Monday, September 30, 2019

Fast Foods vs. Home Made Foods

These days, most people prefer fast food rather than home-made food. People are alike in needing food in order to survive, but they differ in choosing the kind of food they're having. Fast food and home-made food have considerable dissimilarities in preparation time, convenience, and quality. Despite the health risks that come with fast food consumption, people continue to eat it because many people have no time to select and prepare food at home. However, fast food need not be as unhealthy as its reputation. One advantage of home-made meals over fast food is its cheaper cost.However, because you also spend on seasoning, condiments and gas and electricity whenever you cook at home, the cost difference is quite possibly not as large as many believe. In addition, home-made meals generally take more time to prepare and require you to have cooking skills. On the other hand, the taste of home-made meals is generally better, because you are able to select fresh ingredients. You are also ab le to ensure the ingredients that go into your food are clean and free of contaminants. Nowadays, fast food attracts people more than home-made food does. It's known as the food that you don't have to prepare.Fast food is more common because people are always busy, and in a hurry, so they head towards fast food restaurants to save their time. For example, if a worker works for a long time and doesn't have enough time to cook a meal, (he/she) will definitely consume a fast food meal. Fast food is also common because it's convenient and people can find fast food restaurants in all places. In conclusion, both fast food and home-made food have significant divergence in preparation time, convenience and quality. Fast food might be better in saving time and being more convenient, while home-made food might be better in quality.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Internet and television Essay

Internet and television are changing the face of political discourse. In his book, Amusing Ourselves To Death Neil Postman gives candid details of how television has shaped political conversation in the last 20 years but this has been overcome by the advent of internet technology. Television has changed much since 1987 in addition to advancements such as HDTV, DVR. News can be watched 24 hours across many networks. For example cable subscribers are able to watch over 1000 channels with the click of a button. Advertising has grown tremendously as ads jam programs in the form of product endorsements and normal commercials. The internet is not excluded from this change because it offers the users a simple way of accessing news and communication with many people all over the world. Each of these mediums represents a new era in which people try to become politically enlightened while at the same time minimizing the quantity of information they are able to consume (Postman, 13) Political discourse and the media have been changing over the years. Hume observes that, â€Å"the television commercial is a primary instrument of political discourse† (Hume, 27). This is true in the current media although some other instruments like The Daily Show are gaining political importance. Political programs should be placed on the same platform as political commercials instead of using them as the main source of political discourse. Although the commercials have a good impact this is reduced by the video recorders that give user the ability to navigate commercials to view programs that they like most. Internet has become a threat to the television since it is easy to get information easier using the internet. â€Å"Young people don’t buy newspapers or watch the evening news-even or perhaps especially, with cute Katie Couric reading it to them. Blogs are more fun to read and sometimes more reliable† (Leonard, 10). Bloggers have the ability to put emphasis on political candidates, policies and actions that have taken place. As such blogging offers the citizens a chance to comment on stories in a manner that permits freedom of expression. The media has continued to change political discourse significantly though television, internet and advertising. Currently advertisements, blogs and the 24 hour news and internet have a big impact on political discourse. According to a survey done by Pew Internet it was observed that â€Å"15% of all American adults say the internet was the primary source for campaign news during the election, up from 7% in the mid-term election of 2002? (Leonard, 2). Therefore, the Internet is a strong force in the changing shape of political discourse. The information that people find and share over the internet shapes their opinions and can assist them in becoming better citizens. Political information can be shared in a way that ties the emotions of the participants but the internet helps the people to form their own opinions. Hume posits, â€Å"new technology may facilitate a new type of citizenship commitment that combines exchange of information and evaluation, in which emotion and experience are not discounted but an accepted part of the processes of opinion formation† (2006, p. 305). In summary, political dialogue in the media has been transformed significantly by the new media. The availability of internet has helped people write blogs, surf for information that could not be easily found through conventional means. Television commercial as well as comedy programs are still abundant in the political discourse. Ellen Hume give a good summary of political discourse and its relationship with the media by saying, â€Å"The old media deliver the old politics† (1998, p. 207). From this observation one can conclude that the new media will give rise to new politics and continue to change everything as we know it now. Works cited Hume How novel technologies are changing the news. In C. Harper (Ed. ), What’s Next in mass communication. Original York: St. Martin’s Press. 1998 Leonard, M. ‘Fake’ news is as good as the real thing . Herald Times, p. B2. , E. 2007. Postman, N. Amusing ourselves to death. New York: Penguin books. 1985

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Legalizing Concealed Weapons Essay

Many times people confuse whether or not allowing gun laws actually reduces the crime rate. As gun rights is a natural born right of citizens, some believe that should be banned, and many others believe that the law should be extended to lawful citizens. Based on my own experiences there have been several instances where I wish a legalized weapon was in arms reach. There was an instance about 7 years ago where my little brother and I were the only two in the house and an intruder broke in while we were there. No one was hurt or injured but it was traumatic for two children as it happened right after my mom had went to work. I would have felt more secure and confident if I was to know that a legalized weapon was around for our protection. Through research, why concealed carry laws should be implied into every state’s legislation will be debated and each point of view will be expressed. As this topic applies to everyone, every citizen should have the opportunity to exercise thei r rights. Many people are victims to crimes that they could have gotten away from. How many rape cases could have been avoided? How many school shootings could have been prevented before the shooting began? All of the latter mentioned cases are incidents that could significantly reduce our crime rate if concealed carry laws were in effect in every state. Also included in this essay will be a viewpoint of the opposing side and how that side is not all the way accurate. Using my research and focusing on how carrying concealed weapons aids our Americans I will be able to shrink my topic to a point where I can talk about a variety of things that are not too broad to where I do not have enough information to make a solid argument. Within these two subjects, statistics and reasoning as well as extensive research and detailing will be presented in hopes of persuading the reader that legalizing concealed weapons truly helps in protecting our citizens. My topic is pro-legalizing concealed carry  weapons. I live in a neighborhood and near a city where crime is steadily increasing from robberies to murders. I personal ly feel that if citizens were allowed to carry concealed weapons the crime rate would be at an all-time low. A lot of people, in my opinion, commit crimes because they know that they will either not get caught or will only receive jail time which in some cases they are prepared to bail themselves out. To one that may seem like a legit punishment and although it may be, there are so many ways that it could all be avoided. The number one way would be legalizing concealed weapons so that we as citizens can be prepared for any confrontation with crime. Based on my prior feelings and preconceptions on this topic I will be looking to persuade anyone that reads my overall paper that carrying concealed weapons overall helps the communities in more ways than one. There have been a number of incidents where a brave soul who took advantage of the given right to carry a concealed weapon took matters into their own hands and saved lives whether it had been one or one hundred. Many of these stories go unnoticed and I will be bringing just a handful of those to the light. In order to make that successful the main sources that I will be putting emphasis on will be the sources that prove in certain scenarios have prevented criminal activity. While watching a few different videos concerning carrying concealed weapons I will be taking notes on the specific details that support my topic such as how these cases where citizens used concealed weapons to save lives. Social media is a great avenue to pull out things that people do not get to see or hear about every day. The people that oppose concealed carry might not realize how important being able to protect yourself and your surroundings are. This will give the readers a chance to put in perspective how they would be if they were confronted in that exact situation and be enlightened that them too have that opportunity to ensure safety with themselves, their families, and everyone else around them. Although social media can be abused in so many ways it is a great way to see incidents first hand as if you wer e there even though you were not. The videos I will be using are pulled from live evidence of a brave soul enforcing their right to carry concealed weapons to save others. Another video will be a news broadcast explaining how this same thing helps the community. Because I am not searching for crime and do not encounter it on a daily basis, I chose to use social media as a resource to observe as it  would be a lot more difficult to observe a live incident where concealed weapons helped people. After all the observations I will be able to prove and show that legalizing concealed weapons is an important factor that should be considered in every state. Crimes and tragedies can happen anywhere. In one particular newscast I found there was a man who opened fire at Clackamas mall in Oregon. This situation was quite different than a lot of stories that are told because for a specific reason the 22 year man who carried the concealed weapon failed to fire. Nick Meli said he refused to open fir because in his tunnel vision be tween him and the shooter, a civilian ran by to escape. In his mind if he had shot and missed the initial target, he would become affiliated with what the gunman was doing which was taking innocent lives. However, this directly applies to my support of concealed carry weapons after Meli made this one statement. â€Å"I’m not beating myself up cause I didn’t shoot him,† said Meli. â€Å"I know after he saw me, I think the last shot he fired was the one he used on himself.† A lot of people’s main opposition of concealed carry is open fire in public places. In this situation all the permit holder had to do was make sure the gunman connected sight with him and his gun and everything was over. Although the gunman took two lives not including his own, Meli saved many lives. This video not only aided my viewpoint of concealed carry but gave a good reason why it should be implemented. In many unheard cases, the gun is not even fired to protect the individual. . Meli made it evident not only tom himself and everyone that witnessed it in the mall but to all the citizens that concealed carry is extremely important for the safety of everyone. No shots have to be fired, no one has to pull a trigger, simply having it around and visible in the sight of crime saves lives. Overall this story strengthened my standpoint on concealed carry weapons. In an effort to find a position to convey the importance of the concealed carry law, I observed a website with several stories regarding crimes and the connection to carrying concealed weapons. A student was leaving a night class and assumed that it would be safer to park in a parking garage as opposed to the student parking on the other side of campus. As every security office was closed she did what she thought was necessary by surveying inside and around her vehicle before entering. In this process she noticed a man bent over in a corner. That same man grabbed her, held her at gunpoint and raped her. It is interesting that  at this specific university concealed carry is completely banned. Although, she had a concealed carry permit she was forced to leave her weapon at home. This is very important because this could and would have saved her from such trauma. After drafting a letter to the president of her university she was granted permission to carry her concealed weapon on campus with certain precautions but at what extent? It should not have to take someone being brutally raped, kidnapped or anything else for students to be allowed to protect themselves and others at all times. I found this article and video extremely helpful because a lot of times these things arte swept under the rug and not tended to. This may have happened to hundreds and thousands of people without it being brought to light. If a rapist can hold someone up at gun point why can’t that same person protect themselves with a gun? I will be using this in my research paper as a question to the readers of how fair they think this is. Concealed carry is very important and it is imperative that people know many lives can be saved by the passing of one simple law. In order to get a clearer understanding of how everyday civilians feel about the legalization of concealed weapons I chose to interview a fellow peer around the same age range as I am. With this interview I planned to discover what other people’s opinions on concealed weapons were. I hoped to receive opposite points of views to be able to link the research I’ve found to the opinions of my interviewees. Along with their view points on the subject I wanted to find out why they felt that way about the subject and if there was a certain incident or reason that led them to that belief. Certain questions I asked them included, â€Å"do you or any other person you live with own a gun, why or why not?† These questions, if chosen to be answered, will signify how some people feel rather safe with concealed weapons around them in case of an emergency or incident. I gave them the option beforehand to reject their right to answer the question in hopes that no one would be made uncomfortable with the interviewing process. I hoped that through my research, interviews, and surveys I would be able to bring together many facts as to persuade the readers that legalizing concealed weapons is the right thing to do at this time, not only for us as individuals but for the children, our families, and the surrounding communities’ safety. Below is an overview of the interview concluded with a fellow peer and me. Interviewer (I) Person Being Interviewed (P) I: First, I would like to thank you for taking the time to sit with me and speak with me. P: No problem, I’m glad to help any way I can however, I would like to keep my identity anonymous for this interview. I: That is completely understandable and I will be sure to keep your wishes. P: Thanks I: So let’s start with a little about yourself do you live with your parents or alone? Keep in mind at any time if you feel uncomfortable you can pass on any question. P: At this time I live alone just me and my dog *laughs* I: Great, so with that being said have you ever felt scared or nervous about your surroundings or simply living on your own in general? I know from personal experience I found that I get scared fast. P: In the beginning when I first moved in, of course, but after living alone for so long I kind of adapted to it I: I understand it just kind of becomes a part of you. Have you ever thought about or considered the concealed carry laws and how they affected you and everyone else? P: I really haven’t. I mean my parents never felt the need to bring it in our house to my knowledge so I never took it into major consideration, but I would not mind. Being a young female living alone I do sometimes feel rather vulnerable and maybe in someone’s eyes, a target. I: Would you support the cause if a bill was to be passed legalizing concealed weapons? With the passing of this law no matter where you went you would be able to protect yourself and maybe at some time protect others. P: I agree with it to an extent when it’s all done the right way. If classes don’t come with the gun permit then I may not be interested. It seems like they ask people to go out of their way to feel protected when this should be something we feel on a daily. Beyond a background check I don’t think the requirements for getting a gun should be so extensive. I: I’m glad you are so open about the subject. You’re insight and opinions help a great deal. Question, do you think that the more states that apply the concealed carry laws will reduce crime nationwide? P: To an extent I do but people are going to do what they want regardless. I look at it like this if there is a death  penalty intact and life in prison possible and people still do what they want, simply making guns legal to carry around won’t do that much. I: I, myself, have never thought of it in that light and I thank you for bringing that to the discussion. I believe I have all I need. Do you have any questions for me? P: No I don’t but thanks for including me. This interview attributed to my research a great deal for numerous reasons. Simply researching the subject one never truly gets the ideas and opinions of civilians who have not been victims to violent crimes. I plan to use this as a transition or connection between pro- and anti- legalizing concealed carry. Since I was not expecting to get as much out the interview that I did, I have a lot more to go off of for my paper. An everyday civilian’s point of view is very important to my research because often the only insight into this subject comes from people disagreeing or rejecting concealed weapons or someone who did not take the advantage of concealed weapons until after a traumatic incident occurred. For this interview, initially I was hoping to get an opinion from a person that was contradictory to my own beliefs and research but after completing the interview I realized that having someone agree with my point of view was that much more helpful. The person I interviewed preferred to remain anonymous wish I respect. Based on how the interview went and the amount of information I received my surveys will be rather similar. As in the interview I will give the person completing the survey the option of not answering the question so no one feels uncomfortable or refuses to do the survey. My questions will be general to find out how the ideas and opinions reflect the age range, ethnicity, and gender. Since the surveys will be done by SWIC students I expect to get a diverse opinion. Because I set a time limit on the interview I consequently asked less questions and the remainder of the questions I will incorporate on the survey just to get all the information that I desired. Referring to the interview there are many people male and female who may feel targeted by their surrounding communities. Based on the Constitution it is our natural born right to bear arms. In the interview she mentioned that the  fact that she was a young female living alone that she felt it may be necessary to obtain a handgun for safety and protection purposes. This leads me to believe that the majority of the population who agree and support the legalization of concealed weapons do so for the opportunity of self-defense from any criminal activity brought upon them. Although it goes unnoticed it seems as if some of the main people opposing concealed carry is politicians whom in an article I read, Double Standard, believe that in a sense only politicians should have the right to carry handguns. However, where does that leave the rest of the world? According to Patrick Krey, the author of Double Standard, in some states a law has been proposed to grant politicians and legislatures the right to own and carry concealed weapons wherever they please. As this is common with all the citizens, there was one issue. Politicians disliked the proposition because the restrictions for gun carry were too harsh. This made some feel that politicians possibly believed that their lives were more important than anyone else’s. Reporters took the story because it shined light on the reality that maybe the gun carry restrictions were too harsh and should be lightened for everyone as opposed to strictly politicians. Politicians were said to have been abiding by the quote in the book, â€Å"Animal Farm† by George Orwell, â€Å"All animals are equal but some are more equal than others.† A number of individuals feel that it is a double standard on the legislature’s part because it is okay for the gun carry restrictions to be strict and harsh for the citizens just not for the politicians. Because taxpayers cannot exclude themselves from any law they please less cases were reported of the number of concealed carry permits done in 2007. As a result of this, in 2007 out of 37 million people only approximately 40,000 citizens were licensed to carry a gun. Essentially, this article suggests that it is unfair and politicians should be able to abide by the same laws that they expect their citizens to without any changes. After reading this article my opinions of the topic began to flourish. Based on the standpoint of the politicians my point is strengthened and even more that valid. Any life is not more important than another. I feel that if concealed carry laws that are in place are lightened that they should be lightened for everyone eligible because politicians are not the only people  who encounter dangerous situations. There are many cases that go unmentioned where a concealed weapon would have been more than useful in the case of self-defense. In all, I feel like you are being elected by your people and if you feel the need to protect yourself then the individuals who placed you in your position should have that same right. You can conclude from the context clues that this was written by someone outraged at the proposed idea. Although it may be biased it is a good point regarding the topic. However, based off the fact that the majority of the article seemed like opinion I would not use this a rticle as a credible source but as an extra opinion supporting my point of view. Because there was very few supporting facts regarding the opinion it made the article seem amateur, in which I feel the article could have been a little more detail oriented. Based on the many articles that I have read, I noticed that there were a number of people that oppose the legalization of concealed carry. However, the individuals who are for it have valid reasons and explanations as to why they do. In one specific article I read, The Accessibility of Guns Protects Lives, a man applied for a concealed weapon but the process was so tedious and drawn out that it took him forever to get a response. Nonetheless, when the country felt vulnerable and scared of the 9-1-1 attack the process began to move along quicker than ever before. In this article the author applies for a concealed carry permit a little before the 9-1-1 incident occurred. While waiting for the process to be complete 9-1-1 happened and including his over 5,000 concealed carry permits were handed out without fees. While carrying his firearm wherever he goes, he not only aims to protect himself and his family but also his fellow citizens who may not be capable of protecting themselves. There are many individuals against the concealed carry permits however, the platform used in those arguments are faulty and unrealistic. In reality, the permit holders have better safety records than the police force. The people who are opposed to concealed carry are simply misguided and misinformed. Overall, being able to access a gun protects lives. This is my favorite article that I have read so far. My opinion on concealed carry laws mostly coincides with the thoughts and ideas with this individual  about how people are simply misinformed. Clearly the individual is pro-legalizing concealed weapons and has a strong foundation on why he believes making gun permits more accessible will furthermore help protect the community as opposed to raising crimes and the number of accidental deaths. The confidence and details that he uses to support his claim are very persuasive and partially credible. I say partially credible because it seems as if the majority of the article is based on mere opinion and reasoning. He vaguely inputs statistics to support his point of view. However, with that being said the points that are being made are valid and do make a lot of sense. This article will be the main article I use defending my point of view. I will incorporate statistics from other articles with the thoughts and reasoning of this article to make a strong foundation and a clear viewpoint and argument. Statistical proof and evidence is, I feel, the most important part of defending why one choose pro- or anti- legalizing concealed weapons along with creating a solid case and foundation of one’s beliefs. In the article, The Untold Triumph of Concealed-Carry Permits, the author David Kopel did a splendid job of using numerical data to support his standpoint in which the article is deemed more credible. Beginning in the 1980’s the states that granted the concealed carry rights typically only allowed police officers, retired police officers and individuals with political affiliations to carry handguns. Throughout the years there have been many discussions as to how concealed carry permits are to be issued and the precautions taken beforehand. Gradually the main focused of this law has been geared and proposed by women. That being said approximately one fourth of the applicants for a gun permit are women. To support the idea of how effective concealed carry laws are there were studies and cases done and put together comparing the homicide rates to the states with concealed carry laws as to those same states when those laws were not intact. It was found that there was not a significant amount of change in rates except in the State of Florida. With this state being assumed to have a 36% chance of homicides an immediate and steady decline began after these laws were put in place. Also in similarity with Florida, California whom has many counties with concealed carry laws a study was also done. It was shown in this study that counties that issue permits liberally had lower violent-crime rates than counties with restrictive policies; restrictive counties had lower rates than counties with prohibitive policies. All in all, people would simply like to have the choice placed in their hands on whether or not they would like to carry a handgun or not. Although included was not the entirety of the things mentioned, the main points were. Individuals who oppose the concealed carry laws may not be aware of the statistics backing the subject. In predominantly every case study each time it seemed to be a decline in crime for states that obtained the concealed carry laws in action. Although each state did not have a dramatic decline in crime at some point each state had some decline. Based on the research I have done and looked into there is no record of a state increasing in crime after placing concealed carry laws intact. This article is a valid and credible source that I will use to back up my opinion with numbers as opposed to just my words. This gave me the idea of asking the participants of my survey how they feel legalizing concealed weapons declines or increases crime. There was a lot of detailed information, statistics, and reasoning as to why the writer felt the need to write this article and making clear that their viewpoint w as pro-legalizing concealed weapons. Everyone has different opinions on this topic. In the beginning I was skeptical of performing surveys and interviews because in some cases people tend to change their viewpoints or mindsets to fit what they think you want to hear. Surprisingly, as I looked through the surveys and compared it to the interview I did I found that overall the majority was rather honest and deep rooted in their thoughts and opinions. As well as the interview, with this survey, I planned to discover what other people’s opinions on concealed weapons are. I would hope to receive opposite points of views to be able to link the research I’ve found to the opinions of my interviewees. Along with their view points on the subject I will also be looking to find out why they felt that way about the subject and if there was a certain incident or  reason that led them to that belief. These questions if chosen to be answered will signify how some people feel rather safe with concealed weapons around them in case of an emergency or incident. I will give them the option beforehand to reject their right to answer the question in hopes that no one will be made uncomfortable with the interviewing process. Hopefully through my research, interviews, and surveys I will be able to bring together many facts as to persuade the readers of my final essay that legalizing concealed weapons is the right thing to do at this time now only for us as individuals but for the children, our families, and the surrounding communities’ safety. In the beginning I asked simple demographic questions to put in perspective the audience that these opinions were coming from. Because gun control is such an important factor in the world, I chose to survey individuals close to or equal to my age. I was able to collect a good amount of diverse data and different opinions on the topic. In order to get a broad spectrum of people I had my instructor distribute the surveys through a couple of her classes. Consequently, I was not able to receive the diversity that I desired but with everyone participating correctly I was able to get some type of variation. First, let’s look at the diversity between males and females within this survey process. From the pie chart above, one would be able to see that there was almost an equal split between males and females. However, females slightly overpowered the males in numbers. There were a total of 13 males which totaled to 41% while the females had 19 which resulted in a 59%. Overall gender wise I received what I was looking fair because I was able to collect almost an equal amount of participants from each gender group. This allows me to get a fair understanding of how the thought process on legalizing concealed weapons differs between the two groups. Another difference I was hoping to recognize is the ethnicity between the two groups and how diverse they were. For the survey I gave the choices of Caucasian, African American, Hispanic, Asian, or Other. These categories would cover a majority of the ethnicities present on campus. I assumed my  data would be very diverse, but I was mistaken when I found out that in between the two gender groups there were some ethnicities nonexistent which skewed my data a little. Although I was a bit discouraged I stepped back and took a look at how I did the surveys. Seeing that I only did a portion of my instructor’s classes as opposed to all of them I limited myself to a specific group and age range. In addition to that it could also be because I only did surveys within school grounds. If I was to go outside of school and do extracurricular research I believe my results as far as gender and ethnicity would be more diverse because I would have the option to choose which person I surveyed . As you can see in the above graphs there was a show that there were predominantly more Caucasian male and females in both gender groups while males took 69% and females took 68%. To my surprise there were absolutely no Hispanics and very little African Americans which only appeared in the female portion. Based on this information and how the answers between the genders matched with their ethnicities were presented there was a sort of resemblance between the two. Lastly, one other point I was interested in making notice of was the people who were for and against legalizing concealed weapons. Being pro-legalizing concealed weapons myself and doing the research as to why people felt a specific way about it was one thing that caught my interest. I wanted to see how many people agreed with the way I felt and the reasons why and vice versa. Putting this in my survey got me a number of great responses. I categorized the responses in which a group of the participants were for legalizing concealed weapons because they felt that it was important for one to be able to protect them as it is their natural born right. Others who opposed mentioned that legalizing concealed weapons would only put more guns in the streets and give people more ammunition to commit crimes, in a sense â€Å"adding fuel to the fire.† Below you will see a graph as to how the responses differed from gender and responses. As on can see the results are rather closely related. It is not surprising, however, that the females were the ones to most support the cause. Typically  it is the women who are most targeted in the world and who feel most vulnerable to the events of everyday life. One thing that did surprise me was that there were more females against it which was 8 out of 19. With the males totaling to 4 out of 13 against concealed carry, it is easy to assume each genders viewpoint. Throughout the open ended portion of the question, the majority of females who were for CCW were so because they felt they had the right to protect themselves in the midst of criminal activity. On the opposite register, when it came to being against CCW all the males who said they were against it were so because they felt that more guns would equal more crime no matter how much rules were placed intact. However, take notice that none of the people who were against concealed weapons gave concrete evidence and support as to why they believe what they believed. So the question is why would you be against it if you have no supporting evidence that it brings danger to our communities? In conclusion, after long and tedious research processes one will be able to notice why concealed carry weapons would help our communities. The main reason for legalizing concealed carry is for the protection of each individual and the civilians around them. As one of the main deterrents of crime one will be able to tell that through statistical evidence and many sources that the legalization of concealed weapons has declined the crime rates in the states that have enacted those laws. There is clear evidence from survivor stories to interviews and surveys that show the majority of people believe that concealed carry laws will protect the people and consequently save lives. My viewpoint of the legalization for concealed weapons has greatly increased and I am more for it than before. After weighing out the opinions as to why people do not support it there is no source that is credible enough to give solid numerical or demographical evidence. Think about it. If it meant protecting your family, your friends, and yourself in the face of crime would you like yourself or anyone around you to have the assistance of handguns provided by the concealed carry laws? Legalizing Concealed Weapons Survey Please circle answer (All answers are optional) 1. Gender Male Female 2. Age fewer than 18 18-22 22-30 30+ 3. Ethnicity Caucasian African American Hispanic Asian Other 4. Have you ever heard about the law legalizing concealed weapons? Yes No 5. Do you know anyone victim to a crime that could have possibly been prevented with concealed weapons? Yes No 6. If a forum was being held would you be for or against legalizing concealed weapons, why? 7. What do you think will happen to the crime rates as a result of legalizing concealed weapons (increase, decrease, stay the same and why)? 8. Do you feel that there is enough awareness and information about this subject? Yes No 9. How much do you think this law will affect you 1-10 (1 being none 10 being extremely)? 10. Would you yourself be interested in participating in this law/movement? Yes No Works Cited Huntwork, David M. â€Å"The Accessibility of Guns Protects Lives.† Guns and Crime. Ed. Christine Watkins. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2012. At Issue. Rpt. from â€Å"Concealed Carry and the Right of Self-Defense.† ConstitutionClub.org. 2011. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 1 Apr. 2014. Kopel, David. â€Å"The untold triumph of concealed-carry permits.† Policy Review 78 (1996): 9 . Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. Krey, Patrick. â€Å"Double standard.† The New American 18 Apr. 2011: 40. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 28 Jan. 2014.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Production Planning & Quality Management- MGMT430 - 1401A 01 Unit 3 Essay

Production Planning & Quality Management- MGMT430 - 1401A 01 Unit 3 - Essay Example 1-55). Therefore, the lesser defects, the higher the quality. Cost is a crucial metric of production in terms of considering that costs of materials and labor would be an input to the unit price of the products being offered. Thus, the lower the costs of the materials and labor, the lower the unit price that the organization could peg to the consumers. This cost component would be instrumental in the pricing strategy that would be designed to ensure competitive advantage within the specialty memory chip market. Timeliness was described as â€Å"whether a unit of work was done on time† (Section 1: Development Process, n.d., p. 1-55). This metric measures the ability of the organization to produce in the most limited number of time and within the stipulated delivery period. Since there is a noted pre-order of as much as 10 million units of a new cellular phone memory chip, the time element is crucial to ensure that these parts are delivered within the given time frame. Currently, flexibility is a metric that needs evaluation and focus. With the identified six key products and 24 distinct products, customers who might require specialized parts that cater to their distinct needs and requirements. Thus, there is a need to evaluate standardization of products produced using similar machines; or producing more varied products with standardized machines. Productivity is actually defined as â€Å"the amount of a resource used to produce a unit of work† (Section 1: Development Process, n.d., p. 1-55). This is an important metric since it defines the number of output produced using the amount of inputs (raw materials and labor). The organization’s productivity would therefore be measured according to how efficiently the resources are used to produce the needed products. Efficiency is deemed an important metric of production since it ensures that a task (production) is undertaken with the minimum use of resources but that which optimized the outcome. It

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Cultural and Historical Studies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Cultural and Historical Studies - Essay Example However, identity is a concept that is argumentative and compelling especially when associated with fashion. Usualy, fashion is utilised in the expression of self. By making use of certain appearances, persons are able to show who they are and what they aim to be. They are able to state that they would not like to be something else or like somebody else. Through these concepts, this paper aims at discussing the statement â€Å"â€Å"Fashion†¦provides individuals with a key means through which to manage their identities in the context of everyday life.† (Bennett, 2005, p. 98). Many a times, when people have wanted to express themselves, they have often gone after certain aspects of the visual. It is a common belief that through it, they will be able to show who they are or who they want to become. At the least, people are after attention, want to be seen and recognised when in a multitude of people. The building of an identity is very much inspired by the environment and culture that an individual identifies as his or her home. The environment and culture are both components of fashion. They are fashion components as they are used in the building of fashion. The norm has always been that the choice or selection that a person makes is an actualisation of who that person is and what he or she simply sees as the real deal. Thus through fashion, the individual is brought out and expressed to the outside world in silent choices, rather than through words. These silent choices are a compilation of the bits here and there that a person has picked up through sight and hearing. Bits obtained from other people, other cultures, and their culture. These bits have to be of the person’s liking, without which, the individual cannot take them up. However, people are faced by many dilemmas when it comes to making a selection of the style that is of one’s choice. The reason being that fashion is constituted by numerous styles and varieties. There are various

Hurco Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Hurco - Essay Example Hurco Inc. specializes in providing customized automated programs to the metal industry. Their products cover interactive personal computer (PC) based control systems and software to aide their machine tools (â€Å"Investors – Corporate Profile†). On the other hand, as other market players, Hurco also offers sale and aftersale service. It is important to note that where other firms in the IT industry offer products compatible with the tools and machinery used by their customers, Hurco Inc. has a primary product line comprising machinery tools meant for the metal industry, and software as a peripheral product. Their products are meant to enhance productivity and efficiency in the operations of their customers by introducing user-friendly automation. Their core competency comprises specialization in microprocessor technology and software meant for machines tools used in the metal industry. In addition, interactive programmable software patented by Hurco allows users of th eir programs to produce peripheral software that can be either made part of an actual program through blueprints or computer-aided design and ensure speedy production processes without interruption, with maximum efficiency in operations (â€Å"Investors – Corporate Profile†). ... Due to customization available according to customer’s needs, Hurco is able to cater customers all around the globe. However, they have solely focused on the metal parts industry, which makes them a niche player. Hurco’s strengths and weaknesses along with industry attractiveness can be analyzed with the help of Porter’s five forces analysis. It is important to note that Hurco’s product line comprises machine tools that are considered as capital products or goods. The cyclic nature of the industry makes manufacturers in it highly vulnerable to market changes (Hurco Inc. 2). For supplies, Hurco relies on foreign suppliers and also their own subsidiary (Hurco Inc. 24). Presence of a fully-owned subsidiary makes them less susceptible to delays that can be caused by failure of other suppliers to meet the deadline. On the other hand, buyer’s power leaves Hurco vulnerable. It is important to note that the metal tools industry is greatly dependent on econo mic conditions prevailing in the industry. Therefore, limited buyer’s purchasing power also leaves Hurco to reduce its profit margins. Hurco also faces tough competition in the industry of machine tools. There are quite a few major competitors in United States and many in other countries that have better resources and a bigger capacity of utilizing economies of scale, which makes them capable of providing products that are cheaper than Hurco’s (Hurco Inc. 7). A threat of new entrants will always be faced by Hurco, as any other manufacturer. Although Hurco has patented its programs, there are a large number of IT firms that can provide automated solutions to companies using manually operated machines such as the ones provided by Hurco, without any major

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

World History of the 18-19th century Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

World History of the 18-19th century - Essay Example Gandhi’s view on the meaning of civilization was particularly shaped by the socio-economic events of the 19th century. Some of the events included the period of Enlightenment, American Revolution, and Industrial revolution and Western imperialism. Having undergone his education in London, Gandhi understood the western culture and consequently his views tended to compare between the Western civilization and the Indian civilization (Hardiman, 45). Throughout the book, Gandhi argues that the stability and development of a civilization, it should be free from any state of isolation. Unlike other Asian scholars of the time, Gandhi was opposed to the perception that Western civilization was superior to other civilizations and argued that it is a process that every culture must gradually go through. He also believed that civilization destroys morality and religion and came to the conclusion that â€Å"Immorality may sometime be taught in the name of morality†. Generally, the n arrative best captures the general perceptions of the events such as the Industrial revolution during the 19th century.As evidenced in the changes in English economic and social life after the industrial revolution, the revolution was more of a causatory factor than a co-relative factor for the changes witnessed in the 19th century. The transition after the industrial revolution caused a number of changes in the British society. For example as production becomes mechanized, many people migrated to the urban centers leading to increased urbanization. On the other hand, the quick urbanization in turn caused a number of social problems such as increased crime rates and poor sanitation. Generally the industrial revolution that was first witnessed in Britain significantly resulted in the conversion of the socioeconomic order of the time and some of the changes that took place eventually led the way for the industrialization in other parts of Europe and North America. Consequently industr ialization was not a co-relative factor but was a major causatory factor for most of the socio-economic changes witnessed in the 19th century.  

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Events that lead to the atomic bombings in Japan during the world war Research Paper

Events that lead to the atomic bombings in Japan during the world war II - Research Paper Example For most of the people then and now, the full account of the events, the number of casualties as well as the internal decisions of all people involved in the Second World War were and still are vague. This paper aims to provide some information regarding several figures and concepts related to the atomic bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, as well as to connect the said figures and concepts on these events in chronological order. Niels Bohr and the Development of the Nuclear Bomb While the whole development of the Nuclear Bomb can’t be solely attributed to Niels Bohr, he was an instrument for scientists in America to understand the processes by which nuclear energy from radioactive elements can be harnessed to produce a weapon stronger than the prevailing bomb formulations at that time. Bohr was working on particle bombardment, and initially he believed that the chances of being able to use nuclear particles in a controlled setting may be far from happening anytime soon (Gosli ng 2). However, upon learning about the results of Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann about the splitting of the uranium atom into two lighter elements as well as the release of a large amount of energy and highly-reactive neutrons, which would trigger the repeat of the same process on other uranium atoms, and so on. This process became known as nuclear fission, and became the core concept of the process of harnessing nuclear energy (Gosling 3). Bohr presented Hahn and Strassmann’ results in a conference around 1939, as well as having them published in that same year which enlightened many scientists, most especially those belonging to the Manhattan project (Rose 83). Bohr eventually assisted in the testing of the bombs at Los Alamos in 1944, a year before the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. He recognized the fact that if the allies were not able to produce an atomic bomb, the Germans might beat them to it, causing even more destruction (Rose 30). Through these efforts, the firs t nuclear bomb was finished and was used to bomb Hiroshima in August 6, 1945. The Formation of the Interim Committee Before the bombings in Hiroshima and Nagasaki ensued, President Harry S. Truman formed the Interim Committee, an advisory group in charge of making recommendations on the use of atomic weapons during wartime as well as making a position for the U.S. on postwar atomic policy (Gosling 45). The group was consisted of members from different government groups: Secretary of War, Henry Stimson; George L. Harrison, Deputy Secretary of War; Vannevar Bush, Director of the Office of Scientific Research and Development; Karl T. Compton, from the Manhattan project; Navy Undersecretary Ralph Bard; Secretary of State Will Clayton; and James Byrnes (Brune 606). The committee also had a scientific advisory team consisting of: Robert Oppenheimer, the Scientific Director of the Manhattan Project; Enrico Fermi, a Nobel Laureate for physics; Arthur Compton of the University of Chicago; an d Ernest Lawrence, a well-known physicist, with General George C. Marshall as their military representative (Gosling 45). During the meeting of the Interim Committee on May 31, 1945 they have concluded that the atomic bomb must be used against Japan in order for them to surrender as early as possible, and by doing so would send them the message that further resistance is futile (Brune 606). This conclusion was sent as a report on June 16 of the same year, as well as the additional advice that Japan must

Monday, September 23, 2019

E-Commerce and E-Business Fundamentals Case Study

E-Commerce and E-Business Fundamentals - Case Study Example Amazon.Com is a leading online retailer company, offering many different items such as books, music, DVDs, videos, toys, electronics, software, video games and home improvement products. They have an estimated 22.5 million customers in 150 different countries. Amazon was founded in July 1995 by Jeff Bezos in the state of Washington. With Amazon.com, customers can search at home a database of millions books, CD's, DVDs, videos, software, video games, lawn products and even a pan for your kitchen. If you find the item you want, just add it to the shopping cart and then is needed to fill out an online form to specify the type of payment, shipment characteristics and even if it's a gift, the type and color of wrapping paper. Also today it is possible to access used and collectible items through their Shops and Amazon Commerce Network or going to Amazon Auctions or sothebys.amazon.com (Press release Amazon.com and Borders Group Announce Strategic Alliance, 2006). Amazon.com is rated as a company in the Internet software and services industry into the technology sector. The most important competitors for Amazon.com are E-Bay (on-line auctions and retail sales), Barnes and Noble (books sales and other products) and CDnow (on-line music retailer). They are also a Bricks and Mortar store, which E-Bay is not. Since 1998, Amazon.com has started expanding their operations. This allowed Amazon.com to purchase several small and medium Internet companies in order to help build a larger customer base. In the US market the most important part of growth has been the introducing new products and services besides the normal books, videos, and music. This goes right along with the company goal of being the place where customers can search and buy anything they may want on the Internet. Amazon.com has reached that goal and is visited and used by many. Page layout and navigation The structure of Amazon.com is most certainly representative of a great marketing effort on the part of the company. Amazon.com has a myriad of different marketing concepts which aid to the increased consumption and popularity of this great organization. With thirty-six product categories offered on the website, Amazon.com is bound to appeal to the consumer with its premiere marketing efforts and techniques Amazon.com's easy to navigate webpage and simplistic accessibility are both contributing factors to making it an outstanding website for internet novices and experts alike. From the moment you arrive at Amazon.com you are greeted with a laundry list of the top sales and deals on various products which are currently being offered. A couple clicks of the mouse and you are on your way to saving money with bargains that only this particular website has to offer. Amazon.com's ability to convey their numerous products through their website with discounts exclusive to Amazon.com is undoubtedly a great marketing effort. Amazon.com realizes consumers will be more apt to purchase items if they are discounted and money can be saved.

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Rich dad and poor dad Essay Example for Free

Rich dad and poor dad Essay BSTM III This story about Rich Dad, Poor Dad it inspires a lot of people who already read this book. It gives us motivation in life. We all know everyone has a purpose in life. Educational attainment is important to have a successful life in the future. Treasure your knowledge about the things you’ve learned. Make some experienced like working in a company and pay yourself and buy a reward for you. By sharing your knowledge to everyone that you talked to has a chance to have more ideas in what you do. Be dedicated about your work; it is important to get involved in some investment, business ventures to have a secure and comfortable life. Used your skills about how to hold your finances right. â€Å"Rich does not work for money† they’ve work for keeping safe and the willingness to learn something new. They classify the standard of living, the powers that influenced many people and the money that controls all the necessities in the world. In the ‘Rat Race’ game in the monopoly board it shows how the player needs information to invest in a good deal to win the game and how you spent your money wisely. He never exits because he keeps going around, always returning to the same place where he was before. Once we find ways to make more money working more to pay for our expenses, we find new ways to spend our money, which in turn gets us into more expenses. That is why we never find the exit from and will keep running in the rat race. Most of us got used to it because that is what almost everybody gets from life, but if you think about it for a while; we want to get out the rat race to be able to be financially independent and have a control of our lives. Many people trapped in a rat race because they do not know manage finances are important to value your money. Even if you are rich or poor you will think a good investment and keeping your money more useful and productive. The rich man has to manage their accounts, investments, properties or assets to secure their future and the next generation. While in the middle class society they work hard and they do it for their family to give them a comfortable life but in some instances they’ve work because of the money. Rich men have a more advantages in terms in finances they have consultant and the finances they manage well. Give your kids some advice on how they spent money and teach us how to be a more responsible about the money. The biologic dad was a teacher, worked for others during all his life and died poor. The business dad was an entrepreneur that invested his life in learning and building new businesses, and so he became rich. The poor man has an investment in education this is the good deals they do to be a better persons and learned experienced while they doing some stuff. Give your best shot and strive to life to achieve your goals. Have a positive outlook in life. Teach yourself to set yourself always be an employee of somebody that manages those concepts and takes advantage of that to run a business using the work force of other people. Learn communication skills to deal with other people. Make your own move about all the matters you’ve encountered in life. Perseverance has obtained in our individuals personality to push you around. Make things possible. Both dads’ are thinking how the money flows. Act, manage risk, and think big, think businesses don’t be afraid to take a risk. Be more knowledgeable about your surroundings and conduct a surveys or knowing your priorities in life. It advocates financial independence through investing, real state, owning a business. It highlights the attitudes in money. In their decision making was affected because they will be smart in making decisions if they go wrong to their decisions they will lose it forever. Learn to classify your assets and liabilities. Generate a cash flow in the circulation of the market. The two dads influence their children to be more responsible about the money. Money rules 1. Spend Less Than You Earn 2. Dont Over-Think Your Investments 3. Stop Wasting Time 4. Eliminate (and Avoid) High-Interest Debt 5. Talk About Money (And Be Honest) 6. Stop Trying to Impress Other People 7. Watch Your Progress (But Make It Fun) 8. Take Care of Your Things 9. Do It Yourself 10. Plan Ahead Every Time You Spend 11. Find and Work Toward Your True Passions 12. Build Real Friendships and Relationships 13. Improve Yourself Every Chance You Get 14. Give Without Strings or Regrets In the rules of the money basically tackles about how the money flow and to planned and make your own move to improve your ideas and knowledge about the things you’ve taking care of. Makes plans, rules and your obligations to do and make it realistic and interesting. Think another strategies and techniques on how you will find a good opportunity in investing your money. Take suggestions came from your friends, relatives and other people. Researching or by attending a seminars will help you to learn a lot of new things and you will know the potentials of your money in the market. Control your money by having an accounts, cards, notes, bonds. Reading and understanding of financial statements is a must to understand how a business operates. Teach us the basic of business and finance concepts like cash flow, assets, liabilities, income and expenses. There are good points in life management. Do some ways to invent money and have an investment that nurture your future life. The objective is to learn how to handle your finances and seeking a good opportunities. It talks about a lot of financial tricks you can apply to make more money. It is the way of life to fulfill your dreams or goals that you want to achieve. Be ready to the challenges and the problems that you encountered. It develops your perspective in life and boosts your confidence to take a risk. Learn to discipline yourself and have a point of view. Get new ideas on how you can fix things eventually. You may work for others to gain experience, knowledge and insights about the businesses. The author of this book says about your financial responsibility. It talks about focusing and finding new ways are good sources of money. Many people do not learn to their lesson in life which continues now. The lives of many of us follow the same pattern. We get jobs working for others because we need money to pay for our expenses. Once we earn our own money, we are ready to buy more things. The pattern of money spending is evident. Once we get what we want, we need more money to keep our life style. The Rich dad, Poor dad book teaches us how to get out of this never ending cycle. It teaches a very basic, but also very important lesson about financial education that we should have learned in schools. Most of those lessons are actually advices that you should reflect upon and choose to follow or not depending on your circumstances of life. Once you learn these basic lessons you realize how you can get the financial independence that will allow you to have a more satisfying life, working only on the projects you want, instead of just wasting your life working for others in things that are not very fulfilling. It has an outstanding content that will nourish our mind and our souls. â€Å"Enjoy life to the fullest† it is a one chance that may happen to your life and never goes back anyway.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Novel Sequential-presentation-only (SPO) Line-up Effects

Novel Sequential-presentation-only (SPO) Line-up Effects Simultaneous, Sequential and Sequential Presentation Only line-ups in mediating Hit False alarm rates   Valerie Lim Abstract Exculpating individuals due to mistaken identifications in simultaneous line-ups have stirred questions of trust to the procedure. Researchers proposed a sequential presentation line-up to reduce the false identifications more than they reduce hits as a superior procedure. This study investigated if a novel sequential-presentation-only (SPO) line-up could draw the benefits of both procedure by hypothesizing (a) a sequential line-up will yield fewer hits and false alarms than a simultaneous line-up and (b) a sequential presentation only line-up will yield fewer false alarms than a simultaneous line-up without a significant reduction of hits. 713 participants assessed a set of images to an image of the perpetrator in different line-up conditions. The first hypothesis was partially supported while the second hypothesis was not. This study suggests that simple manipulations have potential to make the simultaneous line-up more reliable and a novel SPO line-up does not redeem the effects. Eyewitness identifications are among the most persuasive, and sometimes only, juncture in the apprehension of criminals. This typically involves a simultaneous line-up(SIM) where the suspect(target) is placed among known innocents(foils) who resemble the witness’s description of the perpetrator (Wells Olson, 2003). The selection or lack of selection from the witness is given significant legal weighting. However, 75% of convictions involved exculpation through DNA testing where eyewitness misidentification was at fault. Furthermore, in 38% of these cases, multiple witnesses have misidentified the same innocent person (Project, 2009), which brings to question the accuracy of the procedure. Lindsay and Wells (1985) devised the sequential line-up (SEQ) procedure as a better alternative. Each line-up member is presented one at a time and witnesses must decide if the line-up member matches the perpetrator before moving on to the next. Witnesses are unaware of the number of members shown, similar to real world cases, where each member is shown once. The â€Å"superiority effect† stems from the enhanced overall accuracy as SEQ reduces false identifications(false alarms) when the target is absent(target-absent conditions), more than it reduces correct identifications (hits) when the target is present (target-present conditions) (N. Steblay, Dysart, Fulero, Lindsay, 2001). The differences in line-up performance can be attributed to witness’s decision strategies (Gronlund, 2004). In SIMs, witnesses employ a relative judgement strategy where they evaluate the similarity of line-up members to their recollection of the culprit relative to one another, even when the resemblance Is vague (McQuiston-Surrett, Malpass, Tredoux, 2006; N. K. Steblay Phillips, 2011). In target-present conditions, the perpetrator is the closest match, resulting in more hits (N. Steblay et al., 2001). In comparison, target-absent conditions risk foils with the closest resemblance to be picked, in effect producing more false alarms. This flaw is further enhanced when the dissimilarity of appearance in line-up members increases (Charman, Wells, Joy, 2011). Accordingly, presenting a line-up sequentially is said to eliminate relative judgements and to allow absolute comparisons to each line-up member exclusively to memory (Lindsay Wells, 1985; N. K. Steblay Phillips, 2011). However, in target-present conditions, sequential line-ups produce lower hit rates compared to simultaneous line-ups (McQuiston-Surrett et al., 2006). The reduction in hit rate is better understood with signal detection theory (SDT) (Meisser, Parker, Parker, MacLin, 2005). SDT posits that our ability to recognise and differentiate between familiar and novel stimuli rests on our response criterion and discrimination accuracy. Discrimination accuracy is the ability of an individual to correctly detect a signal (hits) vs. correctly reject its absence (correct rejections), while response criterion is the strength of evidence required before a signal (hit) is registered. In line-ups, the response criterion is familiarity-based and if a line-up member exceeds the familiarity threshold and corresponds to the witness’s memory of the perpetrator, it produces a hit, or otherwise it is rejected (Gronlund, 2004). It is important to note that witnesses lack awareness of the number of line-up members they will be shown in sequential line-ups. This raises the criterion threshold, which means more hits will be unlikely and more misses are produced. Furthermore, since witnesses cannot revise their previous decisions on a line-up member, they are subjected to a conservative response bias (McQuiston-Surrett et al., 2006). In effect, this reduces the hit and false alarm rates. Ideally, a line-up procedure that employed absolute judgement without a criterion shift would confer the best of both simultaneous and sequential procedures. This maximises hit rates while minimises false alarms, optimising the discrimination accuracy. This study examines a novel type of sequential procedure, named sequential presentation only (SPO), which theoretically can do so. The SPO involves line-up members being shown one at a time, while leaving the decision making until after all line-up members have been shown. This retains absolute judgement in the decision making process while decreasing response bias. As a result, the hit rates should be comparable to those of a simultaneous line-up. It follows that this study hypothesises in target-present manipulations (a) a sequential line-up will yield fewer hits and false alarms than the simultaneous line-up and (b) a sequential presentation only line-up will yield fewer false alarms than the simultaneous line-up without a significant reduction in hits. Method Participants The participants were 713 PSYC20007 Cognitive Psychology students who completed the task in groups as part of a laboratory experiment. Students were randomly assigned to conditions with 240 in the Simultaneous presentation condition, 229 in the Sequential presentation condition and 218 in the Sequential Presentation Only condition. 26 Participants were removed for having incomplete data files. Stimuli and Apparatus Participants were group tested in a computer lab. The experiment was completed in an internet browser running an experiment programmed using HTML and Javascript. The stimuli were black and white head shots of males taken from Kayser (1985); each photo was presented on a white background. Procedure On each trial, the words â€Å"Get Ready† were presented for 1000 ms followed by the presentation of a target face (the perpetrator), which was presented for 500 ms and was immediately backward masked by a scrambled image of that face presented for 1000 ms. The line-up was then presented, and the participants response recorded. In the simultaneous presentation condition, all five faces were presented simultaneously in a row across the centre of the screen with a small gap between each face along with identifying numbers 1 to 5. The number of remaining trials was displayed on the screen at this stage. Participants were instructed to respond with 1 to 5 indicating the line-up member that they thought was the target or to respond 6 if the target was not present in the line-up. The experiment then advanced to the next trial. In the sequential condition, the five line-up members were presented one at a time for until a response was made. For each line-up member, the participant made a response (yes or no). There was a 1000 ms blank interval between each face. Once all of the five line-up members were completed, the participants were informed of the number of remaining trials for 1500 ms, and the experiment advanced to the next trial. In the Sequential Presentation Only condition, the five line-up members were presented one at a time for 1000 ms each. There was a blank interval of 1000 ms between each line-up member. After the final line-up member, the response scale was presented until a response was made. The number of remaining trials was displayed on the screen at this stage. Participants were instructed to respond with 1 to 5 indicating the line-up 7 member that they thought was the target or to respond 6 if the target was not present in the line-up. The experiment then advanced to the next trial. In each condition, the line-up was constructed from a set of five faces drawn from a set of 54 possible faces. On target present trials, the target was drawn randomly from the set of line-up faces. On target absent trials, the target was drawn from the remaining 49 faces. There were 50 trials in the experiment. Results The mean ratings for the Simultaneous, Sequential and SPO condition as a function of Hit rates and False alarms are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. Mean hit rates and false alarms as a function of line-up condition A one-way ANOVA showed a significant difference in the hit rate, F(2,684) = 12.62, p ÃŽ ·2 = .04. A post-hoc analysis using the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons showed significant difference in the hit rate between the SIM condition and the SEQ condition (Mean Difference = 0.08, p Mean Difference = 0.05, p = .02), but not between the SEQ and the SPO condition (Mean Difference = 0.04, p = .10). A one-way ANOVA showed a significant difference in the false alarms, F(2, 684) = 9.28, p ÃŽ ·2 =.03. A post-hoc analysis with the Bonferroni correction for multiple comparisons showed significant difference in the false alarm rate between the SIM and SPO condition (Mean Difference=0.69, p Mean Difference= 0.01, p=1.00) as well as the SEQ and the SPO condition (Mean Difference= 0.06, p= .004). According to Cohen (1988), both hit rate and false alarms demonstrated a small to medium effect of line-up procedure. Discussion This study investigated if a novel SPO line-up could attain optimal discrimination accuracy. In target-present conditions, it was hypothesized that (a) sequential line-up will yield fewer hits and false alarms than the simultaneous line-up and (b) the SPO line-up will yield fewer false alarms than the simultaneous line-up without a significant reduction in hits. The first hypothesis was partially supported as there were fewer hit rates but not false alarms in the SEQ condition. Our second hypothesis was not supported. Results showed that the sequential condition produced less hits compared to the simultaneous condition, this was consistent with previous research (Lindsay Wells, 1985). However, false alarm rates were comparable. As for the SPO condition, a significantly lower mean hit rate was produced, as well as a higher false alarm rate compared to both the other conditions. Simultaneous line-ups induce a relative judgement decision approach (Gronlund, 2004). In a target-present condition such as ours, the line-up member that most resembles witness’s memory of the culprit will induce a higher mean hit rate (N. Steblay et al., 2001). This was supported in our results. In a simultaneous target-absent line-up, the foil with most resemblance should be picked with similar reasoning, producing more false alarms. However, our results showed that false alarm rates were higher in the sequential line-up instead. Sequential line-ups cause a criterion shift, influencing a conservative â€Å"no† or â€Å"unsure† response in witnesses which reduces hits and false alarm rates (McQuiston-Surrett et al., 2006). A possible explanation our results did not replicate this is the use of instructions which states explicitly the target may be absent or present. Instructions may prompt witnesses in realising that a criminal’s absence was a genuine possibility (N. Steblay et al., 2001), and thus will consider each person in succession (absolute judgement strategy) (Dysart Lindsay, 2001). Since simultaneous line-ups do not induce a criterion shift, witnesses have less of a conservative bias and will refrain from guessing more (Palmer Brewer, 2011). This accounts for the high rate in the simultaneous line-up and low false alarm rates compared to the sequential condition. However, since the same instructions were given to both conditions, it does not explain the unexpected results in the sequential condition. Perhaps showing all the line-up members in one sitting works at ease to witnesses’ memory and hence decisions (Smith et al., 2014). Further investigations need to verify this result. Participants in the sequential condition refrain from making an identification as a result of the criterion shift (Palmer Brewer, 2011). This reduces the overall hit rate. To negate this effect, all decision making is reserved to the end of the line-up procedure in the SPO condition. However, it still produced a significantly lower mean hit rate compared to the simultaneous condition, suggesting a criterion shift is unaffected by when participants report their decisions. Furthermore, the results indicate that the difference between the simultaneous and SPO line-ups were not significant in regards to false alarms. The SPO condition was created to retain the low false alarm rates by appealing an absolute judgement framework. It appeals to memory in the sense of match-making, instead of a relative judgement among line-up members (Gronlund, 2004). By theory, this would discourage false alarms from occurring. Nonetheless, our results were comparable between the simultaneous and SPO procedures. This could also be explained in terms of the effect of imposing instructions. The caution that it gives participants makes it more likely in minimizing false alarm rates in the simultaneous condition, but may not be as dominant in a sequential set-up. This study included presenting photographs of suspects as opposed to actual human entities in line-up conditions. The photographs only contained the suspect’s neck to facial features, excluding their physical build-up. This means that our line-ups may not include ecological validity (McQuiston-Surrett et al., 2006) and should be validated in similar trials and psychological concepts before being used in practice. In conclusion, this study found that the simultaneous condition have potential in possessing optimal discrimination accuracy in regards to more hits and fewer false alarms. This is a contradiction to previous research as the superiority effect of the sequential condition may not hold even under target-absent settings. This finding followed when validating a novel SPO procedure was ineffective. A lower hit rate and higher false alarm rate resulted, becoming the worst performer of all conditions. However, it should be taken into consideration photographs cannot replicate real world ecology and may affect response criterion. Further research should focus on binding the findings to psychological concepts related to memory and decision making in line-up procedures. References Charman, S., Wells, G., Joy, S. (2011). The Dud Effect: Adding Highly Dissimilar Fillers Increases Confidence in Lineup Identifications. Law Human Behavior (Springer Science Business Media B.V.). 35(6), 479-500. Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioural Sciences (2nd ed.). New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Dysart, J. E., Lindsay, R. C. L. (2001). A Preidentification Questioning Effect: Serendipitously Increaseing Correct Rejections Law and Human Behaviour, 25(2). Gronlund, S. D. (2004). Sequential line-ups: Shift in criterion or decision strategy? Journal of Applied Psychology, 89(2), 362-368. Lindsay, R. C., Wells, G. L. (1985). Improving eyewitness identifications from lineups: Simultaneous versus sequential lineup presentation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 70(3), 556-564. McQuiston-Surrett, D., Malpass, S. R., Tredoux, C. G. (2006). Sequential vs. Simultaneous lineups: A review of methods, data, and theory. Psychology, Public Policy, and Law, 12(2), 137-169. Meisser, C. A., Parker, C. G., Parker, J. F., MacLin, O. H. (2005). Eyewitness decisions in simultaneous and sequential lineups: A dual-process signal detection theory analysis. Memory Cognition, 33(5), 783-792. Palmer, M. A., Brewer, N. (2011). Sequential lineup presentation promotes less-biased criterion setting but does not improve discriminability. Law Human Behavior, 36(3), 247-255. Project, T. I. (2009). Reevaluating Lineups: Why witnesses make mistakes and how to reduce the chance of a misidentification. . Smith, A. M., Bertrand, M., Lindsay, R. C. L., Kalmet, N., Grossman, D., Provenzano, D. (2014). The Impact of Multiple Show-Ups on Eyewitness Decision-Making and Innocence Risk. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 20(3), 247-259. Steblay, N., Dysart, J., Fulero, S., Lindsay, R. C. L. (2001). Eyewitness accuracy rates in sequential and simultaneous lineup presentations: A meta-analytic comparison. Law and Human Behaviour, 25(5), 459-473. Steblay, N. K., Phillips, J. D. (2011). The not-sure response option in sequential lineup practice. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 25(768-774). Wells, G. L., Olson, E. A. (2003). Eyewitness testimony. Annual Review of Psychology, 54(1), 277-295.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Ralph Waldo Emerson Essay -- essays research papers

Ralph Waldo Emerson Properly Acknowledged by Ralph Waldo Emerson certainly took his place in the history of American Literature . He lived in a time when romanticism was becoming a way of thinking and beginning to bloom in America, the time period known as The Romantic Age. Romantic thinking stressed on human imagination and emotion rather than on basic facts and reason. Ralph Waldo Emerson not only provided plenty of that, but he also nourished it and inspired many other writers of that time. "His influence can be found in the works of Henry David Thoreau, Herman Melville, Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, Henry James, and Robert Frost.". No doubt, Ralph Waldo Emerson was an astute and intellectual man who influenced American Literature and has rightly received the credit that he deserves from historians. He has been depicted as a leading figure in American thought and literature, or at least ranks up there with the very best. But there is so much more to Ralph Waldo Emerson when we consider the personal hardships that he had to endure during the course of his life and when we see the type of man that he becomes. He certainly was a man of inspiration who knew how to express himself by writing the best of poems and philosophical ideas with inspiration. To get an idea of how Ralph Waldo Emerson might have become such an inspiration to the people, some background on his life is essential. Can you imagine living a life with all your loved ones passing away one by one? A persons life could collapse into severe depression, lose hope, and lose meaning. He can build a morbid outlook on life. Ralph Waldo Emerson suffered these things. He was born on May 25, 1803 and entered into a new world, a new nation just beginning. Just about eight years later, his father would no longer be with him, as William Emerson died in 1811. The Emerson family was left to a life marked by poverty. Ralph's mother, Ruth, was left as a widow having to take care of five sons. However, Ralph's life seemed to carry on smoothly. He would end up attending Harvard College and persue a job of teaching full time. While teaching as a junior pastor of Boston's Second Church, his life gained more meaning when he married Ellen Louisa Tucker. Journal entries and love letters he wrote at that time expressed lots of feelings and emo... ...l ideas ever created. His famous essays are "History," "Art," "The Poet," and the famous "Self-Reliance." He gathered his essays into two volumes. The first was released in 1841, and the second was released in 1844. Poems however, also made Emerson's reputation as a erudite man. His poems were enjoyable as well as thought provoking to many. "Each and All," was a poem that supported his beliefs. "The Rhodora," as well as "The Humble Bee," and "The Snow Storm," touched on the greatness of nature. Emerson also expressed himself through poems such as "Uriel," "The Problem," "The Sphinx," and the well-known "Days." Many of these works of Emerson have taken there place in the history of American literature. Thus, we now see what truly a great man Emerson was. We gain a deep respect for him when we consider the hardships that he had to face, how he endured those problems, and the minds that he opened and touched by his wonderful works. In conclusion, we can truly say that Emerson is well deserving of the credit he received from historians.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Essay --

â€Å"Either with your shield, or on it.† These were the words said by Spartan women as their men left for war. The meaning is clear: either return with your shield, alive and victorious, or return as a corpse. There are no other options. This mentality of â€Å"Spartans never retreat, Spartans never surrender,† and a lifetime of physical training produced in ancient Sparta an elite caste of warriors who dominated classical Greece for centuries. The Spartans were greatly respected during their day, causing one exiled King to say â€Å"the Lacedaemonians, when they fight singly, are as good as any in the world.† Time has done nothing to soften the praise felt for the Spartan warrior. Innumerable video games, films, and novels have represented Spartans as invincible warriors, the valiant Spartan phalanx standing strong against a horde of unending barbarians. Invariably, the Spartans have been represented as speaking of ‘freedom’ and ‘reason,’ versus the forces of tyranny and barbarism. While most wars the Spartans fought were against other Greeks, as the fractious Greek city-states were wont to do, invariably the popular culture accounts of the 20th and 21st century depict them as being pitted against the largest contemporary empire, the Persians, who, in an incredibly short period, were able to create the largest land empire the world had yet seen. The Persians surpassed the Greeks in many ways, and yet there are no Hollywood blockbusters about Cyrus conquering Babylon, or video games of Persian military feats. Modern popular culture has raised the Spartan to the highest pedestal of adoration, producing pulp of every kind to feed his flame. The Persians, meanwhile, have been brought low and demonized, even neglected. The questi... ...aging.† This logic struck Cyrus so much that he acted on the advice of Croesus and reclaimed the booty. Here Cyrus is portrayed as a rational, just ruler, who treats conquered subjects with restraint. This is in contrast to the loser in the struggle, Croesus, who, although Herodotus represents as wise and strong, is much too hasty. When he received the prophecy from the Oracle at Delphi of â€Å"If you attack, you will destroy a great empire,† in response to his question of whether he should bring the fight to the Achaemenids, he rushed across the river to attack Cyrus’s position, eager to destroy a great empire. Of course, the ambiguity of the oracle was his undoing, as it was his own Lydian empire that he destroyed. In this episode, Herodotus is not afraid to admit the faults of his Ionian Greek brethren, or to ascribe positive attributes to the Greek’s enemy.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

A Comparison of Love According to Browning, Dickinson, Shakespeare and Harris :: Comparison Compare Contrast Essays

Love According to Browning, Dickinson, Shakespeare and Harris Men and women are very different creatures. We express our emotions differently. Women are typically ready to marry, settle down and have children much earlier than men. Men tend to want to experience life before settling. Yet, there is one thing we have in common. In relationships, men and women want to be loved for the person they are and for the rest of their lives. When people begin dating, they are usually playing the field. Few have a strategy for finding their life mate. It is something that happens over time and as you continue to see that person and get to know them, a bond builds that is not easily broken. This is demonstrated in "Wild Nights - Wild Nights!" By Emily Dickinson. "Futile - the winds-/ to a heart in port-/ Done with the compass/ Done with the chart" (line 5-8). No matter how hard outside forces try to tempt you away, you are finished searching for your true love. You have found it and are holding fast. We are all initially searching for romantic love that will hold fast through a lifetime. Romantic love is defined as love that is unrealistic, fanciful, passionate and fabulous. In "Beginning of the Songs of Delight", Papyrus Harris 500 demonstrates fanciful love through "†¦apportioned to you is my heart,/ I do for you what it desires,/ when I am in your arms" (lines 1-3). In Shakespeare's "Othello", the Moor and Desdemona declare their love for one another, at the protest of her father and the disbelief of the councilmen (Act I, scene iii). Their romantic love was unrealistic because of their age difference, and fanciful because she was intrigued by the stories of heroism and daring that he imparted to her. Passionate love is, by definition, ruled by intense emotion and marked by intense feelings as is expressed in "My body thrives, my heart exults/ At our walking together;/ Hearing your voice is pomegranate wine,/ I live by hearing it./ Each look with which you look at me/Sustains me more than food and drink" (lines 24-29). Love such as this can sustain us through all the joys and challenges life has to offer if it is without condition. Unconditional love endures over time. "But love me for love's sake, that evermore/ thou mayst love on, through love's eternity" (Browning, 260), speaks of love that is grounded in love alone and will last all forever.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Evaluating Published Research Problems

Individual Assignment: Evaluating Published Research Problems Locate two research studies in your discipline or your field of study—one study must use a qualitative method and one study must use a quantitative method. Each study must have been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Perform the following with each study: Review of Contemporary Curriculum Research Qualitative Research Study Identify the research problem.Smith’s (2007) research study on â€Å"Support Services for Students with Asperger’s Syndrome in Higher Education† problem focus is on type of services or accommodations that are being provided for students who have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) and if these services are addressing the needs of the students. The study was conducted to inform Disability Support offices of what services are necessary for the population of AS higher education students to support them in their educational journey in higher education.Summarize the basis for the problem. Smith (2007) states that there has been an increase in diagnosis of AS. The Americans with (Powell, Higgins, & Aram, 2009)Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) provides that individuals with AS cannot be discriminated against in obtaining higher education and that services and accomodations need to be offered to those students diagnoses with AS to have assistance in achieving their education both inside and outside the classroom.Smith (2007) further states that AS was only recognized about 20 years ago and in that short period of time there has not been any significant studies done concerning the impact of student achievement in the post secondary educational field. Evaluate the clarity and completeness of how the problem was described. Smith (2007) addresses the problem by explaining in detail the behaviors displayed by students who have been diagnoses with AS.Smith further explains how the behaviors of AS students affect their ability to be successful in a nor mal educational environment if the educators are not trained on providing accommodations that would assist with their learning process. Smith (2007) also addresses the issue of a growing number of AS students entering higher education and the need for the Office of Access and Learning Accommodations (OALA) to provide services that will address the needs of all types of disabilities. Smith is specific and direct regarding the services that would be specifically needed by AS students.Explain how the problem was addressed through designing and conducting a research study. Smith (2007) states the methodology used was an exploratory study evaluating and determining what type of accommodations, services and programs assistance were offered to AS post-secondary students. Surveys were emailed to staff members of the institutions Disabled Student Services offices. There was a letter sent with the survey explaining the purpose of the research and consent statements for the individuals acknowl edging the information was being used as a study.Smith gathered qualitative data regarding programs, support groups and counseling that was currently being provided to AS students. The surveys also gathered data regarding the types of accommodations provided to students to assess if the services provided were addressing the specific needs of AS students Smith (2007) concluded from the research that although accommodations were being provided for AS students, the accommodations provided were not taking into consideration some of the individual students needs. Quantitative Research ProblemIdentify the research problem. Powell, Higgins and Aram’s (2009) research study, â€Å"Impact of No Child Left Behind on Curriculum and Instuction in Rural Schools† examines the decisions made by rural principals and teachers regarding curriculum and instruction and the impact No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) had. Powell, Higgins and Aram focus was if there was significate impact on the instructional time, non-instructional time and if student motivation expereinced any negative effect resulting from the demands of NCLB. Summarize the basis for the problem.Powell, Higgins and Aram (2009) reported that twenty-five percent of the schools in the U. S. are rural schools. The retention of qualified teachers and students achieving the Average Yearly Progress (AYP) set by NCLB had a greater impact due to the lower percentages within the schools, than compared to the schools in larger cities and suburbs. Powell, Higgins and Aram further state that the rural schools in Missouri they used for their study, had an increase of minority students over a ten year period of over 120% compared to the average increase nationwide of only 54%.Powell, Higgins and Aram wanted to exam the overall impact of NCLB on the two rural schools in two completely different areas of the U. S. and exam the correlation between the NCLB and how curriculum and instruction were influenced. Evaluate the c larity and completeness of how the problem was described. Powell, Higgins and Aram (2009) study of the influence NCLB had on the decision making process of the principals regarding curriculum and instruction in rural schools described the problems associated with the AYP expectations set by NCLB.The study surveyed the teachers and principals on specific areas of the curriculum and if there was an increase in the test scores of the students on both math and reading scores. Powell, Higgins and Aram (2009) further stated that NCLB created additional problems such as teachers leaving the teaching profession and others not entering the teaching profession due to the change in climate within the teaching environment. Explain how the problem was addressed through designing and conducting a research study.Powell, Higgins and Aram (2009) research consisted of a survey that was sent to 571 principals in Missouri, of which 101 responded. They also gathered data from 76 certified teachers in Ma ine. 14 of 16 rural counties in Maine were represented in the research. About 76% of the principals surveyed were from Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) and Title 1 schools, supporting the sampling of high minority student demographics. Powell, Higgins and Aram (2009) further surveyed the principals on how NCLB impacted their decision making process regarding curriculum and instruction both before and after NCLB. Evaluating Published Research Problems ?Individual Assignment: Evaluating Published Research Problems Locate two research studies in your discipline or your field of study—one study must use a qualitative method and one study must use a quantitative method. Each study must have been published in a peer-reviewed journal. Perform the following with each study: Review of Contemporary Curriculum Research Qualitative Research Study Identify the research problem.Smith’s (2007) research study on â€Å"Support Services for Students with Asperger’s Syndrome in Higher Education† problem focus is on type of services or accommodations that are being provided for students who have been diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) and if these services are addressing the needs of the students. The study was conducted to inform Disability Support offices of what services are necessary for the population of AS higher education students to support them in their educational journey in higher education.Summariz e the basis for the problem. Smith (2007) states that there has been an increase in diagnosis of AS. The Americans with (Powell, Higgins, & Aram, 2009)Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) provides that individuals with AS cannot be discriminated against in obtaining higher education and that services and accomodations need to be offered to those students diagnoses with AS to have assistance in achieving their education both inside and outside the classroom.Smith (2007) further states that AS was only recognized about 20 years ago and in that short period of time there has not been any significant studies done concerning the impact of student achievement in the post secondary educational field. Evaluate the clarity and completeness of how the problem was described. Smith (2007) addresses the problem by explaining in detail the behaviors displayed by students who have been diagnoses with AS.Smith further explains how the behaviors of AS students affect their ability to be successful in a no rmal educational environment if the educators are not trained on providing accommodations that would assist with their learning process. Smith (2007) also addresses the issue of a growing number of AS students entering higher education and the need for the Office of Access and Learning Accommodations (OALA) to provide services that will address the needs of all types of disabilities. Smith is specific and direct regarding the services that would be specifically needed by AS students.Explain how the problem was addressed through designing and conducting a research study. Smith (2007) states the methodology used was an exploratory study evaluating and determining what type of accommodations, services and programs assistance were offered to AS post-secondary students. Surveys were emailed to staff members of the institutions Disabled Student Services offices. There was a letter sent with the survey explaining the purpose of the research and consent statements for the individuals acknow ledging the information was being used as a study.Smith gathered qualitative data regarding programs, support groups and counseling that was currently being provided to AS students. The surveys also gathered data regarding the types of accommodations provided to students to assess if the services provided were addressing the specific needs of AS students Smith (2007) concluded from the research that although accommodations were being provided for AS students, the accommodations provided were not taking into consideration some of the individual students needs. Quantitative Research ProblemIdentify the research problem. Powell, Higgins and Aram’s (2009) research study, â€Å"Impact of No Child Left Behind on Curriculum and Instuction in Rural Schools† examines the decisions made by rural principals and teachers regarding curriculum and instruction and the impact No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) had. Powell, Higgins and Aram focus was if there was significate impact on the instructional time, non-instructional time and if student motivation expereinced any negative effect resulting from the demands of NCLB. Summarize the basis for the problem.Powell, Higgins and Aram (2009) reported that twenty-five percent of the schools in the U. S. are rural schools. The retention of qualified teachers and students achieving the Average Yearly Progress (AYP) set by NCLB had a greater impact due to the lower percentages within the schools, than compared to the schools in larger cities and suburbs. Powell, Higgins and Aram further state that the rural schools in Missouri they used for their study, had an increase of minority students over a ten year period of over 120% compared to the average increase nationwide of only 54%.Powell, Higgins and Aram wanted to exam the overall impact of NCLB on the two rural schools in two completely different areas of the U. S. and exam the correlation between the NCLB and how curriculum and instruction were influenced. Evaluate the clarity and completeness of how the problem was described. Powell, Higgins and Aram (2009) study of the influence NCLB had on the decision making process of the principals regarding curriculum and instruction in rural schools described the problems associated with the AYP expectations set by NCLB.The study surveyed the teachers and principals on specific areas of the curriculum and if there was an increase in the test scores of the students on both math and reading scores. Powell, Higgins and Aram (2009) further stated that NCLB created additional problems such as teachers leaving the teaching profession and others not entering the teaching profession due to the change in climate within the teaching environment. Explain how the problem was addressed through designing and conducting a research study.Powell, Higgins and Aram (2009) research consisted of a survey that was sent to 571 principals in Missouri, of which 101 responded. They also gathered data from 76 certified teachers in M aine. 14 of 16 rural counties in Maine were represented in the research. About 76% of the principals surveyed were from Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) and Title 1 schools, supporting the sampling of high minority student demographics. Powell, Higgins and Aram (2009) further surveyed the principals on how NCLB impacted their decision making process regarding curriculum and instruction both before and after NCLB.