What a Main Idea Is and How to Find It

What a Main Idea Is and How to Find It Inquiries regarding the fundamental thought of an entry are mainstream on perusing cognizance tests, yet some of the time, those inquiries are quite hard to reply, particularly for understudies who are not totally sure they comprehend what the primary thought truly is. Finding the principle thought of a section or longer entry of text is one of the most significant perusing abilities to ace, alongside ideas like creation an induction, finding the creators reason, or understanding jargon words in setting. Here are a couple of methods to help get what, precisely, is a fundamental thought and how to recognize it precisely in an entry. Step by step instructions to Define the Main Idea The fundamental thought of a passage is the essential point or idea that the writer needs to convey to the perusers about the theme. Henceforth, in a passage, when the primary thought is expressed legitimately, it is communicated in what is known as the theme sentence. It gives the general thought of what the passage is about and is upheld by the subtleties in ensuing sentences in the section. In a multi-passage article, the primary thought is communicated in the proposal explanation, which is then bolstered by individual littler focuses. Think about the primary thought as a brief however widely inclusive synopsis. It covers everything the section discusses in a general manner, yet does exclude the points of interest. Those subtleties will come in later sentences or passages and include subtlety and setting; the principle thought will require those subtleties to help its contention. For instance, envision a paper examining the reasons for World War I. One passage may be devoted to the job that dominion played in the contention. The primary thought of this section may be something like: Constant rivalry for gigantic domains prompted expanding pressures in Europe that in the long run ejected into World War I. The remainder of the passage may investigate what those particular pressures were, who was included, and why the nations were looking for domains, yet the fundamental thought just presents the all-encompassing contention of the segment. At the point when a creator doesn't express the principle thought directly,â it should at present be suggested, and is called an inferred fundamental thought. This necessitates the peruser take a gander at the substance at explicit words, sentences, pictures that are utilized and rehashed to find what the creator is imparting. Instructions to Find the Main Idea Finding the principle thought is basic to understanding what you are perusing. It enables the subtleties to bode well and have pertinence, and gives a system to recalling the substance. Attempt these particular tips to pinpoint the primary thought of an entry. 1) Identify the Topic Peruse the section through totally, at that point attempt to distinguish the theme. Who or what is the section about? This part is simply making sense of a subject like reason for World War I or new hearing gadgets; dont stress yet over choosing what contention the entry is making about this theme. 2) Summarize the Passage In the wake of perusing the entry completely, sum up it in your own words in a single sentence. Imagine you have only ten to twelve words to mention to somebody what the section is about-what might you say? 3) Look at the First and Last Sentences of the Passage Writers frequently put the primary thought in or close either the first or last sentence of the section or article, so disconnect those sentences to check whether they bode well as the general topic of the entry. Be cautious: now and then the creator will utilize words like at the same time, however,â in differentiate, by and by, and so forth that demonstrate that the subsequent sentence is really the principle thought. On the off chance that you see one of these words that refute or qualify the primary sentence, that is a piece of information that the subsequent sentence is the principle thought. 4) Look for Repetition of Ideas On the off chance that you read through a passage and you have no clue about how to sum up it in light of the fact that there is so much data, begin searching for rehashed words, expresses, or related thoughts. Peruse this model section: Another conference gadget utilizes a magnet to hold the separable sound-preparing segment set up. Like different guides, it changes over sound into vibrations, yet it is one of a kind in that it can transmit the vibrations legitimately to the magnet and afterward to the inward ear. This delivers a more clear solid. The new gadget won't help all consultation weakened individuals just those with a meeting misfortune brought about by disease or some other issue in the center ear. It will presumably help close to 20 percent surprisingly with hearing issues. Those individuals who have industrious ear diseases, nonetheless, should discover alleviation and reestablished hearing with the new gadget. What does this section reliably talk about? Another conference gadget. What is it attempting to pass on? Another consultation gadget is currently accessible for a few, however not all, hearing-hindered individuals. That is the principle thought! Keep away from Main Idea Mistakes Picking a primary thought from a lot of answer decisions is not quite the same as making a fundamental thought all alone. Authors of numerous decision testsâ are frequently precarious and will give you distractor questions that sound a lot of like the genuine answer. By perusing the section altogether, utilizing your aptitudes, and recognizing the primary thought all alone, however, you can abstain from committing these 3 regular errors: choosing an answer that is excessively thin in scope; choosing an answer that is excessively wide; or choosing an answer that is mind boggling yet in opposition to the fundamental idea.â Assets and Further Reading The most effective method to Find a Stated Main IdeaHow to Find an Implied Main IdeaFinding the Main Idea PracticeFinding Main Ideas In Paragraphs,â http://english.glendale.cc.ca.us/topic.htmlFinding the Main Idea, Columbia College Refreshed by Amanda Prahl

A Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

A - Coursework Example Financial globalization is a more extensive thought that includes ideas, for example, globalization of creation, showcase rivalry, worldwide companies, and enterprises. The idea of financial globalization was recommended alongside the strategy of trans-national exchange and consequently it has been happening for the last 20-30 years. Before the finish of the twentieth century, monetary globalization was incredibly advanced and this circumstance prompted the coordination of created economies and creating economies through expanded remote direct venture, disposal of exchange boundaries, and high movement stream. Despite the fact that confirmations recommend that monetary globalization has a scope of positive budgetary impacts, it is likewise contended that such impacts advantage just created nations and cause power irregularity in the worldwide economy. This paper will dissect â€Å"in what ways monetary globalization has influenced the state†? Universal capital markets, work markets, and item showcases comprise the idea of financial globalization. While breaking down the historical backdrop of economies, it appears that lion's share of the economies was impacted by outside business sectors by the mid 1900s as far as either cash and work or business approaches. Progression of boat building innovation and railroad developments enormously added to the financial association of worldwide economies. Albeit World War I and II recognizably disturbed these headways in monetary globalization, this idea again accomplished far reaching consideration in 1970s and from that point forward it has been step by step creating. These days, sensational headways in data innovation guarantee the compelling progression of data. In this way, economies will in general establish a solitary worldwide market in order to take focal points of coordinated exchange and other monetary activities. While examining the UK economy with regards to financial globalization, clearly this procedure has essentially

