The Lightning Thief and References to Greek Mythology

'The Lightning Thief' and References to Greek Mythology Rick Riordans The Lightning Thief (the first volume of Riordans Percy Jackson and the Olympians series) mentions many names familiar from Greek mythology. Here youll find further information on the explicit mythological references and some more subtle mythological allusions. The order of the list below attempts to follow the sequence of mentions in the book as well as Riordans other references to Greek mythology. The Book Series The Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series consist of five books by author Rick Riordan. The first book, The Lightning Thief, focuses on Percy Jackson, who is about to get kicked out of boarding school for the second time. Mythological monsters and gods are after him and he only has ten days to rectify what they want from him.  In the second book, The Sea of Monsters, Percy finds trouble at Camp Half-Blood where mythological monsters are back. In order to save the camp and keep it from being destroyed, Percy needs to gather his friends.   The third book,  The Titans Curse, has Percy and his friends looking to see what happened to the goddess Artemis, who went missing and is believed to have been kidnapped.  They need to solve the mystery and save Artemis before the winter solstice. In the fourth book, The Battle of the Labyrinth, the war between the Olympians and Titan lord Kronos grows stronger as Camp Half-Blood becomes more vulnerable. Percy and his friends have to go on a quest in this adventure. In the fifth and final installment of the series, The Last Olympian  focuses on the half-bloods preparing for the war against the Titans. Knowing it is an uphill battle, the thrill is strong to see who will reign more powerful. About the Author Rick Riordan is most known for the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series but has also written the Kane Chronicles and the Heroes of Olympus. He is a #1 New York Times bestselling author and has won multiple awards for the mystery series for adults known as Tres Navarre. Mythological References KronosTitansZeus/JupiterTitanomachyFatesHadesMinotaurHerculesChironPegasusHeraApolloNymphsDionysusAphrodite/VenusPrometheusCentaurUnderworldHermesAresOracleNaiadsAthenaDemeterPoseidonLaurelHephaestusArtemisCerberusNemesisCyclopsTrojan WarCirceHydraPythonMaiaJasonMt. EtnaIliadGolden AgeGorgonsPanShower of GoldNemean LionZephyrChimeraIrisCupidArachneArachneAresArtemisAphrodite/VenusApolloAsphodel FieldsAthenaCentaurCerberusCharonChimeraChironCirceCupidCyclopsDemeterDionysusElysian FieldsEtnaFatesGolden AgeGorgonsHeraHadesHarpiesHeraHephaestusHerculesHermesHydraIliadIrisJasonJupiter/ZeusKronosLaurelLotusOracleMaiaMinotaur9 MusesMt. EtnaNaiadsNemean LionNemesisNereidNymphsPanPegasusPersephonePoseidonPrometheusPythonShower of GoldSisyphusTitanomachyTitansTrojan WarUnderworldUnderworld Judges - MinosVenus/AphroditeZephyrZeus/JupiterLotusNereidCharonAsphodel FieldsElysian FieldsDemeter9 MusesHarpiesAndromedaAntaeusBulls of ColchisCadmusCalypsoDryadsEurytionGanymedeGeryonGraeaeJanusLaistrygo nians Mt. OthrysPeleusPolyphemus

Diploid Cell Definition and Example

Diploid Cell Definition and Example A diploid cell is a cell that contains two sets of chromosomes. This is double the haploid chromosome number. Each pair of chromosomes in a diploid cell is considered to be one  homologous chromosome  set. A single chromosome set consists of two chromosomes, one of which is donated from the mother and the other from the father. Humans have 23 sets of homologous chromosomes. Paired sex chromosomes are the (X and Y) homologues in males and the (X and X) homologues in females. The somatic cells in your body are diploid cells. Somatic cells include all of the cell types of the body, except for the gametes or sex cells. Gametes are haploid cells. During sexual reproduction, gametes (sperm and egg cells) fuse at fertilization to form a diploid zygote. The zygote develops into a diploid organism. Diploid Chromosome Number The diploid chromosome number of a cell is the number of chromosomes in the cell nucleus. This number is commonly abbreviated as 2n, where n stands for the number of chromosomes. For humans, this equation would be 2n46. Humans have 2 sets of 23 chromosomes for a total of 46 chromosomes. Autosomal chromosomes (non-sex chromosomes): 22 sets of 2Sex chromosomes: 1 set of 2 The diploid chromosome number varies depending on the organism with most containing between 10 and 50 chromosomes per cell. Examples of organisms and their diploid chromosome numbers include: Organism Diploid Chromosome Number (2n) E.coli Bacterium 1 Mosquito 6 Lily 24 Frog 26 Humans 46 Turkey 82 Shrimp 254 Diploid Cell Reproduction Diploid cells reproduce by the process of mitosis. In mitosis, a cell makes an identical copy of itself allowing its DNA to be replicated and distributed equally between two daughter cells. Somatic cells go through the mitotic cell cycle, while gametes are reproduced by meiosis. In the meiotic cell cycle, four daughter cells are produced instead of two. These cells are haploid containing half the number of chromosomes as the original cell. Polyploid and Aneuploid Cells The term ploidy refers to the number of chromosome sets found in a cells nucleus. Chromosome sets in diploid cells occur in pairs, while haploid cells contain half the number of chromosomes as a diploid cell. A cell that is polyploid has extra sets of homologous chromosomes. The genome in this type of cell contains three or more haploid sets. For example, a cell that is triploid has three haploid chromosome sets and a cell that is tetraploid has four haploid chromosomes sets. A cell that is aneuploid contains an abnormal number of chromosomes. It may have extra or missing chromosomes or may have a chromosome number that is not a multiple of the haploid number. Aneuploidy occurs as a result of chromosome mutation that happens during cell division. Homologous chromosomes fail to separate correctly resulting in daughter cells with either too many or not enough chromosomes. Diploid and Haploid Life Cycles Most plant and animal tissues consist of diploid cells. In multicellular animals, organisms are typically diploid for their entire life cycles. Plant multicellular organisms, such as flowering plants, have life cycles that vacillate between periods of a diploid stage and a haploid stage. Known as alternation of generations, this type of life cycle is exhibited in both non-vascular plants and vascular plants. In liverworts and mosses, the haploid phase is the primary phase of the life cycle. In flowering plants and gymnosperms, the diploid phase is the primary phase and the haploid phase is totally dependent upon the diploid generation for survival. Other organisms, such as fungi and algae, spend the majority of their life cycles as haploid organisms that reproduce by spores. Key Points Diploid cells are cells with two sets of chromosomes. They have twice the chromosome number of haploid cells.Somatic cells (body cells excluding sex cells) are examples of diploid cells.The diploid chromosome number is the number of chromosomes within a cells nucleus.The diploid chromosome number is represented as 2n and varies among different organisms.A diploid cell replicates by mitosis and preserves the diploid chromosome number by making identical copies of its chromosomes and distributing them equally between two daughter cells.Animal organisms are typically diploid for the entirety of their life cycles.Plant life cycles alternate between diploid and haploid stages.

