Thursday, January 30, 2020

Behaviour Self Management Essay Example for Free

Behaviour Self Management Essay Behaviour Self-Management Project to Increase Studying Behaviour Behaviour Modification is a technique or approach used by behavioural psychologists to modify a particular behaviour and is largely used in a clinical or educational setting, particularly with those with learning disabilities (Atherton, 2011). Moreover, it also considered to be a treatment approach, as it substitutes undesirable behaviours with desired ones through the process of positive or negative reinforcement (Gary, 1988). Furthermore, behaviour modification has been used to treat numerous mental problems such as obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), phobias, enuresis, generalised anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder and many more. Subsequently, this technique has also been used to correct maladaptive behaviours by changing undesirable behaviours such as smoking, overeating, nail biting and others, as it aims to encourage the substitution of good behaviours such as studying, weight loss and etc (O’Donohue and Ferguson, 2006). The principles of behaviour modification were first developed by B. F Skinner, who had formulated the concept of operant conditioning. Skinner, had developed the concept of positive reinforcement or punishment, whereby behaviours are changed or encouraged through a reward system. Furthermore, the operant conditioning theory also states that for learning to occur, it is important that the subject is an active participant (Sheldon, 1982). In addition, behaviour modification was also formulated by Ivan Pavlov and is famously known as classical conditioning, as it is merely based on a stimuli-response formula. Besides that, Albert Bandura also contributed to behaviour modification principles, through his theory of social modelling (Baldwin Baldwin, 1981). The theory states that learning occurs as a result of copying or imitating other people, and is termed as vicarious learning. Additionally, the theory also states that external reinforcers are important because it enables learning to occur independently of the reinforcements. Consequently, behaviour modification underlies a number of theoretical positions such that human behaviour can easily be influenced by the presentation of consequences and could be strengthened if the behaviour is followed by rewards, as well as substandard if followed by negative consequences (Guez Allen, 2000). Moreover, human behaviour is not only controlled by internal factors, but is also driven by external factors such as social rewards like praises or gifts. Thus, the principles of behaviour modification is different compared to other techniques in changing behaviours, because it addresses the surrounding factors as well as individual factors that can promote or derail behaviour change. Additionally, behaviour modification has also proved its effectiveness in increasing student’s appropriate classroom behaviours. A study had employed behaviour modification in two second grade Negro girls in a demonstration school for the culturally deprived (Wasik, Senn, Welch, Cooper, 1969). Data collected in the study was based on type, duration, and frequency of teacher’s verbal interactions with the student. The study also had implemented an ABAB design, whereas treatment included positive social reinforcement when appropriate behaviours occurred. Punishment had included the use of timeout from social reinforcements, as these behaviours were contingent on inappropriate attention getting behaviours. It was observed that after 25 days, desirable behaviour in the classroom had increased remarkably from 80. % in baseline to 99. 20% in treatment and continued to remain high even after three months. Therefore, this shows that behaviour modification is an effective method to increase desirable behaviours. Target Behaviour It is essential and important that the target behaviour an individual wants to change is operationally defined. The particular behaviour would also require assessment, through collection of the baseline data. Furthermore, the behaviour that I want to change is to increase my studying behaviour, which is a behavioural deficit. Ever since I was in school, I was always known to study towards the end of the semester and could generally be considered as last minute studying. Subsequently, I would tend to be easily distracted by external stimuli such as watching movies or series on the computer, calling up friends and talking for hours as well as easily persuaded to go out. I have been known since young to be very outgoing, thus whenever friends call and ask me to meet up with them, I am bound to go. Therefore, it usually delays my ability to follow my studying schedule that I have created before the semester starts. Moreover, my main antecedent that unable me to complete my suggested two hours studying per night every weekday is also because I have a tendency to download movies or series on the computer and wasting 4 hours or more watching it. There are also consequences that I face because of my procrastination to study, because after watching these series, I would only tend to study less than an hour or not at all if I am tired. Consequently, I would cram all the materials during study week and end up being exhausted. This also is a reason as to why I tend to get ill during exam week, because it causes me to have high level of stress and in turn would affect my health. Hence, these are valid reasons as to why I feel like I need to change my behaviour and start studying more hours as I should so that I would not be stressed out during exams. Besides that, stress could also cause ulcers and the common cold, which in turn could be a setback to me during exam week as I am prone to get ulcers. Additionally, it would also allow me to focus more to improve my grade ratings to my expectations as I will soon complete my undergraduate program. Other than that, increasing my studying behaviour would also allow me to get sufficient sleep and rest for the upcoming exam and it would also benefit me in terms of managing my time efficiently. Method Design The design that I have chosen for this particular self management project is the ABAB reversal design. This design represents the attempt to first measure the baseline, the treatment that follows the initial baseline, the introduction of the second baseline as well as the reintroduction of the treatment again. Additionally, this method of application helps identify the effects of treatment and measure what happens when treatment is removed. Hence, this research design would help establish whether functional relationship exists between the target behaviour and intervention. Materials The materials used in this project include a structured diary that is recorded in the computer, behaviour contract, handphone, post-it notes, playing cards and reminders. Procedure Additionally, for this particular behaviour modification project, the operational definition is first defined as reading pages from the textbook and underlining as well as understanding sentences in the text and reading notes from the lectures for two hours. Furthermore, the behaviour would be recorded through self monitoring during baseline and treatment period as the behaviour does not occur frequently throughout the day and it only occurs during the period when no one else is around to observe. The observational period is recorded in the natural setting, which is in the study room at my home, and it is where studying behaviour typically occurs. The type of behavioural recording used is the duration recording, whereby studying behaviour is observed for two hours, between 8. 30p. m to 10. 0p. m on weekdays only. Next, in order to increase studying behaviour during weekdays, a generalised conditioned reinforcer, which is the token economy system is used because it reinforces the behaviour and minimises the need to use reactive strategies to deal with setbacks as well as it enables the ability to pair up with a variety of other reinforcers. In addition, the token economy is a playing card with my housemate’s signature on it, and one card would be given each day, whenever the desired behaviour occurred at least 2 hours a day. Furthermore, the acquired tokens would be eligible to trade with certain privileges and would be forfeited if the behaviour does not meet the expected requirements. Hence, a variety of backup reinforces are used in exchange with the accumulated playing cards on every Friday to determine the type of privileges that would be given and further information is provided in the behavioural contract (Appendix A). Besides that, punishment would be provided if I fail to meet the expected requirement. Additionally, the schedule of reinforcement chosen for this particular project is fixed interval, whereby studying behaviour is reinforced only if it occurs for at least two hours. The behaviour occurrence would also be recorded in the computer, as the behaviour occurs at home in the study room. Besides that, during the treatment period, my friends and housemate have also promised to give me social support and reinforcements. In addition, various types of response and stimulus prompts are also used in this project. Verbal prompts such as reminders to study are used by friends and housemates to evoke the desired behaviour in myself. They will do this by not persuading me to go out with them and reminding me to study instead. Furthermore, environmental prompts are also used in this project such as post its on the mirror, computer in the study room and class file that I carry to class every day, as well as using the hand phone to set alarm to study. In addition, within prompt fading was used in the second treatment period, for response prompts, whereby friends and boyfriend provided fewer verbal prompts as the week progressed during treatment period. Next, stimulus fading was also used in the second treatment period for environmental prompts, whereby on the first day, removal of alarm clock would be used and for subsequent days, one post its would be removed from either the mirror, computer or class file until the last day of treatment. Results The baseline and treatment data was collected for a period of four weeks and intervention was applied during treatment 1 and treatment 2. Figure 1: Studying behaviour in baseline and treatment weeks. Figure 1 shows that during the first baseline, studying behaviour did not occur at all for the first two days, one hour for the third, again none on the fourth and two hours on the fifth day. Hence, the average studying hours for the first baseline week is 0. 4 hours or 24 minutes. Furthermore, this could be clearly seen in the structured diary attached for the first baseline (Appendix B). Next, intervention took place in the second week, whereby various strategies were used to increase studying behaviour. Results showed that studying behaviour had occurred for two hours for the first and second day, one hour for the third day, two hours for the fourth day, and none on the fifth day. This shows that studying behaviour had increased to an average of 1. 4 hours a day and that there was an increase of 50% from the initial baseline to the treatment period. Moreover, the self management project had returned to baseline on the third week and results showed that studying behaviour had occurred for 2. hours on the first day, one hour on the second, none on the third and fourth and two hours on the fifth day. Thus, the average studying behaviour was 1. 1 hours a day for the second baseline period. Although the average hours were less compared to the treatment period, however, there was definitely an increase compared to the first baseline period, whereby average hours were only 0. 4 hours. Next, intervention was again applied and the second treatment results showed that studying behaviour occurred for one hour on the first day, 2. hours on the second, two hours on the third, one hour on the fourth, and two hours on the fifth day. Hence, the average studying hours is approximately 1. 7 hours a day. Thus, this also shows that there is an increase of studying behaviour between the second baseline and second treatment period. Besides that, there is also a staggering increase from the initial baseline and second treatment period, that precedes to fluctuate in the second baseline, when intervention was removed. Discussion  The behaviour modification project to increase studying behaviour was definitely a success because the graphs showed an increase in hours of studying as compared to the baseline data, thus indicating that there us a functional relationship between the target behaviour and the procedure. Furthermore, it is clear that the token economy system was a contributor to the success of increasing studying behaviour because once token economy was removed in the second baseline; the target behaviour had decreased tremendously. In addition, the target behaviour had increased when the second intervention was applied in the fourth week. Moreover, the use of reinforcements and punishment also helped me to keep myself motivated and determined to achieve the weekly goal that was set. Besides that, the use of within stimulus fading helped me generalise my behaviour to the subsequent weeks ahead, hence I had gradually adjusted myself with getting used to having less and less prompts throughout the week. However, there were also some limitations in this project, whereby, the duration of treatment intervention is too short to allow the behaviour to fully adjust and be generalised without the use of prompts. In addition, self monitoring was used during observation of behaviour for the baseline data. Observer may not be trained enough to record her own behaviour, hence data may not be as reliable as compared to having an inter rater observation. Moreover, the implementation of reinforcement contingency was my housemate, and sometimes the reinforcements were given a day later because she is not around. This has affected the effectiveness of the token as a reinforcing consequence as some deliveries of the token did not occur immediately after the response occurred according to the expected schedule. Furthermore, due to the delay between the response and token, it could have also affected the connection strength of the behaviour. In conclusion, behaviour modification is definitely an effective treatment method to help increase, decrease or develop new behaviours and it is applicable to use in a variety of problematic behaviours.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Evaluation of Blood Brothers, by Willy Russell Essay -- Blood Brothers

Evaluation of Blood Brothers On 3rd March I went to the Phoenix Theatre in West End to watch a production of one of Willy Russell's greatest plays, Blood Brothers. â€Å"Blood Brothers† is set in Liverpool in the early eighties. The play follows the life of two main characters: Eddie Lyons and Mickey Johnstone, who are twins split at birth. In Blood Brothers the characters fall into two stereotypical groups: the working class and the upper-middle class. The reason the play focuses on the difference in class is that the play was written in the reign of Margaret Thatcher who told the people of Great Britain to look after themselves, and that there is no such thing as a society. Willy Russell was against this way of thinking and wrote plays opposing it. Mrs. Johnstone is a typical working class woman who lives on her own and spends more money than she earns. Mrs. Lyons is a typical upper-middle class woman, married and doesn't want her possessions being contaminated by the filth of the world, the working class. Mickey, the twin that was kept by Mrs. Johnstone, is an archetypical lower class boy, dirty ripped clothes and a mouth like a sewer. Edward however is a stereotypical upper-middle class boy, smart, clean uniform that uses correct English grammar. These are the four main characters, although there is one more character that plays a significant role in the musical, the narrator. The job of the narrator in this play is to set the scene and bring aspects of superstition into the play. He does this through his songs and his dialogue. It seems slightly ironic that although the Johnstone family is very poor they start off cheerfully, compared to the Lyons who are rich and never seem happy. This mak... ...projection of the tree on the floor. At the tensest moments the lights dimmed and a spotlight was put on the narrator to add dramatic tension. The actors worked very well, the fact that adult actors played children characters was barely noticeable. This is probably due to the costumes that the actors wore. The actors that played the two boys I feel were especially good because not only did they have to look different ages throughout the play but they acted the ages as well. I feel this musical as a whole was excellent, there was very good uses of the dramatic techniques and staging techniques used by the Phoenix theatre. Overall I enjoyed the play and would recommend it to people that enjoy plays where they don’t have to follow on every detail in order to understand it. The way the narrator ties everything together makes the story line make sense.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

A comparative study of the regions

A comparative study of the regions –Bordeaux and Burgundy Wine as an alcohol beverage is made by a complex and fascinating process, which includes pressing the fruits or berries, fermentation the Juice, then through chemicals composed of certain kinds of alcohols, pigments, vitamins, sugar, several minerals and more than 22 organic acids (Maynard 1965). Bordeaux and Burgundy are two of the most well-known and fabulous regions of France. Those top French regions have a long history, strong culture of wine and also possess a large amount of the most famous chateaus.However, Burgundy and Bordeaux regions both have he their own unique characters and styles of the wine. In addition, the varieties of grapes for making wine also differ a lot. The grape and the certainly of style, quantity and quality of the wine is enormously influenced by weather events occurring in every growing season, terrain and so on. This essay provides a brief overview of the difference between Burgundy and B ordeaux region from a geographical, cultural and winemaking point of view.In addition, it also discusses a specific type of grape, which is Pinot Noir, and the reason why it is the main red grape in Burgundy and not Cabernet Sauvignon. Since the first century AD, Bordeaux began to plant grapes along with the wine industry in this region began to develop as well Geoff 2010). Bordeaux is located in the southwestern region of France, north of the Quatrain region and near the Atlantic coast. The river Gardener divided the Bordeaux city into two parts, the east is the right band and the other side in the west is left bank, due to the bend of the river location.The left bank contributes to wine business trading, since streaming outside the bend. It contributes to business transactions because the river formed a deep enough arrow to allow the passing of merchant ships, which used to dock and offload alongside the river. Even tough chateaux in this region produced the largest amount of firs t-rate wine than the other worldwide of winemaking. However, the quality of the wine varies year-to-year, even season-to-season and uncertainty about the vintage, which attribute to the geographical region.Bordeaux region is located between west longitude | 0 17 â€Å"to the east longitude 0 0 19† and north latitude 44 0 48 â€Å"to 45 0 35†, which belongs to temperate maritime climate with hot summers and cold winters without extremes of temperature (Holiday Weather 2014). Figure 1 and figure 2 respectively show the average minimum and maximum temperature over the year and average monthly precipitation over the year (rainfall, snow) in Bordeaux. Figure 1: World Weather and Climate Information, 2013, Average minimum and maximum temperature over the year, World Weather and Climate Information, viewed 3 April 2014, Figure 2: World Weather and Climate Information, 2013, Average monthly precipitation over the year (rainfall, snow), World Weather and Climate Information, R ainfall-Temperature-Sunshine,Bordeaux,France> In the mild and humid springtime from March to May, it provides sufficient supply of moisture for early growth grapes. However, too much dampness might be a major problem. The most serious one was in 1991, which had a very high humidity, the vines appeared gray mold and betroths mold, resulting in greatly reduced in wine production (Bill 2014).Summers in Bordeaux are usually filled with a good level of sunshine and heat, but not excessive high temperature due to proximity to the Atlantic Ocean. The climate becomes chilling and one could see quite a bit of rain falling in heavy showers since September. Cold rain and strong breeze usually hit the region in January. During the winter, cold winds from the Atlantic often blow into the vineyards and might damage the vineyard, but forested hills and ridges in Bordeaux also played essential role to slow down the strong winds or change the direction much more.The geology of this area contains sev eral kinds of soil, which comprises of gravel, clay and limestone. Among them, the mountain area is gravel soil. The Gardener flows through the Bordeaux region, which offers the irrigation water. In addition, the region s in the temperate maritime climate zone, which provide the fantastic geographical condition for planting grapes. Also, Burgundy has a good long lasting reputation as early as Roman times and is one of the oldest wine regions (Wine Guide 2013). The wine industry has been developed vigorously, since Charlemagne began large-scale cultivation of grapes.Burgundy is located in the northeastern inland France, between Dijon and Lyon, which is a more northern location than Bordeaux. Figure 3: Chew Nouns, 2013, Average temperature and rainfall for Burgundy, the Direct Route to the Real France, viewed 4 April 2014, It longs to a typical continental climate. However, the range of temperature changes a lot as the altitude and latitude vary due to the strip-shaped of Burgundy. Th e temperature in the southern part is slightly higher (roughly two degrees on average). From April to October, the temperature is relatively high but not too hot.It could reach the highest temperatures during July and August along with the rainfall averaging mom per month, then the temperature turns cold in the autumn, a mom increase in the monthly rainfall on average, and accompanied by thunderstorms. In old winters, the rainfall decreases to mom per month on average. This is not the optimum condition for planting grapes, by right, along with the location in the central mountain of France. The really high latitude is inappropriate for growing grapes. However, Burgundy has cultivated and brewed such a lot of good variety of grapes and wine.The reason is that most of the Burgundy vineyards are located in the south or south-facing gentle slope, which is better resistance to the frost damage and avoid the mistral, and use the thermal from the sun effectively. Those reasons make Burgund y better in planting grapes. Another main factor is the soil, which plays an important role in wine planting. The terrain feature of Burgundy present strip-shaped from north to south, which contributes to big differences in style between the north and south. The northern Chablis region is close to limited terrain condition of viticulture.In Burgundy, the origin of geology and the chemical structure of soil are diversified from the north to the south. However, there is still a certain unifying feature on geology and soil structure, which its sedimentary soil makes up of clay, marl and limestone. The structure has been formed for fifteen million years since the Jurassic time. In addition, the composition of soil in Burgundy is varied, but mainly is calcareous soil. This kind of soil is most favored by Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The elite position of those vineyards is located in the Golden Hill area, on the sunny eastern-facing slope.Although, in the fascinating world of wine, both Bo rdeaux and Burgundy have a long history in winemaking since at least 500 BC and strong wine culture, but different cultural and historical backgrounds created different traditions and ideas, resulting n two different kinds of great French wines. Classification system between Burgundy and Bordeaux region are the major difference related to culture. Since 1855, Bordeaux has been classified based on price, while Burgundy has been classified based on terror (Benjamin 2010).In the year of 1855, two events established contrasting styles for classifying and ranking wine, and the results have reverberated ever since. The classification of the Medic wine is the most noted one, which not only set out the classification of wine in the left bank, also made classification based on price for all Bordeaux wines. Burgundy region is entirely based on the location and nature of the vineyard terror to divide and decision levels, so only the best vineyards as to geographical conditions as the highest l evel. Another event is less known, which occurred in the same year.Livable issued a map of every single vineyard in Burgundy which displayed details from Santayana to Dijon, grading them T ©et De Cup ©e, Premiere, Dioxide ©me and even Troops ©me Cup ©e (Benjamin 2010). In 1936, the map of C ¶et door was updated more than 400 appellations when the appellation control ¶l ©e system was announced. Now in Burgundy, every vineyard has TTS place in a hierarchy classified in descending order of quality from Grand Cru, Premier Cru, Village wine, to Generic Burgundy. These account for 2%, 10%, 36% and 52% of the total production of wines in Burgundy respectively (Tim 2014).The elite part of the region is the Grand Crush. Those are the best-known vineyards and labeled solely with their names of the producer. Not every Grand's Crush are equally quality, but most of them are normally the finest and relatively expensive wines in Burgundy. Another interesting difference refers to c ulture between Burgundy and Bordeaux is he shape of the wine glasses. The correct wine tasting glasses could enhance a fine wine to bring out the flavor, highlighting its features and keeping it in balance. Due to the different characteristics of those two regions, choosing wine glasses should not be the same as well.Bordeaux-styled wine glasses are usually a large, tall bowl, which is shaped like a tulip. This kind of glasses is ideal for heaps of full body red wine, especially for Bordeaux wines. Because Bordeaux wines are generally is a bit high acidity and more tannin, the curvature of the glasses could appropriate control he speed of tasting rather than the vertical shaped glasses. Otherwise, the Burgundy red wines mainly from the Pinot Noir, which are quite fragrant, fruity and seductive. Spherical shape glasses with a wide and large bowl could make the aroma of Burgundy wine expand up toward your nose, enhance the complex aromas of the wine.Also, due to the high acidity of th e wine, the glasses usually have a slightly flared opening to direct the wine toward the tip of your tongue, accentuating the sweetness of the flavors. From the winemaking point of view, each region has its own feature and attractive Tyler. The variety of grapes, color and tasting are three major aspects when talking about the difference between Burgundy and Bordeaux region. The first difference is the raw material, which is related to the variety of grapes. Bordeaux wines usually make up with a multiple verities of grapes.Winemakers in Bordeaux believe that the taste of each simple grape is not perfect, and therefore require the deployment of different varieties mixed together to complement each other in order to enhance the flavor. In addition, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, brewed together with one or overall other varieties of grapes, basically dominate this region of wines. Nevertheless, winemakers in Burgundy love making wine through one single variety of grape, small-scale pr oduction and packaging. Pinot Noir dominates most of them. The second major difference is the color from appearance. As to the red wine, the color is from the skin of the grape.Due to the difference of dominant grapes, the colors of the wine from those two regions differ. The skin of the Cabernet Sauvignon is thicker than Pinot Noir. Hence the color of wines from Burgundy region seems to lighter by contrast to Bordeaux wines. The last distinguishing factor is the taste. Differences in varieties result in difference taste. As tannin is the main factor, which constitutes a main structure of the wine, Bordeaux wines, which mainly make up with Cabernet Sauvignon, have strong astringent taste, due to thicker skin. By contrast, Burgundy wine has more sour and fruit flavor, but less tannin.This is because Pinot Noir has full and rich fruity flavor and thinner skin. Lastly, the main variety of the grape used to making wine is different as well. In Bordeaux, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Fran c, Merlot and Petit Overdo are the four main red grapes. The majority of the wine production in Bordeaux is red wine, which account for 4/5 of the total production. While Pinot Noir is the dominant red grape in the Burgundy region, Semicolon, Sauvignon Blank and dense Is Kodak are the representative while grapes of Bordeaux, where produce the best and most expensive red wine and sweet wines in the world.In addition, the quantity of the dry white wines is particularly outstanding. Alighted and chardonnay are two main white grape varieties in Burgundy. Generally, the wine is made based on one single variety of grapes in Burgundy. Pinot noir is the main red grape in Burgundy. Compared to Cabernet Sauvignon, which is strong adaptability to the surroundings and low cultivation cost, Pinot Noir is one of the grapes that winemakers need to carefully take care. A glass of good quality Pinot Noir Burgundy wine will bring people unparalleled fantastic feeling.Because of this, the world's most ambitious wine producers were keen to plant this uncertain nature feature grape. However, not every wine region could possession Pinot Noir like The first reason why Pinot Noir the main red grape in Burgundy and not Bordeaux traces back to 4th century AD (Imprint 2011). There is an evidence that at that time, Pinot Noir was already planted in Burgundy. Pinot Noir used to name ‘Morrison Noir' at an early time. Later in 14th century, with related record in Burgundy, a name called ‘Pinot Noir' had already been described. The fate of Pinot Noir is related to Burgundy inevitably.The second essential reason is the favorable growing conditions. Pinot Noir usually germinate earlier than other varieties, hence vulnerable to spring frost consequently, stop growing after flowering. Therefore, it is best not to plant Pinot Noir in low-lying, damp and cool place. The average temperature in Burgundy is higher and the infill precipitation is lower than Bordeaux, which is more appropri ate for Pinot Noir growing. As for Cabernet Sauvignon, which is late maturing variety, a mixture of gravel and chunks of quartzite soil is more appropriate for Cabernet Sauvignon.This is due to the heat transfer of gravel and drainage that is relatively good, more suitable for the late, maturing variety. The geographical condition of Bordeaux might be the good choice for Cabernet Sauvignon to grow. Theoretically, the production of Pinot Noir is quite low, but in Burgundy, the clone technology contribute to the improvement of the production during the sass and he early sass. Comparing with other majority of grape varieties, this variety is more vulnerable to various kinds of mold and easier to rot, but also more vulnerable to viruses, especially grapevine fan leaf virus and grapevine leaf roll virus (Edison 2002).This is because the skin of the Pinot Noir is thinner than others. In fact, due to the spread of the disease in Burgundy vineyard, thereby, the clone of Pinot Noir is quite promoted in sass. Hence, Burgundy has a more advanced technology of planting and cloning Pinot Noir than Bordeaux. Thirdly, generally speaking, Pinot Noir from the limestone soil are usually with good laity. In the relative cold climate, this early ripen grapes generally ripen a bit late along with lack of aroma and the acidity is not enough. For example, in Burgundy, they both plant Pinot Noir and Cabernet Sauvignon.In some years, the Pinot Noir might ripen later than Cabernet Sauvignon, but in some years, Cabernet Sauvignon might ripen later than Pinot Noir. There is a consensus that the brew of Pinot Noir is much harder than Cabernet Sauvignon. This is because in the process of the brewing, it is required to constantly monitor and alter the technology of winemaking according to the different needs each year. Due to the geographical reason, which is strip-shaped, most of the vineyards in Burgundy are smaller area and operation on a smaller scale than Bordeaux.Therefore, the small- scale vineyard is good to take care of Pinot Noir and manage the vineyard in order to produce more good quality grapes. As the two of the most famous wine region in the world, it is admitted that both have a long history of wine and a strong wine culture. But in some aspect of geographical, cultural and winemaking, they still have some differences between those two. However, with no doubt, the wine from the Bordeaux and Burgundy region are fascinating and tasty aromas. On those two pieces of land, stand the world's most famous wineries.

Monday, January 6, 2020

An Introduction to Academic Writing

Students, professors, and researchers in every discipline use academic writing to convey ideas, make arguments, and engage in scholarly conversation. Academic writing is characterized by evidence-based arguments, precise word choice,  logical organization, and an impersonal tone. Though sometimes thought of as long-winded or inaccessible, strong academic writing is quite the opposite: It informs, analyzes, and persuades in a straightforward manner and enables the reader to engage critically in a scholarly dialogue. Examples of Academic Writing   Academic  writing is, of course, any formal written work produced in an academic setting. While academic writing comes in many forms, the following are some of the most common. Literary analysis: A literary analysis essay examines, evaluates, and makes an argument about a literary work. As its name suggests, a literary analysis essay goes beyond mere summarization. It requires careful close reading of one or multiple texts and often focuses on a specific characteristic, theme, or motif. Research paper: A research paper uses outside information to support a thesis or make an argument. Research papers are written in all disciplines and may be evaluative, analytical, or critical in nature. Common research sources include data, primary sources (e.g., historical records), and secondary sources (e.g., peer-reviewed scholarly articles). Writing a research paper involves synthesizing this external information with your own ideas. Dissertation: A dissertation (or thesis) is a document submitted at the conclusion of a Ph.D. program. The dissertation is a book-length summarization of the doctoral candidate’s research. Academic papers may be done as a part of a class, in a program of study, or for publication in an academic journal or scholarly book of articles around a theme, by different authors. Characteristics of Academic Writing Most academic disciplines employ their own stylistic conventions. However, all academic writing shares certain characteristics. Clear and limited focus. The focus of an academic paper—the argument or research question—is established early by the thesis statement. Every paragraph and sentence of the paper connects back to that primary focus. While the paper may include background or contextual information, all content serves the purpose of supporting the thesis statement.Logical structure. All academic writing follows a logical, straightforward structure. In its simplest form, academic writing includes an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The introduction provides background information, lays out the scope and direction of the essay, and states the thesis. The body paragraphs support the thesis statement, with each body paragraph elaborating on one supporting point. The conclusion refers back to the thesis, summarizes the main points, and highlights the implications of the paper’s findings. Each sentence and paragraph logically connects to the next in order to present a clea r argument.Evidence-based arguments. Academic writing requires well-informed arguments. Statements must be supported by evidence, whether from scholarly sources (as in a research paper), results of a study or experiment, or quotations from a primary text (as in a literary analysis essay). The use of evidence gives credibility to an argument.Impersonal tone. The goal of academic writing is to convey a logical argument from an objective standpoint. Academic writing avoids emotional, inflammatory, or otherwise biased language. Whether you personally agree or disagree with an idea, it must be presented accurately and objectively in your paper. Most published papers also have abstracts: brief summaries of the most important points of the paper. Abstracts appear in academic database search results so that readers can quickly determine whether the paper is pertinent to their own research. The Importance of Thesis Statements Let’s say you’ve just finished an analytical essay for your literature class. If a peer or professor asks you what the essay is about—what the point of the essay is—you should be able to respond clearly and concisely in a single sentence. That single sentence is your thesis statement. The thesis statement, found at the end of the first paragraph, is a one-sentence encapsulation of your essay’s main idea. It presents an overarching argument and may also identify the main support points for the argument. In essence, the thesis statement is a road map, telling the reader where the paper is going and how it will get there. The thesis statement plays an important role in the writing process. Once you’ve written a thesis statement, you’ve established a clear focus for your paper. Frequently referring back to that thesis statement will prevent you from straying off-topic during the drafting phase. Of course, the thesis statement can (and should) be revised to reflect changes in the content or direction of the paper. Its ultimate goal, after all, is to capture the main ideas of your paper with clarity and specificity. Common Mistakes to Avoid Academic writers from every field face similar challenges during the writing process. You can improve your own academic writing by avoiding these common mistakes. Wordiness. The goal of academic writing is to convey complex ideas in a clear, concise  manner. Don’t muddy the meaning of your argument by using confusing language. If you find yourself writing a sentence over 25 words long, try to divide it into two or three separate sentences for improved readability.A vague or missing thesis statement. The thesis statement is the single most important sentence in any academic paper. Your thesis statement must be clear, and each body paragraph needs to tie into that thesis.Informal language. Academic writing is formal in tone and should not include slang, idioms, or conversational language.Description without analysis. Do not simply repeat the ideas or arguments from your source materials. Rather, analyze those arguments and explain how they relate to your point.  Not citing sources. Keep track of your source materials throughout the research and writing process. Cite them consistently using one style manual (MLA, APA, or Chicago Manual of Style, depending on the guidelines given to you at the outset of the project). Any ideas that are not your own need to be cited, whether theyre paraphrased or quoted directly, to avoid plagiarism.