Still Hungry in America Essay Example

Still Hungry in America Essay Example Still Hungry in America Paper Still Hungry in America Paper Still Hungry in America Marian Edelman Wright wrote the famous literacy narrative Still Hungry in America. Marian Wright has been a proponent for disadvantaged Americans her entire life. Edelmans career began after graduating from Spellman College and Yale Law School. After graduation, she became the founding president of the Childrens Defense Fund (CDF). In result of Edelmans phenomenal leadership, CDF has become the nations strongest voice for less-fortunate families and children. The mission of CDF is to leave no child behind. This mission was imposed to ensure that every child has a healthy start, a head start, a fair start, a safe start, and a moral start in life and a successful passage to adulthood. In addition, in the many professional positions Edelman held, her primary purpose was to stand up for the ones who lived in poverty and for the ones starving from food shortage. By writing Still Hungry in America, she intended to communicate this purpose so others would Join the cause and help prevent family and children starvation. Her objective in this particular writing is to how how important government assistance programs are too many Americans. She made it very clear in her writing, that although America is the richest nation in the world, many Americans still suffer from or is on the verge of starvation. She also made it very clear that it is important to fght for these programs whenever necessary because although these programs have proven to be helpful to the American people, there are some people out there who fill they are a waste of government spending. It is easy to draw this conclusion because Edelman had to fght back at several groups n the past who tried to defund state and government programs. She also attempted to persuade readers to see her point-of-view by elaborated on the struggles she encountered and overcame in the past. In addition, she had to fght for more programs that would help less-fortunate American on a large-scale level. In result, she help fght for the implementation and expansion of government programs such as food stamps. Moreover, Edelman uses specific quotes to build her argument such as Im not hungry, dont worry about it. These quotes add to her writing significantly. In result of using this quote, it is very clear that her writing is now a combination of ethos, logos, and pathos. This is true because ethos means convincing by the character of the author, pathos means persuading by appealing to the readers emotion, and logos means by the use of reasoning. All three of these terms are clearly seen in this particular writing. Personally, I believe this writing relies more on logos than any other term. I believe this because she is mainly persuading by reasoning. By diamannichols

