Concepts of Unions

The Hip-hop culture in Aotearoa New Zealand essays

The Hip-hop culture in Aotearoa New Zealand essays The Hip-hop culture in Aotearoa New Zealand is similar to other countries where reclamation of identity has been achieved using music. Is Hip-hop a backlash of the colonisation process? Discuss the Hip-hop culture as a medium for expressiveness and a way of defining identity. Hip-hop has emerged as a significant musical genre in Aotearoa New Zealand creating an awareness of cultural diversity and ethnic identity and is similar to other countries where reclamation of identity has been achieved using music. Hip-hop has long been seen as the voice for the disenfranchised. The New Zealand Hip-hop scene began in the 1980s when artists such as Upper Hutt Posse began recording and gained recognition for lyrics relating to tino rangatiratanga, Maori Sovereignty. Is the success of Hip-hop in New Zealand the backlash of the colonisation process? New Zealand has a colourful past in terms of race relations, which has contributed to Maori and Pacific Islanders, amongst other minority groups, sense of disenfranchisement. The Hip-hop culture has provided a medium for young people to channel their talents and have a voice about their place in society. Exploring the character of youth subcultures such as Hip-hop provides an opportunity for better understanding of t he role that popular music has for youth as they endeavour to construct ideas about their own individualism and their place within the social world. Particular attention has been given to a local High School in Christchurch as an example of flexibility and resourcefulness with tailor made courses specifically aimed to appeal to students from diverse musical backgrounds. In addition to the exploration of Hip-hop youth culture, further exploration of the relationships found between the social world, the cultural creators, objects and the receivers of the cultural objects is made drawing on the larger influences that create such connections. What is this global musical force ...

Crime, the Media and the Law Policy Research Paper

Crime, the Media and the Law Policy - Research Paper Example The power of the media and its responsibilities towards ensuring a harmonious state shall be looked into and the effects of such media coverage on the people shall be explored. Apart from this, the commercial aspect of the media and the advertising industry that forms a large part of the media and depends on sensationalism to a great extent for drawing its revenues shall also be a part of the focus of this paper. The only way in which the masses of a particular place would get to know about the crime rates of the area that they live in is through the media. Kenneth Dowler states – â€Å"The mass media play an important role in the construction of criminality and the criminal justice system. The public’s perception of victims, criminals, deviants, and law enforcement officials is largely determined by their portrayal in the mass media† (2003). Statistics regarding the performances of specific sectors of the law enforcement agencies are often let out to the society through the work of the media. Te channel of communication between the rulers and the ruled being the media, it has the onus of redirecting power back to the people from whom it is supposed to originate. The working of a democracy in an ideal manner has thus, a lot to do with the way in which the cycles of power are managed. The interest of the people at the helm of affairs would lie in the way in which the negative aspects of their tenure along with the positive ones are reported. This would result in a balanced analysis that would enable the smooth functioning of democracy in a nation. The media would then be able to fulfil its role as a check on the power of elected representatives in a government. Problems arise, however, when this system is subverted for the sake of profits on the part of increasingly profit-oriented media ventures. The effects of commercialization can be seen the most in the news media which provides people with the maximum amount of knowledge regarding crime s and the mechanisms that seek to control it. Such control is dependent on the taxes that people pay and hence depends on their consent regarding the modes of prevention of crime and the punishments that are meted out to people who violate the law. The opinions of people regarding the methods that seek to tackle crime are always factors that decide the person that occupies the seat of power. Consequently, the process of dealing with crime is something that is important to not just the people who cover it as a part of the media but also for the people who make laws for the prevention of it (Current Problems in the Media, 2012). The credibility of the media too has undergone erosion in the last few decades. With a growth in the corporatisation of the media, the power of its lobbies has grown too. The power of the media in shaping public opinion too is something that provides it with immense clout in deciding the social affairs of the state. This has however, instead of encouraging hon est investigative reporting led people to look for easy successes and fame through sensationalism (ibid). An unhealthy state of affairs in the media reflects badly upon the health of the nation’

How to think English language Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

