Guns and Gun Control

Gun control has been one of the biggest topics facing our nation aside from abortion and homosexual marriages. There are so many different angles and arguments that surround it, its no wonder a definite decision can not be made. Violent crimes remain one of the most serious problems in the United States, in many of the violent crimes committed guns are used but an actual link between the two remains pretty unclear. Studies generally find no relationship at the ecological level between gun availability and nonfatal violent crime rates, but do find a small relationship between gun availability and homicides†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ ‘Perhaps the most important question in the gun control debate is whether handgun ownership by law-abiding citizens raises or lowers their risk of becoming violent crime victims. ’ (Barkan, 2007, p. 93) For those opposing gun control, they believe taking away the right to carry a gun would leave them more vulnerable to become victims of crime however thos e supporting gun control believe that if gun use was effectively controlled, there would be less crime. Media does not help in this constant debate since many feel as though outlets such as TV shows, movies and games promote violence especially in youth. However in studies where children were observed before and after viewing violent shows on TV, they did become more aggressive meaning there is a correlation between watching TV and acts of aggression but that connection doesn’t necessarily mean watching that particular show caused it to happen. Meaning a child acting out in violence could have been acting out on his aggression but not because he saw it happen. A conservative conclusion is that mass media violence has a small effect on real-life violence that is eclipsed by other influences†¦ we should remain skeptical of mass media effects until the empirical evidence becomes compelling†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Barkan, 2007, pp. 290-291) In 1999 Martin O’Malley was elected as mayor of Baltimore, MD. At this time I also resided in Maryland as a sophomore in High School. Mayor O’Malley changed the focus of how public safety would be handled since crime was so high in the urban communities especially in the downtown are as of Baltimore. It was during this time he stressed the importance of neighborhoods and authorities pulling together to reduce crime and violence which turned out a 40% reduction in violent crime. (Maryland, 2009) The fact that he was able to get such a tough community to work together with officials to take charge of an ever growing crime rate is something that should be admired and mirrored throughout other states. To cut back on the types of firearms used in today’s streets I believe would start from the source, gun shows and or shops. My suggestion to control the types used every applicant must go through a very thorough background search as well as an interview with a law enforcement official to see if they are competent enough to own a firearm. From there I think a class should be offered to all individuals as well as a mandatory waiting period of at least a month. Heavy artillery weapons should not be issued to anyone other than those with certain clearances, military or otherwise since they are not needed unless they are being fired at by insurgents. As far as where I stand on the issue of gun control, I believe everyone has the right to bear arms as it’s stated in the 2nd amendment of the U. S. Constitution. I also fully believe in the slogan ‘guns don’t kill people; people kill people’ however those that are supportive of gun control possess a very strong argument when they state that if handguns were controlled effectively, it could possibly reduce the number or homicides and violent crimes. An example of this would be ‘†¦in 1975 Washington D. C. , banned the sale and possession of handguns. Gun crimes there decreased, especially for homicides resulting from family and acquaintance disputes. More generally, gun homicides and gun suicides decreased†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ (Barkan, 2007, p. 295) In addition in a study that was conducted one scholar noted ‘†¦guns are more likely to be used when you’re drinking and you have a fight with someone you know. It indicates that people tend to use guns not for the reason they brought them into the house, but in fights with family members and friends. ’ (Barkan, 2007, p. 294) Had a gun not been present in the first place it probably would have kept this situation from becoming yet another statistic. References Barkan, S. A. (2007). Criminology (3rd Edition ed.). Upper Saddle River , NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Maryland, S. o. (2009, January 16). Martin J. O'Malley, Governor of Maryland. Retrieved January 18, 2009, from MD Manual: http://www.msa.md.gov/msa/mdmanual/08conoff/html/msa13090.html

Choosing Between an Objective and Projective Test for Children

Choosing Between an Objective and Projective Test for Children The Dood Caoek Joms University It has been observed that there has been a growing acceptance and understanding to the necessity and value of personality testing. It is at this stage in time where there is increasing demand and consumption for such services, met by a diverse range of offerings, it is important to know the ideal service to meet one’s needs.Keeping this in mind, this essay will attempt to compare and contrast between two known personality tests, the Five-factor Personality Inventory-Children (FFPI-C), an objective test, and the Rotter incomplete sentences blank (RISB), a projective test, as to their similarities, differences, advantages, disadvantages and suitability for children.The two mentioned tests, the RSIB and FFPI-C are similar in that they utilize a scoring guide provided, whereby responses are given scores which are used to identify specific states or predictions about the subject within the ir respective manual, providing for standardization and consistency in evaluation (Rogers, Bishop, Lane, 2003, p. 239; Klingbeil, 2009, p. 61). Another similarity is that both tests are easily administered either to an individual or large groups without need for special environmental or situational prerequisites for a general administration.A more significant similarity is that both tests are capable of either testing for a subject’s deviation from a population norm or for a specific trait within a subject (Churchill & Crandall, 1955, p. 345; McGhee, Ehrler, Buckhalt, 2007, p. 207). As seen from above, the similarities between the two tests are confined largely to the method of assessment and also the ease of administrating the tests. The differences however begin from the fundamentals of what the tests aim to get from the subjects and how the assessor views the responses from the subjects.The RISB aims to illicit projective responses that contains emotive and referencing ele ments from its subjects, in a situation whereby the purpose and or method of assessment is unknown (Rogers, Bishop, Lane, 2003, p. 236). The subject under those circumstances will be unable to attempt responding in favor for a particular outcome, and even if the subject attempts to respond neutrally to emulate a non-response, the indicated non-response or even a refusal to provide any input in itself is a consideration within the RISB scoring guide. The RISB however has a cut-off point to the number of omitted or ncomplete responses wherein hit or exceed would render the test voided (Rotter & Willerman, 1947, p. 45). Responses from the RISB when scored objectively as according to the manual will allow for the assessor to make an analysis based on its established baseline. Given situations whereby a deeper analysis is required, an experienced practitioner can utilize psychodynamic interpretation to individually analyze each of the response, wherein various aspects such as time taken for responses, content and even the tone or language used are taken into consideration for specific meanings or relations (Rogers, 1978, p. 137). The FFPI-C in contrast is objective in its nature whereby participants are required to fill up a questionnaire where two opposing views are place upon a single line, presenting them with five choices of appreciating either one of the views in terms of â€Å"agree† or â€Å"somewhat agree† on each side, and a â€Å"in between† selection which participants are encourage to avoid using unless if they are unsure as to how they feel about a given question(McGhee, Ehrler, Buckhalt, 2007, p. 02). The FFPI-C’s objective style of testing differs from the RISB’s projective stance in the sense that the subjects are limited to given choices of responses to specific questions. That is not to say that the FFPI-C is in any way inferior to the RISB due to the limitation of a subject’s response, but simply that the approach is fundamentally different (Masling, 1997, p. 265).The advantage in the objective testing method of the FFPI-C is that it is straight forward and that it leaves little room for abnormalities or unprecedented responses that would be beyond what the inventory encompasses. Unlike the RISB, the FFPI-C relies upon the adherence to its given guidelines when scoring, leaving only further interpretation of the results when necessary to the assessor’s discretion (McGhee, Ehrler, Buckhalt, 2007, p. 203). The FFPI-C’s objective of testing would be ideal in a situation whereby the subject is honest and sincere in answering the question.However, if the subject was to be unwilling to or has a disposition to provide for inaccurate responses, such as a child would try to answer in favor of a more positive manner to impress or conceal certain details, then the scores gathered will result in a wrong interpretation of the subject’s state (Masling, 1997, p. 264). The RISB has an upper hand in that aspect as mention previously in that it does not provide any hints on how the scoring will go or the implications of a response, thus making any form of deliberate bias or inaccurate response very difficult especially for a child.Furthermore, the RISB’s projective nature allows for the assessor to look further read into a single or a train of responses to draw relational or contextual interpretations. This will allow for picking out nuances and valuable information that would have been lost in the FFPI-C’s objective testing. To administer the FFPI-C on a larger scale, for example within a school population, would be ideal in that it may be administered and assessed on either paper or computer. The FFPI-C due to its standardized question and answer structure can be digitally scored without error, allowing for fast yielding of analysis (Masling, 1997, p. 64). The RISB however in this case is limited in its methods of assessment in the sense tha t it has to be scored by hand, with each response taken into consideration. Within a large setting such as a school population, the RISB may take much more time to be scored and there is also the possibility of the occurrence of human error in scoring the responses. As one can observe from the above points, there are pros and cons attributed to each of the tests and that each one of the tests is suited best for a specific situation.But as far as suitability for child testing goes, the RISB is shown to be the choice test to use, reason being as mentioned, there is little indication from the test structure whereby a child may determine what would be the â€Å"favorable† answer to give or pick, the response yielded from the test may contain secondary information beyond the standardized scores and the assessment method that requires for the evaluator to score each response individually will further enhance the emphasis on each input made.Much as the FFPI-C is reliable and efficie nt, it does not account for as much depth as the RISB is capable of with its utilization of psychodynamic applications. Reference Churchill, R. (1955). The reliability and validity of the rotter incomplete sentences test. Journal of consulting psychology. 19, 345-350. Klingbeil, D. , A. (2009). Test review: A review of the five factor personality inventorychildren. 35, 61-64. doi: 10. 1177/1534508408326248 Masling, J. , M. (2010). On the nature and utility of projective tests and objective tests. Journal of personality assessment. 69: 2, 257-270. McGhee, R. , L. , Ehler, D. , J. , Buckhalt, J. A. (2008). Test Reviews: Five factor personalityinventory – Children. 26:2, 202-209. doi. 10. 1177/0734282907312830 Rogers, K. , E. , Bishop, J. , Lane, R. , C. (2003). Consideration for the use of incompletesentence tests. Journal of contemporary psychotherapy. 33: 3, 235-242. Rogers, G. (1978). Content analysis of the rotter incomplete sentences blank and theprediction of behaviour ra tings. Educational and psychological measurement. 38,1135-1141. doi. 10. 1177/001316447803800434 Rotter. , J. , B. & Willerman, B. (1947). The incomplete sentences test as a method of studyingpersonality. Journal of consulting psychology. 11:1, 43-48.

