Influencial Person during the American Revolution Essay

Influencial Person during the American Revolution - Essay Example He was born in Thetford, England, to a corset-maker father and a religious mother, both of whom were Quakers1. He enrolled in school, attending regularly until almost the age of thirteen, when he was forced to drop out and learn his father’s trade. Deciding that he disliked being a corset-maker, he tried a number of other trades, including teacher, grocer, and excise tax collector2. While he worked his best at these occupations, Paine really had no desire to make these occupations his for the rest of his life, and therefore fared badly in all of them. Paine came to the colonies in 1774, settling in Philadelphia after meeting with Benjamin Franklin in London. Franklin wrote what was known at the time as â€Å"letters of introduction† for Paine, and Paine left for the colonies to begin a new life3. Less than two years later, Paine found himself embroiled in the American Revolution. Many Americans believed, at first, that the fight with the British was not about independen ce or gaining any sort of freedom, but rather to plead with the King for a redress of grievances4. In 1775, when the revolution had progressed as far as the Battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, four of the Founding Fathers, including John Adams, Benjamin Rush, Benjamin Franklin, and George Washington, met to review dispatches, during which time Paine entered the room5. After being introduced by Franklin, Paine states frankly, â€Å"These States of America must be independent of England. That is the only solution to this question!†6 Though most of the men felt that this was, in essence, a shocking statement, they all realized that Paine was right, and that independence must be achieved if they were to live freely from England7. Paine proceeded, not long after, to write the pamphlet that would energize the American people, entitled Common Sense. In this pamphlet, he addressed the problems of the English monarchy, the advisability of separation from England and gaining American independence, the nature of the American colonists as a society, and also made some modest proposals for a new form of government8. His motive, in writing the pamphlet, was not only to plant the idea of independence in the minds of the colonists but to turn the anger of Americans away from particular parliamentary measures and towards what he considered the root of the problem, which, in his mind, was the English constitution itself9. Common Sense sold more than 100,000 copies in only a few months, and helped to create a rapid growth of support for the idea of independence in the early months of 177610. One of the reasons for its success was that, by coincidence, it was published first on the same day that a speech from the King of England reached the United States, denouncing all Americans in the colonies as traitors and rebels, and stating frankly that it would be the right of England to bind the colonies forever11. Though at first it was read with a wide amount of alarm, as most colonists knew from almost the first words that it was a statement against the grain of normal thought at the time, after taking many pauses and re-reading it over and over again, most of the American public came to realize that Paine was right, and that independence would be the only way to free themselves from English tyranny forever12. Paine had an audience ready to listen to him and hail him as a prophet not because of his words, but

Warfare During The Crusades Essay Example for Free

Warfare During The Crusades Essay Medieval warfare is the combat of the middle Ages. In Europe several changes like technological, cultural, and social developments had brought about a dramatic alteration in the nature of warfare from ancient times, altering military procedures and the function of cavalry and artillery. Analogous transformations in patterns of warfare as well were introduced in other parts of the world. The Crusades were a succession of military conflicts of a religious nature which took place in the years 1095–1291, more often than not authorized by the Pope in the name of Christendom. The Crusades in the beginning had the purpose of recapturing Jerusalem and the consecrated Holy Land from Muslim canon and were instigated in rejoinder to a call from the Eastern Orthodox Byzantine realm for help in opposition to the spreading out of the Muslim Seljuq dynasty into Anatolia. The European and the Muslim styles of warfare during the time of the First and Second Crusade had developed several distinct characteristics which decided the success of the crusades. The warfare of middle ages demonstrated the superiority of mounted cavalry over traditional ground forces, which helped to set the nature that medieval warfare that would maintain for the next several centuries. According to The Second Crusade and the Cistercians by Gervers the perchance the most significant technological change in warfare in Europe was the introduction of the stirrup, which was introduced in Europe in the 8th century, but was previously in use in the Middle East. The stirrup, accompanied with horse breeding and more sophisticated iron and steel working, helped in development of far more powerful cavalry. In European warfare, the heavily-armored knight became central where as in Muslim warfare lightly armored horse archers did so. The book The Invention of the Crusades by Tyerman describes that it is almost certainly a mistake to have a discussion of medieval European armies during the middle ages, as Europe was culturally varied continent and each region in it had their characteristic style of warfare. Medieval Anglo-French armies could be divided into three segments termed as battles or battalions such as the vanguard or forward, the center or main-battle, and the rearguard or backward. The front line was often composed of archers and other elective long-range weapons, like slings and stones and the rare lightweight simple catapults, while the center was composed of infantry and armored cavalry (knights), and the rearguard was sometimes comprised of more nimble cavalry. The usual order of March was front line, center, and rearguard, and the three battles took their position on the battlefield with the vanguard on the right, the center in the center and the rearward on the left. On the other hand, as armies grew larger and more cumbersome they often positioned as they arrived on the field. Each section in European army were positioned in either linear or block formation Where as, in the countries of the Middle East following Muslim tactics of warfare, the main forces were positioned in the battle field somewhere in the between. The main determinant of the Muslim tactics during the crusades was the predominant position of the horse archer in their army. As a light cavalry, the horse archers that made up the bulk of the Islamic armies were highly mobile. This mobility was used in four ways which gave the Turks an advantage over the European armies which could be highly dangerous when they approached for close combat. Where as, the Eastern European armies were in general high in horse archers and noble cavalry. The nobles were light lance cavalry in armor, until the armies were westernized, like the Polish knights. The light cavalry were also effective against similar cavalry deployed by the Muslims and, afterward, the Golden Horde. The heavy cavalry wore brigandine, and later on, plate armor. The light cavalry were dressed in leather or brigandine if they could afford it. Eastern Europe as well produced decent foot archers, because of the horse archer custom, but they usually had poor weighty infantry, more often than not spear or axe-armed levies. In European army cavalries were made depending on the situation. While a group of horsemen was undoubtedly efficient, cavalry in tight formations wielding lances became devastating forces. The most ordinary formation was the line or linear form. The horsemen arranged themselves in a long line, commonly three or four ranks deep and then charge. On the other hand, in Muslim cavalry a well-trained infantry force capable of withstanding any attack employed forces in a wedge formation. The horses were arranged in a large triangle, with the most heavily armored cavalry at the front. When the wedge came into contact with the infantry line, customarily it used to cave in on itself, allowing an infantry charge to move in and scatter the remaining forces. According to Medieval Canon Law and the Crusader by Brundage, as a light cavalry, the horse archers that made up the bulk of the Islamic armies were highly mobile. This mobility was used in four ways which gave the Turks an advantage over the European armies which could be highly dangerous when they approached for close combat. As Muslim cavalry became the prevailing force on the battleground, it in addition became necessary for European forces to come up with ways to counteract them. One accepted method was the use of pikes, which were spears that sometimes reached lengths of twenty feet. As the cavalry charged, the pike men arranged themselves in a tight square or orb formation, which prevented the horses from penetrating too deeply into the infantry line. With a large block of pikes shielding the stern and flanks, armies could move into an effective position without being routed. The experience level and tactical choreography aptitude of medieval armies different widely, were depending on the period and region. For larger battles, both in European and Muslim warfare pre-battle planning characteristically consisted of a council of the war leaders, which could either be the common laying down a plan or a loud debate between the different leaders, depending on how much authority the general possessed. Battleground infrastructure previous to the advent of strict lines of announcement and were naturally very difficult. Interactions often took place with the help of standards, oriflammes, banners, flags, etc. The book Medieval Canon Law and the Crusader by Brundage provides that the infantry, including missile troops, were typically employed by the European army at the onset of the battle to break open infantry formations while the cavalry shot to defeat its opposing force. When one side acquired superiority in cavalry or had it at the onset of battle it attempted to make use of the loss of cohesion in the conflicting infantry lines caused by the infantry conflict to hit the opposing infantry and attempt to rout it. This was often difficult, and careful timing was essential for a direct cavalry assault, as an ordered infantry line may often be able to beat off the cavalry attacks. Where as Muslims used to fight with arrows. The mobility of the Muslims helped them in attacking the enemy and forcing him to fight on the march. Instead of the Europeans sitting in a circle and gradually being killed by arrows, they marched toward either safety or where they supposed the enemy to be. This allowed for even greater possibilities of the use of the Muslims mobility in battle to come into distance, attack with arrows and move back away from the distance in which the slower loading crossbow could be used against them. Cannons were introduced to the battleground by European cavalry in the later medieval period. The Invention of the Crusades by Tyerman describes that on the other hand, their very poor rate of fire, which over and over again meant that only one shot was fired in the course of an entire battle and their imprecision, made them more of psychological force multiplier than an effectual anti-personnel weapon. Later on in medieval warfare, the rate of fire improved only to some extent, but the cannons became far easier to aim, mainly since they were smaller and much closer to their wielder. Their users could be easily protected, because the cannons were lighter and could be moved far more quickly. Arab warriors respected archery as a valuable skill for war and even as a sport in times of peace. The great number of archers in the armies of Islam often gave them a decisive advantage and helped them win in the wars. According to The Second Crusade and the Cistercians by Gervers the flights of arrows were used mostly by the Muslims to obliterate any consistency that the Europeans possessed, and cause them to lose horses on top. This loss of horses was a major blow to the main weapon of the Crusaders especially to the heavy cavalry charge with lances in rest. The horse archers themselves could loose their arrows from the saddle without halting or dismounting, and even shoot backwards while in retreat. The complex bow was a light weapon which frequently did not penetrate the armor far enough to cause injury to the wearer. Because of thick pads of felt and the mail worn by knights, the arrows were often seen sticking out of warriors who just continued on their way. Breakdowns in federal states resulted in the rise of a number of Muslim groups that turned to large-scale pillage as a source of income. As these groups were by and large small and required to move quickly, building defenses was a good way to endow with refuge and defense for the people and the wealth in the region. In the Medieval period surrounding armies used a wide diversity of siege engines as well as scaling ladders, battering rams; siege towers and different types of catapults like the mangonel, onager, etc. Advances in the action of sieges gave rise to the development of an array of defensive counter-measures. According to Medieval Canon Law and the Crusader, by Brundage, in particular, medieval fortifications in Muslin warfare became increasingly stronger for instance, the arrival of the concentric castle from the period of the Crusades and more hazardous to attackers, witness the rising use of machicolations and murder-holes, also the preparation of boiling oil, molten lead or hot sand. Arrow slits, hidden doors for sallies, and deep water wells were also integral to oppose siege at this time. Constructors of castles paid meticulous attention to shielding entrances, protecting gates with drawbridges, portcullises, etc. Wet animal skins were frequently draped over gates to hold back fire. Moats and other water military protection, whether natural or increased, were also imperative to protectors. In the European Middle Ages, practically all large cities were encompassed within city walls. Dubrovnik in Dalmatia is a remarkable and well-preserved instance and more vital cities had citadels, forts or castles. Great endeavor was expended to make certain an excellent water supply inside the city in case of blockade. In some cities, long tunnels were built to carry water into the city. According to Anatomy of a Crusade by Powell, the main determinant of the Muslim strategy during the crusades was the prime position of the horse archer in their army. As a light cavalry, the horse archers that made up the bulk of the Islamic armies were highly mobile. This mobility gave the Muslims an advantage over the European armies which could be highly dangerous when they approached for close combat. High mobility allowed the Islamic army to maintain a distance from the enemy and choose the moment at which they would close with them. Use of this mobility was the feigned retreat which allowed them to lead the Europeans into ambushes or to cause a fake retreat to last for some days to tire the enemy. Good mobility allowed them to attack the weakest points in the enemys army. This caused chaos while traveling, and in a battle it allowed the Muslims to attack the crusaders without ever coming into a pitched battle with the main body of the Europeans until they were worn-down and had lost all support from the flanks of the attack in battle. Another positive side of Muslim warfare was well built fortification system. These factors facilitated the Muslims in the battle. The Crusaders Kingdom by Prawer defines that the infantry, including missile troops, were typically employed by the European army at the onset of the battle to break open infantry formations while the cavalry shot to defeat its opposing force. Another method utilized by the English was the use of massed archers. The English longbow was a particularly devastating weapon of warfare. With the invention of gunpowder, the traditional methods of defense of the Muslims became less and less effective against a determined siege. Cannons were introduced to the battleground by European cavalry in the later medieval period. These factors gave the European side an advantage in the battle. In conclusion it could be mentioned that history helps out us to identify ourselves, recognize who we are and be acquainted with the origin where we come from. We over and over again shrink back from hearing about our chronological times of yore for the reason that so much of it is excruciating. The European and the Muslim styles of warfare during the time of the First and Second Crusade had developed several distinct characteristics like modification in cavalry, invention of gun powder, canons, new methods of fortification, etc. Instead of all developments it could only be concluded that battles in all ages have brought only destruction. References: Brundage, C; Medieval Canon Law and the Crusader (HBT Publishers Pvt.Ltd. 2000) Prawer, H A; The Crusaders Kingdom (Allied Publishers 1998) Powell, M; Anatomy of a Crusade (ABP Ltd 2001) Gervers, V; Second Crusade and the Cistercians (HBT Publishers Pvt. Ltd. 2000) Tyerman, J; Invention of the Crusades (Allied Publications 2001) Kar, P; History of Europe; Vol. III (Dasgupta Chatterjee 2005) King, H; Introduction to War; Vol. II (HBT Brooks Ltd. 2005) Lamb, Davis; Cult to Culture: The Development of Civilization on the Strategic Strata. (National Book Trust. 2004)

