EMPLOYEE RIGHTS, MANAGED CARE AND PATIENT SAFETY Essay - 1

EMPLOYEE RIGHTS, MANAGED CARE AND PATIENT SAFETY - Essay Example Such requests to abstain from certain patient treatment strategies are generally reviewed by an ethics committee. A similar right has been afforded to employees in cases involving abortion of fetuses if they consider it to be unethical. A similar right of refusal is also under consideration for pharmacists who can refuse to dispense medications meant for abortions if they deem it to be unethical and against their moral conscience. A caregiver or a nurse also has the right to question the concerned physician regarding the care given to a patient. If the explanation provided by the physician is unsatisfactory the caregiver has the right to take up the matter with a higher authority for further clarification (Pozgar, 2012). The Civil Rights Act of 1964 provides protection against employee discrimination on the basis of sex, age, nationality, race and religion. It also affords protection for workers against sexual harassment within a healthcare facility. The most vulnerable population wh o are more prone to face sexual harassment in an healthcare setting are nurses who are in many cases exploited by colleagues, physicians or patients for sexual favors in return for employment or which interferes with the working environment of the employee (Pozgar, 2012; Legal, Ethical and Safety Issues, n.d). The EEOC (Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) has issued guidelines against sexual harassment and also prohibits the creation of a hostile environment by improper sexual conduct. Nurses also have the right to offer appropriate guidance to the patient’s family even if it involves suggestions to change the physician especially in cases of patient negligence (Pozgar, 2012).Every individual working in the healthcare industry is entitled to be treated with dignity and respect by their employers. They must pay heed to the employee’s complaints, problems and concerns

Larson in Nigeria Essay Example for Free

Larson in Nigeria Essay The legislation and the regulations by Nigerian officias has become one of the major problems of Larson. The value of the company by the Securities and Exchange Committee has been extremely low and the sales collection and payment to suppler are delayed in Nigeria. All these factors affect the liquidity and cash flow and raise the total cost of the company. Maintaining the operation was also complicated by problems in staffing. Expatiate staff is very costly. Additionally, entry visas for those expatriate are very complicated. The recruitment of qualified skilled experts is difficult and they are not staying long in the country. Because Larson had a promise to increase the share of local ownership, the local partners participation seems very important. If the local equity participation keeps very low like current situation, the profit of both companies will become little or even lost capital. Recommendation The vice-president of international operations should decide to continue the companys joint venture in Nigeria. However, the company needs to address the problems of coping with local indigenization and hire a new joint venture general manager. Discussions Although the expatriate general manager of the Nigerian operation has delivered a very negative report, the operation should still continue. There are great amount of demands for products in Nigeria and competitions seem not very high. Since different country have different business cultural, to successfully operate the company in Nigeria, we have to cope with their way of doing business. After the share of local ownership increase, they cultural of the business might change to the local way. And the company will have more access to negotiate with the government. As a result, after increase the local equity percentage, in order to maintain the business in Nigeria, Larsons first step is to deal with the Nigerian business cultural. This will help the company solve the problems of cooperate their joint venture partner with divergent views. In order to increase the cooperation, senior management might have to give early retirement to Ridley and hire a new joint venture general manager who has more adaptability. The new manager will help Larson to negotiate and keep good relation with the local equity side. Moreover, the new manager should have an excellent human recourses skill and understand the labour market. This will help the company with the staffing problem which they can hire or train the local experts.

Essay --

Honor is very prominent throughout Shakespeare, but not everyone is trustworthy and honorable. There are some that keep their word and there are others that can’t be trusted at all. Prince Harry is a prime example of a honorable young prince because he has to make difficult personal choices that an aspiring king needs to make in order to rule a nation. Then there is Falstaff and King Henry IV who weren’t as honorable. They are all on different notions of honor with Prince Harry being at the top of the three. Falstaff has no chance at being the most honorable because he is lazy, selfish, dishonest, and manipulative. These characteristics are not in any way shape or form honorable and he wouldn’t be trustworthy enough to be noble and honorable. Falstaff thinks that he is honorable but he is nowhere near honorable. Then King Henry IV lacks the moral legitimacy that he needs to truly be a leader and honorable. He is very capable of arranging things and he is very energetic so that makes him able to obtain the throne and be qualified as â€Å"honorable.† Prince Harry is an honorable man but he has to win back his honor from King Henry IV. Harry shows his honor through his â€Å"noble behavior† by sneakly giving up his own honor to fool the people of the town to achieve their trust and Campbell 2 friendship, so when he does take the throne the people will like him better. He is a very complicated character in this play and he wastes a lot of his time with Falstaff earning the pleasure of both his father and England. He comes out of no where and surprises England by declaring that his dissolute lifestyle is all an act, and that he is just trying to lower the people around him expectations so that he can unfold his true heroic knowledge and t... ...the whole play. The characters all have their own different values and goals and this is why Falstaff can be lazy and dishonest, but he can still be considered honorable in his own way. This also goes along with King Henry IV and also his son Prince Harry. King Henry arranges a murder for Richard II just so that he can seize the throne for himself, yet he still is considered honorable and people view him as a great leader and look up to him. Then there is Prince Harry, he has to earn back his honor from the King and through out the whole play he shows how he is transforming himself form a low-life bum, that he pretends to be to become a honorable and noble leader. Each character shows their honor in different ways in the paly. Shakespeare does this purposely to get the reader to further engage with the characters in his story and understand them all a little better.

The Theme of Death in Emily Dickinson’s Poems

Emily Dickinson is one of the famous and fabulous female poets in the world. Her poems, for all their innovative brilliance, are nonetheless outpourings of her private feelings. And just like her great masterpieces, her enigmatic character will never fall into oblivion. Emily Dickinson’s poetry has been the focus of researchers, such as nature ,love and death. But one fourth of her poetry is about the theme of death. Obviously, death is her most beloving theme of her poems. Death is always the endearing topic of many artists and philosophers. While in Emily's eyes, death is different from others. In her eyes, death is not dead, death is beautiful , fantastic and mystical which most of us couldn't understand and imagine. So we want to probe into the inner world of Emily Dickinson. We want to figure out the reason why Emily could imagine death in that unique and unprecedented way. We also want to get some new understanding about life and death through her works for we really need to keep a positive, lucid and quiet mind in secular society. Death is the eternal theme during our whole life. If life is a river, it's always a river of death. Death is inevitable for all of us from the moment we come to this world. Death is following us like a shadow. , invisible but existing. Death is so important that only we get full knowledge of death can we live a better and meaningful life.