Chester Company Essay

A unique and interesting problem arose when one company, a monopoly within the business-to-business (B2B) sensor market, split into six companies with identical products and equal footing within the market. As Director of Finance for Chester Company, one of the newly formed entities, it is important for me to identify a strategy that will enable the company to remain viable and be successful in the future. An in-depth analysis of the industry situation report provided good metrics to project future customer desires and total market potential. In order to be successful, the strategy that the management team develops must work within the identified parameters while attempting to predict how the other five companies in the B2B sensor market will proceed. There are only two segments of the B2B sensor market: low technology and high technology. The only product Chester Company offers currently fulfills the needs of both markets but this will change as the newly formed entities revise and develop products to meet customer needs. The high tech segment is appealing but will require continual investment in research and development to maintain the standards that customers expect. It will be easier to meet the needs of the customers within the low tech segment but there will likely be more competition for market share. 1. The strategy that I would like to see the management of Chester Company adopt over the next five years is that of â€Å"niche cost leader† (Capsim Management Simulations, 2012) for the low technology segment of the B2B sensor market and to obtain thirty-five percent of that market. This will be achieved by appealing to customers’ sense of thrift. To cut prices below the competition, management should retain the current product and not invest much in research and development. Production costs must also be greatly reduced. To do this, an early investment in automation is necessary as it will reduce labor expenses in future years which will increase the margin and profitability of the company. This investment will be financed through the issuance of stock and long term bonds. I also plan to provide the marketing department with a very generous budget in the first couple of years to aggressively target the market and increase the awareness and accessibility of the product early on. Short term borrowing will be necessary to finance operations and provide a cash cushion to prevent the need for an emergency loan. 2. There is a great chance for Chester Company to earn good profits within the low tech segment over the next five years. Although the price of the product must be kept to a minimum this will be offset by decreasing costs which increases the contribution margin. Also, there is greater demand for products in the low technology segment of the B2B sensor market which is expected to increase approximately ten percent each year. However, Chester Company shareholders may realize a loss in the first year due to the high marketing budget and cost of labor because the automation rating is low. Unfortunately, some sacrifices will need to be made early on to realize greater profits in the long term. 3. The product that is most important to the success of Chester Company is Cake; the product currently being produced. During the first year of business, this product will have the ability to appeal to customers across both segments of the B2B sensor market and will ultimately become the favored product of the low tech segment. Management will take advantage of the dual appeal of Cake in the first year by taking a portion of both the low tech and high tech markets in an attempt to retain some profitability. Ultimately, the product will be positioned so that it takes a large portion of the low tech market and will likely not take any portion of the high tech market by the fifth year. The plan that I developed focuses primarily on the success of the company for the next five years as there will be a lot of volatility in the market and further projections are impossible to make at this time. It is difficult to predict how the competitors within the B2B sensor market will be positioned which makes it essential for management to decrease costs as much as possible and increase market share within the low technology segment of the market. My advice to the rest of the management team is to avoid the appeal of developing a new product for either market early on and to avoid the high tech market altogether within the first five years because it will be difficult enough to remain profitable and succeed without squandering business assets on developing a product which will have little chance of being profitable within that timeframe.

