Saturday, October 5, 2019

Self-assessment instruments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Self-assessment instruments - Essay Example I tend to be accommodative when faced with a conflict. I find it best to put the needs of the other party above mine for quick resolution. I also try to reach compromises with the other party in conflict. Compromising is an effective method as both parties get a chance to air their views. This relieves tension in a significant manner. If the conflict is over a trivial matter, I would rather avoid it all together. I see no point in making a tremendous fuss over petty issues. My main avoidance strategy is withdrawing from the conflict all together. I am not confrontational and competitive in conflicts. I prefer that they get resolved as soon as possible. Quick resolution of conflict allows me peace of mind. b) The Type A assessment cast me as a hardcore Type A person. I disagree with this analysis. A hardcore Type A person has traits such a rushed lifestyle, impatience and is prone to stress. A Type A person enumerates success and, therefore, tries to do as much as possible in the least possible time frame. Type A people measure success by how much they are able to do. I have a slightly rushed lifestyle. I also am achievement oriented. However, other assessment tools showed that I can work in a team quite well, one trait that Type A personalities lack. I also pay attention to quality rather than quality. I do not think that I should be worried of getting a heart attack due to my personality. Another discrepancy with how I perceive myself is my low score in the leadership test. I feel I have better leadership skills than the assessment revealed. The area of task concern had an alarmingly low score. I believe that if I am a Type A individual, task concern should not be a problem. These areas offered conflicting results. The hardcore Type A individual should measure success by the number of tasks completed within a time frame. If I am a Type A person, task completion should be my primary goal. I should have, therefore, scored lower in people concern

Friday, October 4, 2019

Creating my own religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Creating my own religion - Essay Example All these faiths teach people how to believe in themselves and understand the true meaning of one’s existence on this planet. However, a person can always wonder, what is it like to create one’s own religion? This question comes in because of the idea that all the religions that people do follow today, have been set down and created by people who wanted to help others comprehend the meaning of living and the art of existence. This paper helps to provide an insight regarding how an individual might take to creating a religion of their own, as well as the kind of personal theological beliefs that I possess with respect to a religion of my own. Religion is the base of a cultural system that a human being follows and this very faith helps to provide him with a sense of assurance and security and helps to provide a meaning to his or her life. Religions help a man to soul search and understand the purpose of his own existence. They may consist of symbols of worship, doctrines and scriptures that consist of wisdom and regulations, as well as morality and ethics with respect to the law of nature and survival. If one thinks about it, many years ago, there was someone who thought about the kind of philosophy that a man must follow his life by and helped to gather followers with the help of a story that consisted of faith in the supernatural; human beings gain assurance by knowing that there is a higher power that exists somewhere in the universe so that whenever something goes wrong, they will be able to have someone to answer to, or have someone who is accountable to them for doing something or carrying out a specific action. Religion thus forms the base of a man’s faith and thinking and helps him to understand the meaning of life and all its subsidiaries. On a basic grass root level, it is easy for a person to ‘form’ a religion. All one has to do is to understand the

Thursday, October 3, 2019

World War II in Japan Essay Example for Free

World War II in Japan Essay A case of implementation of import substitution industrialization can be examined with the help of the example of Brazil. Brazil was the country which carried the policy of import substitution industrialization later than other underdeveloped countries. The economists in Brazil carefully analyzed its effects and were planning the industrial development of the country while the other countries started import substitution mainly by accident. It is important to note that Brazil initially had all the chances for success in the policy of import substitution, since its population goes up to 170 million, which makes Brazil the fifth largest country in the world. Also Brazil is the fifth largest country by its land area. And finally, Brazil is rich in forest reserves, minerals, navigable rivers agricultural land, and hydroelectric capability. The development of Brazilian economy in the period from 1950 to the 1970s confirmed the most optimistic views. Brazil with its rich resources and reserves was called â€Å"the land of the future†. In 1950 Brazil attempted to establish the largest industry of motor vehicle having practically no sufficient basis. Thirty years later aircraft of Brazil were working on commuter airlines on the United States. Brazilian shoes spread everywhere. Moreover, Brazil opened up the richest iron mine in the world and Brazilians found out the capital city on the place where previously had been a roadless jungle and built the network of roads going deep into Amazon. When the oil prices rose and began threatening the development of Brazil economy, Brazilians launched huge hydroelectric projects to operate the growing industries of the Golden Triangle, which included Sao Paulo Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte and required the new automobiles to run on rum instead of gasoline. At the beginning of the 1980s even pessimists agreed that Brazil was â€Å"the country of future†, however added â€Å"and always will be†. The growth of Brazil stopped, when it was almost close to ripening. The modern cities in Brazil coexist together with miserable shanty-towns surrounded with open sewers. The roads are shared by modern vehicles and hand carts. The wages of Brazilian executives are the highest in the world, but at the same time average workers hardly reach subsistence level. Some economists call Brazil a Switzerland within an India. Other economists consider that the case of Brazil brightly illustrates economic growth without economic development. Economist Celso Furtado characterized the state of Brazilian economy in the following way: â€Å"The Brazilian economy constitutes a very interesting example of how far a country can go in the process of industrialization without abandoning its main features of underdevelopment: great disparity in productivity between urban and rural areas, a large majority of the population living at a physiological subsistence level, increasing masses of unemployed people in the urban zones, etc. † By the 1950s the industrial development by means of import substitution had been already a planned process in Brazil. New industries were protected from the foreign competition with the help of a number of methods. Basic industries (for example, steel, electrical power, petroleum reining) became either fully owned by state or received direct subsidies. Law of Similars aimed at putting high tariffs (sometimes tariffs went up to 300%) on imported goods as soon as any domestic firm somewhere in Brazil started manufacturing something ‘similar’. The industries considered high priority always could be credited under favorable terms by a national development bank. For some period of time, the government even set multiple exchange rates in order to lower the cost of imported capital equipment while the price of imported finished goods was kept expensive. One of the growing Brazilian industries in the mid of twentieth century was motor vehicles. The government hoped that foreign financing would help to expand Brazilian firms which were already producing motor parts, bus bodies, truck and so on and soon would turn them into real vehicle manufacturers. But this approach had to be changed for the government of Brazil faced the reluctance of American government to extend loans and the disapproval of the firms from Europe and the USA who owned a critical technology. The world famous giants Fiat General Motors, Mercedes Volkswagen, and Ford were threatened to lose their markets in Brazil if they did not manufacture vehicles within the country. It is important to note that modern manufacturing, in particular the production of appliances, motor vehicles, TVs and so on is a complex process that requires substantial knowledge and skill. Final assembly became possible in Brazil since it was the last stage of production and required the least skill. So, launching modern industries Brazil could start with final assembly and gradually came to more complicated â€Å"backwards†, which included more difficult procedures. For example, Volkswagen could start importing complete parts, such as engines, wheels etc. and assemble them in Sao Paulo plant. The tariffs allowed Volkswagen to sell 1960 30% Brazilian Beetle for twice what Europeans would pay even if the quality was not that high. Eventually, most of the parts became produced in Brazil and the quality of assembly improved. Gradually, the competition from Brazilian Fiats, Fords, and Chevrolets pushed the price down. In this way, Brazilian motor vehicle industry became more and more efficient and even in the 1970s Brazil exported subassemblies and parts to America and to the European countries. By 1980 Brazil started exporting entire vehicles. When import substitution industrialization was implemented in Latin America, the drawbacks of the policy soon revealed themselves. In Brazil as well as in other Latin America countries import substitution model led to foreign ownership in all the sectors in industry except those occupied by state enterprise. When the interests of foreign firms were threatened by Brazilian taxes, environmental or labor legislation, American, German, Italian, British Japanese or French owners were quick to call on their state departments. In particular, the Department of the United States defined one of its key objects as establishing favorable business climate. This meant undermining Brazilian government. Thus, in 1964 some Brazilian generals, being encouraged by American officials, made an attempt to overthrow constitutional government of their country. Another drawback of import substitution industrialization revealed in the fact that this policy led to huge foreign debts. It was not accidental, that Brazil and Mexico ran into debts in order to cover the expenses of their infrastructure development. The development of infrastructure needs a large number of hard currency imports. If infrastructure grows and increases exports together with hard currency earnings, a country can borrow in dollars. Then, under such condition, the country has to earn dollars in order to make the interest payments. But import substitution requires borrowing in dollars for the purpose of economic development of the domestic production that will not necessarily expand exports. By the end of the seventies the countries of Latin America faced the problem: Where to go next? And the next logical step was to export the goods which had been already produced efficiently. By the middle of the eighties Brazil became the largest exporter of shoes and coffee, among ten major exports to America, six were manufactured projects. Nevertheless, the expansion of manufactured goods made Brazilian economy vulnerable to retaliatory tariffs. Moreover, in the 1980s Brazil as well as other underdeveloped countries of Latin America did not manage to pursue the next layer of import substitution ( in particular, microchips, computers, capital equipment), although they attempted to create open markets for their manufactured consumer goods. Unlike the nations of Latin America, the majority of East Asian nations rejected the policy of import substitution industrialization. Due to this, as many economists think, East Asia had its superior performance in the seventies and the eighties of the twentieth century. Generally speaking, the Asian growth had started before World War II in Japan. The process of Asian growth included three groups of countries whose economic â€Å"miracle† began at different times:

Consequences of Smoking

Consequences of Smoking For quite a long time, the utilization of tobacco has been acknowledged. Tobacco plants have been developed in the U.S. in seventeenth century and tobacco has been utilized as a part of different structures from that point forward. In 1865, an individual who is called Washington Duke in North Carolina has begun to move cigarette and exchange it for money. In 1883, a man named James Bonsack designed the machine that can roll the cigarette and production of thousand of cigarettes every day. In this way, as indicated by WHO, there are 20% of the worlds populace are utilizing tobacco. On the off chance that including the individuals who smoke inactively, that number can go up to half (A Complete Social History of Cigarettes). Smoking is destructive to wellbeing is the message which is imprinted on all tobacco items. The fact of the matter is everyone knows except very nearly of them disregards and has straightforward musings about the damage. Circumstance Every day, more than 3,200 individuals under 18 smoke their first cigarette, and roughly 2,100 young people and youthful grown-ups get to be day by day smokers. There are 9 of 10 smokers begin before the age of 18, and 98% begin smoking by age 26. 1 in 5 grown-ups and teens smoke. In 2011, an expected 19% of U.S. grown-ups were cigarette smoker. Roughly 18% of secondary school understudies smoke cigarettes. In 2011, almost 18% of secondary school young men were current cigarette clients. (Tobacco Facts and Figures, 2014). The world has around 1.3 billion individuals use cigarettes, of which the Asia-Pacific district has high rates of cigarette utilization. Asia has 3 out of 5 nations have high rates of cigarette utilization on the planet that is China, Japan and Indonesia. Cigarette utilization has had a tendency to expand, have a tendency to lessening in created nations however expanded in the creating nations. As indicated by appraisals from the review of smoking in grown-ups (from 16 years) in Vietnam (GATS 2010), the rate of smoking among men is 47.4%, in ladies is 1.4%, a sum of more than 15 million grown-ups right now smoke. Individuals on the planet start smoking cigarette on account of various reasons. They are presumably that individuals are focused on or they need to focus on their work or another smoke due to their relative and their companions. Issues Through examination shows tobacco utilization has noteworthy ramifications to the wellbeing, financial advancement, and also the quantity of other social effects. In term of wellbeing issues, cigarette utilization lessens the status of wellbeing, abbreviate lifetime, and reasons the quantity of ailments even sudden passing. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cigarette smoking results in more than 480,000 unexpected losses in the United States every year—around 1 in every 5 U.S. passings and an extra 16 million individuals endure with a genuine sickness created by smoking.(Drug realities: Cigarettes and other Tobacco items, 2014). Reason of this result is that cigarettes contain more than 7,000 chemicals, 250 of which are unsafe to both smokers and uninvolved smokers. They are Arsenic, Benzene, Vinyl chloride, Formaldehyde, Toluene. Particularly, it additionally contains Nicotine which is the addictive synthetic. (2011) The body is canny. It goes on the safeguard response when it is being harmed. At the point when smokers utilize the cigarette shockingly, they feel hurt or blazing in the throat, lungs, another get debilitated or even they hurl the initial couple of times they attempt to smoke. Results of this hurting happen dynamically. Over the long term, smoking leads people to make wellbeing issues like coronary sickness, stroke, emphysema (breakdown of lung tissue), and various sorts of development — including lung, throat, stomach, and bladder infection. People who smoke similarly have an extended risk of defilements like bronchitis and pneumonia. These sicknesses limit a singulars ability to be routinely dynamic, and they can be deadly. In the United States, smoking is accountable for around 1 out of 5 perishes. Smokers dont simply make wrinkles and yellow teeth. They similarly lose bone thickness, which fabricates their risk of osteoporosis, a condition that causes more settled people to wind up bent over and their bones to break more easily. Smokers furthermore tend to be less dynamic than nonsmokers in light of the way that smoking impacts lung power. Smoking can likewise cause readiness issues and can influence sexual wellbeing in both men and women. Young women who are on the pill or other hormone-based frameworks for hostile to origination medicine (like the patch or the ring) forms their risk of honest to goodness wellbeing issues, for instance, heart attacks, if they smoke. The consequence of smoking may give off an impression of being far away, however long term wellbeing issues arent the fundamental threat of smoking. Nicotine and substitute toxic substances in cigarettes, stogies, and channels can impact a singulars body quickly, which infers that teen smokers encounter a strong bit of a few issues. Since smoking can decrease the flood of veins, it can keep oxygen and supplements from getting to the skin — which is the reason smokers frequently appear to be pale and undesirable. Studies have furthermore joined with smoking to an extended threat of getting a kind of skin rash called psoriasis. Cigarettes leave smokers with a condition called halitosis, or persisting unpleasant breath. Studies exhibit that smokers get more colds, flu, bronchitis, and pneumonia than nonsmokers. In addition people with certain wellbeing conditions, in the same path as asthma, get the chance to be more crippled in case they smoke (and routinely on the off chance th at theyre just around people who smoke). Since young people who smoke as a way to deal with supervise weight frequently light up rather than devouring, their bodies moreover neglect to offer the supplements they need to create, make, and fight off infection suitably. (Dowshen, 2013) Arrangements Cigarette reasons fluctuated unsafe to people. Subsequently, a few answers for forestalling individuals utilization in cigarettes are important to upgrade the standard of life. Firstly, the administration ought to recommend the smoking ranges, for example, medicinal offices, schools, work environment, indoor, indoor open spots and on open transport. The disallowance of smoking (open spots, work environments and on open transport) has put forward in the International Convention- Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (composing as the FCTC) by the WHO launch, and this tradition was for more than 174 nations sanction. Concerning the opportunity of smokers, they can smoke in the zone not managed or outside where their smoking demonstrations dont imperil the wellbeing of other individuals. The non-smoking individuals have the privilege to inhale natural air unpolluted by tobacco smoke inactively. Furthermore, procurements in the wellbeing notices with pictures on the bundling of tobacco items. The wellbeing cautioning printed photographs to guarantee the privileges of shoppers are mindful of the data about of the items they utilize, the results on the wellbeing dangers and addictive properties, muscle maladies, passings from the utilization of cigarettes. The WHO ponder in 2006 demonstrated the wellbeing cautioning printed photographs will cause stay away from around 300 to 700 unexpected losses every year in decades. Contingent upon studies on the expense productivity of the Institute of wellbeing approach technique indicated over, the wellbeing cautioning printed photographs in Vietnam would have the most minimal expenses in the measures for anticipation of the hurtful impacts of cigarettes. Around the world, the quantity of nations in notice the photographs is on the ascent. There are 42 nations have done. Nonetheless, this arrangement likewise has a deterrent. A few indiv iduals dont say about this notice. Finally, expanding tobacco assessment can be viewed as the ideal decision to put weight on tobacco items. This arrangement strengths smokers to give more cash to buy drugs. At the point when a lot of cash, the medication ought to lessen the measure of tobacco devoured all the while some would consider stopping. Additionally, smokers will feel in control of the smoke. In the meantime the tobacco organizations would be influenced contrarily prompts diminished creation of tobacco. In light of viewpoints, for example, the attainability, adequacy testing, human rights, monetary, expense expand measures are viewed as most suitable for a circuitous effect on the destructive impacts of tobacco to individuals. As far as money, expanding tobacco charges are viewed as a twofold hit the target. Tobacco expenses supplement a lot of cash in the state plan while diminishing offers of tobacco organizations will keep the development of these organizations. The measure of smoking for smokers will be moved to interest in instruction and wellbeing issues of relatives lead to enhancing personal satisfaction as a rule and other supportive administrations. This likewise adds to build vocation opportunities and enhance the economy of the nation. Proof is that tobacco charge income administration of Thailand more than 3 times from around 512 million US dollars in 1992 expanded to more than $ 1.7 billion in 2010. Wellbeing insurance agencies utilize the additional measure of cash that needs spending bill cure lung tumor, prompting lessened speculation to empower the economy. As per the World Bank, the normal expense increment to the cost of cigarettes expanded by 10%, the utilization will increment from 4% to 8%. Besides, individuals who quit implies that there are more than 5 individuals are not uninvolved smokers. The wellbeing of the group is secured in a reasonable manner. Proficiency expands exponentially making awesome point of interest the answer for raise charges. Conclusion In synopsis, cigarettes are bringing on a huge number of diseases. Halting smoking at any age and at whatever point is helpful. Ceasing smoking gives your body a chance to patch the damage brought on by smoking.

Wednesday, October 2, 2019

High Blood Pressure Essay -- Health, Cardiovascular Disease

Data from World health organization (2002), estimated that high blood pressure was the cause of death for more than 7 million individuals every year, affecting 972 million of world population which accounts for 26.4% in total, 26.6% of those are men and 26.1% are women. In addition 333 million of those in developed countries and 639 million in developing countries and responsible for 11% of all diseases burden in industrial countries, it also estimated to be the case of death for more than 20% in men and almost 24% in women. (WHO, 2003), (Kearney et al, 2005) In the future, high blood pressure is predicted to increase about 60% by 2025 to reach a total of 1.56 billion. This increase expected to contribute of 9% and 13% in both men and women respectively. (Kearney et al, 2005) Globally, the highest prevalence rate of high blood pressure found in women in former socialist economies region while for men was in Latin American and Caribbean region and the lowest prevalence was in â€Å"other Asian and islands† region for both men and women. (Kearney et al, 2005) High blood pressure considered one of the main risk factor of cardiovascular diseases, which contributes with 62% of cardiovascular diseases globally. It also contributes to 54% of stroke cases and 47% ischemic heart disease. (Lawest et al, 2008) Moreover it is responsible for 50% of heart failure burden in the world. (Lloyd et al, 2002) The INTERHEART study estimated that having a hypertension was the reason for 25% of heart attack cases in both central and Eastern Europe while it represents the same reason for 22 % of Western Europe. Individuals who have an elevated blood pressure are suspect to have heart attack twice more than normotensive. ( Yusuf et al, 2004) or Brit... ...to affect individuals in controlling their high blood pressure and it is also a serious risk factor of cardiovascular disease. For that, this study aims to develop a treatment model which helps high blood pressure individuals in Saudi Arabia to decrease and control their high blood pressure in easy way, less costing, fit the Saudi culture, life style, and overcome the weather obstacle. Taking into counter the evidence on exercise in reducing the blood pressure, and walking in particular. The question arise, does promote walking among Saudi individuals could be the solution to overcome the co-morbidity factors and become a step stone in managing the high blood pressure. Not to forget to mention that walking suits any member of the society regardless the age, gender, social and traditions attributes, and does not cost more than comfortable athletic shoes.

Capital Punishment Essay: The Death Penalty and the Eighth Amendment :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

The Death Penalty and the Eighth Amendment   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Is the death penalty consistent with the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against the imposition of cruel and unusual punishments? This essay will address this question and present a short history of the death penalty in America.    The Supreme Court considered particular applications of the death penalty in the 1940s and 1950s. In each case it upheld the state's action without addressing the larger issue of the death penalty's constitutionality. In the 1960s, the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, led by Professor Anthony Amsterdam mounted a full-scale attack on the death penalty. Adopting a "moratorium strategy," the LDF succeeded in blocking all executions for five years, creating a "death-row logjam."    In Furman v Georgia in 1972, the Court invalidated all then-existing death penalty laws based on the inherent arbitrariness of their application. Most observers at the time concluded that there would never again be an execution in the United States. They were wrong. In 1976, in Gregg v. Georgia, the Court upheld Georgia's new capital-sentencing procedures, concluding that they had sufficiently reduced the problem of arbitrary and capricious imposition of death associated with earlier statutes.    The Court continued to face questions concerning the application of the death penalty: to non-murderers, to minors, to mentally disabled prisoners, to racial minorities. One such case is McCleskey v. Kemp, a challenge based on a study that showed murderers of white victims were far more likely to be sentenced to death than murderers of black victims.    The Eighth Amendment says: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted (Constitution).   How does it square with the actual facts of capital punishment: 1. The average inmate put to death in 1998 spent ten years and ten months on death row. 2. In 1998, 285 people were sentenced to death. 3. At the close of 1999, Texas has the most prisoners on death row (39), followed by California (31), and Alabama and Florida (25 each). 4. Over 3,500 prisoners are currently on death row. 5. Thirty-nine states have death penalty laws on their books.    One of the most eloquent attacks on the death penalty ever delivered in an American courtroom came in the Leopold & Loeb Case in 1924. Clarence Darrow's eloquence is often credited with saving the lives of two confessed teenaged murderers.

Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists Essay

This report is based upon the book â€Å"Damned Lies and Statistics: Untangling Numbers from the Media, Politicians, and Activists†, written by Joel Best and published by University of California Press in 2001. Joel Best, a professor of sociology and criminal justice at the University of Delaware, has written a highly readable treatise on statistics, and how we can become better consumers of the statistical information that permeates the environment in which we live. Joel Best is a sociologist and, as a result, this is not a book about the mathematics of statistics, but about its sociology. That is, a book about the ways in which bad statistics are generated and spread through society. The title of the book comes from Mark Twain’s famous phrase â€Å"lies, damned lies, and statistics†, which is usually interpreted as grouping statistics with lies. A more critical title would come from the phrase â€Å"figures don’t lie, but liars can figure†. Despite its cynical title, Best’s book is one of the best ways to learn how to cease being awestruck by statistics, and to start critically evaluating them. In straightforward prose filled with real world examples, Joel Best deconstructs the processes by which social statistics are created and take on a life of their own, primarily through blind and unquestioning repetition by the media. He also delineates how such statistics are sometimes mutated, misinterpreted, misapplied, and manipulated. In his view, there are no perfect statistics, just better or worse ones. Every statistic involves human choices: defining what to measure, determining how to measure it, deciding whom to count or how to count it, and choosing how to deal with unreported cases (the dark figure) of whatever is being counted. Not only does every statistic contain identifiable, though generally unrecognized strengths, weaknesses, and dark figures, but many of the most controversial and heavily publicized statistics are created by people in advocacy positions. Social statistics – statistics about social problems, such as prostitution or suicide – are often produced by activists who are concerned about the problem, and may exaggerate it. When not produced by activists, statistics are often a product of government, which may be motivated in the opposite direction of the activists, to play down a problem. A quick summary of the issues and topics in this book offers a good overview of clear thinking on statistical issues. Chapter 1, â€Å"The Importance of Social Statistics†, explains where statistics come from, how we use them, and why they are important. Chapter 2, â€Å"Soft Facts†, discusses sources of bad statistics. Guessing, poor definitions, poor measures, and bad samples are the primary sources of bad statistics. Good statistics require good data; clear, reasonable definitions; clear, reasonable measures; and appropriate samples. Chapter 3, â€Å"Mutant Statistics†, describes the methods for mangling numbers. Most of these arise from violating the four requirements of good statistics, but a new problem arises here. While it is relatively easy to spot bad statistics, mutant statistics require a second level of understanding. As statistics mutate, they take on a history, and it becomes necessary to unravel the history to understand just how and why they are mutant. Transformation, confusion, and compound errors create chains of bad statistics that become difficult to trace and categorize. Chapter 4, â€Å"Apples and Oranges†, discusses the dangers of inappropriate comparison. Dangers arise when comparisons over time involve changing and unchanging measures, and projections. Comparisons among places and groups lead to problems not merely in the data measured, but in the ways the data may be gathered and collated. Comparison among social problems also creates unique difficulties. Best offers logic of comparison to help the reader understand how to make sense of good comparison and bad comparison. Chapter 5, â€Å"Stat Wars†, describes the problems that arise when advocated use questionable numbers to make a case. Chapter 6, â€Å"Thinking About Social Statistics†, sums up Best’s advice on understanding statistics – don’t be awestruck in the face of numbers, and don’t be cynical about them, he suggests, be critical and thoughtful.