The age of anxiety Essays - Benjamin Britten, W. H. Auden

The age of anxiety Essays - Benjamin Britten, W. H. Auden The age of anxiety Analysis of Auden's The Age of Anxiety In Auden's lengthy poem, "The Age of Anxiety", he follows the actions and thoughts of four characters who happen to meet in a bar during a war. Their interactions with one another lead them on an imaginary quest in their minds in which they attempt, without success, to discover themselves. The themes and ideas that Auden's "The Age of Anxiety" conveys reflect his belief that man's quest for self-actualization is in vain. W. H. Auden was born in York, England, in 1907, the third and youngest son of Constance and George Auden (Magill 72). His poetry in the 1930's reflected the world of his era, a world of depression, Fascism, and war. His works adopt a prose of a "clinical diagrostician [sic] anatomizing society" and interpret social and spiritual acts as failures of communication (Magill 74). They also put forth a diagnosis of the industrial English society among economic and moral decay in the 1930's (Magill 72). Conflicts common in his works are those between war and peace, corruption of modern society, and the "dichotomy between the rich and the poor" (Barrows 317). "The Age of Anxiety" is, in general, a quest poem. Unlike the ideal quest, however, this quest accomplishes nothing. The characters search for the meaning of self and, in essence, the meaning of life, but because their search is triggered by intoxication due to alchohol, the quest is doomed from the start. Throughout the quest, the characters believe themselves to be in a form of Purgatory when they are allegorically in Hell. They fail to realize this due to "the modern human condition which denies possibility but refuses to call it impossible" (Nelson 117). In "The Age of Anxiety", there are four characters of significance. Quant, the first to be introduced, addresses himself in a mirror, an action typical to a drunken man. He is an aging homosexual widower who finds refuge in the mirror because it offers him the easiest way of facing himself (Nelson 117-118). Malin, the most dominant character overall, is a medical intelligence officer on leave from the Canadian Air Force. His background labels him as the "would-be doctor and leader" in the world of "The Age of Anxiety". His name is reminiscent, in relation to the war, of a malingerer, and the composition of his personality hints at the evil within him (Nelson 118).

The Dollar Sign ($) and Underscore (_) in JavaScript

The Dollar Sign ($) and Underscore (_) in JavaScript The  dollar sign ($)  and the  underscore  (_) characters are JavaScript identifiers, which just means that they identify an object in the same way a name would.  The  objects they identify include things such as variables, functions, properties, events, and objects. For this reason, these characters are not treated  the same way as other special symbols. Instead, JavaScript treats  $  and  _  as if they were  letters of the alphabet. A JavaScript identifier  - again, just a name for any object  - must start with a lower or upper case letter, underscore (_), or dollar sign ($); subsequent characters can also include digits (0-9).  Anywhere that an alphabetic character is allowed in JavaScript, 54 possible letters are available: any lowercase letter (a through z), any uppercase letter (A through Z), $ and _. The Dollar ($) Identifier The dollar sign is commonly used as a shortcut to the function document.getElementById(). Because this function is fairly verbose and used frequently in JavaScript, the $ has long been used as its alias, and  many of the libraries available for use with JavaScript create a  $()  function that references an element from the DOM if you pass it the id of that element. There is nothing about $ that requires it to be used this way, however. But it has been the convention, although there is nothing in the language to enforce it. The dollar sign $ was chosen for the function name by the first of these libraries because it is a short one-character word, and $  was least likely to be used by itself as a function name and therefore the least likely to clash with other code in the page. Now multiple libraries are providing their own version of the $() function, so many now provide the option to turn off that definition in order to avoid clashes.   Of course,  you dont need to use a library to be able to use $(). All you need to substitute $() for document.getElementById() is to add a definition of the $() function to your code as follows: function $(x) {return document.getElementById(x);} The Underscore _ Identifier   A convention has also developed regarding the use of _, which is frequently used to preface the name of an objects property or method that is private. This is a quick and easy way to immediately identify a private class member, and it is so widely used, that almost every programmer will recognize it. This is particularly useful in JavaScript since defining fields as private or public is done without the use of the  private and public keywords (at least this is true in the versions of JavaScript used in web browsers - JavaScript 2.0 does allow these keywords). Note that again, as with $, the use of _ is merely a convention and is not enforced by JavaScript itself. As far as JavaScript is concerned, $ and _ are just ordinary letters of the alphabet. Of course, this special treatment of $ and _  applies only within JavaScript itself. When you test for alphabetic characters in the data, they are treated as special characters no different from any of the other special characters.

How important is it to have a college education in America today Is it Essay

How important is it to have a college education in America today Is it necessary to have one in order to be successful - Essay Example It is a fact that people with college degree have more chances to be employed than their peers who end up with high school diploma only. According to US Bureau of Labor statistics, the rate of unemployment among people who have less than a high school diploma merits 11% of US population. This number can be compared to 7% unemployment rate among people who attended college and 5.4% rate among those who have Associates degree (US Bureau of Labor). Unemployed people struggle to survive in the world where wellbeing and poverty rarely occur together. People without college degree have fewer chances to get high-paid jobs or managerial positions at work. Since college education boosts employment opportunities, it is a significant reason to study hard for the sake of better future. There is a positive correlation between education and median weekly income of each person. For instance, people who have less than a high school diploma earn $472 a week which is hardly enough for decent life (US Bureau of Labor). People who have high school diploma earn $651 in average while people with college education can increase their earnings to average $777 weekly (US Bureau of Labor). These numbers prove that people with college education have more chances to succeed financially. It is obvious that people need money for living; people who invest in their education get more opportunities to earn enough to support their families, care about health, nutrition and entertainment in life. These things are vital because they make people feel secured and comfortable on their way to success. Better income and employment positively influence life satisfaction due to the fact that people realize their potential and enjoy what they do in life. Without college education people can hardly realize their life ambitions, set career goals and get enough resources for happy life. According to Pascarella and Terenzini, people with college degree tend to be

Personal statement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Personal statement - Essay Example I am emotionally stable, responsible, and mature in looking at various perspectives of human behavior. I have developed the skill to deal effectively with people from all walks of life. By recognizing that listening skills are critical, I became more sensitive and compassionate to others, especially those who need understanding and emotional strength. I developed good communication and writing skills. The courses I took during my years pursuing a degree in commerce developed my leadership skills and analytical skills enabling me to critically analyze problems and opt to choose the most appropriate solution. I am extremely patient and persevering recognizing the fact that most psychological treatments of patients take considerably long periods of time. The skills I have developed in giving attention to details, being analytical, having leadership skills, being patient and persevering, and being theoretically equipped to understand patterns of behavior and mental processes would assist me in future

The History of Ethnicity and Educational Attainment Essay Example for Free

The History of Ethnicity and Educational Attainment Essay In 1945 the UK needed rapid rebuilding, both structurally and in population re-growth. After the Second World War the UKs population was virtually non-existent, with most males having died in the war, which meant that there were not enough people around to rebuild the country. This resulted in an economic boom with more jobs than people in the country at the time, and at the same time the UK was still managing her Empire in India and the Caribbean. By the 1950s there was a rapid increase in the technological industry, yet the UK was rapidly falling behind Europe technologically and was desperate to increase their technological market. The UK soon realised that they could not afford and Empire and the rapid technological development needed to rival the market of the rest of Europe, so the decision was made to create the Immigration Policy. Afro-Caribbean immigrants were the first coloured people to arrive in the UK and were lured there by the promise of housing, employment and education, but what they found when they arrived in the UK was discrimination in housing, schooling and employment, especially in the types of jobs the immigrants were permitted to fulfil, i. e. they could work only in jobs such as bus drivers and underground attendants; only the lower status (IV class) non-skilled, manual jobs. Again, in the 1970s, the Consumer revolution leads to the introduction of new food and fashion types and the South African immigration, the UK accepted all the Indian, Pakistani and Ugandan immigrants as cheap labour forces, for as long as the economic boom continues. But in the 1980s an economic recession began meaning that unemployment increases due to the lack of goods being sold abroad. The economic recession affected everybody in the UK, but especially the immigrant groups, as they were the first employees to be laid off. This was because the immigrants were hired by industries as periphery workers; these workers are the ones to be drafted in during economic boom periods but are then laid off when a company slump occurs. There was also discrimination in the education of ethnic minority children. Education policy went through three distinct phases, assimilation, multiculturalism, and anti-racist. Assimilation, during 1945 to the early 1970s, was the educational policy that meant everyone entering the UK must be made British; the curriculum taught only white versions of history, European geography only centring on the British empire, British religions and cultures taught in RE and second language students were sent to special needs units to learn English. The next policy to be put into affect during the late 1970s until the mid-1980s was Multiculturalism, or the acknowledging of others, this policy made an effort to include other ethnicities by having special days and events to celebrate other cultures on a 1-day basis and made a step towards breaking down cultural barriers. This policy was often referred to as a steel band, sari and samara education only as it gave a 1-day insight into other cultures but then went back to teaching about Britain and white history, customs, etc. The last and current policy is that of Anti-Racist education with the aim to attack inequality and racism, reflect everybody equally, and to eradicate Euro centrism the idea that Europe is at the heart of everything that happens in the world. The curriculum has also changed to reflect world history, geography, languages, religions and cultures. Statistics to show attainment of 5 or more A*-C grades by ethnic origin between 1989-2000, released by the UK Government Department of Education and Skills give a clear picture of the educational attainment of White, Black, Asian (all), Asian (Indian), Asian (Pakistani), Asian (Bangladeshi), Asian (other including Chinese), and any other ethnic groups. The trend between 1994 and 2000, however, shows that almost all ethnic groups have steadily increased their attainment of A*-C grades. The Asian category, however, differs greatly within itself with the different minorities scoring very different results with the different Asian groups holding both the highest and lowest achievers of 5 A*-C grades. We can see this in the statistics released by the Government, these show that Asian (other including Chinese) are the highest achievers of 5 A*-C grades between 1992 (when the data became available) and 2000 with 72 grade achievers in 2000 whilst Asian (Pakistani), Asian (Bangladeshi) and Black groups are the lowest achievers throughout with only 29/30 grade achievers in the year 2000. Showing that the initial views that ethnic minorities are intellectually inferior to whites is completely unsubstantiated and are, in many cases, more likely to achieve the 5 A*-C grades than the whites themselves are.

Consciousness and fundamental act :: essays research papers

1. Consciousness is the fundamental fact of human existence, from the view point of persons examining their own experience. There are various aspects of consciouness, such as perception, mental imagery, thinking, memory and emotions. I believe that consiouness is a property of some lower animals and machines. An ant for an example has a conscious mind about staying in covered areas during the rain and to panic when something attacks it. This shows memory, perception and thinking which shows that it does have a conscious. Some machines have something similar to a conscious. A computer for example has a hard drive which is a lot like a â€Å"memory†, in which it stores something, and it has ram, which is basically information stored and ready to be used. If I were to open a web page browser and than open up a word document, I could instantly jump back to the browser because its stored on my hard drive, but loaded on my ram, which is a lot like how if we think about an old memor y, such as grade school, and than wash our hands, the memory of grade school is still fresh in our mind, and we can go back and instantly load it up with less difficulty than the first time. 2. The mind-body problem asks what is the relationship between the mind(conscious) and the body( brain). The two major positions are dualism and materialism. -Dualism holds that mind and body are made of different substances: the body is material but the mind is some immaterial soul stuff, and the mind interacts with the body to control human behavior. Out of body and near death experiences have also been offered in support of dualism, but alternative, naturalistic explanations of these experiences are available. -Materialism is the view that mind and body are inseparable: mental events are produced by brain events. There are 4 types: -Epiphhenomenalism is the view that conscious is a side effect of brain activity but it has no role in controlling behavior. -Identity theory says that mental events are identical brain event. For each mental event, there is a corresponding brain event. - Emergent interactionism- is the hypothesis that consciousness is an emergent phenomenon: it is produced by brain processes, but it has holistic properties of its own and it exerts downward control on brain processes. -Functionalism is the view that the functional characteristics of mental processes is their critical feature, and it doesn’t make any difference whether the physical substrate is a brain or a computer.

Learning and Siddhartha Essay

Introduction: Hook- â€Å"Alas, Siddhartha, I see you suffering, but you’re suffering a pain at which one would like to laugh, at which you’ll soon laugh for yourself. † Introduction to Subject- Imagine if suffering and pleasure worked together as one. This is something Siddhartha discovers from his long quest to enlightenment. Introduction to topics- Topic 1: Siddhartha struggles with the need to love. In order for his quest to come to a conclusion, he must to learn how to love, not only himself, but also the world. Topic 2: Siddhartha states, â€Å"I can think, I can wait, I can fast. â€Å". To reach all goals you need patience. You need time. Although, Siddhartha soon discovers that time is merely an illusion. Topic 3: Om. Yes, a simple word, but its significance to Siddhartha is intricate, yet profound, and plays a crucial role in his journey to enlightenment. Thesis- These three main things are of great value to Siddhartha. Time, Love and the word om are highly influential in his path to enlightenment. Paragraph/Topic #1: Topic Sentence: For Siddhartha to achieve enlightenment, he needed to learn the art of love. He did not know how to love, almost incapable. It was this realization that drove him to learn that art, and to master it. Example 1: The first occurrence is a love between he and his father, a love that he rejects. Example 2: When he travels into town, he meets a beautiful woman named Kamala, where he then learns the art of lovemaking. Though, Siddhartha gets trapped in Samsara and escapes it by leaving her, although he leaves her pregnant and later it’s his son that truly invokes Siddhartha’s love. Example 3: It is the help of his friend the ferryman, Vasudeva, which helps him, not only reach enlightenment but also the ability and power to love. It is the river that they have crossed so many times that speaks to them, and through it all he learns to love, to love everything in the world. To embrace the flaws and know that in its own way, the world is perfect. Transitional Statement: Love can be tricky and challenging. Siddhartha needed to discover and explore it in order to know the profound meaning of love, and that discovery had to take time. Paragraph/Topic #2: Topic Sentence: What is time? What does it even represent? Siddhartha believes that time is nothing more than an illusion, that life itself is infinite. Example 1: Siddhartha gets trapped in Samsara when he goes to find love. The feeling is infinite, just like his belief in life, and that whole idea of the circle of life is emphasized. Example 2: The River in the book represents life itself. It wasn’t until the end of the book that Siddhartha could hear the river laugh, that is where he discovers the true reality of time. Example 3: His old friend Govinda visits Siddhartha on his ferry. Govinda then asks that Siddhartha tell him what his own doctrine is. What he has discovered. Siddhartha brings up the whole concept of time. He states that â€Å"time is not real† that â€Å"the span that seems to exist between world and eternity, between sorrow and bliss, between evil and good, is all an illusion. † (pg. 76) Transitional Statement: Understanding time, and the past and the future, is just one of the many important things Siddhartha will have to discover on his road to enlightenment. Paragraph/Topic #3 Topic Sentence: â€Å"om, is the absolute† (pg. 73) and in truth, Siddhartha is saved many times by the simple, two letter word, om. Example 1: The word om according to Carl Jung. Is the verbal embodiment of the collective unconscious. om is everything to Siddhartha and represents the world and oneness. This first occurred when he was a little boy meditating to decide if he should leave his home. Example 2: After he had left Kamala and his wealth behind, he struggled to escape samsara. It was that word that saved him when he was on the brink of suicide. Example 3: At the end, when he is meditating by the river, he finally recognizes the absolution of the word om, this is where he ultimately achieves enlightenment. Transitional Statement: Siddhartha eventually realized that the word om represents all oneness and the world. Many times he was awakened to life by this one simple word. Conclusion: Revised Thesis Statement: Siddhartha ultimately achieves enlightenment, but he wouldn’t have been able to attain his goals without exploring the concepts of time, love and om. Review of 3 Topics: Topic 1: To reach enlightenment, he learned that time, is merely an illusion, that it is infinite. Topic 2: Siddhartha also achieved love for the world, that it is flawless and perfect just the way it is. Topic 3: It was the word om that protected and saved him so many times and it was this simple word that had a significant impact not only of himself but also his journey to enlightenment. Mint: So I give you a challenge, next time you’re out in nature, and you come across a river, try to sit and listen. Just see what it tells you.

Gangs and Gang Culture Essay

Casper Walsh is a journalist and author including the sixties Gangster story. His childhood was surrounded by crime and violence. He has been involved with the British prison system since he was 12 years old, as a visitor when his father was in prison, an inmate and now a rehabilitated drug user and creative writing workshop facilitator. The Guardian is a British national daily Newspaper that identifies with centre liberal nationalism and its readership is generally on the mainstream left of British political opinion. It is and readership is mainly white middle class people and its headquarters are in Manchester. This text portrays the picture about the media perception of gangs in our society. According to the author the term gang is usually associated with crime and violence by the media which has made not only youth male, but also working class individuals victims of media stereotyping. He is trying to point out the fact that the media is actually painting a bad picture and only covers the bad side of the gangs. He is also trying to attack the press and convince the reader that gangs are not all that bad and they are necessary in the process of growing up. The text is meant to show that there is nothing new or that scary about gangs, and that youths in every generation will always risk being bad. As a reader of this text I think that the media likes the idea of talking or writing about things that attract the attention of news readers. This makes it difficult sometimes to have a balanced opinion on this particular issue. Stories of this nature such as the negative side of gangsters attract a lot of attention from the readers so media tend to exaggerate when reporting and in this present day people respond to the media views. In this text the writer makes use of stylistic features such as â€Å"irony and paradox. In paragraph 1 there is of an ironical statement when he refers to â€Å"the non-existent good old days† by this he means that every generation has always had some youth behaving differently. In other words society seems to think that youth behaviour in the present time is worse than the one from the past which is not always the case. The fact of the matter is that every generation has always had its fair share of youth trouble. There is also an example of a paradox as stylistic feature in paragraph 1 where the writer talks about â€Å" rooftop shouting and table banging about the breakdown of teenage society†. He thinks that the media is creating a moral panic by portraying youth behaviour as big crisis out of control. For example the media will talk about dysfunctional families, as the cause of crime and violence in our society. But it is true that not every criminal comes from a dysfunctional family although some do. In my opinion I think the use of figures of speech is necessary for the writer to be able to deliver his message in a way that is not offensive to the reader. The fact that he is writing to particular class of people, it is important that the author communicates to them in a language they will understand. I find the word â€Å"Dim view† used by the writer in paragraph 1 inappropriate since what is dim to one person will not necessarily be dim to another. This text portrays the writer`s personal opinion of the media when covering gang related issues in our society. The writer puts all the blame on the press and doesn’t at any one time show that there are bad gangs who do horrible things. The sense of passage would change if the point of view was varied. I find the writer`s opinion not balanced because it only talks about his side of the story. There is some truth in what the media covers on gang related issues. We live in a free and fair society where most people have a choice about decisions that affect their lives. This applies to youth in our society having a choice of whether to join a gang or not without affecting their livelihood. It is not infact a necessity to join a gang in order for you find your identity as a person. People can choose alternative routes to gangs by joining activities such a social sports club, a church and still find themselves. The author only talks about male and youth yet at present we have female gangs and not everybody in gangs is necessary youth. Gangs have lords who are old mature people who actually run and use the youth to do the dirty work for them. The author is writing based on his own experiences and encounters and another person who had a normal life cannot look at gangs the same way. Looking at the facts of this text it is clearly stated that the writer comes from a gang and criminal back ground. My research about the writer found that not only himself but also his father was in jail for sometimes and as a result of this the author was influenced to work with offenders in and out of prison. In the light of this the author will have biased views on this matter to support his background and the people he stands for. The fact that the author is addressing the media which is made mainly with middle class people such as journalists , he makes use of the Guardian newspaper to conveys his message accordingly. Perhaps the author`s text would have changed in terms of tone and balanced view if he had used a different category of paper. I think he would have done some research and would have been able to find evidence to support his arguments. In addition to this he might have used a simple way of writing his text to put his message across.

Does It Matter Where You Go to College

Does It Matter Where You Go to College SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Getting into an elite college is becoming increasingly harder, and many students (and their parents) place tremendous stress on themselves to try to do all they can to get into one of the most prestigious colleges. They believe that graduating from a top college will allow them to have a more prosperous future. While it’s undeniable that elite colleges attract the highest caliber of student, there’s still debate about whether these colleges directly impact professional outcomes.So really, does it matter where you go to college? In this article, I’ll explore the impact of attending an elite institution. While it’s extremely difficult to compare the educational and social impact of one college versus another, we can try to determine the influence a specific college has on one’s professional future. feature image credit:bluefieldphotos bp/Flickr What Is an Elite College? For the purposes of this article, elite colleges are the most selective, prestigious colleges in the country. These colleges are seen as the gold standard, and that's why so many students spend years of hard work and worry to try to get into these schools. Some examples of elite colleges are the Ivy League schools, MIT, Stanford, and the University of Chicago. If you're looking for a complete list, I'd include the top 15 National Universities and the top 5 National Liberal Arts schools in US News on this list of revered super schools. Why It Does Matter Where You Go to College There are a number of reasons why going to a more prestigious schoolcan benefit your future. Below,I’ll detail some of the most important benefits of attending an elite college. Keep in mind that I'm focusing on the potential financial and professional benefits of going to a top college. Additionally, elite colleges may challenge you more academically, and you may enjoy surrounding yourself with other incredibly motivated and successful students. On the other hand, some of the classes at top schools may make you feel overwhelmed. You may feel compelled to select a less rigorous major, or you may not have time to do as many extracurricular activities or have an enjoyable social life. Graduates of Elite Schools Are More Likely to Have Future Financial and Professional Success Probably, the main reason students and their parents care about gaining admission to top colleges is because they believe that attending one of these schools is a ticket to future success. While it’s difficult to prove that going to an elite college makes you successful, there’s a strong relationship between attending an elite school and being successful. On average, graduates from elite schools make more money, and degrees from many elite schools provide the best return on your college investment. Also, while only 2%-5% of all US undergraduates graduate from top schools, 38% of Fortune 500 company CEOs and 44.8% of billionaires graduated from elite institutions. Similarly, of Forbes’s most powerful people, 55.9% of powerful women and 85.2% of powerful men attended elite schools. Graduates of Top Schools Are More Likely to Graduate Even if you believe that all college degrees are equal, the top schools tend to have the highest graduation rates. Those who attend the most prestigious schools are much more likely to get degrees. For example, Harvard’s graduation rate is 98%. Meanwhile, the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a significantly less selective state school, has a graduation rate of 76%. Cal State Los Angeles, a California State University school, has a graduation rate of 41%. There are a number of factors that may contribute to the varying graduation rates. The most selective schools only admit top students; therefore, almost all of their students possess the necessary motivation to ensure that they graduate. Also, selective schools, particularly selective private schools, may offer more support services and guidance that result in higher graduation rates. Finally, some of the larger, less selective state schools have a higher percentage of low-income and nontraditional students. These students face additional obstacles that can prevent them from graduating. Low-Income Students May Benefit the Most From Going to a Top School On average, low-income students have significantly lower graduation rates. Furthermore, low-income students are more likely than wealthier students to attend a college that is less selective than one they could have attended. A widely read study determined that, for students admitted to elite schools, choosing to attend a somewhat selective school like Penn State over the most selective schools like Harvard didn’t impact future earnings for the majority. However, the payoff of attending elite colleges was greater for economically disadvantaged students. Why It Doesn’t Matter Which College You Attend There is definitely an argument to be made that where you go to college is insignificant. What matters are your skills, experience, work ethic, and that you get a college degree. Here are some reasons why it may not matter where you go to college. Going to an Elite School Isn’t Essential for Future Professional Success As previously mentioned, a study concluded that students who were admitted to top schools and opted to go to less selective schools ended up earning as much as their peers who graduated from the top schools. Therefore, you can conclude that what really matters isn’t where you go to school but possessing the attributes that make you competitive for admission to the top schools. Similarly, a Wall Street Journal study found that the prestige of a college doesn’t impact future earnings for many students. Specifically, the studyconcluded that a school’s prestige does have an impact on future earnings for business and liberal arts majors, but there is virtually no impact on future earnings for STEM majors. Additionally, even though graduates from the top schools are more likely to become CEOs or ridiculously wealthy, the majority of people who do aren’t graduates of elite institutions. Any Advantage of Going to an Elite School May Be Offset by Its Cost Even if going to a top college leads to somewhat higher earnings, those higher earnings may be more than offset by the substantially higher price of elite private colleges. For example, for the 2015-2016 academic year, the estimated cost of attendance for a year at Stanford was $65,177. For a California resident, the estimated cost of attendance for UCLA was $32,289. Over four years, that’s a difference of more than $120,000. Even if, hypothetically, the Stanford degree led to an annual salary that was $2,000 more than the UCLA degree, it would take more than 60 years of that extra salary just to cover the added cost of attending Stanford. However, keep in mind that elite private colleges typically offer the most generous financial aid. The listed cost of attendance may not be what you end up having to pay. Elite colleges aren't cheap. Conclusion: Does It Matter Where You Go to College? The short answer is that it depends. Primarily, it depends on your goals and background. If you want to become president or a CEO, you may be more likely to do so if you attend one of the most elite colleges. Similarly, some of the top Wall Street and consulting firms are known to almost exclusively hire employees who graduated from the most prestigious schools. Also, graduates of elite colleges have an advantage in the business world from strong, powerful alumni networks. However, If you want to be a scientist or teacher, there may not be much of an advantage, at least monetarily, from attending a top school. On the other hand, the data does suggest that students from low-income backgrounds may benefit the most from attending elite schools and choosing to attend the most selective school that accepts them. Furthermore, the answer depends on which schools you’re comparing. The difference between graduating from Stanford and graduating from UCLA is probably minimal, if there’s any difference at all, in the eyes of most employers and graduate schools. However, there’s a much larger difference between Stanford and Cal State Los Angeles. Again, you can still achieve any professional goal if you attend from Cal State Los Angeles, but the graduation rate of Stanford is significantly higher, and the average salaries of Stanford grads are substantially higher. It's important to remember that you can graduate from any college, and if you fully apply yourself, you can be a successful CEO, doctor, engineer, or whatever else you aspire to be. Similarly, if you go to an Ivy League college and try to coast through life without showing the dedication that got you into an elite college, you're likely to experience limited success. What Should You Do? Regardless of the school you attend, your work ethic, character, and aptitude will influence your future more than the college you graduated from. Maintain focus and keep working hard, and you’ll give yourself the best opportunity to reach your goals. Because getting a college degree is undoubtedly linked to future success, you want to attend a college that’s a good fit for you and your needs so that you’ll be more likely to graduate (and likely happier!). Find out how to go about researching and choosing a college. Also, research the professional outcomes for students who share your background and graduated with a degree in your intended major. You can use sites like payscale.com and College Scorecard to help you with your research. For example, while the University of Utah is ranked as the 5th best National University in the country by US News, it’s considered one of the very best colleges in the country for video game design. If you want to be a video game designer, going to the University of Utah may be more beneficial to your future career than going to Princeton or Yale. If you’re the first one in your family to go to college, or you have a disability, investigate how well students in your situation fare at a particular school. Each student has specific needs and goals, and you should try to determine how well a college will cater to your needs, and if it's well-equipped to help you fulfill your dreams. What's Next? If you've decided that you want to go to an elite college, find out how to get accepted. Also, you should know how many colleges to apply to and the complete college application timeline. Finally, if you think you can't go to an elite college becauseyou have sub-pargrades, but you want to go to a good school, learn about the best schools with low GPA requirements. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Make communicating numbers as simple as 1, 2, 3 - Emphasis

Make communicating numbers as simple as 1, 2, 3 Make communicating numbers as simple as 1, 2, 3 Being able to write about numbers well is a core skill. But it can become needlessly fraught – mainly because those who find maths straightforward often don’t understand why it’s difficult for others to grasp. Luckily, there are three principles that can take the pain out of the process: simplify, signpost and be specific. 1. Simplify When you’re translating a complex set of figures – for instance, a company’s financial results – into a written summary, it’s all too easy to get distracted by the sheer volume of information. This means you end up cramming in as much detail as possible, which can weaken your main message and confuse your reader, even if the audience is largely technical. Unless you’re confident that your piece will be read by someone who will be taking their time and making notes, it’s better to avoid dealing with more than two sets of numbers in any one sentence. Also, try not to have several sentences in succession that introduce new figures. Break them up with analysis and observations. Under this approach, the following sentence is fine: ‘Sales increased 10 per cent to  £2.7bn, while profits rose five per cent to  £10m.’ Despite containing four figures, it introduces only two concepts (what happened to sales, and what happened to profits). However, try to include a year-on-year comparison in the same sentence, and it becomes much less readable. ‘Sales increased 10 per cent to  £2.7bn in 2012, a slight improvement on 2011’s figure of eight per cent, while profits for 2012 rose five per cent to  £10m, up from four per cent in 2011.’ If you’re preparing a script or notes for TV or radio, try to reduce this still further to just one topic per sentence. To see how much more difficult it is to follow figures presented verbally, ask someone to read you the press release of any financial results – then see how much of what you heard you recall. Pick the numbers that really matter, and focus on getting those across. 2. Signpost Often, the same piece of writing will have to work for multiple audiences with very different technical abilities. A half-year update will be read for detailed information by analysts and investors, but perhaps also skimmed by potential clients and journalists looking for an overview of the company. For the former, the detail is vital, and if you remove it they will find the information insufficient – but leaving it in may confuse the latter. This is where signposting helps. Compare the following two statements: ‘Underlying net revenues, the best metric for sales, increased 9.7 per cent year-on-year to  £2.72bn, while profits before tax made strong progress, increasing 5.0 per cent to  £9.9m.’ ‘Sales and profits both grew strongly on the company’s key metrics. Underlying net revenues increased 9.7 per cent year-on-year to  £2.72bn, and profit before tax grew 5.0 per cent to  £9.9m.’ The second example is a little longer, but it primes readers on what to expect from the rest of the paragraph. It also serves as an explanation of the particular measures of revenue and profit being used. Signposts should be short and simple, and group related information. If they seem overly complex, you’re probably trying to load too much into one paragraph. 3.  Specify How specific your writing needs to be varies depending on your audience and the information you’re conveying. For a general audience, simple, round figures are always best. Avoid decimal points where possible, and minimise figures. Consider using descriptions such as ‘one in five’ rather than 20 per cent’, if it helps make the meaning clearer. More financially or technically literate audiences tend to prefer (or even demand) more specificity. In reality, the inputs on forecasting models are often rounded up or down, and the outcomes are therefore uncertain. For example, a forecasting model generated in Excel might come out with a brilliantly specific-looking sales projection: next year, the spreadsheet says, Company A will sell 67,971.2 tricycles.   But this figure appears more precise than it really is. Try to reflect this: if the margins of error on an estimate are known, make that clear.   This needn’t be complex. For example, if the margin was roughly +/-500, you could write the estimate as: ‘Projections for the next year suggest Company A will sell around 68,000 tricycles.’ Again, keep your audience in mind: analysts and specialists may well expect to see explicit references to margins of error. Take similar care when writing about risk and uncertainty. If you write ‘the chance of catastrophic failure has increased threefold, year-on-year,’ you may well terrify a reasonable portion of your readership. If the risk of catastrophic failure has increased from 0.01 per cent to 0.03 per cent, that panic probably wasn’t your intention. Make sure you’re confident of the difference between absolute and relative risk. Absolute risk describes how probable it is that something will occur. Relative risk is a comparison between different risk levels. In most cases, it will be appropriate to use the former. Most importantly of all, keep reminding yourself who it is youre writing for, what they need to know and the level of their technical expertise. Keeping your reader at the front of your mind will help you remember to speak in language that they will understand and find compelling. Want more help with writing about numbers? We run courses on report writing and technical writing. To find out more, call us on +44 (0)1273 732 888 or email help@writing-skills.com.

