Academics & The Arts Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 12-05-2024

Biomechanics has all kinds of practical applications — from the construction of running shoes to ankle braces to low-back pain to weightlifting. Knowing how the body moves because of the forces applied to the body is key to getting the most out of your athletic performance, and your daily life.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 11-15-2024

The Korean language stands out globally as one of the rare languages with its creation story on record — who made it, for whom, why, and how. Hangeul, the Korean alphabet, was developed in 1443 by King Sejong, who is revered as Korea’s most respected king, pretty much an icon in Korean history. His motivation behind creating Hangeul was to devise a written system that the commoners could easily master. Thanks to King Sejong’s pragmatism and his determination to empower the people, Korean readers and writers have a readily learnable language.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 11-13-2024

Botany is the study of plants. Plants are very similar to people in a lot of ways, but they also have some differences that can be hard to wrap your brain around. And, like any science class, botany can get a little overwhelming at times. So, here are a few items to help you grasp some of the big ideas in botany.

Article / Updated 10-28-2024

Women's suffrage was a controversial subject as women's roles developed in society. By the time the twentieth century arrived, American feminists had been seeking the right to vote for more than 50 years. The suffrage movement was fanned even hotter in 1869, when African American males were given the right to vote through the Sixteenth Amendment, while women of all races were still excluded. One place where women were increasingly included was in the workplace. As the country shifted away from a rural, agrarian society to an industrial, urban one, more and more women had jobs — eight million by 1910. Moreover, they were getting better jobs. In 1870, 60 percent of working women were in domestic service. By 1920, it was only 20 percent, and women made up 13 percent of the professional ranks. Women were getting out of the house for more than just jobs, too. In 1892, membership in women’s clubs was about 100,000. By 1917, it was more than one million. And women’s increasing independence was reflected in the fact that the divorce rate rose from 1 in every 21 marriages in 1880 to 1 in 9 by 1916. Because women had always had nontraditional roles in the West, it wasn’t surprising that Western states and territories were the first to give females the right to vote: Wyoming in 1869, Utah in 1870, Washington in 1883, Colorado in 1893, and Idaho in 1896. By 1914, all the Western states except New Mexico had extended the voting franchise to women. By 1917, the suffrage movement was building momentum. In July of that year, a score of suffragists tried to storm the White House. They were arrested and taken to the county workhouse. President Woodrow Wilson was not amused, but sympathetic, and pardoned them. The next year, a constitutional amendment — the Nineteenth — was submitted to the states. When ratified in 1920, it gave women the right to vote in every state. Despite the significance of the Nineteenth Amendment, many leaders of the women’s movement recognized that the vote alone wouldn’t give women equal standing with men when it came to educational, economic, or legal rights. “Men are saying, perhaps, ‘thank God this everlasting women’s fight is over,’” said feminist leader Crystal Eastman after the Nineteenth Amendment was ratified. “But women, if I know them, are saying, ‘now at last we can begin.’”

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-30-2024

Writing a dissertation shouldn’t mean panicking. If you plan ahead and know how to structure your work, you’ll achieve fantastic results. And guess what? You might even enjoy yourself; writing a dissertation can be a highly rewarding experience. Follow this guide to producing the best possible dissertation.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-16-2024

Polish is a unique and immensely rewarding language to learn. This Cheat Sheet gives you a quick run-down of the Polish alphabet, Polish numbers, and handy Polish phrases to make you feel more confident speaking Polish in no time.

Article / Updated 09-11-2024

Some questions on the ASVAB Mathematics Knowledge subtest may involve multiplying fractions. As you solve an equation, you may need to perform the extra step of reducing the fraction to make it easier to find the right answer. Multiplying fractions is easy. You just multiply the numerators and then multiply the denominators. Look at the following equation: You multiply 1 × 3 × 3 × 3 = 9 (the numerators) and then 2 × 4 × 5 = 40 (the denominators) to result in 9/40. Occasionally, when you multiply fractions, you end up with an extremely large fraction that can be simplified or reduced. To express a fraction in its lowest terms means to put it in such a way that you can’t evenly divide the numerator and the denominator by the same number (other than 1). A number that you can divide into both the numerator and the denominator is called a common factor. If you have the fraction 6/10, both the numerator (6) and the denominator (10) can be divided by the same number, 2. If you do the division, 6 ÷ 2 = 3 and 10 ÷ 2 = 5 you find that 6/10 can be expressed in the simpler terms of 3/5. You can’t reduce (simplify) 3/5 any further; the only other number that both the numerator and denominator can be divided by is 1, so the result would be the same, 3/5. Remember, you can’t use a calculator on the ASVAB, so multiplying large numbers can take extra steps and valuable time. You can make your work easier by canceling out common factors before multiplying. For example, suppose you have the following problem Multiplying the numerators (20 × 14) = 280, then multiplying the denominators (21 × 25) = 525, and finally reducing the fraction may require you to write out three or more separate multiplication/division problems. But you can save time if a numerator and denominator have common factors. Here, the numerator of the first fraction (20) and the denominator of the second (25) have a common factor of 5, so you can divide both of those numbers by 5: Your problem becomes The numerator of the second fraction (14) and the denominator of the first fraction (21) are both divisible by 7, so you can cancel out a 7: Divide 14 and 21 by 7. This changes the equation to a much simpler math problem.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 08-15-2024

The American College Testing exam (ACT) tests your knowledge of grammar, reading, science, and math. In addition, the ACT includes an optional writing test. Many colleges require or recommend and entrance exam, such as the ACT, as a component of your application for admission.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 08-14-2024

You’re approaching the end of your Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) prep journey — nicely done! It isn’t easy, but it doesn’t have to be easy for you to handle it and do great. Here are a few tips to help you do well on exam day.

Article / Updated 08-08-2024

Hurricanes are scary, and few people think clearly under that stress. Additionally, a lot of what you need to do to best weather a storm starts well ahead of hurricane season — which runs from late May through November. Start your hurricane safety plan ahead of a storm, while things are calm. The following steps put you and your family in the best position to protect your home and yourselves when a hurricane is on its way. Have an evacuation plan ready. Determine whether you’re in an evacuation zone and watch for updates; the course of a storm may change. Scout your yard and remove any furniture or other items that may get picked up by the wind and fly through windows or otherwise cause destruction. Put any important documents in a watertight container, along with medications and insurance cards. Charge your phone and any other devices you plan to use or carry with you. Turn your fridge to the coldest setting and put a thermometer in there. You’re likely to lose electricity, and a colder starting temp will keep your food cold longer. The thermometer will let you know whether your milk is a lost cause when the electricity’s back. Look into hurricane insurance If you live in an area commonly hit by hurricanes, standard homeowner’s insurance isn’t going to provide everything you need. Such a policy addresses structural damage and typically includes a higher deductible whenever that damage arises from a hurricane. And it may be inadequate to cover your costs for rebuilding and the living expenses you pay while you rebuild. Be sure to look closely at coverage for additional living expenses (ALE), which are essential after extensive storm damage that requires you to rent living space while damage is repaired. Find out what your policy covers and what it excludes. For example, a standard homeowner’s policy probably doesn't cover damage from sewer backups, which are common after major storms. You actually can buy a specific policy for this instance. Much of the damage from a hurricane comes from flooding, which also requires a separate policy. To get the full value from the policies you do buy, make sure you have a complete inventory of what you own and how much it’s worth. Doing so will make filing claims later on much smoother. Keep this documentation and your policies in a water-safe container that you can easily move with you when you evacuate. If you rent or own an apartment in a co-op, you need your own insurance policies, but you also want to be aware of the coverage your building has in place. Hurricane “watch” or “warning?” What makes a watch different from a warning? These terms actually have very specific meanings. A hurricane watch tells you that hurricane-force winds may appear within 48 hours. If you hear a hurricane warning, know that you’re likely to encounter hurricane-force winds within 36 hours. Warnings usually are issued for about 300 miles of coastline at a time. Although satellite technology makes predicting a storm’s approach easy, determining exactly where it will make landfall is still difficult. If you are told to evacuate ahead of a hurricane, never hesitate. Leave as soon as possible. But, if whatever reason, you are unable to get out and find yourself caught in the storm, here's how to survive. Address kids, pets, and special needs during a storm Maybe one family member needs to keep insulin at a just-right temperature, or you have a dog who requires eye drops every four hours. Situations like these require more detailed planning. Be sure to think through a week’s worth of needs for each family member. That may mean finding a physician and forwarding medical records to a medical center in the city where you’ll wait out the storm at your cousin’s house, or it may require even more careful planning. Just make sure that as soon as you know a storm is possible, you carefully consider each family member’s needs for several days. Include the pets, the kids, and the grandma you’ll pick up on the way out of town. For pets and kids, concerns aren’t all that different: Be ready to feed and distract, at a minimum. You need to prepare whatever food, drinks, and toys or special objects will keep the kids and pets as content as possible during the storm. Make sure that your pets have been microchipped or that they’re wearing ID tags. It’s all too easy to become separated during the chaos of a storm. If your kids attend school or daycare, make sure that you know the schools’ evacuation plans. Laminate an “in case of emergency” card for each child that includes your contact information and that of a friend or relative who lives elsewhere and may be able to provide a safe place to stay if a storm arises. As much as possible, keep up your routines, which will reassure members of your family who rely on you. Your kids especially look to you for cues about how to act, so do your best to keep calm. Prepare a storm evacuation plan Uprooting your life in response to an incoming storm presents a host of challenges, like where you’ll end up and who’s in charge of the pet-food supply. Make the transition as smooth as possible by having an evacuation plan in place. It should cover the following: Where you’ll meet if you become separated: Pick a place close to home and one farther away where you can meet up, and choose a family member to serve as point person. This person is who everyone checks in with if you can’t stay in one place. Where you’ll stay: Identify a couple of options ahead of time. Shelters will arise nearby (use FEMA.gov to find them), or maybe a hospitable friend or family member lives outside the evacuation zone. If you have pets, this part of the planning is trickier; most shelters accept only service dogs. How you’ll get there: If you have a car, make sure it’s in good working order and your gas tank is full. If not, plan farther ahead for public transportation (which will shut down as the storm nears) or for someone to drive you. Supplies: Get your disaster supplies kit ready well ahead of time. Grab a phone charger for the car, and if you’re traveling far, have snacks and distractions ready — especially if you’re traveling with kids. Maps: Downed trees or flooding may require you to change your route at the last moment, so be ready with low-tech navigation that cannot let you down no matter the circumstances. IDs and cash: Appoint a family member to make sure everyone has an ID and a little bit of cash. Don’t let this be the time you’re caught with your wallet in your gym bag. Updates: If you don’t want to keep tuned to the weather on the car radio, ask one person to track the storm until you’re safely out of range. Emergency instructions sometimes change as the storm progresses, and you need to have the latest information as you evacuate. Notice: Identify a close friend or family member to check in with when you leave and when you have arrived at shelter outside the evacuation zone. Resolve: Staying in your home is tempting, even when you’ve been ordered to evacuate. Resolve, as a household, to follow those orders and accept no alternatives. Hurricanes are deadly. Agreeing ahead of time that you’ll evacuate can save valuable time debating the issue later. If you’re on the coast, get out well in advance of the storm surge When a hurricane pushes ocean water ashore, that push is called a storm surge and is responsible for more deaths and damage than any other part of the storm. Depending on how and where the storm hits, a storm surge — measured in how far above sea level the water rises — can bring almost 30 feet of water to land. This water moves at high speed, bringing tremendous destructive power to everything in its path. These surges are unpredictable, and they often arrive before the storms themselves. When they hit, water levels can rise ten feet in just minutes. Help cannot make it to you under these circumstances, and you are unlikely to be able to drive away from a storm surge. If you’re near a coast and anywhere close to a hurricane’s path, you must evacuate. If you see it coming, it’s too late. The surge can easily go from an inch to several feet before you even make it out of your driveway. Keep an axe in your attic so that if for some reason you are trapped in your home during a surge, you have an escape route through the roof. Travel to hurricane prone areas Because hurricanes happen near coastlines, a lot of popular vacation spots are susceptible. When you’re thinking about planning a vacation, take a look at the storm season before you book tickets and hotel rooms. Travel insurance that covers natural disasters can help, and you should check with hotels and airlines about policies regarding refunds or rescheduling in the event of a storm. For official communications related to hurricanes, please visit the websites of FEMA, Department of Homeland Security, and the National Hurricane Center for the latest information. Please note that this is general preparedness information, not specific to a particular storm.