Male Cultural Competence response Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Male Cultural Competence reaction - Assignment Example Subsequently, the multiculturalism foundation stays in building up a fitting comprehension of people’s sociopolitical chronicles just as the people’s narratives and the gatherings to which they have a place. During medicines, it is altogether significant for the advancement of a partnership between the clinician and the customer for a superior treatment. In such a point of view, manly arranged treatment doesn't really imply that the clinician has interests in an individual’s manliness; in any case, such data is significant for the foundation of a partnership. From the understudy post, it is clear that the patient is given unacceptable treatment dependent on his past practices. As a result of separations, it is legitimate that clinicians comprehend their therapist’s values and perspective so as to build up a solid partnership during treatment and offer suitable treatment (Healy, 2005). All things considered, the clinicians and another clinical staff would o ffer medicines with no inclination, or presumptions by understanding that for sure individuals are unique in relation to the fluctuated social changes. Proper preparing and training are significant in the improvement of male-socially fitting intercessions and systems, particularly for specialists as in cases of figuring out how to examine issues of race and prejudice. Male as a sex has certain qualities and enacts related with it. All things considered, men will in general take an interest in specific exercises, having the qualities based methodology, which are in a perfect world constructive variables of commitment in improving the accessible conditions for constructive turn of events and innovativeness in the minimization of the conceivable hazard rehearses (Berg-Weger et al., 2001). Certain elementsâ of theâ maleâ strengths approach of a man’s communication with other men include the acknowledgment and spotlight on qualities and capacities as a methods for reacting to difficulties that one faces just as depersonalizing the issues.

Free Essays on Cosmetic Testing On Animals

Restorative Testing on Animals A point that has consistently been near numerous people’s hearts is the one of creature testing. Some accept that it is correct totally, some that it is correct however just in specific situations, and others accept that all creature testing isn't right and will go to unprecedented lengths to stop it. Should creatures be hurt to profit humankind? This is a squeezing question that has been around for at any rate the previous two centuries. As I would like to think, it is ethically unfeeling to torment our creatures. Consistently, a huge number of creatures endure and kick the bucket in difficult tests to decide the security of beauty care products. Substances, for example, eye shadow and cleanser are tried on bunnies, rodents, guinea pigs, hounds, and different creatures. The entirety of this, in spite of the way that the test outcomes don’t help forestall or treat human disease or injury. A portion of the tests utilized on creatures are eye irritancy tests, intense harmfulness tests, and skin irritancy tests. For quite a long time, creatures have been utilized in these sorts of research. (1) A controlled pooch holds up in a research facility. Inside the following couple of moments this canine will be forcibly fed or compelled to breathe in enormous measures of a possibly deadly compound. This will make the canine regurgitation, endure spasms and inner dying. The canine won't be anesthetized during this test. Researchers accept that utilizing painkillers will meddle with the exactness of the test outcomes. This isn't a test for restoring malignant growth. This isn't a test for relieving AIDS. This pooch is being tried for a fresh out of the box new hair color. Another pooch will be tried similarly for toothpaste, another for face powder. This is known as the famous LD-50 test. The test is finished when half of the guinea pigs pass on. The enduring half are executed, autopsied and broke down to figure out which organs and frameworks were influenced and why they didn't kick the bucket during the test. The Draize test for eye and skin irritancy is similarly sickening. In the Draize test... Free Essays on Cosmetic Testing On Animals Free Essays on Cosmetic Testing On Animals Corrective Testing on Animals A point that has consistently been near numerous people’s hearts is the one of creature testing. Some accept that it is correct totally, some that it is correct yet just in specific situations, and others accept that all creature testing isn't right and will go to phenomenal lengths to stop it. Should creatures be hurt to profit humankind? This is a squeezing question that has been around for at any rate the previous two centuries. As I would like to think, it is ethically insensitive to torment our creatures. Consistently, a large number of creatures endure and kick the bucket in difficult tests to decide the wellbeing of makeup. Substances, for example, eye shadow and cleanser are tried on hares, rodents, guinea pigs, hounds, and different creatures. The entirety of this, in spite of the way that the test outcomes don’t help forestall or treat human sickness or injury. A portion of the tests utilized on creatures are eye irritancy tests, intense poisonousness tests, and skin irritancy tests. For quite a long time, creatures have been utilized in these kinds of research. (1) A limited pooch holds up in a research center. Inside the following couple of moments this canine will be coercively fed or compelled to breathe in immense measures of a conceivably deadly compound. This will make the pooch upchuck, endure spasms and interior dying. The canine won't be anesthetized during this test. Researchers accept that utilizing painkillers will meddle with the precision of the test outcomes. This isn't a test for restoring disease. This isn't a test for relieving AIDS. This pooch is being tried for a fresh out of the box new hair color. Another canine will be tried similarly for toothpaste, another for face powder. This is known as the infamous LD-50 test. The test is finished when half of the guinea pigs pass on. The enduring half are executed, autopsied and broke down to figure out which organs and frameworks were influenced and why they didn't kick the bucket during the test. The Draize test for eye and skin irritancy is similarly frightening. In the Draize t est...

How the Quality Time Love Language Impacts Your Relationship

How the Quality Time Love Language Impacts Your Relationship Relationships Spouses & Partners Print How the Quality Time Love Language Impacts Your Relationship By Sherri Gordon facebook twitter Sherri Gordon is a published author and a bullying prevention expert. Learn about our editorial policy Sherri Gordon Updated on February 07, 2020 iStockphoto More in Relationships Spouses & Partners Marital Problems LGBTQ Violence and Abuse Every couple needs quality time together in order for the relationship to grow and to develop. But, what happens when one partners love language is quality time? How does that desire for time spent together impact the relationship especially when hectic lives get in the way? Heres a closer look at how expressing the love language of quality time can not only improve your relationship, but also show your quality time partner that you are fluent in their love language. Everything You Need to Know About the Five Love Languages A Closer Look at the Quality Time Love Language When it comes to Gary Chapmans five love languages, quality time is the love language that centers around togetherness. It is all about expressing your love and affection with your undivided attention. When youre with your partner, you put down the cell phone, turn off the tablet, and focus on them. And, when you do that, it touches their heart in a way that really matters. They feel important, loved, and specialâ€"like you were intentional in setting aside time just for them. Unfortunately, thanks to technology, quality time with our partners is becoming more and more scarce. Even when we are together, we are someplace elseâ€"usually in cyberspace or deep in our own thoughts. But being in close proximity to one another while doing something else does not always constitute quality time, no matter how long you sit there. And for someone whose primary love language is quality time, this lack of connectedness can leave them feeling empty and alone. Tips on How to Speak This Love Language When it comes to speaking your partners love language, it is important that you do things that will make your partner feel loved and appreciated. This means if your partners primary love language is quality time, you need to not only set aside time for your partner, but also be intentional about how you are spending that time. And, if you dont share the same love language as your partner, dont be surprised if these efforts seem a little unnatural at first. With time and effort though, you will be doing these things for your partner without a second thought. Here is an overview of some of the ways you can show your quality time partner that you love them. Make Eye Contact When it comes to quality time, eye contact is the gateway to loving your quality time partner. In fact, maintaining eye contact tells your partner that they have your full attention, which will make them feel loved, important, and understood. It also communicates that you care about what they have to say. But, when you are distracted and scrolling through your phone while your partner talks about their day, they will feel like you just dont care about what they have to say and more importantly, that you just dont care about them. Use Active Listening Skills Active listening is one of the most loving things you can do for your partner, but for many people this does not come naturally, Instead, most people think about their own thoughts and opinions more than they think about their partners. When quality time people are talking, it helps to focus on what they are saying and to even lean in slightly. Its also important to affirm what they are saying and to ask thoughtful questions. Also, avoid trying to offer advice, unless they ask for it. Quality time partners are more interested in feeling understood. They are looking for empathy and compassion and do not want to have their situations fixed. Likewise, they do not want to be evaluated and instructed. Try putting yourself in their shoes and seeing how you might feel in the same situation. Put Away Technology Nothing hurts a quality time people more than to be sharing something they feel is really important, and then to look up and realize their partner is only half paying attention while trying to answer an e-mail from a co-worker. Make it a habit to put away your phone at dinner or during a coffee break and really focus on what your partner has to say. Even though you may not discuss anything earth-shattering, you are at least making an important and loving gesture by choosing your partner over technology. Focus on Quality When it comes to quality time, its not about the amount of time you spend together but instead the quality of your interactions that count. And with so much going on in your life, carving out a few minutes for a meaningful and uninterrupted conversation can be a wonderful way to show the person you love that you care. The key is that you take the time to enjoy one anothers company, even if it is just sitting on the couch enjoying a cup of coffee before work. Remember it is not about the quantity of time you spend together, but instead about the quality of time. Plan Something While it never hurts to be spontaneous, planning to do something together can be just as fun and exciting as a last-minute dinner or movie, especially for a quality time partner. Its often too easy for married or dating couples to get in a rut after they have been together a while. Instead of settling for the same old, same old try making plans to try the new restaurant in town, schedule a bike ride on a Saturday morning, or plan a leisurely walk along the riverbank after work. It doesnt matter what you do. Taking steps to initiate quality time will mean a lot to your partner. Plus, the anticipation of spending time together will really speak love to them. Remember, just because spending time together is expected when people have been together awhile doesnt mean you cannot also be intentional about how you spend that time. Develop a Routine Look for small ways to connect with your partner on a daily basis. For instance, you could pray or meditate together every morning or read the Sunday funnies together each week. Finding a small way to connect on a regular basis will help your quality time partner feel fulfilled and appreciated. Plus, its something you can both look forward to doing together. Be There When your partner is feeling insecure or going through a tough time at work, you can really show you care by simply being there and spending some quality time together. Even though you wont be able to take all the discomfort awayâ€"nor should you be expected toâ€"you will be able to demonstrate that you are present and available whenever they need you. Stay in the Moment For people whose primary love language is quality time, they never lose sight of the fact that time is limited and tomorrow is not promised. As a result, they view time together as a priceless gift that they want to give and receive in relationships. To them, life is about being in the moment more than it is about what you are doing. Its also about prioritizing the people you love over everything else. Invite Them Everyone has days when their to-do list is a mile long. Rather than run all your errands by yourself, invite your quality time partner to come along. Even though you are doing something mundane and boring, you can sneak in some quality time. For instance, turn off the radio and talk to one another. Ask how your partners life is going and what is stressing them out right now. You can turn just about any activity into a chance to sneak in some quality time if you are creative. What to Avoid If This Is Your Partners Love Language At times, it can be hard to communicate love to your partner through quality time, especially if this is not your primary love language. But you will eventually get the hang of it. The key is to avoid a few of these common mistakes. Dont complain about the time you spend togetherResist the urge to do something else while your partner is talkingDont view your quality time partner as needyKeep your technology stowed away when you have time planned togetherDont forget to ask what your partner needs in order to feel loved A Word From Verywell When it comes to quality time as a love language, most people assume it means spending a lot of time together or going out a lot. If that were the case, trying to show your partner you care through quality time could get exhaustingâ€"and expensive. But loving a quality time partner actually has very little to do with the amount of time you are together. Its also not based on activities. Quality time is all about how you spend the time that you have together. No matter what you are doing, if you are attentive and focused, your partner will feel loved. Are You In a Healthy Relationship?