August Questions Omnibus 1

August Questions Omnibus 1 Here are the answers to the questions youve left in the comments of previous entries - JKim asked, Do you know of any other really good vegetarian/vegan restaurants in the area? Well, there are only a few vegetarian-only restaurants in the area (such as Buddhas Delight and T. J. Scallywaggles), but many, many restaurants around offer good vegetarian options. For example, on my list of restaurants, the following offer great veggie (and often vegan) options: Cafe Baraka, Punjabi Dhaba, Addis Red Sea, Trident Cafe, The Helmand (and probably some others, but Im not certain so I left them off). Mollie added, All of the MIT-run food places on campus have vegetarian (and usually vegan) options every day. There are lots of vegetarians at MIT! :) Whether the options are great well, theyre about as good as they are for the omnivores. For the record, I think the best place for veggie options is Steam Cafe. And Vicki added, Veggie Planet in Harvard Square is a tiny hole-in-the-wall that a lot of people miss, but it has some great veggie options. Im partial to their Lunch for Henry.' - Deepta wrote, I know that when I write this, I am voicing a concern of many intl applicants. Youve mentioned in a previous post that schools in most countries put markedly less emphasis on extracurricular activities than those in U.S., which is absolutely spot on. And, over and above this, the depth and breadth of ECs varies from school to school in the same country. So, how would you judge/compare/evaluate applicants who had different levels of exposure (even at times little or none) to ECs opprotunities? A generic answer is Judging them in their contexts', but how do you get to know the individual contexts of thousands of intl. apps? May be ECs arent the deciding factor, but when the acceptance rate is ~4%, you got to wonder. Or, should we use a supplementary essay to explain our situations ourselves? Furthermore, do you consider activities that are not really school-oriented as ECs, such as computing skills or playing an instrument that isnt taught in school? One last query is, in many intl. cases, the applicant probably hasnt had any Work Experience, so is leaving that section blank going to harm us? You hit the nail on the head in that yes, we evaluate every applicant in their own context. Remember that we are professional admissions officers, and that we are paid to be able to use your application and our prior knowledge to be able to understand the context of all of our applicants. I assure you that were very good at this. You can help your own case by helping us to understand your context, including your family life, your school, your community and your culture. You are also right that the presence or lack thereof of extracurricular activities like a debate team or basketball squad are not the deciding factor in our admissions decisions, although good marks and test scores alone similarly wont impress us. What we need to see is how you are a good match with MIT, and usually how you spend your time outside of class gives us as many clues to that match as how you do in class does. So please, tell us about your interests beyond the classroom, and how youve explored them, whether or not theyre a formal extracurricular activity. Things like outside work with computers or music are absolutely something you should tell us about. Finally, no, leaving the Work section of the application will not harm you. We understand that for many reasons, legal, cultural, and otherwise, many students dont work, and thats just fine. - Baraka wrote, At last I can press hope to get to university in U.S.The list you have supplied will be very useful.My question is;in what extracurricular activities areas do you recommend most?There might be some intl applicants like who have done singing,leadershipcommunity service.And how about using great vocabularies in esays does this secure more chance of being selected rather than just using simple understandable english?Thanks for reading all this Im looking forward to hear from you. Ive covered some of the question in my previous answer, so please be sure to do that. As for what extracurricular activities we recommend most you should do those things that interest you most. Please do no do things just because you think they will look good to college admissions officers. There is no right package of activities that will earn you admission to any particular school. My best advice to you is to think about what you really like to do, and then figure out how to do that in the awesomest way possible. - Ankit asked, What is the Average Age of an MIT freshman? Anonymous asked (in response to this article), Thats a cute story. Is 17 really young for MIT? And Applicant wrote, Will my age affect how MIT looks at my application? 17 is not young for MIT; in fact, 17 or 18 is the usual age of an incoming MIT freshman. Each year, though, a non-negligible part of the class is older than 18 or younger than 17. (You can read a little more about younger students at MIT in this entry) - Samira wrote, I got gold medal in International Astronomy olympiad,and high score in National Indian Olympiad in informatics. Do they affect on my application for ungrad? Accomplishments like this can only help in your application process. Congratulations on what youve achieved, and best wishes in the application process. - Ajit asked, I have a gap after my high school.whether i am elligible or not for mit.give me answer,please. And Ujjwal wrote, i dropped two years after my high school and worked for a year.can I apply to mit.ill give SATs this october.my academic record in high school is quite good.i got confused after high school as i have got wide range of interests and i wanted to do all the things at the same time.in the process ive gained command over many subjects from maths,sciences to history,geography and economics at higher level.but now i require a professional degree from a good university to fulfill my quest for knowledge and get a good job.im from india and i am interested in aerospace engineering. Yes, you are both certainly eligible to apply for freshman admission, unless you have enrolling in another university in a degree-seeking program. - Sagar wrote, i am from india.my parents are divorced and i live with my mom and am solely supported by her.my dad is not willing to cooperate with any of my application procedure.what should i write in my letter to the student financial aid as i am genuinely in need of the total tuition and living.my mom is a housewife and she supports me through the interest accrued on bank fund which is not enough even for my mit living expenses . The Financial Aid Office deals with situations like this with some regularity, actually. Youll need to either get your dad to fill out some forms, or, if he is unwilling to, document the extent to which your father is unwilling to cooperate. Dont worry, our Financial Aid Office will be able to meet your full need. For more information, go over to Daniels blog. Daniel is the Director of Financial Aid. - Anshuman wrote, i had given my sat 1 this junescored 2190 ( national percentile of 97 and 98writing section score 690) is it good enough or should i attempt sat 1 again? I cant answer questions like this, except to say that we dont make decisions based on test scores, and that we have no minimum SAT scores. Also, you can check out the SAT score ranges in this previous entry. As for the essay, were not grading it based on how well it is written, or how flowery the language is. The essays are used to find out more about you, how you think, what is important to you. However, it is important to use correct English, as a critical part of the MIT experience is communications in English, both inside and outside the classroom. - Suchi wrote, Unusual circumstance: Most of my teachers since 9th grade are leaving. so, basically, i sill not have many teachers next year who will know me well since most of them are gone. what should i do? should i trust the new teachers? or could i use some other source for recs? You have several options. You could still have those teachers who know you well but are leaving write you recommendations its okay that theyve retired or taken a new job. If you do use your new teachers, I would give them a bit of time to get to know you before asking them to write on your behalf; in this case, applying for regular action (and not early action) definitely seems like the best course of action. In this case, you could also supplement those teacher recommendations with an outside recommendation from someone who knows you well, to help us get to know you well. - Fernando asked, I may have missed it in a previous blog, but what is the actual size of the class of 2010? Due to gap years and other factors, this number changes slightly throughout the summer. The official number will slightly over 1000 freshmen; Ill publish the number when it is available. - Rodrigo asked, Do you know how many international students the class has? How many of them are from South America? About 8%, or just over 80 students, are international students in the Class of 2010, and about 6% of those international students are from South America. You can see the breakdown of MITs population overall here. - Shikhar wrote, Well as i did not get into MIT this yeari am going off to college at Worcester Polytechnic (thats near boston yay)i am thinking about applying as a transfer so i needed to consult which courses i should look into and what kind of a performance i should maintain in college to be up and running for admission consideration.For an incoming junior what is the weightage usually given to high school GPA (not that its bad or anything) and SAT ScoresAlso is there a time when prospective transfers can come visit. First, a note about transfer admissions: it is extremely competitive. We have, I believe, 14 transfer students entering this fall, from hundreds of applications. My best advice to every student is to really try to love the school youre at, and make the most of it. That way, even if transfer doesnt work out, youve really set yourself to look good for graduate admissions. That being said, we do hope that prospective transfer students will have taken roughly the freshman science core classes calculus (single- and multi-variable), physics (mechanics and EM), biology, and chemistry, performing as well as possible (there is no minimum GPA, but obviously higher is better). High school performance and standardized test scores are one of many things considered in transfer admissions, though college performance is more important. Finally, yes, you can come visit whenever you like. We offer campus tours twice daily, Monday-Friday, or you can check out things on your own during the weekend or evenings. - Stefan wrote, Hi Matt, you answered me 3 weeks ago on the Romanian EC issue ,where the answer was that an Educational Counsular exists in Cluj-Napoca and wait until online application will start. I checked the Interview Information and it says quite clearly : Unfortunately, there is not an Educational Counselor assigned to your area; your interview has been waived. So what should i do now , i will have an EC available or i will not? We have not yet completed our assignments of international Educational Counselors (interviewers). I ask all of the international students to be patient as we complete this process. - Aziz wrote, On a completely unrelated topic, Matt do you have any idea when the July FEE results will be out? Im really curious to know how I did and theres not much time left till orientationthanks :) I have no idea. Questions like these should go to the Academic Resource Center. - Anonymous wrote, Impressive stuff, everyone seems so interesting that those who decided not to join the class of 2010 are beginning to have second thoughts. On the other hand, can they still join? Probably not (the deadline was May 1, after all), but contact our office (or me) directly if youd like to discuss this further. - Aziz wrote (in response to this article), Nice, he must have been a great achiever to get a full scholarship, I wonder what the competition must have been like for that, any guesses? MIT does award full scholarships, but like all of our scholarships, they are based solely on the familys financial need, not based on merit. - Leah wrote, first of all, my plan as of now is to graduate highschool (in south korea, where im currently living), study theology for one year(or possibly more) at a college here in korea, then apply for MIT to study ocean engineering and such. however i hear that the competition for transfers is even higher than regular admissions, and id rather just enter as a freshman anyway. coming from another college, can i still apply for regular freshman admissions? if i do, would i have to sacrifice my college credits?also, about ap courses, do you actually have to take a course or can you just take the exam to prove you know the material? as i said, im in korea, and my school doesnt offer ap courses. however i did buy a book and am using it to study for the physics exam right now, and anything i dont get from studying on my own, im pretty sure i will cover during the next year.one last request(for now;)) is if you happen to know any students there that graduated from a korean highschool, co uld you make some connections and perhaps get me in contact with them? One answer at a time first, if you enroll as a degree-seeking student at another university, you can only apply to MIT as a transfer student. If you enter the theology school as a non-degree student, you could still apply as a freshman. You could also apply to MIT before entering the theology school, and then if you are admitted, ask us for a gap year to study theology (again, as a non-degree student). Next, yes, you can take an AP exam even if you havent taken the AP course. In fact, this is the answer to the first question on the official AP FAQ. Finally, to locate a student who graduated from a Korean high school, Id start by contacting the Korean Students Association here. Good luck! - Anna wrote, I was wondering, do you know the percentage of incoming freshmen who got financial aid, and what was the average financial aid package. Also, just out of curiosity, what were the average SAT scores, that is, if you have that info available. Of the Class of 2010, 92% received some form of financial aid, most receiving substantial need-based grant. The average grant (per student, per year) was over $27,000. You can view SAT statistics for the admitted class in this previous entry. - Applicant wrote, Is it bad not to have a campus visit? My parents own a small business, and work everyday except Sunday. On Sundays, we either have someone come over or go to someone elses house. My parents are afraid that if they both leave the store closed for a couple of days, then their business will go down. I dont want to take only one parent for a campus visit because I dont want them to feel as if I favor one over the other. Also, my parents wont let me travel alone because I just turned 16 a month ago. To them, its not safe for a 16 year old girl to go alone in the world. At no point in our admissions decisions do we consider whether or not an applicants has visited. This fact is not tracked for admissions purposes. Since our students come from many backgrounds and from around the world, we know it is not feasible or realistic for all of our applicants to visit before applying. If you are admitted, though, I hope that you will come visit before making your final college decision. That is an important visit. In short, you dont have to worry about visiting now. (I hope that in the meantime, these blogs are helping you get a sense of the campus!) This answer is not universal. Many universities do use campus visit data in their admissions decisions. It would be best for you to contact each of the universities you plan on applying to and asking them the same question. August Questions Omnibus 1 For those of you new to the blog: a Questions Omnibus is a post where I answer your lingering questions left in the comments. So if you ask a question, look for the answer in a post like this rather than within the comments thread. A lot of questions while I was gone, here we go Anonymous asked, are you definitely coming to South Miami, FL on Sept 11 then? I am! You can see the schedule for the entire MIT Office of Admissions travel program here. Mike wrote, 1. What if you have trouble listing all your classes that you have taken? A lot of my Social Studies classes are semester classes, so I quickly ran out of room there (and maybe in a couple of other spots). 2. On the section where you list AP courses, can I list AP courses where Im not actually taking an AP course (since my high school doesnt have one) but am planning to take the exam? Here are the answers: 1. You have a couple options. You could put two semester courses on one line, as well as both grades, or you could put the extra courses under other. I would probably recommend the first option. 