Free Essays on Writing Argumumentative Papers

How do we transform leaden argument into golden insight? We've all had the experience of sharpening our ideas and deepening our knowledge as we attempt to convince a colleague whose opinion differs from our own. In like manner, our students can sharpen their ideas and deepen their knowledge by writing papers to persuade an opposition audience. To successfully persuade such an audience, students must consider more than their own sometimes-hazy opinion: They must truly view the issue from the audience's point of view and understand not only the logical, but also the emotional and personal reasons for that point of view. Their paper must establish common ground with the audience and employ an ethos that the audience deems credible. The paper's structure must carry the opposition gradually, step-by-step, toward the intended point of view and deal in a timely fashion with the audience's evidence and objections. The introduction must not only set up the issue but also involve the audience in the argument, acknowledging that audience's opinion and engaging that audience's attention. The conclusion must have an impact worthy of the argument, one that reinforces without merely repeating the paper's points, one that will linger in the audience's mind even when the specific steps in the logical argument fade from memory. How do we set up such an assignment? We can begin by using course readings to model effective rhetorical strategies. A class on race relations might assign Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," which can be read not only for its historical content but also for strategies that bond with and persuade an opposition audience. The list of acceptable strategies will vary from discipline to discipline, from era to era, and from audience to audience- which is, in itself, a valuable lesson. We can assign students a specific opposition audience to address in their papers or ask students t... Free Essays on Writing Argumumentative Papers Free Essays on Writing Argumumentative Papers How do we transform leaden argument into golden insight? We've all had the experience of sharpening our ideas and deepening our knowledge as we attempt to convince a colleague whose opinion differs from our own. In like manner, our students can sharpen their ideas and deepen their knowledge by writing papers to persuade an opposition audience. To successfully persuade such an audience, students must consider more than their own sometimes-hazy opinion: They must truly view the issue from the audience's point of view and understand not only the logical, but also the emotional and personal reasons for that point of view. Their paper must establish common ground with the audience and employ an ethos that the audience deems credible. The paper's structure must carry the opposition gradually, step-by-step, toward the intended point of view and deal in a timely fashion with the audience's evidence and objections. The introduction must not only set up the issue but also involve the audience in the argument, acknowledging that audience's opinion and engaging that audience's attention. The conclusion must have an impact worthy of the argument, one that reinforces without merely repeating the paper's points, one that will linger in the audience's mind even when the specific steps in the logical argument fade from memory. How do we set up such an assignment? We can begin by using course readings to model effective rhetorical strategies. A class on race relations might assign Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Letter from Birmingham Jail," which can be read not only for its historical content but also for strategies that bond with and persuade an opposition audience. The list of acceptable strategies will vary from discipline to discipline, from era to era, and from audience to audience- which is, in itself, a valuable lesson. We can assign students a specific opposition audience to address in their papers or ask students t...

Should You Believe Every Word in an Infomercial

Should You Believe Every Word in an Infomercial Never Believe Everything You’re Told on Television One Should Be Always Skeptical Nineteenth-century humorist Stephen Leacock once said that advertising is â€Å"the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.† In a society in which advertising – lies, basically – is the standard, it’s a shame that Americans are still so impervious to the deception they face every single day in print and digital advertising, billboards – and especially infomercials. These advertising films bearing lie after lie after lie serve to promote a product in an informative and supposedly objective style. But it’s possibly the most subjective thing a person hears all day, and the everyday person – well, a â€Å"consumer† in this case – should not believe every word (or even most of what they are being told) in an infomercial. To begin with, one should always be skeptical of what an infomercial tells them because the video is fundamentally an advertisement – and advertisements generally lie, or at least embellish. Advertisements exploit the emotions of the viewer, the potential buyer, into thinking the product being promoted is the best thing ever made, an item that will make their lives better longer, solve all their problems and heal their illnesses; the be-all, end-all item – the product everyone will be soon be buying! In other words, it’s one big lie. Now, of course, some infomercials will tell fewer lies than others, and some of them may actually serve to truly help people. Nonetheless, advertisements generally always embellish in some way or another, so they should never be trusted entirely. One should generally be skeptical of what an infomercial tells them, regardless of how great and perfect and awesome it sounds because they cannot test the product – most of the time – before purchasing it. The infomercial generally tells them to â€Å"buy now and save 25 percent off the whole price,† so they impulsively buy the item before considering its value and credibility – to see if it works, basically. The buyer has no way of knowing this if all they have to go by is the infomercial itself. They could be thinking they are buying a one-of-a-kind pair of sunglasses that protects them from ultraviolet sun rays, that cannot break or scratch. But they don’t know this is the case – not until they purchase them and see for themselves. The infomercial will make tons of promises validating what they are saying, but the consumer could never know for sure. This is one major reason a person should never believe every word of an infomercial: They have no way of telling if what they are being told about the product is true or not. They have to just rely on what the seasoned, greedy businessman is telling them; and that is never a smart way to make a purchase. Infomercials Are Never Objective A person at home should never entirely trust what an infomercial tells them for another very important reason: if the item is as good as the infomercial says, the potential buyer will likely have already heard about it from another person – through word-of-mouth marketing, perhaps the oldest form of advertising in the world. If something works and people like it – consider the car, the Internet, Netflix, Apple computers, coffee, writing pens, almost anything – they will tell other people about it, and others will purchase the item, too. People believe friends and family members, and they are generally distrusting of salesmen. But, unfortunately, infomercials cater mostly to gullible, elderly women sitting at home, with nothing but a phone and credit card in their hand. They will believe anything. In conclusion, infomercials should rarely be trusted in entirety; one should never believe all they are told in a video advertisement. One should never trust every word in any advertisement, either. Because they are not objective, because they can easily lie about a product’s value and workability, and because word-of-mouth advertising is always the best source of truth, the words of infomercials should not be believed – only looked at with utter skepticism. Not all advertisements are lies, of course, though many do embellish a product’s usefulness in order to convince the customer to buy this product. Once again, Stephen Leacock knew exactly what he was talking about when he postulated that advertising is nothing more than tricking people into taking their money. But it’s the way it is, perhaps the way it will always be; but people should still, nonetheless, be skeptical. One should never believe everything they are told.

The Role of Image in the Formation of Foreign Policy Essay

The Role of Image in the Formation of Foreign Policy - Essay Example For instance, a country that is shrewd in policy making that result in numerous conflicts with other nations will be regarded as hostile and thus the kind of image that it portrays to the world will be negative. It means that any country that will want to engage with this particular nation will have to do due diligence in their policy formulation to incorporate the hostility aspect that is often associated with this country (Smith, Hadfield and Dunne, 2012). In most cases, most nations that are conservative in nature will avoid any form of engagement with this government simply because of the negative image that it has previously portrayed. For instance, a country like the United Kingdom is very conservative and rational in its dealings this enhances its overall image to the world as many other nations will take it as a model nation in their operations. Therefore, whenever they are formulating their policies, they will most likely incorporate the best engagement terms with this country just from the image that it portrays from its mode of governance (Stephenson, 2009). Perception is yet another defining factor of how a nation will structure its foreign policy; take an example in the event of a disaster like a terrorist attack or a tsunami that has swept across a city killing thousands of people. Several nations will stand in solidarity with the affected through sending messages of condolences or offering aid to the victims. These acts o f philanthropy in such situation carry a high perception of how an individual nation feels for the other. The knowledge that a country gets from such actions significantly influences the terms of engagement between the countries, especially when crafting a foreign policy regarding that nation (Stephenson, 2009). Numerous factors are taken into account by countries whenever they are coming up with their foreign policy.

Data analysis report Lab Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Data analysis - Lab Report Example According to Ajzen (1988); Ajzen (1991); O’Donnel et al. (1994) and Conner (1993), a persons planned behaviour change has a significant contribution to his/her attitudes towards various conditions. Further, to them, the success of the planned behaviour significantly depends on the social-economic situation of the person in the past, present and future aspirations. Ajzen and Driver (1991: 1992); Ajzen and Fishbein (1980); Dejoy and Wilson (1995); DeVellis et al. (1990) and Newcomb et al. (1992) support the above assertions arguing that if one plans to do away of a certain behaviour, then there are strings attached which range from financial stability to family cohesion. Further, intentions and wishes to abandon a certain habit depend on time and gender. From research, time affects any outcome since other factors come into play which might significantly affect the results or influence earlier readings/measurements. The way a person acts now has a significant bearing on how he/she will react in the near future as well as in a distant future. Godin et al. (1993); Adams (1994); Godin (1993) and Heatherton et al. (1991) argue that time lapse has effects not only on the results but also on the validity and reliability of research findings. This is so because of factorial design impacts on the end-term outcome. Gender on the other hand is a very important aspect to consider in planned behaviour changes as it is believed that females are better and more confident to follow a rule they had set than males as the later are easy to influence and change their track than females. Hellman et al. (1991); Godin et al. (1992); Liska (1984); MacKay (1994) and Joreskog and Sorbom (1993) is support of the above argument argue that females are more likely to convince of the negative impact of an habit than their male counterparts since they are most likely to give it a hearing

