Medical Marijuana And Cannabis Programs - 1851 Words

Medical Marijuana: Did you know that it is fact there are currently 26 states, to include Guam and the District of Columbia, that currently allow public medical marijuana and cannabis programs? The first state that passed the law to allow medical marijuana, Proposition 215, was California in 1996. (1) As of right now, the recreational use of the drug is legal in only two states, Washington State and Colorado. Marijuana is used for both recreational and medicinal uses. It is poorly looked upon by many because of stereotypes such as gangster, laziness, stupidity, and a poor work ethics. The use of marijuana presents questions for both the problems and medical issues. The earliest record was in ancient China, dating back to 2737 BC. It†¦show more content†¦(6) Currently the U.S. federal government provides and grows cannabis for a few patients, paid by federal dollars. Since the marijuana plant contains chemicals that may assistance in treating a range of illnesses or symptoms, many people c laim that it should be legal for medical purposes. In point, a growing number of states have legalized marijuana for medical use. In the report, author Barney Warf describes how cannabis use originated thousands of years ago in Asia, and has later found its way to several regions of the world, and in time spreading to the Americas and the United States. (3) It was mainly used for spiritual purposes and medicine. Primitive Germans used it during child birth and toothaches for pain relief. The term medical marijuana refers to using the whole natural marijuana plant or its basic excerpts to treat a disease, sickness or symptoms of a doomed fatal medical diagnosis. Currently there are 8 medical conditions that patients can use cannabis: Cancer, Severe pain, Muscle spasms, HIV/AIDS, Severe nausea, Rapid weight loss, Seizures, and Glaucoma. Some of these states allow the use of medical marijuana for Alzheimer’s disease, PTSD, and multiple sclerosis (MS). Some states refuse to allow medical marijuana for all of the conditions allowed and the amount given varies from state to state. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to recognize or approve the marijuana plantShow MoreRelatedSubstance Abuse Isn t Adequately Addressed1090 Words   |  5 Pagesis marijuana. It is also known as cannabis, hemp, dope, or weed. Marijuana is used for beneficial reasons and harmful reasons. Most cannabis users are addicted to it, but it primarily needs to be used for medical purposes. Although mounting new evidence confirms the healing qualities of marijuana, much opposition still exists preventing it from people who need it the most. The use of marijuana has been around for thousands of years. As reported by Caroline Cahill in the article â€Å"Marijuana 101:Read MoreMarijuana Legalization : A Missed Opportunity For California1635 Words   |  7 PagesCannabis Legalization, A Missed Opportunity for California It has been estimated that the legalization and subsequent taxation (excise and sales tax) of cannabis in California could generate anywhere between $990 million and $1.4 billion annually in tax revenue. Additionally it has been estimated that legalization could reduce statewide enforcement costs by $150 million annually. Considering the number of human service agencies, departments, and programs that have had their budgets either significantlyRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legal?1356 Words   |  6 Pages Marijuana has been used as a medicine for millennia by cultures spanning the globe. Ever since 1937, that medical necessity has fallen in America to political pressure, and the cannabis plant remains illegal regardless of intended use. Since then, patients have continued demanding marijuana s therapeutic effects, thus prompting the pharmaceutical industry to find a legitimate means of meeting their needs without violating federal law. This quest for legal weed resulted in the introduction ofRead MoreMarijuana Oil Treatment For Children1047 Words   |  5 Pagesption 2 Step 1: Cannabis Oil Treatment for Children I ve seen lots of seizures. Too many to count. Too many to want to count. There are days that i remain unfazed by this thing that has become normal in life to seeing a little girl that does not have a clue that s going on to working in a nursing home. There are the big seizures and the little ones all scary. Then there is the ones that sneak up on you and remind you just how much you hate severe Dandy- Walker Syndrome and Hydrocephalus, andRead MoreIs TheCompassionate Use Of Medical Cannabis Pilot Act?801 Words   |  4 PagesSeveral states are taking advantage of new beliefs in medical marijuana. The State of Illinois has also adapted an Act that outlines the use and guidelines for medical marijuana titled, â€Å"Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Pilot Program Act - Illinois Act 410 ILCS 130†. Some of the information on this Act is not clearly stated, one instance is regarding the Compassionate Use of Medical Cannabis Fund (410 ILCS 130/20). This section has limited info rmation regarding these funds and how they may beRead MoreThe Benefits of Medical Marijuana729 Words   |  3 PagesMedical marijuana has been used for centuries to combat pain, weakness, anxiety, insomnia, female problems and nausea. Today it is commonly used by cancer and AIDS patients to stimulate hunger, combat nausea and vomiting induced by chemotherapy or other drug therapy and reduce pain. It has also been shown to be effective in reducing eye pressure, especially in the cases with glaucoma. Medical marijuana, or cannabis, is derived from the Cannabis sativa plant and there is some evidence of cannabisRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1001 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Blunt† Truth Cannabis, commonly known as marijuana is a dried flower cluster and leaves of this female plant. This plant can be smoked or ingested as an illicit drug to induce euphoria or treating illness and diseases. In America today, the word marijuana has risen a concerned eyebrow. The economic woes that plague this country will become abundance through the legalization of marijuana. Legalizing marijuana would benefit the country in many ways; therefore, embracing it for medical, economical,Read MoreMarijuan The Pseudo Gate Way Drug924 Words   |  4 Pages Marijuana: The Pseudo Gate way Drug My thesis states that the federal government of United States of America should legalize marijuana. Legalizing would not only benefit the people of need for medical uses but also our economy for recreational use. In the year of 2014 the state of Colorado was the one of the first few states to legalize the use of recreational marijuana. Colorado retailers sold $386 million of medical marijuana and $313 million for purely recreational purposes (Ingraham). WithinRead MorePersuasive Speech Outline Essay969 Words   |  4 PagesGeneral Purpose: To persuade Specific Purpose: To persuade the audience to support the legalization of marijuana for medicinal purposes. Central Idea: People should have the option to choose their methods of medication; therefore, marijuana should be legalized for medicinal purposes. Introduction: ATTENTION A. How many of you take Advil for a headache? How many of you use a remedy passed down from your grandparents or parents to alleviate a cold? How many people do you know sufferRead MoreMarijuana Should Be Legal For Medical Use Essay916 Words   |  4 Pagesmedicinal benefits of cannabis. Then I will describe recreational use of marijuana and the acute effects it has. I will then examine the laws of my home state of Illinois on the legalization of medicinal marijuana and the amounts allowed to be dispensed to a patient. Lastly I will provide my position on marijuana and support my stand with a solution from a scholarly source. Medicinal The debate over the legalization of marijuana is a hot topic. The first question is whether marijuana should be legal

Foundations of Psychology Essay - 763 Words

Foundations of Psychology According to science philosopher Thomas Kuhn, the ongoing development of scientific paradigms is responsible for scientific progress. A scientific paradigm has three basic characteristics: a series of assertions that provide a model of the object of study, a group of common metaphors that assist with comprehension of the object of study, and a methodology that is accepted by the scientific community to provide legitimate and valuable data when carried out correctly. Within the social sciences, Kuhn stated, there is an absence of accepted paradigms. Instead, perhaps because these fields of study are younger than the hard sciences such as biology or physics, there are several fragmented perspectives that†¦show more content†¦The behaviorist perspective of psychology originated in the early twentieth century with Russian researcher Ivan Pavlov, who accidentally discovered learned behavior in dogs whose digestive systems he was researching, and was the most influential psycholog ical perspective from the 1920s to the 1960s. Behaviorist theory proposes that behavior is influenced almost entirely by learning and can be interpreted without discussing thoughts, feelings, and motives, which cannot be objectively observed. Behaviorists see psychology as the science of behavior and insist on strict scientific methodology for psychological research, especially when performing experiments. Because behaviorist theorists do not place any value on unobservable internal states, they suggest that there are laws of behavior, like the laws of physics, that can be proven or disproven through scientific study of observable actions and occurrences in the subjects surroundings. Many current behaviorist psychologists concede the presence of thoughts and feelings but see them as consequences of experiences within the environment rather than causative factors (Kowalski Westen, 2009). The cognitive perspective of psychology emerged from experiments performed by Wilhelm Wundt, his students, and other psychologists in the late nineteenth century. In spite of its long history, contemporary cognitive psychology has been strongly influenced by theShow MoreRelatedFoundations of Psychology771 Words   |  4 PagesFoundations of Psychology Psychology is an academic and applied discipline involving the scientific study of mental processes and behavior. There is some tension between scientific psychology (with its program of empirical research) and applied psychology (dealing with a number of areas). Psychologists attempt to explain the mind and brain in the context of real life. In contrast neurologists utilize a physiological approach. Psychologists study such phenomena as perception, cognition, emotionRead MoreFoundation of Psychology773 Words   |  4 PagesFoundation of Psychology Psychology is the study of human behavior and mind. According to Psychology: The Study of Mental Processes and Behavior defined psychology as the scientific investigation of mental processes (thinking, remembering, feeling, etc.) and behavior. Psychology alone has more than one basic foundation. Psychology can be as broad as biology and as detailed as philosophy, because it includes humans who are very complex in nature. Psychology involves more than how people act;Read MoreFoundations of Psychology747 Words   |  3 PagesFoundations of Psychology L R Juneaux 07/24/2013 PSY/300 Psychology is one of the core studies of the human being, which include investigating of behavior and mental processes. Many processes have to happen before one can even think a single thought. A specific stimulus through sensory organs, nerve interactions, and sorting through the brain are just a few processes that occur. Psychology is one of the most complex areas of study. In this paper, I will identify the major schools of thoughtRead MoreFoundations of Psychology Paper785 Words   |  4 PagesRunning Head: FOUNDATIONS OF PSYCHOLOGY PAPER Foundations of Psychology Paper PSY/300 November 7, 2011 Betsy Ferronato Foundations of Psychology Paper * This paper will discuss the major schools of thought in psychology and examine their major underlying assumptions. The paper will also identify the primary biological foundations of psychology linked to behavior. According to our reading in psychology is the scientific investigation of mental processes and behavior. Mental processesRead More Foundations of Psychology Essay813 Words   |  4 PagesWhen psychology first emerged as a science, the process of explaining the human mind and human behavior began. In this essay we will present a brief synopsis of what psychology is and introduce the reader to the primary biological foundations of psychology that are linked to behavior as well as introducing the reader to the major schools of thought in psychology. In Kowalski and Westen Fifth Edition of Psychology, psychology is define as â€Å"the scientific investigation of mental processes such as;Read MoreThe Conceptual Foundations Of Psychology2268 Words   |  10 PagesAll sciences originally descended from philosophy and over the centuries the special sciences gradually became independent of this discipline, with Psychology being one of the last of the special sciences to separate from the parent during the 19th century (Banyard, Davies, Normal Winder, 2010). The questions and ideas in Psychology have been of interest since the time of the ancient Greeks, where philosophers inquired into how human beings know the world. Plato asked questions about human motivationRead MoreA Foundation For Studying Emotional Psychology972 Words   |  4 Pagesto signal different emotions are universally comprehended. Therefore, do all human beings signal certain emotions with the same, universal, facial expression? The studies conducted regarding the universality thesis were used as a foundation for studying emotional psychology. Making it extremely relevant to question such influential research, which appears to lack consistent and convincing results. There are three main issues regarding the universality thesis. The first of which is that, methodologicalRead MoreIntegrative Approaches Of Psychology And Christianity1495 Words   |  6 PagesApproaches to Psychology and Christianity, An Introduction to Worldview Issues, Philosophical Foundations and Models of Integration† is a book written by David N. Entwistle that offers insight and awareness to the relationship between psychology and theology. Psychology and theology share a common interest in the nature and purpose of human beings. This book introduces worldview issues and a philosophical source that provides a framework of the relationship between the science of psychology and ChristianityRead MorePsychologys Influence on Nursing Essay1149 Words   |  5 PagesAs defined by Mason and Whitehead, psychology is a branch of biological science which focuses on the study of conscious life in its origin (66). Mason and Whitehead go on to argue that conscious life refers to th e experiences of the individual and origins refer to the particular group or issue being reviewed: e.g., child, adult, abnormal or animal (66-7). A basic examination of the definition of psychology demonstrates that the practice is one that requires understanding of the human experience andRead MoreThe Benefits Of Breastfeeding For Mothers875 Words   |  4 Pagescaregivers (Health Psychology). For those mothers whom are able and willing to breastfeed their infants there is a definite benefit. Breastfeeding is shown to benefit the mother and child through its natural ability to aide in the mother’s inner peace, its health giving properties, its superior nutrient content compared to formula, and accessibility. Though breastfeeding is undoubtedly the optimum feeding method, it is not necessarily a possibility for some mothers (The Nemours Foundation). For example