2. Yes, you can list all AP tests that you have taken/plan to take, even if it is without a formal AP class. You may want to annotate those exams in some way. sran wrote, Question, if I may ask one so early: How rigid are the Short Essay word limits? I think Ive written essays which show me as an individual as well as entertain the admissions official a little bit, as well as giving details. Problem: One essay is 151 words, and the other is 183 words. Im sure I could drop like 10-20 words from each, but thats still pretty far over. So how bad would it be? A very common question. I answered a similar question about the longer essay a while back; heres what I wrote: Commenting on my last entry, Adriana asked about essay length. I know you all are getting mixed messages about this. We say in the application, Please keep to a 500-word limit. Kevin says in his blog that 650 words is okay. Adriana would really like to submit 800 words. What should you do? Well, heres what I can tell you. Were not going to reject you because of the length of your essay. We do not have an auto-word-counter for the online application. Also, I am not going to count the words in your essay. I have never even estimated the length of an essay response. Really, quality is much more important than quantity. And some people, I know, do have more to say than what fits in 500 words. If that is you, Id encourage you to show your essay to your favorite English teacher, tell him/her that your essay is currently longer than the recommended limit, and ask what advice s/he would give you. They may tell you to send in the longer essay, and if they do, Id trust that. Or, if they recommend paring it down to restrict it to 500 words, Id take that advice. I hope thats helpful Crystal wrote, Matt, I have just VERY VERY recently become quite interested in MIT. The problem is, previously I had been most interested in schools that i believe would prefer a strong background in the social sciences to one in actual science. Coincidentally, I have 9 credits in history and government but only 3 in the sciences, all of which are not accelerated in any way (fault of the high school). In addition, i have not taken and did not plan to take physics, which i think you had recommended and which appears to be important for admissions. Would I, as a student with a very strong course background in the social sciences but a relatively weak background in the actual sciences, have a disadvantage? (Considering that I got 720 freshman yr on the biology sat ii, 790 on the math 2, and 800 math on the new SAT) [] Sry, one more thing: also considering the fact that Im taking calc bc this yr and have thus exhausted my schools math courses? Crystal, we dont expect that you should be able to map out your entire life while youre in high school, and as such, it is very much okay that you have changed directions a bit. We also know that different high schools have different course offerings, and sometimes it is not possible to take advanced-level coursework. In my high school, for example, there were no AP sciences, and, if memory serves, no honors courses either. You do seem to be among those who are qualified for MIT, at least with your scores and exhaustion of the math curriculum. However, you should try to take some kind of physics if you can, if not at your high school maybe at a local college. Also, you may want to talk a bit about your course selection in your interview (dont stress), and/or ask your college counselor to note it in his/her recommendation to us. I hope that helps somewhat best wishes for your application. AG asked, Do you consider US citizens or Green Card Holders who have grown up in countries other than the US among the pool of US educated students, or do you evaluate them vis-a-vis their opportunities, that is among students from the country they have grown up in? We consider international citizens together because we are quota-limited in the number of those applicants we can admit. Everyone else US citizens and permanent residents from Boston, North Dakota, Puerto Rico, Guam, France, China, and everywhere else are considered in the same pool, together. However, when we consider domestic applications from students schooled abroad, that will be an important part of that applicants context. We do not expect that domestic applications from Uganda look the same as domestic applications from Maryland or Iowa, just as we do not expect that application from Maryland to look like that application from Iowa. Each student comes into this process with their own set of circumstances, resources, and opportunities; this is what we call context. Last year, I wrote the following about context: Our process is individual-based. That is, we consider each applicant on their own, within the context of their environment. What does it mean that we consider context? It means that we recognize that no two applicants are alike. High schools have different offerings. Different regions have different opportunities. Different families have different resources. The primary job of the application reader is to summarize a students qualifications within context. Nabil wrote, I have just moved from Australia (where I did 10th and 11th grade) to North Carolina. I am in a position to choose between two public high schools to graduate from. I can either go to Raleigh Charter High School which is a 20 min drive to the middle of the city, or Cary High School which is the more local school, right down the road. Im having trouble making up my mind and school starts in less than 2 weeks. This Raleigh Charter High School is supposed to be really good, ranked 9th in the nation by Newsweek. Its very hard to get into (but since my dad works there, they offered me a spot), has 450 kids, almost every AP course and lots of extracurriculars and stuff. Cary High school has 2400 kids, plenty of extracurriculars and all of the APs I would want to take, and I can walk there. My question is, does MIT really care what high school you come from? In other words, would you prefer it if I went to a normal large high school, or the special highly ranked charter high sc hool? I really have no preference, I think they are both good, but any kind of advice or hint one way or the other would be greatly appreciated. From the perspective of MIT admissions, neither of these high school choices are necessarily better than the other. Newsweek high school rankings (or any other rankings) are not considered, though we will certainly consider the opportunities and resources youve been given. Here are the things I would consider: do I prefer the student body at either school? Can the scale of the larger school support more activities and classes that I like? Can the size of the smaller school offer a more supportive environment or better relationships with teachers? How much do you value the extra 40 minutes each day (3+ hours/week) that you would commute to the further away school? How would you feel about attending the school where your dad works would it be nice to get to see him frequently, or would it hinder your being a teenager and a member of the student community? Im sorry I cant tell you which school to choose, but those decisions are not best made by us. I can assure you that there will be no bonus points for choosing the right school, or anything like that. Antti wrote, I also had a question: are the any MIT alumni in Helsinki (yeap, my hometown)? A finnish MIT student Ive been emailing with told me he never had an interview, and it would be a shame if I wont get a chance to show what Im all about. Unfortunately, we have no Educational Counselors in Finland. We will know that when you apply, so you wont be penalized or anything like that. In place of an interview, why dont you get an extra letter of recommendation from a non-teacher who knows you well? That could be a good substitute. MITmom wrote (re: this post), Congratulations to the entire US team, but especially the 3 who will be attending MIT! (thats 3 out of only 4 seniors, btw) Ben, do you know how many members total of the class of 2009 will have participated in one of the intl olympiads? In addition to the US students, Id guess maybe one-to-three dozen international students have participated in one of the I*Os, but thats just a guess. We normally dont tally that number, and Id have to dig in our archives to do the actual count. Also, I got a series of somewhat similar questions, many of which were from international students. Sumpi wrote, please give me some idea bout getting into MITi am from India,do i need to get a good scoring in SAT exams.thanks Andani wrote, If Ive got to compete with people in other countries, what would you recommend that I do to increase my chances of getting into mit. Especicially being an African. charly wrote, plz im a guy from liberia,W/Africa.im so intrested in ur school after hearing from a friend.whats is the possibility of getting in there next academic sectio. Mahsa wrote, Hello dear sir or madam I want to ask a question Can we register now for MIT 2008 class?? Im waiting for your forward Omar wrote, I would you like to know what are the addmisson requriments for an international student who is graduating in 2006 from an american school in Cairo,Egypt. Thank you Nikita asked, I would like to know what you look for in an international student and things that can make us sta n apart from the rest.Please give me the necessary details for admissions in fall 2007.I am awaiting your reply. Matthew wrote, I just wanted to know whether u can give some tips on pursuing a successful admission procedure. These are some very broad questions, but they are many of the questions which this blog was designed to answer. How do I apply to MIT? How can I get admitted to MIT? I promise that over the next few months, Ill break these questions down and give you as much insight as possible. I do encourage you to read this blogs archives, as well as everything on MyMIT. Ill also open this up to the readers/commenters: what advice would you give to someone just getting started applying to college/MIT? Nicole wrote, What is the admissions process? Thats kind of a broad question huh? What I mean is, how many of you see our applications? Does it go through one person, or all of you? Either way with the thousands of applications you recieve it must be a very long process. Ah, a broad but good question this will be the topic of many of my blog entries over the next six months. But the good thing about having been blogging for more than a year is I can steal some content that I wrote last year. So, Ill repost that to tide you over, and I promise much more information soon: Theres a pretty big stack of folders on my dining room table. Just how does the reading process work, you ask? Ill take the folders one at a time. First, I read the application components. I try to understand who you are, where youre coming from, what motivates you, what youve accomplished, what you hope to accomplish. Then, after carefully thinking about everything youve told us, and everything your teachers, counselor, and interviewer have told us, it is my job to summarize your application on the previously mentioned E-3 card. I really take my job seriously and give each and every one of you the consideration that you deserve. All of this reading and summarizing takes about 30 minutes. Usually this process will be repeated by a second reader. Finally, in a few weeks, that E-3 card will go to the entire Admissions Committee to make a decision on (more on this part of the process later). In a nutshell, heres how selection works. Weve spent a month reading and crafting great summaries of your applications, and now we take those summaries and work from them. We do selection in subcommittees, usually of three people[] Each subcommittee will take each case in random order, read aloud the summary, check out the coursework and grades, and then have a discussion about that applicant. Things are by consensus we have everyone on the subcommittee agree what the right action (admit, defer, deny) is. Because we have a clear idea of what we are looking for in MIT students (if youve come to an information session or read MyMIT, you know what I mean), we can usually reach consensus after a bit of discussion without needing to resort to a formal vote. In the very rare occasion where we cant reach consensus, we put the application back in the stack for another subcommittee to decide on. Then we take the next case and repeat the above, iterated over all of the different subcommittees , which are intentionally randomized each half day or so. Anonymous wrote, hi,i think ure cool.please i want to find out about mit online scholarship program.thanks for the info. Hi anon, unfortunately, I dont know what you mean by the MIT online scholarship program. However, you can find out more about MIT financial aid (including scholarship) at http://web.mit.edu/finaid and you can find out more about OpenCourseWare, our free and open online educational resource at http://ocw.mit.edu. Elizabeth wrote (re: this entry), what about taking a gap year in between years of MIT? The idea of taking a gap year intrigues me (I have always wanted to hike the appalachian trail), but as a 2009er I think its a little too late for me to start planning one. Ive known people who have taken some time off, but I dont know how it works logistically. Youll want to talk with your advisor when you arrive, as well as the financial aid office to see how those issues are impacted. Enhao wrote, I am very excited about applying to MIT, so I check the online application everyday, but its still not there. Some of the other schools have even sent me their applications. I really want to get a good head start in the application process. Could you tell me about the admission process of MIT and if possible how soon I can get my hands on a MIT application. I look forward to your response. If you have registered for the MyMIT portal (you can do so here), you should receive a paper application in a couple weeks. Also by registering for MyMIT, you will gain access to the online application. Also, you can view a PDF paper application on the MyMIT site. I hope that helps! Serge asked, If I have a third recommendation from a college professor, does it have to be on MITs official recommendation form? Or can it just be a letter? It can just be a letter. Thats the way we normally see such recommendations. Mikhail asked, Matt, if I have a necessary third recommendation, can it be on a third official recommendation form? Alternatively, can it be just a letter? Which is better or preferred? Matt, also: I took a course over the summer that was taught by a graduate student. Is it true that a recommendation from her, being only a graduate student, is frowned upon? As I noted above, most third recommendations I see are letters, and that is fine. And, who told you letters from graduate students are frowned upon? We want letters from those who know you well, not letters from famous people. The letters are judged based on the quality of the content, not the quality of the recommender. Go wrote, What is the best method to tell my passions for attending MIT (Fall 2006)? I heard admissions office is not happy to receive an optional letter or material, is it true? Somehow, I want to tell a strong passion that I cannot express on application materials. Could you please give me these answers? We find that most peoples passions do come out in the context of their application. We will accept additional materials beyond the application, though. Ill try to do a separate entry on additional materials sometime soon, but I can tell you that we will accept additional letters or materials if you think they are necessary. Megan wrote, Sorry this is off topic, but I was wondering if MIT has spring admission (for undergrads).Thanks. ;) Not off topic at all. For freshman admission, we only admit students to begin in the fall term. For transfer admission, we will admit students for the fall term or for the spring term. You can learn more about the transfer admissions process here. Bart wrote, In all seriousness, Matt, I have a question for your next omnibus: what was the breakdown of SAT scores for applicants (not admitted applicants) last year what was the mean, median, and interquartile range for verbal and math separately and also together? Im sorry, I dont have this handy, but Ill see what I can come up with by the time of the next Omnibus, which I hope to do in about two weeks. zlatana wrote, where can i find the answers of some of my questions; for instance- 1. How many are the minimum points for each of the requested tests in order to be accepted to study matehmatics, physics or astronomy at your university? Unlike many countries universities, MIT (and most private US universities) does not have minimum scores or minimum grades for being admitted. Also, you should know that MIT (and, again, many US universities) does not admit students to a particular department, but rather will admit you to the entire university; after your freshman year, you can choose any major you like. That being said, to give you a little bit of a sense of things, the middle 50% score range of students admitted to the Class of 2009 were: SAT I Verbal [690, 770]SAT I Math [740, 800] Nehalita wrote, Thx for answering my question. [I have alot of new questions for you!] You mentioned that as long as we are within range (as regard to SAT/SAT2 scores) then we are even with the top scorers. What range is this? And what SAT2 subjects do most people submit? Do people who submit science SAT2s have an advantage over someone who submits, say, Spanish? If we were to take more than the required amount of SAT2s and dont do well on it, do we have to tell MIT about those scores? Is there a way that MIT can find out about an AP score that we dont write about on the application? Whats the average number of APs that admitted students have taken? Theres no one guideline as far as what would put you within range, but one method I will often state is that of your (assuming for the moment you take the SAT I instead of the ACT, but we honestly have no preference between ACT and SAT) required 5 SAT parts scored out of 800 (SAT I Math, SAT I Verbal, SAT II Math, SAT II Science, and a third SAT II of your choosing), we hope that of your best scores in each category, many of those best scores will be in the 700s. That would be one way to get a little bit of a sense; another would be to examine the Middle 50% statistics quoted in the previous answer. But we have no minimum scores, and have admitted people with relatively lower scores. Much more goes into an admissions decision besides just scores. For SAT IIs, if you are applying this year, you must submit one math test, one science test, and a third SAT II of your choice. If you have taken more than three SAT IIs, we will see all of the scores (once you tell the College Board to send them to us), and use the three scores that will help you most. We do not care which math SAT II you submit, which science SAT II you submit, or which additional tests you take. AP scores are reported to us in various ways. If you have a bad score, you may be better off reporting it and explaining it than trying to hide it. We have never calculated, as far as I know, the average number of AP classes/tests that our applicants/admits have taken. I think that number wouldnt tell us as much about our students as it would their schools and the success of the AP program nationally. There is no right or expected number of APs you should take. If your school offers AP calculus, we hope youll take that, and if your school offers some AP sciences, we hope youll take one. Generally, though, as long as youre challenging yourself, it doesnt matter exactly how many APs you are taking. sg wrote, Exactly how important is taking an SAT II science test? I had been planning to take math, but not science. Compared to other subjects, my high school is a bit weak in science, and the preparation Id need to take the test wouldnt fit well into my schedule. This is really nagging at me, since its a requirementnot just something good to have. If I have a (good) SAT I score and three (hopefully good) SAT II scores, but none in science, how much does that hurt me? It is a requirement for all students to submit a science SAT II. Theres no way around it. For early action, you can take tests up until the November test date; I recommend you register. Remember that test scores are just one of many parts of the application, and that were not making decisions based on test scores. Anonymous wrote, Dear Mr. McGann, I finally figured out why Horchata is so tasty. It tastes exactly like the leftover milk post-consumption of the breakfast cereal Cinnamon Toast Crunch. Amazing. Mmmm youre right. Now I really want to drink some horchata. It is available at Annas Taqueria in the MIT Student Center, among other places. Jeremy wrote (in response to this entry), Oh shoot, thats me!!!! Wow, its so disconcerting to see pictures of yourself, especially like this. Thanks for posting me on your awesome blog, Matt. I didnt make it to CPW so I look forward to stopping by your office sometime in the fall. P.S. You wouldnt by any chance remember my application, would you? just wondering Hi Jeremy! Definitely swing by when you get here. I didnt read your application, but I may have reviewed it at some point in the process. Iddoshe wrote, I hope you have an awesome time in Asia! I came across this blog after I registered for MyMIT and I really appreciate all the time the admissions officers and others put into the blogs. I met you in Phoenix at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, and since then, Ive become interested in MIT. My brother was admitted to the class of 08, but declined the offer. He really loved Cambridge, and I cant wait to visit myself. Thanks for the shout out. If you find yourself in Cambridge, definitely stop by! Sara asked, Do mind if blog-readers stop by to say hello? itd be cool to give you a hi-five or something. Sara did stop by Admissions and say hi, which was nice. That invitation is open to all of you as well: if youre on campus and were available, feel free to stop by. Nelson wrote (re: this entry), Whoa, Dilbert was an MIT grad? How did I not know this? I was pretty sure Id read enough Dilbert I should have known that! Where is this revealed? I dont know in which particular strip this is noted, but Scott Adams states it clearly on the Dilbert FAQ: Dilberts company has no name. Its intentionally unclear what they do for a living, but Dilbert has a degree in Electrical Engineering from MIT. MIT Alum asked, Matt, did you see Tommy Lee goes to College last night? Do you have any opinions on it? I did not see it. Is it worth setting some time aside to watch? I must admit Im not a huge Tommy Lee fan, though it does seem like an interesting fish-out-of-water story. I did, however, watch So You Think You Can Dance a show that I think Sam and Mitra would enjoy.

