What Shapes Our Personality Traits free essay sample

Introduction to Personality The purpose of this paper is to define personality, examine the theoretical approaches in studying personality, and to analyze factors that may influence an individual’s personality development. According to Feist 2009, although there is no single definition of personality that is acceptable to all personality theorists; we can say that personality is a pattern of relatively permanent traits and unique characteristics that give both consistency and individuality to a person’s behavior. To better understand how traits and characteristics shape personality one must first understand the concept of traits and characteristics. Traits contribute to individual differences in behavior, consistency of behavior over time, and stability of behavior across situations. Traits may be unique to an individual, common among certain groups, or shared by the entire species, but their pattern is different for each individual. We will write a custom essay sample on What Shapes Our Personality Traits or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Therefor each individual may be like others in some ways but also have differences; the differences are what shape a unique personality for each individual. Characteristics are unique qualities of an individual that include such attributes as temperament, physique, and intelligence (Feist, 2009). According to Feist 2009, personality theories differ on basic issues concerning the nature of humanity because each personality theory reflects its author’s assumptions about humanity. These assumptions rest on several broad dimensions that separate the various personality theorists, and have resulted in truly different personality theories, not merely differences in terminology. The six dimensions we use as a framework for viewing each theorist’s concept of humanity are determinism versus free choice, pessimism versus optimism, causality versus teleology, conscious versus unconscious determinants of behavior, biological versus social influences, and uniqueness versus similarities (Feist, 2009 p. 11-12). From these different concepts five theoretical approaches to studying, describing and explaining personality have been identified. The five theoretical approaches include the psychodynamic theories, humanistic theories, existential theories, dispositional (trait) theories, and learning theories. Psychodynamic theories began with the work an Austrian neurologist, Sigmund Freud, who first proposed the theory. According to Freud, personalities arise because of attempts to resolve conflicts between unconscious sexual and aggressive impulses and societal demands to restrain these impulses. Carl Jung and Alfred Adler who were followers of Freud’s expanded on his theories which emphasize unconscious motives and desires, as well as the importance of childhood experiences in shaping personality (SparkNotes Editors, 2005). Humanistic theorist believed that one of the faults with the psychodynamic theory was that it did not consider the qualities that make humans unique among animals, such as striving for self-determination and self-realization. Humanistic theorists believe in an individual’s ability to think consciously and rationally, to control their biological urges, and to achieve their full potential. In the humanistic view, people are responsible for their lives and actions and have the freedom and will to change their attitudes and behavior (SparkNotes Editors, 2005). Dispositional theories, also known as trait theories, define one’s personality through their personal traits and believe that there are five basic traits that each individual share and they refer to these as the big five. The big five includes neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The Big Five traits remain quite stable over the life span, particularly after the age of thirty. Unlike psychodynamic theorists, behaviorists study only observable behavior. Their explanations of personality focus on learning. Skinner, Bandura, and Walter Mischel all proposed important behaviorist theories. . References Feist, J. , Feist, G. J. (2009). Theories of personality (7th ed. ). New York, NY: McGraw Hill. SparkNotes Editors. (2005). SparkNote on Personality. Retrieved August 2, 2011, from http://www. sparknotes. com/psychology/psych101/personality/

Mastering the Art of Dialogue - Freewrite Store

Mastering the Art of Dialogue - Freewrite Store Some writers find that producing authentic-sounding dialogue comes naturally to them. For a much larger majority, however, mastering the art of dialogue is something that takes a lot of time, effort and experimentation. Even if you find it easy to write passages of dialogue, that doesn’t mean that you’re getting it right. There’s more to mastering dialogue than being able to fill page after page with your characters’ conversations. That’s a lesson that I learned the hard way. I wasn’t fazed by writing dialogue - in fact, I actually enjoyed it - but I didn’t get the balance right, and my writing suffered as a result. My first novels and short stories were full of long passages of, well, meaningless dialogue that didn’t really move the story along. When I went back, several years later, to rewrite those initial books, I cut one manuscript from 120,000 words to 89,000 words, just by tightening up my dialogue. In this article, part of a series on developing and strengthening your writing techniques, we’re going to be looking at 3 of the common dialogue mistakes that writers make and discovering how you can master the art of dialogue by practicing 3 (relatively) simple methods. I can’t promise to make you love writing dialogue, but I can help you to exercise your dialogue-writing muscles in a productive way. Why is it So Important to Get Your Dialogue Right? Dialogue plays a huge role in your writing, so if you’re not getting it right, then you’re less likely to be succeeding as an author. Readers are picky creatures, and they notice things like badly-written dialogue or dialogue that isn’t effective. As writers, we’re slaves to the wants, needs, and desires of our readers, so it’s not like we can just expect them to accept that we have our own way of writing dialogue. If they don’t like our dialogue, they won’t be back - and they’ll probably leave scathing reviews about how disappointed they are. That’s the worst-case scenario, of course, and there are different degrees of bad dialogue (which cause anything from mild annoyance to outright outrage in our readers). The thing you need to understand is that dialogue serves so many functions in a novel that getting it wrong can have a huge impact. In a novel dialogue: Reveals emotion Breaks up the narrative Moves the story along Reveals character traits Do You Make These 3 Dialogue-Writing Mistakes? There are more than three dialogue-writing mistakes that you can make, but these are both the most common and the most problematic. Try to be hyperaware of these mistakes, so you can catch yourself in the act of making them and avoid a lot of editing later. #1 Letting Grammar Rules Rob Your Dialogue of Authenticity When I was in school, I didn’t learn grammar rules. I was born in the United Kingdom, and at the time there was a theory that children didn’t need to be taught the rules of grammar. I’ve no idea why that was the case, but my earliest stories weren’t hindered by worries about grammar. Then I studied English Language and grammar made its bold entrance into my writing. It wasn’t all bad. Some things improved. Unfortunately, my dialogue wasn’t one of them. I’ve discovered that being a stickler for grammar rules only leads to one thing in dialogue: inauthenticity. When I was shackled by grammar rules, my dialogue became formal and unnatural. Like this: Ashley set her handbag down on the dresser. â€Å"Good evening, Martin,† she said. â€Å"Good evening, Ashley,† Martin replied. â€Å"I must inform you that Mrs. Edmundson telephoned during your absence. It was requested that you return the call at your earliest convenience.† Now, there may be instances when it’s okay to use this kind of dialogue - if it portrays character traits, for example, but as a rule of thumb, in dialogue, you don’t need to stick to grammar rules 100%. Your sentences still need to make sense, but people don’t strictly adhere to grammar rules when they talk, so neither should your dialogue. Ashley dumped her bag on the dresser. â€Å"Hey, Martin,’ she called as she walked into the kitchen. ‘Hi, honey,† Martin said, looking up from his laptop. â€Å"Your Mom called while you were out; said can you give her a call back?† Doesn’t this sound way more realistic? #2 Using Dialogue to Explain Back Story in an Obvious Way Every time I see this in a novel, I cringe. I get why authors make this mistake, and I’m probably guilty of doing it myself. Using dialogue to explain back story or offer important facts that the reader needs to know is really common, but for readers, it’s just, well, wrong.Let’s look at an example: â€Å"As you know, Matt, we’ve been researching this aspect of our family history for ten years now,† Theo began. â€Å"Yes, that’s right, Theo. We got started when we had to do a project when we were at high school, didn’t we? It’s been quite an adventure! We’ve discovered some really scandalous things back in the 1700s.† â€Å"I know!† Theo replied, chuckling. â€Å"But, now we can do the Ancestry DNA and find out even more. I sent for the kit last week and it arrived this morning.† There’s nothing natural about this exchange. The characters clearly know all these things so there’s no reason why they’d need to tell each other the details - it’s purely for the readers’ benefit, and that is quite jarring. If you really must convey some backstory in dialogue (though there are lots of other ways to explain your backstory in a creative fashion), then you need to ensure that the conversation sounds more natural. Like this: Theo grabbed the Ancestry DNA kit off the counter and spun round to face his brother. â€Å"Hey, Matt, what’s your favorite thing that we’ve found out about the family history?† he asked. Matt thought for a moment. â€Å"I dunno. There’s so much scandal to choose from,† he replied. â€Å"But I guess it’d be the baby being left on the steps of the church. I mean, that’s what got us hooked on the whole family history stuff.† â€Å"Yeah,† Theo agreed. â€Å"I can’t believe we’ve been investigating this stuff for ten years! It’s like some weird addiction.† â€Å"Better to be addicted to research than the kind of stuff that the other kids who did the same project in high school got addicted to,† Matt said, sighing. â€Å"You heard that Johnny OD’d last week?† Conveying backstory in this way makes the conversation sound more natural and authentic, and it’s not an obvious dump of back story into a dialogue exchange between characters. #3 Overusing Character Names This is one of my pet peeves when I’m reading a novel. It interrupts the flow and makes dialogue sound really unnatural. Take this for an example: â€Å"Hey Dominic, how're things going?† â€Å"Not bad, Alex. How about you?† â€Å"Oh, everything’s going fine, Dominic. Are you still working at the same place?† â€Å"Yes, Alex. I’ve been working there for ten years now. I heard you’d moved up the career ladder.† â€Å"You heard right, Dominic! Got myself a promotion last year, and I’m in the running for another one this year, too.† Think about the conversations you have on a daily basis. Do you use the other person’s name in every question you ask or response you make? I’m going to take a wild guess and assume that you don’t. It’s not natural. Once, maybe, but not in every turn as this example shows. It just sounds weird - and although I get that you might try this technique to avoid overusing dialogue tags, just don’t do it. Please. There are much better ways of structuring your dialogue without dialogue tags that don’t make you resort to writing such artificial dialogue. Make Dialogue-Writing Your Superpower: 3 Methods You Need to Deploy Becoming a dialogue-writing superstar isn’t tremendously difficult. It just requires that you change the way you approach writing scenes of dialogue. These 3 methods have helped me improve my dialogue skills - and they can help you, too. #1 Record Real-Life Conversations As a Reference We have conversations with people all the time, but unless you’ve got some kind of memory superpower, it’s unlikely that you remember exactly how the conversations pan out. We remember the gist of conversations, and maybe certain phrases, but conversation is so common that it’s not something we’re likely to remember verbatim. It can be really helpful to have recordings of real-life conversations that you can refer to when you’re writing. This can help make your dialogue sound natural, and can also help with working with dialogue styles and how the way people speak can convey aspects of their character. A word of warning, though. Never, ever record a conversation with someone without asking their permission first. Tell them why you’re recording, and if they’ve got reservations, just don’t record the conversation. Recording your interactions with people without their knowledge can get you into trouble, and it’s really not worth the risk. It’s likely that you’ll have plenty of people who won’t have issues with you recording - it’s just important to be transparent about it. #2 Don’t Strive to Be 100% Realistic I started out trying to make my dialogue realistic, and while I pretty much succeeded in doing that, it wasn’t the best way to approach dialogue. You see, realistic dialogue is full of†¦ well, fluff. We have conversations with people that go off on tangents, are packed with small talk and sentences that kind of trail off. Humans interrupt each other, don’t always use the most concise means of explaining themselves, and often stammer or spend time searching for the right word. If you put all of that in your novel, you’ll absolutely be creating 100% realistic dialogue, but you’ll leave your readers confused, frustrated, or simply running for the hills and vowing never to read anything you write ever again. Okay, that last one is a bit over-dramatic, but it’s how I feel when I read books with â€Å"realistic† dialogue (even though I’m guilty of doing it myself!). Of course, while your dialogue