The Indigo Spell Chapter Ten

THE NEXT MORNING, I sought out Ms. Terwilliger before class to give her a recap of yesterday's adventures. She leaned against her desk, sipping a cappuccino as I spoke. Her expression grew darker as the story progressed, and she sighed when I finished. â€Å"Well, that's unfortunate,† she said. â€Å"I'm glad you were able to find the Stone girl, but that kills our lead on Veronica until the next full moon. It could be too late by then.† â€Å"You're sure there's no other scrying spell?† I asked. She shook her head. â€Å"Most that I could attempt would alert her that I was looking for her. There is one that might mask me while I'm using it . . . but it also might not be able to penetrate any shielding she's using to hide herself.† â€Å"It's still worth a try, isn't it?† I asked. The warning bell rang, and students began trickling into the classroom. She shot me a smile as she straightened up. â€Å"Why, Miss Melbourne, I never thought I'd hear you suggesting such things. But you're right. We'll talk about it this afternoon. It's something I'd like you to see.† That anti-magic gut instinct started to rear its ugly head . . . and then stopped. Somewhere, against my wishes, I'd gotten caught up in all of this. I was too concerned now about Veronica's other victims to pay attention to my usual worries. In Alchemist eyes, using magic was bad. In my eyes, leaving innocents in danger was worse. With no other critical situations to contend with, I found that the day flew by. When I rejoined Ms. Terwilliger for our independent study, I found her packed up and waiting for me to arrive. â€Å"Field trip,† she told me. â€Å"We need to work on this at my place.† A wistful look crossed her features. â€Å"Too bad we can't stop at Spencer's.† Caffeine and magic didn't mix, which was another good reason for staying away from the arcane. I started to point out that since I wasn't working any magic, I didn't have the same restrictions. A moment later, I decided that would be mean. Ms. Terwilliger had enough going on with a bloodthirsty sister on the loose. She didn't need to be taunted too. The cats were waiting at the door when we arrived at her house, which was slightly terrifying. I'd never seen all of them at once and counted thirteen. I had to assume that number was by design. â€Å"I have to feed them first,† she told me as they swarmed at her feet. â€Å"Then we'll get to work.† I nodded wordlessly, thinking her plan was a good one. If those cats weren't fed soon, it seemed likely they would turn on us. I didn't like our odds. Once they had food to distract them, Ms. Terwilliger and I went to her workshop. There was little I could do except observe. Magic often required that the person doing the spell be the one to put in all the labor. I assisted with a little measuring, but that was about it. I'd seen her do a couple of quick, flashy spells in the past but never anything of this magnitude. It was clear to me that this was a very, very powerful feat. She had nothing to link her to Veronica, no hair or picture. The spell required the caster to use the image in her mind of the person being sought. Other components, herbs and oils, helped enhance the magic, but for the most part, the work was all on Ms. Terwilliger. Watching her prepare triggered a mix of emotions in me. Anxiety was one, of course, but it was paired with a secret fascination at seeing someone with her strength cast a spell. When everything was in place, she spoke the incantation, and I nearly gasped as I felt power surge up in the room. I'd never sensed it from another person before, and the intensity nearly knocked me over. Ms. Terwilliger was staring at a spot a few feet in front of her. After several long moments, a glowing dot appeared in the air. It grew bigger and bigger, turning into a flat, shimmering disc, which hung there like a mirror. I stepped backward, half-afraid the disc would keep expanding and consume the room. Eventually, it stabilized. Tense silence surrounded us as she stared at that glowing surface. A minute passed, and then the oval began to shrink and shrink until it was gone. Ms. Terwilliger sank with exhaustion and caught the side of her table for support. She was sweating heavily, and I handed her some orange juice we'd had ready. â€Å"Did you see anything?† I asked. There'd been nothing visible to me, but maybe only the caster could see what the spell revealed. She shook her head. â€Å"No. The spell was unable to touch her mind. Her shielding must be too strong.† â€Å"Then we can't do anything until next month.† I felt my stomach drop. I hadn't realized until that moment how much I'd been hoping this spell would work. So much of my life involved problem solving, and I felt lost when I ran out of options. â€Å"You and Adrian can keep warning the other girls,† said Ms. Terwilliger. Color was starting to return to her face. â€Å"At the very least, it might slow Veronica down.† I looked at the time on my cell phone. This spell had taken longer than I thought. â€Å"I don't think we can do a round trip to Los Angeles today. I'll get him tomorrow, and we'll see if we can finish off the list.† Once I was convinced she wouldn't pass out from magical exertion, I made motions to leave. She stopped me as I was about to walk out the door. â€Å"Sydney?† I glanced back, suddenly uneasy. The problem with having so many people call me by nicknames was that when someone called me by my actual name, it usually meant something serious was happening. â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"We keep talking about warning others, but don't forget to look after yourself as well. Keep studying the book. Learn to protect yourself. And keep the charm on.† I touched the garnet, hidden under my shirt. â€Å"Yes, ma'am. I will.† Marcus's promised text came as I was driving back to school, telling me to meet him at a nearby arcade. I knew the place and had actually been to its adjacent mini-golf course once before, so I had no difficulty heading over there. Marcus was waiting for me just inside the door, and thankfully, Sabrina wasn't around wielding a gun. I hadn't spent a lot of time in arcades and didn't really understand them. They hardly meshed with my father's style of education. For me, it was a mass of sensory overload that I wasn't quite ready for. The smell of slightly burnt pizza filled the air. Excited children and teenagers darted back and forth between games. And everywhere, everything seemed to be flashing and beeping. I winced, thinking maybe my dad had been on to something in avoiding these places. â€Å"This is where we're going to discuss covert activities?† I asked in disbelief. He gave me one of his movie star smiles. â€Å"It's not an easy place for people to spy on you. Besides, I haven't played Skee-Ball in years. That game is awesome.† â€Å"I wouldn't know.† â€Å"What?† It was kind of nice to catch him by surprise again, even if it was for something so trivial. â€Å"You've been missing out. Spot me some money for tokens, and I'll show you.† Apparently, being an on-the-run renegade leader didn't pay well. He found the Skee-Ball machines instantly. I bought him a cupful of tokens and handed them over. â€Å"Have at it.† He promptly put a token in and threw his first ball. It landed completely outside of the rings, making him scowl. â€Å"You don't waste any time,† I remarked. His eyes were on the game as he made his second throw, which again missed. â€Å"It's a survival tactic. When you spend enough time on the run . . . hiding out all the time . . . well, you take advantage of these moments of freedom. And when pretty girls spirit you away.† â€Å"How do you know we're free? How can you be so sure the Alchemists haven't been watching me?† I asked. I was pretty sure I wasn't being watched and mostly wanted to test him. â€Å"Because they would've showed up on that first day.† He had a point. I put my hands on my hips and tried to be patient. â€Å"How long are you going to play? When can we talk?† â€Å"We can talk now.† His next ball hit the ten-point ring, and he whooped with joy. â€Å"I can talk and throw. Ask away. I'll give you as many shocking secrets as I can.† â€Å"I'm not easily shocked.† But I wasn't going to waste this opportunity. I glanced around, but he was right. No one was going to eavesdrop in this noisy place. We could barely hear each other as it was. â€Å"What'd you do to get kicked out of the Alchemists?† â€Å"I didn't get kicked out. I left.† This round ended, and he put in his next token. â€Å"Because of a Moroi girl.† I froze, unable to believe what I'd heard. Marcus Finch had started his great rebellion . . . because he'd been involved with a Moroi? It rang too close to my own situation. When I didn't say anything, he glanced over and took in my expression. â€Å"Oh. Oh. No, nothing like that,† he said, realizing my thoughts. â€Å"That's not a line even I would cross.† â€Å"Of course not,† I said, hoping I was doing a good job at hiding my nervousness. â€Å"Who would?† He returned to the game. â€Å"We were friends. I was assigned to Athens, and she lived there with her sister.† That derailed me. â€Å"Athens . . . you were in Athens? That was one of the places I wanted to be assigned. I went to St. Petersburg instead, but I always kept hoping that, maybe, maybe, I'd get reassigned to Greece. Or even Italy.† I was nearly babbling, but he didn't seem to notice. â€Å"What's wrong with St. Petersburg? Aside from the high Strigoi count.† â€Å"What's wrong is that it wasn't Athens or Rome. My dad specifically requested that I not be assigned to either place. He thought it'd be too distracting.† Marcus paused again to give me a long, level look. There was sympathy in his expression, as though my entire history and family drama were playing before his eyes. I didn't want him to feel sorry for me and wished I hadn't said anything. I cleared my throat. â€Å"So tell me about this girl in Athens.† He took the hint. â€Å"Like I said, she was a friend. So funny. Oh, man. She cracked me up. We used to hang out all the time – but you know how that's kind of frowned upon.† I almost laughed at his subtle joke. Kind of? That was an understatement. Field Alchemists weren't supposed to interact with Moroi unless it was absolutely necessary for some business matter or related to stopping and covering up Strigoi. My situation was a little unique, since my mission actually required me to talk to her on a daily basis. â€Å"Anyway,† he continued. â€Å"Someone noticed, and I got a lot of unwelcome attention for it. Around the same time, I started hearing all these rumors . . . like about Alchemists holding Moroi against their will. And even some Alchemists interacting with the Warriors.† â€Å"What? That's impossible. We would never work with those freaks.† The idea of Moroi prisoners was outlandish, but it was that second part that truly stumped me. I couldn't even process it. He might as well have said the Alchemists were working with aliens. â€Å"That's what I thought.† He threw another ball, looking supremely pleased when it scored thirty points. â€Å"But I kept hearing whispers, so I started asking questions. A lot of questions. And, well, that's when things really went bad. Questions don't always go over so well – especially if you're a nuisance about them.† I thought about my own experience. â€Å"That's certainly true.† â€Å"So that's when I walked. Or, well, ran. I could see the signs. I'd crossed a line and knew it was only a matter of time before I had a one-way ticket to re-education.† Another new round started, and he gestured me forward. â€Å"Want to give it a try?† I was still stunned enough by his earlier words that I stepped forward and took a ball. The Alchemists were logical, organized, and reasonable. I knew there were Alchemists who wished we could do more to fight the Strigoi, but there was no way our group would work with trigger-happy zealots. â€Å"Stanton told me we only tolerate the Warriors. That we're just keeping an eye on them.† â€Å"That's what I was told too.† He watched me line up a shot. â€Å"There's kind of a learning curve to this, by the way. It may take you a few – â€Å" I threw and hit the fifty-point ring. Marcus could only stare for a few seconds, his earlier smirk vanishing. â€Å"You said you'd never played!† he exclaimed. â€Å"I haven't.† I threw another fifty pointer. â€Å"Then how are you doing that?† â€Å"I don't know.† Fifty points again. â€Å"You just base your force on the ball's weight and distance to the ring. It's not that hard. This is kind of a boring game, really.† Marcus was still dumbstruck. â€Å"Are you some kind of super-athlete?† I nearly scoffed. â€Å"You don't need to be an athlete to play this.† â€Å"But . . . no . . .† He looked at the rings, then at me, and then back to the rings. â€Å"That's impossible. I've been playing this since I was a kid! My dad and I used to go to our town's carnival over and over in the summer, and I'd spend at least an hour playing this each time.† â€Å"Maybe you should have made it two hours.† I tossed another ball. â€Å"Now tell me more about the Warriors and the Alchemists. Did you ever get any proof?† It took him several moments to tune back into the conversation. â€Å"No. I tried. I even got cozy with the Warriors for a while – that's how I met Clarence. My group has found a few dark secrets about the Alchemists and saved other Moroi from the Warriors, but we were never able to make a connection between the two groups.† He paused dramatically. â€Å"Until now.† I picked up the next ball. This mundane activity was helping me analyze his startling words. â€Å"What happened?† â€Å"It was a fluke, really. We've got a guy working with us now who just left the Alchemists and broke his tattoo,† he explained. He said it like it was no big deal, but I still couldn't shake how uneasy â€Å"breaking the tattoo† made me feel. â€Å"He'd overheard something that matched up to something Sabrina uncovered. Now we've just got to get the evidence linking it all.† â€Å"How are you going to pull that off?† â€Å"Actually, you're going to pull it off.† He spoke just as I was releasing another ball. My shot went wide, missed the rings and even the machine entirely. The ball bounced off the wall and landed at the feet of some startled girls. Marcus retrieved the ball and gave them an apologetic smile, which made them gush about how it was no problem at all. As soon as they were gone, I leaned toward Marcus. â€Å"What did you say?† â€Å"You heard me. You want to join our group? You want to break your tattoo?† He looked annoyingly smug. â€Å"Then this is all part of the process.† â€Å"I never said I wanted to do any of those things!† I hissed. â€Å"I just wanted to find out more about them.† â€Å"And I bet you'd really love to know if there are factions in the Alchemists working with the Warriors.† He was right. I did want to know that. He caught hold of my hand. â€Å"Sydney, I know this is a lot to take in. I don't blame you for doubting, and that's exactly why we need you. You're smart. You're observant. You question. And just like me, those questions are going to get you in trouble – if they haven't already. Get out now while you can – on your own terms.† â€Å"I just met you! I'm not breaking away from the group that raised me.† I pulled my hand back. â€Å"I was willing to hear you guys out, but now you've gone too far.† I turned and headed toward the door, unwilling to listen anymore. Yet as I walked away, his words crawled over me. Even though I'd been forgiven for my involvement with Rose, my record still probably had a black mark. And even though I hadn't pushed hard about Marcus Finch, had even bringing him up raised Stanton's suspicions? How long until little things added up? I pushed open the doors and stepped out into bright sunlight. It chased away the darkness of what I'd just heard. Marcus was right behind me and touched my shoulder. â€Å"Sydney I'm sorry. I'm not trying to scare you.† That cocky attitude was gone. He was deadly earnest. â€Å"I just sense something about you . . . something that resonates with me. I think we're on the same side, that we want the same things. We've both gotten close to the Moroi. We want to help them – without being lied to or used.† I eyed him warily. â€Å"Go on.† â€Å"Please, hear us out.† â€Å"I thought I just did.† â€Å"You heard me out,† he corrected. â€Å"I want you to meet the others and hear their stories. They'll tell you more about what they went through. They'll tell you about this.† He tapped his tattoo. â€Å"And when you hear more about that task . . . well, I think you'll want to do it.† â€Å"Right. The big, mind-blowing thing that's going to unveil an Alchemist-Warrior conspiracy.† He remained serious, which bothered me more than if he'd suddenly revealed this to be one big joke. â€Å"So, what? You're going to get the others, and we'll all have an arcade day?† He shook his head. â€Å"Too dangerous. I'll gather them in some other place and then tell you where to meet us, but it's got to be last minute again. Can't risk detection.† â€Å"I can't go on some epic road trip,† I warned. â€Å"No one cares much about LA trips, but traipsing all over the state is going to get that unwanted attention you were talking about.† â€Å"I know, I know. It'll be close. I just have to make sure it's secure.† He was back to his excited, cheery self. â€Å"Will you do it? Come join us?† In spite of myself, I was curious. Even though I refused to believe in any connection between the Warriors and the Alchemists, I wanted to find out what leads this group thought they had. I also just wanted to see this mysterious group of his, period. What had Adrian called them? Marcus's Merry Men? And, of course, there was the tattoo. Marcus kept alluding to its secrets but still hadn't given me the details. â€Å"I'll do it,† I said at last. â€Å"On one condition.† â€Å"Name it.† â€Å"I want to bring someone with me,† I said. â€Å"You can trust him, I swear. But after Sabrina pulled a gun on me, you have to understand why I'd be a little nervous about walking into your clique.† Marcus looked like he might almost consider it but then suddenly recoiled. â€Å"Not Adrian?† â€Å"No, no. This guy's a dhampir. No one who'd be interested in turning you over to the Alchemists, especially if you really are working to protect Moroi. You say you've got a good feeling about me? Then trust me that you have nothing to worry about with him. He'd just be there to make me feel a little safer.† â€Å"You have nothing to worry about with us,† Marcus said. â€Å"We won't hurt you.† â€Å"I want to believe you. But I don't quite have that same good feeling you have yet.† He didn't say anything right away and then burst into laughter. â€Å"Fair enough. Bring your friend.† He shook my hand, as though we were sealing some great bargain. â€Å"I'll be in touch later with the details. You won't regret it, Sydney. I swear it.†

Study com

Takes time and implies careful attention looking below the surface to find the motivation and context as well as what assumptions are involved and what is not there. Criticism: A close analysis of a text resulting in evaluation. O A close analysis and judgment of something Not always negative, you can evaluate a text and be positive. Illnesses both positive negative or even neutral feedback o Not Just taking something at face value, you're talking critically o Looking innate the surface Critical Questions you might ask. What are the implicit and explicit assumptions in this article and are they reasonable? How reliable is the source of this argument bias/who is the source What's the purpose of this argument/ goal/ consequences? Why is this argument being made? What context or motives might have prompted it?Barnett and Bedaubs Components of Critical thinking Imagination Analysis Evaluation Examples that require critical thinking Riddles Argument A course of reasoning Making a case in favor or against something A critical claim with support and reasoning Example mastery Text Any sort of artifact that can be studied for Information Speech Essay novels Movies, TV shows, songs, press release, corporate annual report Anything that uses communication to get their point across. A one sentence summary of your argument.Will make a claim about the text you're looking at, it should take a position and then it should provide reasoning for that position. Summarizes your overall argument with both your position and reasoning. Rhetoric The strategic use of symbols to persuade o But it doesn't always have to be to persuade, it can be used to teach o Doesn't eve to be words it can be pictures Rhetoric is the argument People that use rhetoric o Advertisement o Politicians Finding the available means of persuasion in a given equation. Aristotle definition)Most important thing to remember while editing o USE A DICTIONARY Media criticism How they portray certain parts of society I. G How they portray movies Criticism of the news and media The way that system constitutes what we consider to be news 3 questions Where does news come from? Who decides what you see/hear/read? What are the functions of fact and opinion 2 classic studies 1. Warren Breed 1995 â€Å"Social control in the newsroom† a. . News is produced by reporters . Reporters are directed/influenced by . Editors Newspaper policy 2. Other reporters 3. Reporters learn from by osmosis iii. They read how other reporters write They are steered by Editor preferences b. The desire it see their stories be â€Å"news† c. And the desire to succeed.Sacred Cow Comes from the religion Hinduism o They hold cows sacred News media are often hesitant in publishing anything that will portray any person that is well-liked in the community or support the newspaper/media financially in a negative way. O Local figure 0 Joe Property 2. David Manning White, 1950 a. The â€Å"Gate Keeper† study I. There a re a series of â€Å"gate keepers† 1. Main source of control of what ends up being reported and what doesn't end up eyeing reported it. Each has the power to define what is or isn't news iii. If the gate keeper rejects a â€Å"story, â€Å"the work of all those who preceded him in reporting and transmitting the story is negated† ‘v. Decisions are 1. Highly subjective 2.Based on experiences, attitudes, expectations of gate keeper Facts vs.. Opinion in the news Opinion writing in the newspaper o Editorials 0 Official statements of the news paper Responses from of the reader. Columns/opinions/ Pieces/pop-De Essays gathered from other media outlets or the public Do not reflect the opinion of the newspapers outside opinions Front page news part 3 Rhetoric Plato Allegory of the Cave Fact represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we perceive and believe in what is reality. The thesis behind his allegory is the basic tenets that all we perceiv e are imperfect â€Å"reflections† of the ultimate Forms, which subsequently represent truth and reality.The Matrix o The movie suggest that if people were given the choice they would choose to know the truth o Shallowness of Rhetoric Slogan We poked you in 84 will poke you again in 86 o Plato had a problem with this since it lacked knowledge Dialectic: Discussion or debate, the way that Aristotle wrote Georgia Difference Among Gorgons, Aristotle, and Plato: Plato was Aristotle teacher and firmly disbelieved in rhetoric and hated calling it a sham and cookery while Aristotle had a better understanding of rhetoric and wrote the most important book over it. Georgia was a sophist and a teacher of rhetoric whom Plato wrote about in order to make him sound stupid. O Socrates gets Georgia to admit that there are two types of persuasion Knowledge (convoy some type of knowledge) 0 Belief without knowledge Scarcities gets Georgia to admit rhetoric is belief without knowledge

Panipat Cotton

The slump in cotton price from Rs 4,800 per quintal last season to around Rs 4,000 this season has become a blessing in disguise for Panipat-based home textile exporters. It is helping them to contain their input cost by around 5 to 6 per cent. Home-grown textile companies have increased their trade volumes and are passing this margin to consumers in Latin America, Middle East and African markets.Pawan Kumar, a Sonipat-based innovative farmer dealing in cotton said, â€Å"Last season, we had sold our cotton at around Rs 4,600 per quintal to around Rs 4,900 per quintal. But, in current season, the return has been in the range of Rs 3,900 to Rs 4,100 per quintal, down by around 20 per cent. † JUMP IN VOLUME Prem Sagar VI], president of Panipat Exporters Association said, â€Å"The export market of Panipat has been hit by around Rs 1,000 crore in last financial year due to the Euro Zone crisis. This sliding cotton prices are giving us (textile exporters) tab our input ost by aro und 5 to 6 per cent. However, lowering price of cotton does not result in increasing the profitability of the Panipat home textile exporters. He said that overseas clients are well aware about this new development in the domestic market as they do while following the rupee- dollar convertibility. â€Å"It is helping us to compete against Pakistani and Bangladeshi products (which are cheaper than Indian home textile products by around 15 per cent to even 20 per cent in some cases) and we are able to dent in their market, especially in Venezuela,Panama, Brazil, IJAE, Syria, South Africa. These are the major countries which have shown interest in pursuing business with us this year by shifting their loyalty from Pakistan and Bangladesh. † Prem Sagar VIJ said that these markets have the potential to generate around Rs 500 crore-Rs 600 crore per annum (around 15 per cent of the net export turnover in 2012)

How writing influences and changes a society Essay

How writing influences and changes a society - Essay Example Many literature analysts believe that while looking at only one dimension of writing interchanges, educational, institutional, professional, and social settings limits the potentiality of writing discourse and the means through which writing enters into the dynamic unfolding of situations and events. To understand various modes in which writing possess an influence on our minds, we need to explore the practices that people engage in to produce texts as well as the ways that writing practices gain their meanings and functions as dynamic elements of specific cultural settings. Traditionally, writing has elucidated the motivation factor behind scriptures and text analysis, which for centuries have demonstrated human nature while examining the limitations of the meanings, humans predicted from writing. As earliest as writing within scriptural religions, we can see that religion was a start to influence people with written sacred texts. It was due to the writings that bestowed upon the th en people, motivation to fit themselves into sophisticated culture and form a part of modernized society. The initial examples of writing influences were that from the meaning people could opt out of holy books such as the Bible, Talmud and Koran. Of course these sacred books while determining a precise culture of humanity, initiated to what we call today as 'philosophy' and other intellectual endeavors that later involved criticizing claims of opponents, which motivated analysis of texts to find flaws in reasoning, confusions, or other limitations. Sacred writings also evolved a sense of legal/illegal among the people for which written law became a matter of precedence, followed by written legal briefs which became important to determine what the law really said, what the loopholes were, how precedents could be used to argue one side or another, what the weaknesses and strengths were of opposing arguments. The power of writing has always attempted to make changes in a society and no doubt that it has remained successful in diverting its audience to acknowledge the power of pen. But in order to make desirable changes, it has not hesitated to present before the society a mirror, through which the audience has accepted their cultural loopholes and foremost weaknesses. Therefore it is said that a society is reflected in the literature, it is not the literature that reflects a society. However, many authors believe that literature predicts the hegemony and culture of society. One can see that cultural text anthologies of rhetoric have become histories, since they are primarily concerned with displaying a sense of order and continuity, and also because of the reason that such rhetorics displayed the time it wrote in the literature. It would be naive to consider anthologies as mere

The Global Business Environment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

The Global Business Environment - Essay Example The environment in which Toyota operates is becoming extremely tough every day. All businesses are facing problems today due to increasing costs, cultural diversity, globalization and decrease in global demand. The world has seen a great financial crisis in recent years and economies are still to recover from it fully. In such environment companies are finding it hard to produce and sell its product to customers. The external environment is also affecting organizations in new ways because media and communication technology has developed so much and any ethical issue can seriously hurt the reputation of the company. Competition is also increasing in business environment as companies are trying to innovate and market their products in better ways. In this report we will conduct an external environmental analysis for Toyota. We will talk about markets, competition and regulations that can have an impact on the company. The ethical issues, corporate social responsibility and environmenta l policy and its affect on Toyota will also be discussed. This paper will deal with the external environment and not with the strategy of Toyota. Markets, Competition and Regulation Markets are evolving at a great pace in today’s fast moving world and it is important to keep in mind the changing demand of target market. Competition is also increasing as companies are trying to increase efficiency by decreasing costs and improving quality of their products. Regulations are also getting stern everyday and automobile companies have to keep in mind the safety standards set by the companies. This means increase in testing of cars which will lead to greater costs. In this section the impact of markets, competition and regulation on Toyota will be discussed. Markets and its Impact of Toyota The main target market of Toyota is the middle class income group of the world. These are the people who cannot afford luxurious cars but want vehicles that are cheap but durable vehicles. Toyota provides cars to middle income people of the world and prices are also lower in comparison to BMW and Mercedes. Over the years this target market has been consisted as they cannot switch to expensive cars and they also don’t switch to cheaper manufacturers. This is why this market of Toyota was considered relative safe and loyal to Toyota. But this is changing because now the target market of Toyota is also evolving. The target market is demanding innovation in designs and specifications. The medium income group target market has become more aware of the different brands in the market. They have also become more design oriented and are demanding newer and better designs. Car movies and games have informed the market about fast cars and sleek designs therefore they want these things in their cars. This problem is staring Toyota in the face because design was never a strong point of the company and its focus was on durability and prices. Evolving markets are in this way impact ing the business strategy of Toyota. The main strategy of Toyota is that of reducing service costs by giving customers quality and durability (Harrup & Janssens, 2008). This is causing problems because the markets of Toyota are evolving and they are demanding better designs from the company. The external environment is therefore impacting the strategy of Toyota. The increasing focus on design and specification of the market can decrease the demand of Toyota cars. Customers will look for new car manufacturers

Risk Management and Investment (Portfolio E) Essay

Risk Management and Investment (Portfolio E) - Essay Example The recommendations I made are with the aim to cover the long term and short term goals having analyzed the market and economy trends as at present and the likely trends of the future. With the adoption of these recommendations, the firm is expected to reap maximally from the market (Accounting Education Change Commission, 1993). Introduction Investment management field involves decision making by considering the market in terms of whether to sell or invest. The fact that it involves predictions and analysis makes it a risky venture hence the need for professionals specialized in the area to provide good advice on how better to have good investment. However, it may not really imply that the market trends will turn out as they predicted. It entails three major pillars, analysis of economic factors, industrial factors and the company factors before making the decision on whether or not to invest. Investments are made with knowledge of market expectations and fluctuations (Best Invest, 2013). The current portfolio is facing quite a number of challenges which expose it to risks in the market such that despite the higher levels of investment the return in terms of interest is too low. The fact that it has diversified the investments to a number of sectors is an attempt to avoid the risks. It has invested in oil, travel and leisure, telecommunication, commodity, shares, banks and bonds. The main challenge is the fact that some sectors are giving very little income compared to the investment which is in turn affecting the portfolio negatively therefore the need to change on the same (Bhattacharyya, 2011). History of the Portfolio The portfolio at its inception had a value of ?12,712,642 a value that has steadily depreciated to ?11,784,648 a net loss of ?927,995 a 7.3% loss a negative return which is not good for the portfolio. This could be attributed to a number of issues which include lack of growth and poor investment choices. This hence necessitates the need for a nalysis for prevent the accelerated rate of depreciation in the values of the Company (Cadez & Guilding, 2008). The investments we placed at inception have all different levels of funds placed in them but to date the highest growing has been TUI Travel which was at its inception having an investment of value of ?196.960 which bought us 80,000 shares. It has since grown by a margin of 32.25% increasing its value to ?260,480, a one third increase. The positive growth reported in the investment has earned dividends worth ?18,000these dividends have significantly been utilized by being re invested in other more business ventures the Company is endeavoring in (Clinton & Van, 2006). The down fall is that even though this is our most promising investment at cut of date in the portfolio it is weighted unevenly and different investments hold a different weighting depending on how much money was invested in them. The weighting for TUI travel was only 1.55% at inception and has now increased t o 2.00% which shows growth in weighting but shows that it only accounts for a minute section of the portfolio. Showing that the substantial growth of 33.25% is shadowed by the fraction of weighting it holds. The volatility has been an issue to as over period of the investment the share price valuation has dropped to maximum of -9.00% and the highest gain being around 6% but since May 2012 the share price has been steadily rising this

Wicked Problems in Design Thinking Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Wicked Problems in Design Thinking - Article Example The target persons for this project are contractors because they are in-charge of construction project on-site. The contractor does not to hire many laborers because inflation and deflation of these model needs just about one person to do it unlike wood formwork construction which needs a large labor force. Moreover, this model is flexible in shape preferences of concrete and the contractor does not have to come with the specific models on-site. The two variables of this model are the construction environment and the technical knowhow to operate then flexible pneumatic formwork. The conditions of every construction site are different. Technical knowledge is therefore required for this variability. In the meantime, the contractor can offer clinics for the operator to understand different site environments. This construction design model is a wicked problem. It has all the element s of indeterminacy1. This is implies that the pneumatic formwork does not have a definite method that can solve design problems on-site according to the prevailing conditions. Every site has specific design formulations to follow and that designers should understand the uniqueness of every construction

Research for Career Path for BSN(only) Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

For Career Path for BSN(only) - Research Paper Example The lack of appropriate knowledge means that nurses will, at all times, be lacking in certain areas where they are expected to perform the best. Thus, student nurses require long-term motivational aspects that will make them enjoy their profession and help people more in the future (Buerhaus, Auerbauch, and Staiger, 2009). Many who have upgraded their Registered Nurse diplomas to a bachelor’s degree have cited an improved perception of their work and an eventful stint at their work settings; the bachelor’s degree just adds the required confidence to the nurse as a way of ensuring that they perform their duty as expected. However these nurses are quickly running out of options in their career path. Nurses provide at least 80% of direct patient contact, and thus expect to be trained well and awarded career options that will serve them for long-term benefits and not for the short-term goals alone (Marsland and Hickey, 2003). Rewards have limited most people from entering t his education level and have thus led to attrition. However, this report will seek to search for three career options that a graduate holding a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) can choose. Career Options A BSN prepared registered nurse (RN) has several options from which they can choose. For the purpose of this report, the three choices are public health nurses, military service nurses and long-term care nurses (Buerhaus, Auerbauch, and Staiger, 2009). These choices are entrusted to them because it is believed that the knowledge they hold at this level can be used for national service. There are reports that show that the more knowledgeable a nurse is, the higher the chances for their patients to survive. This is because they have a greater awareness that is helpful in the increase of a substantial survival advantage. It is also statistically proven from a research carried out by Metz, Fouad and Ihle-Helledy (2009) that at least 25% of all BSN graduates interviewed want to pursu e a career in faculty role and 76% wanted to further their education to fit into the national grid. However, even as BSN they have a high chance of being recruited into the workforce and serve as nurses in the long-term care centers, as public health nurses or military nurses as they would prefer. Why These Choices It is projected that by the year 2025, the number of nurses required to serve the public will have increased to at least 1 million. The growing number of baby boomers has necessitated a review of the way nurses are registered given that at least 260,000 registered nurses will be required to cater for this increase (Buerhaus, Auerbauch, and Staiger, 2009). Further, an increase in the number of chronically ill currently placed at over 100 million, means that the current number of nurses is strained and the ill are not receiving the care they require. The increasing complexities in the medical world also require knowledgeable people in different areas who can multitask and h elp to alleviate any backlogs that may arise while ensuring the safety of the patients. Despite this increased need for nurses it is also reported by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) that a large number of qualified undergraduate baccalaureate applicants are being turned down annually (Fang et al., 2011). They claim that the limited number of facilities as well as an inadequate number of faculties in the nursing field has limited the number of

Role of education leaders Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Role of education leaders - Essay Example The main functions of the school district are to employ teachers and take corrective actions, solve disciplinary matters and taxation. Maryland is an exception in this case. All schools are controlled by the county. In general, it is possible to distinguish the following forms of control: (1) school district governments; (2) state-dependent school systems; (3) local-dependent school systems and (4) education service agencies (Dembowski 1999). Educational standards and practices are the engine driving the changes public schools are experiencing today. These bodies control schools and establish education standards and procedures. The school district provides qualified teachers, adequate instructional materials, and sound facilities. As such standards for opportunity to learn are articulated, the accountability question arises as to how to monitor and report on them. The school district articulates a means of observation in schools and classrooms in order to determine the degree of adherence to these standards (Sergiovanni et al 2003). Two aspects of this must be considered: the quality of individual teachers and the quality of the school as a whole. The control is exercised through school review process.

Five Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Five Reasons to Stop Saying Good Job - Essay Example One of the most important consequences of saying ‘Good Job!’ to a child constantly, Kohn argues, is that it reduces the child’s real achievement. â€Å"As if it weren’t bad enough that ‘Good job!’ can undermine independence, pleasure, and interest, it can also interfere with how good a job children actually do. Researchers keep finding that kids who are praised for doing well at a creative task tend to stumble at the next task – and they don’t do as well as children who weren’t praised to begin with.† (Kohn) In a reflective analysis of this argument made by Kohn, it becomes evident that the author is highly sensible in making this point, because practical experience as well as research evidences supports his claim. One must agree with the author that it is time to stop praising children by saying ‘Good Job!’ because it creates pressure to the youngsters to keep up the good work. It is unquestionable fact that ‘Good job!’ often ignores the thoughts, feelings, and values behind the behaviors of human beings and it unfortunately promotes the less desirable motives in the child.

Leadership and Motivation Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Leadership and Motivation - Research Paper Example Through the study, I will try to reciprocate my viewpoints with the theoretical argument presented by various research scholars and academic sources. I will take conjectural view rather being subjective about the research topic hence the argument will be backed by academic sources. In the last section of the paper, I will discuss my career goals and necessary leadership skills that I need to develop in order to go beyond my current skill set. Key essence of this report will be to prepare a road map which will not only guide me throughout the life and increase level of knowledge through learning. My Idea about Leadership According to me, for any student doing graduation, the subject called leadership offers a lot than what he/she realizes. As I am having double in Business and Computer Science during graduation hence I got the chance to go through some invaluable research work regarding leadership. To be honest, I hardly have any idea about role of leadership in our life prior to joining the graduate degree program but it was the sincere teaching and pedagogy of teachers of university which has helped me to understand certain aspect of leadership. During my study in the graduate program, I was greatly influenced by the research work of Vardiman, Houghston and Jinkerson which was published in the year 2006. For example, as Vardiman, Houghston and Jinkerson (2006) argued that capable leaders do not have superhuman capability but they have the capability to motivate people and encourage subordinates to move in his/her direction. I believe that leadership is not a mere skill and neither can it be develop ed among people overnight. Day (2002) rightly defined leadership as inherent characteristics of person which encourages others to follow that person. I also agree with the argument presented by researcher scholars that person must have some characteristics in order to become a leaders. To be precise, I will not go to the discussion about types of leadership styles rather I will try to stick to four leadership and motivational style that I am currently best at. Leadership & Motivational Skills Ability to Take Responsibilities & Showing Respect I am fortunate due to the fact that none of my friends and relatives have blamed me for lack of courage to take responsibilities. I am not person who falters when it comes to taking responsibility in contingent period. Argument may arise that how taking responsibility in complex situation is related to leadership skill but my answer is that responsibility taking ability is the special characteristics of leaders which differentiate him/her from followers. To justify my viewpoint, I will share the empirical findings of research work of Maxwell (2012), that states that leaders need to take responsibilities of their decision in emergent situation which in order to earn respect and trust from followers. Maxwell (2012) pointed out that ability to take responsibilities comes from self belief of leaders and such beliefs help them to encourage and motivate others to work under his/her direction. In modern business world, we have seen plenty of examples where business leaders take the responsibility to bring change in the organization. During my graduation, in many occasions, I took the responsibilit

Single Parent Households and Crime Essay Example for Free

Single Parent Households and Crime Essay People claimed that growing up in a fatherless or motherless home was the major cause of child poverty, delinquency, and school failure, while others denied that single parenthood had any harmful effects. And some objected even to discussing the topic for fear of stigmatizing single mothers or fathers and their children. Not talking about single parenthood is scarcely an option. More than half of the children born in 1994 will spend some or all of their childhood with only one parent, typically their mother. If current patterns hold, they will likely experience higher rates of poverty, school failure, and other problems as they grow up. The long-range consequences could have enormous implications. (Article/consequences-single-motherhood familyinequality.wordpress) But what exactly are the consequences how large and concentrated among what groups? Do they depend on whether a single mother is widowed, divorced, or never married? Does public support for single mothers inadvertently increase the number of women who get divorced or choose to have a baby on their own? Children who grow up with only one of their biological parents (nearly always the mother) are disadvantaged across a broad array of outcomes. They are twice as likely to drop out of high school, 2.5 times as likely to become teen mothers, and 1.4 times as likely to be idle out of school and out of work as children who grow up with both parents. Children in one-parent families also have lower grade point averages, lower college aspirations, and poorer attendance records. As adults, they have higher rates of divorce. These patterns persist even after adjusting for differences in race, parents education, number of siblings, and residential location. (Article/consequences-single-motherhood familyinequality.wordpress) The evidence, however, does not show that family disruption is the principal cause of high school failure, poverty, and delinquency. While 19 percent of all children drop out of high school, the dropout rate for children in two-parent families is 13 percent. Thus, the dropout rate would be only 33 percent lower if all families had two parents and the children currently living with a single parent had the same dropout rates as children living with two parents a highly improbable assumption. (Article/consequences-single-motherhood familyinequality.wordpress ) Family disruption also undermines childrens access to community resources or what sociologist James Coleman calls social capital. Divorce and remarriage often precipitate moves out of a community, disrupting childrens relationships with peers, teachers, and other adults. During middle childhood and early adolescence, a child in a stable family experiences, on average, 1.4 moves. The average child in a single-parent family experiences 2.7 moves; in a stepfamily, the average child experiences 3.4 moves. (ejournal.narotama.ac.id/files/DeMuthandBrownJRCD) So all this information provided, I agree that children growing in a single parent household, and a child having family disruptions, does impact delinquency within in juveniles I’m not saying it’s a 100% guarantee a child will fall into delinquency because of one parent households, I’m just agreeing that the possibility is a higher risk.

Bulgaria: High Internet penetration potential for e-commerce

Bulgaria: High Internet penetration potential for e-commerce Coursework in Management Futures Executive Summary The aim of this report is to evaluate the opportunity for development of e-commerce in Bulgaria. The report will examine if there is demand for e-commerce in Bulgaria, if e-commerce might be restricted in some way and if it will be profitable for businesses. This will be achieved by examining the Internet penetration in Bulgaria, its future growth and other corresponding data and statistics. Advantages and Disadvantages as well as a SWOT analysis of e-commerce in will be discussed to evaluate the potential of it in the Bulgarian market. A brief description of the issue investigated The Internet is a global network connecting millions of computers. More than 100 countries are linked into exchanges of data, news and opinions. It exists since 1957 and was found by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the US department of defense. In Bulgaria, Internet usage has grown significantly especially for the last seven or eight years, but it exists since 1989. It is mostly put into practice for communication and for searching of information. It has become a very useful tool, which is part of peoples daily lives not only in Bulgaria but also all over the world. Due to the ability of the Internet to reach a large number of people in all corners of the world, it has become a mean for electronic trading, also known as e-commerce. E-commerce is the trade of products and services by means of the Internet or other computer networks. E-commerce is very popular in developed countries. It exists since 1991 and since then has grown considerably. It has become a very convenient way to purchase goods and services online in the free time without wasting time to travel to difference stores and having 24-hour access. E-commerce exists in Bulgaria too, but it is still on a very low level even though the Internet has one of the greatest user growths in the European Union. In the period between 2000 and 2007 the Internet in Bulgaria has grown with 412 %. The fast user growth in Bulgaria and the large percentage of active users online is a great opportunity for Bulgarian businesses to reach a vast amount of customer online where they can start offering their products and services. This way they would not only reach more potential customers locally, but will also have the opportunity to expand abroad if demand spreads. Relevant Statistics for Bulgaria The Internet has become a retractable part of most households in Bulgaria. Surveillances show that the number of people who use Internet actively has increased by 100% for the last three years. Today, around 2Â  600Â  000 people, more that 33% of the population uses Internet at home and work. However, statistics also show that almost 80% of the population can have Internet access when needed. The main purpose it is used for is for communication, e.g. e-mail, chat and Internet calls and for searching of information, e.g. job search, current news. Despite the rapid growth of the quality of the Internet provided and the increase in Internet users, Bulgaria still is one of the countries with lowest positions for e-commerce. According to the National Statistical Institute, from 50% of the Internet users searching for goods and services online, only 7.6% have made a purchase. Thus every second Internet user has searched for goods online but did not find what they were looking for. Thirty thousand people have taken part in a survey done by Nielsen Online about the optimizing of online products. The research shows that 60% of the Internet users are aged between 18 and 35 and 22% of the participants have stated that they have income higher than 1000 levs. This is a relatively high salary for this country. The age range, which is predominant consisting of young people who tend to be high consumers. Young people who are still students, are very good at tormenting their parents for receiving what they want, on the other hand the ones who have graduated and have started working tend to spend their wages for satisfying their wants. Statistics also show that 2/3 of the Internet users are employed and the rest are mostly students. The main problem with online shopping for most Internet users is the threat of information theft, especially financial information. In computing it is known as phishing. Phising is an attempt to criminally and fraudulently acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details, by masquerading as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication. Most like targets are online banks and e-commerce businesses that allow online payments like Paypal and E-Pay for Bulgaria. However statistics for E-Pay show that in 2008 transactions per month done through e-pay are on average between 10 and 11 million levs. This is a relatively high transaction rate for the country, but most of these transactions are done for paying bills other than for purchasing of goods. An advantage for online shopping in Bulgaria is that goods can be paid at the time of delivery, which is a way that people who are afraid to pay online would prefer. Products that are most often offered online in Bulgaria are books, office stationary and electronic devices (phones, cameras), which is a very limited offering of products. However, Bulgarian e-commerce should have a very promising future if it develops. For now in Bulgaria, most online shoppers rely on the e-commerce from abroad. Businesses in Bulgaria are missing on a great deal of potential customers due to the lapse of offering their products online. According to statistics of Visa International, during 2005 the volume of e-payments of Bulgarians with Visa in the Internet had increased with almost 100%. The total value of the online transactions made to virtual traders outside the country is 14.3 million US dollars. E-trade has a very good opportunity to grow in Bulgaria since the online users are constantly increasing and have the desire to explore new prospects that the internet might offer to them. Consumerism in Bulgaria is likely to increase rapidly too, due to the economical growth in the country, since its entrance in the EU. However Euro Stat has registered high inflation of 13.4% at the moment, which might slow down the economical growth. According to the European committee even slow the economic growth will continue in Bulgaria. An outline of the analysis undertaken According to the data show above the development of e-commerce in Bulgaria seems promising due to the combination of the following trends: Bulgaria has a high sample of potential of online customers, as 30% of its population use Internet actively and 80% can have Internet access when needed. People can have access at home, work and in public Internet cafes. 50% of the Internet users are interested in buying goods online. For 2005 Bulgarians have spend more than $14 million online, buying product from other countries. Most Internet users in Bulgaria are educated people with relatively high income. The economic state in Bulgaria is going to ameliorate in the future, which is a good base for the growth of consumerism. According to the SWOT analysis-undertaken e-commerce has a lot of strengths for both customers and business, which should be considered. E-trade is convenient for both because: It is fast as there is no need to go outside, travel, visit different shops and compare prices. Easy as the shopping can be done in the comfort of your own home with a few clicks. Cheap as the online offering of product can be less costly for businesses, which gives them the chance to offer more competitive prices for consumers. Consumers can choose from millions of products, which are all displayed on their computer. Businesses can online only sell their products by displaying them online, but also advertise them further, as consumers can easily find them. One disturbing weakness that has arisen in the Bulgarian e-trade was the legislation included in the Law for Protection of Consumer, which stated that the person who delivers the product doesnt have the right to receive payment in advance before the period of 7 days. This caused major difficulties for both buyers and sellers. Therefore a correction in the law followed, it stated that the person who delivers could take this payment with the consumers agreement. Maybe this law should be investigated further but for now existing e-commerce organisations do not have a problem doing their business online. More trends can be useful to examine the potential demand for e-commerce businesses. A research on what products Internet user would prefer to buy online, can help specific businesses balance their advantages and disadvantages for undertaking the step to sell online. Also some of the trends found might not be very realistic due to the small number of sample marketed. However over all if the economy in Bulgaria grows and people have more disposable income, e-commerce will be a success, as it will safe people time and money, and give profit to business. A discussion of the main findings From the findings above I can derive that e-commerce business has the potential to grow fast like it has grown in more developed countries all over the world. E-trade can offer companies the advantage of reaching their customers 24-7 and globally. Businesses can also diminish costs by advertising online for less and eliminating the need for large warehouse buildings for storing and displaying their stock. Another great advantage is the opportunity Internet gives for gaining a large number of contacts, which can lead to positive business developments and ventures. Word count: 1913 Reference: Dave Site (no date) History of Internet. Retrieved on 15 May 2008 from: http://www.davesite.com/webstation/net-history.shtml Dir.bg (2008) One third of the Internet users are in Sofia. Retrieved on 16 May 2008 from: http://sofia.dir.bg/2008/05/13/news2987502.html E-commerce land (no date) History of e-commerce. Retrieved on 15 May 2008 from: http://www.ecommerce-land.com/history_ecommerce.html Econ (2008) Economic growth in our country will remain one of the highest in Europe. Retrieved on 16 May 2008 from: http://www.econ.bg/news/article140523.html E-pay (2008) Statistics for payment in E-pay. Retrieved on 16 May 2008 from: https://www.epay.bg/?page=frontHYPERLINK https://www.epay.bg/?page=frontp=front_wikiwpage=statsHYPERLINK https://www.epay.bg/?page=frontp=front_wikiwpage=statsp=front_wikiHYPERLINK https://www.epay.bg/?page=frontp=front_wikiwpage=statsHYPERLINK https://www.epay.bg/?page=frontp=front_wikiwpage=statswpage=stats E-shop BG (2003) E-trade in Bulgaria. Retrieved on 15 May 2008 from: www.abcbg.com/download/eshop-13nov2003.ppt EuroStat (2008) Newsletter. Retrieved on 16 May 2008 from: hHYPERLINK http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46587259_dad=portal_schema=PORTALp_product_code=LN-042008ttp://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46587259HYPERLINK http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46587259_dad=portal_schema=PORTALp_product_code=LN-042008HYPERLINK http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46587259_dad=portal_schema=PORTALp_product_code=LN-042008_dad=portalHYPERLINK http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46587259_dad=portal_schema=PORTALp_product_code=LN-042008HYPERLINK http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46587259_dad=portal_schema=PORTALp_product_code=LN-042008_schema=PORTALHYPERLINK http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46587259_dad=portal_schema=PORTALp_product_code=LN-042008HYPERLINK http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page?_pageid=1073,46587259_dad=portal_schema=POR TALp_product_code=LN-042008p_product_code=LN-042008 Internet Reklama (2006) E-trade increases twice. Retrieved on 16 May 2008 from: http://internetreklama.com/bulgaria/ecommerce-bg-x2/ Internet reklama (2007) 2.6 million internet users in Bulgaria. Retrieved on 15 May 2008 from: http://internetreklama.com/internet/2600000/ Internet reklama (2008) National Statistics Institute for Internet in Bulgaria. Retrieved on 15 May 2008 from: http://internetreklama.com/bulgaria/nsi-2008/ Internet reklama (2008) National Statistics Institute for Internet in Bulgaria. Retrieved on 15 May 2008 from: http://internetreklama.com/bulgaria/nsi-2008/ Internet reklama2 (2007) They resolved the advanced payments. Retrieved on 16 May 2008 from: http://internetreklama.com/internet/e-trade/e-computerworld/ Internet world stats (2008) European Union internet users. Retrieved on 15 May 2008 from: http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats9.htm Sega (2008) One third of the Internet users are in Sofia. Retrieved on 16 May 2008 from: http://www.segabg.com/online/article.asp?issueid=2971HYPERLINK http://www.segabg.com/online/article.asp?issueid=2971sectionid=24id=0001403HYPERLINK http://www.segabg.com/online/article.asp?issueid=2971sectionid=24id=0001403sectionid=24HYPERLINK http://www.segabg.com/online/article.asp?issueid=2971sectionid=24id=0001403HYPERLINK http://www.segabg.com/online/article.asp?issueid=2971sectionid=24id=0001403id=0001403 Timeline (no date) Internet history. Retrieved on 15 May 2008 from: http://timeline.hit.bg/ Webopedia (no date) Internet. Retrieved on 15 May 2008 from: http://webopedia.internet.com/TERM/I/Internet.html Wikipedia (no date) Phising. Retrieved on 16 May 2008 from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing Zoom-Online (no date) What is e-commerce: advantages and draw backs. Retrieved on 15 May 2008 from: http://www.zoom-online.co.uk/e-commerce/what_is_ecommerce_advantages_and_drawbacks.html Appendices Appendix 1 InternetUsageintheEuropeanUnion EUROPEANHYPERLINK http://www.internetworldstats.com/europa.htmUNION Population (2007Est.) InternetUsers, LatestData Penetration (%Population) Usage %inEU UserGrowth (2000-2007) Austria 8,199,783 4,650,000 56.7% 1.7% 121.4% Belgium 10,392,226 5,100,000 49.1% 1.9% 155.0% Bulgaria 7,322,858 2,200,000 30.0% 0.8% 411.6% Cyprus 788,457 356,000 45.2% 0.1% 197.2% CzechHYPERLINK http://www.internetworldstats.com/europa.htm#czRepublic 10,228,744 5,100,000 49.9% 1.9% 410.0% Denmark 5,468,120 3,762,500 68.8% 1.4% 92.9% Estonia 1,315,912 760,000 57.8% 0.3% 107.3% Finland 5,238,460 3,286,000 62.7% 1.2% 70.5% France 63,718,187 34,851,835 54.7% 12.8% 310.0% Germany 82,400,996 53,240,115 64.6% 19.5% 121.8% Greece 10,706,290 3,800,000 35.5% 1.4% 280.0% Hungary 9,956,108 3,500,000 35.2% 1.3% 389.5% Ireland 4,109,086 2,060,000 50.1% 0.8% 162.8% Italy 58,147,733 33,143,152 57.0% 12.1% 151.1% Latvia 2,259,810 1,070,800 47.4% 0.4% 613.9% Lithuania 3,575,439 1,221,700 34.2% 0.4% 443.0% Luxembourg 480,222 339,000 70.6% 0.1% 239.0% Malta 401,880 127,200 31.7% 0.0% 218.0% Netherlands 16,570,613 14,544,400 87.8% 5.3% 272.9% Poland 38,518,241 11,400,000 29.6% 4.2% 307.1% Portugal 10,642,836 7,782,760 73.1% 2.8% 211.3% Romania 22,276,056 7,000,000 31.4% 2.6% 775.0% Slovakia 5,447,502 2,500,000 45.9% 0.9% 284.6% Slovenia 2,009,245 1,250,000 62.2% 0.5% 316.9% Spain 40,448,191 22,843,915 56.5% 8.4% 324.0% Sweden 9,031,088 6,981,200 77.3% 2.6% 72.5% UnitedHYPERLINK http://www.internetworldstats.com/europa.htm#ukKingdom 60,776,238 40,362,842 66.4% 14.8% 162.1% EuropeanUnion 490,430,321 273,234,619 55.7% 100.0% 189.5% Source: Internet world stats (2008) Malaysia S Transportation Sector: SWOT Analysis Malaysia S Transportation Sector: SWOT Analysis A scan of the internal and external environment is a main part of the strategic planning. Environmental factors internal to the firm generally can be classified as strength (S) or weakness (W) and those external to the firm can be classified as opportunities (O) or threats (T). Such an analysis of the strategic environment is referred to as SWOT analysis. STRENGTHS Malaysia is Multi-Racial Malaysia is a multi-racial, multi-ethnic society and opens to each one. The 3 main cultures, Malay, Chinese and Indian create an interesting Malaysian society yet still leave it open for other cultures to join and thrive. In Malaysia, you will experience the Malay, Chinese and Indian festivals, food, literature, clothing, religion and culture. Affordable Healthcare Healthcare in Malaysia is world-class and more affordable compared to the United States. Doctors and hospitals have the same standard or superior to American doctors and hospitals and care is world-renowned. Healthcare is good in Malaysia. It is one of the top destinations for medical tourism. In Malaysia, you can only visualize how good your healthcare options will be. Education Malaysias education system is mainly based on the British system and it is better than some other countries in the region such as Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia. Compulsory subjects include English and Malay, so any children has to grow up fluent in both languages. Ease of Language English is the language spoken by most people in Malaysia. When a person moves to Malaysia, he does not have to suffer by the local language to get things done and the life becomes easier for them. Buying a house, a car, set up utilities, furniture and household items, everything is easier due to being able to deal with things in English. Good Infrastructure Malaysia has a world-class infrastructure and the Roads are excellent. The water supply, drain systems and power grids are stable and telecommunication including phones and internet are phenomenal. Living and Working in Malaysia for western expatriate is made even easier due to its western-standard infrastructure. OPPORTUNITIES Malaysias strong emerging economy is a preferred destination for foreign companies and a fertile ground for local businesses to flourish. In this thriving, business environment job opportunities are created to attract both local as well as foreign talents. There are huge opportunities here and it is often only a matter of getting the right working permit. For Non-Malaysians it is required to convince your potential employer that they help you to get the essential paper work completed in the case of applicable working permit, expatriates a full, a commitment that an employer may be reluctant to make until they are confident that the appointment is going to work out. In Malaysia there is a strong demand here for quality candidates with good qualifications and experience. Managerial positions in development, energy, business and engineering corporations are often the typical option for the relocated worker in Malaysia. The private education sector is excellent in Malaysia, with a number of reputed international institutions, diversified and extensive courses offering and high quality, internationally recognized standards, and featuring the British, German and French curricula as common options. When coming to the food industry of Malaysia, internationally aware individuals have been able to run fashionable, niche and successful activities combining gourmet cuisine, design, care for the details, and providing customers with an overall experiential moment. Malaysians inexhaustible passion for food and adventure have made food industry a vibrant sector. Hospitality, Tourism and management is also enjoying a renaissance in Malaysia by offering five-star stays while providing boutique and heritage experiences like nowhere else on Earth. National Chambers of Commerce in Malaysia give opportunity to connect with companies interested in hiring people with international expertise and experience. WEAKNESSES Lack of Medical Tourism: Strict guidelines implemented for medical advertisement. In Malaysia doctors are only allowed to put up ads with the following information- name, address, qualifications, and telephone numbers. The Medicines Advertisement Board in Malaysia must approve even websites of medical institutions. Thus the medical tourism industry of Malaysia lacks in impressive promotional activities and impressive websites. Inconvenient social visit pass process: The procedures for extension of the social visit pass in Malaysia are very inconvenience and can be very difficult. It is required to complete an application form and the applicant must submit it along with his/her passport and confirmed flight ticket to the home country personally. Obviously such requirements make it impossible to be fulfilled by a person admitted in a hospital, such as in the case of a medical tourist. Lack of coordination: Lack of a coordinated effort between airline operators, hotels and hospitals to promote the industry and lack of uniform pricing policies and standards across hospitals in Malaysia. Weak policy: Malaysian policy states that an individual entity is not permitted to transport an excess of 1,000 Ringgits outside of the country without government approval. While this act has not hindered trade, it has certainly weakened the credibility of the Negara Malaysia Bank (the countries national bank) as an international financier. Limited Profits to retailers: The low estimated cost of living is sustained by the Malaysian government through subsides on essential items, such as gasoline, bread, rice, etc. Prices on these items are kept well under market value which although good for the consumer hinders any further competitive pricing by retailers, thus limiting profit. Lacking in multimedia research development hub: Despite the creation of a world-class infrastructure, the government of Malaysia has not been successful in realizing its original aim of creating a cutting-edge multimedia research and development hub. Rising costs: For creating such a successful service industry around the world, Malaysia had to sacrifice other industries along the way. Malaysia is number three in the service industry. The increase in criminal activities related to this industry is causing a rise in the cost to prevent such crime. Favoritism for Malays: Roughly 65% of the population of Malaysia consists of Malays. Government perks favor Malays and other indigenous races to the determent of minorities, who provide a better level of economic activity. These factors have a long-term impact on the economy, by alienating minorities who contribute to economic growth. Those minorities are more likely to move to more favorable countries that value their expertise and economic contributions. Discriminatory Policies in Economy: The discrimination issues the government maintains in Malaysia over non-Malays, is an economic concern. Despite some improvement in the economic power of Malay people, the Malaysian government maintains a policy of discrimination favoring ethnic Malays over other races-including preferential treatment in education, employment, business, scholarships, access to cheaper housing and assisted savings. This special kind of treatment has sparked envy and resentment between Malays and Non- Malays. Discrimination issues tend to provoke conflict between the groups involved in the discriminatory practices. Commerce between the two groups may decrease, which may cause a decrease in overall economic activity. Discrimination also limits human capital when available to do certain jobs. Limitations in general lead to less efficient uses of natural or human resources in an economy. Critical level of Corruption: Corruption in Malaysia has reached a critical level as the country falls in international rankings, a graft watchdog announced warning the government to act or lose its competitiveness. The UNs Asia-Pacific Human Development Report highlighted an International Country Risk Guide finding which saw Malaysia decline from a score of 4.00 in year 1996 to 2.38 in year 2006, with a lower score showing greater corruption. Corrupt political systems tend to weaken economic growth, because they indirectly charge additional taxes on the economy. Every payment to a corrupt officer to obtain a service is considered a tax. The more taxes on a economic system, the lower economic growth, because resources are shifted away from highly efficient parts of the economy to less efficient and corrupt parts of the economy. Threats Malaysia, being a trading nation that highly dependent on international trade, the economic performance is very vulnerable to the performance of the major international trading partners. For decades, the economic growth has been overly reliant on international trade, external sector developments and foreign direct investment (FDI). In view of the challenges that arise from the globalization effects, it is important for the Malaysian Government to sustain growth and strengthen the macro-economic fundamentals within the country. This can be done by focusing on domestic business and industrial activities and increasing the purchasing power of our population. The governments corporate reforms and fiscal policies have to be continued to create a condition suitable for a speedy recovery and sustainable growth. It is also important to ensure that the restructured loans remain performing. Importance must be placed on continuing improvements on transparency, corporate governance and strict enforcement of powers by the market regulators. The country also needs to maintain its peaceful environment and security to secure the investors confidence. Currently, most of exports of Malaysia are for the United States. Thus, the successful recovery of the US economy is pivotal to Malaysias continuing recovery. Due to current stagnation in the US economy, the electronic chip industry is a damper on economic recovery in Malaysia where electronics related exports make up more than 30% of the gross domestic product. River pollution: Pollution is one the largest threats to the rivers. The reduction in river water quality is a clear indicator of the decline in the environmental health of a river basin. Palm Oil Production Destroys Forest: Environmental group protests are making it difficult to expand production of palm oil plantations, so firms have to slow their growth and discover a new, more sustainable, method to increase Palm Oil. Threats and boycotts will lead to less demand for products containing palm oil, which will hurt the price of palm oil as a commodity. Swine Flu Virus: Swine flu (the H1N1 virus) is added to the list of potential threats. Malaysia have downgraded their forecast for tourist arrivals accordingly. Malaysia reported its first fatal case of swine flu with the death of an Indonesian student, officials. The 30-year-old man, who was diagnosed with the H1N1 virus, died from cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation. TRANSPORTATION SECTOR In Malaysia transport was started developing during British colonial rule, and its transport network is now developed and diverse. Malaysias road system begun during British colonization and it covers about 63,445 km. The main highway that reaches the Thai border from Singapore covers a distance of over 800 km. Within the city, the Light Rail Transit (LRT) is available to help meet Malaysias need for mobility that is reliable, safe, comfortable and predictable. Peninsular Malaysia have high quality network of roads, while the East Malaysian road system is not as well developed. In Peninsular Malaysia the main modes of transport are trains, buses, cars and to an extent airplanes. Malaysias small railway system is less significant than its roads and is confined primarily to the peninsula, where it runs from the southern tip (where it is connected to Singapore) northward to the border with Thailand. Malaysias first light-rail transport was started in Kuala Lumpur in 1996. After that, several monorail and express lines have opened in the Kuala Lumpur metropolitan area. In East Malaysia and especially in Sarawak river transport is of great importance. In addition, Malaysias accessible and long coastlines have fostered maritime trade for more than a millennium. Several ports, notably Penang on the Strait of Malacca and Port Kelang (the principal port) have become major container-handling facilities. Air transport has grown very rapidly as the passenger traffic has increased especially on the peninsula. Almost all Malaysian states are connected with an internal air network. Airports in Kota Kinabalu, Penang and Kuching have limited international service. LAND TRANSPORT Roads Malaysias road network covers 98,721 kilometers , of which 80,280 kilometers is paved, and 1,821 kilometers is expressways. The longest highway the North-South Expressway of the country extends over 800 kilometers between the Singapore and Thai border. Trains The inter city, countrywide, traditional KTMB rail network and the inner city, light rail transit network are the two types of train network in Malaysia. The KTMB service serves the entire country of Malaysia by travelling between major cities and also up into Thailand. Railways The railway system covers a total of 1,849 kilometers (1,149 mi). 1,792 kilometers (1,113 mi) of it is narrow gauge, while 57 kilometers (35 mi) is standard gauge. 150 kilometers (93 mi) of narrow gauge tracks and all the standard gauge tracks are electrified. Elevated Light Rail Transit systems are used in some cities such as Kuala Lumpur which are relatively inexpensive. MY Rapid is a company that runs the main public transportation system in KL. They provide Monorail, Putra and Star LRT and RapidKL buses. Buses: For travel between Singapore, Penang and KL, the services of coach in Malaysia are difficult to beat. Fares are well priced at roughly RM 50 RM 60 for KL-Penang and just under RM 100 for luxury coaches from KL-Singapore. The best services also provide drink, food and entertainment for the journey. Buying tickets in Malaysia works out much cheaper than buying them in Singapore. Therefore, if it needs travelling from KL to Singapore and back again, surely purchase a return ticket from the Malaysian side. The buses offer pre-recorded commentary in eight different languages and stop at 22 designated stops around the city. Taxis Drivers very well know very well the city geography and are able to find shortcuts when the inevitable traffic builds up. It is compulsory for taxi drivers to use their built-in meter to calculate the fare. Flag-off fare is RM3 with an additional 10 cents for every 115 meters thereafter. The taxis caught in a traffic jam charge the fare RM3 for the first three minutes and 10 cents for every subsequent 21 seconds. Penang Rickshaw, Penang: In Penang, locals called their rickshaw as Beca in Malay language. Most locals are taking buses and taxi in the island. Due to modern infrastructure the number of rickshaws in the city is reducing. All of these rickshaws have special permit from the government. Currently, Penang has less than 200 rickshaws on its streets mainly to ride tourists to nearby attractions within the city. WATER TRANSPORT Waterways Malaysia has 7,200 kilometers (4,474 mi) of waterways, most of them rivers. Of this, 3,200 kilometers (1,988 mi) are in Peninsular Malaysia, 2500 kilometers (1553 mi) are in Sarawak and 1,500 kilometers (932 mi) are in Sabah. Information on Sea Transportation Many popular island destinations like Pangkor, Langkawi, Tioman and Redang are linked to the mainland by ferry services and other smaller islands are accessible by fishing boats, which may be chartered. Ferry services are also available from Belungkor, Tanjung, Desaru, Kukup, Johor Bahru Duty Free Zone and Sebana Cove (all in Johor) to the neighboring islands in the south and from Butterworth to Penang. There are a number of cruise liners which call on Malaysian ports. One of which, Star Cruises is Malaysian-owned and operated. Ports and harbors This is a list of Malaysian ports and harbors: Bintulu Kota Kinabalu Kuantan Kemaman Kuching Kudat Labuan Lahad Datu Lumut Miri Pasir Gudang George Town, Penang Port Dickson Port Klang Sandakan Sibu Tanjung Berhala Tanjung Kidurong Tawau Tanjung Pelepas Ferry: The ferries carry light vehicles on bottom deck and pedestrian on top level. The bottom is shared by 4 wheelers and two wheelers. The cars onboard the ferry occupy the front part followed by the motorcycles. The ferry has 2 toilets for male and female and one mini counter selling snacks and drinks on the upper level. Pipelines: Malaysia has 3 kilometers (2 mi) of condensate pipeline, 1,965 kilometers (1,221 mi) of gas pipeline, 31 kilometers (19 mi) of oil pipeline, and 114 kilometers (71 mi) of refined products pipelines. AIR TRANSPORT In Malaysia, airlines are separated into two 1) Passenger airlines 2) Cargo airlines. The Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) is well known in the region and is known as one of the more modern airports in the world. With other international airports in Kota Kinabalu, Kuching and Penang, domestic airports are also available in Malaysia. Also a Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) is designed specifically for low cost carriers by KLIA and it is located 20km from the main terminal. Air Asia is the most popular budget airline in Asia and is based in Malaysia. Air Asia flies to many locations regionally and also domestically. Air transport is crucial for the distribution of high value to weight products. Air freight may only account for 0.5% of the tons of global trade with the rest of the world, but it makes up around 34.6% of the total in terms of value. Shippers pay airlines MYR 8.0 billion annually to carry 805,000 tons of freight to, from and within Malaysia. The benefit to the shippers is estimated as MYR 3.3 billion in excess of this expenditure. Based on these share of exports Malaysian shippers receive over half of this benefit (MYR 1.9 billion). Malaysia Airlines currently flies to many places worldwide and provides access to other states within both East Malaysia and Peninsular Malaysia.

Country Analysis Malaysia :: essays papers

Country Analysis Malaysia Malaysia A. Brief History  § In the first century AD, the Malayan peninsula was prominent in int’l trade.  § Conquered by the Portuguese in 1511, then the Dutch in 1641.  § The British, who replaced the Dutch in 1795, developed large-scale productions of tin and rubber.  § The Japanese invaded Malaysia during WWII.  § Malaysia was formed after negotiating for independence from the British in September 16, 1963. B. Comparative Advantage (Early years up to pre-1980’s)  § Natural Resources/Land - Malaysia has a total land area of 127,320 sq. mi. - abundance of sedimentary rocks such as limestone, shale, sandstone, and conglomerate. - Tin ore was Malaysia’s most important resource pre 1980’s. - exported raw commodities such as timber, rubber, tin, and palm oil.  § Human Resources  § Access to Capital - Government invested on more capital goods - Sources of finances were increasing due to the investment on capital, domestic saving, and foreign investments. - In the 1970’s, the Investment Incentive Act aimed to gain more investments to spend on its programs. It also aimed to get more participation from the Malays.  § Initial Success in some industries - Production of raw materials like tin and rubber - Mining, Petroleum production, Agricultural Sector, Forestry and Fishing. C. Role of Government  § The head of state is the Yang di-Pertuan Agong (paramount ruler) The Conference of Rulers is formed by the hereditary rulers and appointed heads of the four other states. The Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister exercises executive power.  § The government finds ways to attract foreign investors, and is active in the development of industries. D. Competitive Advantage  § In the Second Industrial Master Plan (IMP2), palm oil, rubber, cocoa, and timber were identified as primary commodities.  § The Third National Agricultural Policy (NAP3), palm oil, rubber, cocoa, and timber have also been identified as the major contributor to agricultural value-added activities.  § Infrastructure Development- in the form of roads, ports, railways, telecommunications, electricity, and water supply- is crucial for profitable private investment.  § More emphasis has been given to the development of commercial agriculture since the 19080’s.  § Petroleum Development Act of 1974 enabled the federal government to get much of the resource rents from petroleum and natural gas resources.  § Logging  § Malaysia has the second highest household savings rate.  § Import Substitution and Export Orientation E. Economic Indicators (1991-2000) GNP $67 billion GDP 6% Inflation 5.3% Unemployment 2.6% National Debt $39.8 billion Budget Deficit/ Surplus revenues: $22.6 billionexpenditures: $22 billion Population 22.2 Million F. Survival Strategy during the Asean Crisis (1997 – 2000)  § Political Problems - On September 1998, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad fired Anwar Ibrahim from his post as Deputy Prime Minister, after being convicted of corruption and other illegal activities.

Beat Poets :: English Literature Essays

Beat Poets The "Beat Movement" in modern literature has become an important period in the history of literature and society in America. Incorporating influences such as jazz, art, literature, philosophy and religion, the beat writers created a new and prophetic vision of modern life and changed the way a generation of people sees the world. That generation is mow aging and its representative voices are becoming lost to eternity, but the message is alive and well. The Beats have forever altered the nature of American consciousness. The Beat Generation of writers offered the world a new attitude. They brought to society a consciousness of life worth living. They offered a method of escape from the stultifying, unimaginative world we live in, through the exploration of one's intellect. Beat has had many different contemporary implications in music, poetry and literature. Literature has been liberated considerably. The poetic form has been changed to inaugurate a new poetic form, an American form. "There was less emphasis on tradition and more emphasis on the individual talent. (www.rohan.sdsu.edu)" One of the most important contributions to contemporary verse was to take poetry out of the classrooms and into non-academic setting—coffee houses, jazz clubs, large public auditoriums and even athletic stadiums. Poetry is more popular and more read than anytime in history, not only spoken poetry but also sung poetry of a high order. "The literature, coordinated by pop music, with a way of dressing, with a way of life, it something that has influenced the youth of the world not only in Western countries but Eastern countries as well. (www.charm.net)" Music has been influenced greatly by Beat writing. The lyrics of many great songs have forever been changed by the writing of the Beat Generation. "Bob Dylan's favorite poet was Allen Ginsberg. Ginsberg became one of Dylan's greatest friends. He worked on many projects with Dylan...The band Rage Against the Machine has many of Ginsberg's poems and words show up in their songs. For instance the song 'Bulls on Parade' includes Ginsberg 'Hadda Been Playing on the Jukebox' (www.charm.net)" Generation X writers are compared to the Beat writers. Many people say that the "generation coming to age has the potential to bring a new vision to society. The Beats thumbed their noses at the corporate world just like Generation X does today. (www.altx.com/io/beatgeneration.html)" Many writers of Generation X have been influenced by the writing like Andy Clausen, Eliot Katz, Geoffrey Manough and Ed Sanders.

Equal Pay :: essays research papers

Mike K. Essay on equal pay in the work place. In 1963, President Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act into law, making it unlawful to discriminate against a worker on the basis of sex. Since that time, the wage gap between men and women in the United States has narrowed by just 15 cents, now being 74 cents, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau. Pay equality is most prevalent for the 16 to 24 age group, in which women earn more than 90 percent of what men do; however, the gap becomes 75 percent in the 25 to 54 year old group – those at the height of their careers and life responsibilities.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A number of factors have contributed to the gap between men’s and women’s wages. These include: occupational segregation of women into low paying jobs; lower levels of unionization for women and attitudinal barriers that have kept women from achieving equality in the workplace and undervaluation for women’s work.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Equal Pay Act (part of the Fair Labor Standards Act), forbids employers to compensate women differently for jobs that are â€Å"substantially equal†, that is, almost identical. Traditionally, women have worked in different occupations than men; these occupations tend to be substantially different, pay less and confer less authority.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Equity means fairness and justice. Pay equity programs throughout the world attempt to legislate and regulate the elimination of systemic gender-based wage discrimination and to ensure ongoing systems that will maintain equitable wage relationships over time. Pay equity programs attempt to address the undervaluation for work traditionally or historically done by women. Pay equity (also referred to as â€Å"comparable worth†) programs require a gender-neutral analysis of comparative work. A variety of very different jobs are compared based on a composite of the skill, effort and responsibility of a job and the conditions under which the job is generally done. The comparison determines the relative worth of those jobs to the achievement of a firm’s objectives, under the proposition that equal contribution merits equal compensation. Where female-dominated jobs in the workplace are found to be of equal or comparable value to male-dominated jobs but paid below the level of the male jobs or payline, then all employees in those female-dominated jobs are entitled to receive pay equity adjustments.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  But how are these adjustments to be determined in a workplace that already subjectively undervalues the effort and contribution of women and minorities?

The Factors that led to the Decline of the Middle Ages

The late middle ages were years filled with turmoil. Famine, plague, turmoil in religion, and a war lasting over one hundred years all happened within the same two centuries. Many feared that these ages were the apocalypse, as these signs were those of the four horseman predicted in religious scripture. Several people ran from urban surroundings in order to escape the chaos and disease spreading in the cities. The late middle ages were the ending of something old and the beginning of something that most hoped was better.The decline of the middle ages was the result of famine and plague, decline of the papacy, and the hundred year’s war. The middle ages declined in part because of famine and plague. The famine started in the early 14th century when the climate in Europe changed to a colder and moister climate. These cooler temperatures and wetter seasons resulted in a failure of crops in large parts of Europe, causing the prices to skyrocket. Prices of grain rose from a shillin g to twenty shillings in 1315. Those who could not afford the high prices of grain were doomed to starve.Those who starved not only lacked food but had a weakened immune system because of a lack of nutrients. Almost three decades later while people were still starving, a disease washed up on the shores of Messina known as the bubonic plague. The symptoms of this sickness were described by Georges Chastellain as, â€Å"The pulse trembles and he pants. The bones are disjointed on all sides; there is not a tendon which does not stretch as to burst. † Giovanni Boccaccio describes in the Decameron that bodies were piled outside houses and taken to large trenches, to where they were buried by the hundreds.This plague spread throughout Europe and only rural unvisited communities were able to stay away from the plague. None could clearly identify the cause of this plague and as a result they turned to their own individual explanations. Many thought that the plague was sent from God a s a form of punishment for sins that the people had committed. Some of these people went from town to town whipping themselves hoping that God would forgive them and the people around them. Others turned to a more worldly answer and punished the Jews for causing the plague.Many Jews were tortured to confess that they had poisoned the water supply, and they were killed because of their supposed crime. Through the combination of the plague and famine medieval society started to collapse and the deterioration of the Middle Ages. During the middle ages the church was the center of the average person’s life. However in the 14th century the papacy started to decline and individuals lost respect for the church because of the conciliar movement, and attacks from intellectuals.Intellectuals felt that the Pope was too worldly and did not care about Christianity as much as he cared about having the finest things. Ramà ³n de Cornet criticized the pope in Avignon saying, â€Å"I see the pope his sacred trust betray, for while the rich his grace can gain always†¦ He strives to gather wealth as best he may, forcing Christ's people blindly to obey,† John Wycliffe proposed several ideas about how to make the church less worldly. Two of these were about keeping the sacred practices of the church in the church instead of letting them be abused outside of the church.All those who promoted these ideas were both condemned and executed for heresy or they were smart enough to stay away from the church officials. This caused a split in the church as some agreed with the intellectuals and others did not, causing a weak and divided Roman Catholic Church. Finally the conciliar movement is the last reason that caused the decline of the papacy. The conciliar movement was an attempt to answer the question of if there should be a council that shares the authority of the pope or if there should be a singular pope that exercises power.In Defensor Pacis Marsilius of Padua st ates that, â€Å"We now wish . . . to adduce the truths of the holy Scripture . . . which explicitly command or counsel that neither the Roman bishop called pope, nor any other bishop or priest, or deacon, has or ought to have any rulership or coercive judgment or jurisdiction over any priest or non-priest, ruler, community, group, or individual of whatever condition . . . .† This division caused many people to lose faith in the pope. The Conciliar movement, along with the attacks from intellectuals caused the decline of the church and the papacy.The final event that contributed to the downfall of medieval society was the Hundred Years War. Starting in the mid-14th century, the Hundred Years War was fought between Britain and France and ended in the mid-15th century. The war started when the king of France died with no heirs. When selecting a king, some French nobles wanted an English king that did not want to centralize the government, while other French nobles wanted a Fren ch king to maintain national pride.This sparked conflict over English controlled lands in France. The war lasted for many years and was mostly fought on French lands. Jean Froissart’s account of a sacking during the war stated, â€Å"for upwards of three thousand men, women and children were put to death that day. God have mercy on their souls! for they were veritable martyrs,† The English seemed to be winning in the war until Joan of Arc led the French army. The French started winning, and eventually led to the removal from the English in the French territory.This led to a growth of nationalism in both countries as well as it started to cause the peasants to revolt. As Jean Froissart stated about the English Peasant Revolt, â€Å"they were too severely oppressed; that at the beginning of the world there were no slaves, and that no one ought to be treated as such, unless he had committed treason against his lord, as Lucifer had done against God: but they had done no s uch thing, for they were neither angels nor spirits, but men formed after the same likeness with their lords, who treated them as beasts.This they would not longer bear, but had determined to be free, and if they laboured or did any other works for their lords, they would be paid for it. † These revolts caused feudal society to collapse slowly, adding to the decline of the medieval society caused by the Hundred Year’s War. Overall the Hundred Year’s War, the decline of the papacy, and famine and plague, mainly contributed to the wane of medieval society.Famine and plague was caused by cool and wet climate change as well as the spread disease throughout Europe. The decline of the papacy was the result of the attacks from intellectuals and the conciliar movement. And finally the Hundred Year’s War was the result of the selection of the French king and the argument over English lands in French territory. Medieval society declined for a number of reasons, but it never stopped suddenly. It was a gradual decline into another era filled with many facets and features.

Development of the Adolescent

Crystal Herring September 3, 2003 Mr. Boyleston English 101 Face it! Reality TV is here to stay. No matter what you do or which channel you try to derail you are eventually going run into to one of those shows that reals you in. It's something that keeps the TV audiences on the edge of their seats with their cliff hanger endings, displays of raw, unbridled emotions, and insane ways people behave for love, money and fifteen minutes of fame. Through the eyes of a classic example of a teenager growing up on MTV's Real World, I see reality TV as an escape from the boring rigors of my own life to then in turn concentrate on omething more exciting and humorous. It's clearly apart of our society, and many others also, that we as Americans thrive on these sort of sitcoms. When we think our lives are at their worst just watch a complete stranger having troubles and it is strangely comforting. Is quality entertainment infact watching people make complete fools of themselves for the soul cost o f being on TV? Well, that is a question which is personally acquired. For me, eating bugs doesn't validate my insecurities and make me feel that I am the bigger, stronger person. Personal acheivements and triumphs definately fill that void for me.So I agree that the producers of these shows can sometimes take them to extreme measures for ratings, but isn't that the purpose? It's a dog eat dog world, survival of the fittest. My response to this is I can simply choose to entertain myself with certain reality shows such as The Real World and hate Fear Factor. That is the beauty of it all. Don't let one bad apple spoil the whole tree. Give a particular show a chance. You could find things in yourself you would personally like to change by seeing flaws in other people and watching this blunt form of reality can really make you realize what kind of eople you like. Reality shows are harmless, entertaining and clearly not going any where any time soon. When you have millions of public viewe rs watching a particular season finale that's entertainment. So until our society doesn't thrive on living vicariously through other's lives, there's no way that anyone can protest enough against reality TV to get rid of this type of mass entertainment. Anti-reality show viewers would have to convince the entire United States of America and many other countries that reality TV is degrading and frivolous. And that, you see, is another show all together.