The liberalization of the international financial system Essay

The age of globalization has ensured that businesses are focusing more and more on international trade as the primary means of enhancing their competitiveness. For example businesses en masse are moving their operations offshore to China and India to take advantage of the low cost of operation in those countries. The liberalization of the international financial system has also facilitated the growth of this trend for foreign direct investment. However this investment takes place in more than one form. It can be in the form of money or it can also be in the form of employees. When it comes to relocating employees, the human resource department of the company which is sending its employees abroad must take into account as to how they are going to determine the international compensation system. The scenario under analysis is of that an US national going to Japan to work there as an expatriate. In order to determine what the compensation of the US national should be, the parent company based in the US must take several issues into account. Of course there are some cost categories that will have go into the calculations such as allowances for goods and services, housing, income taxes and reserve. Under the heading of goods and services are the basic needs such as food, clothing, transportation, furniture, recreation etc. An important part of the calculations is also the cost category associated with housing in the host country. There are differences between the income taxes in the parent country and those in the host country and these differences the international pay system will have to take into account. Last but not the least, the parent company has to make significant contributions in the form of reserve such as pension funds, benefits schemes, education taxes, social security taxes etc. So these are the four major elements that will have to go into determining the pay for Robert Lords in Japan. The human resource department of Riordan Manufacturing does not have problems determining what the components of the international pay system will be as they are all specified in the company policy. Usually companies sending their employees abroad in the form of expatriates have to decide between the going rate approach and the balance sheet approach (http://www. rocw. raifoundation. org/management/bba/IHRM/lecture-notes/lecture-21. pdf). According to the going rate approach, the parent company conducts a survey in the host country and develops a grasp of the cost of living in the host country. The approach is basically to match the pay of the parent country national to the host country national. If Riordan Manufacturing were to follow the going rate approach, then it would probably have to hire an international consulting firm to conduct a survey in Japan that would determine what the salary of a Japanese national would be. This is a Japanese national working in the same position with similar duties and responsibilities to those addressed by Robert Lords. However Riordan Manufacturing does not follow the going rate approach. The going rate approach has several disadvantages. For example, managerial salaries in the US are the highest in the world. Therefore, according to the going rate approach, expatriates to China from the US would be given a much lower level of compensation. The nature of the assignment also varies from one country to another. The going rate approach would not take those differences into account but the employees are very sensitive to these differences. In such cases, the application of the going rate approach in structuring an international pay system can result in loss of employee morale. In fact, if the management of Riordan Manufacturing were to follow the going rate approach, it would have a hard time persuading any of its employees to take off to China because Chinese managerial salaries are much lower than they are in the US. The approach followed is the balance sheet approach. The result therefore is one of equity in the international pay system at Riordan. However this equity exists from the perspective of the employees of the company and not from the perspective of the host country nationals. As a result Robert Lords’ pay would not be equitable with the pay of a Japanese national. The balance sheet approach is the exact opposite of the going rate approach in that the company does not have to undertake surveys in the host country to determine what the pay of nationals in that country in similar positions is. Under this system the pay that Lords is going to receive in Japan is going to be exactly the one that he was receiving in the US. Of course there would be a few adjustments to take into account the differences of living in the host country. For example, if the cost of housing in the host country is higher than it is in the parent country, then Riordan Manufacturing would pay for the difference in the compensation to the parent country national. Under this approach therefore, the pay that Lords is going to receive will not be equitable with that of a Japanese national in a similar position. However when Lords comes back to the states, his salary will be readjusted back to its former level and the element of equity will be maintained. What determines equitable pay is a valid question in this respect. Maintaining purchasing power of the expatriate is one measure of maintaining equity. The purchasing power that the expatriate used to enjoy in the parent country remains the same when he moves to the host country. Therefore, the employee enjoys the same level of compensation regardless of the national compensation system of the country he moves to. Managerial salaries in Japan are lower than they are in the US. As a result, Japanese nationals working in a position with duties and responsibilities similar to those relevant to Lords’ position will have lower pay. Previously businesses used to perform within the confines of their own national boundaries. But now, because of globalization, they are operating across national borders. For example, Riordan Manufacturing performs production activities in China. However strategic flexibility still remains the most important concept in achieving a sustainable competitive advantage. In fact it has grown in importance inasmuch as different marketplaces internationally have different factors driving supply and demand. Therefore, the organizational culture of a multinational company must develop passion for strategic flexibility. This is the duty of the human resource department. The human resource department is responsible for motivating employees to behave in a way that will contribute to overall organizational effectiveness. The most effective means of doing that is to design a compensation system that values employee behavior that values strategic flexibility (http://digitalcommons. ilr. cornell. edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1164&context=cahrswp). As mentioned before, strategic human resource management has the two options of the going rate approach and the balance sheet approach in designing an international pay system. However none of these approaches are appropriate for promoting strategic flexibility or, in other words, for promoting business practices tailored to the cultural and economic values of the country it is operating in. On the one hand, there is the going rate approach which in Lords’ case would simply calculate the pay of a Japanese national in a similar position and on the other hand there is the balance sheet approach which would simply calculate pay based on what Lords would earn in a similar position in his home country. Both follow national characteristics. The going rate approach follows the Japanese national system while the balance sheet approach follows the US national system. As a result neither of these approaches is geared towards promoting strategic flexibility. If the objective of the management is to develop the kind of compensation system that would emphasize certain characteristics of the national culture that are better aligned with the organizational strategic map, then it would have to develop different compensation systems for different countries. In this respect, the management of Riordan Manufacturing must study the social contract in the Japanese national system and design the international compensation system in a way that stimulates aspects of Japanese culture in employee behavior most suitable for organizational effectiveness. The age of globalization means that a multinational company like Riordan Manufacturing must take into account the different cultural attributes of the country it is operating in. This is because demand is greatly influenced by cultural expectations. Therefore the product that the multinational company is producing must conform to the cultural expectations of the country in which it is selling the product. If it is important for product development to conform to cultural expectations around the world, then it is vital for the compensation system to conform in the same manner. The compensation system lies at the core of the employee motivation system. Previously, compensation consisted of solely financial gains. However financial gain can be easily matched by other companies. In a globalized system of free trade where money can flow from one country to another without friction, merely financial gains are no longer sufficient to motivate the employees to stay with the company. As a result, modern compensation systems emphasize the development of relationship between the employer and the employees. If Riordan Manufacturing is going to move to Japan with its operations, then it must develop that relationship between the employer and the employee and developing that relationship means that the management must carefully study the social contract that governs the organizational culture in Japan. International compensation systems have multiplied in complexities precisely because the measures of organizational effectiveness must inevitably vary from one country to another. The measures of organizational effectiveness have changed. In today’s business world, availability of information is the most important competitive advantage that a company might have. An example of the value of information in enhancing organizational competitiveness is the process of internal benchmarking that has recently been gaining popular support. Internal benchmarking compares the different organizational procedures across operations around the world and prepares a lit of best practices which might be applicable organization wide. A critical aspect in successfully performing internal benchmarking is the tacit knowledge that lies hidden in employees. This is valuable intellectual capital that an organization would lose if the compensation system were to emphasize solely financial gains. In the interests of organizational effectiveness, the management of that organization must make sure that practices are undertaken so that there is minimal turnover in the company. As a result, particularly in developing an international pay system, the management in multinational companies has been introducing an element of choice in their compensation systems. The international pay systems have three levels of pay: one is core which includes cash and basic benefits. Then there are crafted choices such as training, flexible scheduling, base/bonus mix and stock options and finally there are the choices given employees such as assignments, tax deferrals, stock purchases etc. It is in the aspect of crafted choices that we must consider the role that the social contract plays in the Japanese national compensation system. Designing a compensation system in the US and in Japan must necessarily include differing challenges because the cultures in the US and in Japan are greatly different. The Japanese system values the collectivist approach more. Therefore the performance-based or the ability-based approach followed in the US emphasizing individual risk-taking is not very effective in Japan. Group based policies have greater value in Japan. Status is an important aspect of the social contract in Japan. Therefore if the element of strategic flexibility means motivating employees to think and act in the best interests of organizational effectiveness as applicable to the host country, then an American company must design the compensation system applicable to its operations in Japan in a way that maintains employees’ group status. This is an example of the role that the social contract in Japan plays in designing international pay systems. From the above it will be clear enough that designing an international pay system is no longer so simple as selecting between the going rate approach or the balance sheet approach. If Riordan Manufacturing is moving to Japan with its operations then blindly following the balance sheet approach is no longer a feasible approach. The management of the company must do the additional homework of studying the social contract in Japan. An important feature of the social contract in Japan is the lifetime employment contract in Japan where the management ensures job security for the employees. Any American company attempting to design a pay system that is in alignment with the strategic map in Japan must necessarily take the lifetime employment guarantee into consideration. The Japanese management system follows this system because it is an effective means of developing company loyalty. Both the employees and the management have a sense of ownership in the long term performance of the company. As a result, the Japanese compensation system emphasizes the long term rather than the short term in offering bonuses. Rewarding systems in Japan are tied to the long term maximization of market share. The Japanese system also values bonuses more because they are not taxed to the same extent that regular salary is. Trade unions have always had a strong effect on employee benefits. In the US, unionized workers enjoy a greater level of employee benefits than non-unionized workers. However the trade union system in Japan is different because unlike the US, trade unions are formed not industry-wide but on the basis of organizations that the workers are tied to (http://japanhop. com/prosper/070-japanese-labor-unions. html). For example, Toyota employees will form a corporate trade union that is specific to the company itself. In the US, the employees from the auto manufacturers would form a trade union that represents the entire industry. In that respect the social contract in Japan is different. Because trade unions in Japan are company specific, there is a greater level of cooperation between the employees represented by the trade union and the management of that organization. Trade union strikes are rare in Japan and when they do occur, the management and the union cooperate on finding a solution that minimizes negative consequences to the company. Therefore pay systems are not adversely affected by the presence of trade unions formed along corporate lines. There is a minimum wage regulation in Japan that must be taken into account in structuring the international pay system. Mostly importantly, the management of an organization and the trade union of that organization collaborate in designing the salary system of that organization. Such a salary system emphasizes the role of overtime pay which in Japan represents a large percentage of the annual pay. Allowances also are a strong feature of the Japanese national compensation system. These are some of the example of the differences between the American compensation system and the Japanese compensation system that have arisen as a result of the different social contract prevalent in Japan. BIBILIOGRAPHY Workforce (Jan, 2001). Three ways to design international pay: Headquarters, Home country, host country – human resources employment abroad strategies. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m0FXS/is_1_80/ai_69294699. Executive Resources Limited (2002). Compensation, employee benefit, and organizational consultancy. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://www. erlimited. com/expatriate_services. php Rethinking International Compensation. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://instruct1. cit. cornell. edu/courses/ilrhr769/97_24. pdf Winston J.Brill & Associates (2006). Fundamentals of International Compensation. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://www. winstonbrill. com/bril001/html/article_index/articles/551-600/article557_body. html Tokyo Electron (2006). Review of the Dividend Policy and Executive Compensation System. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://www. tel. com/eng/news/2005/0419_001. htm Labor Unions in Japan. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://japanhop. com/prosper/070-japanese-labor-unions. html Japanese salary systems. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://japanhop. com/prosper/080-japanese-salary-systems.html Various approaches to international compensation. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://www. rocw. raifoundation. org/management/bba/IHRM/lecture-notes/lecture-21. pdf How Canadian companies are paying expatriates. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://www. orcinc. com/ics/download/orc_ics_molnar_cn_05q2. pdf Center for Advanced Human Resource Studies. Rethinking International Compensation: From Expatriates and National Cultures to Strategic Flexibility. Retrieved January 12, 2008 from http://digitalcommons. ilr. cornell. edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi? article=1164&context=cahrswp.

