Military Psychology

Military Psychology Military psychology is a broad market of psychology in which virtually any and all subfields of psychology where the lessons of personality, organizational and abnormal psychology among others are applied to the needs or desires of military planners and strategists. Reasons for their application may be immediate or sustained. The application of psychological research or theory to the military can be used to analyze either enemy or friendly forces, exemplified by perfecting an attack on an enemy or strengthening the weakness of an ally.By extension, military psychology could be used to examine the differences in attitude to the battlefield in terms of philosophy and execution of operations. The field has developed its greatest recognition through the variably sustained or ineffective post-combat programs for troubled veterans. Conditions like â€Å"shell shock† and â€Å"post-traumatic stress disorder† (PTSD) have figured prominently in the developmen t of military therapy programs.Strategically, intelligence and personality testing have been applied to placement exams for prospective military recruits. The events of World War I had a formative effect on the application of psychology to the realities of the battlefield, giving the nascent field crucial legitimacy. Co-founder of the British Psychological Society and the National Institute of Industrial Psychology, Dr. Charles Myers, was selected as the primary advisor on psychological matters to the British armies in France during the war.His work is considered foundational and he himself describes in statements that it was a frustrating endeavor to have British military elite recognize the legitimacy of his claims that soldiers deserved psychological consideration for their inability and perceived unwillingness to perform in battle. Coining the term â€Å"shell shock,† he engraved an enduring term into historical consciousness that defines the apparent psychological damage inflicted by war. The term today is the most recognizable in defining so-called â€Å"combat stress reactions† (CSRs) which entail extreme battle fatigue and subsequent poor performance in war.Simultaneously, American psychologist Robert Yerkes initiated widespread intelligence and aptitude testing in the American military by devising standard intelligence tests for literate and illiterate recruits, given the names Army Alpha and Army Beta tests respectively. The tests analyzed recruits' ability to draw analogies, recognize patterns and perform arithmetic, among other tests, in order to judge their intelligence regardless of their formal educational backgrounds. The dramatic rise in recruits with World War II provoked a massive effort to streamline draftees.Based on the experiences beginning with World War I testing, several committees and divisions were created devoted to evaluation and placement on a psychological basis. The massive effort analyzed roughly 800,000 new sold iers every year during World War II, having a tremendous influence on the development of organizational and industrial psychology. The systemic methodology played well into the 1950s as veterans returned to the workforce or advanced their own businesses on a similarly organized recruitment and placement model.The tests, developed in conjunction with the Committee on Classification of Military Personnel, constituted the next stage in the evolution of American military aptitude tests. They replaced the earlier Alpha and Beta tests, and laid the foundations for the standard ASVAB test used by the American armed forces as of 2011. The uncertainty and anxiety of the Vietnamese theater gave rise to new levels of battle-induced psychological problems, most prominently in post-traumatic stress disorder.The support system for American veterans, particularly sufferers of this condition, is notorious in American culture and often criticized. Many argue the American military has demonstrated it has learned the appropriate lessons from the mismanagement of the PTSD outbreak after the Vietnam War. A stronger cultural support structure for returning American veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan is thought to have displaced cultural hostility, and advances in clinical psychology have been referenced. The use of psychology to intimidate or analyze the weaknesses of an enemy has been called â€Å"psychological warfare. Additionally, practical applications like individual profiling and organizational psychology techniques have devised studies on enemy commanders, even their methodology, and guided philosophy in making decisions about war. This application has been applied with equal vigor to perceived allies, such as comparative analyses between American and NATO military commands. Hesitation and ambiguity have been pointed to as crucial weaknesses in European military culture, whereas American commanders have been cited as quicker and less reluctant to use force to accomplish a mission.Simultaneously, American commanders have been criticized for institutionalizing a tendency to diminish the importance of the aftermath of military operations and the threat the resulting social conditions may constitute against consolidating military gains. Military psychology is a broad area of psychology where the lessons of personality, organizational and abnormal psychology among others are applied to the needs or desires of military planners and strategists. Reasons for their application may be immediate or sustained.The application of psychological research or theory to the military can be used to analyze either enemy or friendly forces, exemplified by perfecting an attack on an enemy or strengthening the weakness of an ally. By extension, military psychology could be used to examine the differences in attitudes to the battlefield in terms of philosophy and execution of operations. The field has developed its greatest recognition through the variably sustained or ineff ective post-combat programs for troubled veterans.Conditions like â€Å"shell shock† and â€Å"post-traumatic stress disorder† (PTSD) have figured prominently in the development of military therapy programs. Strategically, intelligence and personality testing have been applied to placement exams for perspective military recruits. The events of World War I had a formative effect on the application of psychology to the realities of the battlefield, giving the nascent field crucial legitimacy. Cofounder of the British Psychological Society and the National Institute of Industrial Psychology, Dr.Charles Myers, was selected as the primary advisor on psychological matters to the British armies in France during the war. His work is considered foundational and he himself describes in statements that it was a frustrating endeavor to have British military elite recognize the legitimacy of his claims that soldiers deserved psychological consideration for their inability and perce ived unwillingness to perform in battle. Coining