Tiresias, Oedipus, and Self Essay - 1131 Words

Tiresias, Oedipus Rex, and Self The play Oedipus Rex, written by Sophocles, tells a horrendous tale about one mans quest for the truth. In the play, King Oedipus was burdened with the task of finding his predecessors murderer so that order may be restored to his kingdom. While his conscious mind was seeking the murderer, his unconscious mind was retarding his progress in order to conceal the truth. Tiresias, prophesies the truth to Oedipus, but Oedipuss unconscious mind would not hear it. Thus, when the awful truth is finally revealed, Oedipus is overwhelmed by it. This causes the physical and emotional wounds that would last him a lifetime. A supplementary piece of literature, Tiresias by Tennyson, was written to complement†¦show more content†¦As one can see, Tennysons experience proves that he is unready to be as enlightened as his friend. To be enlightened one must be physically and mentally ready, most importantly the person must be touched by the Gods. Without being blessed by the Gods, one is limite d to how far one can go on the path of enlightenment. This is similar to the prologue of Oedipus Rex. In the prologue, the kingdom of Thebes is described as: ... tossed on a murdering sea and can not lift her head from the death surge. ... Death alone battens upon the misery of Thebes. (Sophocles, 716) The similarities between the two prologues imply that Oedipus is unready to rule Thebes. In Oedipus Rex, Oedipus was not blessed by the Gods to take the throne of Thebes; thus his success as a king was cursed since the prologue. This example proves that one will not be successful in a higher state of being if one is not blessed by the Gods, regardless of how hard one tries to achieve this higher state being. This is an essential point to the understanding of Oedipus. As a man untouched by the Gods, Oedipus is blinded from the truth and remains a man bounded by the flesh. In scene I of Oedipus Rex, Oedipus is confronted with the truth prophesied to him by Tiresias. Tiresiass prophesy was that Oedipus is the murderer he has been seeking. Oedipuss initial reaction to this accusation was that of disbelief, then anger as Tiresias continued his accusations. Kreon told Oedipus that the murderers ofShow MoreRelatedExamples Of Suffering In Oedipus The King796 Words   |  4 PagesThe characters in the play Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, respond to suffering in a variety of ways. Characters like Tiresias respond altruistically to protect others from the truth, other characters similar to Oedipus tend to approach these situations with gall and are hasty with allegations, and the remaining characters respond like Jocasta with disbelief and extremity. Ironically, although suffering is painful and destructive, the way the characters dealt with suffering brought each of them toRead MoreOedipus Rex, A Symbol Of Fate1517 Words   |  7 PagesThe most famous scene in Sophocles’, Oedipus Rex, is when Oedipus gouges out his eyes. But that’s not the only example of sight and blindness in this play. In Sophocles world, eyes play a big part in society, as the theme of vision invites the audience to look at the action with a double perspective, through own eyes and through the eyes of those on stage ( Mastronarde pp. 179-182). Considering eyes as an essential piece, it places them as a motif of the play. Within Greek literature, scholars focusRead MoreLearning Through Experiences in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles915 Words   |  4 Pagesgo through many obstacles or changes. Oedipus Rex shows many downfalls of different characters and what they do to overcome these obstacles. The main character to focus on is Oedipus as the story revolves around him and the truths that come to ruin his life, his wife’s life as well as the lives of his children. Through ones rash decisions, pride and blindness to the truth, one can experience a downf all which will in turn lead one to suffering and maybe even self mutilation. Learning lessons and growingRead MoreOedipus the King Character Analysis1321 Words   |  6 PagesChateman Professor: Dr. Lancaster ENG230 11/25/2010 Oedipus the King Character Analysis Oedipus the King had accomplished many great things during his reign of Thebes and in his life time. Oedipus found out during his reign in Thebes that the Gods who loved him also knew his devastating fate. As a young man when Oedipus answered the riddle the Sphinx he soon found his self having everything want and need. He earned his spot as the new King of Thebes, he had aRead MoreThe Oedipus Trials1090 Words   |  5 Pagesking, Oedipus, asking him to take action. Oedipus replies that he already sent his brother-in-law, Creon, to the oracle at Delphi to learn how to help the city. Creon returns with a message from the oracle: the plague will end when the murderer of Laius, former king of Thebes, is caught and expelled; the murderer is within the city. Oedipus questions Creon about the murder of Laius, who was killed by thieves on his way to consult an oracle. Only one of his fellow travelers escaped alive. Oedipus promisesRead MoreOedipus The King Essay1360 Words   |  6 Pagesby the emotional discharging brought about by the suffering of a heroic figure. In Oedipus The King, by Sophocles, the agony of pain attacking the protagonist is a result of his tragic flaw. Sophocles often uses a characters hamartia to alter or influence the future or outcome of the hero, in this case, Oedipus. Oedipus hubris traps him into fulfilling the vision and intensifies his punishment. Oedipus pride is an inherited characteristic. Even before his glory and power as King of ThebesRead MoreAnalysis Of The Play Oedipus Tyrannous By Sophocles 1749 Words   |  7 PagesKwa LITR201 August 19, 2016 Dear Dr. Kwa, I chose to write about the play Oedipus Tyrannous by Sophocles, I found this play to be very encapsulating to the very end. I really enjoyed the suspense, as well as the turn of direction that the play took in the end as the plot thickened. In this essay, I will describe why I personally believe that this play was not just a tragic event and the many reasons why I believe that Oedipus can be viewed as a tragic hero by his actions throughout the play. I believeRead MoreEssay about Concepts Of Sight in Sophocles’ Play Oedipus1348 Words   |  6 Pagesin Sophocles’ Play Oedipus The concept of sight is one of the major motifs throughout Sophocles’ play Oedipus the King. The play revolves primarily around series of events caused by many people’s insight or lack there of. Oedipus does not see that he is caught up in a web of cruel destiny that he cannot escape. The gods demonstrate foresight and insight into the play. In addition to this, Tiresias has physical blindness but also has prophetic insight. Finally, both Oedipus and Jocasta portrayRead More Oedipus and Creon in Sophocles Oedipus the King Essay1128 Words   |  5 PagesOedipus and Creon in Sophocles Oedipus the King   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At first glance, Oedipus and Creon are two very different people. But as time progresses their personalities and even their fates grow more and more similar. In Sophocles’s play â€Å"Oedipus the King†, Oedipus and Creon are two completely opposite people. Oedipus is brash and thoughtless, whilst Creon is wise and prudent. In â€Å"Oedipus the King†, Oedipus effectively portrays the idea of the classic â€Å"flawed hero†. He becomes arrogant and brash.Read MoreEssay on Oedipus Versus Creon1141 Words   |  5 PagesOedipus Versus Creon At first glance, Oedipus and Creon are two very different people. But as time progresses their personalities and even their fates grow more and more similar. In Sophocless play Oedipus the King, Oedipus and Creon are two completely opposite people. Oedipus is brash and thoughtless, whilst Creon is wise and prudent. In Oedipus the King, Oedipus effectively portrays the idea of the classic flawed hero. He becomes arrogant and brash. He accuses Creon and Tiresias of

Self Image Self Esteem, Consumer Behavior, Personality...

www.imis.ac.in Study Note @ Consumer Behavior Do advertisements influence our self image and our self esteem? Some critics accuse marketers of systematically creating anxiety, promoting envy, and fostering feelings of inadequacy and insecurity to sell us their products. Marketers respond that advertising does nothing more than mirror societys values, alerts people to new products and bargains, or motivate people to switch brands. At the very worst, they say, it bores or annoys. Of course, some ads provide information useful to consumers. And advertising clearly plays a valid role in an economy based on a system of free enterprise. The question is not whether advertising is valid; clearly, it is. The concern discussed here is the†¦show more content†¦The implied message for the viewer is that this is the way to be cool; this is the way a young man should act. The male image shown in ads almost never includes such traits as sensitivity, vulnerability, or compassion. This may d iscourage boys and men from displaying these natural and desirable human traits. Ads may thus limit a boy or mans sense of what he can or should be. The actors in ads tend to be handsome, with clear complexions and hair that is perfectly combed or perfectly windblown. They are also almost always athletic. Physical or even sexual prowess is suggested in scenes of physically challenging, dangerous, or aggressive sports. The self-image of boys and men who do not exhibit these traits for example, who have normal complexions, are not athletic, and dont feel cool and confident may suffer when they watch these ads. Negative feelings about oneself, whether related to appearance or anything else, can be followed by lower self-esteem. Ads offer to sell a new self-image. Of course, the ads that injure our self-image and self-esteem dont stop there. They conveniently offer to sell a product that will solve our newly imagined problem. Consider this quote from Nancy Shalek, president of an advert ising agency: Advertising at its best is making people feel that without their product, youre a loser. Kids are very sensitive to that. If you tell them to buy something, they are resistant. But if you tellShow MoreRelatedConsumer Psychology1046 Words   |  5 PagesDEFINITION Consumer psychology is a specialty area that studies how our thoughts, beliefs, feelings and perceptions influence how people buy and relate to goods and services. One formal definition of the field describes it as the study of individuals, groups, or organizations and the processes they use to select, secure, use, and dispose of products, services, experiences, or ideas to satisfy needs and the impacts that these processes have on the consumer and society. STAGES IN CONSUMER DECISIONRead MoreIntroduction to Emotion1205 Words   |  5 Pageschange, influencing one s decisions, sometimes out of the normal pattern for the individual, used particularly in reference to buying behavior. Advertisement is full of appeals. I believe there is hardly any advertisement, which has not appeals to make. General appeals include featuring product, drives amp; instincts (needs), motives, emotions, roles, personality traits, values, traditions, attitudes, beliefs and knowledge. An emotion is one of the best appeals in advertising.   Emotional Appeal Read MoreSelf Presentation Theory - Consumer Behaviour1622 Words   |  7 PagesSelf-Presentation ‘It might be said of self praise (if it not entirely shameful and ridiculous) that we praise ourselves fearlessly, something always sticks.’ – Francis Bacon WHAT IS SELF-PRESENTATION? Self Presentation is part of the Self Concept and Impression Management theory. Impression management (IM) theory suggests that any individual or organization must establish and maintain impressions that are compatible with the perceptions one wants to give to the public. From both a communicationsRead MoreAdvertising and Promotion1003 Words   |  5 Pagesuse word of mouth of radio and TV personalities along with more advanced forms of media to communicate with the public. Societal values are both created and reflected through advertising. I think advertising reflects on societal values more than creating them. Most advertising appeals to emotions, specifically the emotional need for love and belonging, prestige and self-esteem. Advertisers of clothing may associate the product with a lifestyle that the consumer wants to be identified with. For exampleRead MoreConsumer Behavior And Consumer Decision Making Essay2975 Words   |  12 Pages Consumer behavior (Authors Name) (Institutional Affiliation) Consumer behavior The first step to consumer decision making is problem recognition. The root cause to making a decision starts with recognizing a particular problem by a consumer. The consumer has a need or a want that should be satisfied. A consumer can recognize that his current car is not of the new standards and thus he/she is compelled to consider buying a new one. The second step to consumer decision-making processRead MoreEffects Of Materialistic Values And Goals Essay7795 Words   |  32 PagesVALUES AND GOALS Spending One?s Life Away: Effects of Having Materialistic Values and Goals Ariel E. Epstein Quinnipiac University Table of Contents Chapter I: Introduction... 3 Chapter II: Personality Traits and Materialism...6 Chapter III: Materialism in Children and Adolescents11 Chapter IV: How Materialism Affects Adults.19 Chapter V: Proposal for Future Research.29Read MoreMotivation, Personality, Perception, Attitude2396 Words   |  10 Pagesneed. Al1 individuals have needs, wants, and desires. The individuals subconscious drive to reduce need-induced tensions results in behavior that he or she anticipates will satisfy needs and thus bring about a more comfortable internal state. All behavior is goal oriented. Goals are the sought, after results of motivated behavior. The form or direction that behavior takes-the goal that is selected-is a result of thinking processes (cognition) and previous learning (example: experience). There areRead MoreGender Equality Through Sports And Gender968 Words   |  4 Pagessuperior to women.† (737) For some unknown reason, not addressed by any of these authors, most men will always want to be superior to women. It is natural or â€Å"normal† for men to differentiate themselves from women. Lorber argues that is because the behaviors we think of as â€Å"natural† to men and women, and that often men and women seem like opposites of each other, are actually cultural inventions. Judith Lorber, the author of â€Å"From Believing Is Seeing: Biology as Ideology† approaches to define men andRead MoreProcess of Purchase1206 Words   |  5 Pages Consumer buying behavior is the decision process and acts of people involved in buying and using products. The final purchase decision is often a result of the interaction between the final decision maker and a range of influencer. 1 The process of purchasing decision passes through five different stages 1- Needs recognition 2- Information Search 3- Evaluation 4- Decision 5- Post purchase evaluation Consumer behavior and purchasing decision is a phenomenon affected by internal and external factorsRead MoreInfluence Of Advertisements On Society1530 Words   |  7 PagesAdvertisements Advertisements are considered as an art to try to persuade people that certain products can make their lives better. Advertisements have been around in the United States since 1841. Advertisements influence society on what to buy. Advertisements lures society into buy their products. The basic role of advertisements is to provide people with basic information about a product. Companies hire celebrities to be in the advertisement in order to get more consumers to appeal to the advertisement

