5 Secrets of Persuasion Use NLP to Influence Your Readers - Freewrite Store

5 Secrets of Persuasion Use NLP to Influence Your Readers - Freewrite Store Persuasive writing is a skill that every writer needs to master. That’s true whether you’re writing blogs with affiliate links, emails to your subscribers, or landing page copy to promote a product. There are lots of ways to approach writing persuasively, but one of the most effective is Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Developed by Richard Bandler and John Grinder in the 1970s, Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a communication tool that can have a big impact on your readers - if you know how to use it right. Of course, you’ll find people who dismiss the tools and techniques of NLP as being ‘mumbo-jumbo’ - but, then, they’re the kind of people who would have said it was impossible to put a man on the moon. NLP works. It works for businessmen when they’re closing a massive deal, and it works for writers who need to convince your readers to do something. It doesn’t matter whether it’s clicking a link, completing a form, or making a purchase, when you use NLP, your ability to persuade increases. The Power of Persuasion Neuro-linguistic programming is so-called because, effectively, it uses words (linguistic) to reprogram (programming) the brain (neuro). It’s been compared (quite negatively) to manipulation. It can, of course, be used manipulatively, but there’s so much more to it than that. It’s used in coaching and even in therapy to change the way people think about things. So, how does NLP work to persuade people to change the way they think? Courses to train as an NLP practitioner are taught over seven days, so condensing the principles of NLP into an article isn’t easy. Nonetheless, I’ll share with you key insights from NLP that are particularly pertinent for writers. Foundations of Neuro-Linguistic Programming for Writers While some copywriters shun NLP as being far too ‘out there’, there are lots of skilled copywriters who understand how to use it to maximize results. By now you’re probably eager to find out how you can do that too, so let’s dig in. 1. The Language of the Senses NLP is all about the way that language is used to influence others, but it’s more than just about the words. It’s about what the words we use evoke in the people we’re addressing. In NLP, language is sensory - because all the information that we process can only enter our brains through the five senses. Most people have a sensory modality preference - whether you’re aware of it or not. There are three sensory modalities in NLP - visual, auditory and kinaesthetic (feelings). NLP teaches that influencing your readers starts when you use language that appeals to their sensory modality preference. For example: Visual: â€Å"Can you see what I mean?† Auditory: â€Å"Can you hear what I’m trying to say?† Kinaesthetic: â€Å"Does it feel right to you?† When you’re writing, you can’t know (in most cases) what your readers’ preference is, so you should incorporate all three senses into your writing to maximize the potential impact of your writing. 2. Story Time As a writer, you probably love to tell a good story, right? Well, you’ll be pleased to know that storytelling is a great NLP technique that you can easily exploit. When you couple your natural storytelling abilities with the (hidden) power of language in NLP, you’ll be able to exert huge influence over your readers. It happens to you all the time - even if you don’t recognize it happening. The movies and TV shows you watch exert influence over you all the time, with hidden, subtle messages that you don’t notice because you’re engrossed in the unfolding story. Using story to influence your readers is a matter of using metaphors and analogies that enter the subconscious. Metaphors work on a deep subconscious level to affect how your readers feel or think. 3. Homophonic Influence Homophones, words that sound the same but have different spellings and meanings, are a subtle way to subconsciously affect your readers’ decision-making processes. Let’s look at an example that you could use in landing page copy for a sales page: â€Å"By now, you should be able to see the power of using NLP in your writing copy. But, if you want to fully understand how to maximize the impact of your writing, increase your sales and grow your business beyond your wildest dreams, we have something more for you. Our eBook, ‘Unlocking the Secrets of Sales Copy’ normally retails at $99 but, for 48 hours only, you can get your hands on it for just $7.† Placing the words ‘by now’ at the beginning of that paragraph is using a homophone to prime the buyer’s brain. ‘By now’ and ‘buy now’ sound the same when you read them aloud in your head - and that subconscious influence on your reader can have a big impact on the number of people who click on the ‘buy now’ CTA button below the paragraph. 4. Effective Emotional Influence As a writer, you need to be able to affect your readers’ emotions in order to get results. Affecting emotions effectively, however, is a skill that can take time to learn. NLP teaches that you use facts in order to basically tell people how to feel (or, at least, how you want them to feel) when you use facts. Charities making appeals for donations have expert copywriters who are exceptionally skilled at using facts and other emotional tools in their writing. For example, a popular NLP-inspired technique is to tell prospective donors how their donation can change the lives of the people receiving the funds. â€Å"Your donation of $20 will feed a family of four for a whole month.† Another way charities use emotional influence in their writing is to demonstrate how a small sacrifice on the donor’s part can make a significant difference. â€Å"If you sacrifice your favorite coffee-shop latte or cappuccino just one day each week, your donation of $20 per month will pay for Jessica to attend boarding school to continue her education, including her boarding fees, supplies and food for the month.† 5. Pattern Interrupts Interrupting the flow of your writing - or disrupting the flow - by introducing a new, unexpected idea, is a great persuasive technique that NLP trainers really applaud. It’s all about breaking thought patterns - which enables you to directly access the subconscious mind. It’s a technique that stage hypnotists use - though I’m not suggesting for a minute that you need to hypnotize your readers! Politicians and smart public speakers use it, too, so it’s worthwhile learning how to most effectively use this technique in your writing. One example of how you can use pattern interrupts is to introduce confusing or unexpected language into the middle of your ‘pitch’. The way you do this will depend on your audience, but you could try using sudden oblique references, or making reference to unrelated details – or, even, using swear words within your copy. The sudden change of direction gives you a brief opportunity to take advantage of your audience’s confusion. If you’re writing a sales or landing page, you could use callouts and testimonials to achieve pattern interrupts. By distracting your audience’s attention to something new, you have a new window of opportunity to appeal to the subconscious, refocus their attention, or disarm them. Delve Deeper into NLP If you want to maximize the persuasive potential of your writing and influence your readers more, it’s worth exploring NLP in more detail. NLP training is available around the world and investing in an NLP course can have a huge impact on your persuasive writing. You could even explore NLP coaching to build your confidence as a writer. Far from being ‘mumbo-jumbo’, neuro-linguistic programming is an effective means of exploiting the science of persuasion. The more you understand how NLP works, you’ll be able to recognize the techniques that other writers are using to influence your decisions, too.