Forensic Linguistics Definition and Examples

The application of linguistic research and methods to the law, including evaluation of written evidence and the language of legislation. The term forensic linguistics was coined in 1968 by linguistics professor Jan Svartvik. Example: The pioneer of forensic linguistics is widely considered to be Roger Shuy, a retired Georgetown University professor and the author of such fundamental textbooks as [Creating] Language Crimes. The field’s more recent origins might be traced to an airplane flight in 1979, when Shuy found himself talking to the lawyer sitting next to him. By the end of the flight, Shuy had a recommendation as an expert witness in his first murder case. Since then, he’s been involved in numerous cases in which forensic analysis revealed how meaning had been distorted by the process of writing or recording. In recent years, following Shuy’s lead, a growing number of linguists have applied their techniques in regular criminal cases . . ..(Jack Hitt, Words on Trial. The New Yorker, July 23, 2012) Applications of Forensic Linguistics Applications of forensic linguistics include voice identification, interpretation of expressed meaning in laws and legal writings, analysis of discourse in legal settings, interpretation of intended meaning in oral and written statements (e.g., confessions), authorship identification, the language of the law (e.g., plain language), analysis of courtroom language used by trial participants (i.e., judges, lawyers, and witnesses), trademark law, and interpretation and translation when more than one language must be used in a legal context. (Gerald R. McMenamin, Forensic Linguistics: Advances in Forensic Stylistics. CRC Press, 2002)On some occasions the linguist is asked to provide investigative assistance or expert evidence for use in Court. Within the linguistics literature there has been considerable focus on the rules for admission of authorship identification evidence to criminal prosecutions, but the role of the linguist in providing evidence is broader than this. Much of the evide nce provided by linguists does not involve authorship identification, and the assistance a linguist may offer is not restricted to only providing evidence for criminal prosecution. Investigative linguists can be considered that portion of forensic linguistics which provides advice and opinions for investigative and evidential purposes. (Malcolm Coulhard, Tim Grant, and Krzystof Kredens, Forensic Linguistics. The SAGE Handbook of Sociolinguistics, ed. by Ruth Wodak, Barbara Johnstone, and Paul Kerswill. SAGE, 2011) Problems Facing Forensic Linguists [There are] certain problems facing an insider forensic linguist. Eight such problems are: 1. short time limits imposed by a law case, as opposed to the more familiar time limits enjoyed in everyday academic pursuits;2. an audience almost totally unfamiliar with our field;3. restrictions on what we can say and when we can say it;4. restrictions on what we can write;5. restrictions on how to write;6. the need to represent complex technical knowledge in ways that can be understood by people who know nothing of our field while maintaining our role as experts who have deep knowledge of these complex technical ideas;7. constant changes or jurisdictional differences in the field of law itself; and8. maintaining an objective, non-advocacy stance in a field in which advocacy is the major form of presentation. Since forensic linguists deal in probabilities, not certainties, it is all the more essential to further refine this field of study, experts say. â€Å"There have been cases where it was my impression that the evidence on which people were freed or convicted was iffy in one way or another,† says Edward Finegan, president of the International Association of Forensic Linguists. Vanderbilt law professor Edward Cheng, an expert on the reliability of forensic evidence, says that linguistic analysis is best used when only a handful of people could have written a given text. (David Zax, How Did Computers Uncover J.K. Rowling’s Pseudonym? Smithsonian, March 2014) Language as a Fingerprint What [Robert A. Leonard] thinks about of late is forensic linguistics, which he describes as the newest arrow in the quiver of law enforcement and lawyers.In a nutshell, just think of language as a fingerprint to be studied and analyzed, he enthuses. The point to be made here is that language can help you solve crimes and language can help you prevent crimes. There is a tremendous pent-up demand for this kind of training. This can be the difference between someone going to jail over a confession he didn’t actually write.His consultation on the murder of Charlene Hummert, a 48-year-old Pennsylvania woman who was strangled in 2004, helped put her killer in prison. Mr. Leonard determined, through the quirky punctuation in two letters of confession by a supposed stalker and a self-described serial killer, that the actual author was Ms. Hummert’s spouse. When I studied the writings and made the connection, it made the hair on my arms stand up. (Robin Finn, A Graduate of Sha Na Na, Now a Linguistics Professor. The New York Times, June 15, 2008)The linguistic fingerprint is a notion put forward by some scholars that each human being uses language differently, and that this difference between people can be observed just as easily and surely as a fingerprint. According to this view, the linguistic fingerprint is the collection of markers, which stamps a speaker/writer as unique. . . .[N]obody has yet demonstrated the existence of such a thing as a linguistic fingerprint: how then can people write about it in this unexamined, regurgitated way, as though it were a fact of forensic life?Perhaps it is this word forensic that is responsible. The very fact that it collocates so regularly with words like expert and science means that it cannot but raise expectations. In our minds we associate it with the ability to single out the perpetrator from the crowd to a high degree of precision, and so when we put forensic next to linguistics as in the title of this book we are effectively saying forensic linguistics is a genuine science just like forensic chemistry, forensic toxicology, and so on. Of course, insofar as a science is a field of endeavour in which we seek to obtain reliable, even predictable results, by the application of a methodology, then forensic linguistics is a science. However, we should avoid giving the impression that it can unfailingly — or even nearly unfailingly — provide precise identification about individuals from small samples of speech or text. (John Olsson, Forensic Source Linguistics: An Introduction to Language, Crime, and the Law. Continuum, 2004) Roger W. Shuy, Breaking Into Language and Law: The Trials of the Insider-Linguist. Round Table on Language and Linguistics: Linguistics, Language and the Professions, ed. by James E. Alatis, Heidi E. Hamilton, and Ai-Hui Tan. Georgetown University Press, 2002

Essay on Puritans in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel...