Between Utopias Essay -- Literary Analysis, Thomas More

Although comparing one society to another does not require them to be different in government or human behavior, it does necessarily weight one’s faults against its victories to render it better or worse than the other. This comparative structure, found between Thomas More’s two books of Utopia, poses the country of Utopia opposite the broader communities of world civilization. Despite the comparison of Utopia as distinct from and morally better than widespread society, in truth Utopia is, at best, an extension. The sloth of governments abroad have led Utopians to pursue lives of group work rather than personal property. In Book I, Hythloday confronts the wealthy as "rapacious, wicked, and useless, while the poor are unassuming, modest men who work hard" (36). The duality of the claim of wealth versus work makes them appear dichotomous, not to mention cruel, and results in the desire of the Utopians to be free of not only "private property," but of laziness. Thus they partake of group labor, but wherein "every person learns a second trade, besides agriculture" (45). This appears fair and useful, especially when coupled with how "Utopians do not work very long hours, for to "exhaust himself with endless toil" is "such wretchedness, really worse than slavery" (45). Yet In Book I, Hythloday makes a positive example of the Persian Polylerites, whom, "apart from their constant work, they undergo no discomfort in living" (23). This contradiction of values is met with another: their own enslavemen t of others. Though the struggles of the poor amid the wealth of leadership motivate the Utopians to abolish money, it is not to the effect of equality. Hythloday is critical of "a solitary ruler who enjoys a life of pleasure...while all abou... ...uble with working for princes in the common world of government: "You must openly approve of the worst proposals, and consent to the most vicious policies" (35). In Utopia, while opposing the openness of the plans, do in subtle, frightful subjugations control their people in a remote society. While the character of More often argues with Hythloday in Book I for his opposition to wealth and government, by the end of Book II his primary concern is the same, glossing mindset of the loss of beautiful possessions and rule with their "splendor and majesty" (97). Although this position is deliberately focused on the monetary absence in Utopia, his listing of their observances shows acknowledgement; and while Utopia would itself never acknowledge its nearly Spartan oligarchy, between Books I and II it is clear that through comparison, its digression is anything but ideal.

