Critical Thinking and Ethics Essays (614 words) - Thought

Critical Thinking and Ethics Essays (614 words) - Thought Critical Thinking and Ethics Victoria Mullally GEN/201 June 1, 2015 Kimberly Drager Critical thinking ethics, who can keep up? Defining these terms individually and together is one way to helping understand what they are and how they can help you as a student and a growing individual. Everyone could give a different answer to the question What is critical thinking? The way I would define it is thinking about things to find new meaning. Asking the w questions is a great way to start. Making sure you can find fact from fiction and informing yourself of such are just a few other benefits of critical thinking. According to "Defining Critical Thinking" (1987), Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing (para. 2). Sounds simple enough- ask questions and get a deeper understanding of what youre asking. Let me just say it may sound easy but there are steps to take when using the critical thinking process. The process of critical thinking requires remembering, understanding, applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating. (Ellis, 2014, p. 205). Each of these steps is a different level of your ability to think critically. You may not have them down in order, you may be better at some steps then others, just remember if you practice thinking with each of these steps you will be on your way to using critical thinking in your everyday life. Applying personal ethics is just as important as using the critical thinking process. Ethics is what you think is right and wrong. Each person has a different style of ethics that is important to them. Ethics are used every day and everywhere. In a professional setting ethics are used to make decision that can affect the entire workplace. I believe this is the reason there should be more than one boss at a company. If only one person uses their personal ethics to make a decision then many others could be affected in a negative way. If more than one person uses their personal ethics to make a decision they can come to a compromise that will work for everyone. The same can be said in social matters. The people of a community have to work together to create an environment we can all be a part of. If people of a community cant come to compromise there would be chaos. On a personal level I prefer to use what is called a relationship lens. This means I care more about the fairness and equality of each person then I do about those with more power. I am said to be blind to equality. I believe in the process of equality too much that I will be blind to the fact that there is a chance of inequality even if the process is fair. Because of these beliefs making decisions, for me, is usually based on how my decision will affect others. I care too much for the treatment of others and equality. I want everyone in any situation to have the same rights, responsibilities, and care for eachother. If I have to make an important decision I want the input from the people around me. In the long run this could also be a downfall for me because the people closest to me become exempt from the equality I desire for everyone. Using ethics and critical thinking together to get through anything in life is going to take practice. Once you understand your personal thought process and the ethics you use to make decisions you will be better off. References Defining Critical Thinking. (1987). Retrieved from https://www.criticalthinking.org/pages/defining-critical-thinking/766 Ellis, Dave. Becoming a Master Student, 15e, 15th Edition. Cengage Learning, 2014. VitalBook file

