ran tests in food section of chemical laboratoryAnalyzed and reported test results

The Rise of Eco-Art and Its Effects on Political and Social Issues Essay

The Rise of Eco-Art and Its Effects on Political and Social Issues - Essay Example It will not be incorrect to mention that environment art has allowed people of contemporary societies to go back in time and understand the ways in which civilizations have been able to make use of the ecosystem. The trend of environment art has evolved during the late 1960s. This was the era when ecosystem and the consequences of pollution were being noted by people at best (Kastner, 2010). People were more concerned about their environment which they were contributing to ever since. Better and newer understanding was being undertaken by different institutions of the societies allowing the ecological theory to evolve by large. Since the theoretical grounds of the environmental study were being made vast, it included field work as well challenging spaces. It was this era that created environment studies as a very vibrant set of theories. As a result, a movement also evolved which took every aspect of society in its fold. Understanding the role of environment art on the social and pol itical world is a two-way process. Let alone environment art has evolved through the transitions noted in political and social ways of people. The environment has been greatly incorporated by the discipline of art allowing people to understand the ways in which man has been contributing to the environment. In particular, the different forms of eco-art include land art, art in nature etc. With the transition in the field of eco-art, it has been noted that acoustics, ecology, and bio-art has taken a greater stance in developing the theoretical implication of environment (Eco, 2012). The trend of eco-art has evolved to the extent where different universities have been involved in giving out finding for undertaking environment related projects. Students enrolled in this discipline have turned out to be effective artists and theorists. Great artists have come up with eco-art which has not just affected the lifestyle of people by the ways in which different natural objects have been consu med over the years. To count some, artists from southwest America has shown great potential over the years (Kastner, 2010). Desert landscapes have been used as one of the mediums by eco-art artists to understand sun and astronomical as tools of disseminating nature. Nancy Holt has been the vibrant among many American eco-art designers of all time (Carson, 2002). The trend of eco-art has not just included a newer section in the library with provocative theories but allowed civic forums where different people have come up with different concerns shown or expressed through modern way of eco-art. The artists involved in eco-art have enabled internet platform to diverge greater sense of awareness regarding eco-art among common people. This has made people to follow the movement of environment which was enhanced by the consumption and contribution made by eco-art (Barlow, et al., 1983). Impact on Social and Political World: It is of great significance to note that eco-art has enabled chan ge in lifestyle for everyone. At one point where eco-art has contributed in

The global pattern of foreign direct investment in the years 2000-2011 Essay

The global pattern of foreign direct investment in the years 2000-2011 - Essay Example Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is perceived as one of the important measures of increasing economic globalization. As because of increasing globalization and international trade, transnational corporations (TNCs) are able to invest in different overseas projects and shift their operations to different regions of the world (Globerman, & Shapiro, 2003). It is important to understand and analyze the concept of the foreign direct investment as it is directly related with the globalization in the today’s world (Noorbakhsh, Paloni, & Youssef, 2001). Because of increasing globalization and international trade, more and more foreign investors are investing their money in different projects overseas. It is important to notice that overall foreign direct investment (FDI) increased to around $ 33 billion in the year 2008 as compared to $ 5 billion in the year 2000 (UNCTAD, 2010). However, there was sharp decline in global foreign direct investment (FDI) in the year 2009 to around $ 28 b illion. This was because of the global economic recession. Overall economic recession and downturn forced the transnational corporations (TNCs) to cut down their overall investments and expenditures which in turn negatively influenced the global foreign direct investment (FDI). Most of these foreign direct investments (FDI) are directed towards the developing countries and least developed countries. The multinational corporations (MNCs) and transnational corporations (TNCs) are looking forward to exploit the abundance of low priced resources of these developing and under developed countries and thus shift more operations in these countries. Therefore, foreign investment flows from the developed countries towards least developed countries (Chakrabarti, 2001). The third world and developing countries are enriched with the resource of foreign direct investment (FDI). In the year 2010, overall global foreign direct investment (FDI) almost remained constant and reflected only a growth of around 0.7 percent. However, in the same year the foreign direct investment (FDI) to the developing countries increased by around 10 percent. Foreign direct investment (FDI) is important in order to maintain consistent growth and development all over the world (Blonigen, 2005). This facilitates the process of transferring the resources and funds from more developed countries to developing countries. Investors from developed countries are able to take advantage of relatively cheaper and low cost labour and other resources in the third world countries; while at the same time the third world countries are able to gain from the foreign investment which helps them in improving the overall economic condition (Neuhaus, 2005). For this very reason, many third world and developing countries have come up with different methods and strategies for attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI). For example, trade free zones, special tariffs, and easy regulations for foreign investors. Owing t o the high importance of the topic and the strong relation of the topic with the globalization and overall global economic condition, in this report an attempt has been made to analyze and evaluate

