10 Ways to Challenge Your Brain

10 Ways to Challenge Your Brain Exercising your brain is arguably just as important as exercising the rest of your body. If you’re looking for ways that you can give your brain a nice little work out session, here are 10 ways you can challenge your brain to do more. Â  Source: [finotto.org]

The Interaction of Attractiveness and Style of Cri Essays

The Interaction of Attractiveness and Style of Cri Essays The Interaction of Attractiveness and Style of Crime Carter W. Daniels University of Kentucky Abstract Attractiveness has often been investigated as involving a leniency effect; however, in the context of a con based crime, it becomes the Achilles heel of the perpetrator. Previous research has, for the most part, demonstrated both effects as real and measurable. The present study recreates the con specifically; it is believed that an attractive defendant will receive a harsher sentence than an unattractive one, because a con requires the use of beauty/charm as a weapon. The study utilized psychology undergraduates from the University of Kentucky as participants, because at the time they were seen as representative of the university population at large. Students read a crime summary either accompanied by a picture or no picture at all, which was meant to influence their decision in how long the perpetrator stayed in prison. The results were inconclusive due to many extraneous variables that weren't controlled, thereby resulting in confounds and the inability to reject the null hyp othesis. Limitations are discussed as a foundation for expanded research that would produce conclusive data. The Interaction of Attractiveness and Style of Crime Attractiveness is something that our society hold s to a self-fulfilling standard; that is we often go easier or reward more attractive people because of their physical appearance , however sometimes physical appearances can be a detriment to an individual . There is a lot of research out there that tries to explain this phenomenon and most of it is conflicting because each study tries to measure attractiveness through a myriad of unequal measures. Each study redefines at tractiveness in a different way: a ttractiveness as a set of requirements ( Stewart II, 1985) , facial m aturity (Dumas Teste 2006), and they sometimes look at the relationship of one's self image to perceived beauty ( Darby Jeffers, 1988). Then other times the idea of attractiveness is complicated wit h the type of transgression . The attractiveness-transgression effect allows us to see that attractiveness isn't always the golden standard ( Stewart II, 1985; Schwibbe G. Schwibbe M., 1981; Sigall Ostrove, 1975). A study in 2006 looked at physical beauty as also containing the characteristic of fa cial maturity and researched it s persuasion over juridic decisions when related to offens e congruency and case ambiguity. Dumas and Teste (2006) investigated the "influence of face/offence congruency on such judgments, taking into account the strength of the case against the defendant and the maturity and attractiveness att ributes of the defendant's face " (p. 237 ) . The offense congruency hypothesis proposed stated that those with mature faces would receive harsher prison sentences if the ambiguity of the case was low than those with " baby faces " and low ambiguity. To test their hypothesis a sam ple of forty diverse people were selected to read case summaries accompanied by a questionnaire. Dumas and Teste paired each summary with a photo that was either incongruent or congruent with the case, determined by degree of facial maturity. After performing their analysis , Dumas and Teste concluded that maturity had a more profound effect on the severity of juridical decisions than perceived attractiveness. Physical appearance can also be determined through a list of characteristics; that is to say, one must meet certain criteria to be attractive. In the following research conducted by Stewart II (1985) , attractiveness was defined as having the following four characteristics , "physical attractiveness, neatness, cl eanliness, and quality of dress " (p. 373). Based on these four c haracteristics of appearance Stewart (1985) constructed a field study to test whether or not these components of attractiveness would have persuasion over juridic decisions. In the study eig ht participants went to a court house and observed court cases until sentences were determined . This occurred over a two-yea r period and consisted of sixty cases; ranging from murder, larceny, drug charges and other various felonies. Stewart provided each participant with an "attractiveness index," and filler questions to fill out for each case . After controlling for other influence s such as race, gender, ethnicity, etc ... Stewart found that, "In a series of actual criminal