How to think English language - Assignment Example t types of communication in your home country and the U.S.), to the more subtle (like how your father’s or mother’s style of persuasion differs from your grandparents’). What kind of rhetoric do you use at home? At school? In the grocery store? With your friends? Online? How have these different uses of language impacted the way you see yourself as a rhetor? What do they reveal about how and why language might change across contexts? I encountered clear explanation when the doctor was giving me the exact instructions of what caused shock to my diseased friend. The doctor was trying to put across the most probability of the death and kept tried to give the smallest detail. I experienced this in political rallies in my home country. The political aspirants used words and phrases like â€Å"we†, â€Å"us† and other inclusive verbs in their speeches to make the electorates to vote for them. These rhetoric’s in improved my interaction between me and the other people in the following ways: The use of rhetoric in the context shaped my understanding of the world to know that through proper communication that is enhanced by use of rhetoric’s in context can generate proposal, ideas and discussions that can be used to solve the world current problems Mostly when our parents give instructions and warnings to us they will pause a question to us to confirm if we have understood what they are trying to tell us. Mostly the question needs answers that we often reply to them to show obedience to them. At home the context that may arise is the emphasis on the togetherness of the family. in such audience as the speaker u may use the rhetoric that is likely to be used to emphasis on unity is the power of one In school the teaching activity goes on, the teachers try to make the students to understand the new concepts that they have never learned before, the teacher we will try to refer to the things the students knows best and compare them with the new concept. This

English Class Writing Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

English Class Writing Assignment - Essay Example Their chance came when Carl was recruited to work in the U.S. Navy with both the father and son expecting too much from this break, not knowing he will just be helping in the kitchen, giving him the mocking of his own color. While on break on the deck, Carl and his co-workers were watching the divers do their exercises and being lured by the waters; the young man readied himself to dive, against the will of his companions and the white Americans. When an attempt was made to make him get out of the water, he swam towards the middle of the sea with skill that impressed the trainer. He was then promoted as a diver, allowing him to see the dangers of his job. When an accident happened that called for an immediate rescue, Carl witnessed Billy Sunday, played by Robert DeNiro, do the rescue without any diving gear to protect him in the water, with all passion and fervor to his duties, dived against his commander’s will. This event led to a sickness that prevented him from continuing with his responsibilities, thus, was appointed to training master divers. Carl boldly went to the trainer who promoted him and expressed his wishes to become what he wanted, a master diver. The trainer laughed at this idea because black men are not allowed to be in the U.S.

The Nature Of Prejudice Psychology Essay

The Nature Of Prejudice Psychology Essay In the multi cultural setting, prejudice has become normalized and has synchronized into our daily lives due to the efforts of authorities to harmonized people together. However, given that everyone comes from a very different and diverse background and family situations, there are bound to be misinterpretation and assumptions that we make on a daily basis that is somewhat skewed towards or against a different group. And with the efforts of the authorities to sanction prejudice, it does not necessary mean that prejudice has withered off but instead it may have become an innate thought that has continued on. In this essay we will look into the psychological theories, concepts and researches to understand the continued existence of prejudice and discrimination within each person, even though our modern society views it as undesirable. The Nature of Prejudice In a personal context, a persons behavior towards a certain group of people or people with distinct differences can be due to the social schemas that a person develops with time, through experience and or through social influence. Prejudice can be described as a negative attitude or observable behavior towards a certain socially defined group or members of that group. It is also known as prejudgment, the emotions felt or behavior portrayed cannot be quantified nor can it be justified. Even though in the modern society, prejudice and discrimination are seen as inappropriate or undesirable, it does still exist within each person and they vary in magnitude and severity individually. In this essay, we will cover the psychological theories, concepts and researches to understand the continued existence of prejudice and discrimination within each person, even though our modern society views it as undesirable. In the research done by Kenneth Clark (1914 -2005), on the effects of prejudice, discrimination and segregation have on child development, he demonstrated the effects by observing the responses of black children, age between two to seven, when they are presented with two sets of dolls, differing only by the dolls skin and hair colors. And from the observation, majority of the participants would prefer the white dolls over the black dolls. Apart from that, the research also showed that thirty nine percent of the participants would choose the white dolls as a representation of themselves. It became apparent that the social norm that children were exposed to pre-defines the definition of being socially desirable and socially undesirable. It also meant to steer individuals towards changing themselves mentally and or physically to become socially desirable in order to belong and fit the social norm. And the idea of being socially desirable and undesirable brings about prejudice and the fo rmation of groups. A classic example and origin of social prejudice can be traced to the social inequalities which suggest and predicts women being assumed to perform better in a caretaker role because they are perceived to be unassertive and sensitive (Hoffman Hurst, 1990). The attitude of prejudice can be described as a composite of three factors the influence of social beliefs are seen to cause over generalizing of the behavior of a person and also result in stereotyping. The emotions felt by an individual such as hostility and fear, when a person is found to be in an unfamiliar situation, it predisposes a person to emotionally respond either to feel, think or to act in a way towards a group or an individual when exposed to a certain stimuli in a certain way. The observable actions can be observed through behaviors such as discrimination. Prejudice can also be examined in relation to three factors, the severity of prejudice, the level of discrimination and the formation of beliefs, and stereotyping. These factors make up the basic structure of forming prejudice, as a mental schema that a person can refer to as a guide when situation calls for them. The mental schemas will influence how a person react and interpret the various experiences. And the pre- assumptions or conceived ideas about a certain group of people tend to skew ones interpretation of the observed behaviors and prediction of future actions of the member of the certain group. Prejudice can be categorized into two different types, blatant prejudice and subtle prejudice. Blatant prejudice refers to the open rejection of a certain groups or refers to certain groups to be inferior to them. The actions of blatant prejudice can be easily observed and it is usually not withheld. An example of blatant prejudice can come in the form of riots and demonstration against an opposing group or member of that certain group (Pettigrew, 1998). The other type is subtle prejudice refers to negative emotions felt towards or against the other group or individuals which are usually being disguised or is being hidden behind other values that allow the individual to dislike that certain group in a less direct manner as oppose to blatant prejudice. Some examples of subtle prejudices are the belief that the certain groups are becoming too pushy in wanting more rights than the rest, the denial of discrimination and the resentment of favoritism (Lambert, 1998). Prejudice can also be unconscious to people who denies having any racial or gender prejudices, that they may still have negative associations linking to the socially defined group or individual. It is illustrated in the research and it had been observed that nine out of ten white participants of the research took longer time to link pleasant words with a black faces than linking pleasant words to white faces (Greenwald, McGhee, Schwartz, 1998). It demonstrates that even though individuals do not recognize themselves to be having any stereotypes or discrimination towards a socially defined group or individual, the unconscious behaviors that was observed illustrates that social beliefs and social norms do actually influences a persons judgment and unconsciously forming prejudice against it. The other factor that can influence prejudice is the environment that an individual is found to be in. It influences the prejudice behavior of the individual that can either be observed or remains undetected. For example a person will and can act non-prejudiced when the situation that they are in does not require them to. For example, an individual makes a non-prejudiced comment towards a prejudiced behavior, so as to not offend members of the other group. In the same direction, prejudice can also be strengthened in situations where the social norms that govern them are either weak or ambiguous and it becomes justifiable and deemed acceptable for negative behavior towards the socially defined group or individual. In social psychology there have been many theories formulated to define the formulation of prejudice. There is the Psychodynamic or personality approach according to Freud, prejudice is seen as a response to an unresolved conflict during the stages of child development. He refers it to as a combination of personality characteristics and that the incompatible and unconscious motives and urges which exist in our minds and depending on our relative strength, moral values and external reality either one of the motives and urges will dictate the conscious thoughts and actions (Freud, 1917). The socio-cultural approach suggests that the cultural factors influences and creates social norms which plays an important role as to how a person is predisposed to results in formation of prejudiced view of the certain group or individual. A theory derived from this is the scapegoat theory which suggests that prejudice can also be an expression of anger such that when things go wrong, the scapegoat will provide a convenient emotional outlet and target for this anger which manipulates and influence people to create a common goal for the group (Katz, Glass, Cohen, 1973). The cognitive approach refers to the information processing and cognitive systems of the brain where prejudice arises out of normal mental processes, which can be explain through stereotyping and categorization. Social categorization and stereotyping refers to the formulation of illusionary relation between a certain group and the perceived deficiencies. They also categorize people into certain groups and that they are categorized based on the social norms or traits they are associated with the others in the same group. People tend to favor those that are within their group than those people that are not within the group. Social categories are formed with association to stereotyping when we encode information in terms of social categories. Social categories are ingrained in a person that it is easily accessible and prominently that they are automatically used in social perception. The need to belong, dictates humans as group bound species in the search attain an identity of self when belonging to a group. This is associated with the negative out-group stereotypes and positive in-group stereotypes that the group which means to be mentally differentiating and defining the grouping of us and them which also leads to people showing favoritism to their own group when dividing any rewards (Wilder, 1981) . Stereotyping provides general expectations about a certain group and it simplifies perception and evaluation of the individual members. Stereotype can affect the type of information that the brain is attending to and how it is being interpreted, they are easily accessible, and prominent that it can automatically be used in social perception to reduce ambiguity during critical situations. The generalization are guided by two elements, the trait information concerning what people of the certain group are like and the expectation of how this group of people will act. Stereotyping is not easy to be modified and acts can easily and automatically trigger stereotyping. It will have an impact on the effects on a persons behavior and results in unintentional self-fulfilling prophecies and implicit behavioral effects (Mackie, Hamilton, Susskind, Rosselli, 1996). The most researched common stereotype is sexism, where males are more than always perceived and commonly linked to stronger traits and attributes and on the flip side, females are often perceived and linked to weaker traits (Fiske, 1998). This stereotype originates from the prejudicial perspective that females are valued lesser than males, which can be traced back in history that males had all along been the breadwinner and females plays the caregiver role and thus resulting in the stereotype of women represents weakness and are better in taking up a more subtle role. Another typical stereotype that is relative to us would be racism, which refers to discrimination against an individual on the basis of the individuals race. It is often being generalized that people from the same race shares the same set of characteristic traits like abilities and qualities. And that personality trait such as intellect, morality, and other cultural behavioral characteristics are also inherited which in turn influence their reason to act, their practices and their beliefs. However, there are little or no scholarly evidence that agrees with the concept of race. The generalization forms an unintentional discrimination and stereotype towards a certain group and that people tend to make assumptions based on this stereotype. Racism assumption also includes discriminatory behaviors and beliefs that can be based on cultural, ethnic, or religious stereotypes. The relationship between stereotyping and prejudice can be explained through the dissociation model (Devine, 1989). Where stereotyping is the knowledge about the attributes stereotypically associated with a particular group and it is automatically activated with stimulus and it can be acquired as early as during child development before we can critically evaluate. And that it is more accessible with greater activation and stronger association overtime. Whereas, prejudice refers to the endorsement and acceptance or non-acceptance of the cultural stereotype and that activation of prejudice is known to be controlled and that activation must be with the inhibition of stereotype and it requires time and cognitive capacity. The research shows that both high and low prejudice persons has equal knowledge of the cultural stereotype. Also, both high and low prejudice person uses stereotyping to evaluate ambiguous behaviors. And that low prejudiced person exhibited more positive thoughts, belie fs and less hostile descriptions. The dissociation model concludes that the relationship between stereotype and prejudice is conditional on the task at hand and that stereotype can have effects on out decision without us making the explicit or conscious judgment (Devine, 1989). Social discrimination and prejudice can create a vicious cycle that entraps the individual or group within an illusionary boundary that is hard to get out from. An example of this cycle can originate from as simple as job discrimination, which determines how much wealth a person has and in turn determines the living environment of the person. The living environment also determines the level of education that the children will receive and thus affect the kind of job they will hold in the future, which sets them in a material disadvantage. And the types of discrimination also include reluctance to help, tokenism which refers to intentionally create a false appearance of inclusiveness and to deflect accusations of discrimination and reverse discrimination (Vaughan Hogg, 2011). And the victims of prejudice can also suffer from psychological disadvantages, low self-esteem, and depressed aspiration, and also include physical and verbal abuses. And the consequences of prejudice can range f rom the least serious type like pre-assumption and prediction of an individuals behavior from the certain group, to open discrimination of the certain group which could lead to violence against the group and ultimately, extermination of the group and its members such as the holocaust. It is then apparent that prejudicial behavior are almost inevitable for any individual given the different backgrounds and culture everyone had been brought up in, and the acquisition prejudice may well have happened even before we can comprehend anything. Which results in prejudice both conscious and unconsciously in the decisions that we make in our daily life. Therefore, society plays an important role to sanction and subdue any overwhelming prejudice against any social discrimination, and that every individual should make a conscious effort to avoid taking advantage of it as a vehicle for personal gains. And that even though many would publicly deny as having any stereotype or prejudice against someone, prejudice has always been an innate thought process that can and has influence our behaviors externally.