MSc Subsea Engineering and Management Personal Statement

MSc Subsea Engineering and Management - Personal Statement Example My discipline is Civil Engineering and with appreciable grades (Grade standing 2:2). I intend to continue my education in engineering even after my B Engineering. For that purpose, I considered many fields for further education, but seeing the plethora of opportunities and better professional prospect in the field, I decided to pursue further education in Subsea Engineering. Subsea engineering is an emerging field in the 21st century, when demands for energy resources and the concerns for environmental issues have been of the top of the list. As subsea engineering deals with both of the realms, it has seen a substantial surge in the sector. The realm of subsea and subsequently its application is growing day by day. Humans’ curiosity of exploration as well as the thirst for energy resources, both have led to intensive exploration of resources of the sea globally. Booming search for Oil and Gas reservoirs under seabed has open new opportunities for Subsea engineering. Such a rapid expansion in offshore oil and gas exploration has emulated robust demand of engineers specialized in subsea operations. However, there are other sectors also, where Subsea Engineering is applied. Some of these sectors are marine biology, undersea-geology, undersea mining, and offshore wind power industries. Subsea Engineering today is mainly focused on oil and gas sector. With the passage of time, many big names of international repute are now turning their focus on energy reserves in deep beds of the sea. Similarly, research explorations on the environment and geology have also opened new avenues for the discipline of Subsea Engineering. Its high market demand and future prospects have garnered my attention. As an Engineer, I am truly fascinated about the work and life of a subsea engineer that is full of adventures and thrills peculiar to the field of engineering (Harris, 2011). As I was intended to continue my

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 8

English - Essay Example Its arguments were sound and that, in a way, a semblance of connection could be found still when the writer assumed a combative mood towards a perceived error in reporting. Given the same circumstance – wherein a report is published in a subject that I am well versed of – and that I find it offensive or erroneous, I would probably do the same. Here, one can see that the author is passionate and not a passive and somehow I identify with that kind of attitude. Rockwood writes from a personal perspective, using his own voice. He was unapologetic as he dispenses his judgment without any reservations. He criticized the editorial â€Å"Get Bullish on Wind Power† according to his own terms. He outlined his ideas connecting them with the subject of his critique. In the process, the persuasion in the tone of the entire piece does not seem to prioritize the objective to persuade. The style employed followed those statements of facts and that arguments against it would constitute either fallacy or the lack of credibility. Indeed, Rockwood cited several arguments that are supported by evidence and his own technical knowledge on the subject. In how the piece was written, there was no hope to sway the mind of the reader so that the reader comes to believe what the writer believes. The objective was to enlighten. He was merely stating what the truth was and reality and that those arguments that digress are most probably fallacious. Rockwood’s essay was meant to refute the claims, positions and suggestions put forward by an earlier article. It is a critical essay and argumentative in the sense that it advances its own perspectives. However, I found the style lacking in this context. It is supposed to address the points made by the earlier editorial but it did not do that. Instead, it cited new arguments that someone could have claimed that the essay was written as original - without any previous connections to early work - and the reader

Application Paper on Film Jerry McGuire or Dead Man Walking Movie Review

Application Paper on Film Jerry McGuire or Dead Man Walking - Movie Review Example In the movie under study, most of the characters exhibited mindless listening in several events. This can be attributed to the field that the characters are in which is sports promotion of athletes. In such fields, talking is more valued than listening because agents need to sell and to promote their clients to advertisers and other stakeholders in sports. This is productive specifically when the speaker can deliver his messages successfully. The main character, Jerry Maguire is a perfect example of a good speaker. He has 72 clients during the start of the movie which is considered as a successful feat, thus, he is one of the most important sports agents in the company. This changed when he realized that he needs to change his lifestyle. The situation where he is in can be considered to be caused by the lack of listening skills. He constantly talks in his job and that became his normal manner of communicating with other people. Lack of listening skills can lead to miscommunications a nd for Jerry Maguire lack of proper connection with other people. He always tends to speak which is considered as one of the most common examples of challenges in the process of listening.