Serious failure to protect individuals Essay Example for Free

Serious failure to protect individuals Essay Serious failure to protect individuals from abuse occurred in care homes across Britain. This is an account of the shocking state of an elderly care home in Essex. It has shown the residents being abused, bullied and also physical violence being used toward these vulnerable adults. They had been left in their own excrement for hours not taken to bathroom when they needed too. In a Hampshire hospital it had shown through the use of hidden cameras had shown vulnerable adults with learning disabilities being assaulted. A third of care homes did not meet the basic standards (CQC) this means that 406 care homes housing up to 15,533 vulnerable adults are failing. Panorama investigated they send in a reporter named Alex Lee to work 36 undercover shifts with a hidden camera. What she caught on film was shocking she filmed care workers slapping a woman with dementia who was partially paralysed also caught others bullying, mocking the same patient. see more:serious failures to protect individuals from abuse Other residents had their pleas for help ignored many were left in their own excrement for hours and care workers had turned off the call bells. An elderly resident in his late 80s was mockingly called a â€Å"bitch† for hours after he called her it after he became annoyed about how she was cleaning his private parts. The head of care quality commission (CQC) stated the care shown in the programme was unacceptable. Since 2011 158 homes have been shut down due to action taken by the CQC. A spokesman for the care home said they ‘apologise unreservedly for what was covered in the programme. Immediate action was taken those involved were suspended straight away and are not to return to work until after a full inquiry has taken place. In another situation a girl named Vanessa Evans used a hidden camera to uncover the care of her grandmother. In December 2012 it was shown that her grandmother had called for a nurse 321 times pleading for the toilet 45 times in just over an hour. They had tried to make her walk even though she was immobile for two years. She was taken to the toilet two and a half hour later she still did not go was put back to bed. Vanessa’s Grandmother told her ‘they’re really nice when your here as soon as your gone they are horrible. She was completely ignored by staff. She was bleeding from pressure sores that needed a dressing which the staff had noticed. However  five hours later the nurse hadn’t put a dressing on the wounds. A spokeswoman who owns the care home apologised she said they do not tolerate this kind of behaviour that it was ‘shocking and ‘distressing. They acted immediately to notify care quality commission and the police. Staff involved we re suspended and later dismissed. Serious failure to protect individuals from abuse occurred at childrens homes in Britain author Alex Weatle writes of how he was sexually abused by a doctor at a childrens home thought to be linked to paedophiles involving an MP in Tony Blair’s government. He was awarded an MBE in 2008 he spoke up after seeing an investigation by the Daily mirror about abuse covered up after the MP was named suspect. Alex was targeted in the 1980s by a group of abusers who were working in the same care homes the MP was visiting. He would make visits alone to childrens homes run by a convicted paedophile. Boys would have been taken out of south vale childrens home this is a unit which has filtered out abusers from outside the care system. Alex sickening account of abuse suffered by children at Shirley oaks care home he states that strange nameless me had entry to the home and he believes that abusers were allowed in and the staff had known he was convince there was a paedophile ring operating a t both care homes. Shirley oaks looked like a nice place to raise children with its hills streams and oaks trees. However in 1995 it was shut down. Outside the building now is a plague that reminds people of the children that once lived there. A friend of Alex took her life not far from there tortured by memories of abuse. Another friend took his life by asphyxiation hanging themselves from a toilet chain. He first arrived there in 1966 he remembers filling coal buckets and getting beat up with hard brushes, belts and shoes. He suffered violence daily described it as part of his day like eating toast. As he got older he heard stories of abuse from friends who started off in south vale and came to Shirley oaks for longer care. ‘bummed’ was a phrase he heard often. Strange men would be around the premises one stayed and we were told his name is mark he taught swimming lessons in pool within grounds as well as private clients he was only adult present each time. Decades later he was jailed for his crimes. Alex did his best to get through  this time he was labelled ‘maladjusted and referred to a doctor. When he seen the doctor the first thing doctor asked him to do was to remove all of his clothing until he was naked. He stood there in horror unable to speak as the doctor sexually assaulted him. He wanted to share it with his friends to see if they have suffered the same but he could not do it. In secondary education there were still strange men on the grounds at night sometimes during the day. One said he was a football coach he would arrive at a game and take the younger boys away to a hidden part of the premises where it was thought he was giving them extra training, no one would report to social worker for fear of being put somewhere worse.. One of his house mates did object what was taking place she was removed she came back traumatised would not speak. They had heard a staff member had raped a defenceless girl. If you had family that wanted to visit they could apply for a section 2 to even deny any relatives from visiting you. They had complete control and many were miserable and isolated. There were only 3 convicted jail terms there are 19 paedophiles who were not identified or charged and the police said the investigation was a great success. How did these people gain access to these childrens homes there were hundreds of children and social workers visited them everyday they must have been aware of the ‘swimming instructor or the ‘football coach because they were visible. They and other paedophiles had somehow had gotten inside these places and to got to abuse these defenceless children. He was convinced there was a paedophile ring running in both south vale and Shirley oaks childrens homes that the authorities knew and did nothing to stop it. Alex urges that the inquires made include a complete investigation of the social services safeguarding children and protection policies it should examine all aspects of child abuse including violent, neglect and emotional abuse victims often take their lives because of abuse. After the Shirley Oaks was shut down someone set fire to the primary school he wonders if it was a victim who felt it would be justice for her who for years had went unheard and ignored. He really hopes his account will help others who have suffered this abuse to come forward and talk about this horrific crimes toward them those strange men must be uncovered and brought to justice no matter if they are alive or dead.

Ravenna Essays -- Art History Papers

Located in northeast Italy in the Emilia-Romagna region and the capital of the province bearing its name, Ravenna is internationally celebrated for its stunning ancient mosaics and rich history. Ravenna's prosperous past is evident in its wealth of still-standing examples of Byzantine art and architecture. Positioned near the Adriatic Sea on a marshy plain, Ravenna has served as a strategic ?capital three times: of the western Roman Empire, of Theodoric King of the Goths, and of the Byzantine Empire in Europe? (History, par. 1). By delving into Ravenna?s history, as well as its remarkable artistic achievements, the reasoning behind its popularity in tourism becomes clear. Ravenna was formed by the buildup of centuries of silt deposits from the annual flooding of the Po River branches. The floods repeatedly pushed back the waterline of the Adriatic Sea to the point where Ravenna now lies, about five miles from the coast (Benigni, par. 1). The exact origin of this ancient city is uncertain as a multitude of legends lay claim to its beginnings. The Greek historian Dionysius of Hilicarnassus stated that the city was founded seven generations prior to the Trojan War; however, a fellow Grecian, Strabo, claimed that the Thessalonians were the founders. Tradition, according to Bovini, grants the title of earliest inhabitants to the Etruscans due to the typically Etruscan suffix,enna, as well as the discovery of Etruscan artifacts while historiographers insist that the Umbrians were the first established people (7). Little is known about Ravenna's history until the end of the third century BC when it fell completely under the influence of Rome. Though the city lacked the agricultural strength that normally drew the attention of th... ... by the Roman fleet in Classe, the earth has shifted in a way that it now lies two to three kilometers from the ocean Theodoric?s sixth century Basilica of Sant'Apollinare Nuovo was originally intended for Arians as their own palatinate church.? With a 16th century portico made of marble, a cylindrical bell tower from the 9th or 10th century, and mosaics with an astounding surface area, this edifice is a remarkable glimpse into Ravenna?s history.? The mosaics representing the processions Virgins and Martyrs are typical examples of Byzantine style.? In 520, Theodoric built this structure as his tomb.? The Mausoleum of Theodoric most likely held his remains in the upper floor until their removal during Byzantine rule.? The structure is made of Istria stone, the roof being one single block, and is ?divided in two decagonal orders one above the other (par. 52).?

