Saturday, August 31, 2019

Thomas Jefferson Essay

Thomas Jefferson was a very peculiar man. He was a wealthy aristocrat from the colony of Virginia and was a Democrat in the government. His ideas were very inconsistent with the life he lived. Many of his ideas contradicted his own life which made him a consistently inconsistent man. Thomas Jefferson’s political philosophy contradicted Jefferson’s own life and allow for the less fortunate colonists to prosper. Thomas Jefferson lived a very prosperous and comfortable life in which his political philosophy was the opposite. He was the son of Peter Jefferson and Jane Randolph. His father was a self-made man but his mother came from a distinguished Virginia family which assured the social position of Thomas. In 1575, Thomas’s father died leaving him with over 2,700 acres and a large number of slaves. This privilege Thomas had allowed him to write about human liberty which was supported by the three generations of slaves he encountered. With Thomas writing about human liberty, he was contradicting his own beliefs because he had over 200 slaves himself. Also, under the leadership of Jefferson, Virginia reformers abolished primogeniture. The policy of primogeniture however was the basis of Jefferson’s social and economic success. If the policy of primogeniture was not in place, Jefferson would not have succeeded to the position he had because he would not have received the land his father had after his father passed away. Jefferson also represented a number of different groups in politics that were very different. In American politics, he became the leader of the yeoman farmers and was also the leader of great planters. These two groups were exact opposites which revealed the nature of Jefferson’s political basis- befriend the poor and the wealthy. Jefferson was also the head of a popular group that went against the commercial interests of the nation but the group was also a popular group with economic goals of its own. Jefferson believed that society should keep the agricultural basis but he believed in progress. Jefferson was a very impulsive man. His familiarity with many different countries and nations allowed him to absorb and relay the most abstract ideas of his time. He believed in these abstract ideas and changed them in order to become prevalent in the American society. However he was not quick to break these rules in try to fulfill them. Jefferson lived an unusually long life for a person living during his time and saw many changes in society. This resulted in his ideas varying based on the circumstance. Jefferson was a very inconsistent man but his ideas allowed for the basis of the American government. Jefferson’s inconsistent ideas laid a basis for the American government and allowed the poorer citizens to prosper. Jefferson’s ideas laid the basis for the constitution and the Bill of Rights. When he was part of the Virginia government, Jefferson helped the Virginia reformers lay a base for freedom of thought and religion by disassembling the Anglican Church and forbidding legal or political disabilities for religious dissent. This is the basis of the first Amendment of the Constitution. In 1774, he wrote a very daring treatise in which he applied the natural right doctrine to the controversy in the colonies. This treatise brought immediate attention to Jefferson and gave him the reputation of a literary genius which gave him the job as the draftsman of the Declaration of Independence. After drafting the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson refrained himself from expressing his more unacceptable ideas in public because his ideas guided the direction in which society should be guided. Jefferson greatly affected the poorer society in America which allowed him to become a man who had a perspective of each side of society. He sided with the Agrarians but he also sided with the wealthy. Thomas Jefferson greatly affected American society as a whole by expressing his ideas which were widely accepted and including everyone in society. Thomas Jefferson’s political philosophy contradicted Jefferson’s own life and allow for the less fortunate colonists to prosper. Thomas Jefferson lived a very prosperous and comfortable life in which his political philosophy was the opposite. Jefferson’s inconsistent ideas laid a basis for the American government and allowed the poorer citizens to prosper. Thomas Jefferson was a very consistently inconsistent man who greatly affected American society.

Friday, August 30, 2019

The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 11

Ella The next morning Lila is feeling much better. It's like last night never happened, but I wonder if it's an act. â€Å"I have a feeling that today is going to be full of rainbows and sunshine,† Lila says cheerily as she applies her lipstick, using the mirror on the closet door. Against my protest, she took down some of my sketches, so she could see her reflection. â€Å"See what, though?† I'd asked and she laughed, totally confused. â€Å"Are you high?† I tease as I twist my hair onto the back of my head and secure it with a clip. She pauses, looking at me over her shoulder. â€Å"Why do you always ask questions like that?† I slip on my boots and tie up the laces. â€Å"What kinds of questions?† She blots her lips. â€Å"Every time I'm happy, you always ask if I'm drunk or on something. People can be happy without substances.† I clasp a watch around my wrist. â€Å"Most people can, but not all.† Lila clips a diamond earring in. â€Å"You look really nice today.† I glance down at the black and purple dress I have on and the boots on my feet. â€Å"I forgot to do laundry so I had to wear some of my old clothes, which don't match any of my new shoes.† â€Å"Well you look nice.† She gives an elongated pause. â€Å"So what's on the agenda for today?† â€Å"It depends on what you're doing?† I ask. â€Å"Are you†¦ where are you planning on staying?† She shuts off her phone and then discards it onto the bed. â€Å"I'd like to stick around with you for a while, if you don't mind. We could hang out. I don't have anything scheduled for the summer and I'm not going back home.† â€Å"Do you want to tell me what happened?† â€Å"No, not really.† â€Å"Okay†¦ well, I need to find a job,† I say. â€Å"I have to save up for the rest of my tuition since it doesn't look like I'll be getting that internship.† She puts a headband in her hair. â€Å"The one at that art museum.† â€Å"That's the one and it doesn't start until mid-June,† I explain. â€Å"But that's only five weeks away, so I figured they'd have notified me if I got it.† â€Å"You never know. Sometimes things like that move slow.† She folds up a shirt and packs it into her bag, then ties a ribbon on the back of her shirt. â€Å"Although, if you get it that'd mean you'd have to go back to Vegas, right?† Nodding, I head for the door. Two weeks ago the idea of returning to the desert would make me happy, but something's changed. I still want to go, though leaving will be a little bit harder. I collect my phone off the dresser, noting the flashing voicemail on the screen – Micha's unread message. My finger hovers above the button as I step into the hall. He told me I wasn't ready for what was on it? But am I ready for it now? â€Å"I don't know why you think it's so bad here.† Lila follows me. â€Å"Yeah, people are a little rough, but they're not all bad and everywhere has bad stuff. You can't hide from it.† â€Å"That's very insightful.† I close my phone and put it away. â€Å"Bad comes in different forms,† Lila continues. â€Å"Whether it's drug dealers on the corner or if it's corrupt rich people or just your run-of-the-mill douche bag.† I don't know much about Lila, other than she's rich, her dad works as a lawyer and her mom stays home. She likes clothes, is great with numbers and was the only reason I passed pre-calculus. My brother's door is open and he walks out as we're passing by. He has a black and red polo shirt on and a pair of cargo pants. There's some kind of gel in his hair and it looks shiny. â€Å"Hey, have you seen dad?† he asks, giving an acknowledging glance at Lila. I point at the shut door at the end of the hall. â€Å"I thought I heard him come in late last night and go into his room.† â€Å"He did, but he got up this morning.† He leans against the doorframe and crosses his arms. â€Å"I heard him stumbling around in that bathroom and crying all night, but now I can't find him and I didn't hear him leave. His work called the house, saying he didn't show up, so he's not there.† My fists clench so that my nails dig into my palms. â€Å"Did you check in the bathroom?† Dean's eyes travel down the hall to the bathroom door and he shakes his head. â€Å"I haven't and I don't want to.† â€Å"Hi, I'm Lila,† she introduces herself and offers her hand. â€Å"You must be Ella's brother, Dean.† Dean is vaguely amused and shakes her hand. â€Å"Yeah†¦ how do you know Ella?† â€Å"I was her roommate,† she responds, pressing her hand to her chest, faking being offended. â€Å"Didn't she ever mention me?† â€Å"We don't talk that much.† I eye the bathroom door again and my stomach twists. â€Å"We need to find Dad.† â€Å"I'm not looking in that bathroom, Ella, but if you want to, go ahead.† With legs flimsier than wet noodles, I walk down the dark hallway and stop in front of the door, having a flashback of the day my mom died. The door was closed and the house was soundless, except for the running of water. My hands tremble as I open the door. The room is bare, the tub empty, and the tile floor is clean, except for a small stain. There are no towels on the hooks and the mirror on the wall across from me shows my reflection. My auburn hair is curled perfectly in place, my lips are lined with gloss, and my green eyes are immense and reveal everything. â€Å"Dad isn't in here,† I tell him, unable to look away from the mirror. â€Å"Are you sure you didn't hear him leave the house?† â€Å"He could have left and I just didn't hear him,† he answers. â€Å"But when has he ever left the house quietly before?† I quickly slam the bathroom door, like I'm trying to put out a fire, and race back down the hall. â€Å"Someone needs to find him. Did you try and call him?† â€Å"Of course. I'm not a moron.† He rolls his eyes and nods. â€Å"And he didn't answer.† Lila shifts her weight and forces the uncomfortable conversation elsewhere. â€Å"So you play the drums, Dean?† He motions to his drum set in the middle of his small room with dark blue walls. The floor and bed are cluttered with boxes and the curtain is pulled back, letting the sunlight spill in. â€Å"I used to, but I don't much anymore. I have work and a fiance.† â€Å"Fiance?† Lila and I say simultaneously. â€Å"Yeah, as in we're engaged.† Dean rolls his eyes and goes back into his room. â€Å"It's what happens when two people date for a really long time.† â€Å"Why didn't you tell me?† I ask, following him into his room. He picks up a small box and drops it onto the floor. â€Å"Do you really care that I am?† I carefully nudge the box out of the way with my foot. â€Å"You're my brother. Of course I care.† â€Å"But it's not like we've ever really gotten along,† he points out. â€Å"I haven't even talked to you for a year. God, I didn't even know you went to college until a week ago.† He's right, which is sad. I barely know him, he barely knows me, and I'm starting to think I barely know me, too. â€Å"Does Dad know you're engaged?† I ask. â€Å"Were you at least planning on telling him?† â€Å"Even if I told him, he'd just forget the next day.† He empties a dresser drawer into a large open box and then aligns the drawer back into place. â€Å"You know how he is. Christ, I don't even think half the time he knows that you and I don't live here anymore.† â€Å"He still deserves to be told,† I say. â€Å"He's not a bad guy and you know it. He just has problems.† â€Å"Problems that fucked up our childhood.† He kicks a box out of the way with force and it crashes into the wall. â€Å"You do realize that how we grew up wasn't normal. God, even Micha had it easier and his dad bailed out on him, but at least he had a stable mom to take care of him.† â€Å"Umm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lila pokes her head in the room. â€Å"I think I'm going to wait outside for you, Ella.† God, I'd forgotten she was even there and she just heard all of that. â€Å"Okay, I'll be down in a second,† I tell her and she leaves readily. I wander around Dean's room, taking in the photos he has up. â€Å"I think we may have just scared her to death.† Dean picks up his drumsticks and places them into a large duffel bag. â€Å"Okay, I have to ask. How did you end up being friends with her?† â€Å"She was my roommate and we just sort of bonded.† I shrug, picking up a photo of Dean and his friends on a sunny beach. It was taken during his Senior Field Trip and he looks happy. â€Å"You bonded,† he accuses. â€Å"The girl looks like a spoiled princess.† I eye his preppy clothes. â€Å"So do you.† â€Å"First off, I'm not a princess and I've earned what I have,† he says. â€Å"It wasn't just handed to me.† â€Å"Maybe she did, too.† â€Å"Did she?† I hate to give him the benefit of being right. â€Å"No, her parents are pretty well off.† He looks at me with that stupid arrogant expression he gets when I admit he's right. â€Å"Well, there you have it then.† â€Å"She's nice,† I protest. â€Å"And she doesn't ask a lot of questions.† â€Å"It may seem like you need to keep things to yourself,† he says, putting a blanket into a box. â€Å"But it's not healthy. You need to find someone you can let it all out to. Otherwise you're going to lose it.† My eyes roam to the window where the edge of Micha's house is visible. â€Å"I think I already did.† Dean's forehead creases as he drops a handful of guitar picks into a trunk. â€Å"Lose it? Or talk to someone about it?† â€Å"Both.† I back toward the door. â€Å"When are you heading back to Chicago?† â€Å"Hopefully by tonight. No offense or anything, but this place brings back way too many unpleasant memories.† â€Å"Try to say good-bye before you leave.† He doesn't respond and I don't wait around for an answer. That was probably the longest conversation that we've ever had and I have a feeling it may be our last for a very long time.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

FedEx Corporation Essay

Complete the following exercise (Research and Application 11-30) and submit to your instructor. The questions in this exercise are based on FedEx Corporation. To answer the questions you will need to download FedEx’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended May 31, 2005 (file date July 14, 2005). You do not need to print this document to answer the questions. Required: †¢What is FedEx’s strategy for success in the marketplace? Does the company rely primarily on a customer intimacy, operations excellence, or product leadership customer value proposition? What evidence supports your conclusion? †¢What are FedEx’s four main business segments? Provide two examples of traceable fixed costs for each of FedEx’s four business segments. Provide two examples of common costs that are not traceable to the four business segments. †¢Identify one example of a cost center, a profit center, and an investment center for FedEx. †¢Provide three examples of fixed costs that can be traceable or common depending on how FedEx defines its business segments. †¢Compute the margin, turnover, and return on investment (ROI) in 2005 for each of FedEx’s four business segments (Hint: page 99 reports total segment assets for each business segment.) †¢Assume that FedEx established a minimum required rate of return of 15% for each of its business segments. Compute the residual income earned in 2005 in each of FedEx’s four segments. †¢Assume that the senior managers of FedEx Express and FedEx Ground each have an investment opportunity that would require $20 million of additional operating assets and that would increase operating income by $4 million. If FedEx evaluates all of its senior managers using ROI, would the managers of both segments pursue the investment opportunity? If FedEx evaluates all of its senior managers using residual income, would the managers of both segments pursue the investment opportunity?

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Contrastive analysis of perception verbs in English and Arabic Thesis - 1

Contrastive analysis of perception verbs in English and Arabic - Thesis Example (Mina smelled the perfume ) (active) (Meher felt a prick in his thumb) (state). (Meher felt sick). (descriptive) Tahir felt his tie (Active) . (Mazi tasted defeat) (descriptive) Lemon tastes bitter (state) (Jack tasted the warm broth) (Active) Chapter 3: Perception verbs in English 3.1  Ã‚   Introduction This chapter presents a discussion on the perception verbs and their usage in English language. It will develop an understanding of the importance and relevance of the correct forms of perception verbs to the meaning of the sentence and will also highlight the basic issues that non-native learners may face when they try to learn the language. This chapter forms an essential background for the conduction of the contrastive analysis between the Arabic and the English language perception verbs.    3.2 What are Perception Verbs Perception verbs are the verbs that define the actions undertaken by our sensory parts. These are an essential element of any languag e as these have the capacity to explain and display a diverse variety of human behavoiurs and nuances. In semantics, perception verbs have been a subject of much debate and research owing to the complexity of their usage as well as their capacity to be modified in language use. The field of perception verbs is one of the important semantic fields that received the attention of linguists since 1970s, along with other semantic fields like basic color terms (Berlin and Kay 1969), body parts (Andersen 1978), cooking verbs (Lehrer 1974), and motion verbs (Talmy 1975). However, while other subjects and aspects of language have been explored in order to assess the richness of the language or to explore the richness with which concepts can be expressed, perception verbs are of interest due to their difficulty to translate into other languages. Perception verbs relate to the active usage of language and portrat not only the perceptions, but often the emotions and the conceptions as well. Thi s makes the usage of the perception verbs complex and difficult to translate in different languages.    Also, other elements of the language like the nouns, vocabulary etc., are easy to learn as these are governed by simple rules of grammar. These semantic fields share universal elements, and exist frequently in many languages. It is a well-known fact that in order to recognize the typological shape of any language, we must be aware of â€Å"the distinctive character of its structure in relation to other languages based mainly on work in general typology, and on contrastive analysis and other types of cross linguistic studies† (Viberg, 2006, p.3). Perception verbs have also â€Å"supplied a rich field of research in linguistics including grammaticalisation, complementation and semantic change† (Ibarretxe-Antunano, 1999, p. 41).      The complexity associated with the perception verbs has its roots in the variety of modes in which perception is understood. Percept ion is a basic human process through which they are able to access external inputs and make sense of their surroundings. However, academic definition of perception is varied as different scholars tend to define perception differently. The definition of perception is essential to understand as it has a direct impact on the development and usage of the perception verbs. Sekuler and Blake defined it as â€Å"a biological process wherein the brain derives descriptions

Impact of Advertising on Tweens Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Impact of Advertising on Tweens - Essay Example On the other hand, authors such as Young(90), Roedder (1981) argue that children are nave & need protecting from exploitation. They are criticized by Gunther & Furnham (1998), Mc Neal (1999). The opponents of advertising claim that ads make children materialistic, it stifles creativity fosters conflict between parents and their children, develops cynical attitudes. [Greenberg & Brand,1993; Liebert (1986), Pollay (1986), Churchill & Moschis (1979), Moschis & Chuchill (1979), Moschis & Moore(1982), Ward & Wackman (1971); Goldberg & Gorn (1978)] Initial bibliography: see Appendix A Research QUESTIONS Based on the polarities found in the literature review, this research will try to present a balanced and informed view of the issue by answering the following research questions: Does marketing/advertising impacts buying behavior and brand awareness on tweens; does it contribute to "Pester-Power" Is consumerism and materialism reduced by restricting or removing direct exposure to advertising or marketing influences What is the role of peer pressure - edges, persuaders, followers etc. What is the role of parents as consumer socialization agents At what age do children understand persuasive and /or commercial intent How do children decode and process the sensory information delivered via the advertising medium and whether empiric models can be used to evaluate this decoding What kind of challenges (re: advertising) does the multi channel/multi media environment present to children Research Design The method of research chosen for this dissertation is quantitative. Since the focus will be primarily on the impact of TV advertising, quantitative techniques will be most useful. A questionnaire can help to measure...[Greenberg & Brand,1993; Liebert (1986), Pollay (1986), Churchill & Moschis (1979), Moschis & Chuchill (1979), Moschis & Moore(1982), Ward & Wackman (1971); Goldberg & Gorn (1978)] Since the focus will be primarily on the impact of TV advertising, quantitative techniques will be most useful. A questionnaire can help to measure variables such as media exposure, peer relationships and other socioeconomic factors; central to the dissertation. The questionnaire should be administered to children in year 4-8 in a variety of schools (state, private, boarding & day) in rural, urban and suburban areas in the South of England. The children's ages ranging from 8-13 years. Children of this age were chosen, not only because within this age range they are deemed to be 'Tweens', but also this age group corresponds with Piaget's concrete operational stage of development and they would also be deemed 'cued processors' (Roedder 1981). Research on how advertising may or may not influence children to buy or ask for certain goods and products i.e. 'Pester Power' has been carried out using various methods.

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

1200 Middle Ages Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

1200 Middle Ages - Essay Example With my caravan of servants I find myself in a city in the Kingdom of Georgia named Apsaros. This city is a port on the Black Sea. I traveled here to trade with another caravan of merchants which I had been told came from Persia. I met them and they took me into their tents. I could not help but notice that their women never spoke and wore garb from head to toe. Our Greek women, though not immodest, are allowed to show their faces. Not these women. Though I had little to trade, I did fortunately have a large amount of gold coins that I had acquired months prior. With these coins I bought from these Persians many silver plates (a famous Persian product) and, as luck had it, several roles of silk. The head merchant of the Persians, a man by the name of Mahbod Arsham, told me the silk came from yet another group of traders who had traveled across the Asian steppe, to the other side of the Pamir Mountains, where they had encountered a band of Mongolian nomads. Having traveled south, we find ourselves in the Ayyubid Caliphate city of Ar Roha. We are not here for trading purposes. Another large caravan of Muslim traders arrived in the city at about the same time we did. Some of these men were not just any Muslims, they were followers of Sufism. One of them named Abdelaziz Ibn Nasab was kind enough to tell me about his group’s beliefs. He said that they follow all the rules of Islam but also seek to control their bodily impulses. This reminded me of the ascetics in my native Byzantium. They rigorously study the Quran and the teachings of Muhammed. Muslims believe in the submission of oneself to Allah, their god. The Quran is very important, central even, to their religion. The Sufists pride themselves not only as Muslims but also as Muslims who have sought to purify themselves before god. For them the seeker of the divine path, the Dervish, must dedicate himself to fulfilling Allah’s word as expressed in the Quran. I now find myself in

Monday, August 26, 2019

A wireless solution for a sporting goods company Research Paper

A wireless solution for a sporting goods company - Research Paper Example Retrieved December 05, 2012, from http://www.att.com/network/ 22 Executive Summary At the present, the majority of organizations use computers to carry out their day to day tasks. In this scenario, they use computers to collect, process, and store business and customer related data and information. However, when the size of business increases they need many people to carry out these tasks simultaneously. For this purpose, they build a network of computers in the firm. In a computer network, computers are connected with each other. They can share data and resources with each other. There are different ways and technologies that can be adopted to implement a computer network. In this scenario, wireless networks is a latest form of networking. Some of the other categories of wireless networking are: WLAN, 3G, 4G, WiFi, WiMax and various other standards and tools. They offer wonderful services and facilities to personal life and business areas. Hence, seeing these advantages of wireless networks the management of the Athlete’s Shack (TAS) has decided to implement new Wireless technology based WLAN. The major aim of the Athlete’s Shack (TAS) is to enhance overall corporate credibility and develop better performance based arrangement at a corporation. Introduction I have been hired as a technology consultant at Wireless Technology Company (WTC). WTC Company helps organizations and businesses resolve issues regarding network planning and design. I have been asked to write a report to propose a wireless networking solution for the Athlete’s Shack. In this report, I will present a detailed analysis of WLAN architecture for the Athlete’s Shack (TAS). This project (the implementation of the WLAN at Athlete’s Shack (TAS)) will involve implementing a wireless technology that will connect all of its stores through wireless broadband service, installing WLANs at each store, and providing its employees with iPads for better customer service. Additionally, TAS is unsure how to start this process. Thus, they have hired the services of our firm for completing this project. This report will discuss various aspects of wireless network design and its implementation. This report will also discuss the issues involved in this project. Problem Situation The Athlete’s Shack (TAS) runs its business through a chain of sporting goods stores. In the past few years, TAS has got massive popularity and now it has 10 stores in the area. Before, TAS was running its business through manual and traditional means. Additionally, the technology based systems and tools were used at a very small level. In this scenario, all the stores of the Athlete’s Shack were completely disconnected from each other. Hence, they required a solution that can better support and facilitate the corporate operations and dealings. TAS was facing the following problems through traditional ways: Lack of communication Lack of data security Redundancy of da ta Complex management of business operations Less hold/control of management Long term processing cycle Difficult order processing cycle No centralized

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Social Work Interviewing Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Social Work Interviewing Skills - Essay Example The role that social workers play in improving the lives of socially challenged people cannot be undermined. Their responsibilities include working with specifically identified people from all ages who need support due to a wide range of dilemmas and guide them professionally to manage their own lives. In order for social workers to determine the scope and root cause of a client’s problem, they must have acquired the necessary skills to interview and solicit appropriate responses to enable them to apply uniquely designed interventions. For this particular endeavor, a 15-minute interview with an adult client diagnosed to be addicted to cocaine was developed with the purpose of setting goals for the intervention with the client and assisting the client to develop his skills in problem solving. In this regard, this essay is written to discuss responses to the following questions: (1) how did information from the literature/research on goal setting and intervening inform the contents of your interview? (2) How did the purpose and profession of social work inform your practice in this interview (support your discussion with evidence from the literature and examples from the video)? And (3) how were your strengths and area for development as a social worker shown in the interview (provide examples). The life of action requires more than analytical intelligence. It is not enough to have an idea and be able to evaluate its worth. Social workers are tasked with the responsibilities for the achievement of goals, the accomplishment of results, and the solution of problems. It is therefore a critical step to understand theoretical concepts underlying goal setting to serve the following purposes: assist social workers and clients in ensuring that they agree on the identified problems and â€Å"the changes that must occur to produce a suitable outcome†, to validate and empower the client through appropriate

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Global Warming Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Global Warming - Article Example The same could be said of people living in arid areas who may face drought due to the severe rise in temperatures in these areas (EPA, 2013). The NCSE (2012) also points out that the society has changed negatively in regards to the effects of climate change. Comparing the modern society to the society in the 18th century one realizes the fact that global warming due to climate change has created a less desirable society. In an argument by Shaffer, Olsen & Pedersen (2009) with increasing human activity, the changes on the rise in temperature and precipitation will be faced from generation to generation. The authors further point out those extreme conditions may also be experienced with time (Shaffer, Olsen & Pedersen, 2009). Generally, the effects on society by global change have been experienced across the globe considering the lowering water levels, the melting of ice at the poles and risen water on coast lines. The society is faced with more severe problems if global warming is not contained (NCSE,

Friday, August 23, 2019

Managing Activities To Achieve Results Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Managing Activities To Achieve Results - Essay Example They focus on demand from all over the world, to supply customers with products of a good price. Since it is an innovation based company that focuses on lower and competitive prices and food for all, its structure is a matrix structure. That is, it is divided into departments called functional departments. These include sales and marketing, global supply, research and development and global support functions. Even though these are independent functions, they function together as well, as teams are made to bridge the different departments. This helps bring diverse talent together and benefit the organization as a whole. It also has a culture of being forward looking, passionate and creative, where employees are made to think of new ideas while at the same time understanding that they need to meet deadlines. Employees are also appreciate and rewarded for the work that they do. LO1.2. Process management is when the company increases the effectiveness of the entire processes in Syngenta by applying the knowledge base to all the activities in the organization rather than a specific project so that optimal customer satisfaction can be achieved. The entire business process is included in this process and all the aspects of the organization are made according to the customer’s demand. ... The next step is to model the theories and test out their practicality and workability with a number of variables as situations in the world are dynamic. Execution is the next step and it is used to apply the theoretical concepts in the workplace such as the software or computer applications that allow the workplace to function. Service quality is defined as a comparison of what people are expecting to be delivered or offered and what they actually get offered or what actually is offered to them. If a business is eyeing to remain competitive and as well as a strong customer base, it is vital for them to offer the kind of service quality that is higher than the industry average. The business is able to establish itself as a successful enterprise only when they actually cater to the customers that they are looking for. A customer is always willing to pay as much as demanded when they are offered the equal price in return. The price in return that the customer is looking for is a good r eception of their demands and the fulfillment of their request to the maximum limit. Service quality has two aspects to it, one of them is objective and the other is subjective. The objective part of the service quality relates to the tangible factors, things that are visible while subjective part are the intangibles, things that are only felt or experienced. It is important for the business to be able to distinguish them and hence appear more appealing to their customers. To keep a constant check on the Service Quality that is being provided by them, the Sygentas should design a measurement scale, or predefined criteria that will actually help them judge their own service quality. Every business process also

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Victims and Legislative Solutions Essay Example for Free

Victims and Legislative Solutions Essay â€Å"knowing production, use or trafficking in counterfeit or unauthorized access devices such as any card, plate code, account number, electronic serial number personal identification number, that can be used to obtain money, goods, services, or any other thing of value, or that can be used to initiate a transfer of funds† (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Despite these measures in place, cybercrime is still a massive problem. This is due to the fact that hiring and retaining skilled investigators is a daunting task because private companies offer a higher salary and better benefits than the federal government (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Also, â€Å"staff rotation policies in place at certain law enforcement organizations† make it difficult for law enforcers to fully attend and address the situation properly (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Besides, it takes a year to train an investigator to be competent enough to handle his own case (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Individuals have to be trained because federal agencies lack resources to employ professional investigators (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). In addition, multiple jurisdictions in place makes the matter even more complicated to handle (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). â€Å"Law[s] used to address cybercrime differ across states and nations. For example, not all US states have anti-spam laws or anti-spyware laws Further, jurisdictional boundaries can limit the actions that federal, state, and local law enforcement can take to investigate cybercrime that crosses local, regional and national borders† (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Lastly, the complex nature of tracking an identify theft also poses a problem. â€Å"[C]ybercriminals can take steps to remain anonymous, making it difficult, if not impossible, to attribute a crime to them [this is because] [c]ybercriminals can be physically located in one nation or state, direct their crime through computers in multiple nations or states and store evidence for the crime on computers in yet another nation or state† (Cybercrime Public and Private Entities, 2007). Hence, cybercriminals are rarely caught and if they are apprehended, the â€Å"penalties are minimal Community service and parole are the usual sentence† (Identity Theft: How it Happens, 2000). Cybercriminals exist because engaging in identity theft enables them to acquire money and benefits such as material assets, medical insurance and tax returns without working conventionally to obtain them. Also, they are rarely caught because the system in place is disorganized and ineffective; that is why identity theft remains a big problem. A national and specialized agency should be set up to handle this situation. Resources should be allocated to this agency so that skilled investigators can be employed. This will speed the investigation process because individuals in the force do not have to be trained for a year to be able to effectively deal with cases. References: Privacy Rights Clearinghouse. (2000, July 12). Identity Theft: How it Happens, Its Impact on Victims and Legislative Solutions. Retrieved January 20, 2008, from http://www.gao.gov/

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Legal Rights Essay Example for Free

Legal Rights Essay Criminals have legal rights during trial procedures. Without these rights there would be so much confusion and controversy in the court system today. There are four of them that I will give a brief summarization of and explain to you the consequences that could possibly happen if these legal rights were no longer upheld in the court system today. They are; the right to confront witnesses, the right to an impartial jury, the right to counsel at trial, and last but not least the right to be competent trial. The right to confront witnesses is legal right. The sixth amendment gives the defendant the right to be confronted by the witnesses against them (Larry J. Siegel, 2012, 2010). This basically gives the right for the defendant to have the witness me to court and give them the ability to look the witness right in the eye. This also gives the defendant’s lawyer the right to question the witness. If this right wasn’t upheld then there would probably be a lot of false statements or accusations in the trial. It would also be hard to confirm whether or not the witness it telling the truth, because anyone can pick up a piece of paper and write down what they want to, but when it comes to looking that person right in the eye it makes a whole lot of difference, because it gives the defense a chance to look at the body language of the witness and also, when it comes to the matching up of the statements, the witness could write down something, but then when it comes to testifying if they are lying then what they wrote down and what they are actually saying could be totally different and if this right was no longer upheld there could be innocent people going to jail or a lot of criminals getting away with the crime that they have committed. Also if the legal right wasn’t upheld how could the jury or the judge go off of a written statement that could have be written by anyone, if this right wasn’t upheld, then there would be so many written statements on both sides, because they wouldn’t have to testify during trial, it would be a whole lot easier for people to get off, because it would basically be he say, she say information, but the fact of having to actually go to court and testify under oath, puts you in a whole entire ball field so it helps in a lot of ways, because not only does it help the d defense but it helps the prosecutors also. The right to an impartial jury basically means that, the jurors who they select for the trial know absolutely no one who is on the trial, none of the attorneys, the judge, the defendant or the plaintiff. They also can’t know anything about the trial. No one on the jury can be biased. If this legal right wasn’t upheld then the ruling of the case, wouldn’t be fair and there would be a lot of people taking different sides just because of the person that they know. It wouldn’t be fair to the defendant or the plaintiff, because if the jury knew something about the case or knew of the person who committed the crime or of the person who the crime was committed upon then the jury would have mixed feelings and would probably never reach a decision which could cause a hung jury, which would probably let a criminal walk free. Also if anyone in the jury knew the judge, the prosecutor or the defense lawyer and they worked one of their cases or convicted them of a crime previously then they would probably just choose a side out of spite. Having an impartial jury is not only good for the defendant, but also for the prosecutor and plaintiff also, because if there was someone on the jury that had something against the plaintiff or prosecutor then they would probably just choose in favor of the defense just because of the grudge that they had against that party. The right to counsel means that the defendant has the right to have the assistance to counsel in the defendants defense and if they can’t afford one then one would be appointed to them by the court. If this right wasn’t upheld then there would be a lot of cases that would probably be ruled in favor of the plaintiff just because of the lack of knowledge of the defendant. Also there would probably be a lot of criminals behind bars, because then they wouldn’t have a lawyer to speak on there be half and try to work out a lighter sentence on their behalf. There probably would not be as many probation officers, because with the defendant’s being locked up then the options of them having probation or community service would be cut out of the picture. With a lawyer they help out the defendant’s a lot in trials, because the lawyer can work with the prosecutor and come up with many other options other than jail time. They can also help the defendant and show them ways and other things to do before trial to help them get a lesser or lighter sentence. Without the criminals having the right to counsel then there would be a lot of wrongful accusations on the defendant’s side also it would be easier for the jury to side with the prosecutor because with the lack of knowledge the defendant probably wouldn’t be able to get the information that they need for trial together. The right to be competent at trial means that in order to stand trial a criminal defendant must be in there right state of mind and understand the nature and extent of the legal proceedings. Also if the defendant is considered mentally unstable then the trial must be postponed until treatment renders him capable of participating in his own defense (Larry J. Siegel, 2012, 2010). If this right was no longer upheld then every trial would be unfair and a lot of mentally unstable people would be in jail instead of getting proper treatment in the right facility. Also if it wasn’t upheld then the defendant wouldn’t be able to render the treatment that he/she needs to be able to stand trial. Also the criminal would probably try to act as his own counsel which, because they aren’t in there right state of mind and say or do things that he/she wouldn’t understand, because they aren’t in there right state of mind and would they would get a harsher sentence for the crime. There are so many things that could go wrong if these legal rights weren’t in place. There are many cases that has happened and that’s why we have these legal rights to day. In my opinion I feel that these rights are in effect for good reasons, because regardless of the person everyone should have rights. Without these legal rights there would be so much corruption and wrong doing in the courts today.

Household Consumption Analysis in Rawalpindi

Household Consumption Analysis in Rawalpindi Imran Ejaz 1. Introduction: Consumption and production generate economic activities in an economy. Consumption and production go side by side. Consumption creates demand for further production of goods and services. It is not wrong to say that if there is no consumption there is no economic activity in the country. Only the final purchase of goods and services is known as consumption, and every commercial activity is for production purpose. Consumption can be expressed in two ways. In nominal, means the money spent on the purchase of goods and services, and in real, means the deriving of the utility of goods and services for the satisfaction of wants e.g. using up of consumer goods both durables and non durables. Consumption amounts to the biggest part of Pakistan which accounts for 81% of Gross Domestic product in 2013 according to World Bank statistics. Consumption is also termed as the total spending on goods and services in an economy. The consumption function is used to estimate the proportion of total consumption in an economy. In social sciences, the consumption function is a used to express trend of consumer spending as income of people rising and falling. Consumption function provides an excellent illustration of a typical sequence in the development of the country and standard of living of the people. Bentham (1748) also considered production and its usage as important determinants of an economy. The process of consumption was vital for any system to sustain. Keynes (1936) addresses the theory of consumption, which showed the relationship between consumer income and consumption. According to Keynes, â€Å"People on average, have behavior that when their income increase, they spend more, but not as much as their income raises. It is made up of autonomous consumption that was not influenced by current income and induced consu mption that was influenced by the economy’s income level. Chow et al. (2001) did a research about the Chinese economy and Chinese entrepreneurs who had grown along with the Chinese economy. This research paper compares and contrasts the consumption habits of low and high income business class and concluded that small businesses incomes are transitory and more unstable hence their consumption is less and they tend to save more on the other hand entrepreneurs who earn more and largely spend on meals, moving from one place to other, private formal education and expensive items as their incomes were permanent and stable over a period of time. Socio-demographic factors, geographic locations of household have significant effects on the tastes and preferences. Similarly, gathering and socializing activities of consumers that were carried out are the second largest expense in their budgets as they need a lot of networking to succeed the business. But low income class spends a larger amount of their income on health issues, education of their masses . Tai and Tam (1997) discussed the consumption behavior of females that was changing due to the  different socio economic factors such as delayed marriage, smaller family size and single parents  have lead to changing dynamics of consumer market as a result the consumer preference were  changing and consumption pattern of the families. Siddiquie (1982) analyzed the consumption patterns based on the Engle law in terms of income, household size and number of earners. The study showed that the consumption of food and non-food items was strongly affected by the changes in total expenditures and size of households. Consumption patterns in Pakistan have been estimated by Burki (1997) using time series data. By using Almost Ideal Demand System (AIDS) technique and data from 1972-1992 there was an exogenous growth in non durable food items demand irrespective of the movements in their prices and growth. Study focused that the policy makers should focus on own price elasticity to predict impact of taxes. This study will be developed on the basis of Household Consumption in Rawalpindi. The study will include both cross-sectional and time series data of consumer behavior. Questionnaire will also be developed to address the study beside secondary sources. In this study econometric model will be developed by taking income, age, family size, consumer price index as independent variable and household consumption as dependent variable. Expenditure on food items will be used as a proxy variable. 1.1 Objective of the study: The objectives of the study are as follows: To analyze the significance of demographic factors (family size, age) on household consumption expenditure in Rawalpindi. To study empirically the impact of economic factors (income, consumer price index and household consumption expenditure in Rawalpindi) 1.2Significance of the study: Consumption is the sole cause and biggest reason due to which all economic activities begins ranging from hiring of services of factors, investing money, constructing factory or building and many more. As if there is no consumption in any society there is no need for activities of any type ranging from running a business or employing somewhere in any capacity. In short it is the consumption so that economies lively exist otherwise not. Consumption is an important function of income but there are many other factors that influence the  consumption pattern there are incidence when two households with same income level may have  different consumption pattern due to lifestyle, preference and the stage of life cycle they are in as a  household greatly affects the consumption patterns. All these researches try to explore the behavior  patterns that are crucial for molding the consumption pattern all these researches have added  different key reasons and not a single research as been able to come up with any common behavior  traits in the different societies of the world this phenomena indicate that the consumption patterns  changing according to society the house hold resides in. Income is the main component on which the consumption depends. The study will incorporate the causal relationship between household consumption to income and household consumption to consumer price index which is the important and new in this study as compared to the work done earlier. This study will be a bird’s eye view about every citizen consumption pattern which is affected by macro economic variables and demographic factors. Review of Literature: Thomas (1993). In this paper he tried to find out whether all household members share same preferences or they were dictated by any one member of the household. They came to a conclusion that when income was in hands of females shares of expenditure increases towards housing, education, health, household services and recreation when males were given the budget they tend to spend excess on health, household service and recreation. Education was considered intervening variable for earning hence increase in consumption, so they excluded education from demand function and include it as a valid instrument for total income. The researchers have come to these conclusions by conducting linear and quadratic models on the complied data Carroll et al. (1994) conducted a research about habit formation that consumption was happened at same level when a household was not enjoying same level of income as it did previously. Secondly they tried to analyze the impact of consumer sentiments on the consumption patterns taking into considerations the various economic variables into account. They ruled out permanent income and pure life cycle hypothesis and stated consumer spending was an unclear measure of uncertainty when uncertainty increased the level of consumption fell down hence leading to precautionary savings. Fei et al. (2003) conducted a research explaining the fact how children influenced the spending patterns of family and in about 27.8% of families, children’s consumption used one third of the family’s total income. In 35.6% of families, children’s consumption used 40% of the family’s total income. In 19.4% of families, children’s consumption took one half of the family’s income. And in 7.4% of families, children’s consumption took over one half of the family’s income. Thus in most families, the child’s consumption level was higher than the average per capita consumption of the family. He highlighted various factors such as higher education levels for children including extra amounts paid for private education and tutors.Moreover more recreational activities and high end gadgets like mobiles phone, laptops and increased expenses towards health care of the children. Khan and Dhar (2004) carried out a research on behavioral decision theoretic perspective on hedonic and utilitarian choices and they found out that difference between purchase and consumption of goods and service. The study found out that there was a very thin line which consumer does not even realize and decision making of consumption was merely affected by income, preference and lifestyle of the consumer. Aydin (2006) carried out the research about the consumption patterns in Turkey’s different socio economic classes and found that globalization has led to transformation, reconfiguration and reformulations of class structure and this was leading to social shifts from class based politics to identity politics, ideology to lifestyles and mass production to consumption these forces have fuelled the social change hence leading to emergences of new middle class living a new leisure lifestyle. The research reapproved the fact that social class variables had a significant effect on consumption.Income had the strongest positive effect at all the consumption level simultaneously. Education had effected the class differentiation, i.e., the group with higher education had better living standards thus making education important mediating factor. The analysis in this research paper depicted the class structuration results due to interaction income, education levels, and residential location . .D’orlando(2010) carried out a research to investigate the importance of behavioral principals in micro-foundation of Keynes consumption theory. It was concluded that behavioral instead of maximizing principals can be rightfully considered as possible for micro foundation for Keynes’s work. He said there were chances of cross fertilization of Keynesian approach and behavioral sciences in reference to theory consumption function. This research showed that utility maximization was not the major focus Keynes representation of individual’s behavior and many subjective factors were included in the consumption theory lastly the traditional aggregate consumption function is immensely based on maximizing agents. 3. Methodology: Variables taken in the study will be both demographic and economic variables which are to be estimated.In this research thesis both time series and cross sectional data will be used. On economic variables including consumer price index, income and expenditure will be taken. Consumer price index data are time series for 2004-2014 (10 years) and data on income, expenditure, family size and age are cross sectional. Interview through questionnaire will be undertaken from different income groups of the people living in Rawalpindi to gather the data on factors effecting consumption of household. To obtain the estimates of household consumption an Ordinary Least Square method will be used which meets econometric criteria. In this study two equations will be developed, equation one which will shows the consumption of household who belong to low income class while equation two will represents the consumption of household belong to high income class. In the study CPI, will be taken as independ ent variables which affect the consumption as if there is increase in price level for food and non food items over a period of time it would lead to reduce consumption of the masses as it would lead to reduce the purchasing power of money. The people who can afford to buy more goods before inflation now with the same amount of income they can buy less goods after inflation. 3.1 Data: The population in this study comprise of the District Rawalpinidi. Data will be collected through questionnaire from different classes of people besides secondary sources available on other variables. The sample data on the variables will be collected by interviewing different people through questionnaire from the different class of people residing in Rawalpindi and also from secondary sources on monthly basis so that model shall gives true picture regarding the society behavior of the factors affecting consumption. Generally data has two types in statistics 1) Primary data—first hand data 2) Secondary data—earlier data available In this study primary data will be used for some demographic feature i.e. age and family size and income. Due to non availability of second hand data on variables like family size and age, and income survey will be conducted in Rawalpindi. The sample will include all the heads of households. By considering the resource and time constraints, method of ordinary least square will be used for which sampled peoples will be surveyed in the area of district Rawalpindi for the study. For addressing the issue, a set of few questions will be developed required for the study to be carried out. The study shall be rely both cross section and time series data values. A set of questions will be ask from the respondents to avail the data on demographic features. A questionnaire will be circulated to different groups or sectors including the Public Sector, and Private Sector. The secondary data will be taken from the sources which includes Pakistan Statistical Bureau and from Pakistan Social and Living Measurement regarding the consumer price index variable. 3.2 Model: CHH=f (YL, YH, A, FS, CPI) Dependent Variable: CHH= Average Household Consumption Expenditure (Rs per month) Independent Variable: YL= lower income class; (Avgerage monthly income less than or equal to Rs 25000) YH=High income class (Average monthly income of more than Rs 25000 and less than or equal to Rs 40000) CPI=Consumer price index (index to measure inflation on per month basis) A= Average Age of household (years) FS=Family Size (No of persons) On the basis of variables the following equations developed for estimation purpose. CHHL=ÃŽ ²o+ÃŽ ²1iYL+ÃŽ ²2iFS+ÃŽ ²3iA+ÃŽ ²4iCPI+ µi Equation 1 CHHH=ÃŽ ²o+ÃŽ ²1iYH+ÃŽ ²2iFS+ÃŽ ²3iA+ÃŽ ²4iCPI+ µiEquation 2 Where; ÃŽ ²o = Intercept ÃŽ ²1, ÃŽ ²2, ÃŽ ²3, ÃŽ ²4, is the slope co-efficient of the model. ÃŽ ¼i = Disturbance term of model. i = Number of households (i ~ 1 to 120) Effects of different variables on household consumption Parameter Theoretically expected effect ÃŽ ²1+/- ÃŽ ²2+/- ÃŽ ²3+/- ÃŽ ²4+/- References: Ahmad, E., Shamim, F. (2007). An Analysis of household consumption in Urban and  rural regions, Journal of Retailing and consumer services, 14(2), 150-164. Airola, Jim. (2007). The Use of Remittance Income in Mexico†, International Migration  Review, 41(4), 850-859 Ajmair, M,. Akhtar, N. (2012). Houehold Consumption in Pakistan (A Case Study of  District Bhimber, AJK) EuroJounal publishing Inc 75(3), 448-457 Ali,M.S. (1981). Rural urban consumption patterns in Pakistan.Pakistan Economic and Social  Review 20(2), 85-94 Ali,M.Shaukat. (1986). Household Consumption and Saving behavior in Pakistan: An  Application of the Extended Linear Expenditure System. The Pakistan Development  Review 24(1), 23-27 Aydin, Kemal.(2006). Social Stratification and Consumption Patterns in Turkey. Social  Indicator Research.75(3), 463-501 Bacon, J., German, C. (2000). An Analysis of Household Consumption of Fresh Potatoes in  Delaware, Journal of Food distribution Research, 31(1), 103-111. Bentham, Jeremy (1748). An Introduction to the Principles of Morals and Legislation. The  Encyclopedia of Libertarianism. 31-33 Burki A.Abid (1997). Estimating consumer preference for food, Using time series data of Pakistan. The Pakistan Development Review. 36(2), 131-153. Burney, N., Khan, A. (1992).Household Size, its Composition and Consumption Patterns  in Pakistan, An Empirical Analysis Using Micro Data. Pakistan Institute of Development  Economics, 27 (2), 57 – 72. Carroll, D. Christopher., Fuhrer, C. Jeffry., Wilcox,W. David (1994). Does Consumer  Sentiment Forecast Household Spending. The American Economic Review, Vol. 84(5), 1397-1408 Cheema, A., Malik, M. (1995).Changes in consumption patterns and employment under  Alternative in come distribution in Pakistan The Pakistan Development Review,  24(1),1-22. Chow,Clement K.W.,Fung,Michael K.Y., Ngo,H.Y. (1999). Consumption patterns of  Entrepreneurs in the People’s Republic of China. Hong Kong Institute of Business Studies Working Paper Series 52(2001), 189-202 D’orlando E. Sanfilipo.(2010).Behavioral foundations for the Keynesian consumption  function. Journal of Economic Psychology31(6), 1035-1046. Fei,Linwu., Shu, YU.,Len, Lan Wei.,Teresa, J.C.Yin. (2003). Weight-control behavior among  dobese children: association with family-related factors. Journal of Nursing Research. 11(1), 19-30. Keynes, J.M.(1936). The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money. (London:  Macmillan). P.383 Khan,M.I.(1963). A Note on Consumption Patterns in Rural Areas of East Pakistan. The  Pakistan Development Review 3(3). Khan.U, Dhar.R.(2004).A Behavioral Decision Theoretic Perspective on Hedonic and  Utilitarian Choice. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making. 9(4), 265-281. Kruijk,J.L.de,I.C.Havinga J.B. Van Lochem (1991).Consumption behaviour in Pakistan. An  application of the (Extended) Linear Expenditure System. The Pakistan Development  Review 30(4). Malik,S. (1982).Analysis of Consumption Pattern in Pakistan. The Pakistan Economic and  Social Review 20(2), 108-122 Siddiqui,R.(1982). An Analysis of Consumption Pattern in Pakistan. The Pakistan Development Review 21(4), 275-296 Tai.H.C.Susan,Tam L.M.Jackie (1997).A life style analysis of female cosumers in greater  China.Journal of Psychology and Marketing. 14(3), 287-307. Thomas, Duncan (1993).The distribution of income and expenditure within household,  Annales de Economie et de statistiques, 29, 109-136 World Bank.(n.d). (2013). Retrieved from website worldbank.org/data-catalog/world-development-indicator/wdi-2013.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Effects of Melatonin Treatment :: Biology Essays Research Papers

http://www.ceri.com/melaton.htmEffects of Melatonin Treatment In order to discuss Melatonin as a drug and its effects on behavior we need to define Melatonin and what role it plays in relation to brain and behavior. Melatonin is a hormone that is secreted into the bloodstream by the pineal gland. The pineal gland is a small, pea sized structure near the center of the brain. Signals from the eyes regulate the secretion of Melatonin. A person's internal clock, will fluctuate between a 23-25 hour a day cycle. Therefore, our Melatonin levels decrease and increase with the rising and setting of the sun, which aid to putting an individual on a 24 hour awake/sleep cycle.(1) The actual effects of taking Melatonin orally have been disputed for quite some time. Some facts that I had picked up were that Melatonin levels decrease with age. This decline can account for the difficulty many elderly people have with falling asleep. As the pineal gland breaks down, less and less Melatonin is being released, therefore making it more difficult to regulate the internal clock. There is still a lot of information about Melatonin that remains unknown. There is much controversy as to what the drug actually can, and does, do. Many people claim that it is capable of extending a person's life, "curing" insomnia, working as an anti-oxidant, changing a person's mood, de-stressing people, improving one's sexual life, and curing certain types of depression, but many believe otherwise. (2) I am not thoroughly convinced either way because of the contrasting opinions. I decided to make my own observations and come to my own conclusions by conducting a little experiment of my own. I am going to focus on just the effects of whether or not Melatonin will aid people in getting sleep. Observation has always been a simple way for me to derive whether or not something actually works. But in light of our class discussion, I do not know if that is the most appropriate way to look at things. We have discussed that some behavior is internal and we do not see that on the exterior of the body. But for all intents and purposes, my observations for the effectiveness of Melatonin were external ones. My internal clock is really messed up. I usually sleep until 9:30 in the morning, but never head off to bed before 3 or 3:30. So Melatonin looked like a very appealing idea to procure a little more sleep.

Monday, August 19, 2019

Changes in Soil Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties Caused by

Changes in Soil Physical, Chemical, and Biological Properties Caused by Artificial Drainage of Wetlands Wetland soils are extremely varied. They are found from the tropics to the subarctic. They can be seasonal or year-round, freshwater or saltwater, organic or mineral. The one thing that all of them have in common is that for at least part of the year they are saturated with water. This saturation has a significant impact on the soil's physics, chemistry, and biota. However, over the past century more than half of all the wetlands in the United States has been drained for agriculture and other uses such as construction. When the soils are drained the physics, chemistry, and biota are drastically changed. This paper is an attempt to describe the changes in artificially drained soils and to consider a few of the consequences of these changes. The physical properties of saturated soils vary somewhat from wetland to wetland but are characterized by certain processes. One is the interaction of the soil with the watertable. Three patterns of possible groundwater flow have been considered: water could flow into the saturated areas from the surrounding area (discharge), making the saturated area the focal point; water could flow through swamps because of local relief (flow-through); or water could flow from the saturated zone into surrounding areas (recharge) possibly due to differential water use by plant communities or pumping (Crownover et al, p. 1199). There can also be vertical exchange of water between the groundwater and saturated soil. For example, capillary effects pull water upward into the soil from the water table. Besides the vertical and horizontal flow of water, the area of the soil taken up by water is important.... ...ater flow patterns through a cypress swamp-pine flatwood landscape: Soil Science Society of America Journal, 59, p. 1199-1206. Fausey, N.R., Brown, L.C., Belcher, H.W. and Kanwar, R.S., 1995, Drainage and water quality in the Great Lakes and cornbelt states: Journal of Irrigation Drainage Engineering, 121, p.283-288. Leventhal, E., 1990, Alternative uses of wetlands other than conventional farming in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska: EPA/171/R-92/006, 145 p. McBride, M. B., 1994, Environmental Chemistry of Soils: New York, Oxford University Press, 406 p. Mitsch, W.J. and Gosselink, J.G., Wetlands: New York, Van Nostrand Reinhold Company, 537 p. Schipper, L.A., Harfoot, C.G., McFarlane, P.N., and Cooper, A.B., Anaerobic decomposition and denitrification during plant decomposition in an organic soil: Journal of Environmental Quality, 23, p. 923-928.

Sunday, August 18, 2019

Mysterious Statue of a Boy in the Park :: Free Descriptive Essay About A Place

As soon as I entered the park, I went looking for the statue of the little boy that I remembered so well from last summer. I knew it was on the south side of the park, but I was not sure exactly where. As soon as I began my quest, I could faintly smell roses, a smell so familiar from the endless warm summer days that Jordan and I would spend next to the rose garden, in front of the statue. I knew I was getting close. Next, I saw the roses in the distance from where I was, walking towards the stairs that lead to the rose garden. I remembered walking in the same general direction. I was closer. Then I got to the stairs. As I was walking down the steps I looked to my right. There was a statue of a beautiful woman, not the right statue. Finally, I looked to my left, and there it was. My heart skipped a beat. I could remember the very first time I saw that statue. It was a hot day in mid-July when Jordan and I first stumbled upon it. Last summer while I was living in the dorms, Jordan was my best friend; we spent every waking moment together. One day we decided to walk in the park, we got to the rose garden and were talking about the roses until we saw the little boy. We were both so amazed by the statue, yet we could not figure out why. Starting from that moment, we spent a great amount of time at the statue last summer. As I walked up to it, I could almost see Jordan standing next to the statue turning to say something about it to me that we had not noticed before, but that was last summer. Like I said, Jordan was a very close friend of mine, but when I moved back to Michiga n last year, we grew apart. Standing by the statue I could remember sitting next to it for hours just talking, and looking at the statue with him. The first thing I did was get up very close to the statue and examine it once again. It is of a boy who is between the ages of twelve and fifteen, he is mostly naked, covered only with a cloth hanging by a thin belt over his genitals. Mysterious Statue of a Boy in the Park :: Free Descriptive Essay About A Place As soon as I entered the park, I went looking for the statue of the little boy that I remembered so well from last summer. I knew it was on the south side of the park, but I was not sure exactly where. As soon as I began my quest, I could faintly smell roses, a smell so familiar from the endless warm summer days that Jordan and I would spend next to the rose garden, in front of the statue. I knew I was getting close. Next, I saw the roses in the distance from where I was, walking towards the stairs that lead to the rose garden. I remembered walking in the same general direction. I was closer. Then I got to the stairs. As I was walking down the steps I looked to my right. There was a statue of a beautiful woman, not the right statue. Finally, I looked to my left, and there it was. My heart skipped a beat. I could remember the very first time I saw that statue. It was a hot day in mid-July when Jordan and I first stumbled upon it. Last summer while I was living in the dorms, Jordan was my best friend; we spent every waking moment together. One day we decided to walk in the park, we got to the rose garden and were talking about the roses until we saw the little boy. We were both so amazed by the statue, yet we could not figure out why. Starting from that moment, we spent a great amount of time at the statue last summer. As I walked up to it, I could almost see Jordan standing next to the statue turning to say something about it to me that we had not noticed before, but that was last summer. Like I said, Jordan was a very close friend of mine, but when I moved back to Michiga n last year, we grew apart. Standing by the statue I could remember sitting next to it for hours just talking, and looking at the statue with him. The first thing I did was get up very close to the statue and examine it once again. It is of a boy who is between the ages of twelve and fifteen, he is mostly naked, covered only with a cloth hanging by a thin belt over his genitals.

Saturday, August 17, 2019

Behavior Problem In Children And Adolescents

This is a story of Ted, an eight year boy, in whose eyes there always was seen a certain kind of anxiety. He loves playing football like any other child in my neighborhood. He has brown hair, wears long T-shirt, hat and always has a muffler around his neck. He looks like any other normal boy but one day when I went to his house, I saw anxious face of this mother and what she told made me felt thinking. She said that one day Ted was sitting in his English class and suddenly he felt that he should run away from his room, or he was going to get mad and hurt somebody.Not only this, he started breathing very fast and began to tremble too. He asked his teacher that he wanted to leave the classroom but his teacher simply refused. He became so adamant that he started to scream, just kicked the desk, slammed the door behind and rushed outside the class room finally finding himself landing in the Principal’s office. He apologized but that was not the end of the story. Sometimes his face also used to turn red. He started behaving in this manner in regular intervals.His mother told me that they had even got him thoroughly examined by the doctor but there was no serious problem with him. He stayed with his mother who got divorced few years back, and there was no one else in the house. His mother goes to office after dropping him to near by school and Ted always returns home disappointed, finding himself all alone. Later it was found out that he is suffering from Panic Disorder. Panic disorder is a form of anxiety disorder commonly found in thousands of children all over United States of America.Generally 12 per cent of children of ninth grade have panic attacks, and 1-2 per cent of adults have this problem. Children having Panic disorders may suffer from fear and discomfort, palpitation, pounding heart or great heart rate, trembling, sweating, shaking legs, nausea, dizziness etc. Panic disorder has become the most common problem among children and adults alike. They may also feel choking, chest pain, fear of dying, parasthesia (numbness or tingling sensation) etc.We generally ignore Panic disorder terming the symptoms as normal behavior of children but it is a very serious problem, which can hamper the child’s mental and physical growth. Affected children are socially cut off, their school performance is deteriorated and they may suffer from many other problems. It is not necessary that those children who are having panic attacks may have panic disorder, if 10 % of the children will suffer from panic attacks then 1 to 2 per cent only suffer from Panic disorder.Out of these who develop the Panic disorder, 10-35% is sure to get cured, 50% may get affected mildly later. The most common of all panic disorder is Agrophobia. This means always having a feeling of finding in a place or any situation were it is impossible to escape, or face a situation where help is not nearby available. According to the researchers, Panic disorder is caused when there is abnormality in that part of the brain, which indicates the quantity of Carbondioxide in the blood. If Carbondioxide is more, this means breathing is less than normal.Therefore, body will send the signals to increase the breathing process and also send adrenaline to help in the same process. We can also say that Panic disorder is hereditary problem. The children are much more likely to have an anxiety disorder if a parent also has an anxiety disorder. Part of this heredity is expressed through something called Behavioral Inhibition, which means reacting opposite to entirely new situation and things. Some infants and children will be very happy, eager and curious to find out about new people and things.However, roughly 15% of children will feel shy, withdrawn, and irritable in a new situation or with new people or things. Ted’s problem of Panic disorder is a problem of anxiety disorder, which is the most common among Children and adolescents. There are many kinds of a nxiety disorders but the most common of them are Separation Anxiety Disorder and Specific Phobias, occurring in the age group between 6-9 years old. Anxiety is one of the many disorders affecting man hood like neuroses. Children generally suffer from maximum fear and worry more than their parents do.Many of these problems can be predicted and cured easily so clinician before starting the treatment should carefully examine the behavior among children and then should prescribe the medicine for the same. Girls suffer more from fear than boys do. Separation anxiety disorder is found in childhood only and these involve the problems like specific phobia, social phobia among others. Children suffering from the phobias will try to leave the feared object. Social phobia occurs when children fear from being humiliated in public place.Children may get scared of speaking, writing, reading, performing in public, initiating and maintaining conversations, speaking to authority figures and interact ing in informal social situations. The idea can daunt on the children that what others will think of them and may suffer somatic symptoms with a sole purpose to escape uncomfortable situations. These children may suffer from lower self esteem and and always feel lonely and sad. This disorder can be comorbid with other diagnoses such as anxiety or depression.So, it becomes inevitable to treat the problem, whatever disorder the child may be suffering from before it causes some serious implications on his health and life. There should be open communication between clinicians, therapists, family and school staff. The source of stress of the child should be reduced through counseling, medicines and supportive environment both at home and school. It becomes utmost important for the parents to understand the illness of the child and his struggle with it. The child should not be left isolated.They should listen to the child’s feeling, praise his efforts and encourage him to participa te in various activities to relieve him of the stress, tension and depression. Ted’s mother also understood the root cause of problem and following the advice of child psychologists, she herself undertook parent guidance counseling sessions. With this, she was able to manage his son’s illness effectively by providing much needed support and love. Soon, Ted was on the path of recovery. Reference Nelson R. W. , Emeritus & Allen Y. (2005) Behavior Disorders of Childhood. Publisher: Prentice Hall

Friday, August 16, 2019

Succubus Blues CHAPTER 5

â€Å"For someone who just orchestrated a murder, you're kind of overreacting.† Overreacting? In the last twenty-four hours, I'd had to endure virgins, scary vampires, murder, accusation, and humiliation in front of my favorite author. I really didn't think coming home to a quiet apartment was too much to ask for. Instead, I found three interlopers. Three interlopers who were also my friends, mind you, but that didn't change the principle of the matter. Naturally, none of them understood why I was so upset. â€Å"You're invading my privacy! And I didn't murder anybody. Why does everyone keep thinking that?† â€Å"Because you said yourself you were going to,† explained Hugh. The imp sprawled on my love seat, his relaxed posture indicating I might actually be the one in his home. â€Å"I heard it from Jerome.† Across from him, our friend Cody offered me a friendly smile. He was exceptionally young for a vampire and reminded me of the kid brother I'd never had. â€Å"Don't worry. He had it coming. We stand by you all the way.† â€Å"But I didn't – â€Å" â€Å"Is that our illustrious hostess I hear?† called Peter from the bathroom. A moment later, he appeared in the hallway. â€Å"You look pretty snazzy for a criminal mastermind.† â€Å"I'm not – † My words died on my lips as I caught sight of him. For a moment, all thoughts of murder and apartment intrusion blanked out of my mind. â€Å"For God's sake, Peter. What happened to your hair?† He self-consciously ran a hand over the sharp, half-inch spikes covering his head. I couldn't even imagine how much styling product it must have taken to defy the laws of physics like that. Worse, the tips of the spikes were white-blond, standing out boldly against his normally dark hair color. â€Å"Someone I work with helped me with it.† â€Å"Someone who hates you?† Peter scowled. â€Å"You are the most uncharming succubus I've ever met.† â€Å"I think the spikes really, um, emphasize the shape of your eyebrows,† offered Cody diplomatically. â€Å"They just take†¦ some getting used to.† I shook my head. I liked Peter and Cody. They were the only vampires I'd ever been friends with, but that didn't make them any less trying. Between Peter's assorted neuroses and Cody's dogged optimism, I sometimes felt like the straight man – er, woman – on a sitcom. â€Å"A lot of getting used to,† I muttered, pulling up a bar-stool from my kitchen. â€Å"You're one to talk,† returned Peter. â€Å"You and your wings and whip getup.† My mouth dropped, and I turned an incredulous look on Hugh. He hastily shut the Victoria's Secret catalog he'd been leafing through. â€Å"Georgina – â€Å" â€Å"You said you weren't going to tell! You sealed your lips and everything!† â€Å"I, uh†¦ it just sort of slipped out.† â€Å"Did you really have horns?† asked Peter. â€Å"All right, that's it. I want you all out of here now.† I pointed at the door. â€Å"I've been through enough today without you three adding to it.† â€Å"You haven't even told us about taking the contract out on Duane.† Cody's puppy-dog eyes looked at me pleadingly. â€Å"We're dying to know.† â€Å"Well, Duane's the one who technically did the dying,† pointed out Peter in an undertone. â€Å"Watch the snide comments,† warned Hugh. â€Å"You might be next.† I half expected steam to pour from my ears. â€Å"For the last time, I did not kill Duane! Jerome believes me, okay?† Cody looked thoughtful. â€Å"But you did threaten him†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Yes. And from what I recall, so have all of you at some time or another. This is just a coincidence. I didn't have anything to do with it, and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Something suddenly occurred to me. â€Å"Why does everyone keep saying things like ‘arranged his death' or ‘got someone to murder him'? Why aren't you saying that I did it myself?† â€Å"Wait†¦ you just said you didn't.† Peter rolled his eyes at Cody before facing me, the older vampire's expression turning serious. Of course, â€Å"serious† means all sorts of things when paired with a hairstyle like his. â€Å"No one's saying you did it because you couldn't have.† â€Å"Especially in those shoes.† Hugh nodded toward my heels. â€Å"I appreciate your complete lack of faith in my abilities, but isn't it possible I could have, I don't know, taken him by surprise? Hypothetically, I mean.† Peter smiled. â€Å"It wouldn't have mattered. Lesser immortals can't kill one another.† Seeing my astonished look, he added, â€Å"How can you not know that? After living as long as you have?† Teasing laced his words. There had always been an unspoken mystery between Peter and me concerning which of us was the oldest of the mortals-turned-immortals in our little circle. Neither of us would openly admit our age, so we'd never really determined who had the most centuries. One night, after a bottle of tequila, we'd started playing a â€Å"Do you remember when†¦Ã¢â‚¬  sort of game. We'd only gotten back as far as the Industrial Revolution before passing out. â€Å"Because no one's ever tried to kill me. So what, are you saying all those turf wars vampires have are for nothing?† â€Å"Well, not for nothing,† he said. â€Å"We inflict some pretty terrific damage, believe me. But no, no one ever dies. With all the territory disputes, there'd be very few of us left if we could kill each other.† I stayed silent, turning this revelation over in my head. â€Å"Then how do – † I suddenly remembered what Jerome had told me. â€Å"They get killed by vampire hunters.† Peter nodded. â€Å"What's the deal with them?† I asked. â€Å"Jerome wouldn't elaborate.† Hugh was equally interested. â€Å"You mean like that one girl on TV? The hot blonde?† â€Å"This is going to be a long night.† Peter gave us both scathing looks. â€Å"You all need some serious Vampires 101. I don't suppose you're going to offer us anything to drink, Georgina?† I waved an impatient hand toward the kitchen. â€Å"Get whatever you want. I want to know about vampire hunters.† Peter sauntered out of my living room, yelping when he nearly tripped over one of the many stacks of books I had sitting around. I made a mental note to buy a new bookshelf. Scowling, he surveyed my nearly empty refrigerator with disapproval. â€Å"You really need to work on your hosting skills.† â€Å"Peter – â€Å" â€Å"Now, I keep hearing stories about that other succubus†¦ the one in Missoula. What's her name again?† â€Å"Donna,† offered Hugh. â€Å"Yeah, Donna. She throws great parties, I hear. Gets them catered. Invites everyone.† â€Å"If you guys want to party with all ten people in Montana, then you're welcome to move there. Now stop wasting time.† Ignoring me, Peter eyed the red carnations I'd bought the other night. I'd put them in a vase near the kitchen sink. â€Å"Who sent you flowers?† â€Å"No one.† â€Å"You sent yourself flowers?† asked Cody, his voice quaking with sympathy. â€Å"No, I just bought them. It's not the same. I didn't – look. Why are we talking about this when there's an alleged vampire killer on the loose? Are you two in danger?† Peter finally opted for water but tossed beers to Hugh and Cody. â€Å"Nope.† â€Å"We aren't?† Cody seemed surprised to learn this. His scant years as a vampire practically made him a baby compared to the rest of us. Peter was teaching him â€Å"the trade,† so to speak. â€Å"Vampire hunters are simply special mortals born with the ability to inflict real damage to vampires. Mortals in general can't touch us, of course. Don't ask me how or why this all works; there's no system as far as I can tell. Most so-called vampire hunters go through life without even realizing they have this talent. The ones who do sometimes decide to make a career out of it. They pop up like this from time to time, picking off the occasional vampire, making a general nuisance of themselves until some enterprising vampire or demon takes them out.† â€Å"‘Nuisance'?† asked Cody incredulously. â€Å"Even after Duane? Aren't you the least bit worried about this person coming after you? After us?† â€Å"No,† said Peter. â€Å"I am not.† I shared Cody's confusion. â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Because this person, whoever he or she is, is a total amateur.† Peter glanced over at Hugh and me. â€Å"What did Jerome say about Duane's death?† Deciding I needed a drink myself, I raided my kitchen liquor cabinet and made a vodka gimlet. â€Å"He wanted to know if I did it.† Peter made a dismissive gesture. â€Å"No, about how he died.† Hugh frowned, apparently trying to piece together the logic afoot. â€Å"He said that Duane had been found dead – with a stake through his heart.† â€Å"There. You see?† Peter looked at us expectantly. We all looked back, baffled. â€Å"I don't get it,† I finally said. Peter sighed, again looking utterly put out. â€Å"If you are a mortal who has the semidivine ability to kill a vampire, it doesn't fucking matter how you do it. You can use a gun, a knife, a candlestick, or whatever. The stake through the heart thing is hearsay. If a normal mortal does it to a vampire, it won't do a damned thing except really piss the vampire off. We only hear about it when a vampire hunter does it, so it carries some special superstitious lure, when really, it's only like that egg thing on the equinoxes.† â€Å"What?† Hugh looked totally lost. I rubbed my eyes. â€Å"I actually know what he's talking about, as scary as that is to admit. There's this urban myth that eggs balance on their ends during the equinoxes. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but the truth is, you'd get the same results any time of the year. People only try it on the equinoxes, however, so that's all anyone notices.† I glanced over at Peter. â€Å"Your point is that a vampire hunter could kill a vampire in any number of ways, but because the stake gets all the attention, that's what has become the accepted method of†¦ ‘revocation of immortality.' â€Å" â€Å"In people's minds,† he corrected. â€Å"In reality, it's a pain in the ass to drive a stake through someone's heart. A lot easier to shoot them.† â€Å"And so you think this hunter is an amateur because†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Cody trailed off, obviously unconvinced by the compelling egg analogy. â€Å"Because any vampire hunter worth his or her snuff knows that and wouldn't use a stake. This person's a total newbie.† â€Å"First,† I advised Peter, â€Å"don't say ‘worth his snuff.' That expression's out-of-style and makes you sound dated. Second, maybe this hunter was just trying to be old-school or something. And even if this person is a ‘newbie,' does it really matter since they managed to take out Duane?† Peter shrugged. â€Å"He was an arrogant asshole. Vampires can sense vampire hunters at close range. Combined with this one's inexperience, Duane should have never been taken. He was stupid.† I opened my mouth to counter this. I would be among the first to agree that Duane had indeed been both arrogant and an asshole, but stupid he was not. Immortals could not live as long as we did and see as many things as we did without gleaning substantial know-how and street smarts. We grew up quickly, so to speak. Another question moved to the forefront of my reasoning. â€Å"Can these hunters hurt other immortals? Or just vampires?† â€Å"Only vampires, as far as I know.† Something didn't add up here between Peter's comments and Jerome's. I couldn't quite put my finger on what was bothering me exactly, so I kept my misgivings to myself as the others chatted on. The vampire hunter topic soon became passe, once they'd decided – with some disappointment – I hadn't contracted anybody. Cody and Hugh also seemed content to buy Peter's theory that an amateur hunter posed no real threat. â€Å"Be careful, you two,† I warned the vampires when they were getting ready to leave. â€Å"Newbie or no, Duane is still dead.† â€Å"Yes, Mom,† answered Peter disinterestedly, putting on his coat. I gave Cody a sharp look, and he squirmed a bit. He was easier to manipulate than his mentor. â€Å"I'll be careful, Georgina.† â€Å"Call me if anything weird happens.† He nodded, earning an eye roll from Peter. â€Å"Come on,† said the older vampire. â€Å"Let's get some dinner.† I had to smile at that. While vampires getting dinner might have frightened most people, I knew better. Peter and Cody both hated hunting human victims. They did it on occasion but rarely killed when they did. Most of their sustenance came from extra-rare butcher shop purchases. Like me, they were half- assingtheir infernal jobs. â€Å"Hugh,† I said sharply as he was about to follow the vampires out. â€Å"A word, please.† The vampires gave Hugh sympathetic looks before leaving. The imp grimaced, closing the door and facing me. â€Å"Hugh, I gave you that key for emergencies – â€Å" â€Å"Vampire murder doesn't constitute an emergency?† â€Å"I'm serious! It's bad enough Jerome and Carter can teleport in here without you deciding to open up my home to God and the world.† â€Å"I don't think God was invited tonight.† â€Å"And then, you went and told them about the demon-girl outfit†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Oh come on,† he protested. â€Å"That was too good to keep to myself. Besides, they're our friends. What's it matter?† â€Å"It matters because you said you weren't going to tell,† I growled. â€Å"What kind of friend are you? Especially after I helped you out last night?† â€Å"Christ, Georgina. I'm sorry. I didn't know you'd take it so personally.† I ran a hand through my hair. â€Å"It's not just that. It's†¦ I don't know. It's this whole business with Duane. I was thinking about what Jerome told me†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Hugh waited, giving me time to gather my thoughts, sensing I was about to unleash something. My mind pondered the night's unfolding as I studied the imp's large shape beside me. He could be as silly as the vampires sometimes; I didn't know if I could speak seriously to him. â€Å"Hugh†¦ how do you know if a demon is lying?† There was a pause, then he emitted a soft laugh, recognizing the old joke. â€Å"His lips are moving.† We leaned against my counter, and he studied me from his greater height. â€Å"Why? Do you think Jerome's lying to us?† â€Å"Yes, I do.† Another pause followed. â€Å"Tell me then.† â€Å"Jerome told me to be careful, said I could be mistaken for a vampire.† â€Å"He told me the same thing.† â€Å"But Peter said vampire hunters can't kill us.† â€Å"You ever had a stake driven through your heart? It might not kill you, but I bet you wouldn't like it.† â€Å"Fair enough. But Jerome claimed vampire hunters find other vampires by following their prey. That's bullshit. Cody and Peter are the exception. You know how most vampires are – they don't hang out with other vampires. Following one generally won't lead to another.† â€Å"Yeah, but he said this one was a newbie.† â€Å"Jerome didn't say that. That was Peter's theory based on the stake.† Hugh gave a conciliatory grunt. â€Å"Okay. So what do you think is going on?† â€Å"I don't know. I just know these stories are contradicting each other. And Carter seemed awfully involved, like he was in on some secret with Jerome. Why should Carter even care? His side should technically approve of someone picking off our people.† â€Å"He's an angel. Isn't he supposed to love everyone, even the damned? Especially when said damned are his drinking buddies.† â€Å"I don't know. There's more here than we're being told†¦ and Jerome seemed so adamant about me being careful. You too, apparently.† He stayed quiet a few moments before finally saying, â€Å"You're a pretty girl, Georgina.† I started. So much for serious talk. â€Å"Did you drink more than that beer?† â€Å"I forget, though,† he continued, ignoring my question, â€Å"that you're also a smart one. I work around shallow women so much – suburban housewives wanting smoother skin and bigger breasts – who have no other concerns but their appearances. It's easy to get caught up in the stereotypes and forget that you have a brain in there too, behind your beautiful face. You see things differently than the rest of us – more clearly, I guess. Sort of a bigger picture kind of thinking. Maybe it's your age – no offense.† â€Å"You did drink too much. Besides, I'm not smart enough to figure out what Jerome isn't telling us unless†¦ there aren't really succubus or imp hunters out there, are there?† â€Å"Have you ever heard of one?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"Neither have I. But I have heard of vampire hunters – independent of pop culture.† Hugh reached for his cigarettes and changed his mind, remembering I didn't like smoking in my apartment. â€Å"I don't think anyone's going to put a stake through us anytime soon, if that's what's bothering you.† â€Å"But you do agree we're being left out of the loop?† â€Å"What else do you expect from Jerome?† â€Å"I think†¦ I think I'm going to go see Erik.† â€Å"Is he still alive?† â€Å"Last I knew.† â€Å"That's a good idea. He knows more about us than we do.† â€Å"I'll let you know what I find out.† â€Å"Nah. I think I'd rather stay ignorant.† â€Å"Fine. Where are you off to now?† â€Å"I've got to go put in some after-hours time with one of the new secretaries, if you catch my meaning.† He grinned, dare I say, impishly. â€Å"Twenty years old, with breasts that defy gravity. I should know. I helped install them.† I couldn't help but laugh, despite the grim atmosphere. Hugh, like the rest of us, had a day job when not furthering the cause of evil and chaos. In his case, the line between occupations was a little thin: he was a plastic surgeon. â€Å"I can't compete with that.† â€Å"Not true. Science can't duplicate your breasts.† â€Å"Praise from a true connoisseur. Have fun.† â€Å"I will. Watch your back, sweetie.† â€Å"You too.† He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and left. I stood there, alone at last, staring idly at my door and wondering what all this meant. Jerome's warning probably had been overkill, I decided. As Hugh had said, no one had ever heard of imp or succubus hunters. Still, I clicked my deadbolt and fastened the chain on my door before going to bed. Immortal I might be, but reckless I was not. Well, at least not when it counted.

Thursday, August 15, 2019

Impact of Byod (Bring Your Own Device)

Impact of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) on Enterprise Mobility: What is Enterprise Mobility? Definition: To put in simple words Enterprise Mobility (EM) is the technology that enables organizations to allow its employees to access the Enterprise data (such as company reports and presentations) and enterprise applications (such as CRM, SFA, emails, calendar, project management etc. via mobile phones or tablets from anywhere at any time. Giving them more flexibility at work, it allows employees to download company real time data, access and updates enterprise applications, participates in virtual meetings and teleconferences from anywhere, any time. End result of which is increased productivity of work force for the company and better service output for the customer. Rational for EM adoption and benefits?The growing number of mobile user base, availability of sophisticated smart phones, improved telecommunication infrastructure and fast adoption of mobile technology by employees/consume rs [35% of the employees globally are estimated to be mobile by 2013 (Satagopan and Mathai 2011)] all these factors together are setting up a stage for growth in EM adaption in near future [â€Å"EM market is expected to grow from  $67. 21 billion  in 2011 to$181. 9 Billion  by 2017 with a CAGR of 15. 17%† (MarketsandMarkets 2012)]. The CoIT (consumerzation on IT) has opened the door to the possibility of using the consumer mobile technology for enterprise purpose and the benefits of EM to an organization are tremendous. The most important benefits of effective EM strategy to any organization are; * Fast information flow: The EM can facilitate supersonic flow of the information within the organization.It can open various communication channels that can facilitate fast flow of information between the employs and between various departments of the company empowering the decision making process within the organization. Ability to share a real time data/ information with em ployees and fast decision making process can mean more efficient service output and opportunity to provide best customer care in the industry. Flexibility and comfort: The successful implementation of EM strategy will also provide work flexibility and comfort to the employees; resulting in the better work culture that companies can further promote to acquire and retain the best talent in the industry. In nut shell the EM strategy is win-win situation for both the employees and the organization. The successful EM strategy implementation holds a key for an organization to achieve the competitive advantage over its competitors and to become proactive to the environmental change.Barrier to the successful EM adoption: The cost associated with the corporate use licenses, purchase and maintenance of mobile devices is the biggest barriers for successful EM adoption. Depending up on the size and the number of employees of the company the cost of purchase and maintenance of the mobile devices could vary form an organization to organization, however it still could be a significant amount for a management of any organization to not to decide to walk on EM path.Could BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) be the solution to overcome the Barrier to EM adoption? What is BYOD (Bring Your Own Device)? Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) is trend where people who love there I phone, I pad or other smart devices wants to bring them to work for various reasons And the enterprises allow (with Caveat) the use of such personal devices at work.The reasons why people want to bring/use their devices at work may include (but not limited to): * Comfort: Rather than learning to operate new device (provided by employer) employees feel it’s easier and comfortable for them to use their own devices at work [53% of the employees use their mobile devices for work (Gillett F and et al. 2012)]. * Changing work pattern and work schedule: work places are becoming more and more competitive.Cut throat competit ion at work means no excusive (even if they are genuine) and working out of hours, on weekends and from home which would require use of both company and personal devices such as home pc. * Social media sharing and Constant desire to be connected with friends: no one has survived the social media wave and almost every one (just a figurative statement) today has profile on some social media site and want constantly to be in touch with friends and relatives [68% employees and 71% prospective employees want to access social media at work (CISCO 2011)]. Multitasking: The trend of multitasking has picked up in a recent few years. To make the work environment more attractive and friendly the work restrictions are becoming weak and activities such as listening to music, messenger chat, online gaming are the common activities that employees want to do alongside their duties. * Brand loyalty: more and more consumers are becoming brand loyal and would not typically like to work on a device man ufactured by other company [apple received 2 million orders in the first 24 hours of the new phone launch. Times of India 2012)]. Allowing employees to bring and use their personal devices at work provides number of benefits to the company (some are discussed below). However along with the benefits BYOD often brings enterprise data security concerns. This skepticism about data security and some of the other fall back of the BYOD concept (discussed below in the report) are the reasons why despite the tremendous benefits BYOD can bring to the organization the company managements are very cautious about the BYOD model and not fully convinced to adopt/accept it.Incentive for an organization for adopting BYOD policy: In addition to the benefits of EM strategy that we have discussed earlier in this article, the most important incentive/benefit the BYOD model can provide to a company is the significant cost saving. As the devices used by the employees are owned by themselves the cost of pu rchase, insurance, maintenance, upgrade and ongoing support are paid by employees. That can save the huge cost which otherwise the company would have to bear.The other significant benefit to the company is the IT work force can focus more on supporting the IT requirements of the organization rather than purchasing and implementing the devices (Information service group 2012). Down falls of BYOD The most important downfall of the BYOD model is data security concern. In the event of the device loss the enterprise sensitive data can get exposed if the device falls in to wrong hand. Though the companies can wipe any such data from the device using remote wipe or lock down the device still such incidence (which are very common to occur) can expose the organization to the significant amount of risk.The other down fall of the model is as the employer has no choice on the make or the company/brand of device that an employee can bring to work. The IT department will have to support the devic es simultaneously which are running of various platforms such as iOS and Android and that could be daunting task for IT personnel. The most important argument that advocates the use of BYOD model is that it can save huge cost of buying and maintaining the device however the stipend or reimbursement towards the service plan used by the employees can increase the company cost in many folds than the coast of acquiring and maintaining the devices.Conclusion: In nut shell, the EM and BYOD concept are evolving concepts. Though the environmental factors and market trends suggest that the EM and BYOD will shape the future of the businesses and will change the way business operate today. It would not be wrong to predict that these concepts will take their fair share of time to evolve as mature concepts before business can accept them with eyes shut. References: 1. CISCO 2011, The Cisco Connected World Technology Report, Cisco Company. 2. 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