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 23

Dante wasn't around when I got home, nor was he reachable by phone. That relieved me of any guilt I had about going out with Seth, meaning my only other obstacle was the accusatory look Roman gave me when we parted. I had no idea how he would spend his evening, and honestly, I didn't really want to know. The problem Seth and I had with going out was that we pretty much had to avoid the city. We knew people in the suburbs too, but the odds of running into anyone were a lot smaller. The rainy weather Roman and I had experienced in the afternoon had blown over, and we suddenly found ourselves in semi-warm conditions that made it almost possible to go without a coat. I would have read the fortuitous weather as a divine blessing, if not for the fact that I'd given up on such beliefs long ago. To my astonishment, though, Seth said he wanted to go downtown and felt pretty confident we wouldn't be spotted. He drove us over to Belltown, parking underneath one of the many high-rise apartment buildings that seemed to be sprouting up there every day. A mysterious key let him inside, and the elevator took us all the way to the top floor. â€Å"What is this?† I asked when we entered a sprawling penthouse suite. It kind of made me wonder if I should have been setting my real estate aspirations in a different direction. I gave him a startled look. â€Å"You don't own this, do you?† Seth having a secret vacation home wasn't entirely improbable. â€Å"Belongs to someone I know who's out of town. I called in a favor.† â€Å"You have friends I don't know?† He gave me A Look, and I let the matter go. Besides, the place was so beautiful that I had plenty of distraction. The colors were all done in shades of navy and gray, and the furniture was plush and expensive. I especially liked the fact that the walls were decorated with huge reproductions of pre-Raphaelite work. Nowadays, abstract art was the trendy way to go, and it was nice to see something a little different. â€Å"Wait'll you see the rest,† said Seth, beckoning me out to the balcony. Or, well, â€Å"balcony† was the closest word I could come up with. It was practically half the size of my apartment and faced west, showing part of downtown's glittering array of lights and all of Puget Sound. I stared in wonder, watching a ferry move across the dark expanse of water. â€Å"Wow.† That about summed it up. We stood there for a few moments, and Seth's arm slipped around me. This high up, the unseasonable warmth had turned to seasonable gusts and coldness. I shivered, and Seth draped me in a blanket that had been neatly folded on a wrought-iron chair. â€Å"Have a seat,† he said. â€Å"I'll be back with dinner.† I grinned at the gallantry and sat at an ornate, candlelit glass table that still allowed me to take in the view. Waiting for Seth, I felt all sorts of strange feelings stir to life within me. This was it, I realized. I didn't know how I knew, but this was the end of whatever it was that we had right now. Maybe something new would take its place. Maybe we'd never have anything again. Regardless, this moment was crystallized in time for me. Nothing like it would ever come again. Dinner turned out to be an array of tapenade and bread, as well as-to my shock-a bottle of wine. â€Å"Is that whole thing for me?† I asked. He shook his head. â€Å"I'll have a glass.† â€Å"What? Starbucks, now this?† I peered at the bottle to make sure it wasn't some kind of weird alcohol-free kind. Nope. â€Å"It's a special occasion,† he said with a smile, and I knew he'd gotten the same vibe that I had, that this was the end of something. â€Å"Besides, how can I live out the Rubaiyat if I don't have all the accoutrements?† â€Å"Of course. Your uber-romantic date would be based on a poem.† I could already see him getting into quotation mode. He cleared his throat to speak. â€Å"Here with a Loaf of Bread beneath the Bough A Flask of Wine, a Book of Verse-and Thou Beside me singing in the Wilderness- And Wilderness is paradise enow.† I tsked. â€Å"You've got the bread, wine, and me†¦but no bough. And hardly the wilderness.† â€Å"It's the urban jungle,† he argued. â€Å"And no book of verse,† I continued, liking my contrary role. Then I reconsidered. â€Å"Although, I did finish All Fools Night .† Seth's expression immediately grew serious. â€Å"And?† â€Å"You already know. It was beautiful.† â€Å"No, I don't. It's a mystery every time-no pun intended. The words come out, but in the end†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shrugged. â€Å"You never know how they'll be received, what people will think. I'm always kind of surprised.† â€Å"What did the opening quote mean? The Kate Bush lyrics about making a deal with God?† â€Å"You should hear the cover of that song that Placebo did. It'll blow you away.† Seth gave me a knowing look. â€Å"You think there's some hidden meaning?† â€Å"There's always a hidden meaning. You added it in after you met me, didn't you?† â€Å"Yeah†¦I mean, it relates to the book obviously†¦to O'Neill's revelation at the end. But I guess it relates to us too.† His eyes drifted away, lost in the vista around us. â€Å"I don't know. We've had to deal with so many complications. We're still dealing with them. And what can we do? Nothing-well, unless we take your side's point of view and make deals with the devil. But why? Why can't we make deals with God?† â€Å"People do all the time. ‘God, if you do this for me, I promise to be good.' Stuff like that.† â€Å"Yeah, but I don't see any contracts like you guys have. No hard evidence that it works.† If I wasn't mistaken, there was a little bitterness in his voice. â€Å"How come we can only get the things we want by being bad? Why can't we get them by being good?† â€Å"I'll ask Carter the next time I see him,† I said dryly. â€Å"But I have a feeling he'd say goodness is its own reward.† We'd picked over the tapenade by now but hardly touched the wine. His claims aside, I wasn't sure Seth had even sipped his. He turned back toward me. â€Å"You and I aren't being very good, are we?† he asked. That was an understatement. â€Å"You and I are the victims of unfortunate timing.† I paused. â€Å"And a lot of other unfortunate things.† â€Å"Would have been a lot simpler if this stasis thing had happened when we were dating. Or if we'd just given in then.† â€Å"No,† I said. â€Å"No way. I don't care if this is a mess. It's worth it that I didn't end up hurting you.† You spared him physical pain , a nasty voice inside me taunted. But what about Maddie? Pain isn't always physical, you of all people know that. What about the heartache you've caused her? I ignored the voice. â€Å"I don't care,† said Seth. â€Å"I would have done it. I would have sold my soul for you. You and me†¦I told you. Something's always going to keep us near each other†¦even if we aren't together.† I rose from my chair and sat on his lap, wrapping my arms around him and wondering how it was possible that my heart was both swelling and breaking at the same time. I leaned my head against his shoulder. â€Å"I love you,† I said softly. â€Å"And I forgive you.† Something weird about those words made me shiver, as though I'd never said them to anyone. â€Å"And I understand now why you did what you did.† I didn't elaborate on the â€Å"what.† I didn't need to. Seth kissed my cheek. â€Å"Do you ever feel like†¦we're reliving this moment over and over?† I thought about our troubled past. â€Å"If we are, I don't want to worry about it. Not right now.† I think he was going to say more, possibly even correct me, but I didn't give him a chance. I kissed him, and like every other time, it was sweet and powerful and the most right thing in the world. We wrapped ourselves together, and somehow, despite the cold weather, we got enough clothes off and made love with the wind whipping our hair and the stars shining down on us. And like that first time, I still had that sense that we weren't close enough. Even when our bodies joined and he moved in me, it still felt like I could never, ever be close enough to him. Maybe it was this mystical connection he kept talking about. Or maybe it was just a metaphor for our lot in life. We sat together for a long time afterward, draped in blankets and saying little. I wanted to stay there all night. Forever, even. In this affair, it was the one thing we hadn't done: spend the night together after sex. We always had to part and go on to the rest of our lives. He finally dropped me off at my car, and we kissed for a long time before I could finally extricate myself. Seth ran his hand along my cheek and hair, reluctant to let me go. I shared the sentiment. â€Å"What will you do now?† he asked. â€Å"I don't know. One more search tomorrow, I guess. If there's even time. I expect Ephraim to name somebody any minute now.† Seth nodded, eyes dark and thoughtful. â€Å"Well, if you need company again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I smiled, unsure if that was a smart idea or not, but it wasn't a decision I wanted to make tonight. I didn't know if I wanted the balcony to be our last moment together in this fling or if I wanted to cling to another few precious seconds, even on the beach. â€Å"I'll let you know,† I promised. I kissed him one last time and then left to find my own car. I had just unlocked it when a voice spoke to me out of the darkness. â€Å"Can you give me a lift?† I sighed. I really didn't like the way everyone could sneak up on me lately. Of course, with Carter's sick sense of humor, I wasn't entirely shocked. He'd lurked while hiding his aura plenty of times in the past because he liked the element of surprise. Still. I didn't even have a fighting chance now. I opened my door. â€Å"Sorry. I don't pick up hitchhikers.† Undeterred, he slid into the passenger seat and put on his seat belt. â€Å"Did you have a good evening, madam?† He spoke in an old-fashioned, genteel sort of way. â€Å"Don't take that tone with me.† â€Å"What tone? I was being polite.† â€Å"You know exactly what I've been doing, so don't act like you're making pleasant conversation.† â€Å"Why are they mutually exclusive?† I refused to look at him. â€Å"I don't want to be judged.† â€Å"Am I judging you? Sounds more like you're judging yourself, which really, is the way it should be. The best jury of your peers that you'll ever find is†¦well, you. Only you know what you're capable of and what you want to be.† â€Å"Did you find me just to delve into the philosophy of my morals?† I grumbled. â€Å"Nah,† he said. â€Å"Whenever I find you, I just sort of go with this free-form thing and see where the mood takes me.† â€Å"Maybe the mood could take you to Jerome.† â€Å"That's your quest, not mine. Any luck?† Again, I faced that dilemma. Who could I tell what? Grace, Roman†¦so many players on the board now and no clear opponent. â€Å"Some,† I said at last. â€Å"Oh-ho,† he laughed. â€Å"You could be an angel with an answer like that.† â€Å"Well, I don't think it's going to be enough to find Jerome, not unless a miracle happens.† The drive was short. I pulled up outside my building, getting a lucky front spot. Carter turned and winked at me. â€Å"Well, you know my take on those. Thanks for the lift.† â€Å"Wait,† I said, realizing he was about to teleport away. â€Å"I have a question.† He arched an eyebrow. â€Å"Oh?† â€Å"How come when mortals want things, their only option is to make a deal with Hell and sell their soul? Why can't they make deals with God in exchange for good behavior?† It was another of those rare moments when I'd surprised Carter. I waited for the glib answer I'd mentioned to Seth, something along the lines of goodness being its own reward. The angel considered for several seconds. â€Å"Humans make those deals all the time,† he said finally. â€Å"They just don't make them with God.† â€Å"Then who are they making them with?† I exclaimed. â€Å"Themselves.† He vanished. â€Å"Fucking angels,† I muttered. I arrived in my apartment only minutes before Dante showed up. â€Å"Oh, I'm in luck,† he said, seeing me on the couch with Aubrey. â€Å"You seem to always be busy lately.† I felt a small pang of guilt at what I'd done tonight. A lie was still a lie, no matter who you were lying to. â€Å"I'm saving Seattle,† I explained, making room for him beside me. He sat down, clean-shaven for a change and looking good in his usual jeans, thermal shirt, watch, and boots. His insecurity was driving him to buy me gifts lately, but I realized I'd need to step it up and get him some wardrobe variety once all this madness ended. â€Å"And how's that going exactly?† Everyone kept asking me that. Seth. Carter. Dante. And my answer was lame each time. â€Å"Not so great, actually. I think tomorrow'll be the day it all resolves, and Jerome's going to be lost forever. Even if he's not, it'll be too late for him to get his old position back. His best-case scenario'll be someone's lieutenant in northern Michigan.† Dante put his arm around me and his feet on my coffee table. â€Å"Well, succubus, don't take this wrong way, but I'll be glad when this is over, new archdemon or no. I'm tired of you being stressed all the time, and I'm tired of not getting any face time with you.† He toyed with the strands of my hair. â€Å"I'm also kind of tired of how frizzy this is. Isn't there some product you can use?† â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"Not funny. What happened to internal beauty?† He seemed undaunted. â€Å"You've got plenty of that. I just want the whole package. Besides, the look on your face was great when I said that.† His hand slipped from around my waist to trace patterns between my hip and thigh. It wasn't overtly sexual but I had a feeling that between that and his good mood-which I was happy for, don't get me wrong-there was an amorous advance in my future. â€Å"Will you read my cards?† I asked abruptly. He gave me a shocked look. â€Å"Tarot cards?† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"You know that's all bullshit.† â€Å"It is when you bend the truth for your clients. Please? Just do a quick one.† â€Å"Fine. I'll give you a card-of-the-day one. All the mysteries of the universe in one card.† I could hear the eye roll in his voice as he got up to get his cards out of his satchel. He usually kept them on him in the event of an impromptu client opportunity. â€Å"Don't lie to me,† I warned. â€Å"I know more than your clients.† â€Å"Wouldn't dream of it,† he said, deftly shuffling the cards. I'd seen him scam clients plenty of times, telling them what they wanted to hear. Seeing as I didn't know what I wanted, I supposed that excluded me from that category. After the cards were thoroughly randomized, he had me cut them, and then he neatly restacked them. â€Å"Draw.† I took the first card off the top and flipped it over. â€Å"Fuck.† The Five of Cups. Spilled chalices. Lost hopes and dreams. Dante affirmed as much. â€Å"Disappointment's ahead, the loss of something you had. It can be a failure or inability to resolve a recurring problem. Pretty typical reading for you.† â€Å"What's that supposed to mean?† â€Å"Doom and gloom always surround you. I didn't make up that palm reading for you.† That had been even worse than this. â€Å"It's probably just verifying that Jerome's gone for good-if you even want to believe in this. And, hey, look.† He tapped the card. â€Å"One cup stayed upright. Not all hope is lost.† I wondered about that as I thought about losing Seth and the man in the dream. I wondered also if Roman was right, if it was true that I wouldn't know what to do if I ever was actually happy. As I suspected, Dante did make sexual moves on me, but I demurred as I had all week. I knew it didn't matter at this point. My cups had emptied, and the ride with Seth was over. Yet, our time on the balcony had been so sweet and so powerful that once again, I couldn't be with someone else after an encounter like that. Soon enough my sex life with Dante would return to normal-but not tonight. He didn't seem angry at being turned down, so much as hurt. I felt a little bad about that but realized I'd rather feel guilty about betraying him than Seth. Dante was up and gone before me the next morning, but Roman was sitting in my living room eating cereal and generally making himself at home. He had to know I was standing there, but he kept his eyes on the morning news. When he finished the cereal, he clicked for Aubrey and set the bowl down for her. â€Å"Hey,† I said, scooping it up. â€Å"Milk's bad for cats.† â€Å"You need to let her live a little,† he protested, still watching the news. â€Å"So what's the plan today?† â€Å"I don't know. I'm still in stasis, so I guess that gives us time. Want to throw a dart at the map and go somewhere?† I gestured to the atlas of the Pacific Northwest lying on my coffee table. â€Å"Might be the most productive method we've tried,† he mused. He had that light tone he often used, but I could hear the disappointment too. It was still a mystery to me as to why he'd be so into helping find Jerome. It was a mystery best solved with coffee, I decided, and while the pot brewed, I rummaged for my own breakfast. I unearthed Pop-Tarts and again wondered about weight gain. â€Å"Um, Georgina†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"If you're asking if you can feed her anything else, the answer is no.† â€Å"You need to come see this.† His voice was deadly earnest. The hair on the back of my neck stood up, and I hurried back into the living room. Roman pointed at the TV. â€Å"You have got to be kidding me,† I groaned. The Army of Darkness had struck again. We were watching a Seattle station, but apparently, this north-of-the-border escapade had been deemed newsworthy. The prank had actually taken place over in Victoria, a city on an island just west of Vancouver but still in British Columbia. There were some very famous and very beautiful gardens there, and the Army had apparently broken in at night and done their best to clip a pentagram into a huge expanse of bushes. They'd enhanced it with spray paint. â€Å"Jesus Christ,† I muttered. The pentagram job was bad, but the group had been savvy enough to get out of there without being caught. One shot of a courtyard there showed where they'd spray-painted: ALL HAIL THE ANGEL OF DARKNESS . â€Å"Glad to see they haven't lost their touch,† Roman said wryly. I sank down onto the couch beside him, my mind spinning. Why? Why now? I'd toyed with the theory that the Army's activities had been an absurdly elaborate distraction to take everyone's attention away from Seattle. By that reasoning, their shenanigans should have stopped once Jerome was summoned. Yet here they were again. Had they acted on their own, just for the fun of it? Had Blake discovered a spray-paint sale? Or had Grace directed them again-and if so, why? Most of their other activities had lined up with some other significant part of the seal's creation or Jerome's summoning. Without wasting another moment, I picked up my cell and called Cedric. I actually got through to him rather than Kristin. â€Å"What?† he demanded when he answered. â€Å"This is Georgina. I just saw the news.† â€Å"Look, I do not have the time for you. In fact, you're the last person I want to talk to right now, seeing as how none of this would have happened if you'd done your job in the first place.† â€Å"Yeah, yeah, I know, but listen†¦was anything important going on today?† His voice was incredulous. â€Å"What, you mean aside from those idiots embarrassing me again ?† â€Å"No, I mean†¦any events or, I don't know†¦just anything important, um, demonically†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Well, if you consider my evaluation with Ephraim important, then yes.† The sarcasm dripped through the phone. I froze. â€Å"Thank you. That's all I needed to know.† He actually seemed surprised by that. â€Å"Really?† â€Å"Yeah, no, wait-when I talked to Kristin the other day, she said that you came to Seattle the day Jerome was summoned, but then Ephraim said when you got here, he was already gone. Is that true?† â€Å"Yes, of course. Do you doubt him?† â€Å"No, no†¦just making sure I heard right. And you were in Seattle for a while?† â€Å"Yeah, was with Grace and Mei dealing with the aftermath. Look, if you want to track my activities, wait until Kristin's back in the office.† He sighed in frustration. â€Å"Fuck. I wish she was here now.† I hesitated, then figured I couldn't make things worse. â€Å"Hey, just some friendly advice†¦but the next time you're looking at Match. com or asking out succubi, why don't you look a little closer to home?† â€Å"What the hell are you talking about?† â€Å"Kristin. If you're looking for someone who ‘gets' you, you've already got her. See you later.† I hung up before I could hear his response. Roman gave me a bemused look. â€Å"Are you matchmaking in the middle of this crisis?† â€Å"Just doing a good deed.† I tossed my cell phone from hand to hand, thinking. â€Å"Okay, so. The Army did a prank today-while Ephraim was interviewing Cedric. Not good for Cedric.† â€Å"Which is going to ruin his candidacy for Seattle.† â€Å"Likely, even though he claims he doesn't want it. Still, it makes sense that Grace would have them do it today†¦ if she had them do it and they didn't act randomly†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He shrugged. â€Å"Makes sense, but what's it matter? You already know she's got a role in this. All this does is clear him.† I frowned. I had the same sense I had the other day while analyzing the cult's activities, like I was so close but couldn't grasp all the threads. Against my better judgment, I dialed Evan. He flipped out when he realized it was me. â€Å"Georgina! We've been wondering what happened to you. Man, you will not believe what we did today, it was this-â€Å" â€Å"I already know,† I interrupted. â€Å"It was on the news down here.† â€Å"What? Holy shit. Hey! You guys!† I pulled the phone away as he yelled at whoever was with him. â€Å"We made the Seattle news!† A moment later he returned to me. â€Å"Wow, that's awesome. International recognition!† â€Å"Look, Evan. I need to know something. Did the Angel actually tell you to do this? And when I say that, I mean, did she actually appear in one of those visions or did you presume she wanted this?† â€Å"She was here. Told us to leave our mark at Butchart Gardens, so the world would know her glory. Cool too, since you know, it's a powerful place and all. No wonder it's having such far-reaching effects.† â€Å"Powerful place†¦Ã¢â‚¬  My fist closed around all the threads. â€Å"Evan, listen to me. Are you familiar with other places of power around you?† I'd always dismissed this group's arcane knowledge, never considering they might know a few things about the unseen world. â€Å"Of course.† Roman's eyes were fixed on me so hard, I thought they'd shoot lasers right through me. He could tell I was on to something. I took a deep breath. â€Å"Do you know of any place up there that's by a beach-on the ocean-that has white rocks or gravel or sand or anything like that? That's infused with power?† â€Å"White rocks?† he asked. There was a few second's silence. â€Å"Well†¦there's White Rock.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"It's this town that has, well, a giant white rock. Some kind of glacial thing, but the Indians thought it came from the gods or something. Always been a holy place.† â€Å"White Rock,† I repeated flatly. â€Å"Yup.† No, no. It could not be that obvious. Balancing the phone with one hand, I opened the atlas with the other and flipped to the section on British Columbia. There it was, on the coast, just barely north of the American border. White Rock. â€Å"Son of a bitch,† I said.

