Lord Of The Flies By Golding Essays - English-language Films, Films

Lord Of The Flies By Golding In the Wiliam Golding novel Lord of the Flies children are stranded on an island with the possibility of not getting off. There is no adult supervision, no laws, no form of authority what so ever. When reading this novel, some questions come to mind about society. Questions such as what compels us to behave properly in our society? Is it a fear of the law? How can we behave in such orderly fashion most of the time and yet be capable of terrible destruction? These are some questions this essay will try to answer. A question that may stump some people is what compels us to behave properly in society? The reason may be the want or, for some the need, to fit in and be accepted in society and not to be judged. People know what is accepted and what is not in society. It may be a fear of the law because people know what the consequences for their actions will be, therefore they stay within the confines of the law. People such as Jack, from Lord of the Flies, would be seen as an outcast of society. "I thought I might kill." (p.55) This quote decribes Jacks character and personality. If someone in our society said that people would consider him crazy and not normal. Not all people are civilized and respectable in our society all the time. Sometimes when people act they don't think first which is probably why they are capable of such destruction. They don't think about the repercussions of their actions before they act. Such was the problem in chapter nine "A View to a Death" in Lord of the Flies. The boys think that Simon is the beast so they kill him not knowing who it is. Jack shouts, "Kill the beast! Cut his throat! Spill his blood!" (P.167) By Jack saying this you know he is not thinking about the outcome of his actions. Another good quote that shows this is in chapter five when Ralph says, "Things are breaking up. I don't know why. We began well, we were happy." (P.89) This shows that they didn't plan for the worst. If they did plan than maybe things would be better. The situations that people are in would also affect the way people think, or if they think at all. In the situation with Simon's death the boys were too hysterical to think things through rationally. Questions such as why do we behave the way we so in society and what makes us behave orderly most of the time and yet be capable of destruction are difficult to answer. But when it comes down to it, simple things like people not thinking that makes them capable of destruction. And its peoples want for acceptance in society that makes them act the way they do. Examples of these answers are in Lord of the Flies. When it comes down to it humans are animals, and sometimes we act like our ancestors for the simple fact that we are animals.

Bushfires - Burning for the better

Bushfires - Burning for the better Lachlan Bryant Biology Mrs DaviesBURNING FOR THE BETTERBushfires have played a vital role in the up keeping of the Australian bush for millions of years. Much of our vegetation has evolved with fire. Like the vegetation in other harsh and dry environments, it has developed characteristics that promote the spread of fire and in some cases, fire is essential in the reproduction of some native flora (CSIRO). In the Bunya Mountains, recent study has shown that lack of fire has dramatically accelerated the decrease of the number and size of grasslands in the Bunya Mountains which are called balds (NLWRA). This brings to question why there is such an opposition to controlled burning of areas such as the Bunya Mountains when in fact not putting to use controlled burns potentially has a far worse effect than burning.Fire has intense effects on the abiotic factors of forest ecosystems.English: Loggers at their camp in the Bunya Mounta...Surface temperatures have been reported to reach 1,000 °C (Ahlgren) and a number of physicochemical properties of the soil are affected. Severe heating of soil breaks down the structures of the inorganic parent materials, causing the soil structure to become unstable (Ulery). Fire creates layers within the soil that are resistant to water which decreases water infiltration and increasing soil erosion by water runoff (Amlendros, DeBano).The effects on ammonium and nitrate concentrations are variable (Covington, Jorgensen, Kovaci), while concentrations of phosphorus, potassium, and magnesium are reported to increase (D.W Smith).Due to the release of basic cations during combustion and their deposition on the surface of the soil, most studies declare an increase in soil PH after fires (Pietik ¤inen, T.H Anderson).Natural forests and their ecosystems in Australia have evolved to use available rainfall in a way that allows them to survive. In each climate niche, naturally and man...

Digital Divide in UK Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Digital Divide in UK - Essay Example It is right for countries like UK to consider their efforts to tackle the digital divide. More than ten years on from the trendy emergence of the opinion, the digital divide remains an imperative issue that requires renewed attention2. Today, we would argue strappingly against abandoning the digital divide as a feasible area for social intrusion. There is substantial evidence that the digital divide is neither dying through the maneuverings of the market, or being made out of date by improvements in technological developments; nor are the digital inequalities firmly following the well-established lines of social injustice and general inequality3. As such, we would vie that the digital divide has continued to be the most significant social concern of recent times. In addition, it is a social issue that can be addressed by concerned stakeholders and concerned policy makers in the knowledge economy or information society – albeit requiring a carefully coherent loom to any interve ntion. The social rooted and complex nature of issues has prompted a logical reticence amongst sections of the IT industry and community policy, to feel that they are capable of engineering meaningful and sustained change when it comes to folks’ ICT use4. ... This means the use of ICTs when necessary and where applicable. Details of the Digital-divide   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Causes The disparities in the use of information technology should not be assumed to be motionless in nature as individuals drop in and out of ICT rendezvous at different levels in life course as their state of affairs change6. Additional techno-utopian stakeholders go on storing substantial faith in power of market forces to ultimately lead to full dissemination of ICT use pretending that, its use will eventually spread from early adopters to succeeding majorities of users in the due itinerary of time7. Many in the IT industry and policy community consider the digital divide as a dead issue, not laudable intervention of policy8. This has resulted to suggestions that, the digital divide is a historical object of 1990s and nothing like ‘last century concern’9. The primary challenge affecting policy makers is matching the affordances of ICT with daily needs, desir es and interests of individuals. In this respect, the digital divided demands a complex set of responses which go beyond increasing levels of support and hardware provision, and then pretending the breach to have been bridged. Current scenario The research carried out currently shows that, improving access will help in bridging the digital divide to some extent. Motivation and interest are the biggest barriers to accessing information and communication technology. Lack of perceived need follows this category. From the results of the analysis, 53 % of the grown up people who never use the internet say that, they â€Å"do not need to, want to, or do not have an interest.†10