the term â€Å"shell shock,† he engraved an enduring term into historical consciousness that defines the apparent psychological damage inflicted by war.The term today is the most recognizable in defining so-called â€Å"combat stress reactions† (CSRs) which entail extreme battle fatigue and subsequent poor performance in war. Simultaneously, American psychologist Robert Yerkes initiated widespread intelligence and aptitude testing in the American military by devising standard intelligence tests for literate and illiterate recruits, given the renown Army Alpha and Army Beta tests respectively. The tests analyzed recruits' ability to draw nalogies, recognize patterns and perform arithmetic among other tests in a way to judge one's intelligence regardless of their formal educational backgrounds. The dramatic rise in recruits with World War II provoked a massive effort to streamline draftees. Based on the experiences beginni ng with World War I testing, several committees and divisions were created devoted to evaluation and placement on a psychological basis. The massive effort analyzed roughly 800,000 new soldiers every year during World War II, having a tremendous influence on the development of organizational and industrial psychology.The systemic methodology played well into the 1950s as veterans returned to the workforce or advanced their own businesses on a similarly organized recruitment and placement model. The tests, developed in conjunction with the Committee on Classification of Military Personnel, constituted the next stage in the evolution of American military aptitude tests. They replaced the earlier Alpha and Beta tests, plus laid the foundations for the standard ASVAB test used by the American armed forces as of 2011.The uncertainty and anxiety of the Vietnamese theater gave rise to new levels of battle-induced psychological problems, most prominently in post-traumatic stress disorder. T he support system for American veterans, particularly sufferers of this condition, is notorious in American culture and often criticized. Many argue the American military has demonstrated it has learned the appropriate lessons from the mismanagement of the PTSD outbreak after the Vietnam War.A stronger cultural support structure for returning American veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan is thought to have displaced cultural hostility, plus advances in clinical psychology have been referenced. The use of psychology to intimidate or analyze the weaknesses of an enemy has been called â€Å"psychological warfare. † Additionally, practical applications like individual profiling and organizational psychology techniques have devised studies on enemy commanders, even their methodology and guiding philosophy in making decisions about war.This application has been applied with equal vigor to perceived allies, such as comparative analyses between American and NATO military commands. Hesi tation and ambiguity have been pointed to as crucial weaknesses in European military culture, whereas American commanders have been cited as quicker and less reluctant to use force to accomplish a mission. Simultaneously, American commanders have been criticized for institutionalizing a tendency to diminish the importance of the aftermath of military operations and the threat the resulting social conditions may constitute against consolidating military gains.

Business Strategy and Competitive Environment of Minor League Baseball Team

Baseball is probably one of the most famous sports in the United States, along with basketball. It is very prominent and well-played in different parts of the United States, and is rapidly spreading throughout the world. It is even considered as United States’ national pastime. Minor Leagues pertain to professional baseball teams that play on levels lower than that of the minor leagues and teams in the minor league usually is an affiliate member of a major league baseball team. Competitors of Sports Baseball as a form of entertainment has a number of stiff competitors.There is the media with all of its forms — television, movies and internet. There are also an increasing attendance in theme parks, amusement parks and even carnivals. Baseball’s tickets would also be an additional expense to a household’s budget. All the more that’s people may be dragged away from enjoying the actual game. Movies never go out of fashion because there will always be so mething new for the audience. The themes of movies are well-thought of. There are various genres that would definitely fit any individual’s taste and preference.For every craving of the people, the media will innovate something to fulfill these cravings. Television, a long temptation for youngsters and competition to other forms of entertainment, still gets much attention from the populace. Television offers a wide array of shows for all genders of different ages. With the cable channels and other features and programs in television, most people would rather stay at home watching television instead of going out to watch sports games or even engage themselves in playing sports. Theme parks and amusement parks also offer a lot of fun, especially for the family.All of these things are stiff competitions for the baseball industry or for sports industry in general. The Birmingham Barons, a minor league baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama is the focus of this paper. The mino r league baseball team, Birmingham Barons, is one of the most recognized baseball teams in the United States. The history of the team will be traced back in 1885 where it was played by many during the early years of baseball. Nearly two-thirds of Barons’ fans attend the games with family members. The typical fan is a college-educated and in an upper to middle income (Birmingham Barons, LLC, 2007).During 1990s Hispanic population in Alabama increased for more than 210%, almost 27% of which are in the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area which the leading U. S. center for the Hispanic population growth and business development (Shattuck, 2005). Birmingham, Alabama also has lots of museums; Arlington Home, Alabama Museum of Health Sciences, Southern Museum of Flight, Bessemer Hall of History, Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark, and the Birmingham Museum of Art, the largest museum in the location, are just some to name. A number of festivals are also found in Birmingham, wh ich features music, films, regional heritage.Future Objectives With these competitive environment of baseball in Birmingham that may be pulling the audience away from the game, the management of the said minor league baseball team should innovate ways to attract not only the Whites, but also the Hispanic masses especially now that there is a rapid growth of Hispanic population in Birmingham, Alabama. The management could consider developing a more easy to recall jingle or song, that whenever played in radio stations and television, will