Survey and question design Essay Example for Free

Survey and question design Essay Initial design considerations Before you design your survey Clearly articulate the goals of your survey. Why are you running a survey? What, specifically, will you do with the survey results? How will the information help you improve your customers experience with your agency? Make sure that each question will give you the right kind of feedback to achieve your survey goals. When in doubt, contact a statistician or survey expert for help with survey and question design. Survey design The opening should introduce the survey, explain who is collecting the feedback and why. You should also include some reasons for participation, and share details about the confidentiality of the information you are collecting. The introduction should set expectations about survey length and estimate the time it will take someone to complete. Opening questions should be easy to answer, to increase participant trust and encourage them to continue answering questions. Ensure questions are relevant to participants, to reduce abandonment. To minimize confusion, questions should follow a logical flow, with similar questions grouped together. Keep your survey short and to the point fewer questions will deliver a higher response rate. If you have sensitive questions, or questions requesting personal information, include them towards the end of the survey, after trust has been built. Thank your participants after theyve completed the survey. Test your survey with a small group before launch. Have participants share what they are thinking as they fill out each question, and make improvements where necessary. Question design  Keep questions short and easy to read. The longer and more complex the questions, the less accurate feedback youll get. This is particularly true of phone surveys. Keep questions easy to answer, otherwise participants may abandon the survey, or provide incorrect information (e.g., giving the same  answer/value for all questions, simply to get through the survey). Keep required questions to a minimum. If a participant can’t or doesn’t want to answer a required question, they may abandon the survey. Use a consistent rating scale (e.g., if 5=high and 1=low, keep this consistent throughout all survey questions). For rating scales, make sure your scale is balanced (e.g., provide an equal number of positive and negative response options). Label each point in a response scale to ensure clarity and equal weight to each response option. For closed-ended questions, include all possible answers, and make sure there is no overlap between answer options. Use consistent word choices and definitions throughout the survey. Avoid technical jargon and use language familiar to participants. Be as precise as possible to avoid word choice confusion. Avoid words like â€Å"often† or â€Å"rarely†, which may mean different things to different people. Instead, use a precise phrase like â€Å"fewer than three times per week.† Try to construct the questions as objectively as possible. Common survey question types and examples Multiple choice questions Questions with two or more answer options. Useful for all types of feedback, including collecting demographic information. Answers can be yes/no or a choice of multiple answers. Beware of leaving out an answer option, or using answer options that are not mutually exclusive. Example 1: Are you a U.S. Citizen? Yes / No Example 2: How many times have you called our agency about this issue in the past month? Once Twice Three times More than three times Dont know/not sure Rank order scale questions Questions that require the ranking of potential answer choices by a specific characteristic. These questions can provide insight into how important something is to a customer. Best in online or paper surveys, but doesnt work too well in phone surveys. Rating scale questions Questions that use a rating scale for responses. This type of question is useful for determining the prevalence of an attitude, opinion, knowledge or behavior. There are two common types of scales: Likert scale Participants are typically asked whether they agree or disagree with a statement. Responses often range from â€Å"strongly disagree† to â€Å"strongly agree,† with five total answer options. (For additional answer options, see table below.) Each option is ascribed a score or weight (1 = strong disagree to 5 = strongly agree), and these scores can be used in survey response analysis. For scaled questions, it is important to include a â€Å"neutral† category (â€Å"Neither Agree nor Disagree† below). Guidelines for using a 5-point scale Semantic differential scale In a question using a semantic differential scale, the ends of the scale are labeled with contrasting statements. The scales can vary, typically using either five or seven points. Open-ended questions Questions where there are no specified answer choices. These are particularly helpful for collecting feedback from your participants about their attitudes or opinions. However, these questions may require extra time or can be challenging to answer, so participants may skip the questions or abandon the survey. In addition, the analysis of open-ended questions can be difficult to automate, and may require extra time or resources to review. Consider providing extra motivation to elicit a response (e.g., â€Å"Your comments will help us improve our website†) and ensure there is enough space for a complete response. Example: What are two ways we could have improved your experience with our agency today? We take your feedback very seriously and review comments daily. Avoid these common question design pitfalls Asking two questions at once (double-barreled questions) Example: How satisfied are you with the hours and location of our offices? [ 1=very dissatisfied, 5=very satisfied] You wont be able to tell whether the participant is responding about the time, or the location, so you should ask this as two separate questions. Leaving out a response choice Example: How many times in the past month have you visited our website? [ 0 1-2 3-4 5 or more] Always include an option for not applicable or don’t know, since some people will not know or remember, and if they guess, their answer will skew the results. Leading questions Based on their structure, certain questions can â€Å"lead† participants to a specific response: Example: This agency was recently ranked as number one in customer satisfaction in the federal government. How satisfied are you with your experience today? [ 1=very dissatisfied, 5=very satisfied] The first statement influences the response to the question by providing additional information that leads respondents to a positive response, so you should leave that text out. Built-in assumptions Questions that assume familiarity with a given topic: Example: This website is an improvement over our last website. [ 1=strongly disagree, 5=strongly agree] This question assumes that the survey participant has experience with the earlier version of the website. Tips for technology-based surveys Skip logic or conditional branching When creating technology-based surveys, skip logic can be helpful. Skip logic enables you to guide participants to a specific follow-up question, based on a response to an earlier question. This technique can be used to minimize non-relevant questions for each participant, and for filtering out survey participants. For example, if you are looking for U.S. citizens only to fill out certain parts of your survey, anyone who answers â€Å"no† to the question â€Å"Are you a U. S. citizen?† can be skipped to the next relevant section.

Aim of the Homogenisation Process

Aim of the Homogenisation Process Introduction: Eukaryotic cells such as liver cells enclose a variety of different types of membrane bound structures called organelles (nuclei, mitochondria) as well as macromolecules (ribosomes) (Padh, 1992). Subcellular fractionation is an invaluable technique allowing scientists and researchers alike to successfully isolate and separate specific subcellular components within the cell (Becker et al, 2009). This allows researchers to study the different organelles (using biochemical techniques) in a greater degree of detail therefore increasing our knowledge about the many different types of organelles and macromolecules, thus leading to new scientific advances in this ever advancing era of science and technology (Bonney, 1982; Berns, 1986). It is this very method which in the past allowed Christian de Duve to discover the lysosomes and peroxisomes for which he shared a Nobel Prize with Albert Claude and George Palade in 1974 (Becker et al, 2009). Subcellular fractionation can be safely divided under 3 major headings: Homogenisation proceeded by fractionation and finally purification. Homogenisation: The aim of the homogenisation process is to effectively and efficiently disrupt and break the cells outer membrane thereby releasing their subcellular components (nuclei, mitochondria). This disruption and breaking of the cells must be achieved in a manner that will leave the delicate organelles of interest undamaged and morphologically intact (Loewen, 2003). The cells to be homogenised are kept in an isotonic buffer (0.25M sucrose, 1mM EDTA and 1mM of Tris at pH 7.0). This is to protect the fragile organelles from osmotic damage due to osmotic unbalance as well as environmental instability such as pH interference (Guteriezze, 2010). Many different homogenisation techniques exist and are available, some such include mechanical grinding using Potter-Elvehjen glass homogeniser, cutting methods using warren blender, ultrasonic vibrations in a process called sonication and utilising high pressure such as in the French Press (Loewen, 2003). The Potter-Elvehjen glass homogenizer was used in this experiment. The Potter-Elvehjen glass homogeniser consists of a Teflon pestle which is closely fitted into a glass homogeniser. The homogenising machine moves the Teflon pestle in a verticle up-down motion while simultaneously rotating within the glass homogeniser containing the cells to be homogenised (Mangiapane, 2010). The space between the Teflon pestle and glass homogeniser is incredibly small (0.004-0.006). Therefore as the Teflon pestle moves throught the glass homogeniser a shear force is generated which causes disruption of the cells. The organelles which are released by this process pass undamaged, safetly through the gap between the pestle and glass homogeniser (Loewn, 2003; Mangipane, 2010). The shear forces produced can sometime be destructive to the organelles causing irreversible damage and therefore shear forces need to be controlled. This can be controlled by adjusting the gap width between the pestle and glass homogeniser. A bigger width can protect organelles from damage but the negative side effect of this is that the generated shear forces will not be strong enough to disrupt the cells and therefore few or none organelles will be present in the homogenate. Therefore a careful balance between cell disruption and organelle damage must be maintained. Chemical, physical and structural damage can be caused to organelles due to shear forces which can cause errors when purifying the organelle using biochemical techniques due to enzymes specific to the particular organelle being damage or rendered inactive and these problems must therefore be overcome. Some such precautions which when utilised can overcome or minimise unnecessary damage includes the use of different homogenisation techniques which are more suitable for the cells being homogenised (osmotic disruption, chemical disruption may be considered). Carefull usage of the homogenising equipment (Lowen, 2003). Fractionation: Once the homogenate has been formed, it is ready to be placed in a centrifuge and undergo centrifugation which will separate the different fractions/organelles. Centrifugation generates a centrifugal force which separates the different types of organelles based on their size and density as well as the density and viscousity of the solution the homogenate is in. Therefore the the higher the molecular weight of the organelle the greater the distance I will travel down the centrifuge tubes or the higher its sedimentation rate and consequently the smaller the molecular weight of the organelle the smaller the distance it will travel down the centrifuge tube or the lower its sedimentation rate (Becker et al,2008; Mangipane, 2010). The greater an organelles sedimentation rate is the greater the organelles sedimentation coefficient (in Svedberg units, named after Theodor Sveber who developed the ultracentrifuge) will also increase (Becker et al, 2009). Centrifugal forces can be calculated using For example, if a homogenate containing nuclei, mitochondria and ribosomes is subjected to a centrifugal force, logically the nuclei will be near the bottom of the tube, the ribosomes at the top part of the tube and the mitochondria somewhere in between the nuclei and ribosomes. There are 2 main type of centrifugation methods: Differential centrifugation and density gradient centrifugation. Differential centrifugation This type of centrifugation works on the principles that large dense molecules (nucei) will have a higher sedimentation rate compared to small and less dense molecules (ribosomes) (Becker et al, 2009). During low centrifuge speeds and short times the heavy and dense organelles sediment and can be collected, while as high centrifuge speeds and longer timer the lighter and less dense molecules will sediment and can also be collected (manipulative techniques). Therefore in the homogenate used in the experiment, by using appropriate centrifuge speeds and times the nuclei and mitochondria can be separated using 1500g for 10min and 20000g for 10min respectively. Density gradient centrifugation The method used in density gradient centrifugation, also known as rate-zonal centrifugation works on the principle of separating molecules based on their densities and is achieved by using a density gradient in the centrifuge tube (manipulative techniques; Becker et al, 2009). The density gradient is normally provided by a concentrated sucrose solution which increases in density towards the bottom of the centrifuge tube. The sample requiring fractionation is placed in a layer over the density gradient sucrose solution (Becker et al, 2009). As the centrigugation process proceeds, the different molecules or organelled of different densities are separated based on their densities and that of the increasing sucrose density. When the fractionation bands have been formed are are distinctive the fraction may be remover via a syringe or separation methods. This type of centrifugation can be used to further separate mitochondria from lysosomes and peroxisomes since each of them has a differen t density. Measurements of enzyme activity and macromolecular composition of fractions. purity of fractions. During the centrifugation processes, such as in the differential centrifugation the various types of organelles and macromolecules form gelatinous pellets at the end of each consecutive centrifuge (Dyson, 1979). The different pellets produced contain a variety of different fractions of subcellular organelles and macromolecules and is not specific for just a single type of organelle or macromolecule. As an example in the first centrifugation process to form the nuclei fraction at 1500g for 10mins, the nuclei is pelleted along with other molecules of similar size and molecular weight such as unbroken cells, cell debris and pieces of the cell membranes (Bonney, 1982). In the second centrifugation to form the mitochondrial fraction at 20000g for 10min the pellet contains mitochondria, lysosomes and peroxisomes due to their similar sizes and molecular weight. In the final centrifugation process at 20000g for 10min a supernatant fraction was formed containing many small and low molecular w eight molecules such as the endoplasmic reticulum, microsomes and ribosomes (Minorsky, 2009; Berns, 1986). As stated before fractions will not only require the organelles of interest but also other organelles and macromolecules. It is therefore necessary to be able to assess the purity of the fractions. This can be done in a variety of ways. Microscopic analysis via the light microscope or even electron microscope can be used to identify the different macromolecules present within the fraction, therefore giving an indication whether or not the fractionation procedure has been successful. A mitochondrian therefore can be differentiated from a peroxisome or lysosome basen on its structure (Bonney, 1982). Microscopic anaylsis can also be used in assessing the biochemistry of the fraction by using various cytochemical techniques. Biochemical techniques are a very good way of assessing the type of organelle present as well as the purity of a fraction. Measuring enzyme activity is an excellet method sine some enzymes are very specific and found in one particular organelle. Marker enzymes present in fractions and importance of the techniques involoved in the advancement of biochemistry and cell biology. Marker enzyems are routinely used in subcellular fractionation to differentiate between the many different types of organelles and macromolecules present within the cell. Mitochondria for example can be detected indirectly by the presence of succinate dehydrogenase while lysosomes can be detected by Acid Phosphatase (Bonner, 2007). The function of the mitochondria for example is to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP) by a process called oxidative phosphorylation and an enzyme specific to the mitochondrion called succinate dehydrogenase can be used as a marker enzyme to differentiate between the presence of mitochondria and other organelles and macromolecules present in the fraction (Padh, 1992). Succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) is specific to the inner mitochondria membrane and is responsible for catalysing the oxidation reaction of Succinate, which is a component of the citric acid cycle, into fumarate which is another component of the citric acid cycle. Since flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) is reduced producing FADH2 (Guterize, 2010; Padh, 1992;Girolamo, 2010). Succinate is the electron doner while FAD is the electron acceptor. The products of the above reaction are then reacted with an artificial electron acceptor called INT(a tetrazolium salt) to form a red coloured compound called formazan. This reaction is required because both the fumarate and FADH2 produced in reaction are colourless and therefore there is no certain way of determining succinate dehydrogenase activity, therefore the intensity of the red coloured formazan produced during a specific timeframe in the second reaction can be measured using a spectrophotometer gives an indirect indication of succinate dehydrogenase activity and therefore an indication of the presence of mitochondria as well as its purity within the fraction (guterize, 2010; padh, 1992). Electron microscopy of the isolated organelles is generally the final step in assessing the purity of the fractions as well as studying their morphology (padh, 1992). It is these methods and techniques used in subcellular fractionation which has allowed researchers such as George Palade and Christian de Duve studying to understand and discover the structures, biochemistry and roles played by the various organelles. Results: Table 1 shows the volumes of the homogenate, nuclei fraction, mitochondrial fraction and supernatant fraction. The Homogenate volume was obtained after rat liver homogenisation; NF volume was obtained after 2 consecutive centrifugations at 1500g for 10min; MF volume was also obtained by 2 consecutive centrifugations at 20000g for 10min; SF volume was obtained from the supernatant of the MF centrifugation. Table 2 shows known amounts of bovine serum albumin (BSA) which underwent the biuret reaction; the absorbances were measure using a spectrophotometer at 550nm. As protein amount increases so do the absorbances. This data was used to plot a BSA standard curve. Figure 1 illustrates the BSA standard curve which is a line of best fit. From this graph, the protein amount is determined by using the absorbance values for the different fraction shown in table 3 below. H, NF, MF and SF correspond to homogenate, nuclei fraction, mitochondrial fraction and supernatant fraction respectively. The vertical and horizontal red, blue, green and black coloured lines represent H, NF, MF and SF respectively. From the above graphical data Protein concentration (mg/ml), total protein amount (mg) and protein recovery for each fraction relative to the homogenate can be calculated. Homogenate: Nuclei Fraction: Mitochondrial Fraction: Supernatant Fraction: From the above results the total percentage of protein recovery relative to the homogenate can be determined: The above calculated results are show together in table 3. Table 3 shows the absorbance values obtained from the spectrophotometer. Row B shows the amount of protein that was determined from the BSA standard curve. Row C showed the amount of protein present in 1ml of each fraction; the homogenate had the highest protein concentration, followed by the SF and MF and finally by the NF containing the lowest amount of protein concentration. Row D shows the total amount of protein in each of the fraction and therefore follows the same pattern as the values for Row C. Row E shows the amount of protein recovered relative to the homogenate; The percentage of protein recovery was as follows: SF>MF>NF. Table 4 shows the actual fraction concentrations used, obtained by diluting the original fractions (table 3) with phosphate buffer. The supernatant fraction was left undiluted. Table 5 shows absorbance of each of the fractions (0.2ml) which were diluted by the addition of 4ml of ethyl acetate within formazan. The average absorbance minus the control gives the corrected mean absorbance for each of the fractions. The control values for all 4 fractions were 0 because they were given as negative values by the spectrophotometer. The highest absorbance was recorded for the SF followed by the homogenate, MF and NF. By obtaining the data collected from the previously calculations in tables 1, 3 and 5 it is possible to calculate; the total activity of Succinate Dehydrogenase (SDH), the percentage recovery of SDH relative to the homogenate, the specific activity of SDH and the relative specific activity of SDH relative to the homogenate in all 4 fractions (H, NF, MF and SF). Below are the equations which will be used in the calculations: Beer-Lamberts Law: The calculations below will make (concentration) the subject of the formula as well as prove that the units for = or . à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ this can be rearranged to form, , since always equals to , the equation can now be represented as, , the units of this new formula can be calculated as follows, the in the bottom fraction can be cancelled out with the at the top giving, Which