Mass Media free essay sample

The mass media comes in many different forms, including radio, books, television, internet, and newspapers. It fulfils several functions within society, such as education, socialisation and entertainment. It also provides jobs, and is a source of information for worldwide news. Socialisation is the process of learning society’s norms, rules and values. The media is one of the main agents of socialisation for all age groups within society, and can come in the form of advertising, reality TV and entertainment programmes. Sociologists tend to agree that the media influences its’ audience, although it has been debated on how this is. There is the hypodermic syringe theory, where the media is seen to have an immediate and dramatic effect on behaviour, through the needle analogy. The type of media is the syringe, whether it’s radio, TV etc. , and the content is what is injected into the mind. In 1938, the H. G. Wells book ‘War of the Worlds’ was adapted as a radio broadcast, about an alien invasion in New Jersey. The programme was so believable that it caused widespread panic throughout America and Canada, because listeners thought that the broadcast was genuine. However, nowadays audiences are thought to be more media literate, and this model only focuses on the short-term effects of the media, ignoring long-term effects. The Two-Step Flow (Katz and Lazarsfeld, 1955) claims that most people shape their opinions under the influence of opinion leaders, who in turn are influenced by the mass media. So according to this model, ideas flow from mass media to opinion leaders, and from them to a wider population. However, this implies that people are strongly conditioned by opinion leaders and have little free will, which is not always the case. There is also the Cultural Effects Theory. This argues that the media has a ‘drip-drip’ effect on audiences, over a longer period of time compared to the hypodermic syringe theory. People are often not conscious that they are accepting the media’s views, for example, it is now the norm for young women to idealise the figure of models such as Kate Moss, even though most images of her in magazines have been photo-shopped and altered, therefore portraying an unrealistic body image. This has been criticised for sensationalising an unhealthy body size, and images in the media have led young girls and women to suffer from disorders such as anorexia and bulimia. There have been many changes in the media since its’ creation. The education system means that there is now mass literacy in the UK, so more people are now able to access the information in newspapers and books. Also, televisions have become more affordable so now the majority of households in the UK own at least one. In the past, religion was seen as a major influence within society, but now the media has taken over and religion is much less prominent. Other important forms of socialisation are also being replaced by the media such as play, and interaction with peers and adults. Also, the media used to be owned by numerous families, whereas it is now owned by a very small number of people through large mergers. For example, Rupert Murdoch owns News International Corporation, which in turn owns over a third of UK newspapers, including The Sun, The Sunday Times and The Times. Rupert Murdoch also owns Sky, along with owning a number of media outlets in America, including The Wall Street Journal. Any party which was supported by newspapers owned by Murdoch has won every general election since 1979, suggesting that media ownership also means having a political influence. Sociologists have also had to take into account the effect of the internet on British and global culture, which is a fairly recent phenomenon. There are three main perspectives when analysing the mass media. These are Pluralism, Marxism and Feminism. The Pluralism perspective states that within society, there is no dominant group, and instead there are a variety of groups who have equal power. This theory has been likened to a Functionalist view. It argues that the mass media simply reflects the views of the audience, and if this results in bias, it’s because that is what the public’s view is. For example, Pluralists state that the government is neutral in its’ interests, and bases any decisions on which group has the strongest argument. According to the law, the BBC must be impartial and unbiased, but newspapers do not need to be. Nicholas Jones (1986) states that although the BBC may seem biased on some issues, this is down to which group presents their views more coherent way, and therefore gains more support. Katz and Lazarsfeld (1955) claim that the media has limited influence on society, and that there are five variables which affect the way in which audiences respond. These are: The amount of exposure that a certain issue gets The type of medium which is used. For example, footage on television of starving children has a more profound effect on audiences compared to a newspaper story. The nature of the content, how it is presented, and the language which is used The beliefs and attitudes of the audience How opinion leaders react to an issue or story, as they are said to influence the public’s opinion. Pluralists argue that the mass media provides a diverse and varied choice for the public, and that one dominant ideology does not exist, but rather a real choice of different opinions. It is because of this variation that the mass media has almost no influence on the audience, and that it reflects their views. The Pluralism perspective of the mass media is strong in recognising that there is a huge range and variation of opinions. It recognises that the audience is able to make up their own minds, regardless of what the media portrays, and also the power they have in controlling the media content. However, Pluralists are criticised for ignoring the concentration of ownership within the media, which can be a major factor in what messages and stories are published. They are also criticised for ignoring clear evidence of bias, especially political bias. For example, the fact that any political party supported by Rupert Murdoch’s newspapers has won the general election since 1979, even when the newspapers switched allegiance from Conservative to Labour in 1997. The Marxist perspective of the mass media emphasises the ability of the media to influence and control people. Marxists claim that the bourgeoisie maintains control and power over the proletariat through the outlet of the media. They argue that the mass media portrays capitalism positively, which therefore promotes a false consciousness, and prevents the proletariat from becoming class conscious. Noam Chomsky, in Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media (1988) claims that the mass media is a powerful ideological institution which supports the system of capitalism through internalised assumptions and self-censorship, without obvious force. Marxists state that there is a severe lack of diversity in the media, possibly because it is owned and controlled by so few corporations. For example, the Walt Disney Company owns the most mass media companies in America, and is the biggest media conglomerate in terms of revenue. Marxists also emphasise the power of advertisers. Every media outlet has to have advertisements in order to support the cost of production, and in turn advertisers want to put across a capitalist message so that the audience wants to spend money on their products or services. Because the heads of corporations often manipulate front page stories in newspapers to avoid a conflict of interest, it is stated that the mass media is used by the ruling class as a filter through which information is passed to the general population. This information emphasises the acceptance of capitalist views, resists change, and as a result, works against the interests of the working class. Any other views are made out to be extremist and irrational. Ralph Miliband (1973) claims that the media is the opium of the people, when it had previously been claimed by Karl Marx that religion was the opium of the people. Miliband stated that because there was so much bias and misleading information within the media, that it led the public to accept major inequalities in society. Mass entertainment programmes exist in order to ‘keep the audience quiet’, and distract them from important economic issues. Marxism is good at analysing the media from a conflict perspective, and explaining that the mass media is another source of inequality within society, and supports a capitalist culture. It has uncovered the fact that the mass media tends to be a monopoly, in that very few people own a lot of companies. Marxism has also highlighted how advertisers have power over the media and its’ content, by threatening to pull their support if they don’t like the message that’s being put across. On the other hand, the Marxist perspective of the mass media underestimates the ability of the audience to take in information from the media and come to their own decisions about particular issues. Marxism has also been criticised for concentrating on ownership of the media through monopolists, however the most popular form of media is television which is largely controlled by governments, not capitalists. It has been pointed out that owners of the mass media are more concerned about making profit rather than promoting ideas, so they cannot ignore the demands of the audience. Within the Feminist explanation of the mass media, there are three different perspectives. These are Liberal, Radical and Marxist Feminism. Liberal Feminists state that sex role socialisation for males and females is achieved through magazines, TV, films, and other media outlets. The only way of changing the stereotypes which the media portrays is to challenge stereotypes in all areas of society. They state that if there is a wide social change, it will take a while for the media to catch up. Radical Feminists argue that the male domination of the media means that it portrays images of women which it’s thought that men desire. Croteau and Hoynes (2000) found that in the mid-90s in America, only 6% of top management positions were held by women. Women wrote 19% of front page stories, and presented 20% of news reports on television. Radical Feminists argue that there is a patriarchal ideology within society, which is supported by the media, through portraying exaggerated stereotypes about men and women. Even though it’s women who run women’s magazines, they have internalised the patriarchal ideology, and have learned to preserve sexist ideas, and pass them on to their readers. Marxist Feminism states that capitalism as well as patriarchy is to blame for the exploitation of women which is portrayed in the media. They claim that women’s bodies are used in order to sell products and support the capitalist system. Advertisements also often fragment women’s body parts, so that they don’t show the whole person. This further promotes the exploitation of women as they are seen as ‘objects’ within the media, rather than human beings. Even though Feminists have different perspectives on the mass media, they do all tend to agree on certain points. They agree that women tend to be seen in domestic settings in the media, especially in the 1930s-1950s, where they were expected to take care of household chores, cooking and cleaning, and to look after the children full time. Women’s bodies tend to be highly sexualised in the media, and it has been normalised for women to be seen as objects of desire for men, rather than people. Women often aren’t the main character in a soap opera, or the main presenter of a TV programme. They are there to support the male lead, and to provide light entertainment rather than having any real impact. Female news reporters usually cover soft stories such as entertainment, travel and education, whereas male reporters tend to cover the harder stories which cover issues such as politics, crime and the economy. Female newsreaders also had to give up their job after turning 35 until fairly recently, as they were seen as being in their prime before that age. On the other hand, male newsreaders could stay on for as long as they wanted. Women in the media also tend to be judged solely on their appearance. For example, Ann Widdecombe receives a lot of negative press for being ‘fat’ or ‘not wearing enough makeup’ whereas males such as Alex Salmond would never be criticised in the media for his appearance, because it has nothing to do with the job he does. Women in general are often judged by their appearance rather than their personality, which is also rarely the case for men. There is an unrealistic standard in the media of women. It dictates that women should have flawless skin, and should be size zero, when in fact, this is borderline anorexic for most women. An average sized woman (14-16 in the UK) very rarely makes it into the media. This leads to the point that images of women in the media are marginalised. Often, women in the media are white, slim, heterosexual and young. Other groups do not make it into the media as much, such as black women, homosexual women, and older women. Feminist theories address the issue of the false portrayal of women within the media. This point has been largely ignored by other theories of the media. They have also highlighted how stereotypes in the media shape the attitudes and behaviour of the audience. However, they tend to overemphasise the impact of patriarchy, and the fact that there are opportunities within the mass media to change the projected image of women. Feminists also don’t agree on the cause of female exploitation in the media, and therefore have come up with different solutions, none of which they completely agree on. Ownership and control is a key feature in the mass media. Ownership of the mass media has become increasingly concentrated recently, with Rupert Murdoch owns over a third of newspapers in the UK, and another 40% owned between The Mirror Group Newspapers and United Newspapers. This can be viewed as a problem, because the owners have control over what their newspapers print, and this then influences audiences. Concentration of ownership has also occurred in television, with Rupert Murdoch owning Sky TV. There has been debate over ownership and control of the media, mainly between the Marxist and Pluralist perspectives. Marxists state that the mass media is an agent of ideological control within society, used by the bourgeoisie to force its’ views and values on the proletariat. This view is backed up by Miliband in The State in Capitalist Society (1973). Miliband argues that the media is an agent of capitalist control, and rejects the Pluralist view that the audience has genuine choice. He also argues that the media is controlled by capitalists, and therefore this is the ideology which is portrayed in the media, which then persuades the public to accept gross inequality. This study is good at pointing out political bias within the mass media, and questioning the impartiality of some corporations such as the BBC, who should be impartial by law. It is also strong in analysing the relationship between ownership of the media and its’ content. However, it has been criticised for over emphasising the impact of the concentration of ownership. They ignore the fact that Murdoch has failed to purchase certain franchises, such as Channel 5, to avoid a monopoly ownership. The Marxist perspective also ignores the fact that audiences are able to make up their own minds, and aren’t always swayed by the media. On the other hand, James Curran in Mass Media and Democracy: A Reappraisal (1991) takes a Pluralist view and argues that the growth of the mass media reinstates the view that there is widespread choice, with a core public sector, combined with an expanding private sector. Therefore the impact of ownership and control is insignificant when the diverse choice which exists is taken into account. This study is strong in recognising that the mass media in the UK has undergone major changes recently, although it ignores the fact that it is mostly owned by either wealthy individuals or large institutional shareholders. Another key feature in the mass media is bias. Bias can come in a number of forms. Over-representation is where certain groups receive more media coverage than others. In the UK, this tends to be white, middle-class heterosexual males. Other groups within society are under-represented, such as females, homosexuals and ethnic minorities. Misrepresentation is where information is presented incorrectly, through misquoting a phrase, or misrepresenting one side of an argument in order to either show it in a more positive or negative light. This causes the audience to come to a false conclusion. Exaggeration means that the media makes an issue out to be more important than it really is. This may be used to scare the public into believing that something is more dangerous than it actually is. Finally, omission is where information is withheld, and key facts are not included. The Government can be involved in bias within the media, because it tries to influence media content through manipulation of the media in order to promote Government policy, and it also restrains investigative journalism which opposes Government policy. The BBC’s license fees are set by the Government, and if it broadcasts something which the Government is in opposition to, this can have a knock on effect on the BBC. In 1988, Thames Television aired a documentary on the killing of 3 IRA members in Gibraltar, Mass media free essay sample The mass-manipulative model argues that the content of the mass media is largely controlled and determined by members of ruling class, with the object of using the mass media to maintain their control over the proletariat. The do this either by diverting them from seeing the class relations of a capitalist society for what they are, or by portraying any groups who challenge bourgeois control as sinister, dangerous and misguided. For example, Silvio Berlusconi’s others holding include a major daily newspaper, a leading news magazine, a large publishing house and the country largest media buyer. And as prime minister, he has indirect control over RAI (Radiotelevisione Italiana) – enough to pull the strings necessary to put that broadcasters â€Å"fairness doctrine† into effect. According to Argia Big Namy, a Rome attorney specializing in intellectual property issues, said that flawed cases are eventually thrown out, but the process is very slow and expensive. However, while this is certainly unfortunate, it is also true that they do not need to participate directly because reporters will provide them with the information that they need to stay sufficiently informed about our society so that they can make appropriate choices about how to act and how to vote.