How to Pronounce the French Adverb Plus

The French adverb  plus  has different pronunciations, depending on how its used. Generally speaking, when  plus  has a positive meaning (e.g., more, extra, additional) it is pronounced [ploos]. When it is used as a negative adverb (meaning no more), it is usually pronounced [ploo]. A simple way to remember this is by thinking that the positive sense of the word has an extra sound, while the negative sense does not. In other words, the [s] sound is  subtracted  when the word has a  negative  meaning and  added  when it has a  positive  meaning. (Clever, right?)   This general pronunciation rule applies to  plus  when its used as an affirmative or negative adverb. When used as a comparative or superlative, the rules are somewhat different. Affirmative Adverb  [ploos] In the affirmative, Plus de means more (than) or additional Je veux plus de beurre.  I want more butter.Il y aura plus de choix demain.  There will be additional choices tomorrow.Jai plus de 1 000 livres.  I have more than 1,000 books. Negative Adverb  [ploo] On the other hand, in the negative, Ne ... plus  is a negative adverb, meaning no more or not any more Je ne le veux plus.  I dont want it anymore.   Je ne veux plus de beurre.   I dont want any more butter.   Plus de beurre, merci.** No more butter, thank you. Non plus  means neither or not ... either Je naime pas les pommes non plus.   I dont like apples either. - Je nai pas de montre.- Moi non plus  !      Ã‚  - Me neither! Ne ... plus que  means only or nothing more than Il ny a plus que miettes.   There are only crumbs (left). - Y a-t-il des pommes  ?  -Are there any apples?- Plus quune.**    - Only one Ne ... pas plus  means no more than (pretty much the same thing as  ne ... plus que) Il ny a pas plus de 3 mà ©decins.   There are no more than 3 doctors. - Puis-je emprunter un stylo  ? - Can I borrow a pen?- Je nen ai pas plus dun.      -I only have one. **Note:  There are a few expressions in which  plus  is negative without  ne, because there is no verb for  ne  to negate. Note that these are normally at the beginning of a clause: Plus besoin (de)  - (theres) no more need (to/of)Plus de   noun - (theres) no more nounPlus maintenant  - not any more, not any longerPlus que   noun - (there are) only ___ more In addition, the  ne  is often omitted in spoken, informal French (learn more). This is when pronouncing or not pronouncing the [s] is most important. If you say  Je veux plus [ploo] de beurre, someone may very well think you mean you dont want any more butter. This is actually how you can learn the difference between the two pronunciations. You are eating breakfast and ask,  Y a-t-il plus [ploo] de beurre  ?  and the woman replies,  Mais si, si  !  (yes in response to a  negative question). You should have asked  Y a-t-il plus [ploos] de beurre? Comparative/Superlative Adverb Plus  as a comparative or superlative adverb is the exception to the above rules. When the comparative or superlative  plus  is in the middle of a sentence, it is pronounced [ploo], unless it precedes a vowel, in which case the  liaison  causes it to be pronounced [plooz]. When  plus  is at the end of a sentence, as in the final example, it is pronounced [ploos]. Plus ... que  or  plus ... de  indicates superiority in  comparatives  and can compare   adjectives   Je suis plus  grand  quelle.  Im taller than she is. adverbs   Je cours plus  vite  quelle.   I run faster than she does. nouns   Jai plus damis  quelle.   I have more friends than she does. verbs   Je  cours  plus quelle.  I run more than she does. Le plus  or  le plus de  indicates superiority in  superlatives  and can compare adjectives   Je suis le plus  grand  Ãƒ ©tudiant.  Im the tallest student. adverbs   Je cours le plus  vite.   I run the fastest. nouns   Jai le plus damis.   I have the most friends. verbs   Je  cours  le plus.   I run the most.

The Influence of Rationalism on the French Revolution

Ben Jorgensen Professor Wakefield English 5 3 April 2013 The Influence of Rationalism on the French Revolution What was the driving force behind the French Revolution? Many people may say it was financial, or political, and while I would agree that these things were part of the force that propelled the French Revolution, I would assert that the philosophies of the Enlightenment were the dominant force that blasted late eighteenth century France into revolution . In his article, â€Å"The French Revolution: Ideas and Ideologies â€Å"Maurice Cranston of History Today articulates that the Enlightenment philosophies were pivotal in the revolutions inception. He writes that: â€Å"The philosophes undoubtedly provided the ideas.† Cranston goes on to†¦show more content†¦The King shared his powers with nobody, and was answerable for its exercise to nobody but God.† (21) The ancien regime government lacked reason, but was bursting with more than its fair share of divine laws and rights that the â€Å"creator† had set in place in order to insure social stability. In fact, as Doyle points out in his book, this concept that God had set forth a divine law to be followed was directly stated in a document that parliament wrote: â€Å"This social order is not only essential to the practice of every sound government: it has its origin in divine law.† (24) The document goes on to say that: â€Å"The infinite and immutable wisdom in the plan of the universe established an unequal distribution of strength and character, necessarily resulting in inequality in the conditions of men within the civil order†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (24) This document summed up the ancien regimes ideology: God has placed the king the clergy, and aristocracy above the common people and that is how it is, because that is how it has been. The words irrational, divine, and superstitious come up many times when describing the ancien regimes government and society; in fact, these things were actually integral to the maintenance of government and society in France during the ancien regime. Indeed, you could not have this form of government without divine law, irrational organization, and superstitious beliefs.Show MoreRelatedThe Enlightenment Principles Of Rationalism And Universal Rights1684 Words   |  7 Pagesthought became the chief values of society. Thinkers such as John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau were signposts of this era, inspiring populations locally and abroad. This revolution of ideas led to political and societal upheaval throughout the Western world. This essay will argue that the Enlightenment principles of rationalis m and universal rights shaped modern Europe and North America through the rejection of absolutist government and the movement towards an equal society. The effect of these EnlightenmentRead MoreThe Enlightenment Era Of 1620 And 1789910 Words   |  4 Pagesbooks, scientific discovery and revolution. 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Methodology Review Free Essays

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research study is to determine and gather information about the television viewing habits of individuals who watch game shows most of the time. This study would aim to determine what factors affect the participant’s attraction to game shows as well as the benefits and disadvantages that they gain from watching game shows. At the same time, this study would like to demonstrate whether the feelings and thoughts of respondents would lead to psychological addiction to game shows. We will write a custom essay sample on Methodology Review or any similar topic only for you Order Now Data Collection This study will be conducted in the researcher’s hometown, an urban city with various cultural groups and which have a wide array of economically diverse individuals. The city is small as compared to major cities but nonetheless is exposed to the different game shows, in fact around 10 game show contestants have come from this city. Most families own a TV set and most people stay home to watch the TV than to party or go out at night. The data will be collected through the use of a survey questionnaire designed by the researcher. The questionnaire will use both open ended and close ended questions as well as a Likert scale on items that asks about attitudes and feelings. The survey questionnaire will be given out to the researcher’s workplace and neighborhood. The sample of respondents will be identified through referrals and randomly approaching coworkers and neighbors. The data gathering would approximately take around 2 weeks to complete excluding the data analysis and preparation of the manuscript which would take another week. An assistant will be hired to help give out and retrieve the survey questionnaires in the researcher’s neighborhood. The assistant will be compensated based on the number of survey forms completely filled and returned. The respondents will be informed of the objectives of the research and they will be asked to voluntarily complete the survey, no compensation or reward will be given to the respondents. After the data has been collected, the researcher will then proceed to collate the data and analyze it using statistical tools. Descriptive statistics will be done on the demographic data and viewing habits of the respondents while rating scale equivalents will be identified for items that use the Likert scale. The open ended questions about the benefits and disadvantages of watching television game shows will be analyzed and discussed identifying the most common responses and contrasting it with the least common responses. It is anticipated that the researcher may encounter problems in data collection, this would include the low respondent turn-out, since respondents will be asked to totally volunteer their answers and time to the survey, not many people might be willing to do this, another issue is that since the target participants will be the coworkers of the researcher, the responses may have not been seriously given as they are busy individuals and they just comply with the researchers request. Moreover, the participants form the neighborhood of the researcher may not be able to adequately respond to the questions because it may not be culturally appropriate or difficult to understand. Preliminary Survey Form Demographic data: Age: _____ Gender: ______ Ethnicity: ______ Educational level: ______ Occupation: ______ Open ended questions: In a week, how often do you watch TV game shows? List all the game shows that you watch. What do you think makes TV game shows attractive to watch? What are the benefits that you have gained from watching TV game shows? What are the disadvantages you have experienced in watching TV game shows? Likert Scale: Please indicate your answers by using the following scale: 5 – Always 4 – Often 3 – Sometimes 2 – Rarely 1 – Never 1. When I watch TV game shows I feel excited. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 2. I am happy the most when I watch TV game shows. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 3. I am alert and awake when I watch TV game shows. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 4. I become sad when the player in the game show loses. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 5. I wish that I would become a TV game show contestant. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 6. I dream that I am a game show contestant. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 7. I feel frustrated when I am not able to watch my favorite game show. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5    How to cite Methodology Review, Essay examples