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus - Coursework Example The RN also needs to inform the patient that he or she will take some time to adjust to the new lifestyle and that it will not be easy. However, words of encouragement will motivate the patient to live positively. Some of the factors that the RN needs to consider include the patient’s knowledge, attitude and skills. The main steps of the teaching-learning process include assessing learning needs, diagnosing the learning needs, developing a teaching plan and finally executing the plan (Hood, 2013). The RN was likely to have missed the second step. The RN did not identify the patient’s lack of knowledge regarding diabetes and poor attitude towards the disease, which were likely to obstruct the patients self-promotion of health (Hood, 2013). Some of the things that might be done differently include enlisting the patient to a support group of other patients with type 1 diabetes. In the group, the patients can share their day-to-day experiences of living with diabetes, the challenges they face and ways of overcoming these obstacles. Through the self-help group, the patient will be able to meet other people who are living healthy, productive lives with type 1 diabetes. Consequently, the patient will accept that diabetes is not the end of life and that insulin injections and blood glucose monitoring are the major ways of dealing with the

Financial Reporting and Analysis Final Group Paper UnitedHealthcare Assignment

Financial Reporting and Analysis Final Group Paper UnitedHealthcare Group - Assignment Example Moreover, a strong analysis of SWOT approach have been performed on the various internal and external dynamics and key drivers of Company to highlights its current performance and probable future position. Further, a brief content pertaining to the values, a company forwards towards its key personnel have been incorporated under the paper, along with various societal expectations & corporate cultural aspects, the entity is strictly following as its regular ethical, corporate responsibility and business conduct circle. Finally, a paper is concluded with a formal and analytic discussion over the comparative accounting performance of a company over various years of its operations, along with a brief and sustainable highlight of company’s current accounting policies incorporated under its financial statements. UnitedHealth Group, a parent company of United Healthcare,  is considered as one of the diversified and enormous company, in health care and health protection industry. The Company is situated in USA, and is currently regarded as a worldwide leader in providing various health facilitations services and plans to needful peoples, and thus, enabling them to live more healthier lives, and in addition, it also aims for the development and improvement of overall health structure and system that works more efficiently for every deserving individuals1. As the company mission statement says, helping people live healthier lives. The Group headquarter is situated in Minnetonka at Minnesota in the region of USA. It is also ranked at 14th place on  Fortune magazines, under the area of top 500 companies operating in United States on current basis. Moreover, UnitedHealth Group offers a wide spectrum of health related products and services to its customer, scattered all over different states of USA, through its two distinct functional business sectors, which includes United Healthcare and Optum2; United Healthcare is an operating segment of the group which offers

Developmental Biology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Developmental Biology - Essay Example After certain number of divisions the macromeres give rise to a pair of blastomeres termed as teloblasts M, N, Q and O/P. It is from these teloblasts that the segments of the annelid are derived in the adult. To draw our fate map we used alkaline phosphatase to help in tracing out the cell lineage of many of the adult structures. Alkaline phosphatase being naturally present in a cell and was an ideal candidate as a marker to trace out the fate map. The blastomeres were injected with high concentrations of alkaline phosphatase and then allowed to develop into their corresponding adult structures. The annelid was then bathed with a colourless substrate which coloured on reacting with alkaline phosphatase. Using this we were able to show that the blastomere A, B & C most probably develops into the ectoderm. The blastomere D though proved to be the most vital with most of the endoderm and mesoderm structures being derived from it. We also show the individual fates of each of the teloblasts and by alternating the time of injecting alkaline phosphatase we were able to deduce many vital facts about metamerisation. From our study we came to the conclusion that most probably the segments are produced from the posterior to the anterior direction and that segmentation begins at a very early stage of asymmetric cell division of the teloblasts. Introduction: The phylum Annelid consists of many species that range from the humble earthworm all the way to the maligned leech, but one common feature that binds them all is their segmented body. This segmentation is termed as Metamerism and each ring like segment is called a metamere. In fact the word Annelid is derived from the Latin word Annelis meaning rings. The Annelid body can be further bisected into two equal halves implying that the body architecture is bilaterally symmetrical. Annelids are also triplobalstic i.e. the embryo has 3 distinct germ layers namely the mesoderm, endoderm and ectoderm. It is from these 3 distinct germ layers that all the organ systems arise. The ectoderm that forms the outer layer of the embryo produces the epidermis and the nervous system, the endoderm which forms the inner most layer of the embryo gives rise to the digestive system and its related organs and sandwiched in between the two layers is the mesoderm which produces the circulatory system, muscles a nd connective tissue. As the yolk in the Annelid embryo is equally spaced out a Holoblastic cleavage pattern is seen and thus the cleavage furrow extends through the entire egg. The cleavage pattern seen in Annelids is a Spiral Cleavage which is also seen in other organisms such as sea urchins. During the first of cleavage, the embryo is divided into 4 cells each of which is called a blastomere and are labelled as A, B, C and D. All the blastomeres are of equal size except for Blastomere D which is slightly larger than the rest. The second round of cleavage produces an unequal division of 4 large blastomeres called Macromeres and 4 smaller blastomeres called Micromeres. The macromeres are labelled as A1, B1, C1, and D1 and the micromeres are labelled as a, b, c, and d. The macromeres keep on dividing to produce more macromeres and micromeres and eventually the entire organism is formed. Of special note is the D1 blastomere which further divides to

