Writing Instructions Definition and Examples

In business writing, technical writing, and other forms of composition,  instructions are written or spoken directions for carrying out a procedure or performing a task. It is also called  instructive writing. Step-by-step instructions typically use the second-person point of view (you, your, yours). Instructions are usually conveyed in the active voice and the imperative mood: Address your audience directly. Instructions are often written in the form of a numbered list so that users can clearly recognize the sequence of the tasks. Effective instructions commonly include visual elements (such as pictures, diagrams, and flowcharts) that illustrate and clarify the text. Instructions intended for an international audience ​may rely entirely on pictures and familiar symbols. (These are called wordless instructions.) Observations and Examples Good instructions are unambiguous, understandable, complete, consistent, and efficient. (John M. Penrose, et al., Business Communication for Managers: An Advanced Approach, 5th ed. Thomson, 2004) The Lighter Side of Instructions:  Handbook for the Recently Deceased Juno:  Okay, have you been studying the manual?Adam:  Well, we tried.Juno:  The intermediate interface chapter on haunting says it all. Get them out yourselves. Its your house. Haunted houses arent easy to come by.Barbara:  Well, we dont quite get it.Juno:  I heard. Tore your faces right off. It obviously doesnt do any good to pull your heads off in front of people if they cant see you.Adam:  We should start more simply then?Juno:  Start simply, do what you know, use your talents, practice. You should have been studying those lessons since day one. (Sylvia Sidney, Alec Baldwin, and Geena Davis in  Beetlejuice, 1988) Basic Features Instructions tend to follow a consistent step-by-step pattern, whether you are describing how to make coffee or how to assemble an automobile engine. Here are the basic features of instructions: Specific and precise  titleIntroduction  with background informationList of parts, tools, and conditions requiredSequentially ordered stepsGraphicsSafety informationConclusion  that signals completion of task Sequentially ordered steps are the centerpiece of a set of instructions, and they typically take up much of the space in the document.(Richard Johnson-Sheehan, Technical Communication Today. Pearson, 2005) Checklist for Writing Instructions Use short sentences and short paragraphs.Arrange your points in logical order.Make your statements specific.Use the imperative mood.Put the most important item in each sentence at the beginning.Say one thing in each sentence.Choose your words carefully, avoiding jargon and technical terms if you can.Give an example or an analogy, if you think a statement may puzzle a reader.Check your completed draft for logic of presentation.Dont omit steps or take shortcuts. (Adapted from Writing With Precision by Jefferson D. Bates. Penguin, 2000) Helpful Hints Instructions can be either freestanding documents or part of another document. In either case, the most common error is to make them too complicated for the audience. Carefully consider the technical level of your readers. Use white space, graphics, and other design elements to make the instructions appealing. Most important, be sure to include Caution, Warning, and Danger references before the steps to which they apply.(William Sanborn Pfeiffer, Pocket Guide to Technical Communication, 4th ed. Pearson, 2007) Testing Instructions To evaluate the accuracy and clarity of a set of instructions, invite one or more individuals to follow your directions. Observe their progress to determine if all steps are completed correctly in a reasonable amount of time. Once the procedure has been completed, ask this test group to report on any problems they may have encountered and to offer recommendations for improving the instructions.

The Effects Of Wealth On Personal And Social Psychology

Dr. Paul K. Piff is a professor of psychology and social behavior at the University of California, Berkeley. In 2013 he gave one of the most popular TED Talks ever, on the topic of the effects of wealth on personal and social psychology. The video is most amusingly titled, â€Å"Does money make you mean?† The central claim of the video is that the idea of the American dream revolves around having to place personal desires over those of the general population, resulting in income inequality, and the various plights of said result. In many ways then, this videos central claim becomes ‘is the American dream ethical?’ Piff goes onto discuss how the psychological ailments that come with living a privileged life can be reversed or prevented through the power of suggestion. The results of this can be seen through various examples of the top one percent, such as Bill Gates, deciding to donate large portions of their wealth for the good of the world. The talk features the citation of over six studies. The most central of these studies is a study Piff opened his TED Talk with. Piff ran an experiment which was meant to gauge how a person’s behavior changes in regards to social interaction and food consumption, when one individual is obviously superior in wealth and advantage in comparison to another. To facilitate this on a smaller scale, he ran a true experiment which acted as a metaphor for society as a whole. He had 100 pairs of strangers play a game of Monopoly. The experiment was runShow MoreRelatedSocial Psychology Current Events1003 Words   |  5 PagesChristen See Social Psychology: The Economic Recession According to the financial definition, a recession is a significant decline in activity spread across the economy, lasting longer than a few months. It is visible in industrial production, employment, real income, and wholesale-retail trade. 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It impacted all aspects of life, from economic to social aspects and every different level in society, by creating more for people who were used to less. According to Hopkins ( 2000) urbanization is one of the most evident effects of the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution was responsible for changes in labor patterns, wealth, and material production. Although, most of the rural areas at the time remained as farming communities.Read MoreHorney1624 Words   |  7 PagesWomen in Psychology Paper Shanda L. Ludwig PSY/310 September 11, 2011 Dr. Matt Pearcey Women in Psychology Paper It was not until the 1890s that women were allowed access to training in most fields of study, including psychology. Since that time many have made significant theoretical contributions to the field of psychology and our understanding of psychodynamic thought including the works of Karen Horney (1885–1952). She was a psychoanalyst best known for her work on neurosis and copingRead MoreResearch: Racial Differences in Household Wealth in The United States1154 Words   |  5 PagesThe wealth difference that exists between African and Caucasian men is vast and expanding (Charles Hurst, 2002). After accounting for huge dissimilarities in income, family structure and wealth, the gap portion which remain unexplained may be attributed to belief, behavior and value differences between these groups. Despite an enormous and persistent black-white gap, many proclaim that society has transcended the racial divide (Hamilton, 2009). Wealth is a paramount indicator of social well-being Read MoreWhat Drives Jealousy? By Sarah Hill And David Buss1040 Words   |  5 PagesWhat Drives Jealousy? Evolution Sarah Hill and David Buss, in The Evolutionary Psychology of Envy , find we are envious due to the competition of resources. Social comparisons determine where we stand, in society, and how to adjust. 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Seems like an episode of Seinfeld, yet it s anything but. Since then, founder Gloria Steinheim created one of the most popular resources a feminist can find. The constantly growing website has a wealth of fresh columns, contributors, and spinoff sites. Whether you happen to be a student or a veteran of the cause, Feminist.com has something that everybody can learn from. 2. FEMINIST.ORG Not to be confused with number 1, Feminist.org is the homeRead MoreArranged Marriage And Other Types Of Marriage1635 Words   |  7 PagesAn arranged marriage by definition is a marriage planned and agreed upon by the families or guardians of the bride and groom. The amount of input a bride or groom has is based on the type of arranged marriage (Psychology Wiki). Arranged marriage is a sensitive topic as it involves the values, beliefs and core characteristics of many people. There are multiple views on arranged marriage, both positive and negative. In the west, most individuals have negative opinions on arranged marriage. Arranged

