Medical Insurance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Medical Insurance - Research Paper Example The exceptions include: smoking cessation drugs, over the counter drugs, fertility drugs, birth control, and non-prescription drugs. The dental plan covers 70% of fillings, cleanings, scalings, exams, and polishing on the first $575 and this will grant the client a maximum of $400 in coverage each year. Recall visits are included in that every nine months per person. The other benefits that are included are listed below. Extended health care (starter) which provides a maximum of $250000 per person. Best Doctors Solutions Services includes protection if a serious illness or injury is suspected. An evaluation of the client's medical records by world class specialists who can confirm the first diagnosis. They will also determine steps for the best treatment options. This protection is great when a misdiagnosis occurs and the local physician can then take the appropriate steps at that point. Additional services include: treatment planning, determination of best service provider, and mana gement of the client's care. Chiropractor, Chiropodist, Osteopath, Naturopath, Podiatrist, Registered Massage Therapist, and Acupuncturist coverage is also included. The maximum that is covered is $20 per visit for 20 visits each year. Chiropractic X-ray for $35 maximum per person per year is covered.

The Big Five Inventory Bfi Psychology Essay

The Big Five Inventory Bfi Psychology Essay The present research is aimed at exploring the relationship between the Big Five Personality Factors and Academic Success. The Big Five Inventory, developed by John Benet-Martinez (1998), was administered on 158 students of the first and second year postgraduate (HR and Business Management) programs at XLRI. The participants current CQPI at XLRI and the XII standard percentage marks obtained at school served as the two measures of academic achievement. The results revealed that conscientiousness was significantly and positively associated with XII Standard percentage scores (r = 0.124, p Acknowledgements I am grateful to Dr. M. Srimannarayana for his unparalleled guidance and support which was a major motivation behind my doing this dissertation. I thank the participants of this study for having filled up the forms and for having shared their experiences with me for this project, without which I would have been unable to go anywhere with my analysis. I would also like to thank my classmates who helped me in many instances with valuable inputs regarding various concepts and issues. Table of Contents Introduction Two traditional indicators define academic performance grades and highest level of educational attainment. Academic achievement is affected by an interplay of cognitive abilities and personality traits, both of which are involved in the determination of the direction and intensity of intellectual investments. Previous studies undertaken to examine the predictors of academic success have focussed largely on intellectual ability. Anastasi (1954) noted declining correlations between IQ scores and academic performance with increasing levels of educational attainment. Specifically, the correlations between the two constructs declined from r = .70 in elementary school to r = .50 in secondary school and to r = .40 in college (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2005). Within postsecondary education itself, there is a declining correlation between ability tests and other measures of intelligence with increasing years at school. This pattern repeats itself at the post-graduation level abilities have the highest predictive validity at the commencement of a students university or postgraduate experience, and then subsequently decline in magnitude (Humphreys, 1968; Humphreys Taber, 1973). These results indicate that individual differences in academic performance due to cognitive ability disappear with increasing years of education, even after clearing successive hurdles to admission. Hence, it appears that non-ability factors (i.e., personality, self-efficacy, and motivational variables) become more important in distinguishing between better and worse students when the students are pre-selected by past academic performance or intellectual ability (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2006). Recent studies provide evidence in support of the measures of personality dimensions as possible predictors of academic achievement (e.g., Duckworth Seligman, 2005). Martin et al. (2006) found that personality characteristics have a major impact on performance at the undergraduate level across all 4 years of coursework. This impact was observed over and above the effects resulting from high school academic performance and intellectual ability (i.e., achievement test scores). Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003) studied the linkages between personality traits and academic performance using two longitudinal samples of British university students. They found that personality scores measured during the first week of the academic year were significantly related to final exam results and programme work that were assessed three years later. Further, the predictive power of personality traits accounted for another 10-17% variance in academic performance when it was related to both academic behaviours (like attendance and class involvement) and teachers predictions. In another study, Furnham et al. (2003) found that personality traits accounted for about one-fifth of variance in exam marks and one-third of variance in essay grades over a 2-year period. McLaughlin, Moutray Muldoon (2007) examined the impact of personality in predicting academic performance among nursing students. They administered the Eysencks personality questionnaire (EPQ-R) on 384 nursing students in their first year of study. The results of the EPQ-R were then analysed along with the final marks obtained at the end of the program. They found that students with high scores on psychoticism were more likely to withdraw from the program. Extraversion was also seen to negatively impact academic performance those scoring high on extraversion were more likely to achieve lower marks. In another study, Bisping Patron (2008) also found personality type as a significant determinant in academic success. They used the MBTI to study the impact of personality type in an introductory general business course designed to incorporate knowledge from various business disciplines. Caspi, Roberts, and Shiner (2005) argued for a causal relationship between personality traits and academic performance. They postulated that personality traits and academic performance might be causally related if achievement criteria and personality dimensions overlap. In other words, the causal relationship will arise when a certain behaviour indexing a certain personality trait is also a part of successful performance. For instance, exerting effort as a behaviour (relevant to conscientiousness) is likely to be important for securing high grades in school (Rothstein, Paunonen, Rush, King, 1994), thereby indicating the existence of a causal relationship. Given the wide variety of personality measures available and the subsequent difficulty of making generalisations across studies, there is considerable debate regarding which personality traits are associated with superior academic performance. Nevertheless, the majority of research examining the importance of personality in academic performance has used the Big Five Model of Personality (Costa McCrae, 1992). For example, Tok and Morali (2009) examined the predictive ability of the Big Five personality factors on academic success for a total of 295 physical education (PE) teacher candidates. They found that academic success as GPA was positively related to Openness to Experience and Conscientiousness and negatively associated with Neuroticism. In a meta-anlysis by O Connor and Paunonen (2007), conscientiousness (r = .24), extraversion (r = -.05) and openness (r = .06) were identified as the most consistent predictors of academic achievement. In another study, Mervielde (1994) and Mer vielde, Buyst, and De Fruyt (1995) examined teacher ratings of different age groups (from 4-12 years). They found that both Openness and Conscientiousness showed significant association with academic performance. Barbaranelli, Caprara, Rabasca, and Pastorelli (2003) also found these two traits as the most important personality correlates of academic success across different informants (self, teacher, and parent). Each of the five factors Conscientiousness, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, Extraversion, and Neuroticism have been discussed below with regards to their impact on academic performance. Conscientiousness Conscientiousness is associated with the will to achieve, self-control, determination, purposefulness, and dependability. Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham (2004), and Moutafi, Furnham, Crump (2003) report a negative relationship between IQ and conscientiousness. Nevertheless, it appears that conscientiousness, as a personality construct, most strongly correlates with academic achievement in both undergraduate and graduate settings (Busato, Prins, Elshout, Hamaker, 2000; Noftle Robins, 2007). Noftle and Robins (2007) used multiple personality inventories across four independent samples of more than 10,000 participants. They found conscientiousness to be the strongest predictor of both high school and college GPA. Chamorro-Premuzic, Furnham, and Ackerman (2006) found conscientiousness to be a good predictor of academic success (r = .19 to .31) on multiple measures including exams, continuous assessment (presentations), and written essays over a three year period. Lievens, Coetsier, De Fruyt and De Maeseneer (2002) found conscientiousness to be a significant predictor of academic performance among medical students in each of their three preclinical years. Further, successful students differed from the unsuccessful ones on the subconstructs of dutifulness, achievement orientation, and self-discipline. Conscientiousness is associated with sustained efforts and goal setting activities (Barrick, Mount, Strauss, 1993), both of which are said to contribute to scholastic achievement (Steel, 2007). It is also related to compliance and attention to home assignments (Trautwein, Ludtke, Schnyder, Niggli, 2006), to time management and to regulation of effort in learning activities (Bidjerano Dai, 2007). This attests the relationship of conscientiousness to academic performance, class attendance, and final grades (Conard, 2006). MacCann, Duckworth, Roberts (2009) found that each facet of conscientiousness (e.g., diligence, dependability, self-discipline, prudence, competence, dutifulness, order, and achievement striving) contributed to higher performance in academic settings, attainment of scholastic success, and lower disciplinary infractions. The facets also independently predicted Grade Point Average (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003; Furnham et al., 2003; Martin et al., 2006), motivat ion (Komarraju Karau, 2005), effective learning styles (Duff et al., 2004), and academic aspirations (Rottinghaus, Lindley, Green, Borgen, 2002). Finally, Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003, 2006) argue that in competitive settings, conscientiousness may play a compensatory role for lower cognitive ability and consequently promote higher academic achievement. Thus, the conscientious person who works hard, completes tasks, and strives to succeed is more likely to be motivated to perform well. This would help him in achieving higher academic success (Furnham Monsen, 2009). Openness to Experience Openness to Experience is characterised by receptiveness to new ideas, preference for varied sensations, attentiveness to inner feelings, and intellectual curiosity. Evidence supporting the relationship between Openness to Experience and scholastic success is mixed. Some studies report a positive relationship between Openness and academic performance (e.g., DeFruyt Mervielde, 1996; Farsides Woodfield, 2003), effective learning style, and higher academic aspirations (Rottinghaus et al., 2002). However, other studies do not support such a relationship (e.g., Busato et al., 2000; Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003). Openness has been positively related to final school grades and to strategies involving critical thinking (Bidjerano Dai, 2007; Komarraju Karau, 2005), and motivation to learn (Tempelaar, Gijselaers, Schim Van Der Loeff, Nijhuis, 2007). Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003) found openness to be positively related to intelligence and intellectual curiosity. Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnhams (2008) confirm a positive relationship between the openness and academic achievement. They argue that open individuals are more likely to engage in activities that stimulate the acquisition of knowledge and learning experiences. Caprara et al. (2010) found that openness along with academic self-ef ¬Ã‚ cacy contributed to junior high-school grades, after controlling for socio-economic status (SES). Graziano et al. (1997) assessed the Big Five self-reports of 5th to 8th graders. They found Openness positively related with both, self-reports and teacher ratings of academic adjustment. However, OConnor and Paunonen (2007) reported in a review a very low correlation (r = .06) between openness and academic achievement. They rejected the idea of an overall interaction between the two variables. Neuroticism Neuroticism is the degree to which a person experiences negative emotions that are associated with irrational beliefs (Ellis, 1994), weak impulse control, and difficulty coping with stress. A number of studies report a negative correlation between neuroticism and academic performance (Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003; Ridgell Lounsbury, 2004), thereby indicating that academic performance tends to be higher in the case of emotionally stable students than neurotic students, who may experience higher levels of anxiety during stressful situations (OConnor Paunonen, 2007). However, results of meta-analyses examining the relationship between neuroticism and academic achievement remain inconclusive (OConnor Paunonen, 2007; Trapmann et al., 2007). Such studies suggest that neuroticism may not be a strong predictor of individual differences in academic achievement in general. Agreeableness Agreeableness may be defined as the disposition of a person toward nurturance, altruism, trust, and a willingness to help others. Studies examining the relationship between agreeableness and academic achievement have produced differing results. Gray and Watson (2002) and Farsides and Woodfield (2003) found agreeableness to be positively associated to GPA (r = .15 and r = .14 respectively). Deary et al. (2003), using the Big Five Inventory found that those who failed to complete the program scored lower on agreeableness. However, in other studies (Conard, 2006; Duff, Boyle, Dunleavy, Ferguson 2004) researchers failed to find such a significant association between the two variables. Thus, agreeableness may not be that important a determinant of academic performance. Extraversion Extraversion is the degree to which individuals are sociable, preferring large groups and gatherings. Extroverts demonstrate a tendency to be cheerful, assertive and active. Although a positive relationship exists between IQ and Extraversion, Extraversion has been found in several studies (Busato, Prins, Elshout, Hamaker, 2000; Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2004; Furnham, Chamorro-Premuzic McDougall, 2003) to be negatively associated with academic success. Early studies, in particular, indicated that introverts performed better than extroverts, suggesting that the former were better at revision and possessed a higher ability to learn (Entwistle Entwistle, 1970). More recently, Sanchez-Marin et al. (2001) found that extraverts failed their programs more frequently than introverts, again suggesting that this was to do with their distractibility, sociability, and impulsiveness. However, Furnham et al. (1998) found that extroverts performed significantly better than introverts on a meas ure of logical reasoning. Chamorro-Premuzic and Furnham (2003) state that it is difficult to find a consistent relationship between intelligence and extraversion. Overall, extraversion supports academic achievement in some studies and hinders it in others. It must be noted that several variables like age, educational level, gender and assessment method may moderate the relationship between the two variables. In light of the preceding research, today it is more important than ever to determine the personality factors influencing academic success among college students, given the increasing levels of early withdrawal from college and their declining levels of academic performance (Tok Morali, 2009). While a considerable amount of research has been undertaken to establish the relationship between personality factors and academic achievement, there is a virtual gap in study in this area in India. Thus, the present study extends the earlier literature on personality-academic achievement relationship by studying the linkage between the two variables among B-school students in India. Hypothesis Based on the results of the previous research, I hypothesise that Conscientiousness as a personality variable would have the strongest impact on academic achievement. Method Participants Data was collected from 158 respondents studying in the postgraduate program at XLRI. Convenience sampling technique was used to identify the respondents. The sample size comprised of a mix of participants belonging to the first year and second year HR and Business Management (BM) programs offered by the Institute. Specifically, 81 respondents (51.26%) were studying in the HR program and the remaining 77 participants (48.73%) belonged to the BM batch at XLRI. Out of these, 108 participants (68.35%) were in the second year and the rest 50 (31.64%) were studying in the first year. All the respondents were between the age group of 21-32 years. There were a total of 112 male respondents (70.88%). 46 female respondents (29.11%) comprised the rest of the sample. Measures Personality Measure: The Big Five Inventory (BFI) developed by John Benet-Martinez (1998) was used to measure the five personality dimensions of Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism. The participants were asked to respond to 44 items on a 5 point Likert Scale with a score of 1 indicating strongly disagree and a score of 5 indicating strongly agree. Out of the 44 statements, eight items each measure Extraversion and Neuroticism; nine items each measure Agreeableness and Conscientiousness and ten items measure Openness to Experience. Sixteen items in all are reverse scored. John Srivastava (1999) report the reliability coefficient of the BFI to be 0.83. The convergent validity for the instrument ranged from 0.73 to 0.81. Confirmatory factor analysis yielded a validity coefficient of 0.92 for the instrument. (See appendix: Big Five Questionnaire) Academic Achievement: The participants Cumulative Quality Points Index (CQPI) at XLRI at the time of the research study was used as a measure of academic achievement. The maximum CQPI that can be obtained by a student is 8.00. The CQPI, as a measure, was coupled with the percentage of marks obtained in the XII standard in school. Information on both these measures was obtained from the participants self-reports. Data Analysis Responses obtained from the participants were first recoded to take into account the negatively worded items. Thereafter, the scores on the five dimensions of the BFI were computed for each participant by summating the responses of the assigned items. In order to explore the relationship between personality factors and academic success, the Pearsons Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was calculated between the Big Five Dimensions and the two measures of academic achievement, namely XLRI CQPI and XII standard percentage scored. Results The results indicate that Conscientiousness was significantly and positively associated with XII Standard percentage scores (r = 0.124, p No significant correlation was found between other personality factors and the measures of academic achievement. Table I: Correlation Coefficients between the Big Five Dimensions Measures of Academic Achievement Big Five Dimension XII Percentage XLRI CQPI Extraversion 0.095 0.025 Agreeableness -0.051 -0.047 Conscientiousness 0.124* 0.248** Neuroticism 0.077 0.164* Openness to Experience 0.012 0.058 where ** indicates p Discussion The findings of the study revealed that when compared to other personality dimensions, Conscientiousness had the strongest influence on academic success, both at the XII board level and at the post-graduation level. Thus, the hypothesis was accepted. More specifically, conscientiousness was significantly and positively associated with XII Standard percentage scores (r = 0.124, p Neuroticism was also found to be significantly and positively related to CQPI at XLRI (r = 0.164, p Further the high structure academic environment prevalent at XLRI may also facilitate a comparatively better performance for students who are high on neuroticism (as is indicated by positive correlation obtained between the two variables in the present study). It has been argued that neuroticism has a more substantial influence on academic performance under high pressure situations. This may be because the presence of evaluation apprehension may trigger a variety of cognitive and affective reactions among individuals with high levels of anxiety. In fact, under low levels of situational pressure these individuals might experience less anxiety and stress, thereby performing better or at a level similar to individuals with low levels of Neuroticism. The evaluation system at XLRI is such that it emphasizes round the year academic performance rather than evaluation being restricted to a single examination, as is the case with the XII board exams. Further at XLRI, aside from the quizzes an d end term examination (which are individual evaluation components), a major focus is on evaluation of group projects and assignments. These further reduce the stress and anxiety levels for students and make the environment a low press situation. This may explain for the significant positive association observed between Neuroticism and academic performance at XLRI. Finally, no significant correlation was found between the personality factors of Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and Agreeableness with the measures of academic achievement. Research evidence regarding the association of these personality dimensions with academic success is mixed and there are numerous studies that report no relationship of academic success with Extraversion (e.g., Hair Hampson, 2006; Furnham, Chamorro-Premuzic, 2004; Phillips et al., 2003, etc), Openness to Experience (e.g., Busato et al., 2000; Chamorro-Premuzic Furnham, 2003) and Agreeableness (e.g., Conard, 2006; Duff, Boyle, Dunleavy, Ferguson, 2004). The results of these studies are in line with the current results. Implications Overall, the results of our study, along with those of previous studies, clearly demonstrate the useful nature of Conscientiousness in predicting the academic success among college students. This information may be beneficial to college admissions committees armed with the mission to reduce the increasing levels of early withdrawal from college and academic failure. However, the problem of accurate measurement of the personality constructs leaves the admission committees wide open to the challenges of self-report scales. These self-rating measures may be highly prone to the effects of impression management, given the high stakes nature of admissions to graduate school. One suggestion is to apply other data collection methods that may approximate the personality constructs sought here. For example, Trapmann and colleagues (2007) suggested that structured interviews may be used to assess the personality trait of Conscientiousness and its associated components. Here also concerns regard ing impression management remain, despite the fact that interviews form a substantial component of selection process for a majority of graduate schools. Another suggestion is to request ratings about the student from knowledgeable informants that could be used to assess particular personality traits (Wolfe Johnson, 1995). However, admissions committees may find locating willing and unbiased informants a huge challenge. Those who provide letters of recommendation could be asked to address particular student characteristics. The idea is to gather as much information as possible about a students non-ability traits to guide admission related decisions. Limitations Directions for Future Research The first limitation of the present study concerns the investigated sample. The participants were students of the postgraduate management program at XLRI. Since, the participants had already been pre-selected by ability and intelligence; it may have resulted in a narrow distribution of the students characteristics. Future studies can focus on samples from multiple backgrounds with a wider distribution in abilities. Another limitation of this study is that it focuses exclusively on grades as a measure of academic performance. Grades represent only one measure of performance that people exhibit in the context of education. In the classroom there are several behaviours that may be more highly related to personality, such as the frequency of asking questions or seeking help (Pintrich, Smith, Garcia, McKeachie, 1993), or even showing up for classes when the attendance is not taken. Investigating the effects of personality on these and other data sources may reveal that personality plays a much larger role in student behaviours, than the sole examination of grades and level of educational attainment would reveal. It is suggested that future research can focus on examining homework and other study-related behaviours discussed above. Because they occur in a relatively unstructured environment, it appears that they would be more likely to capture the influence of non-ability traits rather than just in- class assignments or grades.

Makemedos Journey to Power in Aristophanes Birds :: Aristophane Birds Papers

Makemedo's Journey to Power in Aristophanes' Birds Humans have always journeyed in search of what they want and need. Our earliest ancestors were nomads, wandering the countryside in search of food and shelter. It is no surprise, then, that much of ancient and modern literature deals with the theme of the journey and getting what one wants. This is especially true in the writing of Aristophanes' Birds, from Aristophanes I: Clouds, Wasps, Birds, translated by Peter Meineck, published by the Hackett Publishing Company in Indianapolis, IN, in 1998. The main character, Makemedo, begins his journey by seeking a land free of worry and work, and ends it by becoming a divine ruler. His desire shifts from wanting a simple existence to wanting tremendous power. This change in his ultimate goal is shown throughout the play by a series of visits from other characters. Aristophanes uses the visitors as a way of mirroring Makemedo's journey on the path to power: the visitors represent the state of Makemedo's power, and the way he deals with them i s a reflection of his status. The first visitor on the path to power is Makemedo himself. He begins by journeying ". . . in search of a land free from hustle and bustle / where a man can just settle down and rest" (43-44). His original demands are simple, and his ultimate goal is to find the Hoopoe, a bird who used to be human, who will help him find such a land. Makemedo begins his journey as a seeker, delegating the power to the Hoopoe, who can help him obtain what he wants: We thought that you might be able to help us. That in all your flying about, you may have come across a nice soft and woolly city where two men can snuggle up and live in peace and tranquility. (119-122) The power is also in the hands of the birds themselves, who meet Makemedo and Goodhope with great hostility saying, "Now for these two old men, the penalty is clear: / Peck them to death! Tear them to shreds!" (337-338). Makemedo is in a position of very little power until he deviates from his original purpose and comes up with the idea for the birds to found their own city. The power shifts the moment the idea occurs to him. The birds are also won over: "Oh! What a transformation, from bitterest enemy to greatest friend! / You've won us over, from now on we're going to listen to you" (628-629).

The Main Characters In The Brother K English Literature Essay

The â€Å" secret plan † of the narrative is alone from many other books, in that it feels like 5 different secret plans all ramifying off from the same starting point, and all stoping up at the same topographic point. Each of the major characters has their ain â€Å" secret plan † : Papa, Peter, Everett, Irwin, and the remainder of the household at the house. Papa is, merely that, the male parent of the family. Once a professional hurler, he subsequently retired to work in a factory. Several old ages subsequently, his pollex was crushed by some machinery in the factory ‘s paper imperativeness, intending that he could ne'er flip once more without a particular surgery, one they could n't afford. This sent him into a spiral of depression that lasted many old ages, until Kincaid snapped him out of it. He began developing once more, despite his pollex, and after a batch of preparation, he was fliping once more, but nowhere near his â€Å" glory yearss † . Final ly, due to some tampering by Everett, he is able to acquire his surgery, and replaces his bad pollex with his toe, and gets a prosthetic toe to replace that. He finally works his manner back up the baseball ladder until he is the alleviation hurler for the Tugs. He merely quits when he realizes he has to take between baseball and his household. He dies a few months afterwards, due to several types of malignant neoplastic disease. Peter is a genius degree mind who believes really strongly in Zen Buddhist doctrines, and ends up at Harvard for all of his work, avoiding the bill of exchange by manner of scholarship. Finally going to India, he returns place after being robbed of all of his ownerships, although deriving a great trade of cognition about the doctrines he believes in. Everett, on the other manus, is about an antonym of Peter. His beliefs are anarchistic and agnostic in nature, and he is much more extremist in his actions. From beginnings hassling his ain female parent about her spiritual beliefs, he finally ruins his household ‘s relationship with their curate. After he graduates High school, he uses his natural endowment of address to progress in life, going a â€Å" hippy † . Droping out of school in order to dodge the bill of exchange, he finally ends up in Canada, love struck by the one miss who his powers of address could n't enchant, named Natasha. After an on/off relationship affecting many letters, he finally comes back to the US to assist his brother, despite the effects of bill of exchange evasion. The 3rd oldest, Irwin, has no mental art, but is alternatively, an about everlastingly happy, soft giant. By book ‘s terminal, he is one of merely 3 characters left in the household whose beliefs are strictly Christian. Due to dropping out of school and non wishing to run off, he is drafted into the Vietnam War, where his apparently eternal benevolence runs dry. He snaps after his squad is forced to kill a little kid, utilizing n il but a tubing of toothpaste and his fists to assail his bid officer. These actions landed him in a mental establishment back in the United States, where he was subjected to an copiousness of narcotics and repeated electroconvulsive therapy therapy when he would n't halt singing the church anthem he grew up with. Upon larning of this, his household puts aside their differences and calls upon many of their churchgoing friends to come and assist acquire him out of the establishment. They win, and he recovers finally, through tackling the originative mercantile establishment of wood ranges. The remainder of the characters are much more minor. Mama is an highly spiritual lady who keeps the whole household together, even when 2/3 of her kids reject her instructions. Beatrice/Bet and Winifred/Fred are twins born after Kincaid, both really scientifically minded, but ramifying off sacredly, as Bet ‘s uninterrupted dark panics have lead her to an agnostic/atheist point of view, and Fr ed ‘s beliefs remaining Christian. All of these characters and events come together as the kids and parents try to populate their lives. In my sentiment, the most memorable scene from this book was the minute that they allow Irwin out of the mental establishment. The concluding behind this being that, up until this scene, the book had been reasonably realistic. The war was portrayed as dark, farinaceous and meaningless, the characters three dimensional and complex. But this minute merely shattered that for me. No authorities establishment would be that easy overthrown by a few household members and some spiritual leaders. Irwin was, from a 3rd individual ‘s point of view, still lawfully insane. They had every ground to maintain him at that place. This scene was such a displacement in the secret plan that I suppose it stuck with me. My favourite quotation mark from this book is: â€Å" aˆÂ ¦ † Want to hear why? Do you desire to cognize why Linda could ne'er kip? † I forced myself to nod. Good. It ‘s good to shareaˆÂ ¦ † ( Page 390 ) This is from the scene where Bet is depicting her dark panics to Kincaid. My ground behind picking this quotation mark is that, for one, it was a immense turning point in the narrative for Kincaid. Prior to this point, he himself was a minor character, more frequently than non leting his wiser older sibling to make everything. This is one of the few points in the narrative where he takes the brunt of the blow and shows some development as a character. For two, and for the same grounds mentioned, this shows off one of the major subjects in The Brothers K that is salvation. Every character in this book redeems themselves at one point or another, with the possible exclusion of T Bar, one of the people Peter met in India who helped him along his journey . Personally, I did non like this book. Many parts I had to maintain forcing myself frontward, with the promise that it may acquire more interesting subsequently on. And it did, for the most portion. But any clip the secret plan of one character would get down to acquire interesting, it would trade off to another character, and so another, until I had long forgotten why I was interested in the first character in the first topographic point. I did, nevertheless like how every character was given a sufficient wrap up, but at the same clip, the stoping felt really rushed. Where as in most of the book, at most merely a few months would travel by without notice ; the stoping skipped full old ages in between paragraphs. A more minor complain is about the names. It took me half the book to recognize that Winnie and Fred is the same individual, and that it is a miss. But about three quarters of the manner through the book, Irwin adopts the nickname Winnie, with no account behind it. This book besides has a batch of reasonably unneeded spots to it, apparently in order to give the characters more credibility. A multi portion â€Å" History of My Dad † written by Irwin serves to give the Papa character a back narrative that is n't truly needed. There are besides several interviews with celebrated baseball participants. All in all, this book may be a good read for the history partisans, but I do n't believe that the mean Joe would happen it really appealing.

Atlantic Slave Trade

The Atlantic trade, popularly known as the triangular or transatlantic trade, began in the 15th century. It became more popular when a peculiar but well paying commodity replaced gold.This was slave trade and its popularity increased in the 17th and 18th century. The explosive slave trade emanated from an insatiable need for a work force in European empires. The names triangular and transatlantic trades come from the shape it made on the map (Evans, 2010).Atlantic Slave Trade Course In the European perspective, slavery was the best business they ever did around the 17th and 18th century. Many ships docked at her harbors loaded with slaves who were the most profitable commodity. They boosted her economy to great heights.The slave trade formed a trade route that was most profitable; the Atlantic slave trade. The trade's organization was a triangle where the following took place; Ships left Europe for Africa with trade goods, which were exchanged with slaves. The ships would then head t o America with the slaves and sell them there. The ships would then return to Europe with agricultural products such as rum, sugar, cotton, and tobacco (See attached image) (Mbamara, 2006).Africans were the best workforce since they were immune to many tropical diseases. They were also experienced in the jobs the Europeans had for them. These involved cattle keeping, and agriculture. They were also accustomed to hard labor.This made the trade grow, as the Europeans required them in large numbers. The transatlantic trade was most important to the Europeans since every stop translated into huge profits. Slave trade was clearly immoral but the profits it came with subdued these concerns. Some of the activities the slaves carried out included sugar production, mining, as well as the harvesting of tobacco, cotton, and coffee. (Mbamara, 2006).Africans on the other hand were into this thriving trade whereby they sold their own. They however made it hard for the Europeans to penetrate their land as they had erected a military power. The Europeans on the other hand feared penetrating Africa as they feared the tropical diseases. There existed African merchants who were contracted by the Europeans to get them slaves from the interior.The coast had few slaves and Europeans had to spend months trying to get enough slaves for their shiploads (Klein, 2010). The Africans put barriers and this left the Europeans with no choice but peaceful trade. The Africans went ahead to hike their demands on the Europeans. They introduced local taxes for anyone who wished to purchase slaves. This way, they were in full control of their market.This forced the Europeans to cough up to  £375 per ship and only then would they be permitted to trade. This amount covered a royal tax, pay for royal officials and interpreters. They then had to pay an exportation tax. These taxes were subject to fluctuations in demand and supply. Africans capitalized on this trade by selling water and other supplie s to the Europeans who would spend months at the coast negotiating for the slaves. The largest numbers of slaves were provided by the Whydah and the Dahomey (Klein, 2010).In 1807, a law to abolish slave trade in Britain and other powers involved in the trade was passed. By 1833, all slaves had been emancipated and sent back to their homelands. In 1815, France withdrew from slave trade and other powers followed suit. Around the 19th century, the Atlantic slave trade had diminished.Historians speculate that the economic factors that led to the decline of the slave trade are that the plantations they worked in had become unproductive economically. They also feel that may be Britain had made enough money and was thus becoming independent. This may have made slave trade less appealing to the home economy (Hardy, 2005).ConclusionThe transatlantic slave trade was beneficial to both the Europeans and the Africans chiefs and kings. The Europeans got a work force for their plantations and min es. They also benefited from agricultural products from America. The African royalties got revenue out of the slaves they sold. The decline of the transatlantic trade is partially attributed to abolishment of slave trade and economic incentives. However, the slave trade was demeaning to the human race and it is a great thing to scrap it off regardless of the reasons behind it.