Womens Strike for Equality on August 26, 1970

Women's Strike for Equality on August 26, 1970 The Women’s Strike for Equality was a nationwide demonstration for women’s rights held on August 26, 1970, the 50th anniversary of women’s suffrage. It was described by Time magazine as â€Å"the first big demonstration of the Women’s Liberation movement.†Ã‚  The leadership called the object of the rallies the unfinished business of equality. Organized by NOW The Women’s Strike for Equality was organized by the National Organization for Women (NOW) and its then-president Betty Friedan. At a NOW conference in March 1970, Betty Friedan called for the Strike for Equality, asking women to stop working for a day to draw attention to the prevalent problem of unequal pay for women’s work. She then headed the National Women’s Strike Coalition to organize the protest, which used â€Å"Don’t Iron While the Strike is Hot!† among other slogans. Fifty years after women were granted the right to vote in the United States, feminists were again taking a political message to their government and demanding equality and more political power. The Equal Rights Amendment was being discussed in Congress, and the protesting women warned politicians to pay attention or risk losing their seats in the next election. Nationwide Demonstrations The Women’s Strike for Equality took various forms in more than ninety cities across the United States.  Here are a few examples: New York, home to radical feminist groups such as New York Radical Women and Redstockings, had the largest protest. Tens of thousands marched down Fifth Avenue; others demonstrated at the Statue of Liberty and stopped the stock ticker on Wall Street.  New York City issued a proclamation declaring Equality Day.Los Angeles had a smaller protest, numbering in the hundreds, including women who stood holding a vigil for women’s rights.In Washington D.C., women marched on Connecticut Avenue with a banner that read â€Å"We Demand Equality† and lobbied for the Equal Rights Amendment.  Petitions with more than 1,500 names were presented to the Senate majority leader and minority floor leader.Detroit women who worked at the Detroit Free Press kicked men out of one of their restrooms, protesting the fact that men had two bathrooms while women had one.Women who worked for a New Orleans newspaper ran pictures of the grooms instead of the brides in engagement announcements.Inter national Solidarity: French women marched in Paris, and Dutch women marched at the U.S. embassy in Amsterdam. Nationwide Attention Some people called the demonstrators anti-feminine or even Communist. The Womens Strike for Equality made the front page of national newspapers such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Chicago Tribune. It was also covered by the three broadcast networks, ABC, CBS, and NBC, which was the pinnacle of extensive television news coverage in 1970.   The Women’s Strike for Equality is often remembered as the first major protest of the Women’s Liberation movement, even though there had been other protests by feminists, some of which also received media attention. The Women’s Strike for Equality was the largest protest for women’s rights at that time. Legacy The next year, Congress passed a resolution declaring August 26  Women’s Equality Day.  Bella Abzug  was inspired by the Womens Strike for Equality to introduce the bill promoting the holiday. Signs of the Times Some articles from the  New York Times  from the time of the demonstrations illustrate some of the context of the Womens Strike for Equality. The  New York Times  featured an article a few days before the August 26 rallies and anniversary titled Liberation Yesterday: The Roots of the Feminist Movement.  Under a photograph of suffragettes [sic] marching down Fifth Avenue, the paper also asked the question: Fifty years ago,  they won the vote. Did they throw victory away?  The article pointed to both the earlier and the then-current feminist movements as rooted in work for civil rights, peace, and radical politics, and noted that the womens movement both times was rooted in recognizing that both black people and women were treated as second-class citizens. Press Coverage In an article on the day of the march, the  Times  noted that Traditional Groups Prefer to Ignore Womens Lib.  The problem for such groups as the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Womens Christian Temperance Union, the League of Women Voters, The Junior League and the Young Womens Christian Association is what attitude to take toward the militant womens liberation movement.   The article included quotes about ridiculous exhibitionists and a band of wild lesbians. The article quoted Mrs. Saul Schary [sic] of the National Council of Women: Theres no discrimination against women like they say there is. Women themselves are just self-limiting. Its in their nature and they shouldnt blame it on society or men. In the kind of paternalistic belittling of the feminist movement and women that feminism criticized, a headline the next day in the  New York Times  noted that Betty Friedan was 20 minutes late for her appearance at the Womens Strike for Equality: Leading Feminist Puts Hairdo Before Strike.  the article also noted what she wore and where shed purchased it, and that he had her hair done at the Vidal Sassoon Salon on Madison Avenue.   She was quoted saying I dont want people to think Womens Lib girls dont care about how they look. We should try to be as pretty as we can. Its good for our self-image and its good politics.  The article noted that The vast majority of women interviewed strongly endorsed the traditional concept of woman as a mother and a homemaker who can, and sometimes even should, supplement these activities with a career or with volunteer work. In yet another article, the  New York Times  asked two women partners in Wall Street firms what they thought of picketing, denouncing men and bra-burning?  Muriel F. Siebert, chairman [sic] of Muriel F. Siebert Co., replied: I like men and I like brassieres. She was also quoted saying Theres no reason to go to college, get married and then stop thinking. People should be able to do what theyre capable of doing and theres no reason why a woman doing the same job as a man should be paid less. This article has been edited by and considerable additional material added by Jone Johnson Lewis.

Impacts of Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss as a Mathematician Term Paper

Impacts of Johann Carl Friedrich Gauss as a Mathematician - Term Paper Example In his lifetime, Gauss had hardly made a contribution to the field of mathematics. It is said that the German mathematician was aloof to the pubic world of the mathematicians notable in his days. Gauss only communicated to a few of his trusted friends who were also strongly inclined to mathematics. Besides Bolyai, Schumacher was one of Gauss’s trusted correspondence in which the latter confided to the former about his spending a â€Å"considerable time on geometry† (Tent, 2006, p. 214). On the other hand, upon the death of the gifted mathematician -- and the subsequent discovery of his mathematical notes and ideas -- the world of mathematics had never been the same. Particularly his contribution to the shaping of the so-called non-Euclidean geometry, Gauss had made an impact to the sphere of geometry. His schoolmate Bolyai had asked him, for several times, pertaining to his view to Euclid’s fifth postulate -- also known as the parallel postulate. But Gauss did no t disclose his discovery concerning the existence of the non-Euclidean geometry for the reason that he did not want to â€Å"rock the boat† (Tent, 2006, p. 215). True, Gauss’s non-Euclidean geometry -- first he called it as anti-Euclidean -- had caused a stir in the area of mathematics marked in the late 18th century. Non-Euclidean geometry is basically defined as an area in geometry in which Euclid’s first four postulates are held but the fifth postulate has a quite different and distinct version in contrast to what is stated in the Elements (Weisstein, 2011). Among various versions of non-Euclidean geometry, the so-called hyperbolic geometry is where Gauss belongs to. In one of their conversations, Gauss revealed to Schumacher about his anti-Euclidean geometry: â€Å"I realized that there also had to be triangles whose three angles add up to more or less than 1800 in the non-Euclidean world. I had it all mapped out† (Tent, 2006, 214, my italics). Here, Gauss categorized the fundamental elements of his newly found mathematics. That is to say, Gauss’s non-Euclidean geometry is a departure from two-dimensional geometry characterized in Euclidean mathematics. Gauss’s hyperbolic geometry, in fact, works greatly in three-dimensional geometry or space. Thence, the impact of Gauss’s mathematical discovery, if not innovation, was quite evident especially within the field of mathematics. For one, Gauss had opened up a new world or knowledge about the wider space or scope of mathematics, particularly geometry. That is, man does not live in a narrow two-dimensional space. Based from this paradigm (i.e., hyperbolic geometry), one can explore the multifarious possibilities laid open by non-Euclidean geometry. Perhaps the greatest impact of Gauss’s hyperbolic mathematics is found in the sphere of astronomy. In 1801, for instance, Gauss’s mathematics had greatly facilitated the discovery of a dwarf planet named Ceres (Tyson, 2004). Evidently, this is the triumph of mathematics. Utilizing the non-Euclidean geometry, it became possible for man to calculate the universe even without the use of advanced technology such as the telescope. Using Gauss’s hyperbolic geometry, man is able to see the cosmos beyond the Euclidean geometry can offer. Space, after all, is three-dimensional -- be it space in/on earth or in the universe. Generally, non-Euclidean geo