shouldn’t be 100% realistic, you need to get the right amount of realism into your dialogue. It’s a delicate balancing act between too much realism and too little. You still need to incorporate a certain amount of aspects of real human speech, or your dialogue won’t sound natural. If that sounds like trying to navigate a minefield while blindfolded, here are some tips to help you get the balance right in your dialogue: Read your dialogue aloud as you write it. This enables you to notice how the exchanges sound, and you’ll notice if it sounds stilted, contrived or unnatural in any way. You can identify passages of dialogue that don’t flow well, and you may also find yourself tripping over words - which is a big indicator that your dialogue is not as natural as you’d like it to be (or, maybe, if it’s a thick dialect, too realistic). Give your characters different speech patterns - and don’t be afraid to steal these from people you know. Having your characters speak in a certain way - using certain words, dialect aspects and so on - that you’re familiar with makes it easier to create the right amount of realism. Have your characters interrupt each other or trail off in what they’re saying.Be cautious with this one, and use it sparingly. It creates realism, but if you use it too much, you’re going to start annoying your readers. Be careful with accents and dialects. While accents and dialects play a big part in creating distinctive speech patterns for your characters, don’t go overboard with this. It’s okay to have your characters to use some dialect words, but if you have a character with a thick accent, and you convey this in dialogue, it can get†¦ messy. Establish that your character has an accent or dialect, but don’t let this make your dialogue passages confusing or unreadable. #3 Working With Dialogue Tags and Action Beats Dialogue tags (he said, she said and so on) can become intrusive in passages of dialogue if they’re not used in the right way, but they’re also necessary to help readers know who’s saying what. Beginners to the craft of writing often fall into the trap of trying to avoid using ‘said’ all the time, by coming up with all kinds of creative ways of using dialogue tags. There’s nothing wrong with ‘said’, and, in fact, it’s one of the least intrusive of all dialogue tags. You can use other dialogue tags, of course, and it’s a good idea to use other verbs to attribute dialogue occasionally. Readers are so familiar with the word ‘said’ that actually they don’t really pay it much attention - like words such as ‘the’ and ‘and’. One thing that you should avoid when you’re writing dialogue is using adverb dialogue tags. Adverb dialogue tags are those such as ‘she said angrily’, or ‘he muttered grumpily’. Adverb tags are all too common in fiction - and while readers don’t particularly hate them, they’re actually a sign of a lazy writer. What I mean is that using a tag like ‘she said angrily’ is a cheat - you’re telling your readers that your character is angry without taking the effort to use your character’s words to show that they’re angry. You can show it in their actions, too. Just don’t cheat by resorting to the adverb tag. That brings us onto action beats. Action beats are the parts in your sections of dialogue where you describe things like facial expressions, gestures and (sparingly) your characters’ thoughts. It’s good practice to use action beats in your dialogue to avoid having monotonous ‘he said/she said’ tags. Let’s look at an example: Without action beats: â€Å"The hospital called me today,† Becca said. â€Å"What did they say?† Michael said. â€Å"The results came back,† Becca said. â€Å"My counts are back to normal!† â€Å"That’s wonderful news!† Michael said. With action beats: Becca took a deep breath and turned to face her husband. â€Å"The hospital called.† â€Å"And?† Michael froze with a glass of water halfway to his lips. â€Å"The results are in - and my counts are back to normal!† â€Å"Oh, thank God!† Michael set the glass down on the counter and threw his arms around his wife. Action beats give much more impact to your passages of dialogue and can be used to convey all kinds of emotions, responses and so on. Try it out on some existing passages of dialogue and see for yourself what a difference it makes. Becoming a Master of the Art of Dialogue You won’t always get your dialogue right. Even when you’re a master of dialogue-writing, you’re still going to slip up sometimes. Even the biggest names in the fiction-writing world do that sometimes. You can, however, continue to exercise your dialogue-writing muscles so that you don’t have to think so hard about structuring and constructing your dialogue as you’re writing. Over time, it will become more natural to write authentic and effective dialogue. You’ll make fewer mistakes, use dialogue tags in the right way, and your readers will appreciate the effort that you’ve put into honing your craft as a writer. What are you waiting for? Start practicing the art of writing kick-ass dialogue! Mastering the Art of Dialogue - Freewrite Store Some writers find that producing authentic-sounding dialogue comes naturally to them. For a much larger majority, however, mastering the art of dialogue is something that takes a lot of time, effort and experimentation. Even if you find it easy to write passages of dialogue, that doesn’t mean that you’re getting it right. There’s more to mastering dialogue than being able to fill page after page with your characters’ conversations. That’s a lesson that I learned the hard way. I wasn’t fazed by writing dialogue - in fact, I actually enjoyed it - but I didn’t get the balance right, and my writing suffered as a result. My first novels and short stories were full of long passages of, well, meaningless dialogue that didn’t really move the story along. When I went back, several years later, to rewrite those initial books, I cut one manuscript from 120,000 words to 89,000 words, just by tightening up my dialogue. In this article, part of a series on developing and strengthening your writing techniques, we’re going to be looking at 3 of the common dialogue mistakes that writers make and discovering how you can master the art of dialogue by practicing 3 (relatively) simple methods. I can’t promise to make you love writing dialogue, but I can help you to exercise your dialogue-writing muscles in a productive way. Why is it So Important to Get Your Dialogue Right? Dialogue plays a huge role in your writing, so if you’re not getting it right, then you’re less likely to be succeeding as an author. Readers are picky creatures, and they notice things like badly-written dialogue or dialogue that isn’t effective. As writers, we’re slaves to the wants, needs, and desires of our readers, so it’s not like we can just expect them to accept that we have our own way of writing dialogue. If they don’t like our dialogue, they won’t be back - and they’ll probably leave scathing reviews about how disappointed they are. That’s the worst-case scenario, of course, and there are different degrees of bad dialogue (which cause anything from mild annoyance to outright outrage in our readers). The thing you need to understand is that dialogue serves so many functions in a novel that getting it wrong can have a huge impact. In a novel dialogue: Reveals emotion Breaks up the narrative Moves the story along Reveals character traits Do You Make These 3 Dialogue-Writing Mistakes? There are more than three dialogue-writing mistakes that you can make, but these are both the most common and the most problematic. Try to be hyperaware of these mistakes, so you can catch yourself in the act of making them and avoid a lot of editing later. #1 Letting Grammar Rules Rob Your Dialogue of Authenticity When I was in school, I didn’t learn grammar rules. I was born in the United Kingdom, and at the time there was a theory that children didn’t need to be taught the rules of grammar. I’ve no idea why that was the case, but my earliest stories weren’t hindered by worries about grammar. Then I studied English Language and grammar made its bold entrance into my writing. It wasn’t all bad. Some things improved. Unfortunately, my dialogue wasn’t one of them. I’ve discovered that being a stickler for grammar rules only leads to one thing in dialogue: inauthenticity. When I was shackled by grammar rules, my dialogue became formal and unnatural. Like this: Ashley set her handbag down on the dresser. â€Å"Good evening, Martin,† she said. â€Å"Good evening, Ashley,† Martin replied. â€Å"I must inform you that Mrs. Edmundson telephoned during your absence. It was requested that you return the call at your earliest convenience.† Now, there may be instances when it’s okay to use this kind of dialogue - if it portrays character traits, for example, but as a rule of thumb, in dialogue, you don’t need to stick to grammar rules 100%. Your sentences still need to make sense, but people don’t strictly adhere to grammar rules when they talk, so neither should your dialogue. Ashley dumped her bag on the dresser. â€Å"Hey, Martin,’ she called as she walked into the kitchen. ‘Hi, honey,† Martin said, looking up from his laptop. â€Å"Your Mom called while you were out; said can you give her a call back?† Doesn’t this sound way more realistic? #2 Using Dialogue to Explain Back Story in an Obvious Way Every time I see this in a novel, I cringe. I get why authors make this mistake, and I’m probably guilty of doing it myself. Using dialogue to explain back story or offer important facts that the reader needs to know is really common, but for readers, it’s just, well, wrong.Let’s look at an example: â€Å"As you know, Matt, we’ve been researching this aspect of our family history for ten years now,† Theo began. â€Å"Yes, that’s right, Theo. We got started when we had to do a project when we were at high school, didn’t we? It’s been quite an adventure! We’ve discovered some really scandalous things back in the 1700s.† â€Å"I know!† Theo replied, chuckling. â€Å"But, now we can do the Ancestry DNA and find out even more. I sent for the kit last week and it arrived this morning.† There’s nothing natural about this exchange. The characters clearly know all these things so there’s no reason why they’d need to tell each other the details - it’s purely for the readers’ benefit, and that is quite jarring. If you really must convey some backstory in dialogue (though there are lots of other ways to explain your backstory in a creative fashion), then you need to ensure that the conversation sounds more natural. Like this: Theo grabbed the Ancestry DNA kit off the counter and spun round to face his brother. â€Å"Hey, Matt, what’s your favorite thing that we’ve found out about the family history?† he asked. Matt thought for a moment. â€Å"I dunno. There’s so much scandal to choose from,† he replied. â€Å"But I guess it’d be the baby being left on the steps of the church. I mean, that’s what got us hooked on the whole family history stuff.† â€Å"Yeah,† Theo agreed. â€Å"I can’t believe we’ve been investigating this stuff for ten years! It’s like some weird addiction.† â€Å"Better to be addicted to research than the kind of stuff that the other kids who did the same project in high school got addicted to,† Matt said, sighing. â€Å"You heard that Johnny OD’d last week?† Conveying backstory in this way makes the conversation sound more natural and authentic, and it’s not an obvious dump of back story into a dialogue exchange between characters. #3 Overusing Character Names This is one of my pet peeves when I’m reading a novel. It interrupts the flow and makes dialogue sound really unnatural. Take this for an example: â€Å"Hey Dominic, how're things going?† â€Å"Not bad, Alex. How about you?† â€Å"Oh, everything’s going fine, Dominic. Are you still working at the same place?† â€Å"Yes, Alex. I’ve been working there for ten years now. I heard you’d moved up the career ladder.† â€Å"You heard right, Dominic! Got myself a promotion last year, and I’m in the running for another one this year, too.† Think about the conversations you have on a daily basis. Do you use the other person’s name in every question you ask or response you make? I’m going to take a wild guess and assume that you don’t. It’s not natural. Once, maybe, but not in every turn as this example shows. It just sounds weird - and although I get that you might try this technique to avoid overusing dialogue tags, just don’t do it. Please. There are much better ways of structuring your dialogue without dialogue tags that don’t make you resort to writing such artificial dialogue. Make Dialogue-Writing Your Superpower: 3 Methods You Need to Deploy Becoming a dialogue-writing superstar isn’t tremendously difficult. It just requires that you change the way you approach writing scenes of dialogue. These 3 methods have helped me improve my dialogue skills - and they can help you, too. #1 Record Real-Life Conversations As a Reference We have conversations with people all the time, but unless you’ve got some kind of memory superpower, it’s unlikely that you remember exactly how the conversations pan out. We remember the gist of conversations, and maybe certain phrases, but conversation is so common that it’s not something we’re likely to remember verbatim. It can be really helpful to have recordings of real-life conversations that you can refer to when you’re writing. This can help make your dialogue sound natural, and can also help with working with dialogue styles and how the way people speak can convey aspects of their character. A word of warning, though. Never, ever record a conversation with someone without asking their permission first. Tell them why you’re recording, and if they’ve got reservations, just don’t record the conversation. Recording your interactions with people without their knowledge can get you into trouble, and it’s really not worth the risk. It’s likely that you’ll have plenty of people who won’t have issues with you recording - it’s just important to be transparent about it. #2 Don’t Strive to Be 100% Realistic I started out trying to make my dialogue realistic, and while I pretty much succeeded in doing that, it wasn’t the best way to approach dialogue. You see, realistic dialogue is full of†¦ well, fluff. We have conversations with people that go off on tangents, are packed with small talk and sentences that kind of trail off. Humans interrupt each other, don’t always use the most concise means of explaining themselves, and often stammer or spend time searching for the right word. If you put all of that in your novel, you’ll absolutely be creating 100% realistic dialogue, but you’ll leave your readers confused, frustrated, or simply running for the hills and vowing never to read anything you write ever again. Okay, that last one is a bit over-dramatic, but it’s how I feel when I read books with â€Å"realistic† dialogue (even though I’m guilty of doing it myself!). Of course, while your dialogue shouldn’t be 100% realistic, you need to get the right amount of realism into your dialogue. It’s a delicate balancing act between too much realism and too little. You still need to incorporate a certain amount of aspects of real human speech, or your dialogue won’t sound natural. If that sounds like trying to navigate a minefield while blindfolded, here are some tips to help you get the balance right in your dialogue: Read your dialogue aloud as you write it. This enables you to notice how the exchanges sound, and you’ll notice if it sounds stilted, contrived or unnatural in any way. You can identify passages of dialogue that don’t flow well, and you may also find yourself tripping over words - which is a big indicator that your dialogue is not as natural as you’d like it to be (or, maybe, if it’s a thick dialect, too realistic). Give your characters different speech patterns - and don’t be afraid to steal these from people you know. Having your characters speak in a certain way - using certain words, dialect aspects and so on - that you’re familiar with makes it easier to create the right amount of realism. Have your characters interrupt each other or trail off in what they’re saying.Be cautious with this one, and use it sparingly. It creates realism, but if you use it too much, you’re going to start annoying your readers. Be careful with accents and dialects. While accents and dialects play a big part in creating distinctive speech patterns for your characters, don’t go overboard with this. It’s okay to have your characters to use some dialect words, but if you have a character with a thick accent, and you convey this in dialogue, it can get†¦ messy. Establish that your character has an accent or dialect, but don’t let this make your dialogue passages confusing or unreadable. #3 Working With Dialogue Tags and Action Beats Dialogue tags (he said, she said and so on) can become intrusive in passages of dialogue if they’re not used in the right way, but they’re also necessary to help readers know who’s saying what. Beginners to the craft of writing often fall into the trap of trying to avoid using ‘said’ all the time, by coming up with all kinds of creative ways of using dialogue tags. There’s nothing wrong with ‘said’, and, in fact, it’s one of the least intrusive of all dialogue tags. You can use other dialogue tags, of course, and it’s a good idea to use other verbs to attribute dialogue occasionally. Readers are so familiar with the word ‘said’ that actually they don’t really pay it much attention - like words such as ‘the’ and ‘and’. One thing that you should avoid when you’re writing dialogue is using adverb dialogue tags. Adverb dialogue tags are those such as ‘she said angrily’, or ‘he muttered grumpily’. Adverb tags are all too common in fiction - and while readers don’t particularly hate them, they’re actually a sign of a lazy writer. What I mean is that using a tag like ‘she said angrily’ is a cheat - you’re telling your readers that your character is angry without taking the effort to use your character’s words to show that they’re angry. You can show it in their actions, too. Just don’t cheat by resorting to the adverb tag. That brings us onto action beats. Action beats are the parts in your sections of dialogue where you describe things like facial expressions, gestures and (sparingly) your characters’ thoughts. It’s good practice to use action beats in your dialogue to avoid having monotonous ‘he said/she said’ tags. Let’s look at an example: Without action beats: â€Å"The hospital called me today,† Becca said. â€Å"What did they say?† Michael said. â€Å"The results came back,† Becca said. â€Å"My counts are back to normal!† â€Å"That’s wonderful news!† Michael said. With action beats: Becca took a deep breath and turned to face her husband. â€Å"The hospital called.† â€Å"And?† Michael froze with a glass of water halfway to his lips. â€Å"The results are in - and my counts are back to normal!† â€Å"Oh, thank God!† Michael set the glass down on the counter and threw his arms around his wife. Action beats give much more impact to your passages of dialogue and can be used to convey all kinds of emotions, responses and so on. Try it out on some existing passages of dialogue and see for yourself what a difference it makes. Becoming a Master of the Art of Dialogue You won’t always get your dialogue right. Even when you’re a master of dialogue-writing, you’re still going to slip up sometimes. Even the biggest names in the fiction-writing world do that sometimes. You can, however, continue to exercise your dialogue-writing muscles so that you don’t have to think so hard about structuring and constructing your dialogue as you’re writing. Over time, it will become more natural to write authentic and effective dialogue. You’ll make fewer mistakes, use dialogue tags in the right way, and your readers will appreciate the effort that you’ve put into honing your craft as a writer. What are you waiting for? Start practicing the art of writing kick-ass dialogue!

Tennessees Political, Economic, and Social Development Essay

Tennessees Political, Economic, and Social Development - Essay Example It is this program that replaced Medicaid coverage for about 1.5 million uninsured Tennessees. In 2002, Phil Bredesen was elected as the governor. He is the one who spearheaded economic growth. In 1992, the Tennessee legislature approved school reform laws. It is in 1993 that the state allowed a healthcare package that paved way for the creation of TennCare. It is this program that replaced Medicaid coverage for about 1.5 million uninsured Tennessees. In 2002, Phil Bredesen was elected as the governor. He is the one who spearheaded economic growth in Tennessee. The conviction of Jacob Butcher and Ray Blanton in 1982 for conspiracy and fraud enhanced economic development. Manufacturing industries continued to expand throughout the 1980s.Rebirth of Republic Party in 1970s b.  Conviction of Jacob Butcher and Ray Blanton in 1982 c.  Expansion of manufacturing industries in 1980s d.  Creation of employment opportunities in 1982 and 1990s e.  Approval of school reform laws in 1992

Motivating employees Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Motivating employees - Essay Example The management of any organization will tend to select some of the theories that connect appropriately with the long-term and short-term strategies. In this case, the theories of motivation will always integrate within the general mission and goals of any organization. The goal-theory, self-determination theory, and theory X and theory Y are some of the commonly applied theories in the pursuit of desired objectives (Hoffmann, 2007). The nature of the organization determines the kind of theory applied in accordance with the strategies and frameworks of the organization. In this regard, motivation theories help to condition workers towards the attainment of the organization goals. The theories also help in preparing the workers for personal fulfillment in terms of career growth and individual development. Some organization operate policies that project uniform achievement between the workers and the company. Such a perspective connects with the concept of total quality management. As such, it becomes necessary to consider the fact that a range of issues that connect with the processes of motivation will also involve the determination of goals and aspirations of the various. Most of the theories of motivation are tailored towards the process of controlling behavior. The acknowledgement of human nature and the power of the environment, incentives, threats, to control outcomes in organizations usually depend on the type and impact of the theory. For instance, a firm that seeks to develop the human capital of its work force may engage self-determination theory.... Self-determination theory often enables the creation of positive attitudes in the organization by encouraging workers to strive towards the attainment of the specific goals that relate to the various processes that align with the combined objectives of the company. On this matter, the determination of the levels of efficiency and productivity of a worker are regulated by the nature of the environment. A range of processes often involves the creation of systems and structures that aid the processes of performance of the workers. The self-determination theory offers employ the opportunity and support to explore the limits of their potentials and talents. Applying this theory within an organization may involve setting of targets and limits for the workers in order to assess their capabilities and capacities to achieve set goals. In the end, both the company and the workers benefit in a seamless manner that determines the degree of balance between effort and rewards. Psychological explan ations of this theory hold that humans will often respond positively to challenges that come with some levels of reward. Within an organizational set-up, there remains a range of factors that connect appropriately with the various issues related to personnel development of the workers. Rewards such as promotions and salary increments have often been used alongside the self-determination theory to align the efforts and dedication of workers towards the attainment of specific goals. Reviews of the efficacy of the goal theory show that some of the processes of motivation will tend to merge with the manner in which goals determine the processes of an organization. In normative practice, goal setting entails the determination of a range of available

Behavior problems in Adolescents with Learning Disabilities Essay

Behavior problems in Adolescents with Learning Disabilities - Essay Example The presence of behavior problems among children with various forms of learning disabilities is not so hard to imagine, given the challenges they are faced to compete in a learning environment with their disability. Therefore, many of the children may feel less intelligent when comparing to their peers in various areas of educational performance. These problems may present as external as well as internal behaviors, and without proper addressing of these, the child may grow up as an individual with multiple behavior problems. (Johnson, nd) One of the complications in the correct delivery of education to such children is the variety of disorders that are present within the context of learning disabilities. The lack of proper teaching skills and inability of the child to cope may lead to uninterested behavior among the children and consequently, poorer performance may lead to further reduction of the motivation of the child to perform academically. (Lee and Donald, 2003) Such problems are especially hard to address among the adolescent and teenage groups, who are already vulnerable during their transition phase from childhood to adulthood. This firstly clarifies that learning disabilities are not only a challenge that children of younger age groups face with. Adults and adolescents also face the same problems and some may go undiagnosed for a long time. (Revisiting Learning Problems and Learning Disabilities, 2002) Also, the severity of the learning disorder must also identify along with the type, so that the person is educated with the right strategies to help cope with and overcome his or her learning difficulties. (Revisiting Learning Problems and Learning Disabilities, 2002)The external features of these learning disorders are usually found as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, oppositional defiant disorder or ODD and conduct disorder or CD. Internal features may present as depression and anxiety

Analysing The Market Of Milk Economics Essay

Analysing The Market Of Milk Economics Essay 1. a.) Highlights of scientific studies in an advertising campaign that find drinking milk can help reduce weight gain. The campaign will positively affect both the price and the quantity demanded, as a result more consumers will demand for large quantities of milk. High demand will cause a shortage of milk supply, therefore the quantity supplied will be insufficient, and this will result in the increase of the market prices for milk (Doherty, 2007). b.) presence of a mad cow disease epidemic. In this case, the consumers will refrain from milk consumption causing a decrease in the quantity demanded. This will result to surplus milk being produced and consequently lead to a fall in the price of milk. c.) A decrease in the price of milk. A decrease in the price of milk implies that the consumers will have high purchasing power; they will probably buy more of the milk. As it is explained in (Mankiw, 1998). Due to the low prices of milk the producers will be discouraged due to the accompanied expenses of production; as a result there will be a decrease in the quantity supplied. d.) The government decides to implement a price ceiling on milk. Government interventions always have a very significant effect on supply of any commodity. If the Government sets the price of a commodity to a value which is below the market-clearing level, then the quantity that the producers are willing to supply will be less as compared to the quantity that consumers will be willing to purchase. Consequently, the extent of the excess demand that is implied by this kind of response will directly depend on relative elasticitys that exist with respect to the demand and supply. In case both the supply and the demand variables are elastic, then the price ceiling will create a shortage that is larger than when both are inelastic. Other factors such as the willingness of the consumers to more milk and the farmers ability to change the sizes of their herds and to produce less will also determine these elasticitys and influence the governments regulation pattern and hence magnitude of excess demand (Arnold, 2007). As Rosen, (2005). Explains, the governments price will result in the situations of excess demand where some producers will be unable to incur the expenses that are associated the production. In case the government price ceiling impacts negatively to consumers of milk, then those whose demands cannot be met will possibly attempt to purchase the substitutes, therefore increasing the demand for the milk substitutes, a phenomena leads to the rise in the prices of the substitutes. 2. The advantages and disadvantages to price controls Advantages The incentive to minimizing of the cost re-emerges due to the regulatory link that is created between the costs and the ceiling prices. The connection between the profits and rate base is broken. The Price ceilings on the monopoly products can help in the prevention of the predatory pricing on the competitive services. This is necessary when the regulated and the competitive products are placed in different baskets for the purposes of formulation. Disadvantages The farmer is usually the residual claimant of the surplus below the cap; therefore it has the incentive of minimizing costs. This has an implication that it also has the incentive of lowering the service quality, for any decrease in the quality it is equivalent to an increase in the price. The incentive that is associated with the predatory pricing persists in case both the competitive and the regulated services are subjected to a similar X-factor and specifically if the firm exhibits the joint costs. The Implementation of the price caps especially in the context of the informational asymmetries is complicated. Price-cap regulation has no obligation to the publication rates of return, and therefore they have greater discretion, which also entails a greater potential in capturing of the regulatory process of the government. In case when there is lack specific obligation to serving all customers of the monopolized products, then the regulation process may lack the incentive to serve the categories of the customers with the highest costs or those who are less willing to pay. (Colander, 2008). 3. Milk in this case has elastic type of elasticity. This is due to the responsiveness of the consumers to the changes in the prices of milk, which has direct impact on the supply and demand of milk. According to (Harris, 1958) elasticity of supply measures the magnitude of the responsiveness of the quantity that is supplied in relation to the changes in price, since the percentage change in the quantity supplied is induced by a small change in the price. Since the supply is usually increasing with the prices, then the price elasticity of the supply is usually positive. Other elasticitys are calculated for the non-price determinants of supply. For instance, a percentage change in the amount of goods supplied that is caused by a one percent increment in the price of related goods is an input elasticity of supply if the related goods are the inputs in the production process. The significant determinants of elasticity include: The availability of substitutes; Substitutes play the role of replacement thereby reducing the demand for the main product there by making the consumer to be non-responsive to the change of the prices. The percentage of ones budget that is spend on the product; The higher the percentage of the budget that is spend on the product, the more responsive the consumer is and vice versa. Reaction time: The price elasticity supply coefficient is largely determined by how quickly producers can react to the price changes by increasing or decreasing the rate of production and the supply of goods to the market. The Complexity of Production process: Elasticity depends mainly on the complexity that is associated with the production process. Milk production process is relatively simple. This is because the labor is largely unskilled and the production facilities are very cheap. There are no special structures that are needed. Therefore, the price elasticity supply for milk is elastic. Contrary to this, the price elasticity supply for other production process facilities such as the types of milking machine is relatively inelastic. Machine milking of the cows is a simple process which requires very specialized equipments, some partly skilled laborers, and very large suppliers network to reduce storage costs (Carley, 1968) Consumers response time: The more the time that a consumer takes to respond to the price changes the more elastic the supply is. For example, a milk consumer cannot immediately respond to the increase in the prices of dairy cow feeds as compared to the price of milk. Excess capacity: A milk producer who has excess capacity in the production units can quickly respond to the changes in the price of his market with the assumptions that the variable factors are readily available which is advantageous. The Inventories: A milk producer with a constant supply of milk or who has the available storage capacity can quickly respond to the price changes. 4. The total revenue decreases with the increase in the price of milk; this is attributed to the elasticity of the dairy industrys products. The consumers of dairy products, specifically milk in this case are very responsive to the changes in milk prices. Increase in the price of milk means that there will be a shift on the demand curve to the right; this is because the consumers will tend to reduce the rate of milk consumption to curb on the costs. This will cause a decrease on the total revenues due to the low demand for milk. (Tucker, 2008)

Jean-Paul Sartre and Our Responsibility for Teaching History :: Philosophy Education Research Papers

Jean-Paul Sartre and Our Responsibility for Teaching History ABSTRACT: Historical research was one of Jean-Paul Sartre's major concerns. Sartre's biographical studies and thought indicate that history is not only a field in which you gather facts, events, and processes, but it is a worthy challenge which includes a grave personal responsibility: my responsibility to the dead lives that preceded me. Sartre's writings suggest that accepting this responsibility can be a source of wisdom. Few historians, however, view history as transcending the orderly presenting and elucidating of facts, events, and processes. I contend that Sartre's writings suggest a personally enhancing commitment. A lucid and honest response to the challenges and demands of history and the dead lives that preceded my own existence is an engagement that requires courage, wisdom, and thought. The consequences of this commitment for teaching history is discussed. Historical research was one of Jean-Paul Sartre's major concerns. Roquentin, the central character of his first novel, Nausea, has chosen the "profession of historian." (1) He comes to Bouville in order to write a history of Monsieur de Rollebon, who was active at the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century. Important documents pertaining to Rollebon's life are in the Bouville library. As the novel develops Roquentin decides—for good reasons—to abandon his historical research, a decision to which we return. Unlike Roquentin, Sartre never abandoned the realm of historical research. Quite often he discussed history in his philosophical writings. His plays repeatedly deal with the need to relate authentically, truthfully to history. In addition, Sartre wrote three biographies—of Charles Baudelaire, Jean Genet, and The Family Idiot, a close to three thousand page study of the life of Gustave Flaubert—in which he suggested and presented an approach to studying the life of a specific person within his or her situation. Sartre also wrote abbreviated studies of contemporary history, such as his short book on Castro's Cuba. (2) Consequently, the corpus of Sartre's writings abounds with enlightening insights and ideas on how to study and write history. Very few, if any, of Sartre's insights have been transferred to the realm of historical scholarship or of teaching history. Our survey of relevant literature revealed virtually no attempts to learn from Sartre in these fields. Someone may argue that the compartmentalization of scholarship—whereby many, if not most, historians rarely read books by philosophers—may be an important reason for the ignoring of Sartre's insights in the fields of history and teaching history.