Introduction To Stoichiometry

Introduction To Stoichiometry One of the most important parts of chemistry is stoichiometry. Stoichiometry is the study of the quantities of reactants and products in a chemical reaction. The word comes from the Greek  words:  stoicheion  (element) and  metron  (measure). Sometimes youll see stoichiometry covered by another name: mass relations. Its a more easily pronounced way of saying the same thing. Stoichiometry Basics Mass relations are based on three important laws. If you keep these laws in mind, youll be able to make valid predictions and calculations for a chemical reaction. Law of Conservation of Mass - mass of the products equals the mass of the reactantsLaw of Multiple Proportions - the mass of one element combines with a fixed mass of another element in a ratio of whole numbersLaw of Constant Composition - all samples of a given chemical compound have the same elemental composition Common Stoichiometry Concepts and Problems The quantities in stoichiometry problems  are expressed in atoms, grams, moles, and units of volume, which means you need to be comfortable with unit conversions and basic math. To work mass-mass relations, you need to know how to write and balance chemical equations.  Youll need a calculator and a periodic table. Heres information you need to understand before you start work with stoichiometry: How the Periodic Table WorksWhat a Mole IsUnit Conversions (Worked Examples)Convert Grams To Moles (Step By Step Instructions) A typical problem gives you an equation, asks you to balance it, and to determine the amount of reactant or product under certain conditions. For example, you may be given the following chemical equation: 2 A 2 B → 3 C and asked, if you have 15 grams of A, how much C can you expect from the reaction if it goes to completion? This would a be a mass-mass question. Other typical problem types are molar ratios, limiting reactant, and theoretical yield calculations. Why Stoichiometry Is Important You cant understand chemistry without grasping the basics of stoichiometry because it helps you predict how much of a reactant participates in a chemical reaction, how much product youll get, and how much reactant might be left over. Tutorials and Worked Example Problems From here, you can explore specific stoichiometry topics: How To Balance EquationsExample of Balancing an EquationUnderstanding Molar RatiosHow To Find the Limiting ReactantHow To Calculate Theoretical Yield Quiz Yourself Do you think you understand stoichiometry? Test yourself with this quick quiz.

Pros and cons of outsourcing Human Resource Managment Functions Research Paper

Pros and cons of outsourcing Human Resource Managment Functions - Research Paper Example Organizations turn to outsourcing to slash their operational costs and improve financial position. Human resource outsourcing aims at reducing expenses by relegating official work to countries that provide HRM services at the fraction of what a company will pay at its home base (Ivancevich, 2004). European and North American companies are the main proponents of HRM outsourcing as they face the biggest challenge of financial constraints and relatively high turnover rates, despite the increasing recession. The top management finds it much easier to transfer the employee hiring and management duties to an outside vendor that might have its operational base in some other country or region. The basic function of a HRM vendor is to recruit and manage employees while freeing the client of this daunting task. The company can divert its attention to improving its financial performance or introducing new technology or working procedures, among other things. The less pressure on the client company over the management of employees and the associated financial burdens, thus, results in a better performance and greater efficiency (Mullins, 2007). The critics of HRM outsourcing, however, opine that divesting the employee management system to an outsider vendor can damage the reputation of a company. Additionally, it can also result in a breach of privacy as the outside vendor can delve deeper into the company procedure and hand it over to a rival company. They also say that transferring the salary and other accounting system to an outsider company might pave way for financial embezzlement, among other things. The biggest advantage of HRM outsourcing is the relative financial improvement and increased efficiency of a company. Human resource issues consume a lot of money, energy, and time of a company management as they get involved in the employees’ matters and waste their precious time that they can use in matters that are more useful. Along with the wastage of

Why does science matter to a democratic society Essay

Why does science matter to a democratic society - Essay Example Firstly, this form of punishment is a protective measure. For the safety of the inmates and other people in the facility, there is need to isolate people who are a threat to human life. Therefore, when a person is isolated from other inmates, the inmates’ safety is not jeopardized. Similarly, some inmates tend to have a conflict with a single inmate. This may be due to personal grudges and misunderstanding. Therefore, for the safety of such a person, solitary confinement is a prudent approach. Secondly, this type of punishment is used to limit any illegal or criminal activities. For instance, some inmates have communication avenues whilst in the prison. This communication is crucial as it facilitates criminal activities inside the facility. In some bizarre cases, inmates facilitate criminal activities outside the facility. When the inmates are noted to facilitate such activities, they are isolated from the other inmates. Apparently, this is a prudent approach to the situation. As a fact, the other inmates will not be coerced into joining the criminal gangs. Thirdly, solitary confinement is effective when the people in control are on a suicide watch. It is noted that some people exhibit suicidal behavior. For instance, Evan shot himself twice while on probation (Zennie 1). Similarly, the inmate can commit murder before committing suicide. To substantiate such behavior, the inmate is isolated from the other inmates. This may save the life of the inmate, as there will be a closer focus. Though some people are in support of solitary confinement, some people find it inappropriate. For instance, in the Daily Mail article, there are allegations that solitary confinement may have affected the behavior of attorney’s son. First, it is stated that people need a social life. This is where people interact with others, make friends,

Science Adventures with Children’s Literature Essay Example for Free

Science Adventures with Children’s Literature Essay The goal of using a double entry journal strategy in a multicultural and diverse skill based student population brings in theory great benefit to all students. The chance to learn form fellow students that have diverse talents may lead to greater motivation for all students and the opportunity to have skills outside of reading and writing to be identified and valued in the classroom is another method to bring a sense of achievement to all students regardless of their literacy ability. The text demonstrates a dynamic system based on student group activities that allow the strengths of some students to be highlighted and to be a benefit to other students in the group while all students are active participants (text, pp 50 – 52). This approach is similar in theory to that discussed in Fredericks (1998 p 43) where teachers used group activities that included the procedure of writing a draft of the report, followed by discussion amongst the group and a final version of the report written by all members of the group. It was thought that this approach allows students of lower literacy to learn from the activities and from their fellow students in a buddy system (Fredericks, 1998 p 52). Another philosophy reviewed by Gambrell et al, 1995 p 119) highlighted the benefit of using a group setting with double entry journal writing to give all students a sense of achievement which can aid in raising their motivation for reading and writing. This paper (text, pp 50 – 51) provides an ideal system which has great relevance to my student teaching experiences in an inner New York City public school, first grade class setting which includes a multicultural student population and great diversity in literacy. The paper (text, p 52) demonstrated the need to manage potential behavioral problems quickly before they have a negative impact. From my experience this is perhaps one of the most difficult things to accomplish. Students frustrated by their lack of success with reading and writing often prove unpredictable in when their disruptive behavior may manifest itself. The use of students’ talents in a diverse way as discussed in the text (p 51) is similar to an experience I had in the classroom where a student who had profound reading difficulty showed a positive response to having her drawing skills praised in front of the rest of the class. The opportunities I have had to observe different classrooms which have applied the practical approach of double entry journal writing have found overall positive results for the students. The chance to revise and edit their writing in a group setting brought a sense of achievement to the highly skilled readers and writers in the group and allowed a non-threatening way in which the students with lower levels of achievement in reading and writing can learn from their fellow students. However, I also observed in an active class setting the disruption and complete failure of a lesson where problem behaviors by two of the students led to the lesson having to be abandoned. In this situation the freedom of the practical small group approach led to two students finding it difficult to stay focused on the task and this led to disruptive behaviors that made continuing with this type of lesson impossible for that teacher. This observation led me to realize that the early intervention of potential problem behaviors is critical to the success of group based activities. References Fredericks, A. D. (1998). Science Adventures with Children’s Literature: A Thematic Approach. Teacher Ideas Press, CT. Gambrell, L. B. , Mazzoni, A. and Almasi, J. F. (1995). Engaging Young Readers: Promoting Achievement and Motivation. Baker, L. , Dreher, M. J. and Guthrie, J. (Eds. ) Gulford Press, N. Y. Textbook Chapter 2: Diversity in the multicultural classroom. Pp 50-52.