Water Source & Sustainability

There is more than 1. 4 billion cubic kilometres of water on the earth. If divided evenly enough to give every man, woman & child 230 million cubic meters. However 98% of that is saltwater and nearly 1% of it is locked as polar icecaps. Less than 1 percent of the Earth's freshwater is accessible in lakes, rivers, and groundwater aquifers. This vital 1 percent of available freshwater is con- stantly in motion, either flowing in rivers, evaporating and moving around the globe as water vapour, falling from the sky as rain or snow, or filtering slowly through the earth to emerge somewhere else. It is a renewable resource on which we all completely depend upon. It is the genesis and continuing source of all life on earth. The most accessible water is that which flows in river channels or is stored in freshwater lakes and reservoirs. The major portion of the water diverted for human needs is taken from this renewable, readily accessible part of the world's freshwater resources. Although the total volume of water conveyed annually by the world's rivers is about 43,000 km3, most of this occurs as floods. The low river flows (base flows) make up only about 19,000 km3. Of this, about 12,500 km3 can be accessed, and present levels of withdrawal accounts for 4000km3. This withdrawal is expected to reach 5000 Km3 per year by the 2025. The demand for freshwater increased six-fold between 1900 and 1995 nearly twice the rate of population growth. One third of the world's population today already live in countries experiencing medium to high water stress. Water Stress Water stress for a river basin is defined as the water resources available in that basin. The water stress for a country is the summation of water stress for all its river basins. Water stress begins when the withdrawals of water of freshwater rises above 10 percent of renewable resources. Medium to high stress translates as water use that exceeds 20 percent of available water supply. Countries experience high water stress when the ratio of water use to supply exceeds 40 percent. At such levels, their patterns of use may not be sustainable, and water scarcity is likely to become the limiting factor to economic growth. High water stress and unsustainable rates of withdrawal are already being experienced in Central and South Asia, where annual water ithdrawals compared with available water resources are 50 percent or more. In the dry season, water scarcity occurs throughout Asia and the Pacific, and increased rainfall variability as a result of global climate change will worsen this problem. Water scarcity will affect food security throughout Asia and the Pacific. The global population will expand from today's 6 billion people to almost 8 billion in 2025. By then, more than 80 percent of the world's population will be living in developing countries. The World Meteorological Organization estimates, assuming the renewable water resources will remain unchanged, that the number of countries facing water stress will increase from 29 today to 34 in 2025. How these countries manage their water resources, and whether they can produce sufficient food for their growing populations while catering to their water needs and preserving natural environments, have important implications. Nearly 70 percent of global freshwater withdrawals are directed toward agriculture, mainly for irrigation. By some estimates (UN 1997), annual irrigation water use will have to increase about 30 percent above present use for annual crop production to double and meet global food requirements by 2025. The industry sector, which accounts for about 22 percent of current freshwater withdrawals globally, is likely to require an increasing share in all regions of the world. In developing countries, where 56 percent of the population will be living in urban areas by 2025, the share of water going toward domestic uses will also need to grow substantially. Asia and Water Asia has the lowest per capita availability of freshwater resources among the world's continents. The contrasts within the region are stark. Annual freshwater resources (in m3 per capita) reach as high as 200,000 in Papua New Guinea and as low as 2,000 in parts of South Asia and the PRC, and are generally below 20,000 in Southeast Asia. The region's weather is largely governed by a monsoon climate, which creates large seasonal variations in addition to spatial variation. The two most populous nations in the world, the PRC and India, will have 1. 5 billion and 1. billion people, respectively, by 2025, by which time the availability of freshwater will have dropped to 1,500 m3 per capita in India and 1,800 m3 in the PRC. Many of countries depend heavily on groundwater exploitation to supplement scarce surface water resources. In Bangladesh, groundwater abstraction already represents 35 percent of total annual water withdrawals; in India, 32 percent; in Pakistan, 30 percent; and in PRC, 11 percent. Groundwater overuse and aquifer depletion are becoming serious problems in the intensively farmed areas of northern PRC, India, and Pakistan. In heavily populated cities land is subsiding as groundwater is withdrawn to serve the needs of their growing urban populations, and saltwater intrusion is rendering much of the groundwater unusable. War for Water International conflicts over water are becoming more frequent as competition for available freshwater resources increases. There are 215 international rivers as well as about 300 groundwater basins and aquifers that are shared by several countries. The 1996 treaty signed by Bangladesh and India for managing flows in the Ganges-Brahmaputra system represents a major breakthrough for rational approaches to shared water resources. However, more than 70 water-related flash points have been identified, mainly in Africa, Middle East, and Latin America. Eight countries in Asia (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam) rely on international rivers to supply more than 30 percent of their annual water resources. Four of these (Bangladesh, Cambodia, Uzbekistan, and Viet Nam) rely on water from external sources for more than 65 percent of their annual water resources. Making better use of Asia's shared rivers is an unfinished agenda with potentially large benefits to millions of poor people in the region. However, formulating agreements between sub-regions to enable equitable sharing of resources and better control of trans-boundary pollution has proven to be highly controversial and, in some cases, strongly divisive The reliability of water supplies in the face of such dependence is a key issue when seasonal variations, particularly droughts etc enter the equation. Unsustainable rates of groundwater extraction can only make matters worse. The impact of global climate change, which cannot be determined at this time, will be to increase the overall uncertainty within which water planners operate. Floods and droughts Floods and droughts have always been features of life on earth and have produced some of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. Due to inappropriate land use and land management practices, uncoordinated and rapid growth of urban areas, and loss of natural flood storage wetlands, floods are becoming more frequent. Flooding is the hazard that affects more people than any other associated damage to property and is escalating. Destruction of forest cover has altered the hydrologic cycle and reduced water retention in forest soils. Accompanying soil erosion has permanently stripped fertile topsoil from vast areas, leading to further degradation of river basins and threatening the basis for sustainable natural resource management. Global climate change will have unpredictable but potentially devastating consequences for the hydrologic cycle by changing the total amount of precipitation, its annual and seasonal distribution, the onset of snowmelt, the frequency and severity of floods and droughts, and the reliability of existing water supply reservoirs. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the frequency of droughts could rise by 50 percent in certain parts of the world by 2050. Water Pollution Emerging Asia, published by ADB in 1997, identified water pollution as the most serious environmental problem facing the region. Water pollution exacerbates the problem of water scarcity at local and regional levels by reducing the amount of water available for productive purposes. Water pollution comes from many sources, including untreated sewage, chemical discharges, spillage of toxic materials, harmful products leached from land disposal sites, agricultural chemicals, salt from irrigation schemes, and atmospheric pollutants dissolved in rainwater. The direct disposal of domestic and industrial wastewater into watercourses is the major source of pollutants in developing countries. In Asia and the Pacific, faecal pollution is one of the most serious problems, affecting both surface water and groundwater bodies and leading to a tenacious persistence of such waterborne diseases as cholera, typhoid, and hepatitis. Estimates of the increase in water pollution loads in high growth areas of Asia over the next decades are as high as 16 times for suspended solids, 17 times for total dissolved solids, and 18 times for biological pollution loading. The combined volume of water used and water needed to dilute and flush pollutants is almost equal to the volume of accessible freshwater in the world's river systems. The development of freshwater resources for human uses has compromised natural ecosystems that depend on these resources for their continued integrity. Freshwater ecosystems, comprising lakes, rivers, and wetlands, have already lost a greater proportion of species and habitat than land or ocean ecosystems. Unrestricted development of surface water and groundwater has altered the hydrologic cycle and threatens the natural functions of deltas and wetlands. Wetlands have been converted to cropland, and rivers that channelled water to estuaries and deltas have dried up. Diminished productive potential, loss of vegetation, increased health risks, and irreversible desecration of aquatic biota are the sad legacy. Water Management Traditionally seen as limitless bounty, water has only recently been recognized as a scarce resource, and only since the 1950s have policymakers begun to espouse the economic and environmental values of water. A consensus is growing among scientists, water planners, governments, and civil society that new policies and approaches will have to be adopted within the next two decades to avoid calamity, and that supply, use, and management of water resources will have to be integrated across sectors and between regions sharing the same source. New projects for dams, water storage, irrigation, drainage, flood protection, and water supply will continue to be needed in many countries where the basic water requirements for people have not yet been met. Lack of effective water policies and institutional arrangements is a pressing issue. Sustainability criteria will predominate in decision making and particular emphasis will be given to environmental and social values.

Discussion and Debate Tourism Lesson for ESL

Discussion and Debate Tourism Lesson for ESL Many thanks to Kevin Roche, a colleague of mine, who has kindly allowed me to include his conversation lesson on the site. Tourism is becoming more and more important - especially for those learning English. Here is a two-part lesson which focuses on the question of developing tourism as an industry in your local town. Students need to develop concepts, discuss local economic problems and solutions to those problems, think about possible negative impacts and finally make a presentation. These two lessons provide a great long-term project for upper-level students while offering an opportunity to use English in a number of authentic settings. Let's Do Tourism - Part 1 Aim Discussion, explaining, reasoning, agreeing and disagreeing Activity Tourism - Do we need it? Discussion of pros and cons of developing local tourism Level Upper intermediate to advanced Outline Split students into two groups - one group representatives of Lets Do Tourism, a tourism development company. The other group representatives of the residents of your city and are in opposition to the plans of Lets Do tourism.Give each student a copy of one of the discussion notes.Ask students if they have any questions on the explanatory notes.Give students fifteen minutes to prepare for the discussion in their groups. Students should discuss the points mentioned and any other points they may come up within their groups.Circulate around the classroom helping students and taking notes on common language problems.Have students get back together and try to convince you (or another chosen group of students) of their reasoning.Begin the activity follow-up by going over some of the more common mistakes made by students.Finish the activity as a class by asking each student to choose one reason either for or against the project. Each student should then discuss one of the points in front o f the rest of the class. Ask other students to comment on the arguments presented. Your Town, The Next Tourist Paradise? A company called lets Do Tourism is panning to invest a large amount of money to turn your town into a major center for tourists. They have made plans to manufacture a number of hotels and other tourist infrastructure in your town. As well as the hotels, they have also made plans to radically improve the nightlife in your town by opening a string of clubs and bars. They hope that by the year 2004 your town will be a major competitor within the tourist industry in your country.   Group 1 You are representatives of Lets Do Tourism your aim is to promote the plans of your company and to convince me that tourism is the best solutions for your city. Points to concentrate on: The increase in jobs that will come with the increase in investment.The money that the tourists will bring into the local economyThe progress and development of your city which will result in it becoming more important with not only your region but also your country as well.Better for the young people of your city as there will be much more investment in leisure industries. Group 2 You are the representatives of the residents of your city and are in opposition to the plans of Lets Do tourism. Your aim is to convince me that this is a bad idea for your town. Points to consider: Environmental issues - tourists pollutionTroublemakers - many tourists have no respect for the places they visit and are only interested in getting drunk and causing trouble.The rise in tourism will bring about radical changes and will result in the traditional way of life in your town being lost. Perhaps forever.Rather than promoting the position of your city in your country, this move will make your city the laughing stock of your country.