Over three centuries ago, Witch Trials plagued the thirteen colonies. Many men and women were tried based on flimsy evidence and eventually hung for their â€Å"crimes†. Being a sore spot in American History, Nathaniel Hawthorne felt the brunt of it. His great-great -grandfather, William Hathorne, was the judge during the famous Salem Witch Trials where he condemned and executed several citizens. On Nathaniel’s way to becoming a renowned author in the United States, Nathaniel changed his last name by adding a ‘w’ to distance himself from his familys past. He later published The Scarlet Letter, which can be described as an attack on the Puritan religion and their behavior. Nathaniel contrasts Puritan and Romantic characteristics to†¦show more content†¦With the Puritans cruel, biblical nature in the novel many would not be surprised if Hester is the ideal mother in the novel, expressing her love to her acclaimed â€Å"demon child†. Her child behaves as a â€Å"witch† to the citizens of the town with her behavior, â€Å"There was witchcraft in Pearl’s eyes, and her face as she glanced upward at the minister, so elfish.† (Hawthorne 151). Even if Pearl appears different than the other children, her mother still floods her with love as the townspeople scorn her. Throughout The Scarlet Letter Hawthorne emphasizes her behavior, â€Å"This image†¦seemed to communicate with its own shadowy and intangible quality to the child herself.† (Hawthorne 153) As Pearl looks into a brook she believes there is another identical Pearl on the other side. Many citizens would look upon this as a sign of the devil, yet Hester considers this interaction as nothing but child’s play. With the Puritans harsh behavior to a child who appears and behaves differently, many would question what would h ave happened if she had been born into a more religious family. Many readers can witness the differences in personality from the beginning of The Scarlet Letter. When Hester approaches the townspeople after being released from jail she behaves in what would be shocking, â€Å"†¦with a burning blush, and yet a haughty smile, and a glance that would not be abashed†¦.† (Hawthorne 50). After just being released from prison, Hester reactsShow MoreRelatedPuritan Society In The Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1127 Words   |  5 PagesIn the Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne harshly criticizes Puritan society. From hypocrisy to forgiveness, Hawthorne uses hidden messages and motifs to express his criticism of society and to spread his messages. A social judgement explored by Hawthorne is that a majority perspective stifles individuality. Dimmesdale best exemplifies the social judgement presented in the novel. Puritanical society’s ideals suppress Dimmesdale’s desire to come out as a sinner because he has a status he isn’t willingRead MoreThe Puritan Community in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne687 Words   |  3 PagesThe Puritan Community in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter, a novel by Nathaniel Hawthorn takes place in Boston of 1640 of Puritan community. It shows a dark, gray, violently moral society found as a kind of Puritan Utopia. The main characters in the story are Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, and Roger Chillingworth. This novel illustrates the effects of sin on the heart and minds, how a persons downfall may be caused by the destructive human emotions of hiddenRead MorePuritans in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne Essay1427 Words   |  6 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne opens his most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter, in the midst of the action. The novel begins with a crowd of Puritan Bostonians waiting anxiously outside the town jailhouse, hoping to see convicts, sinners, and their overall hated fellow citizens be publicly punished and shamed. This is a classic example in medias res, which translates from Latin to mean â€Å"in the middle of things,† according to Encyclopedia Britannica. The concept of intr oducing a plot while it is occurring andRead MoreThe Hypocritical Judgement of Puritans in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne597 Words   |  3 Pagesfeelst it will relieve thy suffering, speak out the name of thy fellow sinner. Be not silent because thou wouldst protect him.† (Hawthorne 21). This was said by Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, one of the main characters of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novel, The Scarlet Letter. He says this to his secret lover, Hester, as she stands on the scaffold in front of the entire Puritan community that the story takes place in. She is standing there with her three-month old child, Pearl, as a part of her punishmentRead MorePuritan Condemnation Of Nathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1030 Words   |  5 PagesPuritan Condemnation â€Å"The Scarlet Letter is the most nearly static of all Hawthorne’s novels.† (73) This opinion-based quote from the article â€Å"The Characters Reveal the Story’s Meaning,† written by Hyatt H. Waggoner, can properly introduce Nathaniel Hawthorne’s most familiar novel, â€Å"The Scarlet Letter.† After close observation of said novel, it can be inferred that there is very little external conflict when comparing the amount of space devoted to exposition and description; the evidence for thisRead MoreNathaniel Hawthorne s The Scarlet Letter1187 Words   |  5 PagesPuritanism in Red Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter shows the early view of Puritanism by concentrating on sin, guilt, and its effects on society. Nathaniel Hawthorne conveyed a dark and romantic style of writing in â€Å"The Scarlet Letter†, impacting the society by focusing on the concepts of romanticism. The Scarlet Letter is considered a classic book and is still read today. Nathaniel Hathorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts on July 4, 1804. He was the son of Nathaniel and Elizabeth ClarkRead MoreThe Scarlet Letter By Nathaniel Hawthorne1397 Words   |  6 PagesFebruary 2016 The Scarlet Letter was written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in 1850 which is based on the time frame of the Puritans, a religious group who arrived in Massachusetts in the 1630’s. The Puritans were in a religious period that was known for the strict social norms in which lead to the intolerance of different lifestyles. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses the puritan’s strict lifestyles to relate to the universal issues among us. The time frame of the puritans resulted in Hawthorne eventually thinkingRead MoreEssay On John Hathorne878 Words   |  4 Pages   Ã‚  Ã‚   Nathaniel Hawthorne was greatly influenced by his great- great grandfather, John Hathorne, to develop the novel The Scarlet Letter.   John hathorne was involved in the persecution of several people in the Salem, Massachusetts (encyclopedia). JOHN HATHORNE AND THE SALEM WITCH TRIALS   Ã‚  Ã‚   In the year 1692, the Salem Witch Trials began and John Hathorne was chosen by Governor Sir William Phips to be a judge during the trials.   Hathorne believed that Satan had the power to pressure people into harmingRead MoreAntifeminist and Feminism within The Scarlet Letter1388 Words   |  6 PagesAntifeminist and Feminism within The Scarlet Letter In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s â€Å"The Scarlet Letter† Hester Prynne is accused and convicted of adultery. During the puritan era women in this society had specific obligations and rights they had to maintain. By Hester having an affair and acting unladylike the community disapproved of her actions causing everyone to isolate her in her town. Due to Hester Prynne’s Isolation and the harsh judgment she received from everyone in her town, she goes throughRead MoreEssay Nathaniel Hawthorne1152 Words   |  5 PagesNathaniel Hawthorne’s hatred of Puritanism was so big that he described in many of his writing such as The Scarlet Letter and The Minster Black Veil. He usually satirized them as evildoers and sin creators, not holy and Christ zealous as they described themselves. Hawthorne also used the effects of mysterious human mind and spontaneous action to describe the Puritan as satanic worship and God disobedience. In result, his writing reflected much of his P uritan ancestry affections. Nathaniel Hawthorne

Cultural Research Paper Free Essays

Final Cultural Research Paper Throughout this course, we have learned that the primary mode of subsistence (how a culture makes a living) impacts many other aspects of cultural behavior and has been an effective way to organize thoughts and studies about culture. In order to demonstrate your understanding of subsistence modes and its impact on a culture and why a culture acts as it does, your Research Paper will require you to: 1. Select a specific culture from the following list: a. We will write a custom essay sample on Cultural Research Paper or any similar topic only for you Order Now Basseri of Iran . The Batek of Malaysia c. Enga d. The Amish e. Huaorani of Ecuador f. Bedouin g. Zulu h. Kurds i. Maori j. Mbuti k. Nayar of India l. Semai m. Navajo n. Tikopia of Melanesia 2. Research this culture using the Ashford University Online Library. Please identify and use a minimum of three scholarly articles from the library in addition to the text your research. Keep in mind that most anthropological research, whether article length or book length, is either an ethnography or an ethnology. You may use any combination of ethnographies or ethnologies in your paper. 3. Write a seven to eight page long research paper that does the following: a. Identifies and classifies the selected culture’s primary mode of subsistence. ( Foragers, Horticulturalists, Pastoralists, Emerging Agriculturalists, Agrarian States, or Industrialists) b. Analyzes and evaluates the impact that the primary mode of subsistence of the selected culture has on at least three of the following aspects of culture: ? Beliefs and values ?Economic organization ?Gender relations ?Kinship ?Political organization ?Sickness and healing ?Social change ?Social organization The Research Paper must be formatted according to APA style and include a title and a reference page (which does not count towards the page length). For information regarding APA samples and tutorials, visit the Ashford Writing Center, within the Learning Resources tab on the left navigation toolbar. In Week Three, you are required to submit an introductory paragraph, thesis statement, an outline, and your properly formatted reference page with the required sources identified. At that point, you should have chosen your culture and identified its primary mode of subsistence. Writing the Research Paper The Research Paper: 1. Must be seven to eight double-spaced pages in length, and formatted according to APA style as outlined in the Ashford Writing Center. 2. Must include a title page with the following: How to cite Cultural Research Paper, Essays

Left Brain - Right Brian Essays - Cerebrum, Neuroscience

Left Brain - Right Brian Psychology Right Brain, Left Brain. The article in which I chose to examine is called Right Brain, Left Brain: Fact and Fiction, written by Jerre Levy. In the past fifteen years or so there has been a lot of talk of left brain and right brain people. Levy's reason for righting this article was clearly to stop the misconceptions and show the truth about how our brain hemispheres operate. Levy first explores the myth of the left brain and right brain theory. She states that generally people see the left hemisphere of the brain controlling logic and language and the right, creativity and intuition. In addition people differ in their styles of thought, depending on which half of the brain is dominant. She believes that most of what these notions state is farce. Next the article explores the history of this fascination of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Apparently the study of this aspect of the brain traces back to time of Hippocrates. Levy weaves in and out of the various theories and prominent people known for contributing to the confusion. It wasn't until 1962 when Roger W. Sperry began experimenting on certain aspects of the brain that contribute to the truth of the left and right brain theory. Sperry studied people who had undergone surgical division of the corpus callosum, the bridge between the two hemispheres. His studies showed that, an object placed in the right hand (left hemisphere) could be named readily, but one placed in the left hand (nonverbal right hemisphere) could be neither named nor described. Next to branch off of Sperry's studies was psychologist Doreen Kimura. Kimura developed behavioral methods which involved presenting visual stimuli rapidly to either the left or right visual fields. Another important method developed was dichotic listening which centered around the use of sound to study the hemispheres. Through these tests and the continual study the theory that the left brain controlled ended. Instead a new theory was born known as the two-brain theory. This said that at different times one of the two hemispheres would be operating. An example of this is that the right hemisphere is in control when an artist paints but the left hemisphere was in control when a novelist wrote a book. This theory failed because of one physical studies showed that people with hemispheres surgically disconnected could operate in everyday life. Also, research demonstrated that each hemisphere had its own functional expertise, and that the two halves were complementary. Next, the article states its worth. The author shows the up to date agreed upon theory of the two hemispheres in five simple points. 1. The two hemispheres are so similar that when they are disconnected by split-brain surgery, each can function remarkably well, although quite imperfectly 2. Although they are remarkably similar they are also different. The differences are seen in contrasting contributions. Each hemisphere contributes something to every action a person takes. 3. Logic is not confined to the left hemisphere. Although dominant in the left logic is present in the right hemisphere. 4. There is no evidence that either creativity or intuition is an exclusive property of the right hemisphere. Same theory as #3. 5. Since the two hemispheres do not function independently, and since each hemisphere contributes its special capacities to all cognitive activities, it is quite impossible to educate one hemisphere at a time in a normal brain. Levy comes to the conclusion that people are not purely left or right brained. There is a continuum in which the hemispheres work together in harmony. Often the left or right hemisphere is more active in some people but it is never the sole operator. She concludes, We have a single brain that generates a single mental self. This article showed that we are not left or right brained but merely somewhere on the scale between left and right brain. Some of us were extreme left, few extreme right and most in the middle leaning left a bit (this is where I fell). I could not agree more with what I read in this article. The author wrote a fabulous complete article. In my summary, I feel I