Last Sacrifice Chapter Twenty-seven

I WOULD HAVE GAPED IF I were there, both from the shock of seeing Sydney and at the sight of a human on Court grounds. Humans, actually, because there were two others with her, a man and a woman. The man was young, only a little older than Sydney, with deep brown hair and eyes. The woman was older and wore the tough, seasoned look I associated with Alberta. This woman was dark-skinned, but I could still see the golden tattoo she and the other humans had. All Alchemists. And it was obvious these Alchemists were not happy. That older woman was putting on a good show, but her darting eyes made it clear she wanted to be somewhere– anywhere–else. Sydney and the guy didn't hide their fear at all. Sydney might have gotten used to me and Dimitri, but she and her associates had just walked into a den of evil, as far as they were probably concerned. The Alchemists weren't alone in their discomfort. As soon as they'd entered, the guardians no longer regarded Eddie as the room's threat. Their eyes were all on the humans, scrutinizing them as though they were Strigoi. My friends seemed more curious than afraid. Lissa and I had lived among humans, but Christian and Adrian had had very little exposure, other than feeders. Seeing the Alchemists on â€Å"our turf' added an extra element of intrigue. I was certainly astonished to see Sydney there so quickly. Or was it quickly? Hours had passed since we'd escaped Jill's house. Not enough time to drive to Court but certainly enough to fly. Sydney hadn't changed clothes since I'd last seen her, and there were shadows under her eyes. I had a feeling she'd been grilled to no end since her capture. The mystery was, why bring the Alchemists here to the meeting about Eddie killing the unknown Moroi? There were two completely different issues at stake. Lissa was thinking the same thing. â€Å"Who are these guys?' she asked, although she had a pretty good idea who Sydney was. She'd heard enough description from me. Sydney gave Lissa a once-over, and I suspected she had guessed Lissa's identity as well. â€Å"Alchemists,' said Hans gruffly. â€Å"You know what that means?' Lissa and my friends nodded. â€Å"What do they have to do with Eddie and that guy who attacked me?' she asked. â€Å"Maybe something. Maybe nothing.' Hans shrugged. â€Å"But I know there's something strange going on, something you're all involved in, and I need to figure out what. She'– Hans pointed at Sydney–‘was with Hathaway in Detroit, and I still have trouble believing none of you know anything about it.' Adrian crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, the perfect picture of indifference. â€Å"Keep believing that, but I don't know any of these people. Don't Alchemists hate us? Why are they here?' Adrian, ironically, was the only one of my friends who knew I hadn't been in West Virginia, but you'd never tell from his demeanor. â€Å"Because we have an escaped murderess to deal with and needed to question her accomplice in person,' was Hans's crisp response. A denial of my guilt was on Lissa's lips, but the older Alchemist jumped in first. â€Å"You have no proof that Miss Sage was an â€Å"accomplice' to your criminal. And I still think it's ridiculous that you wouldn't let us do our own questioning and leave it at that.' â€Å"In any other situation, we would, Miss Stanton,' replied Hans. Ice was forming between the two of them. â€Å"But this one, as you can imagine, is a bit more serious than most. Our queen was murdered.' Tension ramped up even more between the guardians and the Alchemists. Their working relationship was not a happy one, I realized. It also occurred to me that even if Sydney's superiors thought she'd committed some crime, they would never admit as much to my people–which meant Hans's paranoia wasn't entirely unfounded. When none of the Alchemists responded, Hans seemed to read this as approval to begin interrogating Sydney. â€Å"Do you know these three?' He gestured to my friends, and Sydney shook her head. â€Å"Ever communicated with them?' â€Å"No.' He paused, as though hoping she'd change her answer. She didn't. â€Å"Then how did you get involved with Hathaway?' She studied him intently, fear in her brown eyes. I wasn't sure if it was because of him exactly. Really, she had a lot of things to be nervous about right now, like being here at all and the eventual punishment the Alchemists would dole out. Then, of course, there was Abe. Technically, he was the reason she had gotten ensnared in this mess. All she had to do was tell on him, say he'd blackmailed her. It'd get her off the hook–but incur his wrath. Sydney swallowed and forced a defiant look. â€Å"I met Rose in Siberia.' â€Å"Yes, yes,' said Hans. â€Å"But how did you end up helping her escape here?' â€Å"I had nothing to do with her escaping this place!' said Sydney. It was a half-truth, I supposed. â€Å"She contacted me a few days ago and asked for help to get to a house near Detroit. She claimed she was innocent and that this would help prove it.' â€Å"The Alchemists knew by then she was a fugitive,' pointed out Hans. â€Å"Everyone had orders to look out for her. You could have turned her in.' â€Å"When I first met Rose, she didn't seem like the murdering type–I mean, aside from killing Strigoi. Which isn't murder at all, really.' Sydney threw in a little Alchemist disdain. It was a nice touch. â€Å"So, when she said she was innocent and could prove it, I decided to help her. I gave her a ride.' â€Å"We already asked her about this,' Stanton said irritably. â€Å"And we already told you that we did. What she did was foolish–a naive lapse in judgment. It's something for us to deal with, not you. You worry about your murdering fiend.' Her words were light, like they were going to take Sydney home and chastise a naughty child. I doubted it would be that simple. â€Å"Who were the people with her?' asked Hans, ignoring Stanton. Sydney's contempt grew. â€Å"One was that guy †¦ Dimitri Belikov. The one you think was â€Å"cured.' I don't know who the others were. Two guys and a woman. They never introduced us.' It was a well-done lie, her faked disgust about Dimitri masking her knowledge of the rest of our associates. Lissa leaned forward eagerly, speaking just before Hans could. â€Å"What was in Detroit? How was Rose going to clear herself? Especially with Jill?' Hans didn't look happy about the interruption, but I knew he had to be curious about Jill and Detroit as well. He said nothing, perhaps hoping someone might slip and reveal a key piece of knowledge. Sydney, however, continued playing distant and cold. â€Å"I have no idea. That Jill girl didn't seem to know either. Rose just said we had to get to her, so I helped her.' â€Å"Blindly?' asked Hans. â€Å"You really expect me to believe that you just trusted her like that?' â€Å"She's my–‘ Sydney bit her lip on what I suspected was â€Å"friend.' She turned her professional mode back on. â€Å"There was something believable about her, and I figured it'd be a waste of resources if the Alchemists had been helping you hunt the wrong murderer. If I decided she was guilty, I could always turn her in. And I thought †¦ I thought if I was the one who solved this, I'd get the credit and a promotion.' That was a good, good lie. An ambitious girl trying to improve her career on the sly? Very good. Well, not to everyone. Hans shook his head. â€Å"I don't believe any of you.' The guy Alchemist took a step forward that made every guardian tense to jump him. â€Å"If she says that's the way it happened, then that's the way it happened.' He had the same fierceness and mistrust that Stanton had, but there seemed to be more. A sort of protectiveness toward Sydney that was as personal as professional. Lissa picked up on it too. â€Å"Easy, Ian,' said Stanton, still keeping her eyes on Hans. Her composure reminded me more and more of Alberta. She couldn't be at ease with a roomful of guardians but wasn't showing it. â€Å"It doesn't matter if you believe her or not. The point remains: Miss Sage answered your questions. We're finished.' â€Å"Do Jill's parents know anything?' asked Lissa. She was still in shock at all of these developments–not to mention worried about me being out of my safe mountain town– but this mysterious shot at clearing my name was powerful. She couldn't let it go. Sydney turned to Lissa, and I could practically read the Alchemist's thoughts. She knew how close Lissa and I were and would have liked to give Lissa some sort of comfort. There was no way, though, that Sydney could do that with these people in the room. She also had to be aware of the fact that I myself hadn't told Lissa anything about Jill. â€Å"No,' said Sydney. â€Å"We just went there, and Rose said Jill had to come with her. The Mastranos don't know why. And then–and then Rose did take her. Or Jill went with her. I'm not sure what happened. It all turned to chaos.' Neither the Alchemists nor guardians disputed me taking Jill, which made me think it was a story they'd gotten–and accepted–from both Jill's parents and Sydney. It had just enough truth to be plausible–and explain Jill's disappearance. It didn't mention the Dragomir secret, however, which Emily was probably more than happy to keep quiet for now. â€Å"There,' said Stanton. â€Å"This is exactly what we told you before. We need to leave now.' She turned toward the door, but guardians blocked the way. â€Å"Impossible,' said Hans. â€Å"This is a serious matter, and Miss Sage is the only link we have to a murder–a royal murder. And a kidnapping.' Stanton scoffed, and I remembered Sydney once saying the Alchemists thought the Moroi royalty system was silly. â€Å"She doesn't seem to be of much more use to you. But don't worry–we'll be holding her. Contact us if you have more questions.' â€Å"Unacceptable,' said Hans. â€Å"She stays here.' Ian, the other Alchemist, joined the argument, moving protectively in front of Sydney. â€Å"We're not leaving one of our own here!' Again, I had that funny feeling about him. A crush, that was it. He had a crush on her and was treating this as more than just business. Stanton gave him a look that said she would handle this matter. He fell silent. â€Å"You can all stay here, then,' said Hans. â€Å"Makes no difference to me. We'll get you rooms.' â€Å"That is unacceptable.' From there, she and Hans got into a raging argument. I didn't think it would come to blows, but the other guardians had closed in slightly as a precaution. Ian's eyes darted between Stanton and Sydney, but he didn't get into the fray. Once, his gaze passed over the table Hans leaned against, and Ian suddenly did a double take at the photograph. It was only a brief pause, a slight widening of the eyes †¦ but Lissa caught it. She took a step toward Ian and Sydney. One of the guardians glanced at the movement, deemed Lissa safe, and returned to watching Stanton. â€Å"You know him,' Lissa murmured, keeping her voice below the shouts. In fact, it was a little too low because she got blank looks from Sydney and Ian. Their ears couldn't hear what a Moroi or dhampir could have. Lissa glanced uneasily around, not wanting to attract attention. She raised her volume slightly. â€Å"You know him. The guy in the picture.' Ian stared at Lissa, a bit of wonder and wariness on his face. He undoubtedly bore that same standoffish attitude toward vampires, but her words had caught him off guard. And, even if she was an evil creature of the night, she was a very pretty one. â€Å"Ian,' said Sydney softly. â€Å"What is it?' There was a note of urging in her voice, one that inadvertently played upon his crush, I think. He opened his mouth to speak, but then, the â€Å"conversation' among the others wrapped up. Sydney again became the center of attention, and Ian turned away from Lissa. The compromise Stanton and Hans had reached was exactly that–a compromise. Neither was happy with it. There was a small town less than forty-five minutes away from Court, and the Alchemists would stay there–with several guardians on hand. It sounded like a house arrest to me, and Stanton's expression seemed to agree. I think she only consented because it was a human town. Before he'd let everyone go, Hans questioned my friends a final time, his eyes studying every face carefully. â€Å"And none of you–none of you–know this Alchemist girl or have been in contact with her? Or know about her involvement with Hathaway?' Again, Lissa and the others denied it, and again, Hans had no choice but to grudgingly accept the responses. Everyone moved toward the door, but Hans wouldn't let Eddie leave. â€Å"Not you, Castile. You're staying here until other matters are settled.' Lissa gasped. â€Å"What? But he–‘ â€Å"Don't worry about it,' said Eddie with a small smile. â€Å"Everything'll be okay. Just look after yourself.' Lissa hesitated, despite Christian tugging her arm to go. Although all accounts said Eddie had defended Lissa's life, he'd still killed a Moroi. That wouldn't be taken lightly. The guardians had to be 100 percent convinced he'd had no other choice before they'd release him. Seeing the strong, calm look on his face, Lissa knew he was prepared to handle whatever came. â€Å"Thank you,' she said, walking past him. â€Å"Thank you for saving me.' His answer was a slight nod, and Lissa stepped into the hallway–to find herself in more chaos. â€Å"Where are they? I insist on–ah.' My friends and the Alchemists had been heading toward the exit while a group of guardians escorted them. Meanwhile, someone had entered the hall and was now being stopped and challenged by the guardians. It was Abe. He took in every piece of the bizarre scenario in less than a heartbeat, his eyes passing over Sydney and the Alchemists as though he'd never seen them before. Through Lissa's eyes, I saw Sydney blanch, but nobody else noticed. Abe smiled at Lissa and sidled up to walk out with her. â€Å"There you are. They want you for the last monarch test.' â€Å"And they sent you?' asked Christian skeptically. â€Å"Well, I volunteered,' replied Abe. â€Å"I'd heard there was some, er, excitement. Murder, fanatical religious humans, interrogations. All things I'm interested in, you know.' Lissa rolled her eyes but said nothing until the whole group emerged from the building. The Alchemists and their unwelcome escort went one way while Lissa and our friends went the other. Lissa longed to glance at Sydney and Ian–I did too–but knew it was best to keep moving forward and follow Abe's lead, particularly since some of those guardians were watching more than just the Alchemists. As soon as Lissa's group was far enough away from the authorities, Abe's amiable smile vanished, and he turned on my friends. â€Å"What the hell happened? I've heard all sorts of crazy stories. Someone said you were dead.' â€Å"Nearly,' said Lissa. She told him about the attack, expressing her fear over Eddie. â€Å"He'll be fine,' said Abe dismissively. â€Å"They have nothing to hold him on. The worst he'll get is a mark on his record.' Lissa was relieved by Abe's easy assurance, but I still felt guilty. Thanks to me, Eddie's record was already marred. His sterling reputation was declining on a daily basis. â€Å"That was Sydney Sage,' said Lissa. â€Å"I thought they were all in West Virginia. Why isn't she with Rose?' â€Å"That,' said Abe darkly, â€Å"is an excellent question.' â€Å"Because they were apparently kidnapping Jill Mastrano in Detroit,' said Christian. â€Å"Which is weird. But not the craziest thing I can think of Rose doing.' I appreciated the support. Abe got a recap of this new development too, at least as much as my friends knew of it–which was only a fraction of the whole story. Abe picked up immediately that he'd been played, and it was obvious from his angry expression that he didn't like being kept in the dark. Welcome to the club, old man, I thought with small satisfaction. I hadn't forgotten how no one had filled me in on the escape plan. My smugness was short-lived because I was worried about what would happen to Sydney, now that Abe was on to her. â€Å"That girl was lying to me,' he growled. â€Å"Every day, all these reports about how quiet and boring it was in West Virginia. I wonder if they even made it to that town. I have to go talk to her.' â€Å"Good luck,' said Adrian, pulling a cigarette out and lighting it. Apparently, in my absence, the dating contract he'd jokingly made up that said he would â€Å"cut back' on his vices didn't apply. â€Å"I don't think her cronies or the guardians are going to let you near her.' â€Å"Oh, I'll get to her,' said Abe. â€Å"She's got a lot of answers. If she hid them from those other idiots, then good for her. But she's going to tell me.' A sudden thought sparked into Lissa's mind. â€Å"You have to talk to Ian. That guy with the Alchemists. He knows the man in the picture–er, I mean, the guy Eddie killed.' â€Å"You're certain?' asked Abe. â€Å"Yes,' said Adrian, surprising them all. â€Å"Ian definitely had a reaction. He's also got a crush on that Sydney girl.' â€Å"I saw that too,' said Lissa. â€Å"She seems kind of uptight.' Adrian frowned. â€Å"But maybe their kind go for that.' â€Å"That crush might actually be useful,' mused Abe. â€Å"You women don't know the power you wield. Have you seen that guardian your aunt's dating? Ethan Moore?' â€Å"Yes,' groaned Christian. â€Å"Don't remind me.' â€Å"Tasha is pretty hot, though,' noted Adrian. â€Å"That is not cool,' said Christian. â€Å"Don't get so huffy,' said Abe. â€Å"Ethan's a palace guard. He was there the night of the murder–which could be very useful to us if she can keep him interested.' Christian shook his head. â€Å"Those guards already testified. It won't matter. Ethan's told what he knows.' â€Å"I'm not so sure,' said Abe. â€Å"There are always things that occur off the official record, and I'm positive the guards were all debriefed with strict orders on what to reveal and not to reveal. Your aunt might be charming enough to find out something for us.' Abe sighed, still looking very unhappy at the sudden upsetting of his orderly plans. â€Å"If only Sydney had been charming enough to talk her way out of that interrogation so that I could go interrogate her. Now I've got to break through those Alchemists and the guardians to get to her and figure out where Rose is. Oh, and you do actually have to go to your test, princess.' â€Å"I thought that was just a line you used to find me,' Lissa said. â€Å"No, they want you.' He gave her directions to the test. It was in the building she'd had the second test in. â€Å"All of you go together and then get a guardian to walk you back. Don't leave your room until Janine or Tad come by.' Tad was one of Abe's henchmen. â€Å"No more surprise attacks.' Lissa wanted to argue that she most certainly wasn't going to put herself under house arrest but decided it was best to just let Abe go for now. He hurried off, still radiating agitation, and she and the guys turned toward the testing site. â€Å"Boy, is he pissed,' said Adrian. â€Å"Do you blame him?' asked Christian. â€Å"He just lost membership in the evil mastermind club. His brilliant plan fell apart, and now his daughter's missing when he thought she was somewhere safe.' Adrian stayed pointedly silent. â€Å"I hope she's okay,' sighed Lissa, a knot forming in her stomach. â€Å"And what in the world does Jill have to do with any of this?' Nobody had an answer for that one. When they reached the testing site, Lissa found a situation almost identical to before. Lots of spectators lining the hall. Guardians blocking the door. More people than ever were cheering her name as she approached, some who were â€Å"common' Moroi and others who were royals whose candidates were out of the running. A number of nominees hadn't passed the fear test, so those families had switched their loyalties. Again, Lissa was ushered into the room alone. Her heart began to pound when she saw the same old woman. Were more terrible images to come? Lissa couldn't see the chalice, but that was no guarantee of safety. There was no extra chair, so Lissa simply stood in front of the old woman. â€Å"Hello,' Lissa said respectfully. â€Å"It's nice to see you again.' The woman grinned, showing those missing teeth. â€Å"I doubt that, but you say it very convincingly. You have politics in your blood.' â€Å"Thank †¦ you †¦' said Lissa, unsure if she'd been complimented or not. â€Å"What would you like me to do for this test?' â€Å"Just listen. That's all. It's an easy one.' A twinkle in the woman's eye made Lissa think this would not be easy. â€Å"All you have to do is answer a question for me. Answer correctly, and you're through to the vote. And won't that be entertaining.' The old woman seemed to say those last words more to herself than Lissa. â€Å"Okay,' said Lissa uneasily. â€Å"I'm ready.' The woman sized Lissa up and seemed to like what she saw. â€Å"Here it is then: What must a queen possess in order to truly rule her people?' Lissa's mind went blank for a moment, and then a jumble of words popped into her head. Integrity? Wisdom? Sanity? â€Å"No, no, don't answer,' said the old woman, watching Lissa carefully. â€Å"Not yet. You have until tomorrow, at this same time, to think about it. Come back with the right answer, and you'll have passed the trials. And †¦' She winked. â€Å"It goes without saying you won't talk to anyone about this.' Lissa nodded, rubbing the small tattooed spot on her arm. She'd get no help with the answer from anyone else. Lissa left the room, turning the question over and over in her mind. There were too many answers to a question like that, she thought. Any of them could– Movement in my reality instantly snapped me out of her head. I half expected Sonya to come bursting into our tent, but no, that wasn't what had caught my attention. It was a much smaller motion †¦ and something infinitely more powerful. Dimitri was in my arms.

Achievements Towards Wawasan 2020 So Far Economics Essay

Achievements Towards Wawasan 2020 So Far Economics Essay The implementation of such a great idea was and is still thought to be impossible by many Malaysians. The skepticism of many was understandable, but, as the saying goes, â€Å"Rome was not built in one day†. The initial efforts needed to bring the Wawasan 2020 vision to life had already been started since the early nineties. Many if the challenges set by Tun  Dr.  Mahathir have seen light in various forms, starting with some of the main challenges, being â€Å"Establishing a united Malaysian nation made up of one Bangsa Malaysia† and â€Å"Establishing a matured liberal and tolerant society† One Malaysia (1Malaysia) This particular goal is being implemented through the 1Malaysia programme, which is mostly being used as a catalyst for the Wawasan 2020 idea. The 1Malaysia programme was designed by Malaysian Prime Minister  Najib Tun Razak  on 16 September 2010, calling for the cabinet, governmental agencies, and civil servants to more strongly emphasize on ethnic harmony, national unity, and efficient governance. An official logo and slogan has been introduced along with the commencement of 1Malaysia concept. The logo is the symbol of ‘1’ which includes the national  flag and the word Malaysia. The Malaysian government has spent RM 38 million to promote the 1Malaysia concept in 2010 (Joseph Sipalan, April 2011). http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4b/1Malaysia.svg/100px-1Malaysia.svg.png The 1Malaysia Logo Moreover, the slogans for the 1Malaysia concept have been changing each year. The slogan for the beginning of the promotion campaign for the program, in 2009, was: † Rakyat Didahulukan, Pencapaian Diutamakan  (People First, Performance Now)† In 2010, it had been changed to: â€Å"Menjana Transformasi  (Generating Transformation)† In 2011, the slogan was: â€Å"Transformasi Berjaya, Rakyat Sejahtera  (Transformation Successful, People Prosperous)† For 2012, the slogan is: à ¢â‚¬Å"Janji Ditepati  (Promises Fulfilled)† Many of the other challenges stated by Dr.  Mahathir in his Wawasan 2020 concept have been implemented through the 1Malaysia initiative. For example, the 1Clinic programme was implemented under the 1Malaysia initiative and goes in line with one of the challenges set by Dr. Mahathir, being, â€Å"Establishing a fully caring society†. 1Malaysia Clinics have been launched in several areas across Malaysia and provide basic medical services for illnesses and injuries such as fever, cough, colds, wounds and cuts, diabetes, and hypertension. Malaysia citizens are charged RM1 for treatment and medication. Non-citizens are charged RM15. There currently are 119 1Malaysia Clinics in Malaysia so far, and the Malaysian Ministry of Health is planning to increase this number to 175 by the end of 2012. (Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, The Star, September 2012) Malaysian Economics One of the important points in the Wawasan 2020 project is the 7% per annum growth over the 30-year period. If the targeted growth is reached within the planned timeframe, the Malaysian GDP or gross domestic product would increase from RM115 billion in 1990 to RM920 billion by 2020 (â€Å"The Way Forward†, Prime Minister’s Office, November 2008), in increase nearly by eight. Alongside, the population is estimated to have a slow increase to around 32 Million at an average of 1.9 percent per annum during the period. This wished-for increase in output and the slower expected growth of the population will result in the per capita income steadily rising from RM 6,180 to RM 26,100 by 2020- ranking Malaysia among one of the high income nations.

Women Liberation Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Women Liberation Movement - Essay Example This study outlines that this movement became very powerful and a clear change was observed regarding women’s place in society, meanwhile a serious hatred by men was seen especially for women liberation movement. An interesting fact is that in 1970 there were three television shows that played an important role through out this movement. These programs were the Charles angel, the Mary Tyler Moore show and bionic women. The two different approaches can be explained through following diagram: The reason behind this hatred was that lot of men hated the idea of women working, especially in jobs outside the traditional service and clerical fields and who hate the wider changes of which working women are a part. As the paper highlights the feminist movement affected change in Western society especially, including womens suffrage; the right to make divorce proceedings and "no fault" divorce; and the women’s right to make individual decisions regarding pregnancy (including access to contraceptives and abortion); and the right to own any land or property. If we see around us we will find that the issues that were raised by women liberation movement still exist in our society. Women had to face sexual harassment in job places; they are still used as sex symbols in media, women still had to face abortion complication, gender discrimination is still part of our society and last but not the least women is still considered as less capable then men. This movement was one of the most popular and power full movement of its time. The historical argument that â€Å"it is a series of campaigns on issues such as reproductive rights (sometimes including abortion), domestic violence, maternity leave, equal pay, sexual harassment, and sexual violence.†

Salvador Dali and his Unique Artworks Research Paper

Salvador Dali and his Unique Artworks - Research Paper Example Dali’s artistic works that carried strange expressions won a lot of publicity in the world. Dali had a characteristic personal branding in both art and appearance. The unique personal brand added to his publicity. Dali won immeasurable publicity that drew criticism. While some people acknowledged the true worth of his work in making him famous, some people thought that he over commercialized himself. However, Dali’s work deserved the credit it earned because he had real talent evident from his artistic works. The beginning of the 20th century in 1904 saw the birth of one Salvador Dali, to a well up agricultural family in Catalonia, Spain (James 23). His parents were Dali Cusi and Felipa Domenech. His birth was unique as his parents thought he was a reincarnation of their older child who had not lived beyond nine months. Dali accepted the reincarnation story at five years. In addition to their home in Catalonia, the family had a house in Cadaques where they stayed over s ummer. The stay in cadaques had great influence on Dali’s work. Dali had a close relationship with his mother but not with his politically influential father. Dali’ enrolled into school at a tender age of four at Escuela public school. Due to his inability to concentrate in school, his father sent him to a private school. However, Dali did not progress well in school. On the contrary, Dali occupied himself with reminiscences of his summer holidays. His summer holidays presented the only opportunity for him to do what he liked best. He was lucky to find an art mentor at Cadaques where they spent summer. Ramon Pichot, a close ally to the family, mentored Dali up his way to art since childhood. Pichot had links with Pablo Picasso, an influential artist of that time. In 1922, Dali joined the San Fernando academy of art, a venture that would determine his future as an artist. In the academy in Madrid, Dali got the opportunity to express himself freely. It is in the academy where Dali started out on his unique dressing style that would later earn him criticism and publicity. In addition, in the academy, he made friends with whom he walked along his career with forming partnerships with them at times. These friends included Garcia Lorca and Luis Bunuel. According to the Dali Museum Inclusive, during his time in the academy, he explored different art styles in search of his true artistic identity. He tried out cubism, futurism, and purism. He kept himself updated on these styles by reading journals. His work began to appear in galleries and soon he gained the confidence to hold solo exhibitions. He also displayed his work in multiple exhibitions. Due to his talent and increasing artistic adventure, he realized that he was not getting enough challenge from his instructors. This attitude led to his trials to criticize the academy administration. At some point, the academy could not hold him any more. After the dismissal from the academy, he embarked on pai nting back in his hometown. Dali’s works evoke varied emotions. He was too radiant in expressing themes that no longer appealed the Spaniard exhibitions. His thematic exploration at this time was mutilation and decay. Dali’s career took a different turn in 1929 because he ventured into a partnership with his friend from the academy Luis Bunuel (Ross 80). The duo created an avant-garde film that exposed violence and dead bodies. The film titled ‘An Andalusian Dog’ brought the two artists international recognition because it fetched great market. Because of the fame, Dali moved to Paris, where he became a member of the surrealists. The surrealists belonged to an art culture that believed in representing objects

Current Trends in Chemotherapy for Pediatric Brain Tumor Essay

Current Trends in Chemotherapy for Pediatric Brain Tumor - Essay Example Due to this, medical professionals have designed alternative chemotherapy treatments that seek to address the side effects generated by the standard chemotherapy and improve the overall health of the pediatric patients. However, the effectiveness of the new trends such as metronomic therapy, circumventing the blood-brain barrier, and application of Bevacizumab monotherapy, raises interesting questions such as whether they can effectively handle the challenge of eliminating malignancies without posing greater threats to pediatric patients. Additionally, since the new methods are under experimental trials, their future is dependent on their efficacy, which has not yet been established. Cancer is one of the biggest challenges facing health care on a global basis. The impact of controlling the disease has affected the world economy. The American Cancer Society report that the annual costs of cancer in 2009 were estimated to be over $216.6 billion where $86.6 billion was spent on direct medical costs whereas $130 billion was spent on indirect mortality. The American Cancer Society indicates that over 1,600 people die each day due to cancer complications. Brain tumor is the second most common cancer and the most frequent solid tumor in childhood, which account for 4.3 cases per 100,000 in the US (Gottardo & Gajjar, 2008). This paper will conduct an in-depth analysis of cancer in pediatric patients, giving special focus to brain tumors and the emerging chemotherapy treatment trends being administered to fight cancer in pediatric patients. According to Cabrera and Schub (2014), the most common brain neoplasms in children, and medulloblastoma, which account for 20-30% of all brain tumors in pediatric population. Although childhood cancer is relatively uncommon, the disease is still a persistent issue among the cancer patients it affects. Childhood Cancer states that Cancer is the second leading

Globalization of aviation services Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Globalization of aviation services - Essay Example This is done in order to create a world economy that is borderless and open. He further defines globalization as the spread of supra-territoriality and explains that it involves reconfiguring geography in such a way that people stop mapping social space wholly in terms of territorial borders, territorial distances and territorial places. Through globalization, one part of the world’s cultural, technological, political, environmental and economic events become significant in other parts of the globe. The major contributors of globalization are improved information technologies, transportation and communication. Globalization also entails the development of transnational corporations and multinational corporations. In aviation, globalization is demonstrated by marketing, technical and commercial coalitions among airlines. It sometimes involves control and ownership issues beyond nationalized boundaries. One of the forces that can impede the globalization of aviation services is protectionism, a system in which countries impose duties on imports or on other countries wanting to set up their industries in them. Despite the fact that the world is drifting from protected and managed trade in most services and goods, aviation industry remains often intensely protected and regulated greatly. This dates back to the end of World War II when the United States failed to attain the open skies goal as part of a liberal post-war order. Other governments resisted the idea since the U.S was the only country that was able to mount a worldwide air transportation endeavor at that time. This opposition against domination of the airways by the United States was strengthened by the argument that skies control was a crucial security matter (Baliles, 1997). Protectionism involves such practices as countries introducing public subsidies into their flag carriers, cabotage which is the restriction of

Issues in Global Warming Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Issues in Global Warming - Research Paper Example The core first surface to be hit by the radiations suffers the most. Such surfaces may include trees in the forest, surfaces of the ocean, ice caps, and deserts. Green house effect causes the atmosphere to absorb more heat energy within the earth’s surface by absorbing and re-emitting long waves of energy; from the re-emitted energy, 90% is captured by the greenhouse gases. A greenhouse gas is a gas in the atmosphere that absorbs as well as, emits radiation inside a thermal infrared range. The primary greenhouse gases that are in the earth atmosphere are mainly water vapor, carbon dioxide which has the, ability to absorb radiation in the long wave, methane its mainly sources are termites, landfills, coal mining as well as, oil extractions its formula, is ch4, another gas is nitrous oxide found in the atmosphere and its sources are fossil fuel combustion, biomass burning as well as application of fertilizers, its formula is N2O. They occur naturally in an atmosphere with a mole cular composition, more than one atom, are loosely bound together to be able to vibrate with the absorption of heat, they act as a blanket for infrared radiation, where they radiate energy close to the surface that escapes directly to space. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is more concentrated today than at any time in at least 171 year back. It is approximately 35% higher than the year 1840. The present carbon dioxide concentration in the earth’s atmosphere is at a concentration of 392ppm by volume or 592 parts/million by mass. The total amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide in mass is about 3000, gigatonnes. Since 1860, there has been an increase of carbon dioxide concentration due to the age of industrialization as well as human interference such as deforestation as well as combustion of fossil fuel. Also about 40% of the carbon dioxide emitting is by volcanoes during eruptions which is approximately 130-230 million tones, another source of carbon dioxide emission is hot springs . Human carbon dioxide production, use of coal, oil as well as, production of cement, is high as 7.g million mass. Interglacial’s caused the rise of temperatures about 30% in carbon dioxide, with this hypothesis is correct then, temperatures rises by about 6 centigrade between 1840 to date. Another reason for an increase in carbon dioxide is through human respiration that produces 0.6 Gt c of carbon dioxide. Increased carbon dioxide increases the level of acidity in seawater, caused by an increase in carbon dioxide absorption in the sea water, which will increase and will result to affecting organism in the sea water also with the increase of acidity, and then there will be a decrease of carbonates for forming shells. Also from the increase of carbon dioxide, there will be acidic rain due to absorption of carbon dioxide by the clouds that will have an effect to the plants as well as trees, from this there will be no forest. Thus, there will be no rainfall resulting to drought as well as hunger. Another thing from the increase of carbon dioxide to the environment is the development of smog’s into the cities contributed mainly by factories. It is paramount to use the results obtained form researches and environmental forecasts, which would help in understanding the real effectiveness of global warming

Marketing Communications Proposal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Communications Proposal - Essay Example From business context, the organization seeks to create new job opportunities in order to increase its workforce. At the same time, the existing employees will be motivated by offering them bonuses and job security. The plan revolves around increasing and expanding the regional network and increasing additional employees, which would allow the organization to build relations with the regional businesses. The banking industry is fiercely competitive ( Bettelley, 105, 2006). However, Alliance and Leicester offers new job opportunities, job security and bonuses as compared to its competitors. In the year 2006, Alliance and Leicester has introduced the â€Å"the first UK high street bank to offer user-to-site, site-to-user authentication for all of its online customers† (A&L Targets Small Businesses, p. 5, 2009). At the same time, â€Å"The solution, provided by Alliance and Leicester allows customers to log in to their online accounts in a simple and secure way† (A&L Targets Small Businesses, p. 7, 2009). Keeping these two points in mind, marketing experts and professionals have been hired in order to increase more than half million users in the next six months. The stakeholders of Alliance and Leicester include local networks, international networks, regular clients, etc. the present employees of Alliance and Leicester represent the entire organization and therefore it is essential to create awareness of its online banking services among its customers. The organization wishes to implement â€Å"risk based, behind the scenes authentication† (Bennett, 106, 2003) in order to ensure that the user becomes familiar with the entire process, when using his or her online banking account. At the same time, Alliance and Leicester is the first bank, which would assist the customers to identify it, when they use its online banking services (Cope, p. 22, 2006). The employees will ensure that the

Women in mathematics,Science,and Engineering Essay

Women in mathematics,Science,and Engineering - Essay Example In this paper, the status and role of women in math, science, and engineering in Canada will be reviewed in order to determine how successful one of the most developed of such societies has been in its efforts. Canada was chosen as a focus for study because there is sufficient evidence in that nation’s research literature to make good comparisons between women’s standing and men’s standing in the relevant career fields. The paper will review the professional opportunities and challenges that women face in math, science, and engineering, as well as the political, economic, and social issues that impact on the role women play. The resource that will be used to review the relevant data will be a comprehensive report titled Women in Science and Engineering in Canada, produced by the Corporate Planning and Policy Directorate (CPPC) of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. Following the review of the information, a conclusion and recommendati ons will be offered regarding how successful Canada has been in promoting participation among women and what the nation can do to improve in its efforts. The CPPC indicates that only 3% of women in Canada have careers in the technological fields including sciences and engineering, while 10.5% of men have such careers (p. 29). Further, the workforce in those fields was made up, in 2004, of only 22% women, despite the fact that women hold approximately 40% of the Bachelor’s degrees given in appropriate fields of study (p. 30-31). Women have equal to higher unemployment rates than men, despite the fact that their overall numbers are less than a third of men’s within the relevant fields (p. 31). They are less likely to hold management positions, even among groups with similar levels of degree attainment (p. 32). In private and corporate enterprise research and development careers, their numbers of participation range from lows of less than 20% to highs of 25% regardless of degree levels achieved (p. 41). In the government research and development sector, where great efforts have been made to increase participation in the last three decades, women’s overall rates of participation have increased from 3% of the workforce in 1980, but they still stand at just 20% by 2009 (p. 42). Even in the public world of the higher academies, where the CPPC notes that â€Å"employment equity programs† have resulted in women’s participation rates growing at levels up to five times higher than that of men in recent decades, the highest level of women making up any particular discipline’s overall numbers of full professorships or associate professorships is less than one third. Most fields show that women hold less than 20% of such positions (p. 37). These figures hold across all age groups and degree groups, indicating that lower participation rates among women are a system-wide problem (p. 39). The CPPC summarizes that for the academies part icularly â€Å"the hiring statistics present a rather slow and steady improvement for women. There has been progress over the last decade according to the data†¦ but gender equality remains a distant possibility† (p. 39). Overall rates, including both public and private career groups, support these conclusions. The employment facts for women in math, science and engineering in both the public and private sectors, as shown in these and other figures, indicates that women are underrepresented. The CPPC considered a number of possible reasons why this occurs. One

A Brief History of Hieroglyphics Essay Example for Free

A Brief History of Hieroglyphics Essay The word hieroglyph has been applied to the scripts of the Indus civilization and of the Hittites, who also possessed other scripts, in addition to the Mayan, the Incan, and Easter Island writing forms, and also the signs on the Phaistos Disk on Crete, but the strict meaning of the word is used only to describe the carvings on Egyptian monuments. The most ancient hieroglyphs can be dated back to the end of the 4th millennium BC. They describe scenes and are cut in relief, or into the stone, mostly in chapels or tombs. Although it is impossible to know, but these early signs are probably based on the same system that the later set of hieroglyphics, known as classical hieroglyphics is based. Hieroglyphic signs were representations of living beings or inanimate objects by simplistic drawings. Over the years, some of the representations fell out of meaning, such as clubs, which at one time were used as weapons, and other weapons took their place. But they glyph stayed. Sometimes the object described by the glyph completely fell out of daily use and the meaning eventually became lost or it was distorted beyond recognition. Always only a few people in a limited circle understood the script. Only those who needed the knowledge in their professions were able to acquire the task of writing and reading the glyphs. These people were, for example, officials, doctors, and priests. Since the glyphs were too complex for everyday use, hieratic script was developed. Easier abbreviated script was developed for writing by brush stroke on a medium such as papyrus. Classical hieroglyphics evolved through the need to identify a pictorial representation of an event, such as a hunt or a particular battle. Hieroglyphs were added to scenes to signify that the work of art was not just an unknown war or such, but a specific one. This also one of the first times that we see people interested in preserving their history for others to learn about in later times. It was this new attitude toward time and toward history as unique events in time led to the invention of hieroglyphic writing. Hieroglyphics dominated monumental and sacred writings and was accepted in the Greece until the situation was altered with the conversion of the area to Christianity in the nd and 3rd centuries AD. The new religion fought against the Egyptian polytheism and traditions, and with its victory, the Greek script triumphed. The ability to understand the script was lost for many hundreds of years until the failure of Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt turned up the Rosetta Stone on which was written the same statement in three languages, Classical hieroglyphics, Hieratic script, and Greek. With the discovery of thi s asphalt tablet, archeologists were finally able to begin to unlock the key to understanding the long dead written language of hieroglyphics.

The cookie program Essay Example for Free

The cookie program Essay 1. Can you identify examples of decision about each part of the mix that are being made in the cookie program? Yes, the decisions made on the cookie program is the Four Ps. Product what is being sold is the top selling girl scout cookies (thin mint, do-si-dos, trefoils, samosa, lemon chalet cream, and tagalongs Place the girl scout have to go to places that are very populated such as shopping center where there is a lot of people and money is being spend. Promotions are commercial the Girl Scout organization make. The girls make sings for their table and have sing to attract people attentions. Pricing now the girl scouts are charging $4.00 rather than $3.50 this makes it better because is solid dollar amount and no change. This makes it easier for the girls to keep track of their money and is no change involve. 2. How well do you think the Girl Scout cookies succeed in relationship marketing? I feel like they are very successful in relationship marketing. They are very good at customer loyalty because there area lot of people that like their cookies a lot of their customer always wait for the girls scout to start selling cookies. Another factor of relationship marketing is interaction, they are taught to be very polite and say thank you to people even if they dont buy cookies. They are very good at interacting with since they are always asked what the money of the cookies is being used for. Long-term engagement is s strategy that directly engages consumers and invites and encourages consumers to continue to buy more Girl Scout cookies. 3. Do you think the experience of cookie selling, and more generally the lesson you might learn from this course about marketing and sales, can still be beneficial, especially to someone who might find the activities so hard? Yes I feel like the experience of cookie selling and learning about marketing and money management is very beneficial to a girl scout. They get a life lesson and have an early perspective on how to manage money. It also teaches the girls scout how to do marketing which could help them in the future with marketing a school car wash or a sport event. They also get to see the actual side of sale because they get to talk to a professional sales trainer Jeff Goldberg that helps them in the future.

Stakeholders Project Organizations

Stakeholders Project Organizations To address the theme of project requirements, carry out research and, from your findings, draft Clearly structured notes that explain what is: †¢ Meant by the terms primary, secondary and tertiary stakeholders. †¢ The purpose of a scope document and what sections it should contain. Stakeholders Introduction:Stakeholders are anyone who has an interest in the project. Project stakeholders are individuals and organizations that are actively involved in the project, or whose interests may be affected as a result of project execution or project completion. They may also exert influence over the projects objectives and outcomes. The project management team must identify the stakeholders, determine their requirements and expectations and to the extent possible, manage their influence in relation to the requirements to ensure a successful project. Project Project Stake holder Project management Project Support Project Manager How a Stakeholders directly involved in a project Figure : The Relationship Between Stakeholders and the Project There are three kinds of stakeholders are involved in a project they are ivolved in a project internally or externally like that . Primary stakeholders Secondary stakeholders Tertiary stakeholders Primary stakeholders Primary stakeholders are those people and groups eventually affected by the project. Who expect to benefit from or be negatively affected by the change of project. In most projects primary stakeholders will be categorized according to socio-economic assessment. Thus, primary stakeholders should often be divided by gender, social or income classes, occupational or service user groups Primary stakeholders a direct link with the business- Customers. Suppliers. Secondary stakeholders: Secondary stakeholders are those with an intermediary role. They can be divided into funding, implementing, monitoring and advocacy organizations, or simply governmental, NGO and private sector organizations. Secondary stakeholders arent exactly participating customer and suppliers. Who is indirectly affected by the project plan. Forestry companies Landowners and or residents not inside the protected area but near Tertiary Stakeholders: Tertiary Stakeholders are those who are not involved or affected, but can influence opinions either for or against. Tertiary- can still have an influence, but are not involved or affected, but can influence opinions either for or against Those indirectly affected by the program neighborhood organizations, academic institutions, elected officials, advocacy groups, professional associations, skeptics, opponents, and staff of related or competing organizations. Local opinion leaders Local media Ecology departments of universities, research institutes etc. Scope Document Introduction: The scope document is a common term for at all document that refines and defines the requirements aspect of the triple constraint of time, cost, and requirements. In this general sense, it provides an overview of what the project is supposed to accomplish and clarifies how those accomplishments will be achieved. It may also provide the team members, customer, and project manager with insight on what is specifically not in the scope. Section contain This section summarizes some of the business issues around the project, including profiles of major customer categories, assumptions that went into the project concept, and the management priorities for the project. Vision Statement. History of project (Before) Assumption Risk Stakeholder User Vision statement: It is important to a project manager vision and scope document. It is also one of the easiest to execute. A project faces some problem when a project run a good vision and scope document will help in this time History of project (Before) History of project section contains a summary of the problem that the project will solve. It should provide a brief history of the problem and an explanation of how the organization justified the decision to build software to address it. Assumption This is the list of assumptions that the stakeholders, users or project team have made. the rest of the vision and scope document should be ready before the Delphi meeting and used as the basis for estimation. Risk It should be generated by a project teams brainstorming session. It could include external factors that could impact the project, issues or problems that could potentially cause project delays or raise issues. User This is a bulleted list of the users. As with the stakeholders, each user can either be referred to by name or role however, if there are many users, it is usually inefficient to try to name each one. The needs of each user are described. Task -2 To address the theme of how to grasp and communicate the â€Å"big picture† (a higher level view of the project overall, rather than a lower level view of, say, tasks for team members) carry out research and, from your findings, draft clearly structured notes that explain the benefits of visual forms of communication compared to, say, text or speech. Provide examples of the following visual forms of communication to show that you understand how they work and what information they contain: †¢ Lifecycle models †¢ Activity networks †¢ Mind maps Give a written explanation of how each of these methods may be used to communicate key ideas in a project. Introduction: Planning and estimating a project has never been easy. All projects have certain characteristics in common. They all have a beginning and an end. In other words, they do not continue on forever. Projects result in the creation of one or more deliverables. Projects also have assigned resources either full time, part time or both. There are other characteristics as well. All organizations can have projects. Projects can include building a house or office building, planning and executing a marketing campaign, upgrading desktop operating systems, installing a new phone system, developing an IT business application, etc. Throughout the course of a project the plan always changes due to certain events, Such as a change in the requirements. In order to support these frequent changes, a Good planning process is essential. It should involve Reducing Risk Reducing uncertainty. Conveying Information to the customer helps support better decision Life cycle models are: There are three kinds of life cycle model Waterfall model V Model Spiral model Waterfall model But I like waterfall model instance of V model and spiral model. It easy to dived into isolated stage. Which is perfect for project because one stage complete another stage started .so it is sure that the stage is complete. Each stage realize on when previous stage complete. Every stage has a miles stone. It is easy to know about a project to se Waterfall model because it has various stages V model: I cont like v-model because of: -emphasize on testing. Time consuming Waste money because of taste in all phases. Spiral model: its difficult to represent its not understandable to project team. Visual forms of communication System acceptance test Business Requirement Analysis Design Code test Integration Test Fig: Water fall Model 0 6 6 Task 1 0 0 6 6 14 20 Task 2 6 0 20 20 7 27 Task 3 20 0 27 27 7 34 Task 4 27 0 34 34 4 38 Task 5 34 0 38 38 2 40 Task 6 38 0 40 40 40 0 0 40 40 Fig: Activity Network Diagram Fig: Mind Map Life cycle model Written explanation Waterfall Model: Waterfall model is a popular life cycle of the project life cycle model . Often considered the classic approach to the project development life cycle, the waterfall model describes a development method that is linear and sequential. Waterfall development has distinct goals for each phase of development.. Once a phase of development is completed, the development proceeds to the next phase and there is no turning back. Advantages / Disadvantages Most-widely used process model Controls schedules, budgets documentation Tends to favor well-understood system aspects over poorly understood system components Does not detect development areas behind schedule early in the lifecycle stages. Business Requirement: what is requiring in a business to do met in order to successes of a project.Establishes the components for building the system, including the row matatiels of a project and other necessary components Analysis: in analysis stage of a project a project manager is accept the all knowledge of a project how to solve it when its solved (project). Design: The design defines the major components and the interaction of those components, but the design does not define the structure of each component. It is determine the external interfaces and tools to use in the project. Code test: Implements the detailed design specification this only for code and Determines whether the project meets the specified requirements and finds any errors present in the code. System acceptance test: Acceptance testing is conducted within the testing area .its purpose is to allow the customer to confirm that the complete system. A detailed acceptance test plan is produced prior to testing which identifies the test to be conduct. Mind map A Mind map which represent a project with a graphics. Mind map is a diagram used to represent words, ideas, tasks or other items linked to and arranged radically around a central key word or idea. It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing. Mind mapping, on the other hand, is a more intuitive way to manage projects, particularly if you have a lot of responsibilities and its easy to let something slip if its not right in front of you Mind map show the level Strategic, Tactical, Operational And who is responsible for a particular work of a project. Activity network Activity Networks is one of the most popular planning techniques. However, the activity networks diagrams have since been applied to activity planning for a wide range of projects. The approach is very scalable, enabling it to be applied effectively to the planning of activities spanning even a very short time frame. The activity network is a diagram that represents the activities required and their inter-dependencies, their start and finish dates and the time necessary for their completion. The resources required for each activity are also included on the diagram. Activity Networks are made up of a series of activity boxes, each of which depicts a discrete activity or task. It is easy to know of a project details by using activity network such as Early Start Time: Est. represent of the start time of a project Duration: How long time the project continues. Early finished time: when the project complete Activity description: this is which task is depends other task. Last Start Time: Last finished time minus Duration Last finished time: Last Start Time of succeeding activity Float Critical Path: once the resources required to complete each activity have been identified and the activity network updated to reflect these, then the start and finish dates can be added. With the shape and size of the planned area of work now visible, the total cost of the resources can be calculated. There will always be a critical path running through any project, from the first activity to the last. The critical path is defined as that series of activities that have zero float. The concept of float is central to critical path analysis, as it represents the ability to schedule an activity, or sequence of activities, within a flexible time slot rather than having to perform it immediately. This enables the more efficient management of resources across all of the activities in the network. How to calculate Float of a project Reading through activity networks from left to right gives the total duration of the planned work. Reading back through the network, subtracting each duration shows those activities that have any spare time. This spare time, known as float, is a very useful concept in relation to resource scheduling and smoothing. Float identifies parcels of time that can be used to introduce flexibility into the planned work, enabling the more efficient use of the available resources. Summary: project Lifecycles model which represent the Controls schedules, budgets documentation with graphics about a project .Activity Network which is needs for time management of a project such as est,eft lst,lft float,critical path etc, Mind Map It is used to generate, visualize, structure and classify ideas, and as an aid in study, organization, problem solving, decision making, and writing. Task-3 On the theme of team selection and management, carry out research and, from your findings, draft Clearly structured notes on the team working theories devised by: †¢ Tuck man †¢ Belbin †¢ Myers-Briggs Write a summary of how knowledge of each theory might assist a project manager in the selection and development of an effective project team. Write notes that show how to assess the risk of team failure, using a risk matrix to document at least TWO possible risk scenarios, such as loss of key personnel or infighting between team-mates. Summaries the contingency plans you would call into effect, if the risks were realized. 1700 SUMMARY of Tuck man theory: Tuck man model explains that as the team develops maturity and ability, relationships establish, and the leader changes leadership style. Beginning with a directing style, moving through coaching, then participating, finishing delegating and almost detached. At this point the team may produce a successor leader and the previous leader can move on to develop a new team. Tuck man theory basically consists of four thing Forming Storming Norming Performing How to create a project group Storming 2 Forming 1 Performing 4 3 Norming Forming In the beginning step of a project which is forming the team is assembled and the task is allocated Firstly. Team members tend to behave independently and although goodwill may exist they do not know each other well enough to unconditionally trust one another. Time is spent planning, collecting information and bonding. Storming The second step of a project which is Storming The team starts to address the task suggesting ideas from a project. Different ideas may compete for ascendancy and if badly managed this phase can be very destructive for the team. Relationships between team members will be made or broken in this phase and some may never recover. In extreme cases the team can become stuck in the Storming phase. If a team is too focused on consensus they may decide on a plan which is less effective in completing the task for the sake of the team. This carries its own set of problems. It is essential that a team has strong facilitative leadership in this phase. Norming The thread step of a project which is Storming in Tuck man model As the team moves out of the Storming phase they will enter the Norming phase. This tends to be a move towards harmonious working practices with teams agreeing on the rules and values by which they operate. Team leaders can take a step back from the team at this stage as individual members take greater responsibility. The risk during the Norming stage is that the team becomes complacent and loses either their creative edge or the drive that brought them to this phase. Performing The four step of a project which is performing in Tuck man model Not all teams make it to the Performing phase, which is essentially an era of high performance. Performing teams are identified by high levels if independence, motivation, knowledge and competence. Decision making is collaborative and dissent is expected and encouraged as there will be a high level of respect in the communication between team members. Summary of Myers-Briggs theory: The Myers-Briggs personality typology, unlike some other typing theories such as the Enneagram or Four Temperaments, uses a combination of several aspects to arrive at a composite type, based on the interaction and relative weight of different behavioral and attitudinal factors. The types are expressed as combinations of four letters, as follows: E or I (Extravert or Introvert) S or N (Sensing or intuitive) T or F (Thinking or Feeling) J or P (Judging or Perceiving) Summary of Belbin theory: The term Team Roles was first coined by Dr Meredith Belbin, but is now used more generically to describe team types. A Team Role is defined by Meredith Belbin as: A tendency to behave, contribute and interrelate with others in a particular way. It is usually written Team Roles, but can also be found as teamroles or team-roles. Belbin Team Roles improve self-knowledge and understanding among individuals and teams. Team Roles depict a current behavioural pattern ,Preferences arent fixed, since many factors can influence behaviour, whether a new job, promotion or circumstances outside work. Co-ordinator Shaper Resource Investigator Company worker Monitor evaluator Team worker Completer finishers Specialist Co-ordinator: The co-ordinator is a person-oriented leader. This person is trusting, accepting, dominant and is committed to team goals and objectives. The co-ordinator is a positive thinker who approves of goal attainment, struggle and effort in others. Shaper: The shaper is a task-focused leader who abounds in nervous energy, who has a high motivation to achieve and for whom winning is the name of the game. Resource Investigator: The resource investigator is someone who explores opportunities and develops contacts. Resource investigators are good negotiators who probe others for information and support and pick up others ideas and develop them. Company Worker: Implementers are aware of external obligations and are disciplined, conscientious and have a good self-image. They tend to be tough-minded and practical, trusting and tolerant, respecting established traditions. Team worker: Team workers make helpful interventions to avert potential friction and enable difficult characters within the team to use their skills to positive ends. They tend to keep team spirit up and allow other members to contribute effectively. Specialist The specialist provides knowledge and technical skills which are in rare supply within the team. They are often highly introverted and anxious and tend to be self-starting, dedicated and committed Risk of Team failure Diagnosing Team Failure Teams are put together to combine the knowledge and expertise of team members, this helps to gain greater strategic thinking and enhanced creativity in business solutions. When teams fail to perform as expected, an attempt is usually made to pinpoint and blame the people responsible. However, the answer doesnt always lie in replacing the team or firing the ‘scapegoat but in answering the question, ‘what went wrong with the group as a whole and why? Unless we make an attempt to identify the underlying causes, its unlikely the solution will be found. Factors Identifying Six Common Problem Areas No Trust Between Team Members When team members dont trust each other or are suspicious of each others motives, the end result is a team that is not cohesive in its approach. Ineffective Interaction and Unproductive Team Meetings All the complexities of team dynamics come to the fore at the meeting. The meeting is one of the most critical aspects of the team process with strategies and innovative solutions to problems emerging during this time. Poor Role Clarity Role clarity is a must in a team situation. When roles are not clearly defined, this can lead to conflict and confusion on tasks. Losing Focus of Business Objectives If you dont know where you are heading, how can you get there!? At times a team fails because the goals are unclear to the team members. Faulty Analysis of Market Conditions and Flawed Company Policies At times a team can fail due to uncertainties in market conditions and an inability to read the signs of change. Poor Time Management A team should plan its goals and activities whilst keeping time constraints and deadlines in mind, otherwise their efficiency level in managing and implementing a task can Risk Matrix A Risk Matrix is a tool used in the Risk Assessment process, it allows the severity of the risk of an event occurring to be determined. http://www.databasepublish.com/solutions/project-services/risk-management The identified risks are collected into a Risk Matrix. The Risk Matrix includes the rating of severity, mitigation strategy, owner and contingency plan for each risk. These proposed actions are formulated to address the risks that can be avoided upon implementation of a mitigation strategy. For example Impact Probability High No Trust between team member High Poor Role Clarity High Poor Time Management Medium Faulty Analysis of Market Conditions and Flawed Company Policies Law Ineffective Interaction and Unproductive Team Meetings High H/H Mitigation/Contingency Required H/H Mitigation/Contingency Required H/H Mitigation/Contingency Required H/M Mitigation/Contingency Required H/L Mitigation/Contingency Recommended Midium M/H Mitigation/Contingency Required M/H Mitigation/Contingency Required H/H Mitigation/Contingency Required M/M Mitigation/Contingency Recommended M/L Mitigation/Contingency Optional Low H/H Mitigation/Contingency Required H/H Mitigation/Contingency Required L/H Mitigation/Contingency Recommended L/M Mitigation/Contingency Optional L/L Mitigation/Contingency Optional Probability / Impact Ranking Chart for Risk Matrix of a project The company or organisation then would calculate what levels of Risk they can take with different events. This would be done by weighing up the risk of an event occurring against the cost to implement safety and the benefit gained from it. Contingency Introduction:A project contingency or management reserve is an amount the consultant or the contractor may want to include the unexpected resources that may be overlooked or tasks that may have to be redone because they might not work for the first time. Contingency provision is to cover the elements of unforeseen minor changes in the technical and design specification. Contingency Plan: A defined set of tasks agreed upon by appropriate members of the Project Team that will be undertaken to manage the Project Team in the event the Risk occurs, roughly equivalent to an organizations various Disaster Plans. Tasks should be assignable to a single accountable resource. Given the substantive effect that the Risk is judged to have on the Project, the Contingency Plan may be relatively short with the realization that if it is invoked, it will ultimately give rise to a larger Project Plan detailed elsewhere. Otherwise, the guidelines for granularity etc. of individual tasks are identical to those described for the Mitigation Strategy. All risks with a must have an associated Contingency Plan If the decision has already been made to cancel the project if the Risk occurs, the Contingency Plan should stat

Andrew Jackson :: essays research papers

The love story of Andrew Jackson and his wife, Rachel, has been acclaimed one of the greatest romances of the nineteenth century. Author Irving Stone went to great lengths to write a book of accuracy of their life together. Using many different government libraries and historical reference groups to build a fact filled book on a great American president and his wife.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Starting in 1784, when young Rachel was still wed to Captain Lewis Robards; Stone begins to take you back in time with this piece of well written literature. After disgraceful and embarrassing accusations of having affairs with different men from Robards, Rachel returned to her home and family. While at her home, her mother took in a man named Andrew Jackson as a border. Rachel and Jackson became friends and realized that there was more attraction to each other then what they first anticipated. Mr. Stone’s variety in writing styles brings the story together so that you may understand the story from many different angles.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Rachel and Andrew’s love life was rocky in the beginning, her estranged and fierce ex-husband, Robbers, tried many different attack tactics to break them up and shame them publicly. He made many public accusations about Rachel being an adulteress and hurt her and her family deeply. But over time they rose together to make it through the difficult situations. Mr. Stone’s portrayal of Rachel Jackson seems to bring her to life, noting her strong points and weaknesses. Through the trials they faced together, her courage and strength helped them succeed in life. While Andrew was a dear man and loved her, his personality was more of an adventuresome spirit and businesslike mind. He was always able to provide for his wife, even if it meant moving or him leaving her for an extended period of time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the story, Stone always reinforced the idea that Rachel and Andrew’s love was like no other recorded romance in American history.

Analysis of the Spectrum of Depression Essays -- Biology Essays Resear

Analysis of the Spectrum of Depression Depression has many degrees of severity from a passing feeling to a serious illness, which destroys lives and relationships. Major depressive disorder is the most severe form of depression. It is extreme and persistent, rendering the patient inconsolable and helpless (1). Depressed patients often cannot continue working and have difficulty dealing with family and friends. Other symptoms of major depression are deep despair, misery, irritability, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, change in eating and sleeping habits, fatigue and inability to concentrate. Other mental illnesses, such as anxiety and alcoholism are also associated with major depression (2). While serious depressive episodes are important to our understanding of mental health, chronic depression is terribly widespread and often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Dysthymia is a disorder which has similar, but milder and much longer lasting, symptoms to depression (3). By understanding the characteristics of dysthymia, health p rofessionals can identify a chronic mental illness before it manifests into more serious psychological problems, such as severe depression. Dysthymia is also an interesting disorder from the neurobiological perspective because it is often difficult to discern from other personality disorders, such as a depressed or gloomy personality. This paper explores depression and dysthymia, their symptoms and therapies. In addition, personalities which are depressed will be analyzed and compared to depression and dysthymia. Do all three afflictions stem from the same genetic or environmental causes, and mechanistic origins? Are they all responsive to the same treatment? This comparison will address the difficulty in dis... ...l and emotional signals can be influenced at several different levels in the brain, by a myriad of chemicals. The sole cause of depression seems to be the simultaneous breakdown of neurochemical pathways across the nervous systems. It is true that treating depression in all of its forms is much easier today with the advent of new antidepressants, but these drugs are correcting a neurochemical imbalance which is not specific to depression. There may exist and someday be discovered a particular mood regulation flaw which is responsible for depression, but given the research presented today, I would say there is not. Sources Cited: 1) Elliott, Laura. "Help for Your Head, " Washingtonian, April 1998, p.76 2) http://www.mentalhealth.com/p20-grp.html 3) http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis1/p21-md04.html 4) http://www.epub.org.br/cm/n03/noticias/freios_i.htm Analysis of the Spectrum of Depression Essays -- Biology Essays Resear Analysis of the Spectrum of Depression Depression has many degrees of severity from a passing feeling to a serious illness, which destroys lives and relationships. Major depressive disorder is the most severe form of depression. It is extreme and persistent, rendering the patient inconsolable and helpless (1). Depressed patients often cannot continue working and have difficulty dealing with family and friends. Other symptoms of major depression are deep despair, misery, irritability, low self-esteem, suicidal thoughts, change in eating and sleeping habits, fatigue and inability to concentrate. Other mental illnesses, such as anxiety and alcoholism are also associated with major depression (2). While serious depressive episodes are important to our understanding of mental health, chronic depression is terribly widespread and often undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. Dysthymia is a disorder which has similar, but milder and much longer lasting, symptoms to depression (3). By understanding the characteristics of dysthymia, health p rofessionals can identify a chronic mental illness before it manifests into more serious psychological problems, such as severe depression. Dysthymia is also an interesting disorder from the neurobiological perspective because it is often difficult to discern from other personality disorders, such as a depressed or gloomy personality. This paper explores depression and dysthymia, their symptoms and therapies. In addition, personalities which are depressed will be analyzed and compared to depression and dysthymia. Do all three afflictions stem from the same genetic or environmental causes, and mechanistic origins? Are they all responsive to the same treatment? This comparison will address the difficulty in dis... ...l and emotional signals can be influenced at several different levels in the brain, by a myriad of chemicals. The sole cause of depression seems to be the simultaneous breakdown of neurochemical pathways across the nervous systems. It is true that treating depression in all of its forms is much easier today with the advent of new antidepressants, but these drugs are correcting a neurochemical imbalance which is not specific to depression. There may exist and someday be discovered a particular mood regulation flaw which is responsible for depression, but given the research presented today, I would say there is not. Sources Cited: 1) Elliott, Laura. "Help for Your Head, " Washingtonian, April 1998, p.76 2) http://www.mentalhealth.com/p20-grp.html 3) http://www.mentalhealth.com/dis1/p21-md04.html 4) http://www.epub.org.br/cm/n03/noticias/freios_i.htm

Essay examples --

Steven Spielberg’s film â€Å"Amistad† and Howard Jones’ book â€Å"Mutiny on the Amistad† both tell the story of a group of slaves who were able to take over a ship called the Amistad just off the coast of Cuba in attempts to sail home to west Africa. After being tricked by the two remaining crewmembers into sailing up the east coast of America, the slaves are captured and thrown into a life changing legal battle, one of the most famous trials in history. Eventually, the group of slaves were granted their freedom and allowed to return to their homes. Both Spielberg and Jones focused on the events leading up to the trial, the outcome of the trial, as well as its significance, however Jones told the story with more depth, details, and accuracy. However even with this being said, there are still things that can be learned through viewing this film. When viewing the film, students will learn and get a feel for a general outline of the events that took place. The film does not go into much detail about any of the characters or main events, however does focus on the trials and their eventual verdicts. Also, in typical Spielberg fashion, the cinematography of the movie helps to provide very detailed visuals of the horrifying nature of slavery, evident in the conditions we see on the two ships, the Amistad and the Tecora. Though what went on aboard the ships in the film may or may not have actually happened, it if safe to say actual events probably were not that far off. At the most, this film may provide some background information on the events that took place during this time, and which may lead to further interest in the viewer. As previously stated, both the film and the book deal with the events of the Amistad and the fate of the slaves ... ... speeches, testimonies, etc. to put together an in depth look at the Amistad, along with many more sources which can be found at the end of the book (pg. 222-259). When it comes to teaching history in university, the fact that the book used many more reputable resources and remained true to the story makes it more suited and superior to the movie. The book is a more reliable source and a more accurate representation of all events that occurred, written from each angle. As stated earlier, Steven Spielberg put together very well made movie and includes many of the main events that occurred at the time, however due its inaccuracy and lack of detail regarding all events, it should not be used in teaching. It may be used to gauge interest and lead to further readings, however it should not be used over the book to teach the significance of this historical event.