The novel Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk Essay Example for Free

The novel Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk Essay The novel Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk is a Generation X classic, so it makes sense that the film became one as well.   Starring Edward Norton and Brad Pitt as the two sides of the same brain, director David Fincher takes a critical look at the rampant consumerist world that drains the humanity from its victims and replaces them with robotic automatons.   The way the characters in the film deal with this problem, besides going crazy, is through violent confrontation with each other, in an attempt to purge their demons and cleanse their souls. Rather than just a slick film about a violent subculture, Fight Club is the interrelated critique of capitalism and its dehumanizing effects.   The central protagonists in the film, Jack and Tyler, represent two opposing views on consumerism. Jack is representative of a generation of men condemned to corporate toadyism, with emotional lives and investments mediated through the allure of commodities and goods.   No longer a producer of goods, Jack exemplifies a form of domesticated passivity, alienated, and without ambition.   On the other hand, Tyler represents an embodied freedom that refuses the seductions of consumerism, while fetishizing self sufficient production from soaps to explosivesthe ultimate negative expression of which is chaos and destruction, both products of late capitalism (Giroux 12). Consumerism in Fight Club is criticized primarily as an ideological force and existential experience that weakens and domesticates men, robbing them of their primary role as producers and relegating them to mere tools of forces that control them.   The importance of this is not lost on director David Fincher, but the director is less interested in fighting oppressive forms of power than he is in exploring the ways in which men yield to it. Freedom in Fight Club is not simply preoccupied with the de-politicized self, it also lacks a language for translating private troubles into public rage, and as such succumbs to the cult of immediate sensations in which freedom degenerates into collective impotence.   Moreover, consumerism, for David Fincher, can only function with the libidinal economy of repression, particularly as it rearticulates the male body away from the visceral experiences of pain, coercion, and violence to the more â€Å"feminized† notions of empathy, compassion, and trust.   Hence, masculinity is defined in opposition to both femininity and consumerism while simultaneously refusing to take up either in a dialectical and critical way. When not making a political statement, Fight Club functions less as a critique of capitalism than as a defense of authoritarian masculinity wedded to the immediacy of pleasure sustained through violence and abuse.   Survival of the fittest becomes the clarion call for legitimating dehumanizing forms of violence as a source of pleasure and sociality. Pleasure in this context has little to do with justice, equality, and freedom than with hyper modes of competition mediated through the fantasy of violence.   More specifically, this particular rendering of pleasure is predicated on legitimating the relationship between oppression and misogyny, and masculinity gains its force through a celebration of both brutality and the denigration of the feminine.   Fight Club’s vision of liberation and politics relies on gendered and sexist hierarchies that flow directly from the consumer culture it claims to be criticizing. The anti-consumerist theme and violent escapism of the film is described by New York Times critic Janet Maslin who says: â€Å"Fight Club watches this form of escapism morph into something much more dangerous.   Tyler somehow builds a bridge from the anti-materialist rhetoric of the 1960s†¦into the kind of paramilitary dream project that Ayn Rand might have admired.†Ã‚   The over-the-top rejection of enslavement to consumerism manifests itself in a dark, sometimes pointless orgy of violence. But, there is a point to it all and a method to the madness – freedom.   The ultimate goal of the narrator, Tyler, Project Mayhem is to liberate themselves from the bonds of conformity to a culture they view as shallow and erroneous.   Though this opinion may be shared by many Generation X’ers and children of the 60s, the methods used in Fight Club are cultural rebellion to the extreme.   The freedom they achieve is largely an illusion, but justified in the words of Tyler:   â€Å"Its only after weve lost everything that were free to do anything† (Fight Club).   The movie takes two hours of stark, violent, often sexist action to reveal its message of simplicity.   However, a viewer must look past the blood, acid burns, and bone-crunching punches to find it. Works Cited:    Fight Club. Dir. David Fincher. Perf. Brad Pitt and Edward Norton. 1999. DVD. Twentieth Century Fox, 2000. Giroux, Henry. â€Å"Private Satisfactions and Public Disorders.†Ã‚   Penn State University.  Ã‚   (July 2000).   February 15, 2006.   http://www.gseis.ucla.edu/courses/ed253a/FightClub Maslin, Janet.   â€Å"Fight Club: Such a Very Long Way From Duvets to Danger.†   The New York Times.   October 15, 1999.   February 15, 2007. http://www.nytimes.com/library/film/101599fight-film-review.html.

On Leisure Theory In The Field Of Cultural Spirit :: Culture China Essays

On Leisure Theory In The Field Of Cultural Spirit ABSTRACT: China, with a large population, has its own characteristics in establishing new values for leisure. One of the most vital characteristics of leisure is that family is considered as its main subject. Therefore, strengthening the family culture has become a new conception of leisure. In the countryside, about 85 percent of the villages and towns have set up various entertainment and leisure places which reflect the family culture. In cities, people have a new conception of residence which pursues a community culture that respects people's rights and advocates an harmonious integration of human beings and nature. Meanwhile, the leisure culture has been enriched by a plan that includes bodybuilding for everyone, reading clubs, family politics studies, art appreciation and environmental protection organizations comprised mainly of volunteers. New value of the leisure of humankind is coming into being in various fields. In the 20th century, one of the greatest contributions of science and technology to the mankind is that it has freed the human beings from heavy physical labor and given the people full leisure time. With the coming of the digital era, most of the future life and state of living of the mankind will be spent in leisure time. Therefore, leisure has become an important part of the human social activities. What is leisure? What kind of inner links exist between leisure and the quality of the human life? What enlightenment can we gain from leisure, which is an implication of cultural spirit? What kind of value of leisure shall we have in the future? All the above questions need our careful consideration. Leisure refers to the time the people have after they finish necessary social labor, which is based on reduction of man-hours. Leisure is a form of the state of human life, generally including eliminating physical fatigue and gaining spiritual comfort. With the development of science and technology as well as the social advancement, leisure has provided conditions for the rich spiritual life of the people. It is said that recreation will free the people from labor. On the one side, the hardness of labor will weaken due to longer rest and recovery time; on the other side, recreation should play a role in compensating the pains caused by labor to the people, helping them find back the possibility of the physical and spiritual balance damaged by labor.

Dr. Greger’s Vehement Atkins Critique Fails the Test of Science

The vehement and vitriol-filled critique of the Atkins diet By Dr. Michael Greger contains plenty of criticism, but almost no science. Despite his litany of experts’ opinions, Dr. Greger offers no scientific basis for his criticism, and his arguments against the diet are sometimes quite specious. Dr. Gregor offers little more than a litany of â€Å"authorities† whose prima fascia condemnations of the Atkins Diet also fail the fundamental tests of science, and in many cases, illustrate the ignorance of those offering critique. Officials such as the President of the American College of Nutrition, as well as the unnamed chief health officer of Maryland are quoted with out-of-context condemnations of the diet that offer no insight as to how their conclusions are made. Chairs of various medical departments are similarly quoted, condemning the Atkins Diet as â€Å"nonsense† whose author is committing â€Å"malpractice. † In a transparent attempt at â€Å"fairness†, Dr. Greger offers some of Atkins own public statements in support of his diet, and subjects them to ridicule. Also read this  Critique of Stuff Is Not Salvation He counters Atkins’ dismissal of nutritionists by reciting another litany of professionals who have criticized the diet. Mr. Greger’s argument seems to boil down to: â€Å"here’s a list of smart people who agree with me. † Sadly, Dr. Greger’s criticism could have been done in several far more effective ways with the simple application of basic scientific method. He would have been wiser to conduct a study and offer a conclusion based on evidence, rather than relying on unsubstantiated statements by other authorities. Dr. Greger offers two hypotheses, both of which could be tested using the scientific method. The lesser of the two hypotheses is that the Atkins Diet is ineffective in its stated goal of sustained weight loss. The best way to do this would be with a controlled study of two groups, each of whom would use the Atkins Diet for a fixed period of time. Then one group, the experimental one, would continue with the diet, while the control group would abandon it. Continuing monitoring of the weight situation would then indicate whether this diet was effective in the long term, whether a person continues it or not. There are several pitfalls that one could run up against in such an experiment. First, the subject group must be one that is not using any other method of weight control (i. e. exercise, pills, etc. ). Since such a study would, by definition, be longitudinal, the experimenter would have to rely on self-report on this and other aspects of controlling variables. It is well known that self-report can yield questionable results when utilized as the sole measure of variables, particularly in an emotionally charged subject such as weight-loss. The primary dangers could be misreporting diet activities out of embarrassment. Randomization across groups should limit the corruption of data as a result of such considerations. In addition to the practical limits with long-term studies, such as subjects dropping out, and limited sample Dr. Greger in particular would be wise to be aware of the possibly of observer bias, or design bias. His own strong opinions of the efficacy and risks to the subjects of this diet would be likely to taint his conclusions and possibly the methodology itself. The second and more sweeping of Dr. Greger’s hypotheses is the notion that the Atkins Diet is hazardous to the health of the practitioners. Direct experimentation or even observation of existing data would be extremely problematic. Obviously, subjecting Human subjects to a hypothetically harmful diet would be considered to be unethical, and basing conclusions on antidotal or even â€Å"case study† data contains its own sets of hazards. In Dr. Greger’s case, he would be almost certain to â€Å"cherry-pick† cases that support his hypothesis. This may prove to be especially difficult given that most people, upon developing negative health consequences from a diet, would likely stop using the diet. The best way for Dr. Greger to test this second hypothesis would be to simply take existing data on nutritional necessities for long-term health, and determine if the Atkins Diet calls for nutrition that reflects these requirements. In that way, Dr. Gereger would be able to point to some data, rather than relying on the opinions of experts in the field. While consensus of opinion in the scientific community can be a compelling argument for a particular hypothesis, by itself, it fails to persuade nearly as much as would the sensible application of the scientific method.

The Characteristics and Formation of Meanders

Meanders are sinuous bends in a river's middle and lower courses. In low flow conditions, alternating pools and riffles are formed along the river bed. The river channel is deeper in pools so it has greater energy and more erosive power. Energy is lost as the river flows over a riffle because of friction. These cause the river's flow to become uneven and maximum flow to be concentrated on one side of the river, causing lateral erosion on one side, creating an outer concave bank.Deposition takes place on the other side of the bend, creating a convex bank. The cross-section of a meander is asymmetrical. The outer bank forms a river cliff or a bluff with a deep pool close to the bank, mainly because of the fast flow, hydraulic action and abrasion. The inner bank is a gently sloping deposit of sand and gravel, called a point bar. Meanders are maintained by a surface flow of water across to the concave outer bank with a balancing subsurface return flow back to the convex inner bank.This c orkscrew-like movement of water is called helicoidal flow. In this way, eroded material from the outer bank is transported away and deposited on the inner bank. The combination of erosion and deposition exaggerates the bends until large meanders are formed. Sometimes, oxbow lakes are formed when the neck of the loop of a meander is broken through, and the new cut eventually becomes the main channel, leaving the formed channel sealed off by deposition.

The Bennett Surname, From Medieval Given Name Benedict

The Bennett Surname, From Medieval Given Name Benedict The Bennett surname derives from the medieval given name Benedict, originating from the Latin benedictus, meaning blessed. The name became popular due to St. Benedict in the Middle Ages. Bennett is the 78th most popular surname in the United States and its surname origin is English.  The meaning of the surname can change depending on ancestry and country of origin. Discover the following alternate spellings and genealogy resources for the surname Bennet. Alternate Surname Spellings BennetBenedictBenedickBendickBeneitBenoitBennitBenet Genealogy Resources 100 Most Common U.S. Surnames Their Meanings: Smith, Johnson, Williams, Jones, Brown... Are you one of the millions of Americans sporting one of these top 100 common last names from the 2000 census?Bennett DNA Surname Project: Join over 270 members of the Bennett DNA surname  project working to bring together genealogists who are researching the Bennett surname (primarily in America), with an emphasis on the use of DNA testing.Bennett  Family Crest - Its Not What You Think: Contrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as a Bennett  family crest or coat of arms for the Bennett surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.  Bennett Family Genealogy Forum: Search this popular genealogy forum for the Bennett surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Bennett query.FamilySearc h - Bennett Genealogy: Access over 6.7  million free historical records and lineage-linked family trees posted for the Bennett surname and its variations on this free genealogy website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Bennett Surname Family Mailing Lists: RootsWeb hosts several free mailing lists for researchers of the Bennett  surname. In addition to joining a list, you can also browse or search the archives to explore over a decade of postings for the Bennett surname.DistantCousin.com - Bennett Genealogy Family History: Explore free databases and genealogy links for the last name Bennett.GeneaNet - Bennett Records: GeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Bennett surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries.The Bennett  Genealogy and Family Tree Page: Browse genealogy records and links to genealogical and historical records for individuals with the Bennett surname  from the website of Genealogy Today. References Cottle, Basil. Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore: Penguin Books, 1967.Menk, Lars. A Dictionary of German Jewish Surnames. Bergenfield, NJ: Avotaynu, 2005.Beider, Alexander. A Dictionary of Jewish Surnames from Galicia.  Bergenfield, NJ:  Avotaynu, 2004.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges. A Dictionary of Surnames. New York: Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick. Dictionary of American Family Names. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.Hoffman, William F. Polish Surnames: Origins and Meanings.  Chicago:  Polish Genealogical Society, 1993.Rymut, Kazimierz. Nazwiska Polakow.  Wroclaw: Zaklad Narodowy im. Ossolinskich - Wydawnictwo, 1991.Smith, Elsdon C. American Surnames. Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Florida Bright Futures Requirements SAT, ACT, GPA, and More

Florida Bright Futures Requirements SAT, ACT, GPA, and More SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The Florida Bright Futures Scholarship programs are awesome education funding options for Florida state residents- if you can get through the application process, that is. The scholarships offered are particularly nitpicky and tedious about their eligibility requirements: the official handbook outlining these criteria is its own 14-page book chapter. Not to worry! I’ve outlined all the eligibility criteria for Florida Bright Futures Scholarships (general and specific, for each scholarship, with every single exception or special circumstance) in a way that’s a bit easier to get through. I’ve also included information about when to expect notification about your eligibility. Once you’re considered eligible, you’re one (big) step closer to winning a Bright Futures Scholarship. After you’ve processed all this information, I’ll get to the good stuff- how to increase your chances of winning your own Bright Futures award. What Are the Bright Futures Scholarships? Before we dive into eligibility for Bright Futures Scholarships, let's first briefly go over what the scholarships themselves offer. There are three different scholarship programs, all with different eligibility requirements and award amounts. Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) - This is the most competitive Bright Futures scholarship and the most generous one. It's geared towards â€Å"A students." FAS winners canreceive funding for the entire duration of their course of study. Florida Merit Scholars (FMS) - This scholarship is less competitive than the FAS, but it still has relatively high minimum test score and GPA requirements. It's geared towards "B students." FMS winners canreceive funding for the entire duration of their course of study. Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV) - This scholarship helps students pursuepost-high school vocational and certificate degrees. It's the least competitive award and provides the least amount of funding. GSV winners can receive scholarship funding for up to 72 credit hours of a technical degree program or career certificate program or up to 60 credit hours of an applied technology degree program. General Bright Futures Requirements There are a few different Bright Futures awards, but these blanket requirements apply to all of them (unless otherwise mentioned later on in the post). In order to qualify for one of these awards, you must: Be a Florida state resident and US citizen or eligible noncitizen (noncitizen eligibility is determined by your college) Complete the Florida Financial Aid Application (FFAA) by 8/31 the year of your high school graduation Earn a standard Florida high school diploma or its equivalent from a Florida public high school or a registered Florida Department of Education private school Not have been convicted of (or pleaded no contest to) a felony charge Be accepted by and enroll in a degree or certificate program at an eligibleFlorida public or independent postsecondary institution Be enrolled for at least six (non-remedial) credit hours per term If you meet all of the above requirements, you're on the right track to getting your own Florida Bright Futures awards. Specific Scholarship Requirements The different Bright Futures scholarship awards have slightly different academic eligibility requirements. Use this info to determine which scholarship award might be the best match for you. Florida Academic Scholars (FAS) and Florida Medallion Scholars (FMS) Requirements There are certain minimum requirements for high school coursework, GPA, ACT/SAT scores, and service hours that must be met to qualify for either of these programs. You'll have to meet the requirements in all of these domains in order to be eligible for an award. If you've won another academic award, you may have an easier time qualifying for an FAS or FMS award- I'll talk about why and how after discussing allacademic requirements. Coursework We'll start off with the easiest of the eligibility criteria- I've laid out here all the high school classes you need to have taken in order to qualify for an award. The good news is that most high schools require students to take these classes anyways, so barring any special circumstances, you should meet these requirements. This chart outlines coursework requirements for both the FAS and FMS scholarships: High School Course Credits Required Comments English 4 Three must include substantial writing Mathematics 4 Must be at or above Algebra I level Natural Science 3 Two must have substantial lab work Social Science 3 World Language* 2 Must be sequential, and in the same language * A note about the World Language requirements: if you haven't taken the necessary courses, youcan meet this requirement by demonstrating proficiency on credit-by-exam equivalencies or other â€Å"university-approved† means. What this means is if you can test out of your language in college, you’ll probably also meet this language requirement even if you didn’t take two sequential language courses in high school. GPA, ACT/SAT, and Service Hours You'll need to demonstrate a degree of academic and community service excellence in order to qualify for either the FAS or FMS programs. You'll notice, though, that the FMS program is a bit less competitive in its minimum requirements. I've laid all of these eligibility criteria out in one chart so you can easily compare requirements for both programs: SCHOLARSHIP WEIGHTED GPA MINIMUM ACT MINIMUM SAT MINIMUM SERVICE HOURS FAS 3.50 29 1290 100 hours FMS 3.00 26 70 75 hours FMS- Homeschooled students without official transcripts 3.00 27 1220 75 hours A few important notes: You'll only need to submit scores from one standardized test- you don't need to meet score requirements for both the SAT and the ACT The SAT/ACT minimums do not include the writing section. All service hours must be completed by your high school graduation in order to count for the award. Future Changes to SAT Requirements The SAT requirements listed above are only valid for students graduating high school through 2020.Florida legislature recently passed a billthat will raise the SAT minimums for students graduating in 2021 and beyond. It's estimated that the SAT minimum forFAS will be raised from 1290 to 1330 andFMS from 70 to 1200. (The homeschooled FMS SAT requirement will likely be raised as well, but the exact amount hasn't been determined yet.) Here are some alternative options for those who like to venture off the beaten path. Other Ways to Qualify for the FAS or FMS Programs If you’ve received academic recognition through some other program, you may be eligible for the Florida Bright Futures Scholarship programs even if you don’t meet a few requirements. This chart outlines the eligibility requirements for scholars who have been recognized by any of the programs listed below. If a box is blank, that means thatyou would be exempt from that particular requirement. Program Florida Scholarship ACT/SAT Score Minimums Service Hours Minimums National Merit/National Achievement Finalists and Scholars FAS 100 hours NM/NA Finalists Scholars FMS 75 hours National Hispanic Scholars FAS 100 hours National Hispanic Scholars FMS 75 hours AICE Diploma FAS 100 hours AICE Diploma FMS 75 hours IB Diploma FAS AICE Curriculum FAS 29 or 1290 100 hours AICE Curriculum FMS 26 or 70 75 hours IB Curriculum FAS 29 or 1290 IB Curriculum FMS 26 or 70 If you have an IB diploma, you're in luck- that diploma is the only way to qualify for the FAS program without an ACT/SAT minimum or service hour minimum. Gold Seal Vocational Scholars (GSV) Requirements The GSV program is a bit less competitive in terms of its academic eligibility requirements than the FAS or FMS programs. Although this makes it a great fit for some students, keep in mind that the GSV award can only be used to fund a career education or certificate program- no four year college degrees. In order to qualify for the GSV program, you must meet all of the following criteria: Must graduate from high school with a standard diploma Must have a minimum unweighted 3.0 GPA in non-elective high school courses Must complete 30 service hours by high school graduation Must take at least three full credits in a single career and technical education program Must achieve a minimum 3.5 unweighted GPA in your career education classes There are also some minimum test score requirements for GSV applicants; if you’ve taken both the SAT and the ACT, you unfortunately can’t mix and match section subscores between the two tests to meet minimums; you can, however, superscore across multiple test dates for the same test (e.g., if you take the SAT twice). All minimums must be met for either the SAT or ACT (but ultimately, you only have to take either the SAT or the ACT!) This chart outlines GSV test score minimums: Exam Subsection Score Minimum ACT English 17 Reading 19 Math 19 SAT Critical Reading 440 Math 440 P.E.R.T Reading 106 Writing 103 Math 4 Want to learn more about the SAT but tired of reading blog articles? Then you'll love our free SAT prep livestreams. Designed and led by PrepScholar SAT experts, these live video events are a great resource for students and parents looking to learn more about the SAT and SAT prep. Click on the button below to register for one of our livestreams today! Special Circumstances: What If You Don't Think You Qualify? Feeling left out of all the scholarship fun? You could still be eligible! As you can see, the eligibility requirements for the Florida Bright Futures awards are quite specific. Perhaps fortunately for you, there are just as many exceptions to these rules as there are actual rules. If you were homeschooled, have a GED, or live out of state, you still might qualify for the award even given the stringent criteria described above. Homeschooled Students If you were homeschooled and don't have a Florida state standard diploma, you still may qualify for a Bright Futures award if: You meet all of the general requirements described at the beginning of this post You were registered in the district where you live for grades -12 GED Students In order to qualify for a Bright Futures award as a GED student, you mustmeet the coursework requirements and GPA requirements outlined at the beginning of this post before taking the GED exam.The processof applying or qualifying for an award won't be much different than that of a student with a standard high school diploma. Just keep in mind thatyour eligibility for a scholarship will be determined in the academic year in which your GED is earned. Out-of-State Students Usually, only Florida residents can qualify for the Florida Bright Futures scholarships (not a huge surprise there).If you earned a high school diploma from a non-Florida school while living with a parent or guardian who was on military or public service assignment outside of Florida, you may still be eligible.Keep in mind, though, that this parent must be a Florida resident. When Do You Learn Whether You're Deemed Eligible for a Bright Futures Scholarship? These eligibility qualifications above are tedious, to say the least. There are a couple of different official steps in place to determining program eligibility- these are implemented in order to make sure you’re checking off all the right boxes. Early Evaluations One option that the Bright Futures scholarship program offers is an early eligibility evaluation. If you submit transcripts and test scores to the Florida Department of Education early in your 7th semester of high school (think late winter your senior year), you’ll receive an â€Å"eligibility or ineligibility determination.† These eligibility decisions should be posted starting in March. Although an ineligible determination is not ideal, it may save you a good chunk of time- you won’t have to submit a whole application for a scholarship program that you won’t be considered for. Final Evaluations Once your final transcripts are submitted after your graduate high school, you’ll get an eligibility determination posted to your online account. The scholarship program will begin posting these determinations in July. How Do You Optimize Your Eligibility Chances? Ready to get started? Now that you know all about the Florida Bright Futures eligibility rules, you can start working on maximizing your chances of winning a scholarship.Many of the important eligibility requirements are long-term considerations, in the sense that you’ll have to plan out and work for the requirements starting your freshman year of high school. Here, I'll go through all the award criteria, giving tips and strategies to meet minimum coursework, GPA, test score, and service hour minimums. Coursework Like I mentioned earlier, most high schools require students to take the courses necessary to qualify for the Bright Futures awards. If you’re worried you won’t meet the course requirements criteria, schedule a meeting with your guidance counselor ASAP to see if you can work in extra course credits before graduation. GPA GPA requirements are easier to meet when they’ve been maintained over several years. If you’re just missing the GPA cutoff requirements, you should consider: Whether your GPA is weighted or unweighted.A weighted GPA will be higher than an unweighted one if you’ve taken any advanced or honors classes. Seeing your teachers after class or after school for extra help in your weaker subject areas. Asking your teachers if there are any extra credit projects or assignments you can complete in order to bring up your grades. The GPA requirement is lower for the FMS than the FAS scholarship- if you don’t meet the criteria forthe FAS, you may meet them for the FMS. ACT/SAT Test scores might be a sticking point for many students.The ACT/SAT minimums for both the FMS and FAS scholarship are pretty high- for example, the ACT scores required are at the 93rd and 87th percentiles. Here's what you can do to increase your chances of meeting those minimum scores: Start preparing for and taking the tests early on in high school. There’s no maximum number of times you can take the test in order to qualify for the scholarship. If you’re worried about achieving these test scores, plan on starting your sophomore year if possible. Decide whether you’re better off taking the SAT or ACT. Focus on one test instead of trying to do well on both. Don't have a lot of time to bring up your scores? Check out our ACT and SAT fast prep guides. Service Hours It would not be fun to try to fit in 75-100 service hours in the few months before high school graduation (remember that your service hours all have to be completed before you get your diploma). If you start volunteering as a freshman, you’ll only have to volunteer for an hour every 2-3 weeks in order to meet these minimums; if you start as a senior, however, you’ll have to volunteer 1.5-2 hours every week. So how do you stay on track? Find something that you're passionate about. Are there any interests that you want to explore, especially any related to future career paths? You could gain service hours and professional experience at the same time. Ask friends or family members if there are any service activities that they would recommend. Maybe you could volunteer together! Volunteer at the same time, on the same day, every week. Having a set schedule will help you keep your commitment. Don’t be afraid to switch it up. You have 75-100 required community service hours, but they don’t all have to be at the same place. If you’re losing interest, or if something just isn’t a good fit, it’s okay to try something else. Don’t just switch it up for the sake of switching, though- appearing flaky could hurt potential professional development and even your college applications. Volunteer with an established, legitimate agency. You want an organization that’s reliable enough to provide good documentation of your service hours when asked. Keep your own records of service hours as a backup. What's Next? Need more information on Bright Futures scholarships?Our guide to Bright Futures Scholarship programs answers all the questions you're wondering about. Ready to get started on your Bright Futures application?Follow our step-by-step guide on Bright Futures applications for all the information you need to create a top-notch application. Interested in more community service ideas? Check out our guide to 129 great community service projects. You may alsobe interested in other community service-based scholarships. Want to improve your SAT score by 160points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Gangs in Canada Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gangs in Canada - Essay Example Further, Carrington presents an analysis of data that suggests that gang participation and indeed, group participation in crime if relatively low in Canada. One of the critique's that will be raised in relation to Carrington's argument, is that he does not take into consideration the relatively low amount of gun crime in Canada. Therefore, the hypothesis that will be pursued, will ask, is there a correlation or causal relationship between (a) strict gun laws and little gun manufacturing, (b) a low incidence of violent gun crime, and finally, (c) the relatively low-incidence of gang crime in Canada? Carrington establishes a number of important conclusions in his study titled: â€Å"Group crime in Canada† (2002), is that relative to the past and relative to other geographical locations, gang-related crime is low in Canada. Before addressing how he approaches the causes of gang and group crime, some remarks on the methodology and data used by Carrington. One of the more important methodological concerns, regards where the data comes from that leads Carrington to the conclusions that he makes. The data collection for Carrington's analysis, comes from the UCR2 data-set which is compiled by the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics [Carrington, 2002]. ... Carrington points out that the total amount of possible crimes that his sample set covers, is actually only â€Å"14 percent† [Carrington, 2002] of the total crimes. Further, and as he notes in the end-notes, the sample is of course, only the crimes for which an allegation or a conviction was made [Carrington, 2002]. In other words, he is acknowledging there is a limitation with regard to focusing only on convictions, and therefore, also includes allegations, the author is acknowledging that this is not capturing the entire picture. Unquestionably, the crime that goes undetected is not captured in Carrington's data, and this is one of the problems that he openly acknowledges. Further, Carrington also points out that there is a limitation because the data only amounts to 14 percent of the total crimes that have occurred between 1992 and 1999. Among the 21 categories of crime that Carrington presents, he points out that â€Å"24 percent of offenders in the present sample offend ed with identified accomplices† [Carrington, 2002]. Further, this is not only a low number in contrast to the total amount of data collected in the 21 categories of crime, it is also a number that is low in relation to past statistics but also very different across geographical divides. The general areas examined, include Gender, Age, type of Crime, which includes how â€Å"serious† [Carrington, 2002] , and finally, the â€Å"degree of harm† [Carrington, 2002] caused by the crime. As Carrington points out, the degree of harm is actually the determining factor for how â€Å"serious† the crime is. Which is why it is being mentioned here as a sub-group or sub-category of information that is presented by Carrington. As mentioned in the introduction, one of the short-comings of Carrington's