Consumer Behaviour and Culture Marketing Strategy

Question: Discuss about the Consumer Behaviour and Culture Marketing Strategy. Answer: Introduction This report deeply analyses the Australian advert which was released to the public in 2004. Eighty people have so far raised issues regarding the advert. This number is high and cannot be brushed away. This report tries to break down the advertisement to establish the relationship between the advertisement and consumer behaviour. Advertisement appeals and segment variables have been used. The report further analysis the consumer behaviour issues that have been raised by the advert. Such issues include cultural appeals, emotional appeals, prompts towards decision making and consumer motivation, etc. Besides, the report also looks into ways in which the advert can be improved so that it can be embraced by all the members of the society. Improvement of the advertisement would improve the marketing of the companys products. Meat and Livestock Australia is an Australian company that deals with research, development and marketing of outcomes that benefit the producers of cattle, goats, and sheep in Australia. The company carries out its duties in collaboration with the Government of Australia and the entire red meat industry of Australia. The mission of Meat and Livestock Australia Company is to deliver value to the people through investments in business initiatives that promote competitiveness, sustainability, and profitability. Meat and Livestock Australia Advert The advertisement shows Sam Kekovichs attempt to fight un-Australianism. He does so by encouraging the people of Australia to eat lamb on Australian Day which is marked by the people every year. According to the advertisement, Sam Kekovich mistakenly confused a lesbian for a man. He also sneakily gave a little boy a lamb chop when the boys parent was looking away. The advert paints a picture that the boys parent had failed in her responsibility of providing food for the child. Another controversial issue with the advert is the fact that the boy wore a singlet with the writing, vegan and proud. Many people have protested against the advert. However, Meat and Livestock Australia have come out guns blazing to defend themselves against any wrongdoing in the advert. The countrys Advertising Standard Bureau carried out a determination and cleared the company of any wrongdoing in the advertisement. The determination established that the companys ads were not meant to be taken seriously by t he Australian community members. The advert was grouped in the category of over the top. Analysis of segmentation variable Market segregation is the scenario whereby the targeted audience customers are broken into groups such that customers with similar interest are grouped together. This is market identification based on common personality qualities or demography. The advert targets the lesbian group of customers and refers to them as boys. This approach emphasizes on customers behaviour and interests. Since young boys like food, Kekovich takes advantage of the case and hands a lamb chop to a vegas boy to eat. He tends to encourage such children that there is no harm in eating lamb meat There is a belief that people make choices on what to purchase based on the existing alternatives (Widing Sheth, 2004, p. 67). However, emotions play a very important role in the decisions that people finally make. The advert by the Meat and Livestock Australia encourages people to eat lamb on the Australian day. The day is very special to the countrys indigenous community. Any effort to encourage people to consume lamb on this particular day is regarded highly offensive to the community members. The people feel disgusted every time the advert appears on their television screens. They are of the opinion that the company doesnt respect them. This advert triggers emotions among the people who feel that they are targeted. As a result, the community members may shy away from purchasing the companys products. Other people who are not affected by the advert may also join hands in solidarity with the affected community. They may call for emotional appeal from every willing person to shy away from the advertised commodities. The end results may be very disgusting as much as business is concerned (Foxall, 1994, p. 70). The company may make huge losses if people keep away from buying the advertised products as well as other products that are produced by the company. The company may have been given the go-ahead to continue with the advert, but the reaction from the community may overshadow the advert. Cultural appeal Culture refers to beliefs, customs, and values that regulate the consumer behavior of people of any given community. Peoples culture may direct, guide and order the kind of food that the people can eat (Otnes Tuncay-Zayer, 2012, p. 113). Culture, therefore, dictate what people of a given society may eat during certain events e.g. wedding, holidays or even during picnics. Indigenous Australian people lived in Australia long ago before the European came to Australia. The European people integrated with the indigenous Australian people, and they have lived in peace over the years. Australian day is a special day which has been set aside for the remembrance of the indigenous Australian people. It is a culture among the vegans. However, Kerovich tends to fight un-Australian when he encourages the people to eat lamb on Australia day. Eating of lamb is unacceptable on Australian day among the people of indigenous Australian origin. Kerovich knowingly acted in a manner that suggested that h e had an issue with the peoples culture. The boys shirt read out that he was a vegan and was proud of it. However, Kerovich handed a lamb chop to the boy so that he could eat it. Kerovich also ensured that he gave out the lamb chop when the boys mother wasnt aware. Despite the fact that Australian Advertising standards Bureau approved the advert, there is enough evidence that it undermines the culture of the indigenous Australian people. An advert that promotes views that undermine any communitys culture is likely to send away potential customers. People highly value their cultural beliefs. Any person who attempts to undermine some peoples cultural beliefs is likely to face a great opposition. As such, the Meat and Livestock Australia Company may face the ripple effect of the advert. The Australian people who feel that the advert undermines their culture may opt to boycott products from the company. Other interested parties may also lead campaigns against the products produced by the company. Customer motivation is the driving force which compels customers into some actions. Motivation triggers goal oriented behaviours among customers. The motivation may be positive or negative. By referring to lesbians as men, the lesbians may be motivated in boycotting all the products from the company. They may develop a permanent enmity between them and the company. Consumers tend to be motivated by good ethics. A company that lacks respect for its customers is likely to lose the customers. Every company must look for ways and means of motivating its customers to keep them. Any action by the company that is likely to demotivate consumers can negatively impact on the company. It is always tough to convince and customers. It is, therefore, important that every company tries as much as possible to keep them. Decision making prompts Decision making prompts refers to activities that may trigger the making of some decisions among customers. The decisions may have either positive effects or negative effects on the products of companies in the market (Peter Olson, 2003, p. 89). By airing an advert where a boy is fed on lamb on Australian day, the advert triggers some decisions among the people who feel targeted by the advert. Such people may decide to cut ties with all the products from the company completely. Lesbians in Australia may also decide to keep off all the products from the company. There is no good reason why someone would refer to them as boys in an advert. Advertisements are practiced ad repeatedly done before a good one is finally selected (Mowen, 2000, p. 45). Any mistake would have been identified long before the advert was recorded and sent to media houses. It is therefore very open and clear that the motive of Meat and Livestock Company was to assume the existence of the Lesbians. The advert prov ides a picture that the only groups of people are boys and girls. The company is of the opinion that Lesbians can be grouped as boys (Marieke de Mooij, 2010, p. 51). Product position relevant to competitors Competitors are likely to take advantage of the advert. The advert is non-ethical and disrespectful towards some groups of people in Australia. Competitors can take advantage and approach the indigenous Australian people in an attempt to win them as customers. (Kanuk, 2002, p. 69). Companies be well aware of their competitors before they produce adverts The advertisement undermines the practises of some groups of people in Australia. It refers to lesbians as boys. At the same time, a vegan boy is given a lamb chop to eat on Australia day. The boys mother is also depicted as someone who has failed in her responsibility of feeding her son. The advert is therefore likely to fail in its key objective of marketing the companys products in order to attract more customers. Instead, the advert annoys lesbians, women and the indigenous Australian people. They are likely to gang against the company and keep off from purchasing the companys products. It is quite unethical for a stranger to give food to a child who is under the care of his mother. In addition, the mother was never consulted. He ensured that the mother was looking away while he performed the act. At the same time, he was very aware that the boy and mother belonged to a culture that does not encourage eating of lamb on such particular day. As a result, the advert promotes unethical behaviours in the society. It encourages people to disregard other communitys cultures (Peter Olson, 2003, p. 56). The Advertising Standard Bureau also promoted the unethical behaviour by clearing the owners of the advertisement of any wrong doing. The regulator provided such a ruling despite the many complaints that had been raised by the society members who castigated the advert. The advert also shows disrespect for the lesbian community when one of them is referred to as a boy. (Tyagi Kumar , 2004, p. 97). Companies must keenly observe consumer behaviour insights such as culture, product position, emotional appeal and consumer motivation in an attempt to market goods (Schiffman, 2013, p. 73). Peoples culture, for instance, is critical as much as marketing is concerned. Marketing companies should, therefore, avoid adverts that infringe other peoples culture as much as possible. Such adverts are likely to trigger rebellion from members of the community whose culture is fringed by the particular advert. The people may, therefore, keep off from purchasing the companys products (Babin Harris, 2004, p. 121). Advertising companies must ensure that their adverts dont trigger emotions among the people (Evans, et al., 1996, p. 64). The advert tends to provide a picture that mothers are unable to provide food for their children. This is seen when Kerovich hands a lamb chop to the boy while the mother is around. However, the mother had not failed in her responsibility of caring for the son as portrayed in the advert. It was on Australian day, and the people are not expected to feed on lamb at all. The advert is, therefore, likely to trigger the emotion of women in the society (Craig-Lees, et al., 1995, p. 71). They may decide to stop buying commodities from the company associated with the advert. As much as any company would like to market its products and to ensure that as many people purchase them as possible, they must avoid adverts that are likely to portray the products in bad faith. The advert should not portray lesbians as boys. They should be accorded respect and simply referred to as lesbians. In addition, the lamb chop should not be given. Instead, a beef chop should be given to the boy. It should also not be given on Australian day Conclusion The advertisement is a business marketing strategy that promotes business competition and improved business gains. It enables many people to become aware of the products that are offered on the market. There are different types of advertisement. However, video adverts are more convincing and hence persuades more people to purchase the products. Despite the huge advantages that come with video advertisements, it is necessary for the companies to pay a lot of attention to the factors that are likely to affect consumer behaviour. Also, the views should be treated with a lot of concern. References List Babin, B. J. Harris, E., 2004. Consumer behaviour. 5th Edition ( ed. s.l.:Cengage Learning. Craig-Lees, M., Joy, S. Browne, B., 1995. Consumer behaviour. s.l.:Jacaranda Wiley Ltd.. Evans, M. J., Moutinho, L. Raaij, W. F., 1996. Applied Consumer Behaviour, 1st edition. s.l.:Addison-Wesley, England.. Foxall, G. R., 1994. Consumer Psychology for Marketing. s.l.:London: Routledge. Kanuk, S., 2002. Consumer Behaviour. Sydney: Prentice Hall Australia Pty. Ltd.. Marieke de Mooij, 2010. Consumer Behavior and Culture: Consequences for Global Marketing and Advertising. s.l.:SAGE. Mowen, J. C., 2000. Consumer Behaviour, second edition. New York: Maxwell Macmillan International Edition. Otnes, C. Tuncay-Zayer, L., 2012. Gender, Culture, and Consumer Behavior. s.l.:Routledge. Peter, J. P. Olson, J., 2003. Consumer Behaviour and Marketing Strategy .. New York: Richard Irwin, Mcgraw Hill Co. Schiffman, L., 2013. Consumer Behaviour. s.l.:Pearson Higher Education AU. Tyagi, C. L. Kumar , A., 2004. Consumer Behaviour. s.l.:Atlantic Publishers Dist. Widing, S. Sheth, J., 2004. Customer Behaviour: Consumer Behaviour and Beyond. New York: The Dryden Press, Harcourt Brace Publishers.