Bill Gates - Strategic Thinker free essay sample

Bill Gates – Strategic Thinker Leader? Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to explore the published work on strategic leadership in order to develop an inventory of qualities, skills and behaviours that define and explain the concept of strategic leadership. A full review of literature on this topic aims to shed light on this definition. Having discussed and defined this concept the report will then focus on Bill Gates, former CEO of the Microsoft Corporation, with the aim of answering the following question. Is Bill Gates a Strategic Thinker and Leader? Introduction Throughout history we will recall that in the past, the word leader conjured up visions of an almost mythical figure astride a warhorse, slaying dragons or single-handedly rallying troops to achieve victory over superior foes. These leaders projected their authority so that others would follow; they could do any task better than their followers. They achieved success through personal tenacity, brute strength, and physical boldness, sometimes at the cost of their own lives. Much of the initial work in leadership theory revolved around the idea of identifying the traits of popular political and military heroes such as Caesar, Wellington, Roosevelt and Churchill. However, the problem with the ‘great man’ approach was that no congruent body of traits could be identified, that much of leadership success was evidently dependent upon the particular situation. Nevertheless, the tabloid press helps us to think of the corporate leader as the great man. For instance we often read of Bill Gates or Jack Welch as if they were primarily responsible for many years of success at Microsoft and General Electric. Although both were unarguably highly effective chief executives, what is it that drove these men and their companies to their success? What is Strategic Thinking? Many theorists say the ability to think strategically is the key to leadership success. While vision and results may be outputs of strategic thinking, the ability to think strategically involves much more. One definition is that of (Liedtka 1998) who stated that strategic thinking is an individual activity, but one that is supported by organizational contexts and dialogue. Strategic thinking, to some it is about creativity and to others analytical. Mintzberg (1994) referred to it as a synthesizing process that utilizes creativity and intuition, whilst Porter (1987) stated that good strategic planning was a necessary contributor to strategic thinking. Hanford (1995), states that it requires taking a high-level, long-term view that includes reflection about the past as well as creativity regarding the future. According to Stumpf (1989), strategic thinking involves an interrelated set of skills encompassing; motivating, controlling, planning, delegating and setting objectives. These in turn influence the leaders’ ability to †¢ Know the business markets Manage subunit rivalry †¢ Find and overcome threats †¢ Stay on Strategy †¢ Be an entrepreneurial force †¢ Accommodate adversity This supports the definition provided by (Bonn 2004). That strategic thinking is a way of solving problems that combines both rational and convergent approaches with creative and divergent thought processes. We will see late r how Gates epitomized Stumpfs theory. What is Strategic Leadership? Strategic Leadership is more than just strategy and planning. It’s about handling the human element as well as the task issues and doing so in such a way that engages people instead of alienating them. People in organisations particularly have a number of basic needs, one of which is some idea of certainty about the future. Effective strategic leaders provide that certainty by having a clear vision and workable strategies for bringing that future into reality. Vision is a key facet in the ability to think strategically. Research by Collins and Porras (1998) stressed the necessity for leaders to have a vision and beliefs about the desired future and outcome. This links to the views of Senge (1990) who stated that a genuine vision is â€Å"a calling rather than simply a good idea† (p. 142). The ability to share this vision helps to provide a sense of direction and meaning to the decision making process (Liedtka 1998). Liedtka (1998) also recognises the need for hypothesizing. Strategic thinking has to be hypothesis driven which again links us to the need for creativity along with analysis. Hypothesis testing involves â€Å" What if†¦? † (creative) followed by â€Å"If†¦then† (critical analysis). This ability to use causes and effect transcends leadership thinking to another level. Leadership at the strategic level is about setting the direction for the organisation as a whole, getting policy and strategy right and making things happen. It frequently involves organising and reorganising the way things operate in the organisation and relating the organisation to other organisations and society as a whole. Effective strategic leaders, in the words of Prof. John Adair, need to ‘release the corporate spirit’. Literature Review Over the past 10-15 years research on leadership theory and has provided considerable support for the effectiveness of transformational and charismatic leadership in organisations. The focus of such leadership models centers on the leader’s creation, communication, and implementation of a vision. Vision as defined by Larwood and Falbe, 1995, and Strange and Mumford, 2002, is a highly desirable and vivid future organisational state that motivates followers, as cited in Groves, 2005. Infact, most current academics argue that exemplary leaders are described by their followers as visionary and inspirational (Rafferty and Griffin, 2004; Bass and Avolio, 1994; Conger, 1999 in Groves, 2005), while recent empirical studies demonstrate the powerful effects of visionary leadership at the individual, group, and organisation levels. Beginning as early as the late 1980s, leadership academics have examined emotional Intelligence skills as key predictors of effective visionary leadership. Empirical studies by Howell and Frost (1989), Holladay and Coombs (1994), Awamleh and Gardner (1999) and Den Hartog and Verburg (1997) assessed the relationships among vision content and communication style using trained actors as leader figures and students as followers reporting their perceptions of visionary leadership, charisma, and leadership effectiveness. The results of these studies and others generally support the relationship between an emotionally expressive communication style, characterised by eye contact, facial expressiveness, effective gestures, and vocal variety, and follower perceptions of visionary leadership, charisma, and leadership effectiveness. Emotional Intelligence appears to play a critical role in such leadership, suggesting that further study on the effects of emotional intelligence and leadership behavior is warranted. Mary Parker Follett (1987) describes leadership in holistic terms when she states that it is the leader who â€Å"can organise the experience of the group †¦ it is by organising experience that we transform experience into power. The task of the chief executive is to articulate the integrated unity which his business aims to be †¦ the ablest administrators do not merely draw logical conclusions from the array of facts †¦ they have a vision of the future† (quoted in ampden-Turner and Trompenaars, 1994, pp. 341-2). The model developed by Westley and Mintzberg (1989), suggested using drama to describe the process of visionary leadership, see figure 1. They suggested that the repetition stage, was the equivalent of rehearsal – ‘crafting’ the vision. Moving next to representation – whereby the leader communicates the vision which leads to buy from the audience – assistance stage. Later I will apply this framework to the work of Bill Gates Figure 1: Using drama to describe visionary leadership (adapted from Westley and Mintzberg, 1989) The Vision Communication Buy In Rehearsal Performance Audience Westley and Mintzbergs framework echoed that proposed by Bennis (Bennis and Nanus, 1985) who defines leadership in terms of the capacity to create a compelling vision, to translate it into action, and to sustain it. Bennis’s 1985 study of 90 successful US public figures identified the following leadership skills: ? The ability to create a vision that others can believe in and adopt as their own. Such vision is long term in its orientation. The leader uses vision to build a bridge from the present to the future of the organization. ? The capacity to communicate that vision, and to translate it into practicalities. ? The ability to create a climate of organisational trust. Trust acts as emotional glue that unites leaders and followers in a common purpose, and helps achieve the outcomes of that vision. Further study by Hickman’s (1992) in his influential Mind of a Manager, Soul of a Leader was first published in 1990. Hickman (1992, p. 7) suggests that â€Å"the words ‘manager’ and ‘leader’ are metaphors representing two opposite ends of a spectrum. Manager’ tends to signify the more analytical, structured, controlled, deliberate, and orderly end of the continuum; while ‘leader’ tends to occupy the more experimental, visionary, flexible, uncontrolled, and creative end†. Hickman (1992) notes in this context McNamara’s First Law of Analysis, which states tha t a person should â€Å"always start by looking at the grand total. Whatever problem you are studying, back off and look at it in the large†. Hickman suggests that when a leader wishes to view this full picture, they may do so by simplifying it. The leader searches for patterns, connections, frameworks, or concepts that encompass all the confusing details surrounding a particular issue. As a result of this inclination, leaders tend to create simple visions or perceptions of reality, encouraging a philosophy of ‘keep it simple’ (KIS). Leaders use the detail to find patterns and frameworks in order to simplify the complexity. Hickman (1992) suggests that when leaders want to enhance their effectiveness, they pursue dreams because dreams represent new visions and new possibilities. Leaders may evaluate their performance on the basis of dreams achieved. Bill Gates personal response to the vision and innovation was through his ‘think weeks’ (Heritage, 2006), whereby dedicated time is spent developing proposals, demonstrating the leadership buy-in that contributed to Microsoft’s success. It was, however, on one of these retreats, that when pushed for time, email was scrubbed off the priority list! Zaccaro 1996, categorised existing literature on leadership into four bodies of major theories: conceptual complexity, behavioral complexity, strategic management, and visionary/inspirational leadership. Visionary/inspirational leadership theories and models include theories of charismatic and transformational leadership. The common theme is that leaders develop and use their vision to structure and to motivate collective action. Considerable emphasis is placed on empowerment and development of human resources, especially subordinates. These models of leadership offer a number of characteristics that enhance a leaders ability to lead, including cognitive abilities (e. g. , creativity, reasoning skills, intelligence, verbal ability), self-confidence, motivation, propensity for risk, and social skills. One definition of vision comes from Burt Nanus, a well-known expert on the subject. Nanus defines a vision as a realistic, credible, attractive future for [an] organisation. Nanus goes on to say that the right vision for an organization, one that is a realistic, credible, attractive future for that organization, can accomplish a number of things for the organization: †¢ It attracts commitment and energizes people †¢ It creates meaning in workers lives †¢ It establishes a standard of excellence †¢ It bridges the present and the future Another definition of vision comes from Oren Harari: Vision should describe a set of ideals and priorities, a picture of the future, a sense of what makes the company special and unique, a core set of principles that the company stands for, and a broad set of compelling criteria that will help define organizational success. A FORMULA FOR VISIONARY LEADERSHIP Burt Nanus sums up his concepts with two simple formulas (slightly modified): STRATEGIC VISION X COMMUNICATION = SHARED PURPOSE SHARED PURPOSE X EMPOWERED PEOPLE X ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGES X STRATEGIC THINKING = SUCCESSFUL VISIONARY LEADERSHIP Each one of the terms places unique and special demands on the strategic leader. If you can put these elements together in an organisation, and you have a good vision to start with, you should be well on the way to achieving excellence. Collins and Porras (1998), affirm: The function of a leader the one universal requirement of effective leadership is to catalyze a clear and shared vision of the organisation and to secure commitment to and vigorous pursuit of that vision. It is this definition of a leader I will use to answer the question of whether Bill Gates is a strategic thinker and leader. Findings Over the past 30 years much has been written and spoke about Bill Gates, some good, some bad and some ugly – what is without doubt is that for over 13 years he was the richest and most powerful man in the world. All this from the basic guiding vision of â€Å"Every business and household must have a computer and must run Microsoft software† Nanus describes visionary leadrship like this: A vision portrays a fictitious world that cannot be observed or verified in advance and that, in fact, may never become reality (emphasis added). However, if it is a good mental model, it shows the way to identify goals and how to plan to achieve them. Look at Winston Churchill and Franklin Roosevelt: they said, This is what it’s going to be. And then they did it. Big, bold changes, forcefully articulated. When you get leaders who confuse popularity with leadership, who just nibble away at things, nothing changes† (Tichy and Sherman, 1994, p. 298). â€Å"In the new culture, the role of a leader is to express a vision, get buy-in, and implement it. That calls for open, caring relations with employees, and face-to-face communication. People who cannot convincingly articulate a vision won’t be successful† (Tichy and Sherman, 1994, p. 48). Gates was born and grew up in Seattle Washington USA. His father, William H. Gates II, was a prominent lawyer, his mother, Mary Maxwell Gates, served on the boad of directors for the Interstate Bank and the United Way. His parents recognised his intelligence and enrolled him in Lakeside, a private school known for its intense academic environment it was here that Bill Gates was first introduced to computers. Gates went on to Harvard University and while there teamed up with Paul Allen, a childhood friend and co-founder of Microsoft, to write a new ersion of Basic programming language for the first personnel computer the Altair 8800. The company was impressed with Gates and Allens work and licensed the soft ware resulting in Gates and Allen forming the company Microsoft to develop software for other companies. Bill dropped out of Harvard to spend more time on the new business. After dropping out of Harvard, Bill Gates and his partner Paul Allen set about revolutionizing the computer industry. Gates believed there should be a computer on every office desk and in every home. In 1975 the company Micro-soft was formed, which was an abbreviation of microcomputer software. It soon became