Management assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Management assignment - Essay Example My objective work objective for the future is to work with Saudi Aramco Company and head the marketing department. Being the national producer oil the company is in a very strategic sector considering that oil and gas account for a good proportion of the country’s total GDP. As a marketing manager with the company I will be able to develop and marketing strategies with the aim of growing the company’s profitability while at the same time serving the common good of the public. I will for instance want to see the company give back to the community through CSR, participate in sponsorship of sports and projects that enhance national unity. Also by growing Aramco’s sales I will indirectly touching on the lives of many persons since oil products form the backbone of Saudi’s economy. I think project management is very important and the skills learnt in the module will greatly help me my quest for achieving my wildly important goals. Skills such as working with different teams, diversity and divergent opinions as well as expatiations of budget, time frames and quality have really transformed by outlook. With these skills I believe I should be able to effectively achieve my wild goals and become a very successful global business

Week9 journal entry Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week9 journal entry - Assignment Example This does not help creativity, which means that it does not provide opportunities to students that would be helpful in securing a job. The knowledge that is currently being provided is already saturated. This means that there are more similar skills in the society than there are job opportunities for them, which may explain why there are many unemployed educated individuals. This is in spite of the fact that there are numerous employment opportunities without individuals to fill because the correct and competitive skills have not been taught. Therefore, the education system especially the American system is offering the most basic knowledge leading to more unemployed but educated individuals in the society. As such, individuals only know how to think in one way, which inhibits creativity. To provide the correct skills, the education systems need to shift their modes of teaching towards specific technical skills. This implies that universities and colleges need to train the students h ow to think in a diverse manner so as to enhance their problem solving skills that are in high

