Statement of Research Proposal My broader research interests lie in the areas of international and comaparative political economy, applied game theory and quanttitative methodology. My current research projects focus on the simultaneous interaction between politics and economy at both the national and the international levels. I am particularly interested in the dynamic relationship between economic liberalization and political survival of authoritarian regimes. I also have a special interest in East Asian politics, particularly Chinese politics. During the fellowship years, I plan to develop my dissertation on foreign direct investment (FDI) liberalization and the political economy of authoritarianism into a book manuscript after submitting the core theoretical and empirical chapters to academic journals.
I Have a Gambling Problem Professor’s comment: This student’s essay is well researched, strongly analytical, and seriously personal. But the essay did not begin as a personal essay—far from it— from major rewriting emerged this fascinating and very effective essay, in which social and personal analysis intertwine. Hi, my name is ______ and this is my first GamAnon meeting. I am nineteen years old, and I started gambling in junior high, $5 bets with friends. In high school, craps and deuces were the craze.
She was the first of all the grandkids to get married, leaving poor Matt as the guinea pig for the family’s teaching skills. We started with a comical and relaxed game of “chicken foot” which Matt caught onto with ease (and he very nearly won the game!). Next, we played “catchphrase” for a good 30 minutes. Matt impressed all of us with his speed and skill in the game, but Sabrina later revealed to us that Matt was practically addicted to the game; that was all he and his friends had done at his bachelor’s party in late June. We waited until the Cowboy’s game started before we dragged out the “clue” game board.
“He 's clever but a daydreamer.” My teachers would say. This is when my father would explode with anger and yell “We don 't pay for you to come to school and dream. If that was the case you might as well stay home and dream there.” I would apologize and promise to do better but continued having similar conversations till my last year of highschool. This is when I fell in love with computers and found my passion in software.
I was only six or seven at the time and I would watch as he and my brother, three years my elder, spent a lot of time in front of the computer staring at this pretty blue and green map with blinking pictures that did things which were largely incomprehensible to me. Naturally, I was rather jealous of the attention my brother was getting and I quickly decided I was going to play, too. No matter that I had no idea what I was doing. Over the years, with my father’s help, I eventually came to understand the game and I haven’t looked back since. In the years since then, though I’ve on occasion tried some of the sequels, I’ve always come back to CIV I.
During my senior year of high school, I often had dreams about leaving my parents house. Fantasizing about freedom and, the ability to come and go as I wished took the place of time designated for class work. I was tired of being told what to do, and I grew weary of the monotony of taking out the garbage and cleaning my room. Being told to come in the house by 10 pm while my friends stayed until 12 pm seemed unfair to me. The media bombarded my mind with the idea that being a football captain in senior year was supposed to be filled with keg parties, and orgies with cheerleaders.
Colby promised me one thing though, “Reagan,” he would say, “one days it gunna be you and me, in the United States.” I really wanted to believe him, but I never saw it coming true. But then one day, one lucky day, Colby won the biggest hand of poker. Along with money, cigars, and a bracelet for me, he won two tickets to get aboard the Titanic! On April 10, 1912, Colby and I boarded the Titanic from the Southampton Harbor. It was my first time on a ship but I wasn’t that scared, Colby would describe me as a girl without fear.
Fitzgerald at Princeton While he was a student at the Newman School, called St. Regis in This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald became enamored with Princeton. He attended the first Harvard-Princeton game since 1896 on November 4, 1911 and Princeton won 8-6 on a blocked kick that was returned for a touchdown (Tate, 199). His aunt offered to pay for his education at Georgetown, but Fitzgerald wanted to go to Princeton. When his grandmother died in 1913, she left money that made Princeton available. Fitzgerald did not do well on the entrance exams though, so he had to travel to Princeton to re-take the tests and have a personal interview.
The first year was great, but that was only the start of many better ones. Seventh grade brought more decisions, but also lots of fun. Now that you knew everyone, it was tough to decide who you wanted to be your next girlfriend or boyfriend. Whether or not you wanted to try out for the volleyball or basketball team was another difficult decision. We learned how to master the art of gossip and some of us even experienced our first kiss at the boy/girl party your parents finally let you go to.
Every week my family and my cousin’s family will meet with each other to have dinner or just play at home. I helped my aunt to teach him how to crawl, walk, speak and so on. It should be a great experience that I imaged I did the same thing like him when I was young at the same time I taught him. I said to myself that it was time to know the importance of duty and to be a good example to my little cousin. I started to study well and cultivated more hobby except playing video games.