Dos and Donts of Giving a Presentation

Dos and Donts of Giving a Presentation Most college students, at one point or another in their academic career, will be required to give a presentation or speech in a class for a grade. Some may be required to pass a Speech course for their major, but most will surely be required to give a presentation in a number of classes. While it is not a science by any means, giving a presentation or a speech can be a lot of fun. It is a skill an individual will have and develop over the course of their lives, one that will earn them jobs, a good salary – because they will be able to master the art of verbal communication. POWERPOINT PRESENTATION   Ã‚  Prepare and Visualize a Successful Speech or Presentation It has been noted that some of the world’s greatest athletes have the same mental habit for when they compete: in their minds, they literally visualize a victory – from start to finish. They prepare themselves mentally for what they are about to do. The same principle can be applied to giving a speech, whether in the real world or in the classroom. The speaker, long before they are to give the speech, can visualize having a successful outcome and delivering a fantastic speech. But having great success at something also comes from the work, which is done before this positive visualization approach is to occur. A speech or presentation should first of all be well researched; it should illustrate an argument or theme, and first be written out in the form of an essay.   Ã‚  Be Presentable Looking the part is half the battle. When people are bathed and well dressed, when people look their best, they most times will exude confidence – which is often the most crucial tool of success when talking in front of a large room.   Ã‚  Remember to Breathe and Take a Few Seconds to Gather a Thought Breathing during a speech not only breaks the monotony of a speech, it also relaxes the speaker and helps them concentrate. What’s more important: It’s the speaker’s floor – if they want to take a few seconds to gather their thoughts, no one will interrupt them. A few seconds will seem an eternity. But only to the speaker. Take advantage of breathing.   Ã‚  Be Confident – But Not Arrogant – and Smile Often Speaking in front of people is part of life. A student required to give one in college may as well just accept this inevitable fact. With that said, they may as well also embrace the art and skill of giving a good speech and learn how to excel at it. Once again, having a confident, optimistic attitude is half the battle. The other half is a combination of preparation and showing up. And smile. It relaxes the room and the speaker.   Ã‚  Make Brief Eye Contact With Audience It’s a speech to one’s peers. Not a case of a judge. This assignment is an exercise in communication. Learn the seemingly simple yet very complex art of communicating now. One’s career will thank them in 10, 20 years from now. Learn now that people are what matters. Individualize people. It makes them feel special, which means they will then listen to the speaker’s speech and become engaged.   Ã‚  Be Loud Enough So That the Entire Room Can Hear the Speech Don’t shout to the audience – but don’t be a mouse, either. Learn to get people’s attention without making them feel physically uncomfortable.   Ã‚  Say â€Å"Like,† â€Å"Uh† and â€Å"Um† minimally. Pause Instead This is the difference in sounding intelligent and sounding like an ignoramus. Honestly. Start being cognizant of saying this now in college. By the end of one’s college career, they may even have rid themselves of these words altogether.   Ã‚  Improvise The point of the speech or presentation is being entertaining and engaging to an audience. Don’t be afraid to go off script. Just remember that most assignments have a time limit and students are often judged on making a case for something. But, nonetheless, focus on giving a presentation.   Ã‚  Tell An Anecdote or Ask a Question Starting a speech with a question for the audience or with a personal anecdote is often all a speaker needs to grab their audience’s attention. Though keeping it is a completely different story and challenge altogether.   Ã‚  Avoid Being Dull and Lifeless Whatever topic the student giving the speech or presentation is expounding on, it should generally be one they are interested or even quite passionate about. When they breathe their own excitement into a subject, it will generally feed into the audience’s curiosity and excitement as well.   Apologize for a Mistake – Don’t Apologize for Anything, It’s the Speaker’s Floor Really, when giving a speech, remember there is no other speaker talking at that time. It is their time to do as they wish; it is their time to be evaluated. They should make the most of it and treat it as their time to fulfill their objective – and no one else’s.   Ã‚  Read ONLY From Notes. Instead of Talking to the Audience Don’t read just from notes or notecards. Those are just to prompt thought. Get used to going off a single thought and expounding on it naturally. That is the skill of public speaking.    Stand Still Move around, be a person. Be interesting. Don’t put the audience to sleep. Have some energy. Bounce around the room to get their attention. That’s all that matters: holding the audience’s attention.   Ã‚  Mumble. Instead, Speak Clearly and Slowly If Needed If the audience has to strain to understand their speaker, they would rather just lose interest and think of something else. When they have no choice but to hear their speaker, because the speaker is eloquent and projects their voice when talking, they will listen and become engaged and most times will find their speaking’s message quite interesting or insightful or inspiring in some way or another.    Be Too Serious This is a speech or presentation assignment in college. It’s for a grade. It’s not a plea to the UN. Have a little perspective and try to enjoy the assignment. Make it fun even. But don’t make it more serious than it is. It’s an assignment. Get it done and go on.    Touch Hair and Face It is not only distracting, but it tells the audience the speaker is self-conscious and nervous and quite possibly a bore.    Lose Focus of the Main Objective: to Pass the Class and Graduate What matters is getting that degree. Whatever it takes to get that degree. Even if speaking in front of others isn’t one’s cup of tea, focusing on the long-term goal of graduation is enough to get through it.    Forget to Communicate With Body Language to a Make Point Stronger A voice isn’t the speaker’s only tool when talking to a room full of people. Their body language – their posture, their arms, their gait, their eye and face gestures – can also reinforce a thought or an emotion, in turn really emphasizing something to the audience.

INSTRUMENT REVIEWED IN MMY Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

INSTRUMENT REVIEWED IN MMY - Essay Example Similarly, studies done using Bern Sex Role inventory has showed a similar trend among the girls who participated in the study. Further, the results showed a comparative masculinity scores depending on the number of years the participants resided in United States. The participants will help evaluate how gender role identity affects an individual in terms of sense of belonging, devotion to one religion, and exposure to foreign cultural values on one’s life. The research will use BSRI rating scores. BSRI is acronym for Bem Sex Role Inventory that measures gender roles and masculinity-femininity. BSRI was developed and published in 1974 by Sandra Bem and have evolved to a phenomenal gender role identity tool (Beere, 2008). The tool evaluates how individual identify themselves psychologically. The efforts came from concerted effort to measure androgyny. Stereotypical feminine and masculine traits were found by conducting a survey among 100 Stanford undergraduates students on which characters were believed to be desirable for either of the sex. The test is made of 60 varied personality traits which those participating rate themselves on a 7 Likert scale. Traits that constitute part of the scale are evenly dispersed ranging from 20 feminine, 20 masculine and 20 filter traits that are more gender neutral (Bem, 2005). All individual personality traits in BSRI are optimistically valued personality aspects. Bem Sex Role inventory involves 60 set of questions on feminine and masculine traits. Normative data was obtained from the samples that were done in Stanford University between 1973 and 1978 (Beere, 2008). According to the author, the objective for the test was to assess psychological androgyny and provide empirical evidence to prove the benefits of a shared feminine and masculine personality compared to that of sex-typed classification. Participants are required to rate themselves on each of the 60 traits using

The Importance of Slavery in the Development of Early America Research Paper

The Importance of Slavery in the Development of Early America - Research Paper Example They started to transport slaves from Africa to America during the sixteenth century. In the subsequent years, slavery became an economic, political and social factor in the development of early America, which resulted in the American Civil War or the American Revolution. This paper analyses the importance of slavery in the political and social development of early America and its contribution to the civil war. South America and North America were entirely different as far as the prominence of slavery was concerned. Negro slavery was absent in the North, whereas it occurred in many forms in the Southern parts of America in the last few centuries. â€Å"There has been one school of thought which regards presence of Negro slavery in the south and its absence in the north as the essence of sectional controversy† (Potter 30). From the onset, slavery had been the most serious cause of sectional conflict (Potter 52). In other words, the views and attitudes of the people in the south ern and northern parts of America were different. People in the North were more liberal in their nature, attitudes and beliefs, whereas people in the South were more conservative in their thoughts. It should be noted that European countries such as Britain were in control of Southren America in the eighteenth century. Britain had colonies in most parts of the world during this period. Africa was in control of Britain during this period, which made the slave transportation from Africa to America an easier task. Howe pointed out that â€Å"almost 14 million Negros were held in hereditary slavery during this period in America† (Howe 52). Slavery in the eighteenth century has created many social changes in America. Exports of slaves from Africa to America happened frequently during this period. Even though an independent American state was established in the eighteenth century, the process of exportation of slaves from Africa to America has not stopped. Americans were not in a mo od to give the luxury they enjoyed due to slavery. To sustain slavery as much as possible, they prevented black people from getting education, income and opportunities for employment. Even though human right issues were discussed very seriously in America during this period, nobody took slavery as a serious human right violation issue until the 1780s. In fact, the black community was not much interested in avoiding slavery in the eighteenth century. They were particular about improving their economic conditions rather than avoiding slavery or acquiring equal status with whites. Poverty was the biggest problem faced by the negros during this period. â€Å"For Negros, economic circumstances were more important than legal status (Slavery) in shaping their conditions of life† (Potter 31). It should not be forgotten that the negros were deprived of opportunities for education and, as a result of that, they were unaware of the things like human rights. For them, acquiring enough fo od at any cost was the major objective of their life. Even though dominant white people did everything possible to sustain slavery in America, they failed to prevent black people from becoming aware of freedom and liberty. For example, black people were used extensively for maritime employment by the white people in the eighteenth century. It was impossible for white people to execute maritime works without slaves. Maritime works were often done without much supervision from the

Morality and The Holy Bible :: Holy Bible Essays

Morality and the Bible    Both the legal and salvation philosophies of the Old and New Testaments reflect those of the cultures around them, due to much copying and borrowing of laws and ideas. Furthermore, all societies around the world have similar moral and legal codes -- which is certainly not an accident.    Interestingly enough, the moral codes of the world's religions bear a striking resemblance to each other, with only minor variations. Religions as different as Hinduism, Islam, and Buddhism all have proscriptions against killing, lying, cheating, stealing, etc. This is not an accident, for reasons we shall explore below.    Christians may then object that that there is something unique about the Bible that makes it a superior moral code. Unfortunately for Christians, there is actually very little law in the Bible -- either Old Testament or New -- that is original. Consider the Torah of the ancient Jews. The laws of the Babylonians, Assyrians, Sumerians, Hammurapi, Eshnunna, Hittites, Mishnah, and Israelites all bear a striking resemblance to each other, due to widespread copying of laws. Shared social norms produced identical laws against sorcery, kidnapping, sale of an abducted person, false witness, business dishonesty, bribing judges, property right violations, shutting off irrigation canals used by others, etc. The complete list of identical laws and customs is quite extensive.    Nor is the New Testament's approach to the law unique. Most Christians can probably think of nothing more unique than the Apostle Paul's approach to the law, but any student of ancient Greece knows otherwise. Many of the themes that fill Paul's writings were lifted from his Greco-Roman background. During New Testament times, the Greco-Roman world was filled with Mystery Cults, sporting such names as Eluesinian Mysteries, the Orphic Mysteries, the Attis-Adonis Mysteries, the Isis-Osiris Mysteries, Mithraism, and many others. A common feature of these secret cults was a belief in a heroic redeemer, a heavenly being who would visit earth in human form, battle evil, die a sacrificial death, rise from the dead and ascend to heaven, offering salvation from death to all who follow him.    Another influence on the New Testament was Greek philosophy. In particular, Greek dualism taught that the world was sharply divided into opposites: good and evil, body and soul, man and woman, hot and cold, life and death, etc. Now, the Greeks from Plato on had taught that the body is evil, but the soul is pure.

Limited Household Participation in the Stock Market Phenomenon Analysis

LIMITED HOUSEHOLD PARTICIPATION IN THE STOCK MARKET PHENOMENON ANALYSIS TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION3 2. FACTORS THAT DETERMINE STOCKHOLDING DECISION OF HOUSEHOLDS4 2. 1. Wealth4 2. 2. Intelligence quotient (IQ) and cognitive skills4 2. 3. Education4 2. 4. Country4 2. 5. Information availability and ease to trade6 2. 6. Market trust6 2. 7. Age7 2. 8. Marital status7 2. 9. Sociability (social interaction)8 2. 10. Personal values9 2. 11. Life satisfaction9 2. 12. Health10 2. 3. Risk aversion10 3. CONCLUSIONS12 4. REFERENCES13 1. INTRODUCTION There are a lot of researches made to investigate the reasons why households participation in the stock market is relatively low. According to the numbers, only 21% of EU households participate in stockholding (European Survey of Consumer Finances, 2009). This looks irrational because the majority of the society members do not capture their chance to win additional benefits from their wealth in the stock market.The purpose of this exploratory research is to provide general insights about current status of households stock market participation and explain the variables that have effects on stockholding decision by households. Currently, the households investment level can be treated as market inefficiency due to irrational or unconscious households behavior. However, there is a number of external factors that influence the decision making in this field too.The statistics from variuos countries imply differences even among highly developed countries with similar GDP per capita like Italy with 14% and UK with 26% households stockholding level (European Survey of Consumer Finances, 2009). This means that there are externalities that lead to such differences and not just irrational households behavior determine the situation. To draw the full picture, this research focuses on both types of factors – internal and external. The following chapters include short analysis of the main factors that have impact on household st ockholding decision and the summary. . FACTORS THAT DETERMINE STOCKHOLDING DECISION OF HOUSEHOLDS 2. 1. Wealth Wealth refers to accumulated tangible and intangible assets. It is obvious that for stock investing households need to have some tangible assets to buy stocks. Therefore, wealth is one of the main factors that determine whether a household can actually invest, or in other words, convert savings to investment. According to the survey, 31% of respondents in EU state that they have some savings but do not participate in any kind of investing (European Survey of Consumer Finances, 2009).Households starting to invest face a number of costs such as time spent to understand the stock market system, get familiar with markets situation and trading flow. It may seem that the knowledge gain does not cost anything but there are opportunity costs when it comes to time. Other than that, there are also some direct tangible costs like transaction costs, taxes and other fees for the brokera ge. Of course for wealthier households this kind of barriers are less relevant, however, poorer households might be considering if possible benefits outweigh the costs. . 2. Intelligence quotient (IQ) and cognitive skills IQ is probably the most common measure to assess human intelligence. There is no doubt that beneficial stockholding requires appropriate level of intelligence to make good investing decisions. According to recent researches, there is a correlation between IQ and participation in stock market (IQ and Stock Market Participation, 2011). Households’ heads with higher IQ tend to diversify, hold mutual funds, more stocks and eventually bear lower risks with higher returns.In addition to IQ, it is worth to mention cognitive skills that have impact on participation and successfullness of stockholding. Good cognitive skills lead to lower time costs for getting knowledge and higher awareness that are so crucial for investing. 2. 3. Education In general, education prov ides a lot of advantages for societies and its members. Self development is crucial to gain cognitive skills, general knowledge, increase awareness and gain variuos experiences. These are the traits necessary for successful participation in stock markets.It is proven that education has positive correlation with households stockholding participation. More specifically, even one additional year of schooling increases the possibility of participation by 7% – 8% (Stock market participation and household characteristics in Europe, 2010). Moreover, decisions making of educated households’ heads are more rational. 2. 4. Country As it is mentioned in the introduction, different countries have created different environments for stock markets and, therefore, this is one more factor that can influence households stockholding decision.More specifically, governments can influence investment climate by adjusting such variables as taxes, laws, infrastructure, education, general count ry’s stability and even more. The Figure 1 below represents country specific percentage of households having direct and indirect stockholdings between 2006 and 2007 (Stock market participation and household characteristics in Europe, 2010). Figure 1. Stock market participation and household characteristics in Europe, 2010. In order to improve the opportunities for households to participate in tock markets, while at the same time to make it easier to enter the above-mentioned markets to new entrants, and to improve the conditions of participation for existing participants, and finally – to ensure the stability of financial markets, government often takes appropriate actions, whose has a relatively high impact on the further development of stock markets. Government must ensure the macroeconomic stability of financial markets, while at the same time they must ensure the existence of an open economy.A theory of an open economy is very important on the development of stock markets, because only in this case people and companies can freely trade in goods and services with other people and businesses, so that has a major impact on the growth of financial markets. Another neccessary condition for the success of any stock market is its repayment of stock dividends culture – before making any type of investment it must be ensured that stockholders will be allowed to get their dividends at a pre-determined time and at a pre-determined amounts.Talking about ensuring the fair trading process, European Union in 2004 released the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) (this directive was implemented three years later, in 2007), in order to open the door to the creation of new trading platforms directly operated by intermediaries, and in 2008, nine major investment banks (BNP Paribas, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Societe Generale and UBS) has launched new pan-European equities tr ading platform (based in London) called â€Å"Project Turquoise†.Has this directive had an impact on stock markets? Yes. The issuance of this directive led European Union to increase competition and consumer protection in investment services. In order to complete this section about relevant government efforts, we must conclude that the relevant government actions truly has a significant effect on the growth of stock (and bond) markets, promotes fair trade among all countries included in the process of buying / selling stocks, and eventually – influences country's economic level to ncrease. But are these actions sufficient enough in order to ensure the increase of the involvement of households in the stock markets in the future? 2. 5. Information availability and ease to trade Technologies and their development have huge impact on everyday households life. Although nowadays the majority of wealthy households have ability to use the Internet, two decades earlier this was different and households participation in stock market rate was different too.The research of impact of the Internet to stock market participation reveals that there are strong evidences that the Internet penetration contributed to increased amount of households participating in stock market (Stock Market Participation and the Internet, 2008). According to the same research, the usage of the Internet increases the possibility to have stocks by 7%. This is mostly because of ease of stock trading (online trading), lower transaction costs and lower information costs. 2. 6. Market trustTrust is important factor for household’s decision to invest in stock market. Financial markets involve much risk and uncertainty. To tell the truth, the majority of households whose invest in stocks don't fully understand how the capital markets actually function. There needs to be some faith and certainty in this process. If it is known that a certain person or a company is unreliable and untrus tworthy, you, simply, don’t want to have any kind of business and common interests with them. The same is with households.In deciding whether to buy stocks, investors takes into account the risk of being cheated, so those households, whose generally are more trusting, are also more likely to invest in the financial markets, and those who are less trusting are less likely to invest in the market. Collapses of financial markets and its key participants – individual companies’ (when fraud was initiated and tolerated by heads of major companies) not only lowers the distribution of expected payoffs, but at the same time reduces the confidence in the system, which generates these enefits. A great example – company â€Å"Enron†. â€Å"Enron† was one of the biggest U. S. energy companies, however, when it was revealed lots of obscure in accounting procedures (it can be considered as a fraud), performed in 1990 on both â€Å"Enron† and its par tner, accounting company â€Å"Arthur Andersen†, there was a bankruptcy initiated on â€Å"Enron† – it was the largest bankruptcy in U. S. history. Share price fell from $ 90 to a few cents, and since those shares was considered to be very reliable, this bankruptcy was considered as disaster in the financial world.Company’s shareholders lost nearly $11 billion. What do you think, what impact do these examples of companies’ breakdowns have on the growth in confidence in financial markets? 2. 7. Age Another interesting fact in observing limited household stock market participation phenomenon – age. One of the factors that influence household’s decisions about stockholdings is the age’s effect on risk tolerance. There was a research done, in order to identify the risk tolerance level within specified age groups, and it showed that the risk tolerance decreases within the age.According to a research done by Rui Yao, Michael S. Gutte r, and Sherman D. Hanna, where they analyzed the effect of race and ethnicity on subjective financial risk tolerance, measuring age as a continuous variable, found out that each year increase in age decreased a probability of taking any type of risk by almost 2 %. Another factor, having significant impact on household investment decisions according to its age, is income.As this factor was discussed at one of the beginning pages of this research paper, it is worth to remind that different age groups receives different amounts of wages, what has an impact on their ability to act and to invest in financial markets. Finally, it is an interesting fact that interpersonal trust (trust is our previously described factor due to limited household participation in stock market, but this time this factor is viewed from a slightly different perspective) is more important for stock market participation decision within younger age groups and political orientation within older age groups. . 8. Mari tal status It’s not a secret that marital status is another important factor, which has a significant impact on household’s decisions whether to participate in the stock market or not. Married people are more willing to take (and share with each other) a certain level of risk than those, whose are living alone, and those, whose are living together, but are not married at all. There was a research done in order to identify the effects of marriage and divorce on financial investments.According to this research, women are more likely to invest in the stock market after their marriage, and take back their investment after divorce, while at the same time men shows quite different patterns on investment decisions. This suggests that the female gender is more risk averse than men (risk averse is also identified as one of the factors that has an impact on household’s investment decisions in the stock market), but in terms of couples who are married, a degree of risk mor e or less evenly distributes among themselves.It is worth to mention that marriage increases the likelihood of future investments in the financial markets for both men and women. There are lots of household finance literature available both online and in libraries, where it is often highlighted the differences in men and women behaviors while investing (marital status, as one of the factors having impact on households decision whether to participate in stock market or not, can be analyzed in a little bit different way.That’s true – by gender and by risk level each gender has possibility to take on themselves). According to the literature, the differences on investment preferences between men and women are more exposed, when individuals rather than married couples are being analyzed, because as it was mentioned earlier, married investors takes more risk than single investors. A distribution in risk by gender, talking in terms of marital status, is not the only reason fo r limited household participation in stock market. There an be distinguished several different factors, attributable to marital status – it‘s changes in household risk preferences, changes in background risks, and, also, changes in economic resources. 2. 9. Sociability (social interaction) Is it not true that working with a good company of friends involves more fun and at the same time the overall productivity increases? At the same time, don‘t you feel safer when you purchase a good, that was tested by people living in your environment, and it was recommended as a reliable and useful good?Another example would be a participation in any social program, where there previously participated, for example, your neighbours or friends – your decision-making process is very strongly influenced by the people of your environment, and here takes place the so-called phenomenon of word-of-mouth communication. All these examples perfectly suites to define one more factor , which explains limited household participation in stock market phenomenon – it is sociability, or, in other words, household‘s social interaction.Harvard Business School provides us with an opportunity to observe their findings about sociability‘s impact on stockholding decisions. Firstly, according to a research done, social households – those households, that has friendly and warm relations with their neighbours, are more likely to participate in stock markets, than those, whose relations with their neighbours are ruined or there aren‘t any neighbours in their environment. Secondly, as the proof of the first claim about sociability, researchers indicates that the impact of sociability is much more higher in those states with higher stock market participation rates.Quite „unexpectedâ€Å", right? Finally, they found out that differential between social and non-social households appears to have widened since 1990s. We often encounter with wor d-of-mouth communication‘s impact in our everyday‘s life, but when you are trying to assess sociability‘s influence on household decisions whether to participate on stock markets or not, you then realize the true power of a word. Word-of-mouth information sharing is key point in understanding sociability as another factor of limited household stockholding decisions, so we state that there‘s a significant impact of social interaction on such like household decisions. 2. 10. Personal values This research is gradually beginning to analyze not only the superficial factors, that affects household decisions related to stock market participation, but it also tries to look a little bit deeper into personal characteristics of an investor. One of the most important internal factor, having a great impact on investor‘s financial decisions, is personal values of an individual.A technical definition of personal values would be that it‘s the strongest internal p rovisions, having a large impact on our everyday decisions. Those everyday decisions are better know as our consumption decisions, they are also a major driver of our voting decisions and so on. Compared to other internal factors, such as risk aversion or life satisfaction (those are our next two internal factors, whose will be discussed a little bit later in this research), studies about personal values and its impact on our everyday‘s life are more preferable by today‘s researchers.According to their findings, personal values are connected to various demographic variables, i. e. Self-Transcedence and Openness to Change are the values that are proven to become more important when the level of education gets higher. It have also been proven that personal values are associated with social involvement, where, according to researchers, social involvement increases with the level of education. Finally, about two thirds of all studies shows that political orientation has stro ngest association with personal values.As every person has different values, the same is with political orientation – as there are many factors affecting citizens‘ lives, such as the income inequality, national security and so on, it is natural, however, that different values are emphasized in different environments. So what’s a true effect of personal values on investment decisions? Firstly, people with self-enhancement values of power and achievement are more likely to invest in stock markets than the others.And secondly, it is observed that personal values have a significant impact on those groups of people and their decisions, where investing in stock markets is relatively rare. 2. 11. Life satisfaction Isn’t it true that happier, more optimistic and satisfied with their life people embraces better decisions? What are the differences between pessimistic and optimistic people? – Optimists are more likely to believe that future economic conditions will improve. On the other hand, it is observed that optimistic people are working longer hours, they are more likely to remarry after divorce.So, optimism and life satisfaction are other important factors influencing households’ economy-related decisions. There was a research by Cambridge university‘s researchers done, where they found that optimism is highly correlated with stock ownership. People with higher levels of life satisfaction lives longer. Mostly. Therefore they think they are further from retirement, hence they are trying to control financial factors that are known that could affect their lifespan.It‘s a fact, that people, whose are more satisfied with their life, are working more, they are less pre-disposed towards retirement. What is more, it is more likely that one day they‘ll create any kind of business, so they‘ll become self-employed. Finally, optimistic people are more likely to remarry after divorce. All of this suggests that lif e satisfaction and optimism truly is a critical component of economic-decision making, and that those two factors plays an important role both on household decisions related to stock market participation and economic welfare of stockholders. . 12. Health Health risk is increasingly viewed as an important form of background risk that affects household portfolio decisions. According to household‘s level of health (whether it‘s poor or good) there‘s a possibility to detect whether household is willing to participate on the stock market or not – poor health is associated with smaller amount of risky assets and greater amount of safe assets. Researchers are trying to evaluate the links between health, health risk and portfolio selection.Recently it was observed that it does not matter whether households are trying to control their level of income and variety of socio-demographic characteristics, poor health decreases the probability of owning risky assets  œ for example, those households with poor health entails a higher risk of unexpected out-of-pocket medical expenditures, and prefers to own a corporate or government bond instead of holding a stock. Despite the fact that health risk quite often leads to a previously mentioned higher out-of-pocket medical expenditure risk, two possible outcomes can arise from such things.In particular, households may start changing the allocation of their financial resources, that can reduce their exposure to financial risk. On the second case, households can increase their precautionary saving, what reduces their ability to act in stock markets. At this point it is worth to mention that the intervention of government organizations reduces the impact of health risks related to household‘s stockholding decisions. That‘s why – it is observed that countries without adequate health care laws tends not to invest in risky financial assets, so this suggests an important role of such laws in shaping household‘s portfolio decisions. . 13. Risk aversion Finally, last but not least – factor, which had a significant role on this entire research. That’s risk aversion. We’ve emphasized different levels of risks on our study and their impact on household stockholding decisions, such as health risk or the age effect on risk tolerance. It has became clear that risk aversion reduces the probability of household‘s investments on risky assets. As the standard portfolio theory states, the amount of wealth a person wishes o invest in risky assets, depends directly on his degree of risk aversion, so it is logical to assume that if a person is more risk averse, he will hold safer portfolios. There was a research done several years in a row (from 1998 to 2001), where researchers found out that risk aversion has an effect not only on the structure of portfolio, but it also has an impact on the final decision whether an individual wants to become a stoc kholder (you should remember that previously we had a little discussion about that entry costs affects individuals‘ stock market participation decisions, too).Finally, talking about risk aversion‘s relation to other factors affecting stockholding decisions, it is found that risk aversion is negatively correlated with wealth. That‘s true – risk aversion decreases when wealth levels increases, and vice versa. To complete our discussion, another interesting fact – it was identified, that women are more risk averse than men, however, differences between genders, tends to be larger in single households (remember what effect on household‘s decisions on stockholding has marital status). 3. CONCLUSIONSIn general, all present researches about the topic agree that household stock market participation currently is not at the efficient point. There are a lot of complex factors that have impact on household stockholding decision and those have been discussed . However, some researchers observe even more correlations with stockholding decision and such interesting variables as race or living place but due to the limited scope of this exploratory research, these interesting factors are not taken into consideration. Needless to say, there are plenty of not mentioned factors that determine the level of stockholding.Of course, the governments are motivated to encourage investment level of households to make stock markets more efficient. There are some great examples how particular countries managed to increase the level of household stockholding over time. However, the complexity of the factors that lead to higher efficiency in each country are hard to determine and need further analysis to determine what works for each country particularly. Unfortunately, not all factors can be stabilized by the government. The global financial crisis of 2007-2008 showed that trust crisis in stock markets can not be handled so easily.Therefore, the only way to ensure sustainable stockholding growth is to adjust the system itself and add measures that could protect stockholders and decrease the possibility of such recessions. 4. REFERENCES 1. James P. Dow, Jr. , â€Å"Age, investing horizon and asset allocation†, 2008 2. George Korniotis, â€Å"Does Investment Skill Decline due to Cognitive Aging or Improve with Experience? †, 2007 3. Sule Alan, â€Å"Entry Costs and Stock Market Participation Over the Life Cycle†, 2006 4. Janus Capital Group, â€Å"European Survey of Consumer Finances†, 2009 5.Luigi Guiso, Paola Sapienza and Luigi Zingales, â€Å"Trusting the Stock Market†, 2008 6. Vicki Bogan, â€Å"Stock Market Participation and the Internet†, 2008 7. Mark Grinblatt, Matti Keloharju Juhani Linnainmaa, â€Å"IQ and Stock Market Participation†, 2011 8. Charlotte Christiansen, Juanna Cchroter Joensen, Jesper Rangvid, â€Å"Are Economists More Likely to Hold Stocks? †, 2007 9. Elin a Laakso, â€Å"Stock market participation and household characteristics in Europe†, 2010 10. Paul Gerrans, „Gender Differences in Retirement Savings Decisionsâ€Å" 11.Jeffrey R. Brown, Zoran Ivkovic, Paul A. Smith, Scott Weisbenner, „Neighbors Matter:Causal Community Effects and Stock Market Participationâ€Å", 2006 12. Dimitris Georgarakos, Giacomo Pasini, „Trust, Sociability and Stock Market Participationâ€Å", 2009 13. Kaustia, M. , Torstila, S. „Stock market aversion? Political preferences and stock market participation. â€Å", 2010 14. Shawn Cole, Gauri Kartini Shastry, „Smart Money: The Effect of Education, Cognitive Ability, and Financial Literacy on Financial Market Participationâ€Å", 2008 – 2009 15.George Korniotis, „Does Investment Skill Decline due to Cognitive Aging or Improve with Experience? â€Å", 2007 16. Rosen, H. , Wu, S. , „Portfolio choice and health status. Journal of Financial Economics ", 2004. 17. Edwards R. D. , „Health Risk and Portfolio Choiceâ€Å", 2005 18. Christiansen C. , Rangvid J. , Joensen J. S. , â€Å"The Effects of Marriage and Divorce on Financial Investments: Learning to Love or Hate Risk? †, 2010 19. Christiansen C. , Rangvid J. , Joensen J. S. , â€Å"Fiction or Fact: Systematic Gender Differences in Financial Investments? , 2010 20. Niilo Luotonen, „Personal Values and Stock Market Participation – Evidence from Finnish University Studentsâ€Å", 2009 21. Sule Alan, „Entry Costs and Stock Market Participation Over the Life Cycleâ€Å", 2006 22. Yao, R. , Gutter, M. S. , Hanna, S. D. , „The financial risk tolerance of Blacks, Hispanics and Whitesâ€Å", 2005 23. Rui Yao, Deanna L. Sharpe, Feifei Wang, „Decomposing the age effect on risk toleranceâ€Å", 2010 24. Tullio Jappelli, Marco Pagano, „FINANCIAL MARKET INTEGRATION UNDER EMUâ€Å", 2008

The Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver - 1124 Words

In the novel The Poisonwood Bible, written by Barbara Kingsolver, the reader is introduced to the Price family, Baptist missionaries who are attempting to â€Å"Christianize† the country of Congo, more specifically the village of Kilanga. As the story progresses, the family realizes that they are not changing the Congo; instead, the Congo is changing them. The development of the characters within the novel is due to the instrument of cruelty. Although distasteful to regard it as such, cruelty motivates the development and choices of its subjects, whether politically, culturally, or socially. Rendering itself as a main theme throughout the book, different aspects of cruelty are illustrated through the interactions of the Price family, internally and externally, as well as the overall relationship between the â€Å"white men† and Congo, or more generally the continent of Africa. If one extends their outlook unto Africa, the novel demonstrates the disgraceful actions that the continent endures. Deemed as the â€Å"white men† by the villagers, the countries of Belgium and the United States are the main abusers to this land. By utilizing their military power, both countries take advantage of the weakened state of Africa and manipulate the present government to favor their liking. As their efforts are met with immediate backlash from the public, the countries attempt to validate their selections. They have their â€Å"puppet† Mobutu, the selected president, urge the â€Å"US advisors to hold elections†¦Show MoreRelatedThe Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver1352 Words   |  6 Pagessuccessful. In the beginning of The Poisonwood Bible, Orleanna introduces to the readers in a third person’s point of view, â€Å"The daughters march behind her, each one tensed to fire off a woman’s heart on a different path to glory or damnatio n† (5). Orleanna, a mother who lives throughout the story of The Poisonwood Bible, acknowledges how women, in great numbers, are found walking down the path of trying to be successful. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, involves the Price family of 6, whichRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver1142 Words   |  5 PagesThe Poisonwood Bible Nowadays, in today’s society, survival is considered the basic instinct of all humans. Commonly defined as the state of â€Å"continuing to live or exist, in spite of an accident, ordeal or difficult circumstance,†(Dictionary) survival teaches us the will to succeed and face adversity despite the challenges and obstacles we may encounter along the way. In Barbara Kingsolver’s novel â€Å" The Poisonwood Bible,† there is a central theme of survival. 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In The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingso lver, five females narrate their experiences in Congo during the sixties under not only the Belgian’s rule, but more terribly, under the tyranny of Nathan Price, a Baptist preacher on a mission to convert â€Å"arrogant† Congolese people intoRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver1295 Words   |  6 Pages Imperialism has been a strong and long lasting force, oppressing societies for generations on end. The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, demonstrates how the Congo is continuously affected by this concept and ideology. Throughout this story, Kingsolver manipulates each family member and individual within the book, to better show Western and European ideas and attitudes, to convey the large amount of hypocrisy, in foreigner’s actions. No one shows the oppression, inflicted upon the Congo’sRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver1732 Words   |  7 PagesThe Poisonwood Bible 1998 Historical Fiction Characteristics: Unique location, Primitivism, different ways of speaking and racial views Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver, born in 1955, grew up in Kentucky and lived in many different countries such as : England, France, and Canary Islands. She attended Debauw University and University of Arizona where she earned a biology degree. Kingsolver now is a beloved author of eleven books and has been named the most important author of the twentieth centuryRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver1961 Words   |  8 PagesThe poisonwood Bible is a book about identity, growing up and family. The main characters throughout the book grow and learn to become new people through new relationships they develop while in the Congo as well as through struggles they face while in the Congo. 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This novel exemplifies the different types of guilt the Price family experienced throughout their stay inRead MoreThe Poisonwood Bible By Barbara Kingsolver2015 Words   |  9 PagesThe Poisonwood Bible, written by Barbara Kingsolver, details the experiences of a missionary family in the Congo, narrated by the Price women. Multiple questions are introduced over the course of the novel, some being answered and others not so much. One important theme in the novel is the influence of surroundings on the characters, specifically Leah Price. Leah Price arguably went through the most change and development as a result of her surroundings and environment. Her moral, psychological change