Leadership and Organisational Behaviour Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership and Organisational Behaviour - Essay Example According to the discussion  Schmidt is in the practice of listing down his best employees and communicate with them in a personal manner to encourage them to perform better. There are also numerous systems in the organization to reward top performing employees such as stock option, financial incentives, etc. He makes his employees feel that they are the owners of their work and to facilitate such an environment he provided a broad definition of the goals of the company.This paper outlines that  Schmidt leaves the implementation part of achieving the goals of the organization entirely to his employees. He doesn’t prefer to interfere in this regard. Schmidt reinforced the entire system of his organization such that the hierarchies of the organization do not get in the way of employees with regard to their performance. Google Inc is in the practice of following a â€Å"distributed leadership† culture for its employees. Distributed leadership culture states that people living in the environment are primarily responsible and also accountable for group and personal development. Team work is the best alternative to find the path that is best suited for an organization. It is concerned about the fact that each member of an organization must take a different role and that there must be demonstration of collective responsibility in this regard.  Google Inc expects its employees to share their expertise and ideas in this ever changing environment to achieve constant growth.

IB Biology Substrate Specificity of Digestive Enzymes Planning Essay

IB Biology Substrate Specificity of Digestive Enzymes Planning Investigation - Essay Example There are two proposed mechanisms by which enzymes specificity can be put forward, 1) Lock and key model; where substrate act as key for enzyme as lock or in other words enzyme possess specific grooves where only specific substrate can be fixed 2) Induced fix model; where enzyme creates site for substrate when it comes in contact with it. In the given experiment we will investigate the substrate specificity of enzyme amylase towards its substrate Starch. We will also investigate the effect of various physical parameters like temperature, pH, enzyme concentration etc. 3. Hypothesis: Amylase has absolute specificity toward starch and will not act on any other polysaccharides. Similarly rate of conversion of starch to glucose is highly influenced by various factors like temperature, enzyme concentration and pH. The tubes were arranged and 5ml of Starch, Cellulose and glycogen solution was added to them and incubated at 37C in water bath for 2-3min to allow the temperature of solution reach to 37C (water bath was switch on before experiment was started and was at set temperature). Tubes were observed for red to brick red color indicating liberation of glucose. Appropriate blanks were kept to validate overall experimental procedure that includes Starch solution without amylase, tubes without starch or substrate etc. Development of red color indicates activity of Amylase and thus generation of glucose. 7. Control variables: Temperature: Test tubes were arranged as mentioned earlier and 5ml of starch solution was added to them. Three different temperatures were used in this experiment. The water baths were set at 20C, 37C and 45C. When the substrate attained the temperature, 1ml of saliva was added to each tube and further incubated for 15min. After incubation few drops of benedict's reagents were added to each and further incubated for 5 min. Color development was observed as above and noted.

Human Resource Planning Reflective Statement Business Essay

Human Resource Planning Reflective Statement Business Essay In a perfectly competitive market if companies are to maximize profits, they need to manage their human resources better. An example can be cited to explain that better. Presuming the selling price of an article is $15. If profits are to be maximized, prices cannot be increased because perfect competition exists. If the cost price of the article was considered to be $13, it is evident that the profits in such a case would be $2. The only way the company can maximise its profit is by cutting down on the cost of production of the article as the option of providing the same quality at an increased price is not a viable option. Since it is not feasible on its part to influence the prices of the raw materials, it is left with the only option of trying to influence its man-power to increase its efficiency and as such facilitating better and higher production. It is further to be noted that man power is the only cost-of-production factor which can be effectively and hugely influenced with a little better supervision. Introduction Human man-power are the most important wealth of an organization. The success or failure of an organization greatly depends on the ability of the people working therein. Without positive and innovative contributions from humans, companies cannot progress. If an organization wants to achieve its goals, they need to recruit people with the necessary skills, qualifications and experience (Jackson Schuler, 1995, Sparrow, Paul, et al 2004)). While doing so, they have to keep the present as well as the future requirements of the organization in mind. Human man-power is the most important wealth of an organization. The health of an organization can be largely attributed to the skill of the man-power currently employed by it . For the organization to be successful in the long run it has to be able to tap its man-power skills most cost-effectively . If it aims to be successful in the long run, the organization should be able to recruit the rightly qualified man-power and which it can further train most cost effectively to achieve its dreams (Jackson Schuler, 1995, Sparrow, Paul, et al 2004)). Nevertheless, the organization aims and goals have to be always kept in mind while recruiting manpower. Targeted Training and Development The unending spirit of self-motivation amongst the manpower at Infosys and an organizational obligation to continuous self development keeps the company ahead in a fast-developing industry. This constant self development programme at Infosys is structured around a host of dedicated workshops for its employees (Infosys, 2010). These include key schemes such as the Infosys Leadership Institute and also various in-progress management development and personal improvement programs. A lot of training programs also include technological training to keep employees abreast with the latest technology.   The training plan provides a succession of efforts as employees advance their career. When an employee joins the company, he begins his training with an induction programme and later leadership trainings are given as and when they take more responsibilities. Training at Infosys includes the following: Technical training by Education Research department: The company has an entry-level technical training program, lasting 14 weeks. Academic institutions have certified this training as being of the level of a BS training in America. The Education Research (ER) department at Infosys provides many regular training sessions to middle level employees also. Quality Process Training: Quality is a major factor at Infosys and there are tailor made training programmes for specific role jobs such as Software Engineer, Programmer Analyst, etc. Personal Effectiveness and Managerial Programs:   The company also has training programs to improve the managerial skills and leadership abilities, achieve company goals and create high performing multicultural teams.   ILI: The Infosys Leadership System: The Infosys Leadership System (ILS) and the Infosys Leadership Institute (ILI) deal with the subject of continuous growth and helps create a system for developing leadership abilities in Infoscions.   ILI is based at an ultra modern building, in Mysore, India The learning mantra at Infosys has been to bestow the participants with the understanding to find the best result, instead of showing a single method of work and also to relate to real life conditions. They also encourage employees to undertake further studies with fee refund if they are eligible. The selected few 400 of the 58,409 employees identified as high potential Infoscions go through a three-year leadership journey that includes training, actionising personal development programme, communicating with other participants, understanding the company better and resolving real business issues. The note prepared by the ILI faculty enumerates the nine pillars for leadership development as (The Hindu, 2010): 1. 360 degree feedback In order to know about the ability of an employee and how he is performing, the company collects information from other employees in his department; both juniors and seniors and also from clients. With the help of this feedback, personal development plans (PDPs) are set for each employee and he is allocated an ILI faculty member who guides the individual on how to follow the PDP. 2. Development assignments On the basis of the above PDPs, employees with good capability are chosen and are entrusted jobs outside their department and areas of speciality. This helps them attain leadership skills beyond their existing areas of specialization. 3. Infosys Culture workshops Culture workshops are organized with a view to underpin the Infosys culture amongst the employees. These workshops also help employees improve communication skills because of continuous interaction amongst themselves. 4. Development relationships This exercise involves communicating on a one-to-one basis during work and mentoring is an essential part of this. This helps in improving communication among employees and also in sharing of knowledge. 5. Leadership skills training These exercises are conducted by top officials of the company including CEO and Managing Director and participants are the Tier 1 employees. These are held in order to inculcate leadership skills among them through the vast experience of the CEOs and Directors. 6. Feedback intensive programmes These programs are similar to 360 degree feedback, but there is one difference that these are based on both formal and informal responses obtained from other workers that the concerned employee interacts with. 7. Systemic process learning This exercise is conducted with a view to enable the participant to obtain a general understanding of the processes of the company and how it functions. This helps in improving the employees as also the systems. 8. Action learning This exposes the individual to on-the-job problems and involves solving the same, albeit as a team. 9. Community empathy The company realises the importance of fulfilling its obligations towards the society and justifies the same by organizing various socially motivated schemes both educational and developmental in nature. These programs cultivate a sense of responsibility amongst its leaders towards the society. Staffing Policies Apart from its regular staffing process which includes campus recruitment, advertisement on major job portals (monster.com, naukri.com and timesjobs.com) and internal recruitment it also goes in for temporary reinstatement of retired executives and staff that the company has already laid off if the company is not able to find a suitable candidate by the regular staffing methods. Also there is the Infosys Internship Program, Instep where students from schools such as Stanford Graduate School of Business, MIT Sloan School of Management, Harvard Business School and the Said Business School of Oxford have been competing to visit Infosys Bangalore campus. Infosys Technologies Ltd. recently announced its first large-scale plan to recruit 300 college graduates from universities in the United States and 25 graduates from the United Kingdom as part of an ongoing commitment to create a diversified, global workforce. In 2005 06, Infosys doubled the percentage of non-Indian employees, hiring more than 25 different nationalities (Karnataka, 2006). Infosys Technologies Ltd (Infosys) has been recognized amongst the top 16 Asian companies to be listed in the prestigious Most Admired Knowledge Enterprises (MAKE) study, 2009. Infosys has won the Asian MAKE award six times in the past and is one of the five Indian companies amongst the leading Asian corporations to have won the award this year (Infosys, 2010). Linking Corporate Strategy with HR Strategy Corporate Strategy HR Strategy Expand Geographically Creation of diverse workforce. The company has employees from 70 nationalities working across 90 countries. Providing best business solutions Employing the best quality human resources Vision To be a globally respected organisation that provides best of breed business solutions, leveraging technology, delivered by best in class people. The primary corporate strategy adopted by Infosys is globalization viz geographical diversification. It has very well linked this strategy to its HR strategy of creation of diverse workforce having over 91,000 employees from 70 nationalities working across 90 countries. Any company intending to be global mainly needs to focus on their  corporate culture.  Most companies have an ethno-centric  corporate culture.  Initially when Infosys was small, it had all its clients and employees in India.  All its executives were and still are of Indian ethnicity. Therefore its  corporate culture is mainly influenced by Indian culture. When newer development centres are opened in other countries, the Indian corporate culture un-intentionally permeates and tries to inspire the local culture. If these two cultures are totally opposite, the company finds it difficult to maintains its leadership as it might tend to hamper the manpower productivity. As such, ethno-centric  corporate culture  may restrain the aim of any company going global. Nevertheless, if it were to have executives at the top with different cultural background , this ethno-centric corporate culture can easily be managed and motivated to achieve the organisation goals. As such, Infosys needs to have multi-ethnic executives at its top level before it can concentrate on its ground-level multi-ethnic workforce.  That will have a long term and positive effect on the multi-cultural background workforce and help the organization in attaining a truly global nature.  That is the  only  way for Infosys or any other company to achieve globalization (IT Strategy, 2010).    Also, another corporate objective of Infosys is providing the best business solutions among all its competitors. In taking this strategy forward, the company being in a knowledge based industry, emphasizes on the quality of human resource. The company mostly recruits people with the best academic records, in other words the crà ¨me de la crà ¨me of the graduates. The major issues challenges faced by HR Manager are: Health Welfare, retirement, change management, compensation, Employee rewards, HR effectiveness measurement, HR technology selection implementation, industrial relations, Leadership development, Learning and development, Legal/Regulatory compliance, MA integration/restructuring, Organizational effectiveness, Outsourcing, Staffing: mobility of employees, Recruitment and availability of skilled local labour, retention and succession planning. Professor Ghoshals 3 P Approach (Ghoshal Bartlett, 1998) Todays leading companies are built around the three Ps of Purpose, Process and People. Leading from the forefront, men at the top have to inculcate organisational values amongst its workforce including the fact that the goal of the organisation is common and can be achieved only if was shared by all. It is utmost important that the complete workforce transpires to achieve this common goal by all doing their part/work to their best. As such the management has to actively and constantly thrive/work to continually self-motivate the work force and help them work to their potential while at the same time bringing it most clearly out in the open their own commitment towards achieving the common goal. In this process they help cultivate this feeling of self-importance amongst the work force. As Ghoshal states: You cannot have faith in people unless you take action to improve and develop them. He further emphasises that the achievement of the goals of a business entirely depends on the skills and self-motivation of its manpower and to be able to achive such a situation, he further promotes the thought that organisations need to develop a new moral contract with their people.   