à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ gives which is Molarity or concentration. The equation will be used throughout the rest of the calculations. The Formazan molar extinction coefficient= and the assay volume used will be 0.004L (4ml). Homogenate: The absorbance for the homogenate in table 5 was 1.1385 therefore, à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ since this can be arranged to give, The volume used was which gives therefore, Activity à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ total activity of in -1 The answer is required in à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ since Therefore total activity for Homogenate = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ Therefore specific activity for Homogenate Nuclei Fraction (NF): The absorbance for the nuclei fraction in table 5 was 0.117 therefore, à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ since this can be arranged to give, This gives, Activity à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ total activity of in The answer is required in à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ since Therefore total activity for Nuclei Fraction = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ Therefore specific activity for Nuclei Fraction Mitochondrial Fraction (MF): The absorbance for the mitochondrial fraction in table 5 was 0.398 therefore, à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ since this can be arranged to give, This gives, Activity à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ total activity in in The answer is required in à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ since Therefore total activity for Mitochondrial Fraction = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ Therefore specific activity for Mitochondrial Fraction Supernatant Fraction (SF): The absorbance for the supernatant fraction in table 5 was 1.485 therefore, à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ since this can be arranged to give, This gives, Activity à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ total activity in in The answer is required in à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ since Therefore total activity for Supernatant Fraction = à ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ´ Therefore specific activity Supernatant Fraction Calculations for the % SDH recovery and specific SDH activity relative to the homogenate; Since the % SDH recovery and specific SDH activity is to be calculated relative to the homogenate, therefore the homogenate percentage for them both will be 100% Nuclei Fraction: Mitochondrial Fraction: Supernatant Fraction: The main findings of these calculations can be summarized in the table below: Table 6 shows that SDH activity is highest in the SF, followed by the homogenate, MF and finally by NF. The %of SDH recovery (relative to the homogenate) was greatest in the SF, followed by the MF and the NF. The specific SDH activity was greatest in the SF followed by the MF, NF and lastly by the homogenate. The % of specific SDH activity (relative to the homogenate) was greatest in the SF, followed by the MF and NF. Figure 2 illustrates the main findings from table 6. It can be seen that % SDH recovery increases from the Nuclei fraction to the supernatant fraction. The % of specific SDH activity steadily falls from the supernatant fraction to the nuclei fraction. Discussion: According to the results obtained in table 3, it was seen that 99.25% of the protein relative to the homogenate was still present within all the fractions. This high percentage recovery indicates that very little protein was lost during the formations of the nuclei, mitochondrial and supernatant fractions by centrifugation. The 0.75% of protein that was lost is most likely to have been lost while homogenizing the pellets formed during each consecutive centrifugation process. During the usage of hand homogenizers small quantities of the pellet containing the proteins are stuck to the homogenizing vessel or the pestle. These small quantities of proteins being lost during each hand homogenizing process therefore contributes to the loss of proteins recovery. From this high protein recovery it can be said that the overall homogenisation process was very efficient. During each successive centrifugation at different speeds a distinct pellet was formed, thus indicating the separation of organelles. In table 3, different amounts of proteins were present within the pellets. Since these proteins are associated with the different organelles present, this indicates that since different amounts of proteins were found in the fractions therefore various different types of organelles must also be present. But this is not always the case since proteins from other fractions could have been damaged due to the homogenization and centrifugation processes. Therefore the calculations performed on Succinate Dehydrogenase activity, recovery and specificity (table 6, figure 2) showed that that the total SDH activity was highest in the supernatant fraction. Since SDH is a specific marker enzyme to the mitochondrion organelle as explained earlier, the data suggests that the separation of mitochondria during centrifugation to be present within the suspected mitochondr ial dfraction was not optimal. The supernatant also had a very high protein content of 885mg (table3) which indicated therefore that most of the organelles have separated into this freaction, thus indicating the hight amount of SDH activity within the supernatant fraction. In a differential centrifugation process the successive increases in the centrifugal forces applied should create a gradient of the presence of different organelles, with the heaviest molecules in the centrifuge tubes with lowed centrifugal forces, the mediam molecular weighted organelles such as mitochondria in a centriguge in the centrifuge with a medium centrifugal force is applied and small molecular weight organelles such as ribosomes in the centrigue tubes where the highest centrifugal forces are applies. Therefore the separation of organelles has occurred but not to a great extent as seen by the reults in table 3 and table 6. Seperation of organelles could have been greatly improved by possibly refining the lab protocol. To ahieve better mitochondrial separation and therefore more accurate SDH activity measurments the centrifugation process should be done at 20000g but for 20min and not 10min as stated by Loewen (2003) and Becker et al (2009). This will help separate the mitochondria out better. Different centrifugation methods such as density gradient centrifugation can be utilized after the intital differential centrifugation to better separate organelles of similar sizes such as mitochondria, lysosomes and peroxisomes. The new fractions produced can by the densiy gradient centrifugation can be recovered with the use of a syringe. Many other techniques such as the initail homogenisation stage could also have been changed and other techniques could have been used as described earlier. Conclusion: It was found by this experiment that subcellular fractionation is not a perfect method and therefore inaccuracies must be expected. But it is a process that has revolutionaised our understanding of cell structure and function. It was found in the experiment that differential centrifugation can separate organelles to an extent to form a nucleic fraction, mitochondrial fraction and supernatant fraction. Marker enzymes which are present in specific organelles can be used to help distinguish between different organelles as well as the fractions relative purity. SDH was used in this experiment and was found to be present higher in the supernatant, possibly due to experimental error. SDH was specific to the supernatant fraction therore again indicating the presence of mitochondria in the supernatant. The usage of such techniques in this ever advancing era of science and technology has set the stage for future studies and techniques involved in further studying the cells and increasing our knowledge of life as each day passes.

ESL Admissions Essay - My New Life in America :: ESL Admissions

ESL Admissions Essay - My New Life in America Unlike other people, I came to the US without any special reasons, except for the fact that my husband began working here. Before this, I had never been in the US. In my mind, the US purely was an abstract noun. I knew it from nothing but TV, newspapers, and movies. However, since I came here, the US for me has become absolutely concrete. A brand new life spreads out in front of me, which has affected me mainly in three aspects--language, behavior, and vision. The first effect on me was that I could not communicate in English. The language became the first and the biggest problem I encountered in the US, which happened to me the first day I stepped onto the land of the US. I found I became deaf and dumb--I couldn't speak and couldn't understand what other people were talking about. When one of the customs officials asked if I carried any agricultural products, I looked at her at a loss for what to do. In the following days, I found that many things that were extremely easy in China became the biggest problems to me. I couldn't understand the TV programmes and couldn't read newspapers and magazines, I didn't know how to check out after shopping, and I didn't even dare go out alone. All of these came from the language obstacle. In China, I had never had a problem like this. I had my family, a lot of close friends, and a stable job. Life was very easy and interesting for me. But living here, what should I do? Eventually, I chose to return to school to study English in order to adapt myself to the American life as soon as possible. Every day I would go to the college and spend a long day there listening, reading, and writing in English. I often read books until my eyes became blurry. At my age, studying a new language was indeed not easy. But months later, I surprisingly found that I was able to simply communicate with others, and I also could read and write some relatively complex articles, which gave me a lot of confidence. Now I believe that my new life will be beautiful as long as I do my best. The second effect on me was the change in my behavior.

What Is An Education? :: essays research papers

What is an Education? According to the Oxford English Dictionary one of the definitions of the word "education" is: "The systematic instruction, schooling or training given to the young in preparation for the work of life; by extension, similar instruction or training obtained in adult age. Also, the whole course of scholastic instruction which a person has received. Often with limiting words denoting the nature of the predominant subject of the instruction or kind of life it prepares, as classical, legal, medical, technical, commercial, art education." Although this is an accurate description of what an actual education may be, there is a great deal more to the process of becoming educated than the actual instruction and schooling one may receive. If you asked a person in high school or college exactly why he is in school his response would probably have something to do with "getting an education." Is that really why he is there? The next question you may ask is "what are you going to do with your education?" The response would undoubtedly include something about "getting a good job" or perhaps "to make a lot of money." Most of the people in the United States have been brainwashed to think that unless one has at least a high school diploma there is no future anywhere for him. This is completely untrue. There is no guarantee that getting a high school "education" is going to get you anywhere. A student may spend eight years between high school and college getting an "education." He can graduate from college with A's in every class, but still, this "education" means nothing. For example, suppose this "Straight A" student goes for a job interview. Obviously one of the first things to be looked at is the college diploma. Good grades, which by today's standards are an indication of an educated individual, are usually very helpful in getting a good job. But alone, good grades are a completely unfair indication of how a person will perform under the pressures of the real world. Instead of looking at a person's grades during a job interview and deciding whether that person is eligible for a particular position, why not try something realistic? To determine a particular person's "education" why not allow the individual to apply what he knows to his position in the workplace. This is the true test of what an education is. The application of knowledge acquired is a much better determinant of true education than whether or not a person got an A in Wood Shop or World History. A good percentage of people in the United States graduated from high school.

Karl Marx :: essays research papers

Karl Marx was born on May 5, 1818, in a place called Trier in Prussia. Marx attended the university of Bonn and later the university at Berlin, where he studied in law, while majoring in history and philosophy. Marx handed in his doctoral thesis of the philosophy of Epicures, and finished college in 1841. After his education, Marx associated himself with the "Left Hegelians," along with Bruno Bauer, which were a group who formed atheistic and revolutionary ideas from Hegel's philosophy. In 1842 Marx and Bruno Bauer were asked to contribute to the Rheinische Zeitung, an opposition paper, in Cologne. Marx in October of 1842, became editor-in-chief, and decided to move from Bonn to Cologne. As the paper became more and more distinguished the government decided to censor, and eventually wasn't allowed. This paper stopped operation in March of 1843. Karl Marx was married to his childhood friend Jenny Von Westphalen, in 1843. Later in the fall of that year Marx along with another Left Hegelian, Arnold Ruge moved to Paris and began publication of a radical journal entitled Deutsch-Franzosische Jahrbucher. However due to the difficulty in distributing such a radical paper, only one issue appeared. Karl met his closest friend in September of 1844, when Frederick Engels arrived in Paris. Together they participated in the activities of many revolutionary societies, and formed the theory and ideas of revolutionary proletarian socialism, also known as communism. Finally in 1845 Marx was banished from Paris as a dangerous revolutionary. He decided to head for Brussels, where he and Engels joined, in 1847, a group called the Communist League. At the leagues request Marx and Engels drew up the Communist Manifesto in 1848. Once the Revolution of February 1848 took place, Marx was again banished, except this time from Belgium. He briefly returned to France for the March Revolution, and then traveled to Germany where he published the Neue Rheinische Zeitung, from June 1, 1848 to May 19, 1849. Again Marx was banished from Germany, and again he returned to Paris. After the demonstration of June 13 1849 Karl Marx was banished once again. That would be the last time Karl Marx was banished anywhere. His last voyage would take him to London where he would live for the rest of his life. Marx lived a hard life in London. If it had not been for the financial help from his good friend Engels, he would have not been able to continue his lifelong struggle.

Edgar Allan Poe`s Conception of Death

In this chapter, the detailed analysis would focus on the aspect on different attitudes adopted by Edgar Allan Poe to portray his conception of death in selected poems. Poe himself sees death in various experiences and his transformation of death from one poem to another is noteworthy. The bedrock of analysis would be The Raven, Annabel Lee, Lenore, The City in the Sea, Eldorado, and The Conqueror Worm. Although the theme in these poems is the same, the attitudes and the nature of description is entirely different in all of them. the chapter is allocated to three subtitles, man's attitude towards death of the beloved, man's description of death and the third corresponds to the reasons behind these attitudes adopted based on Poe's biography 3.1 Man's attitude towards the death of the beloved:3.1.1 The RavenThe poem follows an unnamed narrator who is also a lamenting lover of his dead beloved Lenore. Lenore is thought to be the deceased wife of Poe and holds the central element in this poem. The narrative poem begins on a dreary night of December, where the lover is seen as tired and weak. Remembering his dead beloved he experiences ennui and tries to overcome this by diverting his attention to an old book. As the narrator is seen feeling at unease and weak, he hears a tapping on his chamber door. He consoles himself that a visitor may have tapped the door to seek asylum and nothing else. Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. â€Å"‘T is some visitor,† I muttered, â€Å"tapping at my chamber door;Only this and nothing more. † (The Raven 112)Since the beginning of the poem, the reader can feel the ambience of death surrounding the narrator. The use of â€Å"I† is the poem indicates the unnamed narrator being fearful and irritated as he describes the sound in rather negative term â€Å"rapping†. According to TheFreeDictionary, the word corresponds to a series of rapid audible blows in order to attract attention. This rapping sound generated as the narrator describes makes the narrator aware of his surroundings more and begins to fear for himself. Narrator also uses â€Å"gentle† which portrays yet another descriptive aspect, the gentle tap made the narrator aware of his situation and so enough was able to respond to it. The narrator also shows his irritated nature: â€Å"T is some visitor,† I muttered, â€Å"tapping at my chamber door / Only this and nothing more.† Narrator now moves on to remembering his lost beloved Lenore. Narrator can be evidently seen to showcase his unconscious, as he portrays a moment of flashback, a specific time that he is reliving again in that chamber. The use of words â€Å"dying embers† showcases a trigger generated in the narrator about his lost Lenore. It is said that â€Å"we unconsciously tend to run away from our distressing thoughts and painful experiences by believing and convincing ourselves to forget them.† These repressed thoughts and experiences remain in our unconscious in a dormant phase, and as soon as similar situation occurs, these recurring experiences surfaces. The past has surfaced again when the narrator moves into flashback, feeling sorrow for having lost his beloved forever:Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak DecemberAnd each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor.Eagerly I wished the morrow;—vainly I had sought to borrow From my books surcease of sorrow—sorrow for the lost Lenore,For the rare and radiant maiden whom the angels name Lenore: Nameless here for evermore. (The Raven 112-113) Here, narrator uses â€Å"bleak December† to signify cold, and consequently death. The very first line creates a conception of death as cold and unwavering in the reader's eyes. Nothing lives in the winter, for those who live goes into hibernation till the winter surpasses. December is the month of winter. This symbolizes death as cold, unforgiving and larger in magnitude. The cold of winter wipes out the warmth effortlessly as the narrator explains it as â€Å"dying ember†. This dying ember generated the flashback of his beloved and this in turn instils the narrator to think about his beloved's death. He calls her the â€Å"fair maiden† whom the angels took away, leaving narrator sorrowful and mournful in attribute. To surpass his sorrow, he sought refuge in books: â€Å"Eagerly I wished the morrow; —-vainly I had sought to borrow / From my books surcease of sorrow—-sorrow for the lost Lenore. Now narrator moves to open the door, fearing, grieving, and contemplating that it might be Lenore that seeks entrance in his chamber. The depiction of this fear is uncanny, the narrator shows his inner fear which enthralls in him terrible yet fantastic horrors that he has never felt before. This uncanny attitude towards death is evident of the nature of Poe. Poe regards death as an inevitable concept in this narrative poem. The horrors that the narrator faces are portrayed through the musical effect of silken purple curtain, sad, uncertain rustling of purple curtain, narrator is now terrified of this sound and reassures himself that it might be some visitor who seeks entrance at his chamber door. From the initial concept of death as an inevitable phenomena, the transformation has made death generating fear inside narrator. The narrator is now fearful of the ambience around him as it generates the

Epiphany

Who I Am As a child I grew up telling myself and everyone else that I never wanted to get married and have children. I watched my mother get married and divorced twice and seen what kind of pain that inflicted on her and us kids. I thought that I would be a better person if I stayed single and didn't have any kids to worry about. Of course I fell in love early in adulthood and decided to have children. A few years later my fear f becoming like my mother in the aspect of marriage, divorce and having kids came alive.I felt like such a fool for allowing that to happen to me. Usually by the time I get home from work and picking up the kids, It Is late and I do not feel like taking the time to actually cook a meal. One evening we got home earlier than we usually do so I decided to fix dinner, sit down and actually eat as a family. I can remember myself standing In front of the stove thinking of the frustrating long day of work I had, getting aggravated because the kids were running around the souse.The kids were playing and being loud which Is what a 4 year old boy and 4 year old girl would do. Then It suddenly becomes quiet and Patrick comes to me and says â€Å"Mommy, you know what? † I say with an annoyed tone of voice â€Å"What Patrick? † He says â€Å"your superman. † I picked him up and gave him a big hug. In that moment I realized that out of all that has happened to me In my life, I am truly grateful that I have my children and that I am actually a better person because God brought them Into my life.