Political Theory Discussion # 9 an Example of the Topic Economics Essays by

Political Theory Discussion # 9 by Expert Dr. Didion | 23 Dec 2016 American politics according to most political scientist is generally comprised of five fundamental building structures. This includes recognition of inpidualism, property, laws and contracts, freedom and finally, equality. Inpidualism has remained nowadays as a contentious concept. This can be traced back to the obsolete meaning of inpidualism which is commonly associated with "freedom from societal entanglement"(Dewey) and "cultivation and expression of personality"(Kateb). In this sense, inpidualism is expressed through "self profiteering" which could actually be detrimental to the whole politics. Need essay sample on "Political Theory Discussion # 9" topic? We will write a custom essay sample specifically for you Proceed Thus, asDu Boissuggest, there must be a new way of looking or understanding the term, inpidualism, so as, it would not conflict with the other tenets of politics. Inpidualism should be understand as a way of putting an inpidual into a societal context, and recognize that it is manifested asinpidual's "freedom of thought, working within and for a larger societal gain". Du Bois) Property is also subjected to changes in meaning, for what we regard as property today are very much different with the property as it was used in the past. The different forms of property and its conflicts with the other "important bases of politics" have also made this notion highly controversial. Laws and contracts, on the other hand, is really basic to any polical system. Contracts were acknowledge to be the manifestation of laws in a usually written form. Thus, any of our bills and the constitution itself, that were embodied in the sheets of paper or written on stones were actually a contract. The conflict here arises when the question of the supposedly impartiality of law was raised. Lastly, there were the concepts of freedom and equality, which are in the surface seems to be complementary, but are actually conflicting upon a closer look. While freedom talks about the absence of restraints, equality purports to the different entitlements that an inpidual is due to have. The more freedom the inpidual have, the more inequality it would result. Reform liberalism is all about having "inpidual obligations" to exercise one's abilities and to fully participate in the community". The basic values that reform liberalismpromulgates include: racial equality, gender equality, economic equality and cultural persity. Addressing these issues would suggest a long-range political view that could be use to resolve political conflicts and challenges. Thesepoliticalconflictsmay involve radical challenges from the left which are commonly from a working-class reform base. Some of the prominent challengers were Progressive Populism, Labor and the Rainbow Coalition. Populism had been ideal to gain public sympathy because they tend touphold the interest of the lower classes against tyranny and unjustified rules of the elite. It is a term used to denote "the government of the people". The Progressive Party has brought voices for protection of the lower classes from the elites. They have put more effort on proliferating the economy by making more roads, cutting off taxes, The American Labor Party, was a socialist party that greatly emphasizes the equality among property, resources and an unbiased law implementation in able to give security for the farmers and other members of the working class and are associated with the thought of uniting white workers with black workers. The Populist Party has been a significant historical party who has argued against setting of gold-standard. Most of its members were also farmers. They supported the Free Silver platform that has result in inflation. So far there had no Populist President that have existed, although there had been several Senators and congressman who belonged to the party, nonetheless, there were no President who was a member of the Populist parties and who advocate the partys goals. Lastly, the Rainbow Coalition was the first party to promote gay and lesbian rights, in a speech on July 17, 1984, Reverend Jesse Jackson said: America is more like a quilt many patches, many pieces, many colors, many sizes, all woven and held together by a common thread. The White, the Hispanic, the Black, the Arab, the Jew, the woman, the Native American, the small farmer, the businessperson, the environmentalist, the peace activist, the young, the old, the lesbian, the gay and disabled make up the American quilt. Indeed we are living in a two party system, but these does not mean that there cannot be a third party in the system, for there were instances wherein a third party or an independent candidate can also join the race like what have happen when Ross Perot ran for presidency. Only, the party which was called the Reform party have not flourished like the other two, this is due to the fact that there was neglect on the part of its members. They did not establish a single cut ideology that the other two parties posses. Living them out, dying in the race. With respect to Lieberman, he often calls himself a democrat, however the actions that he did in the past years of his career were obviously more of an action of a left republican or what was often called as mediators. Also, he was often endorsed by Republicans, his supporters were Republicans and his thinking can be associated more of a republican than as a democrat. Democratic Party has been supporters of the Libertarian movements and propagandas. They are in favor of the same-sex marriages, military diplomacy, and the secularization of the government and preservation of abortion rights. The Democratic New Leftist was concerned about the libertarian socialist tradition which is about the equality of the social and political system, eliminating all forms of civil hierarchies. The democratic Rightist or the democratic Conservatives were more inclined on preserving the social traditions and structures. Centrist Democrats differ from the other two factions in the sense that they support welfare reform and support the reduction of tax rates. The Republican Party is known to be economical libertarians and social conservatives. This is because they support the religious rights and other social rights while advocating economical inpidualism by promoting lower taxes and opposing abortion rights and same-sex marriages. They are also known to maintain free-market policies. The right wing republicans on the other hand, are those who are strictly conservatives that they were concerned about social aspects such as morality much more than economic gains. The left-wing republicans stressed on a more liberal approach than its right counterpart in the sense that they do support tax-cuts they are also supportive of partial-abortion rights. In the sense they espouse a semi-social liberal and economic liberal principle. The American Centrist party was largely about moving forward. It does not intend to be a rightist or a leftist. They believe that the government should be ruled by the people and that the current government is not working with respect to the best-interest of the American populace. The Republicans supports the idea of school voucher because they place more importance on the society and education is one of the things that can uplift the society. Most likely this will be the side of the Left-wing republican, who are in favor of helping the community to liberate itself through preparing the children for their future. However, the Flag salute and the school prayer will be most likely supported by the Right Republicans who were generally concerned in preserving traditional culture and heritage. Although there are differences between the position of the republicans regarding these matters, nevertheless, I believe that it is not a very great force that would split or change the political spe ctrum and position. Throughout the different notions that circle the realm of politics, one may be inclined to think that indeed there have been so many political issues that need to be addressed, and the answers to these problems as we have seen, so far, can only be answered by more than a dozen interpretations and personal opinions. Our needs and/or desires can be articulated in different ways, and still it might not reach the single line in the Bill of rights or in the Constitution. Policies were made in response to the different agreements and disagreements that are debated in Congress concerning the public interest . If political structure would be pide in the way we have above, the national two political party systems would have to be restructured in the sense that they would withhold compromises from the ideas presented by their respective right and left wings in able to create a more productive, conducive and aligned party systems. With respect to Perots candidacy, I believe that the reason why he did not won the presidency was because he have stopped campaigning and then go back on campaigning again. His platforms includes those issues that were not largely taken by or that were not included in the platforms by other candidates. As a independent candidate, he can be rendered as a left wing republican because of his support to free-trade and conservative social policies. I believe that the two-party system that we have is still the best way to organize a political structure, because even though it is a two-party system, it still leave space for detractors, debates, compromise and other opinion. Having a wide variety of party-system in my opinion would blurred the vision for national focus, but instead these parties would more likely seek favors and create policies that were catered for smaller groups of people. Works Cited: Dewey, John. Freedom and Culture. G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1939 Dubois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. Moder library. 1996. Kateb, George. Patriotism and Other Mistakes. USA, 2006. Republican National Committee. October 18, 2006. North Carolina. Retrived on July, 31, 2007. The Democratic Party. Minimum Wage Increases Today. July 24, 2007. Retrive on July 31, 2007.

Florida Bar Association Rules of Professional Conduct Essay Example

Florida Bar Association Rules of Professional Conduct Essay Example Florida Bar Association Rules of Professional Conduct Essay Florida Bar Association Rules of Professional Conduct Essay Rules of Professional Conduct (Chapter 4, Rules Regulating The Florida Bar) On This Page I. Issue II. Bar Position III. Background IV. Facts and Statistics [pic] I. Issue On January 1, 1987, the Code of Professional Responsibility ceased to govern lawyers in Florida. The Code was replaced by the Rules of Professional Conduct, which is Chapter 4 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. The new Florida rules, patterned after the American Bar Association (ABA) Model Rules of Professional Conduct but stricter in many instances, provide updated ethical standards for attorney behavior and the structure for regulating conduct. Attorneys who violate the rules are subject to disciplinary proceedings brought by the Bar with penalties imposed by the Supreme Court of Florida. Advantages of the new rules include: Greater clarity, therefore promoting greater understanding of professional standards; improving ease of access for the average practitioner and offering a more definite framework for disciplinary procedures. Guidance in many matters not addressed in the Code of Professional Responsibility. New Rules of Discipline (Chapter 3, Rules Regulating The Florida Bar), which took effect at the same time as the Rules of Professional Conduct and amended further March 16, 1990, allow the Bar to publicly acknowledge complaints against attorneys after the Bar has formally filed a complaint against an attorney with the Supreme Court of Florida (cases received before March 17, 1990) and after grievance committee or staff disposition, including dismissals (cases after March 16, 1990). The Bar will be able to acknowledge that fact by citing the attorneys name, the nature of the omplaint and the status of the case. Previously, before January 1, 1987, such information was usually released only after the Supreme Court issued the discipline order often months or years after the formal complaint was filed. The new discipline rules also increase the disbarment period from three to five years (before an attorney can apply for readmission). The rules of discipline were amended with respect to a bolition of the gag rule, substantial reduction in the amount of confidentiality attached to disciplinary cases and to allow for more streamlined grievance committee procedures. : On February 9, 2000, The Florida Bar petitioned the Supreme Court to amend the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. Some modifications were accepted and are now reflected in the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar. The most recent amendments to Chapters 3 and 4 of the Rules Regulating The Florida Bar were enacted by the Florida Supreme Court in Amendments to Rules Regulating The Florida Bar, 29 Fla. L. Weekly S265 (No. SC03-705, 5/20/2004). Back to Top [pic] II. Bar Position A. American Bar Association Position The Model Rules reflect years of effort by a commission of the ABA. The Florida Bar was active in the development of the Model Rules and many of its recommendations were included in the final Model Rules document. B. The Florida Bar Position Floridas Rules of Professional Conduct are based on the Model Rules with modifications specific to the state. The rules were submitted to the Supreme Court and were approved with minor changes in July 1986. The Rules of Professional Conduct reflect the position of The Florida Bar on matters of attorney conduct and discipline. Back to Top [pic] III. Background A. Historical The first national standards for lawyers were the Canons of Professional Ethics, adopted by the ABA in 1908, and subsequently by most state lawyer regulatory bodies. In 1969 the ABA replaced the Canons with the Code of Professional Responsibility, which was in turn, adopted in varying forms by all state bar associations. In 1977, the ABA leadership determined the code needed reworking and appointed the Commission on the Evaluation of Professional Standards, commonly known as the Kutak Commission. After six years of comment, debate and redrafting, the Kutak Commission proposed its final work product, the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, which the ABA adopted in 1983 to replace the Code of Professional Responsibility. The Florida Bar appointed a special study committee of lawyers and law professors from throughout the state to study the proposed rules and make recommendations regarding their adoption in Florida. After thorough review, debate and public hearings, the committee recommended that the rules be adopted with some modifications. The Florida Bars Board of Governors concurred, and after lengthy consideration, the Florida Supreme Court entered its order adopting the rules, effective 12:01 a. m. on January 1, 1987, in place of the Code of Professional Responsibility. B. Format The Code of Professional Responsibility was in a three-part format: the nine Canons, the Ethical Considerations and the Disciplinary rules. The purpose was to state the general maxims in the Canons, and aspirational objectives in the ECs, and the enforceable standards in the DRs. The Kutak Commission found that the Code of Professional Responsibility, including the varying standards found in the Canons, ECs and the DRs, were cumbersome and difficult to apply in the practical resolution of ethical dilemmas arising in the everyday practice of law. With the increasing size of the Bar and the need to provide more effective ethical standards for lawyers, the Kutak Commission believed that the restatement format would make the rules a more useful tool in the practice of law and in disciplinary procedures. The rules also provide substantive guidance in many areas not addressed by the code. The rules abandon the three-part format of the Code. The rules appear in a restatement format, with a total of 50 black letter rules in eight parts (Client-Lawyer Relationship, Counselor, Advocate, Transactions With Persons Other Than Clients, Law Firms and Associations, Public Service, Information About Legal Services, and Maintaining the Integrity of the Profession). Accompanying each rule is a comment explaining the purpose of the rule and providing a guide to interpretation. The comments explain and interpret the rules, but their statements of appropriate conduct, to the extent that they go beyond the actual mandates of the rules themselves, are not mandatory or binding. Back to Top [pic] C. Substantive Some of the areas where The Florida Bar has adopted stricter standards than the ABAs Model Rules include: Client Confidentiality. Florida rules require a lawyer to reveal information to prevent a client from committing a crime or to prevent a death or substantial bodily harm to another. The ABA Model simply leaves revelation of that information to the discretion of the lawyer. Contingency Fees. Florida rules require that all such arrangements in personal injury and property damage cases be in writing and closing statements disbursing such fees also be in writing. Percentage caps are also in place for personal injury and wrongful death cases. The ABA has no such cap requirements. Fee splitting is also addressed in the rules. A client must approve most fee splits before attorneys can share a fee and the closing statement must reflect who received what fees. For the most part, the substantive content of the rules is consistent with the Code of Professional Responsibility that they replace. Some examples of where the rules vary from the code, or address matters not found in the Code include: The rules are consistent with the recent pronouncements of the U. S. Supreme Court on advertising and essentially permit any form of advertising that is not false or misleading. Lawyers are allowed in certain situations (including the aftermath of disasters) to solicit clients through direct mail advertising. Lawyers are required to report ethical violations by other attorneys that raise a substantial question as to the lawyers honesty, trustworthiness or fitness as a lawyer. Previously, reporting violations by other lawyers was discretionary. The rules permit disciplinary action against a lawyer who knows of serious misconduct by another lawyer but fails to report it. Attorneys have a similar responsibility relative to judicial misconduct. Attorneys are forbidden from using means that have no substantial purpose other than to embarrass, delay or burden a third person and forbidden from making a frivolous discovery request in a pretrial procedure. Lawyers are required to make reasonable efforts to expedite litigation consistent with the interests of the client. Forwarding fees (sometimes called referral fees) are expressly permitted not only when they are divided in proportion to services rendered, but also where each participating lawyer merely assumed joint responsibility with the client consenting in writing. The rules expressly permit lawyers to advance costs contingent upon outcome of litigation. The rules expressly permit a member of a lawyers f irm to be a witness in a trial in which the lawyer is trial counsel. Circumstances in which a lawyer may accept employment adverse to a former client are expressly addressed for the first time. Considerations in corporation representation, including conflicts that may arise within the organization, are treated directly for the first time. The principle of confidentiality between lawyers and clients is expanded from the codes concepts of confidences and secrets to any information relating to representation. The rules expressly permit a lawyer to act as an intermediary between two or more clients in certain circumstances. The rules address the separate responsibilities of senior and subordinate lawyers in law firms, and the responsibilities for legal assistants, for the first time. For the first time, lawyers are allowed to participate in referral services operated by someone other than local bar associations and The Florida Bar. In other words, they can participate in privately ( nonlawyer) operated, for-profit referral services. Back to Top [pic] IV. Facts and Statistics The Florida Bar Lawyer Regulation Department [pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |Year |Complaints Received|Disbarments |Suspens- |Public |Resignat- |Admonish- | | | | |ions |Reprimands |ions |ments | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1980-81 |3,648 |15 |38 |18 |4 |87 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1985-86 |6,268 |29 |65 |29 |13 |189 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1990-91 |8,068 |27 |110 |66 |38 |N/A | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1991-92 |8,234 |39 |110 |56 40 |107 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1992-93 |7,497 |33 |128 |48 |37 |142 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1993-94 |7,796 |23 |123 |54 |37 |142 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1994-95 |8,470 |29 |135 |62 |33 |148 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1995 -96 |8,839 |35 |146 |63 |25 |111 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1996-97 |9,436 |36 |127 |66 |36 |88 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1997-98 |9,317 |32 |150 |60 |38 |62 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1998-99 |9,101 |29 |144 |49 |44 |66 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |1999-00 |9,491 |35 |132 |43 |30 |57 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |2000-01 |9,280 |38 |155 |57 |38 |70 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] [pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |2001-02 |8,691 |20 |133 |69 |29 |52 | |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] |[pic] | |2002-03 |8,671 |40 |116 |43 |26 |70 | Prepared by The Florida Bar Department of Public Information and Bar Services with assistance by the Lawyer Regulation Department and the Ethics and Advertising Department.

To what extent is the rule contained in the Salomon v Salomon Co Ltd Essays

To what extent is the rule contained in the Salomon v Salomon Co Ltd Essays To what extent is the rule contained in the Salomon v Salomon Co Ltd Paper To what extent is the rule contained in the Salomon v Salomon Co Ltd Paper Essay Topic: Law The company as a separate legal personality from that of its members as defined by the Companies Act 1862 was established in common law by the House of Lords in 1879 when they delivered their judgement in the case of Salomon v. Salomon Co. Ltd. Indeed, this case is now seminal, with both practitioners and students of the law referring to it as the foundation upon which modern company law is based. However, although the outcome of Salomon v Salomon Co. Ltd is now firmly embedded that is not to say it has not been prone to the effects of the occasional tremor. Since this ruling and some might argue prior to this ruling by the House of Lords questions relating to the interpretation of the act and its scope have been hotly debated. While some see this ruling as clearly interpreting the 1862 act at common law others contend that such an interpretation is too rigid and clearly open to abuse. It would be argued that a separate legal personality in conjunction with limited liability offered the nineteenth century entrepreneur the protection they desperately needed if their business ventures were to grow and expand beyond their personal resources. Others would contend that this ruling was to the detriment of the companys creditors, allowing the unscrupulous individual or individuals to set up a limited company at little expense and little or no risk to themselves. Indeed, some detractors of the outcome of the Salomon v. Salomon Co Ltd ruling have referred to such companies as a sham, a screen and a mere fraud. These, and a plethora of similar terms illustrates perfectly, as Murray A. Pickering states, the degree of uncertainty on the part of the courts on some occasions when dealing with the separate existence of the company (1). The uncertainty created by the House of Lords ruling between helping the entrepreneur and protecting the creditors of the business has seen that the principles of the company as a separate legal entity with limited liability not go unchallenged. Since 1879 companies have become more complex in their design and their operation and with out any radical changes in statute to incorporate these, it has been left largely to the courts to respond to these developments. The question of abuse by one or more individuals of the privileged status of the incorporated company has frequently come before the courts since the House of Lords ruling. For instance the potential of a party or parties to operate behind a limited company and perpetrate a fraud upon the companys creditors has been recognised and in recent decades the rise, and in some instances the dominance, of the group of companies (conglomerates and multinationals) has seen the courts set down a number of exceptions to the general principle of incorporation with its inherent benefits as laid down by the Companies Act 1862 as interpreted by the Salomon case. While Salomon v. Salomon Co. Ltd might form the foundations of modern company law, over the years those foundations have been made more pliable with the courts recognising a number of instances whereby the veil of incorporation can be lifted so as to allow the courts to determine the true nature of the organisation. Before one considers the potential for abuse of the rule as contained with in the Salomon v. Salomon Co. Ltd case it would be prudent to begin by examining why the law in relation to the company needed to be changed. The background surrounding the eventual House of Lords judgement will then be reviewed before consideration is given to the actual judgement itself. From this vantage point it will then be possible to consider in some detail the potential for abuse together with practical illustrations of how the courts and statute have sought reduce the potential for abuse. Prior to the 1840s there were two routes available to someone seeking to create a company. The first required the company to be incorporated by Royal Charter which in effect gave the company monopolistic power with in its sphere of influence (as defined by the charter). Indeed, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries this was the vehicle that allowed the British Empire to prosper. The other route was for a company to be incorporated by Parliament. However, this route was both time-consuming and expensive and could only be justified in the case of very large undertakings such as the development of the railway. By the middle of the eighteenth century Britain was facing growing competition from its traditional European rivals (in particular France and Germany) and from the rapidly developing and industrialised United States of America. Indeed while the vast majority of Britains economic wealth rested in the hands of family run enterprises America was witnessing the creation of the conglomerate in the hands of such people as Andrew Carnegie (1835 1919) and J. P. Morgan (1837 1913). While Britain had the skills and abilities to compete, the inability for an individual or a group of individuals to raise capital to create comparable enterprises was strangling economic development. It was common practice to insert provisions within the charter of a trading corporation which allowed leviations on its members to pay the corporations debts, a factor which stifled entrepreneurial risk taking. Boyle and Bird in their book Company Law credit the legislation of the 1840s and the 1850s as being responsible for the creation of the registered company that we can recognise today and while those commentating on the Salomon v. Salomon Co. Ltd case make reference in particular to the 1862 Companies Act one could argue, persuasively, that it was the Joint Stock Companies Acts of 1856, the that provides the bedrock upon which the modern company was formed. This act consolidated and reformed previous legislation. It introduced the memorandum and articles of association while abolishing deeds of settlement and of equal importance it removed previous safeguards for limited liability. These changes in the law were in response to a particular economic reality, the need to finance growth. In conjunction with the skills of the entrepreneur and technological developments these changes helped to stimulate the economy by making it possible to raise capital for a business venture without facing the consequences of unlimited liability should the venture fail. Some thirty years later Mr Salomon, a manufacturer of boots and shoes and trading under the name A Salomon Co. sought to turn his business into a limited company. He adhered to all that was required of him under the Companies Act 1862. However, the judge suggested that the company had a right of indemnity against Mr Salomon, declaring the shareholders of the company were nominees of Mr Salomon. The counter-claim was amended accordingly. Vaughan Williams J. declared that the plaintiffs of A. Salomon Co, Limited or the liquidator were entitled to be indemnified by the defendant A. Salomon. It is interesting to note that his Lordship was attempting to lift the corporate veil, something that a number of courts have done against the backdrop of the House of Lords ruling on Salomon v. Salomon Co. Ltd in 1879. He stated that this business was Mr Salomons business and no one elses; that he chose to employ as agent a limited company; that he is bound to indemnify that agent, the company; and that his agent, the company, has a lien on the assets which overrides his claim(2) He went on to say In this case it is clear that the relationship of principal and agent existed between Mr Salomon and the company. 3) His Lordship had recognised and attempted to address what was to become one of the major exceptions (the company as an agent of an individual) to the Salomon v. Salomon Co. Ltd ruling, one which would allow future courts to legitimately lift the corporate veil. Mr Salomon appealed; but the appeal was dismissed thought the grounds for dismissal differed from those expressed by the lower court. Lindley L. J. ntimated that Mr Salomon had acted fraudulently when he said It is manifest that the other members of the company have practically no interest in it, and their names have merely been used by Mr Aron Salomon to enable him to form a company, and to use its name in order to screen himself from liability(4) His suggestion that a fraud had been perpetrated by A. Salomon was clarified when he said There are many small companies which will be quite unaffected by this decision. But there may possibly be some which, like this, are mere devices to enable a man to carry on trade with limited liability, to incur debts in the name of a registered company, and to sweep off the companys assets by means of debentures which he has caused to be issued to himself in order to defeat the claims of those who have been incautious enough to trade with the company without perceiving the trap which he has laid for them(5) While the case went to the House of Lords it is interesting to note that once again the court sought to lift the veil of incorporation in its attempt to discover a fraud which after 1879 would be considered another legitimate reason for lifting the corporate veil. The House of Lords ruling on Salomon v. Salomon Co. Ltd set the standard against which future cases would be judged. Lord Halsbury L. C. made it clear that it was not the courts role to interpret the Companies Act 1862, The sole guide must be the statute itself(6) He later went on to describe Vaughan Williams J. argument as a singular contradiction, Either the limited company was a legal entity or it was not. If it was, the business belonged to it and not to Mr Salomon. If it was not, there was no person and no thing to be an agent at all; and it is impossible to say at the same time that there is a company and there is not(7) Lord MacNaghten in addressing Vaughan Williams J. ssertion that the signatories to the memorandum of association were mere nominees of Mr Salomon said the Act requires that a memorandum of association should be signed by seven persons, who are each to take one share at least. If those conditions are complied with, what can it matter whether the signatories are relations or strangers(8) Addressing the issue of limited liability and Vaughan Williams J. comments he said If the view of the learned judge were sound, it would follow that no common law partnership could register as a company limited by shares without remaining subject to unlimited liability(9) He dismissed the Court of Appeals suggestion that Mr Salomon had acted fraudulently and went on to say It has beco me the fashion to call companies of this class one man companies. That is a taking nickname, but it does not help much in the way of argument. If it is intended to convey the meaning that a company which is under the absolute control of one person is not a company legally incorporated, although the requirements of the Act of 1862 may have been complied with, it is inaccurate and misleading(10) It was held that the appeal be allowed, and the counter-claim of the company dismissed with costs (both in this hearing and below). Both Vaughan Williams J and the court of Appeal saw it as the duty of the court to look behind the incorporation of the company. Each, for different reasons, felt that Mr Salomon was manipulating the machinery of the Companies Act, 1862 for a purpose for which it was never intended. 11) However, the House of Lords judgment firmly pulled down the veil of incorporation around the company and its members. It is telling, when Lord MacNaghten referring to Vaughan Williams J. comments on the case stated Leave out the words contrary to the true intent and meaning of the Companies Act, 1862(12) It is clear that Lord MacNaghten and his colleagues held that their role was merely to apply and not to interpret the Companies Act, 1862 and that any such interpretation by the courts was out with their jurisdiction. Nevertheless, later courts have found it necessary to lift the veil of incorporation and over the years there has been a number of exceptions to the principle laid down by the Salomon case that the corporation is a separate legal entity. Gonzalo Villalta Puig contends that the verdict reached by the House of Lords in the case of Salomon v. Salomon Co. Ltd created a double-edged sword. While the verdict helped to drive capitalism by established the company as a separate legal entity with limited liability and allowed it (the company) to enter into contracts in its own name it also helped promoted the evasion of legal obligations by allowing these benefits to be harnessed by small private enterprises. Goulding agrees with Puig but goes further by suggesting that individuals are encouraged to seek limited liability by becoming a limited company even when such a step is not necessary in their particular circumstances. These, and other criticisms have their basis in fact. In the years since the Salomon v. Salomon Co. Ltd ruling in 1879 there have been a number of instances where the strict interpretation of the law has been questioned in the courts and the courts have seen fit to look behind the corporate veil. Farrar, in his book Company Law outlines several categories under which the courts have sought to pierce the corporate veil, though he is quick to point out the courts have not done this in a systematic way. Rather than defining what is meant by the term incorporation and what it does and does not encapsulate the courts have examined this area on a case-by-case basis. As such, they have maintained the integrity of the Salomon ruling while providing a degree of flexibility but only on a case-by-case basis. It is therefore up to the individual/s who feel they might have a justifiable grievance to take that grievance to the courts and there present a persuasive argument for the corporate veil to be lifted in order that their grievance can be remedied. This in itself can prove very costly and time consuming. Believing one has a justifiable grievance might not be enough for a party to pursue their claim in court as the costs and time constraints might prove prohibitive. While this is not highlighted, by Farrar, it can nevertheless be considered a potential form of abuse.

Integration Management (HSBC and Oman International Bank (OIB) Merge) Essay

Integration Management (HSBC and Oman International Bank (OIB) Merge) - Essay Example Unable to procure more deposits and gain asset improvement and growth, OIB was ill-equipped to sustain a strong competitive presence domestically and internationally. Synergies of the merger include better marketing prowess, how to utilise market research studies to create more customer-centric and relevant services, streamlining of the banking service model to include more electronic banking elements, and decentralisation of business practices to generate more innovative solutions supported by HSBC’s very strong economic portfolio to make changes necessary to adjust to changing market conditions. It is through the merger that the previous business entity Oman International Bank will be able to effectively compete with domestic financial institutions and prepare the organisation for building a global competitive presence. TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1.0 Introduction......................................................................................................... ..... 2.0 The rationale for the merger – defining the problem............................................... 2.1 Government and institutional problems....................................................... 3.0 Achieving synergies through the merger – solutions to the problem....................... 4.0 Conclusion................................................................................................................ ... side of the more obvious strategic intentions of the merger related to improving the financial portfolio of HBSC and OIB, it is anticipated that this merger will lead to a variety of significant synergies that will make the new entity, HSBC Bank Oman SAOG, more competitive in the Middle East. As a conglomerate whole, HSBC Holdings Plc earned total revenues of 75.6 billion USD in 2012, sustaining an asset valuation of 2.69 trillion USD (HSBC 2012), making HSBC the largest bank in the world in terms of revenues and total liquidity. HSBC is also the sixth largest publicly traded business in the globe as reported by Forbes Magazine in 2012, even larger than Royal Dutch Shell and Berkshire Hathaway (Forbes 2013). HSBC now owns 51 percent, a majority holding, of OIB (AME Info 2012). Established in 1984, Oman International Bank, a bank maintaining 82 different branches in Oman and four branches in Pakistan and India, maintained total assets of 703.7 million rial (the official currency of Om an) in 2011 (GBCM 2011). Until the merger with HSBC, Oman International Bank (OIB) was 100 percent owned by the Omani government. Unfortunately, OIB was the only bank operating in Oman that experienced a net loss in net income of 9.2 percent whilst other banks in the sector, including Ahli Bank and Bank Sohar experienced net income growth of 28.8 percent and 14.8 percent respectively (GBCM 2011). Because of this inability to improve net income growth, the merger between OIB and HSBC represented a significant opportunity to improve the bank’s financial position and liquidity. This merger between HSBC and OIB was only approved in June of 2012, making the merged entity now known as HSBC Bank Oman in the earliest development stages of the alliance. As such, there is limited published

Should cigarette smoking be banned Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Should cigarette smoking be banned - Essay Example Even though cigarette smokers may derive satisfaction from the act, they expose themselves to a number of substances that are harmful to their health and they expose non-smokers to these substances. While it would be moral to justify their utility if the adverse effects were limited to their bodies, cigarette smoking causes harm to non-smokers and this calls for its restricted use, that can be better achieved through a legal ban. This is because regulating smoking in public places alone is not sufficient to protect non-smokers from components of tobacco that they can encounter from smokers’ breath. Substances that cigarettes contain are also harmful to smokers and the adverse effects cannot be compared to the temporary feeling that a person attain after smoking. The net effects of such components are adverse to justify a legal ban on cigarette smoking. One of the components of cigarette is tar that has long term staining effects on fingers, teeth, and respiratory tissues. It a lso sticks on respiratory linings to hinder exchange of gases, a factor that has adverse effects on other body processes. Cigarette smoke also contains carbon monoxide, a gas that is odorless and yet toxic. As a result, the gas can accumulate in an environment and threaten people’s life without being noticed and this is one of the ways in which cigarette smoking causes deaths. Cigarette also contains hydrogen cyanide, free radicals, and radioactive components that are harmful to the respiratory system and other body systems (Better Health Channel, 2013). Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also supports the need for illegalization of cigarette smoking. According to the federal agency, smoking is responsible for 20 percent of reported deaths in the United States. The data further explains that cigarette smoking causes more deaths than the combined effects of â€Å"Human

On Multicultural Beliefs and Myths of Sexual Anatomy Essay Example for Free

On Multicultural Beliefs and Myths of Sexual Anatomy Essay Based on what I’ve experienced and heard from one of my Asian friends, most beliefs or myths are more common to males rather than females, with practices mostly concerning the penis. Circumcision is a practice very common in certain parts of the world due to the main influence of religion. In Southeast Asia, specifically in the Philippines, there are still existing beliefs being practiced surrounding circumcision. A male by at least age 10 should be circumcised to ensure they reach their height potential. It is discouraged to have the procedure done right after birth, believing that as the child gets bigger, the foreskin will grow back, thus needing to do another procedure as the child won’t reach his maximum height potential due to the fact that the procedure was done soon after birth. This procedure is usually considered a big event in the child’s life and is decided for by the parents. After the circumcision is done, customary beliefs expect the male child to chew on guava leaves and afterwards, wrap the chewed leaves onto the penis to prevent infection. For some, it is established for the circumcised male child to jump into the river to cleanse the wound. This practice is usually done during the summer months when the kids are out of school and still have time to heal. In the rural areas, it is a huge event and done in makeshift hospitals with volunteers assisting the boys in doing the procedure. Kids often get teased prior to being circumcised by the older kids as this procedure is considered a rite of passage. Kids circumcised soon after birth also get teased about not getting any taller because the procedure was not done at the right time. Of course, by the time that these kids get the right to do the procedure, all bets are off and those circumcised as a baby would often have the upper hand at teasing their previous tormentors. My Asian friend also relayed to me their beliefs about women once they reach the puberty stage and get their menses. According to the old customs in their provinces, the girls are expected clean their underwear upon getting their menses and afterwards, cleanse their face with the same underwear to ensure that they don’t get pimples. Others take it a step further by cleaning their face with their â€Å"first† menstrual blood for the same purpose. The girls are often asked to jump three times on the stairs, which also serves as a cleansing ritual. Some believe that the number of times you jump from the stairs will determine the duration of your menstrual period thus, three jumps would mean you will only have three days of your period. Myths about pregnant women are also widely circulated in their culture, especially in certain rural areas of their country as expectant mothers are advised to be careful when sleeping at night. It is said that evil witches in the form of an elderly woman (although the witch is often regarded as a shape shifter) would take the fetus from the woman’s womb by climbing on top of the roof and yanking the fetus using their long tongue. According to my good friend, this belief is still prevalent in their modern society as it is being portrayed in popular culture via the media. Even in the urban areas, pregnant women are advised by their parents not to sleep near the window for fear that they might be seen and victimized by these witches. All these beliefs and myths are still thriving today in the modern world with the older generation ensuring that the young continue to uphold these traditions and practices. There may be a few that veer away from this path but society still finds a way to remind everyone about these practices.

The Promise of Sociology Essays -- C. Wright Mills Sociological Imagin

According to C. Wright Mills, what occurs in any one individual's life is interrelated with society as a whole. The sociological imagination gives us the ability to understand the correlation of one's biography, history, and traditions along with the knowledge of the social and historical impact and/or influence society may have on that person or group of people. Mills' notion compels us to investigate into an individual's biography and lifestyles, and place their findings within the surrounding circumstances in which events occur in order to perceive the whole picture of the society in which the individual lives. Mills says to understand this "imagination" would be to see the connection between personal troubles and public issues. Personal troubles meaning, problems that are felt personally which are caused by occurrences or feelings in an individual's life; and public issues meaning, issues that affect a group or mass of people with their roots interwoven within an organization or institution and history of a society. A person can become homeless for many reasons: a family member throws them out of their home because they do not contribute financially, or they become incapable of caring for themselves due to mental illness, or they become addicted to drugs and lose their home trying to support their habit. These are a few examples of personal troubles which most would think are brought about by the individual alone and therefore can be solved by them. But, when using sociological imagination, one can see that homelessness is also a social problem. Unemployment rates are high and public assistances rates being low could leave a person unable to sufficiently contribute financially, therefore being forced to leave... ...ety in this period?." Whereas, taking into consideration the interaction between individuals and their societies, sociology sees where people and groups of people are products of whole societies in which they live. In studying Mills however briefly, I am beginning to see where my life and the lives of others are interrelated with biography, history, and traditions. We are all just a part of a whole, which is now beginning to make a great deal of sense to me. I am beginning to ask questions in order to understand clearly what shapes our lives. It seems to me Mills gave sociologists a format to open the doors to a better understanding of the whole picture. As Mills indicated, humans have the capacity to change the social structures around them; I believe seeking knowledge gives one the wisdom to change and make changes which in turn affects us all.

Children are never too young to enjoy books

Reading has been proven to create a proliferation of insights and ideas on the reader. During the process, it creates an avenue of learning for an individual. The capability of books to tap curiosity, interest and learning paves the way for better appreciation of the different fields and provide continued growth and development for a person. The capacity of books to address every age group has provided numerous benefits to each one. This part shall look into the benefits of reading to children. Inviting children to read books at an early age can create a fun and fruitful way to discover new things that life has to offer them.Even the simplest form can create a lasting effect in their lives. â€Å"Children are never too young to enjoy books, and for babies it's not just about reading the words. It's also about enjoying the interaction with the parents as the child sits with them and enjoys the attention. † (The Kids Window, p. 1) Creating appreciation for books at an early age can give children the proper foundation for the future. â€Å"It's also a good age to learn the basics of language and numbers, and reading along to stories and counting books will aid their understanding of words and numbers. † (The Kids Window, p. 1) For teenagers, reading is also deemed vital.Studies have shown that people with a keen interest in reading show exemplary performance not just in school but also in other activities as well. â€Å"When teens read more than just their classroom assignments, research clearly shows that they generally do well in school. † (Gisler & Eberts, 2006, p. 1) Reading creates avenues for children to expand their horizons over their area of interests. This helps them in addressing the challenges present in school. Reading can help increase vocabulary, deepen analytical skills and improve writing skills. â€Å"This leads to a solid core of knowledge that is useful in a wide variety of classes.† (Gisler & Eberts, 2006, p. 1) Las tly, reading among teenagers gives them the capacity to perform well in the future particularly college exams. â€Å"No other activity builds the vocabulary and comprehension skills needed to do well on these tests as well as reading. † (Gisler & Eberts, 2006, p. 1) For adults, reading can create huge benefits. Adults will â€Å"have a better chance for a successful, fulfilling adult life. † (Jewell, 2007, p. 1) Adults can use books to inform of them of new trends and issues present in the environment. With these they can be more adaptive and dynamic to change.â€Å"And with the explosion of information in the workplace, only avid readers can stay well informed with relative ease. † (Jewell, 2007, p. 1) Reading can also help adults to â€Å"acquire the ability to sift information and to understand how unrelated facts can fit into a whole. † (Jewell, 2007, p. 1) By practicing reading as an alternative for work, it can help adults be relieved from stress an d fatigue. With reading, adults can learn additional information, critically assess important things, impart experiences and beliefs and at the same time enjoy from the pleasure it brings. To conclude, reading has been an important facet of human behavior.Maintaining a passion for reading can create unlimited opportunities for the reader. Given the positive effects that reading can give to an individual, it is important not to neglect and be taken for granted. As new technology creates opportunities for each individual to tap on new ideas, information and pleasure easily, preference for reading books is slowly diminishing. The challenge now is to revitalize reading to people. People must reach out to the public and create awareness of what reading can contribute to society. Be able to prove that until now reading is still vital in the holistic growth and development of an individual.In the end, reading will still be an important activity that can create possibilities for all people wherever age group they are in. References Eberts, M. Ed. S and Gisler, P. Ed. S (2006) Benefits of Reading as a Teen. Retrieved October 11, 2007 from http://school. familyeducation. com/teen/reading/40617. html Jewell, A. V. (2007) Benefits of Reading in family. org. Retrieved October 11, 2007 from http://www. family. org/entertainment/A000000969. cfm The Kids Window. Young Children and the Benefits of Reading. Retrieved October 11, 2007 from http://www. thekidswindow. co. uk/childbooks/benefits-of-reading. htm

The Importance Of Business In Australia Commerce Essay

Business is the back bone of the Australian economic system ; there are several things that concerns do that are of critical importance to Australia as a state. â€Å" Business supports the development and usage of engineering † by purchasing new equipment which provides companies like: Apple or Mac with gross to pay for employees that research and develop, every bit good as the necessary machinery and equipment to develop modern engineerings. Businesss besides sell the merchandise which allows clients to utilize newer engineering, if shops like Dick Smith ‘s did n't sell IPods or Iphones clients would n't be able to obtain those points. â€Å" Businesses besides provide Australians with employment † , without concerns most Australians would n't do any money, and non be able to supply for their households. â€Å" Businesses besides feed the Australian economic system † through revenue enhancements that they have to pay to the authorities, every bit good as the investings these concerns, a concern creates money which goes around a community but they besides buy and sell merchandises which all support communities.Internal Influence and Impact on Australian BusinessAn internal influence is an influence that is made by the concern itself, they relate to factors within the concern that will impact its operation. All these influences impact in different ways and because they are brought on by the company it means that they may be able to halt the influence if it is damaging to the concern. Each different influence has different impacts and the influences are ; Product, Location, Management, Resource Management, and Business Culture.MerchandiseThe internal influence of merchandise is the ; existent goods or services produce by a concern or company, these goods or services decide many factors for a concern, if the size of the merchandise is reasonably big so the company will necessitate more infinite to be able to hive away the merchandise th erefore increasing the physical size of the concern. The merchandise will reflect the concern, the bigger assortment or scope of merchandises produced the bigger impact the merchandise will do. If the concern buys or produces more than it sells the net income border will diminish, if the merchandise is non suited to the concerns clients the concern will endure. I.e. Harvey Norman bought/produced several thousand computers/laptops ECT. They did n't sell and so Harvey Norman ‘s net income border decreased.LocationHas been said to be the most of import of all internal influences, there is a simple equation â€Å" Prime Location is= Customer Convenience + Visibility. † There are several separate factors of location ; Cost, Visibility, Proximity to clients every bit good as providers and support services. So fundamentally if it ‘s non easy and efficient for clients to travel to a concern that concern will non acquire many clients, location can besides do a concern beca use if a concern is positioned in a great location i.e. near the ground tackle of a shopping Centre, they would bring forth more clients.Resource InfluenceThere are four chief resources available to concern ; human, employees of a concern, Information, Market research the cognition needed to run the concern, Physical, equipment/machinery/raw stuff and Financial, financess the company uses to pay revenue enhancements or other debts. Without proper resource direction a company would neglect i.e. When Vodafone or the Commonwealth bank faced a machinery bug they lost capital.ManagementIn recent times due to engineering and the current planetary fiscal issues have been â€Å" flattening † this means that the degrees of direction have been reduced, these concern have more control over their concern. There are nevertheless some mistakes for illustration, because there are fewer mangers/employees this means that those directors have more control and if one of these directors make a e rror it has a greater impact.Business CultureThe values, thoughts, beliefs and outlooks of a concern, these can be through governmental policy or merely the general dress-code of the staff. Through concern civilization the manner people work is changed, and if there is a negative civilization this will bring forth workers who are un-satisfied which means failure for the concern.External Influences and Impact on Australian BusinessThe external influences on concern are influences that are either wholly out or are of minimum control of the concern. These impacts are more sever to the concern than internal influences because the concern can non alter the influence they can merely alter the concern itself to accommodate the influence i.e. Taxes. There are many different influences and they all impact the concern in different ways and they are: Economic, Financial Geographic, Social, Legal, Political, Institutional, Technological, Competitive state of affairs, and Markets.EconomicThe eco nomic sciences of Australia are a cyclical procedure intending that they go through â€Å" Boom † periods, intending a clip where concern proprietors costumiers are confident, which in bend means more purchasing which provenders and grows the economic system and â€Å" Flops † besides known as a recession this is when there is low costumier assurance so there is less money in concerns intending, less employment which slants the growing of the economic system. The economic system has obvious impacts on concern: when there is a roar there is money which develops the concern, and when there is a flop there is no money which mean the concern fails to run into revenue enhancements and debts ect. So the company fails and may prevent.Fiscal InfluenceThe deregulating of the Australian fiscal system has lead to flexibleness within the fiscal sector. It means that there is a wider scope of competition, and concerns no longer necessitate to remain domesticated to their ain commun ities, this is due to engineering and Globalisation.Geographic InfluenceThis has an tremendous impact on Australian concern, the fact that Australia is located within the Asia-Pacific part every bit good as the economic growing of those states i.e. China. This is a challenge for concerns because there is a stronger competition. And besides provides chances for concerns to develop, every bit good as the nose count along with other population studies which allow for concerns to develop and bring forth goods that are suited for that country, the negative is that concerns have to pass a vast of money to alter, the aging population is an illustration, concerns will hold to accommodate to better suit that population.Social InfluencesThe populace is invariably altering in relation to gustatory sensations, manners and civilization. When a concern can alter to accommodate these gustatory sensations it makes an increased net income but concerns that do n't alter run the hazard of going predat ed and lose clients.Legal InfluencesThese are ordinances and policies that the authorities put frontward and they have monolithic impacts on the concern. A concern is expected to stay by all these Torahs and ordinances, but these affect the sum of money a company makes, which in bend affects how good it runs.Political InfluencesWhen there are large political alterations concern assurance every bit good as uncertainness may lift or fall, governmental issues affect concerns because they can present revenue enhancements, an illustration would be the debut of the Carbon Tax, which was made in response to unfavorable judgment over Australian policy this will set strive on bigger companies. But they can besides be good for a concern ; an illustration would be deregulating which is the remotion of policies.Institutional InfluencesThere are three chief institutional influences and they are ; authorities, regulative organic structures and other. The authorities introduces ordinances, the org anic structures monitor the concern and others affect concerns like authorities.Technological InfluenceWith new engineerings comes a new manner for clients to shop and for concerns to sell, a concern can use assorted engineerings like the cyberspace to air at that place merchandise every bit good as sell their merchandises over the cyberspace which entreaties to newer clients, it besides allows concerns to pass on to their clients quicker. Technology can besides take away from concerns, for case Borders which is a book store, is confronting trouble because clients are now purchasing books off the cyberspace because it is cheaper, this means that Borders will now hold to shut some store and faces a hard hereafter.Competitive Situation InfluencesCompetition between two shops is a general happening ; they can profit the client through cheaper monetary values and better gross revenues every bit good as the concern through the turning client to the concern. Each company fights to go the leader which is called sustainable competitory advantage, the changing scope of rivals determines how the concern will bring forth and sell their merchandise.Changes in Markets InfluenceCapital can now travel through states, it is now easier for concerns to purchase abroad shares/businesses, this frees up concerns, in bend the concern grows. Despite this growing there is an instability which was made apparent during the GFC ; there is now a monolithic move for the demand of skilled workers, i.e. the addition of demand for mineworkers due to the turning excavation sector. There has besides been monolithic growing in consumer markets, in the value of universe trade this was brought on through engineering which made it easier to pass on.DecisionIn decision, an external influence is one that is out of the concerns control whilst an internal influence is associating to a concern. They are both negative and positive, because they help the concern to develop and turn the concern every bit good as let the concern to pass on at an international degree, but they can be negative because they take off from Australian economic system every bit good as Australian concerns losing money to international concerns. As in the past and as what will be in the hereafter, internal influences like merchandise, direction resource direction ECT. And external influences like engineering, political influences, geographic ECT. Will ever impact on concern, because the concern will hold to alter to accommodate the issue, if there are technological promotions the concern must alter to accommodate that. If a merchandise is n't selling they must bring forth a new merchandise that will appeal to clients.