Complete Official ACT Practice Tests, Free Links

Complete Official ACT Practice Tests, Free Links SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips No matter how you prep for the ACT- whether you have a tutor, take a class, or study by yourself- you must get access to official ACT tests. These tests are released by ACT, Inc. and contain real questions given to actual students on previous test dates. These questions have been removed from circulation (so you won't ever see them on a real test), but their quality is second to none when it comes to ACT realism. In this post, I'll tell you how to find all currently available official ACT practice tests. Most are free and offer a good way to get your feet wet with ACT prep. We'll also discuss how to use these tests to improve your ACT score. A Quick Intro to ACT Practice Tests The ACT format hasn't changed much in the past decade (except for the essay), so tests released in 2008 are almost as good as tests released in 2018. We'll give you the tests in the following section, and then teach you how to best make use of them. Be aware that practice tests are not a cure-all for all ACT problems. Definitely learn what practice tests do and don't do and understand the dangers of abusing practice tests. In addition, make sure you take them at the optimal frequency and aren't taking full practice tests too close to your test date. All Free, Full-Length ACT Practice Tests The following ACT practice tests are totally free. We've gathered all of them together in one place for your convenience. Currently, there are six PDF tests that you can print out and take on paper: ACT Practice Test 2018-19 (Form 74FPRE) Test: p-55. Answer key: p57-60. ACT Practice Test 2015-16 (Form 72CPRE) Test: p-55. Answer key: p57-62. ACT Practice Test 2014-15 (Form 67C) Test: p-51 (ignore the essay). Answer key: p56-62. ACT Practice Test 20-12 (Form 64E) Test: p13-56 (ignore the essay). Answer key: p60-65. ACT Practice Test 2008-09 (Form 61C) Test: p13-55 (ignore the essay). Answer key: p60-64. ACT Practice Test 2005-06 (Form 59F) Test: p13-55 (ignore the essay). Answer key: p60-65. Notice a few years missing? That's because ACT, Inc. duplicates the same test in different years. For example, the 2015-16 test is identical to the 2016-17 and 2017-18 tests and the 2018-19 test is identical to the 2019-20 test. We've included the form ID with each test so that you can confirm for yourself what's the same and what's not (you can find this code at the bottom-left of each page on the tests). There is also one ACT free online sample test. Although the test format is a little clunky, it's overall a convenient digital resource. To use it, click through each section to answer questions in short batches. Once you receive your scores for a question set, you'll move on to the next batch of questions. Unfortunately, these features make it impossible to take this ACT test under realistic timing conditions, but at least you can get some helpful practice with it. 2 Official ACT Practice Test Resources You Can Buy So far, we've given you all free, official ACT practice tests. But what about paid practice tests? For even more high-quality practice, consider buying the following official ACT practice tests. The Official ACT Prep Guide, 2019-2020 Edition Price: About $21 This official prep book is definitely the best resource for realistic ACT practice questions. Don't bother using Kaplan or The Princeton Review for practice tests, as their quality is far inferior to the tests created by ACT, Inc. The 2019-20 edition includes five full-length ACT practice tests with essay prompts. One of these tests is new to the 2019-20 edition and one of them also appears in the 2018-19 edition, but the other three are the same tests as those in the 2018 and 2016-17 editions. Therefore, you might want to consider buying a copy of the third edition (which has five unique practice tests) in addition to the 2019-20 edition for extra practice. ACT Online Program Price: $39.95 This official online program includes two extra full-length ACT practice tests and many authentic practice questions that reflect the most recent changes to the ACT. The online prep material forlearning the subjects isn't all that great, however, so you're really only buying it for the tests. How to Use Official ACT Tests: 4 Tips Because each ACT practice test takes about four hours to complete, it's important for you to get the most out of every one you take. Below, we go over some important tips to keep in mind when taking these official ACT practice tests: But before we get to our tips, it's worth reiterating that practice tests can't be used to address all possible ACT problems. If you're struggling to understand certain concepts, for example, you'll need to make sure you're brushing up on your content review and learning difficult topics from scratch. So while ACT practice tests are an excellent way to track your progress, they certainly aren't the only resources out there! Now, we'll show you how you can use ACT practice tests to your advantage. #1: Take Each Test in One Sitting The ACT is a marathon that forces you to sit and concentrate for four hours on an early Saturday morning. You need to build up your test-taking stamina so that you don't make careless mistakes at the end of the exam. By taking each ACT practice test in one sitting, you'll increase your endurance for the real test. If you don't have time in your schedule for a four-hour session, splitting it up over multiple days is OK- as long as you heed our next tip. #2: Use Official Time Limits It is critical that you recreate the time limits on the ACT as you take practice tests. Each section requires you to answer one or more questions in about a minute, which causes most students to end up with less time than they need, especially on the Math section. But don't be tempted to give yourself even two extra minutes, as this could unfairly let you finish more questions, thereby improving your score substantially. Remember that ACT practice tests should be reliable indicators of your real ACT score. If you give yourself more time than what's allowed on the test, you won't be able to see where you're actually scoring. #3: Review Your Answers At the end of every test, be sure to review every mistake you made as well as every question you got correct. If you bypass this step, you're not going to learn from your mistakes, and you'll continue making the same ones over and over again. A rule of thumb is to spend at least two hours reviewing every full ACT practice test you take. Though this is time consuming, it's important that you emphasize quality of learning over quantity of learning. In the end, it's better to take three tests with detailed review than it is to take six tests with no review. #4: No Improvement? Supplement Your Practice Tests While some students can learn from their mistakes, others need guidance to point out where their weaknesses are and assignments to help them directly improve upon their weak points. A good prep program can supercharge your ACT prep so that you're always focusing on the best material. Check out our industry-leading online ACT prep program. We've designed it to cover all the advantages of ACT books and tutors- and more- at an affordable price. Featuring in-depth strategy lessons and thousands of practice questions, our program uses the best content from the leading prep books. It also guides you step by step through what you should be working on at every moment to best improve your ACT score. This works by customizing to your strengths and weaknesses, and then giving you focused practice to help you learn the patterns on the test. Finally, it motivates you to study so that you put in enough time. There's a 4-point guarantee, too- meaning that if you don't improve your score by 4 points or more, you'll get all of your money back! For other ACT prep resources, take a look at our guides to the best ACT prep books, the best ACT websites, and how to find an ACT tutor. What's Next? Want more ACT practice? Check out our massive collection of official and unofficial ACT practice tests. And if you're hoping to hone your math skills specifically, we've compiled the best ACT Math practice tests in a separate guide. Taken the ACT already but unhappy with your score? Use our guide to decide whether you should retake the ACT. Not sure when to take the ACT? Get a complete study plan for the ACT to figure out the best date for you. Check out our industry leading ACT prep program. We have a 4 point improvement guarantee- improve your ACT composite score by 4 points, or get every dollar of your money back. We're that confident in our program.

Where to Get a Writing Critique

Where to Get a Writing Critique Where to Get a Writing Critique Where to Get a Writing Critique By Maeve Maddox From time to time, I receive emails from writers, asking me to critique attached poems or short stories. In the early days, I would send a polite reply, explaining that I hadn’t time to critique their work. Now I simply delete the email and attachments and get back to my own writing. The DWT Contact page states the policy that our writers don’t answer questions via email. Critiquing a manuscript of any length is time-consuming. Time is the most precious possession of a working writer. Asking another writer, especially one with whom you have no personal acquaintance, for a free critique is the equivalent of asking a stranger for a gift costing anywhere from $300 up. I have arrived at this figure by browsing the sites of professional critiquing services. Rates are based on word-count, number of pages, or some combination of the two. One service that specializes in science fiction, fantasy, and horror charges $300 for the first 20,000 words and $15 per every 1,000 words thereafter. Another service offers a flat rate of $260 for the first 50 pages, but applies a per-page rate thereafter. A manuscript of 100-199 pages is priced at $6 per page; from 100-199 pages, $4 per page. A manuscript of 200 pages is priced at $3.75 per page. Paid critiquing is neither a practical nor sensible solution for the beginning writer. Such services are for writers who have already done everything they can to improve their drafts with whatever help is available to them without an outlay of cash. On the other hand, writers need the feedback of other writers. What’s the solution? Where can beginners find suitable readers for their early drafts without an outlay of cash? First, they must be willing to critique the work of others in exchange for critiques of their own writing. Ideally, they will find another writer or writers in their own vicinity. For example, I belong to a writer’s critique group whose members live within a radius of about thirty miles. We meet weekly, varying the meeting place so that no one has to drive the farthest distance every week. Not every group is a good fit for every writer. In approaching an established group, writers need to evaluate the writing level and interests of the members. Some groups specialize in different genres. Not every group critiques poetry or illustrated children’s books. Not every group is made up of beginners. A group of published writers may not be the best choice for an unpublished writer who is still struggling with basics. A good place to find kindred writing spirits is your local public library. Browse the bulletin board. Ask the reference librarians if they know of authors in the area. Writers who can’t find other writers locally can look for critique partners on the Web. Here is a starter list of five sites that offer help in finding a partner: Kingdom Writers An email critique and fellowship group for Christian writers. Ladies Who Critique Ladies Who Critique  is a critique partner-matching site for writers of all levels – â€Å"published, unpublished, aspiring, hobbyists, even closet writers or complete newbies!† Nathan Bransford This free writing forum offers a thread devoted to connecting with a critique partner. Poetry-Free-For-All This site boasts 23,000 members â€Å"of all skill levels† and is described as â€Å"a non-stop online poetry workshop for beginners and experts alike.† Participants must agree to offer at least three critiques of others’ work for each poem submitted. Quantum Muse This site is for writers of â€Å"science fiction, fantasy and alternative writing and artwork.† It offers the opportunity of publication. Membership is free, but participants must complete three critiques of the work of others before receiving permission to submit. Scribophile This free site is for writers of all skill levels. Members exchange detailed critiques. Reciprocity is a must. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Fiction Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:15 Terms for Those Who Tell the FutureLatin Plural Endings6 Foreign Expressions You Should Know

Reflective Journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflective Journal - Assignment Example Seeking to be a manager of a manufacturing firm, my strengths in interpersonal relationship and team leadership would enable me foster a collaborative management as this would ensure that employees’ ideas are considered in decision-making. This would be useful in avoiding resistance to change or management’s decisions. However, I would have to work on my conflict resolution and negotiation skills so as to enable me maintain harmony in the organisation and enforce a balance between organisational and individual goals. I would also have to improve on my communication skills to relay information effectively. The effectiveness of this tool in determining the alignment of my competencies to my expected managerial roles made me appreciate the argument by Chaston (2011) and Rosaline (2013) that gap analysis helps in the identification of personal goals. I am now aware of my strengths and the areas where I would need to improve on so as to become an effective manager. Management process could be more complicated than it could appear. This could even be more pronounced in case of an organisation operating in a complex and changing environment. As such, the postulate by Henry Mintzberg on the roles in managing information, people and action as given by Muma, Smith and Somers (2005) and Schermerhorn (2011) would be critical. The interpersonal role of a manager as a leader; informational roles as a monitor and disseminator; and decision roles as a disturbance handler, resource allocator and negotiator would be useful in such a situation. In my view, complex situations cause confusion among employees. Therefore, the role of a manager as a leader would help in guiding employees on the way forward in case of dilemmas. Organisations need to be keen on the changes in the environment so as to make decisions on adaptive strategies that would ensure their

How Can Christianity Establish its Place in a Chinese Culture Research Paper

How Can Christianity Establish its Place in a Chinese Culture - Research Paper Example The Christian groups consisted of Protestants known as Ji du jiao and Catholics who were better known as Tian Zhu jiao of Lord of Heavenly Religion and a small number of Orthodox Christians (Tony 1994). China is a country dominated by ancient religious groups and beliefs like Mahayana Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. Christianity has had a rough journey to reach the position it is today. It has had problems like the persecution of leaders and followers, harassment, physical and mental abuse. Christianity in China has been growing significantly since the loosening of restrictions on religion in 1970 within the republic. However, many religious practices are still controlled by the authorities. Christianity had been in China from the 7th century AD but it later disappeared for many years and then it was re-introduced. The Persian missionary who came to China during the Tang Dynasty were the first Christians to settle in China. Their Christianity which was referred to as Nestorian thrived for many years until the emperor then, implemented anti-religious measures in 845 AD. As a result of the measures, all foreign religions and traditions including Christianity were kicked out of China (Arnold 1889). During the 13th century, under the reign of Yuan dynasty, Christianity was re-introduced but it did not last for long as the Ming Dynasty overthrew the Yuan Dynasty in the 14th century leading to the expulsion of Christianity again. Later in the 16th century, after Jesuits arrived in Beijing, they introduced western learning and Christianity began to sink deep into the people of China. Although it had grown, it remained a minority group in China. Missionaries started flocking to China and brought in westernization. Christianity had a great deal of influence on the people of China and its teaching started to influence the Chinese people (Yeo 1998).  Ã‚  

Wedding Planning Needs Assessment

Wedding Planning Needs Assessment CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background Wedding is once-a-life event in peoples life. For most of families, they are willing to spend a considerable amount of money to ensure the wedding is organized as perfect as possible. According to Howard (2006), wedding today is a $70 billion business in U.S., and the average cost of wedding is $26,000 per couples. As a spinoff the larger discipline of event management, the business of wedding planning will provide business to a broad array of supporting industries, such as hotels, retails, and catering service. Comparing with the other personal events, such as birthday, anniversaries, wedding is more complicated, because it involves friends and families and a range of related service activities covering from catering to entertainments (Shone Parry, 2004). In order to make sure everything goes smoothly in the wedding day, most of the prospective couples would like to plan the wedding in sometimes year in advance. Both brides and grooms put much effort into the wedding preparation including the venue selection, honeymoon booking and dress design etc. However, not all of them have enough time and energy and knowledge in wedding planning to arrange everything themselves. They need someone to assist them in wedding planning, budget preparation, planning detail checklists, venue arrangement as well as onsite supervision and coordination on the wedding day. Wedding planners, the professional dealing with all the details of wedding, provide a one-stop service to potential couples by charging some considerable consultant fee (Wikipedia org, 2009). The role of the wedding planners is to save time, look after details, make couples dream come true, stay on the budget and save money. Wedding planners have become one of the outsourced labours in modern society (Blakely, 2007). With the rapid development of the society in the last decade, more and more couples prefer to go to college and start their own careers after graduation. Marriage is happening later in brides and grooms life (Mayling, 2002). This means couples have more disposable income to afford the wedding expenses; and they are more likely to look for some special unique wedding styles, such as theme wedding, green wedding etc., which probably involves different elements, such as ethic, religious custom, family tradition, class identity, regional practice and individual tastes and preference (Howard, 2006). As a result, wedding planners, who are providing professional advices and assistance to the couples from the moment of distributing the invitations, arranging the style of cake ceremony, table setting, and setting for banquet, are necessarily needed and developed dramatically (Markby, 2006). 1.2 Wedding in China In traditional Chinese culture, marriage was creating alliances between families. Therefore, it was strictly arranged by parents or elder people in families. Wedding should be planned strictly according to the customs. For example, people should choose a good year, a good month, a good day as well as a good time for wedding ceremony; and use â€Å"red† in the declaration for everything with the purpose of auspicious. Wedding is also one of the ways for Chinese families to present their social classes therefore the families are willing to spend a large mount of money on wedding, and much of which were supported by parents or relatives. Because of the reform and opening-up policy in the late 1970s, nowadays, the living standards in China have been dramatically increased. According to the China Statistic Yearbook 2008 (2009), the GDP per capita in Mainland China is increasing steadily and has reached 18,934 RMB in 2007. At the mean time, the social culture is becoming diversified. More and more Chinese people, especially the younger generation who have better education, began to accept the western culture. Most of the prospective couples would like to experience different types of weddings that can make their special day more measurable. For example, some people choose â€Å"white† wedding instead of traditional Chinese â€Å"red† wedding; some may prefer destination wedding instead of having wedding at home, which may require more time and professional planning and organizing throughout the wedding preparation. Therefore, wedding planners, as a new business in China, has developed rapidly during the l ast decade. According to the ministry of commerce of the PRC (2008), wedding service today has become a big business in China covering about 76 industries, such as matchmaking business, wedding planning as well as banquets, tourism industries etc. where the photographer has the highest profit that is above 30% while the wedding planner is 15%. The average expenditure for more than 3.7 million new Chinese couples in 2006 was about 126,600 RMB. Based on the statistics of Ministry of Civil Affairs of the PRC (2009), about 11 million couples got married in 2008 with the growth of 10.8% than 2007. All the statistics above show that wedding business in China has a huge market and potential. This research will focus on Pearl River Delta, the most economically dynamic region in southern part of China. PRD covers nine prefectures of Guangdong province including Guangzhou, Shenzhe, Zhuhai, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Foshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing; and has become one of the leading economic regions and a major manufacturing center of China, which accounted for 10.2% of Chinas GDP. People in PRD have more purchasing power than the other region. The per capita GDP in PRD ranges from 35,700 to 79,600 RMB which is much higher than the national per capita GDP (HKTDC, 2008). Because of the advantages of its location and open-door policy, PRD became the first region in China which allowed the foreign investments. Thus, apart from the economic strength, people in PRD were influenced by the western cultures earlier than the other places of China. 1.3 Research problem statements Due to the low entry cost in the wedding planning business, the number of wedding planners has increased rapidly in China in the last decade. Generally, two to three persons having relevant planning experience can establish a wedding planning company with around 100,000 RMB investments in China. They just need an office for meeting with clients and an official blog or website for promotion. Despite of the rapid development of the wedding business, the service/product offered by the wedding planners is similar. Comparing with the wedding photo service business, there is a lack of leading brand in the wedding planning business. With the growth of income level and education level, the couples in China are becoming more and more demanding towards the wedding service/products and face a problem that how to choose a suitable wedding planners who can provide excellent service/product. Thus, from the supply side, identifying and satisfying the important and unfulfilled needs of prospective c ouples is one of the ways for wedding planners to differentiate their products from the competitors, and make success in the competition. However, there is few studies indentifying prospective couples needs or attitudes toward products or service of wedding planner in Pearl River Delta even though in Chinese mainland, nor research about how well the wedding planners in China is meeting the needs of prospective couples. Therefore, this study will focus on the following questions to find out the needs of prospective couples (demand side) towards the wedding planners in PRD 1) Whats the reason for couples hiring wedding planners? 2) Whats the factors affecting the selection of wedding planners? Reputation? Price? Or other? 3) Do the needs of prospective couples toward wedding planners in Pearl River Delta vary according to the different demographical characteristics? 1.4 Research objectives: To find out the needs of prospective couples when hiring the wedding planners in the Pearl River Delta; To investigate the relationship between the needs for prospective couples and the choice of product/service offered by wedding planners in Pearl River Delta Region; To investigate how the needs of potential couples are influenced by their demographic profiles; To make recommendations to the wedding planners in Pearl River Delta. CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW In this chapter, the previous studies related to wedding, wedding planners as well as the consumer purchase behavior will be reviewed. 2.1 Nature of wedding From the view of sociology, Edward (1987) defined that weddings are rites of passage, which belong to the class of rituals that everywhere mark the transition of a person or persons from one status to another. Wedding therefore becomes a private and highly-personalized event in peoples life. Event is held for a purpose that brings people together to share an experience and produce a measurable outcome no matter public or private, commercial or charitable, celebratory or commemorative (Silvers, 2003). Shone and Parry (2004) defined the wedding, together with the other personal events (e.g. birthday or anniversaries), as a type of special events. Their phenomenon arise from leisure, cultural, personal or organizational objectives which are set apart from the normal activity of daily life and their purpose is to enlighten, celebrate, entertain or challenge the experience of a group of people. The characteristics of special events include personal interactions, ritual or ceremony, intang ible, fixed timescale, labor intensive, ambience and service, perishability as well as uniqueness. Getz (2007) also defined wedding as a form of planned events because it is held in venues that cater to individual and small-group clients which may require professionals or be entirely arranged by the participants. From this point of view, Getz (2007) believed that the wedding is a multi-meaning experience in both personal and social aspects, and it is can be considered as celebrations in which a theme and emotional stimulation are essential. Although, wedding is usually defined as a type of small or personal events, it is still an area lack of study and research compared with meeting, exhibition, incentives or other events. There is quite a few academic book or journal devoted to the planning and design of weddings, parties or other private functions. 2.2 Wedding planners 2.21 The nature of wedding planner Arranging an event is complicated as it involves different elements such as the specialist sets, props, customers for participants or guests, and all the range of support requirements from special effects and lighting to music and entertainment. Event management companies are increasingly common in the events business in the last decades, which have specialized in providing of the complete event by careful planning and management. People can enjoy a number of benefits of having an EMC including the expertise, ideas and experience they can draw on (Shone Parry, 2004). Shone and Parry (2004) found that although there are some major companies in the event business, there are a wide range of smaller organizations and individuals that are willing to provide events-related service particular for the personal event market, which include the organization of parties, celebrations, weddings, anniversaries and many of similar events. Professional party planners or event organizers are those pr ofessional who deal with the nitty-gritty details of planning, organizing, operating and managing an event to ensure everything goes smoothly. According to Wikipedia (2009), wedding planners are the professionals who deal with all the details of the wedding, which includes planning, organizing, operating and management, to ensure everything goes smoothly and correctly. Ellis-Christensen (2008) defined that wedding planner as an event professional whose responsibility is not only to plan a memorable wedding, but also to give some professional advices to the couples including the venue selection, equipments preparation etc. They usually act as a wedding advisor, coordinator, supervisor, financial planner and mediator during the wedding (Brush Creek Weddings, 2008). Peters (2007) also stated that the range of service offered by wedding planner is widely. Some may prefer to offer consulting service only while some may prefer to provide comprehensive wedding package. At the meantime, Peters (2007) also pointed out that the global trend of the wedding business has been toward offering total coordination of the entire blessed even t from the beginning to the end, which includes identifying the needs of new couples, budget preparation, planning detailed checklist, venue arrangement, identifying the professionals (e.g. florists, photographers etc.) as well as on-site supervision and coordination on the wedding day. The consultant fee varies widely depending on different locations or different packages. The consultant fee may be higher in larger cities where disposable income of couples is higher than the other places. 2.22 The requirements of a wedding planner Having a strong organizational skills as well as an eye for details are necessary and basic requirements for a successful professional meeting planner because meeting process is both comprehensive and meticulous. Moreover, meeting planners must have the ability to work successful under pressure, to react calmly to constant change, and to make quick decisions (OBrien Shaw, 2002). Howard (2006) stressed that wedding planning is highly customer oriented as most of the couples are looking for special, unique and memorable wedding. Ethic and religious custom, family tradition, class identity, regional practice, and individual tastes and preferences certainly all played a role in shaping wedding consumption. Peters (2007) suggested that good communication skills, good organizational skills as well as good interpersonal skills are very essential for being a successful wedding planner, because wedding planners act as a middle person who deals with both clients and suppliers. The appearance of the professional wedding organization was an important benchmark in the rise of wedding planner business, indicating that wedding planning service today are more and more professional. These professional organizations help wedding planners naturalize particular customs and practices on a potentially national scale by sharing etiquette and customs. They provide some training course for wedding planners. Getting a certificate from professional organization has became one of the evidences for professional and made the customer confident with the service quality. Additionally, the organization also centralized and rationalized a consultants business, providing important resources and information regarding the markets as well as the trend (Howard, 2006). 2.23 Demand of wedding planners Wedding is an important event in peoples life that many people are willing to organize by themselves on the small and more intimate scale. However, not all of them have the time and wish to expend the effort on doing so and happier to pay a professional to come along and deal with all the details of planning, organizing, operating and managing to ensure everything goes smoothly (Shone Parry, 2006). According to Blakely (2007), the supply of commercial service increases dramatically along with the growth of demands for family jobs. Wedding planners are a form of outsourced labor in the modern society. These jobs which are transported from home to the public marketplace are responding to the time crunch produced by work-family conflict. From this point of view, Blakely defined wedding planners as commercial substitutes. Besides, Edwards (1987) conducted a research to examine the relationship between the weddings commercial development and its nature as a rite of passage. He found that the reason of the success of the wedding business was the convenience offered by the wedding planners and the demand from consumers for larger and more sumptuous celebrations. Consumers were looking for a wide range of wedding-related service (one-stop service) through a single organization. 2.4 The trend Firstly, the wedding today tends to be more customized than before. According to Hensdill (1996), because of the cultural exchange among the global village, traditional wedding customs are giving way to the trends of Western societies. Some new styles of wedding exist, such as theme wedding, destination wedding and green wedding, because more and more couples are looking for unique wedding. Destination wedding is a new wedding style that a couple decides to hold their wedding in a location where neither one of them resides (Daniels Loveless, 2007). There are several top destinations for wedding in the world, such as Caribbean, Las Vegas, Hawaii as well as Maldives. Generally, some special theme may be adopted into the destination wedding. For example, hotel in Las Vegas has organized Italian-style wedding for wedding couples (Stratton, 2001). Moreover, the destination wedding often merges into the honeymoon (Daniels Loveless, 2007). Secondly, the internet and e-commerce has shaped the modern wedding consumption and gave it a new immediacy and flexibility. As a result, the wedding planners can target different segments of the bridal markets through developing website that advertised their goods and services and allowed consumers to make agreement or shop directly through their online site (Howard, 2006). 2.2 Consumer purchase behaviors toward wedding â€Å"Consumer behavior is defined as the behavior that consumers display in searching form, purchasing, using, evaluating, and disposing of products and services that they expect will satisfy their needs. It focuses on how individuals make decisions to spend their available resources† (Schiffman Kanuk, 2007). 2.32 Factors affecting consumer purchases As people are willing to devote time and effort to the ritual occasions like Christmas and Thanksgiving, some researches regarding the types of purchases associated with ritual occasions have been conducted by researchers in consumer behavior (Lowery, 1994). According to some market analysis, consumer purchase behavior is strongly influenced by social, cultural and individual characteristics. a) Social factors According to Schiffman and Kanuk (2007), consumer behavior is influenced by two major groups, namely the reference group and families. â€Å"A reference group that is perceived as credible, attractive, or powerful can induce consumer attitude and behavior change† (Schiffman and Kanuk, 2007) Based on the traditional family life cycle, the prospective couples belong to the stage II, honeymooners, who have available a combined income that often permits a lifestyle that provides them with the opportunities of more indulgent purchasing of professions, which means that the honeymooners are happy to accept the professional products and service and willing to pay more money for them as they pursuit high quality of life. The reason hidden behind may be because they have more disposable income and more free time for themselves before the born of young children. Additionally, for the newlyweds, the advice and experience of other married couples (e.g. parents or friends) are likely to be important when they start-up their expenses to establish a new home (Schiffman Kanuk, 2007). â€Å"For many consumers their family is their primary reference group for many attitudes and behaviors. The members of a family assume specific roles in their everyday functioning; such roles or tasks extend to the realm of consumer purchase decisions. Key consumer-related roles of family members include influencers, gatekeepers, deciders, buyers, preparers, users, maintainers, and disposers. A familys decision-making style is influenced by its lifestyle, roles, and cultural factors.† (Schiffman Kanuk, 2007). Different social classes have different preferences in clothing, home decoration and leisure activities as well as saving, spending and credit habits. Based on the market study by Brides magazine, 20% of the buyers of the wedding products identified themselves as buyers of Brides magazine who were mainly middle class women employed in white-collar, professional and technical fields and had higher medium annual income, when combined with their future husbands. This means that the bride had more control over future consumer decisions that the couple would make (Howard, 2006). Another research about the division of wedding labor and its meaning for couples by Sniezek (2005) indicated that women complete the a disproportionate amount of wedding work just as women do more of kin-work, housework, childcare and managerial family work. He also pointed out that couples were not likely to label the unequal division of labor as unfair which may potentially put the relationship in a state of conflict. From this point of view, his statement highly support Blakelys study (2007) which stated that the wedding planning businesss targeted market is modern career women. Blakely also used the case study of wedding planning to confirm Hochschilds thesis (2003) that feminism plays and important ideological role in the expansion of the commodity frontier. However, after comparison of the emphases that brides and grooms place on artifacts selected for use in their weddings and reception, Lowery (1994) found out that the brides participating in the focus group had no difficulty describing artifacts that were important to them; while grooms had greater difficulty. They also suggest that the emergence of traditional or modern gender roles in wedding planning is partially determined by the attitudes of the bride and groom toward these roles. This is also proved by Schiffman Kanuk (2007) that wedding purchase is a joint-decision in the family where the couples may play different roles in the decision making procedure. b) Cultural factors â€Å"Culture is the sum total of learned beliefs, values, and customs that serve to regulate the consumer behavior of member of a particular society.† (Schiffman Kanuk, 2007) When explaining how culture affects the consumer behavior, Schiffman and Kanuk (2007) indicated that all phases of human problem solving are directed and guided by culture, which includes various ritualized experiences and behaviors. For instance, in practice, rituals accompany with people throughout the human life cycle form birth to death, including a host of intermediate events such as confirmation, graduations and marriage. Besides the culture, subculture also plays an important in consumers behavior which includes nationality, religion, geographic, location, race, age and sex. For example, when comparing the husband-wife decision making between United States and China, Schiffman and Kanuk (2007) found out that there were substantially fewer â€Å"joint† decisions and more â€Å"husband-dominated† decisions for many household purchases in China. Even in the same country, another research showed that in larger city like Beijing, couples were more likely than rural co uples to share equally in purchase decisions. c) Individual factors Apart from the social and cultural factors which affecting the consumer behavior, individual factors play an important role when people make decision (Dholakia, 1979). Schiffman Kanuk (2005) explained the influences of the individual factors through several categories: motivation, personality, perception, learning as well as attitudes. As a driving force within individuals that force them to take actions, motivation is produced by a state of uncomfortable tension unsatisfied needs. Liking to our topic, hiring the wedding planner may be motivated by the needs of couples, such as lack of time for preparation, looking for professional service etc. Personality determines and reflects how a person responds to his or her environment. Generally, people are looking for the balance between the perceived self-image and their behavior including the purchasing products or service. Some may prefer innovative wedding style (e.g. destination wedding, green wedding) while the other may choose trad itional wedding. Moreover, each individual has its own process when he or she selects, organizes and interprets stimuli into a meaningful and coherent picture of the world. This process is highly subjective and is based on what the consumer expect to see. There are several factors that can influence the perception including physical appearance, stereotypes, halo effects, irrelevant cues, first impressions, and the tendency to jump to conclusions. 2.3 Theoretical foundation- Consumer decision making process This research is based on consumer decision making process, which is one of the theories of consumer behavior. Decisions are about the selection of an option from two or more alternative choices. According to Kotler, Bowen and Makens (2006), consumer decision process consists of five essential stages: 2.31 Need recognition From the moment that the consumer recognizes a problem or need, the consumer buying process starts. The consumers needs can be stimulated by both internal and external factors. Advertisements, word-of-mouth, social cues from families, friends and anyone within the families can influence the customers need recognition. In the case of wedding planner, potential couples, their internal stimuli probably is lacking of time for preparation, looking for some unique and special wedding while the external stimuli may be the advertisement in the internet, the promotional events held by wedding planners, especially by the friends or families who have previous experience. 2.32 Information search Searching information about their needs or problems is the second step of buying process. How much information a consumer looks for will depend on the strength of the drive, and the amount of initial information, the value placed on additional information. Linking to the wedding planners, couples will take some time for information searching. This is a stage that couples can decide if they would like to hire a wedding planners or if the products/service offered by wedding planner can satisfy their needs. 2.33 Evaluation of alternatives After searching the relevant information, customers will use the information to arrive at a set of final brand choices. At this stage, potential couples may set up a personal comparison system through different attributes such as reputation, price, theme etc., in order to identify which would be the most ideal brand. 2.34 Purchase decision Subsequently, consumer will buy the most preferred brand based on their evaluation in the previous stage. This is the stage that potential couples choose which brand, what kind of services and check if the product/service is available. This is also the stage that potential couples decide if they would like to hire a wedding planner or not. 2.35 Post-purchase behavior Based on the performance of the service/products, the final stage determines whether the consumer satisfy the service/products or not. 2.4 Summary After reviewing the previous studies related to wedding and wedding planners, we can find out that most of the studies were conducted in the developed countries such as U.S or United Kingdom, while there is a blank area regarding this field in China. Moreover, there is little study regarding the consumer purchase behavior towards the wedding planners conducted before. This research will based on the theories of consumer behavior to conduct three in-depth interviews to find out the reasons for potential couples hiring wedding planners; and the factors affecting their decision. Then, a quantitative research will be conducted to express the findings in statistical terms. CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY This research will be designed as an exploratory, quantitative, cross-sectional investigation of prospective couples needs towards the service/products offered by wedding planners in Pearl River Delta. 3.1 Research Design The advantage of semi-structure interviews is that it can allow issues to be explored deeply while questionnaire survey is that it can collect information from a large number of people and express the findings in statistical terms (Jennings, 2001). As limited study regarding the needs of potential couples towards the wedding service has been conduced in China so far, for this research, the important variables are not clear and still need to be defined. In order to develop a more reliable questionnaire to conduct quantitative research at the second stage, the first stage is to explore the important variables through a qualitative research. In-depth interviews with three potential couples will be conducted, which will facilitate the identifying the different requirements made by potential couples when selecting the wedding planners. These in-depth interviews are critical for the whole research because the finding of these interviews will be used to develop the questionnaire. 3.2 Questionnaire design There will be four main parts in the questionnaire. The first part will be the screening questions with the purpose of screening the invalid sample through some questions. Then, the second part will include some questions regarding the prospective couples attitudes towards the service/products offered by wedding planners in Pearl River Delta. Respondents are required to indicate their personal opinions on each statement on a five-point Likert type scale: 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree. In the third part, open-end questions will be included in order to examine the personal experience and intention of hiring a wedding planner. Finally, there will be a set of questions regarding the demographic characteristics of the respondents, which will include gender, age, income level, marriage status, and education level. In order to explain the purpose of the research to the respondents, a covering letter will be attached to the questionnaire. The covering letter will include the information that how the sample was selected, the time will take to complete the survey, contact person for questions and assuring the response would be kept confidential and only used for statistical purposes. 3.3 Sampling method The survey will use a convenience sampling method. Total 200 questionnaires will be distributed in 5 major cities in PRD, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan and Zhongshan. Both non-married and married couples will be the target respondents in this survey. In order to ensure that the relevance of information collected can reflect the populations opinion, females under 20-year-old (Minimum age of legal marriage for female in China) or males under 22 (Minimum age of legal marriage for male in China) will not be counted as a valid sample. 3.4 Data Collection The data will be collected from 5 major cities in Pear River Delta including Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Dongguan and Zhongshan, through different ways including face-to-face interviews and self-completion questionnaires. 3.41 Face-to-face interviews In order to have higher response rate, in the first phase, the face-to-face interviews with potential couples will be conducted at the wedding service companies when they are waiting for the service or outside the Marriage Registries in those cities. 3.42 Self-completion questionnaires At the second phase, self-completion questionnaires will be sent out through e-mail or online survey link, which allows the participants to complete the questionnaires at their own space and at a time convenient for them. In order to secure respondent rate, 2 weeks later, a follow-up letter will be sent out. 3.5 Pilot tests Before the distributing the questionnaires to the targeted respondents, a

Barack Obama

Barack Obama, made history when he became the first African-American President of the most powerful country in the world at the young age of 47. He overcame powerful competition from extremely popular political heavyweights of the likes of Hillary Clinton and John McCain and enumerable obstacles to win convincingly. A brief background : Obama was born as Barack Hussein Obama on Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii to Barack Obama, Sr. , a Kenyan and Ann Dunham, a native of Chicago. They were both students at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.However, by the time he became two years old, they had separated and later divorced. His mother got married to a fellow student, Lolo Soetoro. As Seatoro was from Indonesia, the family shifted to Jakarta later. After four years of schooling in Indonesian schools, Obama returned to live with his maternal grand parents in Hawaii and joined Punahou Academy from which he graduated with honors in 1979. His first experience with racism happened in this pe riod because he was one of just three African American students. Obama completed his degree in political science from Columbia University in New York, 1983.After gaining a few years of work experience he moved to Chicago in 1985 where he worked as a community organizer. (A&E Television Networks, 2008, p. 1) Opting for a career in law, he joined Harvard Law School in 1988. There he created history by becoming the first African American to be elected as the editor of Harvard Law Review. With the law degree in hand, Obama returned to Chicago and worked in a law firm while teaching at the Chicago Law school simultaneously. Meanwhile in 1992, Obama married Michelle Robinson, also a law graduate. 1992 was an important year in Obama’s career as a politician also.He was an active member in Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign organizing a hugely successful voter registration drive. He wrote an autobiographical book called â€Å"Dreams From My Father: A Story of Race and Inher itance† in 1995. (p. 2) Obama was instrumental in drafting several legislation in ethics, income-tax credit for the poor, health care, education and law enforcement in this period. In 1996, People of Hyde Park elected Obama into the Illinois State Senate. He was also elected the chairman of the Public Health and Welfare Committee. Post 9/11, Obama was noted as one of the first prominent opponent of President George W.Bush’s strategy to go to war with Iraq. He warned about the costs involved in such a war in terms of lives, hardships and impact on economy. His predictions came true as it turned out to be a very messy affair in the end. In 2004, Obama got in the fray for the U. S. Senate seat held by Sen. Peter Fitzgerald. Voters soon took a liking to Obama and he was able to defeat the multimillionaire businessman Blair Hull and Illinois Comptroller Daniel Hynes. Obama entered the national politics when he gave a stunning performance as the keynote speaker at the 2004 De mocratic National Convention in Boston.In the general election, Obama defeated the republican candidate Alan Keyes, who was also an African-American, in a record landslide victory in Illinois. Obama was very active as a senator with several successful campaigns on wide variety of matters such as transparency on federal spending, elimination of weapons of mass destructions in Europe and Russia, threat of avian flu, rehabilitation of Hurrican Katrina victims, alternative energy initiatives and so on. (p. 3) Obama published his second book, â€Å" The Audacity of Hope: Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream† in 2006.In February 2007, he decided to run for American Presidency and became the democratic nominee against a tough competition from the former first lady Hillary Clinton. After running a very systematic and well- organized campaign lasting more than 2 years, Obama became 44th president of the United States by beating republican presidential nominee John McCain. Obama i s blessed with two daughters, Malia and Sasha. Obstacles Obama had to face in his run upto the presidency : 1) His African American origin- The biggest obstacle in his path to presidency was that people of his origin has always found it difficult to get ahead in national politics.Obama was only the fifth African American Senator in U. S. history and just the third to have been popularly elected. 2) His seemingly apparent lack of experience as a leader or executive – The opponents and the media alleged that Obama was not experienced enough to lead the country. But he was successful in establishing that his years of experience as community organizer is as valuable as any other leadership stint. 3) Tough Competition – When Obama announced his campaign in February 2007, it seemed that Sen.Hillary Clinton was the favorite for the Democratic nomination and was touted as the most anticipated presidential candidate in a generation. But in a systematic manner Obama went about h is campaign and step by step his charisma took his popularity ahead and in front of the competition. 4) White Voters, the overwhelming influence on the outcome of the US presidential elections, were not expected to support Obama as several studies and history suggested. 5) Even among the African American community, Obama had trouble with his perceived strongest base.It was only after his victory in Iowa that the black sentiment turned in his favour. There was also Obama’s perceived lack a shared background with the minority population that suffered centuries of social abuse. 6) Obama also had to carefully handle the allegation on his backgrounds, past life, friends or any glitch on his biography that the opposition could use against him. (Sheng, 2008) 8. Exit polls reported from several areas pointed to the fact that one in five white voters would prefer to vote for a white candidate, which meant that Obama’s opponent would get these votes no matter what other consider ations were.9. Obama also had to handle the seemingly ludicrous but highly influencing allegations on his muslim background. A Pew Research Center survey found that 13 percent of registered voters stated that Sen. Obama was a Muslim, which was proof that ignorance of voters could be a big factor that Obama had to deal with. 10. Obama also had to deal with a concerted effort to paint Obama as an outsider that did not belong in the US scheme of things. His mixed family background and alleged muslim connections added to these campaigns. (Bryjak, 2008) Obama’s Leadership QualitiesBarack Obama’s leadership qualities that leaves the people around him to emulate are the qualities that every efficient leader should posses. Intelligence, Good Communition Skills, a wide range of experience, a multicultural background, and an affinity for change. Intelligence -. Obama has shown tremendous intelligence difficulties to find logical solutions to tough problems. His views and thought s of multiple ways to improve the American life shows his application of intelligence. Good communication skills – Obama has been successful in expressing his feelings in their entirety to his audience.His speeches are highly affective and he takes the crowd in his hands. He also used the emerging media such as social networking sites on the internet to fundraise and communicate messages. Experience – 7 years of work in Illinois Senate and his work as a community organizer gives Obama the professional experience to fight through the problems. And his multicultural faceted and varied experience on a personal level gives him the edge over others. Change – Obama has already taken several key decisions with far reaching consequences to affect the change that he has promised so much and so far.( Fu, 2008) As Madore in his article puts it â€Å"Obama’s ideas are fresh with relevant information. He supplies us competent Organization, with well-executed plans. H is Word Choice is measured, precise and powerful. His Voice is honest, inspiring, and credible. His Fluency rings rhythmic and fine-tuned. And finally, his Conventions are clean and polished, showing evidence of following the rules† (Madore, 2008) A study conducted by NextNationalCEO. com. reports that Insightful judgment, vision and trustworthiness top the list of important leadership characteristics for the U. S. presidential candidates.The following leadership traits were given for ranking to the visitors to NextNationalCEO. com with respect to each of presidential candidates, it was found that Obama was placed ahead of the other candidates almost all of these characteristics. They are, â€Å" — #1: Insightful Judgment — #2: Visionary — #3: Trustworthy — #4: Gets Things Done — #5: Inspires Others — #6: Good Judge of People — #7: Influences Others — #8: Courageous — #9: Confident — #10: Energetic† ( Reutors, 2008) Barack Obama’s leadership characteristics could be summed up as follows,Obama is ambitious, strong, bold and determined to achieve his goals. He uses the resources available to him and innovates new ways to do things. For example, the way he used the social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and MySpace to raise funds and to build a strong influence among the youth. Obama promises a fresh look at everything without pre-conceived notions. His consensus building approach is likely to win friends off enemies. Obama believes in leading by example which was showcased when his stand that high salary levels need to be checked and revised was immediately put into action among the white house staff.Obama has shown tremendous judgment and conviction to take action when he took seemingly complex and controversial decisions such as the closure of Guantanamo prison, withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, getting Congress to pass an $800 billion-plus stimulus package to revive the economy etc. No matter what the occasion, Obama has shown tremendous ability to remain calm and collected. He hardly looses his cool and is not afraid to admit his mistakes. ( Khan, 2009) References Khan, S. (2009, February 15). Obama Leadership – 8 Ways to Lead in the 21st Century.Retrieved May 8, 2009, from http://ezinearticles. com/? Obama-Leadership—8-Ways-to-Lead-in-the-21st-Century&id=1997850 Reuters, (2008,Apr 9). Which Leadership Traits are Most Important to Public in Presidential Candidates? , Retrieved May 8, 2009, from http://www. reuters. com/article/pressRelease/idUS133960+09-Apr-2008+PRN20080409 Madore, R. (2008, Mar 7). Six winning traits of Barack Obama's leadership style! , Retrieved May 8, 2009, http://my. barackobama. com/page/community/post/rolandmadore/gGB3Gs Fu, Bow ( 2008, Mar 22) Barack Obama and Leadership, Retrieved May 8, 2009, http://newsflavor.com/opinions/barack-obama-and-leadership/ Bryjak, J. G. ( 2008, Oct 19), Ob ama's obstacles, Retrieved May 8, 2009, http://www. copleynews. com/uniontrib/20081019/news_lz1e19bryjak. html Sheng, R. ( 2008, Nov 5), Obama overcomes obstacles to become first black president, Retrieved May 8, 2009, http://www. dailytargum. com/news/obama-overcomes-obstacles-to-become-first-black-president-1. 895980 A&E Television Networks, ( 2008) Barack Obama, ( pp 1-3) Retrieved May 8, 2009 http://www. biography. com/featured-biography/barack-obama/bio3. jsp

Biography of Rebecca Nurse, Salem Witch Trials Victim

Rebecca Nurse (February 21, 1621–July 19, 1692) was a victim of the notorious Salem witch trials, hanged as a witch at 71 years of age. Despite being a fervent churchgoer and an upstanding member of the community—a newspaper of the day referred to her as saint-like and a perfect example of good Puritan behavior—she was accused, tried, and convicted of witchcraft and put to death without the legal protections Americans would come to enjoy. Fast Facts: Rebecca Nurse Known For: Hanged during the 1692 Salem witch trialsAlso Known As: Rebecca Towne, Rebecca Town, Rebecca Nourse, Rebecka Nurse. Goody Nurse, Rebeca NurceBorn: February 21, 1621 in Yarmouth, EnglandParents: William Towne, Joanna BlessingDied: July 19, 1692 in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay ColonySpouse: Francis NurseChildren: Rebecca, Sarah, John, Samuel, Mary, Elizabeth, Francis, Benjamin (and sometimes Michael) Early Life Rebecca Nurse was born on Feb. 21, 1621 (some sources give this as her baptism date), in Yarmouth, England, to William Towne and Joanna Blessing. Her entire family, including several siblings, immigrated to the  Massachusetts Bay Colony  sometime between 1638 and 1640. Rebecca married Francis Nurse, who also came from Yarmouth, around 1644. They raised four sons and four daughters on a farm in Salem Village, now  Danvers, Massachusetts, 10 miles inland from the bustling port community of Salem Town, now Salem. All but one of their children were married by 1692. Nurse, a member of Salem Church, was known for her piety but also for occasionally losing her temper. She and the Putnam family had fought in court several times over land. During the witch trials, many of the accused had been enemies of the  Putnams, and Putnam family members and in-laws were the accusers in many cases. Trials Begin Public accusations of witchcraft in Salem Village began on Feb. 29, 1692. The first accusations were leveled against three women who werent considered respectable: Tituba, an Indian slave; Sarah Good, a homeless mother; and Sarah Osborne, who had a somewhat scandalous history. Then on March 12, Martha Corey was accused; Nurse followed on March 19. Both women were church members and respected, prominent members of the community. Arrested A warrant issued on March 23 for Nurses arrest included complaints of attacks on Ann Putnam Sr., Ann Putnam Jr., Abigail Williams, and others. Nurse was arrested and examined the next day. She was accused by townspeople Mary Walcott, Mercy Lewis, and Elizabeth Hubbard as well as by Ann Putnam Sr., who cried out during the proceedings to accuse Nurse of trying to get her to tempt God and dye. Several spectators adopted head motions indicating that they were in Nurses thrall. Nurse was then indicted for witchcraft. On April 3, Nurses younger sister, Sarah Cloyce (or Cloyse), came to Nurses defense. She was accused and arrested on April 8. On April 21, another sister, Mary Easty (or Eastey), was arrested after defending their innocence. On May 25, judges John Hathorne and Jonathan Corwin ordered the Boston jail to take custody of Nurse, Corey, Dorcas Good (Sarahs daughter, age 4), Cloyce, and John and Elizabeth Parker for acts of witchcraft committed against Williams, Hubbard, Ann Putnam Jr., and others. Testimony A deposition written by Thomas Putnam, signed on May 31, detailed accusations of torment of his wife, Ann Putnam Sr., by Nurses and Coreys specters, or spirits, on March 18 and 19. Another deposition detailed accusations of afflictions on March 21 and 23 caused by Nurses specter. On June 1, townsperson Mary Warren testified that George Burroughs, Nurse, Elizabeth Proctor, and several others said they were going to a feast and that when she refused to eat bread and wine with them, they dreadfully afflicted her and that Nurse appeared in the room during the taking of the deposition. On June 2, Nurse, Bridget Bishop, Proctor, Alice Parker, Susannah Martin, and Sarah Good were forced to undergo physical examinations by a doctor with a number of women present. A preternathurall Excresence of flesh was reported on the first three. Nine women signed the document attesting to the exam. A second exam later that day stated that several of the observed physical abnormalities had changed; they attested that on Nurse, the Excresence ... appears only as a dry skin without sense at this later exam. Again, nine women signed the document. Indicted The next day, a grand jury indicted Nurse and John Willard for witchcraft. A petition from 39 neighbors was presented on Nurses behalf, and several neighbors and relatives testified for her. Witnesses testified for and against Nurse on June 29 and 30. The jury found Nurse not guilty but returned guilty verdicts for Good, Elizabeth How, Martin, and Sarah Wildes. The accusers and spectators protested loudly when the verdict was announced. The court asked the jury to reconsider the verdict; they found her guilty after reviewing the evidence and discovering that she had failed to answer one question put to her (perhaps because she was nearly deaf). She was condemned to hang. Massachusetts Gov. William Phips issued a reprieve, which was also met with protests and rescinded. Nurse filed a petition protesting the verdict, pointing out she was hard of hearing and full of grief. On July 3, the Salem Church excommunicated Nurse. Hanged On July 12, Judge William Stoughton signed death warrants for Nurse, Good, Martin, How, and Wildes. All five were hanged on July 19 on Gallows Hill. Good  cursed the presiding clergyman, Nicholas Noyes, from the gallows, saying if you take away my life God will give you blood to drink. (Years later, Noyes died of a brain hemorrhage; legend has it that he choked on his blood.) That night, Nurses family removed her body and buried it secretly on their family farm. Of Nurses two sisters who also were charged with witchcraft, Easty was hanged on Sept. 22 and Cloyces case was dismissed in January 1693. Pardons and Apology In May 1693, Phips pardoned the remaining defendants accused of witchcraft. Francis Nurse died on Nov. 22, 1695, two years after the trials had ended. That was before Nurse and 21 others of the 33 who had been convicted were exonerated in 1711 by the state, which paid compensation to the families of the victims. In 1957, Massachusetts  formally apologized for the trials, but It wasnt until 2001 that the last 11 of those convicted were fully exonerated. On Aug. 25, 1706, Ann Putnam Jr. publicly apologized for the accusing of several persons of a grievous crime, whereby their lives were taken away from them, whom, now I have just grounds and good reason to believe they were innocent persons... She named Nurse specifically. In 1712, Salem Church reversed Nurses excommunication. Legacy The abuses of the Salem witch trials contributed to changes in U.S. court procedures, including the guarantee of the right to legal representation, the right to cross-examine one’s accuser, and the presumption of innocence instead of guilt. The trials as a metaphor for the persecution of minority groups remained powerful images into the 20th and 21st centuries, particularly in playwright  Arthur Millers The Crucible  (1953), in which he used events and individuals from 1692 allegorically for the anti-communist hearings led by Sen.  Joseph McCarthy  during the  Red Scare  of the 1950s. The Rebecca Nurse homestead still stands in Danvers, the new name of Salem Village, and is open to tourists. Sources Salem Witch Trials: American History. Encyclopedia Britannica.The Witchcraft Trial of Rebecca Nurse. History of Massachusetts blog.An Unexpected Turn in the Trials. The Salem Journal.