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American Imperialism Essay examples - 2429 Words

The United States of America had begun its political life as a colony of the British Empire. However, as the 20th century dawned, the nation quickly found itself as one of the world’s leading imperial powers. Historians have proposed various reasons for this change in the American psyche. Historians from the progressive school of thought argue that economic interests dictated American foreign policy; while academics of the Conservative or older patriotic tradition advocate that the nations brief foray into imperialism represented a â€Å"great aberration† from typical American isolationism. A third school led by Julius Pratt, applied Social Darwinism to the country – stating that a combination of religious and humanitarian components motivated†¦show more content†¦This need for new markets had pushed the nation into conflict with other imperial powers. Exempli Gratia Beard, a champion of the progressive school, stated that the desire for profits had push ed Americans into war with Spain over Cuba (Grob, page 165). The Spanish-American War was fought mainly for economic reasons. The United States primary motivation for entering the war was â€Å"purely economic† (Spanish-American War). The United States had a vested interest in Cuba – almost fifty million dollars invested in the island nation. Additionally, America had a sound trade history with Cuba: trading more with the Spanish colony than its motherland (Cuba). The rotting Spanish Empire provided a hindrance to American business interests. Tariffs and trade fees were especially troublesome to American businessmen. After the war, America had successfully the profitability of their investments. This was done through the Platt Amendment. This amendment had essentially dictated Cubas economic policy: allowing Americans to check Cuban national debt and foreign treaties (Platt Amendment). A second theater of the Spanish-American War was the Philippines. Although the United States initially had ambivalent feelings toward the Pacific island nation, the nation ultimately moved to incorporate the territory for economic reasons. Acting under the facade of protecting the native people from atrocities committed by Spanish colonists, the United States government annexedShow MoreRelatedAmerican Imperialism797 Words   |  4 PagesMaterial Appendix A American Imperialism Part 1 Complete the chart by identifying the following: Identify the countries or areas where the United States engaged in countries or areas where the United States engaged in imperialistic actions during the period from about 1870 to 1914. Discuss why each area was important to American empire building—political, economic, and social. Explain America’s expansionist ideals. What were some factors that justified American imperialist actions? Read MoreAppendix a American Imperialism1314 Words   |  6 PagesAssociate Program Material Appendix A American Imperialism Part 1 Complete the chart by identifying the following: Identify the countries or areas where the United States engaged in imperialistic actions during the period from about 1870 to 1914. Discuss why each area was important to American empire building—political, economic, and social. Explain America’s expansionist ideals. What were some factors that justified American imperialist actions? Identify the currentRead MoreThe American Imperialism Essay558 Words   |  3 Pagesabout American imperialism and its behavior. Historians such as William A. Williams, Arthur Schlesinger, and Stephen Kinzer provides their own vision and how America ought to be through ideas centered around economics, power, and racial superiority. Economics becomes a large factor in the American imperialism; but more specifically that expansion in foreign markets is a vital part in the growth of America. As historian Charles Beard puts it, â€Å"[it] is indispensable to the prosperity of American businessRead MoreA Brief History of American Imperialism1391 Words   |  6 Pageseventual spread of the American nation beyond the Mississippi into Native and French land, referred to as â€Å"Manifest Destiny† by John O’Sullivan, was rationalized as a realization of their God given duty. The Louisiana Purchase set the precedent for unrestricted westward expansion in America, and allowed for others to follow in his footsteps. Characterized by racist overtones, a lack of the â€Å"consent of the governed, and ethnic cleansing, there is no valid distinction between this American continental expansionRead MoreEssay On American Imperialism1265 Words   |  6 Pagesbook, Our Country, about why the United States should su pport imperialism. He himself is American, but where exactly in America is unknown. It is important that this established, as it makes it easier to understand his motivations for promoting what he thinks are best interests for America. The exact date of this publication is not given, but further research states it is from 1885. At around 1885 was a period of time where imperialism was a concept which was spreading quickly to many large countriesRead MoreAmerican Imperialism Research Study Essay1423 Words   |  6 PagesAssociate Program Material Appendix A American Imperialism Part 1 Complete the chart by identifying the following: †¢ Identify the countries or areas where the United States engaged in imperialistic actions during the period from about 1870 to 1914. †¢ Discuss why each area was important to American empire building—political, economic, and social. †¢ Explain America’s expansionist ideals. What were some factors that justified American imperialist actions? †¢ Identify the current politicalRead MoreAn Exercise Of American Imperialism1381 Words   |  6 Pages1846-1848: Southward Aggression II,† argues that the Mexican War was indeed an exercise of American imperialism. Throughout his presidency, James K. Polk made a promise to the American people to honor Manifest Destiny, expanding the territory of the United States to the Pacific Ocean. Polk was blinded by his tunnel vision, and was more than willing to pay the cost of thousands of Mexican lives (over twice as many as Americans) in pursuit of his goal. The Mexican government was weak, so, Polk took advantageRead MoreAmerican Imperialism - Essay997 Words   |  4 PagesAmerican Imperialism has been a part of United States history ever since the American Revolution. Imperialism is the practice by which large, powerful nations seek to expand and maintain control or influence on a weaker nation. Throughout the years, America has had a tendency to take over other peoples land . America had its first taste of Imperialistic nature back when Columbus came to America almost five hundred years ago. He fought the inhabitants with no respect for their former way of life,Read MoreThe Rise of American Imperialism Essay927 Words   |  4 PagesThe Rise of American Imperialism The idea of American Imperialism had both its advocates and its critics. One only needs to look at a map to see which side won. America has greatly expanded since its own phase as a colony of the greatest European Empire of the time. America became her own Empire through the accusation of vast territories through many different mean. Sometimes she purchases the mighty morsel, sometimes she forms it #8230; by the natural increase of her own people, sometimesRead MoreAmerican Imperialism: Characteristics903 Words   |  4 PagesAmerican Imperialism in the Nineteenth Century extended from several characteristics of America and American society, including but not limited to exceptionalism and manifest destiny. While these beliefs not only supported and manifested the perpetual effort to exploit and later completely oppress and subjugate the Native American populations within its borders, they also supported the later establishment of reservations and the practice of Native American boarding school education. But, American

GlaxoSmithKline Is More Concerned With Development-Free Samples

Question: How To The GlaxoSmithKline Is More Concerned With Development? Answer: Introduction Distribution strategies refer to the measures that the company has in place to ensure that products reach the intended recipient. There are several means through which a company can do this. The particular measure or measures taken are dependent on the nature of business the organization is in, its size, and the overall strategy. In some instances, the company may follow a direct distribution strategy, whereby its products are sold to the end consumer directly. In other instances, the company chooses to use an agent, who then sells to the end consumer. Other strategies have longer chains, with several players. There may be a wholesaler, agent, retailer, among others, all determined to find the easiest way that the product can be marketed. Pharmaceuticals are ultimately responsible for whichever distribution channel they use. However, the payers influence the exact nature of these channels. The company, such as GSK must consider distributors, controllers, payers, regulators and dispensers in its decision makers. Distribution Strategies GSK uses several means to ensure that its products reach the market. The first among these is the strategy which involves selling directly to hospitals. The distribution mechanism ensures that the medicines can then be distributed as prescription drugs to patients through the respective hospitals pharmacy. The importance of this channel is that it has a wider coverage, on top of being an excellent way of accessing a large size of the market (McCain, 2012). The second distribution model involves using super agents. These agents stock GSK products on their premises. They are responsible for selling the drugs on behalf of the company, using whichever strategy they use. However, any agreement requires the super agent to be responsible and ethical in supply, so that the drugs are not used for the wrong purpose. The super agent is so called because they do not supply to the end consumer. Instead, they in turn supply to hospitals and agents who distribute to the end consumer. This type of distribution has its advantages and challenges. While the company is able to sell more drugs due to the ability of the super agent to reach more customers (GSK, 2012; Weitz Jap, 1995). Another facet of the distribution strategy that the organization has adopted involves sales agents. The sales agents are involved in contracting the different buyers, including agents, super agents, hospitals, clinics and drug stores. They sell the wares to these parties, for onwards distribution to the end consumer or other distributors in the chain. The difference between the super agent and the sales person is that while the sales person is employed by the company, the super agent is a different entity. It is cheaper to sell the drugs through a salesperson than through the agent, but the sales volumes are considerably less (Gupta, Mandhav Ojha, 2015). The company also distributes drugs through drug stores. In a conventional sense, the drug store is an agent who does not sell the drug to other sellers, but instead dispenses them to the end consumer. The end consumer may be accompanied with a prescription note by a physician where necessary. In other cases, the drugs do not require a prescription note. The company sells most of its - over the counter medicine in using this channel (Gupta, Mandhav Ojha, 2015). The different facets of this distribution strategy are illustrated in the flowchart below. To support the distribution channels described above, the company has created a positive relationship with several institutions in the country. This factor enables them to get firsthand information about the preferences of different parties and the changing trends. Furthermore, it allows them to access past records to determine the common challenges connected to their products. Therefore, the organization uses its distribution channels not only to distribute products, but also to obtain valuable market intelligence (Black et al, 2002). Not included in this model is the export segment of the GSK Australian market. GSKs business has a significant export component. The company exports drugs to several countries in Asia and beyond. The company may either be shipped to GSK branches in these countries, or directly to agents or other intermediaries. Apart from this, the channel followed is similar to what has been discussed above under other distribution models (Gupta, Mandhav Ojha, 2015; GSK, 2017). Distribution analysis The Australian market that GSK controls is large. It is among the major players in the country, controlling up to 5% of the Australian market (DIIS, 2017). The country is also large geographically. This means that it is not practical to have only one distribution model, since it will face serious limitations. The company is therefore justified in seeking to sell its products through several channels as it does (Black et al, 2002). It may sometimes be impractical to sell the product directly to customers. GSK deals in drugs which are extremely harmful if not consumed through the right directions, which means a physicians prescription. This means that the drugs that the company sells must be sold in a controlled way, which the different channels of distribution provide. More importantly, the company does not deal directly with the end user. The middlemen therefore in this case perform an essential role of ensuring ethical practice (Tse Yim, 2008). The size of the company is also an important consideration in determining the distribution channels it will use. For smaller companies, many distribution models are likely to result in operational inefficiencies, which will result in the organization losing money. GSK is a large company present in more than 150 countries, however. This means that it is well placed to employ these distribution models since it has the financial ability and operational capacity to support them. In short, it has both the products needed, and the people to sell the products to (Tse Yim, 2008). Outcome The results of this approach have been that GSKs Australian business has grown well over the last few years, mirroring the overall growth in the Australian pharmaceutical industry. GSKs growth has been a product of expanding markets, as well as improved operational and distribution efficiencies. Ultimately, the most important element of its success is how well it is able to get its product to the end user. It is also dependent on the decisions of important players such as physicians and governments, and how well GSK is able to influence thme. This refers to how well the company is able to collect market intelligence form its distribution channels. Conclusion The distribution channels that a company chooses are dependent on several factors. This includes size of market, size of company, size of its market in terms of geography, and the nature of the product. For this reason, GSK has found a hybrid model of distribution, which has worked well for them. References Black, N, eat al. (). Modeling consumer choice of distribution channels: an illustration from financial services. Journal of Bank Marketing, 20(4), 161-173. Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. (2014). Australian Pharmaceuticals Industry Data Card 2014. retrieved 06 04 2017, from https://industry.gov.au/industry/IndustrySectors/PharmaceuticalsandHealthTechnologies/Pharmaceuticals/Pages/PharmaceuticalsIndustryDataCard.aspx GSK. (2017). About Us. Retrieved 06 04 2017, from https://au.gsk.com/en-au/about-us/. Gupta, S., Mandhav, S., Ojha, A. (2015). Review on Pharma Marketing. European Journal of Pharmaceutical and Medical Research, 2(4), 174-184. McCAIN, J. (2012). Part 1: Distribution models for biologics and other specialty pharmaceutical products. Biotechnology Healthcare, 9(2), 813. Tse, A., Yim, F. (2008). Factors Affecting the Choice of Channels. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 14 (2-3), 137-152. Weitz, B., Jap, S. (1995). relationship marketing and distribution channels. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 23(4), 305-320.

