On Human Cloning :: Genetics Science Feminist Papers

On Human Cloning How should we think about cloning as philosophers and feminists? Reproduction by cloning is not, in itself, morally inferior to human sexual reproduction. Moral criticism of cloning rests on condemnation of its "unnaturalness" or "impiety," but this kind of criticism should not persuade non-believers. I evaluate cloning in two phases. First, some hypothetical situations involving private choices about cloning are examined within a liberal framework. From this individualistic perspective, cloning appears no more morally problematic than sexual reproduction. A liberal feminist may welcome the possibility of human cloning as an expansion of the range of reproductive options open to women. The second phase argues for a shift in the framework of analysis in order to get a more complete evaluation of the ethical implications of human cloning, including questions of distributive justice and the ideology of reproduction. How should we think about cloning as philosophers and feminists? Reproducing by cloning is not, in itself, morally inferior to reproducing by human sexual reproduction. Moral criticism of cloning in itself rests on condemnation of cloning's "unnaturalness" or "impiety," but this kind of criticism should not persuade non-believers. In this paper, cloning is evaluated in two phases. First, some hypothetical situations involving private choices about cloning are examined within a liberal framework. From this individualistic perspective, cloning appears no more morally problematic than is sexual reproduction. A liberal feminist may welcome the possibility of human cloning, as expanding the range of reproductive options open to women. The second phase argues for a shift in framework of analysis to get a more complete evaluation of the ethical implications of human cloning, including questions of distributive justice and the ideology of reproduction. In this paper, "cloning" refers to a process begun when an enucleated oocyte receives a complete set of genetic material from one adult of the same species, and then develops. The resultant cloned embryo is genetically identical to the adult supplying the DNA. Thus, cloning differs from sexual reproduction, in which half the genetic material of the fertilized egg is supplied from the oocyte itself and half from the sperm. It is also different from "twinning," in which an egg, once fertilized sexually, splits into two genetically identical zygotes, each of which may develop into an embryo. In February 1997, Dr. Ian Wilmut announced the birth of Dolly, the cloned offspring of an ewe. If it is possible to clone sheep, why not then humans?

Study of Behavioural Finance: A Critical Evaluation

Behavioural Finance is a relatively new and popular subject in the area of finance which is being widely used in the stock markets world over. Behavioural finance is the study of the psychology of the investors in connection with their financial decisions. It is usual that the investors fall prey to the mistakes committed by their own decisions or due to the advise of others by using their emotions in the investment decisions.The study of behavioural finance tries to explain the action of the people in forgetting the fundamental principles of financial decision making and making investments on the basis of emotions. 2. 0 Fundamentals of Market Efficiency: An efficient stock market is one in which stock prices fully reflect available information. According to Andrei Shleifer (2000) there are three determinants of market efficiency. They are (1) Rationality, (2) independent deviations from rationality, (3) arbitrage. 2. 1 Rationality:Under the conditions of rationality, it is assumed t hat when new information is released in the market place, all investors will adjust their estimates of stock prices in a rational way, without heeding to their emotions. This is one of the foremost assumption and condition basic to classify the stock market as efficient. (Ross Wasterfield Jaffe) 2. 2 Independent Deviations from Rationality: Due to emotional resistance it may so happen that some investors could just as easily react to the new information in a pessimistic manner.If the investors are primarily of this type the stock market prices are likely to rise less than the expectations of an efficient market conditions. On the other hand if a proportion of the investors was irrationally optimistic and reacts positively to the new market information then there is the likelihood of an increase in the stock market prices. Since the stock market will consists of investors of both kinds always the stock market would remain efficient. Thus this condition also leads to an efficient stoc k market. (Ross Wasterfield Jaffe) 2. 3 Arbitrage:The stock market consists of both irrational amateurs and rational professional investors. Based on their irrational thinking some times the amateurs may carry the stocks either above or below their efficient prices. This irrational thinking comes as a result of their emotions about the valuation of the stocks. The professionals on the other hand do not react on the basis of their emotions but evaluate the market information coolly and clearly and make their investment decisions. This way the professionals have more confidence than that of the amateurs.This enables the professional to take larger risks on certain stocks even knowing that such stocks are mispriced, while the amateurs might take risk for a smaller sum. Here ‘Arbitrage’ comes into place. Arbitrage generates profit from the simultaneous purchase and sale of different but substitute securities. If the arbitrage of professionals dominates the speculation of am ateurs markets would still be efficient. This is one of the determinants of market efficiency. (Ross Wasterfield Jaffe) 3. 0 Behavioural Challenge to Market Efficiency:According to Prof. Shleifer any of the above three conditions would will lead to market efficiency. Normally it is assumed that at lease one of the conditions would be prevalent in the real world. But many academicians argue that none of these conditions would hold good in reality. This point of view is based on what is called the ‘behavioural finance’. According to this theory there are several factors that influence the investment decisions of the individuals like tax planning as well as profit maximization.By their trading the investors create commissions as well as taxation. This naturally brings irrationality into their investment decisions. However the behavioural theory states that ‘not all investors are irrational; rather it is that some perhaps many investors are’. On the question of deviations from rationality there are two principles of psychology namely ‘representativeness’ and ‘conservatism’ that can be applied to finance and market efficiency where people deviate from rationality.Under the condition of representativeness people act and draw conclusions from too little data. This principle when applied to stock market, in a market dominated by representativeness there is every chance that the market may move toward a bubble. It may so happen that people see a sector of the market, for instance internet stocks having a short history of high revenue growth may attract more investors in the hope that the revenue growth would continue for ever. When the growth inevitably stalls the stock prices have naturally to come down.Under the second principle of ‘conservatism’ people are considered too slow in adjusting their beliefs to new information. The stock prices seem to adjust slowly to the information contained in the earnin gs announcements due to slow reaction of the investors to adjust their belies to the new information under conditions of conservatism. (Bernard and Thomas, 1990) Under ‘arbitrage’ concept of efficient market it is suggested that the professional investors, even though they know certain securities are mispriced they could buy them by selling the correct priced or over priced substitutes.This might result in undoing of the mispricing caused by the emotional amateurs. But the behavioural finance theory claims that trading of this sort is likely to be more risk. There is a possibility of this correction only when the amateurs act in opposite way to the way in which the professionals act. Moreover the volume handled by the amateurs should be relatively small for the professional investors’ actions to take effect. There is also a possibility that the amateurs make further mispricing of the securities.This risk of further mispricing even when there is no new market info rmation might demand the professionals to cut back their arbitrage position. Thus the near term risk would reduce the size of arbitrage strategies. In conclusion the arguments presented here suggested the determinants or conditions leading to efficient markets in reality do not exist. The behavioural finance theorists suggest that the investors may be irrational, irrationality may be related across investors rather than cancelling out across investors and arbitrage strategies may involve too much risk to eliminate market efficiencies.