Chinese Contract Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Chinese Contract Law - Essay Example China views this as a way of enhancing political stability. Labor and business interest groups have been the most affected by the contact law. Many businesses have been forced to close as the cost of production increased. History and role of contract law Contracts are perceived to be the backbone of any market economy. China adopted a contract law in 1999. The law was divided into general and specific provisions. Besides, the contract law had supplementary provisions. The Chinese borrowed heavily from UNIDROIT principles. The laws had been drafted to cover a wide scope of contract issues. However, the Chinese needed a superior law that would sustain the economic growth. This led to enactment of another contract law in 2008. Contractual relationships are the essence of business transactions. Many countries agree that one of the keys of economic development is contact enforceability (Chow 2002). The usage of credit and capital is critical to the mechanism of market economy (Glinow & Te agarden 1988). Contracts are enforceable in a court of law, and this secures the possibility of credit sales. Weber argues that rationalization is one of the major characteristics of the modern society. Tasks are completed through broken down processes. The specialized rules are accessed in terms of the exact figures. Through this, future events are managed in a rational way. The process enables large-scale transactions to be conducted (Kitch 1980). A telling example is modern accounting. Accounts are broken down in balance sheets. This is followed by profit and loss accounts. The financial status of a business can be explained in terms of assets and liabilities (Zhang 2006). This explains when contract law is viewed as influential when it comes to economic and infrastructural development. China is no longer a place where cheap knock off products are developed (Jespersen & Skjoett-Larsen 2003). Although the practice of producing counterfeits continues, the quality of modern counterf eits is improved tremendously. The Chinese contact law puts immense emphasis on the clarity of contracts. Article 12 stipulates and describes what the contents of a written contract should be. Advantages of contract law China is nearly meeting the international standards when it comes to contractual legislation. The contract law has eliminated ambiguities when it comes to guidelines on entering into contractual agreements in China. Therefore, the outcome of foreign business contracts is predictable. Benefits The major provision of that gives credible interpretation to Chinese contact law is article 125. The contractual obligations can be supplemented through the provisions of the law (Yongping & Weidi 2008). This occurs when something vital fails to be captured in a contract. Some of those sources include the provision of laws, principle of good faith and transaction usage (Yongping & Weidi 2008). Articles 5 and 6 are firm on the concepts of good faith and fairness. These are some o f the benefits of the Chinese contract laws to the foreigners (Jespersen & Skjoett-Larsen 2003). There is an intentional move by the Chinese contract law to create a conducive environment for the foreigners. However, some of the provisions of the new law have an impact on the profitability of the foreign businesses. The article 92 of the Chinese contract law governs post contractual duties between the involved parties. The article suggests an employee is expected to act in a reasonable way

The American Life Style and fast food Essay Example for Free

The American Life Style and fast food Essay How much fast food do you guess you eat a month? The average American eats about 50lbs worth, that’s more than most children in 3rd world countries eat in total in 3 monthsWill you follow everyone else or will you stray from the beaten path, and dare to be different? Dare to be your own person? Or will you crumple from the influences and pressures of society? The truth is no matter how much you tell yourself that you are going to be independent and make your own choices and decisions regardless of what other people thing, every choice and decision you make are influenced by the people around you and the experiences you have faced. It is for this reason that accomplishing this task can be very challenging, however it is possible. And when you finally figure out who you are and what your values and morals it is believed you have finally â€Å"come of age†. A prime example of this would be in the fiction novel written by Mark Twain, the main character Huckleberry, also referred to as Huck runs away from home because the confines of society proved to be too overwhelming for Huck. On the run Huck meets a runaway slave named Jim and decides to help Jim escape with him despite the fact that he was raised and taught to be believe that slavery was a good thing and it is especially forbidden to help one to escape. It was for this reason that Huck struggles to see the blurred line between right and wrong. As Huck and Jim venture down the Mississippi River, Huck is introduced to many new experiences and is forced to make decisions that make him question his very own ideals, however it is those very own experiences and challenges that help him grow as a person and ultimately allows him to discover who he truly is as he himself comes of age. One of the many instances Huck is forced to make a difficult decision is when he encounters 3 murderers looting a shipwreck he and Jim came across while floating down the Mississippi. Huck overheard 2 of the murderers planning on stranding the other one on the wreck and taking his share of the loot, so he says â€Å"Quick, Jim, ain’t no time for fooling around and moaning;  there’s a gang of murderers in yonder, and if we don’t hunt up their boat and set her drifting down the river so these fellows can’t get away from the wreck, there’s one of’em going to be in a bad fix. But if we find their boat we can put all of’em in a bad fix† (pg.52) Huck originally plans to steal the murderer’s canoe so that none of them will be able to escape the wreck. However Huck starts to feel guilty as they start to float away from the wreck â€Å"Jim manned the oars, and we took out after our raft. Now was the first time that I begun to w orry about the men- I reckon I hadn’t had time to before. I begun to think how dreadful it was, even for murderers, to be in such a fix. I says to myself, there ain’t no telling but I might come to be a murderer myself, yet, and then how would I like it.†(pg.54) ,this is a crucial change in Huck because all his life he had wanted to be in a gang and kill people, but now that he felt he would be responsible for the murderer’s deaths he realized he was misguided and cannot handle the quilt if committing such an act. Finally Huck gives into his guilt and decides he could not live with himself if he left them there to die so he told Jim â€Å"At first light we will land and I’ll go fix up some kind of yarn and get somebody to go fetch that gang and get them out of their scrape.†(pg.55) Huck realizes that what they have done is wrong but if he had left them there he would be no better than they were. Huck learns something about himself on that wreck; he learns that the life he once wanted was not the life he was cut out for. Huck’s fight between his conscience and society greatens when he encounters a group of slave hunters. Huck feels guilty for helping Jim escape and starts to regret it, so Huck thinks things over in is head â€Å"Jim said it made him over trembly and feverish to be so close to freedom, well I can tell you it made me all trembly and feverish too, to hear that he was most free- and to blame for it? Why me! I couldn’t get that thought out of my conscience no how nor no way†(pg.66). It becomes obvious that Huck is torn between doing what is considered right and turning Jim in or what a part of him feels would be right and protect him. This conflict keeps eating away at Huck until he cannot take any more of it when he says â€Å"my conscience got to stirring me up hotter than ever†(pg.67) However the pressure of society finally get to Huck â€Å" until at last I say to it â€Å"let up on me- it ain’t too  late ill paddle ashore at first light, and te ll.† I felt easy, and happy and light as a feather; right off all my troubles was gone†. Huck convinces himself that turning in Jim is right thing to do. However as he approaches the slave hunters Huck realize he cannot do it. â€Å"What’s that yonder?† the slave hunters asked Huck. â€Å"Well there’s five niggers run off tonight, up yonder above the head of that bend. Is your man white or black?†(pg.68). Huck makes the conscious decision to lie to the slave hunters although it is not clear why â€Å"I didn’t answer up prompt I tried to, but the words wouldn’t come. I tried for a second or two, to brace up and out with it, but I warnt man- enough hadn’t the spunk of a rabbit. I see I was weakening; so I just give up trying, and up and says- â€Å"He’s white†(pg.68). Huck lies to protect Jim. Maybe he does this because he feels sympathetic for Jim and his family, or maybe Huck finally remembers that Jim has looked out for him and cared for him during their whole journey and realizes Jim is his only true friend, or it could be as simple as the fact that he made a promise to Jim not to betray him and Huck does not want to brake that promise. Whatever the reason this is a huge step for Huck when he decides not to turn Jim into the slave hunters and really allows him to slowly start to break loose from society and form his own morals. However despite Huck’s former breakthrough, Huck struggles to make peace with his conscience and the pressures of society get to him once again. To help ease himself Huck tries convince himself that it would just be for Jim if he was a slave. â€Å"Once I said to myself it would be better for Jim to be a slave at home where his family was as long as he got to be a slave and so I’d better write a letter to Tom Sawyer and tell him to tell Miss Watson where he was†(pg.160) Even though Huck is concerned that Jim might be punished for running away he still decides to write a letter hoping it will clear his conscience. Then Huck starts to think about what he’s done and what consequences he will face for his actions, â€Å"everybody naturally despises an ungrateful nigger and they’d make Jim feel it all the time and so he’d feel ornery and discouraged and then think of me! It would get all around that Huck Finn helped a nigger get his freedom and i f I was to ever see anybody from that town again id be ready to get down and lick his for shame†(pg.160), here starts to regret helping Jim escape and begins to worry  about what people will think of him when he returns home and hopes that he will be accepted into society again. With the hope that it will right the wrongs that he has done Huck decides to go on and write the letter here â€Å"I would do the right thing and the clean thing, and go and write to that niggers owner and tell where he was. I’ll go and write the letter then see if I can pray, why it was astonishing the way I felt as light as a feather right straight off and my troubles all gone, so I got a piece of paper and a pencil all glad and excited and set down and wrote. I felt all good and all washes clean of sin for the first time I had ever felt so in my life†(pg.161) This feeling of cleanliness helps assure Huck that he has done the right thing in the views of society. However Huck’s feeling of decency soon dissipates, â€Å"I happened to look around and see that paper, it was in a close place I took it in my hand, I was trembling because I got to forever betwixt two things, and I knowed it, I studied it a minute sort of holding my breath and then says to myself â₠¬Å"Alright then I’ll go to Hell† and tore it up†(pg.161) Huck finally decides he cannot bring himself to betray his only conscience and that he’d rather go to hell then do so. This is the point in Huck’s journey where he truly becomes his own person, where he breaks from the confines of society and decides to do what he in his heart feels is right not what other people think is right. This is an important decision for Huck and a crucial point in Huck’s life because growing up he was taught that slavery was a good thing and that African Americans were nothing but property as most boys were taught during that time period. However Huck discovers after meeting Jim that there is so much more to them, that they are a kind, and caring and sophisticated and loving people and that in turn helps Huck discover a little more about himself as well when he decides not to turn Jim in even though anyone else would have. Huck’s battles between his conscience and society force him to choose between being a part of society and becoming his own person, and while on his journey down the Mississippi with Jim he decides to be his own person and choose his own morals and values and by the end of his adventure he finally came of age with each experience along the way helping him grow as a person, whether it be near the beginning of the journey where he encounters a gang of murderers on a shipwreck and instead of leaving them there to die he decides to send help for them, or it be near half way through his journey where he comes  across a group of slave hunters and rather than turn Jim in, he lies to protect him even though the â€Å"right† thing to do would’ve been to turn him in. Or even near the end where he almost breaks his promise and betrays Jim when he writes a letter to Tom Sawyer telling him where Jim is, but instead of sending the letter he tears it up and decides to finish h elping Jim escape even if it means he’ll go to hell. All of these events are important in helping Huck create his own sense of right and wrong and in many ways, come of age.

THINGS FALL APART Essay examples -- essays research papers

Summary and Analysis of: Things Fall Apart   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many lessons that we learn in life. Chinua Achebe?s Things Fall Apart teaches one of life?s greatest lesson. True, lasting happiness matters more than ones social rank or ones rank of wealth. Okonkwo, who is the main character in this book, is trying his best to be the man that is father was not. His father was a well known bum and a man who owed a lot of debts. Okonkwo felt that men are always suppose to be strong, leaders, and do what people perceive are typical male tasks. But his father, Unoka, did not fit his description of what he felt a real man should be. He was ashamed of his father.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Okonkwo had an obsession. His obsession was his pride. And this led to him losing his head and everything that worked so had to obtain. One of his greatest fears that were portrayed in this book was that of showing any type of emotions, affection, or sorrow. He felt that showing them would make him look weak. It is okay to express yourself. That is part of being human. To protect his own image Okonkwo would do anything. He began to search for wealth and status by asking other villagers who were wealthy for support. He was loaned seed yams. This was just enough for him to begin a productive crop. He had to start at the bottom and work his way up to the top. He was able to do just that. He gained a very high standing in the Ibo tribe. And his ultimate goal was to become an elde...

Ethical Practices of Computer and Internet Technology

Computer and Internet technology use In the workplace gives rise to questionable ethical practices among employees as well as managers. For the last three (plus) decades the increasing availability and advances in technology has improved productivity; however the use of computers and Internet in the workplace leads to temptation to misuse the resource for personal gain.Employees and managers accessing private employee information for personal gain, improper data access to hose who are not privy to it and software copying were a few of the concerns discussed in the 30 year old article Computer Ethics: Questions Arise on Misuse in Business (Pollack, 1983). The social media boom of the last decade has brought with It additional questionable ethical violations In the workplace. Time stealing Is discussed in the New York Times online article Opting to Blow the Whistle or Choosing to Walk Away (Tugged, 2013).It states, â€Å"According to the Ethics Resource Center, a nonprofit research or ganization, the No. Misconduct observed ? by a third of 4,800 respondents ? was misuse of company time† (Tugged, 2013 Para. 4). Eric Swenson discusses the stealing of time through excessive personal use of Internet streaming and social media in his video Business Ethics & Stealing Time, by Eric Swenson, Demand Media Video (Swenson, n. D. ). In the words of Eric Swenson, misuse of company time Is time stealing. According to a study conducted by Eric Swenson, â€Å"The average employee in a white collar business spends 3. Hours daily on personal internet usage† (Swenson, n. D. ) However, he broaches the question does this matter? He calls the workers of the present and future, 2020 to be exact, â€Å"millennial employees who want to be connected and be Involved socially' (Swenson, n. D. ) Swenson states that employees now want to be online streaming videos, media, and music. Is this the way people work today? The consideration he gives is that he is more concerned about the productivity of the employee versus the exact method or use of time that it takes to get the work accomplished.My conclusion Is there Is definitely an ethical line to be drawn in personal use of computers and Internet technology within the work place. I would ascertain that if privacy is violated for personal gain or technology or work product is stolen as stated in the first article, it is most definitely ethical violation. As far time stealing, where the line gets fuzzier, It should be Judged on whether the time spent on Internet or social media has any impact on the productivity of the employee or benefit to their specific job.

A Critique of Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich

Barbara Ehrenreich’s book, Nickel and Dimed, was certainly a wonderful read and is verily able to open the reader’s eyes to a reality that is usually set aside by many. The book was originally a compilation of her researches as she went undercover to write about people who had to work multiple jobs just to make ends meet. Those people whose wages were below the minimum wage and were so busy with work they were not able to pursue their own interests and who were also supporting dependents. As a whole, the author was able to document her experiences as she wrote in her journal her everyday experiences. Through this, the readers were able to have a glimpse into the lives of people she had worked with as a waitress at Florida, a healthcare aide at Maine and a salesperson of Wal-Mart at Minnesota. To be able to do this properly, though, she had to fake her qualifications and disguise her motives from her fellow workers. As a journalist, she also had to restrain herself from pointing out her political views to her colleagues. I think her method of studying the people may have some flaws, some biases. Below would be several of them. First of all, she wasn’t really like them. These people has had different experiences and lived in a different environment unlike hers. Such factors would have made an impact on how the subjects would act as people, as workers. The author mentioned that her co-workers didn’t even ask about insurance or other possible benefits included on the job they were on and just accepted what their boss said. If the workers were people who knew about such things, they would probably ask. Then, again, even if they knew, most of them would not have time to think about such benefits as a whole because they would be too busy trying to ake ends meet anyway. Then, as one who had to experience the life of a poor worker, she was not able to live out the role very well. One, she did not have anyone who depended on her earnings—no family or siblings, unlike most of the subjects she studied. She did not feed anyone else other than herself nor did she have to consider the medical problems of other people. The author also did not trust religious organizations even when her coworkers were telling her that it would be a great help. She always refused to accept money from charities and other such organizations. People in actual situations would not be refusing such help; in fact, they would have been the ones who would be asking for help from such organizations, whether they believed in its cause or not. She also insisted on living alone, thus pay her rent by herself. She always seemed to talk about this issue but was never really able to solve such an easy problem. Real people would have gone and looked for roommates to share the rent of the house. That way, she could have saved more money and may even develop a relationship with other people. The last part of the statement was also one of the things she failed to do. Humans are social beings, that’s a fact even when there are a few who say they prefer to live alone. All people need each other and so far, the human race is progressing because of helping each other. The same principle still happens and is certainly one of the most effective ways to survive—to help one another. The author, unfortunately, was not able to build a proper relationship with her co-workers. She was not able to build a support network which most people actually have. I believe that this is one of the most vital parts in the lives of the working class. Yeah, they may be feeding more mouths and spending more, but the human companionship, the support, these extra people are giving to the workers actually motivate them to go on fighting and working. There was also this part on the book where she walks out in the middle of her shift as a worker in a restaurant just two weeks after being hired. The truth is, real people would not have done this, simply because they did not have the liberty to do so. They just could not afford to lose a job, however hard it is or low paying it is. And speaking of low-income, hard, stressful jobs, she also irresponsibly argues against corporations giving such small wages without considering the economics behind it like insurance and overhead. These things are work requirements and are deducted from the employees’ salaries. Of course, with those things, and probably additional loans, the employees would really get a small wage after all the deductions are done. Also, the fact that she seemed to give her own thoughts and comments on the issues that were tackled on the book made it less like professional journalism. Ehrenreich thought that the book was the product of undercover reporting, but it certainly lacked a bit of that sense because of the lack of objectivity of reporting the events. She was not even able to tell or relate the lives her subjects were living. She could have picked a person, tried to get to know him and be able to relate in the book more concretely the problems and issues the person was facing. Instead, the book was actually, in another point of view, mostly about her and how she coped up with living the life of such people. Sure, there were the other characters but it almost always seemed like she was the hero since the whole thing revolved around herself. The subjects she was supposed to be studying were like backdrops in her play. She really should have focused more on the lives of the people she was studying. She should have delved more on exactly how these people lived, what are the exact problems they were facing, if possible, what these people wanted, wished, they could do for themselves and what the government could do for them. I’m not saying that Ehrenreich was all the way wrong in her methods and because of that, her book was essentially ineffective. The truth is, although it would have been better with the above suggestion, it has, in effect, really opened the eyes of its readers of the many people who have jobs but still really are poor. The book certainly disproved the mindset that if one has a job, then everything’s going to be alright. It also might have made people reconsider their thoughts about the poor, saying that they are like that because they are lazy. The book shows that there are hardworking people, but unfortunately, even with all the jobs they are balancing, they are still not able to get out of the sticky web called poverty. Works Cited Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By In America. New York: Metropolitan Books, 2001.