Promoting Wellness and Resilience Essay

This paper deals with promoting wellness and resilience for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). First, a model of wellness and resiliency is presented. Then, recommended intervention activities that promote resilience and wellness are discussed. Lastly, prevention and education activities are proposed. Wellness and Resiliency Model Studies on wellness and resilience models among individuals with IDD appear non-existent and very few have been written about counseling methodology. Most focus on a cognitive-behavioral approach to psychotherapy (CBT). Therefore, a paradigm must be created that combines CBT and an evidence-based model of wellness. Myers, Sweeney, and Witmer (2000) define wellness as â€Å"a way of life oriented toward optimal health and well-being, in which body, mind, and spirit are integrated by the individual to live life more fully within the human and natural community. Ideally, it is the optimum state of health and well-being that each individual is capable of achieving† (p. 252). â€Å"Resilience refers to positive adaptation, or the ability to maintain or regain mental health, despite experiencing adversity† (Herrman, Stewart, Diaz-Granados, Berger, Jackson, Yuan, 2011, p. 259). Myers and Sweeney (2005) created a model of wellness called The Indivisible Self which is based on A dlerian principles. This model delineates five areas of wellness: physical, essential, social, coping, and creative. Physical well-being is further divided into two areas: exercise and nutrition. Essential wellness is broken down into four components: spirituality, self-care, gender identity, and cultural identity. Social felicity is divided into two parts: friendship and love. Coping is divided into four aspects: realistic beliefs, stress management, self-worth, and leisure. Creative fitness is broken down into five elements: thinking, emotion, control, positive humor, and work (Myers and Sweeney, 2005). Recommended Intervention Activities That Promote Resilience and Wellness As  the IDD population tends to be of lower socioeconomic status (as adults), placed in residential facilities, and highly medicated, physical health is a vital component of overall wellness. Physical fitness can be maintained through exercise programs. A community-based program described by Lante, Walkley, Gamble, and Vassos (2011) provided health and psychosocial benefits to participants. In the area of essential wellness , spirituality plays an important part in the lives of most. IDD individuals should be allowed to attend worship services or participate in other activities cultivating the spiritual nature. Watts (2011) proposes utilization of Special Religious Education for People with a Developmental Disability (SPRED), defined as â€Å"†¦symbolic catechesis where formal instruction is supplemented or completely replaced by visual, aural, sensory, and physical stimuli (p. 237). In the area of self-care, individuals can be taught tasks to their fullest level of independence. Gender identity can be explored through modified sex-education curriculums exemplified by The Facts of Life†¦and More by Walker-Hirsch (lesliewalker-hirsch.com, 2014). Social well-being is a necessary component of wellness among those with IDD. Friendship and love are very possible and should be encouraged. Community groups, such as The Gathering Place and Pathfinders, provide a venue and activities for the population (welcometowesley.com, 2014; gracenc.org, 2014). Dating sites such as Special Bridge provide access for individuals with IDD a chance to meet and date others with IDD (specialbridge.com). CBT can be utilized to help disabled individuals in the area of coping. Irrational beliefs can be explored and replaced with more realistic views. Stress management techniques can be taught. Self-worth can be explored and improved (Lee, 2004). Leisure skills and interests can be explored and improved upon through systematic testing and development (Kreiner and Flexer, 2009). Creative fitness can be cultivated through activities that involve thinking, particularly critical thinking. Handling emotions and controlling behavior can be taught via dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT) (Rizvi, Steffel, and Carson-Wong, 2013). Work needs can be met through sheltered, supported, and/or competitive employment. In North Carolina, the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation provides services and referrals to service providers (ncdhhs.gov/dvrs, 2014). Proposed Prevention and Education Activities Education and prevention can focus on training individuals, families, caretakers, and facility staff. If those who are in contact with the population everyday can be educated as much as possible, the level of wellness and resilience in persons with IDD should increase. IDD clients can learn about healthy eating and exercise through objective plans adjusted for functioning level. For instance, individuals with autism can read a social story (The Gray Center, 2014). Individuals, families and staff can be trained on proper nutrition by registered dietitians who can develop meal plans (American Dietetic Association, 2009). The importance of gender and sex education, spirituality, and cultural identity can be taught to those working with people with IDD. Gender and cultural identity and sex education can be taught to individuals with IDD through modified curriculums or incidental learning. Social skills, coping mechanisms, and creative pursuits can be taught to individuals. Families and facilities can learn what coping mechanisms are effective for clientele. Identified Strategies to Promote Community Resources Families in particular can be directed to community resources. Many resources exist for individuals with IDD. Brochures, information about service providers, and government resources can be given to families and higher-functioning individuals. Providing links to websites for organizations such as The Arc and managed care organizations such as Coastal Care can be a good starting place (thearc.org, 2014; coastalcarenc.org, 2014). References Beange, H., & Lennox, N. (1999). Health targets for people with an intellectual disability. Journal of Intellectual & Developmental Disability, 24(4), 283. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.library.capella.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com.library.capella.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=2731367&site=ehost-live&scope=site The gathering place. (2014). Retrieved May 18, 2014, Retrieved from http://welcometowesley.com/connect/special-needs/ The gray center: What are social stories. (2014). Retrieved May 18, 2014, Retrieved from

Tupac Amaru Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur Presentation in English literature and CultureTupac Amaru ShakurTupac Shakur also known by his stage name, 2pac was born in the east Harlem's section of Manhattan in New York City in June 16th 1971. 2pac was an American rapper, actor and a poet. During his career 2pac sold more than 75 million albums worldwide, that makes him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, 2Pac was also a successful film actor and a prominent social activist. Most of 2pacs songs are about growing up in the ghettos, problems in the society and conflicts with other rappers. Shakur‚Â ´s work is known for supporting political, economic, social and racial equality as well as his raw descriptions of violence, drug and conflicts with the law.Early life Presentation in English literature and CultureTupac Amaru ShakurTupac Shakur also known by his stage name, 2pac was born in the east Harlem's section of Manhattan in New York City in June 16th 1971. 2pac was an American rapper, actor and a poet. During his career 2pac sold more than 75 million albums worldwide, that makes him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, 2Pac was also a successful film actor and a prominent social activist. Most of 2pacs songs are about growing up in the ghettos, problems in the society and conflicts with other rappers. Shakur‚Â ´s work is known for supporting political, economic, social and racial equality as well as his raw descriptions of violence, drug and conflicts with the law.Early life2pacs mother, Afeni Shakur was a member of the Black Panther Party. She was actually in jail during her pregnancy with 2pac, but she was later acquitted in that case.Changes (Tupac Shakur so ng)He had a difficult childhood, moving frequently around in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and the Bronx. Shakur received an education in radical politics from his mother, but he also saw some of life's hardships through her struggles with substance abuse. As a teenager, Shakur attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he took acting and dance classes, including ballet. While living in Baltimore, he discovered rap and began performing as MC New York. In the late 1980s, Shakur and his family moved to the West Coast. He joined the Oakland, California-based hip-hop group Digital Underground, which earlier had scored a hit with the song "The Humpty Dance." Shakur appeared on two of the group's track before he began his solo career.In 1991, Shakur emerged as a solo...

The eNotes Blog April is National Poetry Month! Here Are 14 Ways toCelebrate

April is National Poetry Month! Here Are 14 Ways toCelebrate These days, it seems like so many arbitrary things now have their own National Day (or week, or month- National Candied Orange Peel Day*, anyone?), but Poetry Month is a celebration that has been going on for twenty years! Regardless of the duration of its appreciation month, its safe to say that poetry has been immeasurably influential throughout human history; even before the invention of writing,  people  told stories to one another in the form of long, epic poems. Now, candied oranges are pretty great, and chances are theyve been around for a long time too, but were betting that they havent had quite the same societal and artistic impact. It may seem that poetry is much less common these days than it was back when the Bard was around, but that isnt necessarily true. While we dont all wait for the latest poem with baited breath, poetry still plays a big part in expression and art in todays world. But with its loss of mainstream prevalence, there has been something of a loss of education in the poetic field, so to speak. Many students these days arent introduced to poetry until middle or high school, and by then, it can be increasingly difficult to get into it. So, we at have done some research into some of the best ways to celebrate this month of poems. Even if were getting started halfway through the month, the April celebration of all things poetic  need not stop on the 30th; if you like what youre doing, why not bring the spirit into May? 1. Sign up for a Poem-a-Day service On  Poets.org  you can take out a subscription and get a free poem delivered straight to your inbox every morning! 2. Sign up for a poetry class or workshop A big part of whats daunting about poetry is that a lot of people dont really understand what its about or how to begin writing or appreciating it. Poetry classes are surprisingly common, so look up the public classes in your area and find one that deals with poetry. 3. Explore various forms of poetry If youre one of the many people who think that something has to rhyme in order to be a poem, you may want to look into doing a little research! There are so many kinds of poetry, its a little crazy. If you want a little limerick, of course there are tons of those, but there are also sonnets, free-verse, haiku, epic Basically, there are as many types of poems as there are genres of novels- maybe even more. 4. Look into some international poetry Delving further into the idea of poetry genres, you may find it worth your while to look into some poetry from around the world. Not only will you be introduced to a bunch of new authors you may not have otherwise become acquainted with, but youll also discover some unique styles (i.e. the Japanese haiku, or the ancient Persian ghazal). 5. Check out a poetry slam Let me start by saying that poetry slams are pretty cool; where else can you go and listen to  local authors perform their work with some serious passion? Poetry slams are great opportunities to hear about unique perspectives on social issues (good and bad) in the company of your peers. These slams can get pretty competitive and intense, so if you do go to one, be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster. In a good way. A good place to start is Button Poetrys YouTube page and also our poetry slam post with a selection of moving  social justice poems. 6. Start  a poetry club If poetry is your thing (either reading it or writing it), why not find others that share that passion? Sharing poetry is hard, especially if its a poem that youve written yourself; poems share a special piece of your psyche, and opening up on that level isnt easy. So if you can find some fellow  aspiring poets, it may be beneficial to share your work with one another and get a little soul-baring practice in a safe space. 7. Memorize a poem that means something to you Having some inspirational and/or beautiful words to call upon when youre feeling blue can be a highly therapeutic tool. It can be a long poem or a short one, but either way, you may find that making a poem with a calming message into a mantra may be a good way to keep you in a happy place, even in the tough times. 8. Set aside some time to write Chances are that youre a busy person, and when youre a busy person, sometimes the last thing you want to do in your free time is, well, more work. But writing doesnt have to be something you just do for school. If you like poetry, it may be nice to set aside a chunk of time to let your brain do its artsy thing and create something meaningful. 9. Draw a poem One great thing about art is that so many of its forms can be blended together. For example, how often do you listen to a song and find yourself daydreaming  or imagining something awesome? Poetry works to inspire us in much the same way; next time you read a poem, imagine the imagery it creates and give drawing it a try. At the very least, youll have a cool piece of art to put on the wall. 10. Think metaphorically A metaphor is a powerful poetic device that can be defined as  a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable. Metaphors are so common that often we dont really pay attention to one when we hear it. For the rest of April, keep a list of metaphors you hear day-to-day. It may be fun to look back at the end of the month (or whenever) to see what little expressions people are using these days. 11. Check out TED Talks Chances are youre at least familiar with the concept of a TED Talk. If not, TED is a non-profit devoted to spreading ideas and education, usually in the form of short but passionate speeches. Poets and poetry are frequent stars of the TED stage, so if you cant make it to a slam or are looking for a particular type of poem, check out some TED Talks online or find out  if theres one coming to your area. Click here to check out some poetic TEDs! 12. Download a poetry app Hit up the app store for your smart-device (whatever it may be) and download  Poetry Magazines app for inside information about poetry, poems, and poets of the past and present. 13.  Celebrate on Twitter Post a poem with the hashtag  #NationalPoetryMonth to get your work  noticed. Also fun:  search the hashtag and take a look at poems others have already tweeted. 14. Tune into NPR This month, NPRs Tell Me More has some poetically inclined features, including the reading of listener-submitted poetry (another opportunity to share your art with the world, and this way you could be as anonymous as you please). *In case you were wondering, National Candied Orange Peel Day does actually appear to be a thing, and it falls on May 4th.

Ethics in Business Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Ethics in Business - Assignment Example Discussion A utilitarian approach holds that the morally right course of action is the one that produces the greatest balance of benefits over harms in any situation for everyone affected. Utilitarianism aims at producing benefits regardless of whether they were arrived at by lies, coercion or manipulation. This approach argues that; individuals ought to do whatever produces more total happiness than doing anything else would. This means that the morally right action is the one that will most likely maximize utility. ‘The highest good is the good will.’ This is the Kantian approach argument which states that to act from a good will is to act from duty. An action is made good by the intentions behind it rather than the consequences. Motives of self-interest cannot contaminate truly moral actions since an action is truly moral only if it is morally motivated. The major assumption of this approach is that actions that enhance the bottom line are acts of self-interest (this is well illustrated from Hugo’s case). Aristotle and other Greek philosophers came up with the Justice/ Fairness Approach to ethics which states that; ‘equals should be treated equally and un equals unequally’. ... The seven step decision making model is useful in making better decisions. Every decision making model applied begin with identifying the problem that requires a decision making process to be established. The seven step decision making model, developed by Rick Roberts, is detail oriented and it is preferred to have as much knowledge as possible concerning the decision. Hugo, an assistant brand manager for a floor cleaning system, has for a long time been disturbed by the marketing practices in the company that promulgate the physical attractiveness phenomenon. From Hugo’s case, there are various ethical issues that require a decision making process be established and the possible courses of action undertaken. The ethical issues that this case presents are clear. Identifying these ethical issues being the first step of the decision making process, this case is a clear indication of favouritism and discrimination according to the justice approach to decision making. The marketin g practices used in this case promulgate the physical attractiveness phenomenon. Appearance of the company’s products is being depicted through physical attractiveness to serve as an informational cue from which extensive information of the products is inferred. This triggers assumptions causing powerful effects that are beneficial for individuals whose appearance is higher in physical attractiveness and detrimental for individuals whose appearance is lower in physical attractiveness. According to the utilitarian approach, this course of action produces maximum benefits for the company at large. This case continues to argue that it is financially advantageous to use physically

Service Request SR-ta-001 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Service Request SR-ta-001 - Essay Example Moreover, the model needs are designed in a manner that remarkably few assumptions concerning the data therein is needed. As such, the database system is immensely powerful. The most notable feature about a relational database management system is that it enables the user to spread a single database across multiple tables. This feature simplifies the management of the database. With a relational database, the company is able to make a sound decision since all the data is centralized. The database system is linked to a customer relationship management system that has various modules. The computerized system will be developed using a modular approach. With the use of the modular approach, the developers will ensure that the system change over is executed without interfering with the company’s business process. The system change over will also take place in one department at a time. This gives users the opportunity to test the system real time. In case of any error, the programming team can correct before when the implementation process is still early. This will fatal errors that can accrue in the late stages of system implementation. In addition, the maintenance and troubleshooting process will be easy since the module that has developed a problem can be attended to while the other subsystem are operational. A very crucial task in a database system is the migration of the data from the existing database to the new database system. Considering that the company has been using a paper based database system, a lot work work has to be done (Adiba & Delobel, 2011). This entails conversion of the data contained in the paper files to the soft copies so that they can be fed to the computerized database system. The diagram below illustrates how the data is migrated from the paper system to relational database systems. Applying the above process ensures that effective data validation and verification before