The Hero and Anti-Hero in Joseph Conrad?s Heart of Darkness Essay

The Hero and Anti-Hero in Joseph Conrad?s Heart of Darkness In studying Joseph Conrad's, The Heart of Darkness, many critics dwell on the issue of heroism. Who is the hero, Marlow or Kurtz? It is clear that both Marlow and Kurtz are the protagonists of the story; however, protagonist and hero are not always synonymous. Marlow is the hero in the traditional sense of the word, while Kurtz is the more modern hero, often referred to as the anti-hero. Marlow starts out as just as everyman, trying to put some bread on the table. His original plans were setting out to make money, but his journey turns into so much more. His expedition turns into a quest to find and save Kurtz, and to understand the people so many were prejudice against. Despite the opinion of certain critics, Conrad did not create Marlow to be a prejudice character. One of his first Marlow?s first Reactions to the villagers is the exact opposite, ?They were not enemies they were not criminals(Conrad, 189) While his initial response may not seem altogether accepting, it is far beyond the understanding of his peers. As the story continues Marlow is slightly sarcastic in his understanding of the villagers, ?Fine fellows-Cannibals-in their place. They were men one could work with, and I am grateful to them. And, after all, they did not eat each other before my face? (189)? Marlow shows his ability to be sarcastic in the face of popular criticism, even making the mold step to refer to these African?s as ?Fine Fellows?(189), ?They howled and leaped, and spun, and made horrid faces; but what thrilled you was just the thought of they humanity-like yours-the thought of your remote kinship with this wild(189) Although the natives... ...s to look at Kurtz as a hero for all that he had accomplished, no matter how evil. Marlow?s obstacles as the hero are not the overcoming of a dragon or evil villain. It is the eternal battle of the story of a Hero versus Antihero. Marlow?s blindness to Kurtz?s impurities are both his strength and weakness. His ignorance to the greatness of his own qualities can best be stated one way: ?The Horror.? Works Cited page Conrad, Joseph ?The Heart Of Darkness? Schwarz, Danie Reference Guide to English Literature, 2nd ed., edited by D. L. Kirkpatrick, St. James Press, 1991 Dean, Leonard Fellows Heart of darkness. Backgrounds and criticisms Englewood Cliffs, N.J., Prentice-Hall, 1962,c1960 ?The Gallery of Antiheroes and Villains? Flowerstorm 2004 www.flowerstorm.net/disa/Gallery/anti-explain.html ?The Existential page? Connect 2004 www.connect.net

A Letter from Birmingham Jail

Reflection of â€Å"A Letter from Birmingham Jail† by Martin Luther Kingjr. For our honors portfolio this quarter we were required to read three documents. We, then, were quizzed over each of the readings. First, we read â€Å"Letter from a Birmingham Jail† by Martin Luther King, Jr. , then, we read the transcript of President John F. Kennedys inaugural address, and last but not least, we read â€Å"Millennial Makeover† by Morley Winograd and Michael Hals.Furthermore, we had to read and analyze the documents because the quizzes required us to think deeper than the written words on the paper. I believe these documents are critical because they have shaped the government and our society today. My favorite of these three documents, if I had to pick. would be â€Å"Letter from a Birmingham Jail†, not only because I admire Martin Luther King Jr. , but also because this letter Is a very powerful and Inspiring piece of work.Luther wrote while being confined in a jail in Birmingham, Alabama, for participating in civil rights demonstrations. His letter states that he will continue resisting nonviolently against racial discrimination and pleads the readers to see segregation from a different point f view. Moreover, I noticed that he quoted many people including Apostle Paul, St. Augustine, Reinhold Niebuhr and many others. This made me realize that he most likely had the quotations memorized since he didn't have access to those sources while imprisoned.He mentions that â€Å"injustice anywhere is a threat to Justice everywhere† and that â€Å"an unjust law is no law at all† (Luther). This means that an unjust law causes harm; for example, If it Is lawful to torture a certain group of people, then that is not a law whatsoever. This idea of injustice affects many directly, ut also affects everyone else indirectly in the fact that prejudice is occurring around them. Furthermore, his words describe in detail what segregation was Ilke and what people like him had to go through.This impacted me because now, the idea of racial discrimination is completely frowned upon, while in the 1900's it was something that seemed right and normal. It took years of hard work, bloody massacres. and non-stop action to obtain equality and I hate to see that a little bit of racism still exists today. The idea that immigrants are taking away Jobs and opportunities that should be for U. S. citizens. surprises me because this country was founded and created by immigrants.Instead of seeing different countries and different people in one world, we should see the whole world as one, because every human being, no matter what race. has his/her own rights and should have the same opportunities that his neighbor does. Luther is one of the most charismatic and persuasive people in history and has not only inspired many, but also revolutionized a country's view. He wrote this letter hoping to stir up some emotion and I think he got his point a cross in very non-violent and mature kind of way that was unexpected and at the same time, admirable.His stance ofa nonviolent action and the desperate cry for an end to social discrimination is as powerful now as It was 50 years ago. We now stand by these liberal values and believe the God has made us all equal and has given us n r gnts tnat no law can take away. A tnougn tnls was not an easy project, I certainly did learn something from it and it inspired me to stand up for my beliefs, but also, in a way, allowed me to see that anything is possible through hard work.

Definition of a Percentile in Statistics

Definition of a Percentile in Statistics In statistics, percentiles are used to understand and interpret data. The nth percentile of a set of data is the value at which n percent of the data is below it. In everyday life, percentiles are used to understand values such as test scores, health indicators, and other measurements. For example, an 18-year-old male who is six and a half feet tall is in the 99th percentile for his height. This means that of all the 18-year-old males, 99 percent have a height that is equal to or less than six and a half feet. An 18-year-old male who is only five and a half feet tall, on the other hand, is in the 16th percentile for his height, meaning only 16 percent of males his age are the same height or shorter. Key Facts: Percentiles Percentiles are used to understand and interpret data. They indicate the values below which a certain percentage of the data in a data set is found. Percentiles can be calculated using the formula n (P/100) x N, where P percentile, N number of values in a data set (sorted from smallest to largest), and n ordinal rank of a given value. Percentiles are frequently used to understand test scores and biometric measurements. What Percentile Means Percentiles should not be confused with percentages. The latter is used to express fractions of a whole, while percentiles are the values below which a certain percentage of the data in a data set is found. In practical terms, there is a significant difference between the two. For example, a student taking a difficult exam might earn a score of 75 percent. This means that he correctly answered every three out of four questions. A student who scores in the 75th percentile, however, has obtained a different result. This percentile means that the student earned a higher score than 75 percent of the other students who took the exam. In other words, the percentage score reflects how well the student did on the exam itself; the percentile score reflects how well he did in comparison to other students. Percentile Formula Percentiles for the values in a given data set can be calculated using the formula: n (P/100) x N where N number of values in the data set, P percentile, and n ordinal rank of a given value (with the values in the data set sorted from smallest to largest). For example, take a class of 20 students that earned the following scores on their most recent test: 75, 77, 78, 78, 80, 81, 81, 82, 83, 84, 84, 84, 85, 87, 87, 88, 88, 88, 89, 90. These scores can be represented as a data set with 20 values: {75, 77, 78, 78, 80, 81, 81, 82, 83, 84, 84, 84, 85, 87, 87, 88, 88, 88, 89, 90}. We can find the score that marks the 20th percentile by plugging in known values into the formula and solving for n: n (20/100) x 20 n 4 The fourth value in the data set is the score 78. This means that 78 marks the 20th percentile; of the students in the class, 20 percent earned a score of 78 or lower. Deciles and Common Percentiles Given a data set that has been ordered in increasing magnitude, the median, first quartile,  and third quartile can be used split the data into four pieces. The first quartile is the point at which one-fourth of the data lies below it. The median is located exactly in the middle of the data set, with half of all the data below it. The third quartile is the place where three-fourths of the data lies below it. The median, first quartile, and third quartile can all be stated in terms of percentiles. Since half of the data is less than the median, and one-half is equal to 50 percent, the median marks the 50th percentile. One-fourth is equal to 25 percent, so the first quartile marks the 25th percentile. The third quartile marks the 75th percentile. Besides quartiles, a fairly common way to arrange a set of data is by deciles. Each decile includes 10 percent of the data set. This means that the first decile is the 10th percentile, the second decile is the 20th percentile, etc. Deciles provide a way to split a data set into more pieces than quartiles without splitting the set into 100 pieces as with percentiles. Applications of Percentiles Percentile scores have a variety of uses. Anytime that a set of data needs to be broken into digestible chunks, percentiles are helpful. They are often used to interpret test scores- such as SAT scores- so that test-takers can compare their performance to that of other students. For example, a student might earn a score of 90 percent on an exam. That sounds pretty impressive; however, it becomes less so when a score of 90 percent corresponds to the 20th percentile, meaning only 20 percent of the class earned a score of 90 percent or lower. Another example of percentiles is in childrens growth charts. In addition to giving a physical height or weight measurement, pediatricians typically state this information in terms of a percentile score.  A percentile is used in order to compare the height or weight of a child to other children of the same age.  This allows for an effective means of comparison so that parents can know if their childs growth is typical or unusual.

Eric Clapton essays

Eric Clapton essays Eric Patrick Clapton was born in the small English town of Ripley, Surrey on March 30, 1945. He was the son of Patricia Molly Clapton and Edward Fryer. After Fryer returned from service, Patricia left Eric in the custody of his grandparents, Rose and Jack Clapp. Eric was raised believing that his grandparents were his parents and his mother was his sister. However, the truth was later revealed to Eric by his grandmother. As an adolescent, Clapton fell into Rock n Roll when he watched Jerry Lee Lewis perform on television. Erics love of blues and American R Clapton didnt get his big break until he joined the Yardbirds in 1963. Also in the band were Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck. This is where he got his nickname Slowhand because he would bend his strings so violently that he would break them. The crowd would then do a slowhand clap while he restrung. After a couple of years in the band, he left. And in 1965, he joined John Mayalls Bluesbreakers. Again, not staying long, he left to form Cream with bass player Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker. Cream achieved great success with such classics as White Room and Sunshine of Your Love. After Cream broke up, Clapton joined the bands Blind Faith and John Lennons Plastic Ono Band. After these journeys were said and done, Eric decided to form his own band, Derek and the Dominos. About the same time he formed Derek and the Dominos, Clapton began to fall in love with Pattie Harrison, the wife of his close friend George Harrison. It was Pattie who inspired Eric to write the classic song, Layla. In 1977, Eric released his Slowhand album. It was also ...

Current Issues in Corporate Reporting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Current Issues in Corporate Reporting - Essay Example Traditionally the focus was solely on the financial information for investment, but scenario has changed now. Corporate reporting does not only mean focusing on the value drivers in terms of financials, but on the non-financial aspects too (Mallin, 2009, p. 17). Corporate reporting process will keep evolving and improving according to the market condition and requirements. Companies have started getting the pressure from the regulatory bodies for developing meaningful disclosure and reports in order to present a transparent image before the stakeholders (Everingham, 2008, p. 1). This study is regarding the need for new approaches of corporate reporting and the problems that have been faced by the regulatory body in developing and producing such a framework. The new approaches were proposed to reflect the wider and long-term outcomes of decisions that are taken by the organization. Integrated reporting mainly focuses on the strategically significant requirements that would assist the firm in developing a strong competitive advantage. It will also assist in securing the credit and capital, build good business relationships, and help to develop strategies for competition. The stakeholders would be receiving an enhanced information source regarding the sustainability and quality of the performances of the company (Hopwood, Unerman, and Fries, 2012, p. 36-39). The integrated reporting has moved beyond the traditional silo approach of gathering and reporting information. In integrated reporting comprehensive assessment approach is followed, in which the company’s performance and values are presented in an inclusive manner, so that the investors has information other than only the financials of the company (Loska, 2011, p. 9). The comp rehensive approach requires understanding the strategy drivers of the company, identification of the key stakeholders and their explicit expectations, and implementation of different processes for obtaining the

The results of the credit crunch Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

The results of the credit crunch - Essay Example Significant sums of money were pumped into the economy in order to facilitate its expansion. Though a number of banks failed it was proportionately far less than had occurred during the Great Depression. The Obama Administration did not just sit and watched as happened in 1929. They acted and they did so swiftly. It was this swift action that resulted in less jobs being lost as would have been the case if things were allowed to work themselves out. The government did whatever it could to meet with automobile manufacturers and other business interests to prevent the industry for collapsing. This helped to save a number of jobs in that industry as well other industries that supplied them with raw materials and services.     It should be quite obvious from the foregoing that the Great Recession was not as severe as the Great Depression of 1929 which lasted for more than a decade. Things could have been even worse if the response was similar to that of the 1930’s. What is ther efore significant is that things were not allowed to run their course as happened in the 1930’s. While World War 11 appeared to have shortened the period of the Great Depression of the 1930’s, it was the intervention by the Obama Administration in the United States that prevented this from getting to the stage of the Great Depression of 1929. It is therefore important that it is clearly understood that the results of a situation is affected by the response mechanisms that are put in placed to deal with the situation.