How do the writers Sylvia Plath and Ken Kesey portray the struggle of the individual in The Bell Jar and One flew over the Cuckoos Nest Essay Example

How do the writers Sylvia Plath and Ken Kesey portray the struggle of the individual in The Bell Jar and One flew over the Cuckoos Nest? Essay In The Bell Jar and Cuckoos Nest, both the protagonists struggle not only with a deteriorating mental stability and oppression from those surrounding them but also with a lack of a sense of individuality. Kesey and Plath explore these personal struggles through the experiences of alienation and identity paranoia through evocative literary techniques; being overwhelmed and powerless to break free of their inner world of isolation. Esther, in The Bell Jar, is a young, sensitive and intelligent woman who feels oppressed by the apparent social restrictions placed upon women in a pre-feminist, repressive 1950s America, and the pressure she feels regarding her future. She struggles with individuality and is faced with many choices complying with her future, and consequently, the path for the rest of her life. Esthers insecurity and struggle to discover her identity causes her to look to the personalities of the woman that surround her in life, but her inability to adapt to these personalities or the traditional concept of the feminine ideal ultimately leads her to a psychological breakdown in life. We will write a custom essay sample on How do the writers Sylvia Plath and Ken Kesey portray the struggle of the individual in The Bell Jar and One flew over the Cuckoos Nest? specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on How do the writers Sylvia Plath and Ken Kesey portray the struggle of the individual in The Bell Jar and One flew over the Cuckoos Nest? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on How do the writers Sylvia Plath and Ken Kesey portray the struggle of the individual in The Bell Jar and One flew over the Cuckoos Nest? specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer It is not just the nature of that struggle we are presented with, but Plaths literary techniques which help to portray this struggle to the reader, with the use of sibilance and repetition; The silence depressed me. It wasnt the silence of silence. It was my own silence. Plaths repetition of the word silence reinforces the idea that Esthers feelings and emotions are trapped inside her, and suggests that she is unable to break free of her own silence; these emotional burdens result not only in Esthers social and intellectual isolation, but also aid the reader in believing that her mental breakdown is imminent from the beginning. The short, simple, fragmented sentences also show us that Esther has an ability to reflect properly, and it also serves to highlight her own isolation. While Esther feels her segregation is with society, Bromden, the narrator of Cuckoos Nest, and the other patients of the asylum, continuously struggle against the restrictions placed upon the ward by the tyrannical Nurse Ratched. Bromden states that the other patients in the ward think he is mute and deaf, but in reality, he chooses not to speak, primarily due to being ignored and later combined with fear for Nurse Ratched. Although Bromden is the narrator, his descriptions cannot be fully trusted. Chapter 7 serves to portray him as an unreliable narrator, Bromden has a nightmare and imagines the workers slicing open Blastic, one of the vegetables and states that he fears the workers will do the same to him through some ghastly experiment. There is no uncertainty as to whether there is truth in his vision; Kesey assures the reader that it is simply his imagination by having Bromden woken up by the night watchman. The exact diagnosis of his disorder is never revealed, but is possibly schizophrenia or paranoia or as he is said to have served in the army, he may be suffering from shell shock. I feel that the reason Kesey withholds the true disorder Bromden suffers from, is to successfully sustain our interest throughout the novel. Most modern day readers of Cuckoos Nest will have prior knowledge of the effects of war upon the individual, as will they understand the social standing of women in Esthers situation in Bell Jar, and it is this previous awareness that enables us to further understand his, and Esthers, behaviour and struggles, and the derivation of it. Kesey has the protagonist Bromden, tell us initially in the novel; and you think the guy telling this is ranting and raving my God; you think this is too horrible to have really happened, this is too awful to be the truth! At this point the reader is directly addressed and it is as of he is sharing his private thoughts and informing us that he has an important and shocking story to reveal and thus structures the subsequent direction of the novel. Plath uses this technique of informing the reader early with I felt very still and very empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, this suggests to us that there is, as in Cuckoos Nest, a sense of psychological conflict rising about in Esthers mind, similar to a tornado and compels us to determine what this suggestion will lead to. Bromdens silence is similar to Esthers in Bell Jar; both of these characters are unable to communicate their ideas through speech due to the fears of those around them. Kesey, with the use of words such as ho rrible and awful, and a demonstrative this, suggests that in addition to the violent and menacing images we have seen so far, that there are still darker things to come; this encourages us to read on and discover the terrible impacting past and future events Bromden will share with us. Kesey suggests to the reader that Bromden feels dehumanised with the use of anthropomorphism; I been silent so long now its gonna roar out of me. The animalistic action roar, and this powerful verb further implies to us that Bromden has a story that is bursting to get out of him, thus creating narrative tension which impels us to discover this story. Kesey uses colloquial language to suggest that due to Bromdens inability to express his feelings, his thoughts are often unstructured and questionable, which can be seen when he states; But, please. Its still hard for me to have a clear mind thinking on it. But its the truth even if it didnt happen. However, here he asks that the reader to keep an open mi nd towards his hallucinations, because even though they may not have actually happened, they provide a metaphorical view of the hidden events in the hospital, as he witnesses them, despite being in a hallucinatory state. Kesey also uses recurring motifs and strong pathetic fallacy, such as the fog he calls The Combine, to emphasise the struggle of the individual, for example, he describes the fog as; snowing cold and white all over me like skim milk. The use of the words cold, white and like skim milk could be Kesey suggesting that Bromden feels trapped in not only the asylum, but also ruled by a mechanical society, of which he does not conform to. By suggesting he might hide in the snow could indicate that Bromden might feel less oppressed if he were white, or simply that the idea of a bitter snow reflects his inner thoughts, reinforcing his insecurities within himself to the reader. His hallucinations of the fog represent Bromdens own lack of mental clarity; it recurs whenever Chief Bromden becomes less stable and recedes whenever he becomes more coherent and in addition to this, he imagines that there are hidden fog machines controlled by the nurses, displaying his intense distrust towards those a round him. The fog can be also interpreted as a powerful metaphor for an escape from truth and Chief believes it to be a shelter from reality, however frightening it might be which can be seen when Kesey writes They start the fog machine againso thick I might even be able to hide in it if they didnt have a hold on me. In addition to this, two of the chapters in Cuckoos Nest contain little more than a paragraph, describing his relapse into paranoia with another experience of fog, and also a disorganised game of monopoly. Kesey uses these brief chapters to show the disjointed nature of Chief Bromdens observations and to show that the structure of the novel also reflects the content, and combined with precise, concrete language and compelling literary techniques, enables the reader to understand and believe these abstract feelings. Like Keseys use of the fog, Plath also uses metaphorical ideas to symbolise the anxieties in Esther, and her struggle to fit into a society she fears. The bell jar hung, suspended, a few feet above my head. I was open to the circulating air. The title and idea of a Bell Jar in itself gives an image of being trapped repressed and restricted. It is obvious that she is being limited in some way or another, destroyed due to her inability to express herself. The analogy of the Bell Jar is crucial; I would be sitting under the same glass bell jar, stewing in my own sour air. Plath uses sibilant words stewing and sour to evoke strong sensual reactions in the reader as if they were hit by a pungent sickly smell. This gives us the idea that Esther is slowly driving herself crazy as she cannot break free of the forces around her, and in Plath presenting this idea; she is deriving and understanding from the reader. In addition to the concrete language used, the bell jar represents the entrapmen t Esther feels at the hands of men, children and society and its expectations of women, and the reappearance of this symbol informs the reader of Esthers particularly traumatic and suffocating mood slips. She is gradually driven insane by the gender stereotypical restrictions of her social world and these burdens cause not only her social and intellectual deterioration, but also her mental destruction. Although a modern day female reader of the novel may not be able to fully empathise with this idea of the submissive female, certain sexist aspects remain nowadays which help the women readers understand the extent of Esthers struggle, whilst the universal theme of repression ensures the male audience are not excluded. To extend the theme of repression, Plath uses the idea of presenting the central character as a pariah and disconnection from oneself, to show the struggle of isolation from society; (Her hand) retreated