Joint Commission Accreditation, Certification, and Licensing Essay Example for Free

Joint Commission Accreditation, Certification, and Licensing Essay Given health record completion policies, correctly apply accreditation or licensing standards to determine the organization’s compliance. Write a 1-page paper on how you think Joint? organization’s compliance. Commission’s standards impact health record completion and organizational compliance. Be sure to discuss advantages/disadvantages of being accredited by Joint Commission. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of healthcare organizations (JCAHO) is a non-profit and independent accreditation organization that provides accreditation and certification for various healthcare organizations, health plans, health packages and hospitals in the US. It has been functioning in the US, and is recognized throughout the world. More than 15, 000 healthcare organizations in the US have been accredited and certified by the Joint Commission. An organization that subscribes to accreditation by the JCAHO would constantly have to make an effort to reach certain performance standards. JCAHO gives greater importance to maintaining patient safety standards and improving the quality of care (The Joint Commission, 2008). The Joint Commission has accredited several aspects of medical care including ambulatory care, assisted living, behavioral healthcare, critical care, laboratory services, home care, surgeries, old age clinics, staff and employees, disease-management, long-term care, etc (The Joint Commission, 2008). It is very important that the healthcare organization complies with the specifications mentioned by the JCAHO. Firstly, the healthcare organization has to understand the importance of having these specifications in place. It would benefit the organization and also the patients, insurance companies, government and the general public. The litigations against malpractice are significantly fewer when a hospital has accreditation. Flowsheets that record detailed information and observations of the patients vitals and care administered would help in precise documentation. An electronic system would act as an aid in ensuring that the specifications of the joint Commission are enforced and followed. Studies have demonstrated that the compliance levels of the JCAHO specifications are around 50 % in all healthcare organizations that subscribe to accreditation by this organization. The outcome of any case would certainly be better if the specifications laid down by the JCAHO are followed. Frequently, the Joint Commission would be conducting surveys and suggested measures to be implemented in order to improve the status of the employees and the patients. One way of ensuring that the organization complies with the JCAHO specifications is to have several monitoring devices in place. These include surprise checks, regular visits, inspection of the records, etc. The information transmitted and stored in the hospital database should be accessible to the JCAHO for the purpose of monitoring. Patient surveys are another method of ensuring compliance by the JCAHO. Another way would be to record the cases of malpractice against the healthcare organization (Massachusetts General Hospital, 2007). There are several requirements a hospital or a healthcare organization has to follow in order to get accredited to the JCAHO. These include: ? Following the recommendations launched by the AMH and the BHC ? Following the requirements of the HIPAA ? Having a system that fulfills the recommendations lay down by the JCAHO regarding flow of information (using software tools such as TIER). ? Some of the important criteria regarding the information management system includes: 1. Maintain confidentiality of the patient information 2. The internal and the external needs have to be addressed through comprehensive planning 3. Security of the information – accessibility only to the relevant staff members 4. Data, which can be collected, analyzed and decisions-made. 5. Addressing the education and training needs – Information should be presented to the staff members and the patients in an automated manner 6. Information and clinical records presented to the patients should be comprehensive and specific. The Joint Commission accreditation has several advantages and disadvantages. Advantages: †¢ The patients would be having greater confidence in the healthcare organization and health plan. †¢ In the market, there would be greater competition between the healthcare organizations. †¢ The risk management would be more efficient. †¢ The business practices and ethics would improve. †¢ The human resource management process would be better. †¢ Insurance companies and third parties would have better relationships with the healthcare organization. †¢ Compliance with the terms and conditions mentioned by the regulatory bodies would be better. Disadvantages: †¢ Information provided to the JCAHO could be potentially misused. †¢ The hospital would be spending huge sums of money for the purpose of accreditation and would actually not be involved in improving patient care. †¢ Unhealthy competition may be propagated. References: Brink, L. J. (2004). â€Å"JCAHO Information Management Standards and TIER† Retrieved on February 18, 2008, from Hospitals for a Healthy Environment Web site: http://www. sequest. net/articles/TIER%20and%20JCAHO%20IM%20Standards. pdf Hospitals for a Healthy Environment (2007). â€Å"Guide to JCAHO Environment of Care Standard 1. 10.1† Retrieved on January 29, 2008, from Hospitals for a Healthy Environment Web site: http://www. h2e-online. org/regsandstandards/jcahoEC1. 10. 1. html Masshecutes General Hospital (2007). â€Å"Massachusetts General Hospital Summary of the Joint Commission Findings. † Retrieved on January 29, 2008, from MGH Web site: http://www. massgeneral. org/findings_summary. html The Joint Commission (2008). â€Å"Joint Commission Requirements. † Retrieved on January 29, 2008, from The Joint Commission Web site: http://www. jointcommission. org/Standards/Requirements/

Desertion in Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong :: Things They Carried Essays

Desertion in Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong  Ã‚   The "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" is a story of many things when looked at from the right perspective. The validity of the story actually has nothing to do with its main purpose, which is to explain how Vietnam changed the American soldiers who were a part of the conflict. O'Brien's purpose is to inform his readers of the effect that Vietnam had on American GI's. Told by Rat Kiley, the "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" can be seen as a touching love story; sweethearts united even during a war. However, the true focus of the story is not love but change and desertion.   Kiley is telling the story to illustrate how all GI's changed in their Vietnam experience. The fact that the main character is a woman drives his point even farther home. She is the very portrait of mainstream, wholesome America; the only thing she lacks is an apple pie. Kiley describes her as "This cute blonde - just a kid, just barely out of high school - she shows up with a suitcase and one of those plastic cosmetic bags." (O'Brien 90) This girl is the antithesis of what one would expect to find in Vietnam. She is pure and innocent. Throughout her time in Vietnam she changes from this image to something very different, she spends less time with her boyfriend, Mark Fossie. Mary Anne hangs around with the Green Berets, who are very different from the other soldiers. Eventually she becomes one of them, marking a total transformation, "There was no emotion in her stare, no sense of the person behind it. But the grotesque part, he said, was her jewelry. At the girl's throat was a n ecklace of human tongues. Elongated and narrow, like pieces of blackened leather, the tongues were threaded along a length of copper wire, one overlapping the next, the tips curled upward as if caught in a final shrill syllable." (O'Brien 110) Vietnam changed Mary Anne; it forced her to become something as foreign to America as the war itself.   The "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" is also a story of desertion: desertion of people and customs. Mary Anne deserts her boyfriend and her culture. As she becomes more involved into Vietnam she drifts away from her boyfriend, Fossie. She disappears one night and Fossie is distraught, "'Gone,' Fossie said, 'Rat, listen, she's sleeping with somebody.

Budget and Operational Budgeting

What are the four major types of agency budgeting systems? The four types of agency budgeting systems are capitol budgeting, operational budgeting, personnel budgeting, expendables and accountable. The relative advantage between these is they have a need to be the foundation for the company. These are what help the company as far as pay, salary and uniforms. This budgeting system allows for the company to figure out what will be needed to perform certain jobs and how many of what might be needed for an operation.Capitol Budgeting Capitol budgeting is part of an agency budget that pays for the long lasting agency asserts. This asserts include the building for which the company will work in. Durable goods also come in under this budget which will be the equipment that has to be long lasting. These funds are treated separate from other categories of funds. Without this budget it leaves a company with no work place. There has to be a work place for the staff to come together. Operational BudgetingOperational budgeting involves the development of financial plans for the organization, typically for a year. While annual budgets need not be subdivided into shorter periods, monthly or quarterly budgets are especially useful for anticipating cash needs and for comparing actual experience with plan. A comprehensive master budget requires planning for all phases of the operation. (Operational Budgeting, 2005) This budget will include salaries of the personnel that work for the company.It also cover the water bill, electric, gasoline, supplies, postage and other expendable items that are in this category. Personnel Budgeting Personnel Budgeting is for all personnel that work for the company from office worker, field worker, and janitorial staff. This budget includes the salaries, training, medical, and all taxes withheld. This budget is important due to the company needs a staff to run operations for certain task. Then personnel also need to be trained on how to perform the job the correct way. Expendable and AccountableExpendable is a needed budget to see what supplies will be needed. Since most law enforcement job have tons of office work the items that this budget would cover is paper, pens, clips, and folders. This budget is used to see what is consumed. Then there is accountable this would budget the uniforms, weapons, and equipment such as; scanner, and computers. Accountable budget will be looked at as for property with greater value. Personal Thoughts The four of the budgets covered in this paper run hand and hand with each other.The reason I view them as a part of each other is for the simple fact that is they are all are needs of a company. A company has to have supplies, equipment and some type of dress code such as a uniform. A budget is needed for every company and there are many different levels that a company must budget on from putting their needs first to then what the company might want. At some point and time a budget can be gone ov er meaning that there might have been more training need or more paper used due to more reports need to be done that why I covered the expendables and accountable.