Invisible Man Essay: Importance of Setting -- Invisible Man Essays

The Importance of Setting in Invisible Man      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Liberty Paint Factory in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man provides the setting for a very significant chain of events in the novel.   In addition, it provides many symbols which will influence a reader's interpretation.   Some of those symbols are associated with the structure itself, with Mr. Kimbro, and with Mr. Lucius Brockway.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first of many instances in these scenes that concern the invisible man and the symbolic role of white and black in the novel is when the narrator is sent to the paint factory by the young Mr. Emerson to try to find a job.   Mr. Emerson, however, only sends him out of pity.   The narrator arrives and immediately notices the huge electric sign that reads "KEEP AMERICA PURE WITH LIBERTY PAINTS".   Later on, the reader will learn that Liberty Paint is famous for its white paint called none other than "Optic White".   In effect, the sign advertises to keep America pure with whites and not just white paint.   Next, the invisible man must walk down a long, pure white hallway.   At this time he is a black man symbolically immersed in a white world, a recurring idea of the novel.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After receiving his job, the narrator goes to meet Mr. Kimbro.   In this scene, Kimbro teaches the narrator how to make the ordinary white paint into "Optic White":   Ten drops of a black formula must be mixed in to the white paint, of which the surface is already brown.   The narrator does not understand this, and inquires about it, only to be insulted by Mr. Kimbro.   Mr. Kimbro, in no way what so ever, wants any of his workers to think.   He just wants them to obey.   So the invisible man, although still unable to comprehend this idios... ...d Mr. Lucius Brockway all help portray this image to its fullest, while contributing to the rest of the novel.    Works Cited and Consulted Bellow, Saul. "Man Underground" Review of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Commentary. June 1952. 1st December 2001 Available: http://www.english.upeen.edu/~afilreis /50s/bellow-on-ellison.html Ellison, Ralph. Going to the Territory. New York: Random House, 1986. Fabre, Michel. "In Ralph Ellison's Precious Words." Unpublished Manuscript. 1996. 30 November. <http://www.igc.org/dissent/archive/ Ellison/early.html Howe, Irving. "Review of: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man" Pub. The Nation. 10 May 1952. 30 November 1999. <http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/howe-on-ellison.html. O'Meally, Robert, ed. New Essays on Invisible Man. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.       Invisible Man Essay: Importance of Setting -- Invisible Man Essays The Importance of Setting in Invisible Man      Ã‚  Ã‚   The Liberty Paint Factory in Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man provides the setting for a very significant chain of events in the novel.   In addition, it provides many symbols which will influence a reader's interpretation.   Some of those symbols are associated with the structure itself, with Mr. Kimbro, and with Mr. Lucius Brockway.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first of many instances in these scenes that concern the invisible man and the symbolic role of white and black in the novel is when the narrator is sent to the paint factory by the young Mr. Emerson to try to find a job.   Mr. Emerson, however, only sends him out of pity.   The narrator arrives and immediately notices the huge electric sign that reads "KEEP AMERICA PURE WITH LIBERTY PAINTS".   Later on, the reader will learn that Liberty Paint is famous for its white paint called none other than "Optic White".   In effect, the sign advertises to keep America pure with whites and not just white paint.   Next, the invisible man must walk down a long, pure white hallway.   At this time he is a black man symbolically immersed in a white world, a recurring idea of the novel.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   After receiving his job, the narrator goes to meet Mr. Kimbro.   In this scene, Kimbro teaches the narrator how to make the ordinary white paint into "Optic White":   Ten drops of a black formula must be mixed in to the white paint, of which the surface is already brown.   The narrator does not understand this, and inquires about it, only to be insulted by Mr. Kimbro.   Mr. Kimbro, in no way what so ever, wants any of his workers to think.   He just wants them to obey.   So the invisible man, although still unable to comprehend this idios... ...d Mr. Lucius Brockway all help portray this image to its fullest, while contributing to the rest of the novel.    Works Cited and Consulted Bellow, Saul. "Man Underground" Review of Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man. Commentary. June 1952. 1st December 2001 Available: http://www.english.upeen.edu/~afilreis /50s/bellow-on-ellison.html Ellison, Ralph. Going to the Territory. New York: Random House, 1986. Fabre, Michel. "In Ralph Ellison's Precious Words." Unpublished Manuscript. 1996. 30 November. <http://www.igc.org/dissent/archive/ Ellison/early.html Howe, Irving. "Review of: Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man" Pub. The Nation. 10 May 1952. 30 November 1999. <http://www.english.upenn.edu/~afilreis/50s/howe-on-ellison.html. O'Meally, Robert, ed. New Essays on Invisible Man. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press, 1988.      

Classic Airlines and Marketing-Mkt 571

Classic Airlines and Marketing WK 1 MKT 571 University of Phoenix Classic Airlines is the fifth largest airline carrier in the world with 375 airplanes that service 240 cities with more than2,300 flights each day. Since its inception 25 years ago, Classic Airlines has more than32,000 employees. Last year the company had a net income of 10 million dollars (Classic Airlines, 2010). Current challenges Although the company is making a good profit, it has also encountered some major challenges. The downturn in the economy has caused net income to decrease. This year the company had a net income of $10 million, however; the previous year had a net incomeof $71 million. The company has experienceda 10% decrease in share prices. Classic Airlines has the highest labor cost in the industry (Classic Airlines, 2010). These challenges has caused employee morale to hit an all time low. Classic Airlines is in the process of solving their current challenges and evaluating their current position in the marketplace. Product and services marketed and marketing concepts Classic Airlines needs to have the netprofit increase each year. This can be accomplished by developing an effective marking plan. The marketing plan should be centered on increasing passenger activity by rewarding its current customers and enticing new customers. The marketing plan should select potential markets and getting, keeping, and growing new customers by delivering superior customer value (Kotler & Keller, 2006). Classic Airlines should continue performing customer surveys. Through these surveys the company can obtain valuableinformation on how to keep existing customers and obtain new ones. These surveys can be a tool that can assist Classic Airlines implement their new marketing plan. Through these surveys the company and determine what services should be offered. Current corporate culture Classic Airlines has a mixed culture. They pay their employees top salaries,while competitors are cutting pay to employees. The company has one of the best retirement plans in the industry. However, the company plans a 15% across-the-board cost reduction over the next 18 months. Employee morale is lowest in the company's history. Conclusion Classic Airlines has some major challenges including a $61 million dollar decrease in net profit, 10% decrease in share prices, a downturn in the economy, and a need to reduce costs by 15% over the next 18 months. The company markets a frequent flier program to increase business and reward its loyal customers. The company needs to update the current rewards program. The corporate culture has been impacted by the lowest employee morale in the company's history. The company is in the process of solving their current challenges and evaluating their current position in the marketplace. References Classic Airline Scenario: Classic Airlines (2010). Retrieved March 12, 2010 from the University of Phoenix MKT/571 Management Web site: https://myresource. phoenix. edusecure/resource Hansen, R. (2010). Uncovering a company's corporate culture is a critical task for job-seekers. Retrieved on March 12, 2010 from: http://www. quintcareers. com/employer_corporate_culture. html Kotler, P. & Keller, K. ((2007). A Framework for Marketing Management (3th edition). Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey Robbins, S. (2007) Organizational Behavior (12th Edition). Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey

Marketing Mix Netflix Essay

Marketing is a very complex concept that involves a detailed process. The types of strategies for marketing focus on a target audience and are directly related to what is known as the 4 P’s of the Marketing Mix. The Marketing Mix has been defined by many as the controllable variables a company puts together to satisfy its target market†¦ If any parts of a Marketing Mix get out of balance, the target market will be insufficiently served. This model of the Marketing Mix was first introduced by Neil Borden when he published his 1964 article, â€Å"The Concept of the Marketing Mix.† Borden had first started using the phrase in 1949 and claimed that it came to him while reading a book by James Culliton on the activities of a business executive (netmba.com, 2009). The 4 P’s that the Marketing Mix consists of are product, place, promotion, and price. The term product refers to tangible, physical products, as well as to services. A lot of thought and preliminary research goes into the type of product a company will manufacture, including product specifications, design, and production of the unit. The biggest concern for a business is that they are able to introduce their product at the appropriate time, when the consumer’s needs are greatest. A product will generally go through a life cycle, much like a human life cycle, consisting of four different stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. After the developmental period, a product is introduced or launched into the market. At this stage, the need for immediate profit is not a pressure; the product is promoted to create awareness. In the growth stage, competitors are attracted into the market with very similar offerings. Products become more profitable and companies may form alliances, joint ventures, or take each other over. The money spent on advertising is high and its focus is on building brand recognition. In the maturity stage, sales will grow at a decreasing rate and then stabilize. Producers will try to differentiate products and brands, while price wars and intense competition will occur. At the decline stage, there is a downturn in the market where there is intense price-cutting and many more products are withdrawn from the market. Profits can be improved by reducing the amount spent on marketing and product promotion. However, very few products follow such a prescriptive cycle. The length of each stage  varies enormously and not all products will go through all stages (Lamb, Hair, & McDaniel, 2005). Place represents the location where a product can be purchased. It is often referred to as the distribution channel. It can include any physical store as well as virtual stores on the Internet. Place is also an important part of marketing. The product or service needs to be accessible to customers, especially its target market. Often times there are no need for an actual store location, as many very successful companies offer just online services or products. In these instances, products or services are much more convenient and cheaper to the customer because of the lower overhead costs. Promotion represents all of the communications that a marketer may insert into the marketplace. This can include TV, radio, and print advertising, as well as coupons, direct mail, billboards, and online advertising. Often times we think of marketing as just the promotion or sales part, but the other 3 factors are often times just as important, if not more important. Promotion is the advertising of the actual product or service. One must consider who the audience is and what the best way is to target them. This could include television advertisements, radio advertisements, mailing and so on. There is no one best way to advertise, it really depends on the product and its audience. This is a very important aspect of marketing, and often times a good or bad promotional campaign can make or break a product or service (Perreault, Jr. & McCarthy,2005). The final P in the marketing mix is Pricing, which is the most difficult element to determine. A Company’s requirement for net income and its objectives for long-term market control mostly influence a pricing strategy. In addition to the primary goal of making money, a company can have many different pricing objectives and strategies. Larger companies may utilize product pricing in a predatory or defensive fashion, to attack or defend against a competitor. If a product is of premium quality and has unique features and benefits, a premium price may be necessary to reinforce the premium brand image. High prices confirm perceptions of high values in consumer minds. A good pricing strategy will also indicate guidelines for  action in the case of price increases or decreases (managementhelp.com, 2009). A company may want to consider temporarily delaying necessary price increases driven by supplier and ingredient price increases, and instead, take affordable, smaller profit margins. If competitors are increasing prices and one company decided not to, this could be a temporary advantage for that company since sales volume may increase. To set the best price for a product, a company will need to review the essentials of their business with an eye as to how they will affect price. A company must know their customer base, because the better a company understands the wants, needs, beliefs, and values of its’ customers, the easier it will be to accurately price their product. A company will then need to assess their competition and see how their product relates to those similar offerings. Next, a company will need to determine their production costs and develop a marketing plan, both for short and long-term. Distribution costs must be factored into the final price of the product, as well. Once these elements are considered, a pricing strategy can be more easily determined. One very successful company that utilizes the 4 Ps of marketing extremely well is Netflix. The company almost singlehandedly brought its competitors to their knees. These companies, including Blockbuster have since recovered and began offering a similar service, but Netflix had the marketing plan in place and rolled it out so efficiently that it really caught its competitors by surprise. Netflix is a little tricky when it comes to the product. It offers the service of movie rentals, but in a more convenient way than the traditional movie rental stores such as Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. In 1999, Netflix came up with an online movie subscription with no late fees. This gave people the convenience of receiving the movies they wanted to see right in their mailbox. No longer did you have to search through the isle for a movie that was already rented out. Netflix does not offer a place where a customer can come pickup his or her  order, instead everything gets conveniently shipped to each customer via United States Postal Service. This makes it convenient for just about anyone to use because there does not have to be a local store or shipping location around. Customers are able to place orders right online, which is a convenient and private way to pick the DVDs that they desire to view. The promotion of Netflix was primarily done through television advertisements. They targeted television watchers, who for the most part also watch movies. Their catchy marketing claimed â€Å"No Due Dates and No late Fees,† which was very appealing to consumers who were tired of paying late fees with their current movie rental stores (Netflix, 2009). It also offered the convenience of â€Å"No shipping or handling charges,† which made it just as competitive as the other places. The prices that Netflix charges its customers are very competitive to the current market of DVD rentals. They have different options to suit different needs. According to their website, they have a plan starting as low as only $4.99 per month. This plan allows viewing of up to 5 movies. For customers who want to watch more movies per month, they offer other plans also, such as the $17.99 a month plan that allows 3 movies to be out at a time. Once one movie is returned, another is sent out in its place. These different plans offer a wide variety of choices to fit different budgets. Marketing is an important element for any business. By analyzing the four Ps of product, price, place, and promotion, an organization can achieve a successful marketing campaign. Whether the business is a small mom and pop organization or a major corporation, marketing can play an important role in its success. Understanding the marketing mix will put an organization on the road toward success and profitability. References http://www.netmba.com/marketing/mix/. Retrieved June 8, 2009. http://www.managementhelp.org/mrktng/pricing/pricing.htm. Retrieved June 5, 2009. Lamb, Charles W., Hair, Joseph F., & McDaniel, Carl. (2005). Essentials of Marketing (4th ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western. Perreault, Jr., William D., & McCarthy, E. Jerome. (2005). Basic Marketing (15th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, Irwin. http://ir.netflix.com/. Retrieved June 6, 2009.

ACT Score All Questions Are Analytical

The Secret to Getting a Perfect SAT / ACT Score All Questions Are Analytical SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips It seems obvious that each ACT / SAT question must have exactly one answer, and this answer must be clearly and objectively correct. However, as we’ll explain below, that simple fact alone disqualifies vast swaths of reasonable questions that you otherwise see in everyday tests at school. This obvious fact also leads to a little-known secret that, when applied correctly, guarantees the cracking of each question.You don’t have to trust me read through this guide and ask any perfect or near-perfect scorer. They’ll agree on the secret. The premise is simple. Each ACT / SAT question must have exactly one right answer. This seems obvious enough after all doesn’t every multiple choice question have one right answer? It turns out that most multiple choice questions you’ve seen in life have relatively lax standards. Suppose your science teacher, Mr. Smith, gave you a multiple-choice quiz last week. Those multiple-choice questions are the same as those of the SAT / ACT right? Absolutely not! Mr. Smith is allowed to write imperfect questions. If there are two right answers, Mr. Smith will give some credit back. In the worst case, some students will have inaccurate scores. What if choice B is only a little more correct than choice C, and you put down C? Tough luck this question only counts for 2% of your grade anyway. A few bad questions a month is part of life. In short, the multiple-choice questions you are used to in school have much wider tolerances for error and fuzziness because they matter less in your academic career. Why the SAT / ACT Can't Tolerate Any Question Mistakes The ACT / SAT is a totally different ball game, a totally different league. The writers have to make a test that contains hundreds of questions, yet they can't make a single mistake. Not a single one of their questions can have two right answers or no right answers.Each question must have one right answer that stands objectively and clearly above all the other answers. This means that, if you put each question in front of 100 experts, all of must answer it exactly the same way, without any doubt. What happens if the SAT or ACT makes a mistake? The consequences would be tremendous. Many students on the margin would lose their scholarships. Students would literally lose their deserved acceptances to their dream colleges a product that the average family pays five to six digits for. Colleges who obsess about assembling the dream class would be going off flawed data. The truth is, the stakes are super high with the SAT / ACT, so there is no margin for error. Of course, the pain isn’t just to students and colleges it gets transmitted to the test makers as well. Even a few mistakes a year results in scandals (see the June 2015 SAT blowup over â€Å"just† 5 minutes timing difference). Both students and colleges will stop using the error-prone test. And, to kick it off, these mistakes have resulted in lawsuits that have cost the ACT / SAT hundreds of thousands of dollars to battle. Therefore, neither test can tolerate any chance of two right answers, no right answer, or any other question mistake. Why Each SAT / ACT Question Must Have One Very Clear Answer The ACT / SAT is also not allowed to have unclear answers or answers that rely on fuzzy reasoning. Suppose an ACT science question asked: How many planets are there in the solar system? A) 8; B) 9 †¦ It seems that the answer is pretty clear most scientists would say A) 8. But this level of clarity is not good enough for the ACT.Very recently we had nine planets, so some educators might argue that students who put down nine are answering as they’ve been taught and should be given credit; these educators would have a good argument. Other fringe scientists may not accept the consensus and argue that nine is still right. Also, the ACT runs the risk of a new planet being discovered between publication and test date. If two answers are close to each other in how good they are, this creates headaches for the test makers.First, the test makersmight make a mistaken judgment call and claim the slightly worse answer is the right one this leads to the horror show above. Another scenario is more insidious: it affects students who put down the â€Å"less good† answer but are at the cusp of a big prize. Maybe the student is right at the cutoff of a sports recruitment or a huge scholarship. She would be hugely incentivized to get the test to accept her answer as correct. In fact, many students do cause an administrative or legal headache for the ACT / SAT by making a fuss. With that environment in mind, you hopefully have a better understanding as to why the ACT / SAT can afford zero mistakes on the test. You should also understand why their multiple-choice questions can’t have a best answer that is just 20% better than the next choice. Now we’ll discuss how we can use this information to your bestadvantage. Every SAT/ACT question has exactly one correctanswer, and, once you learn this method, that correct answer will look very different from all the other options. Three Ways to Think About Having One Very Clear Answer OK, the SAT / ACT has to have one very clear answer that’s a little theoretical. How canyou think about the degree of clarity in a way that will help you on the test? For my students, I’ve come up with three rules that illustrate what â€Å"very clear† means. These rules get at the same single, central idea from three different directions. You should make note ofthese three rules to remind yourself on the test what clarity means. Rule 1: The 10x Rule of Clarity It turns out that the clarity of the right answer is so important that the best answer is not just 20% or 2x better than the next best answer, but in fact 10x better. That’s right, you might think D and E are close answers, but, to an infinitely knowledgeable test-taker, it turns out that E is actually ten times as good as D. Rule 2: Panel of 100 Experts Agree Another way to think about how clear the right answer must be is to realize that, if there were a panel of 100 experts, all of them would have to agree on what the right answer is. If even one or two of them disagree, suddenly the question is no longer objective it’s subjective and up for debate the test maker's worst nightmare. Because questions must be objective, a panel of carefully thinking experts must agree on the correct answer. Rule 3: Provably Correct One final useful way to think about how clear the right answer needs to be is to realize that it must be provably correct.If given a long enough time, you could write almost a math-style proof on why the answer is correct and the other choices are wrong. If you couldn’t write a math-style proof, then some part of the logic process has to be based on a â€Å"hunch." Hunches are neither clear nor objective, and therefore, the ACT / SAT cannot rely on these. Again, the ACT / SAT must have questions that can be solved using precise, analytical logic. How do these rules help? When you’re stuck on a question and two answers are looking very close to each other, you’ll realize this can’t be how the question is meant to be answered by the 10x Rule of Clarity. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to rely on a subjective judgment, where you catch yourself saying â€Å"my opinion is this† or â€Å"it seems likely that the answer is this," then the Panel of Experts rule will tell you that you can do more to answer your question. The most powerful rule, the one rule to rule them all, is the Provably Correct rule. This rule tells you that you never need to rely on fuzzy reasoning or a feeling to answer a question. If you have enough background information, enough time, and enough logic, you can prove that every answer you choose is correct. Thinking about the Provably Correct rule in the negative is also helpful. It means that, for all the wrong answers, you must be able to identify a fatal flaw that disqualifies them. Example Problems These rules also mean that, if you are getting stuck solving the hardest problems for you, the solution is not to â€Å"get better intuition† or â€Å"get subtler at fuzzy thinking† but rather to learn how to penetrate the analytical, logical core of each question. How do you apply these rules? One of the best ways to learn is to try them on real questions. For the rest of this article, we will demonstrate the rules on a math question, a grammar question, and finally a reading question. The rule will be most obvious in math, but most insightful in reading. For each of these three example problems, we will write math-style proofs to show beyond any doubt that the answer we choose is the right one. By proofs, I just mean breaking the problem down into very small but clear steps. No background on proofs ina math class is needed. I use the word much more loosely in this article, usually to emphasize that an explanation is crystal clear instead of fuzzy. Math Example The easiest place to start demonstrating these concepts is math. Math is the subject where it is most obvious that each question has one very clear, objective, provably correct answer. Since it is so obvious to everyone that math answers are objective, the following demonstration is less subtle than in reading, but it’s still useful to go through this example to learn. One of the most difficult ACT Math questions is as follows: Consider all pairs of positive integers w and z whose sum is five. For how many values of w does there exist a positive integer x that satisfies both 2^w = x and x^z = 64. (Statement 2) 0 2 4 8 Infinitely Many You can get at the single very clear answer by completing a proof, as I'll show you: First, we'll start with the information given to us. The two integers w and z must add up to five. That gives us four options for integer pairs for (w,z): (1,4), (2,3), (3,2) and (4,1). Let’s call the second sentence of the question above statement (2). Now we can prove for all four pairs above whether statement (2) holds: In each case, since z is a positive integer 2^w = x is a positive integer, we can ignore the restriction that x is a positive integer. For (1,4), statement (2) gives that 2^1=x=2. And x^z = 2^4 = 16 =/= 64. Thus, for the first pair statement (2) is false. For (2,3), statement (2) gives that 2^2=x=4. And x^z = 4^3 = 64 indeed. Thus, for the second pair statement (2) is true. For (3,2), statement (2) gives that 2^3=x=8. And x^z = 8^2 = 64 indeed. Thus, for the third pair statement (2) is true. For (3,2), statement (2) gives that 2^4=x=16. And x^z = 16^1 =/= 64. Thus, for the fourth pair statement (2) is false. Therefore, the above is a mathematical proof in the most original sense, that there are two pairs that satisfy the answer. The answer is two. This corresponds to B. Note that, as a mathematical proof, the above explanation is watertight. (I would know I've taken dozens of courses in theoretical math and spent countless hours writing proofs.) This proof passes the 10x rule of clarity (no other answer would be even 1/10th as correct). It would pass the panel of 100 experts rule in fact, I bet every single professional mathematician in the world