Leaves of the Banyan Tree Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leaves of the Banyan Tree - Essay Example But soon after Tauilopepe is obsessed by the materialistic world and indulges in activities which do not go with his stature. He denies his own culture afterwards and gives preference to money and power. Tauilopepe uses his power in a corrupt way and in an incident described in the novel by the author Tauilopepe gives a sermon in the church in which he preaches about God, money and success. This preaching shows the negative side of Tauilopepe as even in the church he is not advocating about his religion only. Tauilopepe in the story tries to connect money and success to God religion and culture. Ans. The novel revolves around the cultures of Samoa and Papalagi. It shows a revolution in the society of Samoa culture as the new visions of Papalagi culture comes in the way. Many people in the society reject the old traditions and carry on with the new ones (i.e. Papalagi). One lead character which is Lalalogi (son of Taulipepe) also rejects his native Samoan values in preference to the Papalagi views. The novel shows that Somoan views are all about being honest and faithful to the god and people. While Papalagi culture is all about money power and success. This story is based on the times when Papalagi culture was newly introduced by the Europeans. This story shows how the new Papalagi culture crept in the Samoan society and gained popularity amongst the people.

Colonialism and Latin America Essay Example for Free

Colonialism and Latin America Essay Eduardo Galeano is a passionate journalist and writer, a man that has put this passion into writing about the lost or often overlooked histories of Latin and South Americas. In one of his acclaimed books, Las venas abiertas de America Latina/Open Veins of Latin America, he looks at the history of exploitation in this place from early European explorers to current United States and European endeavors. In this paper using three examples from Open Veins of Latin America by Eduardo Galeano, will show how Latin America has developed a dependency on foreign entities. Latin America was mostly untouched by the European world until 1492, when the Spanish where looking for a cheaper way to obtain the goods from the Exotic East. Galeano even goes on to speculate that even earlier explorers could have visited thus creating the religions and gods that the native tribes worshipped (pg. 17). These Spanish explorers came looking for new goods and spices, and when they saw that these natives had bits of metal upon them and inquired after them discovered that gold and silver were in abundance here. Thus began the Spanish Conquistadors reign begin in Latin America, though out numbered 10 to 1, the Spanish steadily moved out. The technology gaps between these two worlds was astounding, as Columbus earlier noted, â€Å"They knew nothing of swords, and when these were shown to them they grasped the sharp edges and cut themselves. † Along with gunpowder, full metal armor, and most importantly horses the Spanish were able to decimate and terrorize most opposing forces that they encountered. â€Å"The conquests shattered the foundations of these civilizations† (pg.43), afterwards almost every major native city and been sacked and looted along with the natives being indentured or killed. The mines that were established created the greatest displacement of the native people; it forced them into grueling labor and destroyed the agricultural communities. These early conquests helped lay the groundwork for the future exploitation of this region. Gold and silver were the main motivating forces for the Conquest, but many other goods have developed within this region. Foremost of these goods was sugar, in fact it was such suitable terrain that it proved to be a â€Å"white gold. † The early sugar plantations were pure profit for the Spanish lords, with legions of African and Native slaves and soil ideal for sugar cane. This new agriculture and overseers helped contribute to the already old agriculture downfall. Forests were felled and other crops were dismissed as unnecessary, sugar became the only crop that mattered. These plantations developed into what we know today in Latin America as the latifundio, which has been meticulously honed into a system that allows for the highest profits to the owners but hardly adequate conditions for its workers. â€Å"The latifundio as we know it has been sufficiently mechanized to multiply the labor surplus, and thus enjoys an ample reserve of cheap hands. It no longer depends on the importations of African slaves or on the encomienda of Indians; it merely needs to pay ridiculously low or in-kind wages, or to obtain labor for nothing in return for the laborer’s under of a minute piece of land. † (pg. 60) This system created was so effective at siphoning the natural resources of the region that its growth into areas can be documented by the destroyed land and displaced populace that it leaves behind. Galeano states, â€Å"And this has not been the role of sugar alone: the story has been the same with cacao, cotton, rubber, coffee and fruits† (pg. 61). With the creation of this system within Latin America, it became ripe for foreign business interests to produce their product in this place. With the abundance of common resources available for cheap and with huge potential for a business owner to create huge profits, Latin America was directly and indirectly was given host to many business ventures from Dutch, French, English and U. S. industry. Businesses that invested into these ventures loved the model, land was acquired with earnest and more plantations were created with their overseers working for the new companies. Now all these companies could obtain a bulk product for little to no cost to them, and should you happen to own the transportation for bringing the product to its destination only created more. Investors grew rich and enjoyed their success at making double profits, though workers were not so happy. Unrest has become a staple of the Latin America countries, and unfortunately it is usually painted by our governments as the opposite of what is occurring. To begin most Latin American countries are under a Dictatorship, where the military has absolute power and the only thing with more influence is the businesses that want to keep their labor cheap. Foreign entities train these dictators then give them the money and goods they require to help maintain the goals that the businesses request of them. Most unrest that is documented is the people of these regions rising up against these Dictators to install someone for the people, but it usually doesn’t last long as foreign interest is already setting up the next player for their scheme. Latin America once boasted an ancient civilization with brilliant people; astronomers, builders, leaders, but now is governed by what product is most in demand. These people have had foreign parties that have been molding the way they live and function for over 500 years. Even know as we campaign to help them we can’t begin to grasp that these people need more than foreign interests to stop exploiting them, they need it to change their whole way of life. It’s a double edged sword, for there shall always be a party that enters the system that is only focused on its own needs rather than the needs of the people. The world has so deeply ingrained itself in the history and creation of the crutch that Latin America lives off of and if we should take that crutch away, they still won’t be able to walk, but if we show them how to do it on their own and let them govern themselves and teach them. Maybe they’ll be able to walk for themselves someday. Work Cited Galeano, E. H. (1997). Open veins of Latin America: five centuries of the pillage of a continent (25th anniversary ed. ). New York: Monthly Review Press.

Searching for the Skeletons in the Closet: Did Richard III Have his Nep

Did Richard III Have His Nephews Killed? The reign of Richard III is something of a paradox. His rule was brief and he lost his crown to a usurper, allowing the House of York to die with him. Yet few English kings have been the subject of such continuous debate, and none have spawned such fervent denigration, or such enthusiastic support. Much of the debate fuelling pro- and anti-Richardians has been whether or not Richard had his two young nephews, Edward V and Richard of York, murdered. Unfortunately to date it has been a debate mired in speculation. Writes V. B. Lamb: 'No conclusive proof has ever come to light which could provide a solution that did not rest solely in speculation. The possibilities are endless, but all remain at best quite unsupported theories' (89). Indeed, the possibilities have seemed endless. There have been myriad theories, ranging from the plausible to the completely inane. People commenting on the matter range from Sir Thomas More to William Shakespeare to the current Duke of Gloucester. Some of these theories will be discussed in this paper. I will draw on ideas both contemporaneous and current, pro and con, along with my own insights, in an attempt to engage the sources in conversation and hopefully provide the reader with a more clear and accurate idea of Richard III and his actions (or lack thereof). Some questions are important to keep in mind when assessing the culpability of Richard. Does he seem a man capable of such a heinous act as infanticide, and his own nephews at that? Assuming he does, did the political situation make it prudent for him to do so? Or were there others who stood to gain more by their deaths? Before these questions can be answered, some context is needed. The Engl... ...ot exist; he is therefore an innocent man. Bibliography Gillingham, John. "Introduction: Interpreting Richard III." Richard III: A Medieval Kingship. Ed. John Gillingham. London: Collins and Brown Ltd, 1993. Hammond, P.W. "The Reputation of Richard III." Richard III: A Medieval Kingship. Ed. John Gillingham. London: Collins and Brown Ltd, 1993. Hammond, P.W. and Sutton, Anne F. Richard III: The Road to Bosworth Field. London: Constable and Company Ltd, 1985. Horrox, Rosemary. Richard III: A Study of Service. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Lamb, V.B. The Betrayal of Richard III: An Introduction to the Controversy. Revised Ed. Stroud: Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd, 1990. Richmond, Colin. "1483: The Year of Decision (or Taking the Throne)." Richard III: A Medieval Kingship. Ed. John Gillingham. London: Collins and Brown Ltd, 1993.