Methodology Review Free Essays

Purpose of the Study: The purpose of this research study is to determine and gather information about the television viewing habits of individuals who watch game shows most of the time. This study would aim to determine what factors affect the participant’s attraction to game shows as well as the benefits and disadvantages that they gain from watching game shows. At the same time, this study would like to demonstrate whether the feelings and thoughts of respondents would lead to psychological addiction to game shows. We will write a custom essay sample on Methodology Review or any similar topic only for you Order Now Data Collection This study will be conducted in the researcher’s hometown, an urban city with various cultural groups and which have a wide array of economically diverse individuals. The city is small as compared to major cities but nonetheless is exposed to the different game shows, in fact around 10 game show contestants have come from this city. Most families own a TV set and most people stay home to watch the TV than to party or go out at night. The data will be collected through the use of a survey questionnaire designed by the researcher. The questionnaire will use both open ended and close ended questions as well as a Likert scale on items that asks about attitudes and feelings. The survey questionnaire will be given out to the researcher’s workplace and neighborhood. The sample of respondents will be identified through referrals and randomly approaching coworkers and neighbors. The data gathering would approximately take around 2 weeks to complete excluding the data analysis and preparation of the manuscript which would take another week. An assistant will be hired to help give out and retrieve the survey questionnaires in the researcher’s neighborhood. The assistant will be compensated based on the number of survey forms completely filled and returned. The respondents will be informed of the objectives of the research and they will be asked to voluntarily complete the survey, no compensation or reward will be given to the respondents. After the data has been collected, the researcher will then proceed to collate the data and analyze it using statistical tools. Descriptive statistics will be done on the demographic data and viewing habits of the respondents while rating scale equivalents will be identified for items that use the Likert scale. The open ended questions about the benefits and disadvantages of watching television game shows will be analyzed and discussed identifying the most common responses and contrasting it with the least common responses. It is anticipated that the researcher may encounter problems in data collection, this would include the low respondent turn-out, since respondents will be asked to totally volunteer their answers and time to the survey, not many people might be willing to do this, another issue is that since the target participants will be the coworkers of the researcher, the responses may have not been seriously given as they are busy individuals and they just comply with the researchers request. Moreover, the participants form the neighborhood of the researcher may not be able to adequately respond to the questions because it may not be culturally appropriate or difficult to understand. Preliminary Survey Form Demographic data: Age: _____ Gender: ______ Ethnicity: ______ Educational level: ______ Occupation: ______ Open ended questions: In a week, how often do you watch TV game shows? List all the game shows that you watch. What do you think makes TV game shows attractive to watch? What are the benefits that you have gained from watching TV game shows? What are the disadvantages you have experienced in watching TV game shows? Likert Scale: Please indicate your answers by using the following scale: 5 – Always 4 – Often 3 – Sometimes 2 – Rarely 1 – Never 1. When I watch TV game shows I feel excited. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 2. I am happy the most when I watch TV game shows. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 3. I am alert and awake when I watch TV game shows. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 4. I become sad when the player in the game show loses. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 5. I wish that I would become a TV game show contestant. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 6. I dream that I am a game show contestant. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 7. I feel frustrated when I am not able to watch my favorite game show. 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   4  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5    How to cite Methodology Review, Essay examples

Simple Things in Life free essay sample

Simple things in life Have you smiled or said hi to someone today? If not you need to look back and wonder why not. Doing something simple as that makes someones day, or maybe even making then smile for a second, anything will mean something. There are many kinds of kind things you can do for someone, you have large actions that you can do for someone or there are smaller actions. No matter what size and kind action can go a long way. The smaller actions are ones that usually mean the most. When it comes to me when I am feeling down, I dont like to just complain, I feel that I will get n someones nerves.Therefore, if I ever see anyone not being there selves, I simply smile. To let them know I am here, maybe even say something to them to let them know Im here and I care. We will write a custom essay sample on Simple Things in Life or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Lets say that someone simply was walking by and said something nice with a smile it would make my day. Then I would have a smile on my face therefore I would smile at someone else. Hopefully this will cause a chain reaction and go a long way to make everyone a little less tense. It really is mind blowing that you can make a deference In someones day Just listening or letting them know you are there.Have you ever been In the grocery store and the person In front of you says, hey Is It okay If I buy your Items for you? Well, If not It does not happen a lot. When It does It will make a difference In someone life. I say this because it has happened to me, it was like a couple of years ago, but to this day I remember this wonderful thing. Many people now days cant do these kinds of things, its understandable we are going times with this economy. This economy is making people even more stressed and down, this is why we need to remember to do good things.There are many deferent actions that you can take to make a change. There are those who can simply take a day off and go too hospital. Then there are those who have the chances to adopt a kid and change a life. Their not really hard thing to do but it means a lot. In the end when you see them smile, you see how much they really appreciate and Its the best feeling ever. Over all you have a choice to make a difference In someones life, or Just someones day. Rather It Is large or small It does not matter In the size, you being kind and caring Is all, Just trying to make the world a happier place is wonderful.As I said before, kind actions go a long way, which can alp make someone who had a hard day into a good day. Therefore the next time you see someone not smiling or down, make their day, smile or say hey. Simple Things in Life By athletically 234 comes to me when I am feeling down, I dont like to Just complain, I feel that I will get know Im here and I care. Lets say that someone simply was walking by and said blowing that you can make a difference in someones day Just listening or letting Have you ever been in the grocery store and the person in front of you says, hey is it okay if I buy your items for you? Well, if not it does not append a lot. When it does it will make a difference in someones life. I say this things. There are many different actions that you can take to make a change. There are those who can simply take a day off and go to a hospital. Then there are those really appreciate and its the best feeling ever. Over all you have a choice to make a difference in someones life, or Just someones day. Rather it is large or small it does not matter in the size, you being kind and caring is all, Just trying to make the world a happier place is wonderful. As I said before,

Dunkin Donuts Essay Example

Dunkin Donuts Paper Notre Dame University BAD 603 Presented to: Dr. Nicolas Khoury Presented by: Charbel Salameh Date: 02/06/10 Company Overview: Dunkin Donuts claims to be the worlds largest coffee and baked goods chain, serving 2. 7 million customers per day at approximately 8,800 stores in 31 countries which include approximately 6,400 Dunkin Donuts locations throughout the USA. This figure compares with the 15,011 stores of coffee chain Starbucks, whose baked goods are usually prepared out of shop. Most Dunkin Donuts stores are franchises. There are no Dunkin Donuts stores anywhere in the state of California, and a notice on the companys web site states that franchises are not being offered in that state. No explanation is given as to why. Only 75 franchisees exist west of the Mississippi River, mostly in Arizona, Nevada and Texas. Key Facts Business Description: Dunkin Donuts, along with Baskin-Robbins, is owned by Dunkin Brands Inc. (previously known as Allied Domecq Quick Service Restaurants, when it was a part of Allied Domecq). Dunkin Brands used to own the Togos chain, but sold this in late 2007 to a private equity firm. Dunkin Brands was owned by French Beverage Company, Pernod Ricard S. A. after it purchased Allied Domecq. They reached an agreement in December 2005 to sell the brand to a consortium of three private equity firms, Bain Capital Partners, the Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners. In the U. S. , Dunkin Donuts is sometimes paired with Baskin-Robbins ice cream shops. We will write a custom essay sample on Dunkin Donuts specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Dunkin Donuts specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Dunkin Donuts specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer While such locations usually have two counters set up for each chain (much like the Wendys/Tim Hortons co-branded locations), depending on business that day both products can be bought at the same counter (usually the Dunkin counter), much like the Yum! Brands stores. History of Dunkin Donuts: It all started in 1946 when William Rosenberg (founder of Dunkin Donuts and also the International Franchise Association) invested $5,000 to form Industrial Luncheon Services, a company that delivered meals and coffee break snacks to customers in the outskirts of Boston, Massachusetts. The success of Industrial Luncheon Services led Rosenberg to open his first coffee and donut shop, the Open Kettle. Then, in 1950, Rosenberg opened the first store known as Dunkin Donuts in Quincy, Massachusetts. Key Employees Executive leadership team is constituted of: Nigel Travis, Dunkin Brands Chief Executive Officer and President, Dunkin Donuts William Bode, Vice President, Northeast Randy Brashier, Vice President, Operating Systems John Costello, Chief Global Customer ; Marketing Officer John Dawson, Chief Development Officer Al Hodges, Vice President, South Central Tony Pavese, Chief Operating Officer, International Joe Scafido, Chief Innovation Officer, Dunkin Brands Major Products Services: Dunkin Donuts has more than 1,000 donut varieties along with other products. * Baked Goods * Donuts Various donuts * eclairs, cop fritters, crullers, bismarcks, and coffee rolls (9 varieties) * Munchkins * Stick donuts (Black)(6 varieties) * Bagels * Scones * Turnovers * Fruit Tarts * Muffins * Danish pastry * Cookies * Brownies * Cinnamon Twists Bagel twist * Breakfast sandwiches * Egg and cheese * Egg and cheese with ham, bacon or sausage * Supreme omelette * Ham and cheese * Hash browns * Oven toasted items * Flatbread sandwiches * Coffee * Bulk Coffee * Espresso, Cappuccino, and Lattes * Iced Coffee, in these flavors: * Blueberry * Caramel * Cinnamon * Hazelnut * Raspberry * Toasted Almond * French Vanilla * Coconut * Iced Lattes * Latte Lite Espresso * Turbo * Other hot beverages * Hot chocolate * Tea * Vanill a Chai * White Hot Chocolate * Dunkaccino * Cold beverages Coolattas * Coffee * Watermelon * Grape * Vanilla Bean * Tropicana Orange * Strawberry * Iced teas * Smoothies Dunkin Deli Dunkin Delis are found in some Dunkin Donuts in the United States. These delis offer a selection of sandwiches, salads, and soups, and are the result of the former ownership of the sandwich chain Togos by Dunkin Donuts parent company. Dietary concerns In August 2007, Dunkin Donuts announced plans to greatly reduce trans fats from its menu items by switching to a blend of palm, soybean, and cottonseed oils. In addition to 400 US stores that took part in a four-month blind test, the low trans fat menu is available nationwide since October 18, 2007. International locations are expected to begin using the new oil within the next few years. Dunkin’ Donuts has launched DDSMART, a healthy new menu. The new items are reduced in calories, fat, saturated fat, sugar or sodium by at least 25%. SWOT Analysis: First of all, let us discuss what the company’s strengths are. Dunkin Donuts is a recognizable and trusted brand. With more than fifty years in the business, customers know Dunkin Donuts. This makes them more likely to try new offerings and return to franchises. It also makes advertising that uses the company name and logo more recognizable, particularly in mailings and in the newspaper. Dunkin Donuts is also recognized by business owners as a good franchise to buy and run, making it further poised for growth with entrepreneurs and in areas where there is little current competition. Finally, Dunkin Donuts is known for its speed of service, simplified menu and drink sizes, and its reasonable prices and fair trade. As for the eaknesses, consumer reviews have revealed that quality of food in certain franchises is not as good as others; hence there is inconsistent quality of Dunkins Donuts. In addition, it cannot be found on every street corner; it mainly dominates the West Coast. It also still needs to create more friendly and calm atmosphere when compared to other competitors. Next we have the opportunities. Coffee consumption is on the increase in Asia, especially in c ountries with rising disposable incomes such as China. There is also a donut craze in many Asian countries including Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia. With the rise of globalization, the speed of the flow of information quickens, so everything is moving at a faster pace. This is an opportunity for DD as it has positioned itself as a quick stopover to get your beverage or snack fix. There is also a growing acceptance of western influences in countries from the younger generation, where in Taiwan; youngsters would queue in line for hours for donuts. The possibility of a US recession is also an opportunity, because it seems that Americans like to drown their economic woes in rich sugary food, especially if that food is cheap. What else can you share with 12 people that cost fewer than six bucks? Finally, we will move to the threats facing the Dunkin Donuts. The first threat facing DD is the presence of many competitors, like Starbucks, McDonalds and krispy kreme. They can potentially cause a large reduction in DDs market share in coffee and baked foods. Another threat is that there are low barriers of entry into the coffee and donut industry, which actually gives rise to the threat above presence of many competitors. The price of raw ingredients is also increasing, like soybean. It is a threat as DD is now using reformulated cooking oil, made from soybean, for its donuts to eliminate Trans fats. The increase in raw material prices may result in an increase in DDs operating cost. There is also an increasing concern of health issues globally as people are becoming more aware. However this is not a big threat to DD as theyve removed Trans fats from their donuts, and in essence, donuts have been accepted to be popular comfort food. Top Competitors: Most of their business competition comes from small locally owned stores, Krispy Kreme doughnuts and Starbucks; in Canada and parts of the Great Lakes region, Tim Hortons is a major competitor. Mister Donut had been its largest competitor in the United States before the company was bought by Dunkin Donuts parent company. The Mister Donut stores were rebranded as Dunkin Donuts. In the province of Quebec, Alimentation Couche-Tard owns the master franchise to Dunkin Donuts. In the United States, that companys Circle K convenience stores also share some locations with Dunkin Donuts. However, Dunkin Donuts began to close several locations in Quebec within the 2000s because of competitor Tim Hortons opening many Quebec locations. Some Dunkin Donuts locations continue to open in Quebec, most recently at the Lionel-Groulx metro station. Couche-Tard agreed in August 2008 to terminate its role as master franchisee within 12 to 18 months. Moreover, we will discuss the coffee wars that exist between Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks. With its Free Iced Coffee Day promotion Tuesday, Dunkin Donuts appears to be taking on Starbucks happy hour Frappaccino promotional drive. As summer rolls around the corner, coffee shops around the country have ramped up their promotional efforts, offering consumers luring deals on discounted coffee drinks. With coffee shops plastered on every street corner and down every valley, competing brands such as Dunkin Donuts and Starbucks are coming on strong in a battle to win over the loyalties of consumers across the nation. Dunkin Donuts is partaking in Dunkin Donuts’ Free Iced Coffee Day celebrations in which it gives away free iced coffee to customers between the hours of 4 p. m. to 10 p. . (two hours left to go at the time of writing). Don’t get too excited, though, because if you don’t live in one of 14 locations in which the promotion is offered and aren’t in the mood for iced coffee on May 11, you aren’t getting free coffee. It seems that some may have mistakenly thought that Dunkin Donuts Free Iced Coffee Day is happening nationally, only to have their hopes shattered when they rea lized that iced coffee from Dunkin will be free only in 14 participating locations in Arizona, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. On the company’s Facebook page, donut dunkers around the country are expressing their anger for not being able to get their yearly dose of free iced coffee. Starbucks, in a calculated move, has been offering discounted frappuccinos at most locations from May 7 through May 16. Between the hours of 3 pm and 5 pm, participating locations will be offering a 50 percent discount on their frappuccinos, or 50% off $4. 75 on a large or venti size. Consumers around the country were thus faced the difficult question as they came off of work: to pay $2. 0 for a tasty frappuccino or pay nothing for a perhaps-less-tasty but always classic cup of iced coffee should you be lucky enough to be in the vicinity of a participating location. Other Competitors: * Caribou Coffee * Donut King in Australia * Honey Dew Donuts in New England * J. CO Donuts ; Coffee mainly in Indonesia * Happy Haus * The Whole Donut in New England * Country Style Company View: Dunkin Donuts today outlined its plans to fu rther expand its presence into Asia starting with the announcement of its first store in Taiwan. The new Dunkin Donuts will open today in Taipei City, Taiwan. The company recently granted franchise rights to Mercuries ; Associates to develop 100 stores in Taiwan over the next 10 years. Mercuries, the fifth largest market cap company in Taiwan, as well as one of the country’s largest retailers, brings 25 years of operating experience to the partnership. Taiwan represents the first step in Dunkin Donuts greater China strategy, said Anthony P. Pavese, Dunkin Brands Vice President of International Asia Pacific. †We are actively looking for Dunkin? Donuts partners in China, added Pavese. Dunkin Brands announcement comes on the heels of the company recently surpassing $1 billion in international system wide sales annually. The Dunkin Donuts restaurant in Taiwan will offer a complete menu of Dunkin Donuts internationally recognized coffee, baked goods and iced beverages. The restaurant will also serve items customized to suit local taste preferences such as sweet potato, green apple and pineapple doughnuts, mocha rings, which are cake doughnuts indigenous to the region, as well as iced fruit teas and sandwiches. The restaurant will be a welcoming environment for customers to connect with friends and family while discovering new food and beverage choices. Our success throughout the Asia Pacific region over the last 25 years gives us confidence that the Taiwanese people will embrace Dunkin Donuts. Locations ; Subsidiaries: With over 2,600 stores in 30 countries outside of the U. S. , Dunkin’ Donuts has been serving loyal customers around the globe for over 27 years. From Asia to Latin America and everywhere in between, you can count on Dunkin’ Donuts for delicious coffee and espresso, cool coolatta, delectable donuts, sandwiches and more. Below is a list of all countries where Dunkin’ Donuts operates: * Aruba * Algeria (2009) * Argentina (2009) * Bahrain * Bahamas * Brazil: (As Dunkin Donuts and as Cafe Donuts, with some different donuts and coffees added to the menu) * Bulgaria * Brunei * Canada * Cayman Islands (2006) * Chile * China (2008) * Colombia * Ecuador * Germany * Honduras * Indonesia * South Korea * Kuwait (2006)| * Lebanon * Malaysia * Mexico * New Zealand * Pakistan (2000) * Panama * Peru (1996) * Philippines (1981) * Russia [31] (1995–1996, 2010-) * Oman (2008) * Qatar * Saudi Arabia * Spain (Due to trademark issues, the brand used is Dunkin Coffee) * Republic of China (Taiwan) * Singapore * Thailand * Turkey * United Arab Emirates * United States *   Puerto Rico | Latest Company News: In the past seven years, Dunkin has added about 1,500 outlets, and that growth is set to accelerate, according to Jon Luther, chief executive of Dunkin Brands since 2003. Late last month, the company fetch ed $2. 43 billion from Thomas H. Lee Partners LP, Bain Capital Partners and the Carlyle Group. The deal, which is expected to close in March, means a hefty infusion of capital, which Luther said would go toward new prototypes and products, and more rapid expansion of the three concepts in Dunkin Brands portfolio. No doubt, the future looks bright for Dunkin Donuts. Dunkin Donuts is continuously striving to launch new products as well as to expand its subsidiaries all over the world. It has recently launched the DDSmart menu constituted of a light sandwich + a light Latte. Dunkin Donuts’ selection of better-for-consumers foods and beverages ensures that its restaurants offer great-tasting choices that fit consumers’ lifestyle and meet their dietary wants and needs.

Free Essays on Annie

Annie As I listened to the play I was brought back to my childhood. I remembered my sister singing, â€Å"The sun will come out tomorrow†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and was thankful she was not the one singing. A great deal of effort was put into what actors and actresses that was in this play. The actress that was playing Annie hit it right on the spot with her singing voice that filled the theatre. Judging by the spot that I had at this play, way up top, I could hear everything perfectly. The sound for the music also was the same, clear, and filled the theatre. Everyone was well prepared; knowing their lines and location on the set. I thought that their costumes also fit the characters very well. You got to see Annie go from the rags to riches, which is from the orphanage to live with the billionaire, which played out through every element of the play. Throughout this whole time she was on point with all of her costumes. I also feel that the costumes where well coordinated with the set. T he set matched where the characters were and what they were wearing. For example, when Annie escaped from the orphanage and made it to the city you knew that the people she ran into in the alley were bums. Yes, eventually the police came and told you that they were bums, but before that their status was quite clear. I truly enjoyed Annie, much more than I did at six years old. I felt it was much more of an experience to see the play than watch the movie. I look forward to going again.... Free Essays on Annie Free Essays on Annie Annie As I listened to the play I was brought back to my childhood. I remembered my sister singing, â€Å"The sun will come out tomorrow†¦Ã¢â‚¬  and was thankful she was not the one singing. A great deal of effort was put into what actors and actresses that was in this play. The actress that was playing Annie hit it right on the spot with her singing voice that filled the theatre. Judging by the spot that I had at this play, way up top, I could hear everything perfectly. The sound for the music also was the same, clear, and filled the theatre. Everyone was well prepared; knowing their lines and location on the set. I thought that their costumes also fit the characters very well. You got to see Annie go from the rags to riches, which is from the orphanage to live with the billionaire, which played out through every element of the play. Throughout this whole time she was on point with all of her costumes. I also feel that the costumes where well coordinated with the set. T he set matched where the characters were and what they were wearing. For example, when Annie escaped from the orphanage and made it to the city you knew that the people she ran into in the alley were bums. Yes, eventually the police came and told you that they were bums, but before that their status was quite clear. I truly enjoyed Annie, much more than I did at six years old. I felt it was much more of an experience to see the play than watch the movie. I look forward to going again....

Sociocultural influences on conflict resolution and post-war Research Paper

Sociocultural influences on conflict resolution and post-war reconstruction - Research Paper Example A good example is the United States election and especially the 2008 elections that pitted president Obama against senator McCain2. The nation has found itself in a reconstruction program in both Afghanistan and Iraq in the aftermath of its anti-terrorism missions in the said countries. Elsewhere, there have been various peace-building projects, national building programs, political mediations and other post war and conflict reconstruction programs that are being undertaken by international bodies like the United Nations and other regional or supranational agencies. However, such efforts have not always been smooth and have been met with a lot of challenges both of logistical and ideological nature. The ever-changing global environment that has meant that the approach for conflict resolution and reconstruction has had to be varied has further compounded this situation. A major driver of this dynamism has been the constantly shifting international relations3 in what has been summed up by many scholars and foreign policy analysts as the â€Å"clash of civilizations†4. This paper will closely examine one of the major factors that has influenced post war and conflict reconstruction in the world today – socio cultural constructs. ... However, other nation building programs in the world shall also be mentioned for the purposes of providing a clearer picture of how socio cultural factors have been a major influence on post war reconstruction and conflict resolution. Most conflicts in the world have been down to the strategies that have been involved. By looking at the socio-cultural influences on nation building efforts, this paper will enable the appropriate formulation of strategies to tackle the dynamism in the global environment that has been largely pushed by this factor. With rising clamor for democracy among nations that were formerly communist in nature, there have been numerous conflicts that have come with such adjustments and this has sometimes led to intra and international tensions that have resulted into conflicts. The Afghanistan and Iraq conflicts These two countries have seen a lot of instability that dates back to a century with Afghanistan facing a larger share of this conflict. To begin, the U.S – Iraqi conflict dates back in the year 19905 when the country’s tyrannical forces led an invasion on its neighbor, Kuwait. The United States was at the forefront of resolving this conflict by demanding an immediate withdrawal of Iraqi troops from the Kuwaiti soil. President George H Bush decided to use military intervention after diplomatic efforts from the United Nations did not bear any fruit and this worked. Regardless of the intervention, internal conditions in the Saddam Hussein led state was worsening. There were concerns by the international community that the regime was oppressing the minority, developing both biological and mechanical weapons among other violations of human rights and

Acdamic skill Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Acdamic skill - Essay Example Sources, such as Google sources, are not that reliable, because anybody can publicly do things on the internet. However, books are generally considered more trustworthy because the author and publisher are clearly stated and they are held responsibility for its truthfulness. One reliable resource, found by Erik, A.(2010), had introduced product strategies for the iPhone, including four successful ways which are markets, product cycles, pricing and software. However, the iPhone was not the first smartphone to have mobile Web, email, and touch-screen user interface capabilities, but it was designed to offer an improved experience compared to other smartphones. Firstly, this resource is reliable; because of its demand media. Secondly, it is useful for this research proposal. The significant aim of this article is exploring the iPhone product strategy, it was designed to offer an improved experience compared to other smartphones. Following the four product strategies for the iPhone which are markets, product cycles, pricing and software, we can clearly see the iPhone why can be successful. These four aspects are indispensable to the business strategies. According to Dorrell, E. (2007), more than half of the consumers in the UK stipulate that Apple iPhones are too expensive. Two weeks after the launch in the UK, the vote at the market research company GFK NOP showed that more than 70% of the consumers feel that the proposed retail price of  £269 was on the high side while only 2% of the respondents considered buying an iPhone. This resource, found by a newspaper, makes it reliable. And using customer interviews further increases its reliability. The main purpose of this paper is for customer surveys to getting the price of the iPhone to a more detailed study of the iPhone business strategy. Furthermore, collecting data is the important way to get a reliable source. Due to this fact received from this