Whats a Good PSAT Score for 2015

What's a Good PSAT Score for 2015 SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips With all the scoring changes on the redesigned College Board exams, what counts as a "good score" on the PSAT these days? There are a few factorsyou can use to define what's good: score percentiles, National Merit criteria, andyour own personal goals for the PSAT and the SAT. First, it's critical to understand how the PSAT is scored. This guide will review the scoring scale of the PSAT, along with National Merit Scholarship Corporation's Selection Index, so you know what counts as a goodPSAT score. To start off, let’s go over a few key PSAT terms that will help you understand the rest of this guide. PSAT Scoring Terms: A Glossary Before examiningthe scoring scale of the PSAT, let’s review a few important terms: scaled scores, section (or test) scores, raw scores, subscores, and National Merit Selection Index. By understanding the difference between these terms and how they relate to one another, you’ll have a clearer understanding of the rest of this articleas wefigure out what makes for a â€Å"good† score on the PSAT. Scaled scores: your overall PSAT scores, which fall between 320 and 1520. Math accounts for half of this score (160-760), and the Reading section and Writing and Language section account for the other half together (160-760). Section (or test) scores: your scores by section, which fall between 8 and 38. You’ll get three section scores, one for Math, one for Reading, and one for Writing and Language. Raw scores: the number of correct answers by section. Your maximum potential raw scores varyby section. Subscores:seven scores between 1 and 15 that tell you how you did on certain types of questions. The questions fall into these seven categories:Command of Evidence, Words in Context, Expression of Ideas, Standard English Conventions, Heart of Algebra, Problem Solving and Data Analysis, and Passport to Advanced Math. National Merit Selection Index: the scale used by the National Merit Scholarship Corporation to determine eligibility for Commended Scholar and Semifinalist. The Selection Index for the PSAT will fall between 48and 228. As you can see,you’ll get a lot of different scoreson your PSAT score report. Now that you have a preliminary sense of these terms, let’s look in more detail at how the PSAT scoring system works. How Is the PSAT Scored? As you read above, the PSAT has aminimum possible score of 320 and a maximum of 1520. Both the low and high end of this range are shifted about 80 points lower than the scoring scale of the SAT, to account for the fact that the PSAT is a somewhat easier test. Math isscored from 160 to 760, and Reading and Writing (technically called Writing and Language) isscored together from 160 to 760. Math makes up half the total score while the Reading and Writing sections will make up the other half together. You can think of the PSAT as half math and half verbal. While your final score will lump Reading and Writing together, you'll get a chance to see your performance on each the three separatesections. In addition to your overall scaled scores, you’ll get three section scores - one for Math, one for Reading, and one for Writing, that fall between 8 and 38. These numbers may feel a little random, but it’s actually pretty easy to convert from your section score to your scaled score. To get your math scaled score, just multiply your section score by 20. To get your Reading and Writing scaled score, add your section scores together and then multiply by 10. This chart gives you one hypothetical example of a student who got section scores of 28, 32, and 34 on Reading, Writing and Language, and Math, respectively: Test Test Score Section Score Total Score Reading 28 (28 + 32) * 10 = 600 600 + 680 = 1280 Writing and Language 32 Math 34 34 * 20 = 680 At the risk of making things more confusing, I'll quickly add that your score report shouldalso tell you your â€Å"raw score,† which is simply one point for each correct answer. Since there are 47 questions on Reading, you could get a max raw score of 47. On Math there are 48 questions, so you could get a max raw score of 48. Finally, on Writing, there are 44 questions, so you could get a max raw score of - you guessed it - 44. Again, your raw score simply reflects the number of questions you answered correctly. Then that raw score is converted to a section score and, finally, your scaled scores. Now that you have a sense of the PSAT’s scoring system, let’s consider our original question: what isa good PSAT score? What Makes for a Good PSAT Score? There are a few ways we can define â€Å"good.† First, we can look at the scores that rank in a high percentile compared to the scores of other test-takers. Second, we can look at what scores qualify for National Merit distinction and scholarships. And third, we can look at what your PSAT scores predict for your performance on the SAT. Let's start by reviewing how percentiles work and how you can predictthe strength of your PSAT scores. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: What Are PSAT Percentiles? Once you get your scores back, you'll see the different values described above - your raw scores, your section scores, and your scaled scores. Additionally, your score report will tell you your percentiles. Your score report will tell you two percentiles: the Nationally Representative Sample percentile and the User Percentile. Your Nationally Representative Sample percentile may look higher, since it confusingly includes projections for all students in a grade, even those who typically don'tthe PSAT. It seems that your User percentile will be the most reliable piece of data, since it only includes students whoare actually very likely to takethe PSAT. Therefore, the chart below gives you User percentiles, or for how your PSAT scores compare to other students in your grade who took the test. So how do percentiles work? They simply tell you the percentage of students compared to which you scored higher or the same. If your scaled scores land in the 80th percentile, for example, then you scored the same as or higher than 80% of other test-takers. The other 20% scored higher than you. Students' performance varieson Math, Reading, and Writing, so a score of 600 on Math, for example, may translate to a different percentile than the same score on Reading and Writing. Readon to see how scores from the new PSAT are expected to convert to User Percentiles. What PSAT Scores Will Rank in a High Percentile? This chart has the full list converting PSAT/NMSQT scaled scores to percentiles.This information is sourced fromCollege Board's dataon the PSAT administered in October 2015. As you read through the chart, notice thatyou don't have to have a perfect scaled score to make it into the top 99%. This is important if you're aiming for National Merit - you don't have to get a perfect score to make it into the top 1%. Score Reading and Writing Math 760 99+ 99+ 750 99+ 99+ 740 99+ 99 730 99+ 98 720 99 98 710 99 97 700 99 97 690 98 96 680 98 96 670 97 95 660 96 94 650 95 93 640 94 93 630 92 92 620 91 90 610 89 89 600 86 88 590 84 86 580 82 83 570 79 80 560 77 78 550 74 74 540 71 70 530 67 66 520 63 61 510 59 59 500 54 55 490 50 50 480 47 45 470 43 39 460 39 36 450 35 33 440 32 27 430 28 23 420 25 19 410 23 16 400 21 14 390 18 11 380 15 8 370 11 6 360 9 5 350 7 4 340 5 3 330 4 1 320 2 1 310 1 1 300 1 1 290 1- 1 280 1- 1 270 1- 1 260 1- 1 250 1- 1 240 1- 1 230 1- 1- 220 1- 1- 210 1- 1- 200 1- 1- 190 1- 1- 180 1- 1- 170 1- 1- 160 1- 1- This conversion might vary a bit each year, and College Board's data on the new PSAT is still preliminary and subject to change. In previous years, the Math section was slightly more competitive than Reading and Writing. Similarly, math getsnoticeably more competitive as you look at the lowest scores, and you would need 30 to 40 points higher in Math than in Reading and Writing to score in the 99th percentile. For the most part, though, both sections look like the same scores convert to more or less the same percentiles.At a few levels, Reading and Writing looks to be even more competitive than Math.Let's take a closer look at these percentiles totry to answer our original question of what makes a good score on the PSAT. The higher percentage, the better. What's a Good PSAT Score Based on Percentiles? Based on the chart above, an average PSAT score, or one that's right in the middle in the 50th percentile, is about 490 for both Reading and Writing and for Math. We can define good as being not just above average, but also as stronger than a significantmajority of other test-takers. Given that definition, these are approximately the scaled scores you need in each section to score in the 70th, 80th, 90th, and 99th percentiles. Percentile Reading and Writing Score Math Score Composite Score 70% 540 540 1080 80% 580 570 1150 90% 620 620 1240 99% 700 740 1440 As you can see, both sections convert to roughly the same percentiles except when you approach the 99th percentile. Then you'd need to score about 40 points higher in Mathto make it into the top 1%. Apart from scoring higher than other students, you might define a good score as one that qualifies for National Merit. Let's take a look at what you need to qualify. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: The original National Merit Scholar. What's a Good PSAT Score for National Merit? The percentiles in the chart above compare students all across the U.S who typically take the PSAT. To determine whether you qualify for National Merit, though, you actually have to look at how your scores compare to those of other students in your state. The National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) compares scores on a state to state basis. It names the top 3 to 4% of students Commended Scholar. To be named a National Merit Semifinalist, you have to score at the very top. National Merit Semifinalist distinction is given to the top 1%. The important thing to remember about National Merit is that it uses its own Selection Index. Since the PSAT changed its scoring system this year, this new Selection Index differs from that used in previous years. Before scrolling down to the chart below, read this next section to make sure you understand thePSAT Selection Index of today. Important: NMSC'sNew Selection Index National Merit has always used its own Selection Index, or scoring scale, to determine Commended Scholars and Semifinalists. In past years, this Selection Index looked a lot like PSAT scaled scores, so you may not have noticed. This year, though, it looks quite a bit different, even though it’s calculated in a similar way. As you read above, the PSATlumps together the Reading and Writing sections in one final scaled score. National Merit, however, still wants to consider these two sections, Reading and Writing, separately. Therefore, NMSClooks at your section scores rather than at your scaled score. It takes your Math section score, Reading section score, and Writing section score - all of which fall between 8 and 38 - adds them together, and then multiplies by 2. The NMSC Selection Index hasa scale between 48 and228. Confused yet? Let's look at an example. The Breakdown: NMSC’s New Selection Index Where does NMSC get this scale of 48 to 228? Let’s say you got minimum scores of 8 on each of the three PSAT sections. You could figure out your Selection Index by adding 8 + 8 + 8 (= 24) and then multiplying by 2 (= 48). That’s the lowest end of the Selection Index scale. What about the max Selection Index score of 228? You could get that with top section scores of 38 in all three sections. 38 + 38 + 38 = 114. Multiply that by 2, and you get 228. Now you can see that the Selection Index isn’t as random as it might have looked at first glance - it just relies on your PSAT section scores between 8 and 38, rather than your PSAT scaled scores between 160 and 760.You can also see why we took the time to go over all these terms at the beginning of the article! Based on reported data from individuals around the country, we've put together a list of every Selection Index cutoff across the United States for the PSAT in 2015. If you see any error with your state, let us know in the comments! Here are the qualifying scores from the old PSAT (2014 and earlier) and the new PSAT (2015 and later). State OldPSAT Cutoff New PSAT Cutoff Alabama 207 215 Alaska 210 213 Arizona 213 219 Arkansas 206 213 California 222 221 Colorado 213 218 Connecticut 220 220 Delaware 215 218 District of Columbia 224 222 Florida 211 217 Georgia 215 219 Hawaii 214 217 Idaho 211 214 Illinois 215 219 Indiana 212 217 Iowa 207 215 Kansas 213 217 Kentucky 210 215 Louisiana 208 214 Maine 212 214 Maryland 221 221 Massachusetts 223 222 Michigan 210 216 Minnesota 215 219 Mississippi 207 212 Missouri 209 216 Montana 206 210 Nebraska 209 215 Nevada 208 214 New Hampshire 212 216 New Jersey 224 222 New Mexico 210 213 New York 218 219 North Carolina 212 218 North Dakota 201 209 Ohio 213 217 Oklahoma 206 213 Oregon 217 219 Pennsylvania 216 218 Rhode Island 212 217 South Carolina 209 215 South Dakota 203 209 Tennessee 212 218 Texas 218 220 Utah 208 215 Vermont 213 215 Virginia 219 221 Washington 219 220 West Virginia 201 209 Wisconsin 208 215 Wyoming 204 209 Average 212 216 As you can see,New Jersey, DC, andMassachusetts require some of the highest scores to qualify. The average qualifying scores for all states isa little lower at around 216. If you haven't taken the PSAT yet and areserious about achieving excellent scores, then I'd recommend aiming for at least 2 to 5 points higher than these cutoffs, as the actual qualifying scores can vary from year to year. How can you figure out your target section scores? By understanding where the new Selection Index comes from, you can take our estimate for your state and simply work backwards. Let’s consider a few examples. How to Calculate Your Target Scores for National Merit As you read above, National Merit will take each of your section scores between 8 and 38, add them together, and multiply by 2. To figure out your target scores by section, take these steps and go through them in reverse. First, divide your state’s cutoff qualifying score by 2. Let’s say you live in New Jersey, and your cutoff will be an estimated 222. Divide that in half and you get 111 (222 / 2 = 111). Now, your section scores in Math, Reading, and Writing should add up to 111. Divide 111 by 3 and you’re looking at a 37in each section: 111 / 3 = 37. You could define your target scores as about 37 in each section - or a little higher to be safe. If you’re more confident in Math, then you could aim for a top math section score of 38. Then you’d have slightlymore wiggle room in Reading and Writing. Depending on your strengths and weaknesses, you can setyour target scores in theoptimal way. To review, you can define your target section scores by dividing your state’s cutoff in half. Then divide by 3 to get a sense of what you need in each section of the PSAT. Customize your target section scores from there. Of course, only a small number of students are actually aiming to score in the top 1%. You may very well be deciding what's a good PSAT score based on your own goals for the test, as well as for the SAT and ultimately, college. Pause for your quintessential collegiate building. What's a Good PSAT Score for Your College Plans? Even if you're not competing for National Merit, the PSAT still matters and is an important test along the path to college. It's valuable practice for the SAT and can help predict your SAT scores. The redesigned exams are very similar, with matching content and format and comparable scoring systems. By doing some research into the colleges you're interested in, you can figure out what you need to score on the SAT. Simply Google the name of your school, along with "average SAT scores." Most schools release data on the average SAT scores of accepted students, so you have a sense of what you need to be a competitive candidate. Then you can use your PSAT scores to determine where you're currently scoring and how much more you need to improve. Based on your target scores and time you can commit to prep, you can design a schedule to prep and raise your scores. The following is a rough estimate of how many hours you need to devote to studying to achieve certain score improvements on the PSAT. 0-50 SAT composite point improvement: 10 hours 50-100 point improvement: 20 hours 100-200 point improvement: 40 hours 200-300 point improvement: 80 hours 300-500 point improvement: 150 hours+ Whether or notyou've already taken the SAT, your PSAT score is a useful starting pointto measure your level and figure out where you need to go from there. Then you can make a study schedule to get yourself where you want to be. Finally, these are the most important points to remember when you take the PSAT and determine whether or not you're satisfied with your scores. Key Points to Remember If youtookthe PSAT in October 2015, you were kind of a College Board guinea pig. 2015 wasthe first year featuring the redesigned PSAT with a new scoring scale and Selection Index.Remember that the PSAT is now scored between 320 and 1520, which is a composite of the Math section and the Reading and Writing sections together. To score in the 70th percentile or above, you want to aim for at least a 540in Reading and Writing and a 540 in Math (or a composite of 1080). To qualify for National Merit, you'll need something like an impressive Selection Index score of214, or a section score around 35 to 36 in Math, Reading, and Writing. The PSAT is a valuable benchmark that you can use to plan your studying for the SAT. Make sure to check your PSAT scores right away to see if you need to take any further steps, like for National Merit, and to move forward with your SAT prep. What's Next? For more on the changes that weremade to the PSAT in 2015, check out our complete PSAT guide. Then head on over to these free PSAT practice tests and other resources to prepare for the exam. Are you wondering what makes a good SAT score? This article breaks down the percentiles so you can see what exactly counts as a bad, good, and excellent score on the SAT. Besides the PSAT/NMSQT that qualifies for National Merit when you take it as a junior, College Board now also offers the PSAT to 8th, 9th, and 10th graders to prepare. Learn about the PSAT 8/9 and the PSAT 10 and how to decide between these tests and the regular PSAT. Disappointed with your scores? Want to improve your SAT score by 160points?We've written a guide about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Great Gift Ideas for Your College Girlfriend or Boyfriend