Swisses Application on Healthcare Products Marketing

Swisses Application on Healthcare Products Marketing By Qian Liu Executive Summary The purpose of this report was to analyse the marketing mix principles used by the Swisse to marketing its products and find directions for further development. The report illustrates how Swisse succeed through application of marketing mix elements: well-researched products, people and organisation culture, promotion through leadership and CSR marketing as well as the globalisation exchange. Recommendations are made on focusing on food safety regulations and global market management. Introduction With the advancement of researches on the health of human body as well as the increasing ability to buy, people starts to focus more on life quality and healthy living habits these years. Increasingly people began to pay more attention and money to body maintenance and health products, which brings business opportunities for the health care products market. Swisse is an Australian health and wellness company that manufactures vitamin, supplements and other personal care products that are currently available in about 30 countries including Australia, New Zealand, United King, the United States and Hong Kong, etc. Founded in 1969, the company has been committed to its philosophy: health, happiness (HH) with a belief that the focus on people, passion and principles will naturally bring profit in. It conveys its philosophy to the public by introducing ambassadors who are sports stars or celebrities conducting a healthy life cycle. For about 50 years, Swisse has been investing in independent scientific researches on the development and innovations of scientifically-supported healthy products. It started building up since establishment partnerships with universities, laboratories and other top academic institutions as well as its own scientific advisory panel consisted of a group of academics, scientists and clinicians. The company also focus on corporate social responsibility by using natural ingredients, offsetting carbon emissions, investing in charities and advocating sustainability. The purpose of this report is to identify the success of marketing mix of Swisse by analysing marketing mix principles it applies: product, people, promotion and placement. While Swisse focuses more on four elements of marketing mix strategies analysis, other elements of marketing mix as well as other aspects such as business environment might be overlooked. Marketing Mix Overview of the theory: Marketing Mix Market mix is a foundation conceptual framework in market. It is a set of marketing tools the marketing managers used to develop long-term strategies and short-term practices in order to meet targeted customer needs. Different elements are included in marketing mix in different industries. Through long development history, the marketing mix generally comprises the traditional 4Ps: product, price, promotion and place to the developed 8Ps with people, process, physical evidence and performance in addition. The company in question forms its own 4Ps strategy by focusing on product, people, promotion and place. the 4Ps Product Products are the goods or services a company delivers to satisfy customers needs and are the basis of a companys revenues. A company can control the product quality, design, features, after-sales services and brand name to add value to its products. Besides, in order to keep the competitive advantages, a company may continually introduce new products in response to customer needs and market environment. People Human resources including expertise involved in research and development, product line and marketing. A company should hire qualified personnel that are ethical, professional, high-performing and adaptable to the business culture. There should be working regulations, explicit standards incorporating code of ethics and a reward and punishment systems within a company . A comfortable working environment may increase the productivity of staff. The company should also establish and communicate positive values and culture for higher loyalty. Promotion Promotion is used by companies to convey the features and theories of their products to targeted consumers. General promotional tools may include advertising, public relations, brand name selling, etc. While products needs innovations and upgrades, promotion tools should also be creative and meet the market needs to attract customers and beat competitors. Place After production and promotion, a company needs to determine how customers are accessible to its products. Distribution channels include retailers, wholesalers, e-commerce, dealers, etc. As more and more business are going globalization, place becomes a specific concern due to difference in cultures and what works for a place may fail in another. The Swisse Strategy Introduction to Swisse and its marketing mix Swisse started from a humble Melbourne warehouse in late 1960s by its founder, Kevin Ring. From the very beginning, the mission HH and the principles Celebrate Life Everyday are embedded in the ground and development of Swisse. Swisse products went from only herbal vitamins to a range from multivitamins, supplements, nutrition, personal care products to functional foods and are sold in around 30 countries in the world. Swisse applies marketing mix tactically in its marketing strategies. It invests in researches to provide more innovative, functional and reliable products; it put people the top priority in its philosophy to build a harmony and effective working environment; it implement creative advertising practices by building up roles of ambassadors and emphasizing on corporate social responsibilities; it opens up the distribution channels to retailer and e-commerce and expands the global market. Application of 4 Ps to Swisse Marketing Application of Product Policy Research and Development Swisse ensure the functionality and quality of products by investment in up-to-date scientific academic research. It has its own research teams and clinics to conduct projects and tests on innovation and upgrading of products and also builds up collaboration with top academic institutions and foremost projects. It has formal partnerships with entities like: National Institute of Integrative Medicine(NIIM), Swinburne University and La Trobe University. It also has its own advising panel of esteemed scientific advisors such as Prof. Avni Sali, founder of NIIM, Dr. Karin Ried, research director at NIIM, Assc Prof. Andrew Pipingas, cognitive neuroscientist, etc. The expertise from cooperative organizations and advising panels ensures that Swisse remains at the forefront of the up-to-date research development and opportunities as well as certifies the efficacy of formulations. The investment on research by Swisse not only justify the benefits, but also build up positive brand image of the products. HH values Behind the success of Swisse is the HH values embedded in its products. Health and happiness is the most commonly mentioned concept and the test for every decision within Swisse to convey the living theory with products and build a positive brand image. Application of People Policy Focus on people Swisse put people at the top of its 4Ps priorities. It believes that people is the reason it succeed. It advocates a healthy lifestyle working environment by providing free personal trainers, masseuses and organic meals. It also encourages its staff to involve in communities to together build social leadership. Positive culture A success organizational culture affects the organizations productivity and performance and the opinion the customers have on the company. Swisse promotes a positive and friendly culture as noted by Radek Sali, CEO of Swisse wellness, a typical Swisse employee should force himself to dress up different daily, be creative, keep smiling, say hello to everyone, continuously improve and deliver a positive can do attitude at Swisse. Application of Promotion Policy Ambassadors Swisse introduces healthcare professionals, sports stars, entertainers and social media celebrities as ambassadors who find its products helpful and recommend the products through blogs or other forms of social media. This build up a reliable and fashionable brand image for the products and add to the corporate reputation through the personal influence of these public figures CSR As social image is gaining increasingly speaking power on consumers decisions on choice of products, Swisse expands the health, happiness and wellbeing philosophy to the whole community and actively engages in corporate social responsibilities. It emphasizes on environment protection and contributes to the community by establishment of the Celebrate Life Foundation to help preventing diseases by educations of nutrition and healthy lifestyle. Application of Placement Policy Globalisation Not limited by its #1 position in Australian market, Swisse goes globalisation recent years. Swisse products quickly enter into racks of popular local retailers, for instance, Walgreens in the U.S.. It also actively cooperates with local media and programs like the Ellen Show and participates in advertising campaigns to ensure the fluency of its launches. E-commerce Apart from wholesalers and retailers, the new distribution channel of e-commerce makes the purchasing experience much more convenient for customers and less resource-consuming for the Swisse itself. Recommendations on Future Development Focus on Product Quality Despite the popularity and fashionability of the brand name, consumers are more serious on what they eat. Swisse Vitamins has also been involved in advertising complaints on overstatement and misleading of its functionality and promotions violating Medicines Australias self-regulatory code of conduct. In fact, Swisse spent over $50 million per year on advertising. Though not involved in judicial cases or practically violating any laws, Swisse should focus on improving the products in the long run instead of conducting more advertising campaigns. Global Market Differences While globalization contribute to worldwide demand for products, it brings more concerns to a company. Markets in different cultures have different characteristics. As Swisse plans to enter into more countries in the following years, special expertise is needed to examine different needs of customers, competition of the market, customs of business and make strategies for launches. Conclusion Swisse has effectively applied the four elements of marketing mix in its marketing strategies. The independent product research, focus on people, active and creative promotion as well as the globalisation placement contributes to the significant competitive ege over its competitors. Though the company sees a success in its marketing and profiting, Swisse should focus more on product quality and be more self-regulated for the good of business sustainability. The globalisation practices should also be carefully oversighted due to risks in the global market. Word Count: 1637 References Ross, G.(2012). Re-thinking and re-tooling the social marketing mix: AMJ AMJ AMJ. Australasian Marketing Journal, 20(2012),122-126. Retrieved from http://www.elsevier.com/locate/amj Retrieved from https://www.swisse.com/en-au/our-story. Kotler,P., Marketing Management,(Millennium Edition),Custom Edition for University of Pheonix , Prentice Hall, 2000, p. 9 Dermott, D. (2013). A case study on reinvention and growth: Swisse is not selling vitamins, its selling wellness. Retrieved from http://www.anthillonline.com/a-case-study-on-reinvention-and-growth-swisse-is-not-selling-vitamins-its-selling-wellness/ Arndt,J., 1980. Perspective for a theory in marketing. Journal of Business Research 9(3), 389-402. Peattie. S., Peattie, K., 2003. Ready to fly solo: Reducing social marketings reliance of commercial marketing theory. Marketing Theory 3(3). 365-385 Rosenstock, I.M, 1966, Why people use health services. Milbank Memorial Fund Quartely 44(3). 94-127. Shizumu, K., 2003. Symbiotic Marketing Strategy. Souseisha Book Company, Japan. Chain, D. (2013). Swisse Vitamins makes U.S. debut at Walgreens. Supplier News. Retrieved from http://www.chaindrugreview.com/