Duffy-Exploitation of Women Essay Example for Free

Duffy-Exploitation of Women Essay To what extent is Duffy a poet who exposes the exploitation of women and fights against their further oppression? In your response, you must include detailed critical discussion of Standing Female Nude and at least one other poem by Duffy. In response to the question above, I feel that Duffy is a poet who portrays the exploitation of women and does at times fights against their further oppression. In my view, simply by raising these controversial issues Duffy is drawing attention to the matter and consequently fighting against their further oppression. The title Standing Female Nude is in itself significant. Apart from sounding possibly slightly inappropriate, the title reveals the objectification of women and their position in society. The word Standing however, gives the reader the impression that the character does have some sort of empowerment, as it is usually referred to as who has a high reputation or a position in society. This is apparent later on in the poem. Duffy immediately presents the issue of the exploitation of women and in my view, as a result is fighting against their further oppression by making people aware of the problem. The poem starts six hours like this for a few francs. This shows the reader how dismissive the character is towards whatever she is doing. The fact that she is so dismissive suggests that she is being treated unjustly. The harsh alliteration few francs really emphasises how the character feels she is too good to be doing that particular job or that she is simply not being paid enough for her services. Either way, it reveals how Duffy highlights the exploitation of women by being mistreated and underpaid. In the third line of the first stanza, the poem reads he drains the colour from me. This could be either in a literal sense due to the fact someone is doing a painting of her or in a metaphorical sense in that the painter is actually taking part of her, possibly suggesting that her dignity is being taken away. The way that the character is being bossed by the male painter shows that the woman is not in control of the situation. Although, the man refers to her as Madame, which could be a sign of respect towards the character I feel however, that it could possibly be interpreted to be said in a sarcastic and condescending tone. This adds further weight to my view that Duffy is exposing the exploitation of women and is fighting against their further oppression by making the reader aware of situation and the problems that women face. The word hung in the fourth line suggests that the character is no more than a piece of meat. It implies that the female character will have very little benefit from her work compared to the artist and emphasises the inferiority and exploitation of the woman. The fact that the painter is given a name and the female character in the poem is not, insinuates that she is of no great importance and again highlights how the woman is exploited. In my opinion, this is another key point Duffy includes in the poem to reiterate the issue of womens exploitation. It is an attempt to fight against their further abuse by forcing people to think about the issue. In the first two stanzas all the negative points were directed towards the female character. However, in the third and fourth stanza Duffy completely turns it around and focuses on the painters downfalls. This is demonstrated in the third stanza when she refers to him as little man. This is a sign of empowerment on her behalf, as she exploits his sexual attraction towards her by belittling him, referring to his sexual attributes. This is another example of how Duffy possibly fights against womens further oppression. However, I can understand how some people may disagree with Duffy as her view could be seen as a generalised representation of men and thus could lead some people to draw the conclusion that her poem verges on being hypocritical. Nevertheless, I still feel that Duffy is simply exposing how women are exploited in an attempt to fight against their further oppression. The second poem I am going analyse is Whoever She Was. Like the title in the previous poem, the title Whoever She Was is significant in relation to the poems meaning. The past tense verb, was in the title implies that the character has no identity and suggests she is not the same person as she was before. This perhaps indicates that as the character has lost her identity possibly due to her exploitation. The female character in the poem is described as a flickering figure on a shilling screen. The word flickering gives off the impression that the character is not constant in the sense that a candle flutters. This gives the reader an image of something going on and off and thus not constant. This could also be interpreted as her moving back and forth between reality and past memories of her children. This gives the impression that she is defined by her role as a mother. Although, the exploitation of the women is shown in a different light and is perhaps, not as apparent as in Standing female Nude, Duffy is still exposing the exploitation of women. In the second line of the first stanza, the poem reads My hands, still wet, sprout wooden pegs. The reference to sprout wooden pegs is metaphorical in that it reveals the determined roles of women as mothers. It is a very stereotypical view of mothers and the fact that the woman is saying this emphasises how she herself is defined by these roles and has herself been exploited. The mothers exploitation is also made apparent to the reader when the poem describes how she smells the apples burning as I hang the washing out. By including this Duffy is perhaps trying to show us how the character is living her life through the past memories of her children. I believe this as the smell of burning apples is quite distinctive and this could bring back memories of when she used to cook for her children. This would underline how she has been defined by her role as a mother and not through her individual character. This shows that Duffy exposes the exploitation of women and highlights the attitudes towards mothers in an attempt to fight against their further oppression. The exploitation of the character is shown further when the poem narrates Mummy, say the little voices of the ghosts of children on the telephone. Mummy. The children are referred to as ghosts implying that they are no longer children. However, the mother still views them as children, perhaps because she has been identified by her role as a mother all her life and she considers this to be normal and true. Again, this reiterates Duffys purpose and meaning of the poem by presenting the exploitation of women to the reader, which as result opposes their further oppression. The quote in the second stanza the film is on a loop is possibly a metaphor to the characters life. The word loop indicates the repetitiveness of her life because of the fact she is always characterised by her role as a mother and nothing else. It suggests that the character is stuck in a continuous cycle and cannot let go of her duties and responsibilities of being a mother. This is again reflects her self-perception of only having worth and purpose as a mother. In my view, Duffy is trying to show the reader how the conventions and expectations of motherhood have influenced her personality and perception of herself. By doing this, Duffy is exposing the issue, possibly in an attempt to help people to understand how society has left the character to feel isolated. Consequently, Duffy is fighting against the injustices suffered by women. In the fourth stanza, Duffy deliberately mixes the narrative of the poem from first person to third person. This gives the reader the concept that the character in the poem does not know herself. Because of this, we also get the impression that the character does not have a definitive sense of identity. This is also the case for the character in Standing Female Nude as she also has no distinct identity because of what she has to do in order to survive. In my view, Duffy purposely gives the characters no definitive identity to emphasise how their character and personality has been taken away because of their exploitation. Therefore, Duffy is revealing the exploitation of women to draw attention to the issue, in an attempt to combat womens further oppression. To conclude, although some people may find Duffys poetry to be an unfair representation of men and to a certain extent be sexist, I feel that Duffy is simply trying to raise awareness of the exploitation of women. Therefore, I feel that Duffy is opposing womens further oppression. The two poems Standing Female Nude and Whoever She Was are generally quite dissimilar they do have certain aspects which are similar. For example, both characters do not have a real identity and although in very different circumstances, the two characters have been exploited. Once again, I believe that Duffy is simply a poet who exposes the exploitation of women in an attempt to help improve the situation for others.