cling more to the minds of the people.The Birmingham Barons could also be more visible, not only to the popular masses, but also to those in small towns. Through this, more and more people could know the team and they would be more psyched to see them play. Visibility in advertisements and community work could also help in making them known. Advertisements are a seemingly sure, yet expensive way, of making the team closer to the people’s heart . Birmingham Barons has existed since 1885, thus their advertisement need not be that expensive. What they need is mass promotion.To know which of the media is most effective for the advertisement, the management may conduct Audience Needs Analysis. This is a survey to determine the medium preferred or most used by the people. For example, they tuned in more often to radio than on televisions. Or most of the people have radio sets than television. Once the management was able to determine the medium preferred by people, they would know where they could put more advertisement about their league. They may also target community radio stations, community television networks, and community newspapers.These media are not run through sponsorship and thus may accept advertisements and announcements for free. In addition, it caters to the community especially to the grassroots therefore reaching a large number of people. Another strategy to get the attention of people especially the youngste rs would be a visit to the places far away from the main office of the team. They could reach out for the out-of-school youth and for those who cannot go to their free games. These people are probably not that exposed to the game and to the team as well and thus did a little or no effort at all to go and watch the live games.They may also strengthen their fan clubs that will be of great help in promoting their teams and the baseball. The Birmingham Barons could also have school and campus tours. They could visit different primary and secondary schools, introduce their teams to the students, and promote baseball games. In these ways, they will be more visible and exposed to these young people who might have interest with sports. And perhaps for those who don’t have any interest, it would be a start to develop even a little love for sports.In terms of the number of games which saturated the people, they could have what is so-called Special Game. In here, they may go against the usual happenings in their games. For example, they will have guests from the show business in this specific date of game, a famous actor or actress perhaps. Current Strategies To attract more audience, the management of the Birmingham Barons and the whole minor baseball league offer discounts for the early buyers of tickets, for wholesale buyers of tickets and for long-time customers.These steps encourage baseball fanatics to reserve tickets earlier and these also heighten the loyalty of the audiences to the baseball team. The team and managements give small gifts and thank you tokens to their fans for their loyalty. They actually give souvenirs and give-aways after the games. The team do play games at 11:00 am designed for school children. Schools get a heavily discounted game and meal ticket for the game and since they start at 11:00 they still get back to the school before 3:00.They also have youth clinics where children come to the park on Sundays and learn from our players. Th e Barons created a â€Å"Home Run† for the Community Donation Program wherein they give tickets to the non-profit organizations. The non-profit organizations then use the tickets as silent auction items or door prizes and the proceeds were donated. Another community based activity of the Barons is their tie-up with the Pull-A-Part â€Å"Pulling against Child Abuse† promotion where they gave donation to a Children’s Hospital (Birmingham Barons, LLC, 2007).As of now, Barons have what they call Sponsorship/Marketing Kit which includes scoreboard, yearbook, radio and stadium advertising. They call for business advertisements during their games through these advertisement mediums. These have become attractive for advertisers because their captive audiences are people of middle to upper classes. As a minor league baseball team, they already have a capability of collecting funds through these sponsorships and that enables them to reach out to the masses. Assumptions an d CapabilitiesThe Birmingham Barons are already getting a big income through sponsorships and tickets sales. Most probably, their income will not actually be affected by giving extra discounts for the long time customers, early and wholesale ticket buyers, and most especially to young fans, Latino or Hispanic fans who may be driven away by other forms of entertainment the Birmingham is rich for. Birmingham Barons has already a good business strategy – they have that Marketing and Sponsorship kits which includes radio advertising, and they also have their official website.This has already enabled them to captive a large number of audiences. In addition, they are also involved in community services and an example is that â€Å"Home Run† for the Community Donation Program. The thing they must have some changes is about their target audience. Baseball should not be just for those who have money and can afford to buy tickets, but for other members of the society also. Baseb all is a game for kids as what Barons General Manager Jonathan Nelson said during their tie up with Pull-A-Part (Birmingham Barons, LLC).That’s why I also believe it should be promoted especially to young generation of fans. Baseball is not also for whites, but for everyone. Thus, it is also good to promote this with others like the Hispanic or Latino. And it is good to know that Birmingham Barons is offering a family-oriented entertainment through this sport. There are really many factors to be considered and studied carefully before acting or making decision especially in business and its environment. The key point is to focus on the goal and what is really needed.But the goal is not just to increase the income of sports but must be beyond it. They must also aim to promote the love and patronize for sports. Just think what will happen if the young people of today’s generation will lose interest to sports. And with the Birmingham Barons existence and fame for more or less one hundred years, I know they can make it to the people’s heart to once again gain their attentions and affections for sport. References Birmingham Barons, LLC. (2007). Birmingham Barons. Retrieved November 9, 2007, from http://www.barons. com/marketing/Barons07-MediaKit. pdf Birmingham Barons, LLC. (2007). â€Å"Home Run† for the Community Support Program. Retrieved November 9, 2007, from http://www. barons. com/thebarons/ communitysupport. shtml Birmingham Barons, LLC. (October 2, 2007). Home Runs Help Prevent Child Abuse. Retrieved November 9, 2007, from http://www. barons. com/nm/publish/barons705. shtml Shattuck, Michael. (2005). Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area Population Diversity Summary. Retrieved November 9, 2007, from mhrc. dopm. uab. edu/ resources_new/Birmingham

Big Picture Questions in ACT Reading Whats the Main Point

Big Picture Questions in ACT Reading What's the Main Point SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips On ACT Reading, you'll encounter questions that ask you to be able to read large amounts of text and distill them down; we call these "big picture" questions here at PrepScholar. Big picture questions can ask about the entire passage, a series of paragraph, or even just one paragraph (as opposed to "little picture" questions, which will ask for specific information). Being able to answer these types of questions will prove very useful for college/university, where professors will expect you to use these skills with even more dense and academic writing. What are â€Å"big picture† questions on ACT Reading, and what are the best ways to approach answering them? I’ll start by discussing the two primary types of big picture questions you’ll encounter on the ACT, along with common ways the ACT will ask you about each. After that, I’ll give you some strategies to answer both types of questions, illustrated with examples from prose fiction and academic writing. feature image credit: The Bigger Picture by F Delventhal, used under CC BY 2.0/Cropped from original. Type 1: Main Point Questions First of all, what is the main point of a passage or paragraph? For Social Science, Humanities, and Natural Science passages, the main point is the central argument. It's a little more complicated for Prose Fiction or Literary narrative, since they don’t always have central arguments; for these passage types, the main point is often the central conflict and its implications. If you're stumped, it can also sometimes help to think of the main point of a Prose Fiction/Literary Narrative passage as a short summary of what happens, or even the â€Å"moral of the story.† Questions that ask you about the main point are not asking about the topic, or theme, of the writing, but are instead looking for something more specific. The main point should answer the question, â€Å"so what’s the author’s point in this paragraph/passage?† in a short sentence. Identifying Main Point Questions It’s usually pretty clear when you’re being asked about the main point of a passage. The wording will go something like the following (all extracted from and modified from actual SAT questions): â€Å"Which of the following statements best expresses the main idea of the passage?† â€Å"The primary focus of lines 65-92 is..." "The author’s main purpose in lines 54-69 is to show..." â€Å"The main theme of this passage concerns the...† â€Å"The main idea of the first paragraph is that the music of the video game Portal...† Main Point Questions: Examples Let’s take an example from a paper I wrote during graduate school (minus footnotes). I’ll even include introductory material, similar to what you might find on the ACT. This paragraph is excerpted from the paper â€Å"‘This was a triumph:’ Narrative and dynamic uses of music in Portal† by Laura Staffaroni ( ©2013 by Laura Staffaroni). This paper was written as the final assignment for a Research and Materials class. In general, because Portal is a puzzle game, it might be expected to lack a strong narrative; this, however, is not the case. While the gameplay is focused on the solving each level’s puzzle, you are also provided with tantalizing bits of story in the form of dialogue spoken to you by GLADoS, the AI directing the â€Å"tests.† Bits of the story are revealed over the course of the game in this way, picking up with the introduction of secret rooms with writing on the walls and the adorable but deadly turrets. So what’s the main point of this paragraph? If you just go with what the topic is, then your answer might be something like â€Å"games,† or even â€Å"the video game Portal.† *buzzer* EHHHHHH. WRONG. Remember, the main point should be able to answer the question "What's the author's point in this paragraph?" The answer to that question will be something like "The author is arguing that [main point]." So "the video game Portal" doesn't even make sense as an answer - "The author is arguing that the video game Portal" is not a complete sentence, which means "the video game Portal" cannot be the main point of this paragraph. Here's my short answer for what I think the main point of that paragraph is: Portal is a puzzle game that also has a narrative. This successfully answers the question "what is the author's point in this paragraph?" in a way that makes sense: the author is arguing that Portal is a puzzle game that also has a narrative. I will go into strategies for how to extract this information from a paragraph or passage in a little bit. For now, let’s take a look at another example, this time from prose fiction. This paragraph is excerpted from the short story â€Å"Writer’s Block† by Laura Staffaroni ( ©2009 Laura Staffaroni). This story was written as an assignment for a Creative Writing class. Emma gave her friend a glare that conveyed both her disbelief and annoyance. Really, sometimes Rachel could be a bit melodramatic, as shown by, oh, EVERYTHING she had just said and done. If anyone had trouble writing, it was her, Emma. When given a prompt, Rachel’s pen would start racing back and forth across the page like a ping-pong ball on a string, going to the right right right AND back to the left, where the metaphorical paddle awaited. Meanwhile, Emma would be sitting with her pen pushed into the paper, hoping for a few sentences or paragraphs in half an hour. It just didn’t seem fair. Now Rachel was worried about writing? It was probably a ploy, some kind of act she was putting on, so that when she ended up producing a three-page story in the space of fifteen minutes everyone would feel especially awed. What’s the main point, or primary focus, of this paragraph? If you go with â€Å"theme,† your answer might be along the lines of â€Å"jealousy,† or â€Å"writing.† Again, this is not specific enough to be correct. The answer to the question "What's the main point of this paragraph?" should be able to give a person who hasn’t read the paragraph a good idea of what goes on in it, not just what it’s about. So what’s the focus of this paragraph? Again, that can be answered with just a short statement: Emma’s jealousy of Rachel’s ability to write a lot quickly. What about the main point? The main point is that Emma is jealous of Rachel's ability to write a lot quickly. 1961 Triumph TR3A by The Car Spy, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped from original. Type 2: Perspective Questions Rather than asking about â€Å"what happened†, perspective questions ask â€Å"what is the perspective, attitude, or point of view of the [person, narrator, author], shown in this [paragraph, series of paragraphs, passage]?† These questions are a little different from main point questions (and occur less frequently than main point questions), but since answering them requires you to synthesize large amounts of information down into one central point, perspective questions are still big picture questions. It's a subtle distinction, but it is important to make a note of whether a question is a main point or perspective question, particularly if it is asking about a paragraph, rather than the whole passage. Why? Because it's entirely possible that a single paragraph is from a particular character/person's point of view, and that person's opinion may differ from the objective reality presented in the rest of the passage. Identifying Perspective Questions Here are a couple examples of how a perspective question might be phrased on the SAT: "The passage is written from the point of view of..." "Based on the passage, which of the following statements best describes the overall attitude of the narrator?" Perspective Questions: Examples Let’s use the example of my paper on Portal again. This paragraph is excerpted from the paper â€Å"‘This was a triumph:’ Narrative and dynamic uses of music in Portal† by Laura Staffaroni ( ©2013 by Laura Staffaroni). This paper was written as the final assignment for a Research and Materials class. In general, because Portal is a puzzle game, it might be expected to lack a strong narrative; this, however, is not the case. While the gameplay is focused on the solving each level’s puzzle, you are also provided with tantalizing bits of story in the form of dialogue spoken to you by GLADoS, the AI directing the â€Å"tests.† Bits of the story are revealed over the course of the game in this way, picking up with the introduction of secret rooms with writing on the walls and the adorable but deadly turrets. Question: â€Å"The passage is written from the point of view of...† Correct answer: This passage is written from the point of view of†¦a dispassionate narrator describing a component of Portal’s gameplay. True. The narrator doesn't appear to have particularly strong feelings about Portal, and the excerpt describes an aspect of the gameplay (that you get bits of story through dialogue). Incorrect answer: This passage is written from the point of view of†¦GLADoS, the AI. No. The passage mentions GLADoS, but isn’t written from her POV. Incorrect answer: This passage is written from the point of view of†¦a narrator unhappy that Portal is different from all other puzzle games. No. The narrator mentions that Portal is a puzzle game, but doesn’t mention that it is different from all other puzzle games, nor does the narrator seem unhappy about this. Here's a prose fiction example, again using the passage from before: This paragraph is excerpted from the short story â€Å"Writer’s Block† by Laura Staffaroni ( ©2009 Laura Staffaroni). This story was written as an assignment for a Creative Writing class. Emma gave her friend a glare that conveyed both her disbelief and annoyance. Really, sometimes Rachel could be a bit melodramatic, as shown by, oh, EVERYTHING she had just said and done. If anyone had trouble writing, it was her, Emma. When given a prompt, Rachel’s pen would start racing back and forth across the page like a ping-pong ball on a string, going to the right right right AND back to the left, where the metaphorical paddle awaited. Meanwhile, Emma would be sitting with her pen pushed into the paper, hoping for a few sentences or paragraphs in half an hour. It just didn’t seem fair. Now Rachel was worried about writing? It was probably a ploy, some kind of act she was putting on, so that when she ended up producing a three-page story in the space of fifteen minutes everyone would feel especially awed. Question: â€Å"Based on the passage, which of the following statements best describes the overall attitudes of Rachel and Emma?† Correct answer: Emma does not believe Rachel’s anxiety is real. True: Emma thinks that Rachel's worrying about writing is an an "act [Rachel is] "putting on", which means it is not a real emotion. Incorrect answer: Rachel likes writing, while Emma doesn’t. Possibly true, but not directly supported by anything in the paragraph. Incorrect answer: Rachel is manic and exuberant, while Emma is depressed and calm. Again, maybe true, but not apparent from this paragraph alone. Warning: Main Point and Perspective ≠  Function Warning by Stefano Brivio, used under CC BY 2.0. Main point and perspective questions are different from function questions. Instead of asking "what's the point," function questions usually ask "what does this [line, sentence, paragraph] DO?" Rather than asking "What is the perspective from which the author is arguing her point?" (a perspective question), you'll be asked questions about the author’s purpose: â€Å"why is the author writing this?† Example: "The main idea of the first paragraph is..." You can translate this to "What does this paragraph say,† a main point question. Compare to: "Which of the following best describes the way the fifth paragraph (lines 48–54) functions in the passage as a whole?" You can translate this to "What does this paragraph do," a function question. On the other hand, sometimes main point questions can masquerade as function questions. Take this example (1): "1. In terms of the passage as a whole, one of the main functions of the third paragraph (lines 13-19) is to suggest that... A. ER’ s successes in various professional pursuits helped prepare her to take action in the political world.B. ER had avoided the political spotlight in her personal pursuits.C. ER had competing and conflicting interests during her first year as first lady.D. while ER had many personal accomplishments, little could have prepared her for life as the first lady." Even though the question has the word "function" in its wording, it is actually asking about the main idea of the paragraph. How can you tell? Compare the above question to a similarly-worded function question (2): "2. The function of the first paragraph in relation to the passage as a whole is to: A. orient the reader to the subject of longitude by explaining how longitude is determined at sea.B. explain the political significance of developing an accurate way of determining longitude.C. establish that longitude calculations are necessary to determine time in two different places at once. D. introduce a discussion of how knowledge of Earth’s position relative to the Sun was gained in the process of advances in timekeeping. " The difference is in both the wording of the question and in the answer choices presented. If you reduce the questions down to their basic strucutre, example 1 asks "what does this paragraph SUGGEST (what does this paragraph say)?" By contrast, example 2 asks "What is this paragraph's FUNCTION (what does this paragraph DO)?" The answer choices are also telling: function questions often have answer choices in the form of "verb a noun" (in this case, "orient the reader," "explain the political significance," "establish that longitude calculations are necessary," and "introduce a discussion"). Main point questions, on the other hand, have answer choices that answer the question "what's the point?" For more on the distinction between big picture and function questions, check back soon for my ACT Reading function questions article. Now that you know what big picture questions are, though, how do you go about answering them? Strategies For Answering Big Picture Questions The strategy you use to answer big picture questions depends on how you read the passage. If you have enough time to read each passage in full and answer questions afterwards without feeling rushed, then you should be trying to figure out the main point and author perspective as you read. You can do a quick check to see if there will be any questions about it first, but even if there aren’t any questions that directly ask you about the main point, it can be helpful in answering other questions (more on that later). If you read the questions first, you may be able to get a sense of what the big picture is just by the questions asked. If you skim the passage, then attack questions, you should focus on just the key information the first time through But how do you know what the key information is? Read on to find out! Check The Introduction and Conclusion For questions about non-Prose Fiction/Literary Narrative passages, chances are that if the author’s done a good job, the main point and perspective should be clear in the conclusion, if not the introduction as well. This can, of course, be true for Prose Fiction/Literary Narrative passages as well, but since it isn’t as essential to the construction of a successful piece of prose fiction or literary narrative, an author won't always structure her writing that way. When finding the main point of a single paragraph, on the other hand, this rule gets a little fuzzy. Sometimes there will be direction-changing words in the middle of the paragraph that are essential to understanding the main point - words you might miss if you only focus on the introduction and conclusion sentences. Last sentences also often try to take the argument a step beyond what has been discussed in the article, placing it in a broader context. Still, the introduction and conclusion can be helpful as places to start. If the introduction and conclusion seem to contradict each other, that is a clear sign that you need to dig deeper into the passage/paragraph to find the main point. Use Key Words It makes intuitive sense that you’d want to note where the author says things like â€Å"important† or â€Å"significant† – those things probably are important (or even significant). You can also uncover key information, however, by paying attention to words and phrases that signal changes of direction, like â€Å"in contrast,† â€Å"while,† â€Å"however,† and so on; because the information associated with these words contrasts with what came before, it often is important. Key words can help you get to the meat of the issue by helping you avoid the trap of just reading the first sentence of a paragraph and assuming that is what it will be about. Let's take yet another look at my Portal paper for an example of this. In general, because Portal is a puzzle game, it might be expected to lack a strong narrative; this, however, is not the case. While the gameplay is focused on the solving each level’s puzzle, you are also provided with tantalizing bits of story in the form of dialogue spoken to you by GLADoS, the AI directing the â€Å"tests.† Bits of the story are revealed over the course of the game in this way, picking up with the introduction of secret rooms with writing on the walls and the adorable but deadly turrets. The beginning sentence of this paragraph basically says that Portal doesn’t have a strong narrative. The â€Å"however† later on in that same sentence should catch your eye....however, as should the following sentence that starts with â€Å"While†, because they indicate that something in contrast to the opening statement is being presented. Don't ever abandon a paragraph without double-checking for contrast words.  ©2013 Laura Staffaroni. Answer In Your Own Words If you come across a question that asks you a big picture question, try to formulate the answer using your own words before you look at the test's answer choices, relying only on what you read in the passage or paragraph, not on things that COULD BE true but aren’t supported. Then, when you go to look at the answer choices, see which one best matches the answer you came up with in your own words. If you use this strategy, however, you have to be careful not to oversimplify when you answer the question in your own words. Remember, the central argument is the specific point the author is making, not a general topic or theme. Use as few words as possible to write down your version of the answer – after all, you don’t want to waste too much time on something that won’t be graded – while still being precise. It can be a tough balance to maintain at first, but practice makes it easier. Putting Strategies To Use: A Final Big Picture Example Let’s end by taking a look at the conclusion paragraph of my Portal paper and seeing if we can extract the main point from it, using some of the strategies I mentioned above. This paragraph is the conclusion of the paper â€Å"‘This was a triumph:’ Narrative and dynamic uses of music in Portal† by Laura Staffaroni ( ©2013 by Laura Staffaroni). The paper was written as the final assignment for a Research and Materials class. Overall, the music of Portal tends to fit more within a narrative framework than it does the ideal of interactivity. The use of an ambient musical soundtrack, silences, musical dialogue, non-ambient music for dramatic effect and underscoring of characters’ psychological states, and thematic music for narrative continuity and as a way to transition in and out of the game world all serve narrative purposes. Yet, like many other current game music composers, the composers of Portal created a paradigm wherein â€Å"the music and sound effects are responding to the needs of the game and the gameplayer† by creating tracks like â€Å"Procedural Jiggle Bone† that are able both to loop back into themselves and to move on to other tracks without a problem. This dichotomy confirms that the best way to analyze the music in Portal is not by applying any one analytical schema to it, but instead to assess what the most important elements of the game are and decide from there wh at methods of analysis are most appropriate. Perhaps the way music functions in Portal is best summed up by Whalen’s description of how music should function in general when it comes to digital games: â€Å"By simultaneously enriching the worlds of video games and assisting the player’s navigating the syntagmatic structure of video games, music is essential to the semantic operations of a video game as an interactive story.† If the music in Portal did not both provide narrative structure and respond to each player’s interaction with the game, it would not have been nearly as engaging and successful a game. Whew, that’s a lot of words. Where should I start if I want to figure out the main point of the paragraph? Step 1: check out intro and conclusion sentences: Intro: â€Å"Overall, the music of Portal tends to fit more within a narrative framework than it does the ideal of interactivity.† Conclusion: â€Å"If the music in Portal did not both provide narrative structure and respond to each player’s interaction with the game, it would not have been nearly as engaging and successful a game.]† Do these sentences support each other or contradict each other? My thinking: First sentence says music in Portal fits better with narrative framework than interactivity (whatever I meant by that); last sentence says music in Portal has both narrative structure and interaction parts. Hmm. Better go deeper to double check. Step 2: Look for direction words. Here's a sentence that begins with "yet," a direction word: â€Å"Yet, like many other current game music composers, the composers of Portal created a paradigm wherein â€Å"the music and sound effects are responding to the needs of the game and the gameplayer† by creating tracks like â€Å"Procedural Jiggle Bone† that are able both to loop back into themselves and to move on to other tracks without a problem.† Yikes. This is saying that the composers for Portal’s music did†¦something†¦to make music that could loop and also go on to other tracks. This is sort of contradicting the opening sentence (responding to the needs of the game is interactive, but the opening sentence says the game isn’t interactive). Also, that seems way too detailed to be a main point. Are there any other direction words? Aha, next sentence! "but instead": â€Å"This dichotomy confirms that the best way to analyze the music in Portal is not by applying any one analytical schema to it, but instead to assess what the most important elements of the game are and decide from there what methods of analysis are most appropriate.† [bolding mine] This says you shouldn’t just analyze Portal in one way, which seems to support the conclusion sentence. Good sign. Step 3: Answer in your own words. My thoughts: Main point is that music in Portal is used in both narrative and interactive ways (can’t just go with one or the other). Time to look at the actual answer choices... The main idea of the last paragraph is that the music in Portal: A. was a key factor in the game’s success B. occurs as a way of maintaining narrative continuity C. can be analyzed from a narrative or interactivity perspective D. results entirely from interactions between player and game My thoughts: A: could be true, but not really what this paragraph is about B: true, but that’s not the main idea C: true, and that’s close to how I phrased the main idea D: no, that’s entirely wrong. So the answer must be C. (and so it is) August 25th "The Big Picture We've Done It_I'm a World Record Holder!" by Amanda Slater, used under CC BY-SA 2.0/Cropped from original. In Conclusion... Big picture questions require being able to scan a text and sum up â€Å"what’s the point.† Knowing the main point or perspective of a paragraph, series of paragraphs, or passage can be useful for answering other types of questions, especially function and author technique questions; on occasion, knowing the main point/perspective can also be helpful for little picture, vocab-in-context, and inference questions as well. No matter how you approach the passage, use the strategies of checking intro/conclusion, looking for key words, and coming up with the main point in your own words to help you answer main point and perspective questions. What’s Next? Are these strategies fine in theory...but in real life, you always run out of time when reading (especially on the ACT)? Discover how to avoid that terrible fate here. Want more in depth guides like this? Check out our articles on other ACT Reading skills types, starting with vocab-in-context questions! What are the other types of questions you’ll find on the ACT Reading, and what’s the best way to read the passage to answer them? We have ways of making you...read the passage effectively. Find out what's actually tested on ACT Reading here. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Reading lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Dr. Martin Luther King Essay

Dr. Martin Luther King Essay Free Online Research Papers Being known as a man beyond his years, Martin Luther King Jr. envisioned something that many during his time period didn’t. He saw a possibility of change for minorities all throughout the United States. Despite the fact that slavery had been abolished for sometime, Dr. King noticed that hatred, oppression, and the want for true freedom was still apparent throughout the country. Instead of sitting there waiting for change, he took action and sparked a revolution that had never been seen before in history. This change, in Dr. King’s words had been well over due. Dr. King had been exceptionally inspired by a dream, this dream evolving into a powerful movement. During his time, desegregation of the South was viewed by many as an impossible task. Although many bombarded Dr. King with ridicule, he ignored the negative and still strived to achieve his dream. Dr. King’s vision was always present and attempted in the years before him, but none proved to be successful due to strict laws created by southern officials. Inspired by Gandhi, Dr. King used nonviolent methods of protest to not only move the hearts of mankind, but also to inspire youths to pursue their dreams and aspirations. The followers of Dr. King held many peaceful demonstrations including marches and sit-ins to bring about change. The main intent of the demonstrations was to get a point across peacefully, but some events lead to violence brought forth by the police force and racist organizations. The violence and hatred of some only created an everlasting hunger in Dr. King’s followers to keep pressing onward in reaching their goal. Dr. King and his followers came to the conclusion that they would no longer allow themselves to turn their backs from such oppression. This was in the benefit for not only black rights, but for the rights of all oppressed around the world. Martin Luther King Jr. has proved himself to be a great visionary and drastically impacted the world due to his actions. He pushed and pushed, and eventually saw the hearts of his fellow man slowly change. Sadly, like so many great men before him he passed away before he saw his vision in full effect. Dr. King’s dream still lives on today instilled in the heart of every American no matter what race or ethnicity. When we gaze at what Dr. King accomplished, we see a man who changed the world. Martin Luther King Jr. will always be remembered in history as a great man. Research Papers on Dr. Martin Luther King EssayComparison: Letter from Birmingham and CritoBringing Democracy to AfricaCanaanite Influence on the Early Israelite Religion19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided EraAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeWhere Wild and West MeetMind TravelQuebec and CanadaCapital PunishmentRelationship between Media Coverage and Social and