Description and Examples of Variables

Description and Examples of Variables A variable is a name for a place in the computers memory where you store some data. Imagine a very large warehouse with lots of storage bays, tables, shelves, special rooms etc. These are all places where you can store something. Lets imagine we have a crate of beer in the warehouse. Where exactly is it located? We wouldnt say that it is stored 31 2 from the west wall and 27 8 from the north wall. In programming terms we also wouldnt say that my total salary paid this year is stored in four bytes starting at location 123,476,542,732 in RAM. Data in a PC The computer will place variables in different locations each time our program is run. However, our program knows exactly where the data is located. We do this by creating a variable to refer to it and then let the compiler handle all the messy details about where it is actually located. It is far more important to us to know what type of data we will be storing in the location. In our warehouse, our crate might be in section 5 of shelf 3 in the drinks area. In the PC, the program will know exactly where its variables are located. Variables Are Temporary They exist just as long as they are needed and are then disposed of. Another analogy is that variables are like numbers in a calculator. As soon as you hit the clear or power off buttons, the display numbers are lost. How Big Is a Variable As big as is needed and no more. The smallest a variable can be is one bit and the largest is millions of bytes. Current processors handle data in chunks of 4 or 8 bytes at a time (32 and 64 bit CPUs), so the bigger the variable, the longer it will take to read or write it. The size of the variable depends on its type. What Is a Variable Type? In modern programming languages, variables are declared to be of a type. Apart from numbers, the CPU does not make any kind of distinction between the data in its memory. It treats it as a collection of bytes. Modern CPUs (apart from those in mobile phones) can usually handle both integer and floating point arithmetic in hardware. The compiler has to generate different machine code instructions for each type, so knowing what the type of variable helps it generate optimal code. What Types of Data Can a Variable Hold? The fundamental types are these four. Integers (both signed and unsigned) 1,2,4 or 8 bytes in size. Usually referred to as ints.Floating Point Numbers up to 8 bytes in size.Bytes. These are organized in 4s or 8s (32 or 64 bits) and read in and out of the CPUs registers.Text strings, up to billions of bytes in size. CPUs have special instructions for searching through large blocks of bytes in memory. This is very handy for text operations. There is also a general variable type, often used in scripting languages. Variant - This can hold any type but is slower to use. Example of Data Types Arrays of types- single dimension like drawers in a cabinet, two-dimensional like post office sorting boxes or three dimensional like a pile of beer crates. There can be any number of dimensions, up to the limits of the compiler.Enums which are a restricted subset of integers.  Read about  what is an enum is.Structs are a composite variable where several variables are lumped together in one big variable.Streams provide a way to manage files. Theyre a form of a string.Objects, are like structs but with much more sophisticated data handling. Where are Variables Stored? In memory but in different ways, depending on how they are used. Globally. All parts of the program can access and change the value. This is how older languages like Basic and Fortran used to handle data and it is not considered a good thing. Modern languages tend to discourage global storage though it is still possible.On the Heap. This is the name for the main area used. In C and C, access to this is via pointer variables.On the Stack. The stack is a block of memory that is used to store parameters passed into functions, and variables that exist local to functions. Conclusion Variables are essential to procedural programming, but it is important not to get too hung up on the underlying implementation unless you are doing systems programming or writing applications that have to run in a small amount of RAM. Our rules regarding variables: Unless you are tight on ram or have large arrays, stick with ints rather than a byte (8 bits) or short int (16 bits). Especially on 32 Bit CPUs, there is an extra delay penalty in accessing less than 32 bits.Use floats instead of doubles unless you need the precision.Avoid variants unless really necessary. They are slower.