Once You Open Your Eyes Essay

When a human being is a victim, they need to have courage and follow their ways, no matter what others say. Jem and Scout see people become victims of prejudice, rumors, poverty, and other atrocities in their own little town, as they grew older. In To Kill a Mockingbird, the children learn life lessons from witnessing people striving to survive different situations within Maycomb. When a challenge causes one to struggle, the children see that person, or themselves, have to have courage to do as they have before. Jem and Scout see their small town judge the Radleys, but the Radleys still do what they have done for as long as any single person can remember. They never talk to their neighbors or open their doors and windows on Sunday. Since they have odd habits, from other’s perspectives, and keep to themselves, citizens of Maycomb start rumors about them, saying â€Å"Radley pecans [will] kill you† (Lee 9). These rumors criticized the Radleys and made people afraid of them. Calpunia had something to say about them, stating one day that Mr. Radley was â€Å"the meanest man God ever blew breath into† (Lee 12). Since he was â€Å"mean,† that held more rumors to be made about them. The stories make children believe Boo was locked up in a damp basement in the courthouse for years and is now chained up in his house. The Radleys stay the way they are; despite the rumors, remaining removed from human contact. The Radleys are victims of misunderstanding and people’s cruel stories â€Å"unwilling to discard their initial suspicions† (Lee 9). Jem and Scout witness the Radleys to stick to their ways since they go against the crowd, despite society’s wants. The Finch children begin to notice many children’s families are victims of poverty, especially the Cunninghams, but the Cunninghams are different; they never take charity or have to depend on others. The Cunninghams are one of the poorest families in Maycomb, but they have the strongest determination to survive; and are the hardest workers. They have a great deal of pride and are respectable people. â€Å"‘The Cunninghams never [take] anything from anybody, they get along with what they have,’ † states Scout (Lee 20). Walter Cunningham would not even take a quarter of a dollar to buy a lunch because of how he was raised. The Finch children realize the Cunninghams are a brave family to live under their circumstances and not accept anyone else’s charity. If one does not accept others’ charity, they suffer more and do not always know when they are receiving their next paycheck. It is scary to not know these things, but the Cunninghams are proud and brave when to not accept the offerings of other people. The Finch children understand this from listening to Atticus talk about the Cunningham family. Tom Robinson suffered because of people and their prejudice beliefs. He also suffers from others misdeeds and died as innocent as a mockingbird. Jem becomes a victim when Tom Robinson was found guilty. He realizes the court does not always work. Jem became a victim of the system’s flaws and shortcomings. He used to believe that the court always worked, but learned it did not, when a jury found a clearly innocent man guilty. This crushed him, but it made him grow up and learn to accept things like this, because when maturing, one has to realize the world isn’t perfect. He had to have courage to accept this factor in life. It is a atrocious crime to take a persons life to merely keep the truth in the shadows; but with the pain of Tom’s death blooms a new hope of equality for the town of Maycomb, with just a baby step. Like all other children, Scout and Jem have to face all the challenges of growing up, but they have to keep going on with their lives, no matter what problems arise for them. Scout experiences the challenges of growing up when her aunt moved in. She criticized Scout for wearing pants and not acting in a lady-like manner, but that was only a small problem, and Scout stayed herself. She kept wearing pants and speaking her mind because she wanted to be an individual. Scout is surprised by prejudice, while going up. She was not aware that prejudice existed. She witnesses others victimize each other because they are different, either because of their color, friends, how they act, or many other reasons. She learns and sees this happen when listening to neighbors gossip about the Radleys, her teacher bad-mouth African Americans, or even her own self be criticized by the way she speaks her mind. Scout does not understand why people are like this, putting labels on certain types of people, like African Americans, saying â€Å"all Negroes lie, that all Negroes are basically immoral beings, that all Negro men are not to be trusted around our women† (Lee 204). Scout knows that not all people are perfect. She has to accept that some humans do not always treat others with kindness. Both Jem and Scout have to be brave and deal with the changes in the world. Scout and Jem learn from people, or themselves, when they are victims of different situations, but they are still brave. Atticus points out that real courage is when someone goes through life, still fighting, even if they are victims of prejudice, rumors, lies, hate, misunderstanding, or life’s shortcomings; to not give up even if you’ve already lost . Jem and Scout learn to keep their ways, adjust, and not judge people without knowing the full truth about them. They hope for the world to be a more understanding place.