The Effects of High Glucose Intake

Glucose is a sugar that comes from the breakdown of all carbohydrates in the diet, and is very soluble in water. The chemical formula for glucose is C6H12O6. Glucose is a vital part of brain function as it is the only fuel that your brain can use. If you are consuming a low-carbohydrate diet, you may not be getting enough glucose for your brain to function properly. Because your brain ultimately controls all other functions within your body, giving your brain too little glucose can be dangerous to your overall health. Also, overconsumption of sugar in the body can lead to unpleasant phenomena. According to biochemistry Reginald Garrett, Ph. D. and Charles Grisham, Ph. D. the first major side effect of glucose overconsumption is a sugar high (hypoglycemia), which feels a bit like a caffeine buzz, because glucose absorption occurs really fast in the body when partaking too much sugary foods. Diabetes is a very scary and progressive disease, which can result a serious social problem and an economic burden on a person who has this kind of disease. Collective efforts are needed to improve both the level of knowledge about the disease and the outcomes of patient management. Therefore, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) aiming to increase the level of knowledge about diabetes and to determine both appropriate uses of blood glucose monitoring and appropriate measures required to accurately assess the performance of this practice. The first goal of ADA is to identify critical elements of a proper clinical trial of self-monitoring of blood glucose in type2 diabetes. According to American Diabetes Association, a person who has type 2 diabetes or a non-insulin-dependent has a lot of complications because their body can't use the insulin properly but their pancreas produces too much insulin. So, when the body can't use enough insulin and there is too much insulin in the body, the glucose or the sugar will build up in the blood instead of going to the cells. When these things happen, the cell of the body can't function properly because the cells need sugar for the energy. There are some problems found when the glucose build up to the blood and it include the following: first is damaging of the body, where the high glucose (sugar) levels in the blood damage the nerve and the small blood vessels in the eyes, kidneys, and the heart, and it can cause the hardening of a patients artery and it can lead into a sudden heart attack or maybe a stroke. Second is the malfunction of the kidney when the high amount of glucose in the blood of a patient, and it can cause a frequent urination which a large amount of water will be lost in the body, this can cause of dehydration. Third is when a person can't change the fluid that they lost or the person is not able to intake some fluids when they are very dehydrated, the patient becomes very sick and lead into diabetic come which is a life threatening complications. There some cases that the symptoms are very mild and can't be detected, in these cases the patients usually want to drink more liquid and they feel very thirsty, the patients feel exhausted at all time, they always feel nausea with the unclear vision, their skin is usually dry and flaky, when they get wounds it is very slow to get healed, and can't feel anything on their hands and feet because of losing sensation. From all these symptoms, only doctors can diagnose weather you are a hypoglycemic or hypoglycemic by conducting some test or measuring the glucose in the blood after instructing the patient not to eat for eight hours before the testing. This test is called glucose tolerance. There were an experimental studies and observational studies that too much intake of sugar in the body is more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, and too much sugar intake is associated with the development of obesity. Although there's no established RDA (Recommended Daily Allowance) for sugar, because as far as it's known, sugar is not really needed for nutrition, compare to salt that has restrictions in taking it. All foods have some natural sugars, but sugar itself, the white or brown but the stuff in the cookies, is a purely optional taste sensation. The USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) recommends that sugar make up no more than 8% of the daily intake of calories, but most. American adults take in twice that much. If you still consume sugar, it should be 12 teaspoons added sugar for a 2000 calorie per day diet, that is, no more than 40 grams per day for a 2000 calorie diet. Remember that the daily limit of 40 grams refers to refined and processed sugars only. There seems to be no limit on natural sugars. In these studies using the models called econometric of cross-sectional data on diabetes which is repeated and there are 175 countries participate for the nutritional components of food, these studies found that one can of soda is 150 kcal per person per day and it is increasing the availability of sugar and there is a relation with increasing of diabetes cases. When they're done with this testing and tried to control for other food types like; some meat, some fruits, some oils, and some cereals, monitoring the total calories intake, the overweight person and some obesity cases, some period effects, and some social economic like their income, their crowded places and a very low income. There was no other food typed that was yielding, important individual association with the total number of cases of a disease in a given population at a specific time after they were controlling the case for obesity. According to this study, the sugar on diabetes was the biggest impact and it was not dependent of tending to sit about without taking much exercise and the usage of alcohol, there was an effect which is modified but it's not that clear for obesity or for the diabetes. After all these reviews, the high sugar intake and the proportion of a population found to have diabetes, and the bearing of high sugar intake on overweight are being discussed. The evidence is not accurate for the proportion of a population found to have diabetes was because of high sugar intake, but it doesn't mean that taking too much sugar in the body is not important. Since the population of obesity in the world, and the case of diabetes is growing rapidly, there should be restrictions of sugar in the diet, and it is very important like the other restrictions of diet. In conclusion the requirement of screening is the screener need to show them that they like the benefit of screening. It didn't show that there is a clear benefit from the screening of the hyperglycemia or they called it glucose intolerance, mostly was women who are pregnant, and pregnant women who are at risk of caesarean section, and the disadvantage which is the acquired of the status of this disease. That screening was being argued on how to identify somebody who is at risk of succeeding non-insulin-dependent (type 2 diabetes) or a patient who is suspected to have that disease and undiagnosed is a good thing.

Americanized or Europeanized? Essay

Do I see American sports becoming more Europeanized or the European Sports becoming more Americanized? In my opinion everything comes down to making money. I feel if a sport is popular then someone will find a way to make money off of the sport. In the United States the four major sports are football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. The three main sports in the European culture are soccer, cricket, and rugby. In my opinion the first sport that I can see becoming more and more popular in America is Rugby. With Rugby becoming an Olympic sport and with more people becoming familiar with it I can see Rugby becoming very popular. According to Santo (2010), â€Å"The sport of rugby offers many contrasts to the pattern of how other sports developed† (p. 27). Rugby was brought to the rest of the world from England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. The main reason why I feel that Rugby will become popular in America is due to the fact that athletes that participate in football who do not make it in the National Football League would be perfect for Rugby. Rugby is built on players that are not too big but not small but can move. The perfect positions in football to find these types of players are Linebackers, Tight Ends, bigger Safeties, and Running backs. Like anything else the more publicity and advertising anything get the more popular it will become in a culture. In my opinion I think that we as a culture need to do a better Job of exposing the rugby, which I feel will be a great sport for us as Americans to become accustomed too. Which American sports could I see becoming more Europeanized? My first response would have been football simply because in my opinion it is the best sport out of all of them but my logical nswer is basketball. Basketball has become more popular in Europe and Asia in the past 20 years then any other sport. The first non- American person drafted in the National Basketball League was Yao Ming out of China in the 2002 draft. That night a record was set with 17 international selections, with six coming in the first round. According to Nichols (2012), â€Å"Since 1995, 50 players who played their basketball outside of the United States have been taken in the 1st round† (p. 12). Now there has always been a stereotype on international players. The stereotype you will hear the ost was they are not physical enough to contribute to a whole season due to their â€Å"lack of aggression†. Dirk Nowitzki (plays for the Dallas Mavericks) who battle against the Miami Heat to overcome the stereotype by playing the finals with a severe sprain to his right knee, led the Dallas Mavericks toa World Championship. In my opinion basketball is the more American sport that has became more popular in European cultures. Another reason why I feel that it is popular in Europe is due to the point that outside of America Europe and Spain are the most competitive to America. Both countries also have very competitive associations that people from America go to participate in, who did not make the NBA. In conclusion there are two main sports that I can see becoming more popular in each country. Rugby in the America and Basketball in Europe has already become Just as popular in Europe then it is in America. With more advertising and publicity you can really make any sport popular just by talking about it.