Research on Pseudo Psychology Beliefs

Research on Pseudo Psychology Beliefs INTRODUCTION Pseudo psychology is branch under the studies of psychology. Pseudo psychology however it isn’t known for its reliability as it is not been scientifically proven to be a true. Although it isn’t scientifically proven yet, there are still a large number of people who still believe in it as it has grown to be what many people consider as a cultural phenomenon over the years. There are several forms of pseudo psychology and it can be classified into groups like astrology, phrenology, graphology and palmistry. Astrology is the study of stars, phrenology on the other hand focuses on the study of the human skull. Graphology studies the handwriting of people and finally palmistry is the study of the human palm. Over the years, horoscopes have been popularize and has become a part of people’s daily lives. Horoscope is a form of pseudo psychology as it grouped under Astrology, the study of stars. Horoscope is an astrological chart or diagram that is represented based on where the Sun, Moon, stars and planets are position. Horoscopes are divided into 12 categories like Pieces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, and Aquarius. The objective of the assignment is to find out why people believe in pseudo psychology. We selected to focus on astrology in this research is due to the familiarity of it to most students. A survey was conducted among 50 students at random within the Faculty of Social Science, Arts and Humanities. Each student were asked to answer a set of 15 questions per survey. However, there were a number of students who had to be briefed on what pseudo psychology is before proceeding with the questionnaire. Question Analysing Based on question 1, do you know about pseudo psychology, 72% of the students have answered yes whereas 28% of the students answered no. Majority of the students from FSAH know what is pseudo psychology. Based on question 2, which one of the below have you heard of, 42 students know about astrology while only 4 students know about phrenology. Majority of the students from FSAH know about astrology. Based on question 3, which one of the below are you most interested in, 80% of students answered astrology whereas 2% of student answered phrenology. Majority of the students from FSAH are more interested in astrology compared to phrenology. Based on question 4, where do you usually come across with pseudo psychology, 27 students answered social media while only 6 answered others. Majority of the students of FSAH come across with pseudo psychology when using social media. Based on question 5, on the scale of 1-10, how much do you believe in the content you have read, 38% of the students answered 5 while 2% of the students answered 1, 9 and 10 respectively. Majority of the students from FSAH think that the content they read from the mass media is only rated 5 from the scale 1 to 10 on their believes. Based on question 6, do you mostly read about positive or negative content, we have 84% of students answering positive and 16% of students answering negative. Majority of the students from FSAH read more of the positive content from the media on pseudo psychology. Positive content is when one praises another or give compliments. Examples of positive content that students might come across when reading the horoscope is that they might read about their lucky day or their secret admirer will talk to them. Negative content is when one gives discourage or disappointed content. Examples of negative content that students might come across when reading the horoscope is that they might read about their health is not really good today or reading about having a misunderstanding with friends. Based on question 7, how often do you come across with pseudo psychology, we have 36% of students answering once a month and only 10% of students answering everyday. Majority of the students from FSAH come across pseudo psychology once a month. Based on question 8, do you know the sign that you were born under, we have 88% of students answering yes and only 12% students answering no. Majority of the students from FSAH know the sign that they were born under. Based on question 9, do you agree that the characteristics associated with the sign accurately reflects your personality, we have 58% of