Tuesday, November 5, 2019
How To Get Merit Scholarships and Honors at State Schools
How To Get Merit Scholarships and Honors at State Schools SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Don't get lost in the crowd. Do you want to stay close to home for college, but donââ¬â¢t want to get lost in the crowd of a large state school? Or do you want to know how to make the most of your experience at large university? Itââ¬â¢s possible to get a selective, small college experience at a large university, through programs like honors colleges and merit scholarships. But how can you find these programs, and how can you ensure you'll be considered for merit scholarships and honors colleges? We will give you the info you need to make sure you donââ¬â¢t miss out on opportunities near you. Think Beyond the "Safety School" Many people donââ¬â¢t stress out about applying to their local state schools because they have application deadlines later in the year ââ¬â sometimes as late as May or June. In some cases, since students consider state schools their ââ¬Å"safety schoolsâ⬠where admission is all but guaranteed, they donââ¬â¢t put as much effort into their state school applications. However, many of the deadlines for honors colleges and merit scholarships at large universities are much earlier ââ¬â sometimes as early as October of your senior year. And some of these programs and scholarships have special applications. If youââ¬â¢re not aware of deadlines before senior year starts, itââ¬â¢s easy to miss out on scholarships and other programs that can really enrich your college experience. Many of these programs are as competitive as getting into selective colleges, so itââ¬â¢s also important to put together a competitive application. In short, you should treat these applications like youââ¬â¢re applying to a selective school. So how do you find these programs, and how can you make sure youââ¬â¢re competitive? We will answer those questions here. Why Apply for Special Programs? By special programs, we mean merit scholarships, honors programs or honors colleges, or any programs that require extra or early applications. We will focus on merit scholarships and honors colleges in this post, since they are the most common special programs at larger universities, but make sure to check out the website of any school youââ¬â¢re interested in and see what extra options they have for undergraduates. So why apply to these programs? There are three main reasons. Make College Cheaper College is expensive. Even if you stay in state, tuition, room, board, textbooks, and other fees can add up quickly. You should definitely apply for need-based financial aid if you need it, but getting a merit scholarship can often fill in where financial aid falls short. Many merit scholarships cover half or all of tuition. Some even cover room and board as well. Also, many honors colleges offer their students opportunities for research or study abroad funding. This can help finance experiences that can otherwise be expensive or otherwise unattainable. It's hard to turn down money, especially when it can help you get a college education. Get a Small-School Experience Going to large university is great because of all the resources and classes available to you, but itââ¬â¢s easy to feel lost in the crowd, especially as a freshman. Being a part of a smaller program or merit scholarship cohort can give you a small-school experience within a larger university. These programs often have special advising or mentor systems that can also help you acclimate to college life. Many have special housing options that will allow you to get to know other people in your program easily. This can make it easy to build a community, even as a freshman. Distinguish Yourself for Jobs Although this seems really far away, graduating with honors or having a merit scholarship can really set you apart when it comes time to apply for jobs and/or graduate programs during your senior year of college. You can take steps now to give yourself a huge leg up when itââ¬â¢s time to enter the ââ¬Å"real world.â⬠So how do you get merit scholarships? How do you get into honors colleges? We will explain how to find these programs and how to apply. Merit Scholarships: How To Apply Unlike financial aid, merit scholarships are given based on student achievement ââ¬â your test scores, GPA, and the overall strength of your application. The amount of a merit scholarship can vary widely ââ¬â anything from a $1,000 stipend to full tuition, room, and board. To be considered for merit scholarships, you often have to meet an earlier deadline or submit an additional application. For example, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,you have to apply by the early action deadline of October 15 to be considered for the Pogue Scholarship (which covers tuition, room, and board). Additionally, there is another separate application for the Robertson scholarship (which covers tuition, room, board, fees, and expenses for up to three summer experiences), which you have to complete by November 15th to ensure you will be considered for it. To look at another example, University of Colorado, Boulder has a separate scholarship application that requires, at a minimum, an extra essay, but could also require extra letters of recommendation and eligibility materials based on which scholarships you apply to. The window to apply is December through March, with a deadline of February 15th for the presidential scholarship. For more on merit scholarships, including some with automatic funding based on test scores, see our article. Also note that some of those have earlier deadlines as well. How to Research Merit Scholarships For any state schools you are applying to, search to see if they have a merit scholarship program, and take note of any extra application materials or earlier deadlines. (We will give you a table at the end of this post you can use to organize dates and deadlines.) For example, to find the University of Colorado Boulder scholarships, I searched ââ¬Å"University of Colorado Boulder Merit Scholarships.â⬠I clicked on the third result and was able to read about individual scholarships, and also find the page about the general scholarship application. Read more on UC Boulder's Scholarships here. Honors Colleges and Honors Programs: How To Apply Many larger universities have smaller honors programs or honors colleges within them, to give a smaller college experience within a larger university. Honors colleges often have special classes, housing, and sometimes even funding opportunities for research or study abroad. For example, the Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State University offers special classes, exclusive study abroad opportunities, and research placements. Furthermore, this program offers special housing, and that housing is guaranteed housing for four years. This isnââ¬â¢t always the case at large universities! But to get these benefits you have to put in more work. Honors colleges are usually much more competitive than general university admission, and often require extra application components. They typically have much earlier deadlines than general University admission, as well. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has a separate application other than the general Penn State application. They recommend completing your application by November 30, with a firm deadline of January 15, to be considered for the program. (The regular university application isnââ¬â¢t due until January 31.) Next Steps For any large universities you are applying to, search to see if they have an honors college or honors program, and take note of earlier deadlines or application materials. To find honors programs, search ââ¬Å"[Name of College/University] Honors Collegeâ⬠or ââ¬Å"[Name of College/University] Honors Program.â⬠I found the honors college at Penn State by doing the following search: Just entering in that search time brought up Schreyerââ¬â¢s main website, as well as links to admission and aid on the first page. If you canââ¬â¢t find information on an honors college or honors program through searching, you can contact the admissions office via phone or email and ask if they have any honors programs. How To Put Together a Competitive Application Finding these programs is one thing. How can you make sure you are a competitive applicant when you apply to honors colleges and merit scholarships? Maximize Your ACT/SAT Score For many merit scholarships and honors programs, the standardized score ranges are much higher than general university admission. This means that having a high SAT or ACT score will help you get into honors programs and win scholarships ââ¬â and in some cases, you need a minimum score. For example, at the University of Nebraska, an ACT score of at least 20, or an SAT score of at least 950 (Math and Critical Reading) are the benchmarks given for admission. But you can be considered for the Honors Program if you have either an ACT composite score of 30 or an SAT of 1300 (Math and Critical Reading). Notice the large difference between regular admission and honors admission score benchmarks. Itââ¬â¢s important to choose either the SAT or ACT and to study so you can get the best possible score. Donââ¬â¢t split your time between the two tests. Itââ¬â¢s likely that you will do better on one that the other, so you should spend all of your time preparing for that test. (If you need help deciding between the SAT and ACT, see our post.) Also, make sure you give yourself enough time to study. We recommend at least five weeks, but the longer, the better! The more time you can put in, the better your score outcome will be. Take the Most Challenging Classes Possible Another important factor in making your application competitive is having an impressive transcript and GPA. However, a high GPA alone does not mean much ââ¬â itââ¬â¢s important you have also been challenging yourself with hard courses. Whether that means taking IB, AP, or honors, find the hardest classes at your school and take them. Be careful not to overload your schedule with tons of AP and IB classes and burn yourself out. Prioritize taking tough classes in subjects you are passionate about. And finally, donââ¬â¢t blow off senior year. Colleges will see your senior year schedule when you apply, so itââ¬â¢s important to keep up your momentum and take a challenging senior year schedule. Obviously you need to leave room for college applications, but donââ¬â¢t slack off and take three free periods. Get Involved with Activities and the Community Having a competitive college application isnââ¬â¢t just getting good grades and high test scores. You also need to get involved in your community in some way. Whether thatââ¬â¢s joining clubs or sports at your high school, doing service work, or being involved in a local youth group, find something you are passionate about and get involved. And remember to emphasize breadth over depth. Itââ¬â¢s much better to be very involved in two clubs than to join ten clubs but barely show up. Aim for leadership positions and awards wherever possible. Don't treat extracurriculars like a list to be checked off. The goal isn't to have the longest list of clubs. Choose a few things that are important to you and get really involved! When it comes time to apply, list your extracurricular involvements in order of the time spent on them. And remember to emphasize leadership positions, awards, or other recognitions you have earned for each activity. Donââ¬â¢t Ignore the Essay(s) A final, crucial component of your application will be the essay. Many honors programs or merit scholarships have a separate essay ââ¬â or essays! ââ¬â to write. Sometimes they will give you a specific prompt, or other times they will want to learn more about you and give an open-ended prompt. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has three additional essays, with new prompts every year. The University of Michigan has a list of topics to choose from. So while the prompt and length of the essay or essays can vary from program to program, and the prompts can even be quite playful, itââ¬â¢s very important not to wait until the last minute to write your essays. The essay will be the main opportunity for you to share your personality, passions, and intellectual interests. If youââ¬â¢re aiming to get into an honors college or get a merit scholarship, having a strong essay will be crucial. To write the best essay possible, start early ââ¬â at least a month before the deadline. Write a draft, and then take time to edit it so itââ¬â¢s true to your own voice. You can also have friends or teachers look over it to see if they think it sounds like you ââ¬â just make sure it is 100% your own work. Get Good Recommendation Letters Although not all universities require letters of recommendation for admission, most honors programs and merit scholarships will require at least one, but more likely two. When asking teachers for recommendations, try to find teachers who have taught you recently ââ¬â junior year is ideal ââ¬â and can give specific praise about your academic abilities. Sometimes, giving the teacher a sample of work you did in their class to jog their memory or give them something to refer to in the letter can be helpful. Also, try to get your letters from teachers in different subjects. Being an impressive student in both science and English is more impressive than getting rave reviews from two English teachers. Final Touches on Your Application Make sure to report any strong SAT Subject Test, AP, or IB test scores you have. Even if they are not required anywhere on the application, including these scores can give the admissions committee more information on your academic abilities and achievements. This also goes for any academic awards like National Merit or being on the honor roll. If you know someone ââ¬â like a coach, boss, youth group leader, or mentor ââ¬â who could write an additional letter of recommendation, itââ¬â¢s worth asking for one. Often, people who know you outside of school can give more information about your work ethic, abilities, and passions than your teachers can. Donââ¬â¢t feel pressured to submit an extra letter if you donââ¬â¢t have someone like this, but if you know someone will write you a strong letter, strongly consider asking them. The Bottom Line Being part of an honors program and/or getting a merit scholarship can really enrich your college experience and make you a more competitive job or graduate school applicant. For any university youââ¬â¢re applying to, check to see if they have any honors programs or merit scholarships. To get into these programs you have to be aware of earlier deadlines and extra applications. You can use a table like the one below to organize your list of prospective colleges. Name of College/ University Regular Application Deadline Honors Program? (Yes/No) Honors Program Deadline Merit Scholarships? (Yes/No) Merit Scholarship Deadline And finally, you should aim to submit the best application possible. Treat these opportunities like you are applying to selective schools ââ¬â write the best possible essays, get great letters of recommendation, and maximize your scores. If you do this, you can get a selective college experience close to home. Whatââ¬â¢s Next? Want to aim for a perfect SAT score, or quite close? See our guide to getting a 1600 by our full scorer. Speaking of maximizing your scores, learn how to improve a low SAT math score, or if youââ¬â¢re taking the ACT, get math tips from our full scorer. Need some tips for your college essays? Learn what not to do. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: How To Get Merit Scholarships and Honors at State Schools SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Don't get lost in the crowd. Do you want to stay close to home for college, but donââ¬â¢t want to get lost in the crowd of a large state school? Or do you want to know how to make the most of your experience at large university? Itââ¬â¢s possible to get a selective, small college experience at a large university, through programs like honors colleges and merit scholarships. But how can you find these programs, and how can you ensure you'll be considered for merit scholarships and honors colleges? We will give you the info you need to make sure you donââ¬â¢t miss out on opportunities near you. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Think Beyond the "Safety School" Many people donââ¬â¢t stress out about applying to their local state schools because they have application deadlines later in the year ââ¬â sometimes as late as May or June. In some cases, since students consider state schools their ââ¬Å"safety schoolsâ⬠where admission is all but guaranteed, they donââ¬â¢t put as much effort into their state school applications. However, many of the deadlines for honors colleges and merit scholarships at large universities are much earlier ââ¬â sometimes as early as October of your senior year. And some of these programs and scholarships have special applications. If youââ¬â¢re not aware of deadlines before senior year starts, itââ¬â¢s easy to miss out on scholarships and other programs that can really enrich your college experience. Many of these programs are as competitive as getting into selective colleges, so itââ¬â¢s also important to put together a competitive application. In short, you should treat these applications like youââ¬â¢re applying to a selective school. So how do you find these programs, and how can you make sure youââ¬â¢re competitive? We will answer those questions here. Why Apply for Special Programs? By special programs, we mean merit scholarships, honors programs or honors colleges, or any programs that require extra or early applications. We will focus on merit scholarships and honors colleges in this post, since they are the most common special programs at larger universities, but make sure to check out the website of any school youââ¬â¢re interested in and see what extra options they have for undergraduates. So why apply to these programs? There are three main reasons. Make College Cheaper College is expensive. Even if you stay in state, tuition, room, board, textbooks, and other fees can add up quickly. You should definitely apply for need-based financial aid if you need it, but getting a merit scholarship can often fill in where financial aid falls short. Many merit scholarships cover half or all of tuition. Some even cover room and board as well. Also, many honors colleges offer their students opportunities for research or study abroad funding. This can help finance experiences that can otherwise be expensive or otherwise unattainable. It's hard to turn down money, especially when it can help you get a college education. Get a Small-School Experience Going to large university is great because of all the resources and classes available to you, but itââ¬â¢s easy to feel lost in the crowd, especially as a freshman. Being a part of a smaller program or merit scholarship cohort can give you a small-school experience within a larger university. These programs often have special advising or mentor systems that can also help you acclimate to college life. Many have special housing options that will allow you to get to know other people in your program easily. This can make it easy to build a community, even as a freshman. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Distinguish Yourself for Jobs Although this seems really far away, graduating with honors or having a merit scholarship can really set you apart when it comes time to apply for jobs and/or graduate programs during your senior year of college. You can take steps now to give yourself a huge leg up when itââ¬â¢s time to enter the ââ¬Å"real world.â⬠So how do you get merit scholarships? How do you get into honors colleges? We will explain how to find these programs and how to apply. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Merit Scholarships: How To Apply Unlike financial aid, merit scholarships are given based on student achievement ââ¬â your test scores, GPA, and the overall strength of your application. The amount of a merit scholarship can vary widely ââ¬â anything from a $1,000 stipend to full tuition, room, and board. To be considered for merit scholarships, you often have to meet an earlier deadline or submit an additional application. For example, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill,you have to apply by the early action deadline of October 15 to be considered for the Pogue Scholarship (which covers tuition, room, and board). Additionally, there is another separate application for the Robertson scholarship (which covers tuition, room, board, fees, and expenses for up to three summer experiences), which you have to complete by November 15th to ensure you will be considered for it. To look at another example, University of Colorado Boulder has a separate scholarship application that requires, at a minimum, an extra essay, but could also require extra letters of recommendation and eligibility materials based on which scholarships you apply to. The window to apply is December through March, with a deadline of February 15th for the presidential scholarship. For more on merit scholarships, including some with automatic funding based on test scores, see our article. Also note that some of those have earlier deadlines as well. How to Research Merit Scholarships For any state schools you are applying to, search to see if they have a merit scholarship program, and take note of any extra application materials or earlier deadlines. (We will give you a table at the end of this post you can use to organize dates and deadlines.) For example, to find the University of Colorado Boulder scholarships, I searched ââ¬Å"University of Colorado Boulder Merit Scholarships.â⬠I clicked on the third result and was able to read about individual scholarships, and also find the page about the general scholarship application. Read more on UC Boulder's Scholarships here. Honors Colleges and Honors Programs: How To Apply Many larger universities have smaller honors programs or honors colleges within them, to give a smaller college experience within a larger university. Honors colleges often have special classes, housing, and sometimes even funding opportunities for research or study abroad. For example, the Schreyer Honors College at Pennsylvania State University offers special classes, exclusive study abroad opportunities, and research placements. Furthermore, this program offers special housing, and that housing is guaranteed housing for four years. This isnââ¬â¢t always the case at large universities! But to get these benefits you have to put in more work. Honors colleges are usually much more competitive than general university admission, and often require extra application components. They typically have much earlier deadlines than general University admission, as well. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has a separate application other than the general Penn State application. They recommend completing your application by November 30, with a firm deadline of January 15, to be considered for the program. (The regular university application isnââ¬â¢t due until January 31.) Next Steps DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: For any large universities you are applying to, search to see if they have an honors college or honors program, and take note of earlier deadlines or application materials. To find honors programs, search ââ¬Å"[Name of College/University] Honors Collegeâ⬠or ââ¬Å"[Name of College/University] Honors Program.â⬠I found the honors college at Penn State by doing the following search: Just entering in that search time brought up Schreyerââ¬â¢s main website, as well as links to admission and aid on the first page. If you canââ¬â¢t find information on an honors college or honors program through searching, you can contact the admissions office via phone or email and ask if they have any honors programs. How To Put Together a Competitive Application Finding these programs is one thing. How can you make sure you are a competitive applicant when you apply to honors colleges and merit scholarships? Maximize your ACT/SAT Score For many merit scholarships and honors programs, the standardized score ranges are much higher than general university admission. This means that having a high SAT or ACT score will help you get into honors programs and win scholarships ââ¬â and in some cases, you need a minimum score. For example, at the University of Nebraska, an ACT score of at least 20, or an SAT score of at least 950 (Math and Critical Reading) are the benchmarks given for admission. But you can be considered for the Honors Program if you have either an ACT composite score of 30 or an SAT of 1300 (Math and Critical Reading). Notice the large difference between regular admission and honors admission score benchmarks. Itââ¬â¢s important to choose either the SAT or ACT and to study so you can get the best possible score. Donââ¬â¢t split your time between the two tests. Itââ¬â¢s likely that you will do better on one that the other, so you should spend all of your time preparing for that test. (If you need help deciding between the SAT and ACT, see our post.) Also, make sure you give yourself enough time to study. We recommend at least five weeks, but the longer, the better! The more time you can put in, the better your score outcome will be. Take the Most Challenging Classes Possible Another important factor in making your application competitive is having an impressive transcript and GPA. However, a high GPA alone does not mean much ââ¬â itââ¬â¢s important you have also been challenging yourself with hard courses. Whether that means taking IB, AP, or honors, find the hardest classes at your school and take them. Be careful not to overload your schedule with tons of AP and IB classes and burn yourself out. Prioritize taking tough classes in subjects you are passionate about. And finally, donââ¬â¢t blow off senior year. Colleges will see your senior year schedule when you apply, so itââ¬â¢s important to keep up your momentum and take a challenging senior year schedule. Obviously you need to leave room for college applications, but donââ¬â¢t slack off and take three free periods. Get Involved with Activities and the Community Having a competitive college application isnââ¬â¢t just getting good grades and high test scores. You also need to get involved in your community in some way. Whether thatââ¬â¢s joining clubs or sports at your high school, doing service work, or being involved in a local youth group, find something you are passionate about and get involved. And remember to emphasize breadth over depth. Itââ¬â¢s much better to be very involved in two clubs than to join ten clubs but barely show up. Aim for leadership positions and awards wherever possible. Don't treat extracurriculars like a list to be checked off. The goal isn't to have the longest list of clubs. Choose a few things that are important to you and get really involved! When it comes time to apply, list your extracurricular involvements in order of the time spent on them. And remember to emphasize leadership positions, awards, or other recognitions you have earned for each activity. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: Donââ¬â¢t Ignore the Essay(s) A final, crucial component of your application will be the essay. Many honors programs or merit scholarships have a separate essay ââ¬â or essays! ââ¬â to write. Sometimes they will give you a specific prompt, or other times they will want to learn more about you and give an open-ended prompt. For example, the Schreyer Honors College has three additional essays, including the prompt, ââ¬Å"You are required to spend the next year of your life either in the past or the future. What year would you travel to and why?â⬠The University of Michigan has a list of topics to choose from, including ââ¬Å"Tell us about a great recipeâ⬠and ââ¬Å"Discuss the concept of ââ¬Ërandom.ââ¬â¢Ã¢â¬ So while the prompt and length of the essay or essays can vary from program to program, and the prompts can even be quite playful, itââ¬â¢s very important not to wait until the last minute to write your essays. The essay will be the main opportunity for you to share your personality, passions, and intellectual interests. If youââ¬â¢re aiming to get into an honors college or get a merit scholarship, having a strong essay will be crucial. To write the best essay possible, start early ââ¬â at least a month before the deadline. Write a draft, and then take time to edit it so itââ¬â¢s true to your own voice. You can also have friends or teachers look over it to see if they think it sounds like you ââ¬â just make sure it is 100% your own work. Get Good Recommendation Letters Although not all universities require letters of recommendation for admission, most honors programs and merit scholarships will require at least one, but more likely two. When asking teachers for recommendations, try to find teachers who have taught you recently ââ¬â junior year is ideal ââ¬â and can give specific praise about your academic abilities. Sometimes, giving the teacher a sample of work you did in their class to jog their memory or give them something to refer to in the letter can be helpful. Also, try to get your letters from teachers in different subjects. Being an impressive student in both science and English is more impressive than getting rave reviews from two English teachers. Final Touches on Your Application Make sure to report any strong SAT Subject Test, AP, or IB test scores you have. Even if they are not required anywhere on the application, including these scores can give the admissions committee more information on your academic abilities and achievements. This also goes for any academic awards like National Merit or being on the honor roll. If you know someone ââ¬â like a coach, boss, youth group leader, or mentor ââ¬â who could write an additional letter of recommendation, itââ¬â¢s worth asking for one. Often, people who know you outside of school can give more information about your work ethic, abilities, and passions than your teachers can. Donââ¬â¢t feel pressured to submit an extra letter if you donââ¬â¢t have someone like this, but if you know someone will write you a strong letter, strongly consider asking them. DUMMY CTA Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now: The Bottom Line Being part of an honors program and/or getting a merit scholarship can really enrich your college experience and make you a more competitive job or graduate school applicant. For any university youââ¬â¢re applying to, check to see if they have any honors programs or merit scholarships. To get into these programs you have to be aware of earlier deadlines and extra applications. You can use a table like the one below to organize your list of prospective colleges. Name of College/ University Regular Application Deadline Honors Program? (Yes/No) Honors Program Deadline Merit Scholarships? (Yes/No) Merit Scholarship Deadline And finally, you should aim to submit the best application possible. Treat these opportunities like you are applying to selective schools ââ¬â write the best possible essays, get great letters of recommendation, and maximize your scores. If you do this, you can get a selective college experience close to home. Whatââ¬â¢s Next? Want to aim for a perfect SAT score, or quite close? See our guide to getting a 2400 by our full scorer. Speaking of maximizing your scores, learn how to improve a low SAT math score, or if youââ¬â¢re taking the ACT, get math tips from our full scorer. Need some tips for your college essays? Learn what not to do. Want to improve your SAT score by 240 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:
Sunday, November 3, 2019
Hemorrhage Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Hemorrhage - Research Paper Example Often considered the ââ¬Å"fourth trimesterâ⬠of pregnancy, the postpartum period encompasses the first six (6) weeks after childbirth. After the delivery, the woman begins to experience psychological and physiological changes that return the body into the pre-pregnant state. These changes often occur without difficulty. However, factors such as blood loss, trauma, infection and fatigue place the woman at high risk, making the postpartum period a crucial time. Postpartum haemorrhage is considered one of the leading causes of maternal deaths, accounting approximately 30% of all pregnancy-related deaths. A study was made in aiming early identification of postpartum haemorrhage with the end view of preventing its occurrence and if not, to provide prompt intervention and prevention of its life threatening complications. It is vitally important to identify those women at increased risk of a postpartum hemorrhage, as well as understanding and carrying out expectant and active management of the third stage of labor. Regardless of the cause, the woman is in danger of developing hypovolemia, a system-wide decrease in blood volume from too much blood loss. If the blood loss continues, the woman may develop hypovolemic shock, which is characterized by a weak and thread and rapid pulse; hypotension; cold and clammy skin; and changes in level of consciousness. These findings may occur abruptly and be dramatic if the blood loss is large and occurs quickly. The woman who experiences postpartum haemorrhage is also at risk for developing anemia from the blood loss. Active management comprises one of the most important sets to prevent these complications. An effective measure that can be delivered by trained health care providers linked with essential supplies in all the settings that women give birth. It includes administration of uterotonic agent; after the cord is clamped, placenta delivered by controlled cord traction with counter-traction on the fundus; uterine massage
Thursday, October 31, 2019
Management and leadership Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words
Management and leadership - Essay Example It is a well-known and understood fact that it takes the display of very fine management skills in order to be a good leader. Generally, good leaders are first good managers. Body One of the most fundamental differences between managers and leaders is their way of motivating the subordinates or followers. While the managers usually are risk averse in their approaches, leaders tend to take risks. Some traits that differentiate a manager from a leader are; managers prefer routine over change whereas leaders prefer the other way round; the vision of managers is short-term generally whereas leaders tend to have a long-term vision, leaders visualize things in a broad perspective whereas managers work upon details to make the plans of the leader practicable; finally, as the terms suggest, managers tend to manage whereas the work of a leader is to leader, though it takes sound management skills to be able to lead. The foundation on which leadership stands is the commitment and obedience of the followers. A leader cannot do without the help, support, and compliance of the followers. It takes management to get the followers in the position where they are ready to accept the leader as an individual with power and authority over them. Leadership without management is like trying to lead a herd of wild buffaloes. No matter how hard a leader tries, the wild buffaloes would get scattered and the man would not be able to lead them to their destination. Management essentially tames the workforce so that they get in the mood to listen to the leader and give him/her the due respect he/she deserves for being in the position of a leader. Management is about inculcating the sense of work ethics, respect for the principles of work, and a willingness to abide by them in the workplace in the workforce. These factors prepare a worker mentally and psychologically to be submissive to the leader for the matters related to work. In turn, the level of obedience of the subordinates is raised and this has a very healthy effect on the relationship between the leader and the subordinates. When managed rightly, workers know that they have to listen to the leader to be able to work toward attaining the goal as a group while keeping their personal egos aside. In this way, management essentially set the stage for a leader to perform on. Without that stage, the leader might be called as a leader but he/she might not be truly recognized as a leader, and without the recognition of a leader as such, leadership cannot be thought to be effective. The duties and responsibilities of a manager and a leader are to a large extent similar. While not every manager is a leader, every leader has to be a manager also. Although the individual with the utmost powers and the decision making authority in an organization is usually one or a small group of people who are recognized as leaders, yet down the line, every manager is a leader for the people working under him/her. For example, letââ¬â ¢s take the example of the manager of kitchen in an organization. While the manager of kitchen has to follow the menu set by the leader and use only the ingredients made available to him/her by the leader, the manager of kitchen necessarily serves as a leader for the cooks, the chefs, the purchasers, the kitchen cleaners, and other workers working in the kitchen. Management in this example means providing the workers with the resources and help they require to achieve the tasks assigned to them individually and collectively, supervising them so as to make sure they are actually working and not wasting time in gossip and other activities, making sure that the kitchen is cleaned regularly and that
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Target Group Analysis for Marketing Report Essay
Target Group Analysis for Marketing Report - Essay Example It is JetNet Services' goal to enable their clients to a professional positioning in the Internet which is the main access to information and communication of nowadays and the future - together with providing all support necessary in case the client wishes to purchase optimally suited hard- and software. There are four business units, offering their services and products for four different purposes but having the same management and exchanging information within the company. The advantages of this for the client are short communication paths; one contact person who manages all the contacts in the company (i.e. A case manager) and a range of in-house services and products. Research suggests that the four units do not actually have separate targets. There are primarily two broad targets: Internet Unit and IT Support Unit; Graphic Unit and Multi-media Unit targets. These groups have enough overlap that they may be broadly looked at in a similar light. There is also a primary target for all four units as a package. The first section describes the Internet-Business Unit and IT Support Unit. However, there is some overlap of target markets for the other 3 business units (graphic design, multimedia, IT-Consulting). Two main target groups exist for the Internet and It_support Units. (Shurmer 1993, p. 240) Small and middle enterprises without their own marketing departments broadly comprise the first group. The two primary sub groups of this section are differentiated by the demographic information of their business leader. Young entrepreneurs heading start-up companies are the first of these leaders. The young entrepreneur is aged 20-35 years old, and is early on in his career. The second sub-group leader is an older entrepreneur, aged 36-55 years, with an established career, and a firmly entrenched company. (Igel 2001, p.159) Small and middle enterprises with their own in-house marketing and/or technical support departments make up the second broad group. Within this category, there are also two sub groups based on the demographic information of the decision maker. Here, the first target is the marketing manager: he is typically male and manages the entire marketing department. The second is the marketing assistant: most often female and reporting directly to the marketing manager. 2.1 Young startup entrepreneur The young entrepreneur is aged 25-35 and has just founded a company. He needs professional services for designing and implementing his company's website. A website is a must have for him because several start-up consultancies recommended creating a website as the first step in marketing a new business, followed by purchasing professional stationary and business cards for Corporate Design/ Corporate Identity purposes. The young entrepreneur grew up using the Web and he is competent in the technical skills involved in using the Internet for business and personal matters (i.e. knows how to browse the Internet, search Goggle, and send email) and he also is open to the technology and knows the marketing benefits that the Web offers (such as being a cheap marketing platform, up to date information, and reaching a wide audience). (Trondsen 1996, p.571) 2.1.1 Older entrepreneur The older entrepreneur
Sunday, October 27, 2019
The History Of The Digital Watermarking Techniques
The History Of The Digital Watermarking Techniques Abstract Digital watermarking techniques have been developed to protect the copyright of media signals. This study aims to provide a universal review and background about the watermarking definition, concept and the main contributions in this field. The study will start with a general view of digital data, the Internet and the products of these two, namely, the multimedia and the e-commerce. The study will presents an extensive and deep literature review of the field of digital watermarking and watermarking algorithms. Introduction Digital watermarking techniques have been developed to protect the copyright of media signals. Different watermarking schemes have been suggested for multimedia content (images, video and audio signal). This study aims to provide an extensive literature review of the multimedia copyright protection. It presents a universal review and background about the watermarking definition, concept and the main contributions in this field. Digital Intellectual Property Information is becoming widely available via global networks. These connected networks allow cross-references between databases. The advent of multimedia is allowing different applications to mix sound, images, and video and to interact with large amounts of information (e.g., in e-business, distance education, and human-machine interface). The industry is investing to deliver audio, image and video data in electronic form to customers, and broadcast television companies, major corporations and photo archives are converting their content from analogue to digital form. This movement from traditional content, such as paper documents, analogue recordings, to digital media is due to several advantages of digital media over the traditional media. Some of these advantages are: The quality of digital signals is higher than that of their corresponding analogue signals. Traditional assets degrade in quality as time passes. Analogue data require expensive systems to obtain high quality copies, whereas digital data can be easily copied without loss of fidelity. Digital data (audio, image and video signals) can be easily transmitted over networks, for example the Internet. A large amount of multimedia data is now available to users all over the world. This expansion will continue at an even greater rate with the widening availability of advanced multimedia services like electronic commerce, advertising, interactive TV, digital libraries, and a lot more. Exact copies of digital data can be easily made. This is very useful but it also creates problems for the owner of valuable digital data like precious digital images. Replicas of a given piece of digital data cannot be distinguished and their origin cannot be confirmed. It is impossible to determine which piece is the original and which is the copy. It is possible to hide some information within digital data in such a way that data modifications are undetectable for the human senses. Copyright Protection of Intellectual Property An important factor that slows down the growth of multimedia-networked services is that authors, publishers and providers of multimedia data are reluctant to allow the distribution of their documents in a networked environment. This is because the ease of reproducing digital data in their exact original form is likely to encourage copyright violation, data misappropriation and abuse. These are the problems of theft and distribution of intellectual property. Therefore, creators and distributors of digital data are actively seeking reliable solutions to the problems associated with copyright protection of multimedia data. Moreover, the future development of networked multimedia systems, in particular on open networks like the Internet, is conditioned by the development of efficient methods to protect data owners against unauthorized copying and redistribution of the material put on the network. This will guarantee that their rights are protected and their assets properly managed. Copyright protection of multimedia data has been accomplished by means of cryptography algorithms to provide control over data access and to make data unreadable to non-authorized users. However, encryption systems do not completely solve the problem, because once encryption is removed there is no more control on the dissemination of data. The concept of digital watermarking arose while trying to solve problems related to the copyright of intellectual property in digital media. It is used as a means to identify the owner or distributor of digital data. Watermarking is the process of encoding hidden copyright information since it is possible today to hide information messages within digital audio, video, images and texts, by taking into account the limitations of the human audio and visual systems. Digital Watermarking: What, Why, When and How? It seems that digital watermarking is a good way to protect intellectual property from illegal copying. It provides a means of embedding a message in a piece of digital data without destroying its value. Digital watermarking embeds a known message in a piece of digital data as a means of identifying the rightful owner of the data. These techniques can be used on many types of digital data including still imagery, movies, and music. What is Digital Watermarking? A digital watermark is a signal permanently embedded into digital data (audio, images, video, and text) that can be detected or extracted later by means of computing operations in order to make assertions about the data. The watermark is hidden in the host data in such a way that it is inseparable from the data and so that it is resistant to many operations not degrading the host document. Thus by means of watermarking, the work is still accessible but permanently marked. Digital watermarking techniques derive from steganography, which means covered writing (from the Greek words stegano or covered and graphos or to write). Steganography is the science of communicating information while hiding the existence of the communication. The goal of steganography is to hide an information message inside harmless messages in such a way that it is not possible even to detect that there is a secret message present. Both steganography and watermarking belong to a category of information hiding, but the objectives and conditions for the two techniques are just the opposite. In watermarking, for example, the important information is the external data (e.g., images, voices, etc.). The internal data (e.g., watermark) are additional data for protecting the external data and to prove ownership. In steganography, however, the external data (referred to as a vessel, container, or dummy data) are not very important. They are just a carrier of the important information. The internal data are the most important. On the other hand, watermarking is not like encryption. Watermarking does not restrict access to the data while encryption has the aim of making messages unintelligible to any unauthorized persons who might intercept them. Once encrypted data is decrypted, the media is no longer protected. A watermark is designed to permanently reside in the host data. If the ownership of a digital work is in question, the information can be extracted to completely characterize the owner. Digital watermarking is an enabling technology for e-commerce strategies: conditional and user-specific access to services and resources. Digital watermarking offers several advantages. The details of a good digital watermarking algorithm can be made public knowledge. Digital watermarking provides the owner of a piece of digital data the means to mark the data invisibly. The mark could be used to serialize a piece of data as it is sold or used as a method to mark a valuable image. For example, this marking allows an owner to safely post an image for viewing but legally provides an embedded copyright to prohibit others from posting the same image. Watermarks and attacks on watermarks are two sides of the same coin. The goal of both is to preserve the value of the digital data. However, the goal of a watermark is to be robust enough to resist attack but not at the expense of altering the value of the data being protected. On the other hand, the goal of the attack is to remove the water mark without destroying the value of the protected data. The contents of the image can be marked without visible loss of value or dependence on specific formats. For example a bitmap (BMP) image can be compressed to a JPEG image. The result is an image that requires less storage space but cannot be distinguished from the original. Generally, a JPEG compression level of 70% can be applied without humanly visible degradation. This property of digital images allows insertion of additional data in the image without altering the value of the image. The message is hidden in unused visual space in the image and stays below the human visible threshold for the image. When Did the Technique Originate? The idea of hiding data in another media is very old, as described in the case of steganography. Nevertheless, the term digital watermarking first appeared in 1993, when Tirkel et al. (1993) presented two techniques to hide data in images. These methods were based on modifications to the least significant bit (LSB) of the pixel values. How Can We Build an Effective Watermarking Algorithm? It is desired that watermarks survive image-processing manipulations such as rotation, scaling, image compression and image enhancement, for example. Taking advantage of the discrete wavelet transform properties and robust features extraction techniques are the new trends that are used in the recent digital image watermarking methods. Robustness against geometrical transformation is essential since image-publishing applications often apply some kind of geometrical transformations to the image, and thus, an intellectual property ownership protection system should not be affected by these changes. Visible vs. Invisible Watermarks Digital watermarking is divided into two main categories: visible and invisible. The idea behind the visible watermark is very simple. It is equivalent to stamping a watermark on paper, and for this reason its sometimes said to be digitally stamped. An example of visible watermarking is provided by television channels, like BBC, whose logo is visibly superimposed on the corner of the TV picture. Invisible watermarking, on the other hand, is a far more complex concept. It is most often used to identify copyright data, like author, distributor, and so forth. Though a lot of research has been done in the area of invisible watermarks, much less has been done for visible watermarks. Visible and invisible watermarks both serve to deter theft but they do so in very different ways. Visible watermarks are especially useful for conveying an immediate claim of ownership (Mintzer, Braudaway Yeung, 1997). Their main advantage, in principle at least, is the virtual elimination of the commercial value of a document to a would-be thief, without lessening the documents utility for legitimate, authorized purposes. Invisible watermarks, on the other hand, are more of an aid in catching a thief than for discouraging theft in the first place (Mintzer et al., 1997; Swanson et al., 1998). Watermarking Classification There are different classifications of invisible watermarking algorithms. The reason behind this is the enormous diversity of watermarking schemes. Watermarking approaches can be distinguished in terms of watermarking host signal (still images, video signal, audio signal, integrated circuit design), and the availability of original signal during extraction (non-blind, semi-blind, blind). Also, they can be categorized based on the domain used for watermarking embedding process, as shown in Figure 1. The watermarking application is considered one of the criteria for watermarking classification. Figure 2 shows the subcategories based on watermarking applications. Figure 1: Classification of watermarking algorithms based on domain used for the watermarking embedding process Figure 2: Classification of watermarking technology based on applications Digital Watermarking Algorithms Current watermarking techniques described in the literature can be grouped into three main classes. The first includes the transform domain methods, which embed the data by modulating the transform domain signal coefficients. The second class includes the spatial domain techniques. These embed the watermark by directly modifying the pixel values of the original image. The transform domain techniques have been found to have the greater robustness, when the watermarked signals are tested after having been subjected to common signal distortions. The third class is the feature domain technique. This technique takes into account region, boundary and object characteristics. Such watermarking methods may present additional advantages in terms of detection and recovery from geometric attacks, compared to previous approaches. The algorithms in this study are organized according to their embedding domain, as indicated in Figure 1. These are grouped into: Spatial domain techniques Transform domain techniques Feature domain techniques However, due to the amount of published work in the field of watermarking technology, the main focus will be on wavelet-based watermarking technique papers. The wavelet domain is the most efficient domain for watermarking embedding so far. However, the review considers some other techniques, which serve the purpose of giving a broader picture of the existing watermarking algorithms. Some examples of spatial domain and fractal-based techniques will be reviewed. Spatial Domain Techniques This section gives a brief introduction to the spatial domain technique to gives some background information about watermarking in this domain. Many spatial techniques are based on adding fixed amplitude pseudo noise (PN) sequences to an image. PN sequences are used as the spreading key when considering the host media as the noise in a spread spectrum system, where the watermark is the transmitted message. In this case, the PN sequence is used to spread the data bits over the spectrum to hide the data. Transform Domain Techniques Many transform-based watermarking techniques have been proposed. To embed a watermark, a transformation is first applied to the host data, and then modifications are made to the transform coefficients. In this section, the state of the art of the current watermarking algorithms using the transform domain is presented. The section has three main parts, including discussions of waveletbased watermarking, DCT-based watermarking and fractal domain watermarking. Digital Watermarking Using Wavelet Decomposition This algorithm can easily be built into video watermarking applications based on a 3-D wavelet transform due to its simple structure. The hierarchical nature of the wavelet representation allows multi-resolutional detection of the digital watermark, which is a Gaussian distributed random vector added to all the high pass bands in the wavelet domain. Discrete Cosine Transform-Based Digital Watermarking Several watermarking algorithms have been proposed to utilize the DCT. However, the Cox et al. (1995, 1997) and the Koch and Zhao (1995) algorithms are the most well-known DCT-based algorithms. Cox et al. (1995) proposed the most well-known spread spectrum watermarking schemes. Figure 3 shows the block diagram of the Cox algorithm. The image is first subjected to a global DCT. Then, the 1,000 largest coefficients in the DCT domain are selected for watermarking. They used a Gaussian sequence of pseudo-random real numbers of length 1,000 as a watermark. This approach achieves good robustness against compression and other common signal processing attacks. This is a result of the selection of perceptually significant transform domain coefficients. However, the algorithm is in a weak position against the invariability attack proposed by Craver (1997). Also, the global DCT employed on the image is computationally expensive. Fractal Transform-Based Digital Watermarking Though a lot of work has been done in the area of invisible watermarks using the DCT and the wavelet-based methods, relatively few references exist for invisible watermarks based on the fractal transform. The reason for this might be the computational expense of the fractal transform. In fractal analysis, similar patterns are identified in an image and only a limited amount of binary code can be embedded using this method. Since fractal analysis is computationally expensive and some images do not have many large self-similar patterns, the techniques may not be suitable for general use. Feature Domain Techniques (Second Generation Watermarking) First generation watermarking (1GW) methods have been mainly focused on applying the watermarking on the entire image/video domain. However, this approach is not compatible with novel approaches for still image and video compression. JPEG2000 and MPEG4/7 standards are the new techniques for image and video compression. They are region or object-based, as can be seen in the compression process. Also, the 1GW algorithms proposed so far do not satisfy the watermarking requirements. Second generation watermarking (2GW) was developed in order to increase the robustness and invisibility and to overcome the weaknesses of 1GW. The 2GW methods take into account region, boundary and object characteristics and give additional advantages in terms of detection and recovery from geometric attacks compared to first generation methods. Exploiting salient region or object features and characteristics of the image achieve this. Also, 2GW methods may be designed so that selective robustness to different classes of attacks is obtained. As a result, watermark flexibility will be improved considerably. Digital Watermarking and Image Processing Attacks Digital watermarking was claimed to be the ultimate solution for copyright protection over the Internet when the concept of digital watermarking was first presented. However, some problems related to robustness and security of watermarking algorithms to intentional or unintentional attacks still remain unsolved. These problems must be solved before digital watermarking can be claimed to be the ultimate solution for copyright ownership protection in digital media. One of these problems is the effect of geometrical transformations such as rotation, translation and scaling on the recovery of the watermark. Another is the security of the watermarking algorithm when intentional attackers make use of knowledge of the watermarking algorithm to destroy or remove the watermark. Watermarking Standardization Issue The most important question about watermarking technology is whether watermarking will be standardized and used in the near future. There are several movements to standardize watermarking technology, but no one standard has prevailed at this moment in time. Some researchers have been working to develop a standardized framework for protecting digital images and other multimedia content through technology built into media files and corresponding application software. However, they have lacked a clear vision of what the framework should be or how it would be used. In addition, there was a discussion about how and whether watermarking should form part of the standard during the standardization process of JPEG2000. The requirements regarding security have been identified in the framework of JPEG2000. However, there has been neither in-depth clarification nor a harmonized effort to address watermarking issues. It is important to deduce what really needs to be standardized for including the watermarking concept in JPEG2000 and to what extent. The initial drafts of the JPEG2000 standard did not mention the issue of watermarking. However, there is a plan to examine how watermarking might be best applied within JPEG2000. The features of a given watermarking scheme are likely to offer designers an opportunity to integrate watermarking technology into JPEG2000 for different application such as distributing images on the Internet. Also, standardization of digital watermarking will influence the progress in imaging standards of JPEG2000 where the data se curity will be part of this standard. Therefore, the likelihood is that watermarking technology will be used in conjunction with JPEG2000 (Clark, 2000). Future Highlights Nevertheless, the future seems bright for digital watermarking. Many companies have already been active in digital watermarking research. For example, Microsoft has developed a prototype system that limits unauthorized playback of music by embedding a watermark that remains permanently attached to audio files. Such technology could be included as a default playback mechanism in future versions of the Windows operating system. If the music industry begins to include watermarks in its song files, Windows would refuse to play copyrighted music released after a certain date that was obtained illegally. Also, Microsoft Research has also invented a separate watermarking system that relies on graph theory to hide watermarks in software. Normally the security technology is hack able. However, if the technology is combined with proper legal enforcement, industry standards and respects of the privacy of individuals seeking to legitimately use intellectual property, digital watermarking will en courage content creators to trust the Internet more. There is a tremendous amount of money at stake for many firms. The value of illegal copies of multimedia content distributed over the Internet could reach billions of dollars a year. It will be interesting to see how the development and adoption of digital watermarking plays out. With such high stakes involved for entertainment and other multimedia companies, they are likely to keep pushing for (and be willing to pay for) a secure technology that they can use to track and reduce copyright violation and capture some of their foregone revenues. Finally, it is expected that a great deal of effort must still be put into research before digital image watermarking can be widely accepted as legal evidence of ownership. Conclusion This study was started with a general view of digital data, the Internet and the products of these two, namely, multimedia and e-commerce. It provided some initial background and history of digital watermarking. This study gave an extensive and deep literature review of the field of digital watermarking. The concept of digital watermarking and the requirements of digital watermarking were discussed and digital watermarking algorithms were reviewed. They were grouped into three main collections based on the embedding domain, that is, spatial domain techniques, transform domain techniques or feature domain techniques. The algorithm of the frequency domain were further subdivided into wavelet, DCT and fractal transform techniques. Finally, the future perspective of digital watermarking was highlighted.
Friday, October 25, 2019
Hamlet: Emotions of Despair, Sadness, Anger, and Inner Peace :: Shakespeare Hamlet Essays
Hamlet: Emotions of Despair, Sadness, Anger, and Inner Peace The character of Prince Hamlet, in Shakespeare's "Hamlet," displays many strong yet justified emotions. For instance, in Hamlet's "To be Or Not To Be" soliloquy, perhaps one of the most well known quotes in the English language, Hamlet actually debates suicide. His despair, sorrow, anger and inner peace are all justifiable emotions for this troubled character. Hamlet's feeling of despair towards his life and to the world develops as the play moves on. In Hamlet's first soliloquy he reveals that his despair has driven him to thoughts of suicide; "How weary (horrible) â⬠¦ His law 'gainst self slaughter." Likewise, when Hamlet talks to his friends, Rosenerantz and Guildenstern in Act 2 scene 2, Hamlet wishes they tell the King and Queen that he has "lost all mirth," in this world so "foul and pestilent." In his "To be or not to be" soliloquy, he expresses his despair through thoughts of suicide, suggesting that suicide is an easy way to end life's conflicts. But luckily he concludes that the fear of an unknown afterlife is what keeps us living. All of Hamlet's thoughts of despair can be understood when one looks at the horrible conflicts Hamlet goes through. Sorrow, perhaps the most evident emotion, is very well developed throughout the play. Initially, the only cause of Hamlet's sorrow is his father's death. However, after reading Act 1, scene 2, we see in Hamlet's asides that another source of his melancholy is his mother's hasty marriage to Claudius, the new king of Denmark. Further, when Queen Gertrude asks her son why his father's death "seems" so important, he replies, "Seems, madam? Nay it is. I know not 'seems'." In addition, Shakespeare reveals another source of sadness; now Hamlet is alone, with the most loved character in his life, Ophelia, rejecting him. This cause is well brought out in Hamlet's soliloquy in which he states; "Now I am alone. O, what a rouge and peasant slave am I!" Finally, when Hamlet discovers that Ophelia has died, new reasons for Hamlet's extreme feelings of sorrow are added. In fact, his sorrow is so great that "Forty thousand brothers/Could not (with all their quantity of love) Make up my sum." Thus, Hamlet's well developed sadness, is reasonable throughout the play. Unfortunately, Hamlet's thoughts of mourning are replaced by those of anger. Most readers of Hamlet agree, to some extent or another, that Hamlet is well justified in expressing anger. Perhaps the first incident of Hamlet's true expression of anger is during his scene with the ghost in Act
Thursday, October 24, 2019
Basic assumptions of Economics Essay
Economists have generally looked for someââ¬â¢ fundamental assumptionâ⬠about human behavior from which most of the principles of economics can be ultimately deduced. Every decision-maker in an economic system-whether he is a consumer or producer, whether it is a house hold or a firm- is assumed to have in a rational manner and go in for maximum gain. Economic rationality presupposes that every person knows his interest and selects that course of action, which promises him the greatest amount of satisfaction. The economists have, generally assumed that human beings are rational and that they are influenced by the ââ¬Ëmaximization principleââ¬â¢. For example, every consumer is said to maximize his satisfaction with a given amount of expenditure, every producer maximizes his output and minimizes his cost; every seller minimizes his profit, as so on. But rationality and maximization principles are based on the further assumption of perfect knowledge. Every rational consumer, for example, knows the different possible alternatives open to him and will choose that alternative that promises maximum satisfaction. However, rationality is conditioned and influenced by habits and social customs. Habits acquired over a number of years influence the consumers in the choice of goods. Likewise, social customs influence guide and modify economic behavior of individuals. The assumption of economic rationality does not carry any moral or ethical implication. Rationality implies that in a period of acute shortage, producers and distributors would raise the price and secure higher profit margins. Such a behavior may be condemned from the social point of view, but economically it is justified. At the same time, it is necessary to distinguish between individual rationality and social rationality. An individual entrepreneur may like to set up his workshop in or around Bombay as he can get his inputs easily and dispose of his output profitably; rational behavior indicates that he set up his factory in Bombay. But from the social point of view, this may not be rational and proper. For, Bombay is already overcrowded with a high density of population. Besides, there areso many backward areas, which need industrialization. From the social point of view it would have been better that the new factory is set up away from Bombay. There is thus a possibility of clash between individual rationality and social rationality. Rationality and Concept of Equilibrium From economic rationality, the economist passes on to the concept of ââ¬Å"Equilibriumâ⬠which stands for a position of rest, a position of rest, a position of no change or a position of maximum gain. A rational consumer is said to be in equilibrium when he spends his limited income on different items in such a way that he secures maximum satisfaction. A producer is said to reach equilibrium position when he with given technology and resources, produces maximum output at minimum cost. Likewise, a firm selling a product is said to be in equilibrium when it gets maximum profit. The economists assume that the economy has a natural tendency to reach equilibrium. Capitalist Economy Economic analysis, especially microeconomics, dealing with price theory has been developed in the context of a developed capitalist economy. Such an economy assumes the existence of private property, freedom of enterprise, profit motive, private initiative, perfect competition and absence of government interference. The existence of free market conditions with free demand and supply is a necessary feature of a capitalist system. These conditions may not be present in any other economic systems, particularly in back ward and developing economies. Hence the conclusion and policy formulations applicable in the context of developed capitalist economies cannot be applied to developing and under developed economies, or they will have to be suitably modified. Static Economy Economics studies, the problem of allocation of limited resources as between different goods and services on the assumption that the technology and resources are given in an economy. The economy is producing maximum amountà of national income with the given technology and resources. In other words, economics study a static economy with a given system of want, resources and technology. Naturally, the conditions and policy formulations derived from static economy will have to be changed for a dynamic economy.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)