DECISION MAKING AND INFORMATION POLITICS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

DECISION MAKING AND INFORMATION POLITICS - Essay Example in the help desk that are being addressed by the technical department of every company, where the companies become ineffective to solve their problem. The reason behind this is the lack of proper knowledge of the staffs and new employees recruited in the help desk, who fails to deliver the services properly to the customers. Therefore, it is essential for the organizations to implement effective strategies that would help in establishing an effective help desk for the organizations, which will provide the best possible customer services to the end users (1CBS Interactive, 2015). For the effectiveness of help desk in any organization, it is important for recruiting and hiring the people, who are competent enough with the required work and possess necessary skills and knowledge regarding various technical aspects that he/she have to deal with. In the help desk, the personnel will be required to interact with the clients and customers and resolve their respective queries for which it is vital to hire the personnel, who possess good interpersonal skill as well as communication skill. Moreover, hiring the personnel with computer knowledge is essential, as they have to work in computers over the network. The personal and professional backgrounds of the candidates should also be checked while hiring them that would help in selecting appropriate candidates for the help desk job roles (2CBS Interactive, 2015). For a help desk manager, it is an effective consideration to understand the psychology of the customers and try to solve their queries and requirements without facing complexities. The major objective of a help desk is to provide technical support to the consumers and end users on the basis of their queries. The customers may sometimes speak rudely or may use abusive words, but the help desk personnel are required to stay calm and make the customers understand regarding the problems and suggest an effective solution to the problem. Moreover, a company may have