Drama Films

Drama Films are serious presentations or stories with settings or life situations that portray realistic characters in conflict with either themselves, others, or forces of nature. A dramatic film shows us human beings at their best, their worst, and everything in-between. Each of the types of subject-matter themes have various kinds of dramatic plots. Dramatic films are probably the largest film genre because they include a broad spectrum of films. See also crime films, melodramas, epics (historical dramas), biopics (biographical), or romantic genres – just some of the other genres that have developed from the dramatic genre. Dramatic themes often include current issues, societal ills, and problems, concerns or injustices, such as racial prejudice, religious intolerance (such as anti-Semitism), drug addiction, poverty, political unrest, the corruption of power, alcoholism, class divisions, sexual inequality, mental illness, corrupt societal institutions, violence toward women or other explosive issues of the times. These films have successfully drawn attention to the issues by taking advantage of the topical interest of the subject. Although dramatic films have often dealt frankly and realistically with social problems, the tendency has been for Hollywood, especially during earlier times of censorship, to exonerate society and institutions and to blame problems on an individual, who more often than not, would be punished for his/her transgressions. Social Problem Dramas: Social dramas or â€Å"message films† expressed powerful lessons, such as the harsh conditions of Southern prison systems in Hell's Highway (1932) and I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932), the plight of wandering groups of young boys on freight cars during the Depression in William Wellman's Wild Boys of the Road (1933), or the lawlessness of mob rule in Fritz Lang's Fury (1936), or the resourcefulness of lifer prisoner and bird expert Robert Stroud (Burt Lancaster) in John Frankenheimer's Birdman of Alcatraz (1961), or the tale of a framed, unjustly imprisoned journalist (James Cagney) in Each Dawn I Die (1939). In Yield to the Night (1956), Diana Dors relived her life and crime as she awaited her execution. A tough, uncompromising look at New York waterfront corruption was found in the classic American film, director Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront (1954) with Marlon Brando as a longshoreman who testified to the Waterfront Crimes Commission. The film rew criticism with the accusation that it appeared to justify Kazan's informant role before the HUAC. Problems of the poor and dispossessed have often been the themes of the great films, including The Good Earth (1937) with Chinese peasants facing famine, storms, and locusts, and John Ford's The Grapes of Wrath (1940) about an indomitable, Depression-Era Okie family – the Joads – who survived a tragic journey from Oklahoma to California. Martin Scorsese's disturbing and violent Taxi Driver (1976) told of the despairing life of a lone New York taxi cab driver amidst nighttime urban sprawl. Issues and conflicts within a suburban family were showcased in director Sam Mendes' Best Picture-winning American Beauty (1999), as were problems with addiction in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic (2000). Films About Mental Illness: Two films from different eras that dealt with the problems of the mentally ill and conditions in mental institutions were Anatole Litvak's The Snake Pit (1948) with tormented Olivia de Havilland's assistance from a psychiatrist, and Milos Forman's adaptation of Ken Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) with Jack Nicholson as a rebellious institutional patient who feigned insanity but ultimately was squashed by Nurse Ratched and the repressive system. Bette Davis played a neurotic and domineering woman in John Huston's In This Our Life (1942). Sam Wood's Kings Row (1942) examined the various fears and phobias in a small-town. Repressed and prohibited from consummating her love with Warren Beatty, Natalie Wood exhibited signs of insanity in Elia Kazan's Splendor in the Grass (1961). Another teenager (Kathleen Quinlan) felt suicidal tendencies due to schizophrenia in I Never Promised You a Rose Garden (1977). And 1930s-40s actress Frances Farmer (Jessica Lange) tragically declined due to a mental breakdown and subsequent lobotomy in Frances (1982). The repressed emotions and tragic crises in a seemingly perfect family were documented in Robert Redford's directorial debut Best Picture and Best Director-winning Ordinary People (1980). Films About Alcoholism: A hard look was taken at alcoholism with Ray Milland as a depressed writer in Billy Wilder's The Lost Weekend (1945) and Jack Lemmon (and Lee Remick) in Blake Edwards' Days of Wine and Roses (1962). An aging alcoholic singer (Bing Crosby) desperate for a comeback was the theme of The Country Girl (1954) – the film that provided Grace Kelly with a Best Actress Oscar. Susan Hayward acted the decline into alcoholism of 1930s star Lillian Roth in Daniel Mann's biopic I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955). More recently, Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway played the parts of two fellow alcoholics in Barbet Schroeder's Barfly (1987). Films about Disaffected Youth and Generational Conflict: Juvenile delinquency, young punks and gangs, and youth rebellion were the subject matter of Dead End (1937), Laslo Benedek's The Wild One (1953) with biker Marlon Brando disrupting a small town, Richard Brooks' The Blackboard Jungle (1955) with Glenn Ford as an idealistic teacher in a slum area school, and Nicholas Ray's Rebel Without a Cause (1955) with James Dean as an iconic disaffected youth. Race Relations and Civil Rights Dramas: Films that were concerned with race relations included Hollywood's first major indictment of racism in producer Stanley Kramer's and director Mark Robson's Home of the Brave (1949), the story of a black WWII soldier facing bigoted insults from his squad. Then, there was John Sturges' Bad Day At Black Rock (1955) about small-town Japanese-American prejudice uncovered by a one-armed Spencer Tracy, Stanley Kramer's The Defiant Ones (1958) with Tony Curtis and Sidney Poitier as bound-together escaping convicts – and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) about an inter-racial couple (Sidney Poitier as WHO doctor John Prentiss and Katharine Houghton as SF socialite Joanna Drayton) planning on marrying who needed parental approval from Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy (in their ninth and last film together). Also, In the Heat of the Night (1967) featured a bigoted sheriff and a black homicide detective working together to solve a murder, and Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989) – about racial tensions and eventual violence during a hot Brooklyn summer. Strong indictments toward anti-Semitism were made in Elia Kazan's Gentleman's Agreement (1947) with writer Gregory Peck posing as a Jew, and Crossfire (1947) about the mysterious murder of a Jew. The Japanese film classic from Akira Kurosawa titled Rashomon (1951) examined a violent ambush, murder and rape in 12th century Japan from four different perspectives. Courtroom Dramas: See also AFI's 10 Top 10 – The Top 10 Courtroom Drama Films Courtroom legal dramas, which include dramatic tension in the courtroom setting, maneuverings between trial opponents (lawyers, prosecutors, and clients), surprise witnesses, and the psychological breakdown of key participants, were exemplified in films such as the following: * William Dieterle's film noir The Accused (1948), with Robert Cummings defending college professor Loretta Young's self-defense murder * 12 Angry Men (1957) with Henry Fonda and eleven other jurists in a tense deliberation room * Billy Wilder's intriguing and plot-twisting Witness for the Prosecution (1957) based on an Agatha Christie play * Otto Preminger's Anatomy of a Murder (1959) with James Stewart as a defense lawyer for accused murderer Ben Gazzara * Compulsion (1959) the Navy court-martial trial based on the Herman Wouk play of the same name in The Caine Mutiny (1954) – a film with a memorable performance of Humphrey Bogart as Captain Queeg * the historic Scopes Trial battle in Inherit the Wind (1960) pitting Spencer Tracy against Fredric March in a case brought against a schoolteacher for teaching Darwinism * the social drama regarding the Nazi war crimes trials in Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) with Burt Lancaster as a Nazi judge defended by Nazi defense attorney Maximilian Schell in a 1948 court ruled by Chief Allied Judge Spencer Tracy * the defense case of a black accused of rape in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), adapted from the Pulitzer-Prize winning novel by Harper Lee about civil rights In addition, director Robert Benton's Best Picture-winning Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) focused on the subject of a nurturing father (Dustin Hoffman) trying to win a child custody case with divorced Meryl Streep. An Australian film, Breaker Morant (1980) was another tense courtroom drama – the true story of soldiers in the Boer War who were used as scapegoats by the British Army. The award-winning drama, Sidney Lumet's The Verdict (1982) featured Paul Newman as an alcoholic, has-been Boston lawyer fighting a case of medical malpractice against James Mason. Glenn Close defended lover/client Jeff Bridges in Richard Marquand's who-dun-it Jagged Edge (1985). Assistant DA Kelly McGillis defended the bar-room gang-raped Jodie Foster (an Oscar-winning role) in The Accused (1988). A Soldier's Story (1984) examined racial hatred in a 1940s Southern military post in a dramatic courtroom murder/mystery. And A Few Good Men (1992) portrayed the courtroom conflict (known for its catchphrase: â€Å"You can't handle the truth! â€Å") between established Marine Colonel Jessup (Jack Nicholson) and two young Naval attorneys (Tom Cruise and Demi Moore) regarding the circumstances surrounding the hazing (â€Å"Code Red†) death (by asphyxiation due to acute lactic acidosis) of Private Santiago – a Marine stationed at Guantanamo Naval Air Station in Cuba. Jonathan Demme's AIDS drama, Philadelphia (1993) examined discrimination against AIDS and the legal defense of an AIDS sufferer (Tom Hanks) who was fired. Political Dramas: Political dramas include Frank Capra's two political tales – State of the Union (1948) with Tracy/Hepburn, and his classic story of a naive Senator's fight against political corruption in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939). Conversely, the award-winning, potent story of a corrupt politician was dramatized in Robert Rossen's All the King's Men (1949) with Broderick Crawford as the rising politician. Alexander Knox starred as President Woodrow Wilson in Henry King's epic, big budget bio Wilson (1944). In Otto Preminger's Advise and Consent (1962), stars Charles Laughton (in his last film), Franchot Tone, and Lew Ayres portrayed scheming Senators during Henry Fonda's crisis-threatened Presidency. The controversial The Manchurian Candidate (1962) questioned the Cold War brainwashing of a Korean War hero. Michael Ritchie's The Candidate (1972) examined the harsh reality of the campaign trail with political hopeful Robert Redford starring as an attorney running for the Senate. Oliver Stone's conspiracy-centered drama, JFK (1991), attempted to disprove the theory that President Kennedy's killer acted alone. Journalism, the Press and Media-Related Dramas: Dramatic films often center around the theme of journalism, the world of reporters and news. Often regarded as the best film ever made, Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941) was an insightful character study of a newspaper magnate. Alan J. Pakula's All the President's Men (1976) was a docu-drama of real-life journalists Bernstein and Woodward investigating the Watergate scandal. Sidney Lumet's Network (1976) with Peter Finch as a despairing newsman was a critical look at TV news, while Sydney Pollack's Absence of Malice (1981) told about an over-earnest journalist (Sally Field) and a wrongly-implicated defendant (Paul Newman). James L. Brooks' Broadcast News (1987) focused on the world of network news shows, editors, and reporters. Elia Kazan's A Face in the Crowd (1957) showed how a down-home country boy (Andy Griffith in his film debut as Larry â€Å"Lonesome† Rhodes) could be transformed into a pop television show icon and political megalomaniac. Through the eyes of a cameraman, Haskell Wexler's docu-drama Medium Cool (1969) covered the corruption and events surrounding Chicago's 1968 Democratic Convention. In Peter Weir's The Year of Living Dangerously (1962), Mel Gibson played the role of an Australian journalist working during the time of President Sukarno's coup in mid-60s Indonesia. And in Oliver Stone's Salvador (1982), James Woods played the role of a photographer in war-torn El Salvador. WWII Homefront Dramas: Dramatic films which have portrayed the â€Å"homefront† during times of war, and the subsequent problems of peacetime adjustment include William Wyler's Mrs. Miniver (1942) about a separated middle-class family couple (Greer Garson and Walter Pidgeon) during the Blitz, Clarence Brown's The Human Comedy (1943) with telegram delivery boy Mickey Rooney bringing news from the front to small-town GI families back home, John Cromwell's Since You Went Away (1944) with head of family Claudette Colbert during her husband's absence, and another William Wyler poignant classic The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) with couples awkwardly brought back together forever changed after the war: Dana Andrews and Virginia Mayo, Fredric March and Myrna Loy, and Harold Russell and Cathy O'Donnell. History-Related Dramas: Films that have dramatized portions of the American past include W. S.  Van Dyke's San Francisco (1936) on the eve of the 1906 quake, John Ford's Drums Along the Mohawk (1939) with Claudette Colbert and Henry Fonda facing marauding Indian attacks at the time of American independence, Howard Hawks' Sergeant York (1941) with Gary Cooper as the gentle hick-hero of the WWI trenches, the gothic drama of a turn of the century family in Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), and of course Gone With The Wind (1939) during the Civil War and Reconstruction Eras. Exquisite, nostalgic family dramas include John Ford's How Green Was My Valley (1941) – a flashback of Roddy McDowall's childhood in a Welsh mining village, and George Stevens' tribute to a Norwegian immigrant mother (Irene Dunne) raising her family in San Francisco in I Remember Mama (1948). Sp orts Dramas: Dramatic sports films or biographies have created memorable portraits of all-American sports heroes, individual athletes, or teams who are faced with tough odds in a championship match, race or large-scale sporting event, soul-searching or physical/psychological injuries, or romantic sub-plot distractions. Fictional sports films normally present a single sport (the most common being baseball, football, basketball, and boxing), and include the training and rise (and/or fall) of the underdog or champion in the world of sports. Typical sports films (with biographical elements) include the sentimental biography of the Notre Dame football coach, Lloyd Bacon's Knute Rockne: All-American (1940). One of the best films ever made about pro-football was Ted Kotcheff's North Dallas Forty (1979) which examined the brutal fact of labor abuses and drug use in professional football – loosely basing its story on the championship Dallas Cowboys team. The tearjerking made-for-TV sports film Brian's Song (1970) used professional football as the backdrop for its sad tale of the death of a Chicago Bears running back (James Caan). Burt Reynolds starred in The Longest Yard (1974) as scandalized ex-professional football quarterback Paul Crewe in prison who must organize a team of convicts to challenge a prison-guard team (and then face the additional challenge of throwing the game). Recently, Cameron Crowe's sports romance-drama Jerry Maguire (1996), famous for the phrase â€Å"Show me the money! † starred Tom Cruise as a hard-driven major sports agent, and Academy Award-winning Cuba Gooding, Jr. as a football player. One of the best sports biopics was Sam Wood's The Pride of the Yankees (1942) with Gary Cooper in a fine performance as New York Yankees great Lou Gehrig. In The Jackie Robinson Story (1950), the famed black player who crossed the major-league ‘color-line' and joined the Brooklyn Dodgers portrayed himself. Director Barry Levinson's mythical and romanticized film about baseball titled The Natural (1984) featured Robert Redford as Roy Hobbes – a gifted baseball player who led his New York team to the World Series. Ron Shelton, who was an actual ex-minor leaguer, wrote and directed the intelligent comedy/drama Bull Durham (1988) which used as its backdrop minor league baseball to tell the story of a baseball groupie (Susan Sarandon), a veteran catcher (Kevin Costner) and a dim-witted pitcher named Nuke LaLoosh (Tim Robbins). The immensely popular fantasy/drama Field of Dreams (1989) concerned the creation of a ball diamond in the middle of an Iowa cornfield by a farmer (Kevin Costner). Writer/director John Sayles' Eight Men Out (1988) dramatized the infamous episode in professional baseball of the scandalous 1919 World Series that was fixed – with its final sepia-toned shots of banned ball-player â€Å"Shoeless† Joe Jackson (D. B. Sweeney) in the minors. And Tommy Lee Jones starred as the legendary baseball great Ty Cobb in Shelton's Cobb (1994). Basketball-related sports dramas are rare: three notable ones were Spike Lee's He Got Game (1998) with Denzel Washington as the convict father of a promising basketball athlete, David Anspaugh's Hoosiers (1986) about an underdog 50s basketball team (coached by Gene Hackman) that won the state championship, and Ron Shelton's play-filled, trash-talking court action film White Men Can't Jump (1992) with its two basketball hustlers/con-artists (Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes) and their scenes of two-on-two tournaments. Kevin Costner portrayed a talented pro golfer in Ron Shelton's romantic sports film Tin Cup (1996). And Paul Newman portrayed swaggering, upstart poolshark gambler Fast Eddie Felson in The Hustler (1961) in the world of professional pool, shooting against the great champ Minnesota Fats (Jackie Gleason). Downhill Racer (1969) starred Robert Redford as an American downhill skier training to become an Olympic superstar. The Best Picture winner Chariots of Fire (1981) told the parallel stories of two English runners (one a devout Protestant, the other Jewish) competing in the 1924 Paris Olympics. Autoracing in the Daytona 500 was featured in the action/drama Days of Thunder (1990). And one of the most memorable ice hockey films was Slap Shot (1977), with Paul Newman as inspiring player-coach Reg Dunlop of a minor-league team. Although a comedy, Caddyshack (1980) was about an elitist country club for golf, a mischievous green-destroying gopher, and a crazed groundskeeper (Bill Murray). Films about boxing are perhaps the most numerous sub-genre. One of the best boxing films ever made, along with Robert Wise's classic film noirish The Set-Up (1949) starring Robert Ryan as aging boxer Stoker Thompson, was the realistically stark Body and Soul (1947). It starred John Garfield as boxer Charlie Davis who ‘sold his soul' to unethical promoters but then had a change of heart in the last three rounds of a championship fight during which he was supposed to take a dive. Others included King Vidor's classic The Champ (1931), an award-winning story of a prizefighter and his young son, Champion (1949) with Kirk Douglas as the young fighter, the brutal boxing drama The Harder They Fall (1956) (Humphrey Bogart's underrated last film in which he portrayed Eddie Willis – an aging, crooked sportswriter), Ralph Nelson's Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962) with Anthony Quinn as punch-drunk, washed-up professional boxer Louis ‘Mountain' Rivera, Martin Ritt's The Great White Hope (1970) with James Earl Jones as black boxer Jack Jefferson, and Karyn Kusama's independent feminist film Girlfight (2000) with a great performance by Michelle Rodriguez as a struggling Brooklynite and teenage Latino boxer. One of the best films of the 80s decade, Raging Bull (1980) was Martin Scorsese's tough, visceral and uncompromising biopic film of the rise and fall of prizefighter Jake La Motta with a remarkable performance by actor Robert DeNiro. The stylized scenes in the ring included flying blood and sweat, exaggerated flashbulb camera flashes, slow-motion and violent punching sounds.

Why or Why Not College Should Be Free

Some countries have free education from kindergarten to university, while students in other countries have to pay at every step of the way. This essay will look at some of the reasons for this difference at university level. Free third level education has several advantages. First of all, everyone can attend, so the gap between rich and poor students decreases as poorer students have more opportunity. The economy also benefits from the increased pool of highly educated labor. An educated workforce attracts employers and foreign investment.Socially, a more educated population should have more choices regarding nutrition, jobs and lifestyle. An additional point is that university fees only contribute a small proportion of the university budget. However, some people are opposed to free education. First of all, through their taxes, poor families subsidize rich students who can easily afford to pay fees. A second point is that spending government money on free education is often not possi ble or desirable when a country needs hospitals, roads, and primary or secondary schools.A third point is that a university education is a choice, not a requirement. People who finish college with advanced qualifications are going to earn large salaries and can easily afford to pay back loans. Furthermore, when people get something for free, they often do not value it. If college is free, many students will go there just because they cannot think of anything else to do. Education is widely regarded as a key factor in the economic and social development of a country, but there are different attitudes about whether students should pay or not.Some regard education as a basic right, which should therefore be provided free, while others think the individual student should have to shoulder some of the costs of his or her education. This essay will examine some of the arguments for and against free education at third level. There are several reasons why university education in particular s hould be paid for by the students who receive it. to allow as many people as possible to develop to their full potential and to develop the country, we need to make third level education available to all.Restricting access to the elite will have detrimental effects on the society and the economy. However, there are sound economic and social reasons for making third level education free to all. In the first place, a modern country needs highly skilled graduates of all kinds, rather than just high school leavers. For many families, the high cost of tuition would discourage participation in third level education. An important point is that the contribution of fees to the budget of any good university or college is relatively small, since almost all colleges rely on large amounts of government or philanthropic funding.The money from fees may represent only a small part of the college budget. A third point is that third level education is not purely vocational. Students at college are no t just being given technical skills desired by employers, but are questioning, analyzing, synthesizing and creating new knowledge, and this will be a tremendous resource to the society as a whole. With the extremely rapid development of the society, increasing young people choose to accept the higher education, in order to enhance their competitiveness.Yet, it is indisputable that the tuition is really high, and some family cannot afford it, because of which, personally, I insist that it should be a duty of the government to pay the course fees. In my essay, I will talk about this topic on twofold. First of all, it benefits individuals a lot to pay the tuition by the governments. We all know, studying is not an easy job to every person, and the one who want to have some achievements in the academic areas must pay a great of efforts.There is no reason to require the students, who are trying their best to get a good result in their study, to earn the large sum of money for their furth er education. In order to encourage this kind of students to continue to work hard to gain more professional skills to make sure they can lead high quantity lives after their graduated, it is a vital and effective option for the governments to pay for their tuition. More importantly, it is not only for personal benefit, but also for governments.Owning to the ever-accelerated updating of science and technology, modern societies need much more high-tech talents. That is a quite useful method to drive more young person to pursuit the higher education, and the same time to give them the belief that they should put their shoulder to the wheel to return the society. To sum up, paying the cursers is a symbol of society progress. It gives people dwelling in the society a kind of belonging, and makes individuals become more unity.Therefore, I reaffirm that the tuition should be paid by governments. Free third level education is not always a good thing. Governments need to think carefully abo ut their policies and ensure that they are using their resources to help all the people in the country equitably. To allow as many people as possible to develop to their full potential and to develop the country, we need to make third level education available to all. Restricting access to the elite will have detrimental effects on the society and the economy.

Xiaotingia - Facts and Figures

Xiaotingia - Facts and Figures Name: Xiaotingia; pronounced zhow-TIN-gee-ah Habitat: Woodlands of Asia Historical Period: Late Jurassic (155 million years ago) Size and Weight: About two feet long and five pounds Diet: Insects Distinguishing Characteristics: Small size; long tail; primitive feathers About Xiaotingia In order to understand the importance of Xiaotingia, you need a short lesson about a much more famous animal, Archaeopteryx. When the exquisitely preserved fossils of Archaeopteryx were discovered in Germanys Solnhofen fossil beds in the mid-19th century, naturalists identified this flying, feathered creature as the first true bird, the key missing link in avian evolution. Thats the image that has persisted ever since in the popular imagination, even though better-informed paleontologists now know that Archaeopteryx possessed a weird mix of bird-like and dinosaur-like characteristics, and probably should have been classified as a feathered dinosaur (rather than a primitive bird) all along. So what does all of this have to do with Xiaotingia? Well, this very Archaeopteryx-like critter, discovered in Chinas Liaoning fossil beds, predated its more prominent cousin by five million years, living about 155 rather than 150 million years ago. More important, the research team that examined Xiaotingia identified it right off the bat as a small maniraptoran theropod that shared important features in common with raptor dinosaurs like Microraptor and Velociraptor, rather than a prehistoric birdthe implication being that if Xiaotingia wasnt a true bird, then neither was Archaeopteryx, which was only recently descended from it. This has caused a large amount of consternation in the Archaeopteryx was a bird camp, but hasnt impressed those more dubious paleontologists who doubted Archaeopteryxs credentials in the first place!

