Hamlet - Appearance Vs. Reality Essays (1686 words) -

Hamlet - Appearance vs. Reality Hamlet one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, where the young prince of Denmark must uncover the truth about his fathers death. Hamlet a play that tells the story of a young prince who's father recently died. Hamlets uncle Claudius marries his mother the queen and takes the throne. As the play is told Hamlet finds out his father was murdered by the recently crowned king. The theme that remains constant throughout the play is appearance versus reality. Things within the play appear to be true and honest but in reality are infested with evil. Many of the characters within the play hide behind a mask of falseness. Four of the main characters that hid behind this mask are Polonius, Rosencrantz (Guildenstern), the king Cluadius. From behind this mask they give the impression of a person who is sincere and genuine, in reality they are plagued with lies and evil. There appearance will make it very difficult for Hamlet to uncover the truth, the characters hide behind. Polonius the kings royal assistant has a preoccupation with appearance. He always wants to keep up the appearance of loving and caring person. Polonius appears like a man who loves and cares about his son, Laertes. Polonius speaks to his son with advice that sounds sincere but in reality it is rehearsed, hollow and without feeling. Polonius gives his advice only to appear to be the loving caring father. The reality is he only speaks to appear sincere as a politician, to look good rather then actually be good: "And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry. This above all: to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. Farewell; my blessing season this in thee!" Act 1 Polonius gives his son Laertes his blessing to go away, he sends a spy to follow him and keep an eye on him. This shows his lack of trust for anyone, he gives the appearance of a confident father who trusts his son to go off on his own. In reality he lies about his trust for his son by sending a spy to watch him. His advice he gives his son is rehearsed and only said to give the appearance of a loving father. Polonius further adds to the theme appearance verses reality by ordering Ophelia to stop seeing Hamlet. He lies to her telling her that Hamlet does not love her, he only lusts for her, in truth he does love her: Ay, springes to catch woodcocks. I do know, When the blood burns , how prodigal the soul Through the play Polonius hids behind his mask appearing to be honest loving parent. In reality Polonius lies, manipulates people and eavesdrops on peoples conversation. Polonius helps contribute to the theme appearance verses reality by showing how his appearance is not his true nature, behind the mask there lies someone totally different. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are two of Hamlets childhood friends who when asked by the king, try to find out what is troubling the young prince. Both help to contribute to the theme by showing there appearance of being Hamlets friends. The pair go to Hamlet pretending to be his friends when in truth they are only there because the king asked them to find the truth. There is some irony within the twins, they are asked by the king to find out the truth by hiding within a lie, by pretending to be his friend: A dream is but a shadow Act II. Hamlet knows there purpose for their visit is to dig into his soul to find the real reason for his actions as of late. As the play continues the twins are asked again by the king to go to Hamlet and try again to find the real reason for Hamlets behavior. Hamlet insults them at every chance knowing they are lying to him about there purpose of the visit: Tis as easy as lying; govern these ventages with you finger and thumb, give it breath with your mouth...Act III As the melodrama continues Hamlet goes with the twins to reclaim money that another state owes Denmark.

Pride and Prejudice Essay Example Essay Example

Pride and Prejudice Essay Example Paper Pride and Prejudice Essay Introduction Marriage As A Social Contract In Jane Austen’s ‘Pride And Prejudice’ â€Å". It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife†. With these famous words, Jane Austen launched into what has come to be regarded by many as the greatest romance novel of all time. Written in late 1790’s England, in a time of radical social upheaval and political change, ‘Pride and Prejudice’ presents a mixed bag of social ideas relating to marriage, the meaning of femininity, love and the fluidity of class structure. The time of writing put ‘Pride and Prejudice’ in the middle of a fictional war of ideas between female writers of the time, arriving as it does at a sort of middle ground between the feminist views of Mary Wollstonecraft and the more rural traditionalist views of Hannah More (Jones, V. , ‘Introduction to â€Å"Pride and Prejudice†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, (1996) London: Penguin). This lead to much confusion among critics as to exactly what Austen’s views regarding marriage and feminism were, and in many cases continues to do so today. In this essay I will attempt to clear up some of this ambiguity, while closely examining the idea of marriage itself, the nature of the ‘social contract’, and the social and historical background to the idea of marriage as a social contract In ‘The Sadeian Woman’, Angela Carter states that â€Å"The marriage bed is a particularly delusive refuge from the world, because all wives of necessity by contract† (Carter, Angela, ‘The Sadeian Woman’, pg. 9, (1978) ). Unfortunately for Ms. Elizabeth Bennet, it cannot be denied that she is a â€Å"wife of necessity†. Pride and Prejudice Essay Body Paragraphs Effectively disinherited through the fine print of their father’s will, the Bennet girls and their neurotic mother are to become penniless on the death of Mr. Bennet, unless they can find themselves a rich husband. Elizabeth’s initial disapproval of Mr. Darcy and his pride seems to undergo a radical upheaval on her visit to Pemberley, Darcy’s ancestral estate, as she herself admits – when discussing with her sister the progress of her feeling’s for Mr. Darcy, she states â€Å"I believe it must date from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley† (p301). Certain critics have therefore claimed that Elizabeth Bennet is mercenary in her reasons for marriage to Mr. Darcy. This apparently gold-digging behaviour would suggest an attempt by Elizabeth not only to retain, but also to improve, her class status, and therefore to fall in line with rural traditionalism as laid out in Edmund Burke’s ‘Reflections on the Revolution in Fr ance’. As Elizabeth Bennet is Austen’s heroine, and therefore a character of whom she writes very favourably, it could be supposed that Austen’s attitude towards marriage, and the position of women in society, in writing this book was one of traditional rural conservatism. However, before we can accept this supposition, we must recall that Elizabeth has already turned down two well-off potential husbands – one of them being Mr. Darcy himself! – in an attempt to hold out for true love and personal happiness. Her disgust at the proposal of the unbelievably boring and rude Mr. Collins was surpassed only by her shock at discovering that her best friend, Charlotte Lucas, had consented to marry him instead. Unabashedly mercenary, Ms. Lucas declares that marriage is a woman’s â€Å"pleasantest preservative from want† but that it is â€Å"uncertain of giving happiness† (p. 03) (Jones, V. , etc). Elizabeth, on the other hand, claims to believe in marriage for love, and holds her own individual happiness as a personal goal. This portrayal of the heroine as a creature of emotion and feeling, as opposed to a rational, logical and slightly more masculine figure, would assume Austen to be in favour of the theories of such feminist thinkers of the time as Mary Wollstonecraft – a staunch opposer of the writings of Edmund Burke. What, then, is Austen’s stance towards marriage as seen in ‘Pride and Prejudice’? Is she a romantic feminist or a rural traditionalist? My personal belief is that Austen is neither – I would suggest that she, in fact, manages to reach a happy compromise between the two. Austen clearly applauds Elizabeth Bennet’s Wollstonecraftian behaviour in rushing across the countryside to Netherfield to take care of her sister Jane in her illness as she describes Elizabeth’s appearance afterwards in very favourable terms, and highlights how it contributes to Darc y’s growing attraction to her, mentioning â€Å"the brilliancy which exercise had given to her complexion† (p. 0). However, it is also apparent that Austen is in support of the traditional Burkean notion of family and marriage, as the novel finishes with both Jane and Elizabeth happily and prosperously married to men who are their social betters. Both women marry above themselves and secure financial and social stability for both themselves and their families, thus falling in line with what would have been expected of well-brought up young rural ladies. Austen’s achievement in writing ‘Pride and Prejudice’ was, therefore, to show that Wollstonecraftian femininity could exist alongside and within the rural traditionalist ideals of Edmund Burke. Marriage in the time of Jane Austen was neither a religious sacrament (as the predominant English religion of the time, and Austen’s religion, Anglicanism, did not view marriage as a sacrament) nor a sy mbol of romantic love. In Enlightenment England, marriage was rather a necessity, the ultimate aim of all self-respecting young women. Women were, from birth, trained for their inevitable final position as a mother, wife, chef, and household head. Education was not about schooling in the ways and knowledge of the world, but rather the acquisition of a rich store of ‘accomplishments’ – painting, musical talent, singing, embroidery – essentially the marketable skills of a desirable, and socially respectable, wife. Not only was marriage expected by men to be the desire of all women, but it was also, in fact, a means to an end. Women married to secure their status in society and often to improve their social standing, or ‘move up a rung’ in the all-pervading class hierarchy of the era. ‘Pride And Prejudice’ was no exception to this rule. Take the most obvious examples of Elizabeth and Jane Bennet. On a first glance, these women marry for love and for happiness – ‘Pride And Prejudice’ is clearly a classic romance novel. However, constantly bubbling away on the backburner is the undeniable reality of the Bennets’ impending impoverishment, should they fail to secure rich husbands. Effectively disinherited by the fine print of their father’s will, the future of their whole family is staked on their choice of suitors, now that they have reached marriageable age – as is reflected very effectively by Mrs. Bennet’s neuroticism! Aside from the personal difficulties of the Bennet family, there lies in the background of ‘Pride And Prejudice’ the grim historical reality of the time. 1790’s England was a time of â€Å"political crisis and social mobility† (Jones, V. etc), a time when the stability and power of the rural ruling class was threatened by the upwardly mobile ‘nouveau riche’ merchant class and the increasingly outspoken and dem anding working class. Marriage, family – these were seen as social institutions, traditions essential for the preservation of the supremacy of the ruling gentry that the Darcys, the Bingleys, and to a lesser extent the Bennets. Marriage was, for the members of this class, a means of preserving their social position, protecting the integrity of the class structure, and upholding the rural traditions essential for their survival. When we say then that marriage in Jane Austen’s ‘Pride And Prejudice’ can be viewed as being a kind of social contract, we mean in so far as it enabled the women of the time to amass fortune and social respect, and allowed their men to protect the ruling culture which was threatened at this time by outside political influences. Marriage was a mutually beneficial agreement between the man and the woman – in exchange for the woman’s inheritance (if any), body, and the social respectability and support of the rural tradit ions that possession of an ‘accomplished’ wife offered, the man gave financial support and social status. This leads to charges of marriage being akin to â€Å"legal prostitution† (Wollstonecraft, Mary: A Vindication of The Rights of Woman) – women were seen by some as selling their bodies for societal betterment. Mr. Darcy is naturally the object of the mercenary desires of the women of Pemberley, as he is rumoured to be in receipt of a fortune of ten thousand pounds a year – it has been said by some commentators that Elizabeth Bennet merely falls prey to these mercenary desires, and engages in a marriage as a social contract, using romantic love as an excuse, not a reason, for unity with Darcy. I must disagree – I feel this argument has a critical flaw, in so far as Elizabeth not only turns down Darcy at his first proposal, while being fully aware of his riches (although perhaps not yet confronted with all the glory of Pemberley), but also refuses the advances of the well-off, yet exceedingly boring, Mr. Collins. If Elizabeth Bennet were purely mercenary in her designs, why then would she turn down two apparently suitable matches in an attempt to hold out for her goal of personal happiness? How then can we summarise the view of marriage as a social contract in ‘Pride And Prejudice’? Firstly, I think it is important to note that Austen did not set out to write a feminist text, denouncing the marital and romantic traditions of the ruling class. Her heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, does finally settle down with a man who would have been viewed in anybody’s eyes as being a most suitable and socially acceptable match for her. Darcy provides wealth, respect, security, and an elevated position in society – all of which were the most desirable attributes for a prospective husband of the era. However, the novel is not entirely traditionalist, praising as it does the actions of a heroine who defies her moth er in order to please herself long-term, who engages in plenty of outdoor activity usually viewed as unbecoming to a young lady of status, and who openly speaks her mind regarding the behaviour of Mr. Darcy. As I stated earlier, Austen seems to come to a happy compromise between Wollstonecraftian feminism and the staunch traditionalism of such writers as Hannah More. Similarly, Austen appears to compromise between two marital viewpoints – that which would view marriage purely as a social contract, a means to an end, and that which would promote a more romantic version of marital unity. Marriage as a social contract is, then, rampant in ‘Pride And Prejudice’ – we can see it clearly in the marriage of Charlotte Lucas to Mr. Collins – and could be seen as being something of a necessity to young women, to preserve their social standing. However, it is clear that Austen does not neglect a romantic viewpoint, presenting as she does two beautiful young wom en who are both madly in love with their chosen husbands . References: Austen, Jane, ‘Pride And Prejudice’, (1813) Burke, Edmund, ‘Reflections on The Revolution in France’, (1790) Carter, Angela, ‘The Sadeian Woman’, (1978) Jones, V. , ‘Introduction to â€Å"Pride And Prejudice†Ã¢â‚¬â„¢, (1996), London: Penguin Classics Wollstonecraft, Mary, ‘A Vindication of The Rights of Woman’, (1792) We will write a custom essay sample on Pride and Prejudice Essay Example specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Pride and Prejudice Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Pride and Prejudice Essay Example specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Culture of Bangladesh Essays