Just Another Girl on the IRT Essays

Just Another Girl on the IRT Essays Just Another Girl on the IRT Paper Just Another Girl on the IRT Paper Essay Topic: Film Just Another Girl on the I. R. T portrays the life of a black teenage woman and her struggles through pregnancy. Unlike other films, such as New Jack City, Leslie Harris film presents a different perspective in which women play an active role. The film emphasizes that women are not the mere properties or possessions of male characters but show an outrageous, audacious, courageous, or willful behavior (Walker). At least during the first part of the movie, Chantel personifies this attitude perfectly. Chantel is highly energetic in character, outrageous in her clothing choices and in the slang she uses. On the subway, for instance, when a young black man tells her that he is an actor, she laughs at him in an excessive way. The man could be telling the truth, but she does not care. She is very smart, funny, cool, and even pretty, therefore she is immensely self-confident. Her attitude proves to be extremely daring and insolent. Sometimes leading to openly rude or disrespectful. For example, this audacious behavior is portrayed when Chantel is working at the gourmet delicatessen. When asked a question, Chantel answers a rich white woman in an impudent manner. She does what she wants to when she wants to, in a mixture of spontaneous outbursts of intelligence and immaturity. Chantel displays a courageous personality when she does not tell her parents about her pregnancy and goes alone to visit the gynecologist. At the end, even her friends are unaware of her hiding it. This could also be interpreted as a sign of her lack of maturity and experience: she is very tough but, when confronted with a concrete problem, Banos she becomes afraid and denies it. Despite her apparent self-confidence at the beginning of the film, her dreams start to fall apart. Her willful character is clearly visible from the fist scene. Being seventeen and amazingly smart, she wants to graduate a year early, go to college and become a doctor. Her goals are set. However, her lack of refinement and good manners gets her into trouble more than once. At school, the teacher cannot finish his History lesson because she wants to discuss AIDS instead. Because of this outburst, Chantel is sent to the principal He insists that she should behave more like a young lady and that she is not ready for college yet. Chantel tells the camera, in a close-up monologue, that she is ready and that, as she has good grades, there is nothing the principal can do. This is yet another example of Chantels willful attitude. Her goal of becoming a doctor shows her will to gain knowledge. Even though she is smart, Chantel, like her friends, is ignorant about birth control. They have a discussion on a park bench in which ridiculous ways of avoiding pregnancy are discussed. This scene is potentially a reflection on the misguided beliefs that many teenagers have. Chantels monologues through the movie constitute a technique used to directly address the audience. This adds fun and juvenile spirit to the film, in contrast with some powerful scenes, such as the birth one, add a dark aspect to the movie. It is ironic that someone with Chantels intelligence, charm, quick responses and willful power should end up participating in such unwise, self-destructive actions. In context, her reactions seem reasonable. This is how many people would react to fear and the disappearance of their dreams. This film clearly differentiates between womanism and feminism, and emphasizes the as purple is to lavender analogy.