5 Common Misconceptions About Black Lives Matter

5 Common Misconceptions About Black Lives Matter Unpack the misconceptions that have been spread about the movement by separating fact from fiction about Black Lives Matter. All Lives Matter The top concern critics of Black Lives Matter say they have about the group (actually a collective of organizations with no governing body) is its name. Take Rudy Giuliani. â€Å"They sing rap songs about killing police officers and they talk about killing police officers and yell it out at their rallies,† he told CBS News on July 10. â€Å"And when you say black lives matter, that’s inherently racist. Black lives matter, white lives matter, Asian lives matter, Hispanic lives matter – that’s anti-American and it’s racist.† Racism is the belief that one group is inherently superior to another and the institutions that function as such. Black Lives Matter is not saying that all lives don’t matter or that other people’s lives aren’t as valuable as African Americans’ lives. It is arguing that because of systemic racism (dating back to the implementation of the Black Codes during Reconstruction) blacks disproportionately have deadly encounters with cops, and the public needs to care about the lives lost. During an appearance on â€Å"The Daily Show,† Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson called the focus on â€Å"all lives matter† a distraction technique. He likened it to someone criticizing a breast cancer rally for not focusing on colon cancer as well. â€Å"We’re not saying colon cancer doesn’t matter,† he said. â€Å"We’re not saying other lives don’t matter. What we are saying is there is something unique about the trauma that black people have experienced in this country, especially around policing, and we need to call that out.† Giuliani’s accusation that Black Lives Matter activists sing about killing the police is unfounded. He’s conflated rap groups from decades ago, such as Ice-T’s band Body Count of â€Å"Cop Killer† fame, with the black activists of today. Giuliani told CBS that, of course, black lives matter to him, but his remarks suggest he can’t be bothered to tell one group of blacks from another. Whether rappers, gang members or civil rights activists are the topic at hand, they’re all interchangeable because they’re black. This ideology is rooted in racism. While whites get to be individuals, blacks and other people of color are one and the same in a white supremacist framework. The accusation that Black Lives Matter is racist also overlooks the fact that people from a broad coalition of racial groups, including Asian Americans, Latinos and whites, are among its supporters. In addition, the group decries police violence, whether the officers involved are white or people of color. When Baltimore man Freddie Gray died in police custody in 2015, Black Lives Matter demanded justice, even though most of the officers involved were African Americans.   People of Color Aren’t Racially Profiled Detractors of the Black Lives Matter movement argue that police do not single out African Americans, ignoring mountains of research that indicate racial profiling is a significant concern in communities of color. These critics assert that police have a greater presence in black neighborhoods because black people commit more crimes. On the contrary, police disproportionately target blacks, which doesn’t mean African Americans break the law any more often than whites do. The New York Police Department’s stop-and-frisk program is a case in point. Several civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against the NYPD in 2012, alleging that the program was racially discriminatory. Eighty-seven percent of the individuals NYPD targeted for stops and frisks were young black and Latino men, a greater proportion than they made up of the population. Police even targeted blacks and Latinos for most of the stops in areas where people of color made up 14 percent or less of the population, indicating the authorities weren’t drawn to a particular neighborhood but to residents of a particular skin tone. Ninety percent of people NYPD stopped anywhere did nothing wrong. Although police were more likely to find weapons on whites than they were on people of color, according to the New York Civil Liberties Union, that didn’t result in the authorities stepping up their random searches of whites. Racial disparities in policing can be found on the West Coast as well. In California, blacks comprise 6 percent of the population but 17 percent of people arrested and about a quarter of those who die in police custody, according to the OpenJustice data portal launched by Attorney General Kamala Harris in 2015. Collectively, the disproportionate amount of blacks stopped, arrested and who die in police custody explains why the Black Lives Matter movement exists and why the focus isn’t on all lives. Activists Don’t Care About Black-on-Black Crime Conservatives love to argue that African Americans only care when police kill blacks and not when blacks kill each other. For one, the idea of black-on-black crime is a fallacy. Just as blacks are more likely to be killed by fellow blacks, whites are more likely to be killed by other whites. That’s because people tend to be killed by those close to them or who live in their communities.    That said, African Americans, particularly pastors, reformed gang members and community activists, have long worked to end gang violence in their communities. In Chicago, the Rev. Ira Acree of Greater St. John Bible Church has fought against gang violence and police killings alike. In 2012, former Blood member Shanduke McPhatter formed the New York nonprofit Gangsta Making Astronomical Community Changes. Even gangster rappers have taken part in the effort to stop gang violence, with members of N.W.A., Ice-T and several others teaming up in 1990 as the West Coast Rap All-Stars for the single â€Å"We’re All in the Same Gang.† The idea that blacks don’t care about gang violence in their communities is meritless, given that anti-gang efforts date back decades and the African Americans trying to stop such violence are too numerous to name. Pastor Bryan Loritts of Abundant Life Christian Fellowship in California aptly explained to a Twitter user why gang violence and police brutality are received differently. â€Å"I expect criminals to act like criminals,† he said. â€Å"I dont expect those who are to protect us to kill us. Not the same.† Black  Lives Matter Inspired Dallas Police Shootings The most defamatory and irresponsible critique of Black Lives Matter is that it provoked Dallas shooter Micah Johnson to kill five police officers. â€Å"I do blame people on social media...for their hatred towards police,† Texas Lt. Gov. Patrick said. â€Å"I do blame former Black Lives Matter protests.† He added that law-abiding citizens with big mouths led to the killings. The month before, Patrick summed up the mass murder of 49 people at a gay club in Orlando, Fla., as â€Å"reaping what you sow,† revealing himself to be a bigot, so it’s not entirely surprising that he would choose to use the Dallas tragedy to accuse Black Lives Matter as being accomplices of sorts to murder. But Patrick knew nothing about the killer, his mental health or anything else in his history that led him to commit such a heinous crime, and the politician willfully overlooked the fact that the killer acted alone and was not part of Black Lives Matter. Generations of African Americans have been angry about police killings and racism generally in the criminal justice system. Years before Black Lives Matter existed, police had a strained relationship with communities of color. The movement didn’t create this anger nor should it be blamed for the actions of one deeply troubled young man. Black activists have raised the call for an end to violence, not an escalation of it, Black Lives Matter said in a July 8 statement about the Dallas killings. â€Å"Yesterday’s attack was the result of the actions of a lone gunman. To assign the actions of one person to an entire movement is dangerous and irresponsible.† Police Shootings Are the Only Problem While police shootings are the focus of Black Lives Matter, deadly force isn’t the only issue adversely affecting African Americans. Racial discrimination infiltrates every facet of American life, including education, employment, housing and medicine in addition to the criminal justice system. While police killings are a grave concern, most blacks won’t die at the hands of a cop, but they may face barriers in a variety of sectors. Whether the topic at hand is the disproportionate amount of black youth suspended from school or black patients of all income levels receiving poorer medical care than their white counterparts, black lives matter in these instances as well. The focus on police killings may lead everyday Americans to think they’re not part of the nation’s race problem. The opposite is true. Police officers don’t exist in a vacuum. The implicit or explicit bias that reveals itself when they deal with black people stems from cultural norms that signal it’s okay to treat blacks as if they’re inferior. Black Lives Matter argues that African Americans are equal to everyone else in this country and institutions that don’t operate as such should be held accountable.