Culture of Bangladesh Essays Culture of Bangladesh Essay Culture of Bangladesh Essay Culture of Bangladesh Bangladesh might be known as one of the poorest countries in the world but this country is also one of culture and traditions. Most people know that the Bangladesh poverty rate is one of the highest in the world and yet although many visitors would expects to see only poverty in this country the truth is that there is much more to Bangladesh than it may seem. Not only for those who care Bangladesh is still a developing nation but it is also a country that managed to combine the past rich in traditions and its own culture with the present, a world in which globalization is everywhere and everything. Read more about the Bangladesh culture and something else than the economy of Bangladesh. The Bangladesh culture is rich and it is thought to be so thanks to the long and troubled history of the country. There is much to learn about the literature, entertainment and cuisine in this country and here you can read about these. It is said that the earliest piece of literature produced in Bangladesh was written in the 8th century and the main language used to pass on the culture and traditions through literature is Bengali. Experts claim that the Bangladesh literature was able to reach its full potential in the 19th century after surpassing a period in which it was dominated by religious literature or ‘imported’ literature, meaning literature simply translated from other languages. Entertainment also plays an important role in the Bangladesh culture. The music involves mostly lyrics and little instrumental accompaniment, especially if one talks about the traditional music. Some traditional musical instruments include the ektara, dotara, dhol, flute and table. When it comes to movies, it is estimated that the country produces about 80 movies in a year, of which the mainstream Hindi movies tend to be the most acclaimed and popular among the different categories of viewers, in the country and outside its borders.

Free Essays on History Of Indians

In any average elementary school in anywhere of the U.S.A., students learn about Christopher Columbus and the Indians at and early age. Normally, Columbus is portrayed as the â€Å"hero† that â€Å"sailed the ocean blue in 1492† to discover America. Jointly, the Indians are often portrayed as feather-wearing, tee-pee dwelling Neanderthals, who killed for personal gain. A close examination of both Columbus and the Indians would illustrate and entirely different view. Native American culture varied tremendously in North America previous to European involvement. Prehistoric people migrated from Siberia across the Bering Straight to Alaska some 14,000 years before Columbus â€Å"discovered† America. These migrants spread across North America and formed thousands of different ethnic groups or tribes. Each group was individually unique, but most were far more advanced than the early Europeans acknowledge. By the time of European encounter, most tribes had developed methodological social structures including a written constitution, an established school system, court system, and postal service, and a published newspaper. The majority of tribes had been in use of advance agricultural skills for thousands of years. The Plains Indians of the western states had developed â€Å"maps† in order to follow the buffalo with knowledge of astronomy. Few tribes were ruthlessly war like, although the occasional battle did occur much like in European culture. In fact, some Native American tribes greeted the Europeans with open arms and gift (Oats). Despite the true nature of the Indians, the Europeans had preconceived notions based on ignorance. The reason for Columbus’ great exploration was to help the Europeans prosper. Western Europe experienced a Commercial Revolution that had a major impact during the 16th century. Growing global contacts increased demand for a variety of goods in Europe. The development of new overseas colonies in the 1... Free Essays on History Of Indians Free Essays on History Of Indians In any average elementary school in anywhere of the U.S.A., students learn about Christopher Columbus and the Indians at and early age. Normally, Columbus is portrayed as the â€Å"hero† that â€Å"sailed the ocean blue in 1492† to discover America. Jointly, the Indians are often portrayed as feather-wearing, tee-pee dwelling Neanderthals, who killed for personal gain. A close examination of both Columbus and the Indians would illustrate and entirely different view. Native American culture varied tremendously in North America previous to European involvement. Prehistoric people migrated from Siberia across the Bering Straight to Alaska some 14,000 years before Columbus â€Å"discovered† America. These migrants spread across North America and formed thousands of different ethnic groups or tribes. Each group was individually unique, but most were far more advanced than the early Europeans acknowledge. By the time of European encounter, most tribes had developed methodological social structures including a written constitution, an established school system, court system, and postal service, and a published newspaper. The majority of tribes had been in use of advance agricultural skills for thousands of years. The Plains Indians of the western states had developed â€Å"maps† in order to follow the buffalo with knowledge of astronomy. Few tribes were ruthlessly war like, although the occasional battle did occur much like in European culture. In fact, some Native American tribes greeted the Europeans with open arms and gift (Oats). Despite the true nature of the Indians, the Europeans had preconceived notions based on ignorance. The reason for Columbus’ great exploration was to help the Europeans prosper. Western Europe experienced a Commercial Revolution that had a major impact during the 16th century. Growing global contacts increased demand for a variety of goods in Europe. The development of new overseas colonies in the 1...

Abortion in America States Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Abortion in America States - Research Paper Example There are various reasons why women in America have abortion. These reasons range from a variety of factors including economic status, age, social and marital status. This paper holds the view that abortion should be legalized and women should be allowed to have abortions as long as they choose to, rather than being forced to keep unplanned pregnancies. Therefore, the decision to continue or to end a pregnancy should be personal (Webmd.com, 1). According to religious views, abortion is a bad thing, which is punishable before God and hence should not be allowed. It is morally bad and contrary to the will of God to take a life – killing of the fetus. According to the Biblical context, life begins at conception, and therefore the conceived fetus becomes a living thing with the right to life like any other human being. Moreover, over the years, abortion has been considered an immoral act and against many cultural beliefs and values. Therefore, when one is suspected to have done abortion, she is at a high risk of facing rejection in the community. Abortion is also considered immoral because it affects the health of the woman leading to serious mental problems. Women who have previously had abortion have been associated with post abortion syndrome where she becomes traumatized and stressed while others experience serious psychological disturbance (Lee, 19-20). Lee further points out that, feelings of shame, anger and guilt against the doctor and people who suggested abortion are said to accompany women after abortion. Other problems like grief, weeping, depression, self-pity, withdraw from others, sleeplessness, nightmares, and eating problems have been associated with women after abortion. Other women end up into drug abuse as a relief for stress. Drug abuse may however lead to other problems like loss of job, divorce or separation and accidents. All these problems interfere with the health and welfare of the woman (Lee, 20-21). Abortion leads to physical complications. Uterine perforations, pain, bleeding, serious infection, hemorrhage, incomplete abortions and cervical lacerations and injury are some of the reported physical complications with the risk of the complications being dependent on the abortion procedure undertaken. Breast cancer, premature delivery, sterility and placenta previa complications in the future pregnancies are th e long-term physical consequences of abortion leading to prenatal death, low birth weight and maternal morbidity. In addition, many cases of deaths resulting from abortion have been reported in America. This was a study done between 1973, when abortion was made legal nationwide to 2004 (Gaul, 1). Despite the above arguments against abortion, I strongly believe that it is helpful and of great value, and that the law should legalize it. This is because it helps to save a woman’s life in case of complicated pregnancies, for instance, when a woman becomes pregnant with more than one fetus, which mostly happens due to the use of fertility drugs or fertility procedure like IVF. Because of this, a woman may end up becoming pregnant with even as many fetuses as six or more. This increases the risk of both the woman’s life as well as that of the fetuses as it can lead to premature birth or expose the mother to many other health-associated problems. When such a condition occurs, both the woman and the physicians are presented into a dilemma because they want to preserve the life of the woman and at the same time, want to take good care of the