Involving and Engaging Employees Coca

Involving and Engaging Employees Coca Executive Summary Employees play a major role in the success of a company. They are charged with the responsibility of implementing organisational policies. They also represent the firm’s values and interests. Many businesses, however, fail to acknowledge the role of these stakeholders in their success.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Involving and Engaging Employees: Coca-Cola Great Britain specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More As a result, they fail to exploit their full potential. Employee involvement and engagement is set to change this. Involvement is a process spearheaded by the management with the aim of increasing access to information among workers. It helps to promote trust within an organisation. It also supports informed decision making processes. Employee engagement, on the other hand, is a situation where workers are committed to a firm and its values. They become citizens of the organisation that th ey work for. Employee involvement and engagement are crucial to the success of Coca-Cola Great Britain. As a result, the company has maintained a motivated workforce. Better results can be achieved through the adoption of human resource management practices aimed at increasing flexibility and job design. Introduction Coca-Cola Great Britain is based in the UK (Ignatius 2011). Its headquarters are located in West London. It is a subsidiary of the Coca-Cola Company. The parent firm wholly owns the organisation. It was established with the aim of serving the UK market more efficiently. Like its parent company, it is involved in the manufacture of non-alcoholic beverages (Senker Foy 2012). It also oversees other activities, which include distribution, marketing, and retailing. Coca-Cola Great Britain engages in the preparation of syrup concentrates, which are later sold to bottling plants across the country. The bottlers control specific territories within the region. Coca-Cola remains the company’s main brand (Ignatius 2011). Its formula was developed by John Stith in 1886. The formula is a closely guarded secret in the company. It is considered as intellectual property. Subsidiaries, such as Coca-Cola Great Britain, are also required to safeguard the secret on behalf of the parent company. To ensure this, employee loyalty is required. The company has achieved this by promoting employee involvement and engagement.  Coca-Cola Great Britain consists of a team of 110 individuals (Senker Foy 2012). They are involved in the running of seven manufacturing plants spread across the country.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Their main responsibility is to ensure that the existing brands are manufactured in adequate quantities to satisfy the demand in the UK market (Senker Foy 2012). At the same time, they promote the brands in an attempt to i ncrease its consumption rates. The organisation also seeks to develop new brands. The only way to achieve this is through innovation. A motivated workforce is, therefore, required. Innovation is aimed at increasing efficiency at the point of manufacture, retailing, distribution, and marketing. With over 4650 individuals currently employed in enterprises operated by Coca-Cola Great Britain, there is need to develop effective human resource management (HRM) practices to increase the productivity of the workforce. Problem Statement Employees are important in ensuring the success of their organisations. However, their role is often overlooked. As a result, the management is not keen to develop HRM strategies aimed at addressing issues affecting them. For this reason, their productivity within a firm tends to go down. They lack motivation to work towards the success of their firms. Employees are also mainly excluded when it comes to decision making (Henderson 2011). Managers tend to make decisions affecting the entire organisation without consultations. The result is that employees lack trust in the firm’s leadership. They are also less motivated to work beyond the terms of their employment contract. They also lose faith in the values upheld by the business (Balantyne 2004).  The only way to avoid this shortcoming is by involving employees more in the day-to-day running of the firm. The management often achieves this by giving the workforce access to more information concerning their organisation. The practice promotes employee engagement. Workers get committed to their firm and its values. At the same time, they develop the will to assist their colleagues. However, many firms are not aware of the importance of putting in place effective HRM practices. As a result, the performance of their employees tends to be dismal. Organisations also fail to acknowledge the importance of flexibility and job design in promoting success. As a result, the work requirement s of their employees are not satisfied. Consequently, their performance is negatively affected.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Involving and Engaging Employees: Coca-Cola Great Britain specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Research Questions The study focused on the assessment of the impacts of HRM practices on employee involvement and engagement in relation to the performance of Coca-Cola Great Britain. The study also sought to examine the role played by flexibility and job design. The importance of these elements to the company was also assessed. Consequently, the study sought to respond to the following research question: What are the effects of involvement and engagement of employees in the business activities of Coca Cola Great Britain? What are the factors affecting the involvement and engagement of the workforce at Coca Cola Great Britain? What is the future of the engagement and involvement of employees in con temporary organisations? Human Resource Management Employee involvement is an initiative taken by the management to increase workers’ access to information (Daniels, Davis Shipton 2008). The move is aimed at enhancing their commitment to the firm, its values, and objectives (Holm 2013). It is a form of top down communication within an organisation. Information emanates from the top leadership positions. A number of forums are used to promote employee involvement. For example, managers can hold meetings and briefings where workers are informed of the progress made within their organisation (Balantyne 2004). Newsletters and memos can also be used to pass information. However, there have been concerns that these methods of communication do not give employees a chance to offer prompt feedback. As a result, they feel neglected in the decision making process. Face-to-face communication is recommended to avoid this. In the past, management had a tendency to rely on third parties t o pass information to employees (Kiessling Harvey 2006). Such parties included representatives and workers unions. Little information was given to the workers. It was passed only on a ‘need-to-know’ basis. Direct communication, on the other hand, means that no third party is involved in the link between the management and the employees. It is considered to be the most effective strategy. Modern HRM professionals believe when workers know about their business, they become willing and committed to complete their tasks (Marchington Wilkinson 2012). As such, the practice increases productivity. However, there are concerns that increased involvement of employees may translate to more work and stress. For example, they are required to be more involved in decision making (Albrecht 2010). As such, their responsibilities within the firm are increased. An increase in roles induces stress and, eventually, translates to poor performance.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More There are different forms of employee involvement. They range from task participation to financial involvement, downward communication, and upward problem solving (Cox, Zagelmeyer Marchington 2006). Task participation mainly involves job redesigning and enrichment. Redesigning entails restructuring of tasks, roles, and responsibilities associated with a particular job. As a HRM practice, it is aimed at inspiring and motivating employees (Daniels, Davis Shipton 2008). Job enrichment, on the other hand, involves assigning additional responsibilities to workers. It is aimed at motivating persons who are self-driven. It is mostly evident among employees at higher levels within the organisation. Task participation can also be in the form of teamwork. It offers employees a chance to exchange ideas with others. As a result, they gain a better understanding of their organisation and the issues affecting it.  The management can increase employee commitment through financial involvement ( Bratton Good 2012). It involves providing financial incentives to workers in order to motivate them. Profit sharing is one of the most commonly used incentives. Management can directly or indirectly make payments based on the profitability of the firm. The payment is in addition to the regular salaries and bonuses. The companies that are publicly traded often resort to allocation of shares to their workforce. The arrangement is referred to as a share ownership scheme (Boxall Purcell 2012). Through financial involvement, employees are made aware of their organisation’s performance. They also get the opportunity to share the profits made by the firm. As a result, they are more willing to contribute to the success of the business.  Downward communication emanates from people in top management positions (Gruman Saks 2011). A good example is an address from the chief executive officer to junior officers. Most of these communications are aimed at giving employees updates on fu ture plans by the management. As such, they can adequately prepare for any changes that may occur at their place of work. It may also involve passing information on matters affecting production and the delivery of services either directly or indirectly. As such, employees have a clear picture of what is expected of them within their organisation. Their ability to make decisions is also increased. Upward communication is another form of employee involvement. It is aimed at solving problems that arise within a firm (Noe Noe 2012). The management encourages employees to come up with ideas that would help solve these challenges. The leaders also seek to encourage innovation. The reason for this is to ensure that the organisation gains competitive advantage over its rivals through product differentiation (Noe Noe 2012). The management may also organise attitude surveys to establish how much their employees are committed to the objectives of the firm. Staff surveys may also enable the m anagement to learn the areas of HRM that need to be changed. Through problem solving groups, employees are able to provide suggestions that improve the day-to-day running of the organisation. Employee engagement Employee engagement is viewed as commitment to an organisation and its values. The workforce also exhibits willingness to help their colleagues improve their performance (Daniels 2006). It is also commonly referred to as organisational citizenship. It can only be offered to a firm willingly. As such, it cannot be demanded from an individual as one of the terms of the employment contract (Kiessling Harvey 2006). In this case, employees have the ability and the desire to ensure the success of their firm. Their desire and commitment is exhibited through discretionary efforts in the form of such acts as working extra time (Amabile Kramer 2011). Employee engagement also entails willingness to put in intellectual effort to ensure that an organisation performs well. Individuals a lso carry out their tasks with a positive attitude (Armstrong Taylor 2014). They also relate well with others to meet organisational goals and objectives. They also feel lucky to be involved in the activities of the organisation. They tend to take it as an opportunity to enhance their skills. Businesses can achieve employee involvement and engagement by allowing their workers to speak out on matters affecting the business. They feel that their contribution to the firm is valued (Bratton Good 2012). They also get the impression that the employer is transparent with them. As a result, they gain trust in the management and its activities. Employee engagement in many firms is achieved through the involvement of the workforce in decision making. Effective HRM practices require ideas emanating from workers to be taken into consideration. Their contribution should be acknowledged and appreciated by the management (Cummings Worley 2014). Employees should also be able to communicate openl y with the organisation’s leadership without fear of retribution. As a result, they do not feel sidelined when it comes to decision making and formulation of policies (Cummings Worley 2014).  Research shows that employee involvement and engagement at Coca-Cola Great Britain has been as a result of eased relations between the workforce and the management (Torrington et al. 2011). Individuals working for the organisation are encouraged to generate new ideas. The management is also keen to acknowledge the contribution of the employees. It often rewards their commitment, especially through better pay (Little Little 2006). As a result, a culture of innovation has been developed. The ‘Share a Coke’ campaign aimed at promoting the Coca-Cola brand was associated with a lot of success. The success can be attributed to the commitment of employees to the success of their organisation. The commitment is expressed by constantly generating new ideas (Rees French 2010).  There are a number of positive outcomes associated with the HRM practices. To begin with, cases of absenteeism have drastically decreased. The productivity of the employees has also gone up owing to the increased efforts. Error rates have also declined following the development of organisational citizenship (Luthans Peterson 2002). Workers have grown more emotionally attached to their firm. Role of Flexibility and Job Design Litheness is an important quality within any organisation. It is the ability of a firm to adapt to the composition, responsiveness, size, and cost of the human capital required to achieve its goals and objectives (Felstead, Jewson Walters 2003). It is an important HRM goal for any business. Employers and employees view flexibility from different perspectives. In the case of the employer, employee flexibility is all about efficiency (Felstead, Jewson Walters 2003). They feel that the workforce should be able to change its schedule with relative ease to deal w ith emergencies (Rayer Adam-Smith 2009). As such, the organisation is able to deal with emerging issues without outsourcing for human capital. On the other hand, employees view flexibility as the ability to juggle between work and home with ease. The needs of employers and employees in relation to flexibility at the workplace should be balanced to ensure optimum productivity (Lockwood 2007).  At Coca-Cola Great Britain, employee flexibility is viewed as one of the organisational goals. The company respects the rights of the workers (Ignatius 2011). For example, employees are allowed time-off during working hours for ante-natal care. Maternity leaves are also granted. During the time, workers are entitled to pay for a period of 39 weeks as per UK laws. Maternity leaves can extend to one year. Workers at Coca-Cola Great Britain are also given leave to attend to paternal, parental, and adoption issues. Dependants are also allowed time-off to attend to their households (Ignatius 2011 ). Their responsibilities may range from children to parents and spouses. As a result, the organisation’s workforce enjoys a better work-life balance. Employees are able to attend to their responsibilities both at work and at home with relative ease. Besides these instances, it is important for the company to allow persons who have offered more than 26 weeks of continuous service to request for leaves with justified reasons. The move is a legal requirement for all firms operating in the UK. Flexibility at the organisation has helped reduce cases of absenteeism (Felstead et al. 2002). Unpaid leaves are the most effective strategies in ensuring this. Employees are discouraged from missing work unless when it is absolutely necessary. Their morale to work is also boosted. The reason behind this is that they feel the company strives to benefit them. In the process, organisational citizenship is achieved. Job satisfaction among employees is also enhanced. As a result, the rate of e mployee turnover at Coca-Cola Great Britain is generally low. When employees are allowed time-off when need arises, they get to relax and are not fatigued. Upon their return, they become more efficient in their activities and are associated with high levels of productivity. Job design It is an important aspect of HRM practices. It involves putting together a range of tasks and responsibilities to be undertaken by a particular individual within an organisation (Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development [CIPD] 2008a). In other terms, it entails specifying the contents of various jobs. The reason for this is to ensure job satisfaction among employees. The potential of workers is also fully utilised (Luthans Peterson 2002). Through job redesigning, organisations can completely engage their workers. More responsibilities mean increased involvement. The reason behind this is that one will be more involved in decision making in the areas of operations entrusted to them. They tend t o develop a sense of responsibility by supporting the day-to-day running of their organisations (Mohr Zoghi 2006). Their effects on the firm are also felt and valued. In the process, they become more engaged and develop organisational citizenship.  Coca-Cola Great Britain is known to use job design to motivate its employees. The company mainly achieves this through task enlargement (CIPD 2008a). The process involves lengthening the work cycle by extending the range of activities and responsibilities within the same level. It involves a combination of many activities (Den 2011). Consequently, one is expected to perform different tasks. Boredom at the place of work is eliminated. Employees are more enthusiastic about their work. Job enrichment can also be used to motivate employees (Pilbeam Corbridge 2010). It is mainly achieved by assigning additional responsibilities to workers. Additional roles often come with a raise in pay (Edwards 2003). As such, employees feel that they are valued in the organisation. Such individuals are motivated to work hard to ensure that their effect is felt throughout the company. Job enrichment is, however, often a reserve of employees occupying higher levels in the organisation (CIPD 2008b). The reason behind this is that they have better knowledge of the company’s operations. Improved results can be achieved at Coca-Cola Great Britain by combining job design with rewards. Conclusion There is no doubt that employee involvement and engagement enhance the success of a company. The two ensure that workers are involved in the day-to-day running of their organisation. Employee involvement means that they are provided with information concerning the business and its objectives. As such, they are empowered to make better decisions. In the process, they are able to promote success. Employee engagement, on its part, involves the development of organisational citizenship. It involves the initiation of emotional attachment to the firm. As such, individuals strive to ensure the continued success of their firm. Improved HRM practices can be developed by promoting job design and flexibility. The two are important sources of employee motivation. They result in increased productivity, which promotes success. Organisations operating in a dynamic market can gain competitive advantage by putting in place effective HRM strategies. Improved employee relations will ensure continued innovation. For this reason, Coca-Cola Great Britain should put in place HRM practices aimed at promoting employee involvement and engagement. Job design and flexibility should also be encouraged. References Albrecht, S 2010, Handbook of employee engagement: perspectives, issues, research and practice, Edward Elgar Publishing, London, UK. Amabile, T Kramer, S 2011, ‘The power of small wins’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 89, no. 5, pp. 71-80. Armstrong, M Taylor, S 2014, Armstrongs handbook of human resource management practic e, 13th edn, Kogan Page, London, UK. Balantyne, D 2004, ‘Dialogue and its role in the development of relationship specific knowledge’, Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, vol. 19, no. 2, pp. 114-123. Boxall, P Purcell, J 2012, Strategy and human resource management, 4th edn, Palgrave MacMillan, Hampshire. Bratton, J Good, J 2012, Human resource management, 5th edn, Palgrave Macmillan, Hampshire. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2008a, Smart working: the impact of work organisation and job design, CIPD, London, UK. Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development 2008b, Smart working: how smart is UK PLC?, CIPD, London, UK. Cox, A, Zagelmeyer, S Marchington, M 2006, ‘Embedding employee involvement and participation at work’, Human Resource Management Journal, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 250-267. Cummings, T Worley, C 2014, Organisation development and change, Cengage Learning, New York. Daniels, K 2006, Employee relations in an organisa tional context, CIPD, London, UK. Daniels, K, Davis, A Shipton, H 2008, Strategic HRM: building research based practice, CIPD, London, UK. Den, R 2011, Keys to governance: strategic leadership for quality of life, Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke. Edwards, P 2003, ‘The employment relationship and the field of industrial relations’, Industrial Relations: Theory and Practice, vol. 2, no.1, pp. 1-36. Felstead, A, Jewson, N Walters, S 2003, ‘Managerial control of employees working at home’, British Journal of Industrial Relations, vol. 41, no. 2, pp. 241-264. Felstead, A, Jewson, N, Phizacklea, A, Walters, S. 2002. ‘The option of working at home: another privilege for the favoured few’, New Technology, Work and Employment, vol. 17, no 3, pp. 204-223 Gruman, J Saks, A 2011, ‘Performance management and employee engagement’, Human Resource Management Review, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 123-136. Henderson, I 2011, Human resource management for MBA students, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, London, UK. Holm, A 2013, Philosophy of science: an introduction for future knowledge workers, Samfundslitteratur, Frederiksberg. Ignatius, A 2011, ‘Shaking things up at Coca-Cola’, Harvard Business Review, vol. 89, no. 10, pp. 94-99. Kiessling, T Harvey, M 2006, ‘The human resource management issues during an acquisition: the target firm’s top management team and key managers’, International Journal of Human Resource Management, vol. 17, no. 7, pp. 1307-1320. Little, B Little, P 2006, ‘Employee engagement: conceptual issues’, Journal of Organisational Culture, Communications and Conflict, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 111-120. Lockwood, N 2007, ‘Leveraging employee engagement for competitive advantage’, Society for Human Resource Management Research Quarterly, vol. 1, no.1, pp. 1-12. Luthans, F Peterson, S 2002, ‘Employee engagement and manager self-efficacyâ€℠¢, Journal of Management Development, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 376-387. Marchington, M Wilkinson, A 2012, Human resource management at work, 5th edn, Chartered Institute of Personnel Development, London, UK. Mohr, R Zoghi, C 2006, Is job enrichment really enriching?, U.S. Dept. of Labour, U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, Office of Productivity and Technology, Washington, D.C. Noe, R Noe, R 2012, Human resource management: gaining a competitive advantage, 8th edn, McGraw-Hill Irwin, New York. Pilbeam, S Corbridge, M 2010, People resourcing: contemporary HRM in practice, 4th edn, Prentice Hall, London, UK. Rayer, C Adam-Smith, D 2009, Managing leading people, McGraw Hill, CIPD, London, UK. Rees, G French, R 2010, Leading, managing and developing people, 3rd edn, CIPD, London, UK. Senker, C Foy, D 2012, Coca Cola: the story behind the iconic business, Wayland, London, UK. Torrington, D, Hall, L, Taylor, S, Atkinson, C. 2011. Human resource management, 8th edn, Prentice Hall, Esse x.

Definition and Examples of Inflectional Morpheme

Definition and Examples of Inflectional Morpheme In English morphology, an inflectional morpheme is  a suffix thats added to a word  (a noun, verb, adjective or an adverb) to assign a particular grammatical property to that word, such as its  tense, number, possession, or comparison. Inflectional morphemes in English include the  bound morphemes  -s (or -es); s (or s); -ed; -en; -er; -est; and -ing. These suffixes may even do double- or triple-duty. For example, - s can note possession (in conjunction with an apostrophe in the proper place), can make count nouns plural, or can put a verb in the third-person singular tense. The suffix -ed can make past participles or past-tense verbs.   Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck, authors of Linguistics for Everyone, explain  why theres overlap:  This lack of distinction in form dates back to the  Middle English  period (1100–1500 CE),  when the more complex inflectional affixes found in  Old English  were slowly dropping out of the language.(Wadsworth, 2010) Contrast With Derivational Morphemes Unlike derivational morphemes, inflectional morphemes  do not change the essential meaning or the  grammatical category of a word. Adjectives stay adjectives, nouns remain nouns, and verbs stay verbs. For example, if you add an -s to the noun carrot to show plurality, carrot remains a noun. If you add -ed to the verb walk to show past tense, walked is still a verb. George Yule explains it this way: The difference between  derivational  and inflectional morphemes is worth emphasizing. An inflectional morpheme never changes the  grammatical category  of a word. For example, both  old  and  older  are adjectives. The  -er  inflection here (from  Old English  -ra) simply creates a different version of the adjective. However, a derivational morpheme can change the grammatical category of a word. The verb  teach  becomes the noun  teacher  if we add the derivational morpheme  -er  (from Old English  -ere). So, the suffix  -er  in  modern English  can be an inflectional morpheme as part of an adjective and also a distinct derivational morpheme as part of a noun. Just because they look the same (-er) doesnt mean they do the same kind of work.  (The Study of Language, 3rd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2006) Placement Order When building words with multiple suffixes, there are rules in English that govern which order they go in.  In this example, the suffix is making a word into a comparative: Whenever there  is  a derivational suffix and an inflectional suffix attached to the same word, they always appear in that order. First the derivational (-er) is attached to  teach, then the inflectional (-s) is added to produce  teachers. (George Yule, The Study of Language, 3rd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2006) Linguistics for Everyone lists additional examples to drive home the point about placement order of the affixes: For example, the words  antidisestablishmentarianism  and  uncompartmentalize  each contain a number of derivational affixes, and any inflectional affixes must occur at the end:  antidisestablishmentarianisms  and  uncompartmentalized. (Kristin Denham and Anne Lobeck. Wadsworth, 2010) The study of this process of forming words is called  inflectional morphology.

Nursing Informatics Annotated Bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Nursing Informatics - Annotated Bibliography Example In particular it explores risk assessment for patients with suicidal characteristics and those who are a danger to others. This tool is useful and practical in such nursing. The article is insightful and thorough with the illustrations of what makes an electronic health record and how necessary the assessment tool is. The nursing work place today requires high skilled professional with knowledge in both nursing and technology. Informatics in nursing is important competencies. This is a study that focused on identifying the competencies of nurses in informatics as required in Taiwan. The study used questionnaires to gather information from administrators, educators and expert groups in nursing. This study provides a master list of competency requirement in nursing requirements. It is important for my research as the results are of international relevance in outlining the world wide importance of information in technology. Koivunen, M., Và ¤limà ¤ki, M., & Hà ¤tà ¶nen, H. (2010). Nurses’ information retrieval skills in psychiatric hospitals–Are the requirements for evidence-based practice fulfilled? Nurse Education in Practice, 10(1), 27-31. The authors of this article are all nurses with advanced degrees, either master’s or doctorate degree. This paper aims to describe the skills that nurses have in using the internet and literature databases in psychiatric hospitals. Nurses are known not to use research findings in their practice. The study was carried out in two Finland psychiatric hospitals, and the results were showed clear deficits in information retrieval skills. This source will guide in getting the right information to incorporate in educating nurses in these skills. The findings are central to advancing knowledge about the value of nursing informatics in the psychiatric setting. Gonge and Buus who work in psychiatric department and a public health institute in Denmark respectively undertook this

Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane - Article Example It is evident that the effect of DDT as an indoor residual insecticide (IRS) lasts longer i.e. for approximately 6 to 12 months unlike other insecticides used to control malaria vectors whose effect lasts for only 2 to 6 months. In addition, other disease causing vectors are repelled by DDT thus forced to migrate to other locations (Atkinson, 2009). Once DDT is absorbed into the body of insects and pesticides it immediately destroys them by affecting their nervous system. DDT inhibits the neurons where it opens up sodium ion channels. This causes the channels to fire up spontaneously leading to death of the affected pest or insect. DDT also acts on the shells of mosquito eggs thinning them to the extent of destroying the life of the pupa. This is because DDT manages to impair the shell glands that are supposed to excrete calcium carbonate to aid in the development of the egg (Hayes, 2010). Therefore, DDT provides a simple and sustainable pest control strategy that is suitable for mos t of the mosquito prone regions. However, due to health and environmental concerns brought forth by the use of DDT, this chemical should only be used with extreme caution to ensure all the stipulated requirements are followed and there is no other safer and affordable means that can be used. This is because the prolonged use of DDT causes environmental degradation, infertility, breast cancer, genital birth defects, brain damages and diabetes. DDT is quite stable and thus does not degrade that easily. In fact, it has the ability of remaining active for decades. On the other hand, it is not soluble in water therefore it is not washed away easily from the soil. These two facts are the core reasons for the development of the myriad controversies surrounding DDT in regards to its safety towards health of human beings, plants and animals and the safety and sustainability of the environment. As a result, it has raised a paradigm because it is not ethical to let people die from malaria and yet the effect of malaria can be curtailed by the use of DDT. On the other side, it is also not ethical to continue supporting the prolonged use of DDT since it poses a risk to the human population and the environment (Hayes, 2010). Unfortunately, the volume of sprayed DDT in households is gradually increasing to alarming rates. In fact, quite scary results were revealed according to a conducted study in the volume of semen and sperm count in males living in households that use DDT. The sperm count and semen volume of the male with high levels of DDT in their blood were extremely low when compared to others. Moreover, DDT is absorbed into body tissues and can even be transferred to infants through breast milk. In addition, DDT has a stable chemical structure thus making it possible for the chemical to stay in the environment for decades without degrading. These facts are supported by the adverse results that DDT had in America when it was sprayed to control the spread of mosquitoes and crop pests. Its effects nearly wiped out all the pelican and bald eagles (Atkinson, 2009). However, in most of the developing countries other alternatives of controlling mosquito vectors including the use of bed nets that have been treated with insecticides and use of anti-malaria drugs are not as effective as the use of DDT. This is in contrast to most developed countries where the DDT alternatives are relatively effective. This is

History and traditions of Rosh Hashana and multiculturalism in canada Essay

History and traditions of Rosh Hashana and multiculturalism in canada - Essay Example For example, there are the Aboriginal people of Canadian who have their own culture. They are known to have many cultural and religious beliefs. Some of those beliefs and practices are known to affect their health. The Aboriginal families are known to do traditional healing ceremonies called â€Å"sweet grass healing ceremonies† and they use a lot of smoke (Craig, 2003). This smoke and the healing practice pose a great danger to the health of these families. Judaism is one of the oldest religions unlike the other religions. The others are Christianity, Muslim and Hinduism. It has set of beliefs that help human beings explain their origin, that of the earth, heaven and natural phenomena. This religion has many followers. The followers of Judaism are called Jews. These followers are scattered around the earth. Their followers believe in one God who is a supreme being and a creator of heaven and earth (Avalos, 2005). This religion has also a place of origin. Judaism originated from Israel just like Christianity. Judaism originated when God began a holy covenant with Abraham. It’s the oldest religion. There is a sacred building where God is prayed and worshipped. The sacred building for Judaism is synagogue. The Jews have a holy book and it is called Torah. All the followers try to comply with the laws and rules written in these books. Abraham preached the message of love, equality and good virtues. All the followers of religions share a common belief. They believe that there is life after death (Craig, 2003). This is the same case with Jews who believes that they will resurrect after they die. Jews believe in Abraham and Moses as the prophets of God. The holy place for Jews is Jerusalem. This is the place considered to be the origin of Jews. There are different festivals cerebrated by Jews. The major festivals for jewish are Pesach (Passover) and Rosh Hashanah. Jews have a different way of praying and fasting. They can pray any time of the day and

Managing diversity gender (HRM) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing diversity gender (HRM) - Essay Example Instead, it should be understood for the company's growth and development in terms of management and productivity. It is a common knowledge that every human being is born unique from one another. But sometimes, there are common attitude that people share. Most men projects authority over the other gender is an example. There are certain business organizations, such as technical and industrial companies, that men are the usual individual to have an executive position or even the job itself . This group believes that it is odd to have women working in these fields. Because of this, said industries are having difficulties in keeping and hiring female workers (Weiss n.d.). In his article, Managing Gender Diversity: Five Secrets for a Manager's Toolkit, Weiss cited a research study by Louann Brizendine on how men and women faces the environment they are working on. According to Brizendine, men and women react accordingly based on how their brain processes information, what their intuition is saying, how they feel, their intention in communicating and anger management. Women's brain works, first, by identifying the faces of the people around them while men are more on scanning their environment. This is the reason why women are more capable of sensing other people's emotion than men. Most women also trust in their gut feeling than men.

The Transformation of Mine Protected Vehicles (MPV) in the Army Essay

The Transformation of Mine Protected Vehicles (MPV) in the Army - Essay Example In U.S. Army, it also comes as a control vehicle for remote-controlled detection equipment and as a clearance machine. It ensures worldwide logistic and maintenance support using the original manufacturer's warranties with the use of a commercial drive train and components. The Cougar is a versatile, 4x2, 4x4 or 6x6 multi-purpose vehicles with a wide range of configuration to a large variety of mission requirements like mine-protected personnel transport vehicle. The purpose-built monosque capsule is mainly designed to protect the personnel, transmission and the engine not only from ballistic but mine or blast threats. It has a mine or blast protection for the tires against approximately 13kg TNT and for the centre against approximately 6.8kg TNT, as claimed by the manufacturer. Dingo 2 is a light mine-proof vehicle based on the well-known commercial Unimog chassis by Daimler Chrysler. This concept ensures excellent mobility in any type of terrain with low-cost procurement and low lifecycle costs. Daimler Chrysler's worldwide service network provides an excellent support services for this vehicle. The hull is designed to withstand the detonation of anti-tank mines. Mine-protected vehicles made to ord

Managing diversity gender (HRM) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Managing diversity gender (HRM) - Essay Example Instead, it should be understood for the company's growth and development in terms of management and productivity. It is a common knowledge that every human being is born unique from one another. But sometimes, there are common attitude that people share. Most men projects authority over the other gender is an example. There are certain business organizations, such as technical and industrial companies, that men are the usual individual to have an executive position or even the job itself . This group believes that it is odd to have women working in these fields. Because of this, said industries are having difficulties in keeping and hiring female workers (Weiss n.d.). In his article, Managing Gender Diversity: Five Secrets for a Manager's Toolkit, Weiss cited a research study by Louann Brizendine on how men and women faces the environment they are working on. According to Brizendine, men and women react accordingly based on how their brain processes information, what their intuition is saying, how they feel, their intention in communicating and anger management. Women's brain works, first, by identifying the faces of the people around them while men are more on scanning their environment. This is the reason why women are more capable of sensing other people's emotion than men. Most women also trust in their gut feeling than men.

Computer Security Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Computer Security - Essay Example Their main result being that vulnerability disclosures mostly lead to a negative and critical change in the market value for a software developer. A solid base for the formation of their argument against information sharing is due to the realization that on average, a vendor loses approximately 0.6% value in stock price when a vulnerability is reported; This being about a 0.86$ billion loss per vulnerability announcement. The Organization of Internet Safety (OIS) defines security vulnerability as a flaw within a software system that can cause it to work against its original design and make it prone to outside manipulation. With the rapid advancement in technology and the internet evolution information sharing has peaked to a new level. This despite its advantages in terms of rapid information sharing also brings to surface the increased chances of vulnerabilities being exposed. As a result not only are software security products like firewalls at a risk but software like operating sy stems and enterprise software can also be manipulated to create security related attacks; Hence providing another aspect that goes against information sharing due to the presence of vulnerabilities. Further examples in terms of a study by NIST in 2002 can be observed which estimated the cost of faulty software at $60 bn per year. Most prominent are incidents like Cod Red virus and the Melissa virus in which hackers exploited flaws in the software and caused enormous damages. Moving on to some arguments in favor of information sharing despite the existence of vulnerabilities we see that prior literature suggests that software defects don’t necessarily lead to a loss in market value of firm. This is due to two main reasons; firstly because the End User License Agreement limits the liability of the software developers encouraging them to facilitate information sharing despite the costs. Second due to the general philosophy held by software stakeholders that it is a uniquely comp lex product which will have understandable defects. A key example here is that of the numerous vulnerabilities present in Microsoft and yet its products are not associated in any way with low quality simply because of the huge user base that it holds in terms of information sharing. Arora, Telang and Xu (2004) look at a more optimistic picture of the vulnerability aspect and argue in favor of information sharing as their study leads them to the conclusion that disclosure can force vendors to release patches quickly. Arora, Caulkins and Telang (2003) follow suit and they discover that larger software vendors find it optimal to rush product into market and then invest in post launch patching hence saving overall product costs and using vulnerability to their advantage. Externality is defined by economists as a situation in which an individual’s actions have economic repercussions for others. It is important to note that in these instances the fact that there is no compensation is of critical importance. Externalities are divided into positive and negative. In negative externality the consequences are mostly known, for example the effects of environmental pollution caused by a plant and the way it might have an impact on the neighboring

Using mobile phone Essay Example for Free

Using mobile phone Essay Why people nowadays prefer using mobile phone to using telephone ? Although many researches indicated that mobile phones have some bad influences on human, The number of people using mobile phones are increasing every year. First of all , I’ll talk about the advantages of cell phone and how does it influence to our daily life . The most obvious advantages of mobile phone are that it can be mobilized. People can use mobile phones everywhere they want such as buses, companies, schools etc. Meanwhile, telephones are immobilized which is hard to use outside . On the other hand, mobile phones can help the users to contact the other people. People can make a simple phone call or send a message with their photos . I have a mobile phone and it is really useful for me to call my family, my friends or chat with many people and share my pictures. Moreover , life is not interesting without mobile phone because many entertaining functions can be used in mobile phones. It is unbelievable that mobile phone provide many good entertainment like taking a photo, playing games, listening to music, connecting Internet, reading book etc. So what about the disadvantages ? Do those things make the bad effect to our healthy? . As we all know that , The main fundamental rules of cell phone base on electromagnetic wave . And this kind of wave often harms to our healthy if using it chronically by making some serious illnesses such as : mental problems , reproductive problems etc. Moreover , The distractions which it brings to us will effect to our work . We can’t focus on working because too much entertaining things on a smart cell phone . That’s my opinions about this topic. Thanks for listening .