and fell limpas if it had collided with a pane of glass. This reemphasises Esthers feelings of not belonging to society and her struggle to fit in. It once again refers to the image of being trapped in a bell jar away from the world and feeling, and it is this recurrence of the bell jar that gives the novel unity of structure. It was the sleeve of my own bathroom and my left hand lay pale as a cod at the end of it. She detaches herself from her body and does not associate it with herself, as if she is watching herself as another person and this shows the reader the extremity of her disconnection to herself and enables us to gain a greater understanding of her troubled emotions. Kesey also uses the idea of disconnection from oneself as another technique to reinforce the theme of struggle within the individual, an example of this is when Bromden is hiding in the latrine from the black boys; Id take a look at my own self in the mirror and wonder how it was possible that anybody could manage such an enormous thing as being what he was. Bromden is six feet seven inches tall, but confesses that he in fact feels much smaller and weaker than this. He tells McMurphy, I used to be big, but not no more. Bromden describes his mother as twice the size of he and his father put together, due to her belittling them both so much. By referring to himself in third person when he sees himself in the mirror, suggests to us that he is not comfortable in his body and feels abnormal, and insinuates to the reader that his self-esteem and individuality is lost when he implies that his body is not his, but perhaps part of a machine. Kesey continues and extends this technical imagery with the idea of a mechanical society, weaving in childhood recollections, to show the reader that Bromdens struggle leads back to adolescence; on these three strangers I can see the . . . seams where theyre put together. Andthe apparatus inside them take the words I just said and try to fit the words in here and there the machinery disposes of the words like they werent even spoken. Here he recounts the experience that scarred him as child, and which subsequently lead to him regarding himself as a part of mechanism; three government officials came to speak to his father about buying the tribes land to build a hydroelectric dam and when Bromden tried to speak to them, he noticed that not a one of the three acts like they heard a thing I said. He begins to see the world differently, believing that he can see the seams on people, as though they were inhuman or machine-like and begins to get used to being ignored, I believe this has the effect of creating a sinister tone in the novel and shows the root of Bromdens distrust towards society. Along with his silence at the beginning of the novel, Kesey is showing Bromden to represent the more passive elements of society that submit to authority, such as the government and Nurse Ratched, thus reaching out to the reader and appealing to their sympathetic nature, as most people have, at some point in their lives felt dominated by, or struggled against seemingly authoritative figures. Similar to Keseys techniques, in Bell Jar, Plath mirrors the idea of the protagonist struggling to conform to societys mechanical-like expectations. Esther is constantly pressure by her environment to marry and have children; like a robotic housewife; What a man wants is, is an arrow into the future and what a woman is, is the place the arrow shoots off from This is one of the many remarks Esther often receives from her medical student boyfriend, Buddy Willard, along with a suggestion that one day Esther will stop rocking the boat and start rocking a cradle, these sexist comments serve to enlighten the reader of the ideas that young women were steered towards an illustrious ideal of purity, subservience and modest deportment, whilst simultaneously struggling against a condemnation of sexuality, power and confidence. He also says that once she has children she will feel differently, and not want to write poems anymore, that she will be brainwashed and numb as a slave in some private, totalitarian state. Esther rejects Buddy Willard and his ideals as she discovers that all Buddy wants is a typical family life and wife and she does not want to suffer the loss of freedom. Buddy does not appreciate the creative process that is highly valued by Esther who wants to be a poet. Instead of telling him what she actually felt she just says, I guess so and leaves it at that. However, what she wanted to say was -Theyre dust as dust as dust. I reckon a good poem lasts a whole lot longer than a hundred of those people put together. The fact that she does not speak her true feelings to Buddy depicts two sides to Esther, one that doesnt reveal her true self and the other that accepts what she is told I took everything Buddy Willard told me as the honest-to-God truth. Due to the many years she complies with this faà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ade of pretending to be the woman everyone wants her to be, trying to please her family and peers, her mental break down and eventual suicide attempts are inevitable. The major ity of the readers of Bell Jar will have felt pressured by peers, or their family at some point in their lives, and this universal theme combined with precise and elaborate language helps relate us to the character of Esther on a strong personal level. Esther does not have the courage to speak her mind and relieve her troubled thoughts until she is finally hospitalised. However Bromden finds a release from the struggles within himself with the arrival of McMurphy. Before his arrival to the hospital, Nurse Ratcheds routine is successful in maintaining a mechanized sense of order, as Bromden includes in his notes: Its for fixing up mistakesWhen a completed product goes back out into society, all fixed up good as new, better than new sometimes. With this observation, Bromden reflects that as long as one conforms to societys rules, life runs smoothly; although unless they are very strong, if one refuses to conform they will pay the price. Bromdens father was a non-conformist, but was not strong enough; as a result, he was destroyed. McMurphy was strong enough to oppose the repression, but in the end, he still loses. Despite the needless death of McMurphy, there is still a sense of hope in the end of the novel that breaks the sadness, a nd that is Chief Bromden who, mimicking McMurphys earlier unsuccessful attempts to escape, finally manages to break free of his inner struggle towards a new life. As the reader I felt satisfied by the distinctly promising ending, and after sharing and experiencing the struggles of Bromden through the text, believe that Kesey ended the novel on a positive note to enable the reader to gain closure on his shocking story, unlike the uncertain ending to Bell Jar. Plath also has her central character imitate the ideas of others to push aside her hidden struggles. Throughout the novel she is unsure about her future and about her self, and it may seem that Esther herself is unable to define her identity. Due to her confusion Esther adopts various parts of the personalities of the women in her life, which evidently neither fit nor reflect her true self. Firstly she feels like she wants to be like Doreen, the next she describes her disgust by her and reveals her desire to be like Betsy; It was Betsy I resembled at heart. The simple fragmented sentence almost seems to the reader that she has confidence in the assertion of her character traits. However, this is contradicted with the desire to be like Jay Cee, as her balance of marriage and career impresses her. Even though Kesey in Cuckoos Nest has Bromden successfully be influenced by McMurphy, Esther evidently does not alleviate her struggles by longing to be someone else. By stating that she resembles Betsy, it appears to the reader that she is trying to fit in but also enables us to further observe a sense of self-destruction due to her identity confusion. After it appears that Esther is on the road to improving her mental health, it is surprising to see that in the last chapter of the novel, we see that the bell jar parallel resurfaces, and provides the final word on Esthers supposed recovery. How did I know that someday . . . the bell jar, with its stifling distortions, wouldnt descend again? The bell jar has lifted enough that Esther can behave relatively normally, and although it seems that she hasnt actually freed herself, we get a sense that she obviously knows what she is doing as she has plans. Her suicidal desires have been abandoned, for the time being, and she begins to connect with other people and the outside world. The use of ellipsis after someday, suggest to the reader that Esther still feels the bell jar hovering above her, and worries that it will trap her again. The novel lapses into a linear, traditional narrative towards the end, representing sanity as a complete and significant concept, however, whilst she is reli eved to be free from her madness, she does not wholly believe that this is a permanent solution from her struggles. It is this sense of ambiguity that leaves the reader to decide their own interpretation of Esthers fate. Both Plath and Kesey portray intense psychological struggle of Esther and Bromden effectively in similar ways; both novels create a sense of catharsis at the end of the novel due to the heavy, complex emotions and the distinct, visual imagery and language. I see this catharsis as alleviated in Cuckoos Nest with Bromdens successful escape; conversely in Bell Jar I feel that this is not quite relieved and that I am almost sharing Esthers constant burdens in the concluding paragraphs. The novel was described by one critic as having a special force, a humbling power, because it shows the vulnerability of people of hope and good will, I see this overwhelming vulnerability we are able to share with Esther that helps The Bell Jar stand out as the most effective in conveying the struggle. I feel that Plaths precise literary techniques, along with the obscure symbolism of the bell jar persisting to plague Esthers mind, to the point where she is still no clearer on her uncertain fate, delineat es Bell Jar as unforgettable with a lingering ambiguity that has asserted the novel as a literary classic.

How Hard Is the SAT Spanish Subject Test

How Hard Is the SAT Spanish Subject Test SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips  ¿Estudias espaà ±ol? ¿Hablas espaà ±ol en casa?Are you wondering if you should take the SAT Subject Test in Spanish? Let's review what it covers and how students usually score so you can decide if the SAT Subject Test in Spanish is right for you. First, you have to know what's on the test. Step 1: Familiarize Yourself With the Spanish Subject Test Before you can decide if your language skills are up to the challenge, you should know all about the SAT Subject Test in Spanish- when it's offered, how it's structured, and what's on it. When Is the Spanish Subject Test Offered? There are two options for taking the SAT Subject Test in Spanish: the Listening test and the non-Listening, or Reading-only, test. Spanish with Listening is offered only on one test date in November, while the Reading version is offered on all the other test dates- in May, June, August, October, and December. To see the exact dates and figure out when you should take the tests, check out this article.Besides when they're offered, what are the differences between the Listening and Reading options? How Is the Spanish Subject Test Structured? Both tests ask 85 multiple choice questions in 60 minutes. Here's the breakdown of the Reading Subject Test: 33% vocabulary and structure 33% paragraph completion 33% reading comprehension The Listening test, on the other hand, has this structure: 40% listening (e.g. describing a picture, continuing a short conversation, or answering comprehension questions) 60% reading (vocabulary and structure, paragraph completion, and reading comprehension). As you can see, if you choose the Spanish with Listening Subject Test, your listening skills are a significant portion of the test. However, your Listening subscore will count half as much as your reading subscore, which I'll explain more below in the section about how the test is scored. Both subscores will be reported on your score report, but the reading will count more towards your overall scaled score. The Listening portion is 20 minutes long. You are required to bring a CD player to listening to the Subject Test. Read more about the CD player guidelines here. While the skills being tested differ, between the two tests, both cover similar content. What Does the Spanish Subject Test Cover? The tests cover the following areas of understanding. Different parts of speech Basic idioms Ability to fill in words or expressions within the context of a sentence Understanding of vocabulary and structure questions within paragraphs Understanding of main points, supporting ideas, themes, style, tone, and setting of passages, which may be drawn from fiction, news articles, historical works, letters, and advertisements This practice question, for example, tests your ability to fill in a word in the correct part of speech in the context of a sentence. Difficulty level: easy. Here's a similar sample question that tests your understanding of the subjunctive form. Difficulty level: hard. Try some more sample questions from the Spanish Subject Test here, and determine whether they feel easy or hard to you. This is one important action you can take to determine your language level. Mike knows enough Spanish to ask where the bathroom is, but not enough to express all the love that's in his heart. BreakPresents/YouTube. Step 2: Know Your Spanish Language Level College Board suggests that you should have three to four years of studying Spanish or two or more years of intensive study to take the SAT Subject Test in Spanish. If you're nearing the end of AP Spanish and are getting an A, then you are likely in a strong position to score highly on the Subject Test. If you're in Spanish 3, and have not studied Spanish intensively, like in AP classes, then you might not be ready yet. Again, trying practice questions will help give you a sense of the test and whether you feel your language skills are ready. Your Spanish teachers might also have advice on whether your high school curriculum has sufficiently prepared you for the Subject Test. If you're a native speaker, you should still study for the test to make sure you know grammar and other rules of the language. Don't worry about expressions unique to one country- the test is not supposed to have any region-specific sayings. Research your college to learn their Subject Test requirements and expectations. Some might be impressed with your high score on a language test. Others might prefer you opt for another test, if they already know that you're a native speaker of Spanish. For more on this, check out our expert guide: Which SAT Subject Test Should You Take? It's also important to consider how strong your reading vs. listening comprehension in Spanish is. The Spanish with Listening gives that extra dimension of understanding and may help with placement into a more advanced language level in college. The grading curve is often more competitive for the Listening test, as students who opt for that one are typically fluent or have particularly strong Spanish skills. So if you're really not confident in your listening comprehension, you probably want to steer clear of the Listening test. Let's take a closer look at what I mean when I talk about a competitive grading curve. Step 3: Consider the Grading Curve Along with your Subject Test score out of 800, you'll also get a percentile. This percentile compares you to other students who took the test. If you score in the 75th percentile, for example, then you scored higher than 75% of other students and lower than 25%. This table shows how the Spanish Subject Test scores converted to percentiles last year. You can see that the Spanish Subject Test with Listening is slightly more competitive. The same score is a slightly lower percentile on the Listening test than the Reading test. Check out this table, based on data from the College Board, and then scroll down for a discussion of what this data means for how difficult the SAT Subject Test in Spanish is. Score Spanish with Listening Percentile Spanish with Reading Percentile 800 94 92 790 91 90 780 86 87 770 82 84 760 78 80 750 74 77 740 69 74 730 66 70 720 62 67 710 58 64 700 55 60 690 51 57 680 46 54 670 43 50 660 40 47 650 38 44 640 35 41 Average (50th percentile) scores on the tests are in the upper 600s. Let's take a look at what you need to score in the 70th, 80th, and 90th percentile. Good Scores for Spanish Listening 70th percentile:750+ 80th percentile:770+ 90th percentile:790+ Good Scores for Spanish Reading 70th percentile: 730+ 80th percentile: 760+ 90th percentile: 790+ To score in a high percentile compared to other test-takers, you have to score quite high, between 750 and 800, on the tests. While this might sound like a tall order, it's actually well within your reach if you have the requisite Spanish language skills and take time to prepare for the Subject Test. Read this article for more on the average scores of the SAT Subject Tests and what constitutes a good score on each test (it's different for each one). This data can help you set target scores and design your study plan. Let's take a look at how the scoring works, so you can keep this in mind as you study for the test. Step 4: Know How the Spanish Subject Test Is Scored Unlike the general SAT, for the Spanish Subject test (and all other Subject Tests), you lose points for incorrect answers.Spanish Subject Test gives you 1 point for every correct answer, 0 points for skipped answers, and -1/3 point for wrong answers. These points add up to your raw score, which is then converted to a scaled score between 200 and 800 through a process called equating. Equating takes everyone's scores into account. As you saw above, the grading curve on language tests like Spanish is competitive. Some years, you might be able to get away with one or two wrong answers and still score an 800. Otherwise, you will likely lose about 10 points for every two questions you get wrong. As I mentioned above, the reading subscore counts twice as much as the listening subscore toward your composite scaled score. However, both subscores will be reported and viewable on your score report. If you are adequately prepared with AP Spanish, years of study, or out of the classroom fluency, then you are in a great position to score highly on the Spanish Subject Test and demonstrate your multilingual abilities to admissions committees. Even if you're confident in your fluency, it's always important to do some serious test prep and back up your understanding with the necessary grammatical knowledge and reading comprehension. Step 5: KnowWhen to Guess and When to Leave Answers Blank Too many random guesses could bring down your score, so you have to be smart on when to guess on a question(and risk a point deduction) and when to leave a question blank (with no change of getting it right). Here are some strategies to follow: If You Can't Eliminate Any Answer Choices If you're really stumped on a question and can't eliminate any of the options, don’t guess yet.Skip the question and for now and go back to it afteryou've finished the rest of the exam.What if you stillcan’t eliminate anyof the options?It may make sense to guess, but it also may not gain you any points. Here's an example: If you guess on four questions without eliminating any answer choices, odds are you'll get one question right and three wrong. This leaves you with a net of zero points on those questions (1 - (.3333 x 3)=0). However, total randomness is rare, and the test makers often design the wrong answer choices to seem correct so that you're more likely to choose them. This means the choices you decide on may not be random, and you may end up guessing incorrectly on more than three-quarters of the questions, leaving you with a net negative of points. This leaves you with a choice. You can either leave questions you can't eliminate any answer choices on blank, or you can do you best to make your answer choices completely random. One way to do this is to pick a letter (say "A") and select that answer choice for all the questions you're guessing on to make your choices as random as possible. If You Can EliminateOne or MoreAnswer Choices Once you can eliminate at least one answer choice, the math is much more in your favor to guess.Say you have six questions where you've been able to eliminate one answer choice for each. That leaves you with three answer choices per question. Odds are you'll guess correctly on two of the questions, and answer four incorrectly. That leaves you with a net positive of 2/3 a point (2 - (.333 x 4). It's not huge, but it's definitely better than nothing. Just remember to keep your guesses on the remaining answer choices as random as possible. Additional Note:If you take a practice test, I highly recommendmarking all the questions you guessedon so that you can later evaluate the success of your guessing strategies. This will also prevent you from just ignoring questions you got right by chance, whichyou should always revisitanyway. To Sum Up... The Spanish Subject Test has a competitive grading curve. You'll have to score in the high 700s to make it into a high percentile, so set high target scores and prep to achieve them. Make sure you're confident in your comprehension of Spanish, have studied it for at least the recommended amount of time, and have a strong grasp of grammar and vocabulary. If you have all these language skills, then the test should not be overly difficult for you. Instead, it will be a great opportunity to showcase your language skills to admissions committees and add a strong Subject Test score to your college applications.  ¡Buena suerte!  ¿Quà © ms? Need to brush up on your ser conjugations? We've got you covered with our chart of ser conjugations for every tense. Looking for a good SAT Spanish study notes? We've put together the best SAT Spanish Subject Test guide here. What are the easiest SAT Subject Tests to take? This article answers that question from a few different angles, including the content of the test and how competitive the grading curves for each one are. Are you applying to Ivy League schoolsor wondering if your test scores are good enough to get in? Check out this post on Subject Test Scores for the Ivy League and other selective colleges. When are you taking the SAT or ACT? Check out this study plan that helps you schedule your prep a year or more in advance of the tests. Need a little extra help prepping for your Subject Tests? We have the industry's leading SAT Subject Test prep programs (for all non-language Subject Tests). Built by Harvard grads and SAT Subject Test full or 99th %ile scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so that you get the most effective prep possible. Learn more about our Subject Test products below:

Months of the Year in Spanish

Months of the Year in Spanish Words for the months are very similar in English and Spanish thanks to their  common heritage: enero - Januaryfebrero - Februarymarzo - Marchabril - Aprilmayo - Mayjunio - Junejulio - Julyagosto - Augustseptiembre, setiembre - Septemberoctubre - Octobernoviembre - Novemberdiciembre - December Key Takeaways: The Months in Spanish The names of the months of year in English and Spanish are similar because they come from the age of the Roman Empire.Names of the months in Spanish are masculine and not normally capitalized.The most common pattern for writing dates in Spanish is number de month de year. Grammar of the Months in Spanish All of the names for months are masculine, although it usually isnt necessary to use the article el except when giving specific dates, and then the el comes before the number rather than the month. Note that unlike in English, the names of the months are not capitalized in Spanish (except at the beginning of a sentence or composition title). Three months have adjective forms: abrileà ±o (pertaining to April), marzal (pertaining to March), and agosteà ±o (pertaining to August). Example: Las lluvias abrileà ±as de nuestro paà ­s son persistentes. (The April rains in our country are persistent.) How to Write Dates in Spanish The most common way of giving dates is following this pattern: el 1 de enero de 2000. For example: La Declaracià ³n de Independencia de los EE.UU. fue ratificada por el Congreso Continental el 4 de julio de 1776 en Filadelfia. (The U.S. Declaration of Independence was ratified by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, in Philadelphia.) As in that example, the word on in an on date phrase does not have to be translated to Spanish. Otherwise, the names of months are used similarly to the structure in English: Abril es el cuarto mes del aà ±o. (April is the fourth month of the year.)Asturias registrà ³ el febrero ms seco y clido desde 1990. (Asturias recorded the driest, warmest February since 1990.)Un aà ±o bisiesto es uno con 366 dà ­as en vez de 365. Cada cuatro aà ±os, febrero tiene un dà ­a ms. (A leap year is one with 366 days instead of 356. Every four years, February has an extra day.)Fue publicado el 28 de febrero de 2008. (It was published on February 28, 2008.)Era un diciembre mgico. (It was a magic December.)Se celebra el 24 de octubre como Dà ­a de las Naciones Unidas. (October 24 is celebrated as United Nations Day.)Segà ºn las creencias de la astrologà ­a, las personas que nacieron el 20 de octubre son en cierto modo una paradoja. (According to astrological beliefs, people born on Oct. 20 are paradoxical in some way.)El 25 de octubre es el 298o dà ­a del aà ±o en el calendario gregoriano. (October 25 is the 298th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar.)Cada feb rero, una marmota llamada Phil sale de su cueva. (Each February, a groundhog named Phil comes out of his burrow.) El 6 de enero es un dà ­a importante para la nià ±ez mexicana, porque es el dà ­a que llegan los Reyes Magos a dejar regalos. (January 6 is an important date for Mexican children, because it is the day that the Wise Men arrive to leave gifts.) Abbreviating Dates When writing dates using just numbers, Spanish typically uses Roman numerals using a date-month-year sequence. For example, September 16, 1810 (Mexicos independence date), would be written as 16-IX-1810. Note that the sequence is similar to that used in English in Great Britain (as well as in most other European languages) but not the United States. Origins of the Months Names The names of the months all come from Latin, the language of the Roman Empire: enero - from the Roman god Janus, the guardian or doors and gates.febrero - from a word meaning purify. A feast of purification was once held at this time of year.marzo - from Martius, the word for the planet Mars.abril - meaning uncertain. It may be a variation of the name of the Greek god Aphrodite.mayo - possibly from Maia, a Roman earth goddess.junio - possibly from Junio, a goddess married to Jupiter.julio - in honor of Julius Caesar.agosto - in honor of August Caesar.septiembre - from a Latin word for seven. September was the seventh month of the old Roman calendar.octubre - from a Latin word for eight.noviembre - from a Latin word for nine.diciembre - from a Latin word for ten.

The Normal Distribution and Probability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Normal Distribution and Probability - Essay Example Given that the median helps to do away with influences associated with too much of one or two scores on the extremes of any given distribution, it thus emerges as the measure of choice in variability. Assignment 2 Sales 500 salespeople of a company are mostly normally distributed forming a bell symmetrical shape. Whereby sales from those who record high sales appear on the right side while those with low sales coming on the left side and with a majority of sales appearing on the middle part of the distribution, translating to an average of sales on either side of the curve accounting for the mean sales. This would make it resourceful to come up with a working model to be used to work out a budget as well as predicting performance of the company. A company would predict the effect-increase in sales revenue- of increasing the number stores and salespeople. This distribution also helps to not only identify those sales people who need extra training but also it helps to identify those wh o need to be replaced. It is worth to consider the size of the sample in question, with a large sample like that of the 500 sales people proving to be more representative compared to a sample of about 100 people. It is therefore relevant statistically to estimate that adding one more sales person is worth for instance $25,000 increase in revenue. Clearly from the study sales people and their respective sales are the main variables which are measured in ratio scale since there are those sales people who have nil sales. On using a continuous scale, sales are normally distributed with most of sales in middle range and the entire sales data being within the range 40% of the average sale. A probability value of 0.05 implies 5% of the sales people will sell an amount different from expected sales value and while the remaining 95 % are expected to sell at an amount within the expected amount. This concept is therefore used to represent monthly countable sales. Assignment 3 Organizations re sort to using means such as incentives and bonuses so as to increase the productivity of their employees. In order prove that financial incentives have always boosted the productivity of employees, I will evaluate the hypothesis that a $ 1,000 incentive offered to employees is sufficient to make them finish a project before the expected time. In this study size of incentive and level of productivity are the independent and dependent variables respectively. Assuming the population sample n=30 would be chosen randomly from the employees allocated to new projects. Hypothesis testing is an analysis of a given research, with a null hypothesis indicating a zero change as a result of the $ 1000 incentive represented by  µ. On the other hand a change as a result of the $ 1000 incentive indicates the alternative hypothesis. In order to determine critical boundaries and identify chances of Type 1error, it's important to select an alpha level. Selecting a .01 alpha level provides a low risk error and avoids overstretching the critical area since this level enhances a balance between the functions which offers a base to reject or accept the proposed effect of the incentive. A one-tailed test is utilized when hypothesis about a particular directional rather than general. Results obtained from one -tailed test are of significance

Critically Evaluate Two or Three Approaches to Ideology and Their Essay

Critically Evaluate Two or Three Approaches to Ideology and Their Relevance to the Student of Media - Essay Example 234). One of the reasons for this malaise over the impact of the media is because it is a more formidable source of cultural acquisition and socialisation than books and other cultural institutions, especially for young people, because, as Gross has pointed out, even at the university level, young people are largely influenced by audio-visual media, their primary cultural reference (cited in Hall 1992, p. 88). Yet theorists and critics have argued that the media isn’t ideologically-neutral, rather, contrary to appearances, it is a purveyor of dominant ideology. According to Murfin & Ray (2003) ideology is â€Å"a set of beliefs underlying the customs, habits, and practices common to a given social group. To members of that group, the beliefs seem obviously true, natural, and even universally applicable† (p. 208), regardless of whether they are held or acquired consciously or unconsciously. The term first came into critical use in Marxist thought, when Karl Marx, along with Frederich Engels, offered his critique of capitalist societies in The German Ideology (1844) and other writings. For Marx, society is structured and divided along lines of economics and class along two major axes: those who control the means of production (the ruling class or elite) and those who do not (the masses or proletariat). The wealthy elite, in order to maintain their position of privilege and the economic machinery from which their position and power emanated, had to put structures in place that would reinforce their authority and undermine that of the w orking class (Rivkin & Ryan 1998, p. 253). Marx calls these structures or institutions the ‘superstructure’: law, politics, culture, religion, education, and they emerge from and in accordance with the economic base, with the aim of exploiting the working class (Murfin & Ray 2003, p. 244). Marx criticises capitalists societies which he sees as â€Å"riven from within by †¦ ‘class struggle’† (Rivkin & Ryan 1998, p.

Science and Technologies Essay Example for Free

Science and Technologies Essay With the advent of future developments in science and technology, we will assign more and more decision making to machines. At present this is evident in military systems in which electronic sensors maintain the ideal flight characteristics in advanced aircraft. The capacities of computers today exceed five hundred trillion bits of information per second. The complexity of todays civilization is far too complex for human systems to manage without the assistance of electronic computers. Computers of today are relatively primitive compared to those that will evolve in the future. Eventually the management of social systems will call for require electronic sensors interconnected with all phases of the social sequences thus eliminating the need for politics. Today modern industrial plants have built in automatic inventory systems, which order materials such as bearings and other mechanical replacements well in advance People became accustomed to live surrounded by the things that make their lives easier and more comfortable. When we look back at previous centuries and especially at the 20th century we focus on wonderful events: trains, cars, planes making distance shorter; rockets taking people out into space; our homes and offices taken over by successive waves of electronic equipment, including telephones, TVs, faxes, computers, cell phones, Internet facilities, and electronic liberties. Scientific and technological achievements follow so called folklore â€Å"science† which lays foundation for genuine science. For example, common people predicted planes or television in the fairy tales flying carpets or mirrors that show other lands and people. Many fairy tale dreams came true, and the emergence of television proves this. Television has grown up all over the world, enabling nearly every country to share aspects of its culture and society with others. Practically every country in the world now has at least one broadcast television station. It came into being based on the inventions and discoveries of many scientists, engineers, managers. The idea of television implied in its early stages of development of a combination of optical, mechanical and electronic technologies of capture transmit and display a visual image. All modern television system relies on the electronic technologies, and it is not compatible with the old mechanical type of television. But the knowledge gained from the work on mechanical – dependent systems was crucial in the development of fully electronic television. In early television era televisions were made to be sold from in the United Kingdom, United States, and Russia. The first person who demonstrated a working television was a famous Scottish engineer John Baird. John Baird, the son of a clergyman, was known for being of poor health for most of his life, but he nonetheless showed early signs of ingenuity. When he was twelve years old, he and some friends built a private telephone system which connected his bedroom to those of his friends across the street. The system worked well, but it had to be closed as one night a storm pulled down the wires that were stretched across by the boys and a man was hurt by the falling wires. Baird had always been interested in science. He studied at Glasgow University, but the tuition was interrupted by the outbreak of World War One. When the war ended he set himself up in business, but his real dream was creating the television – a dream of many scientist for decades. By 1924 he managed to transmit a flickering image of a Maltese cross across a few feet. On October 2, 1925, Baird transmitted a picture of a human face – the face of a fifteen year old boy. He also gave the first demonstration of both colour and stereoscopic television. In September 1929, the BBC started experimental transmission with Baird’s equipment. In the 30s his mechanical system was rapidly becoming obsolete as innovative electronic devises came into existence. When BBC committee of inquiry launched in 1935 a side by side trial between the existing television systems, American’s all-electronic system devised by Marconi was found to be the best. The Baird’s system was not chosen, and two years later the Baird’s system was dropped out the use. The history of television is remarkable, and it is tightly connected with the history of human civilization. All these precious ideas and things are used by people in their everyday life; they are carefully kept in scientific museums such as the National media Museum in England or the Early Television Museum and the Museum of broadcast Communication in the USA. The mission of such museums is to collect, preserve and present technological content of human civilisation as well is to inform, entertain, and educate people. There is no doubt that television made our lives richer, more informative and colourful. Somehow it made people of the world closer to each other. The society is aware of television and radio as having cultural, creative, and social significance. Both television and radio create communication platforms for common people, media-interested public and the professional community. But there is some anxiety in the society about such topic as violence, tabloid television and the quiz show scandals. The development of technologies moves on: we witness the emergence of such broadcasting technologies as the internet, mobile video and podcasting.

The Character of Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Name

  Ã‚  Ã‚   Blanche, the main character in William’s play "A Streetcar Named Desire" invokes many contrasting emotions. To analyze one’s emotions concerning Blanche is no easy task, to do so effectively one must break the play into different parts and analyze them separately. The problem with Blanche is that she presents a character so mixed up in her own motives and opinions that one never knows if it is really her or an act she’s putting on. The audience will find itself constantly readjusting its position towards Blanche and the other characters as the play unfolds and we learn more about her story and the reasons behind her inadequacies. Williams makes sure nothing is white or black but grey so that at some moments in the play we struggle to find a reason for her cool manipulation and hunger for power while at others we pity her pathetic life founded on lies and misconceptions. Even when she tries to break up Stanley and Stella’s relationship we donâ €™t immediately brand her as a villain, we remember that if Stella hadn’t left than maybe Blanche would have become what she had wanted to become rather than what society dictated her to become. When we see Blanche for the very first time we know right away that she does not belong in Stella’s neighborhood, she is "daintily dressed" and her "delicate beauty must avoid a strong light", she seems in a fairly hysterical state but we can assume that’s just normal since she is "incongruous to this setting". She seems to be having trouble speaking normally to a black person so that we can already place the origin of her upbringing in the South, probably in one of those enormous mansions that housed rich slave owning white families. As the scene unfolds, the image of the rich, somewhat shelte... ...e thinking about her and the play they will feel sympathy or at least pity for Blanche. What Williams demonstrates with this play is the power of memories and the ruthlessness of society. Works Cited and Consulted Brownmiller, Susan. Against Our Will. New York: Bantam Books, 1975. Dworkin, Andrea. Intercourse. New York: The Free Press, 1087 Lant, Kathleen Margaret. "A Streetcar Named Misogyny." pp. 225-238 in REDMOND. Redmond, James (Editor). Violence in Drama. Cambridge University Press; 1991.   Spoto, Donald. The Kindness of Strangers. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1985. Williams, Edwina Dakin. Remember Me to Tom. St. Louis: Sunrise Publishing Company, 1963. Williams, Tennessee. Memoirs. New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc: 1975. Williams, Tennessee. A Streetcar Named Desire. New York: Signet. Original copyright 1947.

Enabling a Remote Workforce. Essay

Productivity – Are employees who telecommute more productive than their traditional office colleagues? 1 Savings – What types of savings from a telecommuting program should employers expect? 2 Planning – What kind of planning does an organization need to do to properly implement a successful telecommuting program? 2 Eligibility – How do managers determine the eligibility of employees for telecommuting? 3 Social Interaction – What types of social limitations do remote workers experience? 3 Communication Limitations – Are organizations disadvantaged due to communication limitations with remote workers? 4 Management – How do managers successfully manage and support remote workers? 5 Technical Issues 5 Network – What are the security, bandwidth, and infrastructure implications for the company network to support remote access? 5 Hardware/Software Needs – What are the hardware, home infrastructure, and software licensing needs for the remote user? 6 Telecommuting Variations – What are alternative solutions or variations for telecommuting programs? 7 Connectivity – What are the tools and considerations to accommodate remote network access? 8 Communication – How do you allow your employees to communicate electronically and verbally from home? 9 Collaboration – What are the tools that foster communication? 9 IT Support – What are the options and challenges to providing remote employees with technical support? 10 Cost – How much does deploying a remote workforce cost? 10 Conclusion 11 Introduction There are a number of good reasons why companies should consider supporting a remote worker program including an expanded labor pool, reduced traffic congestion costs (late arriving/stressed out employees), improved recruitment and retention of staff, facility cost savings, reduced parking costs, reduced sick leave and improved worker productivity. Conversely, there are some disadvantages that companies should also be aware of including an isolated work force, family turf problems, lack of social interaction with other employees and the fear by remote workers that they will be overlooked for promotions. Companies obviously have a lot to factor in deciding whether or not to implement a telecommuting program. Thus, the goal of this paper is to provide consideration points to many of the common questions facing such companies. The questions and discussion herein are divided into two primary categories: technical and organizational. They are intended to provide more generalized information that decision makers can use to enhance their understanding of telecommuting issues. Organizational Issues Productivity – Are employees who telecommute more productive than their traditional office colleagues? In general, remote workers appear to be more productive than traditional office workers. In an October 1995 survey of Fortune 1000 managers, 58% reported increased productivity by employees who telecommuted. Also, according to the State of California’s Telecommuting Pilot Program, companies that implemented a remote work force experienced productivity increases ranging from 10 – 30%. Further, telecommuters working for American Express produced 43% more business than their office-based counterparts1. Clearly the case can be made that remote workers are indeed more productive. The primary explanation for improved productivity is a quieter work environment, which offers fewer interruptions. Certainly the remote worker also faces interruptions in their daily work, such as family business, neighbors, chores, television, etc. However these interruptions are generally much fewer than those experienced by the traditional office worker. Savings – What types of savings from a telecommuting program should employers expect? The biggest savings for companies result from reduced absenteeism costs and reduced real estate costs. Oftentimes when employees need to take care of personal business such as doctor visits, car repair, tending to children, etc. they call in sick for the entire day. However, remote workers can take care of personal business and still accomplish some or most of their work tasks from home. The International Telework Association & Council estimates that employees who telecommute can save their employers $10,000 each in reduced absenteeism costs2. According to PC World, telework can cut corporate real estate costs from 25 to 90%, which can result in substantial savings for employers. In fact, AT&T saves $25 million per year from employees who are full-time telecommuters3. Many companies who have implemented a successful telecommuting program have instituted hoteling systems in their offices. A â€Å"hotel† is essentially an empty cubicle that is set up with a phone, network connections and basic office supplies that any employee can use, often by making a reservation with an office administrator. Hoteling offers telecommuting employees a place to work in the office when necessary without employers having to provide them with a full-time workspace. Planning – What kind of planning does an organization need to do to properly implement a successful telecommuting program? Without doubt one of the most important keys to implementing a successful telecommuting program is proper planning. And since every organization has their unique differences (i.e. size, industry, complexity, culture, locale), there is no single formula for such planning. However, successful telecommuting programs should address the following at a minimum: * Perform an initial assessment * Consider organizational strategy and culture * Consider the role of management * Consider the need for staff input * Determine which staff tasks are most amenable to telecommuting * Consider regulatory compliance and legal issues * Determine technology needs * Prepare a cost-benefit analysis and/or ROI analysis4 Eligibility – How do managers determine the eligibility of employees for telecommuting? According to Langhoff, â€Å"tasks that are most appropriate for telecommuting are jobs where a person works alone, handling information such as reports, proposals, data or research. Writers, salespersons, accountants, programmers, graphic artists, researchers, engineers, architects, public relations professionals – all are prime candidates for telecommuting†5. In determining eligibility for telecommuting, managers should first consider whether the employee’s tasks can be performed remotely. Second, an examination of the individual’s level of performance should be made (i.e. are they hard working and self-motivated or do they need constant supervision and coaching?). Of course it can be tricky selecting who can and cannot telecommute; therefore companies should be aware of the potential legal implications stemming from employees who wished to work remotely but were turned down. Social Interaction – What types of social limitations do remote workers experience? Too often companies only view telecommuting as providing benefits to them and to their employees; however, there remains potential downsides. One potential downside is the lack of social interaction between employees. Employees who work at an office setting spend a considerable amount of their day interacting with other employees. These â€Å"water-cooler† discussions foster a camaraderie that translates into value for companies when the same employees work on projects together or are in need of support from each other. Also, the camaraderie indirectly benefits the company when management is trying to achieve buy-in on various initiatives. Lastly, having close relationships allow employees to maintain a healthy mental balance at work – resulting in an overall higher level of morale. Once telecommuting is introduced into the mixed, some or all of those relationships are lost. Analysis of past telecommuting research shows that the most cited problem associated with negative impacts of telecommuting is the feeling of isolation and loss of morale6. Although isolation feelings and loss of morale (and the resulting decrease in a company’s value) are difficult metrics to measure, some workable solutions have been devised to combat these negative issues. Other solutions have included limiting telecommuting days and making sure to include telecommuting employees in company events7. Communication Limitations – Are organizations disadvantaged due to communication limitations with remote workers? The office environment offers some benefits that telecommuting cannot provide. Most important amongst these benefits is the company’s ability to communicate to its employees. Most offices display signs of the company’s direct communication whether it is embodied in mission statements, annual goal and targets, or newsletters. Indirectly, the company communicates with corporate color schemes, promotion company clothing, and other branding material such as coffee mugs. All of these communications are omnipresent throughout the corporate office setting and help to build company pride, employee loyalty, and a sense of corporate culture. Employees who tend to work remotely are only exposed slightly to this communication through email, conference calls, and other mailed material. This lack of corporate communication may lead to low motivation, lack of identification with the company, and reduced company loyalty8. The solution to the communication challenge is to ensure that corporate communication includes channels to the remote worker. In fact, companies should recognize that off-site employees need more direct and indirect communication such that employees do not develop those negative feelings. Also, companies should make a concerted effort to limit telecommuting days and to include all telecommuting employees in company events9. Management – How do managers successfully manage and support remote workers? Another challenge with telecommuting employees revolves around their direct management. Not only do managers find it much more difficult to monitor the productivity and effectiveness of their telecommuting employee, but they are also challenged by having to change their management style to incorporate the limitations brought about by telecommuting10. Managers who have telecommuting employees are also faced with more potential issues such as family conflicts arising from their employee working from home. These conflicts cross the boundary of work and personal life, and almost always negatively impact productivity. Lastly, it is the role of managers to provide organizational support to the telecommuting employee. With the employee being off-site, the manager is usually limited to email and telephone to support his employee. This limitation further restricts a manager’s effectiveness and typically utilizes more of a manager’s time in sorting out support logistic11. Solutions to the manager’s challenge involve setting up a detailed action plan between manager and telecommuting employee. This action plan should be supplemented with an active communication plan12. Once expectations for both parties are clearly outlined in the action plan, both parties can then communicate progress or support needs more efficiently. Moreover, managers can adapt their management styles to telecommuting employees by setting results-based milestones and orienting tasks into projects such that managers still retain control of certain processes13. Technical Issues Network – What are the security, bandwidth, and infrastructure implications for the company network to support remote access? Before considering the strategy to deploying remote access for a company, a survey should be done of the existing network and current remote access configurations. Once a complete analysis of the current configuration and future needs are assessed, then the following issues need to be included in your strategy of preparing and deploying the company network for a remote force: security, bandwidth, and infrastructure.14 Table N1 – 3 Areas of Security15 Internal Network Usually the most secure of the three, but still should be reviewed for any fallacies. External Network Must secure the PC in the remote location (i.e. firewalls, RSA encryption, etc†¦) to prevent unauthorized access and snooping from the remote location. Remote Worker Least secure, must require security policies to be followed about passwords, where to connect, and who to trust. With more remote workers, there will be an increased demand of bandwidth on the network. Will the remote employees be productive with the current infrastructure that your network can provide? Perhaps considerations for upgrading from16: From To Dial-up (56K) ISDN (128K-256K) ISDN (128K-256K) T1 (up to 1.5M) T1 (up to1.5M) T3 (44.736 Mbps) With the increase demand more infrastructure will be required for allowing an increasing number of remote workers to connect to the corporate network (more servers, security hardware, and routing hardware). Hardware/Software Needs – What are the hardware, home infrastructure, and software licensing needs for the remote user? For the employees who travel often, they are usually provided some mobile computing solutions and they have found ways to work from remote locations. However the new generation of employees, the remote worker will work from the comfort of their home. Working from home brings a new set of issues in to play. HARDWARE * Can the employee keep work and personal items separated? * If not, should the company provide additional hardware? * If the company does NOT provide additional hardware, then how much of the employees hardware can be expensed if upgrades are necessary? * The employee may need/require a fax machine, an additional phone line, or other office equipment. SOFTWARE * Software licensing has be clear-cut as far as how many computers can use the same license, however what about home workers? * The company’s site licensing may not cover home computers and will require the company to pay extra for these licenses. INFRASTRUCTURE * For someone at home who has a DSL, Cable, or Dial-Up connecting, how much of that should the company pay for? * Support, Support, Support. Who will provide the maintenance and support? * Is the home PC secure? If not, who will provide the hardware/software in order to secure it? Also consider how much of the company’s data should be on the personal machine. What happens if the home PC is hacked? Telecommuting Variations – What are alternative solutions or variations for telecommuting programs? Outlined in this paper is the most common setup for a company to develop telecommuting options for their employees. However most of these configurations allow the employee to use limited resources over the Internet (access to shared folders, documents and e-mail). Depending on the size, the costs of setting up an infrastructure for telecommuting workforce could be unaffordable. The following are other options available to companies who wish to have a telecommuting workforce. Citrix Remember or heard about the mainframe days? Well, history tends to repeat itself. As more PC’s were becoming powerful, we moved away from the mainframe days. However with the Internet, the paradigm of sharing resources has returned and now software applications and operating systems have the enhanced ability to handle more than one user concurrently. Citrix17 allows concurrent remote users access to a single server that will give a separate session for each user. Each user will have access to the same set applications on one machine. This solves the software licensing issues of working from a remote location as well as reduces amount of maintenance of hardware/software for the IT department. Satellite Offices Companies are opening satellite offices to reduce commute times for employees and help alleviate city traffic and parking congestion problems. This will result in reduced land costs since these centers are away from the city where the cost of living is lower.18 Telework centers are similar to a satellite office, but operate by independent parties. Unlike satellite offices, numerous employees use them. Think of these options as outsourcing building/infrastructure issues. Connectivity – What are the tools and considerations to accommodate remote network access? In today’s information environment, connectivity has become essential for a significant portion of the workplace. Access to email, network resources, server applications, and the Internet is a continual activity for the white-collar professional. At a minimum, companies would be well served to support webmail. In much the same vein as portal email (Hotmail, Yahoo), mail is maintained on the company server. This server is then linked to a website, and employees can gain secure access to the company server via any browser. Once logged in, an individual has the full functionality of their account – to compose, receive, store, and delete email without explicitly needing to connect to the company network. However, there will be a resulting lack of security – employees need to be encouraged to create and regularly modify complex passwords, and to close public web sessions. That said, the security risk is only to an individual email account; not the company network as a whole. A second logical step for an IT department is to enable Virtual Private Networking (VPN). This will allow employees to connect their remote machines to the company network after establishing an Internet connection through an ISP. This machine then behaves just as a networked office-located computer. For users maintaining both an office and remote computer, this solution requires any desktop applications be maintained on both systems. To avoid this duality, many users will first establish a VPN connection and then emulate their office computer with built-in Windows 2000 and Windows XP remote desktop tools or 3rd party tools such as VNC19. In essence, the remote machine then acts as a terminal or monitor to the office computer, and the user can run the applications found on that machine without any needs for secondary software. The downside to this solution is that emulation is only as good as the connection speed. Communication – How do you allow your employees to communicate electronically and verbally from home? Today’s telephone solutions for the telecommuter generally consist of providing an office phone with call-forwarding features to an employee’s business cell phone – an often times reimbursed expense. This avoids some of the problems associated with using a home line for a combination of business, personal, and dial-up use. The office system simplifies contacting an individual (Simply dial an extension and press 7 to connect to the forwarded line rather than maintaining a constantly changing set of employee contact information). A home line alternative is a distinctive ring system – multiple phone numbers (home, office, fax) use a single line with each producing a unique ring that can be directed to an appropriate voice mail box or machine (PC, fax). A second alternative consists of an off-premise-extension (OPX) or foreign exchange (FX) system. While more expensive, these systems truly mimic the office with a separate home line that is identical to an office extension20. Electronic mail is a requirement for most remote users. IT departments can help support employees using multiple computers to access their email by allowing mail to be retained on the company server rather than downloaded to the individual PC. (As an unrelated benefit, this provides much greater redundancy in the event of a computer hard drive crash). Please see the discussion on web mail for more on remote e-mail use. A less intrusive substitute to phone conversations is instant messaging. While this has potential for both misuse and unproductive use (where conversation is more efficient), this is often times an ideal mechanism for sharing small tidbits of information and is especially valuable for troubleshooting. A more extensive tool would be the newsgroup in combination with a company intranet. Here, employees can develop an extensive knowledge base of processes, questions and answers. Collaboration – What are the tools that foster communication? At the lowest end of the technology spectrum, there is the traditional conference call – a virtual audio meeting with many parties. In an effort to fight the inherent isolationism of remote workers, the videoconference personalizes the conference call as participants better identify with the visual image than the audio. To implement, however, you’ll need additional webcam hardware, videoconferencing software and a fast Internet connection. Chat rooms (a variation on the aforementioned instant messaging) are suitable for short discussions or as supplements to a meeting (agenda, minutes, links, data, follow-ups) Web conferencing often includes both videoconferencing and chat room features, but distinguishes itself in that it allows a moderator to emulate his/her desktop to the attendees. Among the forefront of the software leaders in this area is WebEx21. IT Support – What are the options and challenges to providing remote employees with technical support? One of the drawbacks to working remotely is the absence of immediate technical support for both trivial and complex hardware and software issues. Given that troubleshooting is often a hands-on activity, solving problems for telecommuters is likely to be frustrating and time-consuming. However IT managers can take a number of steps to reduce downtime. * Standardize the equipment and installation. The more alike your users systems are, the better positioned you will be to reproduce and diagnose problems. * Maintain an inventory of back-up equipment in the same way that a car repair shop offers loaner cars. * Set up remote users so their desktops can be emulated by technical support – in this way an IT department can provide step by step demonstrations to fix problems * Maintain an easily accessible FAQ and update it with each new problem and solution Managers may also want to consider outsourcing their technical support requirements. Companies like Voyus22 provide 24 hour help desk support and web-based support applications. Cost – How much does deploying a remote workforce cost? The decision that the companies face is how much ownership the company will take for each of the types of telecommuters. For an occasional telecommuter, the employee will more than likely take on the costs. For a heavy telecommuter, the company will probably need to cover the costs to the employee. Telecommuter Type Frequency Implementation Costs Involved Occasional Infrequently Dial-up, Web-based applications Regular Scheduled intervals Remote Connection, 3rd Party Software, Laptop, Firewall, Router. Heavy Frequently to Full Time Provide second computer, VPN connection, ISP costs, other office equipment, maintenance. It is not the technology costs that make or break the telecommuting decision, but it’s the organizational issues that should benefit the company if deployed properly. Conclusion Telecommuting seems to be the answer to the â€Å"increased workload versus work/personal life balance† issue that many companies are seeking. While there exist many challenges towards implementing a successful telecommuting plan, there also seem to be many practical solutions. The real issue seems to stem from whether a company will change its processes and standards to allow for telecommuting to co-exist with office employees. Such a decision, as this paper has outlined, is not as simple as providing remote employees with an internet connection. Rather, the decision has significant technical and organizational ramifications that need to be well thought out before implementation; otherwise, the company is doomed to make the mistakes of many companies that have haphazardly gone down this path. 1 http://www.langhoff.com/faqs.html 2 http://www.youcanworkfromanywhere.com/infocenter/facts.htm 3 http://www.youcanworkfromanywhere.com/infocenter/facts.htm 4 http://www.tfw.org.uk/teleworking/contents.htm 5 http://www.langhoff.com/faqs.html 6 Pinsonneault, A. (1999). The Impacts of Telecommuting on Organizations and Individuals: A Review of the Literature, Cahier du GreSI, 99(9). 7 Guimaraes, T., and Dallow, P. (1999). Empiracally Testing the Benefits, Problems, and Success Factors for Telecommuting Programs, European Journal of Information Systems, 8, 40-54. 8 Davenport, T.H. and Pearlson, K. (1998). Two Cheers for the Virtual Office, Sloan Management Review, 39(4), 51-65. 9 Guimaraes, T., and Dallow, P. (1999). Empiracally Testing the Benefits, Problems, and Success Factors for Telecommuting Programs, European Journal of Information Systems, 8, 40-54. 10 Kirvan, P. (1995). How to Manage Systems for Remote Workers, Communications News, 33, 67. 11 Kirvan, P. (1995). How to Manage Systems for Remote Workers, Communications News, 33, 67. 12 Guimaraes, T., and Dallow, P. (1999). Empiracally Testing the Benefits, Problems, and Success Factors for Telecommuting Programs, European Journal of Information Systems, 8, 40-54. 13 Davenport, T.H. and Pearlson, K. (1998). Two Cheers for the Virtual Office, Sloan Management Review, 39(4), 51-65. 14 Ascend Communications, 2002, â€Å"Telecommuting Network Guide: A Resource for Planners, Excutives, and Information Managers†, http://users.skynet.be/teletravail/PDF/solut_technique.pdf 15 Jessica L. Hirsch, 2000, â€Å"Telecommuting: Security Policies and Procedures for the â€Å"Work-From-Home† Workforce†, http://www.teleworker.org/articles/telework_security.html 16 Bandwidth Savings, 2003, â€Å"Services In Detailed†, http://www.bandwidthsavings.net/servicesdetail.cfm 17 Citrix.com, 2003, Home Page, http://www.citrix.com 18 Hall, Aric, Bilski, Alicia, Wadman, Scott, 2003, â€Å"Ways People Telecommute†, http://members.tripod.com/~trom/page3.html 19 http://www.uk.research.att.com/vnc 20 Wrobel, Leo A., February 1997, â€Å"Helpful Hints for MIS Managers Supporting Telecommuters and Nomadic Users -Part I: Voice Communications†, http://www.rewireit.com/articles/w0297.pdf 21 http://www.webx.com 22 http://www.pcsupport.com/

Individual and environmental factors Essay

1.1Explain the individual and environmental factors that impact positively or negatively on learning. The study of adult learning – ANDRAGOGY – originated in Europe in the 1950s and was then pioneered as a theory and model of adult learning from the 1970s by Malcolm knowles, an American practitioner and theorist of adult education. He defined androgogy as: „the art and science of helping adults learnâ€Å" Knowles identified six principles of adult learning, which are: 1.Adults are internally motivated and self-directed. 2. Adults bring life experiences and knowledge to learning experiences. 3. Adults are goal oriented. 4. Adults are relevancy oriented. 5. Adults are practical. 6. Adults learners like to be respected. With individualised learning the trainer needs to consider and cater for the needs of individual participants. Some of the key factors to consider are: -Rates of learning and learning style -Attitude -Maturity -Interest which effect the level of learning -Motivation -Learners can work at their own pace at the time most convenient to them -Different learning styles can be accommodated -Etc. All this above mentioned factors can have positive or negative impact on learning. I have identified that people have different learning styles and it is very important to utilise this to gaing the most from each individual learner and to help make their learning as effective as possible. There is no one right combination of elements that will magically result in a positive climate for learning for every participant. There is also four kinds of learning styles: -Visual learning style has a preference for seen or observed things, including pictures, diagrams, demonstrations, displays, handouts, films,  flip-chart, etc. These people will use phrases such as „show meâ€Å", „lets have a look at thatâ€Å" and will be bes table to perform a new task after reading the instrucitons or watching someone else do it first. These are people who will work from lists and written derections and instructions. -Auditory learning style has a preference for the transfer of information through listening: to spoken word, of self or others, of sounds and noises. These people will use phrases such as „tell meâ€Å", lets talk it overâ€Å" and will be best able to perform a new task after listening to instructions from an expert. -Kinaesthetic learning styles has a preference for physical experience touching, feeling, holding, doing,, practical hands-on experience. These people will use phrases such as „let met tryâ€Å", how do you feel? And will be best table to perform a new task by going ahead and trying it out, learning as they go. These are the people who like to experiment, hands-on, and never look at the instructions first. -Auditory digital learning style has a preference for working outside of the senses. People will tend to: have a need to make sense of the word, to figure things out, to understand. Talk to themselves and carrz on conversations with you in their mind.Learn by working things out in their mind.Not to be spontaneous, as they like to think things through. Have logic play a key role in the decision process as do facts and figures. Memorize by steps, procedures, sequences. The learners have a wide range of learning needs and styles, and this diversity must be take into account by employing a variety of training methods. In additions, the size of the venue, the arrangement of the furniture, the functioning of equipment and other physical aspects of the training room all contribute to, or detract from, the learning evironment. When these factors can be manipulated to be positive influences, an environment more conductive to learning will be created. Organisational and process decisions: Venue, Facilities,Environment, Meals and refreshments, Accessibility, Cost and Physical layout. Environment – the environment around the training centre should be conductive to training taking place. There are various ways in which we can adapt the learning environment so that it caters for the physical needs of the participants: The temperature and environment within a training room should facilitate learning, it should be warm but not excessively hot or too cold because participants should be comfortable to pay enought attention to presentation. The layout of the room should be inviting suggesting the prospect of interesting activity and with adequate „break outâ€Å" areas. Make sure that you are comfortable with the layout of the room to deliver the best of your ability and the training will not be as effective as it otherwise could have been. A positive learning environment nurtures these feelings by allowing sudents to explore and expand their knowledge without undue risk or fear. Bring all types of learning could be positive for the individual as we are all different people and also confidentatiality is important too. Negative impact can be that participants do not switch off mobile phones what may lead to disturbing other participants and also trainer. Another negative factor could be lighting which should be appropriate for activities such as note taking, viewing of audio-visual aids and hands-on computer training otherwise it will have impact on individuals or group. Resource availability is based on available resources. The venue will have available a laptop, with internet access and an overhead projector. A flip chart will be available together with marker pens and pens and paper. Formative Assessment the goal of formative assessment is to gather feedback that can be used by the instructor and the students to guide improvements in the ongoing teaching and learning context. These are low stakes assessments for students and instructors. Examples: †¢Asking students to submit one or two sentences identifying the main point of a lecture †¢Have students submit an outline for a paper. †¢Early course evaluations Summative Assessment the goal of summative assessment is to measure the level of success or proficiency that has been obtained at the end of an instructional unit, by comparing it against some standard or benchmark. Examples: †¢Assigning a grade to a final exam †¢Critique of a Senior recital †¢University Faculty Course Evaluations The outcome of a summative assessment can be used formatively, however, when students or faculty take the results and use them to guide their efforts and activities in subsequent courses. ACTIVITY 2 Undertaken at the workshop. ACTIVITY 3 How you created a positive learning environment: To create a positive learning environment i made sure the temperature and enviromnent within a training room was fine, e.g. warm but not excessively hot or cold, clean, welcoming, bright and colorful.Lighting was appropriate for activities such as note taking, viewing of audio – visual aids that the layout of the room was inviting, suggesting the prospect of interesing acitivity and with adequate „break outâ€Å" arears and also that the participants had free access to water and toilets. The feedback on your activity from learner participants: To get the feedback on my presentation from learner participants i used a feedback questionnaire with the following questions. On a scale of 1 – 5 (1being the worst and 5 being the best) please circle the one that applies 1.Was the learning informative? 2.Was the information delivered in a concise and structured manner? 3.Did you find the learning topic interesting? 4.Do you feel you were supported through questioning and feedback? 5.Did you find the activity clear and simple to follow And i aslo left space for any other comments or development needs. Comments and development needs recommended by participants: my topis was Junk food vs Healthy food would be good to explain more healthy options, could do meal plans – suggest exercise reqires the slides were sometimes unclear – blue words – blue background. Enjoyed though. No – good presentation Good reminder of what we know and why i tis important to eat healthily. I will try to eat less sugar!! No, very clear and enthusiastidly given. No. Was a very good presentation, good use of powerpoint slides. Observation record from assessor Les Curzon: OBSERVATION RECORD: F211A Candidate name:LUKAS DEMJANJUNK FOOD/HEALTHY FOOD Demjan898@gmail.com Unit 3DLA Delivering Learning and Development Activities Observation Criteria Assessor feedback – to be completed by the assessor with notes to support the decision Creates an environment that is positive & conducive to learning – e.g. – health & safety – room layout – welcome – accommodates needs – puts participant at ease – builds rapport H&S not covered Ice breaker, write favourite food. The audience was some distance away and some had their back to you to start with. Structures & sequences effectively for learning e.g. – introduction – main body – conclusion Good introduction and you got the attention of the learners. Main body informative Provides clear aims / learning outcomes No clear aims and objectives. Manages learning activity effectively – uses a range of appropriate training skills Tended to be mostly lecture style with a few questions. – uses learning resources appropriately and effectively Good use of PowerPoints with appropriate images and addresses VAK. – supports learners via questioning and feedback Asked lots of questions but tended to be closed â€Å"does anybody† – uses appropriate formative & summative assessment methods Formative through Q&A, summative Q&A – could have had a quiz. Could have designed a meal. – summarises and concludes the learning and development activity Summarised throughout and reinforced – assists learners to reflect on their learning and identify further needs Via Evaluation form – collects feedback from participants Evaluation form General Comments / Feedback Lukas, An informative session on healthy food. The identified need being to improve the health of employees? The audience were physically distant and you could have brought them closer to you. This could have been achieved after your ice breaker I am aware that you did the presentation in your second language. You tended to read which slowed the pace and it lacked energy. You need to plan and prepare in good time. You have the basics of a good session and need to develop it by having SMART objectives and lots of activities. A good effort and you need to consider the Systematic Training Cycle when you reflect in your TMA. Well done. Smart objectives should be: Specific means making a clear statement about the knowledge or skill that the trainee should be able to do and actually demostrate at the end of the course. This includes the level of operation, such as „after the training, te trainee should be able to use the machine safely and efficiently to produce the product at the specified qualityâ€Å". Measurable means that the standard of the trainees performance after the training can be measured in terms of, for example, quality and number of tiems in a specified period of time. Achievable means that it should be possible for the trainee to achieve the objectives in the light of the situation, the practicability, and the intelligence and motivation of the trainee. Realistic means that the objectives should be obviously useful and clearly related to the type of work that the trainee carries out. Time – related means that the trainee should be able to develop understanding, attain concepts and demonstrate skills withing a pre – specified period of time. For example, uou mighy be able to type a leeter perfectly if you took an hour to do it, but not if you only had five minutes.A skilled typist would be able to achive the objective in the shorter time. EVALUTATION AGAINST SYSTEMATIC LEARNING CYCLE 1. Identify training needs There are several ways in which training needs may be identified but unfortunately i did not have a choice to find out the training needs as i met the participants for the very first time. 2. Set training objectives In general, the objective of training is to develop in people the knowledge and understanding, skills and competence that they need to meet required performance standards. I did not concentrate that much on the Smart objectives but for the futher development needs i will need to plan and prepare in good time. 3. Plan the training Bearing in mind the nature of the subject matter in which employee needs to be trained, decisions have to be made about how and where it is to be carried out. There are several choices. Most training, however, falls into one of two categories: On-the-job trainin, which as the term implies, takes place while the trainee is actually working or it could be Of-job-training, which may be external training, when, for example, an individual or a small group is sent to a local college or training centre or to a higher education institution to undertake a professional qualification.I could not decide where was i doing presentation. 4. implement the training There is six training methods such as Lecture, Seminar, Case study, Role-play, Syndicate work, Exercises i decided for seminar which is ideal to discuss a topic or concept. I think it was effective because i introduced the subject and run a group discussion where trainess presented their views on which i could comment. I also used training media PowerPoint and visual aids such as overhead projector and flipchart which i used for the answers to my questions and for laying main points of a talk. It was effective way of learning because people pay enought attention to the powerpoint presentation.Preperation involved working on the detail of the training session and also draft my notes of what i was going to say. I went through each element of the course carefully, drafted a separate set of notes for each element but did not place them in a file which was making me confused and lost. I did not cover Ice breaker but aafter i had a good introduction and attention of the learners. Main sect ions were informative. No clear aims and objectives And tended to read which slowed the pace and it lacked energy. 5. Evaluate the course It is a socially interactive process after which the participants should feel  confident that htey have all learned from the experience. Additionally, it should also be effecitve i terms of achieving the trianing objectives which i need to develop by having Smart objectives and a lot of activities. 6. Analysis and review It is rare for a training session that is being run for the first time to achieve every single aspect of every objective. Analysis and review is the final stage of the systematic trianing cycle which helped me to reveal areas that need to be improved and showed me what do i need to work on. 2 RECOMMENDATIONS TO IMPROVE MY FUTURE PERFORMANCE: 1. IceBreaker It is very important to get the participants talking to each other and to relax because people can be quite intimidated at courses, especially in front of a big group so more i get them to relax and enjoy it, the more easily they will learn. 2. Running a trainning session In advance of actually running a session, i will need to go through my notes and learn them so well that i will not need to refer to them because it lack energy

Best Unsecured Credit Cards for People With Bad Credit

Best Unsecured Credit Cards for People With Bad Credit SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Having a poor credit score can feel like you’re caught in a catch-22. You need a credit card to improve your score, but it’s hard to get a credit card without a good score. Luckily, there are credits cards available for people with poor credit. Once you get one of these cards, you can use it to build your credit score over time. This guide will give you recommendations for the best credit cards for people with bad credit, along with some tips on how to apply. Click here to go straight to the credit card recommendations, or first, read on to learn what makes a bad credit score and why it matters. What Is Bad Credit? Credit scores range from 300 to 850. Your score is based on a number of factors, including your credit history, payment history, outstanding debt, and account inquiries from lenders, like credit card companies or banks. Defaulting on loans or closing a credit card that still has a balance on it are two actions that could seriously damage your credit score. You might also have a low score if you’re new to the world of credit and have never had a credit card before. Credit scores below 630 are considered to be very low. Scores between 630 and 700 are fair and between 700 and 800 are strong. Any scores above 800 are excellent. To find out your score, you simply need to set up a free account with Credit Karma. You can also request a comprehensive credit report from one of the three major credit bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax, or Experian. You can get one free report each year by requesting it from annualcreditreport.com. Any additional reports cost $9.95. Your credit score matters big time when you apply for any kind of credit card or loan. Why is it so important? Maybe we shouldn't call a credit score under 630 "bad." Rather, it's a work in progress! Why Does Your Credit Score Matter? Credit scores are a key factor when a credit card company or bank is evaluating your application for a credit card or loan. Lenders consider your past financial behavior to be an indication of your future behavior. They seek to reduce risk, so they only want to lend you money if they feel assured that you can eventually pay it back. The better your credit score is, the higher your credit line will be. You’ll also be eligible for more attractive credit cards that have low fees or rewards, like cash back or travel points. With a low credit score, your application for most travel rewards cards would be rejected outright. However, people will low scores can still qualify for certain credit cards and then use the card to build up their credit over time. With a low score, you may qualify for a secured or unsecured credit card. Lenders look at your credit score when deciding whether to give you a loan. They aren't big risk-takers. What Kind of Credit Card Can You Get With Bad Credit? Secured Vs. Unsecured If your credit score is the lowest of the low, then you’ll probably only be able to get what’s called a secured credit card. Secured credit cards require a deposit up front. Some of them act as prepaid debit cards. You load them up with a certain amount of money at the beginning of the month and then spend that money where the card is accepted. Secured credit cards have low limits and require up-front cash-loading or deposit. If you can qualify for a regular, unsecured card with bad credit, then you should skip this initial step of getting a secured card, unless you really need to set low, strict spending limits on yourself or can't afford an annual fee. Unsecured credit cards are just like any other credit card. They typically start with a line of credit of about $300 per month. As you build your credit over time, your monthly line of credit will increase. Unfortunately, you won’t get a credit card with the most appealing terms if you have poor credit. The unsecured cards recommended below have the best policies available and can help you build your credit into the fair or good zone. Read on for the top recommendations for the best unsecured credit cards for poor credit. Secured credit cards are useful if you need to set strict limits on your spending. 5 Best Unsecured Credit Cards for People with Bad Credit in 2016 The five cards recommended below are the best unsecured credit cards for people with bad credit available. Each card lets you fill out a quick and easy form online to see if you prequalify. The top five cards are the following: Credit One Bank Unsecured Visa* Indigo Platinum Mastercard Milestone Gold Mastercard Total VISA Unsecured Card Platinum One Credit Card (for average credit) *The Credit One Bank Visa stands out as the best overall unsecured credit card, because it gives you some rewards and may increase your line of credit after five months of on-time payments. The remaining credit cards for poor credit offer more or less equal benefits, so you should shop around to see where you prequalify. Let’s take a closer look at the terms of each unsecured credit card. Credit One Bank Unsecured Visa Credit Card The Credit One Visa is a rare card available to people with poor credit that gives rewards. With this card, you can earn 1% cash back on gas and groceries. The card has an annual fee of $0 to $75 the first year and $0 to $99 annually after that, depending on your credit score and income. You may be able to pay this fee back monthly, rather than as one lump sum at the end of the year. The card offers a monthly credit score tracking service so you can keep track of your progress toward a stronger credit score. It comes with a rather high variable interest rate of 15.65% to 24.15%, but the interest rate shouldn’t really matter. To build your credit and avoid debt, you should never carry a balance over on your credit card from one month to the next. Always pay off your full balance every month to avoid penalty and steep interest charges. A typical beginning line of credit for someone with a low credit score is $300. This might increase after five or more months of on-time payments. After five months of on-time payments, Credit One should increase your credit line. Pro tip: count your months by the Gregorian calendar, not the Mayan one. Indigo Platinum Mastercard The Indigo Platinum Mastercard is an increasingly popular card that’s available to people with a range of credit scores. Like the Credit One card, the Indigo card offers online account access and has an easy pre-qualification process online. A typical starting line of credit is $300, and the card has an annual fee of $0 to $99. The APR is fixed at 23.9%. Unlike the Credit One card, the Indigo card doesn’t offer any rewards back on your purchases. Milestone Gold Mastercard The Milestone Gold card similarly has a fixed APR of 23.9% and a typical starting line of credit of $300. The annual fee falls between $35 and $99. Total VISA Unsecured Credit Card The Total VISA has the highest APR of 29.99%. It has a fee of $75 for the first year and $48 annually after that. Like the other unsecured credit cards for low credit, the typical starting line of credit is $300. Capital One Platinum Card If your credit has started to climb out of the red zone and surpassed 600, then you might qualify for the Capital One Platinum card. This card is available for people with a credit score of 600 or higher. It has no annual fee, 24.99% APR, and fraud coverage. A typical starting credit limit falls between $200 and $500, and this can increase after five or so months of on time monthly payments. Now that you have a sense of the best unsecured credit cards, what do you do next? How do you apply for one of these cards? Even with bad credit, you have options for credit cards! How to Apply for an Unsecured Credit Card You can easily apply for a credit card online. First, head to the company’s website and go through its quick pre-qualification process. While this survey isn’t the be-all and end-all word on whether or not you qualify, it gives you an idea of your eligibility based on your income level. You’ll enter your personal information, including your salary and social security number. Going through this pre-qualification check, by the way, won’t hurt your credit score. Your credit score will only be affected when the company runs a hard check to see whether you officially qualify and you open an account. If you prequalify, then you’ll go through the full process of applying for the card. Only fill out a full application for one card, so as not to hurt your credit score. Once you apply and are approved, your card will be mailed out to you within one to two weeks. If your credit score and salary are too low, and you find yourself ineligible for any of the above cards, then you do have one more option - getting a secured credit card. Easy online pre-qualification forms give you a sense of whether or not you'll be approved a credit card. What If You Don’t Qualify? If you don’t qualify for an unsecured credit card with bad credit, then you should look into secured credit cards. As mentioned above, secured cards require a deposit up front, or they ask you to prepay and then spend the money that’s already loaded onto your card. While they’re a little different from other cards, secured credit cards will help you build credit until you’re able to get a regular, unsecured card. These are some of the best secured credit cards: Discover It Secured Card Capital One Secured Mastercard Secured Visa from Merrick Bank USAA Secured Card American Express If you want to set strict limits on your spending with a prepaid debit card, then look into the secured cards from Bluebird or American Express Serve. Once you get your credit card, how can you use it in the best way to build your credit? How to Use Your Credit Card and Build Credit Building and maintaining good credit isn’t about avoiding a credit card; it’s about using one well. Using a card well requires you to follow one rule of thumb: never carry a balance on your card from month to month. Don’t expect that you’ll have more to spend next month than you do this month. Only buy what you can pay off in cash immediately on the card, and make sure to pay off your full balance by each payment due date. As you read above, on-time payments will help you build credit, and your credit card company may offer you a bigger line of credit as time goes on. How can you be sure that you’re staying within your budget? This kind of awareness comes from developing a budget and keeping track of your daily and monthly spending. There are several apps, like YNAB and Mint, that are useful for helping you keep track and gain control of your personal finances. In closing, let’s go over the key points you should remember about the unsecured credit cards that are available to people with poor credit. Rome wasn't built in a day! With enough time and effort, you can build your credit score into the good or excellent range. Unsecured Credit Cards for Bad Credit - Final Thoughts If you have bad credit, you aren’t going to be eligible for a $10,000 line of credit and 2% cash back on all your purchases. However, you may become eligible eventually by first getting one of the secured or unsecured credit cards that are on offer to people with low credit card. Unsecured cards typically have an annual fee and start with a line of credit of around $300 a month. By making on-time payments month after month, you’ll see your credit score go up and may eventually qualify for a larger line of credit. If you don’t already, make sure to check your credit score and understand where it comes from. Then, you can come up with a plan to take control of your personal finances and build your credit score into the fair, good, or even excellent range. By shoring up your credit score with one of the best credit cards for bad credit, you’ll put yourself in a much better financial position for future credit card, loan, or mortgage applications. What’s Next? Is your credit score high enough that you could qualify for other credit cards? Check out this guide to find the best credit card for you based on your personal spending habits. Do you feel like your spending has gotten out of control? This guide will help you reign it back in with seven steps to taking control of your personal finances. Would you like to start saving money for a big purchase or perhaps a retirement account? This comprehensive list has 100 different ways for you to start saving money today.