Examining Prison And Its Alternative Institutions Criminology Essay

Examining Prison And Its Alternative Institutions Criminology Essay Prisons systems around the world have been pursuing an expansionist course for decades. There are more than 9.8 million people held in penal institutions around the world (Walmsley, 2008). Prison systems are having an increasingly difficult time dealing with the number of offenders that are sentenced to imprisonment as evident in the overcrowded living conditions and understaffed institutions. At a time when public expenditure is under pressure, governments are faced with the daunting task of finding funding to build new prisons and manage existing ones. Not surprisingly, prison is increasingly becoming regarded as a scarce and expensive resource. Some theorists have argued that there prisons should be abolished altogether given that they do not fulfil the justifications for punishment. Other theorists have contended that prisons are the only solution for the most serious crime but they are used much too often and for minor offences. The term reductionist refers to significant reductions in prison population size (Rutherford, 1984). While there have been recent increases in the incarceration rate in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, they have traditionally been regarded as successful examples of a reductionist policy. This essay will argue, not for the abolition of prisons, but for a drastic reduction in their use by using strategies proposed by Rutherford (1984) applied universally. Strategies to reduce the use of prison should start with the prison itself and substantially reduce the capacity of the prison so that prison is a scarce resource. Only then will alternatives to prison be used instead of prison and not in addition to prison. America has the highest incarceration rate in the world at 748 per 100,000 of the population (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009). There are approximately 2,297,400 people held in state and federal prisons and local jails throughout the U.S Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009). This is almost a quarter of the worlds prisoners and yet America is home to less than five-percent of the worlds population (Adam Liptak, 2008). The state of California houses around 171,275 prisoners which is more than any other U.S state Bureau of Justice Statistics, 2009). California is a prime example of the countrys growing prison population and the unsustainable prison costs. In California alone, the prison system costs the government $10 billion a year (Trachtenberg, 2009). By 2012, the government will be spending more money on its prison system than its university system (Trachtenberg, 2009). The construction of new prisons has not reduced the unprecedented level of overcrowding or improved conditions in California prisons. There are 33 adult prisons in California and each prison is holding many more inmates than it was intended for (Specter, 2010). Some are reaching 300% of their capacity. The extreme overcrowding has meant that prison gymnasiums, hallways and cafeterias are being used to house inmates, and in some cases the inmates are triple-bunked (Specter, 2010). The inmates sleep in close confinement with one another, and there is nothing that protects them from being sexually and physically abused by fellow inmates. The crowded and unhygienic conditions, mean inmates are more likely to get sick, stay sick, and pass illnesses onto others. Prison overcrowding is directly related to the inhumane conditions that prisoners live in inside many of the worlds prisons. England and Wales also have a high prison population rate of 153 per 100,000 of the national population. Although the prison population rate in England and Wales is much lower than in America, many countries have rates of below 150 per 100,000. There are 83,392 people in prison in England and Wales and new and existing resources will need to accommodate a planned prison population of 96,000 by 2014 at an enormous cost (Walmsley, 2008; House of Commons, 2010). Recent research shows that prison expenditure in England and Wales increased dramatically between 2003 and 2009 from  £2.868 billion to  £3.982 billion respectively (Centre for Crime and Justice Studies, 2010). A large number of prisoners are sharing cells that were only intended for single use (Millie, Jacobsen Hough, 2003). If this forecast is realised then England and Wales will have the highest imprisonment rate in Western Europe at 169.1 per 100,000 people (House of Commons, 2010). The public expenditure is under great pressure in England and Wales and the government needs to decide if it will continue with its prison building programme or invest in the prevention of crime (House of Commons Justice Committee, 2009). Overcrowded prisons like in America and England and Wales are a symptom of the expansionist movement. The prison population rates are likely to increase annually and because it takes years to bring a new prison into commission the existing prisons are filled over and above their capacity (Rutherford, 1984). To deal with the expected increase in the prison population rate expansionist systems tend to have prison-building programmes in place to increase the size of their existing prisons and build new ones (Rutherford, 1984). Rutherford (1988) argues that serious overcrowding can attract political attention and lead to closer inspection of the prison system. In California, attention has been drawn to the state of Californias prisons by the various lawsuits that have been filed against the governor and corrections officials by prisoners. In the case of Plata v. Davis in 2002, the state acknowledged that it had not been providing adequate medical care to meet the needs of prisoners throu ghout the prison system (Specter, 2010). Based on this and other cases, a court was set up to address Californias prison crisis which concluded that overcrowding in the prisons prevented the state of California from providing adequate mental and medical health care to its prisoners (Specter, 2010). Following the investigation, the court imposed a population cap of 137.5% of the prisons capacity (Specter, 2010). According to Rutherford (1984), these types of orders can have several types of consequences. First, prison overcrowding can initiate a reductionist movement. Policy makers could be encouraged to make use of early release mechanisms or set-up more community-based punishments. For example, in California the state has launched a programme to trial shortening the period of time that parolees remain under intensive supervision which can last for years following their release from prison (Muradyan, 2008). The strict parole conditions mean that offenders are often returned to prison for parole violations such as missing their appointments (Muradyan, 2008). If minor-offenders are able to stay clean for six-months after their release from prison then their supervision will end early (Muradyan, 2008). In England and Wales, a report on the overcrowding of prisons strongly recommends that the government reinvest in community based sanctions for prisoners who are only sentenced to prison for a short time to reduce the prison population and reduce re-offending (House of Commons Justice Co mmittee, 2009). Second, prison overcrowding can encourage officials to make use of prison facilities in neighbouring jurisdictions (Rutherford, 1984). When the court imposed a population cap on Californias prisons the state began to transfer around 8,000 of its prisoners to facilities outside of California. This solution only succeeds in shifting the problem of overcrowding elsewhere and as we will see in the case of California, it is a short-term solution to a larger problem. The authorization to transfer Californias inmates to facilities in other states expires in July of 2011 (Muradyan, 2008). Third, overcrowding can contribute to the expansion of prison systems. When resources are stretched it can help to secure more resources for the expansion of existing prisons and the creation of new ones (Rutherford, 1984). In response to the prison crisis in California, the state borrowed $7.4 billion make room for 40,000 more prisoners in state prisons and to create 13,000 new county jail beds (Muradyan, 2008). This was a controversial move because the government obtained the financing through lease-bonding, a move that saves the state from having to gain voter approval and costs more than other types of bonds (Muradyan, 2008). It is clear from this example that there is big money involved in the expansion of prison systems. Most prisons are built with borrowed money like in California. The funding for prisons can produce big profits for the private companies that are involved in prison systems throughout the world in one way or another (Christie, 1994). Health care, food services and construction are all sectors that are expanding fast and providing big profits for private firms (Christie, 1994). Private sector involvement can also be seen in the private-prison itself. In his book, Crime Control as a Product (1994), Nils Christie raises the important point that with this amount of interplay with private profit interests, even up to the level of private prisons, we are building an important growth factor into the system (pg. 111). The profits associated with private prisons mean big money for private companies who are able to build and run prisons for a fraction of what it costs the government and the gover nment is able to avoid asking the voters permission to build a new prison (Christie, 1994). Christie warns that an expansionist policy will lead to private prisons and in turn, a focus on financial rather than humanitarian aims. Although Governments have been geared towards expansion for decades, a large number are becoming increasingly aware that prison is a scarce resource that is too expensive to maintain. In some countries, this perception is based on the understanding that prison is not fulfilling its key aims of punishment. Perhaps other countries are not comfortable using the restriction of liberty as the main form of punishment. But for a lot of countries, it would seem that a reductionist policy makes more sense than an expansionist one in economic terms. For example, in the Netherlands the judiciary believe that prison is ineffective as a punishment and should be used as a last resort (Downes, 1988; 81). The Netherlands has maintained a low prison population in the post-war period, a time when other prison populations have sky-rocketed. This is likely due to the short length of sentences compared with countries like America (Downes, 1982). There are a number of factors that are likely to have helped to maintain a certain level of penal capacity in the Netherlands. First, penal sentencing and criminal justice policy in The Netherlands has traditionally enjoyed a culture of tolerance. The culture of tolerance lead to less prejudice, less discrimination, and reduced the need for harsh punishment (Downes, 1988). A glance at the history of the Netherlands illustrates the long tradition of Dutch tolerance towards minority groups, deviants, and religious beliefs and points of view that strayed from the norm. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries The Netherlands was less inclined to use capital and corporal punishment than its European counterparts and notably fewer wartime collaborators were killed after the war compared with countries such as Belgium and France (Downes, 1988). Second, the culture of tolerance in The Netherlands was allowed to operate in the setting of a politics of accommodation. Criminal justice policy, for the most part, operated out of the public eye and was free from public opinion. Criminal justice policy was largely determined by a small group of professional elites who made accommodations with other smaller groups to support tolerant policies. A range of different groups, even those that supported abolitionism, were a part of the penal reform. Although criminologists with extreme views such as Bianchi, would have been excluded from advisory roles in England and Wales or the United States, in The Netherlands radical views on criminal justice are welcomed and the participation of elites with such views serves to lead debates in a direction that would not have been considered otherwise. The criminal justice process also remained free from unnecessary public interaction. The criminal justice system was run by a small number of highly pr ofessional and well educated practitioners. Other theories assert that a combination of social developments contributed to the sentencing trends in the Netherlands. There are five major social developments that may have impacted on the situation; the comprehensive range of social services, a large number of youth centres, a large number of client-oriented welfare and social-service agencies, responsible reporting by the mass media, and the pressure group activities on behalf of the penal reform by the social service agencies (Hulsman, as cited in Downes, 1988; 344). Another factor could be that many Dutch people were imprisoned during the War and that this made the Dutch less inclined to administer sentences of imprisonment as they understood the pains that imprisonment can cause (Downes, 1988). Downes (1988) argues that these factors occurred alongside the sentencing trends but that they did not necessarily influence the trends. The trends in the sentencing policy of the Netherlands have remained rather constant. The mild reactions of the Dutch to crime and the co-operation of political parties made it easier for a small group of elites to implement criminal justice policies free from public opinion. welfare However, maintaining such a stable prison population would not have been possible without the co-operation of the judges. The legal training which places a negative value on imprisonment seems to be important in maintaining the use of imprisonment as a last resort. The reductionist policy was not peculiar to The Netherlands at this time. Scandinavian countries have also enjoyed low levels of imprisonment and humane prison conditions. Although the levels of imprisonment in Scandinavia are also on the rise, the rate of 66 per 100,000 of the population is still significantly lower than many countries around the world (Pratt, 2008; Walmsley, 2008). Pratt (2008) attributes the low prison population rates and humane prison conditions to a culture of equality and generous welfare state. The Scandinavian welfare state provided support for anybody that needs it. There were no limits to who could apply for assistance and no shame involved in asking for it (Pratt, 2008). The people of Scandinavia afforded the state a large amount of power and paid high taxes in exchange for high levels of security. The state provided security for its people by guaranteeing work and unemployment benefits, social services (medical care, care for the elderly, and improved li ving conditions for its citizens (Pratt, 2008). Peoples individual interests were secondary to shared common and political goals (Pratt, 2008). In Scandinavia, there was a generally held belief that a strong welfare state could reduce the problem of crime the way it had reduced other social problems (Pratt, 2008). Crime was viewed as an illness that could be treated like any other illness and so the rehabilitation of offenders was an important part of the criminal justice process (Pratt, 2008). The job of the criminal justice system was to treat offenders and then reintegrate offenders back into the community. While in prison, offenders were treated humanely and there was no need for further degradation because the loss of liberty was the punishment (Pratt, 2008). Furthermore, the social solidarity in Scandinavia meant that offenders were not seen as a dangerous class, merely as another group of welfare recipients (Pratt, 2008). The Scandinavian public seem to be an exception to the increasingly