simply Microsoft and went on to completely change the way people use computers. The success of Microsoft began with the MS-DOS computer operating system (OS) that Gates licensed to IBM, it is rumored that he ‘borrowed’ this from a close colleague, also rumored that the initial meeting was set up by Bills mum. It was this licensing and stipulation that all applications must use MS-DOS to be compatible that give Microsoft the monopoly and set the standard for home computing. It was practically impossible to purchase a computer without Microsoft pre-installed, unless it was a Mac (another study! Microsoft used its position as keeper of the OS, as a way to destroy the opposition – it was about being the best, but being the only one. Over the next few years Microsoft was continually updating its OS and keeping ahead of the competition. Gates oversaw the invention and marketing of the MS-DOS operating system, the Windows operating interface, the Interne t Explorer browser, and a multitude of other popular computer products. Along the way he gained a reputation for fierce competitiveness and aggressive business savvy. During the 1990s rising Microsoft stock prices made Gates the worlds wealthiest man; Gates looked invincible, inconceivably he missed the rise of the internet. As late as 1993, Windows has no net access built in, Gates saw the Web and email as a passing fad. However, he turned it around within a year and released Windows 95 – 100% internet compatible. With his great success in the computer software industry also came many criticisms. With his ambitious and aggressive business philosophy, Gates or his Microsoft lawyers have been in and out of courtrooms fighting legal battles almost since Microsoft began. The Microsoft monopoly sets about completely dominating every market it enters through either acquisition, aggressive business tactics or a combination of them. Many of the largest technology companies have fought legally against the actions of Microsoft, including Apple Computer, Netscape and sun Microsystems. Bill brings to the company the idea that conflict can be a good thing, says Steve Ballmer, ex-Harvard colleague and current CEO of Microsft. Bill knows its important to avoid that gentle civility that keeps you from getting to the heart of an issue quickly. He likes it when anyone, even a junior employee, challenges him, and you know he respects you when he starts shouting back. The contentious atmosphere can promote flexibility. The Microsoft Network began as a proprietary online system like CompuServe or America Online. When the open standards of the Internet changed the game, Microsoft was initially caught flat-footed. Arguments ensued. Soon it became clear it was time to try a new strategy and raise the stakes. Gates turned his company around in just one year to disprove the maxim that a leader of one revolution will be left behind by the next. Rob Glaser, a former Microsoft executive who now runs the company that makes RealAudio, is an admirer who compliments Gates on his vision. But, he adds, Gates is pretty relentless. Hes Darwinian. He doesnt look for win-win situations with others, but for ways to make others lose. Success is defined as flattening the competition, not creating excellence. When he was at Microsoft, for example, Glaser says the atmosphere was like a Machiavellian poker game where youd hide things even if it would blindside people you were supposed to be working with. It comes down to the same traits that his psychologist noted when Gates was in sixth grade. In Bills eyes, says Glaser, hes still a kid with a startup whos afraid hell go out of business if he lets anyone compete. Esther Dyson, one of the industrys fabled gurus, is another longtime friend who shares such qualms. He never really grew up in terms of social responsibility and relationships with other people, she says. Hes brilliant but still childlike. He can be a fun companion, but he can lack human empathy. If we werent so ruthless, wed be making more creative software? Wed rather kill a competitor than grow the market?!? Conclusions In part Bill Gates fits into the frameworks provided by Westley and Mintzberg (1989) and Bennis (1985) with the ability to create and communicate his vision – however, his single-mindedness and obsessiveness with crushing the opposition led to a lack of trust and integrity. Bill Gates epitomizes the work of Stumpf (1989), throughout the early y ears Bill Gates was: Motivating – the desire to achieve his vision Controlling – the systematic way he monopolized home computing Planning – the calculated way that Microsoft became the OS of choice, Delegating and setting objectives – Involving key players in his mission In turn he achieved the following: †¢ Knew the business markets †¢ Managed subunit rivalry †¢ Found and overcome threats †¢ Stayed on Strategy †¢ Became an entrepreneurial force †¢ Accommodated adversity Thus, strategic vision is part style, part process, part content, and part context, while visionary leadership involves psychological gifts, sociological dynamics and the luck of timing. True strategic visionaries are both born and made, but they are not self-made. They are the product of the historical moment. This research suggests that, despite their great skills, it is a mistake to treat leaders such as Bill Gates as possessing superhuman qualities. He is the product of the times, of his followers, of his opportunities. As times and contexts change the visionaries of yesterday fade into obscurity, or worse, become the villains of today. His story is an extraordinary one. Windows may not be the best operating system in the World, but computers needed a standard and he and Microsoft provided it. If he hadn’t someone else undoubtedly would had but maybe not with the same degree of obsessiveness and drive. Affirming Collins and Porras (1998),: The function of a leader the one universal requirement of effective leadership is to catalyze a clear and shared vision of the organisation and to secure commitment to and vigorous pursuit of that vision. In short Bill Gates is a visionary thinker and leader of his time – but without the opportunity and IBMs millions would he have been able to take his chances. Since the turn of the decade Microsoft has had more failures than success; Google is on the march to become the Microsoft of the 21st Century. Further Study The effectiveness of long-term vision is crucial to the long-term health of any organisation. At all levels, leaders must make trade-off decisions, generally with the use of resources. Critical trade-offs reflect a choice between current effectiveness and projected future effectiveness , whether to do more research and development on a future, qualitatively superior software system, or to buy more of the available system; whether to make the investment in current technology or wait for the next quantum step. Each decision is surrounded by risk, imposed by cost and the uncertainty of future developments. Strategic leadership is a balancing act, a thin line between maximizing present effectiveness, and maximising future effectiveness, decisions that, to some extent, are mutually exclusive. Resources expended today in the wrong direction become a loss. This is why strategic vision is crucially important to organisations. Strategic leadership is a risky business. Strategic decisions are rarely clear-cut. There will always be uncertainties and often ambiguities. Contributing to the uncertainty is the fact that decisions must be made with some set of presumably valid assumptions in mind. However, strategic decisions may play out over long time spans: 10, 15, 20 years-or more. Word Count: 3572 Reference List Ambilie, T. M. (1998) How to kill creativity Harvard Business Review, September/October, pp. 77-87 Bass, B. M. and Avolio, B. J. (1994), Improving Organizational Effectiveness through Transformational Leadership, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Bennis, W. and Nanus, B. (1985), Leaders: the Strategies for Taking Charge, Harper Row, New York, NY. Bonn, I. (2001) Developing strategic thinking as a core competency, Management Decision 39/1 pp. 63-70, MCB University Press Bonn, I. 2005) Improving strategic thinking: a multi-level approach, Leadership Organization Journal. Vol 26, No. 5 p. 337 Collins, J. C. and Porras, J. I (1998) Built to last Century Business, London Follett, M P. (1987), Freedom and Co-ordination: Lectures in Business Organization, Garland, New York, NY. Groves, K. S. (2005 ), Leader emotional expressivity,visionary leadership, and organizational change , Leadership Organization Development Journal Vol. 27 No. 7, 2006 pp. 566-583 Hampden-Turner, C. and Trompenaars, F. (1994), The Seven Cultures of Capitalism, Piatkus, London. Harari, O. 1994. Beyond the vision thing. Management Review (November): 29-31 Heritage, C. (2006), Microsoft: innovation through HR’s partnership, Melcrum Publishing Hickman, C. R. (1992), Mind of a Manager, Soul of a Leader, Wiley, New York, NY. Kaufman, R. (1991) Strategic Planning Plus: An Organizational Guide, Scott Foresman, Glenview, IL Kay, J. (1993), Foundations of Corporate Success, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Liedtka, J. (1998). Strategic thinking; can it be taught? , Long Range Planning, 31, (1), 120-129. Liedtka, J. (1998). Linking strategic thinking with strategic planning, Strategy and Leadership, October, (1), 120-129. Lynch, R (1997) Corporate Strategy, 2nd ed. FT Prentice Hall C. McLarney and Shelley Rhyno (1999). Mary Parker Follett: visionary leadership and strategic managemen t, Women in Management Review, Volume 14 . Number 7, 292-302 Mintzberg, Henry (1994). The rise and fall of strategic planning. New York: The Free Press. Mintzberg, Henry (1999). â€Å"Bees, flies, and CEOs; do we have too many bees making strategy and not enough flies? ,† Across The Board, January. Morden, T. (1997), Leadership as vision, Management Decision, 668–676  © MCB University Press Nanus, Burt. Visionary Leadership: Creating a Compelling Sense of Direction For Your Organization. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1992. Porter, M. (1985), Competitive Advantage, The Free Press, New York, NY, . Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday/Currency. Senge, P. (1997). Through the eye of the needle in Gibson, Rowan ed. (1997) Rethinking the future: business, principles, competition, control, leadership, markets and the world, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London. Stumpf, S. A. (1989) Strategic Management Skills – What are they? , Why are they needed? In review, Academy of Management Executive Tichy, N. M. nd Sherman, S. (1994), Control Your Own Destiny or Someone Else Will, Harper Business, New York, NY. Westley, F. and Mintzberg, H. (1989), Visionary leadership and strategic management, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 10, pp. 17-32. Zaccaro, S. J. 1996. Models and Theories of Executive Leadership: A Conceptual/Empirical Review and Integration. Alexandria, VA http://www. cmtpct. nhs . uk/documents/publications/RBUNNINGleadershipdev. pdf http://www. guardian. co. uk/technology/ http://www. mackido. com/history/gates_a_genius. html http://www. time. com/time/gates/cover0. html Bibliography Ambilie, T. M. (1998) How to kill creativity Harvard Business Review, September/October, pp. 77-87 Argyris, C. , Schon, D. (1978). Organizational learning: a theory of action perspective. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. Bass, B. M. and Avolio, B. J. (1994), Improving Organizational Effectiveness through Transformational Leadership, Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA. Bennis, W. and Nanus, B. (1985), Leaders: the Strategies for Taking Charge, Harper Row, New York, NY. Bonn, I. (2001) Developing strategic thinking as a core competency, Management Decision 39/1 pp. 63-70, MCB University Press Bonn, I. 2005) Improving strategic thinking: a multi-level approach, Leadership Organization Journal. Vol 26, No. 5 p. 337 Collins, J. C. and Porras, J. I (1998) Built to last Century Business, London Drucker, P. F. (2002) Managing in the next society, Butterworth-Heineman Follett, M P. (1987), Freedom and Co-ordination: Lectures in Business Organization, Garland, New York, NY. Garratt, B. (1995), Developi ng strategic thought – Rediscovering the art of direction giving, McGraw-Hill, London Groves, K. S. (2005 ), Leader emotional expressivity,visionary leadership, and organizational change, Leadership Organization Development Journal Vol. 7 No. 7, 2006 pp. 566-583 Hampden-Turner, C. and Trompenaars, F. (1994), The Seven Cultures of Capitalism, Piatkus, London. Handford, P. (1995), Developing director and executive competencies in strategic thinking, in Garratt, B. (Ed. ), Developing strategic thought – Rediscovering the art of direction giving, McGraw-Hill, London Handy, C (1995) Gods of management, Arrow Books, London Harari, O. 1994. Beyond the vision thing. Management Review (November): 29-31 Heracleous, L. (1998). Strategic thinking or strategic planning, Long Range Planning, 31, (3), 481-487. Heritage, C. 2006), Microsoft: innovation through HR’s partnership, Melcrum Publishing Hickman, C. R. (1992), Mind of a Manager, Soul of a Leader, Wiley, New York, NY. Kaufman, R. (1991) Strategic Planning Plus: An Organizational Guide, Scott Foresman, Glenview, IL Kay, J. (1993), Foundations of Corporate Success, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Liedtka, J. (1998). Strategic thinking; can it be taught? , Long Range Planning, 31, (1), 120-129. Liedtka, J. (1998). Linking strategic thinking with strategic planning, Strategy and Leadership, October, (1), 120-129. Lynch, R (1997) Corporate Strategy, 2nd ed. , FT Prentice Hall C. McLarney and Shelley Rhyno (1999). Mary Parker Follett: visionary leadership and strategic management, Women in Management Review, Volume 14 . Number 7, 292-302 Mintzberg, Henry (1994). The rise and fall of strategic planning. New York: The Free Press. Mintzberg, Henry (1999). â€Å"Bees, flies, and CEOs; do we have too many bees making strategy and not enough flies? ,† Across The Board, January. Morden, T. (1997), Leadership as vision, Management Decision, 668–676  © MCB University Press Nanus, Burt. Visionary Leadership: Creating a Compelling Sense of Direction For Your Organization. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1992. Porter, M. (1985), Competitive Advantage, The Free Press, New York, NY, . Rowley, J. (1999), ‘‘What is knowledge management? ’’, Library Management, Vol. 20 No. 8, pp. 416-19 Senge, P. (1990). The fifth discipline: the art and practice of the learning organization. New York: Doubleday/Currency. Senge, P. (1997). Through the eye of the needle in Gibson, Rowan ed. (1997) Rethinking the future: business, principles, competition, control, leadership, markets and the world, Nicholas Brealey Publishing, London. Stacy, R. (1992). Managing the Unknowable, Jossey-Bass, San Francisco. Stumpf, S. A. 1989) Strategic Management Skills – What are they? , Why are they needed? In review, Academy of Management Executive Tichy, N. M. and Sherman, S. (1994), Control Your Own Destiny or Someone Else Will, Harper Business, New York, NY. Weick, E. (1995) Sensemaking in organizations, Sage Westley, F. and Mintzberg, H. (1989), Visionary leadership and strategic management, Strategic Management Journal, Vol. 10, pp. 17-32. Wilson, Ian (1994) â€Å"Strategic Planning Isn’t Dead It Changed†, Long Range Planning, 27 (4). Zaccaro, S. J. 1996. Models and Theories of Executive Leadership: A Conceptual/Empirical Review and Integration. Alexandria, VA

