A Brief Survey and Analysis on Procrastination Among Undergrads Essay Example for Free

A Brief Survey and Analysis on Procrastination Among Undergrads Essay In this survey, we developed a set of questions asking students in the unit of a dormitory. We asked individual students to assess their degree of procrastination, the specific occasions when they have significant sign of procrastination and their difficulties in solving the problem. We then asked them to think about one of two occasions when they were highly productive in order to see and compare what serves for and against their procrastination. Then, choosing the dormitory as a whole sample, we asked students to name one of them who is most productive generally, and asked them if they’ve noticed the difference and invited them to figure out the reason for this difference in productivity. In this way, we have managed to attain a number of individual samples to analyze their procrastination as well as group samples from which we may conclude the peer influences in this group of students. Results Based on the various results of individual survey, we have selected and categorized several typical cases presented in the form of case study as follows. Case 1: Procrastination with Trivial Things In one of the dormitory we carried out the survey, a student lost his key but just refused to get another one. Instead, he phones his roommates to open the door for him when he can’t enter, causing much trouble to his roommates. Another student we surveyed was said to have kept his dirty cloths for ages and not want to wash them simply because of the cold weather. Everyone may be reluctant with specific tasks for various reasons, especially boring and time-consuming work such as laundry. Case 2: A Whole Night in Dormitory without Finishing Homework Many of the students we surveyed mentioned their low-productivity in the dormitory. Often is the case when students find the clock ticks time away without awareness of what they have just done. In this case, distraction in dormitories plays an important role in students’ procrastination. With roommates playing games, listening to music or simply just walking around, it calls for great effort to stay focused. And it is even worse when there is work to be done on the computer with access to the Internet, as there is much more distraction online such as games, videos, IMs and SNS, which can easily attracts students from what they should be doing. Case 3: Perfectionism Perfectionism is another classical cause for procrastination. Students who want to have a perfect outcome often turn out to find nowhere to start, fearing that they would screw things up. Being back and forth with the project ahead may also lower his self-esteem and then possibly put him into a vicious circle of low self-esteem-caused procrastination. Case 4: Endless Entertainment No matter if it’s Sitcoms, SNS or computer games, many students have at least one type of entertainment from which they can tear away from. Many students surveyed mentioned the very typical scenario when they tell themselves to start working by six but still enjoying the â€Å"last† episode or round hours later. With more and more distraction and entertainment around, students show much more difficulty to stay focused without external control. Case 5: Vicious Circle From what we have learned from the survey, it is rather easy to fall into a vicious circle because of procrastination, which in turn worsens one’s procrastination. Many students will feel depressed and low mood because they’ve left too much of tasks behind and therefore cannot focus, suffer low-productivity, thus undermining their self-esteem and making it harder to accomplish the tasks next time. Case 6: Wrong Reward Many experts suggest setting a period of time for oneself when he or she focuses the tasks at hand. Then reward him or herself for having concentrated during this period. This may serve to build up one’s self-esteem and concentration with the time period set longer and longer. But there are cases in which the rewards are too appealing (for example one’s favorite game) that students either hurry to finish the task simply to enjoy the reward with poor quality or get stuck with the reward and keep excusing himself for extending the time, which holds up later schedule and puts him back to procrastination. Case 7: Enjoying the Last-Minute-Accomplishment Some of the students surveyed admitted that after accomplishing their tasks right before the deadline for several of times, they become fond of this kind of schedule and planning. These students often achieve extraordinarily high productivity during the last minutes with results turning out to be not bad. Students therefore become dependent on this external driving force and used to completing tasks in the last-minute. General Analysis In the cases described above, we can see that lack of self-control is a very dominant cause for procrastination. How well can a person resist his temptation, control his entertainment and avoid distraction largely affects his degree of procrastination. There are also certain psychological mechanisms contributive to one’s procrastination. Noticeably, these many of the causes mentioned above are inter-connected, meaning there’s hardly an easy one-way solution to procrastination. Discussion From the specific cases mentioned above, we can already spot some of the causes for procrastination. Furthermore, these causes are often also related. We will first further discuss the different causes for procrastination in this section and then specially analyze the peer influences in the scope of procrastination. Peer Influences on Procrastination From the group samples we’ve collected in the survey, we analyzed the cases when students become either more or less productive because of their peer and concluded three major types of peer influence on procrastination. Competition In one of the dormitories we’ve surveyed, one student who completes tasks much faster than his roommates has been nominated as the most productive and executive. When asked about his productivity, he attributed it to his competition with his high school classmate. Another student also mentioned what he heard form friend in Qinghua University where students in a dormitory are highly competitive and look up to the best and fastest, which creates an atmosphere of positive competition driving each one to speed up and work hard. We believe that competition is one of the most effective external driving forces apart from the looming deadline itself. Though there isn’t necessarily a competitive atmosphere, it is not very hard to look for a peer to compete with so as to urge and encourage each other. Peer Reference Peer reference here indicates the psychology when one looks on his peer to excuse himself from not working. Many people may have this kind of voice echoing in the mind: â€Å"It’s OK. Nick hasn’t started yet. Leave it some other day!† What’s worse, some students admitted that in order to keep this excuse valid, they often do not urge the other one to start working purposely but join in him dragging the to-do list instead. We believe that this overlooking and following of peer procrastination is due to lack of . And this crowd psychology in many cases contributes to the atmosphere of procrastination. On the other hand, it is rather crucial for the one with higher productivity to actively urge and influence his peers to prevent procrastination as a â€Å"shepherd†. Peer Pressure Throughout our survey, some students with low productivity turn out to be surprisingly efficient in team work, because they feel compelled to fulfill their share of responsibility in a team working on a same goal otherwise they will hold up the whole schedule. Therefore, it is crucial for team leaders to set a common goal and emphasize the importance of every individual’s work. However, this peer influence doesn’t always work as there are always irresponsible people in a team. Summary From the interconnected influences discussed above, peers do have certain influence on procrastination, either positively or negatively. When one wants to drag things on, others’ procrastination can be a good justification. However, it appears a little harder to impose positive influences on procrastination as it calls for certain mechanism, i.e. competition, peer urging or team cooperation. And the conclusion can be safely drawn that when there are more mechanisms functioning, individuals are easier to prevent his or her procrastination with the assistance of his peers. Therefore, apart from one’s own effort, actively seeking positive peer influence is also a good solution. Recommendations True as it is that solving procrastination needs multiple methods, we will elaborate our recommendations in a separate way so that students with different types of procrastination can find the suitable solution for his particular case more easily. While the methods are many, the philosophy behind is simple: actively seeking external influence. And specific methods are elaborated as follows. Avoid Distraction/Disturbance For students finding it hard to concentrate and work effectively, we recommend they go to the library, classrooms or other quiet places for serious business. One may also turn off the cell phones to further avoid any distraction or disturbance. For those who find themselves often wasting hours on games (either computer games like DotA or video games on little gadgets like Angry Birds) or surfing, it is also a good idea to go somewhere else to work or study, leaving anything that can distract you back in the dormitory or locked up. Peer Influence As discussed earlier, peer influence does play certain roles in the scope of procrastination. So to find a right peer who pushes you to work hard or poses challenge as a competitor is also a solution to procrastination. Or maybe, as some researchers suggest, pre-commitment supervised by peers is also a good idea. You can simply post on your SNS sites that you will finish your thesis in a week or not visiting renren.com for 5 days and encourage your friends to see if you make it. Technical Assistance Sometimes you have to use the computer or the Internet to do some research or write an essay when you cannot leave them away. How to avoid the temptations to click on the button? There are certain applications or extensions that help you control your time. For example, stayfocused is a Google Chrome browser extension which limit your visit to certain sites such as Facebook (well, the GFW has already done the favor), renren.com or tudoou.com etc which can easily suck hours out of your schedule. Once you set the time limit, you cannot change it that day. And if you try to change the limit when the allowed time is running out? Small windows will keep popping up to ask you if you’re sure to change the limit and not cheating. And even link to an article on procrastination as you finally clicked â€Å"yes†. This is just one example of the use of technology on the fight against procrastination.

Shakespeares Macbeth does not Follow Aristotles Standards for a Trage

Macbeth does not Follow Aristotle's Standards for a Tragedy There have been many great tragic authors throughout history: Aeschylus, Euripides, and Sophocles from ancient Greece; Corneille and Hugo from France; Grillparzer and Schiller from Germany; and Marlowe, Webster, and Shakespeare from England. From this long list of men, Shakespeare is the most commonly known. Many Shakespearean critics agree that Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet are great tragedies. Many critics also claim that Macbeth is a tragedy, but if one follows Aristotle's standards for a tragedy, Macbeth would not be a tragedy To really determine if Macbeth is a tragedy according to Aristotle, one must first look at his guidelines. The majority of Aristotle's standards relate to the downfall of the central character. To set the character up for a downfall, Aristotle thought he or she should be of the middle class. This was because he felt the poor had nothing to lose. He also felt the downfall should be caused by a fatal flaw. Another characteristic Aristotle believed was important, was a conflict between the central character and a close friend or relative. According to him, the main character should also have an enlightenment at the moment of his or her downfall. Aristotle also believed that the feelings of pity and fear should be felt by the audience during the play. He thought that these feelings would lead to a catharsis, or release of emotions. Although most of Aristotle's characteristics of a tragedy had to do with the downfall, he had two that did not. First, he thought the central character should not be totally good or evil. This was based on the belief that the ruin of a totally good character would be too painful, and the ruin of a totally bad char... ... not even thank is wife for the plan that made him king. Due to Malcolm's final speech, the reader is left with positive, not negative feelings. Overall Macbeth is not a tragedy according the Aristotle's standards. Macbeth's downfall does follow the guidelines: he has something to lose, he has a downfall, and he has conflicts with his friends and relatives during his downfall. But, the heart of the play, which is the emotions created, just do not follow Aristotle's standards. The reader should feel pity, and grieve. Yet, there is no reason to feel this way because Macbeth is all evil, and in the end, the "good guy" is restored to power. Shakespeare put forth good effort in trying to make Macbeth a tragedy, but he came up too short. Works Cited: Shakespeare, William. â€Å"Macbeth.† The Complete Works of Shakespeare. Ed. David Bevington. New York: Longman, 1997.

Big business and how it affects media ethics Essay

The effect of media on the public as shown in the long list of Hollywood movies is of prime interest with big business that targets mass consumption of their products, services and ideas. Big business sells not merely a product or a service but a whole lifestyle and mode of thinking. Big business sells a whole package of beliefs passed on from one generation of consumers to the next. McGuire (1986) noted several of the most commonly mentioned intended media effects: (a) the effects of advertising on purchasing, (b) the effects of political campaigns on voting, (c) the effects of public service announcements (PSAs) on personal behavior and social improvement, (d) the effects of propaganda on ideology, and (e) the effects of media ritual on social control. And the one who could manipulate the media eventually controls the effects media has on its audience. And due to this interest, big business has not been complacent in using media to further its interests to the extent of affecting media ethics. There is a war between big business and media as one tries to use, outwit and profit from each other’s power. Media needs the advertising money that big business has. And big business needs media’s format and reach to help push their products in competitive markets. On ordinary and traditional circumstance, business news will be the usual reporting of financial markets, who recently go hired or who recently got promoted but times are changing as media and big business realize the power they have over each other. â€Å"Private enterprise has been and continues to be thought of as a private ?affair by many who engage in it. But for a multitude of reasons, the ? media try (and not often enough, some argue) to make private transactions public business. The press is watching business closely. One page from a metropolitan ? newspaper can tell the story. The Orange County Register, a southern ? California daily with a circulation of over 300,000, reported stories under ? these headlines one day in early 1987: â€Å"GM plans to lay off 2,000 in ? Kansas City†; â€Å"Ford exec asks cut in Japanese Imports†; â€Å"SEC chief says ?more big news is coming†; â€Å"Guiness director quits over scheme†; â€Å"People/Continental to offer 2-for-1 tickets†; â€Å"GE to lay off 3,000 workers at ? Northeast plants†; A large picture showed striking Lockheed Shipbuilding workers crossing a picket line ? in Seattle. † (Blohowiak, 1987) It’s more dangerous when both cohort each other into twisting the truth and step over business and media ethics. In this light, big business and media profit from the unethical practice of their crafts with the mass markets eventually receiving unjust consequences as illustrated by the highly celebrated Enron fiasco. â€Å"In the wake of apparently dishonest practices by Enron Corp. executives, and apparent negligence by members of its board of directors, many are asking how people believed to be so smart could have lacked the moral courage to seek and tell the truth. As there is after every financial scandal, a call is being made for more courses in â€Å"business ethics† in the leading universities. † (Berlau, 2002) Another example of the big business that has continually been in headlines is the business of war. Media has played a critical role in convincing voters to support the decision of their leaders to go to war and spend for war. Smith in 1994 explains â€Å"that armament firms have sought to influence public opinion through the control of newspapers in their own and foreign countries, that armament firms have organized international armament rings through which the armament race has been accentuated by playing off one country against another, that armament firms have organized international armament trusts which have increased the price of armaments sold to governments. † (Smith, 1994) As the Bush administration furthers its campaign against terror, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are slowly becoming the most expensive campaign since World War II. Lawmakers and congressional staff reports that Pentagon is preparing $127 billion to $160 billion worth of requests for its armed services due for 2007. â€Å"That’s on top of $70 billion already approved for 2007. Since 2001, Congress has approved $502 billion for the war on terror, roughly two-thirds for Iraq. The latest request, due to reach the incoming Democratic-controlled Congress next spring, would make the war on terror more expensive than the Vietnam War. † (Wolf, 2006) The business of war just like any other kind of big business will succeed to prosper and profit because behind these big businesses are media partners that by themselves big business as well. Media ethics is nowhere to be found in bottom line discussions between the big businesses and the use of the networks to serve specific interests as elaborated by the action of Sinclair Broadcasting Group and their support for the Bush Administration presidential campaigns. â€Å"If what can only be described as an attempt by a large, conservative corporation to keep a corporate president in power, Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which owns 62 stations nationwide, has ordered all of its stations to pre-empt regular programming and instead show an anti-Kerry film along the lines of the Swift Boat Liars one week before the election. â€Å"It’s not the American way for powerful corporations to strong-arm local broadcasters to air lies promoting a political agenda,† said David Wade, a spokesman for the Democratic nominee’s campaign. â€Å"It’s beyond yellow journalism; it’s a smear bankrolled by Republican money, and I don’t think Americans will stand for it. † (Bowers, 2004) Big business has taken into its payroll media elements including important roles that protect standards. This is imperative if big business wants to ensure success in the big amount of money they invest on advertising or news reporting for example. Although bad or good advertisement is still advertisement and can help brand retention, at the end of the day, consumers would always go for the products and services that have a good reputation. And with media ethics slowly getting softer and softer, with manipulations with words, graphics and endorsers, a not so good product will sell. These are possible due to evolving market models. â€Å"The unrestrained market model has diminished the authority of news editors, once guardians of quality, the domain’s bulwarks against illegitimate pressures exerted by the owners, the public, or other stakeholders. The editors, in a sense, were newsrooms’ superegos, the disinterested enforces of standards. Most editors are now firmly embedded in the corporate hierarchy, directly answerable to fiscal matters. They are paid like executives – a big change from the recent past – and are expected to conform to corporate fiscal priorities. † (Gardner, 2001).

Identify the Fraction Worksheet 1 of 10