Civil War in Congo Essay example -- essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The recent Civil War in Congo has been a bloody flight, causing more then 3.3 million deaths in just 4 short years.1 Various rebel and ethnic groups have have been involved in the violence, fighting over Congo's rich natural resources or engaged in a bitter ethnic war. With so many opposing factions, it has made reaching a solution difficult. While a rough peace treaty has been established, sporadic fighting pops up in the country everyday. The people of Congo are being pushed farther into poverty and starvation can't handle the fighting for very much longer. I propose that the solution to the post-Civil War violence in Congo is to rid the country of all foreign nations and their problems, namely the Rwandans, and to get combatants inside of the country to hold a summit and find a peaceful and fair resolution to the problem, with a superpower like the United States acting as host and mediator. Once all quarrels are amended, the Congolese can start to focus on a ec onomic strategy for rebuilding the country.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Congo's Civil War began on November 2nd, 1998 when Laurent Kabila tried to drive out Rwandan militants who helped him overthrow Mobutu Sese Seko.2 Sese Seko came into power in 1966 when he led a rebellion to overthrow the government of Patrice Lumumbra. Sese Seko led to Africanizing of the country by requiring that all citizens drop their Christan names, and by renaming all the geographical locations with more African names.3 During the 1980's Sese Seko's government received support from the United States, in response to communism's rising popularity in Africa. Because of the misuse of the funds and wealth generated by natural resources, the rich got richer and the poor fell farther into poverty. Sese Seko abused Congo's natural resources and eventually helped lead the country into a state of economic ruin. In 1997 Sese Seko was overthrown by Laurent Kabila. When Kabila took over the country it was in terrible condition but he did nothing to try and improve the st ate of the nation. When he tried to expel the same Rwandan rebels that helped him come to power, he started a war that eventually led to his death. Many various ethnic and rebel groups inside of Congo who relied on the Rwandans for protection joined the uprising.4 Africans inside and around Congo chose s... ...  Ã‚  Ã‚  Farah, Global Insights. New York: Macmillan McGraw-Hill School Publishing Company, 1994. Endnotes 1 â€Å"Quick Guide: DR Congo,† BBC News. Updated Mar. 07 2005. BBC News, Accessed 06 March 2005, 2 â€Å"Congo Civil War,† GlobalSecurity.Org. Updated Feb. 11 2005. GlobalSecurity.org,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Accessed 06 March 2005   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   3 â€Å"Mubutu Sese Seko,† Encyclopedia. Updated 2005. Infoplease, Accessed 06 March 2005, 4 â€Å"Congo Civil War,† GlobalSecurity.Org. Updated Feb. 11 2005. GlobalSecurity.org,   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Accessed 06 March 2005   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   5 Ibid 6 Ibid 7 Ibid 8 Ibid 9 Ibid 10 â€Å"NewsHour with Jim Lehrer† Conflict in Congo, PBS, October 22, 1998. Transcript. Accessed 06 March 2005 11 Garten, Jeffrey E, â€Å"Don't Just Throw Money At The World's Poor† BusinessWeek, March 7, 2005. 12.

Global Youth Culture Essay

Culture obviously varies all around the world from country to country, but the basics are always the same. What makes up culture? Does culture change based on the age of the people or the different generations? Culture consists of language, entertainment through mediums such as music, movies, literature, etc. , fashion, art, food, and more. Culture most definitely changes depending on where you are in the world. For example, it can be as simple as spoken word. The language we speak here in American is vastly different then language spoken over in China or France, and that is one of the fundamental building blocks of culture differences. One thing that is really great and unique about the United States of America is that we have such a diverse mix of people and cultures. America has often been referred to as the â€Å"melting pot† because of the variety of people we have living here. Our culture as a nation has been shaped and molded from all of the people from other places in the world. As a young adult in America, I pay a lot of attention to many parts of our culture such as music, movies, books, and fashion. After exploring the web for blogs from different countries, I found that that doesn’t change throughout the globe. A twenty-year-old student that lives over in London, England is a lot more like me than you might guess. This one blog called â€Å"London Culture Blog† especially caught my attention. I stopped on this blog and started scrolling through some of the posts and realized that a lot of what they are talking about are things that my friends and I talk about too. This was pleasant surprise because ever since I was little, I’ve always wanted to go to England and be just like the British. I thought it was so cool having an accent, wearing cute uniforms to school and having a leading royalty. Although that is still a dream I’ve yet to live out, it was really interesting looking at this blog and seeing that I’m not that far off. Some of the posts on the blog were about things that we talk about in America too, for instance, the movie/ musical Les Miserables as well as International superstar, Justin Bieber. It is very cool to me that there are those parts of our culture that is shared by people all over the world. I find it very comforting and interesting that I could be listening to a Bieber song at the same time as someone across the world. However, as to be expected, parts of the blogs were about artists I have never heard of, and those posts were just as fascinating. I found myself reading about a certain British musician and getting so intrigued that I had to go look up their music. I read a post about a young male musician named Jake Bugg. He was born and raised in England and his music often reflects that. The blogger said, â€Å"His influences stretch back 40 years – he’s got some of the basic song structures of early Beatles’ tracks and there’s more than a hint of the Bob Dylan troubadour style too. He also takes inspiration from the more recent generation of Britpop; at times, he sounds like an early, acoustic version of Oasis. † When I listened to some of his songs, they sound completely different than songs you would hear on everyday radio in America and that’s just because the difference of culture. In my opinion, British music is a lot more meaningful and deep and actually causes you to think and relate to the lyrics unlike some American music. Global youth culture around the world is a lot more similar than I thought I would find. I expected it to be a lot different but the fact is that we feed off each other. We use other cultures to constantly shape and change our own and vice versa. Whether it’s fashion, music, cuisine, or dance, we take ideas and use them to create a new addition to our culture. That’s what ties this whole world together and keeps us so connected.