would agree with the proof above. Finally, the proof is fully analytical it breaks the entire solution into small but obvious pieces. Proofs in reading, science, or writing won’t be nearly as perfect, but the above serves as a guideline for later in the article. Important Notes First, all proofs depend on a set of indisputable, underlying facts (in rigorous proofs, these are called axioms). Here, the two underlying facts I cited were that:1) a positive integer taken to a positive integer power is positive, and2) there are exactly four unique pairs of positive integers (w,z) such that w+z=5. Understanding these facts is assumed to be part of being an expert in math, and if you find yourself missing these facts when constructing proofs, then you know the problem is an underlying content problem. Most of the underlying facts in math and grammar, and some in reading, need to be memorized beforehand.If you lack these facts, no amount of logic and no amount of time will let you solve the problems. Second, the proof method is best used as training wheels, as an illustrative tool. On the real test, they are too time-consuming to use on more than a few rare occasions.On a real test, proofs are most useful in reading, then grammar, and least of all in math. After all, in math, the fact that there is a single, clear, objective, right answer is usually obvious. When are proofs useful then? Proofs are useful when you are stuck on the hardest 1-3 problems in each section and have extra time.Proofs are also useful when you are practicing the SAT / ACT. Whenever you feel a question has â€Å"two right answers," you can do a proof exercise to convince yourself that’s not the case. Also, I put the math proof first because it’s the simplest to understand; in fact, it’ll be the reading proof at the end that you’ll find most helpful on SAT / ACT training. How to Use the Proof Method on Math Problems Here are some general guidelines to follow when you start to solve math problems using this method: First, read through the question and break down the information it gives you. Then, identify the axioms, or indisputable math facts, you'll need to apply in order to solve this problem. This is where having strong mathematical knowledge comes in handy. If, for example, the question is about triangles, you should be able to quickly come up with all the triangle rules and information you know. After you've done this, you can start the proof. Work through the problem, making a new line for each new statement, until you've solved it and figured out your answer. Grammar Example The following question is from an ACT English section, and it's similar to a grammar question you might find on SAT Reading. Grammaris a great area to illustrate the Provably Correct concept because it’s an area where many students use fuzzy thinking. Many students, especially native English speakers, are used to â€Å"sounding phrases out† and choosing the one that â€Å"feels best.† However, it’s also obvious that grammar follows hard, explicit logical rules like math does. And those hard logical rules, not your ear, are the only method guaranteed to get you every question right. Consider now the following question: Choose the best replacement for the underlined portion. A musician balancing a cello case, two Buddhist monks in saffron robes, and a group of stockbrokers in crisp, charcoal gray suits get on the subway at the Wall Street station. No Change. charcoal gray suits, charcoal, gray suits charcoal gray, suits Like math questions, you can follow a set of steps to solve English questions using proofs. Every question on the English section will relate to at least one grammar fact. Your first step is identifying which grammar fact they are referring to. This requires a strong knowledge of English grammar, but if you study enough, you'll be able to easily identify the particular grammar rule you need. For this example, the sentence has multiple phrases with the same grammatical structure; therefore, the grammar fact you need to use is parallel construction. Go through the answer choices, applying the grammar rule to each of them, until you have clearly identified one correct answer and three incorrect answers. This one fact is particularly important for this question: Grammar fact (parallel construction): When there are multiple phrases that have the same grammatical structure, these phrases are to be separated by a comma. Conversely, separation by a comma strongly suggests phrases are parallel. E.g. The US flag is red, white, and blue. The words â€Å"red†, â€Å"white†, â€Å"and blue† are parallel construction and separated by a comma. Now, let’s examine the answers. Note that the only difference is in the placement of the comma (if it exists at all). We will prove the right answer by deconstructing all versions and showing that all but one is nonsensical or ungrammatical. Choice A: No Change. The sentence is talking about â€Å"charcoal gray suits†. The word â€Å"charcoal† modifies gray (it’s a type of gray), and the phrase â€Å"charcoal gray† modifies suit. This makes sense. Also, the commas imply parallelism between the three nouns in the sentence: the group of stockbrokers, the Buddhist monks, and the musician. This is also correct. Choice B: â€Å"charcoal gray suits,†This option puts a comma at the end of the phrase. This separates the sentence into four suggested parallel phrases: A musician balancing a cello case, two Buddhist monks in saffron robes, and a group of stockbrokers in crisp, charcoal gray suits,get on the subway at the Wall Street station. The first three are noun phrases and contain subjects (musicians, monks, and stockbrokers, respectively). The fourth phrase, however; doesn't include a subject and is instead a verb phrase which violates suggested parallel construction This means that placing the comma after the word "suits" would not be signifying parallel construction. To be rigorous, you must be aware that, in addition to parallel construction, commas can only be used to set off nonessential clauses, along with a few other minor cases. The verb clause is an essential part of this sentence; without it the sentence would not make sense, and it wouldn't be grammatically correct. The placement of the comma for option B is therefore inappropriate. This disproves B. Choice C: â€Å"charcoal, gray suits† By our first Grammar Fact, this suggests that charcoal and gray are parallel. This means both are modifying the word â€Å"suits." The suits are both gray (makes sense) and charcoal (doesn’t make sense). The suits are not literally made of the same charcoal that you barbecuewith! This parallelism gives the sentence the wrong meaning and thus can be provably disqualified. Choice D: â€Å"charcoal gray, suits† By our first Grammar Fact again, the commas here would strongly suggest that the phrases â€Å"crisp," â€Å"charcoal gray† and â€Å"suits† are parallel. However, the first two are adjectives, and the final word is a noun, again violating parallelism and disproving this option as the correct answer. And there we have it, we have â€Å"proven† above that the right answer must be A. (To be even more rigorous, we would want to list all valid uses for commas and eliminate these cases in each of the answers above. This gets truly arduous, but it will advance this proof from â€Å"10x correct† territory to â€Å"100x correct† territory. This again is a demonstration between thetrade offsbetween full rigor and time spent.) Who Is This Proof Most Useful For? The proof is best used for a student who is stuck between two answers which both look right. In this case, many students have complained that they can’t tell whether A or C is correct after looking at the question long and hard. They both â€Å"sound† correct. A proof allows you to show that one answer must be very right while the others are very wrong. In the case above, we relied on the role of the comma in parallelism. You'll want to use this method practically, and only if youhavesubstantial time to eliminate all ambiguity. You can use it 1) on a real test if you have extra time left 2) if you are studying and want to conquer the most difficult questions 3) if you’re working on improving content and don’t mind spending extra time demonstrating to yourself why one answer is exactly right. Proofs aren’t infinitely powerful. After all, you have to know the underlying Grammatical Fact put out at the beginning. A proof doesn’t give you an answer if you don’t know the subject! Second, proofs take much too long to implement on all questions on a live test. In a live test, you absolutely want to eliminate some choices â€Å"by ear† when they sound egregious, and you absolutely want to take timing shortcuts that give you 90% of the accuracy in 10% of the time. However, even if you don’t do an actual proof on the test, just knowing that a proof must exist is incredibly empowering. Even when you are using intuition or fuzzy feelings, you then know that the intuition or feeling must be overlaying a cold, hard fact. If you are going by intuition, you know that the final word in the answer cannot possibly be just a feeling. Provably Correct is something that should totally change your perspective on an ACT / SAT questions. Reading Example ACT / SAT Reading is my favorite area to apply our rule to! This is because reading seems so touchy-feely, so subjective, that it’s tempting for students to think of the section as uncertain, subjective, and intuition-based. In fact, reading questions are exactly the opposite: they are certain, objective, and analytical. Reading is the opposite of math in that proofs are the least obvious but the most helpful tool to improve your score. Let’s get to the question: Consider the following paragraph: "We plan makers are accustomed to things turning out not quite as good as we had in mind. Our world view includes the â€Å"diminished excellence† component. Diminished excellence is a condition of the world and therefore never an occasion for sorrow, whereas flawed competence comes out of character and therefore is frequently the reason for the bowed head, the furrowed brow." In the last paragraph, a comparison is made between "diminished excellence" and "flawed competence." From the narrator's point of view, the conditions are different because the one is: A source of sorrow while the other is a source of pride. Based in the family while the other is based in the self. Inherent in the environment while the other is inherent in the individual. A sign that the individual can improve the world while the other is a sign that the individual can't. If you want to really learn the proof method, I strongly encourage you to work through this problem. Give yourself 10 or even 20 minutes if you need. Write out your logic and compare it against the rigor below. If you are confused, introspect about your confusion. In just a few moments you’ll see an explanation that will prove beyond a doubt that one of the answers is clearly 10x correct. What Not to Do First, let’s go over what a student using â€Å"fuzzy thinking† might do. Frank the fuzzy thinker might look at F and think, â€Å"The paragraph does mention one of them being sorrow, so this looks fine.† He may then go onto G and go, â€Å"Well, there was no discussion of family in this paragraph, so that’s clearly out.† For H he thinks, â€Å"Yes, one of them is about the world while the other isn’t, so let’s keep H.† Finally, he goes onto J and thinks, â€Å"Well, yes, one of them is improvable, while the other isn’t†; so he keeps J. Frank has eliminated F because it feels a bit off to him, and he eliminated G because of a "feeling" he had. However, both H and J sound good. Frank would estimate that H sounds about twice as good as F, but J sounds the best of any of the answer choices, beating H by maybe 10-20%. Frank thinks the answer really depends on how you see the question it's subjective anyway, so he chooses J. Unfortunately for Frank, he chose the wrong answer. Even worse, the way he solved the problem demonstrates the worst of fuzzy logic! Rules That Frank the Fuzzy Thinker Broke Note that his final reasoning broke every one of our three â€Å"clear answer† rules. First, he thought that the best answer was only 10-20% better than the next, and at most 2-3x better than the third best answer, violating the 10x clear rule. Second, he thought the answer was subjective and broke the â€Å"consensus of 100 experts† rule. Finally, his reasoning lacked substantial analytical rigor. He relied on how he felt about the answers and used simple â€Å"word matching," breaking the Provably Correct rule. Breaking the Provably Correct rule on reading questions invariably shows some patterns. Frank illustrates some of them: Associative thinking: Frank saw the word "sorrow" in the paragraph and thought that, since answer F contains that word, it has a high chance of being right. Likewise, he ruled out G based on only the single word â€Å"family." While it is tempting to use word-matching to choose answers, this is the lowest form of non-analytical, fuzzy thinking. Reading questions are more subtle than hunting for the right word. Drawing inferences from the outside: To Frank, whether something is â€Å"inherent in the environment† (from the source paragraph) is the same as â€Å"a sign that the individual can’t improve the world† (answer J). However, this latter statement is actually not stated in the paragraph at all! Dropping or adding words to force things to fit: Frank keeps F even though the word â€Å"pride† isn’t anywhere in the paragraph. F otherwise seems like a good answer, so Frank ignores the minor inconvenience that an entire word is out of place. How to Solve This Problem Analytically With a Proof Now, let’s see why the above question is really not a subjective, â€Å"two good answers† situation. We’ll do this by bringing out our usual tool of analytical rigor, the proof. First, read the paragraph word-by-word slowly and carefully.Think about what each sentence means after reading it. Then, re-read the entire paragraph. I will start the proof by restating a large majority of the paragraph in my own words. The following statements are logically contained within the original paragraph: We are plan makers. We are used to things turning out less than our plan. The way we see the world includes a part called â€Å"diminished excellence." Diminished excellence is a condition of the world. Because of this, â€Å"diminished excellence† is not an occasion for sorrow. However, â€Å"flawed competence† comes out of character. Because of this, â€Å"flawed competence† is often why there is the bowed head, the furrowed brow. Each statement is a rigorous transformation of the original and totally implied by the original. We will use both the original and the implied transformation to prove the answers. Choice F: A source of sorrow while the other is a source of pride. The first part of this answer is true. It's true that one is implicitly a cause for sorrow. The paragraph states that â€Å"diminished excellence† isn’t a cause for sorrow, but the conjunction â€Å"however† implies strongly that â€Å"flawed competence† indeed causes sorrow. However, for all F to be true, the second part must be true as well; we must have a source for pride. Since â€Å"flawed competence† is taken by sorrow already, if F were true, then â€Å"diminished excellence† must be a cause for pride. Intuitively, â€Å"diminished excellence† doesn’t seem like a good cause for â€Å"pride†, but let’s prove it. The paragraph just says diminished excellence is a condition of the world and not a cause for sorrow. Nowhere do we have it explicitly said or strongly implied that â€Å"diminished excellence† is a cause for pride. This means F cannot be wholly true. Therefore F is wrong. Choice G: One is based in the family while the other is based in the self. Reading all the logical statements in the original paragraph, it is easy to see that no statement says anything about a family, nor anything that would imply a family (such as a group, relative, etc). Therefore, we can deduce that â€Å"based in the family† cannot possibly be a conclusion of the paragraph. Thus G is ruled out as an answer. (If you’re looking for extra credit, it is indeed true the paragraph says that â€Å"flawed competence† is based out of character, which is strongly associated with the self, so the second half of statement G is true. However half-true is just not good enough!) Choice H: One is based in the environment while the other is inherent in the individual. The paragraph clearly does state that diminished excellence is a condition of the world and thus the environment. This proves the first part of the statement as true. Now, the paragraph says the other term, â€Å"flawed competence," comes out from the character, which almost definitionally is inherent to the individual. This proves the second part of the statement as true. As a bonus, further reinforcing this proof is the fact that the entire paragraph is a parallelism between a concept with roots in the world, versus another with roots in character. This world vs. character contrast is exactly targeted by this answer which compares environment vs. individual. Thus H has very strong support, a proof in fact. Choice J: A sign that the individual can improve the world while the other is a sign that the individual can't. With fuzzy thinking, J looks similar to H. However, let us be precise. J says that one is a sign that the individual can improve the world. This first concept J refers to cannot possibly be â€Å"diminished excellence† since the paragraph does not say anything at all about the individual with respect to â€Å"diminished excellence†. Thus, if J were true, the first part of J must refer to â€Å"flawed competence†. It is true that the paragraph says â€Å"flawed competence† comes from the character and thus the individual. However, the paragraph says nothing about flawed competence being changeable. Also, even if â€Å"flawed competence† implied any potential for change, nothing in the paragraph speaks about the ability of this change to â€Å"improve the world†. Thus, J is disproven. As a bonus, you can also point out multiple other logically-rigorous, fatal flaws in J. For example, the paragraph says nothing about ifâ€Å"diminished excellence† modulates whether an individual can impact the world. The fuzzy thinking here is that the paragraph talks about two concepts that come from the world versus the individual, while choice J is instead talking about the impact of the individual on the world. Same concepts, but totally unrelated. It would be as unrelated as if the paragraph talked about the weather of New York compared to that of Los Angeles, and the answer talked about flights between New York and Los Angeles.Thus J is rejected too. We have written relatively objective, logical, and analytical proofs that show that H must be the right answer, and all the others must be wrong answers. Hopefully, if you thought the question was vague, subtle, and subjective before, the proof shows that the question is, in fact, analytical with a very clear, objective, and logical answer. For Reading questions, you'll want to first start by reading the passage, then transforming it into your own words, while keeping its entire original meaning intact, like we did in the example. Then, go through each of the answer options and compare them to both the original passage and your rewording to see if they are true. Remember, each part of the answer must be true. If only half the answer is true, then it is not the right answer. Takeaways From the Proof I hope that the proof above gives you confidence that, with enough time and application of logic, you can clearly show only one answer is true. By transforming what seems like a fuzzy question into cold hard logic, hopefully, the above demonstrated that, on the ACT / SAT, all questions are in fact analytical and provable. But if all questions are analytical, logical, and provable, then why doesn’t the ACT / SAT just directly test these skills in straightforward ways? The reason is that most of reading / English in academia is indeed subjective and often fuzzy. Who’s a better writer, James Joyce or Vladimir Nabokov? Subjective. What social actions did Orwell want to encourage in his readers by writing his bestseller 1984? Again, subjective. Many interesting and difficult academic subjects are inherently subtle and subjective. I can tell you this from firsthand experience, from writing countless college essays on topics like film studies and the Jewish Bible. Since much of real academia has a feeling of intuition, subtlety, and subjectiveness, the ACT / SAT wants to mimic these factors. They dress their questions up to look as subtle and fuzzy as possible. But we know from the beginning of the article that the ACT / SAT cannot afford truly fuzzy or subjective questions.Therefore, the fuzziness is a ruse. It becomes a set of trap answers for the student. The core of any ACT / SAT question is a hard, analytic question, and if you only see a fuzzy question, this means you haven’t seen the core of the question yet! Conclusion Now that you know that each SAT / ACT answer is provable, you’ll no longer approach difficult questions the wrong way. It is so common for students to think that they need to develop a finer sense of intuition or better fuzzy thinking to get the hard questions. In fact, what you should be working on is a fast analytic breakdown of every question. You can definitely do this yourself, and the above steps offerpretty good guide-by-examples of how to do it. For those interested, we also should mention that PrepScholar trains you in this method as well. Our program will detect when non-rigorous thinking is the major source of your errors. We see this mostly in high-performing students trying to nail those final questions, but we also see it to some degree in all students. Our program will provide you with lessons that teach you how to be analytic and give you practice problems for you to apply your new skills. If you liked our lesson here, give our program a free try: What's Next? Ready to try this method on your own?One of the best ways to prepare for standardized exams is to take practice tests. Check out our official SAT practice tests and official ACT practice tests. Aiming for a top score?Learn how to perfect your score on the SAT or ACT! Want to take your studyingone step further?Read aboutthe pros and cons of each type of test prep and learn which method is the best for you.

