Motivational Process free essay sample

Dweck argues that this approach has important implications for practice and the design of interventions to change maladaptive motivational processes. She presents a compelling proposal for explaining motivational influences on gender differences in mathematics achievement and observes that empirically based interventions may prevent current achievement discrepancies. The Editors Most research on effective learning and performance of cognitive tasks analyzes the particular cognitive skills required to succeed at those tasks. In contrast, the focus here is on motivational processes that affect success on cognitive tasks. That is, the focus is on psychological factors, other than ability, that determine how effectively the individual acquires and uses skills. It has long been known that factors other than ability influence whether children seek or avoid challenges, whether they persist or withdraw in the face of difficulty, and whether they use and develop their skills effectively. However, the components and bases of adaptive motivational patterns have been poorly understood. We will write a custom essay sample on Motivational Process or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page As a resuit, commonsense analyses have been limited and have not provided a basis for effective practices. Indeed, many commonsense beliefs have been called into question or seriously qualified by recent researchfor example, the belief that large amounts of praise and success will establish, maintain, or reinstate adaptive patterns, or that brighter children have more adaptive patterns and thus are more likely to choose personally challenging tasks or to persist in the face of difficulty. In the past 10 to 15 years a dramatic hange has taken place in the study of motivation. This change has resulted in a coherent, replicable, and educationally relevant body of findingsand in a clearer understanding of motivational phenomena. During this time, the emphasis has shifted to a social-cognitive approachwaway from external contingencies, on the one hand, and global, internal states on the other. It has shifted to an emphasis on cognitive mediators, that is, to how children construe the situ ation, interpret events in the situation, and process 1040 information about the situation. Although external contingencies and internal affective states are by no means ignored, they are seen as part of a process whose workings are best penetrated by focusing on organizing cognitive variables. Specifically, the social-cognitive approach has allowed us to (a) characterize adaptive and maladaptive patterns, (b) explain them in terms of specific underlying processes, and thus (c) begin to provide a rigorous conceptual and empirical basis for intervention and practice. Adaptive and Maladaptive Motivational Patterns The study of motivation deals with the causes of goaloriented activity (Atkinson, 1964; Beck, 1983; Dollard Miller, 1950; Hull, 1943; Veroff, 1969). Achievement motivation involves a particular class of goalsthose involving competenceand these goals appear to fall into two classes: (a) learning goals, in which individuals seek to increase their competence, to understand or master something new, and (b) performance goals, in which individuals seek to gain favorable judgments of their competence or avoid negative judgments of their competence (Dweck Elliott, 1983; NichoUs, 1984; Nicholls Dweck, 1979). Adaptive motivational patterns are those that promote the establishment, maintenance, and attainment of personally challenging and personally valued achievement goals. Maladaptive patterns, then, are associated with a failure to establish reasonable, valued goals, to maintain effective striving toward those goals, or, ultimately, to attain valued goals that are potentially within ones reach. Research has clearly documented adaptive and maladaptive patterns of achievement behavior. The adaptive (mastery-oriented) pattern is characterized by challenge seeking and high, effective persistence in the face of obstacles. Children displaying this pattern appear to enjoy exerting effort in the pursuit of task mastery. In contrast, the maladaptive (helpless) pattern is characterized by challenge avoidance and low persistence in the face of difficulty. Children displaying this pattern tend to evidence negative affect (such as anxiety) and negative self-cogniCorrespondenceconcerningthis article shouldbe addressedto CarolS. Dweck,Departmentof Psychology,UniversityofIllinois, 603 E. Daniel, Champaign, IL 61820. l The wordperformancewill be used in severalways,not only in connection with performancegoals. It will alsobe used to refer to the childs task activity(performanceof a task) and to the product of that activity (levelof performance). The meaning should be clear from the context. October 1986 9 American Psychologist Copyrisht 1986 by the American PsychologicalAssociation, Inc. 0003-066X/86/$00. 75 Vol. 41, No. 10, 1040-1048 Table 1 Achievement Goals and Achievement Behavior Theory of intelligence Goal orientation Confidence in present ability Behavior pattern Entity theory (Intelligence is fixed) gt; Performance goal (Goal is to gain positive judgments/avoid negative judgments of competence) If high gt; Mastery-oriented Seek challenge but High persistence If low ~ Helpless Avoid challenge Low persistence gt; Learning goal Incremental theory (Intelligence is malleable) (Goal is to increase competence) If high gt; Mastery-oriented ioOr ~ Seek challenge (that fosters learning) High persistence tions when they confront obstacles (e. g. , Ames, 1984; C. Diener Dweck, 1978, 1980; Dweck Reppucci, 1973; Nicholls, 1975). Although children displaying the different patterns do not differ in intellectual ability, these patterns can have profound effects on cognitive performance. In experiments conducted in both laboratory and classroom settings, it has been shown that children with the maladaptive pattern are seriously hampered in the acquisition and display of cognitive skills when they meet obstacles. Children with the adaptive pattern, by contrast, seem undaunted or even seem to have their performance facilitated by the increased challenge. If not ability, then what are the bases of these patterns? Most recently, research has suggested that childrens goals in achievement situations differentially foster the two patterns. That is, achievement situations afford a choice of goals, and the one the child preferentially adopts predicts the achievement pattern that child will display. Table 1 summarizes the conceptualization that is emerging from the research. BasieaUy, childrens theories of intelligence appear to orient them toward different goals: Children who believe intelligence is a fixed trait tend to orient toward gaining favorable judgments of that trait (performance goals), whereas children who believe intelligence is a malleable quality tend to orient toward developing that quality (learning goals). The goals then appear to set up the different behavior patterns. 2 effort. Further, this research shows how a focus on ability judgments can result in a tendency to avoid and withdraw from challenge, whereas a focus on progress through effort creates a tendency to seek and be energized by challenge. Although relatively few studies as yet have explicitly induced and compared (or measured and compared) learning versus performance goals (see M. Bandura Dweck, 1985; Elliott Dweck, 1985; FarreU Dweck, 1985; Leggett, 1985, 1986), many have manipulated the salience and value of performance goals, and hence the relative value of the two types of goals. This has been done, for example, by instituting a competitive versus individual reward structure (e. g. , Ames, 1984; Ames, Ames, Felker, 1977), by varying the alleged diagnosticity of the task vis vis important abilities (e. g. , Nicholls, 1975), by introducing an audience or evaluator versus allowing the individual to perform privately or focusing his or her attention on the task (e. . , Brockner Hulton, 1978; Carver Scheier, 1981; E. Diener SruU, 1979), and by presenting the task with test instructions versus game or neutral instructions (e. g. , Entin Raynor, 1973; Lekarczyk Hill, 1969; McCoy, 1965; Sarason, 1972). Taken together, the results suggest that highlighting performance goals relative to learning goals can have the following effects on achievement behavior. Goals and Task Choice Learning and Performance Goals Contrasted How and why do the different goals foster the different patterns? How do they shape task choice and task pursuit to facilitate or impede cognitive performance? The research reviewed below indicates that with performance goals, the entire task choice and pursuit process is built around childrens concerns about their ability level. In contrast, with learning goals the choice and pursuit processes involve a focus on progress and mastery through 2 See M. Bandura and Dweck (1985), Dweck and Elliott (1983), and Leggett (1985) for a more extensive treatment of childrens theories of intelligence. The present article will focus on achievement goals and their allied behavior patterns. Appropriately challenging tasks are often the ones that are best for utilizing and increasing ones abilities. Recent research has shown that performance goals work against the pursuit of challenge by requiring that childrens perceptions of their ability be high (and remain high) before the children will desire a challenging task (M. Bandura Dweck, 1985; Elliott Dweck, 1985). That is, if the goal is to obtain a favorable judgment of ability, then children need to be certain their ability is high before displaying it for judgment. Otherwise, they will choose tasks that conceal their ability or protect it from negative evaluation. For example, when oriented toward performance goals, individuals with low assessments of their ability are often found to choose personally easy tasks on which success is ensured or excessively difficult ones on 1041 October 1986 9 American Psychologist which failure does not signify low ability (M. Bandura Dweck, 1985; Elliott Dweck, 1985; see also deCharms Carpenter, 1968; Moulton, 1965; Nicholls, 1984; Raynor Smith, 1966). Even individuals with high assessments of their ability may sacrifice learning opportunities (that involve risk of errors) for opportunities to look smart (Elliott Dweck, 1985; see Covington, 1983). Thus, performance goals appear to promote defensive strategies that can interfere with challenge seeking. With learning goals, however, even if childrens assessment of their present ability is low, they will tend to choose challenging tasks that foster learning (M. Bandura Dweck, 1985; Elliott Dweck, 1985). Specifically, in studies by EUiott and Dweck (1985), in which learning and performance goals were experimentally manipulated, and by M. Bandura and Dweck (1985), in which learning and performance goals were assessed, children with learning goals chose challenging tasks regardless of whether they believed themselves to have high or low ability (see also Meyer, Folkes, Weiner, 1976; Nicholls, 1984). Thus with a learning goal, children are willing to risk displays of ignorance in order to acquire skills and knowledge. Instead of calculating their exact ability level and how it will be judged, they can think more about the value of the skill to be developed or their interest in the task to be undertaken. Goals and Task Pursuit Outcome interpretation and impact. Although within a performance goal childrens confidence in their ability needs to remain high to sustain task involvement, that confidence is difficult to maintain. Research shows that children with performance goals are more likely to interpret negative outcomes in terms of their ability. That is, they attribute errors or failures to a lack of ability (Ames, 1984; Ames et al. , 1977; Elliott Dweck, 1985) and view them as predictive of continued failure (Anderson Jennings, 1980). This in turn tends to result in defensive withdrawal of effort or debilitation in the face of obstacles (Covington Omelich, 1979; Elliott Dweck, 1985; Frankl Snyder, 1978; Nicholls, 1976, 1984; see also Berglas Jones, 1970; Weiner, 1972, 1974). In contrast, children with learning goals tend to use obstacles as a cue to increase their effort or to analyze and vary their strategies (Ames, 1984; Ames et al. 1977; Elliott Dweck, 1985; Leggett, 1986; Nicholls, 1984), which often results in improved performance in the face of obstacles. That is, the more children focus on learning or progress, the greater the likelihood of maintaining effective strategies (or improving their strategies) under difficulty or failure (A. Bandura Schunk, 1981; Elliott Dweck, 1985; Farrell Dweck, 1985; see also Anderson Jennings, 1980; C. Diener Dweck, 1978). Satisfaction with outcomes. Once again, within the performance goal versus learning goal framework, the focus is on ability versus effort. For performance-goal children, satisfaction with outcomes is based on the ability they believe they have displayed, whereas for learninggoal children, satisfaction with outcomes is based on the 1042 effort they have exerted in pursuit of the goal. Ames et al. (1977), for example, found that with an autonomous reward structure (learning goal), childrens pride in their performance in both the success and the failure conditions was related to the degree of effort they perceived themselves to have exerted. However, within the competitive reward structure (performance goal), pride in performance was related to the degree of ability (and luck) they believed themselves to have. Thus, failure within a performance goal, because it signifies low ability, yields little basis for personal pride or satisfaction. Indeed, within a performance goal, high effort may be negatively related to satisfaction: Leggett (1986) showed that children with performance goals are significantly more likely than children with learning goals to view effort per se as indicative of low ability (see also Jagacinski Nicholls, 1982; Surber, 1984). Findings by M. Bandura and Dweck (1985) also support the differential emphasis on effort versus ability as the basis for satisfaction within learning and performance goals. When asked to indicate their affective reactions to low-effort mastery, children with learning goals were more likely than children with performance goals to choose bored or disappointed as opposed to proud or relieved. Finally, within a performance framework, childrens own outcome satisfaction and that of their peers may be in conflict. Results from the Ames et al. 1977) study are consonant with this view. Childrens own satisfaction and perceived others satisfaction with performance were negatively correlated under the competitive reward structure (-. 70) but not in the autonomous reward structure (. 06), even though their relative outcomes were identical in the two conditions. In addition, in rating how deserving of rewards (stars) both persons were, given their level of performance, children were more magnanim ous toward the poorer performer (whether it was self or other) in the noncompetitive condition than they were in the competitive one. Indeed, in the noncompetitive condition, they even awarded the losing other slightly more stars than they awarded themselves. Intrinsic motivation. It has been noted that persistence in the face of obstacles is made more difficult within a performance goal because obstacles tend to cast doubt on the childs ability and hence to call into question goal attainment (favorable ability judgments). Persistence is also made more difficult by the fact that intrinsic motivational factorssuch as task interest or the enjoyment of effortmay be more difficult to access within a performance goal. That is, effort in the face of uncertainty appears to be experienced as aversive for children with performance goals, and worry about goal attainment may well overwhelm any intrinsic interest the task may hold for the child (Ames et al. , 1977; M. Bandura Dweck, 1985; Elliott Dweck, 1985). Indeed, performance goals may well create the very conditions that have been found to undermine intrinsic interest (Deci Ryan, 1980; Lepper, 1980; Lepper Greene, 1978; Maehr Stallings, 1972; Ryan, Mires, Koestner, 1983). October 1986 9 American Psychologist In concluding this section on goal orientation and task pursuit, we might ask: Do childrens goal orientations play a role in what and how they actually learn in classroom settings? One of the hallmarks of effective learning (and of intelligent thinking) is the tendency to apply or transfer what one has learned to novel tasks that embody similar underlying principles. In a recent study, Farrell and Dweck (1985) examined the relationship between childrens goal orientations and transfer of learning. As a week-long unit in their regular science classes, eighth-grade children were taught one of three scientific principles by means of self-instructional booklets. They were then tested for their generalization of this learning to tasks involving the two (conceptually related) principles that had not been taught. The results showed that children who had learning goals for the unit, compared to those who had performance goals, (a) attained significantly higher scores on the transfer test (and this was true for children who had high and low pretest scores); (b) roduced about 50% more work on their transfer tests, suggesting that they were more active in the transfer process; and (c) produced more rulegenerated answers on the test even when they failed to reach the transfer criterion, again suggesting more active attempts to apply what they had learned to the solution of novel problems. To summarize, a performance goal focuses children on issues of ability. Within this goal, childrens c onfidence in their current ability must be high and must remain high if they are to choose appropriately challenging tasks and pursue them in effective ways. Yet the same focus on ability makes their confidence in their ability fragile-even the mere exertion of effort calls ability into question. A strong orientation toward this goal can thus create a tendency to avoid challenge, to withdraw from challenge, or to show impaired performance in the face of challenge. Ironically, then, an overconcern with ability may lead children to shun the very tasks that foster its growth. In contrast, a learning goal focuses children on effort-effort as a means of utilizing or activating their ability, of surmounting obstacles, and of increasing their ability. Not only is effort perceived as the means to accomplishment, it is also the factor that engenders pride and satisfaction with performance. The adoption of learning goals thus encourages children to explore, initiate, and pursue tasks that promote intellectual growth. The Relation of Ability and Motivation Does Ability Predict Motivational Patterns? One might suppose that children who had the highest IQ scores, achievement test scores, and grades would be the ones who had by far the highest expectancies for future test scores and grades, as well as for performance on novel experimental tasks. Surprisingly often, this is not the case. In fact, one of the things that makes the study of motivation particularly intriguing is that measures of childrens actual competence do not strongly predict their confidence of future attainment (M. Bandura Dweck, October 1986 9 American Psychologist 1985; Crandall, 1969; Stipek Hoffman, 1980; see also Phillips, 1984). Indeed, M. Bandura and Dweck found that their low-confidence children tended to have somewhat higher achievement test scores than their high-confidence group. Interestingly, the low-confidence children did not have poorer opinions of their past attainment or abilities but faced the upcoming task with low expectancies of absolute and relative performance. One might also suppose that high-achieving children would be much less likely than low achievers, when encountering an obstacle, to attribute their difficulty to a lack of ability and to show deteriorated performance. But this supposition, too, is often contradicted by the evidence (e. g. , Licht Dweck, 1984; Stipek Hoffman, 1980; see also C. Diener Dweck, 1978, 1980). A tendency toward unduly low expectancies (CrandaU, 1969; Stipek Hoffman, 1980), challenge avoidance (Licht, Linden, Brown, Sexton, 1984; see also Leggett, 1985), ability attributions for failure (Licht Shapiro, 1982; Nicholls, 1979), and debilitation under failure (Licht et al. , 1984; Licht Dweck, 1984) has been especially noted in girls, particularly bright girls. 3 Indeed, some researchers have found a negative correlation for girls between their actual ability and these maladaptive patterns (Crandall, 1969; Licht et al. , 1984; Licht Dweck, 1984; Licht Shapiro, 1982; Stipek Hoffman, 1980). An extensive study of sex differences in achievement cognitions and responses to failure recently completed by Licht et al. (1984) yields illustrative evidence. On the basis of their grades, Licht divided her subjects into A, B, C, and D students and, among other measures, administered a novel concept formation task. A significant sex difference was found among the A students (and only among the A students) in their response to failure, with the A girls showing the greatest debilitation of the eight groups and the A boys being the only group to show any facilitation. In addition, Licht found a strong sex difference in task preferences between A girls and A boys: The A girls much preferred tasks they knew they were good at, whereas A boys preferred ones they would have to work harder to master. It is also interesting to note that in Leggetts (1985) study of bright junior high school students, there was a greater tendency for girls than boys to subscribe to an entity theory of intelligence (smartness as a fixed trait, a static entity) and for those who did to choose a performance goal that avoided challenge. Again, it is not the case that these girls are unaware of their attainments (Licht Dweck, 1984; Nicholls, 1979; Parsons, Meece, Adler, Kaczala, 1982), but knowledge of past successes does not appear to arm them for confrontations with future challenges. For example, in a study by Licht and Dweck (1984) that examined the 3It is important to note that sex differences,like most individual differences,are by no means found in everystudy. However,when sex differencesare found,the sameonesare typicallyfound. Thus,the pattern describedis a recurrent one that has been foundin many studiesfrom many differentlaboratories. 1043 impact of initial confusion (vs. no confusion) on subsequent learning, high-achieving girls rated themselves as being bright but still showed greater debilitation than lowachieving girls. Whereas in the no-confusion condition, the brighter the girl (by her own self-rating and by IQ score), the more likely she was to master the new material (r = . 7), in the confusion condition, the brighter the girl, the less likely she was to reach the mastery criterion (r = -. 38, Paifflt; . 02). (For boys in this study the correlation between self-rated ability and task performance tended to increase from the no-confusion to the confusion condition: rs . 15 and . 34, respectively. ) In short, being a high achiever and knowing one has done well in the past does not appear to translate directly into high confidence in ones abilities when faced with future challenges or current difficu lties. Nor does it clearly predict the maintenance of ones ability to perform or learn under these conditions. It is apparent, then, that a maladaptive motivational pattern is not the sole province of the low-achieving, failure-prone child. Does Motivational Pattern Predict Ability Over Time? If there is a sizable proportion of high achievers with maladaptive motivational patterns (see Phillips, 1984), and if these patterns are important to achievement, then why are these children still high achievers? Drops in achievement can result from performance debilitation or task avoidance. That is, both the presence of failure or the opportunity to avoid challenging subject areas may lead to cumulative skill deficits in children with maladaptive patterns. For good students, grade school may not provide either of these. It may present neither tasks that are difficult enough to create failure and debilitation nor the choice of not pursuing a given subject area. For these reasons, maladaptive patterns may not yet typically come into play. Licht and Dweck (1984) showed, however, in an experiment conducted in classrooms, that when confusion does accompany the initial attempt to learn new material, mastery of the material is seriously impaired for these children. It may be that only in subsequent school years will these maladaptive tendencies have their impact on achievement, when children with these patterns may elect to avoid challenging courses of study, drop out of courses that pose a threat of failure, or show impairment of performance under real difficulty. Thus, our experimental studies may create conditions that good students will encounter fully only in later years but that reveal underlying patterns already in place in the grade school years. In the following section, sex differences in motivational patterns and achievement are used as a means of exploring the ways in which motivational patterns can affect achievement, and ability, over time. The Case of Sex Differences in Mathematical Versus Verbal Achievement Discrepancies between males and females in mathematical and verbal achievement have long been a source of puzzlement and concern. Although in the grade school 1044 years girls equal boys in mathematical achievement (and surpass them in verbal achievement), during the junior high and high school years, boys pull ahead and remain ahead in mathematical achievement (Donlon, Ekstrom Lockheed, 1976; Fennema Sherman, 1977; Hilton Berglund, 1974; Maccoby Jacklin, 1974). A wide assortment of explanations has been advanced, ranging from claims about the nature of the genetic equipment (Benbow Stanley, 1980) to arguments about the impact of sex role stereotypes (Sherman Fennema, 1977). Without ruling out other explanations, one can add a motivational explanation based on the research findings reviewed above. Specifically, the fact that the two sexes often display different motivational patterns and the fact that the academic subject areas in question differ in major ways aside from the skills they require suggest that perhaps motivational patterns contribute to these achievement discrepancies. This suggestion is made even more plausible when one considers that (a) sex differences in mathematical achievement are greatest among the brightest students (Astin, 1974; Fox, 1976) and (b) sex ifferences in motivational patterns and associated behavior appear to be greatest among the brightest students. As noted above, bright girls compared to bright boys (and compared to less bright girls) seem to display shakier expectancies, lower preference for novel or challenging tasks, more frequent failure attributions to lack of ability, and more frequent debilitation in the face o f failure or confusion (Licht et al. , 1984; Licht Dweck, 1984; Stipek Hoffman, 1980). Moreover, some characteristics of mathematical versus verbal areas are precisely those that would work against individuals with this pattern but that would favor individuals with the more confident, challengeseeking pattern (see Licht Dweck, 1984, for a more detailed discussion of these characteristics). Specifically, new units and courses in mathematics, particularly after the grade school years, tend to involve new skills, new concepts, or even entirely new conceptual frameworks (for example, algebra, geometry, calculus). These new skills and concepts are not only different from but are often more difficult than those the child has mastered in the past. In the verbal areas, however, once the basic skills of reading and writing are mastered, one does not as typically encounter leaps to qualitatively different tasks, tasks requiring mastery of completely unfamiliar verbal skills. Increments in difficulty appear to be more gradual, and new units or courses often simply ask the student to bring existing skills to bear on new material. This general difference between mathematical and verbal areas may have several important psychological consequences. For one thing, as children ponder future math courses, the greater novelty and difficulty of the future courses compared to present ones would be expected to precipitate declines in confidence for bright girls, but not for bright boys. Indeed, in the study cited above, Parsons et al. (1982) found significant sex differences in expectancies for future math courses even when females October 1986 9 American Psychologist nd males were equivalent in their perceptions of their present mathematical ability and in their expectancies for their present math courses. Task preference data as well suggest that a greater discrepancy between present and future tasks in mathematical versus verbal areas may render math less appealing to bright gifts, but perhaps more appealing to bright boys. Bright girls, it will be recalled, tend to prefer tasks they are fairly certain hey are good a t and can do well on, whereas bright boys are more attracted to tasks that pose some challenge to mastery (Licht et al. , 1984; see also Leggett, 1985). Yet another consequence of this proposed mathverbal difference is that in math, children are more likely to experience failure or confusion at the beginning of a new unit or course. This might be expected to produce debilitation (or escape attempts, such as course-dropping) in bright girls but perseverance in bright boys. And, indeed, support for this prediction of differential debilitation comes from the Licht and Dweck (1984) study, described earlier, in which confusion (or no confusion) attended the introduction of new subject matter, and from the Licht et al. (1984) study in which obstacles were encountered in the acquisition of a new skill. In both cases, bright girls showed the most impairment and bright boys the most facilitation. In short, mathematics appears to differ from verbal areas in ways that would make it more compatible with the motivational patterns of bright boys and less compatible with those of bright girls. Thus, given two children with equal mathematical aptitude and mathematical achievement in the grade school years, but with differing motivational patterns, we would predict precisely the sex differences in course taking and long-term achievement that are found to occur (Donlon et al. , 1976; Fennema Sherman, 1977; Hilton Berglund, 1974). With increasing age, children make increasingly consequential decisions, and maladaptive patterns may begin to impair their achievement and constrict their future choices. Maladaptive patterns such as those displayed by bright girls may even fail to foster intellectual growth in general. In a 38-year longitudinal study of IQ change (measured at mean ages of 4. 1, 13. 8, 29. 7, and 41. 6), Kangas and Bradway (1971) found that for males the higher the preadult level, the more they gained in later years, whereas for females the higher the preadult level, the less they gained in later years. In fact, of the six groups in the study (males and females with high, medium, and low preadult IQs), all showed surprisingly large gains over the years (between 15 and 30 points) except the high-IQ females, who showed little gain (about 5 points). Although there are many possible interpretations of these results, the general picture suggests that bright females, compared to bright males, are not thriving. Our analysis suggests that appropriate motivational interventions may help prevent some of the achievement discrepancies between the sexes. Let us turn, then, to the experiences or interventions that appear to foster adaptive motivational patterns. October 1986 9 American Psychologist Experiences That Foster Adaptive Patterns The question for motivational interventions is: What are we aiming for and how do we get there? When one considers the necessity for, but the vulnerability of, confidence within a performance goal framework, one is led to the position that challenge seeking and persistence are better facilitated by attempts to foster a learning goal orientation than by attempts to instill confidence within a performance framework. Nonetheless, much current educational practice alms at creating high-confidence performers and attempts to do so by programming frequent success and praise. (See Brown, Palincsar, Purcell, 1984, for a discussion of this issue. How did this situation arise? I propose that misreading# of two popular phenomena may have merged to produce this approach. First was the growing belief in positive reinforcement (interpreted as frequent praise for small units of behavior) as the way to promote desirable behavior. Yet a deeper understanding of the principles of reinforcement would not lead one to expect that frequent praise for short, easy tasks would create a desire for long, challenging ones or promote persistence in the face of failure. On the contrary, continuous reinforcement schedules are associated with poor resistance to extinction, and errorless learning, as evidenced by Terraces (1969) renowned pigeons, has been found to produce bizarre emotional responses following nonreinforcement. Second was a growing awareness of teacher expectancy effects. As is well known, the teacher expectancy effect refers to the phenomenon whereby teachers impressions about students ability (e. g. manipulated via test information) actually affect students performance, such that the students performance falls more in line with the teachers expectancies (Rosenthal Jacobson, 1968). The research on this self-fulfilling prophecy raised serious concerns that teachers were hampering the intellectual achievement of children they labeled as having low ability. One remedy was thought to lie in making low-ability children feel like high-ability children by means of a high success rate. In light of the implications that were drawn from teacher xpectancy effects, it is interesting to contrast them with the views of the original researchers (see, e. g. , Rosenthal, 1971, 1974; Rosenthal Jacobson, 1968). Unlike many of their followers, they appeared to frame their work within (and provide teachers with) an incremental theory of intelligence. Specifically, in the Rosenthai and Jacobson (1968) study, teachers were told that the test for intellectual blooming indicated that the target children would show remarkable gains in intellectual competence during the school year. Moreover, when hypothesizing possible mechanisms through which gains were produced, the original researchers thought in terms of teachers having stimulated intellectual growth through challenge. And, in reviewing work on undesirable expectancy effects, they lamented that lows seemed to be given too little work, and work that was too easy, to spur cognitive gains (Rosenthal, 1971). (See also, Brown et al. , 1045 1984, who argued cogently that it is not ill treatment, but a failure to teach the necessary high-level skills, that accounts for much of the achievement deficit of low-reading groups. Thus, these original researchers were oriented toward producing intellectual growth in children rather than simply giving children an illusion of intelligence. The motivational research is clear in indicating that continued success on personally easy tasks (or even on difficult tasks within a performance framework) is ineffective in producing stable confidence, challenge seeking, and persistence (Dweck, 1975; Relich, 1983). Indeed, such procedures have sometimes been found to backfire by producing lower confidence in ability (Meyer, 1982; Meyer et al, 1979). Rather, the procedures that bring about more adaptive motivational patterns are the ones that incorporate challenge, and even failure, within a learning-oriented context and that explicitly address underlying motivational mediators (Andrews Debus, 1978; A. Bandura Schunk, 1981; Covington, 1983; Dweck, 1975; Fowler Peterson, 1981; Relich, 1983; Rhodes, 1977; Schunk, 1982). For example, retraining childrens attributions for failure (teaching them to attribute their failures to effort or strategy instead of ability) has been shown to produce sizable changes in persistence in the face of failure, changes that persist over time and generalize across tasks (Andrews Debus, 1978; Dweck, 1975; Fowler Peterson, 1981; Relich, 1983; Rhodes, 1977). Thus far, only short-term experimental manipulations of childrens goal orientations have been attempted (Ames, 1984; Ames et al. , 1977; Elliott Dweck, 1985). Although these goal manipulations have been successful in producing the associated motivational patterns, much research remains to be conducted on how best to produce lasting changes in goal orientation. To date, motivational interventions, such as attribution retraining, have been conducted primarily with less successful students (those who display both a lag in skill level and a maladaptive response to difficulty). Yet, the earlier discussion suggests that some of the brightest students, who in grade school as yet show little or no obvious impairment in the school environment, may be prime candidates for such motivational interventions. Among these are children (e. g. , bright girls) who have had early, consistent, and abundant success yet, despite this (or perhaps even because of this), do not relish the presence or the prospect of challenge. implications for practice and ameliorative interventions. Indeed, ways ofappropriately incorporating issues ofselfconcept into education have long been sought. The social-cognitive approach, by identifying particular selfconceptions (e. g. childrens theories of their intelligence) and by detailing their relationship to behavior, may well provide the means. In addition, there is growing evidence that the conceptualization presented here is relevant not only to effectiveness on cognitive tasks but also to effectiveness in social arenas. For example, childrens attributions for social outcomes predict whether they respond adaptively to rejection (Goetz Dweck, 1980), and childrens social goals are related to their popularity among their classmates (Taylor Asher, 1985). Thus the present approach may illuminate adaptive and maladaptive patterns in diverse areas of childrens lives and may thereby provide a basis for increasingly effective socialization and instructional practices across these areas. REFERENCES Ames, C. (1984). Achievementattributions and self-instructionsunder competitiveand individualisticgoal structures. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 478-487. Ames,C. , Ames,R. , Felker,D. W, (1977). Effectsof competitivereward structure and valence of outcome on childrens achievementattributions. Journal of Educational Psychology, 69, 1-8. Anderson, C. A. , Jennings, D. L. (1980). When experiencesof failure promote expectationsof success: The impact of attributing failureto ineffectivestrategies. 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Manuscript submitted for publi- Summary and Conclusion Motivational processes have been shown to affect (a) how well children can deploy their existing skills and knowledge, (b) how well they acquire new skills and knowledge, and (c) how well they transfer these new skills and knowledge to novel situations. This approach does not deny individual differences in present skills and knowledge or in native ability or aptitude. It does suggest, however, that the use and growth of that ability can be appreciably influenced by motivational factors. The social-cognitive approach, with its emphasis on specific mediating processes, has generated important 1046 cation. Beck,R. C. (1983). Motivation: Theoriesand principles. EnglewoodCliffs, NJ: Prentice-HaU. Benbow,C. P. , Stanley,J; C. (1980). Sex differencesin mathematics ability: Fact or artifact. Science, 10. 1262-1264. Berglas, S. , Jones, E. E. (1970). Drug choice as a self-handicapping strategyin responseto noncontingentsuccess. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 405-417. Brockner,J. , Hulton,A. J. B. (1978). How to reversethe viciouscycle of low self-esteem:The importance of attentional focus. Journal of Experimental Psychology 14, 564-578. Brown,A. L. , Palincsar,A. S. , Purcell,L. (1984). Poor readers:Teach dont label. In U. Neisser(Ed. ), The academicperformanceof minority children: A new perspective. Hillsdale,NJ: Erlbaum. Carver, C. S. , Scheier,M. F. (1981). Attention and self-regulation: A control-theoryapproach to human behavior. NewYork:Springer. Verlag. Covington, M. V. (1983). Strategicthinking and the fear of failure. In S. E Chipman, J. Segal, R. Glaser (Eds. ), Thinking and learning skills: Current research and open questions (Voi. 2). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Covington, M. V. , Omelich, C. L. (1979). Effort:The double-edged October 1986 9 American Psychologist sword in school achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71, 169-182. Crandall, V. C. (1969). Sex differences in expectancy of intellectual and academic reinforcement. In C. P. Smith (Ed. ), Achievement-related motives in children. New York: Russell Sage. deCharms, R. , Carpenter, V. ( 1968). Measuring motivation in culturally disadvantaged school children. In H. J. Klausmeier, G. T. OHearn (Eds. ), Research and developmenttoward the improvement of education. Madison, WI: Dembar Educational Services. Deci, E. L. , Ryan, R. M. (1980). The empirical exploration of intrinsic motivational processes. In L. Berkowitz (Ed. , Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 13). New York: Academic Press. Diener, C. I. , Dweck, C. S. (1978). An analysis of learned helplessness: Continuous changes in performance, strategy, and achievement cognitions following failure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 451-462. Diener, C. I. , Dweck, C. S. (1980). An analysis of learned helplessness: II. The pro cessing of success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 940-952. Diener, E. , Srull, T. K. (1979). Self-awareness, psychological perspecfive, and self-reinforcement in relation to personal and social standards. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 413-423. Dollard, J. , Miller, N. E. (1950). Personality and psychotherapy. New York: McGraw-Hill. Donlon, T. , Ekstrom, R. , Lockheed, M. (1976, September). Comparing the sexes on achievement items of varying content. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association, Washington, DC. Dweck, C. S. (1975). The role of expectations and attributions in the alleviation of learned helplessness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 31, 674-685. Dweck, C. S. , Elliott, E. S. (1983). Achievement motivation. In E. M. Hetherington (Ed. , Socialization, personality, and social development. New York: Wiley. Dweck, C. S. , Reppucci, N. D. (1973). Learned helplessness and reinforcement responsibility in children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 25, 109-116. Elliott, E. , Dweck, C. S. (1985). Goals: An approach to motivation and achievement. Manuscript submitted for publication. Entin, E. E. , Rayn or, J. O. (1973). Effects of contingent future orientation and achievement motivation on performance in two kinds of tasks. Journal of Experimental Research in Personality, 6, 320341. Farrell, E. , Dweck, C. (1985). The role of motivational processes in transfer of learning. Manuscript submitted for publication. Fennema, E. , Sherman, J. (1977). Sex-related differences in mathematics achievement, spatial visualization, and affective factors. American Educational Research Journal, 14, 51-71. Fowler, J. W. , Peterson, P. L. (1981). Increasing reading persistence and altering attributional style of learned helpless children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 73, 251-260. Fox, L. (1976). Sex differences in mathematical precocity: Bridging the gap. In D. P. Keating (Ed. ), Intellectual talent: Research and development. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press. Frankl, A. , Snyder, M. L. (1978). Poor performance following unsolvable problems: Learned helplessness or egotism? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 36, 1415-1423. Goetz, T, Dweek, C. (1980). Learned helplessness in social situations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 246-255. Hilton, T. , Berglund, G. (1974). Sex differences in mathematics aehievementA longitudinal study. Journal of Education Research, 67, 231-237. Hull, C. L. (1943). Principles of behavior. New York: Appleton-CenturyCrofts. Jagacinski, C. M. Nieholls, J. G. (1982, March). Concepts of ability. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New York. Kangas, J. , Bradway, K. (1971). Intelligence at middle age: A thirtyeight year follow-up. Developmental Psychology, 5, 333-337. Leggett, E. (1985, March). Childrens entity and incremental theories of intelligence: Relationships to achievement behavior. Pape r presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Boston. Leggett, E. (1986, April). Individual differences in effort-ability inference rules: Implications for causaljudgments. Paper presented at the meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, New York. Lekarczyk, D. T. , Hill, K. T. (1969). Self-esteem, test anxiety, stress and verbal learning. Developmental Psychology, 1, 147-154. Lopper, M. R. (1980). Intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in children: Detrimental effects of superfluous social controls. In W. A. Collins (Ed. ), Minnesota Symposium on Child Psychology (Vol. 14). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum. Lopper, M. R. , Greene, D. (Eds. ) (1978). The hidden costs of reward: New perspectives on the psychology of human motivation. Hillsdale, N J: Erlbaum. Licht, B. G. , Dweck, C.

Edgar allen poes fall of the h

Edgar allen poes fall of the h The Fall of the House of Usher In Edgar Allen Poe's, "Fall of the House of Usher", Poe utilizes life-like characteristics of a decaying house to give it an unnatural or supernatural atmosphere, and in effect bring it's inhabitants to their impending doom.From the beginning of the story, the house is given a supernatural and unusual atmosphere, Usher's house, its windows, bricks, and dungeon are all used to portray a dismal and unusual atmosphere. When the narrator is approaching the house of his friend, Roderick Usher, Poe refers to the house as the "melancholy House of Usher" (718). This could be interpreted as the house being in a state of depression, in reality houses don't have a sense of feeling, Poe is giving the house life with these words. This is the first sign of a supernatural or unusual atmosphere.When the narrator is examining the building from the outside he describes what he is seeing and how he feels as he looks upon the house, "the vacant eye-like windowsupon a few r ank sedges-and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees-with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller upon opium" (718).Roderick MacRae

Saying Hello in French

Saying Hello in French Greetings are an essential part of French social etiquette. The most important and common greeting is  bonjour, which means hello, good day, or even hi. There are also other ways to say hello or greet someone in French, but its important to understand what greetings are acceptable in various social contexts. Youll also need to familiarize yourself with greetings that are considered informal versus those that you would use in more formal settings. Bonjour- The Most Common Greeting Saying bonjour is the most common way to greet someone in French. Its a flexible, all-purpose term: You use it to greet people in the morning, afternoon, or evening. Bonjour is always polite, and it works in any situation. In France, you need to say  bonjour  when entering a place.  Whether you are talking to a single salesperson  or entering a crowded bakery, greet them by saying  bonjour. For example, if there are a few people sitting at a table you are approaching or several acquaintances are drinking  un expresso  at the bar as you walk up to them,  greet them with a friendly  bonjour.   If you are talking to one person, it is polite in French to use courtesy titles when you say hello, as in:   Bonjour, madame  (Mrs.)Bonjour, monsieur  (Mr.)Bonjour,  mademoiselle  (Miss) Its acceptable to say bonjour by itself- without using courtesy titles- if you are greeting several people, such as when you enter une boulangerie  (a bakery) packed with a line of customers. Bonsoir- The Evening Hello Use bonsoir  to say hello in the evening. Since the  hour that nighttime arrives in France can vary greatly  depending on the season, generally start saying bonsoir around 6 p.m. You can also use bonsoir when you leave- so long as its still evening. Beware of Salut Salut (pronounced with a silent t) is commonly used in France, although it is extremely informal: Its the equivalent of saying hey in English.  Avoid using salut  with people you dont know unless you are a teenager. If you are in doubt, stick with bonjour, which- as noted- is always an acceptable form of greeting. You can also use salut  to say goodbye  in an informal setting among close friends, but there are better ways to  say goodbye in French. Gestures Associated With Bonjour If you say bonjour to a group of strangers- such as when you are  entering a shop- you need not add any gestures, though you may nod your head a bit, and of course smile. If you know the person you are greeting with bonjour, you would either shake his hand- a frank, strong handshake is preferable- or kiss him on the cheek.  Light kisses  (rarely just one kiss on each cheek but usually three or four total) are extremely common in France among friends and acquaintances. Be aware, however, that the  French do not hug  upon greeting each other and saying  bonjour.

Consumers as Victims of Fashion Manipulation Essay

Consumers as Victims of Fashion Manipulation - Essay Example Fashion is a word that everyone admires and all want to be fashionable to be accepted in the egoistic society in which life prospers today. Everything from the color of the handkerchief to the perfume used is a criterion to measure the position of the person in the society. It is more or less a pseudo-prestige donor that the people rush behind it even if their pockets and wallets do not permit. They are compelled to do so by many factors around. To be precise, they are manipulated to consume certain standard of products in the society so as to make others approve them. It is basic human nature to have an urge for praise and admiration and the manipulating factors are well versed with this fact. It is, therefore, a necessity to study the situation and suggest possible solutions for the situation. The study presented here is based on the topic and the method used is secondary literature analysis. Websites like google.com and wikipedia.org are used for the collection of various data. Th e concepts introduced are supported by the examples of various advertisements shown on media. Fashion is a relative concept. Being fashionable is also the same. Fashion has changed from time to time. It is more or less prestige that rules the industry more than anything else. Fashion and being fashionable can be seen as the second side of the coin. The other side is that of consumption. Every fashionable being is expected to spend as much as possible to gain the best possible fashionable attire or accessory.

What is 'Queer Thoery' Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

What is 'Queer Thoery' - Essay Example In the stream of interest to set up new scholarly and popular frontiers, the orientation of this theory has been heavily directed at demonstrating how and why long-standing disciplinary accounts have fallen short to defend and do justice to queer groups. However, quite a handful of thorough analyses have investigated the implications and effects of these queer perspectives on current academic disciplines, or possibly will more significantly, in the framework of contemporary social life. The concept of ‘queer,’ in that case, is the deconstruction of common ideas regarding gender and sexuality, from their embodiment in literature, movies and music to their assignment to the social as well as in the physical sciences. The movement of ‘queer’ is in fact the ‘queering’ of traditions, spanning from the rereading of characters in literatures and movies to the reviewing of historical analyses. As a movement, we have witnessed the declaration of identity of queers, particularly labelled as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and transsexual, as human behaviour variations that possess their individual rights. As a theory, the origin of queer from post structuralism and postmodernism results into the elimination of all classifications as restricting and branded by prevailing power structures. Before the concept of ‘queer’ was, in its best notion, jargon for homosexual, in its worst, a notion of homophobic ill-treatment. In current years ‘queer’ has been used diversely, at times an umbrella concept for an association of culturally minor sexual self-identities and sometimes to illustrate an emerging theoretical framework which has emerged out of more long-established gay and lesbian studies. The abrupt development and reinforcement of gay and lesbian studies in universities almost two decades ago is matched by an increasing use of the concept of ‘queer’

I Had a Job I Liked Once by Guy Vanderhaeghe Essay Example for Free

I Had a Job I Liked Once by Guy Vanderhaeghe Essay Guy Vanderhaegh takes us back a few decades in the retelling of a court case in small town, Saskatchewan in the play, â€Å"I Had a Job I liked. Once. † Using elements of style, staging and developing characters throughout the play Vanderhaegh portrays to the audience the theme of the biases and prejudices that come with living in a small town. The story is set in small town Saskatchewan in a police station office, on the night of August of 1957. Corporal Heasman has brought in Les Grant on the account of accused rape Tracy Tolbertson, and the play follows the questioning of Sergeant Finestad to Les, who retells his involvement with Tracy, the daughter of Mr. Tolbertson, the local crown attorney. The story has many sub conflicts; the tension between Finestad and Tolbertson being a main one. Tolbertson wants his daughter’s accused rapist behind bars, but Finestad wants to get the whole story instead of just listening to Tolbertson. Then there is the conflict of Finestad with himself; for years he has followed the law and stuck to the book, but in this case he is having a hard time sticking to the black and white because he feels that there is more to the story. All these sub conflicts underlie to the main conflict of the prejudices and biases that come from living in a small town, and the difficulties that come with dealing with that. These conflicts all lead up to the climax where Finestand goes against Tolbertson and against the prejudices of the town and lets Les Grant go, without charging him. Vanderhaegh does a very good job of developing the characters in this play. We are first introduced to Sergeant Finestad who has a very strong character-he likes being charged and doesn’t do well with being told what to do. Finestad undergoes a very big character change through the course of this play. At the beginning, Finestad is very strict to the law, strict to the rules. As he says to Heasman before Les is brought in to be questioned, â€Å"Nothing about police work is personal. We follow the law, Tom. We’re the keepers of the rules. If we don’t keep them, what right do we have to enforce them? † This comes after he writes on the chalk board in big bold letters â€Å"NOT PERSONAL†. Through questioning Les Grant and learning his story, we see him change at the end where he lets Les go, not charging him and saying, â€Å"something broke down tonight, Tom. Either the book, or me. † He realized that he couldn’t charge Les just based on what it says in the book. The other character who undergoes change in the story is Les. Les comes from a very rough family, and has had some challenges throughout his life, but he has stayed a good, hardworking kid. He now works at the town swimming pool in the pump room, which is where he is changed. At the pool Les is bullied very badly- every day when he gets to work there is something new written about him or his mother on the bathroom walls, which he has to clean up. He puts up with this for so long until he finally can’t do it anymore and snaps, which is when he allegedly raped Tracy. Les is then judged because of his family background, and almost found guilty just based on the prejudices against him. There are other characters that help to contribute to the conflict as well. Corporal Heasman who works with Finestad is constantly against him, wanting Les to be charged to make Mr. Tolbertson happy. Mr. Tolbertson, as Finestad describes him, â€Å"likes to win, so the rules get ignored or ben. The law’s a game. † He doesn’t bother with protocol, but is just used to getting what he wants, in this case being Les being charged. He is a hard nut who always gets his way and orders everyone around, especially his wife and Tracy. Because of this, Tracy rebels and brings out her anger making other people feel bad, such as Les Grant. All these characters come together into forming the main conflict. Guy Vanderhaeghe broaches a theme that can be very relatable to people growing up in small towns. After Finestad releases Les Grant, he explains to Heasman the reason. He recalls a poem from his grade three teacher that has the lines â€Å"Tyger! Tyger! Burning bright/In the forests of the night. † He always asks himself, â€Å"Who made the tiger? Who made the tiger? † He then goes on to say, â€Å"Who made Les Grant? They did. And who made that girl? More of the same. Poor, sorry, fucked up tigers. And you and me-we’re supposed to play tiger tamer. After they’ve used their teeth. I might have been up to the game-once, but all of a sudden it seems too complicated for rules-for me. † This is where the main theme of small town prejudices is revealed, and how there’s more to people that what meets the eye. Society judges people based on their first impressions of what they see and what they’ve heard about them. The question â€Å"Who made the tiger? † refers to the events and families in people’s past that shape who that young person becomes. Tracy’s dad was very strict and hard on her, which makes her rebel, leading her to writing the cruel things about Les on the wall. Les has had to deal with his rough family life growing up which automatically causes people to judge him. Heasman describes them as a â€Å"Bad bunch, the Grants. † Les has also been bullied for such a long time that it causes him to act out. He is good kid, but all these outside influences came into making him make a bad decision. As he explained to Finestad, â€Å"Taking it from them for as long as I remember, that gave me the right. † He believed that he had the right to do that to Tracy because he has had so many things happen to him in the past. This play deals with the prejudices society has against people and how that shapes them into who they are. Guy Vanderhaegh’s use of styling really emphasizes many things in the play, whether it be through the use of different language, symbolism or repetition. Finestad’s injured back is one symbol of his relationship with Les. When Finestad hurts his back, he asks for Les to help him and says, â€Å"Don’t let them see me like this. Please don’t give me away. † He is humiliated and Les helps him, keeping his promise. At the end of the story, the tables are turned and Les is now the one who needs help. Les is asking Finestad to not lay a charge. He says, â€Å"Don’t’ give me away to them. That’s what you asked when your back went out. That’s what you asked me. † His back symbolizes the debt he owed to Les. The Tiger in Finestad’s poem also symbolizes Les Grant and Tracy Tolbertson, who had many things contributing into making who they are and resulting in the actions they did. Vanderhaegh also uses Tolbertson’s appearances as a way to contribute to the rising action of the play, leading right up to the climax. At first Tolbertson is just mentioned when Heasman and Finestad are talking about them, then he calls and Finestad ignores him, and finally he shows up trying to threaten Finestad. In all three â€Å"appearances†, Finestad put Mr. Tolbertson down leading right up to the climax where he completely opposes Mr. Tolbertson and does not charge Les. The repetition of acknowledging the statute book also emphasizes Finestad’s character change. He went from following it’s  every word to forgetting about it and going against it at the end. The staging also helps in contributing to creating the mood of the play. The whole play takes place in the one office at the police station with no scene change. This set is very basic, which makes you focus on the characters and their actions instead of their surroundings. The lighting used helps to create the atmosphere for the memories Les has, such as it creating a â€Å"lattice-work effect to suggest a grill† at the pool, or the dimming of the lights suggesting a soft summer night on the day Les picks up Tracy. Instead of scene changes, characters enter and exit the scene giving the impression of a new location. Even in memories, Tracy actually enters the office as Les is describing the memory so as to give the audience a better understanding of what happened. The use of different sounds, such as splashing at a swimming pool or music in a car helps create the atmosphere as well. At the end of scenes, the characters do not leave, rather the lights blackout. The scene is different, but they are still in the same place. This gives you a sense of mood change to the scene. Finestad never leaves the office until the very end of the play, where he turns the office light off, walks out and the curtain comes down, giving you the sense of finality. Many things have to come together in a play to get the main message across. With Guy Vanderhaegh’s effective use of styling, staging and character building he efficiently gets across to the audience the idea that with small towns come prejudices and biases, and that before making judgments you need to understand a person’s background and circumstances to get the whole story. â€Å"I Had a Job I Liked. Once. † is an interesting play with a good message to take home.

Immigration Effects in Midwestern Communities :: Illegal Immigration, Illegal Immigrants

Immigration Effects in Midwestern Communities Works Cited Not Included The immigrants that are moving into the small Midwestern towns in America not only negatively affect the predominantly white resident societies, but also have negative impact on the non-white immigrants. The adjustment that both cultures must make in order to live in the same communities is difficult. Prejudice makes life for immigrants in these small predominantly white American cities difficult. Some of the issues that are being addressed are the social boundaries that the U.S. residents make for none-residents. This may stem from the lack of knowledge and understanding about other cultures. Most immigrants who migrate to these small towns are poor. They have to take low paying jobs because they are not skilled for better jobs and they also have language issues. The jobs do not provide enough income to sustain the households that are sometimes large and the immigrants are forced to apply for government assistance and other welfare forms such as WIC (women, infants and children). In Iowa one in four families received assistance and the unpaid medical costs doubled in the past ten years. (Cooper 1997) Is this why medical insurance is so unaffordable for the average person who is unable to receive insurance through their job? Is this why hospital expenses are outrageous, because of their unpaid bills? It is difficult for workers to pay for insurance when they are unable to afford the basic necessities. Wages in the plants are low so that owners may make higher profits. In Wausau Wisconsin over 60 percent of the Hmong refugees were living on government assistance. The thought from the citizens that the Hmong will stay in a low economic status, could be a burden on the city. (Koltyk 1998) The residents who pay taxes may feel bitter about supporting these ?foreigners?. According to the Federation for American Immigration Reform ?FAIR? (FAIR issue brief 10/02) over one million immigrants are coming into America every year and they are mostly poor. The cost of immigration by the end of 2002 was around sixty-six billion dollars in a country that can hardly support its native poor. (FAIR 2002) What impact does this have on the state welfare and the people that have to pay for these expenses, the taxpayers? Most immigrants, who work in the low paying plants, are living in substandard housing because their wages are so low they can not afford anything better.

Problems on the Supermarket Area

1. INTRODUCTION One of the main reasons research into customer complaints is important is because of competition (Van Horne & Wachowicz, 2000). All Hypermarkets become highly competitive in terms of winning the customers. Hypermarkets which do not get feedback from their customers about their service run the risk of losing them. In addition, if the Hypermarket does not look into this area seriously, the Hypermarket will not have the knowledge to make the necessary changes to their service.To maintain the good reputation for the Hypermarket and the deals between the supplier and the Hypermarket, there is a need to investigate and solve the issue of peculiar taste in frozen lambs sold in the Hypermarket in order to prevent such situation from happening again. Hence, this report will firstly describe the issue that occurs in the Hypermarket, which is the frozen lamb produce peculiar taste after cooking.Then, the report will discuss four possible problems that lead to the situation which are failure to follow the criteria given for every product delivered, low quality product, improper checking when receiving the product and poor management of the stock storage. Besides discussing about the possible problems this report also will provide three solutions and recommendations to prevent this situation from occuring again which are discussion, send staffs for training and courses in handling the stock and service the stock storage. 2. 0 STATEMENT OF PROBLEMIn the third week of September, 2011, the Hypermarket has received more than five customers’ complaints regarding the frozen lamb sold in the Hypermarket. Most of the frozen lamb produced peculiar taste after being cooked. As a result, the customers who bought the frozen lamb and ate them complained that they suffered stomach ache and diarrhea. Looking at these complaints, the Hypermarket feels that this issue should be looked at seriously; as it might cause negative consequences to the Hypermarket such as loo sing more customers and decreasing in sales.As such, the Hypermarket believes that in depth investigation and thorough report should be given to the Branch Manager so that this situation would be prevented. 3. FACTORS THAT LEAD TO THE PROBLEM 1. Failure to Follow the Criteria Given for Every Product Based on the customers’ complaints and discussion among the staffs, one of the possible factors that lead to the peculiar taste of the frozen lamb is failure to follow the criterias given by the Hypermarket. For every order made by the Hypermarket, there will be a list of criterias that should be followed by the supplier.These criterias are significantly important and ought to be followed because it has considered every aspect when choosing a product (Rao, 1989). For instance, when the Hypermarket requests for frozen meat particularly frozen lamb, the supplier has been given several criterias that should be obeyed to. Some of the criterias are the frozen lamb should be safe to be cooked and kept in the freezer, for example. This is to ensure that the frozen lamb are safe to be used, produce good taste while cooking, and will not lead to unhealthy diseases such as diarrhea and stomach ache.Since the complaints are focusing on the peculiar taste, this shows that the supplier has failed to meet the requirements needed. The frozen lamb has produced peculiar taste and resulted negative consequences to the customers. Basically, the Hypermarket believes that the problem aroused is due to the suppliers’ failure to ensure that the frozen lamb has meet the requirements. Moreover, following these requirements are one of the major issues that has been focused when choosing the supplier.Thus, strict actions and improvements should be made on this area, so that this issue would not happen in future. 2. Low Quality Product Apart from failure to follow the criterias given, another factor that might contribute to the problem is the low level of quality product. Accord ing to Deloof and Jeggers (1996), quality can be defined a state of being free from defects, deficiencies and significant variations, brought about by the strict and consistent adherence to measurable and verifiable standards to achieve uniformity of output that satisfies specific customer or user requirements.This means that having a good quality product provides a confirmation to customers that the product they buy are well measured, built and produced. It is important to have a good quality product; this will retain customers on buying that particular product because they trust the product. In relation with the problem faced byt the Hypermarket, the frozen lamb supplied by the branch might be considered as low quality product as it produces peculiar taste. This might due to the condition of the lamb itself, and how it is being run by the staffs.Furthermore, the lamb might be received in unfresh condition, or it has been taken from unreliable sources. Therefore, this report is to ensure that the branch will reevaluate the supplier of the lamb, so that this situation could be prevented in future. Besides, having low quality product will increase company expenses, as customers will keep on returning the product that they bought (Long, Malitz & Abraham, 1993). Consequently, there will be another process of reevaluating the product which demand cost and time.This will somehow decrease the sales of the product and increase the budget for that particular product which in this case, the frozen lamb. Hence, a thorough evaluation on where the lamb is taken from should be done to ensure the good quality of the frozen lamb that being sent to the Hypermarket. 3. Improper Product Checking when Receiving and Delivering The third possible factor that leads to the peculiar taste of the frozen lamb is improper product checking during receiving and delivering. It is off paramount importance for the sender and receiver to check on every product when they arrive at the storage place.This stage is known as internal control where before we deliver the product to our branch or sell it in front of the customers, there is a need to check on every single product receive (Deloof & Jeggers, 1996). This is to ensure that every product is in their best condition. Sometimes the product might be over- looked from the outside. However, due to the delivery service the product might be damaged or having defects. Hence, it is very important to check on the product entirely so that these possible situation would not happen.In conjunction with the problem of hampering the frozen lamb, some of the issues regarding improper product checking are; the branch and the hypermarket might not do proper checking when sending and receiving the frozen lamb. The branch should do thorough checking of the frozen lamb when receiving from the supplier before the frozen lamb are sent to the Hypermarket. Many external factors should be looked at while delivering the frozen lamb to the Hyperm arket because through out this period there are numerous possibilities for the lamb to be defected.For example, some of the frozen lambs might probably fall out of the storage in the lorry, and this has affecting the lamb as well as the taste of the lamb when cooking. Thus, whenever a product is received, there is a need to check each of the product condition, so that we could avoid any negative experiences with the customer. 4. Poor Management of the Stock Storage The fourth possible factors that contribute to the problem occured in the Hypermarket would be poor management of the stock storage.Basically, There are five principles of stock storage that should be followed which are labelling, position, rotation, humidity and temperature (Doyle, Beauchat & Montville, 1997). For each product that being kept in the storage, it must follow closely this principles based on what type are they (Pitt & Hocking, 1997). For instance, the raw materials and ingredients stored in establishment sh all be kept in appropriate conditions, as to prevent harmful deterioration and to protect them from contamination. In addition, items such as cleaning chemicals, other chemicals, and insect and rodent poisons in separate areas to food and food packaging.There are two types of storage which are dry goods and chilled storage that could cater to frozen and dried products (Palmer, 1983). Knowing these principles of stock storage and the appropriate way of handling the storage, it shows that there could be some mishandling cases that lead to the peculiar taste of the frozen lamb. The staffs might not securely and completely wrapped all the frozen lamb in refrigerators and freezers. In addition, the workers might not use accurate trays or containers while keeping the frozen lamb.Regenstein & Regenstein (1979) revealed that it is important to wrap all the frozen lambs in order to prevent cross-contamination and to maintain quality. Besides, the trays or containers should have enough space for liquid from defrosting items, or blood, from the lamb. Instead of the stock storage, the stock rotation of in the stock storage should be looked at as well. A suitable system of stock rotation should be applied to make sure older foods are used first to avoid spoilage. This applies to chilled and frozen foods as well as other products (Regenstein & Regenstein, 2000).For example, foods with an expired ‘use by’ date, which you are returning to the supplier for credit, should be clearly marked to show they are not intended for sale or place them in a clearly marked container. In relation to the frozen lamb case in the Hypermarket, these principles might be overlooked and caused peculiar taste. The frozen lamb might be expired or not being kept securely in the chilled storage. As stock management is the utmost possible reason that leads to the peculiar teaste of the frozen lamb, strict actions should be given in this area so that this problem would not be happening agai n. . SOLUTIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS TO SOLVE THE PROBLEM 1. Discussion Apart from seeking for the possible factors that lead to the peculiar taste of the frozen lamb, the purpose of this report is also to suggest ways to improve and overcome this situation. The first strategy that should be taken to address the issue is by having a discussion between the supplier, the branch manager and the store manager. The discussion is effective to be conducted, as it involves a process of exchanging the ideas and opinions.The involved parties could brainstorm and become more aware of the problem (Richard & Laughlin, 1980). Furthermore, it shows that through discussion allows every side to solve the problem and able to implement the strategies to overcome the problem. Besides, the discussion would be a form of verbal warning to the supplier and other branches that this situation should not happen again in future. In case it happens, everybody would be aware of the other consequences such as the c ancellation of the deal where the Hypermarket could request to change to a new supplier. . Training and Courses for Staffs Secondly, after having in depth discussion in investigating the issue of the peculiar taste of the frozen lamb, there must be other follow up solutions that need to be done in order to prevent this situation from happening again. It is important to ensure that every staff in this area are well informed about the job scope (Maher & Graves, 2007). Every staff ought to attend a training and courses before being employed. The training and courses are designed to enhance the quality of every staff’s service.For example, every staff needs to understand analytically on how to run dry goods and frozen products. The staffs should be aware that the stocks that will be expired in a short time should be marked clearly. This is to avoid the products from being arranged and displayed in the shelves. Furthermore, the staffs should aware that expired or nearly expired pr oduct will cause negative consequences to the customer if they happen to buy them. In the case of frozen lamb in the Hypermarket, one of the possible reasons that lead to the problem is perhaps the lamb has reached the expiry date.The selected staffs must know how to manage and arrange frozen foods such as lamb in order to retain the quality of frozen lamb in the Hypermarket. This proves that through training and courses the management of the every product sold in the Hypermarket could be enhanced tremendously. These types of training and courses are also valuable in maintaning the quality of every staff’s service. Apart from merely learning how to handle the product in practical, there is a strong need to provide sufficient theoretical input of it to every staff. Hence, it would be beneficial to conduct a test at the end of the training and courses.The purpose of the test is to set a standard (Hind, Moss & McKellan, 2007) before the Hypermarket employ somebody into the field . Therefore, every staff have to pass the test and this will somehow maintain the quality service offered by the Hypermarket. Consequently, such situation like having frozen lamb with peculiar taste could be prevented from happening again. 3. Service the Stock Storage Regularly Finally, one of the utmost important ways to solve the problem regarding the peculiar taste of frozen lamb in the Hypermarket is servicing the stock storage regularly.It is known that stock storage is a place where all the products are being kept (Palmer, 1983). The importance of having storage is to ensure the availability of the products. In the storage, all products are being storaged according to the type of food whether they are dry goods or chilled foods. In addition, the shelf life and date codes of items can be determined based on the correct storage conditions, including temperatures and labels (Doyle, Beauchat & Montville, 1997).For instance, food with a short shelf life in which food poisoning orga nisms can grow such as frozen foods are labelled with a USE BY date (Pitt & Hocking, 1997). It is an offence to have on display, or sell, food after the use by date has expired, even if it appears to still be fit to eat. These are some of the rules that should be followed in the stock storage. To ensure that the storage is safe for every product to be kept; therefore, regular servicing should be done.Regular servicing is to prevent defects and deficiencis of the products such as cockroach bites at the edge of the packaging or for chilled food, there will be bacteria in the food due to inappropriate temperature (Regeinstein & Regenstein, 2000). Doyle, Beauchat and Montville (1997) also suggested that the storage should be serviced at least once a month in order to maintain the cleanliness of the storage and safety of the products. Instead of servicing the storage as a whole, the place where we keep frozen foods is most important to be serviced monthly.This is due to the condition of the food like frozen foods tend to produce excessive water and smell due to their type of food. For example, frozen lamb will definitely produce blood and water but in frozen condition. These excessive waste will stay in the storage even we have taken out the food from the place. So, to clean up the storage twice a month is appropriate in order to avoid contamination from happening to the frozen food. Besides, packaging and wrapping materials and catering disposables to be used for food should also be kept in clean, dry, pest and contamination free stores (Pitt & Hocking, 1997).Thus, in relation to the frozen lamb in the Hypermarket, regardless of the supplier, the branch manager and the hypermarket, the stock storage in every place should be serviced regularly to prevent contamination. As a result, any incident like peculiar taste from the frozen lamb could be avoided from happening again in future. 5. CONCLUSION In summary, this report has elaborated three main areas that should b e looked at in order to solve the issue of peculiar taste for the frozen lamb in the Hypermarket which are problem, factors and solutions.The report has identified that the peculiar taste produced by the frozen lamb result several consequences to the Hypermarket. Some of them are; the customers suffer diarrhea and stomach ache after eating the lamb and several complaints about similar issue have received. The Hypermarket believes that this issue should be investigated in order to retain customers. There are four factors that have been identified which are failure to follow the criteria given for every product delivered, low quality product, improper checking when receiving the product and poor management of the stock storage.Thus, to solve this situation as well as address these factors, this report has come out with three solutions which are discussion, send staffs for training and courses in handling the stock and service the stock storage. It is hoped that this report will be ben eficial to all parties especially the Hypermarket in addressing the issue of peculiar taste produced by the frozen lamb. To ensure the success of a business, everybody should play a big role in making that happen. (2780 words)

Physical and Mental Effect of Teenage Pregnancy Essay

One of the most traumatic and devastating effect of teenage pregnancy is making it difficult for the girl to continue her education. And this is verily alarming especially here in the Philippines. It is a major contributor to poverty, single parenthood, and limited futures for adolescents and their children that is why it is so significant to attend to the problem now and not later. We must help young parents rise above what the statistics forecast. We can no longer look the other way when it comes to the issues our youth face today whether it is drugs or alcohol abuse, crime, sexual orientation, sexually transmitted infections or pregnancy. Our community must work together to empower, educate and encourage these individuals. We can address these issues by offering workshops on life skills such as budgeting, parenting, and financial planning. Young parents need access to resources in terms of rehabilitation, communication, parenting classes, relationship counseling and training. Successful intervention methods must be established to resolve teenage pregnancy issues and teenage mother’s predicaments The sexual revolution has ushered in a period in which the average adolescent experiences tremendous pressures to have sexual experiences of all kinds. Filipino teens get a higher exposure to sex from the Internet, magazines, TV shows, movies and other media than decades ago, yet without any corresponding increase in information on how to handle the input. So kids are pretty much left to other kids for opinions and value formation when it comes to sex. Sexual misinformation is therefore equally shared in the group. Parents at home and teachers in school feel equally inadequate or uneasy to discuss the topic of sex with youngsters. The problem mounts because theirpeers has a more profound influence than parents do and they exert pressure and expect the adolescent to conform to the rest of them. Teen pregnancy has become known to be one of the most serious social problems in thewhole world. The youths today is at high risk of becoming an early and immature parent who areexpose to a malevolent behaviors. This issue is a severe family stressor that may quickly lead toa family crisis. The main objective of this research is to consider the physical and mental health ofapregnantteenager. As well as the cause and effect of pregnancy to the teenager and their social interaction. The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find  forgiveness†. Teenage pregnancy in the Philippines Teenage pregnancy in the Philippines is increasingly becoming a major cause of concern. There is a rising trend of young women becoming mothers and majority of whom are unmarried. Young pregnant women are more vulnerable to death during pregnancy while childbirth and huge number are not physically and emotionally prepared for motherhood. This is a direct reflection that there is inadequate and inaccurate information on adolescent pregnancy and not enough priority is given to maternal and child health care. If pregnancy occurs, teenagers and their families deserve honest and sensitive counseling about options available to them, from abortion to adoption. Special support systems, including consultation with a child and adolescent psychiatrist when needed, should be available to help the teenager throughout the pregnancy, the birth, and the decision about whether to keep the infant or give it up for adoption. The ability to talk openly about problems is one of the most important aspects of the  parent and child relationship. Developing this relationship  and open communication takes time,  persistence, and understanding. The relationship develops gradually  by spending time with the child. Meal times, storytelling, reading, playing games, outings, vacations, and celebrations are important opportunities for parents to spend time with their child. Parents should also try to spend some individual time with each child, particularly when talking about difficult or upsetting things. This relationship creates the foundation for talking with the child when struggles and conflicts  emerge  during  adolescence. Whatever feelings you’re experiencing, this is likely to be a difficult time for your family. The important thing to realize is that your teen needs you now more than ever. Being able to communicate with each other – especially when emotions are running high – is essential. Teens that are carrying a baby to term have special health concerns, and your child will have a healthier pregnancy – emotionally and physically – if she knows she doesn’t have to go it alone.

Great second jobs for Baby Boomers

Great second jobs for Baby Boomers If you’re one of the huge wave of Baby Boomers reaching (or already past) retirement age, you may be thinking a lot about the next phase of your life. For many, continuing to work is a financial necessity. For others, it’s about staying professionally active without the same 9-to-5 grind. If you’re looking for ways to stay active and stay earning, here are some second-stage careers to consider. 5 great second jobs for Baby BoomersTeach what you knowOne of the perks of coming to the end of your first career is that you have lots of expertise and experience built up. What better to do than share that expertise and get paid for it? Many local community colleges, continuing education programs, or online schools can always use qualified teachers who have flexible schedules. Or you could consider substitute teaching. Check with your local school district to see what their requirements are, but many states don’t require substitute teachers to have a specific teac hing degree.Be a consultantIf you’ve got decades of experience in a particular field, consulting can be a way to transition from the full-time working world to one where you set your own schedule and salary. Many Baby Boomers find themselves in a position to do work for their former companies, and others expand their business to take on new clients. One of the biggest upsides of consulting is that it lets you take the skills and experience you have and use it to create a new business for yourself.Build a business out of a hobbyIf you find yourself with more time after retirement, you may find that what used to be a hobby can now be a profitable side hustle. Now more than ever, people are seeking out unique or artisan goods, so it may be time to ramp up that home woodworking shop or set up that Etsy store. Â  With a variety of ways to sell goods and services online, something you’ve always done for fun can make for a fulfilling and profitable next wave of your career.M ake the world a better placeAfter all, the Baby Boomers are the generation of Woodstock and ’60s social justice. Working for a nonprofit can be a way to keep that social idealism going, while staying professionally active. Nonprofits come in all shapes and sizes, so there’s likely one in your area that fits with your worldview and your priorities.Many Baby Boomers also find that volunteering and giving back to the community is a way to create a new wave of productivity. Like consulting, volunteering capitalizes on your skills, experience, and time to help others.Find a franchiseOwning a ready-made franchise can be a great way to build a business without building it from the ground up. Franchisees can often be as involved or hands-on as they want to be, directly managing the business or being the boss from a distance. It’s also a way to learn new sides of a business, whether it’s food service, a retail store, or other venture. The existing branding and mar ketplace can ease the transition into a new field, making it ideal for someone looking for a next stage instead of a start-over.Whatever your interests and strengths, there are plenty of options and opportunities for building a second income, developing skills, or filling the time after you’ve transitioned away from your first career.

Adverse possession makes it de facto

Adverse possession makes it de facto Disclaimer: This work has been submitted by a student. This is not an example of the work produced by our Law Essay Writing Service . You can view samples of our professional work here . Adverse possession makes it de facto It is the policy of the Limitation Acts that those who go sleep upon their claims should not be assisted by the courts in recovering their property, but another, and I think equal policy behind these acts, is that there shall be an end to litigation. Irish law interprets a person’s right to land as being based on the fact that another person cannot claim a better title over it. Thus in Ireland the person usually with the best title to land, is the person whose title vests in possession. This is why the courts recognise a person who has had control of land for twelve years or more, even if it’s adverse possession to be the rightful owner. Adverse possession has been described as primitive and outmoded, however as this essay will show that it is still as relevant and important today as it was when it was created. Elements of adverse possession 1.1 To encourage owners not to sit on their rights Prevention of stale claims Quieten title s and facilitated conveyance Boundary disputes Adverse possession and registered land Economic impact of adverse possession Irish reactions to Pye, Law Reform Commission Reports. Possible ways to improve and enhance adverse possession. 5.1 Alternative Dispute Resolution. 5.2 Sharing the costs 5.3 Penalties To encourage owners not to sit on their rights The equitable maximum of, â€Å"Vigilantibus non dormientibus, jura subveniunt† is seen as a way of encouraging paper owners to utilise their land to the best of its abilities, as land is seen as a vital natural resource, and if they fail or neglect to do this then a squatter who is prepared to make use of the land has a legal right to take possession from the paper owner. See the comments of Lyall.   [ 4 ]    The law cannot be expected to protect the interests of a landowner who either has failed or even has no interest in the current state of his land, or where the owner has just not taken action in time to prevent the li mitation period from running out. However there is a need to be careful when courts do apply this maximum strictly, as it can lead to unjust outcomes, particularly where the paper owner had in mind a future use for the land, because it can be difficult to figure out whether the adverse possessors use of the land or the real owners future use of the land will yield the most benefits. This is what happed in the case of Pye   [ 5 ]   and resulted in the loss of land worth around thirty five million. Nueberger J discussed the â€Å"sleeping Theory† and found there to be no justification in the circumstances, where the paper owner â€Å"was content to let another person trespass on the land for the time being.† The judge could find no logic in the court’s decision here. The case contradicted the previously held believe that there could be no adverse possession, once the paper owner had a future use in mind.   [ 6 ]

Chapter 13 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chapter 13 - Essay Example Bich is torn between the Buddhist and Christianity religions, her grandmother is a Buddhist, and her new mother is a reformed catholic who is now an atheist, all her classmates at school are Christians, she struggles to fit in one of the religions. Her other dilemma is about the foods that they eat, as a kid she likes junk American food, but later in life she seems to mature up and takes the food that she is given at home. In the chapter thirteen of the book, the author narrates about her mature life in the 1980s, she replaces some of her childhood preferences with new ones. For example, the writer has a new liking to music, something that she did not even think about as a kid, It just she just appears to like it as she grows up, she is also attracted to some television shows, this indicates that she is influenced by the pop culture of the Americans. This Indicates that she is somehow adapting to the America life at last after a battle with the culture for a long time. The fact that she is no longer interested in American junk food and opts for Buddha’s dinner offered at home. This is an indication of conservation of native culture in the past a kid the author treasured American junk food, like spaghettis, apple pies, and jiffy muffins. This was because she wanted to feel like other American children and not necessarily, because she wanted it, this showed how much she wanted to fit in the American society. Later in life, she gains a liking for the Vietnamese food that is offered at home she takes this as a reminder of her culture back in Vietnam. This is an indication that she is now matured up, and is not willing to do things just to please others and to fit in the society, she is already comfortable with her life as an American and practicing her own culture does not bother her. The author quotes that she came of age in the 1980s; this indicates that she now accepted the fact that that she was an Asian American and not all-American as she heard with so me of her friends, she still treasured some of the Vietnamese culture, like the food and the religion. The author also narrates that no matter how many people she interacted with who practiced Christianity, she still felt drawn to Buddhism and thought of it as the legitimate religion for her. This chapter mainly emphasizes on the mature life of the author in the 1980s, how she had changed in some of the aspects of life. She now understands some of the things that she could not understand as a kid, like the all-American slogan on the billboard, as a child, the author could not understand the meaning of the phrase, she thought of fit mainly as a threat. That is why she tried so much to impress and fit into the American society, she seems to act out of desperation. As grown up she knows the meaning of the phrase and is not ready to leave aside some of her native culture, she accepts who she is and is not very determined to impress the American natives. She has her own values within whi ch she abides by. At this point, we see how much she treasures her culture; it indicates how culture is an important aspect in one’s life, Bich defends her religion at all costs, and is not swayed, by others even if she is the only one practicing the culture in the neighborhood. Her classmates openly show their disapproval for her culture, they even refer to their