Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte Comparison

Hitler and Napoleon had numerous differences; however I believe there were more similarities.   Both leaders immigrated in the country they ended up ruling; both conquered most of European countries; both had radical views about wars, and both were surprisingly fast in their fighting.Nevertheless, the most significant similarities between Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte is how they were accepted as monarchs in a society that was democratic before; and what they did for the countries after becoming monarchs.A hundred years before Hitler became Chancellor, Hegel, in a famous course of lectures at the University of Berlin, had pointed to the role of ‘World-historical individuals' as the agents by which ‘the Will of the World Spirit', the plan of Providence, is carried out.They may all be called Heroes, in as much as they have derived their purposes and their vocation, not from the calm regular course of things, sanctioned by the existing order; but from a concealed fou nt, from that inner Spirit, still hidden beneath the surface, which impinges on the outer world as on a shell and bursts it into pieces. (Such were Alexander, Caesar, Napoleon.)They were practical, political men. But at the same time they were thinking men, who had an insight into the requirements of the time–what was ripe for development. This was the very Truth for their age, for their world. . . .It was theirs to know this nascent principle, the necessary, directly sequent step in progress, which their world was to take; to make this their aim, and to expend their energy in promoting it. World-historical men — the Heroes of an epoch — must therefore be recognized as its clear-sighted ones: their deeds, their words are the best of their time. (Hegel, 1902, pp. 31-32)Hitler probably held some such belief about himself from an early period. It was clear enough in the speech he made at his trial in 1924, (Hegel , 1902, p.117) and after he came out of prison those near him noticed that he began to hold aloof, to set a barrier between himself and his followers. After he came to power it became more noticeable.It was in March 1936, that he made the famous assertion already quoted: ‘I go the way that Providence dictates with the assurance of a sleep-walker.' (Domarus, 2004)As soon as Hitler began to think and talk about the organization of the State it is clear that the metaphor which dominated his mind was that of an army. He saw the State as an instrument of power in which the qualities to be valued were discipline, unity and sacrifice.It was from the Army that he took the Fà ¼hrerprinzip, the leadership principle, upon which first the Nazi Party, and later the National Socialist State, were built. ‘Our Constitution,' wrote Nazi Germany's leading lawyer, Dr Hans Frank, ‘is the will of the Fà ¼hrer.' (Volkischer Beobachter, 1936). This was in fact literally true.The Weimar Constitution was never replaced, it was simply susp ended by the Enabling Law, which was renewed periodically and placed all power in Hitler's hands. Hitler thus enjoyed a more complete measure of power than Napoleon, since he had been careful not to allow the growth of any institution which might in an emergency be used as a check on him.Hitler's originality lay not in his ideas, but in the terrifying literal way in which he set to work to translate these ideas into reality, and his unequalled grasp of the means by which to do this. To read Hitler's speeches and table talk is to be struck again and again by the lack of magnanimity or of any trace of moral greatness.His comments on everything except politics display a cocksure ignorance and an ineradicable vulgarity. Yet this vulgarity of mind, like the insignificance of his appearance, the badly fitting raincoat and the lock of hair plastered over his forehead of the early Hitler, was perfectly compatible with brilliant political gifts.Accustomed to associate such gifts with the qua lities of intellect which Napoleon possessed, we are astonished and offended by this combination. Yet to underestimate Hitler as a politician, to dismiss him as an ignorant demagogue, is to make precisely the mistake that so many Germans made in the early 1930s.The conception of the Nazi Party, the propaganda with which it must appeal to the German people, and the tactics by which it would come to power–these were unquestionably Hitler's.After 1934 there were no rivals left and by 1938 he had removed the last checks on his freedom of action. Thereafter, he exercised an arbitrary rule in Germany to a degree rarely, if ever, equalled in a modern industrialized state.At the same time, from the re-militarization of the Rhineland to the invasion of Russia, he won a series of successes in diplomacy and war which established an hegemony over the continent of Europe comparable with that of Napoleon at the height of his fame.While these could not have been won without a people and an Army willing to serve him, it was Hitler who provided the indispensable leadership, the flair for grasping opportunities, the boldness in using them.In retrospect his mistakes appear obvious, and it is easy to be complacent about the inevitability of his defeat; but it took the combined efforts of the three most powerful nations in the world to break his hold on Europe.Luck and the disunity of his opponents will account for much of Hitler's success–as it will of Napoleon's–but not for all. He began with few advantages, a man without a name and without support other than that which he acquired for himself, not even a citizen of the country he aspired to rule.To achieve what he did Hitler needed–and possessed–talents out of the ordinary which in sum amounted to political genius, however evil its fruits (Taylor, 1950).The obvious weakness of Hitler's policy, the fault which destroyed him as surely as it had destroyed Napoleon, was his inability to stop. By t he end of 1938 Hitler had transformed Germany's position in international affairs.He had everything to gain by waiting for a year or two before taking another step, sitting back to profit from the divisions and hesitations of the other European Powers, instead of driving them, by the fears he aroused, into reluctant combination. Moreover, a temporary relaxation of the rearmament drive would have had considerable economic benefits for Germany.According to General Jodl, at the height of the fighting in the West Hitler expressed his determination to deal with Russia as soon as the military situation made it at all possible. Hitherto he had always made it a condition of any attack on Russia that Germany must first be secure against intervention from the west.In his speech to the generals on 23 November 1939 he had repeated this condition, first laid down in Mein Kampf: ‘We can oppose Russia only when we are free in the west.'   (Domarus , 2004). But, with Britain expelled from t he Continent and left without an ally, was this not already as good as settled?Hitler was prepared to wait until the autumn to see if the British could be brought to admit defeat openly, but not longer. In the meantime, before July was out, even before the Luftwaffe had begun its all-out offensive against the British, he gave orders to start preliminary planning for an attack on Russia.There is an obvious parallel with Napoleon in 1805 the French Emperor started planning the march eastwards which was to lead to Austerlitz while still maintaining his preparations for the invasion of Britain from the camp at Boulogne.In comparison, in the east, after throwing back the Russians in March 1943, in July the Germans launched a new offensive against their lines round Kursk. Half a million men, the finest troops left in the German Army, including seventeen panzer divisions equipped with the new heavy Tiger tanks, were used to carry it out.After heavy and costly fighting the Russians not only succeeded in bringing the German attack to a halt, but on 12 July themselves opened an offensive (for the first time in the summer) farther north. Gradually their attacks spread along the whole front.On 4 August they retook Orel, and on 23 August Kharkov. On 23 September they recaptured Poltava, and on the 25th Smolensk, from which both Napoleon and Hitler had directed their invasions of Russia.From the re-militarization of the Rhineland to the invasion of Russia, he won a series of successes in diplomacy and war which established an hegemony over the continent of Europe comparable with that of Napoleon at the height of his fame. Luck and the disunity of his opponents will account for much of Hitler's success–as it will of Napoleon's–but not for all.After the war, Adolf Hitler distanced himself from his family. Christa Schroeder summed it up: â€Å"He has no feelings for the family.† (Schroeder, 1949, p. 115)It was more than that–Hitler had little in com mon with his cousins in the country or with his siblings. He had outgrown them. He was rightly wary of Alois Jr. and his son Patrick, although they actually never harmed him.Perhaps they knew too much, but what they revealed in French and American papers was innocuous. Hitler was opposed to nepotism and criticized Napoleon for it. His feelings about his relatives were truly mixed. Though he remembered them in his will, he also gave orders to make the countryside around Dà ¶llersheim, one of the villages in his ancestral region (Ahnengau), into an artillery range (Wake, 1977).Undoubtedly, Hitler and Napoleon had numerous differences; however I believe there were more similarities.   Both leaders immigrated in the country they ended up ruling; both conquered most of European countries; both had radical views about wars, and both were surprisingly fast in their fighting.Nevertheless, the most significant similarities between Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte is how they were accep ted as monarchs in a society that was democratic before; and what they did for the countries after becoming monarchs (Taylor, 1950).Evidently, France and Germany needed someone because they were both in economic chaos.   Both men were intent in building a new type of state with a new social order.   Both leaders took the advantage of more or less unlimited power, assuming, however, this power very carefully and legally.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Are BHA and BHT bad for you? Essay

The foods we consume can have different kinds of compounds in them that we didn’t know about. These compounds added to the foods we eat are not always detectable. For instance certain compounds can be listed on the nutrition label and we can’t even taste or see them. Butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene, also known as BHA and BHT, are both phenolic compounds that are added to certain foods in order to preserve fats and oils. Even though these compounds are used to preserve the foods we eat, how do we know that BHA and BHT aren’t bad for us? Even though BHA and BHT have minimal negative effects, they are outweighed by many beneficial attributes and are not bad for us. Knowing what these compounds are made of, what their functions are, and how they work will help in answering this central question. Even though BHA and BHT both have the same function, they have different characteristics. â€Å"BHA is a mixture of the isomers 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxya nisole and 2-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole, also known as BOA.† The molecular formula of BHA is C11H16O2. BHA can be a yellow tainted or white waxy solid and can have an aromatic odor. BHT â€Å"also known as 3, 5-di-tert-butyl-4-hydroxytoluene; methyl-di-tert-butylphenol; 2, 6-di-tert-butyl-para-cresol,† has a molecular formula of C15H240. BHT physically looks like a white powder. Even though BHA and BHT are used for the same things, BHA is more stable at higher temperatures than BHT so it is used more. There are other antioxidants that can be used like NDGA but they are more expensive than BHA and BHT. BHA and BHT can be found in certain foods or can be found in certain food packaging. BHA and BHT do not have to be directly put into food and products to work. They can be placed in the packaging of food and will have the same effect. These compounds have not only been used to preserve food, but animal feed and some cosmetic products as well. Without BHA and BHT the foods we eat and products containing fats and oils would not be preserved as long as they could be. The use of BHA and BHT enables us to consume foods for a longer period of time. These compounds are antioxidants. â€Å"Oxygen reacts preferentially with BHA or BHT rather than oxidizing fats or oils, thereby protecting them from spoilage.† BHA and BHT are placed either in or inside the packaging of foods so the oxygen reacts with these compounds instead of reacting with the food which in turn will spoil it. In a sense BHA and BHT slow down the oxidizing of fats and oils because eventually most food expires or goes bad and becomes inedible. BHA and BHT are also â€Å"fat soluble and are incompatible with ferric salts.† Since BHA and BHT prevent the fat and oils in food from spoiling, they also prevent the fat and oils in some cosmetic products from spoiling. In addition to preserving cosmetics BHA and BHT are also used in certain pharmaceuticals to be prevented from oxidizing. BHA and BHT can be found in many different kinds of food products. They can be found in â€Å"breakfast cereals, snack food, chewing gum, vegetable oils, shortening, potato flakes, granules and chips, enriched rice, and candy.† BHA and BHT can be found in certain cosmetics like lipstick, lotion, and moisturizers as well. These compounds are also placed inside the packaging of foods. Sometimes when opening a snack or box of food there is a little white package that says â€Å"DO NOT EAT† or â€Å"THROW AWAY† on it. It is usually a white or clear substance inside. Those packages are silica gel, which are similar to BHA and BHT because they are all used in preserving foods, except silica gel is not used in foods and is not safe to consume. BHA and BHT compounds are also found in rubber and petroleum products, and animal feed. Sometimes you can see if a food or product contains BHA or BHT when reading the nutrition label. On the nutrition label sometimes it will say â€Å"BHT has been added to the packaging.† Foods and products that contain fats and oils in them can benefit from BHA and BHT so they can be preserved and therefore used for a longer period of time. BHA and BHT aid in other things relating to the prevention of food and products from becoming rancid due to the oxidization of the oils and fats. â€Å"BHT also prevents oxidative rancidity.† BHA and BHT preserve the color of foods and products as well. When foods or products containing fats and oils become spoiled, their color can change. For example when cereal goes bad it can become stale and moldy which will change its color. BHT and BHA also help maintain the odors of foods and products. When a food becomes rancid it can develop a bad smell. When milk spoils you can tell just by taking the lid off that it instantly has a sour smell. BHT and BHA also help preserve the flavor and taste of foods. After a food has been spoiled, in most cases it has a rancid taste and is not enjoyable or even edible. With BHA and BHT the color, odor, and flavor of foods are being maintained for a longer period of time. BHA and BHT help preserve our foods and products so they are safe to ingest and use in minimal amounts. Even though these compounds have been in many of our food and cosmetic products for a very long time, you can’t help but wonder if they are really safe to come in contact with. â€Å"BHA and BHT were given, generally recognized as safe, GRAS, status and no additional studies were required.† Even though these compounds are considered safe, the amounts in which we receive them are limited. Just because BHA and BHT preserve our foods does not mean we can use mass amounts of them in our foods and packaging to prolong the oxidization process. â€Å"The FDA limits their use in food either alone or in combination with other antioxidants to less than or equal to 0.02% of the total fat and oil content.† BHA and BHT can only be used in these limited amounts enforced by the FDA. It is impossible to ingest or come in contact with too much of BHA and BHT because manufacturers add them is such small amounts. If BHA and BHT were not safe to be used in products and product packaging, the FDA would have banned their use by now. BHA and BHT have been used since 1958 and are still being used today. These compounds are not dangerous to use but have been linked to minor health effects in humans. Lots of animal toxicology has been done with these two compounds, but there have only bee n few records of human reactions to BHA and BHT since its use. â€Å"In 1973 Fisherman and Cohen reported on seven patients with asthma, vasomotor rhinitis with or without nasal polyps, or the combination, who were suspected of intolerance to BHA and BHT.† Even though these patients had these health effects when taking BHT and BHA the details were not given as to why BHA and BHT were considered the reason for these complications. Also another study similar to this was conducted but the same results were not achieved which has proven it inconsistent. â€Å"There are no published reports of BHA or BHT challenges resulting in well documented, reproducible asthmatic responses.† Even though it was found that seven patients had asthma, it cannot be directly related to the ingestion of BHA and BHT. In a different study done in 1975 it was found that after giving patients a total dose of 17 mg of BHA and BHT, they developed recurrent urticaria which is also commonly known as hives. â€Å"Six of 47 tested to BHA reacted, and 6 of 43 reacte d to BHT; it is unclear whether these were the same six patients.† Even though BHA and BHT could have been the cause of urticaria in these patients, it is a very small number of people who reacted to it this way and is not recurring. This does not prove that BHA and BHT are harmful and will always cause people to get hives when ingesting or coming in contact with these compounds. â€Å"Delayed hypersensitivity contact dermatitis through a variety of occupational or medicinal exposures is well documented, but not common.† Skin irritation has been related to BHA and BHT intake but only from very minimal experiences. Urtcaria resulting from these compounds is not common and is not documented as a direct relation to one another. Even though these concerns have resulted from BHA and BHT use, it is not proven to be the cause of these effects on humans The only main concern of BHA and BHT is their carcinogenicity. Carcinogenicity is something that has a tendency to cause cancer in humans. Animal tests using BHA and BHT â€Å"have shown to be cancer promoting and cancer inhibiting.† In some tests BHA and BHT had prevented tumors from developing in mice, and in others the BHA and BHT promoted the development of tumors in mice. Determining whether these compounds promote or prevent cancer in humans depends on various aspects. â€Å"The time of administration, type of carcinogens already present in the body, and the target organ affected,† are a few things that would determine whether it promotes or prevents cancer from arising in humans. Even though the carcinogenicity of these compounds is unsure, the use of them was not prohibited. Any kind of chemical compounds can have suspected negative effects on humans. Even though BHA and BHT have had minor effects, their benefits significantly outweigh those effects. The main benefit of BHA and BHT is of course to preserve food and products for a longer period of time. These compounds can aid us in other ways as well. â€Å"BHA and BHT exhibit anti-microbial activity against several common food pathogens and viruses.† Without BHA and BHT it would be a lot easier for our food products to develop viruses and pathogens that can get us sick. By keeping the food from spoiling longer, these compounds also prevent the development of these pathogens and viruses. This in turn â€Å"helps retain vitamin E in food which otherwise gets destroyed when fat content is oxidized.† Vitamin E helps prevents free radicals from damaging our body tissue. These free radicals can even harm our organs and cells too. Vitamin E also helps us to build a stronger immune system so we won’t get sick as easily from bacteria or develop viruses. Lastly vitamin E is also essential to our body’s formation of red blood cells. BHA and BHT can help us obtain more vitamin E which is necessary for our health. These compounds can enable us to receive so many mor e benefits that vitamin E has by retaining the vitamin E in our foods. â€Å"The oxidization of fat, which occurs in the absence of BHA and BHT, produces peroxides which are definitely carcinogenic and mutagenic.† Carcinogenic peroxides can promote cancer and mutagenic peroxides can cause mutations in our cells. These peroxides can be extremely detrimental to us. So in other words, without BHA and BHT these dangerous peroxides would be produced that are harmful to us. The benefits of BHA and BHT are tremendous and outweigh the small possible negative effects of these compounds. Knowing about the different compounds present in your food and products is important. Just because you can’t see or taste them doesn’t mean that they are not there. BHA and BHT were created to help the preservations of food and products containing fats and oils. These compounds are essential in the prolonging of our use of these certain foods and products. Without BHA and BHT we would not be able to improve shelf life of food and the use of products. Even though BHA and BHT were somewhat connected to asthma and urticaria (hives), they were not declared the direct cause of those conditions. The only concern of BHA and BHT was its carcinogenicity which is unsure due to the confusion and mixed results of its animal testing on mice. The human benefits to BHA and BHT are great ones considering how it is only administered in very minimal amounts. BHA and BHT protect us from pathogens, viruses, and peroxides that can harm us. These compounds enable us to retain more vitamin E which promotes healthier body functions. BHA and BHT have been used for over 50 years. They are not dangerous and have not caused any detrimental effects to humans. We will continue to use BHA and BHT and receive their great benefits.

Monday, July 29, 2019

Capacity Strategy at Alden Products

Capacity strategy should embody a mental model of how a firm works in a given industry and geographic region. There are a series of assumptions and predictions about the log-term behaviour of markets, technologies, costs and competitor’s behaviour. Such a model would include the following factors: * Predicted growth and variability of demand for the firm’s products and services * Costs of building and operating different sized-facilities * Likely rate and direction of technological evolution Expected behaviour of competitors * Anticipated availability, capabilities and costs of external suppliers The European organization of Alden Products, Inc. is contemplating a doubling of unit sales over the next ten years. Their largest plant, located in Holland, was set up 25 years earlier to supply all demands of the EEC countries on the continent. It has since expanded six times. The question in mind pertaining to the case is that: * Should it expand again? * Should it build a new plant in Southern Europe? Or should it expand its use of contract fillers? As of 1988, 75% of Alden-Europe’s sales took place on the continent and 25% came from UK. Out of 75% of the continent, * 25% came from France, * 12. 5% came from Italy, * 37. 5% came from Spain and Germany Alden-Europe’s overall growth was expected to average over 40% per year but this varied across various countries. Thus, there was a high degree of uncertainty about the growth rate in several countries. The capacity strategy adopted by API was Policy C: Add Capacity Only after Demand Exceeds It. This policy implies that the company’s capacity plan will contain a negative cushion so that the likelihood of running short is greater than the likelihood of having excess capacity. As per my analysis of the scenario, I feel that API should expand at Uniplant based upon the following factors: How capacity and operations management will interact in case of expansion? An operation’s actual capacity is affected by some important factors. They are as follows: 1. Capacity is technology based: A number of Uniplant’s products used proprietary formulations and ingredients. Opening up a plant in new location would make the management get reluctant to risk the secrecy of these formulations. The same would be applicable if they would go ahead with contract fillers. 2. Capacity depends on the interaction of multiple resource constraints: Uniplant attains the following advantage over Southern Europe in matters like: * No additional land needed * Availability of labour * Fewer additional employees * Cost Advantage in terms of production of own plastic bottles Availability and long-term relationship with suppliers * Speed up the processing time . Capacity is location specific: Holland is a desirable place in terms of access to raw materials, proximity to markets via existing rail lines and highways, labour costs, tax rates and political and social stability. 4. Capacity is mix dependent: The capacity of the plant which was under 90% was greatly dependent on the production mix which included both the product mix and size mix. Different products/services consume different amounts of various resources, so a change in location could affect the product mix as the availability of the various resources could also differ. Capacity depends on management policies: The management was clear about the fact the product quality should be clearly distinguishable as superior to the competition in terms of performance, packaging and design finish. Hence by subcontracting, the company would increase the risk of reduction in quality and customer service and increase in indirect costs. 6. Capacity is affected by the degree of variability of demand: Sales in different countries were expected to grow at different rates. There were also changes predicted to occur in wage and exchange rates. Hence, an increase in the number of plants would just complicate the entire issue. In terms of sizing of capacity increments taking into account scale considerations, the company should attain long term economies of scale. This scale refers to the economies that arise from using one large facility rather than a number of smaller ones. This often results in savings because the processing capacity is roughly proportional to its interior volume and its cost is more closely related to the surface area in terms of where the materials and labour hours are concentrated. We also know that though there is a growth in demand, variability exists across different countries. Greater the variability, there are chances that there would be a greater amount of underutilized capacity and at this stage opening a new plant in a different location altogether could make the entire scenario vulnerable. Drawbacks of not opening a new plant in Southern Europe are as follows: * Loose an opportunity to tap a lower cost labour market * Reduction in transportation costs had a new plant come up in Southern Europe * Would not be able to offset the protectionist sentiment in both France and Italy. Thus we see that by adopting the option of expansion at Uniplant, the company would be in a better state as compared to the other options. However a few recommendations in terms of changes to be mad in the expansion plan are provided below: Uniplant’s mark-up price should be reduced from 10% to 5% initially and then become nil in mere future. This would increase the number of sales from the customer point of view and would also help other countries to price their products competitively even during times when there is any kind of fluctuation in exchange rates. They should equalize the unit transportation costs to all subsidiaries which would make the entire process less complex and fair. This would help in maintaining long term relationships with them. Standardized products could be subcontracted but products involving high-technology shouldn’t be under contract filling as this could increase the risk of quality deterioration and increase in indirect costs.

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Economic Repercussions of the Clean Air Act Essay

Economic Repercussions of the Clean Air Act - Essay Example In the public discussion over legal obligations versus economic rewards, there is a very limited knowledge of the fundamental economics concerned. If the goal is to regulate the discharge to an accurate, predictable level, direct quantitative regulations are apt to be most successful in attaining the social objective. If they can be checked and implemented, direct regulations will be effective in lessening pollution to a predictable level. It is far from evident that legislators must aspire for a definite pollution level. Being aware or predicting the right pollution level demands costs and benefits information that could be indecisive at best. Devoid of this particular knowledge legislators might prefer a technique that reduces the social costs stemming from the inaccurate costs or benefits information. This is likely to entail economic rewards instead of obligatory standards. While there are various views regarding the suitable objective of environmental policy, this paper supposes that environmental legislators pursue to take full advantage of the economic interests emerging from their policy decisions. The problem is that they are trying to exploit an indecisive ‘net benefit stream’, which is identified as the â€Å"difference between the health, aesthetic and material benefits of reducing air pollution and the costs of achieving this reduction† (Crandall, 1983, 59). There are critical setbacks of indecisiveness in approximating the costs of benefits of regulation. The importance of future health effects, the link between ambient quality of air and discharges from point-sources, the significance of reduced mortality or morbidity rates, and the regulation costs across various sources are the primary providers of this indecisiveness (Freedman & Jaggi, 1993). For each of these important connections, subjective or objective approximations should be performed by

Diversity at the work place Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Diversity at the work place - Essay Example ..........................................................................................................................5 Statement of the problem...............................................................................................................5 Literature review............................................................................................................................6 Findings .......................................................................................................................................10 Discussion.....................................................................................................................................12 Overcoming discrimination disability...........................................................................................15 Recommendations.........................................................................................................................17 Conclusion...................... ...............................................................................................................18 References .....................................................................................................................................20 Disability in the Workplace Abstract The issue of disability at workplaces has now taken a centre stage in many organizations and states for many years. Many governments have established policies, regulations and codes of conduct towards disabled individuals in terms of their involvement in organizational operations and responsibilities. As a result, management of companies have recognized the significance of implementing set policies on disabled individuals in their organizations. However, many disabled people in organizations across the world have been experiencing workplace discrimination based on their shortcomings. Disability discrimination is an illegal practice described by selective treatment of individuals with respec t to their physical abilities. Majority of the disabled individuals experience unfair treatment in the professional fields for many years. To date, some organizations have not completely gotten rid of the stigma. However, numerous organizations have implemented rules and regulations aimed at overcoming the disability in the workplace. Introduction Disability is a state of the body that limits the performance of an individual because of their physical or mental inability. A person with any physical or mental impairment or has a history of these conditions or is perceived to possess them is considered disabled in many organizations and countries across the world. Physical disability appears in many forms such as visual, hearing, mobility impairment, mental conditions such as autism and other chronic medical conditions such as diabetes, epilepsy and asthma. Disability discrimination in the work place still exists today with many disabled workers facing unfair treatment from either the employers or the co-workers. The management of all organizations are required to prevent and discourage any form of discrimination against the disabled. Disabled employees may receive lesser job benefits as compared to other workers because of their physical or mental conditions. Such benefits include less pay, minimal tasks assigned, limited training and other fringe benefits. The disabled employees may also be put under hardship working conditions that include being assigned difficult tasks with respect to

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Computer Sciences and Information Technology. User Experience Essay

Computer Sciences and Information Technology. User Experience - Essay Example In this regards, the paper contains description and purpose of website development, the intended audience of the website along with weaknesses and strengths of the website in respect of their usage by diverse users. Some users may not agree that this website is easy to use and users have difficult experiences with its interface, this study looks at every element of interaction and usability factors (Cornell University Library, 2012). In order to get information regarding their experiences of using the website, the users are given a website usability form to be filled so that the website of the Phone4u can be evaluated. The paper presents the recommendations to the company for improving several aspects of the website to reach the targeted audience, trust development on the visitors and customers, moreover, guidance to increase the web traffic (Dumas, 2008, p37). The usability test is one of the essential steps in the evaluation of the user’s likeness and dislike-ness while usin g the Phone4u’s website. This will require acquisition of user opinions and to present analysis of the information to guide the decision on the areas of improvement. Since most of the features are observable qualitative attributes, this study will have to convert them into quantitative variables for ease of data analysis. 1.2. Background In the evaluation of the website, the focus is how to improve the usability by adding features that are more relevant and functional keeping in view the targeted audience of the website. This can be done by evaluating the website and improving the weaknesses indicating by the analysis. The amendments to the website of the Phone4u should be made as per the recommendations of the users (Valacich, Joey & Hoffer, 2009, p67). At the same time, it is important to consider the fact that some users do not welcome changes so easily and may prefer to remain in the previous version of the website rather than the new one with improved features (Kendall & Kendall 2011, p58). The evaluation will lead to the decision making for the new version of the website based on the information from user response. The statistics will be gathered as comments from various participants. The participants’ views reflect the present trend and the actual real world events that are of interest to this website. The study uses the structure of information flow as shown in the figure below, with the system the user and the feedback mechanism. Figure 1: Information Flow between System, Users and Feedback mechanism 1.3. Study Problem/Question This study seeks to answer one (1) major question having various sub parts. The first question is â€Å"Whether the website of the Phones4u is easy to use for the targeted audience of the website?† In order to have the answer of the first question of this study, the users have to answer the various questions as described by the Jokab Neilsen. The sub questions (parts) include: â€Å"the visibility of the s ystem, Match between system and the real world, User control and freedom, Consistency and standards, Error prevention, Recognition rather than recall, Flexibility and efficiency of use, Aesthetic and minimalist design, Help users recognize, Help and documentation, diagnose and recover from errors. Basically, these are the guidelines provided by the Jakob Neilson for evaluating the usability of the website† (Selvaraj, 2011). All these questions will be answered by the selected participants. 2. Aims The aim of this study is to explore the usability issues in the

Friday, July 26, 2019

History class Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

History class - Essay Example Galileo contributed a lot in the development of scientific method. He evolved his theories in an enthusiastic manner, such as the law that governs falling bodies. He would evaluate all the factors that might be helpful like the effect of air resistance and then he would hypothesize what would happen. Galileo framed a formula for the analysis of falling bodies which was s=gt2(s is the distance of the entire fall and t is the total time of the fall). Galileo contributed a lot in the field of theoretical physics, mathematics and physics of experimental nature and he developed a proper relationship among these fields. Galileo also set up standards of time and length in order to compare different experiment performed in different laboratories. Thus, we can say that Galileo was one of the greatest scientists and an aspiring mathematician of all times. Albert Einstein labeled him as the father of modern science. Mathematics changed its approach due to these scientists and mathematician and newer terms like calculus, parabola and logarithms can into existence in his

Thursday, July 25, 2019

CJ403 wk2 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CJ403 wk2 - Research Paper Example This is one common characteristic of white collar offenders. They are always affluent people who believe that they will get their way through illegal and fraudulent measures. These people always engage in crime in a bid to maintain their position and outlook in the society (Keel, 2008). This is one scenario that is common in most people who commit white collar crimes, they are in good high paying jobs and most of the time they are least likely to be suspected on any involvement in crimes. Another factor that is common with white collar crime offenders is the fact that on average they are in their forties (Shover and Hochstetler, 2006). This is an age that is slightly older than that of other offenders that carry out the other types of crimes. This may be attributed to the fact that people in this age group are in a rush to make money and may not be patient to follow the proper channels of doing that, thus they resolve to work related crime since they perceive that the possibility of being discovered is low. These offenders are also very highly educated and intelligent (Benson & Simpson, 2009). They are the ones that hold high positions in their places of work. This ability gives them the opportunity to understand various work structures hence using the information to carry out some fraudulent activities within the organization. In addition to this, most white collar offenders do not view themselves as criminals because crime is not their predominant activity. Therefore, they always tend to distance themselves from other groups in the same category such as organized crime offenders (Shover & Hochstetler, 2006). This is despite the fact that most white collar crime is actually planned and involve a number of people who know that what they are doing is illegal and try to cover up for it by other legal activities. Dishonesty and lack

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Art final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Art final - Essay Example o as Classical art, then a thousand years later to the influence of the Catholic Church and religious figures in what is now called Medieval art, to the more humanistic and mathematical dimensions of Renaissance Art, these three cultures have greatly impacted modern art today in the 21st century, and our understanding of beauty, balance, iconography, religious-themed works, and the mathematical beauty of depth and dimension. In ancient Greece, there was a cultural bend towards striving for perfection. Perfection in a social system, philosophy, governance, and, of course, art. The Greeks had a fascination with the human form and perfection. In Greek sculpture, there was almost no recognition of the individualism of personality in a work of art (Kallendorf 42). The facial expression and facial features in Classical Greek sculptures is irrelevant. What is most important is a balance of the positioning of the body, with perfect physical features. There is no room for imperfection in Classical Greek sculptures of the human form, noted by the "S-curve" of the spine (Stewart 21) and one forward leg of the upright pose, weight shifted back a bit on the back leg. The goal was to give the subject a timeless and confident pose. Most sculptures were positioned upright, with one foot foreword, and the weight mostly on the back foot, called, later, contrapposto position (Stewart 23), rejuvenated in Renaissance art. This pose suggested a confident, forward-looking air about the subject. With the eyes and face blank, with the hear upright, and chin out, shoulders square, the focus is all given to the human body-- a combination of physical perfection and balance. Poses of Classical statues were important to connivery a continuum of the societys art with its larger goals of human perfection in government and philosophy. There were very few religious-themes sculptures in Classical Greek art, as nature and common daily life was portrayed in a way which gave the subject a

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Berkeley provides (at least) two objections to Lockes Essay

Berkeley provides (at least) two objections to Lockes - Essay Example In his second Principle, Berkeley claims that objects must be perceived in order to exist, â€Å"for the existence of an idea consists in being perceived† (Berkeley 461). He bases this premise on the evidence that thoughts, passions and imaginative ideas cannot exist without a mind capable of perceiving them. â€Å"And (to me) it seems no less evident that the various sensations or ideas imprinted on the sense, however blended or combined together (that is, whatever objects they compose), cannot exist otherwise than in a mind perceiving them† (471). This goes directly against Locke’s concept of primary properties which are described as properties of an object that are true regardless of who perceives them or even whether they are perceived. Examples of primary properties include the object’s solidity, its figure, its relative motion to its surroundings and its quantity. In the example of a table, primary properties might include its hard surface and open a rea between the legs, its flat surface and height from the ground, its motionless status within the room and its singular status as an object. While Locke says that these things exist whether or not anyone perceives them, Berkeley suggests that none of these elements of the object can be true without someone first perceiving that they’re true. In this, he essentially applies Locke’s concepts of secondary properties to the entire object, eliminating primary properties. â€Å"In truth, the object and the sensation are the same thing and cannot therefore be abstracted from each other† (471). Another area in which Berkeley disagrees with Locke is in the characterization of our understanding. Locke indicates that our perceptions and experiences of the world are learned and shaped by our experiences of innate things that exist in the material world independently of perception while Berkeley

The Implementation Imperatives and Critical Success Factors of Enterprise Systems Essay Example for Free

The Implementation Imperatives and Critical Success Factors of Enterprise Systems Essay Ever since the appearance of enterprise systems (ESs) for businesses in the 1990s, the research of this promising, highly-integrating software package for business solutions has never stopped. The first objective of implementation of ESs are focused on large organizations, e. g. companies of Fortune 500, as small and medium enterprises (SME) are considered to inappropriate for lack of resources to introduce the systems. Yet with the saturation in the market almost every one of those large enterprises was equipped with ES, the target began to change to SME, as a result the corresponding research started to develop. The design of ES is aimed to upport, manage and integrate all the resources, activities, and information flows of organizations. By eliminating redundancy and constructing uniformity across all the functional areas, ES gives organizations a vision of improving efficiency and reducing costs simultaneously. The definition of an enterprise system by Piccoli is â€Å"a modular, integrated software application that spans (all) organizational functions and relies on one database at the core†. However, ES is a double-edged sword which all managers should carefully ponder before starting to utilize it. The covering scope of ES may cross a number of corporations or industries. The resulting costs and efforts for adjusting to the system before, during and after the implementation process are tremendous. Time devoted will last for years. Most importantly, the impact of the failure of ES to the company is disastrous. As Davenport (1998) illustrated, â€Å"the growing number of horror stories about failed or out-of-control projects should certainly give managers pause. † In fact, based on a survey conducted by a consulting organization of 236 companies in which 36 percent had or were in the process of implementing ES, 51 percent of those regarded ES implementation as unsuccessful. In other words, half of the companies failed in this decision. While the benefits of ES are praised by the service providers and those equipped and successful organizations, strategists should see through its glory and be aware of the underlying limitations and drawbacks. This paper gives a summary and synthesis of the present literature for implementation imperatives of enterprise systems; a discussion about critical success factors (CSF) is included. Through the present literature, a well-constructed overview for the implementation of enterprise systems will be introduced. Influence of Enterprise Systems With the advent of ESs, more and more companies began to invest their resources into the installation of ESs. However, before the determination of the investment, organizations should first notice the consequences of ES implementation, including its benefits and limitations. Benefits There have been a lot of research and literature discussing the benefits and their classification of enterprise systems (Piccoli, 2008; Leon, 2007; Shang and Seddon, 2002; Murphy and Simon, 2002; Remenyi et al. , 1993). Piccoli (2008) summarized four advantages of introducing enterprise systems, including efficiency, responsiveness, knowledge infusion and adaptability, wherein the efficiency refers to improved efficiency by saving direct and indirect cost; responsiveness is about improvement of an organization’s ability to respond to external requests; knowledge infusion refers to immediate access to state of the art and best practices in the industry which are embedded in the code of ESs; and adaptability refers to well-adjusted ability to design the best appropriate enterprise system according to different contexts of organizations. Leon (2007) stated that investment in enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems can be classified into tangible and intangible benefits. The tangible ones include costs reduction of inventory and inventory carrying, manpower and material, improved sales and customer service, and efficient financial management. The intangible ones include several perspectives on reducing duplicated data entry in accounting-related systems, greater control over product and process design based on product structure database, establishment of realistic schedules accessible to and commonly shared by everyone to improve production and materials management, generating accurate manufacturing and delivery report to provide a strong cornerstone to customer service, and complementary and enhanced advantages on management information system function. Shang and Seddon (2002) listed five dimensions in an enterprise system benefits framework, which include operational, managerial, strategic, IT infrastructure, and organizational, and each of them includes several subdimensions. As to operational benefit, there are cost reduction, cycle time reduction, productivity improvement, and customer service improvement; as to managerial benefit, ES offers the benefits of better resource management, improved decision making and planning, and performance improvement; regarding strategic benefit, ES helps in business growth, business alliance, business innovation, cost leadership establishment, product differentiation, and external linkage establishment; with respect to IT infrastructure, the benefits include establishment of flexibility, IT cost reduction, and enhancement of IT infrastructure capability; and about organizational benefit, it is demonstrated in changing work patterns, facilitating organizational learning, empowerment, and common vision establishment. Murphy and Simon (2002) categorized the benefits into several frameworks through comparison: tangible vs. uantitative, temporal, external vs. internal, hierarchical, and based on organization factors and technology infrastructure standardization. In addition, by adopting Remenyi et al. ’s (1993) theory of intangibility and quantifiability into Shang and Seddon’s benefits framework of five dimensions, Murphy and Simon rated the degree of intangibility and quantifiablility for each subdimensions, and therefore provided an index of profitability to the organizations according to each subdimension. Limitations In contrast to the abovementioned, the implementation of enterprise systems may also bring inevitable risks and limitations to the organizations. Piccoli (2008) considered that the critical issues of enterprise systems are trade-off between standardization and flexibility, the limitations of best practice software, the potential for strategic clash, and the high costs and risks in the implementation process. The trade-off is whether the organization should accept the standard version of the ES by taking advantage of a faster implementation process, predictable cost, and easier transition from the original version to an updated one. With respect to the promising characteristic of best practice of ES, it is impossible to have a universal design for every organization, and the best practice in one company may become an impediment to another. For strategic clash, it is about securing a competitive advantage of the organization from the implementation of the enterprise system, which may not cover original strength of the organization, and result in a loss of superiority against competitors after the implementation. As to high costs and risks, obviously, the implementation of a large-scale system is costly and risky. It needs a lot of time and money to adopt, adapt and maintain, and a single error within the system may affect overall operation of the organization. Leon (2007) pointed three basic issues that will induce risks for the implementation of ERP systems, which are people, process and technology. The main people issues include change management, which is to properly manage transformation brought by the implementation; internal staff dequacy, which is to have employees within the company that have sufficient skills to construct the system to prevent additional cost of hiring consultants; project team, which is to find the best-fitted people in the team as well as to prevent assigning the one who is only available at that time; training, which is to ensure employees have sufficient training in order to take full advantage of the system and to prevent occurrence of error; employee re-location and re-training, which is to deal with the change of position or new skill required for employees from the ES implementation; staffing, which is to deal with the transition phase between leaving of trained employees and entering of new ones during the implementation process; top management support, which is to gain full and sufficient resources to sustain the implementation; consultants, wh ich are the ones who may bring potential failure for the company if they are not familiar with its culture and needs; discipline, which is to make sure all the people in the company from management to subordinates follow the plan; and resistance to change, which is to educate employees to adapt to the system and make them willing to use it. For process risks, the main concerns are program management, which is the lack of program management in traditional ERP since all organizations require up-to-date information integrity and availability at the right time and in the right way, even though some of this information is included in ERP scope, the rest about program management is not; business process engineering, which stands for tremendous change to almost every aspect of the organizations. If there is no appropriate and careful response to these changes, an organization will break down. Stage transition, it is the responsibility and roles transition from person to person; and benefit realization, which is failure to realize promised benefit after constructing ES if the operational phase is not planned properly. For technology risks, there is software functionality, which stands for proper selection of functionality and features of enterprise systems since equipment of unnecessary features could become an impediment and failure to the organization; technological obsolescence, which stands for selection of technology that will not easily become out-of-date; application portfolio management, which is to consider saving the rest and available resources in the organization for possible future projects; and enhancement/upgrade, which is to consider closing a vendors service or stopping support of upgrading the system before signing the contract. Markus and Tanis (2000) stated there are three major factors for not adopting enterprise system, or partial adoption or discontinuance of ES. The first one is lack of feature-function fit between firm’s demands and the packages available in the marketplace. According to the type of industry and in concern with size and scale of operations of organizations, there may not be suitable off-the-shelf software for them. The second one is a set of reasons including Company growth, strategic flexibility, and decentralized decision-making style. Those organizations which have their own unique growth rate and strategy may not be appropriate to incorporate normal enterprise systems. Additionally, the spirit of ES is to integrate the processes and centralize the decision-making of organizations, it will conflict with the style of decentralized decision-making and weaken the strength of these organizations. The third one is availability of alternatives for increasing the level of systems integration. For instance, data warehousing and re-architecting systems with middleware are alternatives for ES, both can reach an extent of integration without sacrificing as much limitations as ES has. In addition to the abovementioned factors, Markus and Tanis (2000) also pointed out other factors including cost, competitive advantage and resistance to change. From the above literature, we can find that each of them has its own emphasis on different perspectives. In terms of benefits, Piccoli (2008) listed four major advantages; he did not itemize all the related entries or functions. Instead, he stated four elementary and common results of implementing ES to synthesize all the details. Compared to Leon (2007) and Shang and Seddon (2002), although it looks shorted and simplified, Piccoli (2008) provided a clear overview for the readers to realize in first sight what effect ES will bring to the organization by four single-worded headings which are easily understandable for those who do not have professional knowledge in this field. Leon (2007) and Shang and Seddon (2002), on the other hand, provided a relatively precise classification of ES benefits. Leon (2007) categorized them based on tangibility and intangibility, that is, whether or not it is directly related to financial perspective. Nevertheless, he pointed out that intangible benefits can still be uantified in terms of cost savings. Generally, Leon (2007) stressed the perspective of cost. Shang and Seddon (2002) organized a sound framework which includes overall discussion of ES impact to the organizations from perspectives of human resources and elementary operational function to business strategy, infrastructure and vision. Even though classifications of the benefits in both of them may not be as readily interpretable as those in Piccoli (2008), they provided detailed, complete and in-depth analysis which may be useful as a reference for IT professionals. With regard to Murphy and Simon’s (2002) work, they combine two studies, Remenyi et al. s (1993) theory of intangibility and quantifiability and Shang and Seddon’s (2002) benefits framework, to create a further application for the management for evaluation and reference of profitability. In this respect, they came up with an evaluation chart for the management to examine through each subdimension and know which one plays an influential role in their organizational profitability based on marked scales of intangibility and quantifiability. In terms of limitations, Piccoli (2008) pointed out four basic points of implementing ES. He introduced a macroview impact to organization when running implementation, and a general consideration that the managers need to contemplate. Leon (2007), on the other hand, divided the risks induced by ES implementation into three categories and elaborated each of them in detail. Leon’s (2007) work analyzed the risks into three components that are an necessity to and composition of an organization. By emphasizing those risks, he gave a different point of view on where the limitations would happen. For example, in concerns of people risks, he mentioned that without top management support, the project cannot obtain sufficient resources to run ES implementation smoothly. It reversely pointed out that the implementation of the enterprise system is costly and risky. All the available resources have to be devoted accordingly. Markus and Tanis (2000), from another aspect, gave reasons for not, partial or stop adopting enterprise system. They especially indicated that even though organizations choose not to, or are unavailable to, incorporate ES, there are still some other options for them on the market by accepting certain defects and embracing benefits that traditional ES cannot have. Although each of them focused on a distinct aspect, there are still some consistencies among all the advantages and constraints of ES implementation. For example, it is good at cost savings, process integration and service improvement, yet with high risk and complexity in determination and selection, tremendous influence to organizations, and huge cost in implementation. These criteria show that the enterprise system is not an elixir to all the problems, one who does not examine its requirements carefully before deciding to take it will definitely undergo inevitable and unbearable loss and failure.

Monday, July 22, 2019

Starbucks Negative Points Essay Example for Free

Starbucks Negative Points Essay Starbucks is Hypocritical about community service. Although they supposedly pride themselves on being involved with projects that help improve the community, recycling and making a difference in the world , In actual this is not the case . The Plastic cups which they use are not recyclable, and even if they were, many Starbucks stores do not have recycling bins. Starbucks bought 2. 5 billion cups for stores in North America in 2007. The 10% recycled paper cups used by Starbucks are not recyclable, because the plastic coating that prevents the cup from leaking also prevents it from being recycled. The plastic cups used for cold drinks are also non-recyclable in most regions. Starbucks cups were originally made using plastic #1 (polyethylene terephthalate, PETE) but were changed to plastic #5 (polypropylene, PP). The former type of plastic can be recycled in most regions of the U. S, whereas the latter cannot. Starbucks is considering using biodegradable material instead of plastic to line the cups, and is testing composting of the existing cups. It does not track recycling at licensed locations in airports, grocery stores and elsewhere. Environmentalists are not happy with Starbucks environmental record. They are concerned about everything from new plastic stoppers for coffee lids to Starbucks bottled water brand, Ethos. The Starbucks does not use recycled plastic in Ethos bottles, but the product is manufactured by PepsiCo, which uses recycled plastic in its own bottles. Off Late Starbucks gives customers a 10-cent discount when they bring their own reusable cup, and it now uses corrugated cup sleeves made from 60 percent post-consumer recycled fiber. But the same is still not propagated in all the regions Also there are various complaints from the customers about the rude behavior of Starbucks Staff and poor customer service from the Staff. Although this may vary from region to region and store to store the baseline is being such a big name in the Industry Starbucks needs to concentrate more on Staff training on Hospitality and customer handling

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Social Work Knowledge And Skills Analysis Social Work Essay

Social Work Knowledge And Skills Analysis Social Work Essay This essay provides a critical analysis of a 10-minute AV recording transcript (appendix 1) of an interview with a service user in a simulated role play. This is not a real interview, but part of a student assignment. All names used in this recording transcript are fictitious and thus there are no issues concerning confidentiality. The essay comprises two parts. In Part 1, Kolbs Learning Cycle (Kolb, 1984) will be utilised to reflect upon the interview. In Part 2, the ASPIRE Model (Parker and Bradley, 2003) will be utilised to outline how further work with this service user would be approached. Kolbs Learning Cycle and the ASPIRE Model will both be briefly outlined within the appropriate section. Part 1: Reflection and Critical Analysis Kolbs Learning Cycle, which will be used to reflect upon and critically analyse the interview, comprises four stages of learning from experience: Concrete Experience (i.e. active involvement in an experience); Reflective Observation (i.e. reviewing and reflecting on the experience); Abstract Conceptualisation (i.e. concluding and learning from the experience); and, Active Experimentation (i.e. planning and trying what has been learned). Each of these stages will be used in this reflection and critique. Concrete Experience A simulated role play interview was conducted with Paul Jones, a 60-year old who contacted the adult social work team to discuss the possibility of some assistance. Paul is the sole carer of his 92-year old father, James. Paul has been finding it increasingly difficult to care for James, who spends all day on the sofa and does not even go upstairs to his bed at night. James became this way soon after the death of his daughter 1-month previously. She died of cancer not long after Paul and James lost Pauls mother and James wife to a heart attack, 6-months previously. Their only relative is Pauls son, who lives up North and is unable to visit regularly. The full case study can be found in appendix 2. Reflective Observation The purpose of the interview was to work collaboratively with Paul in establishing his current needs. With the exception of the beginning of the interview when I was nervous and finding background noise distracting, I communicated in a clear and courteous manner. These skills are important when establishing rapport with a service user, laying the foundations to develop mutual respect and trust (Koprowska, 2005). After some introductions and the setting of boundaries regarding confidentiality, I placed the interview agenda into Pauls control with the appropriate use of the open-ended question, What has bought you here today? By recognising the power imbalance present between social workers and service users, I was mindful to reduce the oppressive impact of hierarchy (Dalrymple and Burke, 2000). The question did, however, seem to unnerve Paul and he passed the question back by asking Well, Im not sure how much you know? I informed him that I do know a little bit. . . and then gently en couraged him to provide me with some more information. On reflection, I should have clarified with Paul why needed the information again (i.e. to confirm accuracy of details). He was clearly uncomfortable with repeating the information, possibly due to a previous resistance to seeking outside help. I was focused on eliciting information from Paul first-hand to prevent any assumptions being made, but should have adapted my approach based on Pauls needs. A key strength within the interview was the effective use of empathic understanding, which appeared to put Paul at ease. Statements such as, This must have been a very difficult time for you and appropriate use of eye contact and body language conveyed empathy, congruence (genuineness), and unconditional positive regard. These are three core conditions required in person-centred counselling (Rogers, 1980). I feel that by utilising these skills within the interview, Paul was able to speak openly about his concerns. Indeed, evidence suggests that congruence supports anti-oppressive practice by facilitating the development of a partnership (Miller, 2006). Paul sought help under the premise that it was for James, but with the appropriate use of open-ended and closed questions it was established that he needed help too. The needs of the carer are far too often overlooked within social care (Herring, 2006), but I ensured I gained a balanced accumulation of information on both Paul and James in order to establish both of their needs. Systems Theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1977) purports that in order to understand an individual, they need to be assessed in terms of their interactions with their environment and within their relationships. By the end of the interview, a shared understanding had been reached, as well as a plan of action in terms of arranging a home visit and contacting Citizens Advice to discuss financial concerns. Thus, the initial aim of the interview was met. Abstract Conceptualisation When discussing his problems, Paul was very open and forthcoming, as was facilitated by the use of non-verbal encouragers such as nodding and leaning slightly forward to show interest (Seden, 1999). He was, however, resistant to further outside help such as from his GP or a counsellor. I was careful not to judge Paul on this and to remind myself that there are a number of reasons why he might be resistant (e.g. previous negative experiences with health professionals; family belief systems, etc.). Interestingly Paul did share that James would also be resistant to outside help, indicating the possibility that seeking help is not part of the family belief system. It was important that I did not oppress Paul or James by undermining their responsibilities for the choices they make (Dominelli, 2002, p.47). On reflection, I should have been more understanding of Pauls difficulties accepting help and adjusted my approach accordingly. In particular, if I was to conduct this interview again, I would change the way I responded to Pauls concerns that, I am just worried that I am going to lose it with my dad and I often find things closing in on me. . . I should have probed these concerns further, as has been highlighted in my feedback, in order to establish whether Paul was a danger to himself or James. One of the key roles within the National Occupational Standards for Social Work is to Manage risk to individuals, families, carers, groups, communities, self and colleagues (GSCC, 2002, p.12). Pauls feelings of despair were mentioned on more than one occasion and, on reflection, I should have detected this as a potential risk factor. I feel I was effective in my use of paraphrasing, as used to clarify issues and demonstrate active listening. However, greater use of summarising might have facilitated communication and ensured that information provided by Paul was being interpreted according to his own subjective experiences (Seden, 1999). I will endeavour to develop these skills throughout my training. References Bronfenbrenner, U., 1977. Toward an experimental ecology of human development. American Psychologist, 32, pp.513-530. Dalrymple, J. and Burke, B., 1995. Anti-oppressive Practice: Social Care and the Law. Buckingham: Open University Press. Dominelli, L., 2002. Anti-Oppressive Social Work Theory and Practice. Palgrave Macmillan. General Social Care Council, 2002. The National Occupational Standards for Social Work. Topss England, April 2004. Herring, J., 2006. Where are the carers in healthcare law and ethics? Legal Studies, 27(1), pp. 51-73. Kolb, D.A., 1984. Experiential Learning experience as a source of learning and development. New Jersey: Prentice Hall Koprowska, J., 2005. Communication and interpersonal skills in social work. Exeter: Learning Matters Miller, L., 2006. Counselling Skills for Social Work. London: Sage Publications. Parker, J. and Bradley, G., 2003. Social Work Practice: Assessment, Planning, Intervention, and Review. Exeter: Learning Matters. Rogers, C.R., 1980. A way of being. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Seden, J., 1999. Counseling skills in social work practice. Buckingham: Open University Press. Part 2 Further Work with the Jones Family The acronym ASPIRE represents the social work process of Assess, Plan, Intervene, Review, and Evaluate, which enables the exploration of successfully operationalising a plan made with a service user (Parker and Bradley, 2003). Adopting this framework also encapsulates the fourth stage of Kolbs Learning Cycle: Active Experimentation. Importantly, supervision would be required in any interviews since I am a newly qualified Social Worker. Furthermore, the contribution of regular and high quality supervision in the social work profession has been emphasised (Laming, 2009). If the case of the Jones family was allocated to me after this initial assessment, I would take an eclectic approach, using the ASPIRE framework to guide intervention delivery. An eclectic approach would be adopted in order to ensure that Paul and James individual needs were taken into consideration. I would be unable to identify the most appropriate approach to use without first meeting with James, thus an eclectic approach would facilitate flexibility between service user needs. Assessment would take place within the home, thus adopting a person-in-environment perspective (Kemp et al., 1997). Importantly, supervision would be required in any interviews since I am a newly qualified Social Worker. Systems Theory posits that in order to understand a service user, their ecological system needs to be taken into consideration (Bronfenbrenner, 1977). This includes their microsystem (i.e. immediate relationships), mesosystem (i.e. different parts of the microsystem working together), exosystem (i.e. systems that the individual is not directly part of but that affects them), macrosystem (i.e. the larger social world, such as government and culture), and their chronosystem (i.e. a system of change). The rationale for utilising this theory is that the current problems experienced by Paul and James appear to be related to recent changes within his microsystem. This includes the loss of two family members, changing health status (i.e. James has gained weight, has emphyse ma, and is becoming less mobile), changing roles (i.e. Paul is now sole carer to James), and a change in their relationship. Bell (2003) asserts that it is easier to understand an individuals behaviour in the setting in which it occurs, which is the approach I feel most appropriate within this scenario. Family relationships are complex and aptly described by Dallos (1991) as, The essence of family life is that it is complex and changing and that unique situations and combinations of needs continually arise (p.7). Therefore, effective support for individual members requires the utilisation of theory and knowledge that assesses their needs within the family context. An understanding of demands and resources is important when working from the systems perspective, an understanding which the theory itself lacks to emphasise (Coady and Lehman, 2008). For the Jones family, demands within their life include bereavement, deteriorating health, and financial concerns. In terms of resources, they are fairly isolated and, despite initiating this interview, they are both resistant to outside help, which also limits their resources. This provides the rationale for utilising a Task-Centered, problem solving approach in the intervening stage of the ASPIRE framework. The evidence suggests that such an approach is appropriate for dealing with family problems, new roles, and illness or bereavement (Reid, 1978). Paul mentioned a number of problems, both personally and in relation to James, and thus facilitating him to identify the cause of these problems would be a useful endeavour in helping him tackle them. By using a problem solving approach within a collaborat ive partnership with the family, I would anticipate that it would enhance their capacity to deal with future problems if they were to arise (Germain and Gitterman, 1996, p.139). In turn, educating Paul on the use of problem solving strategies would act to prevent further oppression by providing him with tools he can utilise in other areas of his life (Coulshed and Orne, 1998). A problem I identified during the role play, but which would need to be confirmed via a shared interpretation with Paul and James, is that Paul could unintentionally be colluding with James disengagement. For example, by leaving his lunch next to the sofa so that he does not have to move, Paul is creating dependency. Thompson (2001) suggests that when working with carers, it is important not to encourage them in a role that could result in dependency and thus further oppress the person being cared for. This would need to be attended to sensitively and without causing offence to Paul. One such way of achieving this is via the problem solving approach to help Paul recognise this for himself. Indeed, change is easier if the directions that professionals and users wish to follow coincide (Dominelli, 2002, p.25). In working with Paul and James, great consideration would be needed in terms of bereavement. It sounds like James might be experiencing depression associated with one of the purported stages of bereavement (Kubler-Ross, 1989). In addition, Paul might be in the anger stage or possibly unable to process his feelings due to the stress of taking care of his father and worrying about finances. Their current problems are likely to hinder them both reaching a period of restoration orientation, where they can focus on building their future after their loss (Worden, 2003). In order to facilitate a move towards restoration orientation, I would work with the strengths possessed by Paul and James to ensure anti-oppressive focus is maintained (Parker and Bradley, 2003). There has been some critique to Systems Theory, including that it lacks theoretical and empirical support in practice situations (Healy, 2005). Overall, however, the purpose of the theory is to work with service users in a way that enhances and strengthens their abilities to adapt and solve problems, which ultimately provides long-term outcomes rather than short-term solutions. The key role of social work, as agreed internationally, is the promotion of social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being (GSCC, 2002, p.12), and I anticipate that the theories and approaches outlined above would facilitate the empowerment and liberation of the Jones family. In order to effectively meet the needs of the Jones family, it will be essential to conduct the review and evaluation stage of the ASPIRE model in order to provide closure, implement any additional interventions, and develop my own skills and abilities through reflection and critical analysis.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Road Ahead By Bill Gates Essay -- essays research papers

In his book The Road Ahead, Bill Gates relates to a non-technical audience the history, growth, and future of technology. He discusses how the trends, technologies, and issues of the Information Age are affecting society. Gates makes predictions and gives advice on how to adapt and succeed in the future of incredible change in computing and communicating. His book is written with two major concerns: the development and future of technology, and its influence on society. Bill Gates begins by explaining how computers will be interconnected globally in what will be called the information superhighway. Of course the precursor to this network is the currently used Internet. The development and use of this interactive network is the main focus of the book. Gates uses the metaphor of the 'ultimate market'; to describe how all manner of human activity will take place in this market, with the medium of exchange being digital information of all kinds. Bill Gates states that the ability to change and manipulate information and the increasing speed at which is it handled places us at the beginning of an 'information revolution.'; Since almost all information in the future will be digital, conventional communication devices will be altered. As soon as the cost of communication drops and it is combined with other technological advances, Bill Gates predicts that the results of this interactive information will be like the effects of electricity. He also predicts t hat the house of the future will have one wire running into and out of it that will carry television, phone, or news information that will be sent to the appropriate device.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In his book Gates attempts to tell the history of the computer industry, but instead he tells about the development of Microsoft and his achievements while debasing his competitors. He recounts the history with a degree of arrogance and criticizes IBM for the mistakes it made, for example not buying thirty percent of Microsoft when given the opportunity, and for wasting time and money on the OS/2 and OfficeVision projects. Bill Gates speaks on Microsoft's success and, in a way, reaffirms customers that Microsoft will not raise its prices or stop innovation. The future success, he says, depends on innovation and improvement to stay ahead of competition.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  He dedicates a chapter to ap... ...gy, investment in education, regulation, and the balance between individual privacy and community security. The question of responsibility arises and some have suggested that communication companies should be made gatekeepers in charge of the filtering the content of what they carry. A rating system, like the one used for movies, could be implemented and parents could then restrict what rated sites their children visit through their web browser. Bill Gates refrains from using technical vernacular and explains all computer terminology as he discusses it, making it clear and easy for normal people to understand him. He is convinced that this new technology will 'enhance leisure time and enrich our culture by expanding the distribution of information.'; This, however, oversimplifies most issues and results in a dull, repetitive book for most experienced computer users. He succeeds in explaining his vision of the future and why he has chosen to switch Microsoft's focus to the Internet. Bill Gates optimistically looks ahead at the emerging tools of technology that will forever transform the way we buy, work, learn, socialize, and communicate and encourages us to help shape the future.

Bill Gates :: essays research papers

In his high school years, Bill Gates proclaimed that one day he would be a millionaire. He greatly underestimated himself. He became interested in computers while in the 8th grade. His school received a hookup to a high powered computer. Bill and his good friend Paul Allen used to skip gym class to use the computer. Sometimes they would even break into the school at night to spend time on the computer. Eventually Bill made his first program. A virtual tic-tac-toe game. The Computer Center Corporation (CCC) wanted to rent a computer from the Digital Co., but they couldn't pay for it. Digital said they would provide it at no cost if they could find any bugs in their computer. CCC put an add out in the local paper, and Bill and Paul applied immediately. Although skeptical about hiring two teenagers to do the job, their doubts were quickly dissolved. When they were done, Bill and Paul had compiled a list of bugs that was over 300 pages long! Bill was next hired by his school. They wanted him to write a program for use in class scheduling. Bill was happy to do it. He used a programming language called FORTRAN for the first time in this program. FORTRAN was one of the major languages later used at Microsoft. With this program, Bill first took advantage of his skills. He designed the program to put him in classes with no other boys and all the girls he thought were cute, what a guy! At this time Paul and Bill also started their first company called Traf-O-Data. Keep in mind that they are still in high school! They designed a program that could analyze traffic counts by machine so counties could get government funding for road projects. They had clients in British Colombia and Delaware but went out of business in 1973 when the government offered the same services for no charge. Bill Gates scored a perfect 800 on the math portion of the SAT's. However, instead of going into computers, which would seem logical, he went to Harvard to become a lawyer. In 1974, a company in Albuquerque, NM, known as MITS made the first home computer. The computer was useless because it had no monitor or keyboard. In place, it had switches to input data and a device similar to a printer to display data. This computer was called Altair and when Bill and Paul heard about it, they were a-twitter.

Friday, July 19, 2019

Music Industry Struggles to Get Cell phone?s Numbers :: essays research papers

â€Å"Music Industry Struggles to Get Cell phone’s Numbers†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is a new trend bringing together cell phones and digital music called ringtones. These ringtones are customized ringers that a customer can download directly to their cell phone. This business has seen quick and expansive growth in the past 2 years and is expected to grow for at least a couple more years. Initially cell phones came with just a handful of default ringers the user could choose from, but now they are able to download digitalized versions of their favorite song. Some new phone technologies even allow the ringers to include actual samples of real music including vocals.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The ringtone market is a strong competitor with the online music market. The ringtone version of rapper 50-Cent’s song â€Å"In Da Club† actually outsold digital sales of the song. This is impressive because this ringtone was only 30 seconds, had no vocals, and priced at nearly two dollars was twice the cost of downloading the full digital song from Apple’s iTunes digital music store. Customers of Sprint bought 500,000 copies of Beyone’s â€Å"Crazy in Love† at $2.50 a piece. Estimates of world wide sales claim that ringer sales in 2003 reached nearly $3 billion. According to BMI, the royalty collection group, the American market was between $66 and $68 million in 2003 and is expected to reach $240 million in just the first 6 months of 2004.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The licensing of music to be turned into a ringer faces several legal issues. All parties involved in originally creating the music must agree to have their music digitally recreated as a ringer. The article reports that many songs, especially in the rap industry, involve many collaborators which further extends the licensing dilemma. The hit song â€Å"Yeah† by Usher took over 6 months to reach ringtones because one of the many parties involved held out in tough negotiations. While the major online ringtone publishers face these legal battles, there is another ethical issue that arises concerning the grey-market operators that provide cheap versions of hits without licensing. Further, this is legal discussion as to who should be getting the bigger piece of the royalties involving the ringtones. The publishing companies turning out the digital ringers typically get 10% of the sale price or 10 cents while the master ring tones that include actual song sample s bring in nearly 30 cents.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

Preparation of a Halogenoalkane Essay

Hence pure product can be obtained when we distillate the mixture at a temperature of 45oC-55oC. Discussion The reaction between HCl and the 2-methylpropan-2-ol will build up pressure in the conical flask. It is because the reaction is exothermic, it causes serious evaporation, giving out a large amount of water vapour. And the sudden build up of pressure may break the funnel hence HCl is added in 10 portions but not all together. The separating funnel is used to separate 2 immiscible layer of liquid. When the mixture is stable, the denser liquid will be at bottom and the other will be on top. When we open the tap, the bottom layer can be obtained, leaving the upper one left in the funnel. The liquid at the junction of the 2 layer should be removed as that is a mixture of the 2 layer which is impure. Although this can ensure a pure product obtained, but this will reduce the yield since some chemical is lost. Anhydrous sodium sulphate is added to make sure all water is removed. Because the presence of water may increase the difficulty of distillation. Since high temperature favor the dissolve of product into water. Also if water is presented in the distillation process, water may evaporate and contaminate the distillate. Hence all water must be removed. The reaction of sodium sulphate with water is as follow: Na2SO4+10H2O? Na2SO4†¢10H2O Filtration can remove insoluble substance from a mixture. With the use of filter paper, only liquid passes through, the solid is left as residue. A clean mixture can hence be obtained. Distillation is used to separate a miscible mixture with distinct boiling point. One liquid can be distillate when the solution reaches its boiling point. The other liquid will be left behind since the temperature is not high enough to vaporize that liquid. The water in of condenser should be at the lower end to make sure water can stay in the condenser for a longer time. In this synthesis SN1 reaction is favored for several reasons. Firstly, a tertiary alcohol is presented in the experiment. The alcohol we used have 3 alkyl group, the molecule is therefore sterically hindered, this will favor SN1. Cl- is the weak base used in the reaction, this will also favor SN1 reaction. Thirdly the carbocation formed, is stable, since the three attached alkyl groups do positive inductive effect on the carbocation, making it less positive. The stable carbocation will also favor the SN1 reaction. It should be noted that acidic medium is necessary for the reaction. It is because OH- is a poor living group, in normal situation it may attach back to the carbocation. In an acidic medium, the –OH group is protonated first. The breaking of C—O bond will give a H2O molecule which is a stable living group and prevent OH- to interfere the experiment. In the experiment NaHCO3 is used to remove HCl rather than NaOH or other strong base. It is because a reaction between HCl and a strong base will produce a large amount of heat. The increase in temperature combine with the acidic medium will favor elimination which is unwanted and may affect the yielding of the reaction. There are several errors in the experiment: the alcohol used in the reaction is volatile, this will lead to a loss of material during the process. We should perform the experiment faster in order to reduce the loss and to obtain a larger yield of product. When we separate the organic layer and the aqueous layer using the separating funnel, the liquid in the junction of 2 layers is removed. This will drain away some chemical. The loss in the chemical content will reduce the yield. We can improve the situation by removing the organic layer as less as possible. During the transfer of material, some material will be left behind. The loss of material will also reduce the yield. We should wait when we transfer the material, until all material adhere to the surface is transferred. While filtrating, some solution is left on the filter paper, which will lead to a loss of chemical. We should wait until no more liquid is drained from the filter paper to make sure all chemical is collected.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Robinson Crusoe Critique

Filippo Volodin Robinson Crusoe And The New lay strain Before analyzing Robinson Crusoe it is important to move over a short background of the author of much(prenominal) an unimagined smart. Daniel Defoe was born in 1660 and died in 1731 after a life of adventures and incredible experiences. He was raised to be real religious and his parents were potently attached to the puritanism aim that was spreading around Europe. These aspects and the strong cultivation applyd by his parents will strongly influence Robinson Crusoes psychology.Further much, Defoe worked as a Merchant, Insurer and during his entire live he has been sent in prison several(prenominal) times for either small or serious issues. Having such an experience, Defoe strongly tangle to be part of the New nub pattern that was flourishing due to the untested colonies and the economic boom of that period. In this musical mode we can say that his ain experience, family study and the influence of the growth M iddle fall apart strongly gave to Defoe the impulse to create a character such as Robinson Crusoe, who represents the common New Middle Class soul who can, exploitation his brain and his talent, always fall out in life.Robinson Crusoe represents the proto slip of the true side of meat Merchant, heartless and unceasingly looking for a profitable business to lead. This peeled type of figure continuously alterations be display case of the unsatisfactory model it has in the society and always strives to unwrap new ways to make profit. In fact, Robinson Crusoe reveals these characteristics, and his strong attachment to the religion, when he sells Xury to the chief. He offerd me also 60 Pieces of Eight more for my Boy Xury, which I was loath to take, not that I was not willing to allow the Captain have him, but I was very loath to sell the vile Boys Liberty, who had assisted me so faithfully in procuring my own. However when I let him acknowledge my Reason, he ownd it to be bonnie, and offerd me this Medium, that he would give the Boy an Obligation to set him kick in ten Years, if he circuits Christian upon this, and Xury saying he was willing to go to him, I let the Captain have him. From this quotation strongly comes out the strong education gave to Robinson Crusoe.Crusoe does not unfeignedly care about Xury, nonetheless though he has served him loyally. This passage highlights the new situation of the Middle Class equal by Robinson Crusoe that championed individualism, seizing every sensation opportunity to have a personal profit, relying just on own powers and talents. Furthermore, agreeing on converting Xury into a Christian let us explicitly understand the importance of the puritan education imposed to Defoe by his family with the successive reflection of this approach on Robinson Crusoe, who just agrees after making sure that the Captain have to turn Xury into a close Christian.Robinson Crusoe demonstrates to be the new bourgeois-ma n during his dour stay at the isle. The island becomes the perfect dramaturgy to completely release his middle class attitudes and the opportunity to show that he deserves to be saved by Gods providence. It is important to interpret properly the strong of the Island. Crusoes stay at the island has to be seen as the chance for Robinson Crusoe to prove his qualities controlling, manipulating and exploiting the Nature. Consequently, Crusoe starts to revive the English society of the 18th Century, adhesive to the Middle Class uses of efficiency and individuality.For instance, when Crusoe meets Friday he decides to impose him his way of living presentation once again his necessity to impose the English life style. In fact, further on in the novel Robinson Crusoe teaches to Friday how to speak English and how to interpret the consecrate Bible. In the island comes out even the typical attachment to the Puritanism of the Middle Class delineated by Robinson Crusoe who believed in the Gods Providence. Crusoe is convinced that God is the graduation exercise cause of everything but he can change his destiny by acting interest his brain and using his talents.To conclude, Defoe shows us a perfect hero who, following the Middle Class education and mentality, can impudence every problem and solving it using his brain and his talents. It is incredible how Defoe could impress in an unbelievable way the main aspects of the growing Middle Class. Like Robinson Crusoe demonstrates, and Defoe in first person firmly thinks, a person using his own skill and universe always self aware of his opening move can emerge and always respect a way to survive and abide by in life if he really wants and strives for that.

The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 8

The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 8

EllaI realize I have more issues than I thought. As soon as we turn onto the Back Road, a passion combusts inside me. It only flames hotter when we pull up to The Hitch, an old abandoned restaurant stationed at the end of the road.Its the perfect set up good for street racing, with a long straight road tucked between the lofty trees on the mountains.We still should talk Ella! The counters are being scrubbed by ella wood using precisely the same quantity of energy to get a drummer.He pulls the car to the side, maneuvering carefully across the pot holes. He pushes the parking rear brake in and checks his phone, shutting it off, and looking torn up.â€Å"Whats wrong?† I ask. â€Å"You look upset?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Nothings wrong.Umm Caroline needs you to receive ready.

Itll ruin your whole Im-neutral-and-dont-give-a-shit act.†I opt to remain impartial. â€Å"Who are you planning to race tonight?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You mean who are we racing?† He smiles alluringly through the full dark cab of the car. â€Å"Well, I thought Id leave that up to you.Ethan slaps the rear of my mind.† I rub my broad forehead with the back of my hand. â€Å"Does he still got that piece of crap 6 cylinder in his Camaro?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Yeah, he does.† Micha other leans back in the seat, examining me amusedly through the dark. â€Å"You think thats who I should go for?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Its the obvious choice.No suspects are arrested.

†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You think I should take on special someone in my own league?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"If you want the win to mean anything, then yeah.†We look at each other, like magnets begging to last get closer. Yet flip one the wrong direction and they will push apart.â€Å"So which one is it, pretty girl?† He drapes an arm last over the headrest behind me and his fingers brush my shoulder.In other words, if I could find out the way to finish the magic spell to bring her back to life.â€Å"Micha, I think we should go back.† I put my seatbelt back on. â€Å"This isnt my thing anymore.†He small presses his lips together firmly.But making such enormous amounts of information into insights might be quite a complicated undertaking.

Was it bad news on that full text you got?†He traces the figure eight tattoo on his forearm. â€Å"Do you remember when I got this?†I absentmindedly touch my lower back. â€Å"How could I forget, since I have the same one on my back?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Do you remember why we got them?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I cant remember anything about that night.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Exactly, yet youll remember it forever."Micha is an intriguing title.â€Å"Do you want to much talk about it?†He shakes his head, still focused on the tattoo. â€Å"Nah, Im good.†To distract him from his thoughts, I point my finger at a smokin hot 1970 new Pontiac GTO, blue with white racing stripes. â€Å"What about Benny? Does he still have the 455?†Michas eyes are pools of black liquid.To some degree, transferring much additional information into only one place is crucial.

Im not racing unless youre in the car with me. Its tradition.†A starvation inside me emerges. â€Å"Alright, Ill free ride with you, just as long as you do one thing for me?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Say it and its yours,† he says without blinking.Not worth while youre still coherent, anyhow.His face is indecipherable, his breathing fierce, his gaze relentless. â€Å"Okay, then. Lets go win us a race.†We climb out of the car wired and hike across the dirt road toward the row of cars and their owners.Since you dont need to.

†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Well, what do we have here?† Mikey, the owner of the Camaro, strides up to us. Hes got black hair, a kink in his nose, and his thick neck is enclosed with a barb-wire tattoo. â€Å"Is the infamous famous duo back again to get their asses kicked?†I roll my eyes. â€Å"You beat us once and that was by default due to a flat tire.It doesnt mean anything to anybody who matters.†Micha squeezes my shoulder, trying to keep me calm. â€Å"So whos up first? Or has no one decided yet.†Mikey eyes Michas Chevelle and theres a nervous look in his eyes. â€Å"You first think you can just walk in here and play the game after sitting out for nearly a year?†I mouth to Micha, a year?Micha shrugs."Yeah, but it was not a huge thing.

†Mikeys laughter echoes the night. â€Å"You and what army?†I point at Michas Chevelle parked near the road. â€Å"That army right there.†Mikey shakes longer his head and shoos us away.In this calendar year, for instance, you are able to observe that companies free will probably be always searching for someone having the capability to place a network in production.â€Å"As opposed to yours?† I retort, getting into Mikeys face. â€Å"Because that things all looks and no go.†Micha directs me back by the shoulders and a trace of amusement laces his voice. â€Å"Easy there, tiger.Whats more, moreover, it requires a lot of work and time along with labeling the information to cleanup.

Mikey points a finger sharply at me. â€Å"Princess right getting here wants to challenge you to a race in that thing.†Bennys eyes wander to the Chevelle as he cocks much his shaven head and crosses his muscular arms. â€Å"Micha, isnt that your car?†Micha pats my back and winks at me.There were not any military secrets with me.In fact, it might be kinda nice to have a challenge for a change.† Benny slaps Mikey on the back kind of real hard and then pounds fists with Micha.â€Å"Thanks man,† Micha says with a respective nod. â€Å"Are you and I going to line up first then?†Benny bobs his head up and down, nodding as he stares at the road pensively.Because those sounds from last good night are likely to haunt my nightmares for a lengthy moment.

â€Å"Because beating him wont be easy.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Youre my plan.† He opens the passenger next door for me. â€Å"With you in the car, theres no way I wont win, otherwise youll never let me live it down.Probably other people today are beginning to think things.† He slides across the front of the hood and climbs into the drivers seat.â€Å"Youre such a show off,† I remark.He starts up the engine and it thunders to life. â€Å"Thats like the pot calling the kettle black.Her mother was like that lots of occasions.

You were standing on the roof with a snowboard strapped to your feet, telling everyone you could make the jump. I think thats pretty close to showing off.†I make an innocent face. â€Å"But I did make the jump, didnt I?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Yeah, but not without breaking apply your arm,† he says.You might need to understand that maybe she does not wish to go captured.â€Å"I was there because I wanted to be.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You missed a first performance because of me.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I dont care – never have.†My gaze involuntarily flicks to his lips."Alright, youre in need of a workout.

He shoots me a smug look, cocking an eyebrow. â€Å"Now thats showing off.†Shaking my head, I restrain a grin. Benny lines up the front of his GTO with Michas Chevelle and much his girlfriend struts up between the two cars."I didnt need to think about anymore.â€Å"When did they get here?†Micha ignores me, eyeing Benny through his rolled down window. â€Å"To the baseline logical and back?†Bennys arm is resting casually on top of the steering wheel. â€Å"Yeah, man. First one back wins.Im convinced you dont have to hear it.

Go!† Her hands young shoot down and screeches cut the air. A trail of dust engulfs us as we race off. The trees on the side of the road are a blur, and the sky is one big streak of stars. I keep silent as Micha shifts the car over and over again, but something inside me awakens from a very deep sleep.Micha has a thing for flipping the car around, without decreasing the acceleration. Its scary as hell, but it works every time. Besides with the longer body of Bennys GTO it doesnt have quite the turning power.We reach the end and I should probably be nervous.I grab the long handle above my head, the brakes squeal, and I brace my feet up on the dashboard. Its like being on a merry-go-round on crack. Everything spins – the trees, the sky, Micha. For a second, I shut my eyes and it feels such like Im flying.By the time were speeding up the road again, hes a small distance behind us. Micha punches the gas and major shifts the car into a higher gear.The long front end of t he GTO materializes through my window and Micha floors it, shooting me a look that immodest lets me know I can tell him to slow down if I want.I dont.

Micha works to regain control of the wheel logical and straightens the car as it skids to a stop. Everything settles and the dust slowly clears. Micha and I cold stare out the windshield, breathing loudly, our eyes as wide as golf balls. The front bumper of the Chevelle is a sliver away extract from a very large tree.Im an adrenaline junkie. Plain and simple, but I think its how Ive been all along. I just never admitted.Im no longer in control.His hand comes up behind my head and he entices my lips back to his.Something snaps inside me, like a rubber band. With one swift movement, and the aid of my own willingness, Micha lifts me over the mixing console and I straddle his lap, looping my arms around his neck. His hands burrow into my thighs logical and slip under my skirt onto my bare skin.â€Å"Stay here, baby,† he whispers, like he can read my thoughts. â€Å"Trust me, okay? Dont run.†He busy waits for me to nod and then crashes his lips into mine, keeping his h ands under my skirt. I arch my body into him, pressing my chest against his, and my nipples tingle.

It sends a shock through my body and my legs uncontrollably tighten around him, my knees pressing into his sides.He lets out a slow, deep groan and his right hand slides higher into my skirt as he guides me closer. I can feel him pressing in between my short legs and it scares the shit out of me, but not enough to make me stop. Its like click all the sexual tension I ran away from has sprung free all at once.â€Å"Are you two having fun in there?†I jump back and my cheeks start to heat at the sight of Ethan and Lila staring at us through the window. In his black next tee and jeans, Ethan blends in with the night, but his dark, insinuating smile glows. Lilas eyes are magnified and how her jaw is hanging open. Micha does nothing to help the situation.â€Å"So who won the race?† I ask, smoothing the last of the wrinkles out of my skirt.Ethan smirks at me. â€Å"Is that what youre really thinking about at the moment?†I stare at him blankly. â€Å"What else wou ld I be thinking about?†Micha climbs out of the car, stretching his long legs.†Micha interlaces our fingers. â€Å"So the same old, same old.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You know how these things go.† Ethan pats Michas shoulder sympathetically.

I cant crush him. I need to repaint the lines somehow.â€Å"We should just leave,† Micha says to me. â€Å"Lets not even give how them the benefit of our argument.†I let out a shaky breath and nod. â€Å"That sounds good to me.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You want to meet up at the house?† he asks Ethan. â€Å"Im sure were going to have to do some tuning up on The Beast after what I just did.†Lila laughs. â€Å"Oh, I get it. Although, I like my name better.†Micha traces his thumb along the palm of my hand.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Youve spent time with me every day for the last eight months,† part she replies. â€Å"I think were good for a few hours.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Ill take care of her.† Ethan chucks the empty bottle of soda across the parking lot and it lands in the back of his truck.