Too Much of a Good Thing free essay sample

To persuade my audience to be cautious in using medicines and supplements that are usually considered beneficial. Central idea:Medicines and supplements that can be beneficial are sometimes harmful if ingested in large amounts. Introduction 1. Attention-getter There is an old saying that â€Å"Too much a good thing is wonderful. † Is it always true? A young woman went out on her sailboat one Friday afternoon. She suffered a back injury, causing terrible back pain. For pain relief, she took a painkiller. For the next three days, she ingested the pills at more than twice the recommended dosage. On Tuesday, four days after she started the pills, she died en route to the hospital from liver damage. 2. Credibility Since I heard about the story, I have done some research in this area. 3. Preview of main points Today I’m going to talk about the problem of taking excessive amounts of drugs and then discuss the possible solutions. We will write a custom essay sample on Too Much of a Good Thing or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page (Transition: Let’s examine the problem in more detail. ) Body I. Many people don’t know that taking excessive amounts of medicines and supplements can be dangerous. A. Ambien, a sleeping pill, makes you sleepy, so will you go to sleep faster if you increase the dosage? 1. Perhaps, but you could suffer breathing problems, and even lapse into a coma and die. 2. This is the finding of Dr. Daniel F. Kripke, professor of psychiatry at University of California, San Diego. (The Dark Side of Sleeping Pills) B. Ibuprofen relieves pain, but if too much is taken, it can cause gastrointestinal bleeding after just three days. (General Practitioner) C. Dr. Bill Edwards, director of inpatient care at Children’s Hospital in Peoria, IL, relates the story of a child patient. 1. The child displayed all the signs of a brain tumor (dizziness, pressure inside the head, extreme headache, and blurry vision). 2. Tests could find no evidence of a tumor. 3. Further tests revealed an overdose of vitamin A. D. Vitamin A and other vitamins can be toxic in large amounts. (Dr. Joshua Hamilton, professor of toxicology at Dartmouth College) 1. Too much vitamin B6 can cause nerve damage to arms and legs. . Too much vitamin C can cause kidney stones. 3. Too much vitamin D can damage kidneys. (Transition: We’ve seen the problem – what is the solution? ) II. The solution is to be cautious and well-informed. A. Collaborate with your doctor on which pills, vitamins, and supplements you should take. B. Always study labels for dosage directions and never take more than the recommended amount. C. Be aware of possible compl ications. 1. Even if you take the recommended dosage of one medicine, there can be a toxic interaction if you are taking other drugs at the same time. . Make a list of all vitamins, supplements, and pills that you use, and include the amounts you consume. 3. Ask your doctor and pharmacist to analyze the list to make sure you are safe. D. Educate yourself. 1. See health books in a library or buy them at a bookstore. 2. Subscribe to health magazines and newsletters. E. Be careful with health info on the Internet. 1. You can trust reputable sites, such as the health sections of ABC News, MSNBC, and CBS. 2. But be cautious when search for health information using a search engine like Google. Dr. Kathis Kemper, Holistic Pediatrician) 3. Going back to Dr. Edwards and the child who overdosed on vitamin A, do you know why the child consumed megadosage? 4. The parents had been persuaded by some Websites that vitamin A is a cure for hyperactive children who can’t concentrate in school. 5. A Web search will turn up hundreds of sites that tout the healing powers of vitamin A. 6. These sites are devoted to selling supplements, so you can’t trust them to be objective. (Transition: Let’s summarize. ) Conclusion I. Summary A. Substances that can be good for you are sometimes harmful if ingested in large amounts. B. Collaborate with your doctor and pharmacist. C. Always stay within the recommended dosage. D. Stay well-informed by consulting books, magazines, and reliable websites. II. Closing remarks We know we can’t always accept the old saying, â€Å"Too much of a good thing is wonderful. † Better advice is another saying, â€Å"Too much of a good thing can be awful.

Present Participle as Adjective

Present Participle as Adjective Present Participle as Adjective Present Participle as Adjective By Maeve Maddox As one of our readers tells her students, writers should rejoice in the present participle because it is one of the rarities of English â€Å"rules†: one thing they can count on. Unlike its sibling the past participle, the present participle always has the same ending. Reminder: English verbs have five principal parts: Infinitive, Simple Present, Simple Past, Past Participle, and Present Participle. Past participles take different forms, but the present participle always ends in -ing. Used with helping verbs, the present participle forms the continuous tenses: We were living in Taiwan at the time. (past continuous) Tom Selleck has been playing law enforcement characters for thirty-four years. (present perfect continuous) Used without a helping verb, the present participle functions as an adjective. (The -ing verb form has another use, but this post is about its function as an adjective.) Here are some specific uses of the present participle: in front of a noun Poirot solved the puzzling mystery. (modifies â€Å"mystery†) The smell of burning leaves stirs memories of my childhood. (modifies â€Å"leaves†) after a verb of perception They heard someone screaming. (modifies â€Å"someone†) The woman watched the cat creeping toward the bird. (modifies â€Å"cat†) with the verbs spend and waste Don’t waste your time trying to convince him he’s mistaken. (modifies understood subject â€Å"You.†) The inefficient blogger spent her entire afternoon researching and writing one post. (modify the subject â€Å"blogger†) to introduce a participial phrase Weeping bitterly over her loss, Gwendolyn lay on the bed for several hours. The archaeologist, sweeping the shards into a neat pile, cursed his clumsiness. It is this last use of the participle that often leads to the error known as a â€Å"dangling participle.† For example: Stubbing his toe on the step, the heavy chair fell from his grasp. Leaning affectionately toward him, her head rested against his shoulder. The participle phrases in these two examples are â€Å"dangling† because there’s no appropriate noun for them to describe. Dangling participles can be corrected in more than one way: 1. Provide an appropriate noun or pronoun for the phrase to describe: Stubbing his toe on the step, the mover dropped the heavy chair. Leaning affectionately toward him, she rested her head against his shoulder. 2. Rewrite the phrase as a clause: When the mover stubbed his toe against the step, the heavy chair fell from his grasp. She leaned affectionately toward him and rested her head against his shoulder. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Types of LanguageDoes "Mr" Take a Period?Grammatical Case in English