Essay Sample on the Lend-Lease Scheme

Essay Sample on the Lend-Lease Scheme The Lend-Lease scheme was certainly a political act of unexampled generosity.   Churchills description to Parliament of the plan as a most unsordid act recognized the rarity in human affairs of such far-seeing and imaginative action.   R.S.Sayers (1956) in one of the British official histories of the Second World War described it as a story, above all else, of unprecedented generosity on the part of the American nation (p.375).   Of course, in political decisions altruism is unlikely to be the sole motive, and no secret was ever made of the vital importance to the United States of the survival of Britain, and indeed of the fighting capacity of the Soviet Union.   Indeed, it was this consideration that Roosevelt used to persuade a traditionally, even instinctively, isolationist American public to support his plan.   In aiding the British we are following†¦ hard-headed self-interest, he said (Dallek, 1981, p.252). If Britain fell, he said, the United States would be in r eal peril.   Never before since Jamestown and Plymouth Rock has our American civilization been in such danger as now (ibid, 256).   Similarly, Roosevelt was prepared to aid the Soviet Union, braving the strong anti-communism of most Americans, because he saw a substantial quid pro quo in some 280 Russian divisions fighting a like number of German troops (ibid, 295-6). Such concern for ones own national interest is realistic and responsible on a political leader.   However, more skeptical voices have suggested that Lend-Lease served United States needs in more aggressive and less altruistic ways.   Dobson (1986 and 1995) has argued that the terms of the Lend-Lease agreement deliberately imposed painful conditions on the post-war UK economy, forcing Britain to accept radical changes in her trading practices and tying her to the preferred policy of the United States.   The terms under which Lend-Lease was granted not only weakened Britains general economic position, they also diminished the likelihood of Britain being able to carry out the commitment to freer trade she had given to the State Department (Dobson, 1986, 11).   Elsewhere Dobson describes United States actions as an offensive intrusion into UK economic sovereignty (Dobson, 1995, 85), and claims that there was a deliberate policy to keep Britain vulnerable, and to remove her as an economic competitor in the post-war world.   It certainly seemed like this to Sayers, writing in 1956, when austerity was only just beginning to recede in the UK.   After the Lend-Lease plan was enacted at least Britain’s poverty was never again so absolute.   It became instead the poverty of the poor relation:   this was already brought home to British negotiators before the bill was through Congress and for all the generosity of that most unsordid act in history, the British never escaped from that position. (Sayers, 374) Secretary Hull admitted that aid to Russia is deemed to be in the interest of our own national defense (quoted in Herring, 1975, p.38).   There was always the possibility that Stalin would make another deal with Hitler. Trumans suspension of Lend-Lease in 1945 could well be seen as one of the first clashes of the Cold War, though United States’ generosity could hardly have been expected to survive Soviet intransigence for long. Roosevelts success in setting up Lend-Lease was a remarkable achievement in the face of the deepest convictions of the American people. From the beginnings of their history, Americans had believed they were a people apart who had escaped form the tyranny and corruption of Europe and had established a uniquely free and innocent society which served as a model for the rest of the world.   The preservation of this freedom and innocence, so this myth ran, rested on America’s success in remaining disentangled from the woes of Europe. (Hamby, 1976, p.22) Wilson’s idealism at the end of the First World War had met with disappointment in the post-war years, confirming American disgust with European political ineptitude and dishonesty.   Neville Chamberlain could speak of Czechoslovakia as a distant country whose fate meant little to the British, so it is hardly surprising that the American public felt that European disturbances were even more remote from them.   Roosevelt was in many ways a Wilsonian, with a deep belief in collective security, but countless domestic pressures affected his foreign policy.   America remained aloof from the Spanish Civil War, because Catholic groups saw Franco as the defender of the Spanish church.   The large Italian-American population supported Mussolini; even as the Ethiopian crisis was developing Congress pushed through the Neutrality Act of 1935, banning American firms from selling arms to belligerents.   In 1936 an extension of the bill prohibited loans to belligerent nations.   Another Neutrality Act in 1937 imposed the cash and carry regulation, whereby belligerents could only purchase American goods with cash, and transport them on non-American ships.   This constituted, as Robert Divine has commented, â€Å"a widespread desire to escape from the world politically while remaining in it economically† (Hamby, 25).   Representative Louis Ludlow even proposed a resolution that the United States should only enter a war if a majority were in favor in a national referendum. This is a sample History essay written from scratch by one of our academic writers. If you want to order a custom essay, term paper, thesis, research paper or dissertation feel free to contact us now.

How Is the SAT Scored Scoring Charts

How Is the SAT Scored Scoring Charts SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips One question that often comes up as you begin studying for the SAT is this: how on earth is this thing scored? Or more specifically, how are the raw scores you earn from each section turned into those neat numbers between 200 and 800 you see on the score report? This article breaks down how the SAT is scored, section by section. You will learn how your raw score becomes a scaled score and how you can use that information to your advantage. After all, a strong understanding of the exam can give you an edge on the SAT. Overview The SAT has two big sections – Evidence-Based Reading and Writing (EBRW), and Math. You can earn a scaled score of between 200 and 800 points on each section, for a total of 1600 possible points on the Redesigned SAT. (If you're looking for information about the old SAT, which was last offered in January 2016 and scored out of 2400, you can learn here how to calculate your SAT score and how to interpret your SAT results.) The scaled score of between 200 and 800 is converted from the raw score you earn on each section. Your raw score is simply the number of questions you answered correctly. Skipped or wrong questions do not add or subtract from your raw score. So how do those raw scores become scaled scores? It happens through a process that College Board calls equating: â€Å"Equating ensures that the different forms of the test or the level of ability of the students with whom you are tested do not affect your score. Equating makes it possible to make comparisons among test takers who take different editions of the test across different administrations.† In other words, equating is not curving your score relative to other test takers on the day you take the test. Equating controls for slight variations in different SAT dates to ensure that scaled scores represent the same level of ability across different test dates. For example, a 600 on SAT Math in March has to represent the same ability level as a 600 on SAT Math in May. So if the May test turns out to be more difficult for students, the raw-score to scaled-score calculation will be adjusted so that a slightly lower raw score still nets a 600 scaled score. Since the equating formula changes from test to test to keep the scores equal, there is no way to know for sure how a certain raw score will translate to a scaled score. However, the College Board releases raw score to scaled score ranges to give you an idea of what level of raw score you need to get to certain scaled score numbers. While there are not confirmed score range tables available yet, we can use the raw to scaled score tables included in College Board’s free SAT practice tests for a sense of how raw scores become scaled scores on the Redesigned SAT. You'll notice as you look at the tables that they differ slightly: for example, a raw score of 57 gets you a perfect 800 on Test 4 but not Test 1. This is because, as we discussed above, each test is equated so that despite slight differences in difficulty, an 800 on one test means the same as an 800 on another test. In this case, the Math section on Test 4 is slightly harder, so you can only miss one point and still get an 800. And don’t worry – we will explain scoring for each section in depth so you’ll know exactly how to use these tables. Test 1 Score Conversion Table Via College Board's Scoring Your Practice Test 1. Test 4 Score Conversion Table Via College Board's Scoring Your Practice Test 4. Next, we will break down the mechanics of scoring section-to-section, to help you best prepare for each part of the test. Calculating Your Math Section Score Finding your score on SAT Math is relatively straightforward. I'll walk you step-by-step through finding your raw score to calculating your final scaled score between 200 and 800. Figure out your raw score on each of the two math sections (No Calculator and Calculator). This is just the total amount of questions you answered correctly. The No Calculator section has 20 possible points, while the Calculator section has 38 possible points. Blank or wrong questions do not count for or against you. For the Grid-In answers, where you fill in the answer rather than choosing A, B, C, or D, remember that there can be a few different ways to write the same answer (for example, 3/5 could also be written as 0.6). As an example, let's say I take Practice Test 1. After checking my answers, I count 15 correct answers on the No Calculator Section, and 25 correct answers on the Calculator section. I ignore wrong or blank answers as I count, since there is no longer a deduction for wrong answers. Add your No-Calculator raw score to your Calculator raw score. This is your final Math raw score. The highest possible raw score is 58. To continue my example, I would add 15 (my raw score on the No Calculator section) to 25 (my raw score on the Calculator section) for a final Math raw score of 40. Using the table for your practice test, find the scaled score of 200-800 your raw score matches to. Since I took Practice Test 1, I use Table 1 and find that a raw score of 40 translates to a scaled score of 610. Via College Board's Scoring Your Practice Test 1. What if you're not using one of College Board's practice tests? If you’re scoring questions from a practice test without a raw score to scaled score table, or you just want to know how many raw points you would need for a certain score, look at both tables to come up with an estimate. For example, when I look at Table 4, I see that a raw score of 40 on that test would have gotten me a 670! Based on that, I know if I get a raw score of 40 on Math, I can bet on a final score in the low- to mid-600s. We'll talk more about how to come up with raw score goals later in the post! Calculating Your Evidence-Based Reading and Writing Score Finding your EBRW scaled score is a bit trickier than finding your Math score, since you have to combine your performance on the Reading and Writing sections. Let's take a look. Find your raw score on the Reading section. This is just the total amount of questions you answered correctly. Blank or wrong questions do not count for or against you. The highest raw score possible is 52. To continue with my example, let's stay with Practice Test 1. Let's say I correct the Reading section and find that I got 39 questions right. That gives me a Reading raw score of 39. Find your raw score on the Writing section. This is just the total amount of questions you answered correctly. Blank or wrong questions do not count for or against you. The highest raw score possible is 44. Let's say I correct the Writing section and see that I got 35 questions correct. My Writing raw score is 35. Find your Reading â€Å"scaled score† on the table. This is a number between 10 and 40. Using Table 1, I look up my Reading raw score of 40, and see that it translates to a scaled score of 32. Find your Writing â€Å"scaled score† on the table. This is a number between 10 and 40. Using Table 1, I look up my Writing raw score of 35 and see that it also translates to 32. Via College Board's Scoring Your Practice Test 1. Add your Reading and Writing scaled scores together. You’ll get a number between 20 and 80. Since I got a 32 scaled score on both Reading and Writing, I add them together: 32 + 32 = 64. Multiply your scaled score by 10. This is your final scaled score between 200 and 800. I multiply 64 by 10 to get 640. This is my final Evidence-Based Reading and Writing score. Finally, I can calculate my total SAT composite score, since I know my Math score (610) and my EBRW score (640). I simply add them together to get the composite: 610 + 640 = 1250. Not too shabby! Subscores But wait, there's more! The Redesigned SAT also gives you a number of subscores: two that rate your ability in different subjects (History/Social Studies and Science), and seven that break down the Math, Reading, and Writing sections into more specific (and creatively-named!) skills, for example, "Heart of Algebra." You can read in-depth about the Subscores on the Redesigned SAT website. We’ll explain here how to calculate these various subscores – and also talk a bit about why they’re not as important as your main section scores. Cross-Tess Scores: Analysis in History/Social Studies and Analysis in Science To calculate your cross-test scores, you need to have access to a detailed answer key that marks which questions fall under which cross-score categories, since they will come from all different sections of the test. If you take the College Board's free practice tests (linked above), then you can use their answer keys, which are quite detailed. Find the questions marked as History/Social Studies and Science in the answer key. Next, find your raw score for each category – simply total up how many questions you got right. This can be a bit tedious, since you have to count up questions from different sections. College Board's answer keys come with a table to help you do this. Via College Board's Scoring Your Practice Test 1. Finally, use their table to calculate your final scaled score, between 10 and 40, for each subject area, History/Social Science and Science, based on the raw scores you found. Unlike EBRW, you do not combine these two scores and multiply them for a final scaled score between 200 and 800. They simply stand alone as indicators of your Science and Social Science skills. Via College Board's Scoring Your Practice Test 1. Subject-Specific Subscores You can also calculate subscores for seven other areas: Expression of Ideas, Standard English Conventions, Heart of Algebra, Problem Solving and Data Analysis, Passport to Advanced Math, Words in Context, and Command of Evidence. These subscores give you more fine-grained information about your performance within Math and EBRW. You find these subscores using the same process: find the questions marked as belonging to those categories, total up your raw score for each category, and then use the conversion table to find your scaled scores. It can definitely be tedious to calculate all of these on your own, since there are seven categories, but it can be worth it to learn more about your strengths and weaknesses as a test-taker, as we will discuss below. An example of how to find the relevant questions to calculate a subscore. Via College Board's Scoring Your Practice Test 1. The final conversion table for finding your subscores. Via College Board's Scoring Your Practice Test 1. How Much Do My Subscores Matter? In terms of how your SAT score is perceived, the subscores aren’t very important. Colleges are looking most closely at your composite score, and then at the two main section scores (EBRW and Math). They may look at your subscores for more info or context about your performance, but they’re not nearly as important. Especially since these subscore categories are new with the Redesigned SAT, and colleges aren’t really used to taking all of these different subscores into account, they are more likely to rely on just the basic composite (1600) and main section scores (out of 800) to compare your scores with other applicants. However, these subscores can be very helpful for you. Why? They can give you major clues as to where to focus your prep. For example, say that when you calculate your math subscores and notice that you missed over half of the â€Å"Passport to Advanced Math† questions, despite getting the other questions mostly correct. That’s a big hint that you are struggling with some higher-level math concepts, and you should study them carefully before retaking the test. So even though it's tedious, if you're not getting the scores you want on practice exams, take the time to calculate your subscores both the cross-subject scores and the section subscores to figure out where you're going wrong and to focus your studying more carefully. What About the Essay? Unlike the old SAT, on the new SAT, your essay score is totally separate and not combined with your final composite score in any way. (You could technically score a perfect 1600 even with a subpar essay – not that we recommend blowing the essay off, as we will discuss below!). As forhow your essay is graded, it will receive three scores between 2 and 8: one score for Reading, one for Analysis, and one for Writing. A 2 is the lowest score for any category, while 8 is the highest. Reading will judge how well you read through and understood the passage the essay is about and how well you demonstrate that understanding in your essay. Analysis will judge how well you analyze the passage in relation to the prompt and how solid (or not) your argument is. Writing will judge how strong your essay is from a construction standpoint: in other words, is it logical? Does it flow well? Do you use good grammar and spelling? Two readers (as in, two flesh and blood people!) will read your essay, and give the Reading, Analysis, and Writing parts of your essay a score from 1 to 4. Those scores will then be added together for the three final scores of between 2 and 8. You can read a complete SAT essay rubric in case you’re curious about how exactly the essay will be graded. How To Use This Information So, now that you’re an expert on how the SAT is scored, how can you use this information to your advantage? We have identified four key ways in which understanding SAT scores can help you make a smart study plan and improve your score. #1: Develop Targeted Raw Scores You can use College Board’s raw-to-scaled score tables to help develop a target raw score for each section. For example, if you want to crack 700 on Math, you should aim for at least a 45, though 50 is the safest bet. If you want to get to at least a 700 on EBRW, since it combines Reading and Writing, you can play around a bit with your raw score goals. For example, you could aim to get a scaled score of 35 on each section, for a total of 70. In this case, you would go for 45 raw points on Reading and 39 raw points on Writing. But say you are really confident about the Writing section but less confident on Reading. You could go for a perfect 40 on Writing and aim for 30 on Reading and still get a 70, a.k.a. 700, overall. In that case, you would aim for all 44 raw points on Writing and 36 raw points on reading. So no matter what your score goals are, using the tables to find the raw scores you need helps make your studying more concrete and manageable. Knowing how many raw points you need gives you a much better sense of how to approach each section. (By the way, if you're wondering what SAT score you should aim for you should read our guide to what a good SAT score is.) #2: Guess Aggressively Since the Redesigned SAT doesn’t have a guessing penalty, make sure to answer every single question on every single section – even if it means filling in random bubbles if you run out of time at the end of the test. At best, you’ll pick up an extra raw point or two, at worst, you won’t gain any. But you will not be hurt at all by guessing, so it’s worth the shot! Remember: if you're leaving blank bubbles on your SAT answer sheet, you're basically throwing away free raw points. #3: Don't Sweat the Essay... But Don't Brush It Off, Either Since the essay doesn’t factor into your final composite score, don’t devote too much of your SAT study time on it. Having the highest composite score possible is important both for admission to selective schools and for getting merit scholarships. However, you shouldn’t swing the other way and completely bomb the essay. Colleges will be able to read your essay when your SAT scores are sent, so you want it to represent your sincerest effort. Especially since colleges have the essay as an example of your writing, you want it to be good quality so that your carefully edited essays don't look like they were written by someone else. Bottom line: your overall composite score is much more important than the essay, and as long as your essay score isn’t drastically different than your composite, you’ll be fine. #4: Do Sweat the Math Section Since Math is exactly half of your composite score, it’s more important than ever to study hard for it. Unlike the old SAT, on which Math was just 1/3 of your total composite, on the Redesigned SAT, it can absolutely make or break your score. To take an example, let's look at two hypothetical students. Student A does perfectly on Reading and Writing, scoring a perfect 40 on each section for a composite of 800. However, he stumbles a bit on Math, getting a composite of 600. Student A's final composite is 1400. Student B, meanwhile, does perfectly on Math, with a score of 800, and Reading, with a scaled score of 40. However, she stumbles a bit on writing and only gets a scaled score of 30. Her final EBRW scaled score is a 70 (40 + 30), meaning that she ends up with an EBRW composite of 700. So Student B's final composite score is a 1500, significantly higher! The message here isn't to neglect studying for Reading and Writing. It is still important to do very well on both sections for a strong EBRW score. However, you can see that out of the three sections, Math carries the most weight, so it's very important to do well on Math for a strong final composite score. What's Next? Did the last section freak you out? If you don't consider yourself a math person, don't panic! We have the ultimate guide for SAT Math including practice problems and key strategies to help you do well. By the way, we believe anyone can be a math person! To find out how, check out this article on getting perfect grades in high school from our resident Harvard alum. Not only does this guide have great advice for improving your grades, it also explains the concept of a "growth mindset" and why having this mindset is key to doing well, even in subjects you think you're not good at. Get the complete lowdown on the Redesigned SAT with our complete guide to the New SAT. In this post we break down new question types, new strategies, and new challenges that you may face on the SAT beginning in March 2016. What SAT score should you aim for?We take you step by step through figuring out your SAT target score. This is a crucial step to be able to figure out the raw scores you need for each section and to make a comprehensive study plan. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points?Click below to download our free guide to the top 5 strategies you need to keep in mind to have a shot: