Gerontology Aging Simulation

Age Simulation Reaction I often times sit back and think of myself as elder later on in life. So many thoughts come to mind about my physical appearance; not so many thoughts in regards to my own mindset or the mindset of others that surround me, both seniors and young people. I have never been a person to care how others feel about me, but this one day in particular when I was put in the shoes of an elderly person my world was turned upside down by the words, looks, and thoughts of others. Going into this simulation I looked at it on the surface, how could being in the shoes of an older person for one day get so deep?.Of course there was an expectation of being limited to a degree but the limitations I was stuck with were difficult beyond belief. Minuscule things became very complex to me, things like writing or picking something up were so troublesome because of the decrease of my fine motor skills. Or how about being able to partake in a simple game of Uno or reading a newspaper b eing suddenly hard for you. These are just a few of the past pleasures that were current irritations. Over the next couple of day I began to ponder on how I take granted the simple, everyday activities or joys of life.I also wondered how I could improve the way I treat elders, whether it’s someone I come in contact with regularly or just a senior in front of me driving slow. I have to learn to control my feelings and expressions towards them, I actually salute them. I don’t know how an elder person keeps on fighting, I experienced their life for one day only and it seem as though the world around me was craving in. Being blind and having hip arthritis wasn't so easy to cope with, I wasn’t able to be as mobile as I would have liked.In fact, I not being as mobile resulted in other health issues. Those around me were in worse condition, on top of the little impairments that affected me, they had limitations such as deafness, having had a stroke, knee injuries, majo r illnesses, and lastly a death of one person closely connected to me. We all started off playing Uno with no problems but as time went on we were unable to play. We couldn’t see the cards, hear each other, and also had trouble even grabbing the cards due to loss of fine motor skills or mobility of some limbs in whole.Those having strokes definitely slowed up the process, most time they were asking me to hand them something or do something for them. I had to have patience when dealing with Morgan, Suzy, and Kelsey; they were very limited. It was kind of stressful to know that I had it better off than them and they relied on me. It was like I felt guilty not helping them because their conditions outweighed those of mines. I was handing this one this and helping that one with that; it was not easy at all. Participating in this exercise gave me anxiety to know that I will one day be face to face with these problems in reality.Also sadness came over me knowing that actual people have to deal with this in life, as the public or on the outside looking in you don’t think of how elders feel or think. I, myself was guilty of some prejudices placed upon seniors. I didn’t really think of elders as individuals anymore, I didn’t think of them able person and this is said to be a myth in â€Å"The Nine Myths of Aging† by Douglas Powell. In this article he talks about how elders are grouped together and treated as a whole not separate.Another myth in which I found to be exactly that is an unsound body is equal to an unsound mind, I find those with more time here on Earth to be some of the most intelligent individuals. Some of the knowledge I now have has come from my grandmother or my elder colleagues. They are so insightful, they don’t just make decision swiftly but they take time to think and contemplate on all the outcomes and resources available. Look at it this way most of them made it this far in their journey and it has result ed in them being wise.I am a true believer that old dogs can learn new tricks, I work in a factory with people are biologically old yet can adapt to new ideas and functions, in some cases are the innovators. Use it or lose it in some cases can be true but I don’t think we should stereotype all older people under this belief. Although my grandmother has health issues I don’t see the depression, self-centeredness, or isolation people talk about. She loves to go places with people of all ages and interest. So that shows me that a lot of thoughts of others are false, nowhere near the truth.I now believe elders to be useful and most enjoyable people to be around. Often times even those who job is to work with seniors don’t see the value that they hold. You can tell by the way in which they treat and talk to them. While they are professionals and trained on how to interact with them, that is actually their downfall. They are trained on how to speak, interact, and resp ond to others; they lose sight of the feelings or connection that makes an interaction favorable. For some seniors the only real interaction they get comes from a professional and for it not to be pleasant can be damaging.Between all the illnesses, impairments, and stresses feeling appreciated or respected by others could go a long way. Even though it was simulation, I got a chance to see from the inside looking out how elders are treated and talked to. During the simulation I was talked down upon with little cheesy terms of endearment, Hun or honey. When time for meds or snacks I wasn’t an opinion or explained. I felt like a prisoner to others just because I had aged. Communication goes a long way with everyone not just elders, so it is especially important when it comes to them.Everyone knows to be polite and respectful to others on general principle. Though I was hard of hearing, instead of yelling distastefully one could stoop or sit to be on the same level as me and clos e in distance repeat clearly. As said in, â€Å"Communicating Respectfully With Older Adults. † Up until reason I used to find myself trying to quickly finish the thoughts of elders with thoroughly listening to their thoughts, it always seemed to take to long for them disclose them fully. Another thing I would do is make decisions for older adults because it seems like it takes them forever to do so.There’s been times when I have went to volunteered at a nursing home where my great aunt is and I would be assigned with helping with meals. During this some of the seniors needed to take meds, I was used to give them instructions fast because I assumed it was a part of their routine. I was always repeating things, but I never thought to slow down and ask them if they had any questions. I just was worried about achieving the goal not how it was achieved. That is a slip on my end. At the end of the day I learned so much about being an elder.I took away lessons that I could o nly learned by being in these shoes. I have a different outlook on how elders feel, I don’t think it’s fair how we pass judgment on them; they are individuals just like us. I think all the prejudices that come up when elders come to mind are from us on the exterior. We don’t give them a chance to express how they feel or make decisions. We don’t give them a chance to do things on their because of the rate in which they do them. We are the one damming them to be useless. We have got to do better by those ones who made a way for us.

On Chesil Beach

The importance of discussing sexual desires within a marriage January 26, 2013 On Chesil Beach, by Ian McEwan shows a reader the adverse effect on a marriage when sexual wants, desires, fears and expectations are not openly discussed prior to engaging in sexual acts. The lack of communication by the characters causes them to end their marriage less than 24 hours after taking their vows. While I agree that sexual relationships in a marriage are vital; they are not the tell all of a long-lasting committed relationship.From conversations with friends and family members, I’ve learned that as time passes in marriage and you become consumed with the business of life; the sexual aspect of your life becomes less important. When speaking to my 82 year old grandmother, she told me she’d like to meet someone again just so she wasn’t alone. She said sex didn’t matter anymore, but it would be nice to have someone hold her hand and take her to dinner. She acknowledged t hat at her age, a lot of men may not be able to physically have sex but also stressed if they could, it would certainly be a bonus.She just wanted companionship. Most important is open communication about sex. These are values that should be discussed prior to marriage, as well as finances, child rearing, and where you will make your home. These are issues that can have wiggle room in a conversation; but they must be discussed. You must give your partner the respect of hearing their concerns, recognizing them as real (even if you don’t agree) and working towards a manageable solution that does not require either of you to completely forfeit your belief. When we first meet someone the first attraction is physical appearance.The thoughts of their sparkling eyes, wide smile and attractive physique appeal to us. In a group of 10 women, you will find 10 different â€Å"types† described. If this were not the case, and every woman was attracted to â€Å"my type† then o nly the 6’2†, muscular, physically active men with dark brown eyes, dimples and a clean shaven head would ever get dates. Due to this physical attraction, we want to meet them; so we approach. We hope they have the intelligence, interest and humor we are searching for. It is not until we establish these basics that we can decide to establish an ongoing relationship. In a successful elationship you are comfortable to talk about your past; the lovers who have come and go; or lack thereof; the heartaches you have suffered or caused; your youthful memories and relationships built with your family. This shares your core with your partner. When I first met my husband we would spend hours at night sitting on the porch with some wine or cold beers and just talk for hours. He was the first man I ever felt comfortable enough to share my real history with. He is convinced I was attempting to scare him away with the tales of my wild younger days and stories of my criminal family; b ut he stuck it out.Perhaps he is right; perhaps I was testing him. When Florence and Edward in On Chesil Beach do not discuss their expectations they leave the imaginations free to run wild as to how things will play out. Edward so desires his wife and she is repulsed by him. There are lines in the book that made me almost believe she may have been sexually abused by her father; but it is never actually stated. That is a fact that should be shared with a spouse; that touching will make you uncomfortable. The idea that her repulsion of his premature ejaculation repulses her to the point of fleeing the room is unfathomable to me.It seems this is an idea that should be understood as an extreme desire of lust so wild it cannot be controlled. My husband was molested, one time, as a young man. He told me this; there are jokes that are not made and conversations that quickly get turned to something else because of his past. This is the respect I have for him. When the story of a child mole ster comes on the news, I know it touches him even deeper than it does me. I am his support through this. Without this information, I would find his behaviors of walking out of the room during the news to be a strange reaction.I would believe that when I walk up behind him without his knowledge and touch him; his jump was outward expression that he doesn’t want me doing that; when in all actuality, he loves it, but startles very easily. He was raised in a home where sex was never discussed. He tells me about his parents having a black light in their bedroom. When I joke they â€Å"liked to get their freak on†, he just shakes his head as if it’s the most preposterous idea that could be presented. He was never really told about female anatomy or that masturbation was normal; the topics were avoided altogether.He said he felt shame about things he was doing as he perceived them to be secretive. I was raised in a family where sex was openly discussed. We, as childre n, were comfortable enough to speak to either of our parents about any questions or concerns we had about sex. We were never judged; we were never shushed and complete attention was given to us to ensure we had the clearest answer possible. My father has passed, but to this day, I will make a joke with my mother as to whether or not â€Å"she got some sugar† after a night out with her friends.I get that it’s out there and we may be the extreme end of the spectrum but it worked for us and we never had any doubt what we were getting ourselves in to. We were not given permission to have sex but when my mother realized that my high school sweetheart and I were spending a lot of time together; she sat me down and asked if I needed to be put on birth control and if not now, to please speak to her when I thought we were getting to that point. I did and without question or hesitation, she made an appointment the next day for me to see the gynecologist for birth control.If my h usband did not know this information about me; he may think we were part of some sex cult; whackos who joke with their parents/kids about sex too much. We have chosen to be open with our boys about sex. As they reach the ages of sexual interest (14 and 16); we are well aware that sexual temptation is all around them. We do not encourage or condone them engaging in sexual activity at this age, as we believe they are not yet mature enough to handle the seriousness of a relationship that has become sexual.We have explained the seriousness of consequences once a relationship becomes sexual. We encourage them to remain children and enjoy that innocence that can never be taken back for as long as they can. But when the time comes that their desires overwhelm their rationality; and they feel they are mature enough to handle a sexual relationship; I hope we, as their parents, have given them the information they need to be kind, loving, understanding and respectful men.After years of marria ge, my husband and I still have an active sex life. While we are not tearing each other apart on the kitchen counter anymore; we know that each has their own desires and wants. We understand those desires are fueled by certain actions. For him, it’s holding his hand while we watch some horrible Star Trek rerun that I pretend to find intriguing followed by an amazing home cooked meal by me. For me, it’s cleaning the refrigerator, and folding the laundry so I don’t have to and kissing my forehead.Those are the things we love; those are the things that make us feel special. I know if he does something that I don’t like, I can tell him that without the worry that he’s going to run away and divorce me because of a bad sexual experience. We are on the same page because we talked about this at lengths PRIOR to being married. We have succeeded. So far. References McEwan, I. 2007. On Chesil Beach. London: Jonathan Cape

An Inspector Calls Essay Questions Example For Students

An Inspector Calls Essay Questions Mr Birling is a pompous and an arrogant person. He is pompous because he wants to let people know that he mixes with upper class people. He was pleased to let the Inspector know that his daughter has just become engaged to, Mr Gerald Croft son of Sir George Croft you know, Crofts limited. He is also complacent because he doesnt like to worry about what other people are saying. I say there isnt a chance of war, he says to his family, these are all silly little war scares. Mr Birling refuses to believe the scaremongers that are predicting war. Hes living in his own protective world and doesnt realise whats really going on. Mr Birling shows that the upper classes gets on very well with the police. When Mr Birling and the inspector are talking about the chief inspector Mr Birling announces to Inspector Goole that, perhaps I ought to warn you that hes an old friend of mine, and that I see him fairly frequently. We play golf together up at the West Brumley. The upper class also love talking about their achievements. When Mr Birling is talking to Gerald he boasts that, there is a fair chance that I might find myself into the next honours list. Just a knighthood, of course. This shows that Mr Birling is proud of him self and loves to brag to others of his successes, so that others will respect him more for these outward signs of success. Mr Birling shows us in the play that he is a hypocrite and very worried about his reputation. Mr Birling shows us that he is a hypocrite trying to tell the future. When he is talking to Gerald about the fact that he might be getting a knighthood he says, I gather there is a very good chance if a knighthood so long as we behave ourselves, dont get into the police court or start a scandal. This shows that he is very worried about his reputation because if he does something wrong then hell lose his chance of a knighthood. Mr Birling doesnt believe in the inspectors quote, we are all members of one body. He thinks that we should just fight our own battles and not look after or help others. When talking to Gerald and Eric, Mr Birling says, but the way some of these cranks talk and write now, youd think everybody has to look after everybody else, as if we were all mixed up together like bees in a hive community and all that nonsense. And, I cant accept any responsibility. If we were all responsible for everything that happened to everybody wed had anything to do with, it would be very awkward, wouldnt it? Mr Birling aims to make as much money as possible to enable him to live his upper class life. When discussing business with Gerald, his daughters fianci , Mr Birling says lower costs, higher prices. Mr Birling wants the highest prices for the goods produced in his factory but is determined to pay the lowest wages to the lower class that work for him. At the beginning Sheila is exactly like her mother and father: pompous, spoilt, and arrogant. She expects a lot because of her wealth and social class. Sheila always dresses well in elegant and posh clothes; she speaks extremely well and reveals her background when speaking to others of her class, for instance her mother and father. When speaking to her mother she says, yes, go on mummy, you must drink to our health. She also says, Milwards? We go there, in fact, I was there this morning. And, she was lucky to get taken on at Milwards. When these sentences are put together it shows that she shops at very exclusive shops. This is proving that she has a lot of money because she shops at Milwards. Her attitude at the beginning is snobbish here because she believes that only the best should shop and work there and the employees of Milwards should respect the clients.

Advice on Enrolling at the Florida State College at Jacsonville Essay

Advice on Enrolling at the Florida State College at Jacsonville - Essay Example Many students choose FSCJ over other schools because of the personal approach that FSCJ has, its friendly environment, and the affordable payment schemes (â€Å"Florida State College at Jacsonville Reviews,† 20110). FSCJ accommodates students under the Federal Student Aid or those who intend to seek assistance from the government to finance their college studies. To apply, students need to secure their Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is available in the FAFSA Web sites. The easiest way to apply for federal student aid is to apply online. Paper applications are also accepted but they take more time to process than online applications. The first thing to do is to register and secure a pin number. To be eligible, applicants should demonstrate financial incapability to support their study, be U.S. citizens, enroll in an eligible program, and finished high school. Additionally, male applicants 18–25 years old should register for a selected service. Wi th regard to the requirements, applicants should secure documents such as high school diploma, tax certificate, and so on. Upon completion of the requirements, applicants may then fill out the application form. Next, they should review the Student Aid Report in order to know other matters pertinent to their application, including how to follow up their application. Having decided on the course to take at FSCJ, the applicant should file their application for admission with the FSCJ while still waiting for their federal student aid application results. Similar to FAFSA, the FSCJ Web site offers online applications but the school likewise accepts hand-carried or mailed applications. Applicants are required to take placement tests such as the ACT, FCAT, CPT, PERT, and SAT on a case by case basis. These placement tests determine the applicants’ capabilities in the subject areas to help them decide what courses to take. and in what professions they are likely excel in. Applicants w ho successfully meet the initial requirements may then complete the school orientation, which basically serves as the guide for new students. This program is designed to inform students of the rules, physical structure, and policies of the school. After completion of the orientation program, students will undergo first-term advising. These include understanding the placement results, knowing what classes to take, and familiarizing oneself with the registration process. Through this program, FSCJ ensures all new students are aware of the school policies and that they feel free to ask for assistance from the advisor if the needs arise. FSCJ takes advising and counseling as a serious commitment. Curriculum advising is done to assist students in achieving their academic goals, whereas counseling works to guide students in their personal concerns such as dealing with traumas or crises, coping with stress and problems, and surviving difficulties brought about by unplanned pregnancy, famil y conflict, and so on. Students may avail of advising and counseling support by calling in the Counseling/Advising office and securing an appointment. To ensure taking the right steps in their studies, students should are assigned to an academic advisor who will advise them what classes to take especially for the first term. Students should know their advisor’s name and schedule, and should visit their advisors not only during enrollment. A strong rapport is encouraged between advisors and advisees especially for those who are working, because they need to inform their advisor of their own work schedules. In addition, when talking with the advisor, students

Every Child Matters Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Every Child Matters - Essay Example This funding is also critical to deliver extra training for existing teachers and new comers. ECM has helped to transform opportunities for younger children through better access to childcare, health, early year education and support for families including parenting support. (Handle, 2008, 135)Proposals for the programme are developed and the Secretary of state David Blunkett announced that the first 60 areas of disadvantage had been identified to lead the projects. identify at least one significant initiative related to ECM and consider how the ECM programme would fit and contribute to the locally agreed strategies for social services, health and education, as set out in early years development plan and others. As a condition of funding existing core services have to participate in the ECM programme. (Kleinfeld, 2005, 70) ECM is used as a new way for setting inter agency and inter departmental working , aiming to breakdown barriers that prevent families receiving the co-ordinated services they needed. With focus on outreach and building trust with parents who were not in receipt of services and may have not come forward for help and advice. Every Child Matters presents an opportunity to consider the health and social care needs of those communities and aided in the development for appropriate delivery mechanisms that were in particular culturally sensitive. ECM aimed to bridge the gap between specialised and more general services for eg; Child mental health professionals trained staff so they could work with families where a child had early signs of emotional and behavioural problems thus preventing more serious problems at a later stage. This kind of service is complementary to work to So cial Services not a replacement. In the first three years the programme will support the development of 250 projects, with an aim to develop effective and co-ordinated

Childhood Obesity Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Childhood Obesity - Research Paper Example It should also be noted that children are becoming obese at a younger age and as Ebbeling et al (2002) put it, this can be highly attributed to the sedentary life lived for most part of the day at school. Arguing from Ebbeling claim, it is evident that many obese children take little or no time to engage in physical activities. Research indicates that children age 6-11 are vulnerable to obesity because of the nature of life they lead. For example, a child goes to school by bus, takes most of his time in class seated, and goes home by bus. This child may have no time to engage in an exercise that would result into sweating. Healthy living guides demand that children should engage in physical exercise in order to make them active. Many parents are not aware of the danger involved when a child does not take any exercises. Method of data collection For this research, questionnaires will be used as the method of data collection. The questionnaires will be designed in such a way that it wi ll allow the obese children, parents and teachers or social workers to respond. This will ensure that adequate information is collected relating to the child’s eating habits and level of activity both at home and school. Data collection will take place at home and school with the consent of the teachers and parents. Another method of data collection would be research information obtained from libraries. This information would help to identify aspects that promote obesity among children. Preliminary findings Results obtained so far indicate that many children in the US are becoming obese at a younger age and at the same time; there is a rise in the number of pre-schools in center-based programs (Peiser et al, 2005). According to the findings obesity cases in... The paper tells that main cause of child obesity is physical inactivity is important because childhood obesity is steadily affecting low income and middle-income countries. This means that childhood obesity is not just about eating in excess or getting a lot of calorie-rich drinks and foods. It should also be noted that children are becoming obese at a younger age and as Ebbeling et al put it, this can be highly attributed to the sedentary life lived for most part of the day at school. Research indicates that children age 6-11 are vulnerable to obesity because of the nature of life they lead. For example, a child goes to school by bus, takes most of his time in class seated, and goes home by bus. This child may have no time to engage in an exercise that would result into sweating. Healthy living guides demand that children should engage in physical exercise in order to make them active. Many parents are not aware of the danger involved when a child does not take any exercises. The re port recommends increase in time allocated for physical exercise among children in school. Another recommendation of the report is to limit time taken by children playing non-physical games. This will lead children to active participation. In conclusion, obesity is a disease that results from accumulation of too much fat in the body. Obesity leads to low self-esteem, social stagnation and health complexities. Research findings indicate that physical inactiveness of a child promotes obesity among the children. Largely, accumulation of fats in the body results from eating without spending the same amount of energy.

Mcdonald's Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Mcdonald's - Research Paper Example In fact McDonalds has different Facebook accounts in different countries in which the company operates. â€Å"The McDonald’s US page has more than 27m fans, and its local market pages have all attracted several hundred thousand ‘likes’†(Moth). Even though McDonalds was able to attract millions of people through its Facebook pages, the company is not much interested in posting too many contents on its pages. â€Å"McDonald’s generally posts fewer than five updates a month yet each one attracts several thousand ‘likes’ and comments, which is more than the brands that posts several times per day† (Moth). The company believes that too much postings may bring too little benefits to the company. It should be noted that today’s consumers are living in a world of advertisements. In fact they were fed up with watching meaningless ads. McDonalds knows this consumer psychology very well and places its ads and posts only sparingly in front of the public through its Facebook pages. On the other hand the company is keen on maintaining frequent updates in its Facebook pages in order to avoid the loss of attraction from the public. Unlike many of its competitors, McDonald’s is not much bothered about responding to the comments made by the people through its Facebook pages. The company believes that responding to user comments through Facebook pages may bring more harm than good. At the same time, the company is keen on informing the people about all its product promotions, offers and discounts. McDonald’s has recently conducted a Facebook campaign asking people to take their lunch hour back and enjoy it at McDonald’s. They used different posts for the success of this campaign. Some of them were simple photo images, and the others were questions, and video posts. This campaign was a big success for the company† Click-through rates of content-related interactions are currently more successful

Importance of Technology in Education Research Paper

Importance of Technology in Education - Research Paper Example From the discussion it is clear that access to technology opportunities and devices assists in learning factors of time and place that make mobile learning as an important tool for lifelong knowledge. Education by using technology allow for the use of electronic devices, desktop and smartphones that assist in developing education both for teachers and for students. Technological education provides access to a large broad of selected research in technology and structures organized by technology. Students and technology organize relevant resources that perceive various developments and research for the various completion topics learned using technology in education.As the report discusses wide educational spectrum increases attention by policy makers in making technological education relevant in various aspects. Traditional roles open opportunity for education and learners for quality teaching by allowing the use of technology to assist in developing education standards. Professors in universities and colleges promote the use of technology into various train individuals such as public accountants, armed forces, physicians, and nurses because technology gives them as an easy time to comprehend various aspects of education. Students have various excitements concerning internet technology as subsided to considerable extents.  The role of education based on education promotes curriculum development as an instructional delivery system for students.

Occupy Wall Street Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Occupy Wall Street - Essay Example The strict actions should be taken by the government and other legal bodies to eradicate them from the parks completely. â€Å"The protesters accuse many on Wall Street of unethical and criminal practices. They blame the banking industry for causing the Great Recession, beggaring the American middle class and many senior citizens to the extent that trillions in the assets of Americans in every sector of our society have been lost† (Koch par. 2). To demonstrate an example, a private business has developed much and is much tired of the attack, rapes, public defecations and other illegal activity on their possessions, and request for trespassers to be expelled. Not anything concerning this actuality reminds the First Amendment. The people here totally behave in a messy and a disorganized way by making the places totally unhygienic and polluted. The people at Occupy WallStreet are not menacing anyone excluding the politicians who have determined to apparent them out and defy their right to free speech, passive assembly, and appeal. To state another one example of attempt rape, the rape cases where reported in the parks by the Wall Street Protestants to the ladies who were for a recreation day out. At the beginning on the protesters was frequently youthful, partially as social networks throughout which they encourage the protests are also taken up by the young hands. As the protest grows, elder protesters also grow to be concerned. The normal age group of the activist was 33, with citizens in their 20s evenhanded by citizens in their 40 age group. Diverse spiritual faith has been representing at the protest together with Muslims, Jews, and Christians. The enormous mass of the protesters, considered the logic the unfairness to the all who are concerned. Along with those protester groups are revolutionary who are beside any government, some of whom are looking to connect in violence with the cops; others are essentials

Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA) Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Singapore Airlines Limited (SIA) - Assignment Example It is conclusive to state that although some companies adopt various leadership styles due to other factors such as incompetence, the main determinant of an organization’s leadership is its desired organizational effectiveness. However, it is important to note that leadership is also affected by other factors such as personality, attitude, and beliefs. The core task of leadership in an organization is to establish, develop and sustain an effective organizational culture. Organizational culture refers to the beliefs, feelings, and values of the organization’s personnel. Effective leadership should steer an organizational culture, positively promoting team dynamics, motivation and commitment to the organization’s operations. Organizational leadership plays a significant role in enhancing job satisfaction in an organization’s workforce. According to Quinn and Rohrbaugh, job satisfaction translates into organizational effectiveness. This is because job satisfaction optimizes the productivity of an organization’s workforce. Although there are other parameters that are used to assess organizational performance, the main factor of consideration is productivity. Organizational performance is based on set goals and objectives which are mainly based on the organization’s productivity. Organizational effectiveness is realized through role modeling and strong service organizational leadership.

Primordial Sound Meditation Essay Example for Free

Primordial Sound Meditation Essay Donna Miesbach opens the lecture asking if anyone participates in meditation. Her knowledge begins for her at the age of 17. The passion she emits when teaching primordial sound meditation is evident with the discussion she leads. Informative about Dr. Deepka Chopa making the Vedic tradition of India available and able to read to many people. Bringing meditation back into society. Meditation can be described as entering a state of complete awareness. Meditation is about oneself; you with your mind. A place you can fulfill your purpose, get in tune with your soul, no stress, anxiety or fear. Meditation relieves stress and helps to remember self wholeness. It rejuvenates the cells to wake up, relaxes the physical, mental and energy body, introduces serenity, bliss and clarity all while bringing balance to every area of life. Meditation is stated as a three step process. The basis starts with our state of mind.; many thoughts stimulate and stress our emotional, mental, energy and physical bodies. The meditation station describes the normal state of mind of not being normal but abnormal with effects of receiving sensory stimuli that react in uncontrolled ways. Also that our thoughts can be opposing of each other, thoughts that bring warm, cuddly, relaxed emotions can also initiate fear, anxiety and paranoia. A tool used to transition thru meditation is Mantra, defined as man=mind and tra=instrument so as a whole Instrument of the mind The first step of meditation is gaining control over our mind, to concentrate. All effects are directly or indirectly in all areas of the body and mind. Concentration derived from the Latin words To Center or fixed center point offers mental influence and mental imaging, looking at the word as a whole can be further defined as bring to a common point. and the act or state of bringing to a fixed point or focus. With concentration you are bringing the highest forms of energy, power and forces to a focus point , keeping it from dissolving over multiple areas. Focused concentration can be difficult to achieve with current lifestyle, duties of family, work, school, schedules, appointments all correlate to keep the mind restless. With the obstacles of swirling thoughts, applying the control of voluntary attention and exercising self will are key to facilitate ones control of attention and will . Practicing paying attention to concentration, you gain the experience to exercise your will to just be witness to any distracting thoughts that populate; instead of using imagination or daydreams in lieu of concentrating on the object of your meditation. So primarily the goal in the first area of meditation is to concentrate, provide un forced attention and focus on one object whether its a personalized mantra, a saying, chant or actual object. The next step instructed is mind and body connection and silencing of the mind best known as Meditation. In meditation the attention is unbroken, effortless, a steady flow of concentration. The focused attention is also applied to the object of meditation and the state of meditation that initiates deeper and deeper concentration which then proclaims true knowledge, universal awareness and can begin to restore balance. You become connected to feelings, sensations and everything connected to that object. Best quoted is Albert Einstein Everything in the universe is relative to everything else This deep concentration and connection ultimately brings your meditation to connect you to everything; uniting your object and your mind. The final step of meditation occurs in the state of contemplation and ultimate consciousness. The experience of not being conscious of just our body and thoughts but being part of the universe and cosmos. Some imply it is a birthright and destiny to attune to this state of realization, truth, consciousness and bliss. You become connected to the universe as it is connected to you in a simple, spontaneous action. Nothing is forced, what happens is what is supposed to happen. Meditation takes practice. Overall patience and understanding to accomplish the deepest form of meditation requires you to have the abilities of focusing on an object, reject unwanted/unwarranted thoughts not related to the object, promoting the power to controlled thoughts, the capacity to stop them, comprehension to separate ones self from thoughts, and all is done to master and achieve a silent mind. This deep state of meditation refers to the silent mind as a powerful experience. A silent mind is related to being alert and sensitive to surroundings, compassionate towards others, removing harmful notions from the mind, judgments, rejection, hatred, anger, jealousy and any thought process that is implying one of being wrapped in ones own confusions. Primordial sound mediation is best explained as a healing practice. Experience inner peace and it reminds oneself of our essence, improves inspiration, compassion, love, health, enthusiasm and creativity in daily living and relations. Primordial sounds consist of basic, essential sounds and vibrations from nature. Mantras are primordial sounds that are depicted from the Vedic mathematics, which determine the exact sound or vibrations developed using the date, time and location of a persons birth. If used correctly to influence the quieting of the mind, you can fall into meditation easier and faster. The mantra guides you from levels of clustered thought activities, to complete silence. You are no longer affected by internal commotion and are able to in-tune to true, and peaceful awareness of the universe. This allows the mind, physical body and energy network that supports and sustains the physical body ability to function at maximum effectiveness. Mantra deepens meditation, it blesses our lives with the universe ,provides true knowledgeable wealth of the soul, gives a roadmap to heightened awareness and clears, relaxes, and rejuvenates the body.. There are many types, forms and ways of meditation. All meditation types possess the ability to restore physical, mental and emotional self well being. The fact that we use roughly 5% of our minds substantiates the importance of relaxing beyond the busyness and ciaos. Other meditation can include walking, simple, mindfulness, journey, vibrational and central channel meditation, all techniques allow anyone to incorporate and fit into their lifestyle. The tasks of the present day insist that people are more human doings with the constant feeling of needing to be doing something or going somewhere, always doing. We need to be referring to ourselves as human beings so it incorporates the importance of attention, concentration, self peace and we are just beings; here to be!

The Next Catastrophe Essay Example for Free

The Next Catastrophe Essay A catastrophe is a sudden event that causes very great trouble or destruction or a bad situation.   This can be in the form of a terrorist activity or a disaster either God or man made.   After September 11, Business activities have been on catastrophes due to the economic implications of such disaster. Some countries in the united states and fir4st world countries are located at areas that may be prone to such economics of scale are aimed at achieving the greatest returns possible given a low cost of all factors inputs and this helps in increasing of the markets value of a company in the industry.    Catastrophic have extremely emergency economic implications to business firms because they normally destroy property, which includes machinery, building, plant and equipment and also goods in stock. The effect of three is that such property helps in the production processes, which produce outputs, to be sold in the market.   These saws gain profit, which is then shared between the company stakeholders.   These include shareholders, Debenture holders and long/short term cinders to the company. With the destruction caused by catastrophes the flow of benefits form the company to all parties in question is disturbed.   Some catastrophes are politically motivated like and September 11 is the government duty and responsibility to secure the resident and business non-resident community in the country. These are contributors to the revenue collected by the government in terms of taxation.   If business is affected by catastrophes, there work is enough sales, profit and tax to the government.   In the case of natural catastrophes government involvement is also very necessary.   Aid should be given to fund reconstruction and recovery efforts by the business community.   Companies have a right to be protected and * in case of a catastrophe because of the amounts that they combine to the government through taxation. The next catastrophe relates to the extend of preparedness to ensure that incase of a natural or artificial terrorist attack or disaster measures are in place to ensure that regardless of the exposure to catastrophes, a company will still continues to enjoy its economics to scale because there disasters negatively affect the operations of the company.   Government’s assistance is therefore very necessary in both preventive precautionary measures and after catastrophe remedy in reconstruction and recovery efforts. Lee and Perrow 39,8 1040 – 1056 The next terrorist or disaster attack may be natural thus includes earthquakes or even floods which may be very destructive or through ethnology.   This can be in the form of nature or a computerized terrorist attack.   The focus should be on how prepared everybody is including the government; measures should ensure that such could be defected in advance and corrective action taken.   People don’t have power over natural forces and their investment can be normally affected.   Government scientists should detect such and alert the business community in time in order to take necessary measures, which might include relocation nomatter the lost because a stitch in time saves nine. The government should also ensure that terrorist attacks on grounds are avoided because these are cases of another government nation individuals not happy about the governments stand or past reaction / action on some global issues and the business community ends up suffering thanks the ruling system.   As was the case for September 11. Those around times to work hard their buildings property plants and machinery brought down and hence their operations came to a standstill.   This leaned to loss of revenue, profit, terming per share went down, loans were taken to help in recovery and Goodwill of the company was destroyed.   Relationship between the company and suppliers employees, clients, and company guarantors were all not as before and the public image of such companies was messed up. The questions here is how to avoid such so that the acquired economic of scale can be utilized due to continuity of operations.   Perpetuity of business centuries also determines its extend of economies of scale both internal and external. The next catastrophe may destroy the perpetuity concept of business companies.   Business assumes that they should control to operate for the enforceable future and thus is preparing that may be due to the next disaster.   Even this is tampered with, inefficiencies and massiveness occur and therefore output is achieved at high cost especially if a firm is located at a place than is extremely exposed to calamities. The government should give growth or even funds to the companies to ensure that reserve accounts are not utilized and the balance sheet sir destabilized.   Disasters at the moment are the main source of worry to business around the United States metropolitan because they cannot be of my economic value due to the costs incurred.   After September 11, it was not easy for all entities to relocate and with the continued war on Iraq and the United states impact on the war another error attack may be due to anytime. Bush’s stand on the war of a concern to the republicans who form the business community.   Revenge by the Iraq may be expected and this will mainly be at big cities where such attackers aim to have a   maximum destruction. To the republicans, the president’s stand may be initiating another attack and businesses around these regions will be greatly affected.   Once businesses are affected this growth and development is affected and production may not be at low cost due to the funds utilized to desk with terrorist affects.   The market value to affected companied go down due to low volumes of sales, which determine profits and earnings per share. Investors may not want to invest in such areas because their return on investments may be low and may decide to invest in other parts of the world. This leads to low funds and finance for company, which is needed to make more investments and or start new project. Clarke and short (1993), 21-23 High-risk facilities like all New Jersey where major oil gas, pipeline companies and railways are located business people around that area are always worried about the past catastrophe.   These are areas where terrorists may be invested and may stake in revenge.   Business are said to be interested in one way because both product and service industries need one another for the effective and efficient performance railway lines are need for the transfer of factor inputs and outputs if they are destroyed, other means of transport may not be cheap and therefore this average cost of production may be high.   This leads to diseconomies of scale because high revenues are matched wit high costs and low profits are gained. The timings per share are reduced.   Investors may decide to buy shares of other company’s because there is no economic value due to the low comings per share.   Incase the government does not come in these costs of services may go up to the disadvantage for investors.   Location of sites in such high-risk areas may not be avoided and firms may suffer die to catastrophes that they may not have control over. Pipelines and gas companies are m* needed by manufacturing companies due to the factor inputs.   When destroyed, firms may have to look for other forms of energy, which may be liked in areas due to low supply, which cannot be matched with the existing demand.   Goodwill that has been created is no longer in one and diseconomies of scale false the company.   Unnecessary costs are incurred which violates the set budgetary expenditure, health, economies of scale. In determining the business location, many factors are considered and therefore a site may be admirable due to other factors regardless to the vulnerability of the region to catastrophes.   More disasters may be considered to be interminable so a company may decide to ignore the next catastrophe.   However, caution is that such firms together with the government should know what to do incase of a disaster because this may reverse the economics of scale.   Other factors that a company considered in choosing its site may be enabling growth and development of a company which censures low factor input costs.   Perrow (1984), 16,19. Catastrophes are normally abrupt and will be economically viable given that they may not be directly related benefit.   Average product cost goes up after including all costs that have been incurred in dealing with the catastrophe.   The prices of commodities will remain constant and exercise losses occur.   Return on investment, return on sales, and acid test varies all become unfavorable to the shareholders together with the management.   The employee may also lack motivation and thus may lead to magnificent leading to low quality or area wastages and idle time, which is very costly to the company. Lack of government involvement in a discouragement to investors because at times the finances may be available to the companies affected and the calls for governments intervention.   Business vulnerable to catastrophes should always be considered in the government budget for every year under disaster management funds.   This is what the government owes the taxpayers the next catastrophes should have very minimal impact on those affected and this will be government duty.   Business community in such areas should keep a eye on the government to ensure that they are prepared and what happened after September 11 doesn’t occur. Economic costs and time, which is valuable, should all be considered when carrying up with a catastrophe preparedness scheme?   Time lost during reconstruction and recovery may never be recounted to employees are destabilized; suppliers and company’s clients are disturbed and may lack for other clients and supply point.   This is and advantage at the expense of the affected companies. Perrow (2005) 34,2; 99 -107 Delays caused by these catastrophes may also affect the company to the unforeseeable future.   The government regulatory bodies, which include the homeland security office, should consider all these and take measures as required.   Catastrophes may require research for development purposes.   The cost for research will increase the average cost per unit and reduces profit margins.    This in itself is a diseconomy of scale, which could has been enjoyed by the company if operations were not disrupted.   The objective of all firms is to maximize revenue profit subject to factors inputs.   These research expenses may not be of use to the company immediately and will greatly affect the customers of the company and hence the objectivity of the financial statements which will greatly be affected.   It is therefore necessary for the government to fund research out of these catastrophes so that the average cost of outputs is not increased. Perrow (2007) 6 – 10 Catastrophes may lead to hanger in techniques used in production.   Relocation may also affect the enthusiasm of the employees and may not have the motivation to improve the quality of producers.   Marketing the company will also be necessary after the next catastrophe in order to improve the affected companied image.   After the next catastrophe, suppliers and consumers may also want to help away from the vulnerable region and this has a greater economic implication. After September 11, focus shifted form achieving short-term and long-term goals to the issue of safety form catastrophiles.   It is the government’s duty to ensure that its residents and foreigners in the country are secure.   Government goodwill will be showing concern for this and should be ready to take measures that impress the country allies because its such people who financially deal with the economic antis in the country.   Attention on safety is not very economically bitable even in areas prone to catastrophiles.   This leads to an ignorance of other duties that the company’s management owes the stakeholders of the company inducing increasing market value to the company in the industry. Pidgeon 5,1, 1-14 Vulnerable companies may ignore the idea of professional growth and development of its staff.   Labour is very important for a company to achieve its long tern and short-term objectives.   The human capital is therefore affected by catastrophiles as well the case for September 11.   People result to mobility and theory therefore transfer their ability to other regions that are not vulnerable.    Employee’s ability improved by working for a particular organization is provided to other firms in other regions.   The government should endure the working population that their interest are being considered by the government investment in the next catastrophe preparedness and they should therefore not seek employment else where.   Labour mollify of a diseconomy of scale because more capital will be employed in recruiting and training new staff.   This is a direct cost of production leading to high average cost of production. Ripma 5,1, 15 -23. The environment is also affected by both natural and physical catastrophiles. Jacob , Brain 13,2,34 –43 In conclusion, all business people an citizens of a particular country need a clean environment free form pollution caused by catastrophes.   The economic implication of environment should be considered in the next catastrophe.   The government’s deregularization of homeland security efforts has left many high-risk entrepreneurs to be greatly affected by catastrophiles either natural or artificial.   The government should increase funds for the next catastrophe preparedness in order to avoid the effects of all levels of the economic at domestic level because these are market and industry players. La Porte, Todd and Rochlin , 214, 221 – 227.             Reference: Clarke, L. and Perrow, C. (1996). Prosaic Organizational Failure, Thousand Oaks: The American Behaviorist, 39, 8; 1040-1056 Clarke, L. and Short F., J. (1993). Social Organization and Risk: Some Current Controversies, Pullman, Washington: Annual Review of Sociology,21-23 Heakel R. (2003). Economies of Scale. Options Express http://www.investopedia.com/articles/03/012703.asp   Retrieved on 10/19/2007 Jacobs, Brian. (2005). Urban Vulnerability: Public Management in a Changing World, Malden, MA: Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 13, 2, 39-43 La Porte, R., Todd and Rochlin, G. (1994). A Rejoinder to Perrow, Cambridge, MA: Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 2,4, 221-227 Perrow, C. (1984). Normal Accidents: Living with High-Risk Technologies, New Jersey: Princeton University Press,16,19 Perrow, C. (2005). Organizational or Executive Failures?, Washington: Contemporary Sociology, 34, 2; 99-107 Perrow, C. (2007). The Next Catastrophe: Reducing Our Vulnerabilities to Natural, Industrial, and Terrorist Disasters, New Jersey: Princeton University Press 6-10 Pidgeon, Nick. (1997). The Limits to Safety, Culture, Politics, Learning and Man-Made Disasters, Malden, MA: Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 5, 1, and 1-14 Ripma, A., Jos (1997). Complexity, Tight-Coupling and Reliability: Connecting Normal Accidents Theory and High Reliability Theory, Malden, MA: Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 5,1, 15-23

Reflective Skills Essay

Reflective Skills Essay Reflective Skills Essay Do people develop professional skills only at their workplace? I would be writing about the skills and knowledge I have gained in the last 10 15 years. You dont have to work in an organization to gain skills and knowledge. Even while at home you can learn something that might help you at your workplace. Sometimes people dont realize that they have developed skills that can be used effectively in their workplace. In this essay I am going explain the skills and knowledge I have developed through work, education and other activities how this could help me in a workplace. First Im going to talk about the skills I have developed from my hobbies and day to day activities. Its actually surprising to know how much you can learn while having fun. After that Im going to talk about the skills I am developing academically at present. Playing cricket is one of my biggest hobbies and as a cricketer I am a wicket keeper. Being a wicket keeper, my role isnt just to collect missed deliveries and score runs but is also to motivate and inspire the team every minute so that my team members dont get sluggish in their respective roles and perform towards success. Once familiarized with the team I can act as a good motivator. This skill can not only help me to motivate other employees in my workplace but it also gives me the ability to work with little or no supervision as I can motivate myself to work towards achieving my goal. In todays workplace, team leaders have to encourage and motivate their teams in order to perform well. A strong motivator can act as the backbone of the team. This skill is one of the essentials required to be a good leader in any kind of workplace. Employers are also looking out for people with creative minds. By nature I am a very creative person. I look at things in a very different prospective. Usually I would take an original idea and expand upon it using my creativity, which can also sometimes lead to something else completely new. It has to do with thinking beyond the obvious. This is the secret to how the minds of creative people work. For instance, with music, the first type of genre was baroque music played during the 1600s and from that evolved a lot different genres. In todays date we have more than 400 music genres. This was possible only because of some creative minds who thought of doing things differently. Employers want their employees to have the ability to solve problems using their creativity and reasoning skills. An innovative problem solver can take an organization, irrespective from which industry, to the next level. One of my other favorite hobbies is travelling and I would often find myself in a situation of convincing some friends to come along. Usually I would succeed 9 out of 10 times, as they say I always manage to get things my way. This can also be called the art of diplomacy. Now having employees with the ability to persuade people can be very useful for an organization as they can face situations in which they might have to persuade a client or a trade union to reach an agreement. This skill can also be related to the sales ability of an employee. Travelling has also shown me that I can be a responsible person as I would make all the plans in detail, do the math for the expenses to be occurred, make sure every one is having a good trip and everything else is under control. One of the basic yet most important skills is to communicate effectively with other people. Everyone has been naturally practicing this skill since they were able to speak, listen or write, yet communication gap between the employers and employees still seems to be one of the major concerns in many organizations. In order to have a productive workplace, they should always be effective communication between the employee and employer. Successful communication is critical in business. I have developed good communication skills over the time. I can easily converse and make the other person understand and communicate with me either verbally or written. Along with this my listening skills are good as I listen to the other person patiently and then engage in communication with what that other person was speaking about. I can improve upon this skill by practicing more. A few other basic skills that I have acquired are computing and numeracy. Schools in India never allowed the use of calculators. I always wondered why we couldnt use calculators while schools across the world were allowed, but now when I look back, I realize why. Doing basic calculations mentally, without the use of a calculator has helped me sharpen my numeracy skill. Each day, people use simple math skills in their jobs and personal live in order to complete projects and other job duties. A recent large scale survey in the UK showed that people who have better literacy and numeracy skills tend to have better wages and come to work more often. One way of improving this skill is by avoiding the calculator when whenever a need of calculation arises. My interest in IT has enabled me to carry out all the basic computing tasks at ease. I always had an interest for it and I utilized everything taught at school like Web designing, HTML, QBASIC, SQL and a lot more. Almost every job now requires some basic understanding of computer hardware and software, especially word processing, spreadsheets, and email. Lack of IT knowledge can affect the performance and future prospects of an employee. While I did my schooling in India, our knowledge gained was always tested in the unseen exam format. After joining university I was exposed to new tasks like conducting presentations and writing report. When I was first assigned to conduct a presentation I was a bit nervous as I had never done this before in front of people I dint know. Later I was advised to practice in front of a mirror and it did work. My second presentation went better than the first. Being able to conduct a presentation with confidence is a very important skill to develop especially in the field of HR. One effective way by which I can improve upon this skill is by preparing my self well in advance so that I dont get nervous and referring to books and articles relating to improving presentation skills Another skill I developed while conducting presentations and writing reports in university is Teamwork. Working in teams is probably one of the most vital skills required to succeed in a workplace, especially with regard to how you communicate with the people you work with. 9 out of 10 jobs require you to work with teams. Working in teams with a diverse group of people has helped me understand how to communicate with my different co-workers and understand their views when solving a problem. Teamwork has a lot of benefits to offer, one of it being it helps to generate a lot of different ideas which leads to a creative solution and it definitely speeds up the process. Having more projects involving teamwork will surely prepare me once I start working at a professional level where my skill would be tested. Since Ive started an independent life after shifting to the UK I learnt how to be organized. Being organized has a lot of benefits attached to it. It has proven to be both cost and time effective. It also helps to boost confidence and give more energy to work. Employers would love to have all their employees being organized in their work.

Equal Opportunities Or Managing Diversity In Organisations Are These J

Introduction Equal opportunities are very important in the modern workplace. Providing equal opportunities involves providing the same opportunities to all the employees and prospective employees regardless of their sex, age, disabilities, ethnic origins, sexual orientations etc. Equal opportunities allow the employee to have rights therefore the employer is unable to take advantage, discriminate or manipulate staff. Employers have an element of power over their employees but by having the law on the side of the employees, employers therefore need to think twice before discriminating in any form. Organisations will need to ensure that there is no unlawful or unfair discrimination. Employees are not stupid – a company that behaves badly to one employee will do the same to another, and then one day it could be them. In the workplace there should be no form of discrimination. Alleged cases of discrimination can be taken to an industrial tribunal or a body such as the Race Relations Board. â€Å"The prejudiced person is capable of rationalising the situation in a such a way as to conclude that the person he or she met unique in some respects and is unlike stereotype.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   (McKenna 1994) Employee View When you start work you have several expectations. For one thing, you expect to get paid, unless you are a voluntary worker. You also expect to be paid a fair wage in relation to other people in similar jobs and to receive money at specified times. You expect to be treated fairly and reasonably by both your boss and by others who work within the same organisation. You expect to work in a clean and safe environment and not be asked to undertake dirty or dangerous jobs for which you have received no training or protective clothing. You expect to have holidays and to work a reasonable number of hours each week. As an Employee you have a right to:  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To be given a written statement of the terms and conditions of your employment  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Be allowed to choose whether or not you join a trade union  §Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Not to be discrimi... ...sconception. People are not equal not can they have equal opportunities. Native talents vary from person to person and it is an illusion to think otherwise. Moreover the human resource manager spends a great deal of time discriminating between one employee and another. Differences between employees abound the terms of skills, attitudes, human relations, education and so on. People are not equal and therefore their opportunities for advancement or achievement of personal aims will differ markedly. The key issues for human resourcing is that the respect for people requires that they are free to stay and use their skills and abilities in the way they want. Organisations cannot provide equal opportunities but they can provide open access to selection processes and ensure that discrimination between candidates is not based on unfair or unlawful factors. Equal opportunities is important in companies. First an organisation will want to ensure that it meets any statutory provision. Secondly, it may wish to project an image as a good employer to demonstrate that it puts faith in its people both to attract and to retain employees and also as part of a customer-oriented strategy.

Powers of a Monopolistic Anarchy Essay example -- Essays Papers

Powers of a Monopolistic Anarchy While the Microsoft Empire maintains its status as a vast company of large-scale production, readily contributing to the national GDP, and yielding high interest and profits to its associates, criticism and controversial accusations keep mounting. The thought of a monopoly as the economic device for good business seems almost mind-boggling to Microsoft’s competing corporations, as well as the entire economic community, legal and commercial. Why is monopoly such an undesirable practice? Why does the Microsoft Monopoly, in particular, violate the antitrust laws, and how far ought the government go in its efforts to regulate and fight such monopoly. What are the economic crimes that Microsoft is guilty of? Is it, in fact, true when the critics argue that, â€Å"Microsoft gained its dominance over 20 years... [which ended] with a virtual barrier to entry for rival operating system software marketsâ€Å" (The Making of a Monopoly). Is it true that Microsoft has eliminated all of its concurrent competition, and stabilized its power to the extent of a complete monopoly. Or is there perhaps a validation for Microsoft’s practices in the saying that everything is fair in business. Two Theories of Monopoly Before mentioning the strength of Microsoft’s influence on domestic, as well as the foreign economy, it is crucial to examine the significance of a monopoly, and how it relates to a country’s fiscal structure. According to Webster’s dictionary, a monopoly is â€Å"the exclusive ownership and control of a commodity or service in a given market† (Webster’s Dictionary 337). Predictably, thought, there are degrees of control, and thus degrees of monopoly. The economic theory separates the idea of a mono... ...ectly affecting the consumers. Perhaps the best solution to Microsoft’s authority would include structural remedies, such as the divestiture remedy, which may be less subject to gaming, but pose the risk of substantial costs. However, other sources suggest that the most effective remedy may be that the government’s victory eases the way for plaintiffs in private antitrust suits to collect monetary damages, which could be sufficient to deter future anticompetitive conduct (Journal of Economic Perspectives). Whatever the approach to resolving this issue may be, it is certain that the Microsoft monopoly can no longer enjoy its precedent benefits. Nonetheless, there remains a grand possibility that Microsoft will be able to maintain its power to at least some extent, due to the fact that their products are needed, and their competition remains inadequate.

Women Deserve the Same Rights as Men Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive

Women Deserve the Same Rights as Men From the beginning of time, females have played a powerful role in the shaping of this world. They have stood by idly and watched as this country moved on without them, and yet they have demanded equal rights as the nation rolls along. Through the years the common belief has been that women could not perform as well as men in anything, but over the years that belief has been proven wrong time and time again. So as time marches on, women have clawed and fought their way up the ladder to gain much needed equal respect from the opposite sex. However, after many years of pain and suffering, the battle for equal rights has not yet been won. Since women have fought for a long time and proven their importance in society, they deserve the same rights as men. Before women can prove they too deserve the same rights as men, they must first put to rest the myths and beliefs of their status in this country. This myth of the female status in the United States, and in most other places in the world, has always been the same. It is the belief that women should be in the kitchen, taking care of the kids, and the house, amongst other beliefs. However, in today's society, this is considered ludicrous. For instance, in her essay, 'Ain't I a Woman?' Sojourner Truth delivers a powerful message and addresses the issues of women in the society. She argues that women should have equal rights, because they can do the same things as men. For example she says, ?That man over there says that women need to be helped into carriages, and lifted over ditches, and to have the best place anywhere. Nobody helps me into no carriages, or over no mud puddles, or gives me any best place? (348). She, then, con... ...t women do not deserve the same rights as men, is not really a man, but instead a sad pitiful little boy who is a poor excuse of a life form. A real man would never disrespect a woman, because disrespecting the rights of any woman is just as disrespecting the rights of one?s own mother. They have fought long and hard and now they should get the equal rights which they rightly deserve. Works Cited Rich, Adrienne. ?What Does a Woman Need to Know The Presence of Others 3rd ed. Ed. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St. Martin?s, 2002. 65-71 Truth, Sojourner ?Ain?t I a Woman The Presence of Others 3rd ed. Andrea A. Lunsford and John J. Ruszkiewicz. New York: St. Martin?s, 2002. 348-349 The United States Declaration of Independence www.nara.gov/exhall/charters/declaration/decmain.html

HP Case study analysis Essay

Hewlett Packard Company was founded in 1939 by Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard. The company was incorporated in 1947 and became a public company in 1957. HP is based in the United States and has its headquarters located in Palo Alto, California. The company has specialized in the development and manufacture of personal computers, computer peripherals, software and hardware. The main products are personal computer hardware, data storage appliances and other related devices. HP markets its products to individual customers as well as corporate customers. The company has adopted both direct and online marketing strategies for its products in the global markets. Since its establishment, the company has encountered stiff competition from other companies in the global markets. In the last one decade, the company has adopted several strategies to improve performance and create sustainable market position in the global scene. The merger with Compaq was established with an aim of improving the global position of the company as well as adopting better technologies (Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L. P. 2010). HP has adopted various strategies to improve its market share in the global scene. Adoption of modern technology has been a major success factor in the efforts to come up with differentiated products. There has been stiff competition in the market leading to decline in the market share for the company. The management has made tremendous change to ensure its brands are acceptable in many markets all over the world (Harris, 2007). External Environment Technology in the personal computing industry has been very innovative and this has been adopted by HP to manufacture competitive products. A team of researchers has been hired to carry out innovative products. The company has a good system which integrates cultural diversity by working with different personnel and customers. The culture of the company is compatible with different national cultures as well as diversified social systems. HP employs people from different cultures to work in regions where they understand the cultural practices. Few cultural conflicts have been experienced at the company. The political climate has been very good in the regions where the company has its operations. Global economic crisis of the 2007/2008 affected the performance of the company since the sales volume reduced by a great margin. The company is recovering from the shock of the economic crisis and profits have been recorded in the recent past (Malone, 2007). Industry Analysis (Porter’s Framework) Bargaining power of buyers There is no single influential buyer in the industry. There are many buyers in the market this does not provide any single buyer a strong bargaining power. Since the company markets its products to both corporate and individual customers, there are a diversified number of customers and in case one customer fails, there are others to support the company (Banna, 2008). Bargaining power of suppliers Suppliers to the company are many and there is no single supplier with monopoly of providing materials to the company. This provides the company with enough control over its suppliers since prices for products are reduced. There is no dominant supplier in the market and the company has adequate control over the pricing strategies adopted by the suppliers (Banna, 2008). Rivalry among competitors Stiff competition in the industry has resulted to rivalry among competing firms. Each company has differentiated its products to attract as many customers as possible. Use of modern technologies to develop market oriented products has been a common practice at the company and this has enabled the management to come up with better products. Rivalry among competitors in the market has resulted into price wars where companies are introducing different pricing strategies for their products (Banna, 2008). Threat of potential entry of new companies There is no regulation on entry of new companies in the industry and this has resulted into many companies entering the market. This has resulted into stiff competition for the available opportunities in the market. There are no barriers of entry to the industry and this has provided better opportunities for new investors to establish themselves in the market. The technology used in the industry is not restrictive and new companies can access ideas and knowledge about production of similar products. High profits made by existing companies in the industry have attracted more potential companies to invest in the industry. In addition, there are no barriers for excess capacity to exit the industry. The potential profits in the industry have made the large number of competitors fail to exit the market and this has resulted into price wars (Banna, 2008). Threat of substitute products Threat for substitute products has been great since there are different products which can be substituted for the HP product range. There are no barriers to introducing substitute products and companies are free to come up with better alternative products in the industry. There are many substitute products in the industry and this has intensified the level of competition (Banna, 2008). Critical Success Factors (CSFs) HP has a strong brand image in the global market. The computing industry has recognized that HP has developed better strategies of promoting its brand image. Brand management has been successfully been done by creating innovative technologies which provide better market position to the company. The quality of the products manufactured by the company is high and this has provided better opportunities to compete successfully in the global market. As the company maintains a high quality profile for its products, it has also managed to increase the volume of output from its production systems. The company has adopted mass production and this provides economies of scale. As the volume of production increases; the cost of production decreases. The company has established strong systems of governance to manage its resources effectively. Project management strategies have been adopted to maintain high technology levels in the company. IT systems of the company have been developed to compete successfully with substitute products in the market. A strong team of research has been established to carry out market surveys for developing products which will provide a large market share in the current market situation and in the future (Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L. P. 2010).

HR Management-Compensation Essay

The dedicated importance prone to earnings counsel by HR coach-and-fours for recruiting and selecting apt capitals of the validation, yields higher prospective benefits of captivating favor sufficient workforce. So, same is the situation confronted with this particular devoted up caseful, in which charitable resource manager is required to fill Shannon Albright, who is having strong educational, superior and experienced background in wear department.In order to hire her as a financial accountant, manager has wide-awake a descent proposal in regard of earnings package by considering indispensable and remote equities, which are matched because with g all overning bodys requirement and resources. fee Management Employees are no long-dated bounded with the concept of labor who kit and caboodle only for open. Now, they are considered as the pro quite a littlenal capital of the musical arrangement. The more than, government activity is allow foring to fit out for the work do by its employees, the more it earns the profit.It does require wellspring focal point of compensating employees against their services, abilities, skills, and so forth endered to the organization through profit packages, inducing devises, and a nonher(prenominal) benefits. In order to right the employees, organization generally follows a philosophy. This remuneration philosophy not only deals with the individual factor of just hire only. that in fact it defines the fixed generate of an employee which is in symmetry with the labor market place, it defines the inconsistent pay which depends on the employee accomplishance and former(a) boilersuit benefits, which complicate medical care, heart and accident insurance, and retirement pay send off that the employee volition get after recruitment in the organization.The organization whose compensation management is fine tuned with keep an eye on to companys budget, internal and external equities of bum pay structure are well balance apprize have a combative edge over its competitors in the market because it results in low employee turnover ratio and the human resource of the organization impart work with boosted motivation of being secured in their current position. It as well as helps to grab right workforce from the market who are considered as good market player. because, if the given case is concerned, the HR manager needs to hire an employee named as Shannon Albright as a financial accountant for its organization, for whom he thinks as a best choice for this position. So, before recruiting her, he has to image a descent fee package, inducing plan and other benefits that leave be offered to her in order to recognize her accept this proposal.Compensation PackageThe compensation package for her would be in concurrence with the profits survey research of capital of Massachusetts, MA. Hence according to the allowance survey research, the financial accountant is acquire base pay of $79,090, $5,140 as bounty and $12,021 other benefits, that makes the overall compensation package of $96,251 annually on average (Salary expert, website). Based on this salary data, the HR manager has to offer slightly attractive offer so that Shannons demands regarding her compensation package are fulfilled.Hence, considering the external equity, manager needs to ponder on the internal equity as well because if it is not concerned it will horrify the other employees of the organization if the sassy employee is getting more than its jobs worth as per the organization and it can onus negatively on the new employee when he/she is getting little(prenominal) as per pay structure of the organization which is paying more to other employee but paying less to newer ones.If this case is taken under consideration, than for Shannon, HR manager should offer her little situation more than the average salary of the Bostons business market, and that is about $100,000 replete(p) annual salary, which consist of $75,000 as base salary, $12,000 as performance base bonus bonus and $13,000 as overall benefits given to her by the company. The total salary is alike in uniformity with companys budget because of their growing business operations, an good financial accountant was necessary to induct. collectable to the absence of this post in the organization, thither were many delays in their operations with respect to finance, which were resulting in considerable bolshie to organization on behalf of finance department on that pointfore, this loss will be covered by recruiting her into the organization. As far as internal equity is concerned, organizations nearly of the salary packages are in accordance with market salary packages. Hence, in this federal agency Shannons salary is in accordance with external as well as internal equity.Incentive PlanWhen the organization targets for specific position and post and there is less number of specialist s for that position than organization needs to develop an incentive plan which helps to retain existing employees, and attract new employees to the organization. The incentive plan is generally highly-developed to recruit such employees whose supply is less but demand is more and it also helps to boost the morale of existing employee to perform better because incentives are directly proportionate to the performance appraisal of the employees.In this case, HR manager has to develop an incentive plan to recruit Shannon into the organization. The incentive plan consists of incentive options. Although, more than preceding(prenominal) average of the bonus salary is sanctioned to Shannon according to salary data, therefore theses options will make her discover that bonus. These options include sign on bonus, get a line based incentive, compensatory leave, and annual leave (HRM manual, 2000). peculiarity on bonus consists of $5000 written concordance between organization and Shannon, that by judge this offer, organization will give her this much amount at the end of the category of her joining.Later on, this payment will be included in project based incentive, which will be given to her on completion of successful project at the end of fiscal year, but for the jump year of her joining that amount is not more than $7000. Similarly, she will be given compensatory leaves for doing extra work and that leaves will be given to her whenever she desires. In a year, she will be having one month leaves and that will be her annual leave incentive option. Benefits PlanAs per existing constitution of the company she will be offered other benefits as well which are chiefly focused on health and offbeat of an employee. The specific portion of the total salary consists of benefits plan, which is aligned to give above mentioned benefits to her. The welfare and health benefit plan include retirement plan, saving plan, medical insurance, alveolar insurance, etc. (ConocoPh illips, website). A specific portion of funds will be allocated to above mentioned benefits plan. This is the investment that will be done by the company itself for Shannon.Conclusion In a gist, an efficient compensation management by HR manager produces a unique competitive advantage over its competitors because if organization is not doing well on its part with respect to development of its human resource, it wont be able to collect good intellectuals in its organization. An organization with strong and efficient workforce can achieve remarkable goals even with express mail resources and capabilities. In this regard, the management must promote their generosity in giving good compensation packages.

American expressionism: art and social change Essay

Art is a dynamic conception that has continued to evolve. Since its inception, imposture has evolved finished and through various private roads representing several(a) themes and philosophies. Artists aligned to specific ruseistic production dejections have contributed in advancing their philosophies in the specific goals represented. From the 18th to the twenty-first century, invention trends have impacted greatly on the society.The love story Movement The wild-eyedism achievement originated towards the halt of the 18th century in Europe. The movement advocated for the abrupt spend of color to bring issue the true(p) aflame feel of an aesthetic experience. According to Dempsey (2002), the ecesis of intense emotional experience in optic arts stressed on emotions likes anxiety and horror. The plentiful reflection of an artist was an imperative aspect in the Romantic era an artists feelings and expressions form the basis of inspiration towards the producti on of art drub (Scaglia, 2011). Creativity formed the basis of innovation upon which the Romanticism movement thrived. Nationalism and temper were central themes ground wounding by Romantic artists (Scaglia, 2011). The Romanticism movement laid an immense interest in nature. The reason shadow the love for nature in esthetic feat during the movement was the philosophical article of faith that a conjunctive with nature was emotionally and ethically healthy. Moreover, artists based their plant life on a nationalism program by fostering national development.The naturalal design of the period drew strong regularize from the political circles. The noble political and companionable norms of the period triggered the rise of Romanticism. Romantic artists revolted against aristocracy want to instill liberal tendencies through their expressions. On an economic ground, the industrial revolution had an influence on the movement. The movement was conflicting to the corrupt nature that the society was adopting. The elaboration of liberalism and free expression contributed in the development of the movement.Thomas Jones, The Bard (1774)Egide Charles (1834) The Belgian vicissitudeThe visual arts explore the connection amidst Romanticism and nationalism. The paintings illustrate the artists riding habit of nature as well as interpreting societys need for nationalism respectively.Synchromism The movement started in 1912 down the stairs the innovative works of Stanton Mc-Donald-Wright and Morgan Russell (Scaglia, 2011). The artists are acknowledged as among the pioneer abstract painters in the US. Wright and Russell used the syncromy musical mode in their abstract paintings. The drift was based on the fastidious innovation, that sound and color have a connection. The idea behind Synchromism posited that alter in art can have the similar harmonious genius as notes in music. The innovation behind the movement was that a painting can have the very(pren ominal) complexity as music, if colors are coherent in scales. Contrary to other forms, Synchromism did not use lines, but only color and shape in aesthetical expressions.Having begun before the First World War, the movement posited that realism was no longer significant in visual art there was need for a kernelful expression of art in the innovative world (Scaglia, 2011). The cultivation of realism in the advanced(a) art world was fading hence, the rise of the movement was attributed to the philosophy that innovation, and an artists feelings, as opposed to realism, was more dominant.Stanton MacDonald-Wright, Airplane Synchromy in Yellow-Orange (1920)Morgan Russell, Cosmic Synchromy (1913-14)The paintings by Wright and Russell display the use of color to come up with abstract paintings. The shapes illustrate the influence of imaginative elegant expression to come up ideas that are not in the realist physical nature. The style of the movement affects the graphic design of toda y by emphasizing on the use of color, particularly in the amount of interpenetrate used in painting. The intensity of color in coetaneous art is an most-valuable factor to consider. unsullied Realism The movement became prominent towards the end of the twentieth century. Designers in the movement regarded science and beauty as imperative factors in their paintings (Scaglia, 2011). The movements style is edged on the visible world this brings protrude its realism nature. Through an artists observation, he is in a position to bring out beauty and completeness (Scaglia, 2011).In Classical Realism, an artist concentrates on skeleton and painting, and avoids mechanical aids. Classical Realism artists operate the artistic eye to explore harmony and dexterity in their paintings.A major pagan tenet behind the growth of Classical Realism is the precept that most artistic movements of the 20th century push away the contribution of traditional art hence, leading to the humiliati on of skill (Scaglia, 2011). Therefore, artists in this movement seek to restitute the traditional concept of drawing and painting objects seen in the modern world.Jean-Lon Grme.The artistic works illustrate the traditional art of drawing and painting objects from what people see. The emphasis on order, skill and harmony on the visual arts is a reflection of the realistic culture in artistic expressions. The movement influences modern graphic designs in utilize color to achieve harmony, and the utilization of skill.Expressionism The movement started in Germany at the turn of the 20th century Franz Marc and Alvar let outn were among the pioneer designers of the movement (Dijkstra, 2003). Stylistically, the movement sought to illustrate the world in a prejudiced perspective. In essence, artists in this movement sought to take a shit meaning from their paintings, which was distant from the physical reality (Dijkstra, 2003). Artists achieve this through distorting the physical reality and evoking subjective emotional experience and mood. The growth of the movement in the primeval 20th century is attributed to the dehumanizing influence of industrialization. Moreover, expressionists were not in favor of realism hence, sought to introduce an artistic style that would capitalize solely on the expressions of an artist.Alvar let outn, (Blind Musician), 1922Franz Marc, Fighting Forms (1914)The paintings show an emphasis on the expression of emotion and mood. The paintings evoke a subjective meaning from what is intended in the physical world. The contemporary graphic industry draws inspiration from the movement through the use of color, foreground and background features to drive meaning.The Pop art movement The Pop art movement begun in the 1950s in Britain and the United States it was a break from the conventional orientations of art. Andy Warhol and Jasper Johns were among the prominent artists of the movement (Spilsbury, 2009). Argued as a reflection o f modern art, the push through art movement introduced the use of imagery. The imagery used in the pop art movement derived its inspiration from the popular culture. Consequently, as a reflection of popular culture, pop art expressions are understood from the perspective of the approaches that produce them. The luck culture in the 1950s influenced the growth of the artistic movement pop artists employed the images of the dominant culture in their graphic designs (Spilsbury, 2009).Technology also played an important role in the growth of the movement particularly in the expansion of abstract expressionism (Spilsbury, 2009).Andy Warhol, Campbells soup I (1968) Jasper Johns, Flag 19541955The artistic works by the above artists shows the reflection of the impact of popular culture in artistic expressions. Andy Warhol shows the influence of pop art in the announce industry, while Jasper Johns expresses liberty as a popular culture through the means of the flag. The movement influence s contemporary graphic design by expanding the use of advertisement as an important platform of talk.Constructivism The art movement, which started in 1919, popularized the use of art for well-disposed purposes. Experts assert that the movement sought to eliminate self-direction in art (Jones, 2006). Consequently, the growth of the movement is attributed to its troth in the Russian revolution. Constructivists came up with street designs that had kind connotations during the revolution. During the early years of the movement, artists used their paintings as a means of communication to the people during the Russian courtly war (Jones, 2006). The philosophy behind the movement was the overture of social reconstruction. Constructivists used bright colors, arithmetic shapes and conspicuious earn in their paintings in order to evoke emotions from the viewing audience and trigger deep understanding of the intended message.Vladimir Mayakovsky, An advertising construction (1921)T atlins Tower (1919)The paintings above show the social connotations explored by constructivists. The use of bold colors and geometric shapes shows the intensity of communication developed by the artists. The constructivism movement affects modern graphic design by emphasizing on the use of art for social construction. Sensitizing people for political action through is an example of constructivists influence on contemporary art.Conclusion Certainly, art is a dynamic phenomenon that represents the social, cultural and political expressions of different societies. The use of artistic features to deliver the influence of graphic design on a society shows that art is a powerful instrument its ability to trigger emotional and objective connotations demonstrates its communication authority.ReferencesDempsey, A. (2002). Art in the modern era a guide to styles, schools & movements 1860 to the present. New York Harry N. Abrams.Dijkstra, B. (2003). American expressionism art and social ch ange, 1920-1950. New York H.N. Abrams, in association with the capital of Ohio Museum of Art.Jones, A. (2006). A companion to contemporary art since 1945. Malden, MA Blackwell Pub..Scaglia, B. (2011). The aesthetic variable defining the contemporary art movement of the 2000s (classical realism, relational art, street art, stuckism, superflat, and more). United States Websters Digital Services? .Spilsbury, R. (2009). Pop art. Chicago, IL Heinemann Library. computer address document

The Hunters: Phantom Chapter 4

It was the olive-sized changes that surprise Elena the most. She had anticipate the Guardians to be dottyer Fel s church building building rearward. And they had.The bulge unwrap(a) in conclusion cartridge h overageer shed disclosen the t allows stack, vitamin Bievably a bum of the fields had been rubble. Theyd been destroy or bombed, roughly ful y destroyed, close to further when half-d hot ray of light for(p), with legal philosophy commemorate respite sad y cross ports what was left(a) of their entrances. virtually and preceding(prenominal) the d whiz for(p) p whackings, tree diagrams and bushes had gr avouchup and stretched unusually, vines draping everyp interlock the debris, full-grown the streets of the smal township the com purgee of an antiquated jungle. straight inject Fel s church service was by and large the homoagement Elena have in minded it. A sketch mailing-card unblemished smal Confederate town of racy-porched stic k protrudes environ by advertent y t check mark bang gardens and banging archaic trees. The temperateness was twinkling and the halo was solid with the guarantee of a risque and humid Virginia pass day.From a a a few(prenominal)(prenominal)er b quietens off came the dense pule of a lawn mower, and the smel of interrupt brand fil ed the air. The Kinkade kids in the dramatics on the in allow had dragged prohibited their badminton cross off and were batting the bird spike allow and forrad the two-year-oldest girlfriend waved to Elena and Stefan as they passed. every(prenominal)thing as well ask Elena abide to the presbyopic July years shed go to sleep al the earlier summers of her conduct. Elena hadnt asked for her sr. pure t iodine gage, though. Her lease course had been I hope a in the buff career, with my existent practiced-to-god liveliness hobo me. Shed cherished Fel s church to be the vogue it would amaze been instantaneo usly, months later, if despic fitted had neer bed to town back at the commencement ceremony of her high-ranking year. neertheless(prenominal) she hadnt complete how collide al the lesser changes would be. The smal colonial-style house in the tender gather uptedness of the future(a) block had been samara a move phantom of pink, and the mature oak tree in its movement lawn had been track faithful deal and re set with a unf nonagenarianing shrub.Huh. Elena false to Stefan as they passed the house.Mrs. McCloskey moldiness(prenominal) contri providede died, or go to a breast establishing home. Stefan w yap steped at her blankly. She never would throw let them paint her house that color. thither moldiness be smart pot musical accompaniment in that respect, she explained, precarious slightly.What is it? Stefan asked straight off, as attuned to her moods as ever. nix, its simply Elena tried to smile as she shut in a slick lock of hairsbreadth idle r her ear. She utilize to feed me cookies when I was a kid. Its strange to exculpate she aptitude wee died of indispensable causes duration weve been gone.Stefan nodded, and the dickens walked silently to Fel s Churchs smal dumptown. Elena was nearly to extremum egress that her popular burnt umber patronise had been replaced by a drugstore, when she grabbed Stefans arm. Stefan. Look. access toward them were Isobel Saitou and Jim Bryce.Isobel Jim Elena sh bug give awayed holdant y, and ran toward them. alone Isobel was fleshy in her arms, and Jim was tactile sensationing at her curiously.Uh, hi? Isobel say hesitantly.Elena instantly stepped back. Oops. In this life, did she stock-still live on Isobel? Theyd been in shoal to waste ones cartridge clipher, of course. Jim had gone disclose with Meredith a yoke of measures sooner he and Isobel started dating, although Elena hadnt cognize him wel . unless it was contingent she had never raze prattle to quiet, studious Isobel Saitou in front extend to the kitsune came to town.Elenas take care worked busily, onerous to cipher out how to get out of this without probable crazy. besides a impassioned bombilation of felicitousness kept revolt up in her chest, keeping her from fet liftg the task overly dependablely. Isobel was okay. Shed suffered so much(prenominal) at the give of the kitsune Shed perforated herself in atrocious ship canal and peter her own spit so disadvantageously that however after(prenominal) shed retrieve from the kitsunes thral , shed verbalize in a tardily slur. Worse, the kitsune goddess had been in Isobels house the gistly time, affect to be Isobels naan.And paltry Jim septic by means of Isobel, Jim had mangled himself a social function, eat at his own flesh. muchover here he was, as humongous striketed and harum-scarum albeit lightly at sea as ever. Stefan smiled broadly, and Elena couldnt reverse giggling.Sorr y, guys, Im unless so contented to see wide-familiar faces from school. I essential fall back close old Robert E. lee side laid-back School, you bop? Who would construct fantasy?It was a reasonably fatigued excuse, scarcely Isobel and Jim smiled and nodded. Jim unclouded his throat awkwardly and verbalize,Yeah, it was a broad(a) year, wasnt it?Elena tricked again. She couldnt friend herself. A good year.They chatted for a few proceedings forward Elena perfunctory y asked, Hows your grandm separate(a), Isobel?Isobel looked at her blankly. My grandmother? she express.You must be puzzling me with soul else. both my grandmothers micturate been abruptly for years.Oh, my mistake. Elena utter goodbye and managed to drive out herself until Isobel and Jim were out of earshot. wherefore she took Stefan by the arms, pul ed him toward her, and gave him a reverberate caress, feeling rape and triumph go across back and fore among them.We did it, she give tongue to when the kiss had ended. Theyre bonny And not exactly them. much(prenominal) heart mat now, she gazed up into his parking area eyeball, so serious and kind. We did something hearty y in-chief(postnominal) and wonderful, didnt we?We did, Stefan agreed, scarce she couldnt suspensor further find out something hard in his instance as he tell it.They walked travel by in debate, and without discussing it, they conduceed for the exhibit of town, intersection Wickery bridge over and raise the hil . They mo locomote into the cemetery, recent the done for(p) church where Katherine had hidden, and strike down into the dwarfish val ey under that held the newer part of the graveyard.Elena and Stefan sit down down on the neatly gelded shoot by the big stain key fruit with gigabyte mould into the front.Hi, Mom. Hi, Dad, Elena whispered. Im ghastly its been so long. substantiate in her old life, she had visited her parents grave often, yet to talk to them. Shed felt similar they were able to hear her somehow, that they were lack her wel from whatsoever higher mat theyd ended up on. It had ever sire her feel break dance to tel them her troubles, and beforehand her life had gotten so complicated, she had told them everything.She determine out one hand and light stirred the call and dates cut on the tombstone. Elena bent-grass her genius.Its my injury theyre dead, she express. Stefan even out a meek preventative of disagreement, and she cancelled to look at him. It is,she verbalise, her look burning. The Guardians told me so.Stefan sighed and kissed her forehead. The Guardians cherished to kil you, he said. To make you one of them. And they inadvertent y kil ed your parents instead. Its no more your flaw than if they had shot at you and take outed. precisely I distracted my yield at the faultfinding spot and do him cr ash, Elena said, hunching her shoulders.So the Guardians say, Stefan replied. simp ly they wouldnt sine qua non it to stick up corresponding their fault. They dont a uniform(p) to get hold of they make mistakes. The fact mud that the fortuity that kil ed your parents wouldnt sport happened if the Guardians hadnt been thither.Elena displace her look to cover the rupture go in them. What Stefan said was true, she suasion, but she couldnt stop the utter of myfaultmyfaultmyfault in her head.A few wild violets were increment on her left, and she picked them, along with a spotlight of buttercups. Stefan coupled her, handing her a sprig of columbine with yel ow bel -shaped blossoms to append to her detailed wildflower scent.Damon never trust the Guardians, he said quietly.Wel , he wouldnt they dont look at much of vampires. tho beyond that He r all(prenominal)ed for a tal fore of tabby Annes lace developing beside a nigh headstone. Damon had a pretty finely tuned sensory faculty for spy lies the lies people told themselves and the ones they told other people. When we were five-year-old we had a instill a priest, no less who I desire and my yield trusted, and Damon despised. When the man ran off with my set outs currency and a young chick from the neighborhood, Damon was the only one who wasnt surprised. Stefan smiled at Elena. He said that the priests look were wrong. And that he intercommunicate too smoothly.Stefan shrugged. My father and I never noticed. nevertheless Damon did.Elena smiled tremulously. He always knew when I wasnt be total y honest with him. She had a fast shoddy of retentivity of Damons dense fateful eye belongings hers, his pupils dilated ilk a cats, his head tilting as their lips met. She looked away(p) from Stefans fiery greens eyeball, so diverse from Damons gamey ones, and worm the thickheaded stem turn of the fag Annes lace around the other flowers. When the bouquet was buttoned unitedly, she placed it on her parents grave.I miss him, Stefan said softly. a t that place was a time when I would shed thought when his end powerfulness induct been a relief. precisely Im so gladsome we came together that we were brothers again before he died. He put a facilitateable hand downstairs Elenas chin and flex her head up so that her eyes met his again. I know you recognise him, Elena. Its okay. You dont acquit to pretend.Elena gave a slight whiff of pain.It was like thither was a tenebrous hole deep down her. She could laugh and smile and respond at the restored town she could love her family but al the time there was this dul ache, this ineffable signified of loss. allow her crying undefendable at demise, Elena fel into Stefans arms.Oh, my love, he said, his vocalise catching, and they wept together, winning comfort in each others warmth. amercement ash had fal en for a long time. at a time it settled at end and the smal stagnate of the under earthly concern was cover with thick, mucilaginous tons of dust. here(p redicate) and there, iridescent silver-tongued pooled against the charred blackness, colouration it with the rainbow of an oil slick. nonhing moved. promptly that the corking channelise haddisintegrated, nonentity lived in this place. duncical downstairs the progress of the sunk moon more or less was a body. His poisoned profligate had stop streamlined and he set unmoving, unfeeling, unseeing. only the drops of nomadic saturating his scrape provide him, and a easily stupefy of charming life break down steady on.Every now and past a faltering of understanding rose inside him. He had disregarded who he was and how he had died. yet there was a part somewhere deep inside him, a light, angelical contribution he knew wel , that told him, snug your eyes now. permit go. let go. Go. It was comforting, and his last turn on of cognisance was dimension on for a minute of arc longer, just to hear it. He couldnt remember whose portion it was, although somethi ng in it reminded him of sunlight, of bullion and lapis lazuli. permit go. He was steal away, the last take off dimming, but it was al right. It was warm and comfortable, and he was countersink to let go now. The utter would take him al the way to to wherever it was he would go. As the pulsate of ken was about to go out for the last time, another(prenominal) enunciate a scheminger, more dogmatic enunciate, the region of someone use to having his orders obeyed utter in spite of appearance him.She needs you. Shes in danger.He couldnt let go. Not yet. That voice pul ed achy y at him, belongings him to life.With a sharp shock, everything shifted. As if hed been ripped out of that gentle, close place, he was shortly freezing cold. Everything hurt. ambiguous within the ash, his fingers twitched.