Great Gift Ideas for Your College Girlfriend or Boyfriend Have a girlfriend or boyfriend whos in college? Are you in college yourself? Need a great gift idea that isnt too dorky and is within your tight budget and time restrictions? 1. Online Music Gift Certificates Everyone has their favorite place online for music- including your girlfriend or boyfriend. Get them a gift certificate for their favorite site so they can add some new songs or albums to their collections. 2. A Big Night Off Campus Treat your partner to a night out- off campus. ​You both probably spend so much time on campus that going off-campus happens maybe once a month- if that. Treat your boyfriend or girlfriend to a night off-campus that you both can enjoy without bumping into ten million people that you both know. 3. School Clothes Spring for some clothes from your school or your partners favorite school. Does your boyfriend or girlfriend have a favorite school sports team? Do they love the school they currently attend? Treat him or her to a sweatshirt from the campus bookstore, something from an online seller, or even college-themed items from a local retailer. 4. A Night at His/Her Favorite Place Take your girlfriend or boyfriend out to his or her favorite club, bar, or restaurant. You both may hit the same places every weekend, but if you offer to splurge a little and treat for the both of you, it will feel extra fun and exciting. (Not to mention the free stuff many places give to people celebrating birthdays!) 5. Concert Tickets Major concert ticket prices may be more than you wanted to spend, but think about what your partner likes best. Find something local and a little more low-profile, such as a slam poetry competition or a taiko drum performance. 6. A Book By Their Favorite Author Buy a book by your partners favorite author. Being in college exposes most students to new and totally fabulous authors. Treat your girlfriend or boyfriend to a book by a new author theyve recently discovered. 7. A Book By an Author Theyve Never Heard Of You may have discovered an author you totally love but that your partner has never heard of. Or perhaps you have a professor who, say, writes poetry. Treat your significant other to something new and exciting that he or she might not otherwise be exposed to. (Added bonus: If you buy a book by your professor, you can ask him or her to sign it as well.) 8. A Special Delivery Go for a classic: delivery of flowers or a care package. Even if youre on the same campus, having something delivered to your boyfriend or girlfriend is guaranteed to be a hit. Who doesnt like receiving flowers or a care package? Consider the classic red roses or even something more fun, like a flower bouquet shaped like a cupcake or a bonsai tree. (Side note: With roses, in particular, the color you choose can send an additional message.)​​​​ 9. A Meaningful Photo Print out a hard copy of a picture of you together. You undoubtedly have tons of pics with each other- on Facebook, on Instagram, on your cell phones, on your computers. But what about a nice, hard-copy printout with a nice frame? Check with online photo places for great deals and free shipping options. Remember, too, that you can print out pics youve already snapped by using websites that make Instagram prints. 10. Something to Make Their College Life Easier. It may not sound romantic at first, but getting that little gadget- a better bike lock, a jump drive, a wireless mouse- that your boyfriend or girlfriend has been wanting may make them incredibly happy. As an added bonus, theyll think of you every time they use it and remember your gesture of kindness.

Reaction paper on the book Lucky by Alice Sebold Essay

Reaction paper on the book Lucky by Alice Sebold - Essay Example ed the course of her life when she was 18 and a freshman at Syracuse University in 1981, Sebold invites her readers into the lifelong effects of that one event. From the intricate description of police action following her report, through the days and weeks following both in facing other students back at her dorm room and in returning to her parents home for the summer break, to the recognition and trial of the man who raped her, Sebold gives a real life account of the various ways in which rape can hurt a woman, physically, psychologically, socially. By including the stories of several of her friends and acquaintances that she meets along the way, Sebold also sheds light on the ways in which others reacted to similar experience or to herself as a victim. Told with her characteristic forthright style, Sebold paints a picture of the reality of rape as she has experienced it over the course of the approximately 18 years since it happened. I especially liked the way in which Sebold approaches the subject with a frank, tell-it-like-it-is approach that typifies her writing style. As she described the way in which her attacker painfully manipulated her breasts, she narrates the way in which she dissociated herself from the experience. â€Å"’Nice white titties,’ he said. And the words made me give them up, lobbing off each part of my body as he claimed ownership – the mouth, the tongue, my breasts† (Sebold, 1999, p. 16). By painting the picture in such straightforward language, without appeals to sympathy or apology, Sebold immediately drew me in to her story, allowing me to sympathize with the experience in a way that has not often been presented. â€Å"’I was raped’ I said. †¦ I felt I had to say it. But I felt also that saying it was akin to an act of vandalism. As if I had thrown a bucket of blood out across the living room at the blue couch, Myra, the winged chair, my mother. / The three of us sat there and watched it drip† (Sebold, 1999, p. 76).

Paper on Display Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paper on Display - Essay Example From the center, a cloth runs from top to bottom vertically covering almost three-quarters of the black background. The cloth has a mixture of colors and artistic display resembling the feathers of an ostrich.From three-quarter of the height there is a yellow strip running from one side to the other horizontally forming the letter â€Å"X†. The yellow strip is labelled with the words caution and it also runs across the bottom. The yellow strip line is significant as it arouses the curiosity of the onlooker, to have the urge of finding what is happening at that section. On the vertical section, a number of pictures are displayed showing a woman probably â€Å"Madonna† wearing almost similar clothes with the sample cloth shown. At the center, there is a smaller bedroom drawer placed with some of it compartments slightly opened. Hanging from inside the drawer are probably white net-like bras. At the top of the drawer, there is a glass frame that covers a white paper inside with details of the sample items displayed. To the left of the screen there are two black boxes of different sizes the smaller one on top of the bigger one. Two pictures of woman â€Å"black and white† are attached at the sides of the larger box. On top of the larger box a tablet leans on the smaller box in an upright manner. On the tablet display a woman â€Å"Madonna† is seen singing. On top of the lower box a pair of high heeled boots-like ladies shoes are placed on a white cardboard. To the right hand corner of the display, there is a â€Å"lady puppet† position in a half-sitting-standing position. The â€Å"puppet† is dressed with a long black net sleeved blouse. The white net-skirt also barely reaches the knees. On the hands of the â€Å"puppet† there is a silver like bracelet to complement the outfit. On the neck there are various shiny necklaces. However, there is one long necklace with a diamond like structure at its end. There is also a black belt that is tied around the

Disaster recovery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Disaster recovery - Essay Example To avoid these type of issues, each personnel and employee has responsibility. Team members should be selected based on experience and expertise of enterprise risk mitigation. This provide a global security assessment to ensure that a global virus does not threaten the enterprise risk systems. A business continuous system is a checkpoint of audits that ensure that all elements are covered in a plan in case of server failures or breach in privacy(Johnson,2011). First and foremost, it mitigates IT risk in any given environment. Secondly, IT risk mitigation is important to understand enterprise mitigation. One of the most crucial elements to understand within the realm of security are the User Domain, one of seven domains in an IT infrastructure, is considered to be the domain most at risk for attack and compromise, primarily due to the inherent weakness of the human interaction element. enterprise risk mitigation. Social engineering and user domains were key issues that needed to be mitigated in this realm (Tipton,

THE FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

THE FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT - Essay Example In 1977, congress endorsed the FCPA in response to the revealed widespread bribery where company managements resorted to falsification of company records and bribery. Through the FCPA act, the congress aimed at protecting the image of American democracy abroad while reinforcing the integrity US companies. In addition, the enactment of FCPA was aimed halting corrupt practice while restoring public confidence. The main intention of the enactment was to illegalize payments completed to foreign government officials by some persons and entities in quest of attaining or sustaining business (Koehler, 2013, p. 6). Two provisions used to attain this goal focus on anti-bribery and accounting. Through the anti-bribery provision, FCPA prohibits bribery of foreign public officials despite their position or rank. Since FCPA does not cover private-to-private bribery, a foreign public official serving in the capacity of judicial or legislative position, individuals practicing public roles on foreign land, , or an official serving in public firms. The Act also prohibits firms against issuing valuable things like money, offers, payments, promises to give, or gifts (Harris, 2011). Companies that participate in such payments are subject to FCPA liability as well as violations of anti-bribery provisions that include offers and promises, and actual gifts and payments. In addition, firms are prohibited from using intermediaries like consultants, businesses associates, and partners among others, to ‘knowingly’ make payments or portions prohibited by FCPA. For local and international companies listed in the US SEC, FCPA requires meeting bookkeeping provisions. The aim is to enhance the FCPA anti-bribery provisions to oversee that companies not only make but also maintain accurate records and books reasonably representing the company’s transactions (Cragg, 2005). Additionally, the