June 6 SAT Takers Heres How You Can Retest for Free

June 6 SAT Takers Here's How You Can Retest for Free SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The College Board is going to allow students who were affected by the mistake on the June 6, 2015 administration of the SAT to re-take the test for free in October. Read on for more information and to see what your options are. A Bit of Background: What Happened on June 6th? June 6 was the final SAT testing date for the 2014-2015 school year, and hundreds of thousand of students across the country registered to take the test. On test day, many were surprised to see that instead of the standard 20 minutes allowed for Section 8 or Section 9, their test booklets instructed they should be allowed 25 minutes. The proctors' instructions, however, still stated the time allowance should be 20 minutes. Therefore,some students got the correct amount of time on both sections, others were given 25% extra time, and still more were given something in between,which overall created a very confusing situation for everyone involved. Of the hundreds of thousands registered, almost all students were affected, apart from those taking the SAT with accommodations. (International test takers were not affected.) For a full breakdown of what happened, see our article here. The Aftermath and the Demand for a Retest After the test, students were very concerned about what would happen with their test results. They were worried that their scores would be invalidated,because the test was no longer standardized compared to other administrations of the SAT.Many worried that colleges would not accept their scores as equal to those from other testing dates. In the days following the exam, the College Boardgave a lot of conflicting information to different people.It told some thatthere would be a retest,but told others thatthe affected section of the exam would be thrown out. Two days later, they finally released an offical statement, in which they announced that they would proceed with scoring the exams,with the TWO affected sections removed.They claimed that they would be able to do this and still provide"reliable scores." Understandably, many students were angered by this response - it was obvious that this was decided on because it is theeasiest and cheapest way for the College Board to "fix" the situation, as opposed to the best way for students. It became clear that though the scores could be called "reliable," they would not necessarily be "accurate," especially for certain students. Students began to worry about how the test scores would affect admissions and qualifications for scholarships. Students began demanding anoptional retest for anyone who had been affected by the College Board's error.One student from Long Island has filed a lawsuit against the College Board, saying that scores of a test missing nearly 30% of its content cannot be considered valid. She has demanded unspecified monetary damanges and a re-test for anyone who wanted it. Another student started a change.org petition that quickly attracted over 1,000 supporters demanding another chance to take the test for free. The College Board Listened and Is Now Offering a Retest Late on June 15th, the College Board responded to unhappy students with an offer for a free retest - but maybe not in the way that they were expecting: â€Å"We remain confident in the reliability of scores from the June 6 administration of the SAT and don't want to cause undue anxiety for students by making them believe they need to sit for the test again. However, we have waived the fee for the October SAT administration for students who let us know that their testing experience was negatively affected by the printing error and we will continue to do so, through the September 3 registration deadline for the October administration.† You can see the full text here. Instead of offering students affected by the June 6th test their own makeup date, the College Board is giving free registration for the October test.This is going to mean that the retest will be too late for many students who need it, and it's only a useful offer for those students who were not relying on getting scores this summer. However, it's questionable how much the College Board really wants students to take advantage of the offer, even if they do have the time to get their scores later! For several days this past week, the informational banner with updated informationwas missing from the College Board web site, which meant that students who wanted more information about the retake would have beenunable to find it unless they had the link already.The College Board has now replaced the banner, but many were frustrated by what seemed to be a deliberate attempt to keep the information quiet. Additionally, on the June 6th FAQ page, the information for a retest is at the bottom, and is not emphasized. Many people would not know to look for the updated information. Fortunately for students (and unfortunately for the College Board), their mistake has received enough national attention that the retest is beingpublicized through various outlets, even though the College Board itself is trying to keep it quiet! I Called the College Board -Here Is How to Get the Retest Once again, there is a lot of misinformation going around abouthow to actually get registered for the retest.This is mostly because the College Board employees seem to know very little about it themselves. I called the College Board to nail down the information so that you don't have to. The first attempt... The first time I called them, the customer service rep I spoke to had no idea what I was talking about when I asked the process to be signed up for the retest. She insisted several times that there was not going to be a retest for students - this went on for about ten minutes. Finally, I verbally directed her to the appropriate section on their own web site and read it aloud to her. I was then put on hold for several minutes. Another rep picked up. I asked her what the proper procedure was to register for the retest. She told me (in quite an annoyed fashion) that Idid not need to take the retest. She said that theCollege Board was only dropping ONE section of the test, and that the scores would not be affected because they always drop one section as an "experimental section." As you know if you are at all familiar the SAT, there IS always an experimental section, but it is always one of the middle sections of the test - a 25 minute section. I said this to the rep and asked how it would be possible to swap in the experimental section for one of the final sections. Not only are they different lengths, but the whole point of the experimental section is to test out future questions and some of them may not be appropriate. She told me that the experimental section is always randomly selected out of all the sections, which is not true. I also asked how the other section would be accounted for, and was told thatthey are only going to drop one section. Both of these statements are in direct contrast to what has been said to other people who have called, and what has been said by the College Boarditself on its web site. This goes to show how unreliable the information is that they are giving out. If you call and ask for specific information, and it does not seem right to you, make sure to ask to speak to another person. Though we were 20 minutes in and I knew at this point that the conversation was going nowhere, I persevered and asked what I could do to sign up for the retest. I was told that I could wait to see my grades at the end of this month, and if I'm still unhappy to call back by the end of the month to register. The College Board has since updated its statement to specify that they will be accepting registrations through September 3rd for the October 4th test. Nevertheless, if you do want to take this retest, I recommend signing up sooner rather than later - see below for why. The second attempt... I called back a couple days later and had a totally different experience. As soon as I said that I wanted to register for the free re-take, the customer service rep agreed quickly and opened my account. I went though the security questions, she asked for my preferred test center, and waived the fee. In less than 4 minutes, I was signed up for the retest for free. The Takeaway In conclusion, here is how to sign up: The free retest hasnotautomatically been applied to your account. If you register for the test and pay, it will probably be more difficult to get your money back, so just call and register over the phone.Usually there is a fee for registering over the phone, but they are not charging this for June 6th testers. Call the College Board Customer Service line at 1-866-756-7346. Give yourself time to make this phone call. As you can see from my experiences above, how your conversation will go completely depends on which customer service rep you talk to. If the rep tries to give you a hard time about registering, ask to speak to another rep or a supervisor.Stay calm and say that you were affected by the College Board's mistake on the June 6th test, and you would like to take them up on the offer that is posted on the web site. If they still give you trouble, stay polite but firm: "This is not what the College Board is publicly offering. I was promised a free retest and I am calling to register for this. If the process remains difficult, I will contact press members to let them know that the College Board is not honoring its promise." You do not have to take the test at the same center where you took the June 6th SAT.This is great news for people like me who signed up for the June SAT late and had to travel quite far to take it. Usually when the College Board offers a retest it does have to be at the same center, so this is a big bonus. You will have to do all the things you normally do at registration time - including confirming your name, birth date, and high school. If you don't have any trouble with the rep, the whole process should take about 5 minutes. Afterwards, you will receive aconfirmation email and will be able to sign into your account to print out your admissions ticket. Can I See My Scores First? Yes, you can!The scores from the test you took on June 6th will be available around June 25th. You are welcome to look at your scores and decide if you want to take the test again. The College Board has done this intentionally, because they are hoping that many people will be satisfied with their scores and will decide to not take the test again.Remember, for each person who does decide to do the retest, they are losing out on potential registration money. Even if you sign up for the retest now, your scores will still be delivered on time. Remember, however, that these scoreswill not include sections 8 and 9, and youwill not have the option to see what your score would have been with those sections.So it will be difficult todetermine if you have beenpositively or negatively affected by the shorter test. Since they have now officially said that free registration will be available through September 3, you can feel comfortable waiting to sign up if you want to. But it might be a better idea to not wait.Since the College Board is not offering a separate test date for the retest,there will be many more people than usual signing up for the October test.Therefore, there is a very good chance that testing centers will fill up quite quickly. If you register now, you can always cancel later if you want to, and you do not have to risk potential disappointment at not getting a seat. Should I Take the Retest? For most students, signing up for the retest is a good idea if it's at all possible for your schedule. If you get your scores back and think that you were negatively affected, this is the best way to fix it - for free. And if it turns out that you did better than you were expecting to do, you can always cancel your registration. You will not lose out on any money from the registration costs because it's free. If this was your last chance to take the SAT for one deadline or another, then the retest will not really affect you. Though some schools are taking the "wait and see" approach for this test, it is very likely that most willhonor the results, especially for seniors or those who took the June 6th test on a tight deadline. If you feel that you have been significantly disadvantaged by the College Board's error, and cannot take the retest, it might be a good idea to keep an eye on the lawsuit mentioned above to see how it progresses. If they win, you may be entitled to some compensation. Last Words... If you do decide to retake the test, you should use the experience you have had with this test to help guide your studying. Set aside time this summer for dedicated prep so that you can smash it this fall. What’s Next? Worried that taking the SAT again this fall will be one time too many? Read our guide on how many times you should take the SAT. To prep for the re-test this fall, read our 11 top, must-read guides to prepare yourself for the next test. Learn our expert strategies to improve your SAT Math, SAT Writing, and SAT Reading scores to help push your scores above 600s in any section. Wanta top score on the re-take? Read our guide to getting a perfect SAT score. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points?We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

20 Things People Hate About Your Website

20 Things People Hate About Your Website Do you want to create a website that is guaranteed to attract and keep visitors? Developing a web presence that audience loves is easy – if you avoid the twenty things people hate about websites. Whether it be through smartphones, laptops, tablets, or home computers, almost everyone can easily obtain the vast and overwhelming source of information that makes up the world-wide web. It goes without saying that online sources are full of useful and popular web pages that people visit again and again because they love what is offered at that particular page. However, many websites they visit leave a terrible impression that makes them never want to return. We’ve searched high and low to reveal the top twenty things that people hate about your website to guide you to create a site that they will love! Copy Mistakes Listed below are the most common mistakes made when it comes to your website’s text content, better known as the copy. 1. Your Copy is Over-Saturated with Keywords In years past, the way search engines found webpages was by the amount of keywords within the copy. Today, search engines are much smarter and are able to find what you are searching for without the use of keyword density. While keyword density is important for SEO (search engine optimization) when you have too many keywords in the copy, it makes it unreadable for those who visit your website!   2. Confusing About Us Page The about us page should be exactly about the website your guests are visiting. When you do not have a clear and easy to understand about us page, your visitors will feel confused and overwhelmed at not knowing the exact products or services you offer.   3.  Lack of a Blog A blog is a great way to boost your SEO, but it is also a great tool to connect to your website visitors. Blogs can give a great source of information and   they will boost traffic to your site just so long as the blog you offer readers is interesting and updated often. Blogs can also be sources of Frequently Asked Questions and their answers to assist your visitors with an issue without having to contact customer service. 4. Call to Actions that Do Not Match Offers The calls to action that you feature on your website should coincide with the offers you are promoting to your visitors. Nothing will frustrate people more   than being told they will receive a 50% off discount if they buy now. Only to find out there are more strings attached to the promotion such as: must spend X amount of money, selected items only, or applicable for in-store purchases only. When your call to action doesn’t match the offers, your reputation will suffer, but more importantly, so will your conversion rates. 5. Headlines That Misguide Readers Catchy and interesting titles and headlines within your copy are great and useful ways to attract the reader’s attention. Just bear in mind that if your copy doesn’t match the title, you will become known as a ‘click bait’ site or one that attracts readers because of the title. Once they reach the website, they quickly realize the information they were looking for is not there and they will leave. Not to mention misleading headlines annoy readers and create distrust. 6. Contact Forms Instead of Contact Information When your website does not feature basic contact information such as email, phone number, and/or address your visitors will not be able to contact you! Sometimes websites will use a contact form. Contact forms are a fill in the blank information box that will store the data provided by the website visitor and will leave the communication up to the team behind the website. This is unreliable for visitors and many people nowadays feel uncomfortable with giving out personal information over the Internet. 7. Unclear Descriptions of What Your Company Does This is just as bad as having a mashed up About Us page. When you have visitors to your site and your website is not intuitive enough to show exactly what your company does, it will create feelings of confusion and mistrust. If you cannot make your visitors stay for more than fifteen seconds, they will be more than likely to abandon your site to never return. Visual Mistakes Websites must be visually appealing to visitors. This will help encourage them to stay on the site and even return knowing they will have an enjoyable experience. 8.  Using Obvious Stock Photos It’s alright to employ the use of stock photos from time to time, but be careful which ones you select for your website! It is painfully obvious when a website is using tacky, generic, or even cheesy stock photos. Images should be used on your website to help your visitors. Using generic photos serve no purpose when it comes to being helpful to your visitors. 9. Using Distracting Animations Animations can be fun and entertaining for your website visitors, but take caution when thinking about using them for your website. Often times, people find that animations are distracting as the constant movements take the eyes away from the text they are trying to read. For example, if your website does not pass the three second blink test (the crucial three seconds it takes for visitors to decide to stay on the page or not), they will click the back button. Obtrusive and distracting animations can cause your site to fail the three second blink test and if you are interested in using animations on your webpage, make sure to do so the right way! 10. Not Knowing What to Do While this is the most obvious visual aspect of your websites, many webpages out there have no indication as to what the visitor is supposed to do once they arrive. If you’re an online store that shoppers cannot easily access products or they cannot figure out how to use your site, guess what? They will shop somewhere else. The same goes for every single type of website, whether you are on online store or not. If your visitors cannot figure out what to do, then they will head somewhere else for what they need. 11. There Are Too Many Pop Ups If there is any one thing that will turn people away from your website, it is the use of pop ups. No one likes them. No one. If you are using them on your site, please take the steps to remove them! People find pop ups annoying and sometimes difficult to close. Besides, pop up ads will distract your visitor from the main purpose of visiting your site in the first place. 12. Sliders Take Too Long to Load Using image sliders are popular choices for web design and when they are done right, you can have a visually appealing website. On the contrary, if your site has loaded nearly 90% of the way and your visitors still cannot see the slider image, they will find that they will have to wait too long for your site to do its thing and they will become bored and search elsewhere. User Interface Mistakes When it comes to websites, user interface is one of the most important factors in attracting and keeping visitors on your page. When user interface is done right, your visitors will have no trouble and even enjoy using your website. If the design and usability is unfriendly or not functioning properly, you will find that you will have unhappy visitors whose numbers continue to dwindle. 13. Unable to Contact Customer Service There are hundreds of websites that offer instant connections with customer service agents, whether they are live or virtual. When you see the pop up or prompt to use their online customer service and you actual go to do so, chances are you are already frustrated due to an issue you are experiencing. As a visitor you automatically expect the online customer service tools to work and function so you can be assisted with your issue. When these things are not working, visitors can become outraged and confused, not knowing where they need to go for help with their problem. Furthermore, if you have your customer service contact information listed on your site, make sure it is accurate and that your customers are able to reach someone. 14. Not Mobile or Tablet Optimized Today people are accessing the Internet via the smallest devices possible. Yet, there are still plenty of sites out there that do not work on mobile phones or tablets. This can be caused by the lack of mobilization in the design and code structure. To put it simply, some webpages are not built or coded, to adjust to the smaller screens which will prevent the entire thing from loading at all. Mobilization ensures that your website will work on: iPhones Tablets Android phones Laptops with small screens In short, the mobile-optimized site can be accessible for your audience from any device. 15. Poor Navigation Tools Poor navigation within a website will leave your visitors confused and frustrated, as they will not know what to do or how to find something on your site. Having a search bar or navigation bar that functions properly and is easy to use will allow your visitors to find exactly what they need in just a few clicks. Phrasing the navigation copy, how to properly analyze visitor’s flow, are used to make a website easy to search though. Take time to design your site and make sure you can achieve the perfect website navigational tools. 16.  Struggling to Buy Products When you are buying anything online, all you want is for this process to be quick and painless. There are several websites that commit what is known as two-site syndrome and their users go to click on something and it leads you to another site to complete the task that should have been done on the first website. Two-site syndrome has shown to decrease conversion rates, and make the customer experience a miserable one. Take our advice and avoid the two-site syndrome so your customers can make their online purchases as hassle free. Overall Website Mistakes 17. No Social Media Icons Social media is one of the greatest ways to connect and network between current and future customers. It is so common and very easy for visitors to share with their family and friends by using the social media icons found on the website. Social media icons make it instant and did I mention ‘easy’ for your guests to share what they love about your site! Not to mention, when your site and content can be spread across several social media platforms, your site will be able to see a boost in SEO and your page ranks according to your search browser. A quick list of social media icons all online business should or need to have: Facebook Instagram Twitter Imgur Tumblr Google+ Flickr 18.  Auto-Playing Videos   We’ve all been to those annoying sites that startle you when they catch you off guard with their loud and unexpected video that begins to play out of nowhere. People across the globe find those auto-playing videos on websites to be insulting, distracting, and annoying as they are reported to be one of the worst tactics for webpages. 19. Internal Links that Lead Nowhere Crosslinks also known as internal links, are links within the webpage that keep your visitors on your page or provide a gateway to another useful website, are excellent tools for allowing your visitor to learn more or continue searching for related topics. When you go to click on an interesting link and you end up nowhere, you will become frustrated and even decide to leave the entire site behind. This all comes down to not having proper function and this alone will change the minds of your visitors. If you do have internal links, always make sure for them to open with a fully separate tab. Many times, customers will click on a link and want to continue reading or examining your website. In this case allow them to stay on the page they are reading and let the link they clicked on open up in a whole new tab so they do not lose their place! 20. Takes Too Long to Load Going back to the point made about the three second blink test, people want things to happen fast! Unless the Internet connection is fully to blame for a slow load time of a webpage, you need to do everything you can to allow your site to load fast. The longer it takes for your website to load, the more people will search elsewhere and abandon your site completely. In today’s world, many people seek instant gratification. This is especially true for using the Internet and accessing websites. According to a study, 40% of your sites visitors will leave if it takes longer than three seconds to load. Luckily, there are ways to test the site’s load time and you can make sure to take the steps to adjust where you need to in order to pass these tests. Once you have tested your load time check the following factors to ensure they are not causing your site to load at a snail’s pace: Spikes in traffic – too many people trying to access the site at once will definitely cause a slow-down. Sharing server space if your site is hosted somewhere and you share server space with a busier, more active site, it can cause your site to be slower. It is advised to hire private server space to prevent this from happening. The total number of the HTTP requests your site receives. If you are trying to boost your traffic and maintain a healthy following of regular visitors, make sure you are NOT making the mistakes that lead to people hating your website. Even though they might not seem like a big deal, even the smallest mistakes can lead to low traffic, low conversion rates, and low bottom line results. At the end of the day, if you want to have a strong and prevalent online presence, no matter what sort of website you have, make sure you are doing everything in your power to ensure yours is mistake free. Giving your visitors a pleasant experience will not only have them coming back for more (and telling their friends when they share your site on their social networks), but your webpage will not be known amongst the worst on the Internet. This will only happen if you avoid the twenty things people hate about websites, so plan and execute your web strategy carefully! Your site’s survival on the Internet depends on it!