Thinking Outside The Box essays

Thinking Outside The Box essays The invention of the wheel was a miraculous invention, along with the airplane, and the telephone. All the inventions that have ever been created werent just something that was already drawn out on a piece of paper for the inventors. They had to think. They had to imagine the masterpiece before it was even a physical object. These people werent just thinkers or inventors. These people Thought Outside the Box. The writer Sarah Susanka, the author of The Not So Big House, once said that The ability to think creatively, responding to needs and wishes, not to preconceived ideas of what something should look like, then the problem will be solved. [SIC] What I think she means by this is if you are going to make something or do something for the people of the world, dont assume or pretend you know what they want. Go out, ask them, figure it out and then when you have completed the finished product it will be successful. Many people who try to invent something are not successful because they are afraid to break the confines of the outline. What I mean by this is that the people are so accustomed to thinking like everybody else, they are afraid to explore the possibilities of their mind. They cant picture something that already isnt there. Often a person will see something that was invented and wonder why they never thought of something so simple. The answer is very uncomplicated... they didnt break the confines of the out line. Normally, when people do a puzzle, they will have to think about the answers, sort of like a maze. If what they first try doesnt work then they have to try another direction to see if something else will work. Those people, even though they dont know it have just thought outside the box. They have decided that rather than quitting, they are going to keep trying, and see if they can find another way to do it. Even though the a...

How to write excellent reports [Webinar recording] - Emphasis

How to write excellent reports [Webinar recording] How to write excellent reports [Webinar recording] Over 120 people took part in our webinar on 23 November to learn some expert advice on  writing exceptional reports from our specialist  trainer, Gary Woodward. Many attendees sent in their questions  and key challenges  when it comes to writing reports and there were some common themes, which Gary addressed during this thirty-minute session. Gary focused on three areas: Engaging your readers and encouraging them to act Presenting your information with maximum visual impact Writing efficiently with effective editing Engaging readers Gary kicked off by  talking us through some proven  techniques for engaging your readers. Key to this is asking yourself reader-centred questions before you even start writing. What information is your reader looking for? Another crucial part of your reports success is its summary. It need to be concise and set out the content of your report in a way thats relevant to the interests of your reader (or readers). By the end of the summary, your  reader(s) need to know why they should be reading the document, what they need to know and what is expected of them. Presenting information Through your research, hard work and technical knowledge, you can produce excellent stats and insightful data. However, if you dont present this well, you risk confusing your reader and wasting your hard work. Gary showed us some editing techniques for  presenting information in a clear, easy-to-scan way. In particular, he  talked about one of his favourite techniques, Words in Tables (WiT). (For more information on WiT, visit www.jmoon.co.uk.) Effective editing Writing well  is not just about getting every word and sentence  right first time. Its about editing your writing so youre as clear and concise as possible. How many times do we edit the content we have written? Do we really look at ways of making it easier to read? And how  many times has a reader complained that a document was too easy to read? Gary had three top tips for making your writing concise, clear and easy to read: Put the ‘what’ before the ‘why’, so that your main messages come first. Keep verbs rather than change them into nouns. Favour the active voice over the passive. Want to access a copy of the webinar? To view a recording of the webinar and to access the full slide deck, click here. Interested in more free learning? If you want more advice on improving your business writing, why not download our free guide, The Write Stuff? Click here to get your free copy today.

Advanced financial reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Advanced financial reporting - Essay Example Also, it includes comprehensive description of disclosures that ought to be given in an annual report that gives a transparent, true and fair picture of company’s performance to existing and potential investors. After this follows second question which focuses on comparison between voluntary and mandatory guidelines in respect of environmental reporting. It requires detailed discussion about effectiveness of both guidelines and what advantages and disadvantages does their compliance offer for a company. The last question inquires about the current and proposed programmes to be effective in future relating to environmental compliances and regulations and how they might be helpful in ensuring better transparency and clarity of environmental reporting. Further the discussion entails about corporate measures that organizations should use to become alert and informed about regulations which are applicable in their case, about amendments therein and strategies to comply with them ad equately. Finally, the paper closes with concluding statements about how companies should be more environmentally responsible in its operations and true in provision of its facts and disclosures in annual reports for its shareholders and potential investors. ... Therefore, they take reasonable steps to mitigate harmful and adverse effects to acceptable levels. Some examples of environmental footprints include water spills, contamination, poisonous wastages and leakages, air pollution, carbon emission, greenhouse gas emission etc. Regulatory bodies and environmental authorities have been working constantly to make environmental laws and regulations stricter to protect public interests and give better picture to investors. Few mandatory guidelines have already been placed that are compulsory to be followed while other voluntary guidelines have been published for different industries to identify best benchmark practices which might be followed by entities on own motion to depict ‘greener’ reputation and public image to satisfy its members and potential investors. However, in order to ensure compliance with environmental frameworks, it is pivotal to be fully aware of all applicable regulations. Environmental risks can be mitigated t hrough establishment of Environmental Management System and allotment of a dedicated team responsible for addressing all environmental concerns. Furthermore, organizations must account for relevant environmental costs and provisions for future obligations such as dismantling, cleanup and litigation costs in its financial statements. Environmental reporting disclosures can be as comprehensive as an entity would consider adequate since only few mandatory regulations exist. Therefore, environment-friendly stance of any organization shall depend on how detailed are the disclosures provided by it in its annual report and accounts. Question 1 In view of the contents of the document provided and the materials covered in the module, does the annual report currently