Cut To The Chase

Cut To The Chase Cut To The Chase Cut To The Chase By Sharon Cut to the chase is a common expression, meaning get to the point. Its an exhortation to omit flowery phrases and unnecessary preamble and focus on the core issue. This expression first appeared in newspapers in the 1940s, though it has an older origin in the American film industry. In the era of silent film, a romantic love story often ended in a thrilling chase sequence, which was the most exciting part of the film. At that time cut to chase was a script direction indicating that the chase was next in the sequence of events. One example cited is in the novel Hollywood Girl by Joseph McEvoy, where a character gives the script direction: Jannings escapes; cut to chase. Here are some quotations from newspapers: People could fight about the merits of the Duke’s films for years, but let’s cut to the chase. Here are five favorites, all perfect ways to celebrate his endearing talent. And, surprise, theyre not all Westerns. USA Today But, Peters thought, if you can tell in half a minute of meeting someone whether theres chemistry, then why not cut to the chase and just meet up? She crafted a new approach: an app where users can meet people without hassling with features on traditional online dating apps. LA Times Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:100 Beautiful and Ugly WordsTime Words: Era, Epoch, and EonSupervise vs. Monitor

Apple, Microsoft, IBM and Others Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Apple, Microsoft, IBM and Others - Assignment Example The success of these technologies is in part due to their similarity to gestures we undertake in our daily lives, and build on the success of the previous Windows, Icons, Menus and Pointing (WIMP) system that revolutionized the computer world. Those using a Starwood Hotel would benefit in numerous ways from the input of touchscreen technology. Not only would it allow menus and cinema times (as well as countless other pieces of information) to be displayed all on one screen, it would allow the user to browse these in a way that would already be familiar to them. It would allow them to order room service without worrying about a lost menu, and items that were unavailable could be updated in real-time. There may be disruptions in inputting this device, because it would need to be put in every room as well as be linked to a central mainframe service. This would be of considerable economic expense also. It may also cause the loss of several jobs in the area. Other disruptions would come later, when the central server may be down or the technology is updated. The quote by Bill Buxton is interesting, because it suggests that the touch screen technology of today will replace the more traditional WIMP systems. It would probably take a lot for this to occur, because the WIMP system is already fairly intuitive and ingrained into the collective mentality of users. Touch screen technology is not completely intuitive either, because in reality we do not drag two fingers apart to see something more closely, but we simply walk closer. It would be interesting to see this level of intuitiveness involved in the market, and it may be this all-encompassing type of computer usage that gives us the replacement for the WIMP system. Touch technology also has issues when it comes to sensitivity and size, as some users and interfaces are difficult to use in that they are too responsive or not responsive enough, and the size may be wrong for young or very large users. It will

Ethical Dlemma Invovling the Bombing of Hiroshima Essay

Ethical Dlemma Invovling the Bombing of Hiroshima - Essay Example This happened at a time when the intensity of air raids between the two countries had escalated thus leading to war strategies that had to be adopted to defeat the enemy. Although the Japanese had been militarily defeated by the United States army and were considering surrender the United States officials went ahead with the test of the atomic bomb at New Mexico and saw the deadly results. The officials’ in charge took charge and the then president Truman allowed the bomb to be released at Hiroshima. It became the among the world’s deadliest bomb attack that ruined lives and properties. The first ethical debate concerning the bombing of Hiroshima, and the subsequent bombing of Nagasaki, is the fact that the war could have been won without the bombing. From an analysis of the views of people n the era, it is evident that the bombing was not supported by the majority of people. Winnacker (26) states that Professor Albert Einstein remarked leading physicists in the era urg ed the American government not to drop the two bombs that effectively ended the world war. Einstein stated that the War Department was convinced that, with the casualties suffered by the Japanese, their ultimate surrender was not long in coming, therefore, the bombing was not necessary. ... Using the theory of consequentialism, America’s action in the bombing of Hiroshima can be condemned by stating that the government used the principle of personal egoism. The principle of personal egoism states that an individual should always act in his own long-term interests and disregard the interests of any other individuals. In this regard, the United States only considered the interests of its soldiers, in which case they decided to kill innocent civilians in order to end the war. An analysis of the statements of the Secretary of State when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima indicates that the government had taken into consideration the views of scientists and war analysts on the issue in Japan (Bruce 42). The government had been advised that the total surrender of Japan would be a matter of a few weeks, and the bomb did not need to be dropped. However, Secretary Simpson stated that the best way to totally end the war was through a ‘complete and utter’ destru ction of Japan’s military might. Secretary Simpson went on to state that despite the efforts of the Japanese government to surrender the war, the United States government still had to take its own interests before the interests of the Japanese government. The Secretary stated that the Japanese government had gone as far as to approach the Soviet government in a bid to start negotiations with the Allies on the end of the war. This fact can be analyzed using the utilitarianism argument, which states that the best act is the one that produces the highest ratio of good to evil in every action. Using the utilitarianism debate, the United States would be ethically justified for their actions in bombing Hiroshima and