Sentence Fragments and Run-ons in SAT Writing Tips and Questions

Sentence Fragments and Run-ons in SAT Writing Tips and Questions SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Can you recognize a sentence when you see one? Most people will automatically answer that they can. But correct sentence structureis one of the most commonly-tested grammatical concepts on the SAT Writing section. What does it take to makea sentence complete? How can you recognize a fragment or a run-on? Read on to figure out how the SAT manages to trick so many students with this seemingly easy concept. In this guide I am going to show you: What constitutes a complete sentence How prepositional phrases, appositives and non-essential clauses can make sentences more difficult to understand How to recognize and fix fragments How to recognize and fix run-on sentences Strategies to attack these kinds of questions Examples of this kind of question from the SAT Test Yourself To start, take a look at the following. Some of these are correct sentences. Others are fragmentsorrun-ons. Can you tell which are which? Do you understand why the incorrect sentences are incorrect? Rebecca, the chef, struggles to find fresh mozzarella in the stores. Rebecca, who was a fantastic chef skilled in making pasta and pizzas. After working in a restaurant for ten years, Rebecca opened her own Italian cafe, it was called â€Å"Mi Piace.† Rebecca, who was skilled in making pasta, did not enjoy eating it. Although Rebecca was very skilled in making pasta, and ate it all the time. Her friends delighting in her pizzas and baked goods. She loved pizza. Because she showed a talent for cooking from a young age, Rebecca, who had a closet full of children’s cookbooks. Rebecca ate a lot of pizza, soon she started cooking it, too. Answers: 1. Sentence; 2. Fragment; 3. Run-on; 4. Sentence; 5. Fragment; 6. Fragment; 7. Sentence; 8. Fragment; 9. Run-on How did you do? As you can see, it can be more difficult than you might think to correctly identify a sentence every time - and even more so to understandwhy an incorrect sentence is not right.Keep reading and we will cover exactly what a sentenceneeds to becorrect. What Is a Sentence? Sentences can be short or long, simple or complex. In order to have a correct, complete sentence, you really only need two things: asubject, and averb that is conjugated to match the subject. A subject and a correctly conjugated verb together, along with anything else that goes with them, formanindependent clause.Don't worry, you don't need to know that term for the SAT! But it will be useful as we move forward for understanding sentences. An independent clause can stand on its own as a complete sentence becauseit makes sense as it is and expresses a complete thought. For example, all of the following are independent clauses: The girl runs. The girl with bows in her hair runs. The young girl with bows in her hair runs through the village square. Each of these has a subject, a correctly conjugated verb, and makes sense without any additional information. The subject in each of these sentences is "girl". The verb, "runs", is correctly conjugated in the third person singular to match the subject. If you wanted to, you could get rid of all the additional words in the second and third sentences above, and they would still make sense. There is one situation in which you can have a complete sentence, but you will not be able to pick out the subject and the verb. This is withcommands. Commands always have anunderstood subject of "you", which means that it does not need to be written. Example Run! Speak! Run down the street and speak to your grandmother! Fortunately, the SAT does not test this concept very often, but it's important to understand just in case it does come up. So now you know the basics of a simple sentence! Sentences can have more than just one independent clause, however - and this is where things can get tricky. They can have a second independent clause, or the independent clause can be attached to a dependent clause. Sentences with More than One Independent Clause Sometimes, sentences can have more than one independent clause. If this is the case, you have to make sure that they are joined together correctly. If they are not, they are considered run-on sentences.We will talk more about how to recognize run-ons, but let's first focus on how things are done correctly. There are a few different ways that you can correctly join two independent clauses together to make onecompound sentence. #1: Don't join them at all! This may be the easiest solution at times.You do not have to join the clauses together.Keep them separated by a period. Example Julia and Louise both like to eat pizza.They both love pepperoni. #2: Join the sentences with a comma followed by a coordinating conjunction. Coordinating conjunctions can be remembered by the acronym FANBOYS: F for A and N nor B but O or Y yet S so Example Julia and Louise both like to eat pizza, for they both love pepperoni. #3: Join the independent clauses with a semicolon. A semicolon on its own basically functionsexactly the same way a period does.You can join the two clauses with a semicolon and nothing else. Example Julia and Louise both like to eat pizza; they both love pepperoni. #4: Join the sentences with a semicolon and aconjunctive adverb. Some of the most common conjunctive adverbs include however, nevertheless, therefore, moreover, and consequently. Different conjunctive adverbs show different relationships. For example, "however" and "nevertheless" imply a contrast, so use these if one sentence gives information that somehow contrasts the previous one. "Therefore" and "consequently" imply a cause-and-effect relationship. Use these when one sentence is a result of something the happened in the previous sentence. "Moreover" is used to indicate expand on the information given in the first sentence. Example Julia and Louise both like to eat pizza; moreover, they both love pepperoni. Note that conjunctive adverbs can come after either a semicolon or a period, but they must be followed by a comma. #5: Turn one of the independent clauses into a dependent (or subordinate) clause. We will go into dependent clauses in more detail in a moment, but for now, this is what this solution would look like: Example Since they love pepperoni,both Julia and Louise like to eat pizza. Understanding how dependent clauses work and are formed is very important for being able to spot run-ons and fragments. Let's take a closer look at how they can be used in sentences. Sentences with Dependent (or Subordinate) Clauses Again, the terminology here isn't important, but the concept is. Like an independent clause, a dependent clausehas a subject and a verb, but it doesn't make sense on its own. Dependent clauses are usually used to describe the circumstances in which anindependent clause occurs. Example While she was gardening, Jennyfound an old penny. In this sentence, the dependent clause "While she was gardening", gives the context for when Jennyfound the penny. Note that "while she was gardening" does not express a complete thought on its own - it's just setting the scene for more information to come. We will talk more about this later. Be careful, because, when speaking, people often use dependent clauses in place ofcomplete sentences.Imagine the following conversation: You: â€Å"Look at this cool old penny I found! It’s from 1933!† Friend: â€Å"Wow, that is cool. Where did you find that?† You: â€Å"While I was gardening.† Though we talkthis way, it’s not acceptable inwritten English. Even in this conversation, â€Å"While I was gardening† is describing an independent clause you have already said - â€Å"Look at this cool old penny I found!† On the SAT, a sentence that only consists of a dependent clause will always be incorrect. I will cover this idea in more detail in the â€Å"Fragments† section below. Sentences with Prepositional Phrases, Appositives, and RelativeClauses Some sentences include additional phrases or clauses that describe a noun or verb. There are a few different tupes, but none can replace a independent clause. Prepositional Phrases Prepositional phrases can be added to sentences to add more detail about something in the sentence. To learn more about prepositional phrases, see this article. You can add a prepositional phrasealmost anywhere in the sentence, depending on what the prepositional phrase is describing. The man in my kitchen was making sandwiches. The man was making sandwiches in my kitchen. Remember that you should be able to completely delete the prepositional phase and still be left with a complete sentence: The man was making sandwiches. Also remember that a prepositional phrase cannot stand alone as a sentence: In my kitchen. = INCORRECT Relative Clauses A relative clause gives extra information about a noun in the sentence- it oftencomes between the subject and the verb. Relative clauses are so named because theybegin withrelative pronouns, likethat, who, which, whose,or where. Examples The man, who was standing in my kitchen, was making sandwiches. The man, whose sandwiches we enjoyed, works in the cafe down the street. Thesecan be removed from the sentence and a complete sentence will be left over: The man was making sandwiches. The man works in the cafe down the street. Appositives An appositive is when a word or phrase that consists of a noun or pronoun (along with any descriptive words)is placed directly next to another noun in the sentence to re-state it and add a description. Appositives can be a single word, or a phrase (a group of words). Appositive are also set off by commas. Examples My dad, Phil, works in the cafe down the street. My father, the man who is in the kitchen, likes making sandwiches. Sandwiches, one of my favorite types of food, are delicious. Appositives can also be crossed out and you will have a complete sentence left over. My dad works in the cafe down the street. My father likes making sandwiches. Sandwiches are delicious. Now that you know various ways to construct acorrect, complete sentence,let's discuss some of themistakes that students often make in doing so. We'll start with common pitfalls that causeincomplete sentences. What is a Fragment? A fragment is an incomplete sentence. There are 6main mistakes that can make a sentence a fragment: A â€Å"sentence† that lacks a verb A â€Å"sentence† that has an -ing or non-past tense -ed verb without a helping verb A â€Å"sentence† that lack a subject A â€Å"sentence† that begins with a subordinating conjunction and has no main clause A â€Å"sentence† that add details to the main clause, but is separated from it A â€Å"sentence† that has a nonessential clause or prepositional phrase and incomplete main clause Let's discuss each of these separately. 1. Sentences that do not have a verb To recognize these kinds of fragments, ask yourself what the subject of the sentence is doing. If you can't answer that question, it's probably because there's no verb! Examples John, after winning the trophy. (What did he do?) Ten cakes and two dozen cupcakes. (What about them?) Next Tuesday. (What is next Tuesday?) To fix these kinds of fragments, you must add a verb to show an action or state of being. John, after winning the trophy, smiled. Ten cakes and two dozen cupcakes were prepared by the bakery. Next Tuesday is my birthday. 2. Sentences with a gerund or past participleand no helping verb. These errors can be a bit more difficult to recognize. Whenever you see a gerund, an â€Å"-ing† verb, or a past participle, an â€Å"-ed† verb that doesn’t seem to be describing the past tense, thereMUST bea helping verb with it oranother verb somewhere else in the sentence. If the sentencehas neither, it's a fragment. Examples The children walking through the park. The paintings created by the students. Students studying every night for the SAT. The actress smiling at the crowd There are two ways to fix these kinds of fragments. The first is toadd a helping verb or change the verb to another form. Examples The children were walking through the park. The paintings were created by the students. The students had been studying every night for the SAT. The actress was smiling at the crowd. OR The actress smiled at the crowd. The second way to fix these fragments is to use the -ing or -ed word as a participle - meaning that it is an adjective describing a noun in the sentence - and add a main verb. Examples The children walking through the park shouted with joy. The paintings created by the students were hung in the hallway. The students studying every night for the SAT were sleep deprived. The actress, smiling at the crowd, accepted the award. 3. A sentence is also a fragment if it lacks a subject. To recognize this error, ask yourself: who is doing the action? Examples After reading all the assigned material. (Who read it?) Wanted to discuss her grades with the teacher. (Who wanted to?) Contemplating the meaning of life. (Who was?) You may notice that some of these examples also have errors we have already discussed. To fix these, we need to add a subject and make sure there is a correctly conjugated main verb. Examples Phil went to bed after reading all the assigned material. Amanda wanted to discuss her grades with the teacher. She was contemplating the meaning of life. 4. A sentence is a fragment if it is a dependent or subordinate clause. This means that it has both a subject and a verb in the correct form, but it begins with a subordinating conjunctionand is not attached to another, main clause that is a complete sentence on its own. To recognize these errors, see if the sentence begins with a subordinating conjunction.Some common subordinating conjunctions include: after, although, as, as if, because, before, ever since, if, in order, just as, since, so that, though, unless, until, when, whenever, where, whether, whereas, whichever, while. Examples While I was parking the car. When he finished baking cupcakes. Since she owns two horses. To fix these errors, you need to connect them to an independent clause - a complete thoughtthat can stand on its own. Examples While I was parking the car, I saw a cat run across the driveway. When he finished baking cupcakes, I iced them. Since she owns two horses, she is going to give me riding lessons. 5. Look out foradded detail fragments. These constructions come after a complete sentence and give extra information, but they don't express a complete thought on their own. They usually begin with words like such as, including, and for example. If you see a "sentence" that begins with one of the above words or phrases, check to see if it has a subject and a verb. If the subject and verb are part of another sentence, then it is a fragment. Examples I enjoy seeing animals at the zoo. Such as monkeys, zebras, and lions. Julia enjoys watching anime. For example, YuYu Hakusho and Princess Mononoke. I like to eat sweets, such as: donuts, chocolate, and candy. These fragments can be fixed in several ways. The first is to add the detail fragment to the main sentence it is describing. I enjoy seeing animals such as monkeys, zebras, and lions at the zoo. Additionally, you can make a complete sentence out of the fragment by adding a subject and a verb. Julia enjoys watching anime. For example, she watches YuYu Hakusho and Princess Mononoke. When one of the words introduces a list with a colon, make sure that what comes before the colon can stand on its own as a complete sentence. I like to eat sweets: donuts, chocolate, and candy. Or you can make a sentence without the colon. I like to eat sweets, such as donuts, chocolate, and candy. 6. Some fragments will have a relativeclause, appositive, or prepositional phrase with an incomplete main clause. To spot these errors, cross out the relativeclause, appositive, or prepositional phrase. Are you left with a complete sentence? Examples John, who won the trophy four years in a row.→John, who won the trophy four years in a row.(Missing verb) In the newspapers. →In the newspapers.(Missing subject and verb) The trophy, which was given to the person who could cook an omelette the fastest. → The trophy, which was given to the person who could cook an omelette the fastest.(Missing verb) Santa Claus, the jolly man in the red suit. → Santa Claus, the jolly man in the red suit.(Missing verb) To correct these errors, add a subject or a verb as needed. Make sure that if you eliminate the prepositional phrase or non-essential clause, that there is complete sentence left over. John, who won the trophy four years in a row, congratulated his competitors. John congratulated his competitors. = CORRECT John’s victory was announced in the newspapers. John’s victory was announced. = CORRECT The trophy, which was given to the person who could cook an omelette the fastest, was shaped like an egg. The trophy was shaped like an egg. = CORRECT Santa Claus, the jolly man in the red suit, ate all my cookies. Santa Claus ate all my cookies. = CORRECT Now you know the ways to fix incomplete sentences! Another common error that the SAT will test you on is whetheryou can recognize sentences that are incorrect because the clauses have been joined together incorrectly. Let's look at how to tackle these questions. What is a Run-on? A run-on is when two or more sentences run together and aren't separated by the correct punctuation.Some people think that â€Å"run-on† just means a really long sentence. This isn't true - you can have a very long sentence that is grammatically correct.This sentence is 239 words long but is not a run-on. There are three main types of run-ons: Comma splices Fused sentences Sentences joined by a conjunctive adverb and commas Comma Splices Acomma spliceoccurs whentwo complete independent clauses (full sentences) arejoined together by a comma and nothing else. A comma can never join together two complete sentences on its own. When you see a sentence with a comma in the middle, check to see if there is a coordinating conjunction (see this article for more info) that joins the sentences together or if one of the clauses is a subordinate clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction. If not, the sentence is a run-on. Example She was offered the prestigious job, she turned it down because she did not want to move to Texas. Fused Sentences Fused sentencesoccur when two or more sentences run right into each other, with no punctuation at all. To recognize these, look to see if a sentencehas two unconnected subjects and verbs without the necessary punctuation (see above for the correct ways to join two independent clauses). She was offered the prestigious job she turned it down because she did not want to move to Texas. Incorrectly Punctuated Conjunctive Adverbs Joining two independent clauses with a conjunctive adverb and commas is another recipe for a run-on. Conjunctive adverbs can only be used to connect two independent clauses in concert with a period or a semicolon. When you see a conjunctive adverb (however, moreover, nevertheless, therefore, consequently, etc.)with commas on either side of it, check whether it's being used to connect independentclauses on either side of it. If so, the sentence is a run-on. She was offered the prestigious job, however, she turned it down because she did not want to move to Texas. Correcting Run-ons To fix run-ons, you will use the rules outlined above to correctly join two sentences: 1. Create two separate sentences. She was offered the prestigious job. She turned it down because she did not want to move to Texas. 2. Use a comma and FANBOYS conjunction. She was offered the prestigious job, but she turned it down because she did not want to move to Texas. 3. Use a semicolon. She was offered the prestigious job; she turned it down because she did not want to move to Texas. 4. Use a semicolon with a conjunctive adverb. She was offered the prestigious job; however, she turned it down because she did not want to move to Texas. 5. Re-write the sentence with a subordinate clause. Depending on the sentence, this may not always be as easily done, and may require extra work. Since she did not want to move to Texas, she turned down the prestigious job that she was offered. 6. If the two clauses have the same subject, join the sentences and remove the repeated subject. Notice that this way, you do not need a comma with your FANBOYS conjunction. She was offered the prestigious job but turned it down because she did not want to move to Texas. Specific Strategies for Fragments and Run-ons Fragments and run-ons will most frequently be tested in Improving Sentences questions, though they will also sometimes appear in Identifying Errors and Improving Paragraphs. Use the following steps to approach a fragment or run-on question: 1. When you first read the sentence, make sure you can find the subjectand correctly conjugated verb. Is this difficult? If you see a prepositional phrase, appositive, or a non-essential clause, cross it out. See if you have a correct sentence left over. 2. In both the original sentence and the answer choices, look for the telltale signs of a fragment or run-on error: -ed or -ing verbs. Check for appropriate helping verbs. Clause that begins with a subordinating conjunction. Check it is connected to a main clause. A separate sentence describing a previous sentence, with words like â€Å"for example.† Conjunctive adverbs like â€Å"however† surrounded by commas A semicolon followed by a FANBOYS conjunction A single comma in the middle of the sentence - often a sign of comma splice 3. Immediately cross out any answer choices that make the above errors. 4. IMPORTANT: One almost sure sign of a mistake is a non-essential clause that is not immediately followed by a verb. If you see one of these, it is almost always a fragment that needs fixing. Examples My father, who is one of the greatest violinists in the world, and he plays the piano, as well. → FRAGMENT My father, who is one of the greatest violinists in the world, plays the piano, as well. → CORRECT 5. IMPORTANT: Watch out for commas separating two independent clauses (aka a comma splice). This is the most common type of run-on that you will see on the SAT. 6. Select a final answer choice that follows the above rules and also follows the standard style rules used on the Writing SAT: No unnecessary prepositions or articles Pronouns must have clear antecedents Use fewer gerunds and participles if possible No dangling or misplaced modifiers Choose the most concise option that is also grammatically correct. Let’s try one together†¦ Santa Fe is one of the oldest cities in the United States, its adobe architecture, spectacular setting, and clear, radiant light have long made it a magnet for artists. Santa Fe is one of the oldest cities in the United States, its Santa Fe, which is one of the oldest cities in the Unites States, its Santa Fe, which is one of the oldest cities in the United States, has Santa Fe is one of the oldest cities in the United States; its Santa Fe, one of the oldest cities in the United States, and it The first thing that I notice in this question is that part of the underlined portion contains a comma. This is a clue that I should check to see how it is being used. Commas are correctly used to separate items in a list and to separate dependent clauses from independent clauses. This is obviously not a list (though we do have a list at the end of the sentence) and I don’t see any subordinating conjunctions, so it’s not a dependent clause. Now I need to check if I am dealing with a comma splice. Can I make two separate sentences out of the above by replacing the comma with a period? Santa Fe is one of the oldest cities in the United States. Its adobe architecture, spectacular setting, and clear, radiant light have long made it a magnet for artists. This works, so I'm dealing witha comma splice. Now I’m going to look at the answer choices and see if I can spot some other obvious errors. Choice (A) is always the same as the original sentence, so it contains the comma splice. I can rule it out. Choices (B) and (C) both contain non-essential clauses beginning with â€Å"which†. As I know from the rules above, I should always be able to cross out non-essential clauses and have a complete sentence left over. So let’s try that: B: Santa Fe its adobe architecture, spectacular setting, and clear, radiant light have long made it a magnet for artists. → SENTENCE DOES NOT MAKE SENSE, so (B) is out. C: Santa Fe has adobe architecture, spectacular setting, and clear radiant light have long made it a magnet for artists. → SENTENCE DOES NOT MAKE SENSE, so (C) is out. Choice (D) uses a semicolon to separate the two independent clauses, which is one of the correct ways to join two sentences together. Therefore, answer (D) is correct. But just to be certain, let’s look at answer (E). This option contains an appositive. We should be able to cross it out and have a correct sentence: E: Santa Fe and it adobe architecture, spectacular setting, and clear, radiant light have long made it a magnet for artists. → SENTENCE DOES NOT MAKE SENSE, so (E) is out. Now time to try some on your own! Practice Questions from the SAT #1: What must be done with sentence 1 below? (1) The students in the class agreed - some of them unhappily - that they would all participate in the new book club. (2) Started by their literature professor, who also ran a film club on campus. Combine it with sentence 2, putting a comma after â€Å"club†. Begin it with the words â€Å"It was†. Replace the comma after "professor" with a semicolon. Place the word "ran" by "was running". Change â€Å"professor, who† to â€Å"professor, she† #2: Many people do not like anchovies on their pizza, it is because they think they taste bad and are disgusting as a result. pizza, it is because they think they taste bad and are disgusting as a result pizza because they think they taste bad and therefore find them disgusting pizza for the reason that they think they taste bad with resulting disgust pizza because of thinking they taste bad and therefore they think them disgusting pizza, their thoughts of them being that they taste bad resulting in finding them disgusting #3: Having won gold in the Olympics two years in a row, the Brazilian women's soccer team praised for their athleticism. praised for their athleticism praised and were very athletic has been praised for its athleticism are praised for having athleticism is being praised for being athletic #4: To assist the team in the timely production of the film, a revised script written overnight by the director and producer. a revised script written overnight by the director and producer. a revised script being written overnight by the director and producer and to write overnight a revised script by the director and producer the director and producer have written a revised script overnight with the director and producer writing a revised script overnight #5: A form of dance traditional to northern Spain is the Flamenco, it combines rhythmic stamping with emotional intensity. Flamenco, it combines rhythmic stamping Flamenco, which combines rythmic stamping Flamenco, which lets them combine rhythmic stamping Flamenco; letting them combine rhythmic stamping Flamenco by having a combination of rhythmic stamping #6: London's iconic Tower Bridge, which was opened on(A) June 30, 1894,to span the Thames River, and is crossed by(B) a minimum of(C) 40,000people(D) perday. Noerror. (E) Answers: 1. B; 2. B; 3. C; 4. D; 5. B; 6. B What’s Next? Now that you’ve mastered one of the trickiest concepts on SAT Writing, time to check out some others! Read about how the SAT will test you on parallel structure, illogical comparisons, and wordiness and redundancy. Need to review some of the basics before moving forward? Brush up on the fundamentals of grammar with our Parts of Speech guide. Was this concept too easy? Check out some of the most difficult questions you’ll encounter on SAT Writing. Aiming high? Read this article for top tips for a perfect Writing SAT score from a perfect scorer. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Writing and grammar lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