Reducing the Risk of Ventilator-acquired Pneumonia Research Paper

Reducing the Risk of Ventilator-acquired Pneumonia - Research Paper Example This paper stresses that  ventilated patients have different factors that increase the chances of acquiring the disease. One of the main factors is aspiration of infected oral and gastric secretion. The main method used in the study involves the measure of the current degree of bed head evaluation in the trial that was in the ICU. There was measure of the degree of bed elevation measured on a random selection of patients with the use of a protractor and a plumb line.  According to the study findings there are different factors that were considered in the research. The exclusion criteria include the previous intubation within the last 30 days, severe obese patient who were not in a position to tolerate head elevation to 45 degrees, recent abdominal surgery with vacuum dressing that needed change in the position of the patients to renew the dressing or gain a seal. The variables that were recorded in the study included pressure that was to track the use of inotropic therapy. This e nsures that patients that were nursed at 45 degrees did not need additional support. The other variables that were recorded at the end of the research included the sex of the patients, the diagnosis of the patients whether surgical or medical, the white cell count, the temperature of the patients, ventilation, antibiotics, sedation score and Chronic Health Evaluation. The results of the study were taken after 72 hours after the study endpoint was reached. The research took a total period of 3.5 months.

3Th article that pertains to my reserach proposal Assignment

3Th article that pertains to my reserach proposal - Assignment Example 100). The use of humor in this context provides a way to bring student interest to lessons and to motivate students. All students began by filling out a questionnaire about their background and they were given a standardized listening test (TOEFL Test, version 2009) to determine a baseline for their â€Å"listening proficiency level† (Rafiee, Kassaian and Dastjerdi, 2010, p. 102). Once students received instruction through the use of humorous songs, they were given the TOEFL listening test a second time. Participants had not previously participated in listening tests. Students were told that they would listen to a passage for several minutes and then they would be instructed to immediately do coursework. Teachers did not ask questions after the listening task in order to make sure that they were relaxed while listening. Students listened to 17, 90 minute sessions. After the first task, students were asked to listen to the passages again and repeat the task in order to have a pre- and post-test sample. After a three week interval, students were asked to take the TOEFL test again to measure t heir immediate ability to recall the information. There were 30 female participants in this study and they were all studying English at the Iranian Institutes of English language. The age group of participants was between 15 and 25. The participants were given a number between one and 30 and they were randomly chosen for two groups. The first group was comprised of those students who had odd numbers and these were seen as the control group. The second group was comprised of those students who had even numbers were used as the experimental group. The researchers found that students in the experimental group were able to retain more information than those in the control group. The researchers pointed out that humorous songs did have a â€Å"moderately large effect† (Rafiee, Kassaian and

Steve Reich Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Steve Reich - Research Paper Example 6. Steve Reich reportedly applied diverse styles of music through minimalism and innovative genres such as Avant Garde music, chamber music, tape music, and vocal music. His formal studies from different cultures and places were instrumental in influencing disparities in styles of writing and paved the way in generating compositions that were distinctly unique and exemplary. 7. The method of composing for Steve Reich involved the audible process, where it was stressed that music was â€Å"composed using no form of traditional score; rather the composer lists the instructions that the performers must use in order to create the music† (The Audible Process in the Music of Steve Reich: Music as an Audible Process par. 3). 8. There were a variety of innovations that Steve Reich did in his musical composition, including: the use of the audible process; the emergence of chamber music; and â€Å"realms of serialism; music using a fixed order of elements. â€Å"Chance Music† used random elements in either the composition or performance of a piece. â€Å"Aleatory† techniques also involved chance but with the use of selective aspects of control, predetermination or limits. â€Å"Indeterminacy† refers to a performance or composition where the outcome is unkown† (The Audible Process in the Music of Steve Reich: Reaction Against Serialism par.

Letter of Intent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Letter of Intent - Essay Example Having achieved Magnet designation and being recognized as a National Cancer Institute Cancer Center and an exceptional Level 1 Trauma Center, I am fully aware that the University of Virginia Health System has been known to have established profound commitment to community service and devotion to leadership in healthcare and research. To align with this sense of mission, I would like to be identified with its continuous drive toward innovation and excellence to ensure the highest quality of care attainable. I long to adequately take part in significant changes that make the pharmacy department up-to-date in meeting current demands as impressive as the ongoing hospital expansion. If possible, I look forward to pioneering a much-improved patient care, one that goes with deeper levels of enthusiasm and compassion, thereby surpassing traditional expectations. I also feel strong about plans for new pharmacy model as to engage them at depth, imagining the flexibility I would enjoy having t o work with almost the entire clinical staff upon rotation within multidisciplinary teams. After thoroughly speaking with Scott Joiner and Dr. Stephanie Mallow-Corbett regarding the opportunities at the University of Virginia Medical Center, I am convinced with utmost sincerity that these potentials are well-suited to be carried on here as I proceed to seek further growth in fulfilling my responsibilities as a registered clinical pharmacist. I do believe that this position makes an ideal opportunity to collaborate with peers who would be interdependently capable of helping me continue to strengthen applicable analytical skills, entertain difficult tasks and willingness to discern new set of values and skills in keeping up with development and advances intended for pharmacotherapy under multidisciplinary approach. I am confident that my knowledge, ambition, and strong leadership

Fruit fly Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Social Identity Theory And Self Categorisation Theory Sociology Essay

Social Identity Theory And Self Categorisation Theory Sociology Essay Social Identity Theory was established by Tajfel and Turner with the aim of trying to understand the psychological basis of intergroup discrimination. Tajfel and Turner (1979) tried to identify conditions which would lead members of a specific social group to behave in a biased matter towards an out-group, in favour of the in-group which they were a member of. It is seen as a discursive approach. The main principle of Social Identity Theory is that people often categorise and define themselves and others into a number of different social groups and strive to have their group valued more highly than other groups (Tajfel Turner, 1985). Consistent with Tajfel and Turners (1985) claim, it is believed, by other psychologists, that social identities are formed to boost self-esteem and encourage a sense of certainty (McGregor, Reeshama and So-Jin, 2008). To explain the phenomenon of how individuals evaluate themselves and others as part of an in-group or an out-group, Social Identity Theor y identifies three mental concepts: social categorisation, social identification and social comparison (TaÃ…Å ¸demir, 2011). Social categorisation relates to individuals assigning people to social categories in order to understand and identify them (Tajfel Turner, 1979). This results in the world being divided into them and us, or an in-group and an out-group. In the second concept, social identification, people adopt the identity of the social group they have categorised themselves into. This also involves developing an emotional attachment to ones identification with the group and self-esteem will be closely linked to group membership (Tajfel Turner, 1979). The final concept, social comparison, relates to an individual comparing the group they identify with with other groups. To retain ones self-esteem, their group must be viewed in a more positive light than other groups (Tajfel Turner, 1979). Several psychological studies have supported the fact that individuals create so cial categories in order to boost self-esteem. An example of this being when individuals learn that their social group is unacceptable to society, they tend to perceive the out-group as unacceptable as well (Ford Tonander, 1998). Haslam (2001) has identified two types of strategies individuals use to boost their groups status: social conflict and social creativity. Social conflict refers to the in-group undermining the social status of the out-group. This can be done in a violent manner or by way of protests. Social creativity relates to the in-group emphasising group features which they flourish on, by way of advertising these strengths. Haslam (2001) argues that when the in-group does not feel at risk and feel their status is largely secure they will engage in social creativity rather than social conflict. However, when members of the in-group feel threatened they will readily engage in social conflict. A core principle of Social Identity Theory is that ones social identity is no t fixed and cannot predict ones behaviour. Instead, the context and the in-groups salience in the context decides which aspect of an individuals identity is influential in a situation. According to Social Identity Theory, individuals are more inclined to identify with a certain social group if they feel uncertain. Support for this claim comes from McGregor, Reeshma and So-Jin (2008). In their study, participants were required to describe personal conflicts which were caused by unresolved personal problems (uncertainty task). In an attempt to assess out-group derogation, Canadian participants read statements which were critical of Canada, written by a foreign person. The extent to which the Canadian participants disliked and disagreed with the foreigners statement was measured, providing an index of out-group derogation. Additionally, each participant completed a measure of structure requirement. McGregor, Reeshma and So-Jin (2008) found that individuals who sought structure and clar ity were more likely to show out-group derogation after completing the uncertainty task. However, this research used participants from a Western country the same results may not have been generated if Eastern participants took part in the study. The assumptions from these results cannot be generalised to people from different cultures. It can be argued that Social Identity Theory is effective in its claim that people have a biased perception of their own social group compared to other groups, that is, explaining in-group bias. Evidence of this can be seen in the results of Mullen, Brown and Smiths (1992) study into the in-group bias hypothesis. Further support of the claim that identity processes underlie the in-group bias is a report illustrating that members of a social group have higher self-esteem after engaging in discriminatory behaviour (Rubin Hewstone, 1998). Rubin and Hewstone (1998) demonstrate that people show an intergroup distinction to feel good about themselves and the social group which they identify with (Brown, 2000). Brown, Maras, Masser, Vivian and Hewstone (2001) observed that English passengers on a ferry had been refused travel by the actions of French fishermen the out-group and so displayed generally less favourable attitudes towards French people. This supports Social Identity Theorys social comparison concept, in that the English passengers identified so strongly with their national group that they viewed the French in a negative light which in turn, resulted in them retaining their self-esteem. However, Social Identity Theory does have a number of issues which have proved problematic when trying to account for group influence. The theory assumes that a positive social identity is based on positive intergroup comparisons (Brown, 2000). It does make sense to assume that there should be a positive correlation between the strength of group identification and the level of in-group bias. This hypothesis has been tested over the years and still remains of interest to psychologists worldwide (Brown, 2000). Subsequent psychological studies investigating this correlation have shown little support for Social Identity Theory. According to Brown (2000), 14 studies were analysed and the overall correlation between group identification and in-group bias was +0.08, and while 64% of correlations were positive, the mean correlation was not very strong (+0.24). It can be argued, however, that this correlation hypothesis was not actually stated by Tajfel and Turner (1979) when they were develo ping the Social Identity Theory. It is clear from Social Identity Theory that people are motivated to have an in-group bias by the need to see themselves, and the group they identify, within a positive light. Thus, it can be assumed there is a causal link between intergroup distinction and self-esteem. Abrams and Hogg (1988) summarised this concept positive in-group differentiation leads to increased self-esteem and people with low self-esteem show more differentiation in order to boost levels of self-esteem. Social Identity Theory is essentially a theory relating to group differentiation, that is, how members of a specific in-group make this group distinctive from, and better than, an out-group. Therefore, groups which see themselves as similar should be keen to show intergroup differentiation (Brown, 1984). This hypothesis has been tested vigorously over the years with different results. Some studies have generated results which contradict Social Identity Theorys hypothesis Jett en, Spears and Manstead (1996) found that groups that viewed themselves to hold similar attitudes and equivalent status showed more intergroup attraction and less bias then dissimilar groups (Brown, 2000). However, some studies support Social Identity Theory as they have found that intergroup similarity does lead to intergroup differentiation especially if both groups are extremely similar (White Langer, 1999). The concept of social identity as described by Social Identity Theory could be altered by way of having a greater greater acknowledgement of the diversity of social groups that can represent ones social identity. Self-Categorisation Theory also focuses on the concept of intergroup differentiation as a function of identity (TaÃ…Å ¸demir, 2011). Self-Categorisation Theory is seen as a cognitive theory of behaviour within intergroup contexts and offers explanations about the cognitive processes underlying an individuals self-categorisation and intergroup differentiation processes (Turner, 1999). The theory is seen to be a more elaborate, extended version of the original Social Identity Theory (TaÃ…Å ¸demir, 2011). Turner et al. (1987) argue that Self-Categorisation Theory deals with the social-cognitive basis of intergroup behaviour. Self-Categorisation Theory explains how people form a self-identity in terms of the social categories which they belong to. This also leads to people discriminating between their own category members and people in other categories. The meta-contrast principle explains this process. The meta-contrast principle explains that any number of individuals in a cert ain situation are likely to categorise themselves as a social group when they view differences amongst each other less than the differences between themselves and others in the same situation (Turner, 1985). For that reason, when inter-group differences are more stark than intra-group differences (high meta-contrast ratio), it is believed that people define themselves based on their membership of social groups and they differentiate between the in-group and out-group (Turner, Oakes, Haslam McGarty, 1994). Self-Categorisation Theory states that when individuals identify with a social group, they experience depersonalisation. That is, they perceive every member of their group as interchangeable on a certain level (Turner et al., 1957). Self-categorisation cognitively assimilates the individual to the in-group prototype and so depersonalises self-conception (Hogg and Terry, 2001). Therefore, it is assumed that each group member, including the individual themselves, share the same valu es and morals and so they tend to adhere to group norms (Hogg and Reid, 2006). According to Hogg and Terry (2001), this transformation of self-identity is the process which underlies group phenomena as it brings self-identification in line with the relevant in-group prototype in a certain context. Many psychologists, such as Simon (2004) and Deaux (1993) have challenged this assumption of depersonalisation. A study was conducted by Swann, Gomez, Seyle, Morales and Huici (200) who found a contradiction to the assumption of depersonalisation. In their study, individuals who felt their personal and social identities were linked did not adhere to the norms of the in-group. Instead, they engaged in rebellious behaviour to protect their group even when their identity was threatened. Self-Categorisation Theory promotes the idea that when people self-categorise themselves, they tend to think of themselves more as a member of a social group, rather than as individuals. This includes them bel ieving that they share the same characteristics associated with their group and they behave in ways that they feel members of their group should act. This process is called self-stereotyping (Mackie, Smith and Ray, 2008). As result of this, self-categorisation increases similarity in the in-group. This is because every member of the social group takes on attributes which are seen as characteristic of the group and so every member develops identical qualities. One could argue, therefore, that Self-Categorisation Theory provides an insight into the fact that the group has become part of ones self. Support of this comes from a study by Smith and Henry (1996) who found that group members perceive themselves as like their social group. Although both theories, Self Identity Theory and Self-Categorisation Theory, are different, one could ague that they are similar to an extent. This is because both theories explore how identities are internalised and are used by individuals to define themselves. However, there are several differences between Social Identity Theory and Self-Categorisation Theory and the way in which they account for group influence. Self-Categorisation Theory focuses more on the cognitive processes of categorisation in a social context whereas Social Identity Theory offers a more discursive approach. Discursive psychologists have been critical of Social Identity Theory over the years. They criticise the theorys assumption that group conflict and differentiation is caused by a worldwide psychological process. Additionally, they feel that the theory is limited as it does not have ecological validity since much of the research into the theory is conducted in Western cultures. There has been an intercultu ral study conducted by Wetherell (1996) who found that children who come from other cultural backgrounds do not discriminate between groups, unlike North American children. Self-Categorisation Theory does not place as much emphasis on the role of self-esteem, unlike Social Identity Theory. Social Identity Theory emphasises the process of self-categorisation into a group and Self-Categorisation Theory emphasises the process of self-stereotyping and identifying oneself based on a social group. According to Taylor and Moghaddam (1994), Self-Categorisation Theory ignores socio-structural factors and is devoid of the passion involved in real-life conflicts. The theory describes humans in the image of thinking machines. Therefore, one contrast between Social Identity Theory and Self-Categorisation Theory is that the latter can be criticised for not paying enough attention to motivational and affective issues. One flaw of Self-Categorisation Theory is that it concentrates on identity forma tion in adults but no attention has been given to the development of identity in infants. There has however been research into this, using the main principles of Self-Categorisation Theory and applying it to children (Barrett, Wilson and Lyons, 1999). One could therefore argue that Self-Categorisation Theory is not efficient when it comes to explaining group influence on children. A success of Social Identity Theory is that other psychologists have used its principles in an attempt to explain extremist social movements. Reicher, Haslam and Rath (2008) explained how the ideas promoted by Social Identity Theory were able to explain Nazism. In conclusion, it is clear that both theories share similarities, but there are also a number of differences between the two. Self-Categorisation Theory has a more cognitive approach to group influence whereas Social Identity Theory has a more discursive approach. Further research into Social Identity Theory could involve people from Eastern countries to give the theory more ecological validity as currently, the majority of studies have used Western participants. Self-categorisation theory focuses too much on the formation of identity and group influence in adults and so more research could be done on children to see if the same assumptions apply.

Adaptive Market Hypothesis and Behavioural Finance

Adaptive Market Hypothesis and Behavioural Finance An Essay on the Relationship between Andrew Lo’s Adaptive Market Hypothesis and Behavioural Finance 1.0  Introduction When in 1936, Keynes compared financial markets to a beauty contest where competitors had to guess who the most popular choice would be, he did not imagined that economists would become fascinated with the contest for explaining the efficiency or inefficiency of that market. Indeed, the global financial crisis of 2008 brought to bare the bitter rivalry between traditional finance theorists and their behavioural counterpart over the realism of assumptions explaining competitive market equilibrium, rational choice theory and rational expectations. Prior to the crisis, the dominant view in mainstream economics and finance (as exemplified in the assumptions of efficient market hypothesis) had been that: individuals are broadly rational, risk averse, maximize their expected utility of wealth, and follow the tenets of subjective probability theory. Hence, the capital market is seen as perfect and generating financial returns which are unforecastable. To put it more aptly in the words of Fa ma (1970), â€Å"prices fully reflect all available information†, an idea that has come to be known as market efficiency. However, the fallout from the financial crisis saw a bourgeoning interest in behavioural economics due mainly to the failings of traditional economic theory to explain many observed market anomalies. Behavioural economists pointed out a number of basic logical mistakes in the efficiency reasoning, which they attributed to behavioural biases and cognitive limitations, which are universal to human decision-making under uncertainty. Some of the documented biases cited in Lo (2004) include overconfidence, loss aversion, overreaction, psychological accounting, herding, miscalibration of probabilities, hyperbolic discounting and regrets. Accordingly, the behaviourists opine that these biases provided evidence that markets are not only inefficient, but that its participants are often irrational. Herein lies the intellectual crux of the debate, which has continue to shape the study and practice of economics and finance. Indeed, while some economists may want to uphold their firm beliefs in market efficiency and rationality, others may as well seek alternative approaches in behavioural finance. Between these two approaches, however, there may be economists who seek for a compromise. This is where Andrew Lo classic work on the adaptive market hypothesis readily falls in. This essay proceeds as follow; section two explain the Adaptive Markets Hypothesis, its theoretical postulations and relationship with behavioural finance, section three critically examine this relationship, and section four concludes the essay. 2.0The Adaptive Markets Hypothesis (AMH) Explained Andrew Lo’s adaptive market hypothesis was based on evolutionary principles of competition, mutation, reproduction and natural selection in biology. Lo, in his 2004 seminal article on the Adaptive Market Hypothesis, suggests that â€Å"individual makes choices based on past experience and their ‘best guesses as to what might be optimal, and they learn by receiving positive or negative reinforcement from the outcomes, (and) if they receive no such reinforcement, they do not learn.† Thus, the AMH implied that investor behaviours such as overreaction, loss aversion, overconfidence, and other behavioural biases are constructed and shaped by a dynamic interplay between investors’ internal cognition and their external environment that then produces evolutionary traits, in which heuristics develop, transform, boom or die out depending on the market settings. As an example, if a market setting is stable, heuristics is likely to yield an optimal or rational choice for investors. While an unstable market environment characterized by risks and uncertainties, yield various forms of behavioural biases. In such instances, ‘rational’ decisions are always evolving as investors’ develop a new set of heuristics in reaction to a changing market environment. These views was developed further by Lo (2005), where he highlighted the main propositions of the AMH to include that: Individuals act in their own self-interest. Individuals make mistakes. Individuals learn and adapt. Competition drives adaptation and innovation. Natural selection, shapes market ecology. Evolution determines market dynamics. In this context, Andrew Lo’s AMH can be said to revolve around three main processes of heuristics development, learning, and an adaptation process of decision making, whose combined impacts on financial institutions help determine market efficiencies, and the waxing and waning of investment products, industries, and even individual and institutional fortunes (Lo, 2005). 2.1The Adaptive Market Hypothesis and Behavioural Finance The uncertainty associated with efficient market hypothesis had led behavioural finance scholars to offer a departure from fully rational behaviours in finance models to behavioural biases or heuristics amongst investors that arguably explains human decision makings under uncertainty. Indeed, most empirical literature on behavioural finance have explained well-recognised market anomalies which contrast standard finance theories. Some of these studies include Kahneman and Tversky (1979), Bernard and Thomas (1990), Benartzi and Thaler (1995), Mehra and Prescott (2008), etc. however, none of this literature was able to present a coherent alternative model that could match the dominancy of standard finance literature. Fama (1998) aptly capture this non-coherence in their arguments when he said, â€Å"a problem in developing an overall perspective on long-term return studies is that they rarely test a specific alternative to market efficiency, instead the alternative hypothesis is vague, market inefficiency.† Thus, Andrew Lo’s AMH was one main attempt at providing a philosophical and theoretical foundation for behavioural finance. Indeed, one stated objective in Lo’s 2004 classic article was to reconcile understandings from efficient market hypothesis with behavioural finance and psychology. Like behavioural finance, AMH explains loss aversion, equity price premium, overreaction, momentum based trading strategies, and other heuristic driven biases by the fact that in a dynamic market environment, investors develop new sets of mental frames or heuristics to solve various economic challenges. Specifically, using Herbert Simon’s notion of bounded rationality, Lo (2004) pointed out that the presence and persistence of behavioural biases can be best understood when we appreciate the fact that cooperation, competition, market-making behaviour, general equilibrium, and disequilibrium dynamics are all adaptations designed to address certain environment challenges for the huma n species and then view these forces from the lens of evolutionary biology. Besides, Lo posits that fear and greed – which behaviourists often cite as a basis for irrational decision making are the products of evolutionary forces and adaptive behaviours that enhance the odds of survival. In this situation, emotions may be seen as an incentive system that determines investors’ behaviour and prompt them to engage in a cost-benefit analysis of various investment plans available to them. Consequently, there are no fixed rules for evaluating trading strategies as depending on market conditions, investors can engage in trade; truncate it at various points and observe the consequences of their actions. For example, where investors are timely in their investment decisions, they come back and dominate the market; if on the other hand, they are poor in market timing, they are easily eased out of the market. Hence, according to Lo supposition, market efficiency can-not be appraised in a vacuum, because is extremely context dependent and dynamic, thus resu lting in a cycle of a mental frame selection process in which investors grow, mutate and thrive or face extinction (Lo, 2004). Moreover, under the AMH, market strategies evolve to adapt to an ever changing market environment, and is driven by profit opportunities, which according to Lo, is the main source on which market participants depend for their survival. One other main aspect of behavioural finance which the AMH shed light on is the existence of arbitrage opportunities. According to Lo, arbitrage opportunities appear and disappear due to adaptive responses to a changing market environment. In this fashion, investors adapt to match new economic challenges, by developing new heuristics that are necessary to evaluating any investment strategy and which in turn depends upon its survival value. Although profitability and risk reduction values are also important factors to consider, Lo pointed out that these factors come after investors have undergone this fundamental market test. So what are the implications of the AMH for efficient markets and behavioural finance? Lo (2004) briefly outlines these implications to include that The equity risk premium are non-constant over time, but changes according to the recent path of the stock market. Risk/reward relations are nonlinear and non-stable. Arbitrage opportunities exist from time to time Investment strategy, waxes and then wane depending on the environment Adaptation and innovation are keys to survival Survival is the only objective that matters. 3.0AMH or EMH? An evaluation Fama (1998) emphasize that any alternative model to market efficiency ought to follow standard scientific rule, and should itself be potentially rejectable by empirical tests. Thus, in evaluating the relationship between AMH and behavioural finance, it is essential to consider an empirical test of how AMH differ significantly from the efficient market hypothesis (EMH), which the behaviourists seek to discard. While various tests of market efficiency had been designed over the years using standard financial models in EMH, tests of AMH are relatively few given that the hypothesis has yet to become part of the mainstream of financial economics. However, an increasing number of studies had reported results which seems consistent with the AMH. Some of these studies include Neely, et al (2009) and Kim, et al (2011). Whereas Neely, et al (2009) found some regularities in profit opportunities that appear and disappears in a foreign exchange market, Kim, et al (2011) found strong evidence tha t return predictability is driven by changing market conditions. These findings implied that testable implications of AMH can be done by testing how the level of efficiency in a market varies significantly over time. Furthermore, another possible way to conceptualise a test of the AMH may be to investigate whether investment decisions are made based on selectivity and market timing since evolutionary principle implied that natural selection shapes market ecology. In this context, Hoffman, et al (2013) found some evidence of market learning during the financial crisis. As a matter of fact, conventional econometric tests for market efficiency using formal asset pricing models such as Sharpe 1964 CAPM and Merton’s 1973 discrete time version of ICAPM would have been relevant alternative models to investigate these testable implications of AMH. Therefore, rather than see Lo’s AMH as a behavioural alternative to market efficiency, it is better regarded as another strand of efficient market hypothesis. 4.0Conclusion This essay has discussed the adaptive market hypothesis and examined its relationship with behavioural finance. We conclude that whereas the AMH offers a philosophical foundation for analysing various behavioural anomalies described by behavioural finance, its theoretical underpinning however, reflects that of the efficient market hypothesis. References Benartzi, S., and Thaler, R., (1995), â€Å"Myopic loss aversion and the equity premium puzzle†, Quarterly Journal of Economics, vol. 110: 73-92. Bernard, V., and Thomas, J., (1990), â€Å"Evidence that stock prices do not fully reflect the implications of current earnings for future earnings†, Journal of Accounting and Economics, vol. 13: 305-340. Fama, E., (1970), â€Å"Efficient Capital Markets: A Review of Theory and Empirical Work†, Journal of Finance, vol. 25(2): 383–417. Fama, E., (1998), â€Å"Market efficiency, long-term returns, and behavioral finance, Journal of Financial Economics, vol. 49(3): 283-306. Hoffman, A.I., Thomas, P., and Joost, M.E., (2013), â€Å"Individual investor perceptions and behaviour during the financial crisis†, Journal of Banking and Finance, vol. 37(1): 60-74 Kahneman, D., and Tversky, A., (1979), â€Å"Prospect theory: An analysis of decision under risk†, Econometrica, vol. 47: 263–291. Kim, J., Lim, K., and Shamsuddin, A., (2009), â€Å"Stock return predictability and adaptive markets hypothesis: Evidence from century-long U.S. data†, Unpublished. Lo, A., (2004), â€Å"The Adaptive Markets Hypothesis: Market Efficiency from an Evolutionary Perspective†, Journal of Portfolio Management, 30th Anniversary Issue; 15-29 Lo, A., (2005), â€Å"Reconciling efficient markets with behavioural finance: the adaptive markets hypothesis†, Journal of Investment Consulting, vol. 7(2): 21-44. Mehra, R., and Prescott, E., (2008), â€Å"The equity premium: ABC’s Handbook of the Equity Risk- Premium†, North Holland, Amsterdam: The Netherlands. Merton, R., (1973), â€Å"An intertemporal capital asset pricing model†, Econometrica, vol. 41: 867–887 Neely, C., Weller, P., and Ulrich, J., (2009), â€Å"The Adaptive Markets Hypothesis: Evidence from the Foreign Exchange Market† Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, vol. 44(2): 467-488. Sharpe, W., (1964), â€Å"Capital asset prices: a theory of market equilibrium under conditions of risk†, Journal of Finance, vol. 19(3): 425-442

The Knowledge Explosion :: Essays Papers

The Knowledge Explosion The current trends in education are moving educators toward adoption of an integrated curriculum. What is now referred to as the integrated curriculum was once known as interdisciplinary studies. Integration focuses on the organization of central themes or concepts combining several subjects. These themes, or concepts, allow students to interconnect information between subject areas. Giving students this skill will enable them to combine information in large quantities, assess the quality and validity of information, and help them to determine the importance of any given context. Replacing the isolated subject areas with an integrated curriculum develops in the student an interrelated view of learning. There are two common models for curriculum integration, the Daisy Model and the Rose Model. Independent subjects are organized around a central theme in the Daisy Model. The subjects refer back to the theme but are taught separately. The theme is represented by the center of the daisy surrounded by the unique and separate petals which represent subjects. On the other hand, the petals of the rose are intertwined symbolizing the fully integrated subjects of the Rose Model. The focus of the Rose Model is on a particular theme rather than individual subjects. The subjects are united under one theme and are taught simultaneously through the exploration of that theme.(Martin, D. J., 2000). Curriculum integration has become a way to redirect the aims and purposes of schooling because of its positive benefits for students. James Beane has found evidence that shows that "we have known for many years that movement in this direction benefits both young people and their teachers"(1992). One positive aspect of this curriculum is that students see the relevance of the instruction because of the connections made among subject areas(McDonald, J., 1994). This makes the instruction less abstract and more applicable to real life(Berlin, D. F., 1994). Students then tend to search for meanings and answers to their questions instead of simply memorizing facts to pass exams(Beane, J, 1992). Ms. M, a fifth grade teacher in Maryland, has observed this element of integration in the actions of her students. They seem more motivated by the subject matter when they can relate it to their personal experiences and other parts of their education. In addition, she noticed that the students had a better sense of accomplishment when they could draw from previous instruction and tie together information from each subject. Students who feel successful will acquire the skills necessary for cooperation, socialization, communication and self-motivation.

Teens and Sex - Sex in the New Millinium :: Exploratory Essays Research Papers

Sex in the New Millinium    References to sexuality and sexual activities seem s to surround the American public in everything we do. Movies, music, the Bible, religion and politics are all related to sexuality and sexual activities in one way or another.    MTV, the first 24-hour music network, has been structured around youths ranging from the age of 12 to 34. In fact 28% of their viewership is under the age of 18. You ask why bring MTV into something sexual? Well, the music videos shown tend to center their theme on gender portrayal sand sexual or violent content. Women are portrayed as passive characters and sexual objects. 81% of the videos that contain violence also contain sexual imagery. Some videos that contain certain lyrics and actions about sexuality and sexual behavior can encourage a na†¹ve child to do something that they should not be doing. So why do producers keep making videos that are so harmful to our youth? They do this because sexual imagery increases the appeal of the music videos. Certainly, the language of music videos includes a variety of symbols and images.    For any individual, regardless of sexual inclination, to embrace the vague sexual desires is to claim a nature that God never intended for us. On the other hand, to make sharp distinctions among human beings, in terms of à ¾homosexuals and heterosexualsà ¾, is underestimating how permanently self-referential and self-absorbed our society is. How does the church feel about sexuality? A individual is not born à ¾gayà ¾ or à ¾straightà ¾ they are born à ¾maleà ¾ or à ¾femaleà ¾. The church of the 90à ¾s has accepted the gay community for whom they are and what they believe in. However, they feel that God did not create them with these ideas in mind. The gays just acquired them from society.    Something that I came across time and time again as I researched sexuality was what is the main influence on someone that helps them decide their sexuality and their sexual actions? Through research, it seems as though our society is convinced that parents and the educational system must interact with young children and teach them about sex. By instilling strong morals and values in our children, parents feel that they will make the à ¾rightà ¾ decisions when it comes to anything sexual. But who is the one to decide what is à ¾rightà ¾ and what is à ¾wrongà ¾.

Effects of Shopping Addiction

Effects of Shopping Addiction Shopping is a necessary part of life. We shop for food, clothing, cars, homes, or anything that may be a necessity to survive. If shopping is necessary, how can it also be an addiction? The answer is the same as with other addictions. According to Wikipedia, addiction is the continued use of a mood altering substance or behavior despite adverse dependency consequences or a neurological impairment leading to such behaviors. Oniomania, which is a Greek word meaning â€Å"for sale† is the technical term for the compulsive desire to shop, more commonly referred to as shopping addiction.Shopping addiction may be considered an impulse control disorder, an obsessive compulsive disorder, a bipolar disorder, or even a clinical addiction. Due to recent research it is now being compared to alcoholism, eating disorders and drug abuse. There is growing evidence that it is a significant and worsening problem with serious consequences both emotional and financia l. Shopping addiction is initially triggered by a mild need to feel special and less lonely. The failure of excessive shopping to actually fulfill these needs often lead to a vicious cycle of escalation.This then causes the person to experience the highs and lows associated with other addictions. The high of the shopping may be followed by a sense of disappointment, and of guilt, precipitating a further cycle of impulse buying in the quest for a sense of special identity. Now that the addicted person is increasingly feeling negative emotions like anger and stress, they attempt to self medicate through further shopping, followed again by regret or depression once they return home, which leads to an urge for another shopping spree.This person is now an addict and shopping is the drug of choice. The consequences of shopping addiction can be devastating, with marriages, longterm relationships, and jobs. Other consequences are financial which can include ruined credit history, theft and bankruptcy or extreme debt. The emotional effects range from anxiety due to stress that can also result to physical health problems and ruined relationships, or even suicide. Research has shown that compulsive shoppers and spenders also suffer from mood disorders, substance abuse or eating disorders.According to Elizabeth Hartney, â€Å"People with compulsive shopping addiction often have concurrent substance and or behavioral addiction problems, or â€Å"cross over† to other addictions at some point in their lives. Studies show that alcohol problems occur in 28% to 46% of compulsive buyers; other substance use disorders occur in 13% to 20% of compulsive shoppers; paraphilias and sex addictions occur in 10% to 13% of compulsive shoppers; and pathological gambling occurs in 5% to 20% of compulsive shoppers. â€Å"Impairment in relationships may occur as a result of excessive spending and efforts to cover up debt or purchases. Persons who engage in compulsive shopping or spen ding may become pre-occupied with that behavior and spend less and less time with important people in their lives. It is also common for an addict to begin lying and hiding their purchases from their family and keeping their spending to themselves. Relationships often suffer as friends are not repaid, spouses and family members are not repaid, and necessary home bills can not be paid.Family members do without because of the shopping addict's out of control use of money, which in turn puts a strain on their relationship. The trust between the addict and members of the family is often lost and this causes the addict to exclude themselves which increases the urge to fulfill the void. The anxiety or depression experienced may result in the interference of work and other social activity. Financial problems may occur if money is burrowed or there is excessive use of credit to make purchases. Most addict's find themselves in deep financial debt due to compulsive spending.They then are put into situations where there debt has become overwhelming and put them in dire restraints, leaving them unable to pay off bank loans, school fees, mortgages and other overhead costs. Many addicts lose their jobs due to the fact that they are unable to fulfill their duties. In the case of a shopping addict, they may steal from their employer which results in them being fired. Shopping addiction can also have an effect on students. If a student is suffering from shopping addiction, their level of concentration decreases and their grades suffer.The student becomes less motivated because they become fixated on their addiction to shop. There is also the risk of the student stealing from classmates or school property to support their addiction. This in turn can tarnish friendships and result in the student becoming expelled from school. According to Andrea Allen, â€Å"The creation of a condition such as compulsive buying might be associated with controversy and criticized by some as crea ting a trivial disorder; â€Å"medicalizing† a â€Å"moral† problem or creating a new disorder in order to sell more pharmaceuticals. Many people still classify compulsive shopping to not be an â€Å"addiction† which makes it a controversial topic. Some think it is an excuse for people to label their moral problem as a disorder. Some think that doctors may be trying to make it a medical disorder to sell medication to consumers believed to be suffering from such a disorder. Truth is almost anything can become an addiction, once it is something that gives you a physical or mental high and you become dependent on that feeling to fill voids and function from day to day.

Promoting Internally in Expatriate Management

Many companies deal with expatriate executives/personnel in a variety of ways. In determining an expatriate there is no right or wrong way. The difference is determined by how the company is trying to meet their goals. The selection process for an expatriate varies significantly from one company to another. When a company has entered the international/global market, it is vital for that company to decide upon which method to use for determining their expatriate executive/personnel. The two methods available are outsourcing and promoting internally. This paper will focus upon promoting internally. Cook (1999, p. 177) said, â€Å"Large established companies that have multiple global operations; Companies that are just starting their international operations that may not have experienced staff to effectively handle international HR situations; and Companies whose business needs fluctuate as overseas projects are initiated and completed. † If your company has decided to outsource then there are many sites on the web that are specifically geared towards outsourcing. Some of these locations are: http://www. iorworld. com http://www. ems. com http://www. expat. ca http://escapeartist. com Many companies and organizations will decide to internally promote and produce an expatriate executive rather than outsourcing the process. When a company or corporation does decide to promote internally many factors must be considered. The company will have to decide where to build the new facility, what products to produce, what resources to use, where to get the resources, what governmental policies must the facility adhere too, the size of the facility, and so on. The HR department will be responsible for developing the policies and procedures necessary for operating/running the plant. One of the first steps the HR department will be to develop the specific knowledge, skills, and attributes (KSA) and training necessary for success as an expatriate executive. However, Training will not be discussed but the process was mentioned because it is a vital ingredient to the success of the expatriate executive. Before selecting the individual, the company needs to take into consideration the family of the individual. The company will have to prepare not only the employee or executive but also their family. Once an individual has been selected, the expatriate will need to be rewarded some way. This will be discussed later. When deciding on the executive/employee to promote to an expatriate position, several KSA are desired. According to Desatnick and Bennet (1977, p. 41-148) the areas that need to be considered for an expatriate executive in order of importance are adaptability/flexibility, high tolerance for frustration and patience, empathy/understanding, high intellectual capacity, ability to learn language, problem-solving ability, opportunity mindedness, results orientated, decision making ability, communication skills, integrity, priorities skills, and professionalism. An HR department will have to decide upon which areas are more important and applicable to their organizations in order to promote the right individual. The individual will have to be flexible and patient due to the cultural difference between the countries. What is standard in one nation might not be in the other. What could be considered a standard or norm here may be considered as rudeness or affectionate in another. A thorough understanding of the new culture is vital to the success of the expatriate in that country. When an individual begins to understand the culture, hen they must be able to make decisions and solve problems within a timely matter. The person will need to have a high level of intelligence, perception, and imagination in order to succeed. The expatriate will have to be able to communicate efficiently with all forms of communications bases (writing, speaking, training, motivating, etc) and know when and what to prioritize. The expatriate should be aware that they are an extended image of the company/organization and should be professional and have integrity beyond reproach. In determining who will be an expatriate, the company will need to look at the family of the expatriate. â€Å"We not only have to deal with the employee†s ability to adapt to another culture, but most now add another variable: the spouse and family. It has been documented by countless researchers that spouses are a critically important aspect of a successful expatriate experience. † (Schell & Solomon, 1997, p. 153) The family of the expatriate plays a vital role in how successful the expatriate will be. Once an expatriate has been determined, then the ompany must provide rewards or benefits to this individual. These perks or benefits should include some if not all of the following: â€Å"Salary, Annual incentives, Long-term incentives, Benefits, and Perquisites. † (Cook, 1999, p. 39) These areas could be broken down in to several areas. Some of these areas are known as allowances. Some of the most common allowances are Housing, Education, Relocation, Cost-of-living, and Exchange rate fluctuations as determined by Bennet & Desatnick (1977, p. 211-218). In conclusion once a company has selected the process f determining an expatriate (outsourcing or internally) then they must decide on the HR policies and procedures in selecting an individual, and then providing that individual with compensation for being an expatriate. These processes and procedures developed by the HR department need to be specific. Most companies realize the importance of an expatriate executive in their foreign facilities. The foreign facility will only be as effective and efficient as the expatriate executive. The selection of the company†s expatriate executive is vitally important to the success of the company in a foreign country.

