Cuban Missile Crisis Essays (2640 words) - International Relations

Cuban Missile Crisis John F. Kennedy's greatest triumph as President of the United States came in 1962, as the world's two largest superpowers, the Soviet Union and the United States, edged closer and closer to nuclear war. The Soviet premier of Russia was caught arming Fidel Castro with nuclear weapons. The confrontation left the world in fear for thirteen long days, with the life of the world on the line. In 1962, Nikita Khrushchev, Premier of the Soviet Union, employed a daring gambit. He secretly ordered the placement of Soviet nuclear weapons in Cuba. Earlier the Soviet premier had promised Soviet protection to Cuba (Cuban 774). This was the first time any such weapons had been placed outside of Eurasia (Hersh 345). Several explanations for his actions have been offered by historians. One factor in Khrushchev's decision was a strategic one (Hersh 346). A year earlier, the United States had placed several medium-range nuclear missiles in Turkey (Cuban 774). The missiles were just across the Black Sea from the Soviet Union, within sight of Khrushchev's summer home (Hersh 346). President Kennedy had earlier ignored his advisors and placed nuclear missiles in Turkey. Another factor was a threat by the US to one of the Soviet Union's satellite countries, Cuba (Hersh 346). The United States had, in the past, attempted to kill Fidel Castro, dictator of Cuba (Brinkley 1047). In July of 1962, the United States found out that nuclear missile shipments were being made to Cuba. United States U-2 spy planes flew over the island, bringing back reports of construction and ballistic missiles (Cuban 744). The CIA found that five thousand Russian military technicians were in Cuba, and various military weapons were being unloaded onto the island. When U-2 activity was increased, reports showed the presence of SAMs (surface-to-air missiles) and torpedo boats with ship-to-ship rockets (Mills 233). On September 4, Soviet ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin met with Robert Kennedy to discuss a message from Khrushchev. According to the message, the military buildup was defensive in nature and not militarily threatening. Robert F. Kennedy informed the ambassador that the United States would closely watch all military activity in Cuba and warned of severe consequences should the Soviets place offensive weapons (Mills 233). President Kennedy apparently did not believe the message. He asked Congress for the authority to mobilize over 100,000 reservists into active duty. The Soviets response was that they could fire rockets from Russia just as easily as from Cuba. Offensive missiles in Cuba, they argued, were therefore unnecessary for an offensive base(Mills 234). Furthermore, the United States had over 3,000 nuclear warheads and nearly 300 missile launchers, opposed to the Soviet Union's 250 warheads and 24 to 44 missile launchers (Hersh 343). Still, John Kennedy thought that Cuba could become a base for military operations at any given moment. The United States had to be prepared to face it (Mills 234). At this point in the crisis, John McCone, the CIA director, was regularly sending President Kennedy reports of missiles capable of launching a nuclear warhead being sent to Cuba. According to McCone, medium-range ballistic missiles(MRBMs) would be next (Hersh 348). U-2's were sent to scout the west end of Cuba. On October 14, the CIA reported that construction had begun for MRBMs (Mills 235). Despite the increased state of readiness in the US, many people did not realize that the Soviet Union had done nothing on its home territory during the crisis. Its fleet of ICBM launchers were not mobilized and neither were Soviet reserves. There were not even any threats against Berlin (Hersh 343). Regardless of what the Soviets said, the United States was still far ahead in the nuclear arms race. ICBM's were expensive to build and the Soviet Union did not have an abundance of money. Installing the smaller missiles in Cuba was much cheaper than building more ICBMs. Khrushchev believed that Kennedy would not oppose the building of the missile bases in Cuba because the United States President had not opposed Khrushchev in the past (Mills 236). Not only did he secretly place the missiles in Cuba, but Khrushchev used Georgi Bolshakov and others to tell President Kennedy that missiles were not being shipped to Cuba. The Soviet premier was cautious to avoid a

Jews Without Money essays

Jews Without Money essays Personal struggles, we all have them. Some have them more than others. In the partly autobiographical novel Jews Without Money, By Michael Gold, He depicts how the Jews struggled to make ends meet. His life was not easy growing up. Gold and his brothers were forced by poverty to get low-paying, unskilled jobs. They were forced to drop out of high school to support the family. Their father was a small businessman. His big dream was to own a business, but he didnt know how to run it. He ended up injuring himself at work and therefore in turn, confined to his bed Life was hard for Mike living in the ghetto of the Lower East Side of New York City. For centuries The Jews has lived in this universal ghetto. Yiddish literature is saturated with the ghetto melancholy and poverty. Jews Without Money is much compared with works such as All Souls by Michael Patrick Macdonald. Michael Gold was a communist all his life. Gold helped found "The New Masses," a literary periodical intended to "revive the spirit of the old Bohemian-left-liberal alliance." Gold was a journalist for the Communist press from 1933 off and on for the next thirty-three years. He developed radical political views and began contributing to socialist journals such as the Masses and the Call. Gold was strong opponent of the United States becoming involved in the First World War. When the USA entered the war in 1917 Gold moved to Mexico to evade the draft. All Souls, by Michael Patrick Macdonald was also a book about struggle. South Boston was also a ghetto and Michael and his family try to survive in a harsh world. His Sisters and Michael saw first hand, all the cruelty that went down in a place called The best place in the world. This book is related to Jews Without Money because they both came from poor backgrounds. McDonald and his family struggled to make ends meet. Go ...

System Implementation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

System Implementation - Essay Example All the different types of users have limited privileges for their data as well as other users’ data. For example, the customer can only view but cannot insert, delete, or update their information. Consequently, that makes our system more secure. The principle involved designing very simple web pages for all the users. These simple pages view served the security features that were used. For example, the page shows three choices for them that are accessing their data, or customer data or transaction data. That occurs if the user is an employee. If the user selects their information, the page displays a table with the user’s information only. However, the pages that are designed to look for the customer contains two input fields to search for the client based on their id or first name. For instance, if the Employee wants to look for their customer’s information. In this situation, we applied the feature of a prepared statement and variable binding in Java JDBC component in order to avoid any vulnerability in our project. The system also applied this principle. There were no standard mechanisms for our users that will cause extreme effects. Every user has his mechanism, privilege, and flow. The Manager works differently from the employee or the customer. Moreover, we created users in the database for each category. Thus, the user who uses the database as manager1 is different from manager2. The concept is taken care in the attack phase. We exposed the system designs and security mechanisms to other teams. That helped us a lot because it is better to know about the System’s weaknesses and vulnerabilities from friends before the attackers. In this situation, we can fix and update the missing points and errors quickly. Further, we don’t need to batch after the attacker misusing.

Impact of World War II on the United States Essay

Impact of World War II on the United States - Essay Example Prior to the war, the New Deal was not able to overcome the stagnant state of the US economy despite the concerted efforts of the Roosevelt government. The unemployment rate remained steadily above 14 percent despite having considerably fallen since the darkest years of the depression. A consideration of a more penetrative government fiscal intervention gave way to speculations about real economic recovery in which it was posited that the recovery would become elusive if given to the care of the private sector (Vatter 1985, p. 7). Such recovery required much more Keynesian doses for the New Deal to finally affect full employment (Vatter 1985, p.11). Political impacts include several pursuits that aimed to repair a damaged economy during the New Deal era and the war itself. A political, psychological, and economic shift was a product of the New Deal and World War II in the United States. These concerns troubled the American government during the war years and immediately afterward: big government, the economy, and communism at home and abroad. It was inferred that the bourgeoning bureaucracy that ensued in the United States during the WWII was one characterized by the mounting of commissions, agencies, and administrations, aiming to serve the legal and political necessities of the period. Examples of these are the Foreign Economic Administration, Maritime Commissions and the War Shipping Administration, Selective Service System, US Employment Service, War Manpower Commission, War Labor Board, and War Food Administration (Vatter 1985, p. 87). Each of these had their on designated purposes in which central is the organizing and carrying out of American war-time economic production and output. All of these bureaucratic organizations formed a government front aiming to push through all forms of opposition in the interest of allied victory. The War Production Board (WPB) was established in order to distribute strategic materials as well as suspend the production of consumer products. The WMC attempted to balance the appropriat e distribution of men and women in military, industry, and agriculture during the war (Maddox 1992, p. 193). There was no questioning that the United States placed itself in a hegemonic position as a world power after the war, which may be referred to as one of its political impacts. Likewise, America's preoccupation with the promotion of democracy is essentially an idealist stance that emerged from the moralism and exceptionalism of the America political tradition (Ikenberry 2000, p. 103). This tradition is manifested through actual foreign policy, often carried out at the expense of more sober American international interests (Ikenberry 2000, p. 103). It is for the pursuit of making foreign policy commitments more acceptable to American public that the American democratic stance becomes a minor distraction. The American promotion of democracy after World War II reflects a pragmatic and evolving understanding of creating a stable political order in the international arena, which was later called "an American liberal grand strategy"

Forklift Accident Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Forklift Accident - Article Example An accident occurred at the construction site of a light industrial building. A worker was driving a 3 ton forklift down a circular vehicle ramp from the fourth level towards the third level. There was no load on the forklift. The vehicle suddenly swerved and overturned on the third level and the worker who was driving the forklift was crushed beneath the vehicle and died on the spot. The driver had not undergone the mandatory forklift driver’s training course. Findings revealed that the forklift involved in the accident belonged to the main contractor and was poorly maintained. The driver was an employee of the plastering and bricklaying works contractor. The numbers of trained forklift operators were inadequate with respect to the number of forklifts. Also there was no risk assessment conducted on forklift operations.Another such accident occurred at a warehouse in a distribution park. A worker tallying stock stored on metal racks squeezed himself into the gap between two ra cks. A forklift driver was pushing racks closer together to make space for more racks. He did not see the employee, and the employee was crushed to death between the metal racks. If risk assessment had been carried out, forklifts and other workers would not have been allowed to operate in the area concurrently. It also seemed that there was inadequate safety training awareness among the employees.The key to preventing such accidents is training and enforcement of safety measures at places where forklifts are used.

Constructivist and Liberalist Argument on State Shared Value

Constructivist and Liberalist Argument on State Shared Value According to realism, relations between states in the anarchical world is doomed to the state of constant conflict in which states can only count on themselves. Whatever cooperation exists in the world they prescribe it to the hegemonic order. This means that hegemon, creates institutions which facilitate cooperation but that these institutions are carriers of hegemonic interests and their existence is related to the existence of a hegemon. Representatives of liberal school deny the abovementioned argument and point at contemporary networks of cooperation in many fields which they see as a positive current in the world politic. Realists and liberals agree that the status of international system is anarchy and sovereign states make up the international order. As Alexander Wendt stated in 1992 in his article[1]: neorealists and neoliberals share generally similar assumptions about agents: states are the dominant actors in the system and they define security in self-interested terms[2]. As for the Liberals, they underline the importance of international institutions and cooperation between states thus placing a principle of the shared values in the center of state-behavior. Constructivist Argument According to Alexander Wendt, concept of power politics is socially constructed: If self-help is not a constitutive feature of anarchy, it must emerge casually from processes in which anarchy plays only a permissive role. This reflects a second principle of constructivism: that the meanings in terms of which action is organized arise out of interaction[3] Wendt views self-help as something not given by nature but instead, socially constructed. Having in mind the fact that power politics is socially constructed means that it can be transformed by human practice. Furthermore, constructivists look at international arena as a constructed structure which is built by socio-cultural practices, ideas, domestic and international interactions. According to Wendt, the basic tenets of constructivism are the structures of human association that are determined primarily by shared ideas rather than material forces, and that the identities and interests of purposive actors are constructed by these s hared ideas rather than given by nature[4]. According to the theory of constructivism the effect of anarchy on the state is proportionate to the states perception of anarchy, identity and interest. If in the state of Anarchy state A perceives the rise of power of state B as threat to its security, then a security dilemma is created and states apply to the self-help principle. But, if state A and state B view their security in the form of cooperation and collaboration, then a security dilemma is not formed, thus not establishing logical grounds for self-help principle to develop. Alexander Wendt in his article anarchy is what state make of it: The social construction of power politics states that: the nature of international anarchy appears to be conflictual if states show a conflictual behaviour towards each other, and cooperative if they behave cooperatively towards one another. Therefore, it is states themselves that determine anarchys nature.[5] Liberal argument Representatives of liberal theory agree with realists on a notion that international system is anarchical. But unlike realist, liberalism mitigates the risks coming from the nature of anarchy with cooperation and collaboration between states.[6]. While liberalism agrees on an anarchical condition of international politics, it provides three main mechanisms that can explain a state behavior in order to avoid the risks coming from the anarchy: consolidation of democracy, economic interdependence, and transtational institutions.[7] In order to mitigate the threats and risks coming from the anarchy representatives of the liberal theory believe that states should become more interdependent with each other. Shared democratic values and economical interdependence significantly reduces the risk of military confrontation between states. Free trade relations between states, which result in a close economic ties between its citizens, excludes the chance of military confrontation with each other. According to Michael W. Doyle: Wars occur outside the liberal zone because conflicts of interest are deeper there.[8] Liberalism also allows a probability of the world peace despite the anarchical feature of international politics. If the state behavior is prone to establishment of international organizations and institutions then this behavior may lead to the long term cooperation between the member nations which share the same values. According to the liberalism military conflicts are not inevitable but can be prevented through collaboration. The development of an international organization such as United of Nation, NATO and European Union are the examples of cooperation between states that could promote stability. A central claim of this theory is that once created, institutions tend to persist, because it is cheaper to maintain institutions than to create new ones. Therefore, when confronted with new sets of problems, states seek to modify an already existing institution to meet new challenges. Thus, institutional liberal theories have easier time explaining why NATO persisted after the end of the Cold War even when the enemy that it was supposed to counter disappeared. Liberalism underlines the significace of the shared values between states. The principle of shared values can explain state behavior as they create alliances and develop joint capabilities, rather than focusing only on the development of their own.

Emancipation :: essays research papers

Emancipation has been defined as the pursuit, expansion, and security of freedom. I believe that most people including myself would say successful emancipation has taken place when freedom has been pursued, expanded upon, and secured. What makes peoples views of emancipation different is not its definition, but what is freedom? Freedom shows a lot of faces throughout the times and environments studied in both the Haitian and Jamaican Revolutions. Freedom for myself is a peace of mind. I feel that a person who wakes up with a peace of mind has experienced successful emancipation. Successful emancipation does not mean that everything is perfect and the way it should be. Perfection does not exist in this world; everything has its flaws and downfalls including emancipation, justice, and freedom. I think we all work towards the day we have established who we are and find comfort with our role in society. I also feel it is hard for us to be as thoughtful and passionate about emancipation as the slaves of these times were. Our minds can’t conceive the true feeling of what is like to be treated like something other than a human being. I feel our lifestyles are far beyond a slave’s view of what emancipation is. Slaves in both Haiti and Jamaica did not rebel in order to live a lifestyle we live today. They were willing to settle for far less than we have today. Slaves were willing to die in order to experience what they felt was successful emancipation. Successful emancipation for slaves was not be confounded to land or owned by whites. Slaves simply wanted the opportunity to work their own land, start families, and enjoy life. Although most people in Haiti and Jamaica of African descent were slaves, there was a small minority of free people, which consisted of mulattos and free blacks. Even though these free people witnessed first hand the experienced of slavery the compassion and empathy for it was definitely disappointing. Their understanding of emancipation was totally different than that of slaves. The free people already experienced and had what slaves desired and viewed as emancipation. Free people had their own land to farm, build houses on, and start families. Thus giving them a totally different perspective on emancipation and freedom. Despite free people had their own land, they still were not close to sharing the same rights as the whites.

Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs Postmodernism theory when related to films can be described when the audience’s delay of skepticism is shattered, in order to free the audience’s grasp of the director’s work. Small changes are made to create a significant meaning in the audience’s mind. The director has created a piece of art that removes the audience from the conventional and emotional bond to the subject, creating a new perspective.Postmodern films apply the usage of four concepts: simulation, reusing styles, typically drawing irony to the new style; pre-fabrication, drawing a closer attention to already existing scenes and using them in the films narrative or dialogue; intertextuality, using text that has already been used and finally bricolage, creating a film based on a collage of various other film styles and genres. Quentin Tarantino, the famous film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor followed his passion from an early age. He did not watch m ovies as a child and adolescent, but he made the films a large part of his life.Tarantino, though he may deny his films to fall in the category of postmodernism, portrays various genres and styles from other movies, typically of his childhood very well. Tarantino draws upon the genres of martial arts, kung fu, grind-house, and spaghetti western films. Typically starting his films, Tarantino opens with â€Å"Our Feature Presentation† drawing immediate attention to the audience, transporting them in time to their days of childhood and adolescents. A director is an artist, Tarantino, though he recreated previous works of other artists, is one too.He adds his own twist to his films, in order to create a new, distinctive and pioneering film. Tarantino uses the concept of bricolage to fuse genres together in an original fantasy-like story with exaggerated confrontation scenes and violence. Reservoir Dogs, directed and written by Quentin Tarantino first premiered in October 1992. It is about a group of criminals who where hired for a job to retrieve diamonds from a jewelry store. Things do not go as planned during the heist and the gang thinks that there may be a police mole among the group. But who could it be? Mr. Pink, Mr. Orange, Mr.White, Mr. Brown, Mr. Blue, Mr. Blonde, Nice Guy Eddie, or even head gang leader, Joe Cabot? Strangers to one another, Joe (Lawrence Tierney) assigns each member a color code alias. The opening scene is in a diner with all gang members sitting around a table, eating breakfast, while Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino) explains his interpretation of Madonna’s song ‘Like a Virgin’. The men continue to discuss the importance and the meanings of popular songs, especially bringing up songs of the 1970s. Though this dialogue is rather unimportant, it shows Tarantino’s intricate eye to detail.It is ironic to see Tarantino the one explaining Madonna’s song, for it is his intention to set the stage for the au dience’s interpretation of the film. Mr. Brown explains Madonna’s sexual encounters, as she continues to remember the first time she lost her virginity and the pain she had to encounter. Tarantino intends for Reservoir Dogs to have many interpretations, and one may consider that the gang members have to be redeemed through pain and suffering. The styles that we can see throughout the film use exaggerated confrontations and violence.After the diner scene, the film continues with a â€Å"Men in Black† take of the gangsters walking towards the camera. Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) and Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) are now on pursuit away from the heist, as things did not go as planned as the cops showed up unexpectedly. Running on foot, they stop a car and the owner and driver shoots Mr. Orange in the abdomen. For the remainder of the film, Mr. Orange laid on the floor of the warehouse bleeding profusely in excruciating pain. The pain that Mr. Orange faced throughout the film is the interpretation that Tarantino had intended to compare to the suffering of Madonna.Mr. Orange (Roth) was the undercover mole that was ordered to bust the head of operation, Joe Cabot (Tierney). Aside for Tarantino’s significance of popular songs, he also used images inter-dispersed throughout the film; Silver Surfer comic and the Get Christie Love! TV show. These are a few examples of how Reservoir Dogs falls into the category of being a postmodern film through the usage of image and text, posing as in intricate part to media and society. Reservoir Dogs, a postmodern film, includes the usage of criminals falling; indicating a crime and gangster movie.It also uses the formula of a western movie. Though, usually in a traditional western there is one individual who upholds law and order, Tarantino put a spin on western genres when including the style throughout his films. Reservoir Dogs use of western is slightly different, instead of one individual; there is a group of me n who try to restore order that has spun out of control to arrange a logical explanation and conclusion of who the possible informant might be. Tarantino is specific about his films, he does not intend for them to represent real life, but rather mimic other movies.In Reservoir Dogs initial scene, the men are sitting in the diner, a very similar scene to Woody Allen’s film Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) when they are sitting in a restaurant. Woody’s film is considered to be a romantic comedy drama, where Tarantino, though not considering Woody when creating the scene, did not create a romantic comedy drama film, but rather a film that fell into the category of crime, mystery and thriller. Quentin Tarantino pulls from previous artists, not only text and images, but also styles, such as cinematography. In Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino uses extreme conflict and intense violent scenes.Aside from the acting, Tarantino creates a character, Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), who is constant ly reminding the team that he is acting professional, while everyone else is fighting and not thinking of the future affects of their actions. Mr. Pink aside from being a â€Å"better† criminal, draws upon the belief that if you are not wearing a uniform you therefore fall into the â€Å"real person† category. Tarantino, throughout all his films, Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction (1996) and Kill Bill (2003; 2004) the assassins, criminals, and law enforcements are all distinguished by their uniforms.Those who are â€Å"real people† wear real, daily, regular clothing, nothing that is out of the ordinary. The gang members who work for Joe Cabot are all dressed in the classic black suits with white button down dress shirts and thin black ties. The cops are wearing the typical blue uniform. It is interesting to notice that Joe and his son, though apart of the gang operation do not wear the â€Å"uniform†. The majority of Reservoir Dogs takes place in the dingy ware house, where no gangster becomes a â€Å"real person†; they do not undress from their uniforms, therefore staying as a gangster.Though they do not succeed in becoming real people, they are redeemed of being a gangster through death, unlike Mr. Pink who runs out after they go on a â€Å"trigger happy frenzy† shooting one another. The idea of the members, including the cop that was taken hostage is a similar idea to William Shakespeare, who was considered an outstanding poet and playwright during the 16th century. Typically, at the end of the plays, Shakespeare would conclude that the characters all be killed. Tarantino, a rather outstanding director and writer, pulls from these great artists to create an even greater piece of work.Quentin Tarantino, considered a postmodern filmmaker, uses references to earlier films. He blends genres from A-Z. In Reservoir Dogs, he uses many references from the French new wave directors, who were highly influential to his Production Com pany as well as his work. Francois Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard were influential; he named his production company â€Å"A Band Apart†. In Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino named the jewelry store â€Å"Karina’s† after Anna Karina, star from Bande apart (Band of Outsiders, 1964).Postmodernism is a concept that pulls from many genres, and it is Reservoir Dogs that Quentin Tarantino first begins his voyage as an up and coming director to use this style of creativity and expression. Today, we entertain ourselves with concerts, movie theater, broadways, radio, and television. It is these social medias that people like Quentin Tarantino create for our enjoyment. Pulling on our childhood memories, familiarity, comfort, and most importantly clues to other important images of our past, bring a deeper appreciation to the work and creativity that has been produced.

High School vs College 15 Key Differences

High School vs College 15 Key Differences SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you about to start college soon? Are you wondering what changes to expect? How is college different from high school?When you compare high school vs college, you’ll find many differences, some of which are obvious, others less so. It’s important to understand how high school and college are different from each other so you know what to expect and can have a smoother transition when you begin college.In this guide, we explain the 15 most important differences between high school and college and give you tips to help make this major life change a bit less intimidating. How Is College Different From High School? There’s a reason so many movies, shows, and books focus on new college students: many people see the transition from high school to college as one of the most important turning points in their life.You’re no longer a kid living under your parents’ roof; instead you’re an adult living on your own and expected to make real, important decisions about your future. You’ll have a lot more freedom, but a lot will also be expected from you, both in class and out. Read on to learn specific high school vs college differences. High School vs College: 15 Key Differences Below are 15 high school vs college differences you’ll likely encounter once you begin college. There are pros and cons to both high school and college, but knowing what to expect will make you better prepared for this big change. #1: You’ll Have More Independence The biggest change for high school vs. college is that, in college, you’ll have much more independence than you had in high school. Many people focus on the fact that you’ll be living away from your parents, and this is a part of it, but you’ll have independence in many other areas as well. You’ll have the freedom to decide what you want to major in, which classes you want to take, when you want to schedule those classes, if you want to go out with your friends, how late you want to stay out, even what you want to eat in the dining hall. (I ate Reese’s Puffs cereal every day for four years because my parents never allowed it and I was thrilled to finally be able to have it for breakfast.) #2: You’ll Be Treated Like an Adult Along with your increased independence, you’ll also be treated like an adult in college as opposed to a child under your parents’ care. In college, you’ll no longer need to bring your parents permission slips to sign, you’ll be trusted to make your own choices for what you want to study, and you can arrange meetings yourself, without Mom and Dad helping you. For many students, it’s exciting to finally be viewed as an adult, but it also means an increase in responsibilities. If you have a problem with or question about homework, classes, a grade you got, etc.,you are the one who will need to solve it. You can’t expect your parents to call the school and fix the problem for you like they may have done in high school. #3: There Will Be a Wider Variety of Classes to Choose From In high school, you didn’t have a lot of choice in regards to which classes you took. You could probably choose a few electives, but your schedule was mostly filled with the standard math, science, English, and social studies requirements that all students had to take. In college, even if you attend a smaller school, you’ll have many more options. They’ll be a wider variety of classes to choose from, and many of them will focus on more specific topics like astronomy, ancient Roman history, French literature, the geography of the United States, and more.Many college students like this increase in class options since it makes it easier for them to choose classes on topics they’re really interested in. #4: Classes Will Have Different Formats and Sizes Each class you took in high school probably had about the same number of students and consisted mostly of lecturing, maybe along with some individual or group work. This isn’t true in college.Classes can range from two to 500 students, and their format can vary widely as well. Classes may be completely lecture-based, require hands-on lab work, or be discussion-based where you spend most of class time engaged in conversations or debates with your classmates and professor. #5: Your Schedule Will Be More Complicated In high school, school started and ended the same time every day, and your class schedule was probably the same for every day of the week.In college, things get a little trickier. Some classes meet three times a week for an hour and a half, some meet five times a week for an hour, some meet once a week for three hours, etc.This means you’ll likely be starting and ending class at different times during the week, and you may end up with a different class schedule for every day of the week. Some people like the variety this gives them, but it’s important to stay on top of your schedule so you don’t wind up forgetting to attend class. #6: You’ll Have a New Set of Classmates One of the most jarring things for many new college students is they’re no longer surrounded by classmates and friends they’ve known for years. Instead, you’ll be in a sea of strangers (at least at first), many of whom come from different areas and backgrounds than you. Additionally, you'll likely have a different set of classmates for each of your classes. That's a lot of new faces! This means you have lots of opportunity for making all kinds of friends, but expect there to be some awkwardness and loneliness at first as everyone gets to know each other and figures out their friend groups.Additionally, since in college everyone wants to be there (at least on some level), you may find your college classmates more motivated and dedicated to doing well in school compared to some of your high school peers. #7: Classes Will Require More Critical Thinking Is college hard compared to high school? Going to college isn’t just like attending four more years of high school. This is a big step up in your education, and your classes will be more challenging and expect you to keep up.You’ll be tested less on memorization and basic regurgitation of facts and more on critical thinking skills and being able to apply what you learned in class to other situations. You may learn a specific math equation and then be asked to apply that knowledge to more challenging types of equations, learn about different historical events and be asked to analyze how they affected future events, learn a scientific process and be asked to describe how it affects the environment, etc. #8: College Costs More There’s no way around it; college definitely costs more than high school. Tuition is thousands of dollars, and you’ll likely be paying for room and board as well. And those are just the main costs. College requires all sorts of smaller purchases too, like special goggles for your chemistry lab or official test taking booklets for final exams. Buying just one college textbook (often over $100) is enough to never let you take for granted all free materials you got in high school. #9: You’ll Spend Less Time in Class Most full-time college students spend about 15-20 hours in class a week, which comes out to about three or four hours a day. This is probably much less time than you spent in high school classes every day which means you’ll have a lot more unscheduled time to spend how you think is best. #10: You’ll Have More Schoolwork Don’t get too excited about spending less time in class; college definitely knows how to keep you busy. The general rule of thumb is that you’ll spend about three hours a week on schoolwork for every one hour of class you’re in. With a standard schedule of 15 credits, that means you can expect to spend 45 hours a week on schoolwork, about as much as a full-time job!This is often much more work than students had in high school, so you should be prepared for an adjustment. #: Attendance Will Be Up to You In high school, you had to go to class every day because if you didn’t, you could get in trouble for truancy or (sometimes even more frightening) your parents could find out.In college, there are no requirements for attending class, and no one is going to call your parents if you don’t show up.However, don’t make the mistake some college students do and think this means you don’t need to go to class. Many professors include attendance as part of your grade, and some will even fail you if you miss a certain number of classes without a valid excuse. Plus, it’s often very difficult to do well in a class if you never show up, and you’re paying a lot of money for these classes! Make sure you get the most out of them that you can. #12: You’ll Have More Social Opportunities Even if you were a social butterfly in high school, you’ll have tons more opportunities to be social and make friends in college. There will be sports teams to join, parties to go to, clubs you can be part of, and more.Most colleges are large enough to have something for everyone, so you’re bound to find an activity you’re interested in, whether that’s a recreational hockey team, the student government group, a club focused on promoting renewable energy, and more. There are also likely many more students at your college than there were at your high school, so your opportunities for making friends will multiply as well. However, you do need to make an effort to get the most out of these opportunities. Push yourself to try new things and strike up conversations with new people, and if you're feeling nervous, just remember that they're likely feeling the same way. Standard questions to ask new people you meet in college include: Where are you from? What dorm do you live in? What are you majoring in? Get ready to ask and be asked these questions a lot! #13: It’ll Be Harder to Stand Out Once you start college, you won’t be a big fish in a small pond anymore, and it’ll be harder to stand out from the crowd.While in high school you may have been the star student/athlete/singer, in college you’ll be surrounded by many talented classmates, many of whom were also the best at something in high school.Some students struggle with no longer automatically standing out, but there are plenty of benefits to this. First, you’ll be able to bond with other students who are also skilled at your talent. If you were, say, the star drama student at your high school, you may not hold the same position in college, but you can befriend all the other high school drama stars and create some awesome shows together. Additionally, some students like the anonymity being a new college student brings. If you’ve been labelled as a jock or theater nerd for all of high school, going to collegewhere people don’t know youallows you to shed or alter that identity if you wish and try new things (or try the same things with less pressure). #14: You’ll Get Fewer Grades in Class In high school, you probably had daily homework assignments you had to complete and got a grade for. These, along with some larger projects, quizzes, and tests made up your final class grade. If you got a low score in one, it was usually fine since there were plenty of other chances to make up for the low grade. Once you start college, you may find that many classes have far fewer assignments, meaning you’ll receive fewer grades and each of those grades are worth more.Instead of regular homework assignments and quizzes, many college classes are based only on a midterm grade and a final grade. This means you need to take those exams/papers/projects very seriously because if you mess up on one of them it’ll be very hard to raise your class grade back to where you want it to be. #15: You’ll Be Doing Lots of Reading You know those pictures of exhausted-looking students sitting next to a pile of textbooks they need to get through? That’s how many college students feel.Expect to do lots of reading in college, including textbooks, journal articles, and literature.If you’re majoring in a field like computer science or math you can expect less reading (and more homework), but you’re still guaranteed to have at least a few classes where you’re assigned to read a couple dozen textbook pages before the next class. You’ll get to know your school’s library very well. Tips for Making the Transition From High School to College Going from high school to college can be tough no matter how excited you are to start at your new school. Below are three tips to help make the transition easier. Know There Will Be Changes You’ve already taken one of the most important steps to prepare for transitioning from high school to college: you’re expecting and preparing for the differences.When you know that the high school to college transition will bring major changes, you'll be more prepared for anything that comes your way. Be Prepared for Some Bumps Many movies about college make it seem like new college students immediately find a group of close friends, know exactly what they want to study, and have an awesome social life. In reality, it rarely works like this.Many new college students have moments where they feel awkward, lonely, and homesick. This is completely normal; after all you’re making a major life change. By managing your expectations of college and not expecting to love it right away, you can better manage the transition from high school to college and not end up disappointed when it takes a little while to feel comfortable. Put Yourself Out There When you first start college, there will be a lot of changes, and it’ll be easy to hang out in your dorm room and text with your high school friends. However, you should resist this urge. College is probably the best time you’ll ever have to meet new people and try new things, so you should take full advantage. Keep your dorm room door open to meet your neighbors. Strike up a conversation with your chemistry lab partner. Join a club or sport you’ve never tried before.Not only will this make the transition from high school to college easier since you’ll be meeting more people, you may discover a new friend or hobby. What's Next? Not sure which college you want to go to? Check out our guide on choosing the right college so you can make the best decision. Stressing over college applications? We're here to help! Our step-by-step guide breaks down the complete college application process from start to finish. Worried about choosing a major on your college applications? Learn how to navigate the process and make an informed decision. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness essays

Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness essays In Joseph Conrad's novel, "Heart of Darkness," we can easily see how the environment can have a negative impact on an individual's mental health. By examining the character of Kurtz, we can see how easily this occurs. We are told by Marlow that Kurtz is "gifted" (Conrad 1902 p. 294) and when Kurtz arrived in the jungle, his "sympathies were in the right place" (p. 295). However, after years of living in an elevated state above the natives, he began to lose his respect for life as well as his sanity. The natives worshipped him and he had the "power to charm and frighten rudimentary souls into an aggravated witch-dance in his honor" (p. 296). This illustrates how he began to actually believe he was as great as the natives thought he was. This inflated self opinion was the beginning of In addition, Kurtz was only interested in obtaining more ivory. We read that after years of living alone, he "wandered alone far in the depths of the forest" (p. 301). In addition, he would "disappear for weeks; forget himself amongst the people" (p. 302) to hunt for more ivory. This illustrates how he became more isolated from people, which also attributed Eventually, Kurtz lost his ability to reason because he was obsessed with ivory and because he was alone more and more. In fact, Kurtz threatened to shoot his dearest friend if he did not give Kurtz his ivory. We are told that Kurtz "declared he would shoot me unless I gave him the ivory and then cleared out of the country, because he could do so . . . and there was nothing on earth to prevent him from killing whom he jolly well pleased" (p. 301). Additionally, Kurtz kept a collection of shrunken heads on stakes near his house. (p. 303) We are told that these heads "only showed that Mr. Kurtz lacked restraint in the gratification of his various lusts" (p. 303). This demonstrates Kurtz's complete lack of respect for ...

Managing People 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Managing People 2 - Essay Example In addition, flexible working reduces stress level, which increases the productivity of an employee. Many companies big and small are also increasingly adopting flexible working schedules. This is because research has showed that flexible working increases workers productivity thus revenue. Therefore, since the main aim of a company is to increase productivity of workers so as to generate high profits, none would want to be left behind. In this regard, Regus (2012, p.3) reveals that about 80% of small companies report working more flexibly than before. At the same time, Regus (2012, p.3) found out that 68% of large businesses today provide flexible working to their employees. It was also found out that about 72% of international businesses reported having realized increased productivity as a result of flexible working. However, in all cases, Ragus (2012, p.3) reveals that about 68% of businesses reported that flexible working has increased staff productivity. About 63% of companies s urveyed indicated that flexible working increased their workers energy and motivation level pointing that flexible working is principal talent-retention technique. Research also indicates that about 51% of companies intend to employee more freelancers in the future (Ragus 2012, p.3). At the same time, about 80% of companies interviewed believe that there is a likelihood of an increase in the number of employees willing to work part-time, which points at an increasing demand for an environment that allows for flexible working. There are a number of companies in the U.K. that have embraced flexible working practices. BT (formerly British Telecommunications) is one such company in London that provides flexible working environment. BT is one of the largest Information technology and telecommunication companies in the U.K. Since the U.K. government legislated a law to improve flexible working, BT has embraced the practice in totality. The flexible working of BT is based on a number of pr inciples regarding service delivery, recruitment, and motivation. BT acknowledges the fact that many workers have the responsibility of taking care of others such as the elderly, children, the disabled, and the sick. The company also recognizes the fact that, with UK’s aging population, such demand is likely to increase, which will also increase competition for workers throughout the U.K. As a result, many candidates will likely be looking at what employers offering terms of flexible working in deciding on the company to work for (Eurofound 2009). As a result, BT has introduced a number of flexible working practices, which includes compressed time, job-sharing, accrual hours, annualized hours, flexitime, limited working, time out, teleworking and freedom to work. BT reports having reaped a lot of benefits from such a working practice. In this regard, BT reports that flexibility has increased the motivation level of its employees, which has in turn increased their productivity . As a result, the company has been able to register increased profits than ever before (Eurofound 2009). British American Tobacco (BAT) is also another big company in the U.K. that provides flexibility of work. In this regard, BAT allows for part-time and flexible working hours for its employees. Like, BT, Bat also provide leave for its workers to enable them attend to other

Module 5 SLP Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Module 5 SLP - Assignment Example The merger of the two companies will lead to the growth of this small company by increasing the economic demand. Hershey Company will benefit from diversification. The risks of investments spread by adding other sectors. Secondly, KONZA Company has a high liquidity. As the liquidity hypothesis stipulates, an increase in liquidity leads to an increase in in merger this is because it makes it possible for Hershey Company to acquire and finance the acquisition by use of resources (McDonald et al., 2006). KONZA Company faces a major threat of mismanagement of firm’s resources by managers to maximize the shareholders wealth. Therefore, if the two companies merge, the resources would effectively managed to maximize on the shareholders wealth as well as profit maximization of the company. I would finance the takeover by selling the company shares. This is by public invitation to buy the shares at premium from the shareholders of the company. This will enable the company to raise enough funds for growth and investments. My second choice would have been Texas Company because the company has a high debt that is attractive and not used. This will is an avenue to merge as low leverage reduces the default risk and increases the debt volume for the joint company (Vachon, 2007). The company investments have a positive net present value (NPV) meaning that it can invest in and gain profits. The two companies therefore can merge and invest in projects that yield profits, as it is a major goal of the company. This company could not be the first choice because it is a bit stable and does not suffer from liquidity and mismanagement of firms resources. My third company would be INOVA Company that is a stable company, operating under ongoing concern and is of large size. The company would merge with Hershey to benefit from synergies. The financial mathematics shows that the