Explore how male domination contributes to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Essay Example For Students

Explore how male domination contributes to the tragedy of Romeo and Juliet Essay A tragedy is an event which causes great destruction of suffering, also it is a type of drama which the action and language are elevated which the ending usually sad especially involving the fall of a great man, this normally is known as a shocking or sad event. a personal tragedy is a close person or living thing that dies where a literary tragedy is a written tragedy like a novel or a story. A Shakespearian tragedy play normally starts off happy and gets sad and negative at the end, A good example is when a protagonist usually the man of importance and outstanding qualities falls to disaster through the combination of a personal failing and circumstances with which he cannot deal. Other tragedy plays by Shakespeare include ; Hamlet, Macbeth, Othello, Romeo and Juliet, king Lear, Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra. Romeo and Juliet is one of the most well known plays and it has been performed countless of times as it is about love, luck and chance of everything going wrong. Everyone feels sorrow for them as it is about a tragic story about young love. The Prologue is a chorus for which is written for a Greek version of Romeo and Juliet. It is basically saying the storyline and that it is a tragedy, for example it says a fearful passage of their death-marked love. It tells its a tragedy as Shakespeare uses words like fateful and death. It also uses words like Fataldeath marked loveblood all exemplify violence throughout the play which contributes to the tragedy. The ancient Grudge is between the Capulets and the Montagues which is mainly with the male side as it shows off their masculinity. Ancient suggests that it has been on going for generations and no living soul knows how or why I started but it is finally stopped by the death if the son and daughter of the lords themselves. In Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare emphasises the male stereotype as he mentions that they are ruthless, temperamental, competitive and dominant because of these characteristics the masculinity continues the feud and violence between the familys which reinforces the stereotypes. The male domination illustrates the weakness of the females role in life as the were thought to be owned by men which made them feel useless and just for show, the male stereotype of competitive was shown by this as they were shown to be worth nothing and only used for sexual pleasure. Samsung and Gregory were two servants of the Capulet family who are always wanting a fights with the Montagues. Samsung is very boastful and very sexist, we see this as he says women being the weaker vessels are ever thrust to the wall this shows the stereotypical of men being dominant and strong as women are only used for show. When Samsung and Gregory have their banter it is very sinister as they both believe it is ok to treat women badly as they have no morals, in addition they think men are superior over women, we see this as it says When I fought with the men, I will be cruel with the maids- I will cut of their heads. In addition Samsung starts boasting and when Abraham joined Samsung started to provoke a fight with him to show off his testosterone when Abraham asks him do you bite your thumb at me sir? he is trying to provoke a fight but when he asks Gregory if the police are on their side, he is worried as he knows they would be biased on their side, but he still aggravates then by saying that they quarrel which means likes to argue, which also provokes them to make them angry. When Lord Capulet and Lord Montague find out about the brawl they both are egger to join the battle, this show off the stereotypical side of being masculine and wanting to fight. The wives try to stop them for their own good as they know they are too old for fighting but they respond by resisting their wives and forcefully pick up their weapons prepared for fighting. This sets a bad example to Verona and to the citizens as they are two of the most powerful and richest families which the citizens look up to them. To conclude Verona seems to have a very violent nature in the city between many families. Previous drama pieces EssayRomeo felt self pity over Mercutios death because he believed is was his own fault as he did not have the courage and will power to stand up to Tybalt for himself. After he goes through a mixed state of emotions and slays Tybalt he then feels remorse and shame as he killed the love of his life Juliets cousin, he also knows he will be banished from Verona for the killing and would never see Juliet again. Romeo changeability is highlighted in act 2 scene 3 as it is generally talking about how he keeps falling in and out of love, we can interpret this as it says is Rosaline, whom thou didst love so dear, so soon forsaken? this is saying that he moves from one girl to the other because of their looks, which shows he does not know what true love is. In addition Romeo acts like a child when he goes to kill Tybalt as afterwards he goes to Friar Lawrence, curls up and cries in the corner which is another reason which shows he never thinks of his actions. Moreover he doesnt think enough about when Juliet is supposedly dead as he rushes and kills himself without concentrating about the whole dramatic event. When Romeo first sees Juliet as the masked ball he paints a picture exaggerating over her beauty, the fact that the whole speech is in rhyming verse, a couplet at a time, suggests that Romeo views Juliet as an angel quoted from the book. He expresses her like this because she looks stunning and her appearance would bright up the sky from miles away. Patriarchy is a society which is ruled by dominant male leaders. Lord Capulets patriarchal power is wielded because as a noble man he believes he is responsible for providing Juliet with money and to also maintain the whole family with anything they need. As the Father or Juliet he feels responsibly to find Juliet a suitable man to marry who will keep their families honour high and reputation, in addition the women relied on their father to arrange the marriage as they were inferior to the men. So when Juliet refuses to marry Paris who is a relative of the Price and is very wealthy, Lord Capulet can believe it as she is being dishonourable and disobedient which insults him. He reacts to this by lashing out in an outrage and threatening Juliet that she will be disowned by his family. To conclude about how male domination contributed to the deaths of Romeo and Juliet, I believe that because of the long feud and violence between the two families, this prevented Romeo and Juliet from having a real relationship because they had to keep it secret from both families. Also because of the male dominance and that Juliets Father was trying to force Juliet to marry Paris then this compelled her to fake her death so that she could finally run away and be free with Romeo. In addition because of the male superiors always creating or wanting to fight, this was a bad upbringing for both Romeo and Juliet so there whole life was to hate the other family which is another factor which would of cause these catastrophic events.

Persuasive Essay on Metallica free essay sample

My favorite album would eave to be there 1984 album Ride the Lightning though because out of all of there albums I can sing every song on Ride the Lightning by heart. Metallic may have disappointed some of there fans by going biblical with there self titled album, better known as The Black Album, but they only got better for me. Love all Of there music, even there less then loved Cola album with Lou Metallic may also get a bad reputation from what happened with there Bassist, Jason Nested.Jason replaced there late Bassist Clifford Lee Burton, ho passed in a tour bus accident. Jason had decided that along with being the bassist of Metallic that he would also have a side project. But James, Lars, and Kirk said its us or them and Jason chose them. Lars still gets crap for Kicking Jason out but simply put, Jason left. I respect both of there decision as well because it makes them who they are today. We will write a custom essay sample on Persuasive Essay on Metallica or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I remember when I was really little, was in my Ones Oldsmobile with my Dad and we were listening to Metallic.I was 3 or 4 at the time but man I couldnt keep myself from rocking out! My dad thought I was the coolest thing ever and it made me so happy that I got attached to Metallic and many other bands since then. Being with my dad and listening to Metallic is James Hatfield yet, or havent met Lars and Kirk, still feel like they are part of me and who I am. They mean so much to me but they dont even know it. But theres where I am kind of wrong. James, Lars, Kirk, and late Suicidal Tendencies Bassist Robert Trujillo, All Love there fans very very much, even if they dont know us.They know that we go out of our ways to dedicate even a moment of time in our day to listen to one of there songs, or go buy an album or go see a show. They appreciate us and thats why they perform still. All in all Metallic may not be your favorite band but they sure as hell are mine. They mean so much to me in so many different ways that one essay, not even a whole encyclopedia, could tell you or any other person how much theyve done for me! I hope that maybe after reading this you might go out of your way to listen to one Of there songs. The Unforgiving or One could change your life, the same way they changed mine.

The Kason festival of watering the Sacred Bodhi Tr Essays

The Kason festival of watering the Sacred Bodhi Tree, symbolizing the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha is an important Buddhist event throughout Myanmar. The full moon day of Kason is the Buddha Day, celebrated by the Buddhist faithful throughout the world. This year, the event is held on May 25th. On this day Dipankara Buddha prophesied to the hermit Sumedha that he would become Gotama Buddha, the latest one in this Baddha World, who again on suchlike days was born, attained Enlightenment (i.e., became the Buddha), and entered Parinibbana (i.e., passed away). The Buddha Day is the most significant day in the Buddhist world. It is a day four times blessed which is deeply intertwined with the milestones in the Buddhas life. The festival is also known as Vesak Day in other Buddhist countries, or the festival of pouring water on the Bodhi tree. The Bodhi tree ( Ficus Religiosa ), under which former prince Siddhattha attained Enlightenment, is held sacred. Hence the act of pouring water on it is an expression of piety and respect shown to him. Participants carry pots of water and Eugenia springs and flowers. Then comes chanting of Paritta verses, a brief explanation of the rites, and recitation of poems praising the Lord Buddha. Finally, water is poured at the foot of the Bodhi tree. Buddhist people would march in a grand procession to the Bodhi tree or to the pagodas to pour scented water. Every pagoda in Myanmar worth its salt has a sacred site complete with a Bodhi tree in its precincts. Yet festive atmosphere is not lacking: light refreshments are served accompanied by music and dance performed by amateur merry-makers. -- ( ) ( ) / / - -

Mythological Approach.

Mythological Approach. A mythological critic examines a work for repeating patterns that show thereasoning for various aspects of human life. In other words, upon analyzing a piece ofliterature, one will discover the "why's" of the human race. This could be anything frombirth and death to defeating death itself.A story that contains these aspects would be "Young Goodman Brown" byNathaniel Hawthorne. In this story, Goodman Brown has to take a spiritual journey on awalk through the forest. He encounters the Devil and he tempts Brown with all sorts ofways to 'leave the path.' The exact opposite of the Devil is represented in Brown's wife,Faith. Faith represents Brown's faith in God.An excerpt that best represents the Mythological Approach to Criticism is asfollows: "'Dearest heart,' whispered she, softly and rather sadly, when her lips were closeto his ear, 'pr'y thee, put off your journey until sunrise, and sleep in your own bed to-night. A lone woman is troubled with such dreams and such thoughts, that she' s afeard ofherself, sometimes. Pray, tarry with me this night, dear husband, of all nights in theyear!(2186)" This is a prime example of Faith's relying on premonitions.An example of the use of Archetypal Approach to Criticism would be the pinkribbons found in Faiths hair. There is a point in the story where Brown can't turn backfrom his journey, and because of this, Brown sees Faiths' ribbons fall from the sky."There was a scream, drowned immediately in a louder murmur of voices, fadinginto far-off laughter, as the dark cloud swept away, leaving the clear and silent sky aboveGoodman Brown. But something fluttered lightly down through the air and caught on thebranch of the tree. The young man seized it, and...

Process of Elimination on the SAT 11 Key Tips

Process of Elimination on the SAT 11 Key Tips SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips With the guessing penalty eliminated for the redesigned SAT, you should guess on any question you can’t answer, because you won’t be penalized for wrong guesses. However, that doesn’t mean that guessing completely randomly is a good idea. You should always use the process of elimination as much as you are able to increase your chances of getting the right answer. In this article, I’ll explain how eliminating incorrect answers helps you, and then go over some specific strategies you can use to eliminate wrong answers on Reading, Writing, and Math. How Eliminating Incorrect Answers Helps You The guessing penalty may be gone, but that doesn’t mean you should throw careful thought to the wind and randomly choose an answer on any question you are remotely stumped on. If you guess randomly on an SAT multiple-choice question, which has four choices, your chances of guessing the correct answer are 25%. If you can eliminate one wrong answer, those chances jump to 33%. If you can eliminate two, those chances jump even higher, to 50%. This means that even if you can’t definitively identify the correct answer, eliminating wrong answers will be a huge help. In the next sections, I’ll present some strategies on eliminating wrong answers for each of the multiple choice sections- Reading, Writing and Language, and Math.Math actually has two multiple choice sections- no-calculator and calculator- but the elimination strategies are pretty much the same for both. Every practice problem comes from this free practice test released by the College Board. Look there for the complete passages for the Reading and Writing sections. STRATEGY! 4 Strategies to Eliminate Wrong Answers on Reading Here are four main strategies to eliminate wrong answers on Reading: plugging answers into the passage, honing in on modifiers, applying abstract answers to the passage, and leveraging â€Å"find the evidence† question pairs. For each strategy, I’ll present a practice question with an explanation to show the skills in action. Strategy #1: Plug It In You’ve probably heard â€Å"plug it in† most commonly as an elimination strategy for math tests. But you can do it on other kinds of multiple choice questions, too.For Reading, this strategy comes into play for any question that asks you to define a word or phrase in the passage. You can replace the word in question with each of the answer choices in turn- essentially plugging the answers back into the passage in place of the original word or phrase- and then eliminate the ones that don’t make sense in context. Example: The short paragraph that contains line 2 reads, â€Å"Akira came directly, breaking all tradition. Was that it? Had he followed form- had he asked his mother to speak to his father to approach a go-between- would Chie have been more receptive?† If we replace â€Å"form† with choice (A), â€Å"appearance,† we get, â€Å"Had he followed appearance.† This clearly doesn’t make sense. How do you â€Å"follow† appearance? Eliminate it. If we replace â€Å"form† with choice (B), â€Å"custom,† we get, â€Å"Had he followed custom.† This sounds much better; â€Å"following custom† is a logical phrase that refers to sticking to tradition. Keep it. If we replace â€Å"form† with choice (C), â€Å"structure,† we get â€Å"Had he followed structure.† How do you â€Å"follow† structure in this context? He’s not building anything; he’s asking for Naomi’s hand in marriage. Eliminate (C). Finally, if we replace â€Å"form† with (D), â€Å"nature,† we get â€Å"Had he followed nature.† This doesn’t make sense, either- not only is it an awkward-sounding phrase, it doesn’t make sense in the context of the passage. There’s nothing â€Å"natural† about marriage customs; they are created by people. Eliminate (D). By â€Å"plugging in† the answers, we can eliminate the wrong choices one by one and determine that (B) is actually the only choice that makes sense. This is a strategy that works for any reading questions that ask you to define a word or phrase in context. Plugging it in: the next best thing when you don't have a dictionary. Strategy #2: Hone in on Modifiers and Descriptors Answers on SAT reading questions often contain descriptive modifiers, seen in phrases like â€Å"impassioned plea,† â€Å"desperate request,† and so on. It might be tempting to sort of gloss over the sea of modifiers when you are scanning responses, but don’t! You can use these modifiers to help you eliminate incorrect answers. The modifiers are often what most differentiates one answer choice from another. Example: As you can see, there are all kinds of descriptive modifiers in these answers. Choice (A) has â€Å"careful,† â€Å"traditional; (B) has â€Å"detailed,† â€Å"meaningful,†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (C) has â€Å"definitive,†; and (D) has â€Å"cheerful† and â€Å"amusing.† Let’s hone in on the modifiers in the above question for practice. Choice (A) describes the development of the passage as a â€Å"careful analysis of a traditional practice.† Certainly a â€Å"traditional practice†- using go-betweens to propose marriage- is a major subject of this passage. But is there careful analysis of this practice? â€Å"Careful† implies that the analysis is methodical or systematic, while this passage is only concerned with relating one anecdote. This is not â€Å"careful.† We can eliminate (A) based on this modifier. In answer (B), the passage is described as a â€Å"detailed description of a meaningful encounter.† The description here can definitely be described as â€Å"detailed.† The conversation is brief, but the passage is over a page long. It’s also about a marriage proposal, which is usually significant and emotional, so it seems reasonable to describe the encounter as â€Å"meaningful.† Let’s keep (B) in the running. Choice (C) describes the passage as â€Å"a definitive response to a series of questions.† Well, one question is definitely being asked here- Akira is asking for Naomi’s hand. But is there a definitive, or final, response? Chie gives no answer, so no. (C) can be eliminated. In choice (D) the passage is termed â€Å"a cheerful recounting of an amusing anecdote.† This passage concerns a serious matter, that of a marriage that could involve Chie’s daughter moving to another continent. So it’s not really appropriate to call this anecdote â€Å"amusing† or the recounting of events â€Å"cheerful.† Eliminate (D). By focusing on the modifiers and descriptors, we can eliminate answers in turn until we are left with the correct answer, (B). It’s important to pay close attention to these words since they are often what really separates the answers from each other! Don't let modifiers cloud your judgment- use them! Strategy #3: Apply an Abstract Answer to the Passage What do I mean by this? Well, lots of SAT reading questions have answer choices that are written in the abstract: instead of identifying a specific character, answers will say â€Å"one character,† or â€Å"a character†; instead of identifying a specific event, answer choices will say â€Å"an event,† or â€Å"a moment,†; and so on. The general, vague-sounding way these answers are phrased can make it hard to confidently eliminate answer choices. You can get around this problem by explicitly applying the general, abstract statements in the answer choices to concrete elements of the passage. This makes it much easier to spot answer choices that don’t fit. Example: In this question, all of the answer choices are presented as abstract statements, describing â€Å"one character† and â€Å"another character† without linking these pronouncements to specific characters that appear in the passage. If you can apply these vague, nonspecific answer choices explicitly to elements in the passage, in this case by identifying which characters are being referred to, it will be much easier to spot incorrect answers. Answer choice (A) says that, â€Å"one character argues with another character who intrudes on her home.† Well, the scene takes place in Chie’s home, and the only character who does not live there is Akira. We could rewrite this choice, then, as â€Å"Chie argues with Akira, who intrudes on her home.† But they don’t argue, and Akira is hardly an intruder- he is announced with a calling card, and Chie goes to meet him. So we can eliminate choice (A). Answer choice (B) says that one character receives a surprising request from another character. Who makes a request in this passage, and of whom? Well, Akira requests Naomi’s hand in marriage from Chie, her mother. So we could rewrite this answer as â€Å"Chie receives a surprising request from Akira.† This seems reasonable; we will keep this choice in mind. Answer choice (C) says that â€Å"one character reminisces about choices she has made over the years.† Since â€Å"she† is used, it would have to be either Chie or Naomi reminiscing. Naomi is only 18, so it wouldn’t make much sense for her to be reminiscing about her choices â€Å"over the years.† That leaves Chie. So stated in concrete terms, choice (C) would read, â€Å"Chie reminisces about choices she has made over the years.† But that’s not a good description what happens in the passage- it doesn’t mention either Akira or Naomi at all, who are also key players here. (C) can be eliminated. Answer choice (D) states, â€Å"One character criticizes another character for pursuing an unexpected course of action.† Well, from the passage we know that Akira is doing several unexpected things. He shows up at a time when he is not expected, and he is going to America, and he is asking for Naomi’s hand.So he may be â€Å"pursuing an unexpected course of action.† The only character he interacts with substantively in the passage is Chie, so we would have to rewrite this answer choice as, â€Å"Chie criticizes Akira for pursuing an unexpected course of action.† But Chie doesn’t really criticize Akira- the only things she says to Akira are to congratulate him for his position in America and to ask whether Naomi knows he wants to marry her. (D) can be eliminated. With that, we’ve eliminated every answer but (B). (I swear it’s only a coincidence that all of these sample questions have B answers!) By rewriting answer choices that are offered in general or abstract terms so they are more concretely linked to the passage, we can more easily eliminate wrong answers. SAT Reading: the floral edition. Strategy #4: Leverage "Find the Evidence" Question Pairs "Find the Evidence" question pairs are a new question type on the revised SAT. These question pairs will first ask you something about the passage and then to find evidence that supports your previous answer in a follow-up question. Sometimes you can leverage these â€Å"find the evidence† pairs to eliminate wrong answers. Because you know that the answers have to go together, you can eliminate from the first question question answers that don’t have a corresponding piece of evidence in the second question. Example: To make explaining this example a little clearer, here are the complete â€Å"evidence† answer choices for question 14 written out: Many relish the opportunity to buy presents because gift-giving offers a powerful means to build stronger bonds with one’s closest peers. People buy gifts that recipients would not choose to buy on their own. Research has found that people often struggle to take account of others’ perspectives. Although a link between gift price and feelings of appreciation might seem intuitive to gift-givers, such an assumption may be unfounded. If you’re stumped by the first question in an evidence pair, try to match answers from the first question to â€Å"evidence† answers from the second question in the pair. If there’s no matching evidence in the second question, you can confidently eliminate the answer from the first question. You may not always be able to eliminate all answers this way, but all eliminations help! Let’s work through the above example. In question 13, answer choice (A) states that people value gift-giving as a â€Å"form of self-expression.† Is there any matching evidence in question 14? Answer choice (B) says that gift-givers buy gifts that recipients might not buy on their own, but that’s not the same thing as a gift functioning as â€Å"self-expression.† Similarly, for choice (C), the fact that people â€Å"struggle to take account of others’ perspectives† doesn’t necessarily mean that people are expressing themselves when they buy gifts. There’s not really matching evidence in question 14, so we can eliminate choice (A) from question 13. Moving on to the next answer choice for question 13, choice (B) says that people value gifts as â€Å"an inexpensive way to show appreciation.† Are there any answers in question 14 that support this? None of the answer choices mention price except for (D), which says that gift-givers assume price and level appreciation expressed are linked. The idea that gift-givers give more expensive gifts to show more appreciation directly contradicts the idea that people use inexpensive gifts to show appreciation! So there’s no evidence to match (B) and we can eliminate it from the running for question 13. Question 13’s choice (C) suggests that people value gifts because givers are required to reciprocate. There’s nothing about reciprocating, or giving gifts in return, in any of question 14’s evidence answer choices. Eliminate (C). This leaves us with choice (D) for question 13, which states that people value gifts as a means to strengthen relationships. When we scan question 14’s answers, we can see that answer choice (A) states that people value gift-giving as a chance to build stronger bonds. This matches up perfectly with answer (D). So (D) for question 13 and (A) for question 14 are the correct answers! It might seem a little tedious to use this matching strategy, but it pays off: we got two "sure bet" right answers this way! Note that you won’t always be able to eliminate all wrong answers with this strategy- sometimes the question writers like to have a couple of matching evidence pairs to stump you. Elementary, my dear Watson. That sums up my four helpful strategies to eliminate answers on the SAT Reading section: plugging in the answer choices when you are asked to define a word or phrase, honing in on descriptive modifiers, linking abstract answer choices to specific characters and moments in the passage, and leveraging evidence-based question pairs. Note that you might sometimes want to use a combination of strategies to eliminate answers for a given question if it’s appropriate to do so. Now on to Writing! Three Strategies to Eliminate Wrong Answers on Writing Because good things come in threes, I have three helpful strategies to eliminate wrong answers in writing. First up is my perennial favorite, plugging in the answer. Then I’ll cover spotting common grammatical errors, and finally, using topic sentences. Once again, you can (and should!) use multiple strategies to eliminate wrong answer choices on the test. I’ll mostly focus on one strategy per example question, but occasionally I might mention another strategy in my explanation where appropriate. Strategy #1: Plugging in the Answer It’s our favorite strategy, plugging in the answer! Yes, this is going to appear as an elimination strategy for all three SAT section types. That’s because it’s effective for any question where you can replace something in the passage (or question) with each of the answer choices and see how it works out. This strategy is helpful for tons of questions on writing: not just on questions where you need to choose the correct word or phrase to complete a sentence, but also on paragraph completion questions where you need to choose where it makes the most sense to place a sentence. It’s a very versatile technique. Example: The sentence that goes with the above question is â€Å"Because consumers reap the nutritional benefits of Greek yogurt and support those who make and sell it, therefore farmers and businesses should continue finding safe and effective methods of producing the food.