20 Tips to Improve your Writing Productivity

20 Tips to Improve your Writing Productivity 20 Tips to Improve your Writing Productivity 20 Tips to Improve your Writing Productivity By Michael So youd like your latest writing project to get moving faster. Great writers have felt the same. Dont worry, its fixable. When the words stop, writers have effective ways of getting them moving again. Plow new ground Write multiple drafts instead of obsessively editing the same one. You can tell the same story, but tell it over again. You will probably feel more encouraged. That part that you never knew how to fix? Maybe your new draft doesnt have it anymore. Commit to a consistent schedule Write daily, not someday. Start today, not tomorrow. Find the best time for you. Resolve that 6:00 a.m or 9:00 p.m. will be your regular time for writing, and thats it. If you dont make time, you may not find time. Use the time you have. After all, you cant use the time you dont have. Though its definitely easier to write when you dont constantly switch tasks, you cant wait for large blocks of time to appear in your schedule. They may not. Instead, take advantage of the minutes between tasks, time that might have been misused. And when you cant write, prepare to write. Set priorities I regret to inform you that you cant do everything. You cant spend three hours a day watching television, four hours playing video games, eight hours at work or school, eight hours sleeping, two hours eating, and one hour writing. That totals 26 hours a day. Youll have to cut something from your schedule. Do you want to write or not? Count words, not minutes. You may feel lighter and freer if you know that you can get up from your chair and play golf as soon as you have written 1,000 words. You may write faster out of sheer anticipation. Count minutes, not words. On the other hand, sometimes the words get hard and so does your chair. If your mind is strained, tired or muddled, maybe you should limit your writing time. But find a goal you can stick to. Im not giving you permission to give up easily. Don’t begin at the beginning The title and first lines are the hardest parts to write. They get easier after youve finished the rest, and having perfected them may not help you write the rest more efficiently. So dont bother writing them first. You can change the title any time before the release thats one reason why movies have working titles. Start in the middle Actually, start writing the part that most inspires you, Start where you want to, where your creative urge is strongest. You can add introductions and conclusions later. Write your favorite part first. Choose an audience You can write most effectively when you know who youre writing for, when you can picture them in your mind. Then you know more clearly what the purpose of your writing is. Change your audience If your writing gets stuck or even boring, try picturing a different reader. Maybe you werent picturing any particular reader at all. No wonder your writing sounded unfocused. Imagine youre writing to your best friend, your best customer, your biggest fan, or to your grandmother. (Write regularly to your grandmother, if you have one.) Take very small steps If youre overwhelmed by the thought of writing the whole piece, tell yourself to only write one sentence then make yourself stop. Science fiction writer Roger Zelazny used to advise authors to write two sentences. Never rewrite until you’re done writing. There is a time for writing and a time for editing, and most writers cant do both at once. Editing as you write will slow down your writing, often to a standstill its a major cause of writers block. Once you get started, ideas will come running fast enough that you wont have time to refine them until after the stampede. When one project bogs down, switch to another. We were built for variety, and the specialization of the Industrial Age has lessened us. You werent meant to always do the same thing. Keep more than one project bubbling at once. When you (temporarily) lose interest in one book, you always have something else to work on. Please only yourself. You can pretend to be interested in a genre because it sells well, but youre competing against other writers who arent pretending. Competition in the publishing world is tough enough. Im not saying to ignore market forces if you enjoy writing in two genres, its fine to pick the more popular one. But if you focus on what you know best, you can write faster and research less. And theres less competition. Your teacher is not looking over your shoulder. Too often, school teaches children to write and teaches them to hate writing. Writing gives us a way to share ourselves, and we should love it. Grammar is not sharing; its only an aid to sharing. Style is worthless if it doesnt help your reader. You have no obligation to sound like anyone but yourself. Keep a notebook When you have a fresh idea, write it down and store it up for the times when you dont. Make notes of interesting expressions youve overheard, describe scenes youd like to write about, record physical details. Dont wait for inspiration. If your Creative Muse doesnt flit into your room and shower inspiration upon you, go out into the hallway and take her by the hand. If you were in your chair writing at your scheduled time of 6:00 a.m. or 9:00 p.m, she would have known where to find you. Look in your notebook there should be some inspiration there. Say what you really mean If you get stuck or tangled in your writing, try this: pretend youre talking to a child and say, What I really mean is. Then say what you really mean. My college speech teacher used a similar technique. When nervous students showed up to give their first speech, she told them, You dont have to give your speech, just tell us what you would have said. Change your medium. If you cant get your writing to move, try telling your story out loud. Leave yourself a voicemail. Send it as an email to someone. Send it as a text. Write it as a series of headlines. Write only the outline. Use a pencil. Use a crayon, as James Thurber did. As his eyesight diminished, he had to write one letter per page. And you think you have problems. Write any way you can. If you feel constricted as a writer and the words dont come, work around your block. Dont force yourself to stay on the main point. Tell your backstory, share your history, give the background, explain the alternatives. Youll get back on track soon enough. How many of these tips have you tried? What other tips have worked for you? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:45 Synonyms for â€Å"Food†Capitalization Rules for the Names of GamesGrammatical Case in English

The Craft of Public Administration Statute Essay

The Craft of Public Administration Statute - Essay Example Accommodating the suggestion either, totally or with modifications or restrictions; deferring action resting on the suggestion or looking for additional information concerning its operation and impact; rejecting a proposal because it does not have value or would be contradictory with other rules or a statute. (Magat 70) When an advisory committee decides primarily that a particular modify in the rules would be suitable, it normally asks its journalist to prepare a draft modification to the policy and an explanatory committee note. The draft amendment and committee note are discussed and nominated upon at a committee meeting. (Magat 72) Once an advisory committee vote initially to recommend an amendment to the rules, it is required to obtain the approval of the Standing Committee, or its chair to issue the proposed amendment for municipal comment. In seeking publication, the advisory committee must give details to the standing committee the reasons for its suggestion, including any marginal or separate views. (Magat 83) The reporter prepares a summary of the printed comments received from the municipal and the proof presented at the hearings. The advisory committee next takes a fresh look at the anticipated rule changes in light of the printed comments and testimony. ... Once the advisory committee decides to carry on in final form, it submits the proposed amendment to the Standing Committee for approval. (Magat 86) Stage 4. Approval by the Standing Committee The standing committee considers the final recommendations of the advisory committee and may recognize, reject, or modify them. If the Standing committee approves a projected rule change, it will pass on to the judicial conference. (Magat 90) Stage 5. Judicial Conference Approval The judicial Conference generally considers proposed amendments to the policy at its September assembly each year. If approved by the conference, the amendments are transmitted to the Supreme Court. (Magat 91) Stage 6. Supreme Court Approval The Supreme Court has the authority to lay down the federal rules, subject to a legal waiting period. 28 U.S.C. 2072, 2075. The Court ought to transmit proposed amendments to assembly by May 1 of the year in which the modification is to take effect. 28 U.S.C. 2074, 2075. (Magat 93) Stage 7. Congressional Review Congress has a statutory period of at least 7 months to take action on any rules prescribed by the Supreme Court. If the Congress does not pass legislation to decline, amend, or defer the rules, they take outcome as a matter of law on December 1. 28 U.S.C. 2074, 2075.

History in the 21st Century Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

History in the 21st Century - Term Paper Example The different approaches applied when studying the subject create uniqueness throughout the different historical eras. This essay will therefore investigate various historical approaches in the 20th century. The essay will also investigate the implication of the different approaches in history to scholars. Similar to ancient and medieval history, the twentieth history had its unique approach and method. Marxism is a historical approach of the twentieth century that was introduced by Marx. Through his philosophy, Marx had many followers who believed that that the existence of any society is determined by relationship between individuals and not the personal characteristic of each member of the society. Marxism historical approach was introduced at the height of conflict between capitalism and communism. According to Marx, capitalism was unsustainable and it would soon be overtaken by communism. Marxist considered the economy to be a key player in the determination of events or differe nt approaches taken by life. Introducing the notion of economy was an appropriate step that the Marxist took to study the subject. This is because the economy is a major determinant of social life and societies. The economic condition of a given community determines the different approaches towards life that the communities take for their own interest. The need to maintain economic stability also determines the different measurers that are taken by a community to protect its interest. Although communism might be a better economic approach, it is unsustainable and hence the predictions made by the Marxist are not realistic. Economic sustainability is realized from sustainable economic principles. Such economy is more likely to be realized from a capitalist economy than from a communist economy. This indicates that the predictions made by the Marxists are unrealistic and unreliable in the long-term. The new social history is the most recent branch of history. In this technique, histor ians apply cultural approaches to study political history of a given society. Culture is the overall collection of a community’s way of life and beliefs. Communities preserve their culture by passing it from generation to generation. The culture of a given society therefore defines a form of investment that a society makes over a long duration. Culture is therefore as good basis that historians can rely on to determined or investigate the political history of a certain community. The approach taken by the new social history to study the political history of a society is an appropriate approach since it utilizes the culture of a society1. Multiculturalism is more of an ideology than a historical approach. Scholars, who apply this approach in their investigations, consider the existence of cultural institutions. The institutionalization of different communities is the classification of different communities based on their common interests. Historians who study the society throu gh multiculturalists approach study the subject by analyzing the different classes of the society such as businesses, cities, nations and institutions. People have a tendency of forming groups that contain people with a common interest. The different groups or societies determine people way of life and their different approach towards life. Although this approach enables history scholars to study the general characteristic of a community, it does not give specific or detailed information about a community. The ap

In The Heart of Darkness Essay Example for Free

In The Heart of Darkness Essay In The Heart of Darkness, Marlow learns firsthand the consequences, cruelty, commerce, and corruption of color consciousness in European colonialism. The mercantilism and capitalism which were gaining currency in Europe officially spread throughout the world by the colonialism. This focus on wealth acquisition drives the Europeans to loot African territories of the precious ivory, ignites the vicious cycle of violence and cruelty, dehumanizes the Natives of Africa, and takes modern racism to a whole new level under the pretext of civilizing and pacifying the African peoples. Marlow, who is the protagonist in this book along with Kurtz, bears testimony of his voyage to Africa that: â€Å"I have seen the devil of violence, and the devil of greed, and the devil of hot desire† (Conrad 34). These explanation sums up what Marlow encounters in Africa and gives a hint as to crimes of colonialism which existed in the name of trade and conquest. The Heart of Darkness explores the darkest motivations of colonialism and highlights its pillaging agenda by commercialization of a culture, the denuding and exploitation of great wealth. In the Scramble for Africa, European countries unanimously agreed on sacking and claiming portions of it. The agreement legitimized the groups of pirates posed as traders to exchange with and enslave the native peoples in a second round of Neo-Slavery. The significance of the title, Heart of Darkness, flows in tandem with the love of money which is the root of all evil. This imperialist greed is what exposes â€Å"the criminality of inefficiency and pure selfishness when tackling the civilizing work of Africa† (Hawkins 286). The heart is wholly given over to the selfish pursuit of wealth and encumbers the masses by enslavement and deception. Kurtz is the embodiment of European colonialism â€Å"for mostly his expeditions had been for ivory† (Conrad 92). The price of ivory is invaluable. As testament to the presence of the extraction of Ivory in colonial times, we have the Ivory Coast. The natives would hunt the elephant for the ivory and then would trade it for shells, strings, rum etc with the European ‘explorers.’ Just as Kurtz’ life revolves around the hunt and gain for ivory (wealth), the central purpose of the Scramble for Africa which instigated the European colonialism is commerce, which was only exploitation of an ignorant people. Kurtz is introduced to Marlow as a man â€Å"grubbing for ivory† (Conrad 72). Marlow/Conrad uses a skilful literary technique in dehumanizing the Europeans for only animals grub for food. Ivory becomes not only the food which feeds their insatiable desires for self-aggrandizement, but also holds an enshrined position as a god, to whom their veneration ascends. As a newcomer on the expedition, Marlow heard â€Å"the word ivory rang in the air, was whispered and sighed. You would think they were praying to it. A taint of imbecile rapacity blew through it all† (Conrad 44). These men sell their souls for a natural resource in the name of commercialization and prosperity. Under the aegis of a company, plans were made to undermine the rights of the people and to acquire more territory. Marlow frequently alludes to â€Å"the Company† for whom he works. It is the East Indian Company which established trading posts and for whom Marlow, Kurtz, and several other British men render service. Conrad states that â€Å"the Company had the right to every bit of information about its territories† (Conrad175). Here is a bold statement which demonstrates the company authorizing decrees, setting up surveillance, annexing territory, and claiming rights to ownership and governance. The embryonic signs are already being made manifest that Neo-colonialism is going to rear its head to prominence. As if to emphasize the financial nature of their purpose and intercourse with the people, Conrad underlines that the team of the Company were like those of El Dorado, â€Å"hunters for gold or pursuers of fame† (Conrad 17). Conrad makes a pertinent connection with the conquistadores and Spanish explorers of the ‘New World’ who searched and hunted for gold due to the mythological tale of hidden treasures in the jungles. The motives and the techniques have not changed. The goal of the men to Africa is specifically to conduct trade although there is full-blown cartography going on along the book similar to the early Spanish explorers. Describing the manager of one of the Company’s stations, Marlow describes him as one whose â€Å"eyes glittered like mica discs† (Conrad 45). This comparison of his eyes to mica tells of his mercenary vision and objective. Mica is a silvery precious stone which gleams like diamond-like crystals which a hexagonal shape. It was considered a jewel since it was rarefied in Europe thus highly costly. The cruelty of European colonialism is plain to the sight in Heart of Darkness, and is a by-product of a darkened heart. The presence of rifles, guns, and bayonets of the Europeans versus the spears, bows, arrows, and clubs of the Native makes this novel very bloody, dehumanizing, violent, and brutal. The paragon of cruelty is of course, Kurtz who embodies the Machiavellian ethic of colonizers who do whatever is necessary to achieve their own ends. As Marlow enters Kurtz’ dwelling, Marlow is greeted by the heads which stand on stakes and adorn his home like medals (Conrad 94). What barbarous man would have dead cadavers of beheaded victims constantly surrounding him! The reeking of death in Heart of Darkness is â€Å"the scent of the lies’ taint as it emanates from the symbolic corpses and metaphoric decay that litters the course of the story† (Steward 319). Moral decay and decadence are what corrupts Kurtz and which becomes materialized in the cadavers around which he surrounds himself. Whatever the colonizers could not obtain by deception, they take by force. Cruelty comes naturally to Kurtz to the point that it overtakes him. Even Kurtz threatens to kill Marlow on one occasion in demand for some of the latter’s ivory. Often intertribal war would erupt because of hunting conflict and robberies-it was a bloody, cruel affair. Marlow depicts the hunting as â€Å"just robbery with violence, aggravated murder on a great scale† (Conrad 69). In one instance Marlow witness to the merciless beating of an African by one of the European traders as punishment (Conrad 23). Cruelty is a tactic employed to subject and to intimidate people. A startling case of this is the beating of the African which Marlow records earlier in the book. The castigation occurs in front of several of his own people who stand around doing nothing to help the beaten victim. Marlow sees the strong Africans around him and knows that they can overpower the white men, however, the mind is already enslaved and terrorized therefore the Europeans have free rein over Africa. Whipping is a punitive method which recalls the times of slavery where slaves had to be lashed as incentive to toil harder or as an example of warning to others. Sometimes cruelty is the means and sometimes it is the end. Violence breeds violence. As the Europeans continue to assume rights and invade territory, the people of Africa rise up in rebellion. A few men of their team are killed by the African artillery. Marlow attests to the ammunition where he observes â€Å"a heavy rifle, and a light revolver carbine – the thunderbolts of that pitiable Jupiter† (Conrad 98). Moreover, Africans negotiated the ivory trade provided that they could acquire the high caliber weapons of the Europeans so that in their local wars, they could have a greater advantage. The proliferation of arms serves the Europeans’ purpose to divide and rule so that cruelty against the Africans advances the ruin of the Africans when they kill one another. The consequences of colonialism are too many to be enumerated; however the primary ones are dehumanization, exploitation, poverty, and the death of a culture. The European colonizers place a negative construction on Africans which Marlow himself has done. Although he only narrates the story based on his Eurocentric perspective, it is still colored with bias, prejudice, dehumanization, and condescension toward the Africans. Viewing a people as inferior justifies their slaughtering and the plundering of their goods. Marlow says that he sees â€Å"twenty cannibals splashing around and pushing† (Conrad 61) in a river. This epithet ‘cannibal’ represents the less than flattering aspect of the African upon which the European fixates thus debasing them and their culture as subhuman. Cannibalism existed in some areas of Africa; however, for all the time that Marlow remains in Africa he is not eaten. Calling Africans cannibals was a normal act however which was in vogue among the Europeans. The Africans are never considered human in the novel. They are named â€Å"black figures† (Conrad 48), â€Å"savages† (Conrad 98), barbarian â€Å"naked human beings† (Conrad 97), â€Å"nigger† (Conrad 23), â€Å"shadows† (Conrad 100). Matched up against animals, Marlow compares their sounds to â€Å"a violent babble of uncouth sounds† (Conrad 38). No African speaks intelligibly in the novel seeing that their foreign tongue has a cacophonous, guttural, and animalistic note. As a result the power of discourse solely belongs the white man. â€Å"Edward Said suggests that colonial power and discourse is possessed entirely by the colonizer† (JanMohamed 59). The dehumanization of the African serves to yoke them with The White Man’s Burden masterfully expounded by Rudyard Kipling. â€Å"Marlow feels that colonialism can be redeemed by embracing an idea unselfishly. That idea can be compared to Rudyard Kipling’s The White Man’s Burden† (Farn 16). Broaching more in depth the theme of European colonialism, Marlow comments that â€Å"all Europe contributed to the making of Kurtz†¦the International Society for the Suppression of the Savage† (Conrad 83). Here he admits Kurtz’ collusion with Britain and other members of Europe in oppressing African peoples. The beating of the Africans like little children or animals also contributes to the debasement of this people from whose lands they were benefitting. A savage is semi-human if he is at all, and since to the colonizers he has nothing to say, nor are they interested in deciphering his tongue, they take greater liberty at enchaining him in a web of incomprehensible deceit. Dehumanization is crucial in the process of colonialism for enslavement of the mind comes first and then the enslavement of the body and person. The colonized individuals will must be broken, set at nought value and then the colonial is at liberty to dominate, exploit and commodify the human being. â€Å"The colonial legacy in Africanist ethnography can never be negated, but must be acknowledged under the sign of its erasure† (Apter 577). Commodification converts the sacred into the profane (Marx 1848). The English explorers were the colonists of their day and once they constructed the Africans as inferior, or below their culture, dehumanization becomes easy and an almost natural step. The bitterest servitude was imposed and cruel aggressions executed and perpetrated against the Africans. Brutality, demonization and savagery are justified for the indigenous peoples are not fully human; consequently the Indians are wholly in their power through gratuitous cruelty and carnage. European colonizers profited from servility and subjugation. Through force, coercion and duress the European colonizers manipulate for ivory or exact ivory, while treating the natives like excrement. The role of color in European colonialism is easy to fathom in The Heart of Darkness. The depth of the color of darkness has several connotations which Marlow picks up along the way. First of all, the association of black has both positive and negative meanings. Blackness exemplifies richness, depth, and unity; on the other hand, black also is equated with evil, corruption, colonialism, and the devil. By the book’s name, one can see that there is a colored system which Marlow has to see for himself to believe. Views about the human nature and the human heart are also studied as one sees its enormous capacity to perform beastly, monstrous acts and these are the traits which color and taint his heart. Heart of Darkness conveys the â€Å"timeless myth about the exploration of the human soul and the metaphysical power of evil† (Raskin 113).Colonialism is all about color and thrives on, the color line, the division of the races. The European whites are distinguished about the African blacks; the color on the maps is a legendary key indicating the colonized areas of Africa. Marlow realizes that Kurtz’ heart is black as hell toward the end of the novel. The ignorance and primitiveness of the Africans are contrasted with men who lived in the light of civilization. Hence, the reader gains a broad and deep insight in understanding the color codes as Marlow himself comes to grasp, as he represents the vicarious witness through whose eyes, the reader observes the process of colonization in Africa. In sum, Conrad effectively critiques colonialism and places before the reader the darkened heart: the commerce, cruelty, corruption, and color consciousness in European colonialism in Heart of Darkness. These elements plunge both the colonist and the colonizer in an abyss of ruin where both become dehumanized, financially or morally bankrupt, and violent. The period of Neo-colonialism in Africa accomplishes great havoc in the name of progress, commercialization, and prosperity.

Ikemefuna’s Death in Chinua Achebes Things Fall Apart Essay -- Things

Ikemefuna’s Death in Things Fall Apart Okonkwo’s participation in the slaying of his adopted son, Ikemefuna is a pivotal moment in Things Fall Apart. It is a moment of horror that cannot please Ani, the great earth goddess, the center of community, the ultimate judge of morality for the clan. It is a moment that changes the course of events, a moment eerily paralleled in the death of Ezeudu’s son. It is a moment that ultimately causes Okonkwo’s son, Nwoye’s to abandon his ancestors and become a Christian. It is a moment when the center of community life, the need to honor blood ties and the need to respect the earth goddess, can no longer hold. It is a moment when things fall apart. "That boy calls you father. Do not bear a hand in his death," advises Ezeudu, the oldest and most respected man in the village (Achebe 57). Although he treats the boy as a son (28), Okonkwo’s greatest fear is to be thought effeminate. He ignores Ezeudu’s advice and accompanies the party that takes Ikemefuna to his death. Ikemefuna feels safe, not believing that harm will come to him while his fos...

Happy people make people happy Essay

Like yawning, many recent studies have proved that laughter is contagious. Does this necessarily imply that when you smile to a complete stranger, he will smile back to you? Or on the other hand, when you frown at a complete stranger, he will frown at you as well? To find out the answer, we designed an experiment to test will happy people make people happy. Independent variables are the factors we manipulated. There are two independent variables in this test. The first one is our emotion conditions when having eye contact with the strangers, i.e. smile condition, frown condition and control condition. We define smile condition as smiling without teeth, frown condition as knitting our brows, and control condition as having a neutral facial expression. The second one is gender. To understand if gender matching matters, we will test the three conditions with strangers with the same gender and the opposite gender. Dependent variables are the variables being tested in the experiment. In this test, the dependent variables are the responses from the participants. We will rate their responded expression in 5 categories: clear frown, small frown, neutral, small smile, and clear smile. However, there are confounding factors that may affect the results of the experiment. Confounds are the extraneous variables in an experimental design that correlates with both the independent and dependent variables. Possible confound is the original facial expression of participants. Randomly choosing participants is a way to prevent confounds. To further eliminate confounds, we will choose complete strangers as participants and will not tell them about our test beforehand as they may confound the result by giving us what they believe we want to see. The last thing we do is to execute this test in a consistent way. We have strict control over our facial expression to make sure that our expressions will not defer a lot among participants. This is not a simple test as what we originally consider. The first obstacle we encounter is not having enough confidence to frown at people. It is not difficult to smile at strangers, but frowning at strangers is somewhat weird  that we hesitate for a long time before having confidence to complete the test. The second obstacle we encounter is there are possible biases in choosing participants. For example, we tend to choose participants with the same race or at similar ages with us. This may create possible confounding factors to the test. The last obstacle we encounter is finding suitable participants. Since we want to choose participants that are walking alone and not distracted by phones or music, surprisingly there are only a few can be found around campus. It takes us quite a lot of effort and time in finding suitable participants for the test. Before conducting the test, we state our hypothesis as when we smile to people, people will smile back to us; whereas when we frown at people, people will frown at us as well. We come out with this hypothesis because we believe ones emotion can influence others, that is when there are optimistic and happy people in a group, other members in the group will become happy more easily; whereas when people in a group are generally in a pessimistic and unhappy mood, other members in the group will be influenced and become unhappy as well.