The Power behind the Prime Minister Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Power behind the Prime Minister - Essay Example Today, most of the constitutional monarchies are prime ministerial by nature and structure. It is alleged that the Prime Minister’s office does not have many legal roots, but is open to speculation and calculation of historians and political scientists3. In recent years, perhaps the most accused Prime Minister as a dictator is Margaret Thatcher4. Not having properly written powers has not prevented the Prime Minister’s office from being in control of most of the situations5. The nature of the Prime Minister’s work is all-pervasive. He is the national leader, chief policymaker, Parliament leader, leader of the ruling party and the most powerful point in the whole of United Kingdom and all information and power are at his disposal6. UK Prime Ministers are also charged with sometimes behaving like the United States President. Â  The Prime Minister, even though appointed by the British Monarch, is bound by the constitutional convention and if happens to lose the majority in House of Commons, is bound to resign or request for a general election. To some extent, Prime Minister’s office is still a de facto shade in it; it is governed more by custom than by the law of the land. British Monarch is bound by Prime Minister’s advice and this gives the Prime Minister a more powerful position. He also can use certain royal prerogatives directly7. Â  Even though Prime Ministers are never prevented from running the country in their own individual style, the fact remains that his position remains ambiguous as he is not empowered by any statutory authority.

A Link between Indian Objectification and Women Sexualization Essay

A Link between Indian Objectification and Women Sexualization - Essay Example The image should include a few of common bright features, in order to avert the eyes from everything besides them. An image has the well-thought and self-justifying history. This is the point in dressing Indians in traditional clothes and focusing on their old rituals, mostly noticeable features – a creation of the solid image of distant, outlying and old race, that is not connected to the present, and thus to the civilization - this should minimize responsibility and empathy. Same with sexualized women – a bright image of a sexy-looking and lustful female is created in order to justify permissiveness with an illusion of women’s designation to lust for the possessive attitude.It is obvious that a majority of women is not bound with this stereotype they can suffer from only due to their being women and thus – associated with a mascot of the sexual female.Same with Indians that are majorly not even nearly bound with a virtual image of their race that is bein g artificially created for self-justification and massively spread for everyone, who falls under the mascot of American citizen, and thus are by default should be guilty for the sins of their ancestors and obliged to accept both stereotypes – of Indian aborigines and woman toys – as a cure from artificially created guilt. Thus it can be seen, that a system of ruling human minds by means of division into groups and labeling is widespread and works the same way for people under the case of Indian objectification and women sexualization.

Racial issues among black & latino boys in school Research Paper

Racial issues among black & latino boys in school - Research Paper Example This is a fundamental variation, since concentrated poverty is related to mediocre educational performance. Poverty at the school level is linked to several factors that impact the overall chance of a school at effectively educating its students, incorporating parent educational backgrounds, accessibility of advanced lessons, educators with specializations in the subject they are handling, fluctuation in enrollment, dropouts, remedied health dilemmas, lower college admission rates and several other critical factors. The large project of compensatory schooling initiated by the nation has had considerable predicaments in achieving improvements and benefits in schools wherein poverty is greatly felt and concentrated. Once school districts go back to vicinity schools, students of white racial background have a tendency to sit beside students from the middle class group but African-American and Latino students are expected to sit beside students from the low class or impoverished group (F ife, 1992). Hence, while discourse over the accurate effect of desegregation persists, it is unquestionable that African-American and Latino students in racially assimilated educational institutions are commonly in schools wherein there are higher levels of standard academic performance than are those in segregated schools. Desegregation does not guarantee that students of non-white racial backgrounds will acquire better opportunities in those educational institutions that rely on how the racially integrated school is managed but it does normally place marginalized students in schools wherein there are better opportunities as well as better equipped and trained peer groups. In a period within which compulsory state examinations for graduation are being implemented, college admissions requirements are getting higher, remedial classes in college are reduced and positive action has previously been eliminated in our two biggest states, the

Utilitarian Issues Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Utilitarian Issues - Case Study Example The final utilitarian issue to be explored is whether the company should just honour the obligations of its shareholders and stop the contract with the pacemaker company. Utility Test The utility test looks into several factors in choosing the best approach to solving a dilemma. Using the utility test we have to deduce the outcomes of the decision to be undertaken by the board of directors of the transistor company. Several solutions will be put forward for consideration and the best decision that will be chosen will concentrate on the happiness of all stakeholders. Step 1: In the case of the transistor company and the pacemaker company. Several solutions exist and we have to choose the best alternative other than the suggested solution. The first step would be for the directors to analyze the results of their intended decision. In this case, we take a look at the three solutions put forward by different directors. The main criteria to be used in deciding the best solution will facto r in happiness, the directors’ preferences and the cost of undertaking the decided solution (Mill 66). Step 2: Using the utility test, we look at the solutions brought forward by the different stakeholders. The first solution will analyze the effect on the company being bought and on its shareholders and employees. ... However, the transistor company has the intention of annulling the contract since it is not happy with undertaking business with the pacemaker company. Step 4: The decision undertaken by the directors of the transistor company had different ideas on the best solution. Moreover, there was no policy guideline on how to make the correct decision. There were no policies to guide on making the correct decision since the pacemaker technology was quite new in the medical field (Mill 172). As a result, the directors had to look into the ethical implications of their decision and the effect happiness of all stakeholders. Alternative solutions have to be developed in accordance with the utility tests and these decisions will consider the groups that the alternative decision would affect. In the case of our company, the best alternative solution would be to an acquisition by the pacemaker company. This alternative would save the pacemaker company from going under and at the same time help in th e continuous production of pacemakers (West 83). However, this solution would disadvantage the company and its other customers other than the pacemaker company. Rights Test A rights test is conducted with the main aim considering the respect of human rights. In the case of the Pacemaker Company and Transistor Company the rights of different stakeholders are analyzed. Step 1: The directors of the pacemaker company have the right to property and they make decisions on behalf of the company. However, while exercising their rights the directors cannot infringe the rights of the directors and employees of the pacemaker company from making a living. Patients who receive the pacemakers also have a right to life and good healthcare and thus their rights also have to

Compare and contrast the processes of democratisation in [country X] Essay

Compare and contrast the processes of democratisation in [country X] and [country Y] - Essay Example emocratization was initiated in both the countries soon after and the cessation of Latvia from the Soviet Union and the voluntary change in the Bulgarian monopolistic Communist party’s ideology. Now, after almost twenty years of the democratic process, both the countries are part of the European Union, a fact indicative of their progress and success in making social and political changes. The current paper aims to analyze the process of democratization in the two countries, Latvia and Bulgaria, and to compare and contrast them on their achievements towards the same. The theoretical frameworks employed by scholars in studying the process of democratization largely fall into two categories. The first approach, called the functionalist approach, proposes that the process of democracy is brought about as a result of economic or cultural development or ushered in simply by the changing times and modernization. Another approach, called the genetic view, that is employed in studying the process of democratization is to assess the involvement of political thinkers and leaders who have contributed in bringing about a change in political thought and practice. (Vanhanen and Pridham, 1994). The present paper aims to combine both the functional as well as the genetic approach in studying and comparing the process of democratization in two Eastern European nations – Latvia and Bulgaria. In order to compare and contrast the process of democratization in the Latvia and Bulgaria, it is necessary to study the historical factors that were responsible for the process to set in as well as understand the structural changes, the social and political struggles and changes that led to the evolution of a democratic electoral system in the two countries. Democratization in the Eastern European nations was influenced by both external and internal factors. (Vanhanen and Pridham, 1994). The external factors like the reforms already started in the Soviet Union by Gorbachev and the

Utilitarian Issues Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Utilitarian Issues - Case Study Example The final utilitarian issue to be explored is whether the company should just honour the obligations of its shareholders and stop the contract with the pacemaker company. Utility Test The utility test looks into several factors in choosing the best approach to solving a dilemma. Using the utility test we have to deduce the outcomes of the decision to be undertaken by the board of directors of the transistor company. Several solutions will be put forward for consideration and the best decision that will be chosen will concentrate on the happiness of all stakeholders. Step 1: In the case of the transistor company and the pacemaker company. Several solutions exist and we have to choose the best alternative other than the suggested solution. The first step would be for the directors to analyze the results of their intended decision. In this case, we take a look at the three solutions put forward by different directors. The main criteria to be used in deciding the best solution will facto r in happiness, the directors’ preferences and the cost of undertaking the decided solution (Mill 66). Step 2: Using the utility test, we look at the solutions brought forward by the different stakeholders. The first solution will analyze the effect on the company being bought and on its shareholders and employees. ... However, the transistor company has the intention of annulling the contract since it is not happy with undertaking business with the pacemaker company. Step 4: The decision undertaken by the directors of the transistor company had different ideas on the best solution. Moreover, there was no policy guideline on how to make the correct decision. There were no policies to guide on making the correct decision since the pacemaker technology was quite new in the medical field (Mill 172). As a result, the directors had to look into the ethical implications of their decision and the effect happiness of all stakeholders. Alternative solutions have to be developed in accordance with the utility tests and these decisions will consider the groups that the alternative decision would affect. In the case of our company, the best alternative solution would be to an acquisition by the pacemaker company. This alternative would save the pacemaker company from going under and at the same time help in th e continuous production of pacemakers (West 83). However, this solution would disadvantage the company and its other customers other than the pacemaker company. Rights Test A rights test is conducted with the main aim considering the respect of human rights. In the case of the Pacemaker Company and Transistor Company the rights of different stakeholders are analyzed. Step 1: The directors of the pacemaker company have the right to property and they make decisions on behalf of the company. However, while exercising their rights the directors cannot infringe the rights of the directors and employees of the pacemaker company from making a living. Patients who receive the pacemakers also have a right to life and good healthcare and thus their rights also have to

International Trade Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International Trade Operations - Essay Example This issue has been chosen as the central objective of this report and therefore, assessing various payment risks underlying the operations of the company concerned in international markets, this report highlights the crucial steps that need to be taken by ABC Ltd to reduce these risks to the extent that can enable the company to minimize the probability of incurring loss in the course of international trade. As the report declares the company confronts with two kinds of risks undermining the payment in consequence of international trade. These risks could be in two forms; either in the form of non-payment by the importer or in the form of late-payment due to a number of reasons. There are many factors that bring about the risk underlying payment in the international trade. As the business operations are carried out on the cross-border level, several international as well as domestic events taking place within both the exporting and importing countries may have their impact on the extent of risk associated with payment. This is the greatest risk underlying the export trade, which may cause substantial business loss to the exporter. ABC Ltd is providing electronic goods to both the developed as well as developing countries therefore, it comes across many cases in which it fails to receive export payments form the importers due to lack of credit worthiness, no or little information about im porter, government policies and protection, lack of legal action and due to insecure payment modes. RISK OF LATE PAYMENT This is another risk underlying export payments, which may also cause irreparable loss to the company. The manufacture of electronic goods requires continued flow of capital that is ensured by secured payment from the buyers of the products. Late payments may entail innumerable problems for the business in terms of re-scheduling its manufacturing process. Information about buyers and their countries can play an important role in pre-determining the probability of late payments and potential problems that may arise due to it. ASSESSMENT OF PAYMENT RISKS Following are the most common risks that are involved in receiving the payment of goods exported to other countries: Commercial risks The commercial risks that are associated with the export payment are intimately related to the importers credit worthiness. These risks may turn into business loss if the buyer becomes bankrupt or insolvent rendering the exporter unable to receive the payment for goods exported. The commercial risks also include the non-acceptance of goods on the part of importer, showing his unwillingness to pay (Trade Facilitation and Electronic Commerce, accessed 02.01.2006). ABC Ltd also confronts the risk of default on payment by a buyer or importer at the end of the credit period. The company risks the payment against goods exported when the buyer is less credit-worthy. Risks Associated With Different Payment Methods The following are the common modes of payment used by ABC Ltd. in export trade. Some of them are highly insecure and involve risk potential. The risks associated with t

Qualitative Research or Quantitative Research Essay Example for Free

Qualitative Research or Quantitative Research Essay Both qualitative and quantitative research methods have their specific qualities which make them useful to a researcher, however in the course of this short essay I will explain why, for several reasons, qualitative research is better. As both methods operate within different assumptions, it is important to stem criticism for each methods respective theoretical base in order to adequately judge them. In the course of this essay I will highlight each methods theoretical assumptions and then I will assess each method by pointing out their positive and negative factors. The underlying assumption behind qualitative research is that the entire subject needs to be examined in order to understand the phenomenon. Quantitative research however, places importance in collecting and analyzing data from parts of a trend and in so doing, can miss important aspects which could lead to a complete understanding of the whole phenomenon. Theres no such thing as qualitative data. Everything is either 1 or 0(Fred Kerlinger: 1999)Unlike quantitative research, there is no overarching framework for how qualitative research should be conducted; rather each type of qualitative research is guided by the particular philosophical stances that are taken in relation by the research to each phenomenon (Miles Huberman: 1994, p. 40) This enables qualitative research to be more involved with the subject at hand whereas quantitative research has the same rules which it applies to every subject matter, thus making it easier to overlook important evidence. As the researcher using qualitative methods becomes entirely immersed in the data collection phase of the project, he himself actually becoming the data collection tool as opposed to the questionnaires and equipment used by quantitative researchers, it allows him to gain a better understanding of the subject matter as a whole and observe the subject in its own environment:Human behaviour is significantly influenced by the setting in which it occurs; thus one must study that behaviour in situations. The physical setting  ¬e.g., schedules, space, pay, and rewards  ¬and the internalized notions of norms, traditions, roles, and values are crucial contextual variables. Research must be conducted in the setting where all  the contextual variables are operating. (Marshall Rossman: 1980)Quantitative research disregards these valuable contextual variables as most of the work is done in a laboratory with the researcher using the principles of impartiality and an objective portrayal of t he subject. In conclusion, qualitative research is better than quantitative research because it places emphasis upon the subject itself by studying it in an in-depth manner and becoming involved with it on a personal level. Quantitative research keeps a level of impartiality with the subject matter thus making it neglect important contextual factors crucial to the research itself. 1.Using British Election Study data for example, why is it problematic to do quantitative research on ethnic minorities?It is problematic to do quantitative research on ethnic minorities because the standard deviation is so small, thus the observations are spread out over a very small sample which would not accurately represent the entire ethnic group. There is such a small valid percent that subjects would need to be targeted as they are unlikely to be caught during random sampling. 2.Providing either hypothetical and/or published examples, how accurate is it to label content analysis as a quantitative method?It is quite accurate to label content analysis as a quantitative method for several reasons. The comparisons of their theoretical patterns are numerous and therefore it has more in common with quantitative than qualitative methods. In the course of this short essay I will explain why it is accurate to label content analysis as a quantitative method by using an example of research employing content analysis and pointing out the similarities between the two. Content analysis has been described as:Any technique for making inferences by objectively and systematically identifying specified characteristics of messages (Holsti: 1969 p. 14)Compare this with a definition of quantitative research:The aim is to classify features, count them, and construct statistical models in an attempt to explain what is observed. It is objective seeks precise measurement analysis of target concepts. (Miles   Huberman: 1994, p. 40)Both of these definitions contain the term objective, which shows that both of the methods share the core aspect of non-interference with subjects:Content analysis is often referred to as an unobtrusive method'(Bryman: 2008, p. 289)This key concept lies at the heart of both content analysis and quantitative research methods, it is an obvious similarity. In Shephards study of the dynamics between the party, candidates and constituencies he used content analysis on party leaflets to spot recurring trends. His method (content analysis) bears a striking resemblance to quantitative research, for example both methods begin with hypotheses and theories, Shephard choosing to ask whether emphasis in leaflets matches the profile of the constituents. He then made two hypotheses stating that -the higher the unemployment rate the higher the emphasis on jobs and job creation and the higher the home ownership, the higher the emphasis on interest rates and mortgages. Quantitative research methods also start off with hypotheses and theories; therefore it is clear to see that content analysis could be labelled quantitative due to this fact. Furthermore, both methods of research have a high level of transparency because they are both highly structured and systematic in their approach. Shephard stated that to conduct his analysis objectively and systematically (two quantitative features) that he had to identify his sample, sample period, text/images and what words and images to count. This shows that both content analysis and quantitative research share epistemologically grounded beliefs about what constitutes acceptable knowledge (Bryman: 2008, p. 155)In conclusion, it is accurate to label content analysis as a quantitative method due to the fact that it shares many features in common with quantitative research. These include, maintaining objectivity during the study, transparency and a systematic approach to research. These features indicate that content analysis is grounded in the same theoretical processes and philosophy as quantitative research. 3.Providing examples of focus group research from the literature, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of focus groups. Focus groups are a highly useful method of data collection but they have many advantages and disadvantages. I will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of focus groups in this essay and also consider real-life examples of focus group research to illustrate this. Focus groups can provide an insight into the way in which people organize and interpret knowledge as well as how people construe information. This is especially useful in the study of audience reception- how audiences receive different kinds of television and radio programmes, etc. Such a study was conducted by Morley in 1980 into how Nationwide, a popular television programme at the time, was received by specific groups of people. He noticed that different groups had different interpretations of the programmes which they had watched, which indicated that the meaning of the programme was based in the way it was watched and interpreted not in the programme itself. (Bryman: 2008, 475) This provides more information that a simple interview because the interviewee has the choice to respond to fellow participants and argue with them, leading the researcher to gain a greater insight into why they hold such beliefs and how strongly they feel about them. Another advantage of focus groups is that they can provide a more open environment to respond to questions by the way in which they are selected prior to the event. For example, Kitzinger notes in her research on HIV that any attempts at discussions about risks for gay men were blocked out by strong homophobic clamouring amongst homophobic men. (Kitzinger: 1994b in Bloor, et al: 2001, p. 20) Therefore focus groups consisting of specific groups such as male prostitutes, retirement club members, etc, provided a more relaxed environment in which views could be openly discussed without fear of being criticised for ones beliefs. In addition to this, organising groups consisting of only HIV positive people meant that disclosure of a potentially stigmatising status could be overcome. (Bloor: 2001 p. 23)However focus groups also have their disadvantages, the most prominent one being the role of the researcher within the discussion- the way in which the focus group is designed, the participan ts selected to take part, where the meeting takes place, how the questions are worded and delivered and who the instigator is may affect the responses which are obtained. This raises  the question over the validity of the results as the researcher has less control over a focus group than he would over a one on one interview with respondents possibly talking amongst themselves on irrelevant issues, or the simple fact that they may get bored or have personality issues with other members of the group. (Walvis: 2003 p. 405)Another disadvantage of focus groups is the tendency of researchers to (either consciously or subconsciously) pick groups so that they align with pre-determined beliefs about a subject. One famous example of this was when Coca-Cola launched New Coke in 1985 despite the fact that the focus groups had made it explicit that they would not like to see the traditional coke removed from the shelves. (Pendergast: 1993 and Greising: 1998) The taste-tests however had proved positive, but they had not been asked the vital question about how they would feel if traditional coke was removed from the shelves, this positive response was more in line with how the CEO of Coca-Cola felt about the product and it was launched based on the back of poorly conducted focus groups. The subsequent product was a massive failure and lost Coca-Cola a large share of the market; it was obvious that Coca-Cola had spent too much time and money on the plan to dismiss it on the results from focus group research at the last minute. One final disadvantage of focus groups is their limited spread of views; Morgan (1998) suggests that the average size of a group should be around six to ten people. This clearly cannot be representative of the population as a whole- Stephen Fisher and Robert Andersen (2005) state that in order to have a representative sample for one million people you would need, with a margin of error of 5%, 384 participants. Bibliography †¢Bloor, M. et al. (2001) Focus Groups in Social Research (London: Sage). †¢Bryman, A. (2008) Social Research Methods (2nd Ed.) (Oxford: Oxford University Press). †¢Greising, D. (1998) Id Like the World to Buy a Coke: The Life and Leadership of Robert Goizueta (New York: Wiley)†¢Holsti, O.R (1969) Content Analysis for the Social Sciences and Humanities (Reading, Mass.: Addison-Wesley)†¢Kerlinger, F. Foundations of Behavioural Research (Nova York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1965)†¢Marshall, C., Rossman, G. (1980). Designing qualitative research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. †¢Miles Huberman (1994, p. 40). Qualitative Data Analysis†¢Pendergast, M. (1993) For God, Country and Coca-Cola: The Unauthorised history of the Worlds Most Popular Soft Drink (London: Weidenfeld Nicholson)†¢Shephard, M. (2007) Multiple Audiences, Multiple Messages? An Exploration of the Dynamics between the Party, the Candidates and the Various Constituencies, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties†¢Walvis, T.H (2003), Avoiding advertising research disaster: Advertising and the uncertainty principle, Journal of Brand Management, Vol. 10, No. 6