† We don’t need to â€Å"plug in† answer choice (A), NO CHANGE, as it’s already plugged in to the sentence, but we can read it aloud to ourselves to see how it sounds. It’s very awkward to have â€Å"therefore† in the middle of the sentence. If it sounds awkward, it’s usually wrong. Even if you don’t know the specific grammatical rule at play, you can always be sure that the SAT prioritizes writing that is clear and straightforward. So if something sounds weird to you, odds are it’s a wrong answer. Eliminate (A). If we plug answer choice (B) into the sentence, we get, â€Å"Because consumers reap the nutritional benefits of Greek yogurt and support those who make and sell it, farmers and businesses should continue finding safe and effective methods of producing the food.† This sounds pretty natural and clear. On SAT writing, if it sounds natural, there’s a decent chance it’s the correct answer. (If you do know the grammar, you’ll know that this sentence is correct because we have a dependent clause beginning with â€Å"because† linked with a comma to an independent clause, starting with â€Å"farmers.†) Either way, keep (B). If we plug in answer choice (C), we get, â€Å"Because consumers reap the nutritional benefits of Greek yogurt and support those who make and sell it, so farmers and businesses should continue finding safe and effective methods of producing the food.† This one sounds awkward, too. â€Å"Because† beginning the sentence and then â€Å"so† right in the middle of the sentence sounds redundant and weird. Get rid of it! Eliminate choice (C). With answer choice (D) plugged in, the sentence reads as, â€Å"Because consumers reap the nutritional benefits of Greek yogurt and support those who make and sell it: farmers and businesses should continue finding safe and effective methods of producing the food.† This sounds sort of okay. Let’s keep it for now. After plugging in answer choices we’ve eliminated choices (A) and (C) since they sound awkward right off the bat. So now we have answers (B) and (D) left to choose from. To get the right answer here, it would be helpful if we knew the rules for colon usage: colons should only be used to separate two independent clauses where the second one logically follows the first, or to begin a list. So answer choice (D) doesn’t qualify; this leaves (B) as the only viable answer choice. But even if we didn’t know that, if we could determine that choice (B) definitely made a correct sentence, we could be pretty sure that it was the correct answer. There is only ever one indisputably correct choice on the SAT, so if one answer is definitely right, all the other answers have to be wrong. Plug in those answers like your electric guitar! Strategy #2: Spotting Common Grammatical Errors If you have a solid understanding of some common grammatical errors, you can often eliminate at least some answers to any question on the writing section easily because they contain a common error. Example: We don’t even need to look at the sentence in the passage this question is referring to in order to start eliminating answers: choices (B) and (D) both use apostrophes improperly in a plural word. Apostrophes are only appropriate to indicate possession (like â€Å"Cady’s bike†) or create contractions (like â€Å"can’t† and â€Å"won’t†). By knowing this common grammatical error and being able to spot it, we just upped our chances of guessing the correct answer from 25% to 50% in one fell swoop. We’re now left with (A), â€Å"No Change,† and (D), â€Å"could have polluted waterways.† We can plug these last two choices into the sentence to find the correct answer. With choice (A), the sentence reads, â€Å"If it is improperly introduced into the environment, acid-whey runoff can pollute waterways, depleting the oxygen content of streams and rivers as it decomposes.† This sounds pretty good. Let’s leave choice (A) in the running. What about if we plug in choice (D)? Then we have the sentence, â€Å"If it is improperly introduced into the environment, acid-whey runoff could have polluted waterways, depleting the oxygen content of streams and rivers as it decomposes.† If this sounds awkward, it’s because it is. This is the wrong answer because it introduces a new, non-matching verb tense into the sentence. But what you mostly need to know is that it sounds awkward and wrong, which in writing is generally a good reason to eliminate an answer. Goodbye to (D)! This leaves us with (A), â€Å"No change,† as the correct answer. Hurrah! In addition to improper apostrophe use, some other common grammatical errors you might use to eliminate answers on the writing section include: Incorrect idiom phrases (like â€Å"could of† instead of â€Å"could have†) Incorrect pronoun usage (phrases like â€Å"whom goes† instead of â€Å"who goes†) Modifier errors: adjectives/adverbs appearing in the wrong place in a phrase and/or in the wrong form (like â€Å"teach in a way more effectively† instead of â€Å"teach in a more effective way† or even just â€Å"teach more effectively†). Hopefully there's not an explosion every time you find an error. Strategy #3: Using Topic Sentences On questions that are primarily about argument quality or the structure of a piece, topic sentences are your best friends. They help clue you into the structure of a written piece and help you know what details are most important. You can use these clues to eliminate answers. Example: This question is asking us to choose the sentence part that will provide the most relevant detail. For a detail to be relevant, it needs to be related to the topic of the paragraph it’s contained in. How do we know what’s most relevant to a particular paragraph? The topic sentence. So scan back up to the topic sentence of this paragraph: â€Å"The main environmental problem caused by the production of Greek yogurt is the creation of acid whey as a by-product.†This paragraph, then, is about environmental problems associated with the whey by-products of Greek Yogurt. Do any of the answers seem relevant to this topic? With choice (A), â€Å"No Change,† the complete sentence reads, â€Å"They can add it to livestock feed as a protein supplement, and people can make their own Greek-style yogurt at home by straining regular yogurt.† Well, making your own yogurt might have something to do with sustainability, which might be relevant to environmental problems. We’ll leave this answer in for now. Choice (B) discusses converting Greek Yogurt by-products into gas to use as fuel. This seems like it could be related to the environment because it’s about recycling the whey by-products. Leave in (B). Choice (C) mentions that a different kind of whey is more desirable for human consumption. Does this have anything to do with the environment? Nope. Say goodbye to (C). Choice D) just further elaborates on the nutritional value of the yogurt-based supplement for livestock. That’s not particularly relevant to our overall topic of the whey by-product and the environment. Eliminate (D). We are now left with two answers: choice (A), which discusses people making their own Greek yogurt, and choice (B), which discusses some further options for Greek yogurt whey by-product disposal. If we look at the sentence that comes before this one in the passage, it says, â€Å"To address the problem of disposal, farmers have found a number of uses for acid whey.† People making their own yogurt, as in (A), doesn’t seem as relevant to alternate uses for acid whey as using the whey for electricity. So we can eliminate (A), leaving us with (B) as the best answer. Thus, topic sentences are a key tool to highlight what’s most important in a given paragraph when we are trying to eliminate wrong answers. Thanks, topic sentences! This delicious yogurt has a dark secret...dastardly whey by-products! Four Strategies to Eliminate Wrong Answers in Math Math is the subject where you may feel the most lost on questions if you don’t have any idea what the answer is. But you can guess effectively even if you don’t fully understand a question. My four strategies for eliminating answers on SAT Math questions are plugging it in (of course!), testing the models, replacing variables with real numbers, and paying close attention to signs. Strategy #1: Plug It In Ah, yes, the mother of all answer-eliminating strategies when you are stumped on an algebra-related problem on a math test.Take the given answer choices and plug them back into the equation(s) to see if they work. Example: This one has two equations, but don’t be stumped by this. The solution has to work in both equations, so plug the values into the top equation first. If it doesn’t work there, eliminate the answer choice; if it does, move on to the bottom equation. Let’s try answer choice (A), in which $x=-5$ and $y=-2$.Plugging these values in to the first equation gives us: $$3(-5)+4(-2)=$$$$(-15)+(-8)=-23$$ That matches the top equation’s solution of -23, so we’ll move on to the bottom equation.In the second equation, we get: $$2(-2)-(-5)=$$$$(-4)-(-5)=$$ $$(-4)+5=1$$ That does not match the bottom equation’s solution of -19, so we can eliminate (A) as a choice. On to answer (B), in which $x=3$ and $y=-8$.Plugging these values in to the first equation gives us: $$3(3)+4(-8)=$$$$9+(-32)=-23$$ This matches the top equation’s solution of -23, so we’ll move on to the bottom equation.In the second equation, we get: $$2(-8)-(3)=$$$$-16-3=-19$$ That does match the bottom equation’s solution of -19. (B) is the correct answer!If you want to double-check, you could plug in the next answers to make sure they are wrong. I won’t go through that here, though. So you can see that just so long as you know where to put the numbers, plugging the answer choices back into the equation is a very effective answer-eliminating strategy. Where do all the numbers go? Strategy #2: Test the Model On the revised SAT there are a variety of questions about mathematical modeling- creating and understanding equations that model real-world situations. On these questions, you can often use the model to eliminate incorrect answers (and/or to find the correct answer). Example: You don’t actually need to understand exactly what the different terms in the model mean to answer this question, you just need to be able to plug numbers into the model and identify the resulting pattern. Since you are trying to find the estimated increase of the boy’s height every year from 2 to 5, just â€Å"run† the model from years 2 and 5 and see what the height increase is from year to year. At year 2, that would be $h=3(2)+28.6$ or $34.6$ At year 3, that would be $h=3(3)+28.6$ or $37.6$ At year 4, that would be $h=3(4)+28.6$ or $40.6$ At year 5, that would be $h=3(5)+28.6$ or $43.6$ See a pattern? Every year, the boy’s height is increasing by 3 inches. So the answer is (A), 3. You can eliminate all the other answers. Of course, if you understand the way the model works, you’ll know that the boy’s average estimated height increase per year is 3 because 3 is the coefficient in front of $a$, the boy’s age. But even if you don’t, you can still answer this question with math answer-elimination techniques! Go math go! Strategy #3: Replace Variables With Real Numbers Replacing variables with real numbers in math problems often makes them easier to conceptualize. Obviously, you can’t do this when you are solving an algebra problem with a specific solution, but if you’re working with an expression, it’s a solid strategy. Note that it’s best to pick an easy-to-manipulate number that’s not 0 or 1. Example: For this problem, the first part says that $x3$. So be sure to pick a number greater than 3 to represent $x$! We need to find the answer that is equivalent to the expression Let’s pick the number 5 to stand in for $x$. Then we have $${1}/{1/(5+2)+1/(5+3)}$$ which simplifies to $${1}/{1/7+1/8}$$ which further simplifies to $${1}/{15/56}$$ which = $$56/15$$ Given that this term simplifies to $56/15$ in fractional terms, we can eliminate answers (C) and (D) without testing them because those clearly won’t equal $56/15$ if we substitute 5 for $x$. That leaves us with (A) and (B) to test. If we replace $x$ with 5 for answer (A), we get $${2(5)+5}/{5^2+5(5)+6}$$ which = $15/56$. This isn’t quite right- we are looking for $56/15$! We can eliminate choice (A). But answer (B) is just answer (A) with the numerator and denominator flipped. So that would be $56/15$ with 5 standing in for $x$. That’s our answer! (In an unrelated note, I’m apparently really, really good at picking sample questions with (B) as the answer.) Thus, replacing variables with real numbers can help you choose an answer if you are having trouble manipulating the variables. Just be sure you choose a number that makes for relatively easy math and that you’re internally consistent- i.e. don’t start out substituting 10 for $x$ and then start substituting 8 for $x$ later in the same problem. Illuminate the answer by plugging in some real numbers! Strategy #4: Pay Close Attention to Signs Paying close attention to positive and negative signs is hugely important when you are trying to eliminate answers that are clearly wrong on the Math test. Example: Let’s say you have no idea how to approach $i$ even with the helpful info that it is the square root of -1. That doesn’t mean all is lost on this question! You can see from the answers that the first term of the answer is either -1 or 15.You are trying to add $(7+3i)$ and $(-8+9i)$. Even if you have no idea how to deal with the imaginary number terms, you know you have a positive 7 and a negative 8! Would it make sense for $7+(-8)$ to lead to a first term of positive 15? no! The 7 is positive and the 8 is negative, so how would you reach 15? You can eliminate the answer choices that start with 15, choice (C) and choice (D). This leaves you with choices (A) and (B).So how to choose between them? Well, you have a positive $3i$ and a positive $9i$. Does it make sense for these to add up to $-6i$, like in (B)? Do two positives ever add up to a negative? No! Eliminate (B). This leaves choice (A) as the answer. By thinking carefully about the positive and negative signs in the question and our answer choices, we were able to eliminate answers without needing to understand what $i$ meant at all! Follow the signs. That wraps up my math answer eliminating strategies: plug in answers, test models, replace variables with real numbers, and pay attention to signs! Key Takeaways With the guessing penalty gone, you should answer every multiple-choice question on the SAT. But don’t just guess randomly- guess smart! These are my best answer-eliminating strategies for each section: Reading Plug the answer choices into the passage Hone in on modifiers Link abstract answers to concrete elements of the passage Leverage â€Å"find the evidence† question pairs Writing Plug the answer choices into the passage Spot common grammatical errors Use topic sentences Math Plug the answer choices into the problem Test the model(s) Replace variables with numbers Pay attention to signs! With these elimination strategies in mind, you can up your guessing game so instead of picking random answers, you’re guessing strategically when you don’t know the answer to a question. What's Next? Wondering what to expect on SAT test day? Let us tell you! If you're worried aboutSAT Math, see our key tips for success.More concerned about SAT Reading? See our 5-step process.If SAT Writing is your primary concern, see our key tips for SAT Writing and Language. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today: