Influence Of Gambling Activities In College Students Psychology Essay

Influence Of Gambling Activities In College Students Psychology Essay My previous experience and lively interest in this subject motivated me to select Essence of gambling and influence of gambling activities in college students as a topic for my literature review. I had been problematic gambler for two years (gaming peers promoted tendencies to gamble) at first I started it as a means of recreation, but as a result it became major activity for me. I was spending great deal of time and money on it, without taking care of family budget or private life and it initiated real financial crisis and nervousness for me. But today, I am not gaming at all; I broke a deadlock, after loosing big sum of money, so I would like to scientifically realize the process of starting and terminating gambling by me. On the other hand, in Georgia sports betting (bookmakers) and Casino games are primary gambling activities, not only adults, but teenagers also are frequent users of these venues and I consider gambling as a large national problem. Increasing number of gambling v enues (for instance: my native city Batumi looks like a big casino) and promotion of gaming directed at students makes problem even more severe and large-scale. There had been hot debates around this topic, should gambling be declared illegal? Should it be removed from urban centers? Or simply prioritized as a profitable industry which is one of the main sources of taxation revenue? I want to assess where we are, acknowledge positive and negative sides of gambling, make judgments and as a voter support conventional wisdom. Why researchers even bother to tackle this topic? Because current developments in the world and mainly in USA makes lots of things around gambling challenging to investigate, analyze and conclude. On one hand there is profitable industry, which contributes a lot to taxation revenue, economic growth and development of services in urban centers, on the other hand negative consequences it yields to society, like emotional distress, personal bankruptcy, psychological trauma, so it is interest for researchers weather benefits cover those disadvantages or not. And why college students? Because studies of other risk behaviors have reinforced the opinion, that college students are at high risk for gambling ( LaBrie A. Richard; Shaffer J. Howard; LaPlante A. Debi; Wechsler Henry (2001) Correlates of college student gambling in the United States). Researchers examine different stages of gambling, when it becomes harmful, what are motives And which individuals are more inclined to gamble to deathà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦On the whole, the increase in the prevalence of gambling has stimulated a considerable body of research. (Platz Laurie and Murray Millar (1998) Gambling in the context of other recreation activity: A quantitative comparison of casual and pathological student gamblers.) As a prospective economist first I reviewed article by Koo Jun et al Rolling the dice? Casinos, Tax revenues and the social cost of gaming, (Journal of urban affairs. Volume 29, number 4.) Do the benefits from increased taxes and job opportunities associated with gambling outweigh those personal and social costs resulted from increased number of addicted gamblers? So three main issue worked out in this research are: 1)tax revenues and economic growth supported by these funds, 2) jobs at the casinos and improved public service, 3)possible social consequences. Wagering tax rates varies between 8.5 and 45.5% in US (Nevada, New Jerseyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Illinois) and as a percent of tax revenue it is between 3.4 and 27.8% (Illinoisà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Nevada), in Detroit casinos are sixth largest employer (Source: Indiana Gaming Commission, 2006) rigid evidence to agree that this industry is special for states economic stability. Research also focused on social costs: do casinos induce higher leve ls of social problems? Is there a link between casinos and socially destructive behaviors like unemployment, bankruptcy fillings and crime rate? Direction of causality must be checked. Article tried to answer these questions by analyzing changes in Michigan, Virginia, Indiana and Ohio; in Ohio casino-style gaming is forbidden while in others not, so researchers compared outcomes relative to social problems. Quasi experiment was carried out, unemployment rates of casino and non-casino countries in Michigan between 1991 and 2003 were compared and result was that although there was a slight decrease in the unemployment rate gap, the opening of casinos did not significantly change overall levels. Similar patterns are observed in terms of bankruptcy rates and crime levels, presence of casinos had no observable incremental effect, macro factors seem to play much significant role (Koo Jun et al, 2007). This research also used regression models, designed to control differences in initial conditions between casino and non-casino counties and separate the effects of casinos on the social cost variables: crime rate, personal bankruptcy rate and unemployment, results showed that there might be some casino effects but they are unimportant (Koo Jun et al, 2007). We can conclude this research that gambling does not have significant and catastrophic effects on socially destructive behavior, even recognizing direct connection between them is difficult, so there is no reason to declare it unlawful and sacrifice financial benefits of it. Now the essence of gambling must be studied. Gambling: normal adolescent activity or pathologic addiction? abstract by Selekman Janice 2008, explains essence of gaming. Gambling sometimes referred as Gaming, is defined as the practice of playing games of chance or betting in the hope of winning money or something of value, it involves risk and uncertainty (Verbeke and Kittrick-Nathan,2007) Most adolescent gamblers are considered as recreational, who gamble for the purposes of entertainment, but of the 80% gamblers 10-15% are at risk of development of a gambling problem and 3-8% are considered to be problem or pathological gamblers (Derevensky and Gupta, 2007) in adult population only 1.5% are problematic gamblers (Labrie and Shaffer). The median age for starting gambling is 11-13 years, when small amounts of money are readily accessible, when local environment accepts such behavior and rules of the game are understandable to a child and he/she plays to win money, gain status and resp ect among friends, escape stress, relieve boredom. While gambling they feel more control of the situation, more independence and self reliability (Jacobs, 2004) But at some phase recreational gambling becomes problematic, impulse-control disorders take place and can be characterized by following criteria suggested by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual: Preoccupied with gambling. Needs to gamble with increasing amounts of money. Has repeated unsuccessful efforts to control, stop gambling. Is restless or irritable. Gambles as a way of escaping from problems or of relieving a dystrophic mood. Chases ones loses. Lies to conceal the extent of involvement in gambling in gambling Has committed illegal acts such as forgery, fraud, theftà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Has jeopardized or lost a significant relationship, job or career opportunity because of gambling. Relies on others to provide money to relieve a desperate financial situation.(American Psychiatric Association, 2000) Pathological gamblers are at increased risk for use of alcohol and drugs, they have symptoms of anxiety and depression, sudden change in mood and school performance, they sell expensive possessions and are unable to count for money (Griffiths and Wood, 2005). It is worthwhile now to scrutinize problem gambling and prediction of gambling behavior in more details. Abstract The prediction of gambling behavior and problem gambling from attitudes and perceived norms by Susan M, Moore is useful in this sense. In the study by Moore the aim was to test the Theory of Reasoned Action, central hypotheses were that attitudes and subjective norms would predict intentions and intention-behavior. Survey designed to measure gambling attitudes, subjective norms, gambling intention, gambling behavior and problem gambling was completed by 215 participants (mean age 22). Results showed that: Most respondents approved of moderate gambling and hold that some gambling should be legal, but they were against too much gambling and endorsed to set limits on gambling opportunities. Realizing figure 2 we find out that family and friends have a great impact on gamblers, and gamblers are often surrounded by gaming friends and family members, and disapproval of their behavior comes from family members not from friends (Moore M. Susan; Ohtsuka Keis 1999) As frequency of gambling behavior in the sample shows very few of the sample regularly engaged in any type of gambling, but at a low level there has been widespread engagement in gambling. Survey also showed that not all gamblers, that game more frequently than they intend, are problematic, so correlation between gambling frequency and problem gambling was, moderately high but not corresponding: (Moore M. Susan; Ohtsuka Keis) And finally with table five, there is expressed gambling intention, frequency and problem as independent variables and potential predictors are sex, age, attitudes to gambling, subjective norms, intention to gamble. Regression analyses showed intention to gamble was significantly predicted by attitudes and subjective norms: more positive attitudes greater intention to gamble. Also males, people with strong intentions and positive subjective norms are more likely to engage in this activity. (Moore M. Susan; Ohtsuka Keis, Social behavior and personality, 1999) Gambling behavior and problem gambling is partly predicted and influenced by independent factors, but is it stable or characterized by progression? It was helpful for me to answer these questions by contemplating longitudinal studies reviewed by Debi A. Laplant et al in the abstract named: Stability and progression of disordered gambling: lessons from longitudinal studies. Stability tendency for individuals to stay at one diagnostic level opposed to moving to another improved or worsened level (Laplante A Debi et al 2008). this review found out that in contrary to conventional wisdom individuals can recover from disordered gambling (contrary to persistence assumption), like the other one that holds that individuals who have gambling problems are not more likely to worsen than individuals without gambling problems (contrary to progression assumption), so this review demonstrates that disordered gambling is unstable and not persistent, that means that professional and conventional wis dom about problem gambling have no empirical support. This review by Laplante A Debi was based on 5 peer reviewed articles (Abbott et al, Defuentes-Merillas et al, Shaffeer and Hall, Slutske et al, and Winters et al) which used various time points, populations and measures of problem gambling: In the above figure level 0-1 represents no gambling or gambling without problems, level 2 subclinical gambling problems, level 3 gambling problems. Then were developed cross tabs classification of gambling courses: improving decreased number of gambling problems; worsening increased number of gambling problems; stable consistent gambling problems across all time points (there were different time points and large time span) and variable fluctuation of gambling problems without consistent direction. As this figure shows Level 3 or problem gamblers who reduced their level of severity exceeded the studies corresponding margin of error, in each study proportion of level 3 gamblers improving was greater than zero. Results are similar for Level 2 gamblers, who reduced level of severity and their number exceeded corresponding margin of error. Improving was greater than zero. (Table2, Debi A. Laplante et al) it confirms that gambling behavior is not persistent, as problem gamblers reveal tendencies of improving in each study. We can conclude that these longitudinal studies with short-term and long-term periods indicate that while healthy gambling behavior appears to be stable, individuals with gambling problems experience movement from different levels of severity of gambling disorder to other more or less severe levels. Now as we have covered main issues, structure and characteristics of gambling we should pay more attention to segment of population which is frequently involved in gambling and pathological gambling yields disastrous consequences for them. As a bottom line we can use article by Emily M. Verbeke and Karin Dittrick-Nathan-Student gambling. Gambling is an addictive behavior that is often hidden but erodes students quality of life; it has increased significantly among adolescents, who have grown up in a society where it is legal and widely accepted.(Emily M. Verbeke) As article points out problem or compulsive gambling is characterized by: increasing preoccupation with gambling, a need to bet more money more frequently, restlessness or irritability, increasing bets to make up previous losses and loss of control over gambling activity. Result of problem gambling can be low grades absenteeism, poor concentrationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Emily M. Verbeke) (Then we will discuss this in more details). Although regulations forbid anyone under 18 to play, illegal gambling takes place out of controlled areas. There are several reasons why adolescents gamble: for recreation, to socialize, to win money, to experience thrill, to relieve depression or simply to escape from problems at home or university. Youths who have certain personality characteristics, such as extreme impulsivity, extroversion, sensation-seeking behaviors or low self-esteem may be at higher risk of developing a gambling problem and they have higher rates of depression and suicide attempts. Prevention and intervention activities must me carried out by teachers, mental health professionals, coaches, parents to communicate to students about negative effects of gambling and change a positive attitude towards gaming as a harmless behavior (Emily M. Verbeke). College students gambling behavior: when does it become harmful? by Jeremiah Weinstock et al is another useful abstract which gives us beneficial information about student gambling. 159 college students were interviewed, who also completed demographic questionnaire. Patterns of gambling behavior associated with pathological gambling gambling more than 1.2 times per month, gambling more than 2.1 hours per month, intending to wager more than 6.1% of monthly income and wagering more than 10.5% of monthly income. Pathological gambling was also associated with the combination of psychological distress, gambling frequency and a history of parental gambling problems (Jeremiah Weinstock). Pathological student gamblers report poorer academic performance and greater risk taking, like alcohol consumption, nicotine use, illicit drug use and unprotected sex, than recreational or non-gamblers (Weinstock et al). Also Weinstock et al found that 50% of students who gambled at least once a month expe rienced problems related to their gambling. In this study 160 students were participating, 18 years or older, the sample was diverse in both demographic characteristics and gambling behavior. Study showed that the most common gambling activities were cards (58.3%), slots (48.1%), sports betting (33.1%) and games of skill (26.3%). Questionnaire filled in by participants asked for GPA, monthly income, ethnicity, sex, marital status and age, also whether their parents gambled or not. Questionnaire also included other behavioral variables like Gambling frequency, duration, Gambling Plan Adherence index and episodes when amount risked exceeded amount intended to risk. On the basis of diagnostic interview participants were classified as pathological or non-pathological gamblers. As shown in table 1, pathological gamblers are significantly more likely to report a parent with a gambling problem history, a lower GPA, greater psychological distress than were non-pathological gamblers. This numbers identify several strong behavioral indicators, highlighting a behavior associated with pathological gambling: risking more than 10% of monthly income, gambling more than once a month and gambling more than 2 hours per month were related to pathological gambling status in college students. As study showed demographic variables play small role in pathological gambling status, behavioral and psychological variables are more influential and such behavioral indicators can be utilized to assess, prevent and intervene in problematic gambling behavior in college students. Pathological gambling among students is further analyzed by Randy Stinchfield in the article Problem and pathological gambling among college students. Article is divided into four sections, overview of problem and pathological gambling, risk and protective factors associated with student gambling, problem gambling screening and assessment instruments, prevention and intervention approaches. Problem gambling individuals life is disrupted by gambling, gambling takes precedence over other activities and individual experiences adverse consequences. Pathological gambling is a psychiatric diagnosis (Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders-American psychiatric association). Three cardinal signs of pathological gambling are: preoccupation with gambling and obtaining money with which to gamble, loss of control of ones gambling and continuation of gambling despite negative consequences such as losing large sums of money. Experimenting with gambling, regular gambling, excessive g ambling are types of student gambling. Many college student gambles, but only small percentage becomes problem gamblers (Winters, Bengston, Dorr 1998). Rates of gambling and problem gambling remained stable over time, but there was a shift from illegal games to legalized games (Winters 1995). How many college students are problem gamblers? 9.3% of men and 2.4% of women(Shaffer, Hall 1997 SOGS),other study 4.9%men 1%women(Winters, Bengston, Dorr 1998) another study 8.5%men, 1.9% women (Engwall, Hunter, Steinberg 2004). What about risk and protective factors associated with gambling? Out of all possible risks, most salient is substance use, abuse, dependence. The link between alcohol, illicit drug, and tobacco use and gambling and problem gambling are strong (Clark, 2003; Engwall 2004). Heavy alcohol use was highly predictive of problem gambling, particularly size of bets made while gambling, unanticipated withdrawal of extra money at the casino and loss of more money than could be afforded (Giacopassi 1998). In terms of gender, males are more involved in gambling that women (Kveitel and Allen, 1998) males also have higher rate of problem gambling than females (Ladoucer 1994). Ethnicity, like gender is another salient risk factor, studies have shown that African-Americans and Asian-Americans tend to gamble more then European-Americans. Other important risk factors can also be listed: students overall level of gambling activity, general gambling veracity, tendency to minimize losses, general academic performance, typical leisure or extracurricular activities and parental or guardian history of gamblingà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦(Randy Stinchfield 2006). Now briefly discuss about pathological gambling assessment instruments. Most commonly is used the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), the content of SOGS includes items that inquire about spending more time or money on gambling than intended, hiding evidence of ones gambling, arguing with family members about ones gambling borrowing money. The twenty item SOGS is scored by summing the number of items endorsed, a cut score of 5 or more indicates PPG. Second item is the Gambling Behavior Interview (GBI) 76 item instrument designed to measure signs and symptoms of problem gambling. GBI is made up of eight content domains: Gambling attitudes, Gambling frequency of different games, Time and money spent gambling, gambling frequency at different venues, SOGS, DSM diagnostic criteria, Research diagnostic items and demographics.(National Collegiate Association, 2004). At the end of this article are recommendations for practitioners at colleges and universities: Monitor student gambling behavior, extent of gambling, illegal gambling and problem gambling. Develop student policies for gambling that emphasize rehabilitation not punishment. Conduct research into the cause, development, maintenance and cessation of problem gambling, with an emphasis on risk and protective factors. Develop and evaluate prevention programs and messages designed for students. Provide treatment services for students who have already developed a gambling problem. (Randy Stinfield, William Hanson, Douglas Olson, 2006). Correlates of college student gambling are worthwhile to analyze. Article named Correlates of college student gambling in the United States by Richard A. LAbrie et al gives some profitable information about it. Primary research questions which were answered: Will a nationally representative survey of gambling among college students confirm the concept that college students are at high risk for gambling problems? And will the problem behaviors and the risk factors conform to those of alcohol abuse and thereby support the persistence of a problem behavior syndrome (Richard A Labrie). Research used 2001 CAS self-administered questionnaire, which repeated standard questions used in 1993, 1997, 1999 surveys. The survey questionnaire asked, during the past school year, how often did you bet or spend money on each of the following gambling activities: Betting on professional sports, Betting on college sports, Betting on horse or dog racing, Casino gambling, Betting on the lottery or the num bers, Internet betting or gambling, Betting with a bookie, Playing cards, dice, or other games of chance. The 2001 CAS collected data from 120 colleges, 10765 students, to improve the representativeness of the sample; data were weighted to the gender, age and race/ethnicity distribution at the schools. Approximately 52% of men and 33% of women reported that they gambled, the most popular type of gambling was playing the lottery (25%), 30% reported casino gambling, 13% gambling with playing cards and dice. Gambling venues for men: lottery, playing cards, betting on sports, skill games and casino gambling, women preferred lottery, casinos, slot machines, bingo, and playing cards. Men are about 4 times more likely than women to have bet on sports and played games of skill for money, 3 times more likely to have bet on animals and twice as likely to have gambled in the stock market and played dice games (Douglas Engwall 2000). Of the students who gambled, 45% participated in only 1 type of gambling activity, the majority of student gamblers restricted their gambling to 1or 2 types (Richard A Labrie 2001). Students also answered questions about time spent on various activities in the past 30 days, these questions provided with an opportunity to evaluate the demographic and other factors that distinguished students who gambled from those who did not. Results showed that three demographic variables significantly predicted college student gambling for the total sample. Being male was the strongest demographic predictor of being a gambler, followed by being older than 20 years, and finally by having parents who had not completed the 4 year college. For men but not women, being white was a significant predictor of being a gambler, for women but not men having never been married was also significant predictor (Richard A Labrie 2001). Other covariates: those students whose families did not disapprove of drinking were more likely to gamble. Students who gamble intensely consider parties to be very important and religion and art less important. Male gamblers consider athletics to be very important. Men who lived in fraternity houses were more likely to be gamblers; having a grade average less than a B+ was more common among gamblers and also having 5 or more close friends was one of the predictors. Alcohol related behavior were the strongest risk correlates of gambling. Use of marijuana and illicit drugs also predicted gambling. Students of both sexes were more likely to be gamblers if they watched a great deal of television, spent time on a computer for non-academic reasons, studied less than 3 hours a day (Richard A Labrie 2001) The results of this nationally representative survey of gambling among college students do not indicate that students are at high risk for gambling problems, fewer college students in the 2001 CAS gambled in the last school year than adults in the last year. The CAS also found that 2.6% of students gambled frequently. Although findings reported in this article do not indicate a large national gambling problem among students, promotion of gambling could change a current situation. As we noted several times, intensive alcohol usage is most significant predictor of gambling behavior, so decision of choosing article The co-occurrence of alcohol use and gambling activities in first-year college students by Matthew P. Martens. Study written in this article was participated by 908 first-year college students, who were surveyed in 2005; research showed that alcohol use and alcohol-related risks were related to gambling frequency and peak gambling loss. National studies have indicated that approximately 40% of US students engaged in heavy episodic drinking, with men consuming more alcohol than women. In this study Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used as a measure of alcohol use. AUDIT is a 10-item measure designed to assess alcohol consumption, dependence symptoms and alcohol related risks and problems. To assess gambling behaviors, participants completed a 7-item inventory, these items were taken from the South Oaks Gambling Screen, six items as sessed gambling activities: playing cards for money, betting on horses or sports betting, playing slot machines, playing casino games, playing the lottery and playing a game of skill. The mean AUDIT score among participants was 8.61, men reported higher total scores than women (Matthew P. Martens 2005), results also showed that most played gambling activity was lottery games(55%) followed by playing cards for money(44%) and games of skill(26%), men reported gambling more frequently and having a greater peak gambling loss than did women. Goal of this study was to examine the co-occurrence of alcohol use and gambling. Table 2 shows the correlation between AUDIT scores and gambling variables, correlation between AUDIT and gambling frequency was 0.29 indicating the co-occurrence. By assessing differences in gambling behaviors between high-risk drinkers, low risk drinkers and abstainers, analysis of results indicated that high-risk drinkers gambled significantly more often than did others and had higher peak gambling loss. The finding of this study was that alcohol-related variables (use, dependence and alcohol related risks) and gambling frequency and peak gambling loss co-occurred in a group of students: Consuming large amounts of alcohol may make it more likely that a student chooses to gamble or it could negatively affect a students gambling-related decision. Similarly students may drink more heavily when they are engaged in gambling activity. (Matthew P. Martens et al, journal of American college health 2005). As we noticed lotteries are most common form of gambling and they are readily available to students, so next article is Predictors of lottery gambling among American college students by Beverly A. Browne and Daniel J. Brown. In this study gambling behavior of 288 American college students was examined and it was found that student lottery gambling was related to having parents and friends who were lottery gamblers. Students who were frequent lottery gamblers were more likely to participate in other forms of gambling. Discriminator analyses using parental gambling, peer gambling, games played, sex and locus of control could predict frequency of lottery playing for 72% of gamblers and non-gamblers. A small body of research that addressed the relationships between gambling and personality (Reviewed by Kusyszyn, 1984) indicated that college students who gambled on lotteries were similar to non-gamblers in characteristics such as intelligence, psychoneurotic tendencies and extroversion, m ale college students who gambled were found to be more secure, masculine and happy but less socially responsible. People who believe in luck may be more likely to gamble. The personality trait of locus of control has been linked to believing in chance rather than individual control over ones destiny (Rotter, 1966; Rotter, 1972). The sample of this research consisted of 288 students, as attitudes toward gambling might vary with nationality the sample was restricted to persons from the USA. The respondents completed a self-administered questionnaire that asked about gambling practices and the gambling of parents and friends. Results showed that almost 80% of the sample had purchased lottery tickets at one time or another; only 2% reported that they were frequent lottery players and 63% as occasional players. The average age of subjects when they bought their first ticket was 17.7 years, 31% of students reported that they had played lottery illegally before the age of 18. Responses als o showed that 61% of college students played the same frequency as they did before they came to college, so college environment is not motivator of gambling. Study used discriminator analyses to determine how well a combination of variables would predict lottery playing behavior. The analyses indicated that the combination of other gambling, parental gambling, peer gambling, sex, and locus of control could predict gambling status. Most predictive variables were engaging in other gambling, parental gambling, and peer gambling. Gaming peers may promote tendencies to gamble; nevertheless other influences (time, money, knowledge) may constrain those tendencies. Review gave me a great deal of information around gambling to make conclusions, researches indicated legal gambling is not directly connected to unemployment growth, crime rate or personal bankruptcy, it is not significant influencer, so if we consider those benefits expressed in huge taxation revenues, developed services, and employment in casinos, we can find legal gambling acceptable and sometimes necessary too. Those funds received from taxation will stimulate economic growth and result in greater GDP. On the other hand, it is persons legal right to gamble, if he is above 18 years and has desire, so it would be less than democratic to abolish gaming as a purpose of evading excessive or pathological gambling. I perfectly realize negative effects and bad sides of gambling, mainly influencing adolescents and problem gamblers, as excessive gambling frequently results in disruption of private life, psychological distress, big debts, failures at jobs, universities and in relationships with relativesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ so population must be informed about it timely, and then people will make informed choice to gamble or not. Restrictions in age must be controlled strictly; juveniles under 18 years must not be allowed to gamble at all, not only in casinos but anywhere. It means that illegal gambling must be eliminated, also in schools and universities have to be conducted monitoring of student gambling behavior, prevention programs must be developed and policies should emphasize not punishment of those who became problem gamblers but rehabilitation. By looking at predictors of gambling behavior profile of prospective problem gambler can be created, people who fit this profile noticed and eliminate threat until it becomes dangerous. In some dimensions gambling has negative effects on society as a whole(social distress) so there is one view and I agree with it that gambling ventures can be removed

The Role of Loneliness in James Joyces Ulysses Essay -- Joyce Ulysses

The Role of Loneliness in James Joyce's Ulysses Have you ever had one of those days when the world seems cold and unfeeling? Where the people that surround you are far away and uncaring? Ulysses is about one of those days, and two people who are stuck within it, searching desperately for a way out. Loneliness runs like a thread through Ulysses, a novel by James Joyce. It constantly tugs at the character's minds, and drives their lives in subtle ways. Joyce drives the point home by giving a drab, grey description of the character's lives. Ulysses is set in 1904, Dublin, Ireland. Joyce's book was first published in 1922. The plot of Ulysses is fairly simple. The novel re-creates the days of two Irishmen, Leopold Bloom, the main character, and Stephen Dedalus, the son of Bloom's good friend, Simon Dedalus. The story starts with both characters waking up, and follows their lives through a single day. Stephen is a school teacher, and Leopold works as an advertizing canvasser for the local newspapers. For Stephen, it's only a partial day of school, so after receiving his pay, he goes and visits a nearby relative and then goes for a walk on the beach. Meanwhile, Leopold has woken up, and prepared breakfast for himself and his wife. After going to the butcher's and the post office, he goes to the funeral of an old friend, Paddy Dignam. After the funeral, he goes about business in town, and comes across Stephen twice. Finally, as Bloom visits a friend in the hospital, he sees Stephen, extremely drunk with a group of medical s tudents. All of them go to a pub. At the pub, they all get bombed, and Bloom takes Stephen on a drunken rampage through town. When Bloom realizes the state Stephen is in, he takes him home, and offers to let Ste... ...death of Stephen's mother is still filling his mind - during his drunken spree, Stephen actually thinks that his mother had come back to haunt him. Bloom, on the other hand, after subconsciously searching through Dublin since his son's death, has found someone to help, and be a father figure for them. Although Bloom's gesture of kindness is rejected by Stephen, Bloom has taken the first step out of the dark grip of loneliness by trying to help another. James Joyce's Ulysses is a story that conveys the drab lives of two miserable Irishmen. The setting portrayed in this book is bleak. Both characters are absorbed in their own loneliness, and lack the perspective to see beyond it. Although Ulysses may seem long and extremely confusing, Joyce creates a thorough depiction of this human condition. Works cited Joyce, James. Ulysses. New York: Random House, 1961.

Flucations In The Australian Dollar :: essays research papers

The Australian Dollar is a "Commodity Currency". A "Commodity Currency" means that its fortunes are heavily dependent on the prices of Gold, Copper, Nickel, Coal and Wool. All of these commodities are Australia’s main exports. At present, commodity prices are low, especially gold. Melbourne-based mining consultant Surbiton Associates said exports of Australian gold were in danger of declining if exploration failed to be supported and production declined as a result. The country produces about $5 billion worth of gold each year and over the past 10 years the metal has earned $42 billion in export revenue. Presently, our dollar has been the weakest in history, comparable to the United States (US) dollar. The record low occurred in early April where it sank to 47.75 US cents. Compared to the US dollar, our Australian dollar buys at present 50.81 US cents. (27 July 2001). It is unrealistic to determine what started the dollars slide or when it started. In this graph it is visible that the dollar started to drop as far back as April 1997. Although, we can never be sure that the fluctuations are actually fluctuations in the $A or those of the $US. For that reason the following figure shows the movements in the $A against the trade weighted index (TWI). As its name indicates, the trade weighted index tries to measure the value of the $A against a basket of currencies. Those currencies are chosen to reflect the weight in Australia's trade with the countries issuing the currencies in the index. At the moment, the US dollar is very strong. This is surprising considering that the American economy is not very strong. Interest rates in the US basically show the situation. Americas interest rates have seen five cuts over the last four months to where it now sits at 3.75%. This was the US governments’ way of trying to kick-start the economy through fiscal policy. This is why many economists believe the US dollar will subside, as there is no backing in the economy. The â€Å"Aussie†, as it is referred to in foreign markets, is believed to be dependent on the performance of the Japanese Yen and the new Eurodollar, with the three currencies tending to move in tandem. This is because of Australia’s importing and exporting relationship with the two other currencies. Interest Rates At the moment the interest rate in Australia sits at 5%. In resent times interest rates have been subject to three cuts.

Price Discrimination | Amusement Parks Essay

Introduction Consider these Amusement park pricing scenarios: ?Six Flags Discovery kingdom sells its annual season pass for $59. 99. According to its website, â€Å"Buy your Season Pass for $59. 99, just $14 more than a one-day admission. † ?Bush Gardens Dark Continent. sells its Fun Card for $95. 00. According to its website, â€Å"Pay for a Day, Get now through 2015 FREE. †, Now why would they give away an unlimited entry annual pass for an extra 25% over the single entry price? What is common in these pricing scenarios? All these businesses are practicing what economists call, â€Å"Metered Price Discriminationâ€Å", or what marketers describe as, â€Å"Customer Margin†. It all starts with, â€Å"price discrimination† – charging different customers different prices. Customers differ in the value they get from a product/service and in how much they are willing to pay for it. For each price point you set, there will be different number of customers willing to pay that price. That is your demand curve. The goal is to find the price that maximizes profit. There are many different ways to monetize the customer and Amusement parks offer us a great opportunity to examine several of them. As in the example above, Amusement Parks employ multiple price discrimination strategies when establishing ticket prices in order to increase Six Flags Season Pass Pricing Busch Gardens â€Å"Fun Card† Pricing overall attendance but make up for the lost single entry fee revenue from the subset of customers willing to pay set pricing scale at park concession stands, gift shops, diners and restaurants. This is Metered Price Discrimination – some customers get away with paying the low â€Å"entry fee† while others pay more by consuming additional services at different prices. Discrimination can take several forms and those presently employed in the amusement park industry begins with an exploration of spatial discrimination. Spatial Discrimination Amusement parks benefit greatly from their ability to isolate customers away from competitors for long periods of time. Part of the value proposition for an amusement park is the highly developed themed experience they provide. Once fully immersed in the amusement park experience the level of difficulty and inconvenience in accessing alternative providers for staples like food, drink, shopping, and accommodations, grows exponentially. Utilizing spatial discrimination, the parks have several different supply, demand and profit opportunities to exploit.? Higher than market food pricing and profits based on proximity and distance to cheaper alternative. Amusement Parks, like many other entertainment businesses can derive extremely high profits from customers on purchases of goods and services once inside the park. ?Zero competition from competitors within park confines. The experience of the park itself requires a good deal of isolation and space so the business can control the imagery, interactions, and exposure to inconsistent inputs. The space and isolation enables the parks to create their own marketplace and exclude other industry actors access to the customers in their park avoiding food, retail, services competition altogether. Once the customer is in the park you control the market and the market offerings and pricing ? Ingress and Egress marketing opportunities for personalized content like group photos on T-Shirts, Mugs etc. The parks have cameras throughout their facilities and more often than not have a kiosk standing by to sell customers personalized remembrances of the experience the park is providing. Only the park has the photo of your family on the roller coaster together. Since they own the roller coaster, they can restrict access to the best picture locations. Price discrimination takes place in that they control the supply completely. Calculate the highest price the market is willing to pay and sit back, you’ve eliminated the competition while they are in the park. Bundling One type of membership popular with both Bush Gardens and Walt Disney World customers is the add-on (up charge) for water park entry in addition to the amusement park entry at a reduced â€Å"bundled† price. Water park capacity is likely to be considerably less than the amusement park so the profit maximization point must take into account the â€Å"limited capacity† constraint. The reduced revenues from the amusement park tickets vs. full price tickets needs to be tracked so supply of the amusement/water park bundles does not, or to the best case achievable, negatively impact the supply of the water park â€Å"single park† utilization. Profit maximization can be best achieved by limiting the bundle availability to key periods during the annual calendar when excess capacity exists at the water park. Bundling will fill the gap between current utilization and current capacity at the water park while providing added perceived value to the purchase of a amusement park ticket. Peak Load Pricing. The customers of annual passes are further discriminated by those that have the capability to tailor entry dates away from peak load periods. Ex. Walt Disney World â€Å"Florida Resident† annual passes with entry restricted during the summer and holiday periods. Amusement Parks have multiple levels and types of annualized memberships based on paying a onetime fee for unlimited entry for a specified period (Typically annually) at specified times. The overall infrastructure footprint of the parks is constant. In the slower months of the year there is Busch Gardens Bundled Pricing Walt Disney World Florida Resident Pricing  an excess of capacity (or supply0 at the parks and the peak load pricing attracts park visitors at lower utilization periods of the year. (An argument can be made for inclusion in the Spatial Discrimination category and the overlap is noted here. Florida residents benefit from a price discriminator compared to out of state customers but must use the park facilities at times it benefits the park most. ) Air fares, Hotels, etc. Finally, the cross marketing partners the amusement parks team with will employ length of stay discounts, food offerings, free parking offers, service level upgrades, hotel upgrades and the like. The price discriminators are focused on the ancillary products and services typically required to in order to utilize the amusement parks. The parks will appoint official Airlines of the park, or have a preferred credit card, or as in the case of Walt Disney World several tiers of hotels. Disney owns their own hotels, all in the best locations, extensively themed to the park specifications. Disney also leases hotel locations on their land to the major hotel chains. The location is not the best, and the hotels cannot use Disney’s Theme in their decorating but they are located on Disney property with access to Disney’s higher income, more likely to spend money, customers. A third tier exists in the hotels off Disney property. Disney will offer discounted ticket prices to these hotels for their customers. Walt Disney World Package Pricing Closing Amusement Parks have well developed and sophisticated price discrimination strategies in place. They capitalize on several of the methods described in the Harvard note Economics of Product Variety. They use spacial discrimination to boost profits on food, services, and goods once the supply is controlled in the park. They use bundling to attract attendance across the multiple parks they operate in the hopes of increasing profits through the generated increase in demand the bundling creates. They use peak load pricing to entice attendees during low utilization periods as well as boost purchase of ancillary â€Å"high margin† items in the parks. And they use cross marketing strategies to team with hotels, airlines, credit cards, and others to increase demand from third tier hoteliers near the park. References HIRSCHEY, MARK; MANAGERIAL ECONOMICS 12TH EDITION, CENGAGE LEARNING, MASON OH, 2009 President and Fellows of Havard College, Price Discrimination, Havard Business Schools Publishing, Boston, MA 02163, 1993.

The Hunters: Moonsong Chapter Twenty

This is way worse than the obstacle course, thought Matt. And building a house out of newspaper. And the firewalk. This is definitely the worst pledge event yet. He twisted the toothbrush in his hand to real y get into the little niche running along the bottom of the paneling on the Vitale Society's pledge room wal s. The toothbrush came out black with ancient dirt and dangling cobwebs, and Matt grimaced in disgust. His back was already sore from hunching over. â€Å"How's it going, soldier?† Chloe asked, squatting down next to him, a dripping sponge in one hand. â€Å"Honestly, I'm not sure how scrubbing out this room is going to help us develop honor and leadership and al the stuff Ethan keeps talking about,† Matt said. â€Å"I think this might just be a way to save a couple of bucks on a cleaning service.† â€Å"Well, they say cleanliness is next to godliness,† she reminded him. Chloe laughed. He real y liked her laugh. It was sort of bubbly and silvery. Internal y, he gave himself a little eye rol . Bubbly and silvery. She had a nice laugh, was al he meant. They'd been spending a lot of time together since Christopher's death. Matt had felt like nothing could be as bad as living with al of Christopher's stuff when Christopher himself was gone, but then Chris's parents came and packed it up, gently patting Matt on the back as if he deserved some kind of sympathy when they had lost their only son. And with just empty space where Christopher's things had been, everything was a mil ion times worse. Meredith, Bonnie, and Elena had tried to comfort him. They wanted so badly for him to be okay again that he'd felt guilty he wasn't, making it harder for him to be around them. Chloe had taken to coming by the room, hanging out with him or getting him to come to the cafeteria or wherever with her, keeping him in touch with the world when he felt like locking himself away. There was something so easy about her. Elena, the only girl he'd ever loved – before now, part of him whispered – was much more work to be around. Inside, he flinched at his own disloyalty to Elena, but it was true. Now he was starting to wake up and take an interest in things again. And he kept noticing with fresh surprise the cute dimple Chloe had in her right cheek, or how shiny her curly dark hair was, or how graceful and pretty her hands were despite the fact that they were often stained with paint. So far, though, they were just friends. Maybe †¦ maybe it was time to change that. Chloe snapped her fingers in front of his face, and Matt realized he had been staring at her. â€Å"You al right, buddy?† she asked, a little frown wrinkling her forehead, and Matt had to restrain himself from kissing her right then. â€Å"Yeah, just spacing out,† he said, feeling a flush creep over his cheeks. He was smiling like a goof, he knew. â€Å"Want to help with these wal s?† â€Å"Sure, why not?† Chloe answered. â€Å"I'l soap down the wal part, and you keep doing whatever you're doing there with that little toothbrush.† They worked companionably together for a while, Chloe now and then accidental y-on-purpose dripping soapy water onto the top of Matt's head. As they worked further along the paneling, the niche under the baseboard got deeper, until it was not so much a niche as a gap. Matt slid the toothbrush underneath to scrub – man, but it got grimy down there – and felt something shift. â€Å"There's something under here,† he told Chloe, pressing his hand flat against the floor and working his fingers into the gap. He slid his hands and the toothbrush around, trying to shimmy whatever was down there toward them, but he couldn't quite get a grip on it. â€Å"Look,† said Chloe after a moment, â€Å"I think the paneling might slide up here.† She wiggled the section of wood until it gave a raucous screech and she was able to work it up. â€Å"Huh,† she said, puzzled. â€Å"Wow, it's like a secret compartment. Seems like it hasn't been opened for a while, though.† Once she managed to ease the paneling up, they could see the space behind it was smal , only a foot or so in height and width and a few inches deep. It was ful of cobwebs. Inside was something rectangular, wrapped in a cloth that had probably once been white but was now gray with dust. â€Å"It's a book,† Matt said, picking it up. The grime on the outside of the cloth was thick and soft and came away on his hands. Unwrapping it, he found the book inside was clean. â€Å"Wow,† Chloe said softly. It looked old, real y old. The cover was flaking dark leather, and the edges of the pages were rough as if they'd been hand cut instead of by a machine. Tilting the book a little, Matt could see the remains of gilt that must have once been the title, but it was worn away now. Matt opened it to the middle. Inside, it was handwritten, black ink inscribing neat strong strokes. And total y indecipherable. â€Å"I think it's Latin. Maybe?† said Matt. â€Å"Do you know Latin at al ?† Chloe shook her head. Matt flipped back to the first page, and one word popped out at him. Vitale. â€Å"Maybe it's a history of the Vitale Society,† Chloe said. â€Å"Or ancient secrets of the founders. Cool! We should give it to Ethan.† â€Å"Yeah, sure,† Matt said, distracted. He turned a few more pages, and the ink changed from black to a dark brown. It looks like dried blood, he thought, and shuddered, then pushed the image away. It was just some kind of old ink, faded brown with time. One word he recognized, written three – no, four – times on the page: Mort. That meant death, didn't it? Matt traced the word with his finger, frowning. Creepy. â€Å"I'l show it to Ethan,† Chloe said, jumping up and taking the book from him. She crossed the room and interrupted Ethan's conversation with another girl. From the other side of the room, Matt watched Ethan's face break into a slow smile as he took the book. After a few minutes, Chloe returned, grinning. â€Å"Ethan was real y excited,† she said. â€Å"He said he'l tel us al about it after he gets someone to translate the book.† Matt nodded. â€Å"That's terrific,† he said, pushing the last of his unease away. This was Chloe, lively, laughing Chloe, and he would try not to think about death or blood or anything morbid around her. â€Å"Hey,† he said, pushing away the dark thoughts, focusing on the golden highlights in her dark hair. â€Å"Are you going to the party at McAl ister House tonight?† Maybe not pulled back, Elena thought, looking critical y at herself in the mirror. She tugged the barrette out of her hair and let her golden locks tumble, sleek and flat-ironed, down around her shoulders. Much better. She looked good, she noted, running her eyes dispassionately over her reflection. Her strappy short black dress accentuated her rose-petal skin and pale hair, and her dark blue eyes seemed huge. Without Stefan, though, what did it matter how she looked? She watched her own mouth tighten in the mirror as she pushed the thought away. However much she missed the feeling of Stefan's hand in hers, his lips on hers, however much she wanted to be with him, it was impossible for now. She couldn't be Katherine. And her pride wouldn't let her just mope around, either. It's not forever, she told herself grimly. Bonnie came up and threw her arm around Elena's shoulders, regarding them both in the mirror. â€Å"We clean up nice, don't we?† she asked cheerful y. â€Å"Ready to go?† â€Å"You do look amazing,† Elena said, looking at Bonnie with affection. The shorter girl was practical y glowing with excitement – eyes sparkling, smile bright, cheeks flushed, mane of red hair flying out seemingly with a life of its own – and her short blue dress and strappy high-heeled shoes were adorable. Bonnie's smile got bigger. â€Å"Let's get going,† Meredith said, al business. She was sleek and practical in jeans and a soft fitted gray shirt that matched her eyes. It was hard to know what Meredith was thinking, but Elena had overheard her murmuring to Alaric on the phone late at night. She figured that Meredith, at heart, might not be into the party either. Outside, people walked quickly in large, silent groups, glancing around nervously as they went. No one lingered, no one was alone. Meredith stopped midstride and stiffened, suddenly aware of a potential threat. Elena fol owed her gaze. She was wrong: one person lingered alone. Damon was sitting on a bench outside their dorm, his face tipped toward the sky as if he was basking in the sun despite the darkness of the evening. â€Å"What do you want, Damon?† Meredith said, warily. Her voice wasn't actual y rude – they'd gotten past that, working together this summer – but it wasn't friendly, and Elena could feel her bristling beside her. â€Å"Elena, of course,† Damon said lazily, rising and smoothly taking Elena's arm. Bonnie looked back and forth between them, puzzled. â€Å"I thought you weren't going to spend time with either of them for a while,† she said to Elena. Damon spoke quietly into Elena's ear. â€Å"It's about the Vitale Society. I've got a lead.† Elena hesitated. She hadn't told her friends about the hints she and Damon had found that the Vitale Society might be more than a myth, or that they might be connected to her parents in some way. There wasn't real y anything much to go on yet, and she didn't feel quite ready to talk about the possibility that her parents might have been mixed up in some kind of dark secret or how she felt, seeing the images of them when they were young. Making up her mind, she turned to Meredith and Bonnie. â€Å"I've got to go with Damon for a minute. It's important. I'l explain it to you guys later. See you at the party in a little bit.† Meredith frowned but nodded, and she steered Bonnie toward McAl ister House. As they went, Elena could hear Bonnie saying, â€Å"But wasn't the whole point†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Keeping his hand tucked firmly under Elena's arm, Damon led her in the opposite direction. â€Å"Where are we going?† she asked, feeling too aware of the softness of Damon's skin and the strength of his grip. â€Å"I saw a girl wearing one of those pins from the photo,† Damon answered. â€Å"I fol owed her to the library, but once she got inside, she just disappeared. I looked everywhere for her. Then, an hour later, she came out the library doors again. Remember when I said we needed to look for answers somewhere other than the library?† He smiled. â€Å"I was wrong. There's something going on in there.† â€Å"Maybe you just didn't see her?† Elena wondered aloud. â€Å"It's a big library, she could have been tucked away in a study carrel or something.† â€Å"I would have found her,† Damon said briefly. â€Å"I'm good at finding people.† His teeth shone white for a moment under the streetlights. The problem was that the library was so normal. Once they were inside, Elena looked around at the gray-carpeted floors, the beige chairs, the rows and rows of bookshelves, the buzzing fluorescent lights. It was a place to study. It didn't look like any secrets were hidden here. â€Å"Upstairs?† she suggested. They took the stairs rather than the elevator and worked their way down from the top floor. Going from floor to floor, they found †¦ nothing. People reading and taking notes. Books, books, and more books. In the basement, there was a room of vending machines and smal tables for study breaks. Nothing unexpected. Elena paused in a hal way of administrative offices near the vending machine. â€Å"We're not going to find anything,† she told Damon. His face twisted in frustration, and she added, â€Å"I believe you that there's something going on here, I do, but without any leads, we don't even know what we're looking for yet.† The door behind her, marked Research Office, opened, and Matt came out. He looked tired, and Elena felt a quick flash of guilt. After Christopher's death, she and Meredith and Bonnie had meant to stick close to Matt. But he was always busy with footbal or class and didn't seem to want them around. She realized with a shock that she hadn't talked to him in days. â€Å"Oh, hey, Elena,† Matt said, looking startled. â€Å"Are you going to the party tonight?† He greeted Damon with an awkward nod. â€Å"Mutt,† Damon acknowledged, giving a half smile, and Matt rol ed his eyes. As they chatted about the party and classes and Bonnie's new semiboyfriend, Elena cataloged her impressions of Matt. Tired, yes – his eyes were a little bloodshot, and there was grimness to his lips that hadn't been there a few weeks ago. But why did he smel so strongly of soap? It wasn't like he was particularly clean, she thought, inspecting a grubby trail tracing down Matt's cheek to his neck. It looked like something had been dripped on his head. It was almost like he had been cleaning something. Something real y dirty. Struck by a new thought, she glanced at his chest. Surely he wouldn't be wearing one of the V pins? As if aware of what she was wondering, Matt pul ed his jacket more tightly around him. â€Å"What were you doing in that office?† she asked him abruptly. â€Å"Uh.† Matt's face was blank for half a second, and then he glanced up at the door, at the sign saying Research Office. â€Å"Research, of course,† he said. â€Å"I've got to go,† he added. â€Å"I'l catch you at the party later, okay, Elena?† He had half turned away, when Elena impulsively put out her hand to catch his arm. â€Å"Where have you been, Matt?† she asked. â€Å"I've hardly seen you lately.† Matt grinned, but he didn't quite meet her eyes. â€Å"Footbal ,† he said. â€Å"Col ege bal ‘s a big deal.† He gently pul ed away from her restraining hand. â€Å"Later, Elena. Damon.† They watched him walk away, and then Damon nodded toward the door Matt had come out of. â€Å"Shal we?† he said. â€Å"Shal we what?† Elena asked, puzzled. â€Å"Oh, like that wasn't suspicious,† Damon said. He put his hand on the knob, and Elena heard the lock snap as he forced it open. Inside was a very boring room. A desk, a chair, a smal rug on the floor. Maybe a little too boring? â€Å"A research office without books? Or even a computer?† Elena asked. Damon cocked his head to one side, considering, then, with a swift movement, pul ed aside the rug. Below it was the clear outline of a trapdoor. â€Å"Bingo,† Elena breathed. She stepped forward, already bending down to try and pry it open, but Damon pul ed her back. â€Å"Whoever is using this could stil be down there,† he said. â€Å"Matt just left, and I doubt he was alone.† Matt. Whatever was going on, Matt knew about it. â€Å"Maybe I should talk to him,† Elena said. Damon frowned. â€Å"Let's wait until we know what we're dealing with,† he said. â€Å"We don't know what Matt's involvement is. This could be dangerous for you.† He had taken hold of her arm again and was pul ing her gently, steadily out of the room. â€Å"We'l come back later.† Elena let him lead her away, grappling with what he'd said. Dangerous? she thought. Surely Matt wouldn't be doing anything that would be a danger to Elena?

Stride Toward Freedom

Identical Thought in â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer† Once I was exposed to reading â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer† I put myself in Christopher Hitchers and Rachel Reedier shoes and realized how humor, can be used in a horrendous situation. Not everyone may know what a cancer patient has to go through but as days go by everyone has been through a situation that cannot handle on his or her own. By reading these two articles, I automatically had a mental mage of what and how the narrator felt.In the article, â€Å"Patient†, Reedier is trying to lighten the mood by using humor throughout the whole article. Both articles have multiple similarities that have personal anecdotes that explain their life story. The articles are similar with Hitchers and Reedier with the use of tone in the â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer† through humor, images and horrible situations. Humor can be comical in many situations, but in th e â€Å"Patient† and â€Å"Topic of Cancer†, the authors indicate the reader that pain can be a wholesome situation.In the article, â€Å"Patient† a teenager was hit by a bus and later on was informed that her leg may need to be amputated. The author uses phrases saying, â€Å"l feel like I got hit by a bus† to show his expression on how he truly feels about this situation (Reedier 166). Hitchers, the author of the â€Å"Topic of Cancer† expresses humor throughout the article in ways of saying, â€Å"The chest hair that was once the toast of two continents hasn't yet wilted, but so much of it was shaved off for various hospital incisions that it's a rather patchy affair† (Hitchers 88).Hitchers is expressing how he has lost all of his hair, and he can still look at it in a humorous way (The Best American Essays). Reedier and Hitchers explain how situations like these can be engaged in many different ways. Anyone can take these essays as serio us as possible but can also take them as a humorous situation. As Reedier and Hitchers went through the essays, the narrator explained how they had struggled through their situation and still found positive attitude.Reedier uses a positive attitude by saying, â€Å"It is easy to be calm cause I cannot really have been run over by a bus† (Reedier 165). As horrible as the situation may sound the narrator makes it out to be not as bad is it seems to be. Hitchers explains how the situation needs to be in a positive way, â€Å"l sometimes wish I were suffering in a good cause, or risk my life for the good of others, instead of being a gravely endangered patient† (Hitchers 88). The narrator expresses how she would rather be suffering for a good reason instead of being in the hospital with cancer (The Best American Essays).Both of the articles prove that you can fight through any kind of injury or disease no matter how critical the situation can accrue. The narrator shows his faith by saying, â€Å"She would make the driver move that bus, but I can't see her† (Reedier 165). In the â€Å"Topic of Cancer† Hutchins shows, how he feels about his conditions and diagnoses with the quote, â€Å"To the dumb question â€Å"Why me? † the cosmos barely bothers to return the reply: â€Å"Why not? † (86). He is obviously looking at his illness as a positive outcome when many people look at it as their life is over (The Best American Essays).Even though cancer can kill someone and losing a leg can cause death, both of the narrators kept a positive attitude. Both of the narrators start out by asking themselves â€Å"why me†, as the articles continue the â€Å"Patient† goes on living a healthy life, but in the article â€Å"Topic of Cancer† he is still fighting for his life. There are similarities throughout the stories showing the way they feel, and showing their emotions through humor but in the end there is a differe nt outcome.

An Explanation of Point Illustration

This semester, I learned point illustration explanation (PIE) in y writing skills which will be valuable in my future college papers. The topic that stood to me the most was point illustration explanation (PIE). PIE makes the reader understand one's purpose better. When using PIE, the flirts thing a person starts with Is the P which stands for point. The point Is the topic sentence and this sentence will be one of the claims the entire essay addresses which is pretty much the reader's the argument. Next is the I which stands for illustration.During the illustration phase, the writer shows the proof of one's argument I. E. , the writer can provide evidence to purport the point, or topic. Depending on the type of essay, this can take many forms. Whether it's textual evidence, a memory based on the point, or a supporting quote from an outside source. Last but not least we have the E which stands for explanation. This is where the writer must find the reasoning between the point and the Illustration, which Is kind of Like a conclusion because one is tying the Illustration back to one's point.While writing paragraphs may seem like an intuitive kind of skill, there are some easy things to keep in mind while writing to make sure paragraphs do hat they're supposed to do: illustrate an idea and end when it's done. This strategy helps prove one's point through the reader. This semester we read â€Å"How to watch Your Brother Die† by Michael Lease†. When writing this paper, I learned how to observe the types of strategy the author uses by providing the evidence (quotes) from the text and this is valuable because when a person Is writing a paper stating their point, that person has to prove that point.One can't Just state their point and expect the reader to agree with them. For Instance, In How to Watch Your Brother Die† the author uses vivid imagery; the quotes he uses to invite the reader in were: â€Å"Remember the time he was Jealous and opened you r eyebrow with sharp stick† (Lasses 479). â€Å"Feel the lover's hand on your arm restraining you. See In the guard's eye how much a man can hate another man† (Lasses 480). â€Å"Stand beside a casket covered in flowers, white flowers. Say Thank you for coming,' to each of several hundred men who file past in tears, some of them holding hands† (Lease† 481).In â€Å"How to Watch Your Brother Die†, Lasses uses vivid imagery. His Imagery Invites readers go threw his Journey with him, the narrator takes the reader with him in the past when his brother â€Å"broke his skin† causing him to bleed to watching him be buried, with his brother's gay friends being at the funeral for support. This semester we also watched a movie called the â€Å"Dead Poets' Society'. By watching the movie, I learned to pay close details to certain characters and I will value this in the future because I will be able to see the different methods the 1 OFF poetry affects t he students throughout the course. The Dead Poets were dedicated o sucking the marrow out of life. That's a phrase from Thoreau that we'd invoke at the beginning of each meeting. You see we'd gather at the old Indian cave and take turns reading from Thoreau, Whitman, Shelley; the biggies. Even some of our own verse. And in the enchantment of the moment we'd let poetry work it's magic† (Keating: Dead Poets' Society). Mellon chapter. The meetings will be conducted by myself and the other new initiates now present. Todd Anderson, because he prefers not to read, will keep minutes of the meetings.I'll now read the rotational opening message by society member Henry David Thoreau. ‘l went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life† (Neil: Dead Poets' Society). In the â€Å"Dead Poets Society' The boys create a club called the dead poets' society to express their thoughts to one another. Professor Keating encouraged them to believe in their own beliefs and to strive for their own voice. Professor Keating gives them clues to start something that has to do with language which is poetry and he showed the boys how language works and how it's all around us.I feel like using PIE has improved my writing skills from high school papers to college papers. If I had watched the movie the â€Å"Dead Poets' Society without having learned the PIE structure, I would of Just watched the movie without examining the details of the actual meaning of the movie. But having learned the PIE structure, I had the opportunity to go beyond the movie. And I loved it because of the way the characters acted and Just the movie itself. There was a lot of poetry through the professor's teachings but I don't think it's the actual poetry that changed his students o react the way they did which was by creating a secret club.And Neil ending up killing himself. I think the thing that really influenced his students was th e professor, the way it taught the class and made them read the poems and do activities inspired them. If they were to read the poetry on their own, they wouldn't have gotten the same reaction. Society then was not as good as it is now and by society I mean parents; all the parents controlled their child on what school that is good for them and what career they should do.But the professor changed that towards his dents, he also influenced them to think for their own no matter what anybody says â€Å"l always thought the idea of education was to learn to think for your self† (Keating: Dead Poets' Society). While learning the PIE structure, I had few difficulties throughout my papers. Looking back at my three essays I see how my writing has evolved. What I learned from my first essay that helped me write my second essay was being clearer when writing my explanation in PIE. For instance when using we or they, I need to be more specific on who I'm referring to.