11 Places to Find Great College Essay Examples

Places to Find Great College Essay Examples SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Sure, you might know the theory behind what a college essay is supposed to sound and look like. But just like reading a description of the Golden Gate Bridge pales in comparison to seeing it in person, there’s no replacement for seeing actual college essays written by students just like you. Well, almost like you – they’ve since gotten into college. But where do you find good sources for reading sample college essays? How can you make sure that these resources will actually strengthen and improve your writing? And what is the best way to use the college essay examples that you do find? In this article, I’ll go over the best books and websites for finding essays, I’ll point out a few to avoid, and I’ll explain how to make the most out of other people’s essays while avoiding common pitfalls. Why Look At College Essay Examples? There are some very good reasons for wanting to check out how other people have handled the college admissions essay. First, because you'll be able to get a better sense of what colleges are looking for, you will necessarily broaden your own topic brainstorming past your first, easiest, and most clichà ©d ideas. It's one thing to hear that a completely mundane topic is way better than one focusing on your greatest sports moment. But once you see other students writing about a family meal, or an obsession with a particular board game, or a love of cultivating cacti, you'll be convinced to find your essay in the small moments of your life. Second, you'll see how your life and writing compares to that of your peers. The great diversity of voices, topics, tones, points of view will show you just how many things you could possibly write about, and how to keep the essay connected to your personality and your voice. Finally, if you really do have a good story to tell about something that gets written about a lot, like divorce, pet death, a community service trip, or winning the big game, you can get ideas for how to approach a potentially lackluster essay topicin a novel and striking way. What Makes A Good Sample College Essay Resource? First, the basics. A source is only as good as its content, so make sure you're readingcollege essays that worked, from people who actually got into the schools they applied to. Also, it's best to focus on new essays (not older than 10-15 years), so you are reading what has worked in the most recent past, rather than seeing outdated ideas and historical perspectives. Next, what you really want is diversity in voice and perspective. Make sure the essays featured come from many different kinds of students: either from applicants to both top and lower-tier schools; or from students with different ethnic, economic, and racial backgrounds; or from writers using both formal and more experimental essay techniques. Finally, the best sources of admission essays will feature explanatory material. This will give each essaysome kind of context: commentary on what makes theessay good, explanations of the drafting process, or, at least, biographical information about students. Without commentary or context, it’s hard to know what you’re supposed to learn from the essays you read. Looking at a bunch of identical koi isn't the best way to learn about freshwater fish varieties. Where to Find Great College Essay Examples Here are my recommendations for excellent resources, as well as some warnings about resources that I think you should avoid. College Essays Collected in Books I've taken a look at many of the books that collect college essays, so here are my recommendations. I've divided them into threecategories: Excellent– meaninghaving really diverse essays or very helpful commentary on each essay, or both Worthwhile– meaning either a helpful collection of essays without a lot of context or commentary, or some great advice but a narrow selection of essays geared toward one particular type of school Don't Bother– not useful either as a source of college essays or as a source of essay-writing advice and explanations Also, please note that although I’ve listed the Amazon prices for all the books, you should definitely check your school and public library for copies before buying them. And even if your library doesn't have a copy, ask them to request one either from another library in the same system or even from the Library of Congress through interlibrary loan. ExcellentBooks Heavenly Essays: 50 Narrative College Application Essays That Worked Written by Janine W. Robinson, who blogs about college essays at EssayHell, this book features great sample essays. But it's Robinson's precise and clear explanations of how to use a narrative style in your essay to tell a story about your life that make the book really outstanding. Through long and detailed commentary on each essay, Robinson shows why narrative is exactly the kind of structure that works best for personal essays. You can check out sample sections from the book on her blog. The book retails for $10 new on Amazon. On Writing the College Application Essay, 25th Anniversary Edition: The Key to Acceptance at the College of Your Choice Harry Bauld used to be an admissions officer at Brown, so he certainly knows what he is talking about when he writes abouthow and why to avoid clichà ©s andexplains how to find and keep your specific voice. Bauld demonstrates his points with sample essays, showing how they go from first to final draft. The book iseasy to read, uses humor to make points, and hisadvice will carry over into your college writing as well. It is $12.50 new on Amazon, but there are much cheaper used copies available there as well. The Berkeley Book of College Essays: Personal Statements for California Universities and Other Select Schools This compilationfeatures college admissions essays written byseniors from Berkeley High School (which is not affiliated with UC Berkeley). Because the city of Berkeley is economically, racially, and ethnically very diverse, these essays are about manydifferent interests, perspectives,and experiences, and are written in many different styles and tones. Although there is no commentary for the essays, this collection is a great way to get a sense of the broad array of essay possibilities. Also, because many of the students from Berkeley High apply to UC schools, this collection separates out UC application essay packages. (If you are interested in UC, also check outour own guide to writing excellent UC essays!) This book is currently $15 on Amazon. 50 Successful Harvard Application Essays: What Worked for Them Can Help You Get into the College of Your Choice Edited by the staff of the Harvard Crimson, this is a great collection of essays from a not particularly diverse group of students. It is very useful to see how the very top students approach the college essay, as long as their best effort neither intimidates nor stymies you. The contextual material is excellent, with helpful explanations of what makes each essay work well. This book retails for$12 new on Amazon, with much cheaper used copies also available. Worthwhile Books College Essays That Made a Difference, 6th Edition This Princeton Review guide is mostly distinguished by its introductory material, whichhas detailed interviews with many different colleges at many different tiers about what role essays play in college applications, what kind of mistakes are okay, and what to write and not to write about.The sample essays themselves come without commentary, but each features avery short bio of the student, including test scores, GPA,alist of colleges where the person applied, and a list of colleges where the person got in. Right now, it's $.50 new on Amazon, but there are cheaper used copies as well. 50 Successful Ivy League Application Essays This collection of of collegeessays that worked, edited by Gen and Kelly Tanabe, has somewhat spare, but insightful, commentary explaining what each essay does well and what it could have done better. It also includes an interview with an admissions officer explaining how essays are used in admissions decisions andsome comments from students about the writing process. The link above is to a downloadable PDF file. 50 Successful Stanford Application Essays: Get into Stanford and Other Top Colleges If you like the Tanabes' approach (they are the authors of the previous book), then you will find this one useful as well. The narrow diversity of essay content and the style of commentary (thoughtful, but not particularly detailed or expansive) is very similar. It's priced at$13.25 new on Amazon with some used options as well. Fiske Real College Essays That Work The "Fiske" of the title is Edward Fiske, whoused to be the Education editor of the NY Times, and who therefore has some experience with what colleges want from their applicants. The book itself features an introduction with somehelpful essay-writing tips, adiverse selection of essays built around narrative, but unfortunately hasvery little commentary to go with each essay. It retails for $12.50 new on Amazon, with cheaper used options available. 2015 Elite College Application Essays Although there's almost no commentary or discussion of what makes these essays work, this book is a reasonably good collection of essays from students who are now enrolled at Ivy and other top-tier schools. What's particularly appealing about this college essay compilation is how very new these essays are: all are from students who became freshmen in 2015. The book is $14 new on Amazon. Don't Bother 100 Successful College Application Essays I'd recommend not spending your time on any of the editions ofthis collection. The essays are decades old in some cases, the topics areclichà ©d and boring, and there is little to no commentary to make any of them useful. College Essays Published Online I'll split my recommendations here into "worthwhile" and "don't bother" categories. There aren't any truly great collections of sample college essays online. Worthwhile Individual College Websites. There are many essays published online by the various colleges where these students now go. This means these essays are guaranteed to be real, authentic, and to have worked on someone's application.Some of the essays even come with brief commentary by admissions officers about what makes them great. (The link will take you to our list of over 130 essays from more than 15 different colleges.) Teen Ink Magazine. Teen Ink publishes all sorts of writing by teens, including college admission essays, which are split off into their own section on the site. The essays necessary feature a wide range of experiences and perspectives, so this is a great place to get a broad sense of what other students are writing about. The essays don't have any context except comment sections thatrun the gamut from genericâ€Å"this is good† comments to some insight. Readers also get a chance to vote on which essays are featured as #1, #2, etc., which may be misleading because readers of Teen Ink aren't admissions officers. Don't Bother Watch out for paid websites like AdmitSee, CollegeMapper, and Acceptional, which claim to give you access to college essays for a monthly or fixed fee. Because of the paywall, there's no way to verify the quality of the essays these sites have. Also, thereare enough books that you could borrow from your library that you don’t need to pay monthly fees to these places. Finally, I would particularly stay away from AdmidSee, which uses Amazon reviews for other essay resources as a marketing platform. Frogs piggybacking on each other? Super cute. A company piggybacking its advertising onto book reviews? Really not cute at all. The Best Ways To Use College Admission Essay Samples So now that you've rounded up a bunch ofsample college essays, what should you do with them? Here are some tips for your next steps. When Should You Read Essay Examples? I'd advise waiting until after you've done some brainstorming of your own before you start immersing yourself in other people's work and ideas. (If you're not sure how to brainstorm, check out our guide to coming up with great college essay topics.) This way, you can use other people’s essays to think about different possibilities for writing about your own topic. For example, looking at how other people tackled their life experience can show you: how tofocus on a different detail in your own story how to change the insight you want to draw from your story how to think about different ways to start and end your narrative What Can Good College Essays Teach You? There are both broad and specific learning opportunities to be found in reading other people's work. Broadly speaking, seeing how other people are approaching the problem of writing a college essay can jog your own creative process. Likewise,reading a diversity of thoughts and voices will show you that even the most normal and boring seeming experiences be made into riveting essays. More specifically,if you find essays from applicants to your target school, you can get some sense of the level of sophistication they expect to see from your writing. Finally,good context and commentary on the essays can show you how they are put together and what makes them work. You can then put this advice to use when rewriting your essay later. Pitfalls To Avoid Of course, being surrounded by other people's work, especially when some of that work is much better than what you think you can manage, has its share of temptations. So what do you need to guard against when looking at sample essays? Plagiarism. This one is basic and obvious. Do not copy these sample essays! Admissions officers have seen them all, read them all, memorized them all – you will not get away with it. Copying and mimicry. Think of this as a softer kind of plagiarism. Even if you really like someone else’s style, don’t borrow it. Even if someone’s life sounds more exciting than yours, don’t steal a piece of it for your own essay. Why? Because ifyou don’t sound like yourself, it will be visibleto an experiencedreader (and guess what, admissions officers are very experienced readers). Also, if you’re writing about experiences that aren't yours, your unfamiliaritywill show through the lack of believable details. Let this hand-in-the-alligator's-mouth image pop up in your brain every time you think about stealing someone else's work. Resources for Essay Writing Advice In researching this article, I came across books and websites that don't necessarily feature a lot of sample essays, but that give really excellent advice on writing your own college essay. I strongly recommend you spend some time checking them out. Essay Hell blog. This great resource is written by Janine Anderson Robinson, an English teacher and a journalist, whosebook Heavenly Essays I recommended above. The blog posts feature lots and lots of well-explained, detailed, easy to understand advice about how to write your essay, and are broken down into easy to understand, bite-sized nuggets of usefulness. Slate's Getting In podcast. The entire series is an interesting look at the college application process, with useful tips and explanations about all aspects what seniors are going through. Check out Episode 2: The Essay, in which astudent gets feedback in real time on their essay from a former Princeton director of admissions and apanel of experts talk about essay dos and don’ts. The episode is26 minutes long. The College Essay Trap: Rescue Your College Application Essay From the "Maybe" Pile This isincredibly concise and excellent explanation of what not to do and what to avoid when writing your personal statement. It's short, sweet, to the point, and is praised to the skies by legendary Princeton admissions dean Fred Hargadon. Currently $12 new on Amazon. The Bottom Line Look at college essay examples to broaden your own topic brainstorming and get ideas for fixing lackluster topics. Look for resources with diverse and recent essays, from many different kinds of students and with explanatory material that explains what makes each essay good. Look at essay samples after you’ve generated some of your own ideas to think about different possibilities for writing about your own topic. Seeing how other people are approaching the problem of writing a college essay can jog your creative process. Avoid both actual plagiarism and â€Å"borrowing†: don’t use someone else’s style, voice, or life experiences as your own. What’s Next? If you’re starting to work on college essays, check out our article laying out every single kind of essay prompt out there and a step by step guide to writing a great college essay. Are youworking onthe Common App essay? Read ourbreakdown of the Common App promptsand our guide topicking the best prompt for you. Ormaybe you'reinterested in the University of California? Check outour complete guide to the UC personal statements. Working on other pieces of your college applications? We’ve got guides tochoosing the right college for you,writing about extracurriculars, andrequesting teacher recommendations. Thinking about taking the SAT one last time, or prepping for your first run at it? Readour ultimate guide to studying for the SATand make sure you're as prepared as possible. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Motivating Staff essays

Motivating Staff essays There are plenty ways to motivating Staff in a company. Firstly, the managers need to know what the needs of his staff are, and how to motivate them. As different people have different needs, the ways of motivating them also differ. The salary is one of the most important factors. Since most workers needs money on their daily life, thus they work for money. Salary needed to be paid on time. Otherwise, this would demotivate them. In other words, if the workers had not receive their salary when due, the morale of works may be reduced. Trainings, incentives, holidays, welfare, and others rewards may be given to the staffs as the extrinsic reward. Most staffs welcome at least one of the rewards mention above, so if possible, why not give the rewards to the staffs as a motivation factors? Although not all, most people want promotion after a certain period of their works. Perhaps this may increase their status, or pay rise. Besides, they can put more commitment in their works as they have increased responsibility. Another factor is the condition of working environments. The air conditioning of an office should be well controlled, as well as the floors of the office. No one feels comfortable working in a dirty office. Although a clean office will not necessary motivating the staffs, but for sure, if such criteria are not fulfilled, the staffs get demotivated. Perhaps most people want to be self affirmed. Typically, the manager of a large organisation can't remember all the names of his/hers subordinates. But if he/she DOES, the scenario may be greatly enhanced. The staffs may thought, "Wow, the boss can remember my name even I am just a little workers. Then I must work hard to appreciate such recognition" There are no strict rules for a company or an organization to follow in the approach of motivating their staffs, but a combinations of the methods suggested above may prove useful in improving motivations. ...

Analyzing movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Analyzing - Movie Review Example Set in a not so distant future, the movie depicts not just an interesting concept whether traveling back in time is possible, but it also showcases the actual concept of trust, communication and generally, relational development. As the movie progresses, we can see the stages involved in the actual development of relationship which include the concept of initiating stage, experimentation, intensifying stage, integration stage and bonding stage as the integral components of the coming together of the characters. There are many scenes in the film that we can use to illustrate the relational development among the characters, but it is important to try to figure it out how this happens in the case between Darius and Kenneth. Apart from the classified ad, it was Darius who made the first attempt to initiate the initial contact, as she started to find her way to Kenneth at the convenience store where he works. Since it was purely a business purpose for Darius, the one who must finally deci de to build up the real relationship is no other than Kenneth himself, and this means he needs to come up with first impressions about this magazine staff. His first impression about Darius looks like it fits in his essential qualification for the one he wants to travel back in time with, which must be far from what he has just experienced with Jeff. In this step of relational development, it is clear that the initiating stage has been successfully employed, as Kenneth’s first impression about Darius is someone whom he could confide with the vital information linked to the mission. This concept is certainly applied well in this scene of the movie, because of the depiction of first impression that is elemental to the initial developmental stage of relationship. In fact, this paves the way for the next stage of relational development, which is a clear consequence of the successful employment of the initial stage of relationship development. Somewhere in the movie when Kenneth w alked out from the restaurant after Darius discovered his artificial ear, is a significant highlight of the development of the next stage, which is the experimentation. Kenneth is essentially probing in this part, to know if Darius is really the one to choose in the mission. In the relational development, everything might end up here, just as in the case of Jeff and his high school crush. However, the film shows effective implementation of the experimentation stage in the case of Kenneth and Darius, just as how the latter via an emotional conversation also reveals their common ground, implying that they both experienced in their childhood years as laughing stuffs of the people around them, which is a move that leads them further to the next step, the intensifying stage. The intensifying stage is revealed in the film when Kenneth finally discloses to Darius his actual reason for going to a time travel. Darius responded with all sincerity, which eventually creates an impression on the part of Kenneth that his disclosure is reciprocated. Kenneth even discloses his talent in music, which is something that touches Darius for real, leading them to go to the next level of relational development, the integration stage. The ultimate highlight of integration stage as the movie depicts is when Darius and Kenneth passionately kiss and comfort each other on that one remarkable

How Has Architecture Developed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

How Has Architecture Developed - Essay Example Studies have, however, revealed that the first structures that incorporated architectural designs with respect to beauty and outlook were the worshipping places (Watkin, 2005; 43). The prevailing cultures and religion greatly influenced the type of structures which were constructed in a particular region or place (Ching, 2006; 89). Geography also dictated the type of buildings designed and put up. Today, architecture is no less than science. It is due to the development skills of those in the field of architecture that some huge structures are seen today. The tall and strong buildings, huge bridges and complex structures are attributed to the creativity architectural experts (Hugh, 2000; 20). Architecture was an important discipline in the ancient times and its importance continues to be seen today. All the existing designs are a proof that the field has been developing. The growth and development is still ongoing albeit being influenced by some factors like geography, religion and societal

Public Law - Parliamentary Sovereignty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public Law - Parliamentary Sovereignty - Essay Example Public Law - Parliamentary Sovereignty Notwithstanding the symbolic importance of Parliament within the separation of powers doctrine, in practice commentators have suggested that within the contemporary socio-political framework the reality is that the separation of powers doctrine is intrinsically limited. Academic discourse has suggested that the lack of clarity in the unwritten UK constitution as compared to other democracies has further compounded the lack of defined boundaries between various institutional functions under the separation of powers doctrine within the UK. However, whilst there may be no absolute doctrine of separation of powers, it has been acknowledged that the principle underlines day to day functions of the executive, legislature and judiciary. This paper critically reviews the extent to which Parliamentary sovereignty is qualified. In doing so, this paper will firstly refer to parliamentary procedure and undertake a contextual analysis of how EC law and the Human Rights Act 1998 exemplify the real ity that Parliamentary sovereignty is inherently qualified in practice. It is proposed at the outset that there is no clear separation of powers within the theoretical ideal and in practice there is a fusion of powers, which is arguably necessary to ensure effective channels of communication in the socio-political infrastructure. Whilst the Law Commission’s legislative authority asserts its independence ; the internal governance of the Commission with appointments being made by the Lord Chancellor enables executive influence in legislative functions.10. Furthermore, the extent of judicial powers derives directly from the Crown and therefore the operation of the socio-political infrastructure is clearly dependent on the overlap of functions between the theoretical separate powers11. This blurring of the separation of powers has significant implications for Parliamentary procedure. The central function of Parliament is as legislative arm of the British political system12. However, Parliament effectively operates within a party political system and t o a degree is used as medium for sanctioning executive sovereignty as it relies on the executive for policy initiatives13. Whilst Parliament can subject executive

Impact of the Alliance of Maersk and Msc on Freight Rates

Impact of the Alliance of Maersk and Msc on Freight Rates Analysis of the impact of the alliance of Maersk and MSC on freight rates on the Asia-Europe route Yixiang Zhang Content Abstract  (Jump to) 1. Introduction 2. Market share and structure of container shipping market 3. Alliance of Maersk and MSC 4. Impact of freight rate by 2M 5. Conclusions References Abstract The economic crisis took place in 2008 resulting in a great depression in shipping market. The demand in container shipping market declined rapidly and the overcapacity made the freight rate much lower which may not compensate the operation cost of the shipping companies. The three biggest shipping alliances(CKYH Alliance, Grand Alliance and CKYH Alliance) took series of solutions such as decrease of the capacity and in number of services routes to reduce the loss in their best effort. In this recession circumstances, ML(Maersk Line) and MSC(Mediterranean Shipping Company) which were known as 2M formed co-operation agreement on VSA(Vessel Sharing Agreements) on Asia-Europe route and this agreement last for 10 years. ML will devote 1200,000 TEU which counts for 55 percents of its overall capacity in the alliance and MSC is going to devote 900,000 TEU which counts for 45 percents of its overall capacity. Through the co-operation, 2M intended to promote the efficiency of operation and p rovided reliable shipping services to consumers on a lower price by sharing shipping network, infrastructural equipment and provide more straight service lines and the number of ports of call. In this way, other medium or small shipping companies who cannot achieve the economics of scale or better quality services as 2M managed to do will become uncompetitive and then have to exit the market when there is overcapacity in the shipping market. In this strategy, 2M will gain much more market share and consumer loyalty to make more profit although there is monopoly restriction. 1. Introduction With the rapid development of the international economy, the amount of export and import grew fast in the past few years. Shipping companies play essential role in the worldwide trade by providing satisfactory services to consumers. Shipping companies attempt to be more competitive than the others and reduce the risk which is considered high in maritime transportation by co-operate with each other or form an alliance. The ocean shipping industry is among the first to apply alliance to make their profit. Before the demotion of the conference system in 1998 (Shashi Kumar, 1999), maritime transportation market can be regarded as monopoly because the operation of a shipping company is at high risk and governments want to induce more firms involve in maritime transportation. However, with technology improvement and fast growing of shipping industry, the exemption from anti-trust rules was issued by the EU in 2008. Shipping companies have to set up new kinds of alliances to gain advantage and share risk in this dynamic market (Fusillo,2006). It is obvious that in present shipping alliances vessel sharing agreements and slot sharing agreements are widely used. The vessel sharing agreements or â€Å"VSA† can make container companies co-operate with each other to share their space on their container ships to acquire higher capacity to fight their lower capacities in certain trade lanes. The agreements allow for the shipping lines to keep freight costs lower since they do not need to account for empty spaces on their ships (source: http://www.containerquote.com/vessel-sharing-agreement). Slot sharing agreement require a fixed percentage of vessel capacity to be exchanged between the carriers over a given time period. This type of arrangement may be beneficial when two patner companies have vessels deployed on the same route with different departure time schedules (Panayides Wiedmer, 2011). Shipping alliances become a trend especially during the recession when the advantages that alliances can bring to us are clear. Even the top two large liner companies ML and MSC who used to act as â€Å"soloists† also choose to co-operate with each other, which can be regarded as a great move in shipping industry because together they count for nearly 30 percents of the whole market share. The paper aims at analyzing the impact of the alliance of Maersk and MSC on freight rates on the Asia-Europe route step by step as below, Section 2 will give a description of the whole shipping market. Section 3 focuses on ML and MSC alliances about the strategies they use. Section 4 will discuss about how the strategies 2M use will influence the freight rate. 2. Market share and structure of container shipping market This section shows who are the main players in the game and what are the connections between them. Table 1 illustrates the characteristics of top 20 shipping companies including total capacity, vessels operated in the market and actual market share. Table 1 Container fleet characteristics of Top 20 liner shipping companies Operator TEU Ships MS Operator TEU Ships MS 1 ML 2078507 556 15% 11 MOL 383042 99 2.5% 2 MSC 1683723 421 13.3% 12 NYK 365304 95 3% 3 CMA CGM 1096622 384 7.6% 13 OOCL 347988 77 2.4% 4 APL 591306 148 4% 14 Hambrg.sud 336811 108 2.3% 5 Hapag-Lloyd 582520 133 3.4% 15 K Line 324441 80 2.5% 6 Evergreen 567636 156 4.1% 16 Zim 322989 97 2.2% 7 COSCO 512060 134 3.3% 17 Yang Ming 315798 77 2.3% 8 CSAV 502619 135 2.4% 18 Hyundai M.M. 279446 54 2% 9 Hanjin 461087 100 3.2% 19 PIL 231941 127 1.4% 10 CSCL 455328 127 3.3% 20 UASC 206940 52 1.4% Source: Alphaliner.com, as of 28/06/2010 It is clear that ML together with MSC count up for 28.3% market share which is less than the monopoly restriction 30%. New World Alliance whose main partners are APL, MOL and HMM counts for 8.5% market share. Grand Alliance whose main members are NYK, Hapag-Lloyd and OOCL counts for 8.8% market share. CKYH whose main partners are Hanjin, Yang Ming, K Line and COSCO counts for 11.3% market share. In this way, there are four cartels whose market share counts up to 75.6%, which indicates the fact that the container shipping market on the Asia-Europe route is oligopoly. As a result, a decision made by any of these four alliances could bring an enormous influence to the others. That is also the reason why I would like to discuss about the impact on freight rate by 2M, because they have the market power to influence others. 3. Alliance of Maersk and MSC From the above analysis of container shipping market, it is clear to tell that ML and MSC have the top 2 capacity on Asia-Europe route. However, when focusing on the efficiency that both of them perform, the situation changed somehow. Table 2 presents the market share based on the vessels operated in the market. Table 2 Market share in different regions based on number of vessels operated Geo AF ANZ AS CA FE ME MiE ML 26.5% 20.1% 3.5% 19.5% 12.9% 22.3% 18.2% MSC 12.7% 15.4% 5.8% 17.1% 8% 20.7% 23.1% GEO NA NE SA TOTAL MS Delta ML 16.1% 15.4% 13.1% 15.6% 15% 0.57% MSC 11.9% 20.6% 14.1% 13.3% 10.9% 2.39% Abbreviations: AF Africa; ANZ Australia, New Zealand, South Pacific; AS Asia; CA Central America; FE Far East; ME Mediterranean; MiE Middle East; NA North America; NE North Europe; SA South America; MS Market Share; DELTA difference between company’s share of world-fleet minus actual market share. Source: Alphaliner.com, as of 28/06/2010 Depending on Tabke2, it is clear that Delta of both ML and MSC is positive which indicates that their shares of vessels operated in the market are both higher than their actual market share. This phenomenon can be explained in this way. Suppose all the other shipping companies except for ML have their vessels loaded up to 80% on average and ML only can load their ships around 60%, ML need to devote more vessels into the market to keep the same market share with other companies. In this way, it can be inferred that both ML and MSC have not fully taken advantages of their ships in the market. They have to find a way to promote their efficiency of their carriers. From the analysis above, it should be clearly explained that the motivation of ML and MSC the Top 2 giants in the shipping market to become alliance. Shipping alliance indeed brings series of advantages to both of them. The most important agreement between ML and MSC is vessel sharing agreements known as â€Å"VSA† which means that the collaborating companies work together to fulfill demand and also try to fully load their ships. Actually once â€Å"VSA† performing well, ML and MSC could devote some of their ships on another route because fewer ships can fulfill the demand due to the high utilization of container ships. In this way, the operation cost of vessels in the market can be reduced. 4. Impact of freight rate by 2M As discussed above, vessel sharing agreements enable ML and MSC largely promote their ships utilization to reduce the operation cost. It can be imagined that the total cost to provide satisfactory services as before becomes a little bit lower after 2M established. From author’s aspect, 2M can take advantages in two different ways as below: First strategy is to remain the same price as before but provide better services to their consumers. In this way, 2M could gain more consumer loyalty and attract more consumers to accept their services. However, in author’s opinion, other alliances such as New World, Grand Alliance and CKYH will not stay at where they are and do nothing. They may choose to reduce freight rate to attract consumers in order to not lose market share. Somehow to what extent they decide to cut freight rate depends on how well 2M performs and also the loss they are able to bear. Second strategy is to lower the freight rate but remain the same services quality as before. In this way, 2M can attract more consumers with their low price of freight rate. It is illustrated about how it works as below Figure 1. Figure 1 It can be easily inferred that when 2M choose to low their price, their initial supply curve S1 will shift right to S2 and D1 stays the same if no strong fluctuation occurs. So the quantity which can be seen as the number of consumers who choose 2M service increases from Q1 to Q2. In this way, 2M will get more market share to make much more profit when the global economy recovers from the crisis. Furthermore, the second strategy also has large influence on other shipping companies on Asia- Europe route. It will result in the shutting down of some shipping companies on Asia-Europe route whose average variable cost is lower than the freight rate 2M set. In the short run, the shipping companies’ supply curve is their marginal cost curve. If the freight rate is below P1, they have to shut down because the revenue they make cannot compensate their cost which means they are losing money all the time. In this way, 2M will gain this share of market by lower the freight rate. The way it works is illustrated in Figure 2. Figure 2 The second strategy can also force some companies not only shut down but also exit the market in the long run aspect. The way it works is illustrated in Figure 3. Figure 3 From the figure above, if 2M reduce the price below P1, shipping companies whose average total cost is higher than P1 will exit market because they will never take back their initial investment if freight rate continues to stay low. 5. Conclusions As the alliance between ML and MSC has been taken into practice, vessel sharing agreement is vital to improve their service quality and the efficiency of ships operation. So with vessels utilization optimized, together with the economies of scale, 2M is able to reduce their operation cost in a large extent because there is indeed a big gap to be improved which is explained in the analysis of difference of actual market share and total capacity. It has to be clear that high efficiency operation of ships as well as the strategies 2M may use can be regarded as a way of increasing supply in the market, which in turn will make the fright rate on Asia-Europe route drops. References Photis, M.P. Robert, W. (2011). Strategic alliances in container liner shipping. Research in Transportation Economics 32 (2011) 25-38. Shashi Kumar, N. (1999). The US OSRA of 1998: an analysis of its economic impact on carriers, shippers and third parties. In proceedings of the IAME 1999 Halifax conference (pp. 7-29). Halifax, Canada: Centre for International Business Studies, Dalhousie University. Fusillo, M. (2006). Some notes on structure and stability in liner shipping. Maritime Policy Management, 33(5), 463-475.

Coffee and Starbucks Essay

Starbucks has been the most successful coffee chain using their aggressive expansion strategies to surpass its competitors. Through its expansion, Starbucks has focused on creating a dense network of stores all around US, while also opening up new locations all around the world. However, Starbucks’ aggressive expansion strategies have posed major threats to its financial health such as tight cashflows, increase debts, poor liquidity ratios and etc. In addition, this approach can exacerbate competition among close Starbucks stores. Due to the aggressive expansion, Starbucks has lost its internal focus in its core business coffee and its unique â€Å"Starbucks Experience – third place†. The issues are how Starbucks can stay profitable in the future and at the same time sustain its dominant position in the gourmet coffee industry. We have examined the industry analysis that focuses on the industry trends, the firm competitive environment and followed by a SWOT analysis on Starbucks. Finally, we look at the company strategy analysis that focuses on the Starbucks’ strategic intent and its strategic position. From these analyses, we recommend a few options where Starbucks should pursue moving forward in order to avoid further decline and sustain its dominant position. .:Company Background & History:. Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spice was established in 1971 by Jerry Baldwin, Zey Siegel and Gordon Bowker in Seattle to sell roasted coffee beans and coffee machines. (See Exhibit 1 for timeline) At that time, the founders’ philosophy was to provide high quality coffee and educate the public the art of appreciating fine coffee. It was the founders’ passion and strong commitment on educating the public that attracted Howard Schultz to join Starbucks in 1982 as the head of the marketing department, overseeing the company’s retail stores. On one of his business trips to Milan, Italy, Schultz stumbled upon an opportunity to revamp Starbucks and shift its focus from its original business activities. Schultz’s new business proposition for Starbucks was to serve freshly brewed coffee at their outlets which he sold to the founders without success. After many unsuccessful attempts, he left the Company. In 1987, Schultz acquired Starbucks from the founders and changed its name to the more abbreviated ‘Starbucks’ and modified her logo to what we see today. After the acquisition, he introduced the idea of ‘The Starbucks experience’ to all Starbucks’ outlets; that is to create a comfortable atmosphere for patrons to relax. From then on, every Starbucks outlet was the perfect duplicate of this concept. In 1992, Starbucks had launched an IPO and its common stock was being traded on the Nasdaq. In 1995, Starbucks venture overseas and formed a joint venture with SAZABY Inc to open Starbucks stores in Japan. In 1996, Starbucks first oversea outlet was opened in Tokyo. Today, Starbucks has a total of 7,087 Company operated stores and 4,081 License stores in US. Additionally, it has 1,796 Company operated stores and 2,792 Joint Venture and License store operating in other 43 countries. .:Definition of the Industry, Competitors and Scope of Analysis: Generally, Starbucks is in the Food and Beverages industry. However for the purpose of this paper, we would define Starbucks to be in the gourmet coffee industry with the following competitors : †¢Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf; †¢Costa Coffee; †¢Caribou Coffee (See Exhibit 2 for a brief write up on reasons for the choice of these competitors and some background information of them) For the purpose of this paper, our analysis will be focusing on Starbucks in US and Australia. The next section provides an overview of the gourmet coffee industry and the competitive environment in US and Australia. .:Overview of the Industry:. .:Political Forces:. Generally both the US and the Australia political situation appeared to be well established and stable. This will provide a good platform for both current businesses and new businesses to operate in. In US, despite the current verge of recession, the political mood is still likely to favour increased regulation of businesses. In addition, even though international tensions are likely to remain but their impact on political stability and economy will remain minimal. Similarly in Australia, the political climate is likely to remain relatively stable. Although the relationship between the federal government and the states had been rocky in the past; it has improved after the introduction of a more stable formula for revenue distribution. .:Economical Forces:. US: Real economic growth is expected to slow from an estimated 4% in 2008 to 3. 8% in 2009. The modest slowdown reflects the impact of lower demand from its trading partner. As these exists imbalances in the economy and the poor short-term outlook for growth, it is assumed that conditions in the US are now recessionary and that growth will remain very weak in 2009. This will in turn affect the GDP and the disposable income of its residents. Australia: Traditionally, rapid growth in Australia has been slowdown recently due to recession. Improved monetary and fiscal management have reduced macroeconomic volatility, but risks and imbalances are present. The low domestic savings rate renders the banking system dependant on foreign financing. The current account deficit is large, and international financial markets may start to worry about the underlying causes. Bubble conditions also seem to exist in the housing market. .:Socio-cultural Forces: Consumers’ Perceptions and Disposable Income:. US: There had been an increase in coffee consumption in the US market though the rate had slowed down in 2005 posing threats to coffee retailers. Recently, US consumers had increasingly opt for healthier hot drinks such as tea and RTD beverages which affect coffee consumption rate. The trend is likely to continue, leading to decline in coffee consumption. Australia: Coffee sales had experienced quite lukewarm growth from 2000 to 2005. The culture of cafe had caused more people to opt for on-trade sales coffee at the cafe instead of home-brewed coffee. According to BIS Shrapnel, people increasingly tend to go to cafes for their coffee and there is an increase of 50% within 2 years in coffee consumption. .:Technological Forces: Technological Developments:. Technological changes have created many new products and processes. It helps to reduce costs, improve quality and lead to innovations which in turn benefits consumers as well as organizations. Many organizations in the gourmet coffee industry had recognized the importance of providing wireless internet access and Wi-Fi hotspots to its patrons. These technology advances had created a leisure place for patrons to surf net or hang out after home and work. Most of the organizations had also introduced automated coffee machines to speed up the brewing process so as to shorten waiting time. To further improve business operations and efficiency, some organizations have also make use of information technology systems to help them run their businesses more smoothly. .:Environmental Forces:. With major climate changes occurring due to global warming, many organizations in the gourmet coffee industry had increased their environment awareness by reduced the usage of disposable cups to serve coffee and increased the use of ceramic mugs. Furthermore, the organizations had also reduced the size of their paper napkins, paper bags and in store garbage bags. The organizations were also encouraged to purchase Fairtrade certified coffees so as to promote responsible environmental and economic efforts. The following section presents our analysis of gourmet coffee industry with the aid of Michael Porters 5 Forces model. .: Analysis of Gourmet Coffee Industry- Porter 5 Forces:. Please refer to exhibit 3 for the criteria used for the scoring of each forces and an analysis of each forces. Force #1: Threat of New Entry:. †¢Threat of new entry is high. †¢High start up cost involved in purchasing equipments, sourcing for coffee beans and training barista. †¢Strong brand identity leading to high switching cost for consumers Score: 10 Force #2: Threat of Substitutes:. †¢Substitutes are gourmet coffee of a different brand †¢Current gourmet coffee industries is saturated †¢High switching cost. †¢Threat of substitutes considered to be relatively high Score: 6 Force #3: Bargaining Power of Suppliers:. †¢Majority of commercially available coffee beans come from a few industrializes countries. †¢Increase the cost of coffee houses in sourcing and gaining access to these high quality coffee beans. †¢Bargaining power of suppliers is relatively high Score: 5 Force #4: Bargaining Power of Consumers†¢Bargaining power of customers is relatively neutral. †¢Current player gained brand loyalty †¢Product differentiation helps to retain current customer and attract new customers. †¢However price sensitive customers might seek for cheaper alternative. Score: 0 Force #5: Rivalry between Competitors:. †¢Intensity of rivalry is moderate. †¢Brand identity and high switching cost is relatively unfavorable to new player that has just entered the market. Score: 3 Conclusion:From the above analysis, we noted that the threat of new entry, the bargaining power of the supplier and threat of substitutes are relatively high. On the other hand the bargaining power of the consumers is neutral and the intensity of rivalry is moderate. Hence from the above.

Mob Mentality

Mob mentality, or mob psychology, has been observed in numerous rock concerts and sports events in the United States, which often ends in riots and numerous people trampled to death. These events imply that there are certain influences exerted by a group that affect a person's behavior (Waddington & King, 2005). The effect of these observations is the conduct of many studies and theories in the field of social psychology.As early as 1895, Le Bon, who was writing about crowd psychology, published his work entitled, The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. His work posits that people who form a large crowd lose their conscious personalities, and these are â€Å"replaced by a sinister uncivilised and potentially barbaric ‘collective mind (Waddington & King, 2005).’†The concept of mob psychology is rooted on the idea that the persons involved are burdened with an incapacity for self-control. Thus, these people who are susceptible of being part of the mob easily succumb to pressures, influences, and temptations (Feasibility and Admissibility of Mob Mentality Defenses, 1995).The perceived reason underlying mob mentality is classified into three complementary mechanisms. First among these is anonymity. A person who usually acts as a distinct person is prevented from behaving badly because his actins would be associated with himself alone. However, a person who loses his personality and becomes merely a part of large crowd becomes anonymous, making him feel liberated from personal responsibility from their actions (Waddington & King, 2005).Another mechanism involved in crowd disorder is suggestibility. Le Bon asserts that people in a group become â€Å"less resistant to the ‘hypnotic’ powers of suggestion.† Thus, the mob is compelled into engaging in abnormal and unsavory behavior. This mechanism suggested by Le Bon is built upon by Allport in 1924, who suggested that mob psychology involves â€Å"social facilitation† where by mutual stimulation causes the overriding of customary self-restraint exercised by people in normal circumstances (Waddington & King, 2005).  Finally, there is contagion. This mechanism refers to the fact that the â€Å"†high emotions spread contagiously† as if such effect is inevitable. This leads to the often-observed violent frenzy of mobs (Waddington & King, 2005).Mob mentality is a defense against criminal liability, and is based on psychological theory. In technical terms, it is referred to as Mob Violence Proclivity Syndrome. It belongs to other psychological defenses to criminal liability, such as child sexual abuse syndrome and rape trauma syndrome (Feasibility and Admissibility of Mob Mentality Defenses, 1995).The idea is that group criminal behavior is explained by the tendency of humans to get caught up in the excitement of situations and people such that they are unable to make meaningful, real, and rational decisions about their behavior (Feasibility a nd Admissibility of Mob Mentality Defenses, 1995).The legal community has observed the effects of an understanding of this human behavioral tendency on public policy, the law, and criminal liability. Whereas in the old times, crimes committed by a group had been made graver by the fact that several people participated in the act, nowadays, such fact is used to mitigate criminal liability of the offenders.Thus, the fact that people who merely followed the mob did not have the opportunity to make rational choices about their actions is enough to help them negate or avoid criminal responsibility for their acts (Feasibility and Admissibility of Mob Mentality Defenses, 1995). This particular effect of the psychological concept of mob mentality raises serious concerns on public policy and the law.ReferencesFeasibility and Admissibility of Mob Mentality Defenses. (1995). Harvard Law Review 108(5),   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1111-1126.Waddington, D. & King, M. (2005). The Diso rderly Crowd: From Classical PsychologicalReductionism to Socio-Contextual Theory – The Impact on Public Order Policing   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Strategies. The Howard Journal 44 (5), 490–503

6 Ways Grief Counseling Can Help You

6 Ways Grief Counseling Can Help You SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Are you considering grief counseling or grief therapy, but you don’t know what to expect? In this guide to grief counseling and other kinds of professional grief support, we’ll provide a brief overview of grief and discuss what grief counseling is and what it entails. We’ll also help you figure out if you could benefit from grief therapy and how to choose a grief counselor. Finally, we’ll provide some grief and loss counseling resources. What Is Grief? Grief is the process of coping with a loss of some kind. Many people think primarily of bereavement or mourning: grieving the death of a loved one. However, you can grieve any kind of loss. This includes the loss of a pet, the loss of a beloved job, a serious illness in you or someone close to you, or the end of a friendship or relationship. People may also feel grief during a time of major life change- moving out of a family home, ending a graduate program, moving to a new city- even if they are excited about the transition. There are lots of ways to conceptualize the grieving process. One of the most common ways, created by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, is the five stages of grief model. This model posits that a grieving person goes through five emotional states throughout the grieving process: #1: Denial- the feeling that the loss can’t be real#2: Anger- rage at the loss#3: Bargaining- the impulse to try to â€Å"trade† away the loss (or the feelings of loss). May involve ruminating over what you could have done differently. With bereavement, often accompanies the feeling that â€Å"it should have been me instead†#4: Depression- feeling hopeless and sad about the loss#5: Acceptance- accepting that the loss has happened and that life will continue Another common grief model is the â€Å"Four Tasks of Mourning† created by William Worden. Per this model, grievers must accomplish four tasks: #1: Accepting that the loss has really happened#2: Working through the pain of the loss#3: Adjusting to the new environment#4: Maintaining a connection to the lost person/relationship/etc while moving forward with life There are also grief models that attempt to describe grievers. One notable one is the â€Å"grief styles† model by Terry L. Martin and Kenneth J. Doka. This posits that there are three styles of grieving: Intuitive grieving is very outwardly emotional and involves expressing inner emotions in a very visible way. We commonly expect people to grieve this way in our society. This grief style is often stereotyped as the â€Å"feminine† style of grief. Instrumental grieving is less outwardly emotional and more action-based. It often involves doing lots of projects or completing physical or cognitive tasks as a way to process the grief. People may think instrumental grievers are just not â€Å"dealing with† their grief, but they are just addressing it in a different way. This grief style is generally stereotyped as the â€Å"masculine† style of grief. Blended grieving involves a combination of the above styles. The truth is that most people are blended grievers to some extent or another. It’s very important to note that not everyone grieves in the same way or according to a particular set of â€Å"steps† or â€Å"tasks† laid out in a given order. People who are grieving who don’t feel any grief model describes their experience should not feel that anything is wrong with them. Grieving is an incredibly complicated process emotionally, intellectually, physically, and spiritually. Many experts (and grievers) describe grief as a â€Å"roller coaster.† You may be disoriented, exhausted, and confused by all of your (sometimes contradictory) reactions to the loss. You may consider pursuing grief and loss counseling to help you address your feelings of loss. While many grievers do not necessarily need professional help, many find it helpful. Grief is a normal part of life and is not a medical or mental health condition per se. However, it is typically a difficult experience, and a professional can offer valuable support and advice. We can all use some support when we are grieving. What Is Grief Counseling/Grief Therapy? Grief counseling (also called â€Å"grief therapy,† â€Å"bereavement counseling,† and â€Å"grief and loss counseling†) refers to seeing a professional in a one-on-one or small group setting to help you cope with your grief. The overall purpose of grief counseling is to provide support in a nonjudgmental environment as you move through the mourning process. In this section, we’ll discuss what grief counselors can do for you and what typically goes on in a grief counseling session. Note that many people use the terms â€Å"grief counseling† and â€Å"grief therapy† interchangeably, to refer to any session-based grief support. Others draw a slight distinction and use the term â€Å"grief counseling† to refer to session-based grief support offered by people who are not primarily mental health professionals (like pastors or nurses), while using the term â€Å"grief therapy† to refer to grief support services offered by mental health professionals like therapists and psychiatrists. Even with this distinction, in most cases, grief counseling and grief therapy will involve many of the same things. In this article, we’ll mostly use the terms interchangeably. What Can a Grief Counselor Do for You? There are six major things a grief counselor can do for you. Address your feelings: A grief counselor or grief therapist will help you identify, express, and productively manage all of the emotions you are feeling. For example, you may find yourself feeling profound anxiety or experiencing panic attacks; a grief counselor can aid in anxiety management. Identify coping mechanisms and support systems: a good grief counselor will help you identify your personal coping mechanisms and aid you in replacing unhealthy ones (like substance use) with healthy ones (like exercise). They will help you identify support systems and resources in your own life that you can access. Address your particular needs: Grief counselors can also help you deal with grief issues specific to your particular grief situation. For example, if you are a spiritual or religious person, you may find yourself questioning your beliefs or feeling angry with higher powers. A grief counselor can help with your spiritual struggles. Deal with the impacts of the loss: Grief counseling techniques help the griever come to terms not only with the loss itself, but with the impact of the loss. A major loss can change you as a person, so you may also find yourself also mourning your old self in addition to the loss. A loss may also cause a dramatic change in your financial situation or plans. A grief counselor can typically connect you with other resources you may need, like support groups, financial advisors, and so on. Set goals: Grief counselors can help you set manageable goals in your life and create schedules that help keep you moving forward and returning to regular tasks, but provide enough allowance for you to manage your grief. Help you manage setbacks: A grief counselor will help you manage any setbacks in the grieving process and reassure you that what you are going through is normal. It's okay to have setbacks. A counselor can help. Grief Counseling Techniques: What to Expect So what goes on in a grief counseling session? When you go to a grief counselor, you may not be sure what to expect. In initial sessions, you’ll most likely spend most of the time talking about the loss and how you are managing. Eventually, you’ll probably start doing â€Å"homework† and completing tasks between sessions. Grief counselors often have clients complete exercises in sessions, too. Common grief counseling techniques for both in-session and between-session work include journaling or other writing projects, completing creative projects, reading and discussing relevant books, meditation, yoga, relaxation and mindfulness techniques, and role-playing potentially uncomfortable situations. A grief counselor may also have you fill out grief therapy worksheets. Common grief therapy techniques specifically for bereavement include addressing the deceased person as though they were in the room (the â€Å"empty chair technique†), incorporating possessions or photos of the loved one into sessions, reflecting on the relationship with the deceased, and creating rituals to help commemorate the deceased. Grief counseling sessions for children will usually incorporate play therapy and creative activities to help the child express their feelings. If they are a trained mental health professional, your therapist may also introduce techniques from cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. Grief therapy after a particularly traumatic loss may include EMDR (eye movement desensitization therapy), an evidence-based therapy modality for processing trauma. Get ready to bust out that journal. Do You Need Grief Therapy? Not all grievers need grief counseling. However, if you feel you would benefit from grief counseling or grief therapy, whatever your circumstances, you should feel free to pursue it. While grief is a normal reaction to a loss, it can still help to have a trained supporter who is not also dealing with the loss to help guide you and support you through the process. Grief counseling may be especially helpful in the following situations: Hidden or misunderstood grief: if you have experienced a loss that is not acknowledged or is considered trivial by others, like the loss of a beloved pet, you may be unable to grieve as openly as you would like. In this case a grief therapist can help you process your grief in a supportive, nonjudgmental environment. Sudden loss: If your loss was very sudden and unexpected, you were not able to prepare yourself for the loss in any way. This means you are at a higher risk of developing complicated grief (see below), or grief that does not abate with time. Grief therapy can help prevent (or manage) complicated grief in this situation. Low social support: Even the most well-meaning collection of friends may not know what to do when you are facing a loss. And while friends and family often mobilize in the first weeks after a sad event, you may find that after the first month or two others have moved on from your loss, while you have not. If you aren’t getting the support you need from your social network, grief therapy can help fill the gap. Family grieving: A death in the immediate family can cause strain in immediate family relationships. This is natural; everyone is grieving the loss differently. Additionally, because everyone is grieving, they may not be able to provide support to the other grievers. In this case, meeting as a family with a bereavement counselor can help family members understand each other’s feelings and reactions and lift strain in the relationship(s). Anniversaries and events: You may experience renewed grief around the holidays, birthdays, and the anniversaries of the loss. If you are struggling during these times, you may wish to see a counselor or therapist for a few sessions. Persistent grief: In general, grief is not considered a mental illness or psychological condition, as it is a normal reaction to a difficult event. However, if severe grief persists for many months (more than about six) without any abatement, you may be experiencing complicated grief or prolonged grief. Significant changes in behavior that persist for more than six months, substance abuse, and a continued preoccupation with loss are signs that grief has become complicated. If you are experiencing complicated grief, you should see a trained mental health professional (like a psychiatrist or therapist) who specializes in providing complicated grief therapy. Complicated grief therapy involves specific grief therapy techniques to help you face the loss and move forward in the grieving process. Additionally, though medication is not typically indicated for non-complicated grief, medication is sometimes useful to help manage complicated grief, which may co-occur with depression or other ps ychological conditions. Grief can get complicated. How to Find the Grief Support That’s Right for You Once you decide that you would like some additional support in your grieving process, there are a variety of considerations for selecting the grief support that’s right for you. We’ll review the three main considerations here: convenience, cost, and fit. The next section (grief counseling resources) will offer you some additional resources for finding grief counselors. Convenience You may think that you’re willing to travel far and wide for the support you need, and when the grief is fresh, this might be true. But as time goes on and your grief becomes less acute, you’ll be frustrated if you choose a grief counselor that is very inconvenient for you to meet with. So try to find someone who is reasonably close to you, and who can meet at times that are realistic for your schedule. If you are in a very remote area where in-person meetings are difficult, you may be able to find a counselor who will meet with via video. There are also online grief support groups that you may find helpful. Cost Cost is usually a factor when selecting a grief counselor. If your insurance covers mental health services, it will typically cover grief counseling with an in-network provider. If it doesn’t, many providers offer a sliding scale. Maybe you're looking for free grief counseling. Sometimes you can find hospice grief counseling or hospital grief counseling services that offer a certain number of free sessions for patients and/or surviving family members. Grief counseling provided by clergy members is also usually free because it is considered part of their ministerial duties. Additionally, grief support groups are often free, or require only a small per-session cost. Fit There are two main aspects to finding a grief counselor who is a good fit for you. You’ll want to consider who is offering the counseling and the format of the counseling. Many types of professionals provide grief counseling, including members of the clergy, trained nurses, social workers, therapists, and psychiatrists. Additionally, trained volunteers sometimes lead grief support groups. You’ll want to consider who you will be most comfortable with and who can best meet your needs. Think about the following: Would you rather speak with someone you already know, or would you prefer someone you don’t know? Would you be most comfortable with someone with advanced training in offering therapy and mental health services? Then consider a therapist, social worker, or psychiatrist. Are you looking for a counselor who focuses on a particular kind of grief, like pet grief counseling? Or maybe someone who can address specific issues, like Christian grief counseling or grief counseling for children? Is it important to you that your grief counselor is specially certified in grief counseling? The Thanatology Association offers professional certification. Note that the American Institute of Healthcare Professionals claims to certify in grief counseling, but it’s actually a sham accreditation organization propping up degree mills- beware! Do you want your grief counselor to be trained in a particular therapeutic modality, like EMDR or complicated grief therapy? The other thing to consider when considering fit is the format of the counseling. Are you looking for counseling for just you? Family sessions? Or are you looking for a support group with other mourners? With all this in mind, you’ll also want to make sure that you have a good rapport with your grief counselor. You may want to speak on the phone before committing to a session to get an idea of whether you’ll feel comfortable with this person. A good fit is important. Look how comfortable these two are! Grief Counseling and Grief Support Resources There are lots of resources available out there for finding the right grief support for you. We’ll go over resources for finding a grief counselor and for finding support groups, as well as a few other miscellaneous grief support resources that might be useful for you. Resources for Finding a Grief Counselor or Grief Therapist These resources will help you locate and select the right grief counselor or grief therapist to meet your needs. Find a Grief Therapist- Psychology Today: The magazine â€Å"Psychology Today† hosts this database of grief therapists, searchable by zip code and metro area, for the United States and Canada. Find a Specialist- Thanatology Association: This database can help you find a variety of ADEC-certified specialists in different sub-areas of grief and death education and counseling, including counselors and therapists. Grief Counseling- TAPS: This page has information on being connected with grief support specifically for those who are grieving the loss of a military personnel member. Finding a Grief Counselor- What’s Your Grief: This article from What’s Your Grief describes a nine-step process for pursuing professional grief support. How to Find a Therapist- Terry Wise: This helpful document by Terry Wise provides guidance and suggestions for selecting a therapist. It’s not grief-specific, but most of the advice applies. Resources for Finding Grief Support Groups Here are two resources to help you connect with support groups: GriefShare: The GriefShare program combines video seminars, support groups, and personal work to help individuals with grief. You can find grief support groups online using their website that meet near you. Support Groups- Hospice Foundation of America: HFA has gathered several sites to help you find the appropriate grief support group for you. Other Grief Resources Finally, here are three other grief resources you may find useful: GriefLink: GriefLink is a comprehensive resource for grieving individuals. It provides information on grieving, links to professional help of all kinds, and a database of support groups. Resources- Hello Grief: This page from Hello Grief compiles resources available in every state for grieving individuals. Center for Complicated Grief: This page from Columbia University offers information on complicated grief (also known as persistent grief or prolonged grief). Dogs are also valuable resources when you are grieving! Review: What Is Grief Counseling? How Can It Help You? In this comprehensive guide to grief counseling, we provided a brief overview of grief. It’s very normal to want support after grief, and grief and bereavement counseling can provide additional support during a trying time. Grief counseling techniques are designed to help you process your feelings and move forward in your life. While anyone who wants grief counseling could benefit from it, grief counseling may be especially helpful for those who faced a sudden loss, don’t have much social support, or who are experiencing complicated or prolonged grief. When you are trying to find a grief counselor, there are three main things to consider: Convenience: Is the grief therapist located in a place that’s easily accessible? Does their availability line up with your schedule? Cost: Does your insurance cover the counseling? If not, do you need free grief counseling? Fit: Is the grief counseling offered in a format that’s right for you? Do you get along with the grief therapist? Finally, we presented some resources for finding grief counselors and grief support groups along with some other grief support resources. You can get through it! What's Next? The stress of grief can impact your health in all kinds of ways. You might start feeling chest pain in your left breast due to anxiety. Stress can also depress your immune system, which can cause a latent shingles infection to come to the surface. If you do have shingles, here are some common shingles treatments you might consider. Self-care is critical when you are going through a hard time. Consider a nourishing coconut oil treatment for your hair to help you relax.

History of Mandarin Chinese

History of Mandarin Chinese Mandarin Chinese is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan, and its one of the official languages of Singapore and the United Nations. It is the most widely-spoken language in the world. Dialects Mandarin Chinese is sometimes referred to as a â€Å"dialect,† but the distinction between dialects and languages is not always clear. There are many different versions of Chinese spoken throughout China, and these are usually classified as dialects.   There are other Chinese dialects, such as Cantonese, which is spoken in Hong Kong, that are very distinct from Mandarin. However, many of these dialects use Chinese characters for their written form, so that Mandarin speakers and Cantonese speakers (for example) can understand each other through writing, even though the spoken languages are mutually unintelligible. Language Family and Groups Mandarin is part of the Chinese family of languages, which in turn is part of the Sino-Tibetan language group. All Chinese languages are tonal, which means that the way words are pronounced varies their meanings. Mandarin has ​four tones. Other Chinese languages have up to ten distinct tones. The word â€Å"Mandarin† actually has two meanings when referring to language. It can be used to refer to a particular group of languages, or more commonly, as the Beijing dialect that is the standard language of mainland China. The Mandarin group of languages includes standard Mandarin (the official language of mainland China), as well as Jin (or Jin-yu), a language spoken in the central-north region of China and inner Mongolia. Local Names for Mandarin The name â€Å"Mandarin† was first used by the Portuguese to refer to the magistrates of the Imperial Chinese court and the language they spoke. Mandarin is the term used through much of the Western world, but the Chinese themselves refer to the language as æ™ ®Ã©â‚¬Å¡Ã¨ ¯  (pÇ” tÃ… ng hu), å› ½Ã¨ ¯ ­ (guà ³ yÇ”), or è  ¯Ã¨ ¯ ­ (hu yÇ”). æ™ ®Ã©â‚¬Å¡Ã¨ ¯  (pÇ” tÃ… ng hu) literally means â€Å"common language† and is the term used in mainland China. Taiwan uses å› ½Ã¨ ¯ ­ (guà ³ yÇ”) which translates to national language, and Singapore and Malaysia refer to it as è  ¯Ã¨ ¯ ­ (hu yÇ”) which means Chinese language. How Mandarin Became Chinas Official Language Due to its immense geographic size, China has always been a land of many languages and dialects. Mandarin emerged as the language of the ruling class during the latter part of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). The capital of China switched from Nanjing to Beijing in the latter part of the Ming Dynasty and remained in Beijing during the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912). Since Mandarin is based on the Beijing dialect, it naturally became the official language of the court. Nonetheless, the large influx of officials from various parts of China meant that many dialects continued to be spoken at the Chinese court. It was not until 1909 that Mandarin became the national language of China, å› ½Ã¨ ¯ ­ ( guà ³ yÇ”). When the Qing Dynasty fell in 1912, the Republic of China maintained Mandarin as the official language. It was renamed æ™ ®Ã©â‚¬Å¡Ã¨ ¯  (pÇ” tÃ… ng hu) in 1955, but Taiwan continues to use the name å› ½Ã¨ ¯ ­ (guà ³ yÇ”). Written Chinese As one of the Chinese languages, Mandarin uses Chinese characters for its writing system. Chinese characters have a history dating back more than two thousand years. The early forms of Chinese characters were pictographs (graphic representations of real objects), but characters became more stylized and came to represent ideas as well as objects. Each Chinese character represents a syllable of the spoken language. Characters represent words, but not every character is used independently. The Chinese writing system is very complex and the most difficult part of learning Mandarin. There are thousands of characters, and they must be memorized and practiced to master the written language. In an attempt to improve literacy, the Chinese government began simplifying characters in the 1950s. These simplified characters are used in mainland China, Singapore, and Malaysia, while Taiwan and Hong Kong still use the traditional characters. Romanization Students of Mandarin  outside of Chinese-speaking countries often use Romanization in place of Chinese characters when first learning the language. Romanization uses the Western (Roman) alphabet to represent the sounds of spoken Mandarin, so it is a bridge between learning the spoken language and beginning the study of Chinese characters. There are many systems of Romanization, but the most popular for teaching materials is Pinyin.

Banking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Banking - Essay Example Although a preferred means of solving the inherent challenges in the current banking industry, the reality is that it has its own disadvantages, as discussed in this essay. According to economists, there are a number of benefits of banks consolidation. One of these advantages is increased efficiency in the banking sector. Consolidation eliminates geographical restrictions in the banking industry, exposing it to high levels of competition, driving out all inefficient banks from the industry. This is not the only way of ensuring efficiency in the banking sector; moving to larger banking organizations too increases their levels of efficiency due to economies of scale and scope of work. Since consolidation increased the diversification of the loan portfolios by banks, thus lowering the probability of a future banking crisis. Mergers and acquisitions in the banking industry are economical, providing banks with an opportunity to minimize their expenditures. In the event of a merger, there is closure of overlapping branches, laying off any unnecessary staff, and sale of unwanted capital goods, thus minimizing some of the operational expenditures while at the same time creating some of income for the bank. Merging also increases sales volumes of banks’ products, especially when done from a central branch. One of the major advantages of consolidation in the banking sector is market diversification, creating new geographical markets. With these new markets is an increase in business revenues. Bank mergers additionally create stronger market power, changing the pricing offered by the banks. Although argued as a means of beating the inherent operation problems in the industry, consolidation faces a myriad of drawbacks. Critics of this form of banking fear on the elimination of the smaller banks from the banking industry due to acquisitions. Not only do the investors lose in such instances; small businesses too lose their source of funding. Large business organizatio ns seek funding from large banks while small businesses seek for funding from the small banks. If large banks acquire the small banks in an effort to minimize competition, small businesses lose their source of funding. If this trend persists, the banking industry risks suffering from domination by a few banks. This makes the banking industry less competitive, reducing the quality of services provided to the customers. Some of the economists however argue that this does not have any significant effects on the industry, since there is freedom of entry into the market, and thus balances the equation of competition. Differences in the working cultures of the merging banks could lead to failure of these mergers. In their initial stages of merge, different businesses suffer from increased operational costs, for instance resultant from communication differences. Although experts argue on the efficiency of creating bank mergers, the reality is that when a merger takes place, managers face m ore vast and complicated organizations, exceeding their usual capacity. They may lack the essential expertise required in the field, reducing such bank’s efficiency. Some of the experts argue that the creation of stronger markets provides the banks with an opportunity to exploit their customers. Strong markets mean that there are reduced

Nucor Competitive Strategy Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Nucor Competitive Strategy - Case Study Example The problems Nucor faces are manifold. First, Nucor should worry about how to compete in the domestic and global markets in the steel industry. Additionally, Nucor also has a basically weak managerial hierarchy and human resources system, and it is flawed for multiple reasons-which will be discussed further at length in the "Worry List" section. Although Nucor has a four-fold strategy that is designed to implement growth, this strategy, too, is riddled with dilemmas all unique unto itself (new acquisitions, new plant construction, continued plant upgrades and cost reduction efforts, and joint ventures). Nucor must address policy issues within its operations and whether they are expedient to uphold, or whether new policies should be instituted to foster a more conscientious and people-driven company than it already is. The workforce compensation practices seem to be excessive, which will be explained in-depth in the "Worry List." Finally, common-sense issues, like pricing and markeing , and the actual production logistics of how steel is made, are obviously factors that must be seriously evaluated if Nucor is expected to remain not only a vital competitor but a leader in the steel industry in the U.S. and abroad. In order to continue... issues, like pricing and markeing, and the actual production logistics of how steel is made, are obviously factors that must be seriously evaluated if Nucor is expected to remain not only a vital competitor but a leader in the steel industry in the U.S. and abroad. In order to continue being a superior organization, Nucor must as a company reevaluate its primary focus and then set its goals according to the following suggested solutions. First, regarding competition, Nucor must seriously decide where it wants to be in relation to other steel companies and take action to corner the global market on the need for exported steel, an look into supporting measures that would strengthen Nucor having an edge on the industry-a competitive advantage if you will-by making sure that U.S. and international law encourages and protects free trade, which stands to benefit Nucor Corporation. In order to be domestically competitive, Nucor should consider adjusting some of its underlying policies related to management, human resources, and compensation in order to stay abreast of the changing times. One problematic aspect about Nucor which must be altered is its seemingly laissez-faire approach to management which affects the two other aspects of the company (hu man resources and compensation). Additionally, the delicate dance of new acquisitions by the company has prospects, but there are also other entities to consider. Is the company culture and hierarchy being set forth in new acquistions manageable, and reasonable If not, this must be tweaked also. Further, the liabilities involved in new acquistitions as well as the construction of new plants and their impending operations and workforce must be evaluated. Although this company compensates its employees well for the no