Scholarly Book Review on Washington Lessons in Leadership Essay

Scholarly Book Review on Washington Lessons in Leadership - Essay Example However, most of the analysts of American history attest to the fact that, the probability of the war being unsuccessful was extremely high. An analysis of Carbone’s work contradicts this argument by indicting that, George Washington left an undying mark in the history of America. In this work, it is justified to argue that George Washington skillfully handled his political term, ultimately leaving a mark that would later be a permanent stamp on the American history through a portray of unpredictable results of an unplanned war against Britain. In response, Carbone is quoted to argue that, it is not the success of the war that is unanticipated2, but, the fact that, Washington came out intrepid with a, not rushed approach, but a short term skillful plan. In this context, therefore, Washington is credited for his skillful and greatness attributes. The work of Carbone has indeed brought out the issue of armies and their tactics. He argues that, for any form of the army to be successful, it is impossible to alienate the issue of skillfulness and expertise3. All forms of generalship must entails aspects of organization, temperance, charisma and the will to act as a team. In as much; Washington may have lost several battles; the major issue is that, he los all these battles fighting fit. In this context, therefore, it is justified to argue that, Carbone’s work is in line with the work’s title by an argument that Washington is indeed, the founding father of militarism in U.S.A. Carbone, clearly brings out the picture of Washington’s vigor and wittiness in planning on short term battle before embarking on it. On another angle, according to Carbone, success in the battle field can be related to the ability not win a particular battle but the ability to be strong willed and have the required character to handle all the

Transaction Cost Economics and Evolutionary Theories. Compare and Essay

Transaction Cost Economics and Evolutionary Theories. Compare and Contrast. (See Assignment Criteria) - Essay Example Management accounting is concerned in identification and provision of financial and economic information to managers within the organisation to enable them make proper decisions, maintain control over business operations, monitor budgets and profit performance and direct the organisation to success in the future.1 Management accounting is crucial for planning and the process of problem solving such as determining the most cost effective method of production, it is also important in that it involves the development of budgets that help in the forecasting on future production cost and levels of production and profits. Management accounting involves the preparation of budgets that aid in planning, coordination of the activities of various departments, budgets provide a means of communicating the organisations goals and plans, they act as motivation tools and they act as a tool of control where actual and activities are compared with the budget and any deviations are investigated and corrective actions undertaken. Transaction cost economics studies organisations in a way that different institutional arrangements are considered alternative ways of organising economic activities.3Transaction cost economics explains why certain transactions are associated with a certain form of organisation whereas other transactions are associated with other forms of organisation; specific institutional arrangements are chosen to govern specific transactions because they offer distinct sets of control devices which other forms do not offer, therefore institutional forms differ in their ability to solve problems and the form of control they offer.4 Evolutionary theory also referred to as the old institutional economics as Foss (1994) defined it, this theory tends to investigate the possibility of transforming the already existing structures of organisations, therefore the evolutionary theory observes organisation forms as having emerged from the already existing

Factors that Triggered the Collapse of Communism in Poland in 1989 Essay

Factors that Triggered the Collapse of Communism in Poland in 1989 - Essay Example The economy, politics, cultural and social lives were controlled by the state, which did not allow the establishment of free enterprise. Agriculture was conducted collectively. The system was fully totalitarian with the state controlling all aspects of life. The regime used propaganda to pressurize the people to accepting the policies concerning social issues such as marriage and child bearing. Under communism, it was not easy to divorce, and abortion was illegal. This was not welcome for to the people since they were denied a chance to make their own choice concerning private life. Social education in schools was controlled by the regime in order to ensure that the information that was offered in schools was in line with the communist policies regarding social life. Fees in the upper classes had been designed to reduce the number of children who could go for higher education since only some parents could afford it. The government ensured that important information about it was kept away from the public (Ka-Loc Chan K pp. 66-71). One of the major factors that led to the collapse of communism in Poland was the method which the regime used to govern. Intimidation and force were the common ways that were used on the people, and therefore communism could never get support from the majority. This was a political failure that caused the decline. This is because generally, a political party that lacks public support is politically weak. The failure was amplified by the fact that communism adopted an undemocratic ways of acquiring power and continued using them to enhance its stay in power. The labor strike of 1980 formed the beginning of anti-communism in Poland. This was facilitated by the formation of the trade union whose members were drawn the anti-communist leftists and from the Roman Catholic Church, as some of the members of the Solidarity (The Daily News - September 1981). The union became strong due to the support by rebellious

National Flood Insurance Plan: Efforts in Reducing Flood Los

National Flood Insurance Plan: Efforts in Reducing Flood Los In this report, the City of St. Petersburg has several contingency plans set to reduce the risk of flooding. First and foremost, they advise through a statement of warning. According to the St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library (section 16.40.050.1.6, 2017) states that although the Florida Building Code is considered the minimum. The city informs that larger floods are bound to happen and will. The citys ordinance code discusses that flood levels may depend on the intervention and or support of natural -vs- man-made causes. The city places emphasis on flooding outside of the zone areas is not impossible and that it could happen and not to assume that it will not. The designated flood zones are based on Global Information Systems (GIS) maps called Flood Insurance Rate Maps or (FIRM). Their requirements can be found on the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website. (FEMA), reserves the right to require city regulations to be revised as necessary as discussed in Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations, Sections 59 and 60 (St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library, 2017). According to (Adamides et al., 2016) the city code statutes of the City of St. Pete uses what is referred to as a Community Rating System or (CRS). Prior to; July 1st, 2010 NFIP CRS Section 553.73(5) of Florida Statutes are the following a) limitations on use of enclosures below buildings b) limitations on use of nonstructural and no compacted earthen fill c) limitation on installation of manufactured homes in certain flood hazard areas d) requirement to locate buildings at least 10 feet landward of the reach of mean high tide e) submission of operations and maintenance plans for dry flood proofed buildings A broad overview of the scope of the St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library states in section 16.40.050.1.2. That provisions of the section including but not limited to subdivision of land; filling, grading, and other site improvements and utility installations; construction, alteration, remodeling, enlargement, improvement, replacement, repair, relocation or demolition of buildings, structures, and facilities that are exempt from the Florida Building Code (St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library, 2017). Other methods the City of St. Petersburg educates the populous to help reduce the risk of flooding is by passing out brochures, education of students of all ages and by amending if necessary any city ordinance codes or reform bills. Further education for the citizens of the city is on a detailed web page for the City of St. Petersburg. There is an in-depth overview of flood information including educational videos found on their website. The website resources also allow the community to access maps, contacts, and educational information on Biggert-Waters act and what it is. The City of St. Petersburg also allows access to mitigation strategy plans, the National Flood Insurance Plan or (NFIP) for the city; along with a Community Rating System or (CRS). Other relevant programs in Pinellas County on flood information, Floodplain Management for the city of St. Petersburg and its ordinance can be found on their main website as well as www.fema.gov. As a last measure of prevention, the city also alerts its citizens by the use of a public warning system. (Adamides et al., 2016). In order to enforce the minimum floodplain management regulations, the City of St. Petersburg employs building codes. Section 16.40.050.1.3 of the St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library references this. The code states that its purpose is to establish minimum requirements to safeguard the public health, safety, and general welfare of its citizens. It also minimizes public and private losses due to flooding through regulation of development in flood hazard areas (St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library, 2017). The St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library, states the following: Minimize unnecessary or prolonged disruption of commerce, access, and public service during times of flooding; Require the use of appropriate practices, at the time of initial construction, in order to prevent or minimize future flood damage; Manage filling, grading, dredging, mining, paving, excavation, drilling operations, storage of equipment or materials, and other development which may increase flood damage or erosion potential; Manage the alteration of flood hazard areas, watercourses, and shorelines to minimize the impact of development on the natural and beneficial functions of the floodplain; Minimize damage to public and private facilities and utilities such as water and gas mains, electric, telephone and sewer lines, streets and bridges located in floodplains; Help maintain a stable tax base by providing for the sound use and development of flood hazard areas in such a manner as to minimize future flood blight areas; Minimize the need for future expenditure of public funds for flood control projects and response to and recovery from flood events; Meet the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program for community participation as set forth in the Title 44 Code of Federal Regulations, section 59.22; Protect human life and health; Minimize the need for rescue and relief efforts associated with flooding and generally undertaken at the expense of the general public; Ensure that property owners are notified yearly the property is in a flood-prone area; Restrict or prohibit uses which are dangerous to health, safety, and property due to water or erosion hazards or which result in damaging increases in erosion or in flood heights or velocities; and Prevent or regulate the construction of flood barriers which will unnaturally divert floodwaters or which may increase flood hazards to other lands. So what is flood insurance the Biggert-Waters act? According to Harrington a journalist with the Tampa bay Times, it is a Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, which removed the subsidies on about 20 percent of policies nationwide for homes that were built prior to 1975 (Harrington, 2016). Harrington writes that Congress after considering the damages that accrued after Hurricane Katrina and Superstorm Sandy they needed to make the NFIP meet yearly criteria. Congress found that after the storms the program was more than $23 billion in debt due to claims in those years. Another drawback of the Flood Insurance Reform was that some of its recipients were grandfathered in at low flood insurance rates (Harrington, 2016). Harrington writes that Florida of all the other states was the most affected by the new reforms. In 2014 in hopes of improving the Flood Insurance Reform Act, Congress decided due to the losses to revise the cost of insurance. This act created a 20% hike in insurance rates. In consideration to the homeowners, the new rates would not be in play until 2016 and the homeowners were allowed extra time to prepare for the rates to go up. This ended with renewals beginning April 1st, 2016. Previously mentioned, GIS maps or FIRMS were drawn up to show Floodplain Zones. They were designated with letters such as A, B, C, V, and X. Special Flood Hazard Areas (SFHAs) or high-risk areas are designated with A and V; whereas low-risk zones are everything else. They are known as Non-Special Flood Hazard Areas (NSFHAs) (Harrington, 2016). Harrington notes that more than 50% of Floridas 2 million insurance policies are zones designated in the X area. Collected data over the past decades reflects a great deal on the City of St. Petersburg. The NFIP was able to project a 100-year plan. This plan shows coastal flooding inland as far as 10 miles in some areas where others are only a few (Boland, 2017). According to the significant flood events data on FEMA.gov Superstorm Sandy, on the other hand in October of 2012 paid 131,031 losses in policies with an estimated $8,494,205,096 in damages with an average loss payment of $65,00 Granted Superstorm Sandy minutely affected Florida and the City of St. Petersburg it still did its fair share of damages. Tropical Storm Debbie who sat on the coast of Florida in June of 2012, did do a great deal of damage. One thousand seven hundred and ninety-two policies were affected, with $42,694,074 in total damages paid out. Each with an average amount of payment at $24,000 (Significant Flood Events | FEMA.gov, 2017). It is with this type of data that the City of St. Petersburg is able to compile projections of future disasters. According to the Repetitive Loss Area Analysis, Shore Acres represents a repetitive loss area within St. Petersburg which attribute to over 200 affected flood policies. Shore Acres alone attributed to $13.7 million in losses that were paid out. Before development in 1923 Shore Acres was designated as costal marshlands. It was later developed in the mid-1950s with land varying from 5 to 6 feet above sea-level (Shore Acres Repetitive Loss Area Analysis, 2016). The Repetitive Loss Area Analysis states that Shore Acres along with Belleair Shores and Clearwater Beach attribute to 21.95% of the State of Floridas pay out. The three totaled $67,976,750.33 in damages alone. These high loss areas in Pinellas County are considered Hot Spots for the county and are targeted areas for future mitigation programs (Shore Acres Repetitive Loss Area Analysis, 2016). Bibliography References Cited Adamides, D., Dunn CBO CFM, R., Frey PE, C., Holehouse CPCU, J., Kinsey, L., Seeks, A. et al. (2016). CITY OF ST PETERSBURG NFIP PROGRAM FOR PUBLIC INFORMATION REPORT (1st ed.). Saint Petersburg: St. Petersburg City Council. https://www.stpete.org/emergency/flooding/docs/NFIP-CRS%20PPI%202016%20Report.pdf Taylor CFM, N. (2017). Flooding St. Petersburg. Stpete.org. http://www.stpete.org/emergency/flooding/ Significant Flood Events | FEMA.gov. (2017). Fema.gov. https://www.fema.gov/significant-flood-events NFIP Policy Growth Percentage Change. (2017) (1st ed., pp. 1-3). Retrieved from Significant Flood Events | FEMA.gov. (2017). Fema.gov. https://www.fema.gov/significant-flood-events http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/realestate/even-with-shore-acres-st-petersburg-paid-8-times-more-into-flood-insurance/2150628 Shore Acres Repetitive Loss Area Analysis. (2016) (1st ed.). City of St. Petersburg. https://www.stpete.org/emergency/flooding/docs/Shore%20Acres%20RLAA%20-%202016.pdf Boland, C. (2017). FEMA NFIP 100 Year Flood Zones in St. Petersburg. Arcgis.com. https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/viewer.html?webmap=489ebde40c834cf8b90a197b5cdc4d56 Harrington, J. (2016). Remember the flood insurance scare of 2013? Its creeping back into Tampa Bay and Florida. Tampa Bay Times. http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/banking/remember-the-flood-insurance-scare-of-2013-its-creeping-back-into-tampa/2288308 Federal Emergency Management Agency, (2013). Analysis of Floridas NFIP Repetitive Loss Properties using geospatial tools and field verification data (pp. 19, 25, and 26). Pinellas County: FEMA. https://www.fema.gov/media-library-data/20130726-1711-25045- 7431/analysis_of_florida_s_nfip_repetitive_loss_properties_using_geospatial_tools_and_field_verrification_data.txt St. Petersburg Florida Code of Ordinance Municode Library. (2017). Municode.com. https://www.municode.com/library/fl/st._petersburg/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=PTIISTPECO_CH16LADERE_S16.40.050FLMA_16.40.050.1.3INPU

Jean-Paul Sartres Extentialism & Taoism and the Movie Fight Club Essay

Man had to believe in something. That something was an ordering principle. And this was essential; it appeared, because the scientific temperament appeared not to assure man but to trigger him to drift even more aimlessly. Mankind needed a new book of lessons and a teacher as well. Humanity required it. What had occurred to produce such a yearning? Where was Reason? Where was God? With all the gods dead and buried, with nobody to believe in, the existentialists turned to humanity itself to unearth new values. While they acknowledged the nihilistic tendencies of bourgeois civilization, they were not themselves nihilists. They preserved a faith in humanity; a faith that guided them to the belief that only man could comprehend and resolve the tribulations of mankind. Existentialism sketched on a number of earlier ideas and one of its lasting strengths was that it survived to take in nearly two centuries of European thought into one composition. It was a perennial philosophy. It was th e fundamental Nietzcsheanism. As Sartre once wrote, "existentialism is an attempt to draw all the consequences from a consistent atheist position."(Sartre, 1962) According to Sartre, it had been Dostoevsky who had created that if God did not exist, and then anything would be allowed. This, in a nutshell, is the starting point, not the consequence or objective, of existentialism. If one really comprehends the sense of modern godless man's plight, one is at first condensed to nausea and despair. All of the human kind must go through that awful sense of depression that escort’s ones’ insight into the human condition and ourselves. Man is alone because he cannot be in contact with others. He finds himself in a world in which he is completely alien to othe... ...re consistent. And if person can be neither correct nor incorrect, how will he be able to be admired or held responsible, and how can he be accountable? References Bell, Ross Grayson: Chuck Palahniuk. Fight Club novel. Edward Norton Yale Interview on Fight Club. May 14, 2003 www.chuckpalahniuk.net official website Jean-Paul Sartre. Being and Nothingness (L'Être et le nà ©ant, 1943) Translated and quoted by Maurice Natanson A Critique of Jean-Paul Sartre's Ontology (1951) Sartre Jean-Paul  Existentialism is a Humanism (L’Existentialisme est un humanisme, Lecture given in 1946 Source: Existentialism from Dostoyevsky to Sartre, ed. Walter Kaufman, Meridian Publishing Company, 1989 http://members.aol.com/scissorside/jean.htm Boobbyer, Philip: Identity: Post Modernism Global Express UK. 1996-2003 http://globalexpress.initiativesofchange.org/issue6/inout.html