punitive attitudes and policy towards offenders that exists in many countries around the world. Although the support for the rehabilitation of offenders is on the decline, while the use of sentencing and the length of sentences is increasing they are still more inclined than their European counterparts to believe that prevention programmes can reduce crime (Demker, Towns, Duus-Otterstrà ¶m Sebring, 2008. In addition, less than half of the Swedish public still believe that tougher jail sentences can reduce crime (Demker et al., 2008). The Netherlands and Scandinavia demonstrate that prison populations can be reduced and sustained at low levels. Some general themes have emerged: the criminal justice policies are expert and research driven; the criminal justice system is not influenced by public opinion or political motives; a strong welfare state. Perhaps the most important conditions for a successful reductionist approach are a questioning of the prison system and the purposes it serves and an understanding that the prison population is less to do with the amount of crime that occurs than the response to crime by the criminal justice system (Rutherford, 1984). According to Rutherford (1984) the reductionist policy can be applied more universally. Before looking at the ways Rutherford (1984) has proposed to reduce the prison population it is important to acknowledge that the items on the agenda need political support. Politicians need to acknowledge that there are alternatives to prison available, as demonstrated in Scandinavia and the Netherlands. Instead of forecasting an increase in the number of people in prison, new low targets should be set. In addition, there must be a desire to push forward with the reductionist agenda even during hard times (Rutherford, 1984). Rutherford (1984) acknowledges that the ideological concerns of officials within the criminal justice system significantly influence the policies and procedures that are made. In many countries, there is a political consensus that an approach to crime and criminality should be tough. For example, in England and Wales, the prison system has expanded under both the Labour and Conservative governments. Both Labour and Conservative governments seems to ascribe to the Great Expectations  [1]  ideology as illustrated by their investment in the prison system. To gain political support for the reductionist agenda, people must be made not to like the great expectations approach so that it loses its vote-winning potential. Before any items on the reductionist agenda can be introduced there is a lot of work that will need to be done. Rutherford (1984) proposes nine ways to reduce the prison population according to the reductionist approach (Rutherford, 1984). They are as follows: The physical capacity of the prison system should be substantially reduced. There should be a precise statement of minimum standards as to the physical conditions of imprisonment and these should be legally enforceable. The optimal prison system staff-to-prisoner ratio should be determined and implemented. The prison system should have at its disposal early release mechanisms and use these to avoid overcrowding. Certain categories of persons sentenced to imprisonment should, if the space be not immediately available, wait until called-up by the prison system. Sentencing discretion should be structured towards use of the least restrictive sanction. Breach or default of non-custodial sanctions should only exceptionally be dealt with by imprisonment. The range of non-imprisonable offences should be widened to include certain categories of theft. The scope of the criminal law should be considerably narrowed (Rutherford, 1984: p. 175-176) To control overcrowding, Rutherford (1984) encourages the use of early release mechanisms. Parole as a form of early release can play a major part in determining sentence length and the size of the prison population. Parole is already being used in places like Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, and New Zealand (Ministry of Justice, 2010). Generally speaking, parole is the release of an offender on the grounds that they adhere to conditions decided upon prior to their release and that these conditions are in effect until the full term of their sentence is up. Narrowing the scope of the criminal law and widening the range of non-imprisonable offences is important because the majority of people in prison are not serious offenders, they are people who have committed minor crimes or created a social nuisance (Rutherford, 1984). Rutherford (1984) argues that as long as prison is used instead of providing welfare to these people, governments will not try to find more effective ways of dealing with this behaviour. At one point in time, social nuisances such as sleeping on the streets and begging were imprisonable offences. According to Rutherford (1984) certain categories of theft should also be made non-imprisonable. He proposes that: On economic and philosophic grounds, property offences where the amount involved is less than, say  £100, should be non-imprisonable. (Rutherford, 1988: 182). Perhaps the value of the property stolen is not the best way to decide whether an offence is serious or not especially when it is as random and subjective as Rutherford (1984) has suggested. It would make more sense to make all minor thefts non-imprisonable and would also be likely to have a more significant effect on the size of the prison population. An alternative suggestion is decriminalisation. Decriminalisation has the potential to reduce the prison population substantially if it is applied to drug use. In 2000, a report blamed the US drug contol policies for the soaring incarceration rate (Schiraldi, Holman Beatty, 2000). In that same year, nearly a quarter of people imprisoned were imprisoned for a non-violent drug-related offence (Schiraldi, Holman Beatty, 2000). These findings suggest that the decriminalisation of drugs and perhaps other minor non-violent offences could significantly reduce the number of people that enter the criminal justice system. Rutherford (1984) advocates the structuring of sentence discretion towards the use of the least restrictive sanction. To achieve this, Rutherford suggests a commission be set up to determine sentencing guidelines. A sentencing commission would have the difficult task of determining the seriousness of offences. The judiciary are generally given a lot of discretion when it comes to deciding sentences. For sentencing policy to have an impact on the prison population it requires the co-operation of the judiciary. Despite the introduction of non-custodial sentences prison populations have continued to rise. This raises doubts about whether non-custodial sentences are being used in the ways that they were intended. In some cases non-custodial sentences are used in addition to imprisonment or in instances where a custodial sentence would not have been handed down in the first place (Rutherford, 1984). Another concern is that strict conditions often accompany alternative sanctions. If the strict conditions are breached then the person can end up in prison anyway. An example of this is the suspended prison sentence which was introduced into English law in 1967 (Bottoms, 1981). The suspended prison sentence was supposed to be used instead of a prison sentence but it was largely used in cases where a fine or probation would have been previously handed out (Bottoms, 1981). Only about half of the people who received the suspended prison sentence would have actually been sentenced to prison if it were not for the suspended sentence (Bottoms, 1981). In addition, judges began to hand out longer sentences to people that received the suspended sentence than they would have if the same person was actually sentenced to prison (Bottoms, 1981). These figures provided a strong argument for the removal of the use of the suspended sentence in England. However, the suspended sentence was implemented in Japan and the Netherlands more successfully. An important difference is that in Japan and the Netherlands, a breach of the suspended sentence does not result in imprisonment (Rutherford, 1984). Rutherford (1984) suggests that this difference might explain why the suspended sentence has contributed to the prison population in England but not in the Netherlands or Japan. The inherent danger of alternative sanctions is that they will supplement rather than replace sentences of imprisonment. Rutherford (1984) recommends establishing a clear understanding of when the non-custodial sentence should be used and what will happen if further offending occurs while the non-custodial sentence is in place. Failure to pay attention to these important issues can have the unintended consequence, as seen in England, of widening the scope of the criminal justice system. Often, strategies to reduce the prison population focus on decisions at the rear of the criminal justice process that deal with the prosecution stage. It is important to note that the decision of who enters the criminal justice system is largely outside the control of the government (Rutherford, 1984). The police are involved in crime prevention, recording of crime, and investigating crime. They are the gatekeepers of the criminal justice system and are afforded a great deal of discretionary power in deciding who enters the criminal justice system and who does not. In England, the police decide who to stop and search, who is guilty, and who to prosecute (Poyser, 2004). The decisions that they make have a huge impact on prison practice and policy. Perhaps the best way to restrict the reach of the criminal justice system is to significantly reduce the physical capacity of the prison system. There are three main ways to reduce the prison capacity; cease new prison building, phased closing of existing prisons, and refurbish existing prisons. In the Netherlands, prior to 1975, there was a large reduction in the prison population from 6,500 inmates to less than 2,500 inmates. The decrease in prison population size was associated with the closure of sixteen of the countrys prisons. If prison capacity is reduced and no new prisons are built, provided countries do not tolerate overcrowding, prison will be a scarce resource that should be reserved for the most serious crime. A logical extension of the reductionist argument is that prisons should be abolished altogether. Although it may seem a radical idea, a glance at the history of the death penalty tells us that abolition is indeed possible (footnote). This idea has received considerable attention within the field of criminology especially by criminologist Thomas Mathiesen. Over the years, arguments in defence of prisons have focused on claims about the purposes of punishment and prison. According to these arguments the purposes of punishment are: rehabilitation, general prevention, collective and selective incapacitation, and justice (Mathiesen, 2000). Mathiesen addresses each one in turn in his book Prison on Trial (2000). First, Mathiesen (2000) examines recent research on rehabilitation in prisons. The CDATE project is a review of a large number of studies on the rehabilitation of offenders in prison and the effects of interventions on drug use and recidivism (Mathiesen, 2000). The project found that correctional interventions were not effective in reducing recidivism (Mathiesen, 2000). Interestingly, community based sentences such as parole and probation did not do much better at reducing recidivism. Some of the programmes included in the study actually produced more problems. It is worth noting that a number of studies on interventions with an emphasis on developing social skills found positive results (Mathiesen, 2000). However, these studies are few and far between. Rutherford (1984) and Matheisen (2000) both express concern over the use of correctional interventions in the prison context. The kind of ideology that supports the use of prison to rehabilitate offenders ignores the history of resear ch on the topic. Rutherford (1999) is also concerned that rehabilitation is based on the idea that prison works and that offenders can be diagnosed and then treated. Then, Mathiesen (2000) addresses the idea that prison serves the function of general prevention. The effectiveness of prisons in producing enough fear in people to convince them not to commit crimes has been hotly debated in criminology. Mathiesen refers to Richard Wrights (1994) review of studies on deterrence. Wright (1994) concludes that the greater a persons perceived and actual chances of getting caught are, the less likely they are to commit crime (Wright, 1994). This is also true for later crime. Changes in policy that increase the perceived chances of being caught will reduce crime in the short-term but will not have a lasting effect (Wright, 1994). Furthermore, the expected and actual severity of crime has no effect on offending (Wright, 1994). Taken together, these findings provide no evidence of a preventative effect of the severity of punishment. Next, Mathiesen (2000) looks at incarceration. There are two ways that prison can be used as incapacitation; collective incapacitation and selective incapacitation. Collective incapacitation refers to the use of prison to incapacitate offenders based on the seriousness of the crime and to a lesser extent, their prior convictions (Wright, 1994). Selective incapacitation refers to the use of prison to incapacitate certain offenders who continually offend and pose a risk to law-abiding citizens (Wright, 1994). Wright (1994) argues that a small group of chronic offenders are responsible for the majority of crime committed. Although, prisons do not deter the offenders from committing crime, it can atleast incapacitate them and protect society from the crime of the chronics (Wright, 1994: 112). On the other hand, Mathiesen (2000) contends that research provides no support for incapacitation in defence of prisons. Incapacitation does not have a significant effect on the rate of crime nor do es it increase the safety of citizens (Mathiesen, 2000). In a review of the related literature, prison and more specifically incapacitation only had marginal effects on crime (Mathieson, 2000). It is also important to note that even though new generation of criminals will only replace those that are incarcerated and incapacitated. To lock the new chronic offenders away would only serve to swell the prisons more. The idea of selective incapacitation is even more controversial. Selective incapacitation raises methodological, legal, and moral concerns about the accuracy of predictive measures used to estimate the probability of future behaviours. The problem of false positives (people predicted to continually reoffend that do not) is central to these arguments. The number of false positives, from prediction instruments, is still very high (Mathiesen, 2000). If the various instruments were put into practice despite their inaccuracy, they would influence the decision making process in co urt. The chance that a person will re-offend is only one feature that the courts take into account when making their decisions. Courts also need to consider mitigating circumstances, fairness, and history amongst other things. Finally, proponents of the prison system endorse retribution as an ethical and fair goal for prisons. These beliefs date back to the influential writings of Cesare Beccaria (1964) in On crimes and Punishments. Beccaria disagreed with the barbaric and extreme punishments that were so commonly used in 18th century Europe. Retributivists believe that punishment should be proportionate to the crime. In this case, offenders are punished not for rehabilitation, or to prevent them commiting more crimes, but to give them their just desserts. The just desserts model requires that crimes are ranked according to severity, punishments are ranked according to severity, and then the crimes and punishments are matched (Wright, 1994). Ranking punishment