Student Debt and Its Implications Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Student Debt and Its Implications - Essay Example Many students engaged in borrowing as well as in huge sums of money. During graduation, the average debt in 2008 rose by six percent in the following year heating $24,000. In the year 2008, there was the highest number of defaulters in federal loan repayment in over a decade. This was when the nation’s economy slid into recession. Partly driven by the slow economy, federal loan defaulters are increasing. If a student fails to make payments for 270 days, it becomes a matter of increasing significance to both community colleges as well as the students. Loan default brings about severe consequences to the borrowers as well as colleges. When one misses some payments he/she could be demanded to play through calls and letters. However, defaulting can destroy a student’s future. Federal agents will demand that a defaulter pays the loan in full. In addition, the case may be assigned to some collection agency. A defaulter’s wages, as well as benefits, could be garnished till the balance (that may not be easy to discharge in bankruptcy) gets resolved. This may apply even to old age social security benefits being garnished (Clark, 499). Loan defaults for borrowers could wreck their credit, create the inability to buy a home or car, finding employment or even renting a home. Colleges, where only a few students get to borrow, have special protections, however, colleges could result to being not eligible to federal loans as well as grants where most of the colleges’ former borrowers default within a given period of 3 years’ time for entering payment (Bryce, Matthew and Debbie, 1). With federal loans as well as the grand plus loans, it is at a time when this loan is twenty-one to thirty days late that the loan can go to delinquency but the national credit bureaus may be informed when a loan is 60 days late. However, the program of federal loans provides a number of plans to that held defaulters. But one has to negotiate with their lender in the case for private loans which involve agreement terms of the loan as well as options for payment.  Ã‚  

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

Litriture - Essay Example He was persistent in his belief that they should not surrender to Xerxes and that the Spartan army will endure the faith that awaits them for the glory of Greece. He believed enough in his strategy that though he was defeated in the end it marked an awakening among the Grecians to fight the Persians and eventually yield to the same belief that Leonidas figured early on. The same courage was also apparent to Achilles who remained unfazed even to his death. Achilles holds a diverse type of courage which is almost borderline arrogance but it is not without precedence as he is close to an immortal and he is aware of it. Though he knew of the prophecy of his death in the Trojan War he still joined the war that brought him to his end. Charisma is also important. It is almost impossible to concretely define what charisma is but it is a characteristic that is common among heroes. They are able to influence and move their followers into action not because of fear but because of the charisma that they have over people. Looking upon it, why would 300 men join Leonidas even though they are aware that it will cause their families mourning? It is because of charisma. Not because they are afraid but because they believed in his abilities and they are inclined to his persona. The mere fact that one can be associated with Achilles is a sign of his own charisma. These heroes exude something that transcends confidence and draws in followers. Love, that all encompassing emotion manifests itself despite and because of heroic films. It holds many variations and it is not limited to the romantic type or the ideal that we so often see. It endears us to the characters of the stories and it humanizes the heroes that even as they come to their tragic ends, we are instilled with the grief that we feel due to the love that they have revealed through the course of their stories. The movie 300