System Analysis and Design Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

System Analysis and Design - Essay Example Due to the dificulties that the company has experienced, the manager has decided to hire a team that will implement an enterprise information system that will improve the comapanys revenue by autotamtic all the business processes.The new system primarily targets the processing of prescriptions since the process is still paperwork. This report gives details of the analysis and preliminary findings of the existing system. It covers the analysis of different business operations which requires automation. All the activities and task mentioned in the case study are captured in the report. These include prescription processing and generation of reports. The details of how the daily processing of the order is given. The report tries to identify and analyze the business problems that SC Company faces. Fundamental causes of these business problems are deliberated on. The report also gives a blueprint of each and every aspect of the business that requires to be automated. The analysis of whether the problems identified in the system can be solved throught the implementation of new information system (Yang 2010). The report will also gives details of the intial finding and recommend other relevant sources where the information about the system can be found. The preliminary finding covers all the sections that need to be automated. The finding involves analyzing how the current business processes are carried out. The company has issues with customer-delivery billing system. The system has become cumbersome to manage because the work load is becoming too much and complex. The medicare and nursing home reimbursement procedures and care providers contracts. The people who used the system have been forced to pay for the cost incurred due to inefficient system. There is also an issue with the billing software. The company which used to carry out routine maintenance has closed the business and hence the maintenance is done by the company’s employees, who lack

THE FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

THE FOREIGN CORRUPT PRACTICES ACT - Essay Example In 1977, congress endorsed the FCPA in response to the revealed widespread bribery where company managements resorted to falsification of company records and bribery. Through the FCPA act, the congress aimed at protecting the image of American democracy abroad while reinforcing the integrity US companies. In addition, the enactment of FCPA was aimed halting corrupt practice while restoring public confidence. The main intention of the enactment was to illegalize payments completed to foreign government officials by some persons and entities in quest of attaining or sustaining business (Koehler, 2013, p. 6). Two provisions used to attain this goal focus on anti-bribery and accounting. Through the anti-bribery provision, FCPA prohibits bribery of foreign public officials despite their position or rank. Since FCPA does not cover private-to-private bribery, a foreign public official serving in the capacity of judicial or legislative position, individuals practicing public roles on foreign land, , or an official serving in public firms. The Act also prohibits firms against issuing valuable things like money, offers, payments, promises to give, or gifts (Harris, 2011). Companies that participate in such payments are subject to FCPA liability as well as violations of anti-bribery provisions that include offers and promises, and actual gifts and payments. In addition, firms are prohibited from using intermediaries like consultants, businesses associates, and partners among others, to ‘knowingly’ make payments or portions prohibited by FCPA. For local and international companies listed in the US SEC, FCPA requires meeting bookkeeping provisions. The aim is to enhance the FCPA anti-bribery provisions to oversee that companies not only make but also maintain accurate records and books reasonably representing the company’s transactions (Cragg, 2005). Additionally, the

Homeland Security - Preparedness and Prevention Assignment

Homeland Security - Preparedness and Prevention - Assignment Example cause, indeed, with all the high-tech security measures being undertaken by magnificently high-financed chemical plants or laboratories, no one or no group would even attempt to get inside and forcefully steal chemicals vital to national security. Some films might have inadvertently suggested to criminal elements how to penetrate chemical plants, but thankfully, ideas were also alluded to with regards to potential security threats and vulnerabilities to crime such as terrorism, and at the same time, the effective security and protection measures that should be importantly undertaken. Hence, unquestionably, the National Institute of Justice, in collaboration with the Department of Justice components, the Office of Homeland Security, the Department of Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Transportation, numerous organizations, and private citizens, had been conscientious enough as to suggest the development of the Vulnerability Assessment Methodology. The prototype Vulnerability Assessment Model (VAM) developed is a systematic, risk-based approach in which risk is a function of the severity of consequences of an undesired event, the likelihood of adversary attack, and the likelihood of adversary success in causing the undesired event (Ashcroft, et al, 2002). On September, 2009, the Department of Environment Protection was lauded by the community of Clifton, New Jersey, for having cleaned up the facility left by Abrachem Group, who were involved in repackaging chemicals but did not level up with the pre-requisites necessary when operating a chemical facility in the United States. Lives of the people of New Jersey were in jeopardy, when Abrachem Group had leaking drums, that contained toxic chemicals, such as naphthalene, sodamide, peroxide, and nitric acid. The company abandoned 1,600 unlabeled, mislabeled and mishandled rusted drums filled with chemicals, some posing a threat to the environment and to the people of Clifton

Indian Republic Day Essay Example for Free

Indian Republic Day Essay In the life of every nation there are certain days which are considered as red-letter days. The Republic Day celebration held on 26th January every year in our country is one of those days. It is perhaps the most important day of our country. It marks the birth of our nation as a republic. Therefore this day is celebrated all over the country with great pomp and show. The origin of Republic day goes back to pre- independence days of 1929, when the Indian National Congress during its Lahore session under the President ship of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru passed a resolution declaring ‘Complete Independence’ as the goal of the nation and decided to celebrate 26th January every year as the Independence day throughout the length and breadth of the country. From then on till the dawn of independence on Aug. 1947, the nation celebrated 26th Jan. as Independence Day. Later, when India wanted a day to mark its official birth 26th January, the independence day of the pre-independence days was chosen. On this day, 26th Jan. 1950 Indian constitution came into force and India was proclaimed to be a sovereign, democratic and a republic’ Soldiers from different wings of the armed forces, units of paramilitary and police forces march to the tune of the military band. The President takes the salute. A colourful %-past by helicopters and aeroplanes makes the ceremony most spectacular. Folk dances by cultural troupes and various performances are put up by school children to keep the audience spellbound. The tableaux of states depicting the cultural wonders of the states follow the school children. The procession lasts for several hours and finally ends up at Red Fort. Hundreds of people from far off places come to watch the charming show of military might and national glory. It is a great day for all of us. It is a day of remembrance, thanksgiving, and rejoicing. It is also a day of national pledge when we decided to make our country, sovereign, democratic, and republic. A great deal more remains to be done, to achieve this pledge. It is up to you and me to redeem this pledge and make our nation truly democratic and republic.

Festivals and Holidays in Bolivia

Festivals and Holidays in Bolivia A festival is an event, usually and ordinarily staged by a local community, which centers on and celebrates some unique aspect of that community and the Festival. Among many religions, a feast is a set of celebrations in honour of God or gods. A feast and a festival are historically interchangeable. However, the term feast has also entered common secular parlance as a synonym for any large or elaborate meal. When used as in the meaning of a festival, most often refers to a religious festival rather than a film or art festival. In the Christian liturgical calendar there are two principal feasts, properly known as the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord (Christmas) and the Feast of the Resurrection, (Easter). In the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, and Anglican liturgical calendars there are a great number of lesser feasts throughout the year commemorating saints, sacred events, doctrines, etc. For a list of festivals in the USA, please see List of festivals in the United States. Bolivia The annual tradition of Alasitas involves buying tiny replicas of the things you want the coming year, and offering them to the Ekeko, who carries them (literally, the things are supposed to be sown or somehow attached to him) during the year. In Bolivia, Ekeko is a character associated with abundance and prosperity, and he is the central figure in the Festival of Alasitas. This event is based in the city of La Paz, but can also be seen in other cities of Bolivia. Juan Apaza writes about some of the scenes from Alasitas in El Alto Hoy [es]. Alasitas Alasitas is a 3-week long fair that, in La Paz, takes place beginning on the 24th of January and in Santa Cruz takes place in September. Everything is in miniature! This festival originally took place in September throughout the country when its spring time in Bolivia and farmers prayed for a good crop so their harvest would be bountiful. Alasitas is an Aymara festival Bolivia celebrates in reverence of the indigenous god of bounty or abundance called the Ekkekko. Therefore, Alasitas has been called the Festival of Abundance. It takes place at the Parque Urbano in La Paz and the 5th Ring between Tres Pasos al Frente and Cumavi in Santa Cruz. As it grows each year, its location is sometimes moved. Tradition that has spread to other parts of Bolivia as immigrants move around; however, in the Andean regions of the country the date was switched to January to commemorate an indigenous uprising that took place in 1781, let by Tupac Katari. The Aymara have a god called the Ekkekko (meaning midget or dwarf). Hes the god of abundance. They purchase a statue of the Ekkekko which usually has a poncho made of aguayo fabric. The aguayo is the colorful handloomed lambswool or alpaca wool fabric that Aymara women use to carry produce or their children on their backs. During Alasitas, which takes place just prior to Carnaval, everything you can possibly think of is sold in miniature. You can find miniature houses, cars, grocery store products, university diplomas, little tools and kitchen utensils, clothing, even passports and visas. The Aymara purchase in miniature everything they hope the Ekkekko will grant them during the coming year. They then pin these things to his poncho and leave them there as a sort of altar in their homes throughout the year, in the hopes that he will help them acquire these things during that time. When they first pin the miniature things to his poncho they put a cigarrette in his mouth and light it. They then pray to him as he smokes. Sometimes they drink alcohol and toss him a little drop or drop some onto the floor in front of the Ekkekko before drinking from the glass themselves. This, Im told, is because you must always give to the Earth before taking for yourself. Alasitas is a great place to visit as a tourist. Its incredibly interesting. But because it has also become very touristic, you can now purchase just about anything you want at Alasitas in the form of handcrafts and art pieces for tourists. In fact, it has become so popular that artisans come all the way from Peru, Chile, Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and other places to sell their handcrafts too. You can also find things that are not in miniature like great ceramics and leather goods. Definitely visit this month-long fair if youre in La Paz in February or in Santa Cruz in September. You can sample all kinds of great baked goods and dried fruits. I suggest trying the anticuchos. Anticuchos are like shish-kabobs. Theyre little pieces of meat and potatoes stuck on to a thin metal stick and roasted on an open grill. Prior to handing the anticucho to you, the griller will slather a spicy sauce over it. The sauce is absolutely delicious and is made from peanuts and hot peppers. (Oh! And did I mention the meat is beef heart? Yum.) Alasitas has become one of the best and largest venues for people to sell their goods and handcrafts each year. They sell so well that theyve completely broken with tradition and now sell all kinds of things just for tourists. In addition, what used to be a 10-day fair has been extended to 30 days and they now move to Santa Cruz every year in September and stay a whole month there too. Its rather amusing, really, since most of the people who sell at Alasitas claim to be staunchly anti-capitalist. During the Alasitas Fair devotees buy miniatures of items they would like to own and offer them to Ekeko, the God of Plenty, while the Virgin of La Paz is also honoured. Alasitas is Bolivias festival of small wishes, yearly held in different towns at different times. The largest fair is held yearly in the capital of La Paz, on January 24, when Bolivians buy miniatures representing the material goods they aspire to own and offer them to Ekeko, the God of Abundance. The History of the Festival of Alasitas in Bolivia There is not one conclusive theory about how and where the festival started. In the Aymarà ¡ language, alasitas means buy from me and in pre-colonial times Alasitas was celebrated in September [Bolivian springtime], to ensure a good crop. It is said that the Spanish changed the date to January 24 in commemoration of an indigenous uprising in 1781: the siege of La Paz by Tupac Katari. During the colonisation the Spanish tried to force Catholicism on the indigenous people. They partly succeeded, many Bolivians became Catholics, but in fact the Bolivian religion became a mix of Catholicism and traditional Andean beliefs and rituals. Ads by Google Having Doubts About the LDS Church? Mentoring by former Mormons www.irr.org You Can Make a Difference God wants to work through you. Transformation soul winning helps harvestevan.org/bookstore.html Who Celebrates the Alasitas Fair? Alasitas has become a potpourri where Catholicism is mixed with centuries-old Andes traditions. The main divinity is Ekeko, but Catholic priests give their blessing to the newly acquired miniature goods as well, while simultaneously the Virgin of La Paz is honoured. Whereas the Franciscans focus on the Virgin, the yatiris the local wizards focus on Ekeko; the average Bolivian cares about both. Alasitas is a festival for everybody and celebrated by Bolivians from all levels of society. It is celebrated by the inhabitants of villages, cities and countryside, by the highlanders and the lowlanders, by the indigenous and the criollos, as well as by western orientated entrepreneurs. Who is Ekeko, Bolivias God of Plenty? Ekeko [dwarf in Aymarà ¡] is the household god and it is not unusual for Bolivians to have a representation of this short and chubby, happy-looking fellow in their home. To ensure good luck the statue should be received as a gift and not be personally bought. Ekeko brings wealth into the family and keeps misfortune at bay. To obtain the favour of fortune, Bolivians like to present Ekeko with miniatures mostly made of a sugary substance of products they would like to own. These can be a house, a car, furniture, clothes, an airplane but also food. A miniature passport may be bought if one has the wish to travel, a university diploma in case one wants to study or when graduation is near. Read on   La Paz, Bolivia Forms of Public Transportation The Archaeological Museum in La Paz, Bolivia Three Good Reasons to Travel to La Paz, Bolivia Perfectly copied miniature dollar and euro notes are favoured over local bolivianos in case one wants wealth. Ekeko loves smoking, his statue has a special hole in the mouth to offer him a cigarette. Where in La Paz is La Fiesta de las Alasitas Celebrated? Calle Sagà ¡rnaga is the commercial centre of the indigenous handicraft of miniatures. This is the heart of the tourist centre where thousands of tourists stroll down the alleys in search of souvenirs and to admire the local curiosities of miniatures and other products that bring good fortune. The Bolivians especially come for the latter during Alasitas, and the streets are crammed with locals who need to buy their miniatures replicas in time the blessings will take place around noon and they should be prepared by then. The location of the ritual of blessings may change yearly. It is best to ask at a Tourist Information, or another tourist location such as a hotel, restaurant or museum where the main activities will be held. The Alasitas Festival in La Paz, Bolivia Alasitas is one of La Paz important festivals. On January 24 Bolivians buy miniatures of products they would like to own and offer them to their God of Abundance, Ekeko. This festival gives tourists an insight into the typical Bolivian mixture of Catholicism and local beliefs. Holidays and Festivals in Bolivia Alasitas This is a colourful, happy event tinged with poignancy. At the end of January the streets in the centre of La Paz fill with people from the city and the countryside, many of them in traditional dress, eagerly buying finely-crafted miniatures from street stalls and vendors. The figures represent material goods that the people aspire to own. It might be a tiny automobile or a bag of cement to represent a new home. A miniature passport or postage stamp might secure a dream of travel and tiny banknotes might bring wealth. One of the most popular figurine is Ekeko, The God of Abundance, a popular, generous and all encompassing divinity. At the end of frenzied buying and selling there is a procession to visit the Yatiri, a wizard who blesses all the objects. Virgen de la Candelaria The festival of the Virgen de la Candelaria, in many images, is celebrated on February 2 in various Hispanic Catholic countries, including Peru, Bolivia, Chile, Venezuela and Uruguay. The celebrations in Peru and Bolivia are centered around Lake Titicaca, in Puno and the small village of Copacabana. In Bolivia, the Virgen is also known as the Dark Virgin of the Lake, and the Patroness Of Bolivia. She is revered for a series of miracles, recounted in Nuestra Seà ±ora de Copacabana and has another festival on August 5. Normally, Copacabana is a quiet, rural village with fishing and agriculture the mainstays. However, the week before and the day of the fiesta, the village changes. There are parades, colorful costumes, music and a lot of drinking and celebrating. New vehicles are brought in from all over Bolivia to be blessed with beer. People gather for days ahead to pray and to celebrate in a mixture of Catholic and native religions. Bolivian celebrants believe the Virgen prefers to stay inside the Basilica erected in her honor. When taken outside, there is a risk of storm or other calamity. Carnaval de Oruro and Diablada Festival Say Carnaval and what images come to mind? Fantastically and scantily garbed dancers, pounding samba rhythms, parades, incessant revelry? Carnaval de Oruro, Bolivia? In Bolivia, Oruro, Santa Cruz, Tarija and La Paz hold carnavals but the carnaval in Oruro,is the most famous. It takes place for the eight days preceeding Ash Wednesday. Unlike carnaval in Rio where the escolas de samba choose a new theme each year, carnaval in Oruro always begins with the diablada or devil dance. The diablada is a centuries-old ritual surviving unchanged from colonial days. Next are hundreds of devils in monstrous costumes. The heavy masks have horns bulging eyes fangs long hair and in contrast to the frightening masks the devils wear sparkling breastplates silk embroidered shawls and golden spurs. Between the devils groups of dancers dressed as monkeys pumas and insects caper to the music from brass bands, or pipers or drummers. The noise is loud and frenzied. Out of the devil dancers comes China Supay, the Devils wife, who dances a seductive dance to entice the Archangel Michael. Around her dance the members of local workers unions, each carrying a small symbol of their union such as pickaxes or shovels. Dancers dressed as Incas with condor headdresses and suns and moons on their chests dance along with dancers dressed as the black slaves imported by the Spaniards to work in the silver mines. Family members led by the matriarchs in yellow dresses appear in order: first the husbands dressed in red, next come the daughters in green, followed by the sons in blue. The families dance their way to the football stadium where the next part of the celebrations takes place. Two plays begun, as medieval mystery plays, are enacted. The first portrays the Conquest by the Spanish conquistadores. The second is the triumph of the Archangel Michael as he defeats the devils and the Seven Deadly Sins with his flaming sword. The results of the battle are announced the Patron Saint of the Miners the Virgen del Socavon and the dancers sing a Quecha hymn. Although the references to the Spanish conquest and the downtrodden state of the Bolivian peasants are very clear, this festival is based on the pre-Colonial ceremony of giving thanks to the earth-mother Pachamama. It commemorates the struggles of good and evil and the early Catholic priests allowed it to continue with a Christian overlay in an effort to pacify the local natives. The celebration of carnaval continues for days as the diablada dancers break into smaller groups and continue dancing around huge bonfires. Onlookers join the procession at any point and with the consumption of strong Bolivian beer and the very potent chicha made from fermented cereals and corn they get rowdy. Many sleep in doorways or where they fall until they awake and continue celebrating. If you plan to be in Oruro or any of the towns celebrating carnaval, follow the basic safety precautions: Dress comfortably Allow yourself time to get acclimated to the altitude Watch what you drink chicha hangovers are awful! Leave your valuables behind Carnaval de Santa Cruz Refleja el espà ­ritu alegre del pueblo cruceà ±o. Comienza un mes antes con las fiestas precarnavalerasen las que participan todas las comparsas juveniles encabezadas por su Reina. Una semana antes del carnaval se lleva a cabo el minicorso en el cual se realiza la proclamacià ³n de la soberana anual del Carnaval . A partir del atardecer del sà ¡bado y hasta el amanecer del domingo de carnaval tiene lugar el deslumbrante Corso en el que saltanalrededor de 300 comparsas. Las mismas recorren las calles de la ciudad al ritmo de bandas y tamborita. En el recorrido el visitante podrà ¡ admirar un marco desbordante de lujo y colorido en hermosas fantasà ­as, impresionantes carros alegà ³ricos que transportan a las reinas, tambià ©n percibirà ¡ el intento por rescatar los motivos regionales y el respeto al medio ambiente. El espectà ¡culo adquiere su mà ¡xima fastuosidad cuando ingresa la reina del carnaval cruceà ±o con toda su corte constituida por los integrantes de la comparsa coronadora. En estas fiestas la mujer es la principal protagonista pues, al estar completamente disfrazada, hace de las suyas escogiendo pareja, coqueteando e invitando a bailar a los varones que asisten a dichas fiestas. El pà ºblico podrà ¡ apreciar que la entrada de los grupos està ¡ dividida en tres bloques folklà ³ricos: regional, nacional e internacional. Tambià ©n participan de esta fiesta conjuntos tà ­picos, entre los que destacan los de la Chiquitanà ­a que entran acompaà ±ados de tamboristas al son de chovenas (ritmo oriental). El frenesà ­ continua el domingo, lunes y martes , dà ­as en que la poblacià ³n baila y se divierte en las calles cà ©ntricas de la ciudad jugando con agua, pintura y espumas, viviendo momentos de total alegrà ­a. Pujllay or Phujllay in Tarabuco, Sucre The Pujllay or Game begins with a Catholic mass in Quechua language it stops then to continue with the party and the rejoicing for the victory of the Battle of Jumbata in a parade of nonpareil coloring, the peasants move to the place where the Pucara is and they dance in circles to its surroundings to the they are of the Tokoros, Pinquillos, Spurs, Bells and Drummers. The Pucara that consists on a support or stairway covered with great variety of agricultural products, besides drinks, breads and others taken place by the peasants of the region. Labor Day or May Day If you are traveling in Latin America on the first day of May, you can expect to find banks, government offices, stores, post offices and businesses closed for the day as people celebrate the Dà ­a Internacional Del Trabajo with parades, demonstrations and other symbols of solidarity with the worker. Bolivia celebrated Dà ­a Internacional del Trabajo for the first time on May 1, 1936. Day of the Worker, or May Day, had already been established in Europe, and would shortly sweep across the Latin American countries. The communist and socialist countries embraced the day, and over time, May Day became associated with those political systems in many non-English speaking countries. In Paris in 1889 the International Working Mens Association (the First International) declared May 1st an international working class holiday in commemoration of the Haymarket Martyrs. The red flag became the symbol of the blood of working class martyrs in their battle for workers rights. The Origins And Traditions Of Mayday Who were the Haymarket Martyrs? They are all but ignored in the history of the United States, who moved the May Day labor celebrations to September. May Day: what happened to the radical workersholiday? The first Monday in September is now the Labor Day holiday, but it has very little to do with the reason for a working mans holiday. This history is detailed in May Day the Real Labor Day. Long before May Day, The WorkersDay, born in the struggle for the eight-hour day came to be, the first of May was a traditional day of feasting, celebrating spring, fertility, romance and more. The Pagan Origins of May Day asks Why did the Labour Movement choose May Day as International Labour Day? Its more that May Day chose the Labour Movement. Unlike Easter, Whitsun or Christmas, May Day is the one festival of the year for which there is no significant church service. Because of this it has always been a strong secular festival, particularly among working people who in previous centuries would take the day off to celebrate it as a holiday, often clandestinely without the support of their employer. It was a popular custom, in the proper sense of the word a peoples day so it was naturally identified with the Labour and socialist movements and by the twentieth century it was firmly rooted as part of the socialist calendar. So now you know why everything shuts down on May 1. Its a good idea to play it safe that day and stay away from parades and rallies that might prove explosive. Gran Poder The merging of pre-Columbian religions and the Roman Catholic faith created a number of religious observations, including the Fiesta del Gran Poder celebrated primarily in La Paz, Bolivia. The event began in the late 1930s with a small number of dancers and is today a huge event. The festival centers around the devotion to Christ as the second person in the Holy Trinity based on an anonymous painting of the Trinity dating from the early XVII century. The three entities were painted withIndian or mestizo features. Though the Catholic church had forbidden human representations of the Holy Trinity, a young novice named Genoveva Carrià ³n took it with her when she entered the Monasterio de la Purà ­sima Concepcià ³n. When the religious order downsized, the painting found its way into different lay hands, finally ending up with Plà ¡cido Là ³pez who lived in the barrio Chijini in la Paz. A small chapel was built to honor the Holy Trinity and then Bishop Augsto Scheifert direct two not-quite-expert artists to paint over the two side figures. They did so, but one, wanting to retouch the eyes, came back one night. When the remaining figure moved its head, the artist fled, but many favors or miracles were attributed to the Christ figure. Devotion grew and in 1939 the chapel was officially named Iglesia Parroquial del Gran Poder. In the years since, the festival of El Gran Poder has grown into an international celebration. Parades and processions with the dark figure of the Christ (see photo), music and costumed dancers honoring cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Of these, La Morenada is the most famous. Held annually at the beginning of June, the Fiesta del Gran Poder is La Pazs biggest street party. Copious amount of local beers and food are consumed. Visitors wanting a place to stay during the celebrations make advance reservations. Columbus Day October 12 (or the nearest Monday to it) is traditionally celebrated throughout the Americas as the day Christopher Columbus arrived in 1492. In English speaking countries, the day is celebrated as Columbus Day or Native American Day. In Spanish speaking countries and communities, is is known as Dà ­a de la Raza, the Day of the Race. Dà ­a de la Raza is the celebration of the Hispanic heritage of Latin America and brings into it all the ethnic and cultural influences making it distinctive. It is celebrated on October 12 in Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela, Not anymore in Bolivia, because the strong feelings about the real situation of native americans on Spaniards Rule. A few historical facts behind the holiday: Cristà ³bal Colà ³n, born Cristoforo Colombo, following the newly accepted theory that the world was round and not flat, sailed west from Spain to find a new route to China or the East Indies. He wanted also to prove his calculations of the earths circumference. He was off on his calculations and he didnt find a new spice route. Instead, on October 12, 1492, he and his small fleet of three ships, the Nià ±a, the Pinta and the Santa Maria, landed on one of the islands now known as the Bahamas. The exact island is a matter of debate and conjecture, but from there, he went on to Cuba and Hispaniola, now the Dominican Republic and Haiti, and went back to Spain to recount his adventures. With royal approval and funding, he set forth in 1493 with a fleet of 17 ships and retraced his earlier voyage. This time he explored Puerto Rico and the Leeward Islands, founded a colony on Hispaniola. He did not find any spices, nor gold in great quantities, but returned again to Spain. He made his third journey to the New World in 1498, where he explored the coast of Venezuela and was awed by the sweet water of the Orinoco where it flowed into the Atlantic. For his efforts, Columbus was made admiral and Governor General of the new colonies until he was sent back to Spain in disgrace in 1500. He overcame that humiliation sufficiently to make a fourth and final voyage in 1502, landing in Costa Rica. When he died in 1506, Columbus was dishonored and all but forgotten. Whether he should be celebrated as the man who opened Central and South America to exploration and colonization, or excoriated for the same thing is a continuing debate. Christopher Columbus and Columbus Day are reviled in places because he is blamed for bringing the evils of slavery, the encomienda system and the diseases of Europe to Latin America. He was avaricious, cruel and paved the way for the conquista. Now, 500 plus years later, we recall his deeds and celebrate not Columbus the man, but the actions and influences of all the people who came after him, who melded their European culture with the indigenous cultures and, with difficulty, blood and years of battle, misunderstandings and treachery, have created the multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society we now celebrate with the Dà ­a de la Raza. Note: It was up to others to name the places where he had landed or to discover the route to China. Amerigo Vespucci named Venezuela afer his native Venice, and Vasco da Gama sailed round the Cape of Good Hope and the Indian Ocean to the Far East, opening the Spice Route for Portugal. All Saints Day November 1 is celebrated throughout the Catholic world as Dà ­a de Todos Santos, or All Saints Day, to honor all the saints, known and unknown, of the Catholic faithful. Every day of the year has its own saint or saints, but there are more saints than calendar days, and this one major holy day honors them all, including those who had died in a state of grace but had not been canonized. And, to keep things fair, November 2 is celebrated as the Day of All Souls. Dà ­a de Todos Santosis also known as Dà ­a de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. Like many other Catholic celebrations, in the New World it was grafted onto existing indigenous festivities to meld the newCatholicism with the oldpagan beliefs. In countries where the Europeans eventually reduced the indigenous populations, by one means or another, the celebrations gradually lost their native meaning and became more of a traditional Catholic event. In Latin American countries where the indigenous culture is still strong, such as in Guatemala and Mexico in Central America, and in Bolivia in South America, Dà ­a de Todos Santosis an important meld of many influences. In Central America, the dead are honored by visits to the their gravesites, often with food, flowers and all family members. In Bolivia, the dead are expected to return to their homes and villages. The Andean emphasis is agricultural, since November 1 is in spring south of the Equator. It is the time of returning rains and the reflowering of the earth. The souls of the dead also return to reaffirm life. During this time, the doors are opened to guests, who enter with clean hands and share in the traditional dishes, particularly the favorites of the deceased. Tables are bedecked with bread figurines called tantawawas, sugarcane, chicha, candies and decorated pastries. At the cemeteries, the souls are greeted with more food, music, and prayers. Rather than a sad occasion, the Dà ­a de Todos Santos is a joyous event. In Peru, November 1 is celebrated nationally, but in Cuzco its known as Dà ­a de todos los Santos Vivos, or Day of the Living Saints and celebrated with food, particularly the famed suckling pig and tamales. November 2 is considered the Dà ­a de los Santos Difuntosor Day of the Deceased Saints and is honored with visits to cemeteries. Wherever you are in Latin America on the first and second of November, enjoy the local holidays! Virgen de Copacabana A religios festival for the virgin of the snow. Mass, folkloric dancing and processions. 5th 6th Virgen de Copacabana Copacabana (La Paz). Celebration for the Virgin of Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Dancing, processions, folkloric displays. Virgen de Urcupià ±a or Virgen de Urqupià ±a Festival in Quillacollo (Cochabamba). One of the most important religious festivals in Cochabamba. It is a colorful religious festival with a large mass, folkloric dancing, processions, typical food and the sale of miniature handicrafts. Chutillos The Chutillos festival in Potosi is definitely worth it. Especially the first day with the authentic dances and costumes is marvelous. Virgen de Guadalupe Festivals celebrated in Viacha (La Paz), Sucre (Chuquisaca) and Valle Grande (Santa Cruz), but by far in Sucre is the biggest. A religious festival in honor of the Virgin of Guadalupe. Folkloric dances, bull fights, music, dancing and typical food and drink. San Roque Festival in Tarija, (Although the fiesta day of San Roque is officially on the 16th of August). An 8-day long celebration for the patron saint of dogs, San Roque. Unique costumes, processions, music and dancing. The biggest party and typical of the Tarija region with its unique music style. Each year on January 24 a large marketplace in La Paz, Bolivia, is full of merchants who traditionally call out, Alasitas, an Aymara word meaning buy from me, to potential buyers of their miniature wares. Shoppers can find tiny replicas of just about every kind of object-cars, houses, foods, furniture, clothes, tools, household goods, and, especially, money-and seek those which represent items they would like to have in the coming year. After purchasing the miniature object of ones desire, the next step is to take it to church to have it blessed. Presiding over all this downsized commerce is Ekeko, an Aymara god of material wealth, fertility, and good luck. Ekeko is represented as a portly little man who wears a backpack full of goods and whose arms are stretched out, as if in an attitude of acquisition. Many people keep ceramic figures of Ekeko in their homes for good luck. Maldives The Maldives will hold a Hay festival starting October 14 with the intention of celebrating ideas, conversations and fun. The festival will bring together international and local experts in literature, art, science, drama, music and poetry, according to a statement from the Presidents Office. Maldivian writers including Ogaru Ibrahim Waheed and Fathmath Nahula will join historian and biographer Jung Chang (author of Wild Swans and Mao), novelist Ian McEwan (author of Atonement) and environmental campaigners Montagu Don, Tim Smit, Mark Lynas and Chris Gorell-Barnes. Mauritian-born, electronic fusion artist Ravin will perform and local bands will include Fasy Live. Lectures will also be delivered online by prominent artists, scientists and historians. The Maldives has been a multi-party democracy for only two years and this new freedom has opened up a host of new opportunities both culturally and politically, the statement said. Some events will be held on the Presidential Retreat on Aarah, allowing rare public access to the island. The Hay Festival began in the Welsh book town of Hay-on-Wye in Brecon Beacons National Park in the UK, and has fostered the exchange of ideas for more than twenty years. Hay Festival Maldives will commission a series of lectures to be delivered online by prominent artists, scientists and historians. These will debate environments that are facing transformation over the next one hundred years and what this means for the people living there. Speakers include historian and biographer Jung Chang, author of Wild Swans and Mao, the novelist Ian McEwan, author of Atonement, and environmental writers and campaigners Montagu Don, Mark Lynas and Tim Smit. They will appear alongside Maldivian writers including Ogaru Ibrahim Waheed and Fathmath Nahula. Mauritian-born, electronic fusion artist Ravin provides musical enchantment, and local bands performing include Fasy Live. As well as the live events, Hay Festival Maldives

Literary Analysis of ?The Grandfather? by Gary Soto Essay -- essays re

â€Å"[Gary Soto’s] power comes from showing, from painting pictures that allow the reader to feel the wonder promise, and pain of everyday life† (Fabiano185). Gary Soto’s writing goes right to the center of the Chicano experience (Dunn 284). In â€Å"The Grandfather†, Gary Soto presents the feeling of what everyday life would be like when living in a Hispanic community. Soto is able to do this with a naturalistic writing style, writing in a simple style, and using his real life experiences as a basis. Naturalism is a writing style in which the writer takes a slice of life and makes it last forever. In â€Å"The Grandfather† Soto uses a naturalistic style of writing. In his writing Soto contemplates over everyday life such as marriage, parenthood, friendship, or making a living (Fields 284). In â€Å"The Grandfather†, Grandfather had â€Å"s settles in Fresno and works thirty years at Sun Maid Raisin†¦Ã¢â‚¬  to make a living (Soto 6). Soto writes about everyday events and he does not try to butter anything up. The critic Geoffrey Dunn states that Gary Soto recalls dad to day traumas, tragedies, and triumphs (283). This can be seen when Soto writes about how Grandfather waits his whole life for his favorite tree to give it’s fruit, and after twenty long years, it does (Soto 9). The tree finally giving fruit is Grandfather’s triumph. Soto’s naturalistic writing style is one of the elements that makes his stories so inciting. Cavazos 2   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Soto also writes in a very simple style....