Heres How to Make Non-Toxic Homemade Tattoo Ink

Here's How to Make Non-Toxic Homemade Tattoo Ink The earliest tattoo inks came from nature. You can use non-toxic natural ingredients to make your own homemade tattoo ink. One common tattoo ink recipe is simple and has been used in various forms for thousands of years. Its sometimes called wood ash ink,  carbon black tattoo ink, or a poke-and-stick tattoo. How to Make Tattoo Ink The earliest tattoo inks were prepared by mixing ashes from completely burned wood together with water. The wood ashes were nearly pure carbon, which yielded a black to brown tattoo. While carbon is the base for modern tattoo inks, its not a great idea to use water as the liquid to suspend the ink (the carrier). While a homemade tattoo ink may be prepared using sterile distilled water, poking the ink into the skin will force bacteria on the skin into the deeper layers. A non-toxic disinfectant, such as vodka, is a better choice. Vodka is a mixture of alcohol in water. Any other white alcohol, such as rubbing alcohol or tequila, will also work. Prepare the ink from: one cup carbon black ashes (completely burned wood)just enough vodka to create a slurry Prepare the ink by mixing the carbon black and vodka in a blender (15 minutes to an hour). If the mixture is too thin, add more carbon pigment. If the mixture is too thick, thin it with a little more vodka. It is best to prepare fresh homemade ink for each use, though the ink could be stored in a sealed container away from sunlight and blended again. Its a good idea to wear a mask and gloves when applying a tattoo to prevent the spread of infectious agents. The tattoo can be applied using a pin or quill that is dipped into the ink and poked into the skin. Notes About Wood and Paper Some people make this ink by burning wood in a heat-proof bowl. The advantage of using paper is that it produces fine carbon particles. The disadvantage is that some types of paper are treated with chemicals (e.g. heavy metals) that may remain in the ashes.If youre using wood, be aware youll get slightly different results depending on the species of wood you burn.If you know youll need multiple batches of ink to complete a tattoo, its a good idea to use the same source for the carbon each time and to keep track of how much ash and liquid youre using. Careful measurement will help ensure each batch has the same particle density, which translates into color intensity. Tattoo Ink Safety Notes While you can prepare your own ink and give yourself or a friend a tattoo, this is not a good idea for most people.  Professional inks are much more consistent in quality and safer to use, so they will give you better results with less chance of a reaction to the ink. Also, tattoo professionals are trained in aseptic techniques, so you will have much less chance of getting an infection or accidentally puncturing a blood vessel if you get your tattoo inked by a trained artist. Source Helmenstine, Anne. Why People Use Vodka for Science Experiments. Science Notes and Projects, August 30, 2015.

Examine A Population In The News Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Examine A Population In The News - Essay Example lack of consistency, such that the results differed across the three; and presented a review with the idea of recommending one poll as being better than the other two. In the Bloomberg National Poll the incumbent was reported to have opened a 13 point advantage over Romney, 4 points advantage in the Pew Research Center Poll, and 3 points in the AP Poll. In an attempt to explain the disparities in the figures reported, methodological issues and change in opinions by voters (considering how closely rated the candidates were) were cited. Drawing from an expert’s position, the reporter cited voter commitment as low, which led to massive swaying of potential voters who were polled. However, these adduced low levels of voter commitment were not measured. Among the poll questions were candidates’ favorability ratings, in which Romney’s score sank back to the initial 39% when he entered the presidential race, becoming 17% more ill-favored. The Bloomberg poll also found out that Obama had gained a 19 points advantage over his opponent in terms of being in touch with the ordinary citizens. On their part, Pew Research Center’s results showed that Obama was voted as being 31% ahead of Romney in terms of being in touch with the ordinary citizens (Tacket, 2012). The Bloomberg poll had a slightly higher percentage of respondents who believed the country was headed the wrong direction (62%), against the AP’s 60%. You would expect these high percentages to impact the incumbent’s rating negatively. However, the three pollsters showed a contrasting trend, which could indicate extreme losses for the opponent. In fact, this has been highlighted by the recorded further 17% of respondents who ill-favored the Republ ican candidate at the time, Mitt Romney. In the Bloomberg survey, 1002 adult respondents were polled, and the scores associated with their responses had an error margin of  ±3.1%. Out of this sample, 734 were registered voters, and their responses’ margin of

M chap 3 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

M chap 3 - Coursework Example scale and large scale businesses may always employ certain approaches as well as techniques relevant to changes in consumer behavior (Dietrich and Media, 2015)s. In marketing, businesses always need to acquit themselves with certain information from their consumers including their locations, what they want, as well as who their real consumers are. Changes in consumer behaviors always make businesses to conduct thorough researches, as well as, surveys in order to know what the consumers want. For example, in case they fail to satisfy the changing consumer interests and needs, marketing of such products may be compromised and can easily fail. As such, the businesses always conduct surveys and research through sales forecasts, internet researches, as well as, market sensing (Dietrich and Media, 2015). This gives them a competitive advantage in the marketing spectrum as they deeply understand the needs of their customers, failure to which, can lead to failure of the companies. It is important to note that the issue of consumer behavior is also affected by the economy of the United States in certain ways. For instance, if the economy strengthens, the consumer demands and tastes increases (Rao, 2010). However, if the economy faces some crises, the consumers also feel these economic crises, thereby limiting their consumption demands. It is of critical significance to note that changes in consumer behavior are not influenced by any legislation. This is because consumer behaviors are majorly dictated by their own personal interests, tastes and preferences. As such, it is important to note that consumer behavior can affect the market in various ways. According to my opinion, consumer behavior always controls the markets in various ways. as such, the changes in consumer behavior can always make some companies to experience big losses if they do not device effective marketing strategies to approach the situations occasioned by the changes in consumer behaviors. Therefore,