Complete, 4-Step Email List Building Strategy For Success

Complete, 4-Step Email List Building Strategy For Success Over here we have the goal: I want to make tons of money from my online business. And over here we have the reality: I have a website. I’m making some money, but I wouldn’t call it â€Å"success† just yet. The question you have been wrestling with for months now is, â€Å"How do I get from my reality to my goal?† Or in other words How do you turn your website into a real money-maker? If you’ve been been in the blogging game very long, or if you’ve simply read 10 total marketing articles at any point in the last 5 years, you know that the money is in your email list.  Email marketing has the highest ROI  of any marketing channel, and for content producers, its your #1 source of traffic, social shares, and revenue. The Complete, 4-Step #Email List Building Strategy That Will Make You Successful via @jmcmillen89There are many places you can go for email list building  tips. Here’s a great list of 21 ways to build your email list. But articles like these require you to have a competent system already in place AND to understand what you are ultimately trying to do with that system. Today, we are going to go through the full process from start to finish- everything you need from email list creation to effective monetization. The basic process looks like this: I’m going to show you how YOU can implement this process without any outside help whatsoever. For those of you who like to skip the tinkering or take things to the next level, there’s a special offer  for you at the end. Let’s start with Step 1 of your email list building strategy. Step #1: Create Your Email List This is the easiest step, but how many of you reading this have yet to start your list, because... research. You don’t want to select the wrong provider or you don’t want to spend money and then not put the work in. Well guess what? I’m solving both of those problems for you right now. If you’ve been waiting for a solid beginner email provider, go ahead and click here  to immediately start your FREE account with MailChimp. There’s no costs until you reach a handsomely monetizable 2,000 email subscribers. Problem solved. Now, select â€Å"Lists† in the top bar and then click â€Å"Create List†. Fill in a few admin details, and BAM, you’re done! Now that you have your list, let’s move on to tricking out your website for email collection. Step #2: Optimize Your Website For Email Collection This is where you  get to have some fun, at least, if you're anything like me. If you want your website to perform as a business funnel, your highest core value should be simplicity. Think simple and then think simpler. Simple design Single goal Necessary features only If you want to build a serious email list, that list has to be one of the #1 goals of your website. And on that note, immediately axe EVERY feature that doesn’t facilitate email signups. (If you can sell to your customers immediately via product trials or e-commerce, those are great features to keep around.) There’s a only a handful of features you  need to collect email effectively: Some form of compelling lead magnet Above-the-fold email opt-in CTA Email opt-in popup End-of-content email opt-in Let’s take a closer look at each of these. Recommended Reading:  How To Blog With As Little As Possible Create a compelling lead magnet. While some users will like your content so much, they will simply hand over their email address, these users are the exception rather than the rule. You need to have a few cards up your sleeve that will compel visitors to become subscribers. You need to have something valuable that you can freely offer visitors in exchange for their email address. These are called â€Å"lead magnets†. A great example can be found right here at , which uses its restricted-access resource library to invite readers like you to become subscribers. Check out 's resource library as an example of a compelling lead magnet. Just look at the top of your screen. See the light blue bar that says â€Å"Get 60+ Free Resources Now!†? Yep, that’s a lead magnet. There is virtually no limit to what you can use as a lead magnet: Restricted resource library Topical e-book Collection of templates Exclusive content only given to subscribers Audio or video downloads Email course training series Checklist PDFs Software tool access etc. When evaluating something as a potential lead magnet, it needs to answer â€Å"Yes† to two  vitally important questions: Is this something my marketing target audience would LOVE and no one else would really care about? Is this something that can be automatically distributed upon signup and doesn’t incur marginal cost at my expense? Virtually everyone wants a free laptop, but giving out laptops in exchange for email addresses breaks both or these rules. People who have zero interest in your website’s topic/product will claim the laptop with zero return on your investment, and the marginal cost of purchasing a laptop per subscriber is an insanely inefficient way to collect email addresses. Pick something that answers â€Å"Yes† to both the above questions, and you’ll be good to go. Place an email opt-in CTA above the fold. When we are discussing a desktop setup, your above-the-fold real estate is by far the most valuable. It absolutely must include a CTA that leads to email signup or information collection of some nature. A great example of this is Noah Kagan’s blog OkDork. As soon as you show up on the home page, you are immediately propositioned for your email address in exchange for Noah’s lead magnet. The entry box gives visitors a no-friction, one-click way to give you their email. Noah’s company SumoMe  recently released an application called Welcome Mat  that helps  you to implement this exact same technique on any website, landing page or blog. Here’s an example of the free version in action on my men’s blog. This is my homepage hero shot: You’ll notice I already have an opt-in form above the fold at the top of the right sidebar. I’m using this simple MailChimp for WordPress plugin, which can be inserted via the widget area of your WordPress dashboard. When Welcome Mat is installed, the following screen immediately drops down for new users visiting my website: This not only allows me to collect email, but it also gives me a chance to immediately hit users with a targeted value proposition. Visitors who show up to my site and resonate with â€Å"taking an honest look at manhood†, are more likely to subscribe or continue reading and subscribe later. Collect emails above the fold with immediate value propositions. Here's how. #listbuildingAs a final example, I want to address the freelancers and direct-service providers among you who are wanting to build your email, but honestly, your biggest priority is direct contact for currently interested clients. I feel you. I’m in a similar boat. I help business owners do a lot of what I’m talking to you about in this article, but at level 1,000. Here’s how I handle those dual goals. This is my services landing page: The red button takes visitors through my sales pitch, which will end in a request for their email. The green button takes visitors directly to the form where they give me their email. Since I am focusing on lead generation here, this strategy won’t be as effective for scaling out a massive email list as what I’ve discussed above. However, I am still acquiring a list of SUPER targeted emails of people interested in my services who I can retarget at a later date or invite to view my blog content. Have segmented  #emaillists based on your goals to really drive conversions.Create an email opt-in popup Let’s be honest. No one really thinks about popups with fond thoughts and fuzzy memories. Except website owners interested in collecting emails. Those gals and guys LOVE popups, because they work. They really, really, really  work. In fact, I doubt you can find a single, high-traffic marketing blog that doesn’t currently use popups. I’m using- you guessed it- SumoMe’s free popup application: Since installing this simple popup, my subscription rate has doubled. I’ve had 2x the subscribers over this last year as I did before, and I have probably posted half as much content this year as I did the year before. Popups work. Since I’m using the free version, I am unable to offer a lead magnet within my popup, but if I were to upgrade, I could display something like this, which would probably improve my signup rate even further: If you want to install SumoMe’s Listbuilder popup application, simply follow the directions here. Create email signup opportunities at the end of your content. You probably already know this, but most visitors to your blog posts won’t read the full post. Maybe they will skim and maybe they will just read a few points and leave. If they make it all the way to the end, they are â€Å"picking up what you’re putting down†. This is a golden opportunity for you to capture these casual visitors into your email list â€Å"fold†. Don’t waste it! Include a signup opportunity at the end of every post. There is an easy way to do this with a moderate return, and then there is a more difficult- AKA  time consuming- way to do this that will net you a much higher return. The easy way involves nothing more than including a signup form at the end of each post, like this: ... OR offering your standard lead magnet, like this example from CoachTube: Simply create a graphic like the one from CoachTube  and display it at the end of your post with a link to your email signup page. That’s the easy way. The more difficult way is to make a different lead magnet for every single one of your posts. This is called a â€Å"content upgrade†, and it gets better results because it is directly related to what your visitors were just reading about. Note: By the way, there's a content upgrade in this post right in the introduction to help convert visitors into subscribers right away. has seen this as an excellent way to turn organic traffic into long-term, engaged subscribers. Here’s an example from Brian Dean’s blog Backlinko: Content upgrades have been the primary fuel in the emergence of several new leading blogs in the marketing blogosphere. I’ve seen case study after case study of unbelievable results. While it requires a bigger investment on your part, It’s worth giving this strategy a try. To learn more about posting content upgrades, check out Bryan Harris’ guide. Step #3. Implement Email Marketing Within Your Content Strategy While email is your best single tool for building an audience, it’s still just one piece of your content strategy. Your overall content strategy should be targeting your desired audience via recurring, well-promoted content that gets people to you website and into position for email capture. If you aren’t getting people to your site, you won’t be getting any email signups. Recommended Reading:  How To Publish More Consistent Content That Will Help You Grow A Successful Blog Fortunately, your email list can play the star role in getting traffic to your website. Sometimes, people overcomplicate the email marketing process. They get scared of sending too many emails and wait too long to contact their audience, or they aren’t really sure what to write, so they just throw a bunch of stuff in. Before I describe a ridiculously simple (yet effective) way to run your email marketing, let’s review our goals. The goal of any content marketing campaign is twofold: Build an audience of people interested in your chosen topic. Build trust within that audience and an expectation of quality from your brand. We want everyone who comes into contact with your brand to think, â€Å"Wow, they don’t mess around. That was good stuff.† We DON’T want people subconsciously   thinking, â€Å"I’ve seen this 100 times before. You think I’m going to buy your paid product when this free stuff is so weak?† Now that we’ve established our goal, let’s look at how email can play a part. Here’s a ridiculously simple, beginner strategy for email marketing that will get your content some great results. Anytime you publish a new blog post, send out the following email: Subject line: â€Å"Compelling headline meant to grab maximum email opens† (check out 's headline analyzer for some help.) Header image taken from published post. Short introduction setting up a hook to get people to your post. Link to your post. Button(s) to click for instant shares. It’s that simple. Check out this example: How easy is that? And guess how well this hopelessly simple email performed? I will take 50% opens and 30% clicks every day of the week. Don’t overcomplicate this. Your emails don’t need to be complicated to be effective. In fact, they should be decidedly uncomplicated. Now that we’ve identified a simple template for each individual email, how should we incorporate these emails into a fuller content strategy? I’m glad you asked. Again, this is a baseline strategy anyone can do and everyone should be doing (at minimum). I’ve found from working with countless clients over the years that many bloggers have trouble finding a repeatable process off which to base their content strategy, so I’m condensing it into a few simple tips. Publish your blog between 12 p.m. and 5 a.m. ET. The easiest way to do this is to schedule it to automatically publish via WordPress, or if you’ve made the incredibly wise decision to get a subscription, you can schedule posts easily  through their dashboard. Recommended Reading:  When Is The Best Time To Publish A Blog Post? Schedule an email to go out the day your post goes live. The specific time will vary based on your topic and audience. For weekday posts, I’d recommend sending out emails around 7 a.m. ET, as that will put your content at the top of most readers’ inboxes when they either get to work or check their emails before  work. Promote your content across social channels. You can do this manually, or, if you have a account, you can automatically schedule postings across your networks AND repostings at later dates. These three tips  are  a great beginning baseline if you aren’t already doing it for each new post. Step #4. Monetize Your Email List I want to quickly take you through all four email monetization strategies, because they’re worth knowing and you can achieve big wins with each one. Sell affiliate offers to your list. Sell advertising placement in your â€Å"newsletter†. Make your email newsletter a paid subscription. Sell your own product. Let’s start with the first email list building monetization strategy. Sell affiliate offers to your email list. Affiliate marketing is as old as the Web itself. It made millionaires in the late-90’s/early-2000’s, back when lots of people  who stumbled online were becoming millionaires. Today, you are far more likely to be sold an expensive course on becoming a millionaire affiliate marketer than you are to actually become one yourself. It’s not that affiliate marketing can’t work, it’s just a much less efficient way to make money than creating and selling your own product. Furthermore, you typically have no control over the quality or customer service attached to an affiliate product, so you risk losing trust every time a subscriber makes a purchase. The BIG exception and the RIGHT way to implement affiliate marketing is to select a few products/services you trust that generate RESIDUAL income. Here’s the only example you really need to know. Pat Flynn is considered a veritable influencer  in the marketing blogosphere. You’ve almost definitely heard of him, and you most likely read his blog. Pat made $116,891.83 last August. That number may boggle your mind at first glance, but let’s take a look at the numbers: Pat earned revenue from 13 total affiliate offers. His affiliate earnings made up 72% of his total income for the month of August. But most significantly, Pat made 55% of his entire August revenue from just two offers. Both these offers, Bluehost and LeadPages, are subscription-based services, meaning every time Pat signs up a new customer, he begins getting paid on a monthly basis for as long as that customer remains a customer. Pat has been selling Bluehost website hosting since at least March 2010. When he first began referring Bluehost, it accounted for less than 8% of his monthly revenue, but after 5 years of accumulating referred users, he is collecting monthly checks worth 40% of his total revenue from just this one referral. Now, it’s your turn. Pick a subscription-based service that meets the following criteria: You already love it. It’s a no-brainer for your customers. It's intended to be used indefinitely. Slap that referral link into your next email and talk it up big to your email subscribers. You should also create a targeted landing page (like this)  on your website, pitching your visitors. Boom. Done. Sell ad placements on your â€Å"newsletter†. I place â€Å"newsletter† in quotes because your emails really shouldn’t look like a traditional newsletter, and I’m a stickler for semantics. Quirks aside, I’m not really talking about banner-style ads here. Banner ads are tacky in a newsletter, and it’s not really what your customers subscribed for. Paid ad placement in your newsletter should look a lot like affiliate marketing, with the primary difference being you are getting paid to place rather than paid based on subscriber engagement. Have you considered including native advertising in your email newsletters?This works particularly well with niche newsletters, because the smaller the market, the more valuable it is for a new brand to get its name in front of relevant viewers. How do you get such placements? Sorry, the answer is direct sales. Pick 10 brands in your niche, and email them something like, â€Å"I have 1,000 email subscribers centered around your niche, and I think they would be very interested in learning more about [brand]. I’d love to discuss running a [brand] promotion in an upcoming newsletter.† It’s really that simple. What brand doesn’t want to be promoted? From there, it’s just a matter of negotiating payment. Make your email newsletter a  paid subscription. I’m including this one because it’s a relevant option, but I wouldn’t recommend you try it as your core email list building monetization strategy. People are very used to being asked for their email in exchange for content, and they are becoming increasingly hesitant to give that email address away. If you have the audacity to ask for money in exchange for your emails, your email content better include the following: Highly valuable, world-class type content. Exclusive content that can ONLY be found via your email list. Unless your newsletter is offering in-demand content that can’t be found anywhere else, this strategy could be a bit difficult to implement super successfully. Create and sell your own product. This is, in my opinion, the best strategy for monetizing your email list.  Create a product and sell it to your list. That’s it. That’s the goal. You should be aspiring to do this, and then you should stop aspiring and just do it... now. As Jeff Walker  says, â€Å"The best way to launch a product is to build an email list, and the best way to build an email list is to launch a product.† But why is this the best monetization strategy? Higher margins: There’s no middle man when it’s your product. Better targeting:  Your audience can tell you exactly what they want. Life-time value:  You retain all customer behavior data, allowing for much more effective retargeting and upsells over the customer’s lifetime. Follow these tips  in order to do it right: Collaborate with subscribers on identifying a product they want Create the product. Pre-sell the product. Launch the product. Improve the product. Let’s walk our way through a basic version of this process. Collaborate The easiest way to create a product people want is to ask them what they want. Brainstorm a few possible product ideas and ask your subscribers to give you feedback on what they like/dislike about them. Ask them specifically if they would consider buying each option. Once you’ve found an idea people are really into- preferably one that doesn’t require significant investment for your first attempt- it’s time to create. Recommended Reading:  5 Easy Lead Conversion Tips For Your Email Marketing Program A great example for beginners would be an info-product like an e-book. Create Product creation is a massively complex topic outside the scope of this post. For the purpose of this article, let’s just say you're creating an e-book. Here a few keys to compeleting an e-book that doesn’t suck: Create an outline first. Set unchangeable deadlines for each section in your outline. Write the dang thing. Supplement each point with facts/case-studies/examples/data of some kind. Don’t check â€Å"done† until it’s something you would pay to read. Next. Pre-Sell Never â€Å"cold sell† to your email list. You should always pre-sell before you sell. This process is intended to prime your audience for your product by getting them thinking very heavily about the problem your product solves. Send emails and write posts discussing this problem. Discuss beginner-level strategies for solving that problem. Talk about how you’ve solved it using your product or the information contained in the product. And then close... Launch Now it’s time to actually launch the product. The key to a successful product launch is getting all hands on deck. Get everyone you know with a relevant audience to help you promote your launch. Call in every favor. Get your product in front of every possible channel. Recommended Reading:  How Will Outreach Marketing Make Your Blog More Successful? It’s dangerous to go alone. Your product launch is the time to promote. A lot. Put the work in to create something you’re proud of and then share it with the world. Improve Your launch is just the beginning of your product. Get feedback, improve your product, and keep marketing it. How Will You Improve Your Email List Building Strategy? We’ve covered quite a bit of ground in today’s post. If you’re still reading, you are most likely serious about implementing an effective email list building strategy  via your website. Having helped numerous clients through this process (my last client went from 500–10,000 subscribers in two months), I can tell you that  these are super important steps for successful implementation: Create your list: Anyone can do this with zero help. Just follow the instructions in this post. Optimize your site: If you're willing to take the time to tinker, test, and tweak, anyone can set up their website for email optimization using the method I described in this article. You will need to familiarize yourself with copywriting and conversion rate optimization in order to properly utilize the tools I showed you, but you can absolutely do it yourself.  If you’d prefer to just have a pro do it for you, I’m offering a special setup rate for readers here. Run your content strategy:  Unless you have some big bucks to shell out, you will need to do the bulk of this on your own.   is a great resource for actually running a successful content strategy. Launch your product: Product launches are extremely technical and entail a lot of moving parts. I wouldn’t recommend doing your first launch by yourself. One client I worked with had 150,000 social followers but virtually zero website engagement. I gave his team a content strategy, and within two weeks, they had a blog generating 4k shares per article and nearly 100 comments per post. I’m offering a one-time, discounted rate for readers who would like me to map out a step-by-step strategy  for them. If you want to try it solo anyway, go get ‘em cowboy! You’ll want to follow Bryan Harris’ outline for his first product launch. Thanks for taking the time to read, learn, and grow as a blogger or online business owner. Like you, the world of online business never ceases to amaze and fascinate me. Feel free to ask a question or leave a comment, and if you enjoyed this article, don’t hesitate to give it a share!