How to Write the Williams College Essays 2018-2019

Williams College is found tucked away in the idyllic college town of Williamstown, a liberal arts college renowned for its undergraduate education. Only 2000 students attend Williams, allowing for a stellar focus on its undergraduates and a 7:1 student-faculty ratio. Williams was founded in 1793, and through its 225 years of existence, has accrued a deep history and a wealth of tightly held traditions. Williams College has consistently been ranked the nation’s top liberal arts college by the US News College Ranking. Williams is also highly selective: for their class of 2022, the college only admitted 12% of its applicants. Notable alumni include former president James A. Garfield, composer Stephen Sondheim, and photographer Walker Evans. The early decision deadline for Williams is on November 15th, and the regular decision deadline is on January 1st. Choose one of the following: (300 words) Option 1: At Williams we believe that bringing together students and professors in small groups produces extraordinary academic outcomes. Our distinctive Oxford-style tutorial classes—in which two students are guided by a professor in deep exploration of a single topic—are a prime example. Each week the students take turns developing independent work—an essay, a problem set, a piece of art—and critiquing their partner’s work. Focused on close reading, writing and oral defense of ideas, more than 60 tutorials a year are offered across the curriculum, with titles like Aesthetic Outrage, Financial Crises: Causes and Cures, and Genome Sciences: At the Cutting Edge. Imagine yourself in a tutorial at Williams. Of anyone in the world, whom would you choose to be your partner in the class, and why? Option 2: Each Sunday night, in a tradition called Storytime, students, faculty, and staff gather to hear a fellow community member relate a brief story from their life (and to munch on the storyteller’s favorite homemade cookies). What story would you share? What lessons have you drawn from that story, and how would those lessons inform your time at Williams? Option 3: Every first-year student at Williams lives in an Entry—a thoughtfully constructed microcosm of the student community that’s a defining part of the Williams experience. From the moment they arrive, students find themselves in what’s likely the most diverse collection of backgrounds, perspectives, and interests they’ve ever encountered. What might differentiate you from the 19 other first-year students in an entry? What perspective(s) would you add to the conversation with your peers? Choosing a single essay may seem daunting at first, as you may wonder if you are choosing the perfect essay prompt that will convey yourself to the reader in the best way possible. However, just like in the Common App personal statement, you may not necessarily have to â€Å"choose† your essay. After looking through the prompts and brainstorming parts of your identity and passions that you want to show to the admissions team, you will easily be able to answer any one of the questions, as all three prompts revolve around your personal story, interests, and ambitions, albeit in slightly different fashions. As a result, the prompt choice becomes much less important than distilling your nuances and complexities onto the page. Option 1: At Williams we believe that bringing together students and professors in small groups produces extraordinary academic outcomes. Our distinctive Oxford-style tutorial classes—in which two students are guided by a professor in deep exploration of a single topic—are a prime example. Each week the students take turns developing independent work—an essay, a problem set, a piece of art—and critiquing their partner’s work. Focused on close reading, writing and oral defense of ideas, more than 60 tutorials a year are offered across the curriculum, with titles like Aesthetic Outrage, Financial Crises: Causes and Cures, and Genome Sciences: At the Cutting Edge. Imagine yourself in a tutorial at Williams. Of anyone in the world, whom would you choose to be your partner in the class, and why? If you choose this first prompt, there are a couple of points you should make in the essay. First, your possibility of options are infinite in this prompt—as a result, make sure the person and class you settle on reveal important parts of your own background and interests. You definitely want to describe why you chose the person and class you did, but make sure to return the focus back to you, and how you could grow through interacting with this person. The goal of this essay is to allow you to highlight one of your academic interests, so don’t stray too far by fawning over your chosen partner. Here are some brainstorm questions you should think about before writing: You should look up the list of tutorials offered for the 2018-2019 school year as a source of valuable information, which is also a good starting place for sparking ideas. If there is a course pertinent to your own interests as well as the person you choose, feel free to mention the course. However, don’t feel limited to these classes, and make up a class topic of your own which you feel like your partner would be an excellent collaborator in (in this case, it could be good to mention a professor whose research deals with the topic you want to focus on). One note of caution: be wary of choosing incredibly common historical figures: Julius Caesar, Michael Jordan, Abraham Lincoln, Oprah, etc. If you do so, make sure to have a fresh, unique, and persuasive set of reasons as to why you would pick this person. You should also be careful if you decide to talk about very controversial leaders and politicians, past or present. Anything that could evoke strong emotional responses in an outside reader could be risky. On the other hand, if the person you choose is not well known, give a sentence or two introducing to the reader the person’s significance. Example 1: Say you were particularly drawn to the course â€Å"Leaving the World Behind: The Literature of Reclusion† because you were always interested in both the relationship between technology and society and literature, your stated major. As a result, you would love to engage in a semester-long course with someone who grew up in an era without constant global communication. To do this, you bring out Saint Francis of Assisi (1181-1226), someone whose texts you poured over while trying to find peace in your own solitude (to no avail). You and Saint Francis, who spent much of his life in solitude and solo travel, could spend each class discussing the relationship between the individual and society, and how this relationship has been negotiated throughout time and space. Example 2: You could also put a personal twist on the prompt. Say your parents immigrated from Korea, and your Korean identity makes a large portion of who you are. As a result, you choose your grandmother, an incredibly bright woman who fled from North Korea to South Korea as a teenager during the Korean War. As someone planning to study history in college, you want to make sure you learn about your family’s own history and how that fits into a larger framework of foreign policy and global politics. As a result, you would love to take â€Å"The Two Koreas† as a tutorial with your grandmother. You would study perceptions of both Koreas from different generations, as well as Koreans in Korea and Koreans living abroad. You also want to know yourself on a deeper level, especially through tracing a legacy of generational war trauma in your family. Example 3: Say after reading this prompt, instead of focusing on a class topic, you instead immediately think of a person to work with, this person being the Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. You have read every single one of his novels, interviews, and essays, and yearn to pick the mind of someone you see as the world’s greatest storyteller. However, you wouldn’t want a tutorial class that focuses on his novels, or even the magical realist genre he worked in. Instead, you imagine studying Russian 19th century realist fiction with him, a genre of literature very different in style, but very similar in emotional insight, doing a comparative analysis of sorts. You would also get to hear the plethora of personal stories he could share. Example 4: Maybe in high school, you fell in love with Richard Feynman’s famous â€Å"Feynman Lectures on Physics,† which led you to eventually put your intended major as physics on the Common Application. You would love to take the â€Å"Applications of Quantum Mechanics† tutorial with Feynman, who you know to be not just a physicist, but someone with wide-ranging interests in things like Brazilian Samba music and the relationship between science and the government, specifically in his assistance in creating the atomic bomb. As someone who eventually wants to work in NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, you want not just to grow deeper in your understanding of physics, but more broadly understand the different ways people configure meaning in the world, whether in physics or music or ethics. You find that Richard Feynman, who struggled with these questions his entire life, could help you get closer to these goals of yours. Option 2: Each Sunday night, in a tradition called Storytime, students, faculty and staff gather to hear a fellow community member relate a brief story from their life (and to munch on the storyteller’s favorite homemade cookies). What story would you share? What lessons have you drawn from that story, and how would those lessons inform your time at Williams? The second prompt is also incredibly open: talk about something that happened in your life. Of course, you want the story that you pick to have a greater significance beyond the simple narrative, whether this is a coming of age moment, a moment of realization and clarity, or a moment that has indubitably formed the person you are today. As for what constitutes a â€Å"brief story,† think about a singular episode that you could tell someone in person in around ten minutes. As to the last part of the prompt, â€Å"how would these lessons inform your time at Williams,† this could take various shapes and forms. Maybe this is simply being a more community-focused human being on campus, or maybe this could mean creating a campus organization that reflects what you learned, or maybe this means coming into Williams a more open-minded person. If your Common App essay delves into more serious themes involving your identities and your passions, you could possibly use this essay to reveal more lighthearted, fun elements of your personality. Whether or not you do this, the key here is to show, not tell, as you want your essay to read like a gripping campfire story. You could immerse the admissions reader with the present tense, â€Å"in the moment† narrative of your story, or you could use the past tense to evoke a more reflective mood.    As a side note, don’t forget the word â€Å"brief† here—you probably don’t want an incredibly long-winded story detailing all your major trials and tribulations. Stick to one event that is illustrative of greater themes in your life. Dig into your past. Here are a few examples: Example 1: Say you had a poignant breakthrough moment with your father, with whom you never really had a strong relationship before. Your father, an ex-military, stoic man, never really shared his past with you, but one night you asked him about his days in the military, and he told you a hodgepodge of stories both thrilling and depressing. You learned so much about him that night, allowing you to piece together more of your own identity and where you came from. The lessons you learned that night, that vulnerability bridges relationships, would undoubtedly carry over to Williams, where you have the ability to form once-in-a-lifetime friendships. Example 2: This could also be a â€Å"summer shenanigan† type story if it was a particularly formative experience. Say you and your friends, on one particularly boring summer night, decided to buy goldfishes for many of your other friends. After showing up at your friends’ doors, you were met with equal amounts of shock and laughter, but each friend promised to take care of their fish. What started as a prank turned into a bonding moment where a group of friends collectively took charge of the lives of their goldfishes. You could then transition to talking about how this experience, in a weird way, mirrors the tight undergraduate experience provided at Williams, in regards to how everyone is together pursuing a common goal of learning about the world through a liberal arts curriculum. You also believe these ideas would transition well to a tight-knit cultural group on campus, which for you is Williams South Asian Student Association. Example 3: Maybe you are still learning the lessons of the story you choose, as the story itself has some unfilled pages. Say you came out to your parents, who immediately rejected you as their child. Talk about how, at the time of writing, you are still trying to negotiate your identity with your status in your family, even though your parents find your situation non-negotiable. You could talk about how, if you were afforded the opportunity to attend Williams and escape from your current surroundings, you could have clearer mental headspace, as well as be able to take part in a welcoming and inclusive environment. Submit your essay and we’ll get back to you with helpful edits. Option 3: Every first-year student at Williams lives in an Entry—a thoughtfully constructed microcosm of the student community that’s a defining part of the Williams experience. From the moment they arrive, students find themselves in what’s likely the most diverse collection of backgrounds, perspectives and interests they’ve ever encountered. What might differentiate you from the 19 other first-year students in an entry? What perspective(s) would you add to the conversation with your peers? In this â€Å"what unique things do you contribute to our school?† prompt, you have a few paragraphs to advocate for and brag about yourself. By no means, however, does this essay have to be a glorified achievements list. If you feel uncomfortable bragging about yourself, reframe the prompt as ultimately being candid about your background. You could also frame it as bragging about your family, or a community you were a part of, and using these groups as a way to illustrate your own identity formation. We can break down this prompt into the three mentioned facets of diversity: backgrounds, perspectives, and interests. These three obviously overlap with each other, as perspectives and interests often come out of background, but think about each of these three aspects and unearth the most compelling parts of yourself that you think makes you unique. However, don’t be dissuaded if you aren’t the best in the world at a certain activity, or come from a faraway country most people have not heard of. If you speak with candor and love for your roots and passions, a uniqueness in how you frame yourself will cut through to the readers. Even if you feel like your passion/story is common, with 300 words, you can more than adequately illustrate the complexity and uniqueness of your situation. Here are a few routes you can take with this prompt: Example 1: Say your primary interest is in math. Even though this interest is common to many, the reasons why math is so fascinating to you is more unique than just liking problem-solving. Instead, you are passionate about math pedagogy, specifically, how current primary and secondary school math education has been twisted and standardized to a point where you believe it is almost a completely different subject from the one you grew up loving. As a result, you started a math circle with middle school students, allowing them to explore the open-ended and creative side of math so different from algebra and geometry, and in the essay, you can use specific anecdotes with students who disliked school math but loved the math they did in their math circle. In regards to bringing diversity, you could talk about how you treat math as simultaneously a STEM and humanities field, and how this seamless fluidity between the two informs much of your personhood. Example 2: Say music and the performing arts are your primary interests, another set of common interests. Talk about your rocky experience with the indie band you started in high school, and how all of your preconceived notions of glory and greatness were crushed. You could transition into talking about how you learned from this failure, and how you feel ready to even possibly grab some Entry mates and start a band once more. Example 3: Say you’re a first generation immigrant who lives in New Mexico. You could talk about how you want to retain your cultural heritage although desiring at the same time to live in a completely foreign environment like New England. Coming from Latin America to New England by way of the American Southwest, your fashion and culture would immediately make you stand out from the other, largely coastal students. Example 4: Maybe you grew up as a racial, sexual, or economic minority in a community, in which you felt a constant brush of hostility. Although this may also not be entirely unique, maybe the community you grew up in was actually known to the country as an inclusive and progressive community, but your personal experience was anything but that. Example 5: If you do have a niche interest, such as lepidopterology (the study of moths and butterflies), and are an avid butterfly watcher, talk about why this activity is so important to you. Talk about the joy you feel after spotting a certain butterfly you’d been searching for hours for after traveling to a new environment, or the amazement you feel when looking at butterflies in a natural history museum. You could distill the core parts of this activity into a more generalized set of things you have learned—in the case of lepidopterology, it could be dogged persistence, or the pleasure of immersing yourself into nature without technology, or how you found a community with other lepidopterologist who share your passion. Overall, after talking about your passion or background, make sure to explain why it is so significant to you, and how that would allow the students in your Entry to grow in their own worldviews. You could also talk with excitement about how you too would love to hear the different perspectives of all those in your Entry, and how the Entry system, in general, would allow you to experience the polar opposite of the cloistered, homogenous environment you grew up in. As you have seen, Williams College requires numerous supplemental essays, many of which you may struggle with. If you want professional help on your Williams application essays, click to learn about our College Apps Program . If you want to quickly edit your college essay, submit it to our Rapid Review program , and we’ll get it back to you quickly with comments from our expert team. How to Spend Your Summer as an Aspiring Engineer Future engineers, we see you. The movers, shakers, thinkers, and game-changers-to-be of the world. And you’ve prepared, too. Science olympiad and math league are old hat, whatever math you’re currently taking is one of your favorite classes, and you’ve probably tinkered with more odds and ends than you can remember. But then summer rolls around and school ends, and along with it goes all of the science, math, and outreach extracurriculars that operate when school’s in session. You now have this huge amount of free time that you can do practically anything with — while it may not seem like much on the surface, it’s actually a big opportunity in disguise. There’s nothing more an engineering college loves to see than a curious self-starter who’s not afraid to get his or her hands dirty, and taking initiative to enrich your own engineering portfolio during the summer is a good way to show the engineering adcoms just that. Of course, some of you already have things planned out, and that’s great! But for the people who are drawing a blank, who need some inspiration or ideas, this post is for you. Here’s a list of summer plans that we recommend for aspiring engineers — some drawn from our own experiences. Let’s get this one out of the way first since this is what usually comes to mind for people when they think about application-boosting summer experiences. This is essentially the better version of summer camp, where you go to a college and take college-level classes, or refine your skills through real-world practice. Point is, you’ll go somewhere that’s not home for the sole purpose of building your technical repertoire with a group of like-minded people — which is essentially what college is, for an engineer. And it’s immensely fun. Programs like Carnegie Mellon’s Pre-College and the University of California’s Summer School for Mathematics and Science are designed to train future engineers and scientists that will go on to use their skills in college and even to participate in research beyond that. Often, gaining admission to these programs is in itself a rigorous process, and can signal to colleges your skill and interest in the STEM subjects. Another good part about participating in these summer programs is that they can help you network and make connections with people in STEM — a good mentor relationship with a summer program’s professor, for instance, can make for a valuable recommendation letter when it comes application time. Other times, some of these program are also geared towards building leaders in the STEM fields, so they   can also double as a leadership extracurricular. However, not all of these programs are free — some of them may offer scholarships, but not all of them do. That’s the main drawback to this type of summer program; some of these programs may be just as expensive as paying summer tuition at these colleges. The good news, though, is that price is often inversely proportional to the prestige of the program; the less you pay to get in, the more impressive it looks on an application. In fact, you should be wary of expensive summer programs, as those are perceived as more of a sign of privilege on an application than your engineering capabilities. The go-getter: Learning a new (programming) language Coding is an important skill to have as an engineer today. If you’re going into software engineering, then it’s a given. If you’re a mechanical engineer, programs can be helpful in running simulations. If you’re analysing data, you’ll need something like Matlab. Computers are some of the most powerful engineering tools we have today, and to be able to use them freely is a valuable addition to any skillset. In fact, many engineering colleges now require their undergraduates to take at least one coding class as a graduation requirement. If you’re already a logical thinker (like many of you are), this shouldn’t be too hard. With the wealth of online tutorials, videos, APIs, forums, and other resources, all the information you need to master a new language is readily available. It might take a bit of practice and lots of trial and error, but it’ll be worth it in the end when you can create your own programs that make your life easier. To help you focus your efforts, you can try studying for a specific test; AP Compsci isn’t a bad choice, as getting a 5 on this test can get you out of many intro computing classes. Or you can set a personal project as your goal: an app, a website, a program that sets your alarms for you or makes your friend’s computer randomly play a YouTube video every six minutes — whatever floats your boat. Either of these pursuits can show up as a bright spot on any application, especially since your motivation for starting this pursuit (and completing it) was entirely intrinsic. It can also be good material for a personal statement, since honestly — how many people can go into college saying they’ve built their own app from scratch? The altruist: Teaching and sharing your knowledge Engineering is what builds the entire infrastructure of our modern society, and engineers can definitely change the world. But what about on a smaller scale? What about helping, mentoring, or inspiring one person at a time? Colleges like to admit community-builders, people who are willing to help other people out and people who can appreciate diversity. So, if you feel comfortable in your STEM skills and knowledge, why not spend a summer sharing it with others? Many summer educational camps and programs love having tutors work with younger children to try and foster an early interest in science and math. Science museums across the nation always welcome knowledgeable, enthusiastic tour guides who would love to answer questions for curious guests. Or you could even volunteer and start your own mentoring program — outreach is always important for STEM, and if you’re dedicated to making science and math more accessible to people, this might just put your interests in line with those of your ideal college. Sharing your knowledge for the sake of other people shows your interest in making positive, altruistic change in the world, and may also attest to your mentorship and social skills. While your intelligence and your academic ability are important to a college in deciding whether or not to admit you, who you are as a person also factors in greatly, as a result of holistic admissions. So in presenting yourself, applications-wise, it’s important to remember not to just show yourself as the student that adcoms want to see in their lecture halls, but the person that they would love to see around campus. Whether it’s by taking a summer off for a STEM program, teaching yourself a new skill, or by helping others out with the knowledge you have, you won’t just be outstanding in your stats alone — these summer experiences will show these colleges that you are the type of person that they’d want to see as an engineer at their institution.

Reading response Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Reading response - Essay Example 2. A strong organizational culture demonstrates that an organization has clear core values, has knowledge of its market and is adaptable. In contrast, a weak organizational culture does not subscribe to clear values, lacks shared symbols and rituals, and is not shaped by the vision of the founders. Apple is an example of an organization with an extremely strong corporate culture, exemplified by Steve Jobs and his ‘Work hard, play hard’ ethic, and passion for innovation. This can be contrasted with the weak corporate culture at Nokia, with its emphasis on research, but poor adaptation to an innovation-driven market. 3. First, I will compose a very explicit mission statement, stating my organization’s core values. Second, I will communicate my vision for the future and list the objectives I hope to see achieved in the near future. Third, I will establish a strong symbol, along motivational lines, which will serve as the corporate logo. Four, I will put in place the tradition of awarding exceptional achievement with annual cash prizes and recognition. Five, I will make myself visible in the functioning of the organization, and attempt to embody and communicate the ideals of the organization and become the public face of the

Extended Service Encounter Reflective Journal Essay

Extended Service Encounter Reflective Journal - Essay Example The term ‘service encounter’ refers to ‘the contact situation between service customer and service firm when the service is being created’ (Se? Ler, 2009, p. 4), and as such is ‘one of the most central and controversial concepts in the service marketing literature’ (Grillmair, 2008, p. 4). The service encounter is important because customer perception is created by their most vivid impression of the service that takes place during the service encounter. There are three types of service encounters: episodic, consisting of a single occurrence producing a single revenue stream for the business, and a defined service duration; extended, which consists of an episodic service encounter but allowing for multiple service types; and continuous, which consists of multiple occurrences with multiple revenue streams, with an undefined service duration, multiple episodic or extended service encounters, and a relational exchange focus (Hume & McColl-Kennedy, 1 998). In this discussion, the aim is to create a diary of service encounters in the course of an extended service encounter. ... ement product requiring intimate participation of the customer in the process); (2) the pleasantness or unpleasantness which the customer felt for the duration of the service encounter; and (3) the lasting impression derived by the customer from the encounter. While it is true that all of us react to service encounters, not all of us react in the same way because of differences in cultural backgrounds, psychological make-up, and personal circumstances that make each of us unique (Grillmair, 2008). Therefore for the purpose of this study, there will be no better subject than this writer, to describe the feelings and impressions garnered during the exercise. I shall provide a service encounter journal of an experience I myself had undertaken, describing actions, thoughts and feelings that shaped the service encounter. Thereafter, the journal entries shall be analysed on a per-event basis, to break down the service encounter experience and later integrate them into a holistic account of what it takes for a customer to be satisfied. 2. The Service Provider Days Hotel is a popular chain of hotels that has established a global presence. Noted for its ‘affordable luxury’ and ‘ambience of carefully cultured elegance,’ the hotel is pleasantly appointed, unpretentiously four-star, and makes one feel at home with a modest kind of comfort. This local subsidiary is a take-off from its parent company, Days Inn of America, but it has evolved into an establishment that embodies both the warm hospitality of the locality and the service quality for which the brand is known. The company slogan is: â€Å"We make your day.† This is apparently a witty use of the word ‘day’ which comprises the hotel’s brand, while at the same time conveying in a simple and straightforward manner

Geographic Information Systems Essay Example for Free

Geographic Information Systems Essay Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is a collection of computer hardware, software, and geographic data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information (gis. com, 2006). GIS uses geography to help problem solve for businesses and governments. By inputting the layers of geography information one is requesting, GIS becomes much more than just a map. One can use GIS to perform many functions such as â€Å". . . choosing sites, targeting market segments, planning distribution networks, responding to emergencies, or redrawing county lines. . (gis. com, 2006). † GIS is a structured database that describes the world in geographic terms. The database can be used to formulate geovisualization and geoprocessing depending on the information desired. There are three views of GIS (gis. com, 2006): 1. Database view: describes the world in geographic terms. 2. Map view: intelligent maps that show features and feature relationships on the earth’s surface. 3. Model view: derives new geographic datasets from existing datasets. GIS output can be used in many different ways. One example is in the banking industry. A bank can us GIS to show the geographic distribution of the bank’s network in relation to deposit potential in a specified region. This analysis can tell the bank where coverage is strong and where it is weak and can be used in planning for future business expansion. The feedback is in real time and very accurate, not a result of months of manual assessment. GIS is a functional and valuable tool for modern business. GIS is an information system that allows critical geographical information to be analyzed and put to immediate use in many different businesses such as emergency medical systems and NASA.

Compare and Contrast Billy Budd versus Bartleby Essay -- American Lite

A Comparison/Contrast Analysis of "Billy Budd" and Bartleby" Several comparisons and contrasts can be made concerning the two stories, Billy Budd and Bartleby, written by Herman Melville. The setting of the two stories reveals an interesting comparison and contrast between the British Navy on the open sea, and the famous Wall Street of New York. The comparison and contrast of characters, Billy Budd, Captain Vere, and Claggart in Billy Budd, and the `narrator' and Bartleby in Bartleby, at times are very much alike, and also very different. The conflict, climax and resolution of the two Melville stories contain similarities and differences. These two stories, on the exterior, appear to be very different, and on the interior are alike, especially if trying to analyze the stories by interpreting the symbolism that Melville may be trying to reveal in his writing. This essay will analyze the similarities and differences in Billy Budd and Bartleby. The first analysis of these stories will be comparing and contrasting the setting. To compare the setting of the two stories, much like the decline of the British naval supremacy in the world due to over-expansion, and especially mutinies, which were taking place throughout the Navy, mostly because of over worked conditions, extended enlistments, and impressments of non-volunteers, on Wall Street, there was a conflict between wage laborers and capitalists in the form of strikes and violence in the street. The conflict leads to the forming of trade unions to resist the methods of factory production and wage labor. The setting can also be compared because of the limited mention of the surroundings, until the very end when Billy Budd, after being hanged, has hi... ...tuttering. In conclusion, this essay analyzes the similarities and differences of the two stories written by Herman Melville, Billy Budd and Bartleby. The settings, characters, and endings in the two stories reveal very interesting comparisons and contrasts. The comparison and contrast also includes the interpretation of the symbolism that Melville used in his two stories. The characters, Billy and Bartleby, could even be considered autobiographical representatives of Herman Melville. Work Cited Harris, Laurie Lanzen, ed. Nineteenth Century Literature Criticism. Detroit: Gale Research, 1983. Herzberg, Max J., ed. The Reader Encyclopedia of American Literature. New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1962. Melville, Herman. Billy Budd, Sailor and Other Stories. Beaver, Harold, ed. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1972.

Fate Symbolism Essay

Some people believe that each step steps on the way of life is predetermined through the beginning to the end, and people are powerless to resist it. The main character who is the narrator of the short novel, â€Å"A Woman Like Me† by Xi Xi, is trying to convey to us the same concept which is called the fate. She has been an orphan since she was very young, and she and her brother were raised by her Aunt Yifen. Her aunt has so much pressure that she pays less attention on their education, so when the narrator grows up, she lets her inherit their familial skill which is making up for dead. All of these elements lead her life into a miserable fate. From the psychological description of herself, I found that in the depth of her heart, she actually doesn’t want to surrender to her fate, but wants to have friendship and love. In my opinion, our life, whatever love or death, are seem arranged by fate, but we can try our best to alter it and change it. As in the story, althoug h the narrator considers that all the things happened in her life is arranged by fate and she is â€Å"totally powerless to resist Fate† (152), I think most of the misfortunes happened in her life are root in her timidity. The reasons that makes her lacks of courage are her self-abased and doesn’t want to violate her family’s custom. In my opinion, our fate is in our own hand. When she faces the point of transition of fate, she doesn’t have enough courage to change her own fate because of her self-abased, but in the depth of her heart, she is really want to change her destiny. In story she describes herself, â€Å"I’m a person who has no concept of self-protection, and my words and deeds will always conspire to make me a laughing stock in the eyes of others† (152). Her character make people around her can’t accept her and laugh at her. It makes her who originally is self-abased because of low education become more self-abased. Her despaired emotion is expressed many times in the story, â€Å"A woman like me is actually unsuitable for any man’s love† (152). The word, â€Å"actually†, was said with her realistic helpless. She has no confidence to fall in love with a man. She thinks her fate is decided that she can do nothing for it. However, when the narrator who originally surrenders to the fate sees the boy suicide for love, she unexpectedly feels shame of him and refuses to make up for him. She thinks that â€Å"his had been act of extreme weakness: †¦ I should have nothing to do with anyone who lacked the courage to resist the forces of fate.† (157) Her view of other’s fate reflect the real idea in her depth heart. When she face the situation of other people, she is very clear that people should have courage to resist the force of fate. As a Chinese proverb said: â€Å"The spectators understand the chess game better than the players.† When she faces that boy, she is feels humiliating with his weakness. We can find her aspire and insist of love. Unfortunately, she doesn’t have the courage to ins ist her own love. Thus, it is her self-abased make her yell of fate can only leave in the depth of her heart and can’t let it into action. Another reason that makes her hesitates on the edge of fighting to change her fate is she asserted Chinese traditional ideology by family. In one hand, she wants to control her life, but on the other hand some traditional ideas are still leave in her mind. At that time in Hong Kong, because of the Colonization of Britain, many people were influenced by the concept of western culture which was that people could control their life and changed their fate by themselves, but the concept of her family was quite different. The narrator’s family is from the main land of China. Her father and her aunt are all cosmeticians that make up for dead which is the skill that handed down from their ancestors, so in the traditional concept, it must have a person in the family to inherit this skill and her Aunt Yifen choose her as the successor. However, the society also influences her so much. She describes the society as a â€Å"greed-consumed, dog-eat-dog world† (154). From how she describes the society, we can find out most people in that society are all struggling to survive in that competitive world. They don’t follow the fate but create and change it by themselves. Under the influence of the surrounding, she once has thought about many other works she can do, such as â€Å"work as saleswoman in a shop, or sell bakery products, or even be a maid in someone’s home† (160), but finally, she still afraid of to compete with others in that cruel society and follow her fate that decided by her family. On the contrary, I don’t believe that fate is not changeable. I think the destiny is in my hand. In the story, the narrator is so weak that she predicts her fate is predetermined and yields to her fate. She and her Aunt Yifen have the same occupation, and she has already seen her aunt’s miserable fate, so she pessimistically thinks that her â€Å"fate and Aunt Yifen’s are one and same.† (159) She is still young and nobody know what will happen in the future, but she give up at first. I believe that opportunities are for the people who are prepared. If she gives up trying and working hard, she won’t grasp the opportunity to change her fate, even the opportunity has coming. As we know that America is country that full of opportunities for people who work hard to change their fate. That is the reason I came to study in America. As an international student whose first language isn’t English is real tough to success in academic. However, like most of other international students, I know that I need to keep studying hard and never stop. Once I hesitate, I will fall behind of others because everyone keeps fighting and struggling in this competitive society. Therefore, I believe that fate is in my own hand. In conclusion, I really feel regressive for her. If she cares less about other’s view of her, she will have courage to save her love; if she put away her traditional idea, she will have courage to find a new job; if she becomes more confidence, she will against her miserable fate and start a new life. To me, I will have the courage. Stand up from where I fall down and keep working hard, I believe my fate will be different.

The Nature of Leadership

Leadership can refer both to the process of leading, and to those entities that do the leading. Leadership has been a central, and sometimes controversial, topic in the study of organizations. In spite of claims to the contrary, there is substantial evidence that leadership is positively related to a variety of individual and organizational outcomes. Leaders, by their very roles, are responsible for making decisions that help their organizations adapt and succeed in competitive environments (Antonakis et al, 2004). Leaders do not merely impose goals on followers, but work with others to create a shared sense of purpose and direction. Leaders primarily work through and with other people. They also help to establish the conditions that enable others to be effective. Leadership is a function more than a role. Although leadership is often invested in – or expected of – persons in positions of formal authority, leadership encompasses a set of functions that may be performed by any different persons in different roles throughout a community. Leaders manage and managers lead, but the two activities are not synonymous. Management functions can potentially provide leadership; leadership activities can contribute to managing (Antonakis et al, 2004). Reflecting based on the above statements made me realize that effective managers do not only administer the people under him/her but should also be a prime initiator of innovation in which tasks and goals of the department and the organization as a whole. As such, managers should be creative as well as discerning when it comes to analyzing and assessing the resources of the company. Developing and evaluating the efficiency of a particular operation strategy will be helpful in maintaining the overall competitiveness of the business organization. In effect, being able to contemplate the factors that will greatly influence the success of the business should be highly considered through objective investigation of the current conditions of the business environment particularly the industry to which the company belongs. The three major leadership styles: laissez-faire, democratic, and authoritarian leadership. Laissez-Faire leaders take no initiative in directing or managing the group; he/she allows the group to develop on its own, as it has no real authority. Specifically, the leader answers questions, provides information, or gives no reinforcement to the group. Furthermore, the leader evaluates and criticizes little, and is thereby non-threatening. The leader allows the members to make their own decisions (Antonakis et al, 2004). On the other hand, democratic leaders provide directions, but allow the group to make its own decisions. Specifically, members are encouraged by democratic leaders to determine goals and procedures, and to stimulate their self-direction and self-actualization (Antonakis et al, 2004). Moreover, democratic leaders offer suggestions and reinforce members' ideas. After offering these suggestions, providing information, and clarifying ideas, the leader allows the group to make the decision. In leadership styles, the democratic leader is in the middle of the styles. The authoritarian leader is the opposite of the laissez-faire leader. The authoritarian leader sets the agenda, determines the group's policies, assigns tasks to the members, and makes decisions for the group without consulting them. In the end, the leader takes responsibility for the group's progress, but accepts very few suggestions from the group (Antonakis et al, 2004). Rarely do the group members communicate with one another, but they communicate with the leader. Leaders should have vision for the organization. The leaders sell vision by visible management attention, proactive policies and procedures, recognition systems, incremental change expectations, and shared glory (Antonakis et al, 2004). Leaders should also have faith that in change, the organization can accomplish its purpose. Moreover, leaders should have integrity, an ethical sense of justice, fairness, and honesty, so that the members can believe in their word. In regards to leaders in an organization as the life-giving elements in every organisation in that without managers, organizations cannot possibly function properly. Thus, a strong link is noted between a leader’s efficiency and organization performance (Antonakis et al, 2004). It has been recognised that leaders are a significant power behind the progress and successful development of an organisation’s strategy and such success is very much dependent upon their attitudes, behaviour and commitment to their specific responsibilities. The basic tension that underlies many discussions of organisational change is that it would not be necessary if leaders had done their jobs right in the first place. Planned change is usually triggered by the failure of people to create continuously adaptive organizations. Thus, organizational change routinely occurs in the context of failure of some sort. Successful change must involve leaders who initially instigate the change by being visionary, persuasive and consistent. A change agent role is usually responsible to translate the vision to a realistic plan and carry out the plan. It is impossible for a leader to get extraordinary achievement alone. Moreover, teamwork is needed in an unstable market and most especially in the business we are in. If you can’t depend on others, you will never become a leader because the better we are able to innovate if we feel we are more trusted. If a leader trusts his staff, his staff will trust him back. As a leader, trust is needed and that a team should be bonded with the capacity to trust each other (Antonakis et al, 2004) . Leadership comprises the aptitude and ability to inspire and influence the thinking, attitudes, and behavior of other people. Leadership is a process of social influence in which one person is able to enlist the aid and support of other individuals in the achievement of a common task. Although this specification seems relatively simple, the reality of leadership is very complex. Intrapersonal factors such as ideas and emotions, interact with interpersonal processes (i.e., attraction, communication, influence) to have effects on a dynamic external environment. Each of these aspects brings complexity to the leadership process. References Antonakis, John, Cianciolo, Anna T. and Sternberg, Robert. The Nature of Leadership.   United States: Sage Publishing House, 2004.            

Telephone English Practice Exercises

Telephone English Practice Exercises Speaking English on the telephone is one of the most challenging tasks for any English learner. There are a number of common phrases to learn, but the most challenging aspect is that you can not see the person. The most important thing about practicing telephone conversations is that you shouldnt be able to see the person you are speaking to on the phone. Here are some tips and exercises to get you started improving your telephone English. Exercises for Practicing Speaking on the Telephone Here are a few suggestions for practicing phone calls without looking at your partner: In the same room - Put your chairs back to back and practice speaking on the phone, you will only hear the other persons voice which will approximate a telephone situation.Use the telephone - This is pretty obvious, but really not used that often. Give your friend a call and practice various conversations (role plays).Use internal office phones at work - This is one of my favorites and great for business classes. If your class is on site (at the office) go to different offices and call one another practicing conversations. Another variation is for the students to go into another office and have the teacher telephone them pretending to be a native speaker in a hurry. Its then up to the students to make sure they have communicated what they need  or understood what the caller wants. This exercise is always a lot of fun - depending on how good your teacher is at acting!Tape yourself - If you are practicing alone, tape standard answers and then practice using the tape recorder stoppin g and starting to simulate a conversation. Real life situations - Businesses are always interested in telling you about their products. Find a product you are interested in and research it over the telephone. You can ...call a store to find out the prices and specifications.ring the company representative to find out details on how the product works.telephone a consumer agency to find out if the product has any defects.call customer service to find out about replacement parts, etc. Grammar:  Present Continuous for Telephone English Use the present continuous tense to state why you are calling: Im calling to speak to Ms. Anderson.Were sponsoring a contest and would like to know if you are interested. Use the present continuous to make an excuse for someone who cant take a call: Im sorry, Ms. Anderson is meeting with a client at the moment.  Unfortunately, Peter isnt working in the office today. Grammar: Would / Could for Polite Requests Use Would / Could you please to make requests on the telephone such as asking to leave a message: Could you please take message?Would you please let him know that I called?Could you please ask him/her to call me back? Telephone Introductions Use This is... to introduce yourself on the telephone: This is Tom Yonkers calling to speak with Ms. Filler.   Use This is ... speaking if someone asks for you and you are on the phone. Yes, this is Tom speaking. How may I help you?This is Helen Anderson.   Check Your Understanding Answer these questions to check your understanding of how to improve your telephone English. True or False?  Its best to practice telephone calls with friends together in a room.Its a good idea to: a) turn your chairs back to back and practice b) record yourself and practice conversations c) try to use real life situations to practice d) all of theseTrue or False?  You have to remember to use a real telephone to practice telephone English.Fill in the gap:  Could you _____ let her know that I telephoned?Telephoning in English can be difficult because a) people are lazy when they speak on the telephone. b) you cant see the person speaking. c) the sound on the telephone is too low.  Fill in the gap:  _____ is Peter Smith calling about my appointment next week.   Answers False -  Its best to practice in separate rooms with real telephones.D -  All of the ideas are helpful when practicing telephone English.  True -  The best way to learn telephone English is to practice on the telephone.please -  Remember to be polite!B -  Telephone English is especially difficult because there are no visual clues.This -  Use This is... to introduce yourself on the telephone.

Knowledge is an example of a public good. Analyse this statement, Essay

Knowledge is an example of a public good. Analyse this statement, drawing on further research to inform your argument - Essay Example These include non-rivalry and non-excludability. Suber (2009) describes that knowledge is non-rivalrous in the sense that its sharing among several people does not deplete its stock. This characteristic of knowledge is shared by other public goods such as air and sunshine. The second feature of knowledge is non-excludabilty. Once knowledge has been created, it is extremely difficult or impossible to limit people from accessing it as long as they have the resources and mental capacity to access it. At the same time, Suber (2009) also distinguishes between knowledge and its forms of expression. According to his argument, knowledge is a public good while its expression in the form of books and journal articles is not. Anderson (2006) argues that knowledge should be considered primarily as a â€Å"public good† while its position as a private asset should be secondary. This reflects the diverse opinions that regard knowledge as an economic asset as well as a social good. Anderson ( 2006) describes four different views of knowledge along a continuum of private and public good. He describes that in the United Kingdom, knowledge is first regarded as a private asset and then as a public good. He argues that the perception should be reversed and British society should view knowledge first as a public good and then as a private asset. ... Haskel (n.a.) discusses the importance of knowledge as a public good from a European perspective. He argues that in making knowledge a public good, states should not seek to act monopolistically themselves. While the state should check inefficiencies such as under-provision of knowledge, it should not seek to subsidize knowledge that is not being withheld by such barriers. At the same time, the state should avoid creating inefficiencies that might be created if it retains sole control over the dissemination of knowledge. Competition and the private sector should be given space to operate as long as inefficiencies are not created. Haskel (n.a.) also argues that public sector involvement in knowledge creation encourage the private sector rather than discouraging it. The tax credits awarded to companies investing in R&D can be allocated more efficiently if investment in areas such as design, marketing, and training are also considered. Stiglitz (1999) views knowledge not only as a publi c good, but as a global public good that should be accessible to all people who can benefit from it. Particularly, in the domain of science and technology, the knowledge is less likely to be geographically-dependent; hence, it has global applications and should be available globally. Stiglitz (1999) discusses some of the constraints that limit the global accessibility of knowledge. Recognizing corporate interests in protecting essential knowledge such as product formulations or technology design, Stiglitz (1999) proposes that the state can invest in research so that economic efficiencies can be achieved. Stiglitz (1999) criticizes the use of patents and other means of enabling firms to recoup their research and development costs. These act as taxes for the consumer and create economic

Evolution of the Global Economic Environment Research Paper

Evolution of the Global Economic Environment - Research Paper Example As global trade has grown over the last 20 years, both in terms of global productivity and absolute means, China has sustained their share of global trade and substantially increased their share of global exports of produced goods (Lin 2001). From 1990-2010, at merely more than 10.4 percent (Lin 2001, slide 4), China’s share of global exports was significant. The multinational business is usually perceived as a major motivator for the system of the globalization of production. This is justifiable, because the presence of the multinational business is, in principle, grounded on earlier and major foreign investment (Ostry & Alexandroff 2003). Furthermore, the past two decades have witnessed a dramatic boost in the operations of multinational businesses in China. Recent reports indicate that there are roughly 65,000 transnational corporations at present (Milberg 2004, 45). Their economic effect can be evaluated through varied approaches. Foreign partners, in 2001, comprised more than 50 million workers in comparison to more than 20 million in 1990 (Milberg 2004, 45). According to the UNCTAD (2002, 1 as cited in Milberg 2004, 45), foreign partners presently comprise about one-third of global exports and one-tenth of global GDP. Between the 1980s and the 1990s, FDI’s share in international gross capital formation increased by two-thirds; for China, the rise was by about three-quarters. FDI massively rose in the 1990s, even though it dropped abruptly in 2001 due to the global recession and weakening of stock markets (Lin 2001). Hence the reduction in the flows of FDI was tilted toward advanced nations. FDI to China and other developing nations increased 4 percent from 1980 to 2001, and China’s share of world FDI climbed significantly from the early 1990s to 2001 (Ostry & Alexandroff 2003). Nevertheless, this increase has not been sufficient to make a difference in the share of the developing nations of the global reserves of FDI, which, according to UNCTAD (2000 as cited in Milberg 2004, 46), has changed roughly 35% over the past two decades. China, in the 1990s hardly made it on the international economic scale. However, China was able to improve its status in international trading after roughly two decades, making her the current second most advanced economy in the world (Lin 2001). The trade of China, in the 1990s, was an insignificant presence in world trade. After two decades, the country is presently the biggest global exporter of goods, with a rate of annual export growth at 18 percent (Lin 2001, slide 6). Due to this massive development in China’s role in international trading, trade structure has been altered. It is the contention of this paper that the transformation in trade structure, or with intensified trade in intermediate rather than final products, instead of expansion in the volume of trade that establishes globalization as a relevant occurrence in terms of the development of strategies for economic growth. This transformation in the structure of trade is the outcome of the appearance of global trading systems, wherein bits and pieces of a product are manufactured in various places all over the world.