` 4. 0 Behavioural Finance and Keynesian Approach: â€Å"A conventional valuation which is established as the outcome of the mass psychology of a large number of ignorant individuals is liable to change violently as a result of the sudden fluctuation of opinion due to factors which do not really make much difference to the prospective yield; Since there will be no strong roots of conviction to hold it steady. † (Keynes, 1936)Thus it may be noted that the relevance of the psychological factors to the operation of the stock market and the relative changes in the prices and their impact on the economic development is not entirely confined to the review by behavioural economic theories or financial theories. The origin of this phenomenon can be traced back to the works of Keynes with his remarks of ‘animal spirits’ and the part played by uncertainty and confidence in contributing to the growth of the economy and creation of employment opportunities.According to Keynes the psychology of the economic agents is susceptible to disturbances and manipulation. It is viewed that psychology is one of the key elements in shaping up the economy which is in quite contrast with the view of the main stream where the emphasis is always placed on the rational behaviour of various economic agents. Hence there may arise an argument that the approaches of behavioural finance in describing the impact of the psychological factors are m ostly the justification of the Keynesian ideas.Kindleberger (1978) has provided a description of the behavioural aspects of the financial markets closely resembling the ideas of Keynes. According to Livio Stracca (2004) â€Å"the behavioral finance literature, however, contains some important innovative elements compared with the Keynesian approach, namely the stronger focus on experimental – and in general empirical – evidence and the larger use of formal models, which may lead to sharper predictions.So, one might conclude that while behavioral finance is close in spirit to the Keynesian tradition, it makes use of a different methodology and analytical framework. † 5. 0 Objectives of Behavioural Finance: Though subjected to severe criticism the contribution by behavioural finance to modern finance is considerable. The main objective of behavioural finance is to understand and report on the implications of the investors’ psychological reactions on the sys tematic market behaviour.It is important to consider the impact of such psychological reactions on the markets from an economic perspective especially on those markets which are large and does not have nay strategic interactions. (Mas-Colell, 1999) The existing theories of behavioural finance are not matured enough to provide a coherent and unified explanation for human behaviour in the context of market transactions as is expected in the main stream economics and modern finance have provided through the expected utility theories.However there are certain studies like the ‘cumulative prospect theory’ contributed by Starmer and Sugden (1989) and Tversky and Kahneman (1992) provide better alternative theories on the behaviour of market agents acting under risk which may be considered as superior to the expected utility theory. The economic perspective of the behaviour of the agents on the basis of maximization of the expected utility is not accepted by the behavioural fin ance.The ground on which such rejection is attempted relates to the evidences available to point out that market agents do not behave according to the axioms of expected utility both under circumstances of controlled experiments as well as in real life situations. (Starmer, 2000) According to Livio Stracca (2004) the focus of the behavioural finance is to describe the human behaviour in a positive way under conditions of risk and uncertainty instead of a normative approach of such behaviour which is typical under the mainstream approach. 6.0 Conflict between Modern Finance and Behavioural Finance: The concept of behavioural finance has always been subject to criticism. Ball (1996) and Fama (1998) have contributed much in this direction. Apart from this there had been continued conflicts between the Modern Finance (also described as ‘Financial Economics’) and the behavioural finance theories. The modern finance has always tried to overrule the behavioural finance theory by adding its own methods and models on the latter without any major changes in its own methodology.In other word the modern finance has marginalized the behavioural finance by converting it to an ‘anomalies literature’ as conceived by Frankfurter and McGoun, (2000) The results and findings of various studies in the area of Efficient Market Hypothesis and Capital Asset Pricing Model combination have cast serious doubts on the ability of these concepts in establishing any acceptable finance theories on the stock market behaviour in the modern finance area. This has also resulted in a â€Å"potentially precipitating crisis† for the modern finance theory.However instead of understanding and appreciating the seriousness of these problems, the theorists named them ‘anomalies’ and accepted them to denote an acceptable group of aberrations against common beliefs rather than viewing them as serious challenges to the whole beliefs themselves. The theorists li ke Fama (1998) also suggested that such anomalies can be made to disappear by gathering more data with more diligence and putting the data so collected to rigourous statistical tests. However there were conflicting views to this approach and this formed the basis for the behavioural finance theory. 7.0 Role of Anomalies in Behavioural Finance: The word ‘anomaly’ has gained a substantial recognition and prominence in the literature relating to finance as a branch of economics. The word also denotes a complete set of studies that have brought out evidences which are in contrast to the theory of efficient market hypothesis and/or the Capital Asset Pricing Model (CAPM) The conceptual purpose of anomalies has two dimensions in the study by These dimensions relate to the identification of the significance of the term in the area of finance and the role of anomalies in the growth of scientific knowledge in the financial world.The word ‘anomaly’ has been defined di fferently by different scholars. But the word ‘anomaly’ in financial economics focuses on the irregularity, or a deviation from the common or natural order, specifying an exceptional condition. In order to provide a meaning to these terms Thomas Kuhn (1970) states â€Å"Discovery commences with the awareness of anomaly, i. e. , with the recognition that nature has somehow violated the paradigm-induced expectations that govern normal science. It then continues with a more or less extended exploration of the area of anomaly.And it closes only when the paradigm theory has been adjusted so that the anomalous has become the expected. †(Kuhn, 1970) An extensive study of the anomalies would result in a scientific approach to the whole issue of the behavioural finance aspects. 7. 1 Post –Earnings Announcement Drift and Behavioural Finance: Most of the studies show that the stock returns are highly predictable after the announcement of the earnings. It so happens t hat the stock prices react instantly to the announcements about the earnings and will continue to change during the first three quarters in the same direction.The prices will reverse the direction partially in the last quarter. Chan et al (1996) have illustrated that the changes after the post-earnings announcements do not have any relation to the price momentum. It has also been established that the post-earnings announcement changes is closely correlated to the behavioural model in the same way as the prices react very slowly to the market information . Bernard and Thomas (1990) present a model in which the investors do not have any knowledge about the potential for the future earnings. 8. 0 Financial Anomalies and Behavioural Finance:A financial anomaly can be explained as a documented pattern or price behaviour which is not consistent with the â€Å"prediction of traditional efficient markets, rational expectations asset pricing theory† (Alon Brav and J B Heaton, 2002) Th is theory comprises of two characteristic features. The first one is that the investors have a through knowledge of the basic structure of the economy and the second one is that the investors are expected to be â€Å"rational information processors† who are capable of arriving at statistical decisions that are optimal.According to the Freidman (1979) the investors in the benchmark theory are able to possess knowledge and are able to â€Å"access both to the correct specification of the ‘true’ economic model and to unbiased estimators of its coefficients†. However in view of the increased evidences against the traditional models, competing theories of financial anomalies have been evolved. On the evolution of these theories certain relaxations have been made to the two assumptions of ‘full knowledge of the economy’ and the ‘rational information processing capabilities’. The second assumption has the relaxation backed by the behavio ural explanation.The behavioural theory suggests that the investors due to the impact of the cognitive bias may not have the capacity to process the information rationally (Thaler, 1993). The results of the experiments conducted to study the behavioural finance theories provide the basis for many other behavioural theories that though the investors possess a sound knowledge of the basic structure of the economy the investors tend to act irrationally. Thus the irrationality found in the behavioural finance forms the basis for several theories that explain the financial anomalies.According to Shiller (1981) there are evidences to show that the stock prices vary to a large extent in close relation to news about future dividends etc. due to the financial anomalies emanating from irrationality. Here again it can be seen that the behavioural finance theory provides the basis for the financial anomalies. 8. 1 Behavioural Finance and Asset Pricing: While the behavioural finance is considere d to have identified the financial anomalies there are chances that these anomalies may affect the market prices of securities.On a survey these anomalies have been grouped under different categories by Livio Stracca (2003) in the paper ‘Behavioural finance and asset prices: Where do we stand? ’ and the study extends further to assess how these anomalies may affect the stock market prices. The anomalies can be explained as the qualities of the behaviour of the economic agents that do not come under the purview of the expected utility model of the main stream economics. There are quite a number of anomalies identified by the behavioural finance based on the experimental evidences. Some of the anomalies are discussed hereunder: Decision Heuristics:One of the major anomalies identified by the behavioural finance theory is the action of the representative agents in using available short cut methods and rules of thumb while considering various alternatives since he may not h ave the ability to solve the problems that are complex in nature in view of the costs involved in deliberating and optimizing the revenues. Emotions and Visceral Factors: These factors do have a role in the decision making process of the agents (Loewenstein, 2000) Choice Bracketing: This denotes the general tendency of the agents to narrow down the choices due to the complexities involved in the alternatives.One of the examples is the shorter time available for decision making. Stochastic and Context-dependent Preferences: The theory has identified the presence of stochastic and context dependent preferences in the place of ‘well defined and deterministic’ preferences which are a rarity. (Loomes & Sugden, 1995) Reference Dependent Models: In the review of anomalies by the behavioural finance there is no precise and abstract definition of the preferences of the consumers in terms of consumption or other variables as has been dealt with in the standard approach; rather th ere are reference points identified to denote the preferences.However, it must be noted that till date there is no precise behavioural finance model which has considered all the anomalies and made an analysis there of (Shleifer, 2000). 9. 0 Accounting Anomalies and Stock Market Efficiency: Some part of the trading in securities which are subjected to behavioural aspects of human beings relate to the trading on the basis of the balance sheet data and opinions expressed by the statutory auditors of the listed companies. Hirshleifer et al.(2004) and Taffler, Lu and Kausar (2004) have documented the impact of trading on the basis of accounting results and audit opinions and the abnormal returns resulting there from. However Sudipta Basu (2004) opines that the study has not taken into account the high transaction costs involved especially in selling transactions which would prove that the trading strategies on the basis of accounting results might become unprofitable. Sudipta Basu (2004) further argues that though the study of Hirshleifer et al.and Taffler et al cite the behavioural finance theories to explain the reasons for the abnormal returns, market inefficiencies may arise due to â€Å"poor market designs, poor benchmark models, regulatory interferences, test misspecification or other joint hypothesis violations† (Sudipta Basu, 2004) He is of the opinion that there are some other factors other than behavioural finance theory that will explain the abnormal returns and the reaction of the stock market while trading merely on the basis of the accounting data and the audit reports of the listed companies.10. 0 Behavioural Finance Theory – Impact of Gender Differences: The individual investor behaviour had been studied extensively by Odean (1998) and Barber and Odean (1999). The studies have provided normative and empirical results about the various investor behaviours. The studies have proved the basic facts that the investors trade in securities to a great extent and the trading largely reduce the net gains of investors. It has also been proved that the investors are reluctant to realize that they are making losses in such trading.The studies also show that there is more number of men dealing in securities than women. In the United States 80 percent of the investors are males while women constitute only 20 percent of the investing public. Barber and Odean (2001) show â€Å"that men trade 45 percent more than women. Trading reduces men's net returns by 2. 65 percentage points a year as opposed to 1. 72 percentage points for women. † As a part of the behavioural finance L. Feng, M. S. Seasholes (2007) conducted a study on the participation of men and women in the securities trading in the Peoples Republic of China.The results of the study was in stark contrast to the existing studies in which it was found that both male and female investors take part almost equally in the stock trading in China. The study also reports th at men have slightly larger portfolios and take greater risks than women. But the investment behaviour of both men and women are more or less similar in the following respects: ? Both males and females suffer from an equal home bias. ? It is the tendency of the men to invest in stocks with higher betas and mostly the stocks women buy over-perform the stocks bought by men.Similarly the prices of stocks that are being sold by men go down to a larger extent than those being sold by women. In sum the performance of both genders remain more or less same on a statistical base. ? The trading intensity among both the genders remain the same though men tend to trade more before controlling the factors like the number of share and the ability to trade on the stocks over telephone. After giving effect to these factors the trading intensity of men and women remain the same.The study also revealed that the gender differences do play a role in the stock trading in China to the extent the faciliti es for remote trading through telephone and compute are available. This is understandable due to the fact most of the people trading in stocks are youngsters and the young women who have other occupations may not have the chance of trading by physically visiting the stock exchange. They need the support of the trading through telephone or computer and this affects their trading tendency.This interpretation of trading by young investors is corroborated by Barber and Odean (2002) by their study on the young men representing the active investors. This study goes to prove the application of the behavioural finance theory on the investment behaviour of the different genders and it is proved that both men and women behave in the same way as the behavioural finance theory assumes with irrationality and deviations from rationality depending on the circumstances. It can be observed that the gender makes no difference in the application of the behavioural finance theory with respect to the st ock market trading.11. 0 Behavioural Portfolio Theory: Hersh Shefrin and Meir Statman (2000) have developed a Behavioural Portfolio Theory (BPT) based on the lines of the work by Friedman and Savage (1948). The authors have developed the theory on the foundation of the prospect theory advocated by (Kahneman and Tversky (1979) which in turn was developed on the work of Friedman and Savage (1948). The BPT also suggests an efficient frontier which is not equivalent to the mean variance coefficient frontier.In mean-variance investors select the portfolios on the basis of the mean and variance where as the BPT investors take the anticipated wealth, their intention to ensure security and the potential aspiration levels that the investors want to reach as the base for their investment decisions. The optimal portfolio decided by the BPT investors is also different from that of the CAPM investors. The optimal portfolio of the investors under CAPM prefers a combination of a market portfolio a nd the risk factors associated with the securities. In the case of BPT the optimal portfolio mostly looks like a combination of bonds and lottery tickets.12. 0 Criticisms on Behavioural Finance Theory: The important people among the theorists who raised sever criticisms against behavioural finance are Ball (1996) and Fama (1998). Ball (1996) adopted a direct approach in leveling his arguments by saying that the Efficient Market Hypothesis has to be continued to be adopted because 1. There was no alterative theories available which can better explain the stock market behaviour 2. The Efficient Market Hypothesis was considered sufficient at that point of time taking into consideration the application of the principles of the theory and3. The Efficient Market Hypothesis had been accepted by everyone. Ball (1996) considered the contribution of DeBondt and Thaler (1985, 1987) to the behavioural finance as the only alternative to the Efficient Market Hypothesis and dismissed it by describ ing it as the investors’ myopia developed by DeBondt and Thaler (1985, 1987). He also found the work of these authors as ‘grossly inconsistent’ with the possible notions of the modern stock markets which are highly competitive and also that the behavioural finance is also ineffective with its anomalies.The approach of Fama (1998) in criticizing the behavioural finance is different from that of Ball (1996) in which he made a comparison of the contributions by 20 different authors and formulated his own views and opinions to discredit the concepts of behavioural finance. Fama (1998) made a thorough screening of the papers selected and followed a systematic approach to discredit the empirical evidences in support of the behavioural finance. Based on this analysis he argues that since the evidences on the behavioural finance are only random and conflicting the behavioural finance itself presupposes the efficient market hypothesis.Fama (1998) selected the papers for s tudy from the domain of ‘post-event studies’. By a study of these papers he arrived at the view that behavioural finance is nothing but a synonymous representation of the anomalies encountered in the event studies. Fama (1998) thus makes the point that â€Å"in short, BF is nothing more than an aggregation of so-far inexplicable phenomena encountered in testing the EMH/CAPM. It has no independent existence; it is not a methodology in its own right; it has been assimilated. † 13. 0 Conclusion:Form the foregoing discussion it is observed that the behavioural finance opposes the existence of the three determinants namely rationality, deviation from rationality and arbitrage decisions which form the basis of an efficient stock market. The behavioural finance theory thus aims at studying the psychological behaviour of the investors in their investment decisions. The theory encompasses views that are contradicting the concepts promoted by the efficient market hypothesi s and also the capital asset pricing model.The theory has made an analysis of various financial anomalies in order to report the impact of such anomalies on the stock market operations and the stock prices. The behavioural finance theory can be regarded as an extension of the Keynesian views on psychology as it affects the economic development. It has been observed that there are certain accounting anomalies which also affect the behavioural pattern of the investors. It has also been observed that gender differences do not affect the concepts of the behavioural finance. There are different financial anomalies identified by the behavioural finance theory.The theory was also subject to severe criticism on its applicability to varying market situations. References: Alon Brav and J. B. Heaton (2002) ‘Competing Theories of Financial Anomalies’ The Review of Financial Studies, Vol. 15, No. 2, Special Issue: Conference on Market Frictions and Behavioral Finance. (2002), pp. 57 5-606 Andrei Shleifier (2000) ‘Inefficient Markets: An Introduction to Behavioural Finance’ Oxford United Kingdom Ball, R. , 1996. The theory of stock market efficiency: accomplishments and limitations. Journal of Financial Education 22, 1–13. Bernard, V. , Thomas, J.(1990) ‘Evidence that stock prices do not fully reflect the implications of current earnings for future earnings’ Journal of Accounting and Economics 13, 305–340. Chan, L. , Jegadeesh, N. , Lakonishok, J. , 1996. Momentum strategies. Journal of Finance 51, 1681–1713. Fama, E. , (1998) ‘Market efficiency, long-term returns, and behavioral finance’ Journal of Financial Economics 49, 283–306 Frankfurter, G. M. , McGoun, E. G. , 2000. Market efficiency and behavioral finance: the nature of the debate, The Journal of Psychology and Financial Markets 1, 200–210. Hirshleifer, D. , Hou, K. , Teoh, S. H. , Zhang, Y., (2004) ‘Do investors overvalue fi rms with bloated Balance sheets? ’ Journal of Accounting and Economics Vol. 38 p 1–3 Keynes, J. M. (1936). The general theory of employment, interest and money Available: http://cepa. newschool. edu/het/essays/keynes/gtcont. htm. Kuhn, T. S. (1970). The structure of scientific revolutions Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. Kindleberger, C. P. (1978). ‘Manias, panics, and crashes’ Wiley Livio Stracca (2004) ‘Behavioral finance and asset prices: Where do we stand? ’ Journal of Economic Psychology Vol. 25 p 373–405 Mas-Colell, A. (1999). The future of general equilibrium.Spanish Economic Review, 1, 207–214. Ross A. Stephen, Westerfield A. Tandolph Jaffe Jaffrey ‘Corporate Finance’ Edition VII Tata-McGrawhill Publishing Company Ltd Shiller, R. J. (1987). Comments on Miller and Kleidon In: R. M. Hogarth, & M. W. Reder Eds. ), Rational choice: the contrast between economics and psychology ( pp. 317–321). Chic ago: University of Chicago Press. The Oxford English dictionary (2nd ed). Oxford: Clarendon Press. Starmer, C. (2000). Developments in non-expected utility theory: The hunt for a descriptive theory of choice under risk. Journal of Economic Literature, 37, 332–382. Starmer, C., & Sugden, R. (1989) Violations of the independence axiom in common ratio problems: An experimental test of some competing hypotheses. Annals of Operational Research, 19, 79–102. Sudipta Bsau (2004) ‘What do we learn from two new accounting based stock market anomalies? ’ Journal of Accounting and Economics Vol. 38 p 331–348 Taffler, R. J. , Lu, J. , Kausar, A. , 2004. ‘In denial? Market under reaction to going-concern audit report disclosures’ Journal of Accounting and Economics Vol. 38 p 1–3 Tversky, A. , & Kahneman, D. (1992) Advances in prospect theory: Cumulative representation of uncertainty. Journal of Risk and Unc

Identity and Belonging Essay - 621 Words

Our perception of our identity is constantly changing, the groups we belong to, the people we talk to and the way we connect with others help to form our identity. There is one thing we all have in common despite our individual identities, is the need to belong. There’s no obligation to belong to only one group, you can belong to many. An individual can belong to many groups, which will then create multiple identities; hence our understanding of identity is never constant. Belonging to a loving family, group of caring friends that help us to develop our own sense of self. However, belonging can have a negative side. For example our families might have an expectation of us to do something that might alter our ambitions and interfere with†¦show more content†¦We all want to stand out of the crowd and be something special, but not all of us have the potential. However, it doesn’t necessarily have to be about education, parents can be very protective over us and ho ld us back from socializing with friends, especially from the opposite gender, which makes it harder for us teenagers to belong to a group. Media has a major influence in shaping our identity. It brain washes us by telling us what to do and because we are constantly surrounded by it, we allow it to create stereotypes, and change the way we act and think. Popular TV shows such as the Simpsons are constantly making us use and believe stereotypes. Mainstream media create images of perfect girls on magazines, to brainwash young girls into believing that they have to be as thin and perfect, as the ‘Photoshoped’ images of the girls in magazines to be accepted and to fit in groups and be happy and loved. The pressure to fit in and to be perfect leaves a psychological effect on young girls which influences and changes their original identity. Half of our identities today are completely based on what we see in the media. Although our names, cultures and religions determine otherwise, Mainstream media determines our dress, behaviour, hobbies and interests. What we see in magazines and on television dictate the way we run ourShow MoreRelatedIdentity and Belonging758 Words   |  4 Pagesbelong is a confusing and unfortunate case, where one can find themselves lost and frustrated, as they do not have a safe zone. Through the use of text and film, it can be explored that this concept if difference hinders one from feeling a sense of belonging. Whether it be a persons inability to adapt or their lack of confidence. As we progress through life we discover that our differences make it harder for us to belong. 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According to the iceberg model of culture, this group typically shares the same behaviors, beliefs, and values and thought patterns. As someone whose response to the question â€Å"where are you from?† sounds more like strained sounds than actual words, I have struggled tremendously with determining the cultural identities that construct my identity. I often feel more like a cultura l chameleon than an individual possessing cultural identitiesRead MoreCultural Identity, I Believe, Is A Sense Of Belonging Or1078 Words   |  5 PagesCultural identity, I believe, is a sense of belonging or connection to a social group. It is a self-perception influenced through nationality, race, ethnicity, and religious affiliation – just to name a few. Highly similar to the description provided in the textbook, in which people may identify â€Å"with ethnic, religious, or national identity becoming increasingly dynamic and a matter of individual choice,† (Shiraev Levy, 2017, p.8) captivating the combination of different backgrounds, ideas, andRead MoreIdentity and Belonging in Shanghai Girls and Silver like Dust1263 Words   |  6 Pagesâ€Å"As we journey through life, identity and belonging must be consistently renegotiated.† Each person’s identity goes through a process of stages in order to be fully developed and be a whole identity. Some peop le needs more time than others to attain a full, whole identity. There are many factors which play a role in sharpens people’s identity such as the environment that the people love in and the experiences that they went through. Undoubtedly, immigrants, especially those form two different culturesRead MoreBelonging Involves Conforming and a Loss of Identity - Expository Essay1087 Words   |  5 Pagesfoundation of belonging is often associated with the loss of a person’s individuality. Indeed, as the construction of one’s identity is highly intricate and ever – changing, several authorities often considers its development to be associated with our relationships. From this, it can be shown that belonging can be associated with the degradation of one’s identity. Such impact can be explained through the reality that in order to belong, we must share similar characteristics or identity with that groupRead MoreThe Crucible; Belonging and Identity. Pans Labyrinth and the Company of Wolves as Related Texts1999 Words   |  8 PagesCrucible Discussion Notes. One’s belonging will always be entrenched in the ‘belonging’ established by another group; regardless of whether or not you wish to be a part of such a group. That is to say, even if it is your aim to find your sense of belonging totally outside of another group, the course of action required to achieve this belonging through not belonging will be influenced by the sense of belonging established by the group; in your wish to contrast that belonging. A less convoluted illustrationRead MoreIt Is Hard to Possess a Sense of Belonging When We Are Unsure of Our Own Identity.673 Words   |  3 PagesThe journey in finding our identity and belonging can often be a struggle, since we ask ourselves, ‘who am I’ vs. whom do others want me to be? And where do I belong? This point in our live is subjective, because we want to feel accepted in society we deny ourselves of what we really are. It’s hard to have a sense of belonging when we ourselves are unsure of our own identity. There comes a time where our opinions and beliefs are differentiated from those around us, during this time some people may

The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay The Life of Secrecy - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 555 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/05/13 Category Literature Essay Level High school Tags: The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay Did you like this example? In the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, secrecy greatly affected Dorian Gray and the weakness his mind had caused a tragic downfall. Dorian Gray was an innocent, beautiful, handsome young man who sold his soul for eternal youth and beauty. Influences changed him from an innocents into an evil person who blames others for his action and into someone full of dark secrets. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "The Picture of Dorian Gray Essay: The Life of Secrecy" essay for you Create order He admires his beauty so much to the fact that only his beauty is what remains on the outside and it doesnt matters what remains on the inside. Dorian Grays secrets of mind had change and shaped his true self. The fact that Dorian Gray kept his secrets and how he uses hedonism has impacted him a lot. He is hideous and beautiful but most importantly he is a living human being and a portrait. It all started when he thought he felted the love for Sibly or so did he think he was in love. Sibly is naive and likes to live in her own fantasy world thinking that Dorian Gray is her prince in knight play. Dorian on the other hand only used sibly for his own entertainment and for her beauty. I loved you because you were marvelous, because you had genius ad intellect, because you realised the dreams of great poets and gave shape and substance to the shadows of art. You have thrown it all away. You are shallow and stupid. Chapter 7, Pg 91. Dorian Gray only wants to manipulate Sibyl and it shows that his love for Sibly was absent. This also show how hedonism is affecting him. Every steps that Dorian does shows the exact reflection in his self portrait. For example, Dorian Gray starts to notices the facial changes in the portrait, it started frowning. In the novel it stated that, This portrait would be to him the most magical of mirrors. As it had revealed to him his own body, so it would reveal to him his own soul. Chapter 8. This would mean that because he treated sibyl badly, it reflected onto his portrait. He would blamed on Sibyl for causing her own death. Aside from this, he kept the Portrait to himself without revealing to others, he went as far as hiding the portrait. Thus, Dorian changed drastically when he killed Basil. He blamed Basil for introducing Henry in the first place. Even after he killed Basil he continued to hide the fact that he killed Basil. Clearly said in chapter 14 page 173, Its was a suicide Alan, he is selfish using excuses to make others help him. He forced and threatened Alan campbell to disposed the dead body in the boardroom. At this point Dorian Gray was already an ugly and hideous human being. By selling his soul, he had committed many ugly crimes and the way it is done is how it starts to shape his life. He never admit any wrong doings and it is what dragged him down. The portrait has impacted most of what he has done, it is a reflection of his soul. At the end, it reveals that he has done many ugly things as far as dealing with drugs. It basically showed the ugly side of him when the portrait revealed bloodied handed. Cited Work Oscar, Wilde.The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1890 Barnes Noble Classics 2003

Equal Opportunity in the Army - 2746 Words

Tech Communication Robert Snyder Research Paper Equal Opportunity in the Army Propelled by the civil rights movement of the 1960s and to counteract a national policy of segregation and inequality, the Department of Defense (DoD) mandated race relations training in 1971. The violent and nonviolent disorders of the late 1960s were the catalyst that convinced military leaders that race relations education must be provided to every member of the Armed Forces. An inter-service task force examined the causes and possible cures of these racial disorders within the military. The task force, chaired by Air Force Major General Lucius Theus, resulted in Department of Defense Directive 1322.11. This directive established the†¦show more content†¦The situation in today s Army is clearly much different from what existed years ago. Many changes have occurred, moving the Army s EO program from a strictly educational and training initiative to a multifaceted management program with clear goals and objectives. These goals and objectives are also an integral part of human relations and are nurtured and developed through a professional military education system. The concept of the EO program is to formulate, direct, and sustain a comprehensive effort to maximize human potential. It strives to ensure fair treatment of all soldiers is based solely on merit, fitness, capability, and potential in support of readiness. EO philosophy is based on fairness, justice, and equity. It places the responsibility for sustaining a positive EO climate within a unit on its commander. The U.S. Army will provide EO and fair treatment for military personnel and family members without regard to race, color, religion, gender, or national origin, and provide an environment free of unlawful discrimination and offensive behavior. The assignment and utilization of female soldiers are the only exceptions to our non-biased personnel management process. AR 600-13, Army Policy for the Assignment of Female Soldiers, prescribes policies, procedures, responsibilities, and the position codingShow MoreRelatedRacial Diversity, Integration and Equal Opportunity in Us Army;3586 Words   |  15 PagesIntegration and Equal Opportunity in US Army; A Proud History of Progress Table of Contents Certificate of Authorship 1 Title Page 2 Table of Contents 3 Abstract 4 Introduction 5 Minority Service to the US Army - A Proud History 5 The Revolutionary War 5 The Civil War 6 Buffalo Soldiers 6 World War I and World War II 6 The Korean Conflict 7 Vietnam and the Mandatory Draft 7 The All-Volunteer Army 8 Army DemographicsRead MoreSHARP in the Military Work Force Essay1701 Words   |  7 Pagesand for many years, the US Army has been dealing with this enormous and overwhelming issue, through the help of their agency known as the Equal Opportunity Program (EOP). In the US Army regulation 600-20, Army Chief of Staff, General Raymond T Odierno, States the purpose, â€Å"This regulation prescribes the policies and responsibilities of command, which include the Well-being of the force, military discipline, and conduct, the Army Equal Opportunity (EO) Program, and the Army Sexual Assault Victim ProgramRead MoreThe United States Army s Mission Essay1562 Words   |  7 PagesThe United States Army exists to serve the American people, protect vital national interests and fulfill national military responsibilities. The Army’s mission is to fight and win our Nation’s wars by providing prompt, sustained land dominance across the full range of military operations and spectrum of conflict in support of combatant commanders (Diversity Roadmap, 2010). In order for the Army to continue to achieve their mission in their all-volunteer force, they must continue to recruit from aRead MoreThe Segregation Of Black Soldiers996 Words   |  4 Pagessoldiers within the Union army, in which it was still commonly complacent during the Civil War. The Union’s practices of denying black soldiers the opportunity of a commission as an officer, paying them less than their fellow white counterparts, allowing them to face harsher treatment as prisoners of war and most profoundly was the segregation of black soldiers from the rest of the Army; were just a few incidents that gave proof that African Americans were still not considered an equal. During the CivilRead MoreThe Equal Opportunity (EO) is an important program to ensure fair treatment, justice, and equity1200 Words   |  5 PagesThe Equal Opportunity (EO) is an important program to ensure fair treatment, justice, and equity for all people. This program frames and enhances a comprehensive effort to increase human’s potentials depending only on their eligibility, ability, and efficiency. Commanders and Noncommissioned Officers (NCOs) have a huge responsibility on their shoulders toward their units; they should provide a positive EO climate for their Soldiers. Because NCOs are the number one factor to create a successful positiveRead MoreEqual Opportunity in United States Armed Forces: Minorities and Women785 Words   |  4 PagesThe American Military is widely viewed as a pioneer in bestowing equal opportunity for all of its uniformed members. I am going to study the Equal Opportunity in United States Armed Forces with a particular emphasis on Minorities an d Women in the Military. The United States Armed Forces has the most diverse labor force in the World. There are five branches of the United States Armed Forces: Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, and Coast Guard. The demographic profile of the all volunteer UnitedRead MoreA Study A Year After The Repeal Of Dadt1573 Words   |  7 PagesInfantry or Tank crewmen, which is actual crucial to career advancement (Phillips, 2015). On August 2015, two women graduated from Ranger School, one of the Army’s toughest and most demanding schools. Previously open to only male candidates, the Army wanted to do a test trial and study before opening all combat occupations to women. After multiple attempts, two of the 19 women who started the course had finally graduated Ranger School (Oppel, 2015). These two women are, Captain Kristen Griest,Read MoreSexual Harassment And Assault Response Prevention1072 Words   |  5 Pagesor attempts to commit these offenses† (2012). The SHARP program is in place to stop any sexual activity from happening. The SHARP program provides awareness, prevention, training, education victim advocacy, response, reporting and accountability (Army Command Policy 2014). The SHARP program is there to help victims through their tribulation. The SHARP program has many agencies that will assist the victim. They have counseling, medical, and help when they need. The victims get assigned a SHARP representativeRead MoreEssay about answers for p5 Unit 3 Assignment 3 P5 P6 M3 D21025 Words   |  5 Pagesand procedures within services and Diversity Issues Include all headings – bullet point 3 key facts about each Essential content Policies and procedures within services: equal opportunities; grievance procedures; bullying and harassment at work; other anti-discrimination policies; recording and monitoring of equal opportunities data and complaints; complaints procedures for service users Diversity issues: employment within public services; development of a diverse workforce through recruitment andRead MoreImportance Of Army Religious Accommodations : Freedom For All1081 Words   |  5 PagesArmy Religious Accommodations: Freedom for All This paper begins by examines the Religious Accommodations currently addressed within the ranks of the United States Army. Jewish Orthodox Jews and Sikhs are chosen to illustrate the bounds being made to accommodate Soldiers in the armed forces nevertheless maintaining standards, structure and discipline. The paper concludes with the process administered to afford anyone desiring accommodation for grooming standards the opportunity to have their needs

Women in Sons and Lovers Free Essays

Sons and Lovers, published in 1913, is D. H. Lawrence’s third novel. We will write a custom essay sample on Women in Sons and Lovers or any similar topic only for you Order Now It was his first successful novel and arguably his most popular. Many of the details of the novel’s plot are based on Lawrence’s own life and, unlike his subsequent novels, this one is relatively straightforward in its descriptions and action. D. H. Lawrence has been always criticized for the content of his novel and his characters. Sons and Lovers is another novel which was even banned for years because of its explicit indications to sexual intercourse and the complex and complicated relationship of mother and sons. Society has a certain code fixed for a mother but Lawrence attempted to portray the mother figure in a quite different way. In fact, Lawrence puts question that to what extent a mother should care for her children and shows what happens if a mother becomes wife-submissive through the character of Gertrude Morel who is also known as Mrs. Morel. This paper would attempt to explore the character of Mrs. Morel through the feminist point of view. Before discussing Mrs. Morel’s character through the magnifying glass of feminism, it is needed to focus what does feminism means and what does the feminist criticism deal with. The most straightforward definition of feminism says that is a movement for social, cultural, political and economic equality of men and women. It is a campaign against gender inequalities and it strives for equal rights for women. Feminism can be also defined as the right to enough information available to every single woman so that she can make a choice to live a life which is not discriminatory and which works within the principles of social, cultural, political and economic equality and independence. It is in fact a global struggle for gender equality and end of gender based discriminatory practices against women. Feminism is also related to men in the sense that all gender based equality is in fact a balance between the male and female with the intention of liberating the individual. In that sense the definition of feminism also includes all movements and campaigns that target men and boys for gender sensitization with a goal to end gender based discriminatory practices and achieve gender based equality. Feminist literary criticism is the critical analysis of literary works ased on the feminist perspective. In particular, feminist literary critics tend to reject the patriarchal norms of literature that privileges masculine ways of thinking/points of view and marginalizes women politically, economically and psychologically. Some critics find that feminist criticism makes space for and listens to women’s voices previously muted or drowned out by dominant patriarchal literar y-critical practices. In other words, what the text leaves out says much about the writer, literature in general, and society as a whole. By using this â€Å"hermeneutics of suspicion† literary critics hope to reveal how women are marginalized in the language of literature. Now, in Sons and Lovers, Mrs. Morel is portrayed as the victim of the patriarchal society and the stones in Paul’s life road to success, to some extent. This paper would try to avoid the normal literary criticism to Sons and Lovers, and rather would focus on the analysis of the three tragic women through feminine position, and specially would explore how Lawrence has portrayed Mrs. Morel with all the issues of female essence (differance). Mrs. Morel, who came from a little capitalist class, aloof and cultured, is a woman of knowledge of a Victorian woman but her character can be read from Marxist-Feminist point of view. From very young, she has been struggling against patriarch, fighting for her existence and for women’s rights, longing to become an authoritative, independent and responsible man. As the England industrial atmosphere came, in the man-centered family, her husband treated her sadistically, Mrs. Morel naturally constitute an alliance with her sons to live, she taught them to change their social position and entered the middleclass, through knowledge and will, the children became Mrs. Morel’s tools to make her dream and ambition come true. But all these just paint deep tragic color to Mrs. Morel. Because Mrs. Morel chose the rood to setting up a union with her son to become hermaphrodite didn’t come true. She put her children in her bosom, cast her own dream and life outlook on her children, hoped to fill in her emotion empty because she is a wife-submissive. Although this abnormal maternal lieu helped her sons become outstanding, hold back free growth of individuality, cause their thought variant and their personality split. Mrs. Morel’s existence is the only support to Paul’s life road to become an artist. Through loving his mother, Paul tried to find man’s rights even in sleep. She should be responsible for this abnormal love, no matter what position she held in her sons’ growth, she got only the colored utilizable repay, she didn’t fulfill her emotion’s need, and this is her very most tragic thing. But this is just a simple summary of the whole novel and there are more left for discussion. D. H. Lawrence believed in male supremacy and that is why he wrote that â€Å"as a matter of fact unless a woman is held by man, safe within the bounds of belief, she becomes inevitably a destructive force†. Simone de Beauvoir terms this attitude â€Å"bourgeois conception† and states that Lawrence rediscovers this conception that woman should subordinate her existence to that of man. Thus, Lawrence can be regarded as an anti-feminist. An anti-feminist writing is not only satirical in tone but it represents women nature intended to conform her to male expectations and tries to decide what she ought to be and what is not her own. Mrs. Morel is presented by Lawrence as a proud woman as she came from an old burgher family and that made her pay higher rent to the landlord which is a way of showing off superiority over other miners’ families. Lawrence defines it as â€Å"a kind of aristocracy†. Mrs. Morel did not take Walter’s earnings into account while they got married but after the marriage it became a huge issue for her. She could not accept it that her husband was not a gentleman rather he is a miner and ultimately, this became the reason of failure of their marriage life. Though she married Walter knowingly that he earns a little but after a certain period of time, she started hating her husband for being a miner and for not having a respected job. In the first half, Mrs. Morel is shown with sympathy to be the victim of a brutal husband and of an economic system that oppresses her. Later she becomes the over-possessive mother shifting her growing children and thwarting their natural development towards the independence of adulthood. It can be said that Mrs. Morel became too much authoritative because of her ‘penis envy’. She knew that though she came from a burgher family, still she is bound to obey Mr. Morel as he is the head of the family according to the patriarchal society. Apart from the issue of penis envy, Lawrence presented the relationship between man and series of female stereotypes. The mother’s disappointment with the father leads to the transfer of her deepest feelings from him to her offspring and particularly, the male offspring, whom, unconsciously she begins to treat as substitutes for her husband. The mother who has poured her love into her son instead of giving it to her husband does seem, in Lawrence’s own cherished meaning of the phrase, ‘wife-submissive’. But at the same time, that phrase is a give-away. It sounds an old familiar note. Here is the mother being wife-submissive to her son, says the exasperated voice of Lawrence, when she ought to be preciously that to her husband – a simple case of misdirected energy. It has not been simply misdirected, but distorted as well. The woman does not feel now, for the first time, as a true wife might feel, nor does the son find her love quite so wonderful as all that. Sexual frustration inevitably follows, and this is excellently diagnosed in Sons and Lovers. His mother is far closer to him; she clings to him jealously, fighting against the younger woman’s power, and succeeding in holding the pair apart. Paul wants to marry Miriam but Mrs. Morel resists because she wants Paul â€Å"to marry a lady†. Apart from Paul, she also does the same thing for William. She wants William to be a gentleman unlike his father. Her possessiveness becomes clearer when a girl comes to meet William and Mrs. Morel replies â€Å"I don’t approve of the girls my son meets at dances. † In this novel, D. H. Lawrence has portrayed women, Specially Mrs. Morel with all he weaknesses (female essence) like nagging, orienting the children against their father, making the sons as husband-substitute, showy in nature and being over-possessive. Paul partly disassociated himself from the crude gender distinction he is voicing, although he still endorses the idea that women are by nature unfitted to full-time work. So, Lawrence reveals Paul’s opinion of women’s inferior capacity for work. After all these discussions, it seems quite clear that Mrs. Morel is the victim of one man and therefore can only live out her life vicariously through the progress made by her sons. Miriam also feels victimized by the men in her family and looks to Paul to help her escape from her servitude. Same thing goes for Clara. All of them, especially Mrs. Morel, are defined by men as their â€Å"Other† and thus, marginalized textually as well as socially and sexually. How to cite Women in Sons and Lovers, Essay examples

Writing a Great Research Paper free essay sample

Review the entire program, or specific sections, as many times as you find necessary in order to master the material. Perhaps most importantly: Dont forget to take advantage of your pause button while viewing the program. Keep plenty of scrap paper handy so you can jot down ideas, work through concepts, and more. And finally, be sure to use the myriad onscreen graphics to take notes for yourself ? when youre done, youll have a notebook you can refer back to again and again. Writing a Great Research Paper: Picking an A+ Topic 1 DVD 1 her. 2 miss. Item #Vale-1914 price $49. 95 ISBN 1-57385-191. PUC 600459191498 copyright C 2007 Video Aided Instruction, Inc. TO all users of the Video Aided Instruction publication named above, permission is hereby granted to create one (1) paper imprint of this document per person. In addition, teachers and librarians may reproduce paper imprints Of this document in quantities not to exceed one hundred (100) imprints annually. All imprints and reproductions made must retain all copyright notices contained herein. This authorization is granted for this specific document only, and only when the document is used along with the publication named above.Any reproduction or distribution of this electronic document file itself for example, copying this file to or from an Internet server, a disc, or an email message is strictly prohibited. In addition, no part of this document may be reproduced by any means or for any purpose other than as an aid during self-study or group instruction along with the aforementioned publication. Product names, logos, brands, and other trademarks featured or referred to within Video Aided Instructions products and study guides are the reporter of their respective trademark holders.They are not affiliated with Video Aided Instruction, Inc. And do not sponsor or endorse our materials. For more information, visit: http://www. videoaidedinstruction. Com/ trademarks Other Video Aided Instruction products include: 2 About Your Instructor Complete English Grammar Series 10 programs on 10 DVDs Karl Weber, M. A. , is an educator, editor, and bestselling author in fields ranging from business to politics to test preparation. He has worked on books with such noted figures as management guru Adrian Shallowly, Loses Hotels CEO Jonathan M.Ditch, and President Jimmy Carter. TO inquire about any of our products: web: videoaidedinstruction. Com email: [emailprotected] Com phone: 1-800 -238-1512 or 516-939- 0707 fax: 516-935-5552 mail: Video Aided Instruction, Inc. P. O. Box 332 Rosily Heights, NY 11577- 0332 Part 1: What Is a Research Paper? The Definition of a Research Paper A research paper is a paper that: presents an original approach to some academic topic, organized around a central thesis, using insights based on research, and citing sources in a scholarly fashion.Part 2: From Subject to Topic The Hierarchy of a Research Paper Research papers (and most examples of scholarly writing) follow the following hierarchy, focusing down from a highly general subject to a highly specific thesis: What Is Your Subject? If you were assigned a subject, write it here: If you were not assigned a subject, consider these strategies: #1. Look at the Table of Contents in the textbook for the course youre studying. Which chapter, part, or section names cover people, things, places, events, or ideas that you have found especially interesting? Your subject could be one of these general areas. #2.Take a stroll through the library or bookstore, paying careful attention to books, periodicals, and other media that are related to the course youre studying. Your subject could be one of the general areas covered by these materials. #3. Ask your teachers or professors for some guidance: In their experience, what sorts of subjects have their most successful students covered in their research papers? What sorts of subjects have they rarely seen a research paper cover but would find most interesting? List some potential subjects here (later, when you decide on your specific subject, circle 3 Copyright C 2007 Video Aided Instruction, Inc.All Rights Reserved What IS your TOPiC? If you were assigned a topic, write it here: For more information, call 1-800 -238-1512 or visit us online at videoaidedinstruction. Com. F you were not assigned a topic, consider these strategies for exploring various facets of your subject in order to focus on a topic: #1 . Think about an important turning point in the events within your subject. Your topic could elate to the causes or effects of this turning point. #2. Think about some fact you discovered that surprised you about your subject, something that thwarted your expectations. What made it surprising?Why did you expect something else? Your topic could relate to why your expectations were wrong. #3. Think about an oversimplification that is commonly made regarding your Us object. Your topic could relate to the complexities that undermine this oversimplification. #4. Think about a trend or story that connects several different events within your subject. Your topic could relate to connecting these events together, tracing the trend or story along the way. #5. Think about two or more situations or personalities within your subject that have qualities that are either similar or different. What caused them to have these qualities?What effects did these qualities have? Your topic could relate to comparing and/or contrasting these situations or personalities. #6. Take a stroll through the library or bookstore, paying careful attention to books, periodicals, and other media that are related to the course youre studying. When you find an interesting topic that is only addressed in about a dozen or so materials, consider addressing a similar or related topic in your research paper. #7. Ask your teachers or professors for some guidance: In their experience, what sorts of topics have their most successful students covered in their research papers?What sorts of topics have they rarely seen a research paper cover but would find most interesting? Your topic shouldnt be so broad that literally hundreds of books or articles have been written about it ( in which case it would be too broad, and thus large enough to be noninsured a subject). Your topic shouldnt be so narrow that only a handful of books or articles have been written about it (in which case it would be too narrow, and thus you would not be able to locate sufficient research sources).