students answering partly and 8% which is 4 answering no and another 8% which is 4 answering don’t know. Majority of the students from FSAH agree that the characteristics associated with the sign accurately reflects their personality. Based on question 10, do you read the horoscope columns in the newspapers, we have 86% of students answering yes and 14% of students answering no. Majority of the students from FSAH read the horoscope columns in the newspapers. Based on question 11, if you read your horoscope, which one of the following would you associate with doing so, there are 36 students chose for fun and only 1 student chose others. Majority of the students from FSAH read their horoscope because they think it is fun. Based on question 12, have you ever taken a horoscope quiz online, 60% of students answered yes whereas 40% of students answered no. Majority of the students from FSAH have taken a horoscope quiz online. Based on question 13, have you ever purchased any books or magazines related to horoscope, 60% of students answered no whereas 40% of students answered yes. Majority of the students from FSAH have not purchased any books or magazines related to horoscope. Based on question 14, if you are in a relationship, will you find out the signs of the people you are dating, 66% of the students answered yes while 34% answered no. Majority of the students from FSAH will find out the signs of the people they are dating. Based on question 1, on the scale of 1-10, how much has pseudo psychology made an impact in your life, 28% of the students answered 5 and none answered 9. Majority of the students from FSAH rated 5 on the scale of one to ten on how much has pseudo psychology made an impact in their lives. CONCLUSION Based on the research conducted, we are able to understand that a lot of students from the Faculty of Social Science and Humanities are aware of what pseudo psychology is, especially like astrology. We can also see that they choose to expose themselves to pseudo psychology through the media like the newspaper or when taking a quiz about it online; it is a voluntary action. However, we are able to conclude that a vast majority who are expose to it often tend to focus only on the positive information. This is similar form of confirmation bias, where if someone’s horoscope says that they’ll have horrible luck that day, they forget about it and choose to not believe it. However if the information shows that they’d be having good luck that day, they’d say that horoscopes really works. We can also see that the media plays a role at influencing pseudo psychology. To those who knew what pseudo psychology is, it is due to media exposure on pseudo psychology. Pseudo psychology can be found in a number of media like the newspaper, magazine, Internet, phone applications and more. This helps reinforce the fact that the media does play a role in influencing people. Based on the research, there are more than half that believe and strongly believe in pseudo psychology. It is possible that majority of students from FSAH agrees that pseudo psychology does make an impact in their lives. Hence, with the majority of the ones who heard about pseudo psychology and the higher values on the scale resulting from questions 5 and 15, we can safely deduce that people from FSAH are more inclined to believe the content that they are expose to; therefore making it possible to conclude that they do believe in pseudo psychology even though it is yet to be scientifically proven. Reference Martyn Shuttleworth(Jul 5, 2008). Survey Research Design. Retrieved Nov 22, 2014 from Explorable.com:https://explorable.com/survey-research-design Coon, D. Mitterer, J.O. (2007) Introduction to psychology. (11th ed.) Thompson/Wadsworth Kelly, Why Astrology Doesn’t Work, Psychological Reports, 82, 1998, pp. 527-546. Retrived from:http://www.karenmoulton.com/astrologysite/article3.htm Paul R. T., (1978). Why Astrology is a Pseudoscience.PSA: Proceedings of the Biennial Meeting of the Philosophy of Science Association, Volume one, Page 223-234. Retrived from: http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/192639?uid=3738672uid=2134uid=2uid=70uid=4sid=21105285037323 I. W. Kelly, Modern Astrology: A Critique, Psychological Reports, 81, 1997, pp. 1035-1066. Retrived from:http://www.karenmoulton.com/astrologysite/article3.htm