Costco Wholesale Corporation Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Costco Wholesale Corporation - Case Study Example Though less readily measurable, it is apparently accompanied by a shrinking of activities for the few remaining general merchandising wholesalers and a loss of sales for small stores carrying women's and children's apparel, particularly in low and medium-quality lines. Costco is a closed-door store which allows only "members" access to the store through membership eligibility as defined by rather broad classifications of government employees, teachers, union members, or employees of government contractors (see Appendix 4). The chain carries a wide range of soft goods and apparel, but also gives major attention to furniture, appliances, food, and automotive supplies. Several of the closed door operations have recently opened their doors to the general public. "Examples of Costco's incredible annual sales volumes included 96,000 carats of diamonds (2006), 1.5 million televisions, $300 million worth of digital cameras, 28 million rotisserie chickens (over 500,000 weekly), 40 percent of the Tuscan olive oil bought in the United States, $16 million worth of pumpkin pies during the fall holiday season, $3 billion worth of gasoline, 21 million prescriptions, and 52 million $1.50 hot dog/soda pop combinations" (Thompson p. 2008, p. C5). Low operating margins achieved through volume sales and limited service expenditures for clerks, delivery, credit, and so on have allowed prices which average about 15% below those of the department stores and specialty shops with which discount stores compete in the sale of soft goods. Full-size food supermarkets are being established within many of the new large discount stores. Because of consumers' long experience in comparing food values between stores and because of the frequency of food store visits by the average family, these food departments are attractive to the soft-goods stores as traffic builders, and are frequently operated with planned narrow margins (or even planned losses) to maximize their drawing power (Costco Home P age 2008). Chief Elements of the Costco's strategy The uniqueness of Costco strategy is that it proposes advantages and benefits to its members only, except gasoline and beverage products. The closed-door stores depend primarily on word of mouth and on mail promotion to their members to publicize the attractive values offered. Costco does not make extensive use of advertising media to give publicity to the low prices and special values which they offer. Major retail innovations involve an "invention" of new means of performing the retailing function. They are dependent on concomitant developments in products, in physical handling technology, and in organization at the wholesale supply level; but, most important of all, they are dependent on changes in the income, location, and style of life of consumers (Drejer 2002). In contrast to other retailers, Costco proposes wide product rage: "Whereas typical supermarkets stocked about 40,000 items and a Wal-Mart Supercenter or a SuperTarget might have as many as 150,000 items for shoppers to choose from, Costco's merchandising strategy was to

Bubble Tea in Singapore Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bubble Tea in Singapore - Research Paper Example Bubble tea commenced its ascension to global recognition, thinning out from Taiwan to supplementary East Asian nations. It then wandered to Chinatowns all through the American States, and diverse college urban alongside the West Coast of America. There is existence of bubble teashops and cafes in the westernized countries and the United Kingdom. There are numerous variations of the drink, based on the kinds of tea employed and ingredients inclusion. Market research This research is aimed at guaranteeing generation of customers’ desire for Cha Time brand and not the firm’s assumptions of their wants. This research is yet to be undertaken in an attempt to supplement the sale of bubble tea in public places. Even though, this product is sold at restaurants and cafes, it has a wide household market (Lewis & Clark, 2008). Our main objective is to market the Cha Time brand at Ang Mo Kio Outlet Avenue 6. This research will enable reduction of risks for its trial in the novel ho usehold market in Singapore. Bubble Tea is a speedily increasing market in the Middle East, although it is relatively old Singapore, it is not widely spread in household delivery (Richardson, Rubinstein & Joseph, 2009). Market Analysis Summary Tea is the second principal product market besides oil, and expansion is anticipated to keep on at a sturdy velocity for the projected future. The field beverage business is rising at an evenly sturdy tempo, with sales increase in some classes likely to develop at speeds of 40% per annum. This development offers exceptional openings for new firms to come into this market in Singapore (Commins & Sampanvejsobha, 2008). Bubble tea delivery service of the Cha Time brand at Ang Mo Kio Outlet Avenue 6 is targeted at households and delivery is to every person’s doorstep. The aim of this research is to establish the growth of bubble tea industry in employing household delivery. We also seek to find out trends of the different flavors of to bran d in relation to its sales growth (Oakwell, 2007). Target Market Segment Strategy This product’s market is by now sizeable and the business continues to advance. People are now being introduced to the different flavors of the brand. It is not surprising to see people ordering PMT on a daily basis since they now fancy the tasty and sweet flavors. The household segment is the primary target as the potential in sales is unlimited in this market segment. This segment mostly needs quality delivery, prime and meritorious service, efficient and fast delivery system, automated bookings for deliveries and a comprehensive support in sales. The firm could benefit from a delivery system since people would want to receive service stress free to their places of residence (O’Dougherty, 2007). The automated system of booking will expand the target market into increased stress free bookings that will further elevate the sales to a substantial level. As the business expands, there will be eventual evaluation of the requirements of potential buyers and customers to their houses and places to deliver. Since delivery is targeted at interpersonal level then consumer behavior is prime in the delivery of bubble tea (Vanhuele & Wright, 2008). Hence, we define consumer behavior as: The analysis of personalities and groups and the ideologies they employ to choose, secure, employ, and throw away goods, services,