Rural Development and Poverty free essay sample

Poverty eradication has been on the global development agenda since the birth of development itself. Unfortunately for the impoverished, the agenda of the neoliberal and transnational classes are not as concerned with poverty eradication as they are with capital and industry. This means that the needs of the citizens, poor citizens in particular, get put on the back burner in the name of economic growth and free market policy. In Latin America, 40% of the population is categorized as poor, and in Brazil the extreme level of disparity and the states refusal to adequately address it has led to the formation of a Landless Workers Movement which calls itself the MST (Leiva, 2008). The MST believe that agrarian reform and redistribution of wealth and power are the solution for Brazils poverty woes, and that the current top-down, or trickle down policies are not solutions but are in fact a part of the problem. We will write a custom essay sample on Rural Development and Poverty or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The purpose of this case study will be to not only get a better understanding of the MST but to also find out how, or even if its results can be duplicated in other third world countries. Identifying the problem the general problem is poverty, but under the surface there are many different elements at work. The driving force behind it all is the most important because identifying and understanding it will make it easier to diagnose, and from the research it is clear that the locomotive behind the poverty in Brazil is capitalism and its sidekick, consumptionism. As most probably already know 20% of the worlds population accounts for over 85% of total private consumption expenditures (UNDP, 1998). In Brazil, 10% of the population owns 75 percent of the nations wealth, to bring it even closer into perspective 0. 1% of the population owns 40% of the nations wealth. Brazil also has the second highest concentration of land ownership in the world with less than 1% owning over 46% of land area, meanwhile 4. 6 million landless families continue to live in conditions of extreme poverty and distress. (www. mstbrazil. rg/about-mst/). As mentioned earlier, the reason behind this is the focus put on free market forces controlling the land reform policies, it is believed that market forces produce more desirable results on the economy when left unhindered (Borras, 2008). This line of thought is pushed for by the Modernizationists of the West who push for neoliberal policies, declaring it as the ticket out of poverty. Theses Modernizationists want to see a n evolution in nations like Brazil, an evolution from subsistence farming towards commercial production of agricultural goods. This calls for a specialization in cash crops, purchase of non-agricultural products in the market and agricultural wage labour (Allen and Thomas, 2000). Oddly enough, these policies are known to be more of a benefit to Core nations, where the majority of these Modernizationists come from, at the expense of the periphery nations. In actuality it is capitalist consumerism that makes these demands putting a strain of the livelihood of impoverished citizens in the third world by demanding more for less. Neoliberal markets are the problem because they want to works with transnational corporations, which they believe will inject the economy with new money, when in reality, all the competition from outside the nation crushes the indigenous population. Eventually the owners of small and mid-sized businesses and particularly farmers in this case, are muscled out, those same farmers are eventually stripped of everything and forced to work for the big companies and plantations they once competed for, the cycle is vicious and long-standing (UNDP, 1998). The point of all this is too clarify that the agenda of capitalism and its constituents is in direct disagreement with the needs of the people of Brazil. Introducing the MST The Movimento dos Trabalhadores Rurais Sem Terra, otherwise known as Brazils Landless Workers Movement, is the reaction or alternative response to mainstream development (Allen and Thomas, 2000). It was born out of relentless poverty and desperation, which came after years of waiting on an unresponsive and seemingly nonchalant government. The MST is a radical movement which, unlike many other advocacy and alternative development groups, believes in taking matters into its own hands, Development vigilantes, if you will. From the landless perspective, complacency from both sides is the major deterrent to change and reform. The leaders of the MST blame ignorance for the complaceny, a misinterpretation of Federal rights, claiming that it is a major obstacle to agrarian reform, along with Big Capital and Big Estate (Branford and Rocha, 2002). With this in mind the MST has set out to educate and empower the Landless citizens of Brazil, advocating people-centered, alternative development. This means rejecting the mainstream development notion of trusteeship in which others determine the requirements for the development of the nation and also the rejection of the large-scale industrialization which is believed to alienate the impoverished (Allen and Thomas, 2000). With what most people assume about Brazil, the complaints and cries of the MST may seem a little dramatic, but despite the claims that Brazil has undergone the largest agrarian reform in the World, Brazil actually has seen a reversal of the clock. This is the product of neoliberal macroeconomic policies mentioned earlier, which have crept in to Brazillian legislature, further facilitating the concentration of land and producing a rise in unemployment (Moyo and Yeros, 2005). As mentioned earlier rural poverty and booming industry have caused a boom in urbanization, due to the many who have moved to cities in hopes of finding relief from poverty. The result of this is that Brazils major cities are now overpopulated and unable to adequately sustain many of their citizens, and with the poor being at the bottom of the ladder, they recieve the brunt of social injustice and economic woe (Wright and Wolford, 2003). The heart of the MSTs argument is that offering more opportunity in rural areas would be incentive for the impoverished to leave the overpopulated metropolis and return to the more familiar, agrarian lifestyle, hitting two troublesome birds with one stone. So now the question becomes where too get the land to make these opportunities available, but again the MST has a provision for this. In 1988, the brazilian goverment adopted a new constituition, this constituition stipulated that all Brazillian land must serve a social function. Article 184 of the consituition further specified that the Brazilian government was required to expropriate for the purpose of agrarian reform, rural property that is not performing its social function. (www. mstbrazil. org/about-mst/). Recently, along with promises of redistribution the Brazilian government let out a report classifying 55,000 rural properties, which account for about 300,000 acres of Brazilian land, as unproductive (www. mstbrazil. org/about-mst/). Armed with this information and aided by legal workers, the MST has made it their purpose and duty to empower fellow citizens to take a hold of what consituitionally belongs to them. Occupations The MST is comprised of unsatisfied and anxious citizens, meaning that they are not willing to wait on lobbyist and politicians to make due on their promises, instead they take immediate action. This means less focus towards voting, lobbying legislature, making campaign contributions for those running for office and writing letters to public officials (Ondetti, 2008). Clearly, the more traditional ways of bringing about reform are not favoured in rural Brazil. Indeed, most seem to have lost confidence in the passive approach, and in light of the governments history of unfulfilled promises to the Landless poor, rightfully so. Instead, the MST focus more on radical, coercive methods of collective pressuring, such as, marches, demonstrations, sit-ins, road blockages and most commonly, land occupations (Ondetti, 2008). Land occupations, sometimes simply referred to as occupations, are the weapon of choice for the MST. In fact, since its conception the Landless movement has used occupations as a key move in petitioning the state to for unproductive land. By occupying unused land the MST make their presence and demands known to both the landowners and the government, which otherwise may have simply overlooked them. With their attention and the help of friendly lawyers and Article 184, the MST make their case to for the right to socially unproductive land (Wolford, 2010). Although occupations are the most common form of protest used by the MST, it is very tedious and not always successful, in many cases hundreds of families will be living on land for years, maybe nearing decades, only to receive an eviction notice from the government deeming the land productive. Despite the risk of wasting years for nothing, the MST continues to use occupations, indeed, the MST has never won a single acre of land without first carrying out an occupation (Branford and Rocha, 2002). In recent years, the MST has begun to focus not only on unproductive land that is not being farmed by the landowner, but also land that is being used to produce commercial crops as opposed to food for the local population. Yes, the target is slightly different, but the principle remains the same, under the Brazilian constitution lands used for cash crops are unproductive or at least underproductive as there are local citizens starving while, crops are being grown and sold to wealthy capitalist nations (Branford and Rocha, 2002). Agrarian Reform In a nutshell, the MSTs objective is top-down agrarian reform, the question is whether it is possible in the Brazilian context. The landlords of Brazil have, like the plantations they own, been around for generations taking advantage of the seemingly timeless relationship they have with the landless peasants of the area. But the agrarian reform being called for by the Landless movement of today would put an end to that relationship requiring a total restructure to allow a democratic access to land and an improvement to how wealth and land are being distributed (Moyo and Yeros, 2005). So it is no wonder that the call for agrarian reform is not exactly welcomed amongst the aristocrats of Brazil. Regardless, the feasibility and not the necessity is what is really at question, in regards with this whether it is possible the MST says â€Å"absolutely†. The argument is that redistributing the unused, excess land in particular, would make the land more productive and the citizens more efficient, boosting the economy. The MST is also clear on the fact that it not only demands land reform but also the policies that support it, such as credit and housing support (Ondetti, 2008). As far as the MST is concerned these policies go hand in hand with Agrarian reform and are mandatory for any hope of rural development. Is it working With a better understanding of who the MST are and what it is they are doing, now one can begin to tally up the results. As many good intentions as the MST may have for the country and even the world, its system is not perfect. A devastating example of this would be the horrendous living conditions of many of these occupation camps, indeed, much of the suffering in these camps is a direct resulting of unsanitary living conditions. Eye infections, typhoid and dysentery, particularly among children, plagues of fleas and lice and of course malnourishment, make occupations a very dangerous choice of lifestyle (Wright and Wolford, 2003). Along with sanitation there is also the constant harassment from hired gangs and police, which has been known to escalate leaving more MST-ers dead. An unfortunate fact is that, many, women and children in particular, die under the harsh conditions while waiting for a decision, this makes the decision to join the MST more difficult than it already is. The heavy cost of this movement has brought favour to landowners, this is due to the concern for human life and the call from the state to stop putting innocent lives on the line needlessly. Members of the state have been known to swing in favour of private capital in hopes of disenchanting members of the MST and putting down any future oiners. There are cases where, contrary to the hopes and petitions of the MST advocates, access to and control over land resources are being redefined and restructured in favour of private capital, as a direct result of the â€Å"dangers† of advocacy groups (Borras, Edelman, Kay, 2008). An added set-back to the goals of the MST is the neoliberal thought that looks at the whole thing as a failure, and strong reasoning as to why the state should stay out of economic affairs. Neoliberal economists consider the â€Å"failure† of state-led land appropriation to be the reason for unrest in the rural markets. But they go further, as always, to argue that were the state to step aside and allow the market to control who owns what, as opposed to the state reallocating land resources, which is the hope of the MST (Borras, 2008). Of course, there is truth in the first statement it is the states mismanagement of land appropriation that is part of the agrarian problem, but less state intervention is not the answer, it would simply reverse any growth. With that being said, the achievements of the MST cannot be overshadowed, it has proven to be a reliable and in recent years essential part of rural society. Among other things the MST has raised the literacy rates almost everywhere it has gone. Solely thanks to the MST approximately 150 thousand children have attended elementary and secondary schools, and many of the teachers who taught at these schools were trained and government certified by the MST itself (Wright and Wolford, 2003). The MST has reached a generation that would otherwise have been overlooked by the government, and now these children learn everything from how to right to social rights. The recent rise in the new peasant movements [in Brazil] has achieved a level of reach and influence that can no longer be ignored even by mainstream development and financial institutions, which have intensified their attempts to capture and co-opt, collaborate with or undermine [these groups] (Borras et al. , 2008). The opposition is definitely growing against the MST but it is only due to the unquestionable level of success that it has had, with scrutiny there can be no question that what the MST is doing, is working. Can it be duplicated With poverty being a global issue, the world needs to know if the success of the Brazilian Landless workers can be recreated elsewhere. Already there are militant rural movements popping up all over the globe, from Mexico all the ay to Zimbabwe (Moyo and Yeros, 2005). Some nation s are seeing a more organized effort, South Africa and the Philippines being the prime example, with the formation of LPM and KMP, respectively (Borras, 2008). Of course many of these movements began due to internal factors, and yet â€Å"people around the have been inspired by the Brazilian landless movement and have studied its example [concerning social and even environmental problems] (Wright and Wolford). In Conclusion It is the radical approach of the MST that has gotten it where it is today as it is considered by many observers to be the most important social movement in Latin America today (Wright and Wolford, 2003). A trendsetter and trailblazer in its own respect, and in an arena that has seen centuries of inequality and injustice, where the cords of colonialism seem to be in an knot that cant be untied. The MST has earned the recognition of the globe for attempting the impossible and trying to overthrow the mainstream approach towards development, cutting the knot instead of wrestling to untie it, and placing in new laces. Again this is revolutionary simply because of the environment that it is being done in. Fernando Leiva writes, â€Å"Latin American policies on poverty are tricky because they must be designed without being perceived as a threat to the profit rate of domestic conglomerates and transnational capital; they cannot restrict capital mobility, flexible labour markets, or upset stable expectations for investors† (2008). It is against this mighty agenda that the MST fights and yet the MST has proven itself mighty in its own respect, with its ambitious, almost ridiculous demands. But the neoliberal capitalists need for stability and predictability, has been and must continue to be overpowered by the waves of change, if there should be any hope of a poverty free Brazil. As one MST advocate was quoted to have said, â€Å"there can be no progress as long as the demands are being deemed acceptable according to the standards of the establishment† (Branford and Rocha, 2002).

Avoid Camera Shake Essay Example

Avoid Camera Shake Essay Example Avoid Camera Shake Essay Avoid Camera Shake Essay CAMERA SHAKE WITH HAND-HELD PHOTOS Weve all likely encountered this problem many times: blurry photos due to camera shake with hand-held shots. Its especially prevalent for those of us who are unfortunate enough to have unsteady hands. While it cannot be eliminated entirely, fortunately theres a number of steps you can take to greatly reduce its impact † and hopefully prevent it from becoming visible in the first place. Blurry Photo from Camera Shake Photo Without Camera Shake Photo from the base of the Eiffel Tower at night Paris, France. OVERVIEW Camera shake is visible whenever your shutter speed is slow compared to the speed of unintended camera motion. Reducing its impact may therefore include: 1. Methods for increasing the shutter speed (shorter exposure time) 2. Methods for reducing camera motion On the one hand, many who are new to photography often dont appreciate the importance of using fast shutter speeds or a tripod, but on the other hand, many experienced photographers often overestimate their impact. More often than not, it is ones shooting technique † not high-end lenses or high megapixel cameras † that ultimately limits the resolution of a photograph. While either method alone can be of great help, the most effective solution is to take both into consideration. Even the calmest hands cannot hold a camera sufficiently steady during a several second exposure, for example, and fast shutter speeds are unlikely to freeze motion from a telephoto lens held by shaky hands. Also, increasing the shutter speed helps freeze a moving subject, whereas reducing camera motion does not. METHODS FOR INCREASING THE SHUTTER SPEED There are unfortunately only three ways to increase your shutter speed: (i) optimize your exposure settings, (ii) avoid over-exposure and (iii) improve how your subject is lit. Choose optimal exposure settings. Make sure youre making the best trade-offs with the camera exposure triangle; are you really using the highest ISO speed and/or the lowest f-stop possible with your subject matter Make sure to consider whether you need an extended depth of field when choosing the aperture. However, if youre using your camera in automatic mode, then its likely already doing whatever it can to increase the shutter speed. Avoid accidental over-exposure. A common cause of blurred shots is due to the cameras metering system mistakenly choosing a longer exposure time than was necessary. Dark shaded subject matter and uneven indoor light can easily trick your camera into over-exposure. Use a flash or improve ambient lighting. If youre using a compact camera with a built-in flash, also try getting closer to your subject so that theyll be more brightly illuminated. If youre shooting people without a flash, try relocating closer to the light source(s), or waiting until the subject passes through a more brightly lit area. If none of these are sufficient, then youll also need to employ one or more of the techniques discussed in the subsequent sections below (but ideally one should use both). IMPROVE YOUR HAND-HELD TECHNIQUE Although increasing the shutter speed is often the easiest technique to implement, how you take hand-held photographs can often times make even more of a difference. Try one or more of the following tips: Example of a photographer leaning against a wall to brace the camera. Brace yourself and your camera. This might include leaning up against a wall, kneeling or sitting, or using the viewfinder instead of the rear LCD (since the camera gets braced against your face). Just try to have at least three points of contact between your body and the ground, walls or other stable objects. Always avoid situations where your position or equipment causes you to strain while taking the photograph. Holding your camera directly against a wall or other object also improves stability even further. Make sure to stand in a position that leaves you calm and comfortable. Optimize how you grip the camera. Its important to hold your camera firmly but not tensely, and to use both hands. With large telephoto lenses, make sure to place one hand under the lens and the other on your camera. Make sure that your arms remain close to your body and in a comfortable position. Using your camera more often can also make your grip feel more natural and get your hand muscles more acclimated to the task. Also make sure that you keep yourself nice and warm. Practice better shutter button technique. Always try to press the shutter button half-way first, then gently press the button with no more pressure/speed than necessary. It might also help to pay attention to breathing. Try taking a deep breath, exhaling about halfway, then pressing the shutter button. Take three shots in rapid succession. Often the very act of knowing youll have to hold your hands steady can make it more difficult to do so. First Photo (most blurred) Second Photo (sharpest keeper) Third Photo (medium blur) Youll likely find that theres a big difference in sharpness between each successive image, in part because youre less concerned about individual shots. Just make sure to review these at full resolution; differences often wont be as pronounced as the above example. OTHER TECHNIQUES EQUIPMENT ADVICE Clearly, the best way to minimize hand-held camera shake is not to hold your camera in the first place. While this article focuses on situations where a tripod isnt available, you can also see the tutorial on camera tripods for specifics on improving your tripod technique. However, theres fortunately several alternatives: Example of a photograph taken by setting the camera on the ground and aiming using a lens cap. Set your camera on a hard surface. While this can often produce even sharper photos than using a tripod, it can also greatly restrict available compositions. On the other hand, it can provide a unique and interesting perspective on your subject. Shots at eye-level often appear ordinary since thats what were used to seeing. You can always aim your camera by choosing an appropriate position on uneven ground, or by placing your lens cap or a pebble underneath the camera body. Just make sure to either use a remote release switch, or to set your camera to self-timer mode. With SLR cameras, using your cameras mirror lock-up (MLU) setting will also improve results (if available). Use lenses with image stabilization (IS) or vibration reduction (VR), or cameras with shake reduction (SR). These features can greatly reduce camera movement † especially with telephoto lenses. This often enables hand-held shots at shutter speeds which are 5-10X+ slower than otherwise possible. However, such features cannot work miracles, and they usually work best only in conjunction with proper hand-held technique. Avoid telephoto lenses whenever possible. A fancy image stabilized lens isnt the only way to reduce the appearance of shake. Getting a little closer to your subject (and using a shorter focal length / wider angle lens) will reduce the impact of shaky hands, and often has the added benefit of creating a more interesting perspective. More on this topic can be found within the tutorial on camera lenses focal length.

Find a Reactions Final Temperature With Specific Heat

Find a Reaction's Final Temperature With Specific Heat This example problem demonstrates how to calculate the final temperature of a substance when given the amount of energy used, the mass and initial temperature. Problem 300 grams of ethanol at 10  °C is heated with 14640 Joules of energy. What is the final temperature of the ethanol? Useful Information: The specific heat of ethanol is 2.44 J/g ·Ã‚ °C. Solution Use the formula q mcΔT Where q Heat Energym Massc Specific HeatΔT Change in temperature. 14640 J (300 g)(2.44 J/g ·Ã‚ °C)ΔT Solve for ΔT: ΔT 14640 J/(300 g)(2.44 J/g ·Ã‚ °C)ΔT 20  °CΔT Tfinal - TinitialTfinal Tinital ΔTTfinal 10  °C 20  °CTfinal 30  °C Answer:  The final temperature of the ethanol is 30  °C. Final Temperature After Mixing When you mix together two substances with different initial temperatures, the same principles apply. If the materials dont chemically react, all you need to do to find the final temperature is to assume that both substances will eventually reach the same temperature. Problem Find the final temperature when 10.0 grams of aluminum at 130.0  °C mixes with 200.0 grams of water at 25  °C. Assume no water is lost as water vapor. Solution Again, you use q mcΔT, except you assume qaluminum qwater and solve for T, which is the final temperature. You need to look up the specific heat values (c) for aluminum and water. This solution uses 0.901 for aluminum and 4.18 for water: (10)(130 - T)(0.901) (200.0)(T - 25)(4.18)T 26.12  °C

Analyzing persuasive appeals in advertisements Essay

Analyzing persuasive appeals in advertisements - Essay Example Lisa Rinna as we all know, works mighty long hours when shooting her television shows and also spends a lot of her time traveling in the fulfillment of her occupational duties. Therefore, she does have a need for the product being endorsed and as such, conveys an authoritative image as she poses in her elegant black dress supposedly wearing the fancy, sexy, yet disposable Depend Silhouette for women. However, it makes you wonder if the ad was not intrinsic as well since she was also tapped to be the image model for the male line of adult diapers in the print ad as well. Im not entirely convinced she would know the needs of men when it came to adult diapers. The Pathos of the ad is directed first at their female audience since they are using a female image model in the print ad. The male audience becomes secondary but they too are enticed to look into the product because of the person endorsing it. In other words, this was a fantastic way to appeal to the audiences sense of identity, self-interest, and emotions. The audience, both male and female become kindred spirits as they are influenced by one and the same celebrity to try the same product for different sexes. The logos of the ad is amiably supported by the comparison pictures splashed across the page for the current existing adult male and female diapers when compared to the Depend versions of Real fit for men and Silhouette for women. Those supporting photographs proves the merit of the claim made by Lisa Rinna in the ad thus convincing the audience that listening to and trying out the product she endorses would be a good

1- Studying Abroad, a Culture Shock. 2- Experience Of Traveling . 3- Essay

1- Studying Abroad, a Culture Shock. 2- Experience Of Traveling . 3- The Harmful of Air Pollution in Red Traffic Lights - Essay Example In his journal (article?), Dr. Kumar is trying to emphasize the importance of studying air pollution as a risk to human beings at the global level and convince the readers about the significance of this health risk at red traffic lights in particular. I think Dr. Prashant uses a good technique writing his paper, which includes pathos, logos, ethos, tons, purpose, and minds audience. And I am going to explain how he does that and where. Dr. Kumar first underlines huge impact of pollution for human health by stating that the World Health Organization has linked air pollution to â€Å"seven million premature deaths every year.† This technique consequently suggests that the paper and the science article are formal and professionally written to engage the readers’ attention. People around the world are not that curious to read about air pollution, however the fact of seven million premature deaths every year will make people want to know how to avoid that, as it made me. The author particularly uses the World Health Organization’s statement as a background information and support to emphasize the importance of his study on the air pollution. Also since Prashant Kumar is a Doctor from the University of Surrey, he got his master`s degree in Environmental Engineering and Management, which gave him more credibility or Ethos in readers’ eyes and made his arguments seem more valid to the audience. The reader is basically any person in our society who is concerned about their health but this article can relate more to the people who are more sensitive to air pollution like senior citizens, pregnant women and children. Pregnant women as an audience will be even more interested as Dr. Kumar emphasizes â€Å"seven million premature deaths every year.† In this way, the author may have been engaged in the emotions of the readers as well, so it can be said that there

Community Colleges vs College Universites- Compare Contrast Essay Example for Free

Community Colleges vs College Universites- Compare Contrast Essay When graduating high school many students are concerned with choices they have to make as to which college they would like to attend. Some may have more options than others that have to be considered as far as their lifestyle, current jobs, other responsibilities they may have, personality and their academic goals. Choosing a college can be quite difficult. You can either decide on a college university or the local community colleges in your area. Community colleges are smaller than universities. Students will find them to have fewer enrollments which mean smaller classroom sizes. They have a better chance of getting hands on learning, asking more questions and learning course material better. Community colleges have strong advising systems and the advisers know their students well. The courses are usually taught by professors unlike some universities whose courses may taught by grad students. Small colleges as these do not offer near as many courses or academic programs as universities. Tuition at community colleges are so much more cheaper than universities, you may have tuition as much as $3,500. 00 to 5,500. 00 at community colleges versus $30,000. 00 to $50,000. 00 at universities and that itself is a great deal to consider. Another great thing about attending a local community college in your area is that most people can drive back and forth from their own home. They do not have to worry about dorm cost or finding apartments to rent when going away to college universities. College Universities may be for you if you’re interested in having much more degree programs to choose from, if you’re a go getter, not afraid to speak up for yourself and take advantage of opportunities. You may also want to attend a university if you are ready to get away and adventure out from your hometown and meet a whole new diversity of thousands of people. If attending a university you can expect a much higher number of students than a community college. Universities have a wide range of majors and class courses. They tend to have better stocked libraries for all of your researching needs. A lot of students choose universities because of the more programs that are offered and they feel when graduating from a university it looks a lot better having a diploma from a university than community college when applying for a job you have majored in. They also like the fact that there are many activities and a large number of sporting events. They also have a chance to break free and are not tied down at home with their parents. Succeeding at a university requires knowing what areas or subjects you are interested in and motivated about pursuing. Class sizes can contain up to hundreds of students and with that many people in one classroom it can be very hard to keep focus, ask questions and get hands on learning like you can at community colleges. Some students love the environment and find it exciting with that many students but on the other hand others feel depressed and overwhelmed because they may not be able to ask questions and find out the exact information they need to learn. Students who attend universities can be ready to hit the books hard each week and be sure to have a lot of study time. Professors are going to expect a great deal of their students and pile a lot of work on them at one time because they are considered as top-notch schools and they want their students to be well educated and really know the material. It can be very stressful for students who work jobs while in college but they have to make money and support themselves some way or another. Even though universities require a lot of work, students still find time to participate in extracurricular activities such as student organizations or community services. Some even join fraternities and sororities. Universities are likely to have great athletic teams and have a NCAA Divisions with games that are on television. Students love to support their college by wearing school colors on game day and attending all of their games whether they are home or away. Students enjoy the tailgating and party time that comes along with the games, too! Students will either live on the college campus or just a short distance off campus. Most students who stay in dorms have roommates. Some may know their roommates and others may be complete strangers and it can be very uncomfortable for them until they learn who and what kind of person they are. You must expect to sleep in the same room as your roommate, share the bathroom and have no privacy. It’s takes a lot amount of time to get from one place to another on a college university campus because of the number of students. You can expect a rush during lunch hour and a timely wait. There will also be very long lines when trying to register for classes and buying books. It’s up to the person where they choose to attend college. Community colleges and Universities can be very similar but again it’s a whole new world especially when living on a University Campus.

Phantom Limbs Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Phantom Limbs Phantom Limb Pain (PLP) is a serious condition that occurs when a person who has lost a part of their body though amputation, trauma (brachial plexus), or loss of nervous connections in an appendage, perceives that the limb is still there and experiences sensations coming from this area. It was first described in 1866 by S. Weir Mitchell, an American neurologist, through a short story published in Atlantic Monthly. While Mitchell may then have wondered if this was specific to wounded Civil War soldiers, it has since been established as quite common (1). Over 70% of amputees report phantom limb pain for years after amputation (2). Several theories have been proposed regarding PLP, although there is still much to be learned and understood. Early physicians believed that phantom limb sensations were caused by severed nerves that fired randomly, sending signals to the somatosensory cortex re-creating sensations seemingly coming from the missing limb. However, this theory was soon disprov ed when surgeons tried unsuccessfully to eradicate these sensations by cutting the nerves leading to the neuromas, preventing the neuromal signals from reaching the cortex. Researchers then began to concentrate on the role of the spinal cord in PLP, but realized that paraplegics with completely severed spinal cords still experienced sensations where their limbs had been (5). Focus then turned to the brain and its role. Until the mid 1980's, it was widely believed that once neural pathways were placed during fetal development, these pathways did not change and were not altered in any recognizable way (3). However, recent studies have shown that the brain has a high degree of plasticity into adulthood, which allows it to continuall... ...opens the doors to looking at the neuromatrix and corollary discharge signals in the brain and the influence that these prewired expectations may have on the body, especially pain. These ideas are the key to providing long-term pain management for PLP patients. Works Cited: 1. Yang, Tony T., Gallen C., Schwartz, B., Bloom, F.E., Ramachandran, S. Cobb, "Sensory Maps in the Human Brain," Nature, vol. 368, 14 April 1994: 592-593. http://zygote.swarthmore.edu/axon6.html 2. Flor, H., Elbert,T., Knecht, S., Wienbruch, C., Pantev, C., Birbaumer, N., Larbig, W., Taub, E., "Phantom Limb Pain as a Perceptual Correlate of Cortical Reorganization Following Arm Amputation," Nature, vol. 375, 8 June 1995: 482-483. http://www.bfe.org/protocol/pro05eng.htm 3. Grobstein, Paul, Class Lecture. Neurobiology and Behavior. Bryn Mawr College. February and April 1998. Phantom Limbs Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers Phantom Limbs Phantom Limb Pain (PLP) is a serious condition that occurs when a person who has lost a part of their body though amputation, trauma (brachial plexus), or loss of nervous connections in an appendage, perceives that the limb is still there and experiences sensations coming from this area. It was first described in 1866 by S. Weir Mitchell, an American neurologist, through a short story published in Atlantic Monthly. While Mitchell may then have wondered if this was specific to wounded Civil War soldiers, it has since been established as quite common (1). Over 70% of amputees report phantom limb pain for years after amputation (2). Several theories have been proposed regarding PLP, although there is still much to be learned and understood. Early physicians believed that phantom limb sensations were caused by severed nerves that fired randomly, sending signals to the somatosensory cortex re-creating sensations seemingly coming from the missing limb. However, this theory was soon disprov ed when surgeons tried unsuccessfully to eradicate these sensations by cutting the nerves leading to the neuromas, preventing the neuromal signals from reaching the cortex. Researchers then began to concentrate on the role of the spinal cord in PLP, but realized that paraplegics with completely severed spinal cords still experienced sensations where their limbs had been (5). Focus then turned to the brain and its role. Until the mid 1980's, it was widely believed that once neural pathways were placed during fetal development, these pathways did not change and were not altered in any recognizable way (3). However, recent studies have shown that the brain has a high degree of plasticity into adulthood, which allows it to continuall... ...opens the doors to looking at the neuromatrix and corollary discharge signals in the brain and the influence that these prewired expectations may have on the body, especially pain. These ideas are the key to providing long-term pain management for PLP patients. Works Cited: 1. Yang, Tony T., Gallen C., Schwartz, B., Bloom, F.E., Ramachandran, S. Cobb, "Sensory Maps in the Human Brain," Nature, vol. 368, 14 April 1994: 592-593. http://zygote.swarthmore.edu/axon6.html 2. Flor, H., Elbert,T., Knecht, S., Wienbruch, C., Pantev, C., Birbaumer, N., Larbig, W., Taub, E., "Phantom Limb Pain as a Perceptual Correlate of Cortical Reorganization Following Arm Amputation," Nature, vol. 375, 8 June 1995: 482-483. http://www.bfe.org/protocol/pro05eng.htm 3. Grobstein, Paul, Class Lecture. Neurobiology and Behavior. Bryn Mawr College. February and April 1998.

Preventing Tooth Decay in Hispanic Preschool Children: Program Development

Preventing Tooth Decay in Hispanic Preschool Children: Program Development School of Nursing Health Teaching and Promotion Preventing Tooth Decay in Hispanic Preschool Children: Program Development Dental caries is a single most prevalent chronic infectious disease amongst US children (US Dept of Health and Human Services, 2000). Caries progression in younger children is more rapid and severe than in adults, resulting in the ailment known as Early Childhood Caries. According to National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) morbidity report almost 20% of children 2-5 years old had untreated dental caries (2012).In order to prevent tooth decay and promote good oral hygiene in young children, the community nurse will coordinate with East Los Angeles day care centers to hold a series of short classes for groups of parents 10-14 at a time just before the end of day care’s business day. These classes will focus on preventing caries development in preschool children by raising awarene ss amongst parents. The education will target Hispanic day care centers, and the goals of the program will be achieved by educating parents and their preschool children on factors that contribute to cavities formation, and strategies to prevent caries progression.Health Prevention Need According to Dental Health Foundation (DHF) children in California have twice as much untreated dental caries as the rest of the nation (2000). DHF further indicates that national minorities are at higher risk to develop dental problems. Variables such as socioeconomic status and educational level directly correlate with the rates of the dental disease prevalence (US Dept of Health and Human Services, 2000). According to NCHS, almost 40% of Mexican children from families that are below 100% of poverty level have untreated dental issues.Additional factor that contribute to dental cavities progression is lack of insurance. More than quarter of Californian preschoolers and elementary school students have no dental coverage (DHF, 2000). The practice of giving a nocturnal bottle is still utilized by more than 30% of Californians, and is considered as most common factor that contributes to tooth decay (US Dept of Health and Human Services, 2000). Caries in children may be source of severe pain, interfere with learning, diminish overall quality of life, and potentially lead to life-threatening infections.Fortunately, dental caries is easily preventable by following basic oral hygiene strategies. However due to lack of knowledge and other socio-economic and cultural barriers, these guidelines frequently are not followed, and children suffer from tooth decay and associated problems. The goal of this educational course closely replicates oral health goals set by Healthy People 2020, which emphasizes importance of education and prevention (U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2012).A joint effort of public health professionals, day care centers personnel, and individual parentsâ €™ involvement can halt the progression of caries and prevent the tooth decay in children. Characteristics of Learners This program will involve parents and their preschool children, and child care providers. Considering the geographical location of proposed courses (East Los Angeles), the most of the participating children are of Hispanic heritage, three to five years old; include both gender, and most likely bilingual. Piaget coined a term of preoperational intelligence to describe the cognitive learning in children ages 2 to 6 (Berger, 2008).Preoperational cognition, according to Piaget, denotes learning that occurs before understanding logical operations. Children’s cognitive processes at this age are magical and egocentric (Berger, 2008). Lev Vygotsky, in contrast to Piaget’s theory emphasized the social learning as an important part of knowledge formation. Vygotsky recognized the importance of guided participation in learning process of preschool children. He provided four steps created by caregivers that motivate children to learn: challenge presentation, assistance availability, instructions, and encouragement.Another prominent social development theorist, Eric Erikson described preschool children being in the initiative versus guilt state, which characterized by child balancing effort and expectations of adults (Berger, 2008). Preschool children may have prior knowledge of basic oral hygiene strategies, but need assistance and supervision. Additionally children at this age are able to follow two or three step instructions, curious and motivated, do distinguish cause and effect in simple situations.Berger states that young preschool children have healthy growing organisms, but greatly influenced by genetics, nutrition, socioeconomic status, and other factors (2008). The long standing tradition of encouraging children to eat traced in low-income Hispanic families is turning into the overeating epidemic in the US (Berger, 2008). Besides overeating, poor dietary choices, such as snacks with little nutritional value, but high in sugar, fat, and salt pose a direct danger to oral health. The second category of learners in this course is comprised of adult Hispanic parents of preschool children, and caregivers at day care centers.Both parents and caregivers are most likely emerging adults with ages ranging from 21 to 35. Most of them belong to lower socioeconomic status, with public health being the only source of healthcare coverage. As much as 45% are uninsured (NCHS, 2012). Almost 25% of these adults live below poverty level, and median per capita in income is almost 2. 5 times less than that of rest of California (United States Census Bureau, 2012). Forty four percent of East Los Angeles population reported having a high school diploma, and only 5. 4% achieved baccalaureate degree as highest level of education (United States Census Bureau, 2012).As much as 97% of population is of Hispanic descent, and almost half o f them are foreign born individuals. Catholicism is a predominant religion amongst Hispanic population. People of Hispanic origin have strong values of family relations, religion, tradition and customs. They might have preconceived ideas of oral hygiene, but most likely not follow the guidelines. Hispanics have a strong respect to healthcare providers, and their culture prescribes obedience and compliance, making them open to learning to certain degree (Berger, 2008).They might have limited English proficiency and be illiterate, which makes learning process harder. Nursing Diagnosis A multitude of nursing diagnoses are applicable to the situation of poor oral hygiene. Various problems arise from the potential adverse effects of infection and caries. But for this educational course two interrelated nursing diagnoses were identified. The first nursing diagnosis is ineffective oral health maintenance related to knowledge deficit, cultural beliefs, and lack of material resources as evid enced by reported poor dentition status in children (Wilkinson, 2005).The second diagnosis directly stems from the first one: knowledge deficit related to lack of exposure and unfamiliarity with information resources as evidenced by inadequate demonstration of proper teeth brushing and flossing techniques (Wilkinson, 2005). These two diagnoses will guide the content of educational course with focus on relevant needs. Client-Centered Educational Goal Wilkinson includes goals into the nursing diagnoses for evaluation of outcomes (2005). Goals are descriptions of desired family or client actions that can be measured or directly observed (Wilkinson, 2005).Upon completion of this course parents will express knowledge of importance of proper oral hygiene, demonstrate correct brushing and flossing techniques, and identify strategies that reduce progression of caries. The following education plan is tailored to the client-centered goals with objectives that reflect clients’ needs. Le arning Objectives Rankin, Stallings, and London state that leaning objectives have to be clearly formulated, time-limited, verifiable (measurable), and attainable in order to achieve effective learning (2005).A curriculum for health professionals and child care providers by California Childcare Health Program was used in the process of objectives identification (2005). To achieve stated educational goal six objectives: two of each learning domain were formulated. Cognitive objectives: 1. After attending a class on oral hygiene (condition), parents will state (performance) the detrimental effects of snack and drinks high in sugar, and nocturnal bottle on progression of teeth decay prior to the end of class (criterion). 2.After attending a class on oral hygiene (condition), parents will state (performance) the need to assist children with brushing until age of 8 by the end of class (criterion). Affective objectives: 1. After discussing a recommended routine of oral hygiene (condition) , parents will verbalize (performance) their feelings associated with changes in the routine by the end of the class (criterion). 2. After discussing effects of sugar on tooth decay and importance of dietary modification (condition), parents will state their challenges associated with breaking he nocturnal bottle habit in their children (performance) routine by the end of the class (criterion). Ppsychomotor objectives: 1. After observing instructor perform correct brushing techniques (condition), parents and children will demonstrate a repeat demonstration (performance) routine by the end of the class (criterion). 2. After attending the class (condition), children will demonstrate â€Å"lift the lip† technique (performance), to allow their parents inspect the teeth by the end of the class (criterion). Content OutlineContent outline allows structured learning environment and provides guidance to the instructor. The content outline for oral health should include information on basic teeth anatomy, teeth eruption pattern, signs and symptoms of caries and teeth infection. The signs of infection may include gum or facial swelling on affected side, foul odor, drainage, and visible cavities and discoloration (California Childcare Health Program, 2005). The information of possible outcomes of untreated infection need to bi disclosed. Children may complain of pain and discomfort.Further, content outline should include demonstration of correct brushing techniques, both for parents and children, and information on relationship of sugar and night-time bottle to tooth decay. The session should include questions and answers section to allow parents and children validate their understanding. Active discussion is encouraged to promote disclosure of feelings associated with necessary changes. Content outline need to incorporate information on public health resources available to low income families to meet material needs. Instructional Strategies and MediaThe proposed e ducation program will take place in the day care centers in East Los Angeles, CA, 1 hour prior to the end of business day. The course will be divided into 2 parts, first focusing on dental health concepts, and the second will be devoted to the correct brushing techniques and evaluation of learning. Teaching will be conducted in group format with estimated 10-15 participants. Group format allows sharing of concepts between members and more comfortable environment (Rankin et al. , 2005). The first part will be in the lecture format, reinforced by booklets both in English and Spanish anguages. Video material and plaster model of jaws will be utilized, to demonstrate teeth anatomy. Rankin and others note that instructional videos are more effective in conjunction with practice and return demonstration (Rankin et al. , 2005). Therefore, the second part of the session will focus on demonstration of brushing strategies, different positions to assist parents with brushing, and dental produc ts. Demonstration can reinforce psychomotor objectives achievement, and lectures and videos are effective in meeting cognitive objectives (Rankin et al. , 2005).At the end, parents will be allowed to ask questions and reflect on their feelings, which will result in achievement of affective learning objectives. Instructional media listed above will include resources and materials recommended by â€Å"Promoting Children’s Oral Health: Curriculum for health professionals and child care providers† with permission of its developer – California Childcare Health Program. These include 4-minute â€Å"Lift the Lip† video on basic oral exam for parents and day care center providers, â€Å"Healthy teeth begin at birth† booklet, and the â€Å"What do you think? questionnaire to evaluate parents understanding and validate their feelings and concerns. All the materials are available in English and Spanish (California Childcare Health Program, 2005). Evaluation of Objectives and Program Evaluation Strategies To evaluate the outcomes of educational session, the lecturer will use a modified and simplified â€Å"Evaluation questionnaire† available from â€Å"Curriculum for health professionals and child care providers† to reflect both on cognitive learning, and to assess program perceived effectiveness (California Childcare Health Program, 2005).This tool includes questions with answers utilizing Likert scale to elicit feelings related to course effectiveness, and a simple test to assess knowledge. Observation of return demonstration of teeth brushing by both parents and children will serve as evaluation strategy for psychomotor objectives. Observation allows the teacher to provide feedback and corrective measures (Rankin et al. , 2005). The questions and answers session at the end of the class will assist the evaluation of achievement of both cognitive and affective objectives, by allowing participant verbalize their feelings, and validate their learning.Several open ended questions are included in the written questionnaire as well. Conclusion The oral health of children is greatly impacted by such socioeconomic variables, as their parents’ income, education, culture, prior experience, and insurance status. Preschool children from Hispanic families in state of California are at higher risk to develop dental cavities compared to the rest of the state. Basic strategies and spread of information about dental health can prevent progression of dental caries and greatly improve future quality of life in preschool children.This program will teach parents, caregivers, and children on proper teeth brushing techniques, disseminate knowledge on basic oral health concepts, and provide a list of public resources available to overcome financial barriers. References Berger, K. S. (2008). The developing person through the life span. ( 7th ed. ). New York. NY: Worth Publishers. California Childcare Health Program. (2005). Bright Futures Toolbox: Health Professionals and Human Services Providers. Retrieved from National Maternal and Child Oral Health Resource Center: http://www. ucsfchildcarehealth. org/pdfs/Curricula/oral%20health_11_v7. df National Center for Health Statistics. (2012). Health, United States, 2011: With Special Feature on. Hyattsville, MD. Retrieved from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://www. cdc. gov/nchs/data/hus/hus11. pdf#076 Rankin, S. H. , Stallings, D. K. , & London, F. (2005). Health promotion: Models and applications to patient education. In Patient Education in Health and Illness (5 ed. , pp. 27-46). Philadelphia, PA: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. The Dental Health Foundation. (2000). The Oral Health of California’s Children: Halting a Neglected Epidemic.Oakland, CA: Dental Health Foundation. United States Census Bureau. (2012). State & County QuickFacts. Retrieved from United States Census: http://quickfacts. census. gov/qfd/states/06/06208 02. html United States Department of Health and Human Services. (2012, August). Oral Health. Retrieved from Healthy People 2020: http://www. healthypeople. gov/2020/topicsobjectives2020/overview. aspx? topicid=32 United States Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Oral health in America: A report of the Surgeon General. National Institutes of Health,

Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov: two novels in one

â€Å"Master and Margarita† by Mikhail Bulgakov is probably the most famous and the most unusual novel ever created in the USSR. Bulgakov artistically investigated the theme of epic struggle of good and evil relating biblical events to the realities of Moscow in the mid-thirties, having demonstrated that people have not changed in the last two thousand of years except that â€Å"only the housing problem has   corrupted them†[1].The narrative of â€Å"Master and Margarita† is pretty sophisticated, including at least three plot lines: adventures of Woland and his suit in Moscow, story of Master and Margarita themselves, both taking place in Moscow, and a tale of Yeshua Ha-Nozri – a mendicant prophet before Pontius Pilate and an obvious allegory of Jesus Christ. This paper aims to investigate ties between modern and biblical events in the â€Å"Master and Margarita† and show how Bulgakov paralleled biblical characters and events with his contemporari es.Bulgakov’s mission in â€Å"Master and Margarita† was more than complicated because he devoted his novel to such sempiternal topics as love and fear, good and evil, God and Satan. He obviously demonstrated that those topics are timeless, for Master is interested in the same questions as Pilate was 1900 years before. At the end of the novel Moscow and Jerusalem seem to be united in a metaphysical oneness, and two plots turn out to be one. Jerusalem in the case symbolizes immortal ever-being world and Moscow is the world of the earth. At that Woland acts as a figure which ties the worlds, for he â€Å"was   on Pontius Pilate's   balcony, and in the garden when   he   talked with Kaifa, and on the platform, only   secretly, incognito†[2] and then visited Moscow and talked to Master. It is hard to believe, that Woland is a real Satan, he rather looks like exactly part of that power which eternally wills evil and eternally works good.The story opens by a discussion at Patriarch's Ponds and nothing unreal happens at the beginning, except for s strange presentiment of Berlioz. In order to continue his narration, Bulgakov needed to introduce the reader into fantastic multi-world reality. He accepts that the reader is so skeptic about existence of God and Satan, that Woland expects to notice an atheist in every window. In this scene Bulgakov puts the words into the mouths of Woland:   â€Å"Bear in mind that Jesus did exist†[3]. Woland says this to Berlioz, but it is Bulgakov who says to the reader: bear in mind that Jesus did exist.After that Bulgakov’s story of Jesus is perceived by the reader as actual, and the biblical world is easily connected with earthly world. Moreover, the existence of the divine reality is proved even by its fiercest enemies – Berlioz and Ivanushka. The latter has blamed Jesus so desperately, â€Å"his Jesus came out, well, completely alive, the once-existing   Jesus, though,   tru e,   a Jesus   furnished   with   all negative features†[4]. Berlioz tells Ivanushka that the rhyme has to be rewritten, but it is then rewritten not by Ivanushka but by Woland. So, concludes Bulgakov, whatever we mean about Jesus in this life, divine reality will remain unchanged.In order to stress the biblical chapters and keep the style unified Bulgakov showed Jerusalem as a vision of Woland or a dream of Ivanushka or a story told by Master or read by Margarita. His tone changes from satiric or sympathetic to unimpassioned speech in the evangelical passages. In contrast, when Bulgakov turns back to Moscow, his characters are   no longer legendary and obtain everyday features. Thusly he achieves to basic aims – inseparably integrates biblical chapters into the novel and creates an illusion of parallel between the two worlds.Events are separated almost by two thousand years of time, but analogies are easy to trace. Both stories happen in May in the days befor e Easter, both in the mid-thirties of I and XX century AD. The weather and temporary changes are almost same. And surely the crowd is the same, whether it is a crowd which gathers to stare at Yeshua’s execution or a crowd in the vaudeville house.  The tale of both worlds ends with the same conclusive phrase â€Å"the cruel fifth procurator of Judea, the equestrian Pontius Pilate†[5], and so Bulgakov shows that the outcome of the novel is justification and recognition of truth. When Pilate, a biblical symbol of a man who yields before evil, shrives, he enters into the moonlight, being â€Å"forgiven on the eve of Sunday†. While Pilate walks with Yeshua by the moonlight beam Ivanushka stands at the beginning of this beam, symbolizing those whose choice is still not sure.The most recognizable â€Å"double-character† is Yeshua and Master – an analogy of Christ and Bulgakov himself. Yeshua does not act as a Saviour, he is rather a creator who faces in comprehension and repudiation. Same happens to Master, whose novel is welcomed by angry critics and who is finally symbolically executed, because he is unable to create any more and falls into insanity. However, his novel is not lost, and later it is read by Yeshua-Jesus himself, so Master’s novel is a story of biblical events and at the same time a link between those events and our world.  In contrast to all other human characters, even Margarita, Master and Yeshua are the only ones who struggle for truth and sincerity to the end. Pilate had a heart with Yeshua and hinted, that only a slight lie could save his life. Yeshua refused and became a martyr. Pilate could not overcome his fear and sentenced himself to everlasting spiritual unrest. Surprisingly, Pilate’s vis-à  -vis in the modern world is Margarita, who leaves Master in a critical moment and has a feeling of guilt for long years. But at the end she is saved by Woland and Pilate is forgiven by Christ.Virtual ly every character in the novel has to face a choice situation and the choice he or she makes in the usual world predetermines his or her future existence in the spiritual reality. Master chooses to forget about his novel and about Margarita and so he becomes Pilate’s accomplice in execution of Christ. Therefore, he is not worthy of light and he never meets Jesus. Divine will is passed to him by Woland, who, in turn, receives it from Matthew Levi. Characters of the paralleled novels never meet together and their ties are limited to communication via messengers and joining into one at the end.As regards the other characters, their choice is rather comic, than dramatic. Berlioz’s uncle chooses to live in Moscow, and the only thing he is interested in when he receives a message about death of his nephew is to receive ownership of an apartment. Nikanor Ivanovich, chairman of the tenants' association', chooses to take money from a suspicious foreigner.The crowd of women cho oses to change their dress at a show arranged by Fagot and Behemoth. Their punishments are ridiculous but this does not mean that their actions will not be judged later in Ewigkeit. Fate of Berlioz is the most frightening warning. Woland appeared to be an adept of a theory â€Å"which holds that it will be given to each according to his faith.†[6] In the earthly life Berlioz has chosen to believe that there is nothing in the afterlife, and Woland has put him into nonentity in the spiritual world.The final scenes of the novel show the idea, that examples of the great masters are never lost, for â€Å"manuscripts don't burn†[7]. They become a part of eternity, and their creators obtain eternal life. So they are able to cross the border between two worlds. The fate of Bulgakov’s novel is the best illustration for this thesis, for it has been published only decades after his death and immediately gained global recognition. Perhaps this was in a way a fourth plot lin e of the novel – Bulgakov’s own life became a parallel for lives of Yeshua and Master.References:Mikhail Bulgakov. The Master and Margarita. Penguin Books Ltd; New Ed edition, 2004. 432 pages.[1] Mikhail Bulgakov. The Master and Margarita. Penguin Books Ltd; New Ed edition, 2004.   p. 124[2] Ibid, p. 42 [3] Ibid, p. 18[4] Ibid, p. 8 [5] Ibid, p.380 [6] Ibid, p.275  [7] Ibid, p.369

Examples of Petrochemicals and Petroleum Products

Examples of Petrochemicals and Petroleum Products According to the American Heritage Dictionary, petroleum is a thick, flammable, yellow-to-black mixture of gaseous, liquid, and solid hydrocarbons that occurs naturally beneath the earths surface, can be separated into fractions including natural gas, gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, fuel, and lubricating oils, paraffin wax, and asphalt and is used as raw material for a wide variety of derivative products. In other words, petroleum is much more than oil, and it has an astounding array of uses. The Many Uses of Petrochemicals Petrochemicals are any products made from petroleum. Youre probably aware gasoline and plastic start out as petroleum, but petrochemicals are incredibly versatile and are incorporated into a huge range of products ranging from groceries to rocket fuel. The Primary Hydrocarbons Raw crude oil and natural gas are purified into a  relatively small number of hydrocarbons (combinations of hydrogen and carbon). These are used directly in manufacturing and transportation or act as feedstock  to make other chemicals. Methane: a greenhouse gas that can be used as fuel and is often included in rocket fuelEthylene: used to  make plastics and films, as well as detergents,  synthetic lubricants, and styrenes (used to make  protective packaging)Propylene: a colorless, odorless gas used for fuel and to make polypropylene, a versatile plastic polymer used to make products ranging from carpets to structural foamButanes: hydrocarbon gases that are generally used for fuel and in industryButadiene: used in the manufacture of synthetic rubbersBTX (benzene, toluene, xylene): benzene, toluene, and xylene are aromatic hydrocarbons.  A major part of gasoline, benzene is also used to make nylon fibers which, in turn, are used to make clothing, packaging, and many other products Medicine Petrochemicals play many roles in medicine because they are used to create resins, films, and plastics. Here are just a few examples: Phenol and Cumene are used to create a substance that is essential for manufacturing penicillin (an extremely important antibiotic) and aspirin.  Petrochemical resins are used to purify drugs, thus cutting costs and speeding the manufacturing process.Resins made from petrochemicals are used in the manufacture of drugs including treatments for AIDS, arthritis, and cancer.Plastics and resins made with petrochemicals are used to make devices such as artificial limbs and skin.Plastics are used to make a huge range of medical equipment including bottles, disposable syringes, and much more. Food Petrochemicals are used to make most food preservatives that keep food fresh on the shelf or in a can. In addition, youll find petrochemicals listed as ingredients in many chocolates and candies. Food colorings made with petrochemicals are used in a surprising number of products including chips, packaged foods, and canned or jarred foods. Agriculture More than a billion pounds of plastic, all made with petrochemicals, find use  annually in U.S. agriculture. The chemicals are used to make everything from plastic sheeting and mulch to pesticides and fertilizers. Plastics are also used to make twine, silage, and tubing. Petroleum fuels are also used to transport foods (which are, of course, stored in plastic containers).   Household Products Because it is used to make plastics, fibers, synthetic rubber, and films, petrochemicals are used in a bewildering array of household products. To name just a few: CarpetingCrayonsDetergentsDyesFertilizersMilk jugsPantyhosePerfumeSafety glassShampooSoft contact lensesWax

Should You Prep for the PSAT 3 Reasons Why

Should You Prep for the PSAT 3 Reasons Why SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Even if prepping for the SAT or ACT isn't the most enjoyable of activities, it's easy to see why it's important to do well on these tests. Depending on your point of view, SAT and ACT scores are either tools that colleges use to help figure out if you're a good match for them and if you'll succeed at their schools...or are admissions gatekeepers that you have to conquer if you want to attend most American colleges*. By contrast, PSAT scores are never seen by colleges. Even if you get a perfect score on the PSAT, it's really only useful for helping you qualify for a National Merit Scholarship- something that only US citizens and permanent residents are eligible for. So why prep for the PSAT, and what do you need to know about PSAT prep if you're interested in trying it out? Keep reading to find out more about the pros and cons of focused PSAT prep (rather than joint PSAT/SAT prep) and what our PSAT prep recommendations are. *exceptions include test-optional schools and Hampshire. Why Take the PSAT? While the SAT (or ACT) is far, far more helpful to college applications than the PSAT, there still are good reasons to take the PSAT. We'll start with the most important reason: if taking the PSAT is required by your high school. If The PSAT Is Mandatory in Your School In some high schools (particularly public high schools), the PSAT is mandatory for all students. Sometimes, this just means that you'll have to take the PSAT NMSQT the fall of your junior year. Depending on your school, however, you may also have to take the PSAT NMSQT or PSAT 10 sophomore year, and indeed some students start taking PSAT-like-exams (PSATLE?) as early as 8th grade with the PSAT 8/9. Dealing with all these extra standardized tests is kind of a pain as a student, but from the high school's point of view, the PSAT is a good way to see if students are on track for college applications. No matter what point of view you look at it from, though, if it's mandatory to take the PSAT at your school, then you'll have to take the PSAT. What if, though, you don't fall into this category? Perhaps you could take the PSAT but you'd have to go to a different school to take it, or your school offers the PSAT but doesn't require students take it- should you take it anyway? In these cases, the PSAT is still worth taking for the following two reasons. Taking the PSAT Is Mandatory to Qualify for National Merit You may know that another name for the PSAT students take in the fall of 11th (and sometimes 10th) grade is the PSAT NMSQT (or National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test). That's because the only way to qualify for a National Merit Scholarship is through taking the PSAT NMSQT as a high school junior. National Merit Scholarships are merit-based (rather than need-based) awards given to students who have (through testing and other factors) qualified as National Merit Finalists. The competition for National Merit is open to high school students who: are enrolled and progressing normally towards graduation (basically, you plan to graduate high school in four years, not more or less) plan to enroll full time in college the fall after high school (no gap years!) are US citizens or US lawful permanent residents planning to become citizens We'll discuss the different kinds of scholarships you can win by becoming a National Merit Finalist (and what steps beyond the PSAT you need to take to become one), but for now, just know that if you want to win a National Merit Scholarship, you must take the PSAT NMSQT in your junior year and do extremely well. The PSAT Is Great Practice for the SAT Taking the PSAT can be a great low-stakes way to see what taking a college entrance exam will be like. You can treat it as an extra chance to get used to standardized testing without having to worry about the scores affecting your college acceptance. Learning how you react to extended periods of focus on a test, how stressed you feel doing a math test without a calculator, what the time pressure is like- you can gather tons of different data points for future SAT/ACT prep by taking the PSAT. There are fewer and fewer schools these days, even among top-tier colleges and universities, that require all SAT scores sent (notable exceptions include Yale, Georgetown, UC Berkeley and Carnegie Mellon), so if you have the time and money, you can take the real SAT just to see what it's like and not worry about your scores. However, in most public high schools, taking the PSAT is free- or at least significantly cheaper than the SAT- and its administration is built into the school day (no need to waste half a Saturday). Bottom line: the PSAT is a fine way to dip your toe into the waters of college entrance tests at low cost but under realistic conditions. Dip your toe into the water of college entrance exams with the PSAT and the sands of standardized test experience will follow. PSAT Prep vs. SAT Prep: What's the Difference? While there's a lot that remains the same between the PSAT and the SAT (including the subject areas covered and test structure), there are a few major differences between the tests that lead to differences in PSAT prep compared to SAT prep. The most important difference between the two tests is that PSAT scores are not looked at by colleges, whereas SAT scores are very much an important factor in college admissions. It's possible to argue that colleges might consider your being a National Merit Semi-Finalist when looking at your application, which indirectly relates to your PSAT score, but the SAT vastly outweighs the PSAT in importance when it comes to college admission. Because of this, PSAT prep is lower stakes than SAT prep. Another key difference between the PSAT and SAT is that the PSAT has no essay section. While the SAT essay section is optional, and more and more schools are making it optional to send SAT essay scores, there are still a number of schools (mostly highly selective colleges) that do require you to take the SAT with the essay. Therefore, students prepping for the SAT and aiming for a high score to get into top-tier schools will need to spend some of that prep time learning how to write a high-scoring SAT essay. By contrast, students studying for the PSAT don't need to bother with essay prep. Overall, the PSAT is also a little easier than the SAT, both in terms of timing and content covered. With the exception of the Writing and Language section (which has the same number of questions and is the same length on the PSAT as on the SAT), there are fewer questions per section on the PSAT than the SAT. While you have the same time per question on PSAT Reading as on SAT Reading, there are fewer questions on each passage; and both PSAT Math sections give you more time per question while asking fewer questions than the SAT Math sections do. The cumulative result of these timing differences is that you need slightly less endurance to take the PSAT than the SAT- you only have to concentrate for an hour and 45 minutes instead of two full hours. Combined with having more time to answer each Math question, these timing differences between the PSAT and SAT mean that when prepping for the PSAT, you don't have to get as good at time management as you do for the SAT. Finally, there are subtle differences between the content covered on the PSAT and SAT. As we mention in this article comparing the PSAT and SAT, there may be slightly fewer big picture and inference questions and more detail-finding questions on the PSAT than on the SAT. In addition, the PSAT Math sections contain proportionally fewer questions that require geometric and trigonometric knowledge than do the SAT Math sections. Instead, PSAT Math includes more questions (compared to SAT Math questions) on the Passport to Advanced Math topic areas, like functions and linear and nonlinear systems of equations. Your PSAT prep will reflect this difference- instead of having to cover the SAT's harder topics (that you may not have yet learned in school as an 11th grader), you can spend more time perfecting a smaller number of skills. Now that we've discussed why you should take the PSAT at all and the differences between prepping for the PSAT and the SAT, we'll move on to the debate of whether or not to prep for the PSAT. Why Do PSAT Prep? With the College Board offering free SAT prep through Khan Academy and ACT, Inc. offering paid ACT prep, it's become pretty clear that even the testing companies themselves admit that prepping for the SAT and ACT will help you get a higher score. Because the PSAT is just a slightly easier, slightly shorter version of the SAT, it makes sense that you can prep for the PSAT and increase your score the same way you can with the SAT. Since PSAT scores aren't used in college applications, however, it can be harder to figure out whether or not it makes sense for you to prep for the PSAT. To help you decide, we've laid out the arguments for the three most compelling reasons to spend time prepping for the PSAT: qualifying for National Merit, focusing on one thing at a time, and getting ready for SAT prep. Reason 1: Qualifying for the National Merit Scholarship The number one reason students take the PSAT is to qualify for the National Merit Scholarship. We have a more detailed breakdown of how the National Merit Scholarship process works in this article, but basically what happens is that you take the PSAT NMSQT in the fall of your junior year to see if you can score well enough to become a National Merit Semifinalist (which is the first step on the road to becoming a National Merit Finalist and getting a National Merit Scholarship). As a National Merit Finalist, you can win a National Merit scholarship, a scholarship from your college, or a corporate scholarship. For more info on how to get each type of scholarships, read this article explaining how you can qualify for and win a National Merit scholarship. Let's now go back to the first step of the process, which happens when you take the PSAT NMSQT in the fall (usually October or early November) of your junior year. Your PSAT score qualifies you for National Merit depending on whether your score passes the cutoff for your state. The cutoff isn't announced officially by the College Board, but it can be inferred from students receiving notification that they have or haven't become a national merit semifinalist. You can find out what your state's National Merit cutoff score was last year here. By taking an official PSAT practice test or by comparing your sophomore year score on the PSAT to the cutoff score for your state, you can get a good idea of how much prep you'll need to score high enough to pass your state's cutoff score and become a National Merit Semi-Finalist. Aiming for a National Merit Scholarship but worried your score won't qualify? If you're not sure you can self-study your way to a qualifying PSAT score, you'll love our PSAT prep program, PrepScholar. We designed our program to learn your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics and customize your prep to be as effective as possible for you. When you start with PrepScholar, you’ll take a diagnostic that will determine your weaknesses in over forty PSAT skills. PrepScholar then creates a study program specifically customized for you. To improve each skill, you’ll take focused lessons dedicated to each skill, with over 20 practice questions per skill. This will train you for your specific area weaknesses, so your time is always spent most effectively to raise your score. We also force you to focus on understanding your mistakes and learning from them. If you make the same mistake over and over again, we'll call you out on it. There’s no other prep system out there that does it this way, which is why we get better score results than any other program on the market. Check it out today with a 5-day free trial: Reason 2: Focusing on One Test at a Time Because PSAT prep and SAT prep are so similar, many students who are aiming for National Merit either go straight to studying for the SAT as prep for the PSAT or try to study for both tests at once. Whether or not this is effective really depends on the individual student. Some students thrive by multitasking. Whether it's doing homework while listening to music and eating dinner or preparing to take multiple SAT subject tests on one day, these students get good results when they maximize their time by doing multiple things at once. For other students, however, having to prep for multiple things at once (particularly if they're academic or test-related things like the PSAT and SAT) is so stressful that it leads to poorer performance on everything. As an example: during college, I had multiple assignments I had to hand in at the end of each finals period. Rather than work a little on each assignment each day, I found it more effective for me to focus on one project at a time and get it out of the way before going on to the next. Similarly, depending on what kind of student you are, you may find that it's more helpful to start out by focusing just on the PSAT, getting that over and done with, and then moving on to study for the SAT. This "one thing at a time" strategy works well for students who have some time during sophomore year or the summer before junior year to set aside specifically for PSAT study. CAUTION: If you're just starting to study the fall of your junior year and your prep time is limited, you're better off going straight to SAT prep. If you have to choose between PSAT prep and SAT prep, the clear choice is SAT prep. It's only if you have the time to do both that you should consider prepping for the PSAT and SAT separately. If you're feeling overwhelmed by everything you have to do for college applications, it can be helpful to prep for one test at a time. Reason 3: Getting in Gear for SAT Prep One other benefit to prepping for the PSAT is that it put you in a good place for SAT prep. As we discuss in detail in this article comparing the PSAT and SAT, there are very few content differences between the PSAT and SAT (the main difference being in the math concepts covered and the increased length of the SAT). By prepping for the PSAT, you'll be more than 75% of the way there for the SAT. You won't be able to get away without doing any SAT-specific prep (particularly for those math topics that aren't on the PSAT), but the amount of work that you'll have to do is way less than those starting on SAT prep from scratch. If the "doing more prep now means less hard prep later" argument isn't convincing, think about it in non-test prep terms. Imagine that you want to learn how to play the piano by the end of junior year of high school. You have the option of learning how to play an electric keyboard first or just starting straight on the piano. Also, for some reason there's an electric keyboard competition the fall of your junior year that could lead to you winning money; it's only open to people playing the electric keyboard, though (not people playing the piano). Because the electric keyboard and piano are so similar, if you do start out by just teaching yourself to play the electric keyboard (what the notes are, how to read music, how to do different things with your right and left hands at once, etc), you'll be most of the way there to learning the piano; all you'll have to get used to is the bigger range and using the pedals. Or in test-prep terms, if you prep for the PSAT, you'll just need to learn any pre-calc math you hadn't learned when you took the PSAT and work on time management and endurance in order to prepare for the SAT. What if you're already studying for the SAT, or don't have the time to first study for the PSAT and then for the SAT? Going back to the analogy, if you already know how to play the piano, then you don't need to do intensive prep to teach yourself how to play the electric keyboard- you just need to do a practice test to make sure you get used to playing on a simpler instrument. Or in the case of the PSAT/SAT, if you've already studied for the SAT, you just need to take a PSAT practice test to make sure you're all set for that. Basically, if you prep for the PSAT, it'll help you prep for the SAT; if you're already prepping for the SAT, that will also prep you for the PSAT. While we've gone over some of the reasons students might want to prep for the PSAT, there are also cases in which PSAT prep is unnecessary and pointless. We'll get into these cases in the next section. When PSAT Prep is Unnecessary As we mentioned above, the main reason to take the PSAT (other than your school forcing you to take it) is to qualify to apply for a National Merit Scholarship. If you're not interested in qualifying (or are ineligible) for that National Merit Scholarship, then there is no point in doing pure PSAT prep. That doesn't mean you can't prep at all- you just should jump right into prepping for the SAT (or ACT) You can still treat the PSAT as a chance to take an official standardized test and get used to what sitting and concentrating for that long at once feels like, but there's no need to prep for the PSAT in particular. Another important point that we touched on earlier is that prepping for the SAT will help you with the PSAT. If you start to prep for the SAT before your junior year (when you'd take the PSAT NMSQT), any SAT prep you do will also prepare you for the PSAT. Of course, if you're not prepping for the SAT effectively, then you won't prep for the PSAT any more effectively. But, assuming you're putting in time and effort in the right way, if you're already prepping for the SAT, there's no need to do additional PSAT prep. Summary: Is PSAT Prep Right for You? Whether or not it makes sense for you to prep for the PSAT specifically (instead of just prepping for the SAT) depends on a few different factors. We've put these factors into a checklist you can go through below to see if prepping for the PSAT is the right call for you. Should You Study for the PSAT? YES, if... NO, if... You're hoping to qualify for National Merit You don't care about National Merit You work better when focusing on prepping for one test at a time You're already prepping for the SAT anyway You want to get a head start on prepping for the SAT but don't want to prep for the SAT because you haven't learned all the math you need to know for it yet You don't have the time and just want to focus on SAT prep If you checked off all "No" answers, there's no need to do any PSAT-specific prep; instead, you should turn all your prep energies toward studying for the SAT (or ACT). However, if you checked off any of the "Yes" reasons, then it's worth thinking about doing some prep for the PSAT in particular. What's Next? Doing well on the PSAT is just the first step to winning a National Merit Scholarship. Find out how the whole process works with our complete guide to becoming a National Merit Finalist and winning the scholarship. The PSAT NMSQT is only offered once each year in the fall, but what date is it this year? We tell you when the PSAT is and when you'll get your scores in this article. Curious what the PSAT looks like? Want to try your hand at a practice test? We have a complete list of all the free official practice tests the College Board has released here. Want to improve your PSAT score by 150 points? We have the industry's leading PSAT 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 that you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today: