The Influence of Social Status on Individuals Assessment and Self

Abstract People are perceived to be smarter or more knowledgeable depending on their positions or their roles in society. Social status does not only influence the way powerful individuals are assessed but it also has an impact on individuals’ self-assessment and the choice of behavioral patterns which can be the reason why they are perceived more knowledgeable.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Influence of Social Status on Individuals’ Assessment and Self-Assessment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In terms of the present research it was conducted a quiz game which required the role of a questioner and that of the answerer thus the target of evaluation became â€Å"self† versus â€Å"partner†. Results indicate that the roles in the Quiz-Game affected how observers judged the questioner and answerer. We also saw that role did have an effect of how the questioner and answere r viewed themselves. Powerful individuals act more situation-consistent not only in terms of researches but in the real life as well, which can be either beneficial or harmful for the development of overall society. Introduction People are perceived to be smarter or more knowledgeable depending on their positions or their roles in society. Additionally how we perceive ourselves when compared to others on same level of role with ourselves as equal or less knowledge to someone similar to ourselves, I basically agree with their research that we are perceived according to our role that we play in society so this is what my research is about it can also be referred to as (FAE) fundamental attribution error and related article as supported in social psychology. Admittedly, more powerful people act in a different way and reveal more variable reactions to various situations which can be the reason why they are perceived more knowledgeable. Thus, Guinote (2008) reported that powerful individ uals tended to act differently in accordance with different situations. The survey’s findings also suggest that powerful individuals change their behavioral patterns across various situations more as compared to powerless individuals. Due to such situation-consistency powerful individuals are regarded as more experienced and more knowledgeable. Notably, this perception is often generalized since powerful individuals are not assessed by their past behavior or performance, instead they are perceived as knowledgeable due to their social status. Social status does not only influence the way powerful individuals are assessed but it also has an impact on individuals’ self-assessment and the choice of behavioral patterns. For instance, according to Lammers and Stapel (2009) having power influences the way individuals try to solve moral dilemmas.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Lea rn More Lammers and Stapel (2009) found that more powerful individuals tended to concentrate on rules and principles, whereas less powerful individuals focused on the consequences. It is worth mentioning that in situations when decisions based on principles and rules threatened participants’ self-interest, more powerful individuals tended to solve the problem concentrating on the consequences. Thus, individuals’ status is a very important (if not essential) factor which influences their behavior. Notably, not only other people regard powerful people as more knowledgeable, but powerful individuals assess themselves likewise. Such self-assessment makes powerful individuals act in accordance with their self-interest and in terms of conventional rules. Nevertheless, sometimes this peculiarity of people’s assessment can be harmful, since some more powerful people can use their position in to reach their own aims. Cooper (2002) reports that police officers who are m ore powerful individuals do not always try to help less powerful individuals. Instead these more powerful individuals make use of their position, and their decisions often regarded as correct due to the assessment that more powerful people are more knowledgeable. Admittedly, powerful individuals are regarded as more knowledgeable and due to this perception they are often in more favorable position than less powerful individuals. Ross et al. (1977) considered the correlation between social status and individuals’ assessment. According to Ross et al. (1977) powerful individuals are perceived as more knowledgeable on the basis of their status. Moreover, powerful people are aware of their favorable position and often use it to â€Å"inappropriately deem members of their own caste well-suited to their particular leadership tasks† (Ross et al., 1977, p.494). It is necessary to point out that despite the considerable amount of surveys on the correlation between status and ind ividual perception, the problem needs further research. Discussion In psychology attribute biases are ubiquitous, to some extent they are referred to contemporary social psychology’s bedrock. The attribution biases lead us to underrating the significance of unresponsive, situational factors over the responsive human factors. Ross et al (1977) indicates that when making correct social judgments, self-presentation benefits and limitations should be adequately recognized on performers of social roles. Experimentation used to examine social insight in an encounter where a participant made hard questions that were based on general knowledge while another participant attempted to solve the exact questions.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on The Influence of Social Status on Individuals’ Assessment and Self-Assessment specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Findings showed that perceivers do not give adequ ate allowance and leave a biasing effect on the â€Å"interviewer† and the â€Å"interviewee.† When judging the both of the participants the questioners gave an allowance to demonstrate esoteric knowledge that they exhibit in composing the questions. They were always recognized as superior to the ones answering their questions. Interpersonal encounters present adequate knowledge on social judgments and when evaluating oneself. Personal performances on such occasion fortified by the social roles each individual partakes. There are notable biased effects upon performance. In regard to the quiz game the specific empirical demonstration deals with the roles of the â€Å"questioner† and the â€Å"answerer† it also entails the bias discernment of the general knowledge that lead to random task, it purposes to fulfill the roles of the quiz game. Ross et al (1977) the tasks participated by the questioner is to compose a list of general knowledge quiz and then give them to the answerer contestant. The two participants and a couple of observers are present in the whole process. The role of the observers is to assess the contestants’ general knowledge in the whole exercise. Great emphasis is put on the role conferred, in general knowledge the advantages and the disadvantages of self-presentation in quiz game. Their role of these advantages and setbacks are neither understated nor concealed. The present research also proves that social status does influence individuals’ assessment. In the first place, individuals who were put in more favorable position, i.e. the position of the questioner who had the questions and the answers at hand, were regarded by observers as more powerful, i.e. more knowledgeable. Notably, the observers were likely to think that the questioners were more knowledgeable largely concentrating on the superior status of the more powerful individuals. It goes without saying that questioners did not have to reveal t he scope of their knowledge to prove their level, they only asked questions. It follows that the observers did not have the real opportunity to assess the level of the questioners’ knowledge, but they still evaluated the questioners as more knowledgeable. The observers assessed the questioners focusing on their social status and behavior, not on their exact knowledge. What the observers did see was that the questioners were confident enough and could correct the answerer if the latter was not right. The observers did not take into account that the questioners simply had the answers written in their papers which made them more knowledgeable. It is necessary to point out that many questioners could fail to answer the questions if they were in the position of answerers. Apparently, the observers did not pay much attention to that fact. It is possible to assume that the observers based their judgments on their previous experience: those who ask questions are, as a rule, more powe rful and more knowledgeable. This kind of generalization works in the particular case of the quiz game.Advertising Looking for research paper on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Apart from this stereotypes which had impact on the observers’ assessment, influenced questioners and answerers’ self-assessment as well. It is important to state that not only observers but questioners and answerers shared the viewpoints about more and less powerful positions. Admittedly, individuals who found themselves in superior position (even if they occupied the position at random) felt more confident and that is why they did produce the impression of being more knowledgeable. At the same time, answerers felt that they were in less favorable position. They could even feel a bit subordinate to questioners. The answerers were not very confident since they did not have the right answers at hand. The answerers did not feel that confident and could be even a bit nervous since they wanted to give the correct answers. It goes without saying that the answerers considered themselves to be less knowledgeable. This is supported by the present research findings. The answere rs’ self-assessment was also based on stereotypes to great extent. It is important to note that self-assessment influenced the participants’ behavior. Thus, questioners were confident and enjoyed their being regarded as powerful and more knowledgeable, the answerers were regarded as less knowledgeable and shared this opinion. It is possible to state that self-assessment influenced the participants’ behavior which contributed to creation of certain evaluation by observers. Reportedly, the peculiarities of individuals’ assessment and self-assessment can be revealed not only during some surveys but in the real life. Admittedly, people tend to regard people who are in more powerful position as more knowledgeable due to their social status. Initially people judge other individuals in terms of their social status and only after this some personal features and behavior is taken into account. It goes without saying that individuals’ self-assessment id depe ndant on their social status. More powerful individuals are more confident and can often make use of their position, whereas less powerful individuals may often feel subordinate to the former. Moreover, in the real life less powerful individuals tend to rely on more powerful people. Reportedly, powerful individuals act more situation-consistent not only in terms of researches but in the real life as well, which is beneficial for the development of overall society since powerful people are thought to be bound to help powerless individuals. For instance, McWilliams (1993) revealed a very useful trend when powerful individuals were called for being responsible for powerless individuals, children in particular. Admittedly, it is believed that powerful individuals being more knowledgeable and experienced can and should solve difficult issues. Fortunately, powerful people share such opinion and tend to take control of various situations which in its turn contributes to their image of powe rful individuals. Thus, the society admits that people occupying powerful position (like lawyers or officials) should take care of less powerful people due to the fact that they are more knowledgeable and, of course, they are able to implement the necessary changes in the society. In this case the peculiarities of individuals’ assessment can lead (and do lead) to many improvements the society. On the one hand, such tendency when more powerful people take control of numerous situations is quite favorable, since the higher position is used to develop the society. Nevertheless, sometimes powerful individuals may use their position in some inappropriate way. First of all, they can use their position to achieve some personal goals which can have negative consequences for others. This kind of situation can worsen since less powerful people tend to accept more powerful individuals’ decisions. On the other hand, individuals who are in more favorable, i.e. powerful, position ar e not necessarily more knowledgeable and experienced as other people can think. Thus, many decisions may be erroneous due to the fact that in reality more powerful individuals lack the necessary knowledge or experience. Again this can lead to some undesirable effects since less powerful individuals who may really know the right solution will not be listened to because of the lack of authority or even will not express their opinion since they regard themselves as subordinates. This kind of situation is illustrated by the present research when questioners were regarded as more knowledgeable due to their position, though in reality they could know less than the answerers. Conclusion In conclusion, it is possible to state that the present research proves that individuals’ assessment is to great extent based on the social position occupied by people assessed. Moreover, the social status also influences individuals’ self-assessment and their behavior. Thus, the questioners i n the Quiz-Game were regarded as more knowledgeable basing on their superior position. The self-assessment was very much alike: questioners and answerers regarded themselves as less knowledgeable. Admittedly, the same assessment patterns are found in the real life where people occupying higher social positions are considered to be more powerful, knowledgeable and experienced. Such peculiarity of people’s perception can have both positive and negative effects. On the one hand, the society promulgates the authority of powerful people and makes them responsible for less powerful individuals. Powerful individuals share this opinion and are ready to implement the necessary changes and to make the necessary decisions. On the other hand, some powerful individuals may use their position to reach their personal aims which can have negative effects for others. Moreover, not all powerful people are that knowledgeable as they are considered to be so they can often make erroneous decision s which will be brought to life due to their high position. In this case the entire society can be threatened by the authority of people who in reality are not worth their positions. Thus, it is yet to find out whether the psychological peculiarity of people assessing other individuals on the basis of their social status is beneficial or ruinous for the society. It can be also helpful to research whether individuals’ assessment and self-assessment can be changed and how. References Cooper, S. (2002). A Closer Look at Racial Profiling. Foundation for American Communications. Web. Guinote, A. (2008). Power and Affordances: When the Situation Has More Power Over Powerful Than Powerless Individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(2), 237-252. Lammers, J. and Stapel, D.A. (2009). How Power Influences Moral Thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 97(2), 279-289. McWilliams, J.M. (1993, February). Standing Up for the Powerless. ABA Journal, 8. Ross. L., Amabile, T.M., and Steinmetz, J. (1977). Social Roles, Social Control, and Biases in Social-Perception Processes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 35(7), 485-494. Ross, L. (1977). The Intuitive Psychologist and His Shortcomings: Distortions in the Attribution Process. New York: Academic Press. This research paper on The Influence of Social Status on Individuals’ Assessment and Self-Assessment was written and submitted by user Dam0n to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

301 Short Story Ideas Guaranteed to Kick Your Writing into High Gear

301 Short Story Ideas Guaranteed to Kick Your Writing into High Gear With shorter attention spans and increasingly hectic lives, its no wonder readers love short stories now as much as ever. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Shawshank Redemption, Minority Report, and Brokeback Mountain- even Hollywood has taken a renewed interest in short stories.Below are 301 short story prompts and starters to help you become inspired, get past writers block and explore the fascinating process of writing in a genre that Stephen King famously once compared to a kiss in the dark from a stranger.Please feel free to use any of these ideas to spark your next creative project. You dont have to credit us, but it would be much appreciated if you do! A simple link to ServiceScape is the best way to do that.AdventureA group of hunters are on a hunt. Their dress and actions are completely primitive until the end when they change back into suits and leave the area in modern vehicles.Weather patterns across the globe suddenly shift, causing natural law to go haywire. A fa mily tries to make sense of it while getting to safety.A flood swept away an entire town, leaving only the library and its strange secret.Your main character is evicted from their home and forced to call in some favors. Although, those favors take him/her on a wild ride they never expected.The night before an important social function, your main character is tasked with saving the world.Your main characters boat is sinking in the middle of the ocean and he/she only has 1 hour to make a raft from parts of the vessel.Your main character joins the communist regime and leads the party to glorious victory over the capitalist bourgeoisie funded by your antagonists Super-PAC.Your main character has a change of heart and partners up with your antagonist, joining their evil organization and proving a much more capable evil overlord than your antagonist could ever hope to be.Your characters things are packed up and they are ready to leave town tomorrow. Before they say goodbye to their town, they decide to stop by at their favorite bar just to say goodbye. Something that happens at the bar makes them question whether or not leaving is the right decision.When your character is hanging out at their favorite coffee shop, they notice someone loitering outside. As your character leaves, they see a black SUV pull up and a very handsome man gets out. The loiterer goes to lunge for the man, but your character instinctively decides to jump on him, blocking him from attacking the unsuspecting man. It turns out that the handsome man is the governor of the state. What happens next?Two giant fingers reach down and pluck your main character away from what they were just doing, and unceremoniously deposit them on a pirate ship.Your main character finds an abandoned car, keys still inside, parked outside their home.Your protagonist is a corporate CEO who suddenly must hunt and forage his own food.Your characters are trapped in a structure that constantly shifts and changes. How do they find their way out?Sci-fi, Fantasy, and SupernaturalYour main character wakes up in the body of the person he/she most despises.An outdoor music festival receives strange, otherworldly visitors who decide to take the stage for their own performance.A man wakes up to discover he can no longer hear but can see things hes never seen before.A man and his dog go to the dog park to play and the dog finds a bone with strange carvings on it that reacts to the environment in unexpected ways.A group of high school friends cross paths 10 years after graduation to catch up, only to learn that one in their midst has developed special, superhuman powers.A secondary character stumbles upon a talking blade, and they begin behaving suspiciously.Your character wakes one morning and finds that they are physically stronger, faster, and have greater reflexes than when they went to sleep. Each time they sleep, they become stronger.As if losing everything she owned in the tornado wasnt enough, Lila learn ed that shed been laid off from her job. And thats when she started noticing the monsters.A tertiary character is revealed to be The chosen one, and your main character must help them to succeed in fulfilling their destiny.The antagonist dies, but the story doesnt end.Your main character is given a suit that protects them from danger- unfortunately it has a different threshold for safety than seems ideal.A character in your story becomes aware that they are in a story.our character wakes up deaf and mute but sees more colors than he or she knew was possible.Your main character finds that time has slowed for them. Each year they age only several weeks, and slowly those nearest them are beginning to take notice.Your main character makes a pact with an alien visitor to trade bodies for the day to tour around unnoticed.Your main character wakes up in an unrecognizable city that is at least 100 years more advanced in technology than we are today.Lightning strikes your main character and he/she wakes up in the hospital with a small black goblin perched on their shoulder, which no one else can see.The sun goes out, replaced by building-sized lights in the sky over each major city. Across the world, beams of light descend from the sky, and each points toward your main character.A secondary character is visited by aliens. They are told that they have been chosen as a representative of humanity amongst the interstellar accord. They need your main characters advice.Your main character has a theme song which plays for ten seconds every time they enter a room.Your protagonist is visited by a comic book hero who needs their help.Your character cannot wake from a series of back-to-back dreams that feel like he or she is awake.All rhinos have gone extinct except for two, and your main character has been granted guardianship of the last two of their kind.Your character notices a weird growth on their arm one morning. They brush it off as a weird bump or scratch- until it turns into something else entirely.Your character has always thought of their parents in a certain way, but here lately theyre doing something unusual that changes your characters opinion of them.Your main character is the owner of a variety store and an invisible car crashes through the wall, driven by an invisible person.Your antagonist and protagonist meet in the afterlife, hundreds of thousands of years after your story takes place.Your antagonist and protagonist get freaky-Friday-ed. When they wake up, each is in the others body.Your main character is suddenly invisible, but they dont know how long it will last.Your main character wakes up, in high school again, and finds that they are late for an important test.Your main character is granted a single wish, but must be careful, because the genie granting the wish will attempt to misinterpret any wish they make.Your main character finds himself/herself in the video game they were playing.Your main character is the leader of a random group of apocalypse survivors who must now forage for food.A cell phone is found locked inside a cabinet in a home recently purchased by newlyweds. On it is a recorded message from their future children. What does the message say and how did it get there?Your main character and the three people standing closest to them, are thrown backwards in time three hundred years.Your protagonist can see the future and doesnt want to leave his/her home.Your main character discovers that they are a wizard, and that this means they will have to leave their family to learn how to safely practice magic, in a school they have never heard of.Suddenly, your main character can hear the thoughts of everyone who is wearing the same color shirt as they are.Your protagonist dies. The story doesnt end.Your main character is really a guardian angel in human form.Your protagonist meets a man claiming to be God. He/she doesnt believe the man, but then miracles ensue.Two adult sisters discuss a fateful night wh en they were teenagers and ran away from home, only to encounter a pack of vampires waiting to take them in.A family comes together for Christmas, only to discover that they have somehow switched bodies and perspectives over the course of the meal.A man or woman wakes up as his/her dog or cat and its breakfast time.Two writers discover theyve written the exact same text, word for word, 1,000 miles apart from each other.A parent and child encounter their ancestor, who has been dead for centuries, and they go on a walk through the city/the woods.A lost Incan treasure is found in the basement of a school in Ohio. How did it get there? And more importantly, how is it glowing?Your main character suddenly loses his ability to see but can hear things he hadnt heard before..Its 2050 and most of America has become one large city except for a small area in the middle of the country, considered uninhabitable by most people except for a few. Who are they and how do they survive?Romance and Dram aA secondary character starts their own business and enlists your main character to help it succeed but falls in love instead.Your antagonist wins over your main characters best friend, convincing that friend of their good intentions.Your main character gets a new job, working at the evil corporation run by your antagonist- but the work they would be doing could really help people.Your main character and their best friend find themselves in a love triangle with your antagonist.A couple is having an argument at the table beside your character at a restaurant. Although they are trying to avoid eye contact, your character realizes that one of them is the ex that the other never quite got over.A tertiary character is seriously stressing out, and your protagonist feels the need to reach out to them with a kind gesture. It does the opposite of help.Your character is talked into going to their romantic interests mothers dance recital, and their romantic interest doesnt show up.Your charact er is at a friends house for a dinner party. Suddenly, someone they absolutely despise walks in. What do they do now?Your characters boyfriend of five years surprises them with an engagement ring at a dinner with their whole family. They pause for a minute before they answer him. But if he knew their secret, there is no way he would be proposing right now. The whole room is waiting for the response.Your character gets matched up with a famous person on Tinder. What happens on their date?Your characters friend introduces them to someone at a party. It turns out that your character and the other person actually know each other quite well. However, neither of them acknowledges this fact. The friend steps away. What do they say to each other now?Your characters mom seems really tense when they are out to dinner with her one evening. They ask her whats wrong. I have something to tell you, she says gravely.Write a story about a father and son reuniting for the first time in 20 years. Why did they go so long without talking? What finally brought them together?Your main characters romantic interest finds one day that they are much more interested in your antagonist.Suddenly, a tertiary character confesses their love for your protagonist, getting down on one knee and producing a ring. But your protagonist loves someone else.One night when your character is at a bar with all of their friends, a mysteriously charming stranger starts talking to them. They are instantly captivated by their every word. They ask for your characters number, but theres just one (major) problem.Mystery and HorrorA writers manuscript contains words he didnt write†¦ghostwriting in its truest form. But who is his co-author and what does the ghost want?Your main character comes home to find that their family is missing.Your character wakes up covered with strange tattoos and cant remember how he/she got them.Your protagonist awoke from a nightmare to find an object from his/her dream laying on the pillow.Two cousins hitchhike along a deserted country road, following a stream of black smoke to an abandoned house, where there is no one tending the steadily burning fire.Your main character wakes up in the trunk of a car, their head throbbing.An escaped convict leaves behind evidence of his innocence for the search party to find.Your protagonist wakes up aged considerably, after a Rip Van Winkle-esque 20-year nap, and his friends dont believe his story.Theres no way out of the concert hall but the concert-goers tried to find it anyway. Behind them, the snarling monster prowled.Lost in the woods, two teens encounter a witch-like woman who offers them all theyve ever wanted in exchange for one small thing- their baby sister.Your main character discovers a long-lost sibling who is down on their luck.Your main character is given an important heirloom, an item passed down for generations in their family. But it is cursed.Your main character finds a black mahogany door in their ba sement, shut tight with chains.One night while your character is camping in the woods with their family, theres a loud noise from inside the tent. At first everyone thinks its an animal, but this sounds like nothing theyve ever heard before.Your main character has a conversation with a ghost from their past, either literally or figuratively.Your main character goes broke drinking and gambling and wakes up the next morning with a small white rabbit perched on their chest, possibly stolen from the magic act they saw the night before.Your main character wakes up on a rooftop, in their underwear.Your main character inherits a vast fortune, but they must stay in a creepy old house for an entire night in order to earn it.Your main character sells their soul and seems to have all of their problems solved, only to find out that the devil is a blood relation, and there are no catches.Your main character wakes up to find that  ¾ of the worlds population has suddenly disappeared without a tr ace.Two adopted twin sisters embark on a journey to find their birth father, only to find that hes been close to them all along.Your main characters dog goes missing in the night, and they arent the only one missing a pet. After some sleuthing they discover that a friend has become a werewolf, and that their best friend is the cause of the missing animals.Your main character wakes up wearing a strange ring which glows with sparks of blue electricity.People find that if they dont concentrate on keeping their soul attached to their body, it begins to separate. Without continuous concentration, everyone becomes ghosts of themselves.Your character discovers that theres something really mysterious happening at the neighborhood park. Your character finally works up the nerve to go down there one evening, and what they find is even more peculiar than what they originally thought.Your main character is trapped in a dream that is quickly becoming a nightmare.After a particularly grueling day at work, your character groggily returns to work the next morning. The secretary, who your character has said hello to every morning for about five years, suddenly has no idea who they are. When they tell her their name, she responds: No one by that name has ever worked here.Your character wakes up one morning in what looks to be a hospital. They try to move, but it appears they are strapped into the bed. A nurse suddenly enters the room and calls them by the wrong name. What happened to them? What happens next?The doorbell rings. No one is there, but a mysterious package was left behind. Your character opens it up and find something inside thats very unexpected.Write about a scenario where a character does something terrible and gets away with it completely.Your characters sibling is wanted for a serious crime. They swear that they didnt do it, but your character is not so sure.A ghost of your antagonists great-great-great-grandmother visits your protagonist, warning him to stay a way from her great-great-great-grandchild.On your characters walk to work, they notice that the streets are suspiciously empty. Brushing it off, they finally get to their office. Theres no one inside at all. They walk around searching for someone, anyone to ask whats happening. They find no one and nothing.A child draws scenes that end up happening exactly as he/she draws them. His/her parents try to understand what is happening.OtherYour main character has been knocked unconscious, and another character from your story needs to step up and take their place.At the library one afternoon doing some research, your character notices an unusual photograph. Your character is immediately captivated by it. Whats in the photograph?Your characters grandma recently passed away. In her will, she left your character something very strange.Your main character has just come face to face with their worst enemy, and they are monologuing.Your antagonist has finally won, accomplishing their greatest f eat. Now what?Your antagonist and protagonist swap places for a day.Your antagonist and protagonists are placed in the same dorm room at university. Hilarity ensues.It turns out your antagonist was right the whole time, and now your protagonist has some explaining to do.Your main character or antagonist wins the lottery, a jackpot of 3.4 million dollars. But he/she doesnt want it.Your main character is contemplating suicide until a stranger stops him/her.The king dies, and your antagonists best friend becomes the new ruling monarch. The catch is, they dont seem too bad, other than the fact that your antagonist keeps whispering in their ear.Your protagonist is incredibly late for their next scheduled meeting, and he or she just keeps running into obstacles which stall them further.Your characters birthday wish that they made when they were blowing out the candles actually comes true. What is it? Is it everything that they hoped for?Your characters home is a little worse for wear. It seems like everything is broken and your character has no more money to invest in this money pit. In the garage, they see an old can of gasoline. Would they do the unthinkable? What is going through their mind right now?Your characters family has a lot of traditions. They go along with them, except for one. If their parents knew your character broke this rule, they would likely disown them. What is it? What would your character do if they found out?Your character is a pretty shy, introspective person. One day they wake up and realize that they are saying everything that they think. They cant control the words that are coming out of their mouth at all. While this is helpful when they are trying to talk to friends and acquaintances at work, it really starts to get them into trouble.Your character is a member of a family that has always feuded with their neighbors over trivial issues, and now must ask his/her neighbors for help in an emergency. How do the neighbors respond?Story Starte rsThe place where the world stopped was not so strange, but the vertigo was overwhelming. The girl could not decide whether or not it would be wise to jump.The gear turned, interlaced with another, and another. His eyes traced the inner workings of the machine to the place where the light shone.Static played between the cracks of the monitor, the spark and hiss of the television muffled as the living room filled with water.The hand was pale, as if circulation had long stopped; and the ring upon the creatures finger seemed to glow with a spark of interior fire.They say that when you die in a dream, you die in real life. I can tell you that isnt true; because I died in a dream, and what happened to me was much stranger than that.The girl spun, dragged by the momentum of her backpack, tilting from one foot to the next so that her balance was tenuous, her motions growing wilder.The face in the mirror was not his own. It was handsomer, his eyes more vibrant, his skin clearer. He frowned, uncertain, but his reflection smiled.Once upon a time, in a night with no stars and no moon, there was a shadow in the darkness.Bright blue water held the stars reflections, until she dove beneath the surface. Then for a long moment the lake was still, until I began to grow nervous. When she finally returned, she held aloft over her head the star which had hung in the North, the wish-making star.It was, as the wave of mud descended, sprayed by the wheels of a yellow taxi – it was that moment which made that day the worst of her life.Again, try again. Concentrate now, it will not come easily.Strange, to see her here. She seemed out of place. Not the soft out-of-place, like an uncle entertaining unfamiliar nieces and nephews, but the hard of out-of-place which drew every eye in the room.It was a trick of the fingers, and a twist of the wrist, which changed the shape of the shifting cloak. One moment the garment was a heavy green wool, and the next it was black satin, suitable for the nights entertainments.I have been many things: a pawn, a dancer, a master of the blade; but none of these in the way you might think, and none of them for less than a moment.The torch hissed as he plunged it into the river and let the current sweep the light away. Then he was alone in the dark with the red-ember eyes.Like a dream she had drifted from the room, and like a dream she seemed unreal, and like a dream she was gone.The pencil was now stuck in the ceiling, the glob of green hanging precariously from it; and before I could dash across the room, or throw the stapler again to dislodge it, Mr. Smythe reentered the classroom.The lower level was waist-deep already, flooding from a number of breaches along the starboard hull. Younger crewmen were wading through the water in search of bailing buckets. Older crewmates were racing toward the ladders, offering prayers beneath their breath.The river was home to a great many, and together they drifted along it. It was never fast , never sudden, but always full to brimming of fish, and always clean to drink.The sphere was some metal he had never seen before, like steel but with a faint blue hue. It stood out nearly three feet from the earth; and where it was exposed to the air, lightning struck it repeatedly, illuminating his surroundings with each strike.The woman swung her scythe with the steady clockwork motion of a pendulum.Frost spread across the ground. Slowly at first, with the lingering laziness of autumn, but then with greater fervor; and the creature flew along behind it as it spread across the field.Doom blanketed the town, like silence might have on a more peaceful night.Typical, he thought. Another throwaway evening. Not a soul in town, and not a sound to be heard; but that night was anything but typical.She didnt blink. Not when he made faces, or when he screamed; not when he brought out the joke about the garden gnomes, or the one about the flea circus. She didnt even blink when he resorted to the feather, or when he made a motion like he might poke her in the eye.His favorite color had always been blue. Not because it was depressing or anything – it wasnt – but because it seemed to soak in the light, and then give some of it back. Like black, he thought, but less dead, less drab.The ballet slipper would not fit, and that would never do. Only moments now, before they knocked on her dressing room door, and her sisters slipper would not slide onto her foot.You arent supposed to have conversations through the wall of the changing rooms, especially not the fancy kind where a woman waits outside to ask if everything fits just right. And yet, here she was, knee deep in the most awkward conversation she could imagine.There was no gravity here, and so she floated, waiting to come close enough to something solid that she could push off from it, and toward the exit.They say bleach for blood but the odor is too strong. Best to take it out with hydrogen peroxide. Then again, it looks strange buying thirty bottles of hydrogen peroxide at three in the morning, so I settle for a couple gallons of bleach.The doctor looked up from the manila folder in his hands and said, Your test results are positive.Just as she settled into the backseat with her suitcase and carry-on bag, an oncoming headlight illuminated the drivers face and she realized this wasnt her Uber driver. He was the man theyd been showing on the news the last few days.As the doctor handed the newborn bundle to her, she gasped.As she threw her head back to soak up the flowering spring trees, she saw her ex-husband watching her from across the street. How could he have known she was here?The young girl was maybe 5 or 6 but there was something about her that chilled me to the bone.She might never get the chance to be alone with him again. Her husband was across the country; hed never find out, so why not?Is this your handwriting? the policeman asked with a scowl.Story starters are a great wa y to practice writing short stories.I could have been anything- a doctor, lawyer, architect. Instead, I became a carney.When he saw the state troopers standing on his front stoop, he thought they must have the wrong house. But when the troopers took off their hats and one of them asked, Are you James Cooper? he couldnt find the strength to answer.I knew youd come back to me, she whispered. Its been a lifetime but I knew youd come back.The doctor emerged from the double doors and said, There were some unexpected complications.This was the moment hed been training for. He strapped on his helmet and got in position.She continued running, but as the trail of blood got thicker and the splattered drops got closer together, she started following the blood instead of the greenway path. She had to find the source of all this blood. Was it animal blood... or human?When he looked around, he froze. Hed been here before. This was the same place where he kept getting stuck in his dreams. Would he be able to find his way out in waking life?She shut off the kitchen light and turned to go upstairs to bed, unaware that two sets of eyes were watching her every move.He frantically searched his lab, but he found no sign of the invisibility potion. How could someone have stolen it before he even got the chance to use it?As she listened to him snore on the pillow next to her, she wondered how much longer she could stay married to him. She prayed he would die in his sleep or get hit by a car. Then her eyes fell on the pillow at the foot of the bed.Mr. Dempsey, theyre not both going to make it. We can save your wife or the baby, but we cant save both. You need to let us know your decision in the next two minutes, or we may lose them both.Are you sure you want to do this? the man asked as he positioned the needle over her heart.Nothing had grown in that patch of grass for 50 years. It had been a barren dirt patch ever since that stranger had conjured a fire bolt and scorched the ground . But Tommy definitely saw a green sprout growing in the middle of the barren square. What was it, and how could it produce life in a place that nothing else could?The car rattled as if shed gone over a speed bump, but she knew there were no speed bumps on this road. She looked in her rear view mirror and thought she saw blonde hair†¦ and maybe a human form on the road. She wondered if she should turn back. Had anyone seen her?If you walk out that door right now, I dont ever want to see your face in my home again, his mother said.I will get my money back one way or another, he growled, as he pinned her arms beneath her back.The price of freedom depends on what youre willing to pay. Tell me, sir: how much is your freedom worth to you?She fumbled in her purse for her keys, but her hands were clumsy with fear. Just as her fingers grazed the familiar key fob, a sweaty hand grabbed her shoulder.Hed seen her. She could tell by the smirk on his lips. She pushed through the thick crowd in hopes of making it to the exit before he blocked her way.She glared at the thick bracelet on her bicep. Why did her parents make such a big deal about never taking off? It was heavy and not even stylish. She found clasp and fiddled with it for a moment. Surely her parents were exaggerating about all the awful things that would happen to her if she ever took this off.He extended his hand to her and said, Hi, Im Finkel Wolfson. She looked at his outstretched hand as if it was crawling with spiders and roaches. Oh, Ive heard about you, she said with a sniff. Finkel panicked. He was 3000 miles away from home; how could she have heard about him?One of us has to try it, Amir said as he pointed to the lumpy, unfamiliar fruit on the tree in front of them. If we dont, well starve to death. Death by poison seems worth the risk in case its edible, doesnt it?The night winds rustled as the door to the old womans home slowly opened.She laughed when he told her the news. It was exactly what sh e expected and she knew the lie was over.He glanced in his rearview mirror and saw that the blue sedan was still following him.She stepped off the elevator with a sense of purpose. This time, she would succeed.He flicked the stub of his cigarette onto the pile and walked away without a second look.Just as they got to the edge of town, the car started making a terrible clunking sound.Whats that smell?He rolled down his window and called out, Hey- do you want a ride?You better get down to the station. It happened again.The dog raced toward her with such intensity that she didnt have time to get out of his way.I dont think youre capable of love.He picked up the glowing rock and inspected it. Where had it come from, and how had it ended up in his backyard?By the time Johnny got home, thousands of sheets of paper had piled up on the floor beside the printer, each with only one sentence printed in bold type: I am coming for you, and theres nothing you can do.How could you have married him ? You promised youd wait for me.Ive lost him, she screamed, but none of us knew what shed lost.For a moment, time slowed, and the sound of the approaching storm was all that we could hear.Look out! he shouted.Id never last long in the slammer. I get all frantic when Im in tight spaces, start tryin to climb the walls and such.Tears filled her eyes as she scanned the list a second time. She didnt make the team.Im pregnant.He watched her leave, knowing that she only locked the flimsy doorknob behind her. He had at least two hours before shed be back home.Where am I?What happened to you? She asked.There are three things you never mess with if you know whats good for you: heroin, border patrol, and the Valdez cartel.She fell to the floor when she heard the first explosion. She didnt know if she should try to escape or try to hide.Were sending you to live with another family. Its for your own safety.As she watched this hulking, hairy animal lope across her backyard, she wondered what two creatures collaborated to make this tremendous beast, and what was it looking for?She hasnt spoken a word since the accident. Our friend said that you might be able to help her.Dont lie to me. I already know the truth.As he walked away, his smile grew from a smirk to an all-out grin.Why is all of Daddys stuff in the front yard?He counted his register drawer again. How could he be short $2500?The teacher looked at his gaping shoes and tattered clothes and knew she had to find out what was really going on at home or this kid would end up in the system. She called him up to her desk and asked, Do you want to help me on a project this weekend?If he hurried, he might be able to get back to work before anyone found out what he had done.Do you have experience with demons? she whispered from under the table.This medicine numbs the pain, but it will also permanently numb your ability to feel pleasure. Do you want it?Mr. Whipple, weve just learned that your wife is an undercover agent with th e Russian government. We need your help apprehending her.Once shed confirmed that no one was looking, she ducked into the unmarked building.When she walked outside the next morning, she realized his curse must have worked.He pulled his hat low over his brow and tried to blend in with the crowd, hoping no one would realize who he was.He was inside the video game! But wait- if he was in here... who had the controls?She bent down to pick up the strange-looking shell from the sand, but as soon as her hand touched it, the earth started to shake.He opened the letter and sunk to his knees in the middle of the driveway.What are we going to do once the last of this food is gone? he asked.She looked closer and realized that this tree was growing dollar bills instead of leaves and quarters instead of acorns.There is never a better time to say Im sorry than when karma is kicking you good.When the pigeon swooped down in front of her, she realized it had a note attached to its right leg.Ill need to speak to at least three of your ex-girlfriends to check your references before Ill go on a date with you.Mommy, theres a ghost in my room!Something wasnt right. No one seemed to recognize her. No one even really seemed to see her. Could he have erased her existence?They had never been this high before. As she reached for the next rock outcropping, she wondered if it was actually close enough to reach, or if she was about to fall into the canyon.This is something we dont usually show visitors, the museum docent whispered as she unlocked the door marked DANGER!He looked both ways before crossing the street, not realizing that he had just made the worst decision of his life.How did you get that scar?He muttered a few extra spells as he stirred the potion. He couldnt risk it malfunctioning this time.Every person on the street and in the mall looked identical. They were all wearing red shirts and blue shorts, and every single one was a man with light skin and short brown hair. What ha d happened, and how was she the only one who was still different?You dont understand, she said, looking at him sadly. I am not who you think I am.All the lights in the city went out and they knew the monsters were surrounding them.If you take one step closer, itll be the last step you ever take, he said, pointing the weapon at the strange figure in front of him. But his threat was useless, since the creature had no feet.There, nestled within the grove of trees, was the thing hed been waiting for since he was 12 years old.Whos there? Her words bounced off of the metal walls of shipping containers when she awoke. But there was only the echo of her own voice to answer her.They were lost in the woods and they knew it, although this time was different. This time, they were hunted.Looking into the fire was the wrong thing to do. He found he couldnt drag his stare away.It wasnt until my father pushed me off the cliff that I believed he was telling the truth.The sign hit them like an inanim ate object.The pumpkin would not stop growing, despite the application of the second potion. The witch had lied.All four tires were on the ground, but I had started floating toward the surface.Smoke leaked from the exhaust pipes of the Mustang as the plane began to descend. She looked into the jungle below, dreading the impact.Picture us, standing against the world, armed to the teeth, walking out into that blizzard.If romance is dead, then I suppose there are none to blame but the hopeless romantics. It was a boy, not too long ago, that taught me romance – real romance- isnt something hopeless, or unenergetic like stale poetry, or futile like canned compliments.Its impossible to tell really, just how many times Ive come back.When a pet passes away, the moment is strangely dense. That moment as I held the shoebox was the longest of my young life, but there were harder times to come.The girl crept past the open door, listening with piqued interests for clues revealed in the vo ices beyond it.Thunder does not crash like a wave, but ripples outward like a pebble tossed into a pond. When the lightning struck, I was the first to hear that thunder.Heroes wear masks for all kinds of reasons. I wear the mask so they cant see the grey at my temples or the weariness of age in my eyes.The sun never shone like it did that day. It baked my skin until I felt I might burn in the shade, but I never did. Nothing went wrong that day.The paper tore once, twice, three times. I shredded it and scattered it to the wind.Ma always told me not to climb so high. Always lookin out for me cause I aint look out for myself. Too bad Ma aint here now.They think they know me, but they dont really. I hunt only at night and only when I know I have the advantage over my prey.City slicker like myself doesnt have a wit of business in the country. They knew it. I knew it. Not a one of us in that room was happy Id purchased the land.Heres the thing about family. Family sticks together, but its almost never roses and sunshine. Family sticks together when you have nothing; so when you have it all, well, things get complicated in a different way.It wasnt my idea to paint the damn cow, it was Johnnys; but I suppose Im to blame for going along with it.Stars spin real slow. So slow you cant see it, unless you have the time and the resources to take a really close look.I cant say I ever much liked gym class. Ive never seen the point of running unless you were being chased. But Im running now, arent I? I guess Im glad I never skipped gym.Its been a few years since the guns got off the street, and the drugs. Didnt happen all at once, but it did happen fast. Not sure I like it.My dad raised me believing that time is money. Now that money is time though, Im not sure anything he taught me means what I thought it would.I realized that something was wrong when I thought Im getting married, instead of Im getting married to John.It wasnt a happy winter, but it wasnt so sad either, consi dering.Blood is thicker than water, we all heard that. What people dont do is say it out full: The blood of the covenant is thicker than the water of the womb, which, (if you ask me, which you didnt) means almost the opposite.Never thought Id dance on his grave, not really.Clouds parted that night, while I was bending picking weeds in the dark- fool thing to do- and the moon shone down on my garden.There are dreamers like me, but none as vivid, and none who know the clouds and sunshine of my mind as I do.You cant sing- cant really sing- a happy song when you are sad; but I know now that you can sing a sad song, and fill that song with life, when you are happy.All it took was one step into the water and I knew I was home.If love stories begin with wonder and end with tragedy, this isnt really a love story.She looked out the window and saw moving shadows, as far as the eye could see, and was thankful at least for the light from the window on the house on the hill.Im falling for you, h e said. But he knew that look and he regretted it immediately.Give me five minutes and Ill turn that girls silly smile into a look of shock.At dawn, we were swallowed up by the darkness, but it didnt matter, really. We had waited for it all night long.If loss were a taste, youd spit it out as soon as you were able to. But it isnt. Its a sound and a cry and it goes on forever.That night in September, the body count was almost as high as the temperature..Theyre not even normal, the little girl whispered. Look Ma, those men have gills for ears.She closed her eyes and remembered the flowers in her mothers yard and how red the roses grew.There was nothing left to say but I love you as they stood together and watched the world burn.Mamma, theres someone here to see you. I knew from the sound of my daughters scared voice who that someone was.Lost in a wonderland of sorts, I wandered the homes slanted hallways until I found the right room.There he is, she shouted. I told you he†¦..! Bu t before I could turn to look, she screamed and fell silent.The explosion could be seen for miles around, but only two people saw it.She couldnt identify the lifeforms standing across from her but she knew they werent human. She also knew they werent friendly.Here, put on this mask, she said. They cant know who you really are.It took 15 days and 11 hours to reach the mountain range on foot, but there it was in front of us, big as we knew it would be.I dont know how you handle this type of thing on Earth, she spat, but here on Mars, we dont let killers run free.

Helping Relationships Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Helping Relationships - Essay Example Ethics are also different from values as values refer to what is good and desirable, while ethics are more concerned with how to act. In the Helping Relationship, Brammer (2003, p. 153) identifies a number of values that contribute to ethical conduct, (1) Respect for authority, (2) an obligation not to harm others intentionally, (3) the attempt to prevent harm from coming to others, (4) justice, defined as equal distribution of burdens and benefits (but not defined as revenge), (5) fidelity or trustworthy relationships, and (6) truthfulness. While these values are important foundational elements in develop professional ethics, for the helping professional ethical standards should be even more well-defined, so as to be adhered. This essay explores a number of essential ethical standards and demonstrates why they must be adhered by to by helping professionals. While when most people consider ethics they immediately think about reprehensible behavior, it’s important to realize that ethical considerations extend to the way that the helper approaches their job. One is familiar with the phrase ‘worth ethic’ and this most definitely applies to the professional helper. When contemplating the issue of helper self-care and researching Brammer’s comments on the subject, I have identified a number of important considerations that should be adhered to as a helping professional. In situations such as nursing or teaching, perhaps the issue of physical exhaustion is more relevant than the typical counseling professional. Particularly among the more ambitious helping professionals is the issue of physical exhaustion a highly pertinent ethical standard. In many helping situations the chance that through an over-burdening workload the helper is not functioning at complete capacity is possible. In instances where the position req uires high levels of alertness it’s necessary for the helper to alert superiors of their mental state, and to consciously

Take home Exam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Take home Exam - Essay Example Please utilize the space that you feel is necessary to fully answer the questions. You are encouraged to use the materials provided in class and on Blackboard: 1. On a Sunday night, an 8th grade student shares via Instagram, a drawing, crude but clear suggesting a specific teacher should be shot and killed. The students in the school then shared the picture with other students and it went viral. By Monday morning, all of the students were discussing the threat in classes and many students did not come to school or called their parents to go home for fear of what might occur. Can the student be suspended for this form of speech? Explain your answer including an analysis of the legal standards and applicable case law. According to the Education Centre and other various advocacies dealing with state student discipline, they argue that in this kind of case, students should be suspended from school or even expulsion regardless of age and are not obligated by state statute or regulations for alternative provision of education to those students chased away from schools. This will serve as a discipline action and an example to other students who think to come up with those types of illegal ideas. 2. Student is texting in class and the teacher takes his phone and turns it into the office. Later that day, the principal learns that the student has been bullying other peers via social media. The principal searches the student’s phone and opens his social media applications finding teasing statements posted in response to other student’s tweets on Twitter. The principal suspends the student for bullying. Was the search of the cell phone justified? Explain your answer including an analysis of the legal standards and applicable case law. The teacher searching the cell phone was a legal action because he or she had a reason. He/she wanted to know the information,

Concert report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Concert report - Essay Example Seven pieces were played in the concert, of which Salve Venere, Salve Marte, and Sonata were played before the intermission whereas Apres un Reve, Improvisation XIII in A Minor, Nuit dà ©toiles, Eccentric Dances, and Pearls III were performed after the intermission. Since it was a concert centered around tuba, the program’s overview was performed in a low tune. In this concert, I happened to experience some very good Baroque style of music. Bruce Broughton’s Sonata was the best piece among all in the concert. I particularly liked it more because that piece combined tuba with piano. In that piece, I could figure out a variety of element that we were taught before in the class. Kathy started the piece by playing piano in a low volume that gradually rose as she started playing the key harder. Piano was followed by tuba that although was played in a low moderato tempo, yet its deep and grave timbre blanketed the sound of piano. The example that Kate and Kathy set during the piece’s coda was second to none which was why, the piece had had such a lasting effect on me, and I am sure, on most of the audiences too. I found Salve Venere, Salve Marte by John Stevens relatively boring and mismatched with the energy level of the rest of the pieces. I would not regret if that piece was not included into the concert. The reason I didn’t like it was because it was a tuba solo with a moderato tempo and that too, continued for full 8 minutes. Particularly, the deep timber of tuba made a not-so-pleasing sound. Perhaps, it would have played the effect of a break had it been shorter in time-span. The high pitch of the piece by Bruce Broughton was quite overwhelming and sent pleasant goose-bumps down my spine as I listened to that wonderful music. I could feel the rise in the energy level of the audience as they listened to the music. John

Impact of Firm Level Characteristics

Impact of Firm Level Characteristics Abstract Organizational performance has attracted scholarly attention in corporate finance literature over the several decades. However, in the context of insurance sector, it has received a little attention. Current study examines the impact of firm level characteristics (size, leverage, tangibility, risk, growth, liquidity and age) on performance of listed life insurance companies of Pakistan over seven years from 2001 to 2007. The results of Ordinary Least Square (OLS) regression analysis indicate that size, risk and leverage are important determinants of performance of life insurance companies of Pakistan while ROA has statistically insignificant relationship with growth, profitability, age and liquidity. Keywords: performance, firm level characteristics, life insurance companies. Introduction The performance of any firm not only plays the role to increase the market value of that specific firm but also leads towards the growth of the whole industry which ultimately leads towards the overall prosperity of the economy. Measuring the performance of insurers has gained the importance in the corporate finance literature because as intermediaries , these companies are not only providing the mechanism of risk transfer but also helps to channelizing the funds in an appropriate way to support the business activities in the economy . Insurance companies have importance both for businesses and individuals as they indemnify the losses and put them in the same positions as they were before the occurrence of the loss. In addition, insurers provide economic and social benefits in the society i.e. prevention of losses, reduction in anxiousness, fear and increasing employment. Therefore, the current business world without insurance companies is unsustainable because risky businesses have not a capacity to retain all types of risk in current extremely uncertain environment. For the past six decades, Pakistani life insurance companies have shown the impressive progress which not only creates the employment opportunities but also enhances the business activities in the economy. Financial statistics reported the phenomenal growth of Pakistani life insurance companies as these companies comprise 52% and 69% share of entire (life plus non-life) insurance market in terms of net premiums and assets (Insurance Year Book, 2007). In addition, the premium of these life insurers increased by 36% in 2007 (Insurance Year Book, 2007) shows the remarkable progress of life insurance sector of Pakistan. Therefore, what determines the performance of the life insurance industry is an important discussion for the regulators and policy makers to support the sector in achieving the excellence so that desirable economic fruits could be reaped from the help of the life insurance sector of Pakistan. Literature Review The Determinants of performance have been extensively studied in corporate finance literature from the last several decades. For instance; by selecting the sample of US banks, Berger (1995) investigated the impact of capital asset ratio on return on equity. He concluded that capital asset ratio has a positive relationship with profitability. Anghazo (1997) examined the impact of firm level characteristics on US bank net interest margin. The results documented that bank interest margin positively related with leverage, opportunity cost, and default risk and management efficiency. Neeley and Wheelock (1997) explored the determinants of profitability of commercial banks and find that profitability positively related with changes in per capita income. To investigate the performance of banks (Naceur Goaied, 2001)used the sample of Tunisian banks over the period of 1980 to 1995. They advocated that the banks who tried to maintain their high deposits and improve their capital and labor productivity are performed well. Guru et al. (2002) examined the determinants of performance of Malaysian banks over the 10 years period from 1986 to 1995. For this purpose, they selected both micro and macro level characteristics. The results revealed that inflation positively while efficient expense management and high interest rate negatively related with profitability. The results of Goddard et al. (2004) showed that Profit is an important prerequisite for future growth of banks and the banks that maintain a high capital assets ratio tend to grow slowly. A study conducted by the (Sufian Parman, 2009)to investigate the determinants of profitability by selecting the non-commercial banks financial institutions. The findings indicated that credit risk and loan intensity negatively related with profitability while large size and financial institutions with high operational expenses tended to high profitability ratio. (Hakim Neaime, 2005) Observed that liquidity, current capital and investment are the important determinants of banks profitability. (Aburime, 2006) Identified the firm level determinants of profitability of Nigerian banks over the five years period from 2000 to 2004. He concluded that credit portfolio, size, capital size and ownership concentration are important determinants of Nigerian banks. (Kosmidou, 2008) showed that money supply growth has insignificant impact on profitability while GDP and stock market capitalization to assets are significant and have negative relation with the ROA. (Asimakopoulos, Samitas, Papadogo nas, 2009) illustrated that Firms profitability is positively affected by size, sales growth and investment. On the other hand, leverage and current assets negatively related with profitability. Severeral studies also have been conducted to measure the performance of the insurance compnies. For instance; Sloan, A and Conover, J.(1998) deduced that functional status of insurers do not affect the profitability of being insured but public coverage have significant impact on profitability of insurance companies. Chen and Wong ( 2004) examined that size, investment, liquidity are the important determinants of financial health of insurance companies. Chen et al.( 2009) examined the determinants of profitability and the results showed that profitability of insurance companies decreased with the increase in equity ratio. In addition, insurance companies must have to diversify their investment and use effective hedging techniques which help them to create better financial revenues. Research Methodology Sample and Data Currently, there are five life insurance companies operating in Pakistan and all these five companies are selected to measuring their performance over the period of seven years from 2001 to 2007. For this purpose, financial data has been collected from financial statements (Balance Sheets and Profit and Loss a/c) of insurance companies and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã…“Insurance Year Bookà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬? which is published by Insurance Association of Pakistan. Model PR = ÃŽÂ ²0 + ÃŽÂ ²1 (LG) + ÃŽÂ ²2 (TA) + ÃŽÂ ²3 (SZ) + ÃŽÂ ²4 (LQ) + ÃŽÂ ²5 (AG) + ÃŽÂ ²6 (RK) + ÃŽÂ ²7 (GR) + ÃŽÂ µ Where: PR = Performance (Net income before interest and tax divided by total assets) LG = Leverage (Total debts divided by total assets) TA = Tangibility (Fixed assets divided by total assets) SZ = Size (Log of premiums) LQ = Liquidity (Current assets divided by current liabilities) AG = Age (Difference b/w observation year and establishment year) RK = Risk (standard deviation of ratio of total claims to total premiums) GR = Growth (Percentage change in premiums) ÃŽÂ µ = the error term Descriptive Statistics Table 4.1 presents descriptive analysis of the firm level characteristic associated with life insurance sector. This study considers performance as dependent variable whereas leverage, size, growth, tangibility, liquidity, age and risk as independent variables. The industry average is provided by mean along with are the minima and maxima for respective year while standard deviation indicates the inter-industry variation of the variables value within the respective year. Table 4.1 indicates that the minimum value of industry mean of leverage is 0.79 in 2004 and 2007 while the mean value is at its maximum level in 2006 at 0.84.The maximum variation in leverage is observed in 2007 valuing at 0.30 and minimum is found in 2003 at 0.19. The variable size constantly shows the increasing trend from year 2001 to 2007. The mean value of size is at maximum level in 2007 i.e. 7.51 whereas minimum mean value for size is observed at 6.02 in 2001. In addition, the inter industry variation is minimum in 2001 at 2.12. Table 4.1 also shows that growth of Pakistani life insurance companies is not consistent in all seven years and mean value of growth is reached 34.84 in 2007 from 11.53 which is observed in 2001. The mean value of performance (dependent variable) is maximum in 2007 valuing at 0.07 and the minimum value is observed in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005 at 0.02. The standard deviation is also not very high i.e. around 0.02 as compare to other variables except in the year 2007 in which it touches it maximum of 0.07. Table 4.2 also provides descriptive results of tangibility, liquidity, age and risk for the period of seven years from 2001 to 2007 for the life insurance sector of Pakistan. The mean values and standard deviations of tangibility is around 0.03 and 0.02 respectively in all seven years from 2001 to 2007.The mean values of liquidity are indicating an increasing trend from the minimum of 1.70 in 2001 to the maximum value at 6.36 in 2007. The standard deviation is also establishing an increasing trend from a minimum value of 0.76 in 2001 to a maximum value of 8.63 in 2007.The mean value of risk is at its lowest level in 2003 at 0.58 with a minimum standard deviation of 0.45 while these values have reached their maximum level in 2007 i.e. 6.35 and 6.51 respectively. Analysis Table 4.2 reports the results of regression analysis in which seven independent variables are regressed by using the data of life insurance sector of Pakistan from 2001 to 2007. The value of R square (0.816) indicates that performance of life insurance companies is nearly 82% dependent on independent variables i.e. size, leverage, growth, tangibility, age, risk and liquidity. Therefore, performance is mainly defined by these seven variables of life insurers in Pakistan over seven years. Table 4.2 indicates that leverage is negatively and significantly related with the performance of the life insurance companies. This predicts that the performance of highly levered Pakistani life insurance companies is not up to the mark. Table 4.2 also shows that coefficient of variable size is positive and statistically significant at 1% level. This predicts that performance of large size life insurance companies is better than small size companies. The negative coefficient of growth indicates a negative relationship between growth and performance. However, this negative relationship is found to be statistically insignificant with the p-value of 0.809. Therefore, growth is not considered as a proper explanatory variable of performance in life insurance sector. The beta values of explanatory variables tangibility and liquidity are 0.507 and 0.001 respectively with the positive coefficient sign. However, tangibility and liquidity are not statistically significant with the large p-values. Therefore, tangibility and liquidity are not Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta (Constant) .010 .051 .204 .841 Leverage -.265 .090 -1.579 -2.940 .008* Size .038 .009 1.722 4.120 .001* Growth -4.69 .000 -.032 -.245 .809 Tangibility .507 .367 .183 1.382 .183 Liquidity .001 .003 .058 .205 .840 Age -.003 .003 -.235 -1.169 .257 Risk .004 .002 .374 1.903 .072** considered a powerful explanatory variable to define the performance of life insurance companies in Pakistan over seven years. Negative coefficient of variable age specifies the Table: 4.2 Regression Coefficients Their Significance level R Square 0.816 Adjusted R Square 0.749 F statistics 12.062 * Significant at 1% level **Significant at 10% level ______________________________________ negative relationship between performance and age of the Pakistani life insurance companies. However, the relationship between performance and age is statistically insignificant. Table 4.2 indicates that the coefficient of variable risk is positive and statistically significant at 10% level. According to the nature of insurance industry, ratio of total claims to total premiums (loss ratio) is used as a proxy to measure the risk of the life insurance companies in Pakistan. Positive sign shows a positive relationship between performance and risk of the insurance companies i.e. performance increases with the increase of loss ratio. Conclusion The current study investigates the impact of firm level characteristics on performance of the life insurance sector of Pakistan over the period of seven years from 2001 to 2007. For this purpose, size, profitability, age, risk, growth and tangibility are selected as explanatory variables while ROA is taken as dependent variable. The results of OLS regression analysis reveal that leverage, size and risk are most important determinant of performance of life insurance sector whereas ROA has statistically insignificant relationship with profitability, growth, tangibility and liquidity. TABLE 4.1: Descriptive Statistics Years Leverage Size Growth Performance Mean SD Min Max Mean SD Min Max Mean SD Min Max Mean SD Min Max 2001 0.80 0.21 0.45 0.99 6.02 2.12 3.06 8.93 11.53 11.90 3.22 32.39 0.02 0.01 0.00 0.03 2002 0.81 0.20 0.47 0.99 6.21 2.11 3.29 9.07 22.21 23.52 3.68 60.99 0.02 0.01 0.00 0.03 2003 0.82 0.19 0.51 0.99 6.50 2.08 3.57 9.20 37.18 32.62 8.30 90.71 0.02 0.01 0.00 0.03 2004 0.79 0.24 0.38 0.99 6.68 2.09 3.56 9.31 22.20 27.93 -1.78 61.16 0.03 0.02 0.00 0.05 2005 0.83 0.21 0.47 0.99 6.95 2.03 3.96 9.53 31.18 10.30 24.97 48.98 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.05 2006 0.84 0.20 0.49 0.99 7.21 2.02 4.24 9.68 31.79 26.14 3.74 72.78 0.03 0.02 0.00 0.06 2007 0.79 0.30 0.26 1.00 7.51 2.06 4.50 10.03 34.82 9.25 22.44 45.66 0.07 0.07 0.00 0.17 TABLE 4.1 (Continued): Descriptive Statistics Years Tangibility Liquidity Age Risk Mean SD Min Max Mean SD Min Max Mean SD Min Max Mean SD Min Max 2001 0.03 0.02 0.00 0.06 1.70 0.76 1.07 2.65 16.60 20.40 6.00 53.00 1.92 1.33 0.70 3.94 2002 0.03 0.02 0.00 0.06 1.73 0.86 1.14 3.01 17.60 20.40 7.00 54.00 0.83 0.47 0.40 1.34 2003 0.03 0.02 0.00 0.05 2.18 1.11 1.22 3.72 18.60 20.40 8.00 55.00 0.58 0.45 0.18 1.34 2004 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.04 2.24 1.77 1.09 4.85 19.60 20.40 9.00 56.00 3.34 3.08 0.00 7.23 2005 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.04 3.02 2.26 1.15 5.94 20.60 20.40 10.00 57.00 4.70 2.15 1.23 6.36 2006 0.02 0.01 0.00 0.03 3.98 2.72 1.36 7.37 21.60 20.40 11.00 58.00 3.60 3.86 0.51 9.72 2007 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.05 6.36 8.63 1.33 16.33 22.60 20.40 12.00 59.00 6.35 6.51 1.78 16.00 Table: 4.2 Regression Coefficients Their Significance level Model Unstandardized Coefficients Standardized Coefficients t Sig. B Std. Error Beta (Constant) .010 .051 .204 .841 Leverage -.265 .090 -1.579 -2.940 .008* Size .038 .009 1.722 4.120 .001* Growth -4.69 .000 -.032 -.245 .809 Tangibility .507 .367 .183 1.382 .183 Liquidity .001 .003 .058 .205 .840 Age -.003 .003 -.235 -1.169 .257 Risk .004 .002 .374 1.903 .072** R Square 0.816 Adjusted R Square 0.749 F statistics 12.062 * Significant at 1% level **Significant at 10% level

Sir Gawain And The Green Knight: The Role Of Women :: essays research papers

In the fourteenth century, chivalry was in decline due to drastic social and economic changes. Although feudalism-along with chivalry-would eventually fall for other reasons, including a decrease in cheap human resources due to a drop in population caused by plague epidemics and the emergence of a mercantile middle class, the Gawain author perceived a loss of religious values as the cause of its decline. Gawain and the Green Knight presents both a support of the old feudal hierarchies and an implicit criticism of changes by recalling chivalry in its idealized state in the court of King Arthur. The women in the story are the poet's primary instruments in this critique and reinforcement of feudalism. The poet uses the contrast between the Virgin Mary with Lady Bertilak's wife to point out the conflict between courtly and spiritual love that he felt had weakened the religious values behind chivalry. The poem warns that a loss of the religious values behind chivalry would lead to its ul timate destruction. Although superficially Sir Gawain and the Green Knight appears to be a romantic celebration of chivalry, it contains wide-ranging serious criticism of the system. The poet is showing Gawain's reliance on chivalry's outside form and substance at the expense of the original values of the Christian religion from which it sprang. The first knights were monastic ones, vowing chastity, poverty and service to God, and undertaking crusades for the good of their faith. The divergence between this early model and the fourteenth century knight came with the rise of courtly love in which the knights were led to their great deeds by devotion to a mistress rather than God. The discrepancy between this and the church's mistrust of women and desires of the flesh is obvious, and the poet uses women in the story to deliver this message. In contrast to reality at the time, women in the story are given great power: Mary, when properly worshiped, gives Gawain his power, Lady Bertilak operates alone in th e bedroom and singlehandedly taints the chevalier, and Morgan the Fay instigates the entire plot, wielding enough power. The author is using them as a metaphor for other anti-social forces and dangers outside the control of feudalism and chivalry, drawing upon biblical and classical examples in his audience's minds of where femininity is linked with subversiveness. Lady Bertilak is clearly seen in the Biblical role of the temptress, the Eve who led Adam astray--in Gawain, she represents the traditional female archetypes of courtly love, disobedience, lust and death. Sir Gawain And The Green Knight: The Role Of Women :: essays research papers In the fourteenth century, chivalry was in decline due to drastic social and economic changes. Although feudalism-along with chivalry-would eventually fall for other reasons, including a decrease in cheap human resources due to a drop in population caused by plague epidemics and the emergence of a mercantile middle class, the Gawain author perceived a loss of religious values as the cause of its decline. Gawain and the Green Knight presents both a support of the old feudal hierarchies and an implicit criticism of changes by recalling chivalry in its idealized state in the court of King Arthur. The women in the story are the poet's primary instruments in this critique and reinforcement of feudalism. The poet uses the contrast between the Virgin Mary with Lady Bertilak's wife to point out the conflict between courtly and spiritual love that he felt had weakened the religious values behind chivalry. The poem warns that a loss of the religious values behind chivalry would lead to its ul timate destruction. Although superficially Sir Gawain and the Green Knight appears to be a romantic celebration of chivalry, it contains wide-ranging serious criticism of the system. The poet is showing Gawain's reliance on chivalry's outside form and substance at the expense of the original values of the Christian religion from which it sprang. The first knights were monastic ones, vowing chastity, poverty and service to God, and undertaking crusades for the good of their faith. The divergence between this early model and the fourteenth century knight came with the rise of courtly love in which the knights were led to their great deeds by devotion to a mistress rather than God. The discrepancy between this and the church's mistrust of women and desires of the flesh is obvious, and the poet uses women in the story to deliver this message. In contrast to reality at the time, women in the story are given great power: Mary, when properly worshiped, gives Gawain his power, Lady Bertilak operates alone in th e bedroom and singlehandedly taints the chevalier, and Morgan the Fay instigates the entire plot, wielding enough power. The author is using them as a metaphor for other anti-social forces and dangers outside the control of feudalism and chivalry, drawing upon biblical and classical examples in his audience's minds of where femininity is linked with subversiveness. Lady Bertilak is clearly seen in the Biblical role of the temptress, the Eve who led Adam astray--in Gawain, she represents the traditional female archetypes of courtly love, disobedience, lust and death.