Media influence on homosexuals

Those who are interested in how media has influenced the LGBT community. Essay Question: How has the media influenced the LGBT community and society's view on the LGBT community? Thesis: One main contributing factor that has impacted our societys view on gay marriage is how they have been portrayed on the screen, by celebrities and in the media. Rationale: My original paper was supposed to be about weddings and social media but I found that to be too broad and extremely difficult to research.After a couple days of thinking I decided to narrow that topic even more. I decided on how the media has effected society's opinion on homosexuality because I thought it was interesting to see how much the mass media can affect our views on something so controversial. Strengths and Problems: Argument: Some may argue that the media's influence is not a good thing because a lot of people are still against homosexuals but I believe it is something that we cannot avoid. My argument is stronger in thi s final draft, but may still be confusing.Evidence: I spent a lot of time trying to research this topic because this is something IVe never thought about before this paper so it is very unfamiliar to me. Once I started researching though it was apparent how much TV has influenced me and my views on homosexuality, which can be seen in my introductory paragraph. I was so surprised to find out about the term, contact hypothesis. Before this paper, I knew the definition but wasn't sure if there was a term for it. Organizational: I definitely tried to make this paper flow more smoothly. Writing the transition were a little difficult though.I still feel like my conclusion is very weak, I struggled for a long time but could not come up with something that would wrap up the essay better. Style: I'm ot sure what to describe my style as. I Just hope the readers will be able to relate. Revisions and Discoveries: I added more about Ellen DeGeneres, and I also added a paragraph about the film, V alentine's Day. I took out the paragraph about adopting children because I realized that there wasn't much correlation with what the media has done. Questions: Am I using the terms of gays, lesbians, homosexuals and LGBT correctly?Which evidence stood out the most? Yvonne English MiddelJans Media and Homosexuality Autumn 2013 What do we typical think of when we hear the word gay or lesbian? Is it a flamboyant male or a tomboy female? Many years ago this may have been the case and to some it still may be. But when I hear the word gay or lesbian I automatically think about my favorite show, Greys Anatomy and the lesbian couple who are attractive and nothing like tomboys. Homosexuality is one of the most controversial topics in our society but in the past t years our opinions and dispositions nave change d.One main contributing factor that has impacted our society's view on gay marriage is how they have been portrayed on the screen, by celebrities and in the media. On January 1 lth, 97 3 PBS released its first broadcast of, An American Family. The show was a twelve hour documentary series that followed the Loud family of Santa Barbra, California. An American family spanned out into a twelve week show following Bill and Pat Loud and their five children, Lance, Kevin, Grant, Delilah and Michele. This documentary challenged the traditional views of an American middle class family.Unlike shows such as, The Brady Bunch and Leave it to Beaver, which depicted a happy and perfect family, The American Family showed a family going through a divorce and their oldest on, Lance's decision to tell his parents about his homosexuality (An American Family). Lance is widely believed to be the first gay person in American reality television and because of this it has made him a well-known, â€Å"gay icon† to the LGBT community. Lance went on to be a part of a popular band, â€Å"The Mumps† and died at the age of 50 in 2001 due to Hepatitis C and HIV.Lance was an inspir ation and paved the way for homosexuals in the media. Since Lance Longs premier on television many popular shows and movies have aired that have a lead or supporting actor/ actress that is a homosexual or portrays a homosexual. Most of these portrayals have had a positive influence on the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. As more LGBT celebrities came out about their sexual orientation the more acceptable it became for LGBT characters to appear on television. This is a great example of the Contact Hypothesis and the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis.The Contact Hypothesis can be accredited to Gordon W. Allport and states that â€Å"under appropriate conditions, interpersonal contact is one of the most effective ways to reduce prejudice between majority and minority group members. The Parasocial Contact Hypothesis is similar but focuses on one sided relationships. For example, how an individual may know about a celebrity through mass medias but that celebrity does not know about the individual (Schiappa) In 2008 it was briefly legal for homosexuals to become married.Ellen DeGeneres and her partner of then four years, Portia de Rossi took this window of opportunity to become married. DeGeneres lied about her sexual orientation for many years. She made her television debut on The Tonight Show in 1986 and that same year the AIDS epidemic was at its high so a ot of homosexuals were not ready to reveal their sexual orientation due to the fear of being Judged or out casted by society. Ten years later Ellen DeGeneres had the opportunity to have her own show, Ellen. Yet she still decided to keep her orientation a secret.In 1997 during the fourth season of her show, DeGeneres decided to come out about her sexual orientation in a sitcom where she is in the waiting room of an airport trying to tell a woman that she is attracted to her, instead she announces it to the whole audience by accidentally leaning over a microphone Ellen DeGeneres is undoubtedl y a charming person. DeGeneres has won 49 out of 51 award nominations and won the hearts of many Americans. Just some of the great roles she has been a part of include hosting the Emmy Awards, Judging season nine of American Idol and using her popularity to bring awareness to many humanitarian efforts.DeGeneres has supported over 35 different charities including Susan G. Komen for the Cure and St. Jude Children's Research Hospital (Neary). Ellen DeGeneres is another perfect example ot the Parasocial Contact Hypothesis. We know everything about ner because of the media, and by seeing her positive influence on the world we have an nclination to like her. In 2008 the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) did a survey of more than 2,000 U. S. adults 18 and older and found that two out of ten changed their views of homosexuals to a more positive view point in the past five years.Thirty four percent said their views were influenced by seeing a gay or lesbian character on tel evision and twenty nine percent said it was by a gay or lesbian character on film (Watercutter). It's amazing how societys view of homosexuals can be changed from a negative to a positive understanding by the power of mass medias. Before the LGBT community was represented on television or films, society did not have an accurately representation of what gays and lesbians were like.Probably thinking that being a homosexual is unnatural and even a mental illness! Some people may still believe that but since being exposed to LGBT characters from shows like Friends (Carol and Susan), Greys Anatomy (Calliope and Arizona) and Will & Grace it has enabled society to be more welcoming or sympathetic towards the LGBT community and resulting in LGBT individuals feeling less like an outcast. The media has also helped promote the realization that omosexuality is very much a part of todays culture in the United States.One of the longest running television shows with gay characters is Will & Grace. Over the eight year span on this television show (1998-2006) Will & Grace has earned sixteen Emmy Awards and eight-three nominations with an average of 17. 3 million viewers a week at its peak in 2001. Will & Grace is a show that positively portrays two gay men with completely different personalities. Will Truman is a gay attorney whose orientation is not necessarily made clear at first to a viewer but his co-star Jack McFarland fits the tereotypical homosexual male.Jack is â€Å"flamboyantly gay, continually unemployed and a self-described actor/dancer/choreographer. † (Schiappa). By showing two different personalities of gay men it can help us better understand that yes, there are homosexual men that are flamboyant but a homosexual man can also take form in a charming and handsome man such as Will Truman. Another idea that was promoted or bought up in Will & Grace is when Will married his long time on-again off-again love affair, Vince and then two of them went on to raise a son together.This brings up he idea of same-sex marriage and how two homosexuals can raise a child together which many people still think is not appropriate but Will & Grace have brought attention to issues like these that the LGBT community have to face daily. Although there aren't as many films that help bring awareness to the LGBT community there are usually small supporting actors that will portray a homosexual. One movie that comes to mind is, Valentine's Day. Valentine's Day follows intertwining couples and single people in Los Angeles and what they expect on this day of love. There is Holden Wilson who is portrayed by Bradly Cooper.Wilson is on the plane chatting up a character played by Julia Roberts. They start to talk about their lives and how Wilson is recently single. Up until the end of the movie not much is told about Wilson's personal life. Then there is Sean Jackson, played by Eric Dane who is a top NFL player who is contemplating retiring from his career. During a press conference Jackson says that typically someone retires because they want to spend more time with their families but Jackson has not been able to do that because he is gay and nas nad to hide his sexual orientation tor the sake ot his career.The reporters are confused on whether or not Jackson will continue to play. He makes it clear that he is going to continue playing in the NLF but he did not want his goals of having a family postponed due to his previous fear of coming out. One of the ending scenes is Wilson surprising Jackson at his home. Throughout the entire movie I had no idea that either characters were homosexuals. Jackson and Wilson are both very handsome and their characters in the movies showed no signs of the stereotypical gay man. This shows that anyone can be gay and that the â€Å"stereotypical† homosexual individual is a tereotype that is slowly dying.By making the characters Wilson and Jackson relatable it helps us as a society have a more accurate r epresentation that anyone around us can be a homosexual and not Just the old stereotype of flamboyant men and tomboy females. The LGBT community has come a long way since the 1970's and they are still fighting for equal rights. Because of the portrayals of gays and lesbians in the media and also the uprising of homosexual celebrities it has helped our society become more open minded and welcoming of the LGBT community when ompared to the mindset of the society fifty years ago.Without the media's influence, where would society be in regards to how much more open minded the world has become of homosexuals? Thanks to the media, it is almost like an approval for individuals that it really is okay to a homosexual and that there is no need to be ashamed. Because if so many people love Ellen, who seems like a normal individual other than the fact that she is a lesbian then there is no need to Judge others on their sexual orientation.