Self Efficacy In Writing Performance Psychology Essay

Self Efficacy In Writing Performance Psychology Essay Writing, is a complex process and competent writing is frequently accepted as being the last language skill to be acquired. Al-Mekhlafi, 2011 Due to its complex process, writing is regarded as a challenging task not only for native speakers of a language but also for second language learners. As it is the case for any other acquired skill, writing skill also evolves continuously until the product, a piece of writing, meets the expectations of both the writer and reader. However, when it comes to learning how to apply certain conventions of writing in a formal learning environment, the role and responsibility of the learner becomes even more important. As cited in Sheila Matoti and Almon Shumba (2011), writing problems identified by previous studies are grammar, spelling, punctuation, expression, and the ability to explain, structure and interpret facts as well as vocabulary and referencing. Although it can be claimed that the problems listed above can be fixed, to a certain extent, through formal instruction and learners effort, it is a fact that having some sort of knowledge about ones capabilities and skills can indeed play an important role in motivating human behaviours. (Bandura,1986) According to Banduras Social Cognitive Theory, individuals possess a system of self-beliefs that enables them to exercise control over their thoughts, feelings, and actions. (as cited in Garcia Fidalgo,2008, Rahimpour Jahan, 2010, Al-Mekhlafi, 2011, Shah et al. 2011, Galligan ,2011, Alexander Schmidt, 2012). Broaddus (2012) explained that social cognitive theory forms the roots of both writing self-efficacy and motivation both of which change from course to course, depending on students interest, efficacy for performing tasks in the course, and other social and environmental factors. In other words, learners may create their own path of learning through engaging themselves in tasks. Therefore, students set their goals for learning a specific subject. Self-efficacy is a construct proposed by Bandura (1977) and has been tested in a variety of fields, focusing on a variety of topics. Broaddus (2012) and Bong (1999) define self-efficacy as peoples convictions about their own capability for successfully executing a course of action that leads to a desired outcome. Schmidt and Alexander (2012) argued that self efficacy is not only a current but also future disposition requiring learners or participants in a research to evaluate their beliefs in their future abilities. Therefore, self-efficacy requires self-evaluation, about what one can do and what can be improved. As well as self-evaluation, there are two more factors affecting self-efficacy: modeling (coaching) such as coding the information for retention, being capable of producing the presented patterns, and maintaining a certain level of motivation; goal setting, such as acquiring skills and knowledge or making good grades. (Schunk, 2003). When considered specifically for the writing ability, writing self-efficacy translates into a strong sense of confidence for the task of writing.( Pajares Valiante,1997). In other words, once learners have sufficient self-belief in their ability to write in their second language, their interest in writing may increase, they may display constant efforts, and great eagerness and resiliency when they are working on a writing task. In his study conducted in 2012, Broaddus concluded that journalism course students who hold high self-efficacy for grammar have put more effort into their time management and environmental resources while studying and it was found that these high efficacy attitude towards grammar resulted in better grammar skills. This was interpreted as these students determine where the challenge or obstacle related to the task lies and they develop strategies so as to succeed in their writing assignments. Garcia and Fidalgo stated in their 2008 study that in difficult tasks such as writing which includes many recursively employed cognitive processes, self-efficacy plays a the key role. While acquiring writing skills, students need to use their cognitive, behavioral and motivational engagement and learning. Recently, an enormous amount of research has been done on the writing composition proceses that student writers undertake(Erkan Saban, 2011). Although writing instruction has gone through numerous changes, according to an action research carried out by Yavuz and Genà § ( 1998), students tend to display negative attitudes towards writing. Yavuz and Genà § (1998) concluded their research findings as, for students writing is an obligation in order to pass final exam. Erkan and Saban (2004) suggest that this attitude can be interpreted as students apprehension and lack of self-efficacy in writing. The reason for students apprehension and lack of self efficacy may be due to limited time allocated for writing practice in classes. As cited in Leki and Carson (1994), according to the results of structured interviews of a study, university students who completed language courses in intensive English program at five different university reported that they only spent 10 % of their time on writing assignments across the curriculum. However, it should be noted that in order to succeed in their academic studies, second language learners, especially the students at universities are required to gain a certain ability to write well since writing is integral to academic success.Although the time spared for writing practice may not always be possible, the use of a variety of writing assignments, with clear, concise evalution criteria, could help student writers in the development of their self-efficacy while dealing with a writing task. (Broaddus, 2012) When examined specifically, Turkish students practising the conventions of writing in English, even students who are proficient at other language skills share the same problems with writing: they are afraid to make writing errors; they lack self-efficacy in writing.(Erkan Saban, 2011)In her study, Erkan concluded , similar to previous research findings, it was confirmed that the degree of students negative attitude, writing apprehension, does affect Turkish Tertiary level students writing performance. In other words, the higher the apprehension, the weaker the writing skills / performance. This aspect of Erkans study, one that specifically looks at relationships between writing apprehension and writing performance, is an expansion in the research area since the number of studies conducted to investigate second language learners wiriting apprehension is very few. However, as cited in Garcia and Fidalgo (2008), Bandura maintained that misjudgement in ones beliefs about potential performance may be detrimental, which is proved by some research that it can be prevalent in writing classes. Although there is a great number of research examining the relationship between self-efficacy,to the best knowledge of the researchers Rahimpour and Jahan, there is no research on relationship between general self-efficacy and writing (Rahimpour and Jahan, 2010). Rahimpour and Jahan claimed that all the previous research mainly focused on the investigation of self-efficacy among groups with a very limited range of proficiency. Therefore, Rahimpour and Jahan determined their research area as the impact of self-efficacy and proficiency on EFL learners written task performance regarding load, fluency, complexity, and accuracy. The participants chosen were low-proficiency and high-proficiency learners of English aged between 18-25. In addition to completing three separate tasks, the participants were asked to fill out the General Perceived Self-Efficacy questionnaire, through which the participants level of confidence was aimed to rate. The results indicated that there was a significant relationship between self-efficacy and personal tasks in terms of concept load in high proficieny participants; however, there was not a significant relationship when it came to fluency, complexity, and accuracy only for low but also high proficieny participants performance. Another area of research on self-efficacy is related to help seeking which is recognized as a component of self-efficacy. Help seeking is comprised of two types of behaviour: adaptive and nonadaptive behaviours. (as cited in Williams Takaku, 2011) Various studies yielded significant correlations between self-efficacy and help seeking. Williams and Takaku cited that while high self-efficacy students tend to express high help seeking behaviour, low self-efficacy students, despite being under similar circumstances, less willing to seek help. It is commonly accepted by researchers in the field that just as help seeking, self-efficacy belief has been found to be a predictor of academic success. In addition to their teachers, most students may seek help at writing centers remedial courses in the institutions they attend. Writing centers have been proved to be helpful when it comes to improving students writing performance. Williams and Takaku (2011) hypothesized that writing self-efficacy would influence writing performance. The participants of the study were both native and nonnative university students who attended a one semester intensive writing course for all content areas. In contrast to the researchers anticipation, the analysis showed that the frequent visitors to writing center in order to receive professional assistance from the writng center staff, managed to get higher grades than the ones who did not. What makes the results of the study more noteworthy is the fact that these results apply for both ESL learners and native-English- speakers. When the results are generalized, it can be argued that when appropriate assistance is provided, every student practising the conventions of writing can improve himself or herself. A study carried out ,by Shah,Wan Mahmoud, Din,Yusof, Pardi in 2011 with Malaysian secondary school learners in order to determine the students self-efficacy in writing. The results indicated that there is ,indeed, a large, significant positive correlation between self-efficacy and writing performance. That is, it was,again, confirmed that learners with high self-efficacy tend to pursue opportunities to write, put more effort into writing, and be more persistent in seeking writing competence. Another research conducted by Early and De Costa-Smith, in 2011, confirmed Banduras social cognitive theory. To put it differently, self-efficacy beliefs can be developed by mastery experience, social models and lived experiences, and social persuasion. The impact of multiple opportunities to practice any genre, along with peer and teacher feedback and interaction during the intervention may play a key role on the increase in students self-efficacy beliefs related to the genre. All in all, while strong efficacy leads to success, overly high or low efficacy can undermine the proper development of cognitive, social, emotional, and behavioral skills. (Broaddus, 2012) On the other hand, Igo (2002) asserted that the students overestimated their self-efficacy because of several reasons, namely, high school teachers failure to provide appropiate and correctional feedback, the teachers negligence of promoting the importance of producing good work, and teachers overappraisal of mere student participation in the writing process. Conversely, when individuals see that another person, in our context a classmate, performing a desired task, self efficacy believes are positively affected. To pplace this into the context of university English preparatory school classrooms, when a student witnesses that a friend of his or her succeeds in writing a well-organized essay, he or she may be more willing to try writing an essay on his own. As Broaddus (2012) cited observers self-efficacy beliefs would be reduced if they see their peers repeatedly fail to accomplish a required task. Whether high or low, self-efficacy in writing has a crucial role in students writing performance. Broaddus (2012) cites from Bandura (1997) and draws our attention to environmental context and says that it often affects efficacy. In a formal language learning environment where there is only limited time can be allocated to writing, it is an undeniable fact that determining students with low self-efficacy and assisting these students while they are developing their writing skills is highly important. Instructors should not only provide the standard techniques of writing and provide corrective feedback on vocabulary and grammar but also provide one-to-one assistance whenever their students seek help. The amount of assistance provided by teachers should also have limits. As cited in Broaddus (2012), Bandura (1997) says Successes achieved with external assistance carry little efficacy value because they are likely to be credited to external aids rather than to personal capabilities METHOD Participants Participants were 20 Turkish learners of English at a preparatory school of an English medium university, Turkey. The participants initially took a standard language proficiency test prepared by the preparatory school testing office. The proficiency test consisted of 80 four-option multiple choice questions before the semester started. The multiple choice items aimed to test the students level of grammar, vocabulary, and reading comprehension abilities, The passing grade for the proficiency test was determined as 60.The students who got lower than 60 took the placement test consisting of 80 questions. The students were also required to write an essay on a topic provided by the testing office after completing the multiple choice section. According to the placement test scores, the students were placed in three different levels-A, B, and C levels. The intermediate level students were placed in A level classes. In other words, the participants can understand and speak English with some confidence and they have the grammar and the vocabulary to talk and read about a wide number of subjects. Moreover, they can assess and consciously improve their own pronunciation. They have studied all the main tenses and can confidently make sentences, question forms and clauses in all of them. However, intermediate students are only in the beginning phase of improving their use of phrasal verbs and modal verbs. On the other hand, intermediate level is equivalent to IELTS score 4.5 5.5, TOEFL IBT score 55, TOEIC score 450 650, Cambridge PET. Out of 20 participants, there were only 3 students who were private high school graduates. In Turkey, private high schools English curriculum is more intense when compared to state schools English curriculum. Both males and females were involved in the study. They ranged in age from 18 to 20. Instrument The questionnaire administered in the study was developed for the purpose of assessing international students in Marquette University, U.S.A. Marquette University is a private university in Milwaukee, U.S.A. The development of the questionnaire was one of the four assessment areas that Marquette university aimed to assess the four advanced ESL academic bridge courses, one of which focused on international students efficacy in their writing performance. The original questionnaire is a 36-item self-assessment scale to grade the strength of participants belief, or self-efficacy, in their writing performance. However, the questionnaire used to investigate the relationship between students self-report on their writing efficacy and their writing performance is a 20-item questionnaire. The reason why the original questionnaire was not used in the current study was the fact that some of the items did not serve the purpose of the study. The adopted writing efficacy questionnaire features 20 i tems with positive polarity (I canà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦).The instrument of 20 item questionnaire was used to assess students self- efficacy beliefs related to the skills needed in different essay organizations and other factors that determine students writing performance as successful or unsuccessful. Some of the investigated factors through the questionnaire are brainstorming, outlining, as well as their self- efficacy in terms of grammar, vocabulary, and spelling. Level of efficacy in writing ability was measured on a five point- likert scale included the responses (usually not true of me, somewhat true of me, usually true of me, always or almost always true of me). The questionnaire will be used as the independent variable when the relationship between self-efficacy and writing scores is investigated. Procedure Questionnaire is distributed to participants at the beginning of the semester as a self-completing questioonnaire. Since they were not received any writing instructions before the semester, it is assumed that this questionnaire served to measure their self-efficacy without any intervention of teacher. During the semester, they learned basics of essay writing such as paragraph organization, thesis statement and some grammar backup. Quiz scores which will be used as the dependent variable in my essay are based on the Second Quiz, took after XXXXXXX which constitutes 20% percent of the midterm grade. Findings Self-Efficacy of Participants Table 1. Mean Standard Deviation Coefficient of Variation item3 topic sentence 3,75 0,64 0,17 item11 clear thesis statement 3,75 0,79 0,21 item20 using my independent thinking 3,70 0,66 0,18 item14 effectively brainstorm 3,65 0,81 0,22 item9 support /develop main point 3,60 0,60 0,17 item1 summary 3,50 0,61 0,17 item8 spell, capital, punctuation 3,45 0,83 0,24 item13 a good conclusion 3,45 0,76 0,22 item17 wording, gram., pun,spelling 3,40 0,88 0,26 item15 outline to logically organize 3,40 0,75 0,22 item10 a good introduction 3,40 0,82 0,24 item7 various sent.structures 3,35 0,59 0,18 item6 vocab/ word forms 3,25 0,55 0,17 item4 paragraph organization 3,15 0,67 0,21 item18 effectively write under time constraints 3,13 0,56 0,18 item16 revise to improve dev. org. 3,05 0,69 0,23 item19 write quickly in English 2,95 1,03 0,35 item2 paragraph 2,95 0,51 0,17 item12 different types of organization 2,85 0,93 0,33 item5 academic style tone 2,58 0,67 0,26 Above table shows descriptive statistics of items used in the questionnaire. Since the questionnaire is composed of Likert scale questions, 1 stands for the lowest score and 5 is the highest possible score. According to this table, participants self-efficacy is relatively high in items like topic sentence, clear thesis statement, using my independent thinking, effectively brainstorm and support/develop main point where average scores are above 3,50 over 5. Their weakest points are stated as academic styletone, different types of organization, paragraph and write quickly in English, where averages are below 3 over 5. Generally speaking, participants seem to be confident in idea development and they feel themselves relatively weaker in the structural aspects such as academic style and tone. Coefficient of variations, calculated by dividing standard deviation to mean for each items show how responses are dispersed in each item. Highest dispersion is observed on item19, write quickly in English and on item12, which measures self-perception about the ability to use different types of organization, both coefficient of variations are above 0,34. Lowest scores are observed on these items topic sentence, support/develop main point, summary, vocab/word forms and paragraph, all of them are 0,17. Descriptive statistics give some hints about overall level of self-efficacy of participants, and it is almost sure that this is not something uni-dimensional. However a multivariate analysis is beyond the limits of this essay and number of cases is very small to conduct further analyses. Consequently remaining parts of this essay will be based on the assumption that self-efficacy is uni-dimensional, something possible to measure in a single dimension. Efficacy scores of respondents are calculated on their raw scores obtained by using above described self-efficacy questionnaire. Total efficacy score is calculated by using a simple summation of responses. Theoretical maximum score is 100 showing the highest self-efficacy score, and minimum theoretical score is 20, indicating that respondent stated him/herself on the lowest end in each question. Table . Descriptives of Self Efficacy Scores Average Std. Dev. Min. Max. Efficacy 66,15 7,34 53 86 Descriptive statistics are presented above. Mean self-efficacy score is 66,15 with a standard deviation of 7,34. Coefficient of variation (V) is 0,11, indicating a low level of variation. Minimum score is 53, which is above theoretical minimum and observed maximum 86 is below theoretical maximum. These findings show that scores are located between 60 and 90. In order to facilitate interpretation of analyses, all raw scores are transformed to standardized (Z) scores. Newly created self-efficacy scores have a mean of 0 and standard deviation of 1. Distribution of this new scores are presented in the below histogram. Although number of participants is limited (we have only 20 cases), this distribution is very close to be normally distributed. Figure . Histogram of Standardized Self Efficacy Scores Measurement of Academic Performance: Quiz Scores It is so far argued that quiz scores are used to measure academic performance of participants. Quiz scores are graded over 100. Table . Descriptives of Quiz Scores Average Std. Dev. Min. Max. Cause and Effect Quiz Scores 60,05 7,78 52 83 Above table shows that average quiz score is 60, and standard deviation is 7,78. If we consider that range between minimum and maximum scores is only 31, it is possible to conclude that quiz scores are relatively less dispersed. Correlation Analysis Our expectation is that academic performance of students is correlated with their self efficacy. As one students is more confident about his/her efficacy, it is expected that he/she performs better in courses; and as he/she performas better academically; his/her self efficacy increases. Since direction of causality is not clear; correlation analysis is the best tool to present the nature of the relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance. In our cases, self-efficacy of participants are measured by using a self completed questionnaire and their self efficacy scores are calculated based on their answers; meanwhile their quiz scores are accepted as indicators of their academic performance. Table . Correlation Analysis Compare and Contrast Quiz Self Efficacy 0,60 Above table shows that correlation coefficient between self efficacy and compare and contrast quiz scores is 0.60. Correlation coefficient is a score located between -1 and 1, where -1 stands for perfect negative correlation and 1 stands for perfect positive correlation. As this coefficient comes closer to 0, it shows that power of relationship is relatively week, if it is 0, it means that there is no relationship between examined variables. A correlation coefficient of 0.60 means that there is a positive correlation between self efficacy of participants and their academic performance, a finding not falsifying our expectations. If we emphasize on the strength of this relationship, 0.60 shows a more than moderate relationship between our two variables. This finding shows that there is a positive relationship between self-efficacy of participants and their academic performance. As ones self efficacy increases, his/her academic performance also increases; and since correlation coefficient is a symmetrical measure; this finding also shows that as ones academic performance increases; his/her self-efficacy also increases. Although the measurement of self-efficacy precedes the measurement of academic performance; it is not sufficient to talk about a causal relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance; because self-efficacy of participants most probably affected by their previous academic performance, such as their performance in the high school or other exams they attended. Consequently accepting self-efficacy scores as an indicator of academic performance is a less risky choice compared to using them to forecast future academic success. In order to make such a forecasting, we need much more detailed measurement of academic performance and self-efficacy and higher number of respondents. Anova Test A further analysis is conducted to see whether there is a significant difference between students, based on their self-efficacy scores. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is preferred because it allows us to test statistical significance of an intervening factor on a dependent variable. We expect that students having high level of self-efficacy are more successful in academic terms. Above discussed measurement of self-efficacy is accepted as the independent variable and Quiz Scores are dependent. Since self-efficacy is an interval level variable, recoding these scores to a nominal level variable is needed. It is preferred to use standardized self-efficacy scores to facilitate interpretation. Standardized self-efficacy scores are recoded as follows: Those having a score less than 0 are recoded as low efficacy and those having a score less than or equal to 0 are accepted as high efficacy. 12 students are categorized as low-efficacy students and 8 are grouped as high efficacy students. Table . Descriptives of Quiz Scores according to the Level of Self Efficacy Average Std. Dev. Std. Error N Low Self Efficacy 57.33 3.45 0.995 12 High Self Efficacy 64.13 10.7 3.772 8 Total 60.05 7.78 1.739 20 Descriptive statistics of both groups are presented above. It is known that overall average of quiz scores is 60.05 with a standard deviation of 7.78. Students with low self-efficacy scores have an average of 57.33 and standard deviation of this group is 3.45. Meanwhile, students having high self-efficacy scores are also more successful in quizzes, their average is 64.13. At this point, we need to consider that standard deviation of these students is very high, 10.7; compared to other students. Table . ANOVA Results Sum of Squares Df. Mean Square F. Sig. Low Self Efficacy 221.41 1 221.41 4.30 0.05 High Self Efficacy 927.54 18 51.53 Total 1148.95 19 Above presented results of ANOVA shows that difference between average quiz scores of low self-efficacy and high self-efficacy students is statistically significant. F score is 4.3 and this score is statistically significant at 0.05 level. Thus, we can falsify our hypothesis that group means are equal, meaning that students with high self-efficacy scores have higher scores in the Quiz, than students with low self-efficacy scores. Similar to correlation analysis, ANOVA analysis does not allow us to make generalizations about the causal relationship between self-efficacy of students and their academic performance. However, it is clear that there is a statistically significant difference between these two groups of students. I believe that causal relationship has to elaborated by using more sophisticated data analysis tools and using these instruments with higher number of participants. DISCUSSION This essay targeted to discover whether there is a relationship between students perceptions about their efficacy in the English language and their academic performance. Literature review led us to think that there is a positive relationship between self-efficacy scores of students and their academic performance. There are a lot of reasons of this relationship discussed in details in literature review section of the essay. Our hypothetical expectation is that as self-efficacy scores of students increase, their academic performance in writing also increases. Since this relationship is recursive, meaning that self- efficacy leads to better performance in exams and better performance may also lead to higher self-efficacy, causal relationship wont be tested in this essay. In order to measure self-efficacy of students, an adopted version of the questionnaire developed by the Marquette University has been used with 20 students at the beginning of semester. Original questionnaire was shortened to limit it with writing related items. By using these questionnaires, an index of self-efficacy is calculated and standardized. Meanwhile academic performance of students are measured with their grades in a Quiz held on XXXth week of the semester. Correlation analysis showed that there is a positive correlation between self-efficacy of students and their academic performance. With a coefficient of 0.60, this relationship seems to be moderately powerful. As a result of restrictions of correlation analysis, it is not possible to understand direction of causality between these two variables. My second analysis also showed that difference between mean quiz scores of students with high and low level of self-efficacy is statistically significant. Standardized self-efficacy scores are transformed to a binary variable. ANOVA showed that these two groups have different mean quiz scores and this difference is statistically significant. While correlation analysis showed that there is a positive relationship between self-efficacy scores and academic performance; ANOVA results presented that students having high and low level self-efficacy scores have different quiz scores. Both findings indicate that self-efficacy scores matter. It is so far argued that these findings cannot give any idea about direction of causality, since relationship between self-efficacy and academic performance is recursive. However, my analyses presented the existence of a relationship and it deserves further discussion. It is possible to repeat this exercise with a larger sample and to prevent a possible falsification of hypotheses as a result of small sample size. Questionnaire revised to measure self-efficacy may be refined and developed to make a better measurement of this concept. Fu