2015-2016 ACT Test Dates

2015-2016 ACT Test Dates SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are wondering about when the ACT had its test dates during the 2015-2016 academic year? Maybe you need to confirm the date you took the you're just curious, or perhaps you want to know whenACT, Inc. will holdfuture tests. In this article, I’ll give you the ACT test dates for 2015-2016 and explain the factors to think about when selecting your test date. ACT Test Dates for 2015-2016 Check out the test dates, registration deadlines, and multiple choice score release dates for 2015-2016. Though the exact dates vary every year, this basic schedule, with dates in September, October, December, February, April, and June, remains the same. Test Date Deadline Late Deadline Score Release* Sept 12, 2015 Aug 7, 2015 Aug 21, 2015 Sept 22-Nov 6, 2015 Oct 24, 2015 Sept 18, 2015 Oct 2, 2015 Nov 10-Dec 28, 2015 Dec 12, 2015 Nov 6, 2015 Nov 20, 2015 Dec 22, 2105-Feb 6, 2016 Feb 6, 2016** Jan 8, 2016 Jan 15, 2016 Feb 17-Apr 1, 2016 Apr 9, 2016 Mar 4, 2016 Mar 18, 2016 Apr 19-Jun 3, 2016 Jun , 2016 May 6, 2016 May 20, 2016 Jun 21-Aug 5, 2016 *= Refers to the period in which multiple choice scores were released. Normally, you'll get your writing scores about two weeks after you receive your multiple choice scores. **= No February dates were scheduled in New York. How to Choose Your Test Date Now that you have an idea of when the ACT offers testing, here are some of the major factors to consider when picking your ACT test date: Know Your Deadlines! The most important thing to remember is to take your ACT before any deadlines. If you apply regular decision, the December test in your senior year will be the last test you can take for most colleges. If you apply early, the last test you can take may be in October or November of your senior year. Additionally, there are scholarship deadlines. If you want to obtain any scholarships that consider your ACT score, you may need to take your ACT before the scholarship application deadline. How Many Times Do You Want to Take the ACT? Most students improve their scores when they retake the ACT, and you should allow yourself an opportunity to take the test multiple times. Generally, we recommend taking the ACT for the first time in the fall of your junior year. Then you can retake it in the spring of your junior year and the fall of your senior year if necessary. How Long Do You Plan to Study? When picking your test date, make sure you have enough time to prepare. Get an idea of how long you’ll need to study and ensure you’ll be able to sufficiently study before you take the test. If you take both the April and June tests without doing any additional preparation in between, your score probably won’t improve much. Do You Have Conflicts With Any Test Dates? Check to see if you have any potential conflicts on or around any of the ACT test dates. Maybe the February date is on the same day as your big wrestling tournament. Perhaps you want to avoid the June test date because you’ll be spending most of your waking hours studying for finals. It may be difficult to find a time when you can fully devote yourself to the ACT, but you should try to choose the best test dates for you. What's Next? If you're studying for the SAT for 2016-2017, check out our review for the new edition of The Real ACT Prep Guide. Are you worried about balancing your test prep with school? Get some expert tips for how to successfully prepare for the ACT without sacrificing the quality of your schoolwork. Finally, check out our ultimate guide to ACT prep for study guides, strategies, and practice tests. Want to improve your ACT score by 4+ points? Download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need in your prep to improve your ACT score dramatically. Have friends who also need help with test prep? Share this article! Tweet Justin Berkman About the Author Justin has extensive experience teaching SAT prep and guiding high school students through the college admissions and selection process. He is firmly committed to improving equity in education and helping students to reach their educational goals. Justin received an athletic scholarship for gymnastics at Stanford University and graduated with a BA in American Studies. Get Free Guides to Boost Your SAT/ACT Get FREE EXCLUSIVE insider tips on how to ACE THE SAT/ACT. 100% Privacy. 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Management in eco-friendly organizations (Benefits of Going Green) Essay

Management in eco-friendly organizations (Benefits of Going Green) - Essay Example To ensure eco-friendly organizations, the management must be committed to implementing green strategies and ensuring ethical leadership. The organization structure determines the kind of relationship the management has with employees, customers, stockholders and the community as a whole. Besides maximizing profits for the shareholders, the management should ensure it is operating ethically and is socially responsible (Berman et al. 1999). By implementing green strategies costs are reduced, the company gains reputation, workers work in a healthy environment thus improving their productivity, the company can attract and retain highly qualified employees and engage in constant innovations hence remain competitive in the market (Crawford et al. 2008). The paper will discuss the benefits that various industries achieve by enacting green strategies in their operations. Benefits of Going Green Various industries achieve different benefits from utilizing environment friendly operations. Global warming is rampant due to greenhouse gas emissions especially from the manufacturing and vehicle industries. The manner in which business premises are constructed also contribute to gas emissions as a result of the materials used, the lighting, heating and cooling systems inside the building as well as transportation of building materials (Crawford et al. 2008). Most companies however, are trying to reduce the emissions by putting up environmental friendly buildings. Reduction of carbon emissions is also necessary if the environment has to be conserved. One of the companies in the vehicle manufacture industry has done a lot over the years to ensure sustainable environment. Honda Motor Company with its headquarters in Japan is one of the leading companies in implementing environmentally friendly policies. It specializes in motorcycles, automobiles and power products. It has 176, 815 c onsolidated employees and 26,121 unconsolidated employees. Its new global environmental slogan is â€Å"Blue skies for our children† (Honda.com, 2011). According to Pride et al (2010), Honda is committed to reduction of pollution, conservation of water and energy, recycling, reduced carbon emissions and production of fuel efficient vehicles. It has produced natural gas powered civic CIX and hydrogen full cell cars FCX which are environmental friendly. As a result, the company has earned a lot of reputation and good will from the community and stakeholders. It is considered as one of the leading automakers in the vehicle industry. It has an environmental committee which oversees green strategies formulation and implementation. One of the benefits of going green for a company is thus is gaining outstanding reputation. Another company in the financial sector which has managed to gain much reputation from applying environment friendly policies is the Goldman