True for Infosys!! The attitude of management towards their employees is the key factor here. Here is a company that gives utmost importance to its work force who they believe are the main people and because of which the company is on its pre-planned course to achieving its goals. As its saying goes Powered by Intellect. Driven by Values is absolutely true for this company. In order to be able to achieve its pre-planned objectives and critical strategies, Infosys believes in deploying the right candidates with the right skills at the right time and place. The existing work force is taken into account before it takes any initiative/steps to overcome the possibilities of man power shortage in the near future and which might hamper its aim to achieving its goals. It also takes into consideration alternative ways of organizing jobs for example Production at its helm could be handled by temporary workers or allowing the regular work force to work for extended hours. As regards to the supply of employees, it takes into account the effect of various HR programs on employees joining the company. It then determines how well the existing programs are doing before forecasting the need of additional programs. Accurate forecasting also plays an important role as their might be big gap between current HR situation and desired HR situation. Various uncertain-factors including new competitors, changes in technology, changes in social, political and economic climate, unstable product demand, etc., and factors which promote stability including competitive position, slow developing technology and stable product demand also play a key role helping the company to forecast. Hiring Strategy Infosys recruits candidates who have had a consistent background in their academic life-time. For more skilled jobs, the knowledge of the required skill is the preferred selection criteria. The written test normally encompasses simple puzzles from books of renowned writer like Shakuntala Devi. The main criteria is for average communication skills and of-course the proper knowledge of the English Language. The Equity Continuum (TWI Inc., 2010). Though Infosys has full faith in its current top leaders, it has inducted into its future leadership program a group of 400 people, who have been selected from all over the globe, which it believes and intends to train to take over the helm of the company in the near future. This is in tune with the companys multi-ethnic employees culture where the only factor of consideration is the individuals skill and aptitude. Its diverse workforce of over 91,000 employees from 70 nationalities working across 90 countries rationalises its score of 5 on the Equity continuum. Armstrong (2006) outlines that the rewards such as employee benefits and non financial compensation are given in accordance with   the employees contribution to the firm , skill level and their market   worth as dictated by current factors in the internal and /or external   environment . Infosys was one of the first companies in India to introduce an Employee Stock Option Scheme. The company introduced the iRace (Infosys Role and Career) program under which only those professionals who have proved their set-skills over a period of time are eligible for further promotions (Infosys 2010). However there were a few employees (about 5% of the total workforce), who did not co-relate with the initiative because they felt that there would be disheartenment among the fellow team members if this criteria was to be strictly followed. Besides at Infosys a few staff was demoted from their existing positions. This was a cause of resentment amongst quite a few of the workforce. In order to make it more appealing to a wider section of workers, the policy of demotion should be removed or done in the rarest of cases. Sources of Recruitment Internal Sources External Sources Promotions Campus Recruitment Internal Notification Job Portals Transfers -Management Training/Internships Recall Schemes Forced Applications The main recruitment processes at Infosys include campus recruitment, internship programme advertisement on major job portals (monster.com, naukri.com and timesjobs.com) and internal recruitment. Besides, the company also goes in for temporary reinstatement of retired executives and staff that the company has already laid off. Every IT graduate aspires to be a part of the Infosys team and the company employs the best people in the industry. Needless to say, the recruitment process is very good. Selection and Induction To select mean to choose. Selection is the process of picking persons who have applicable credentials to fit into relevant jobs in an organisation. The central purpose is to select the right candidate with the requisite set of skills most appropriate for a job. To fulfil this requirement, the company takes into consideration the candidates age, qualifications, skills, experience, etc. so as to match the required skill-set with the profile of the candidate. The be-fitting candidate is then selected from amongst all the aspiring. How well an employee is matched to a job is very important because it is directly proportional to the amount and quality of an employees work. The selection methods generally adopted by Infosys are preliminary interview, ability test with special stress on English proficiency, general aptitude test and final interview. The general aptitude test is similar to the GMAT taken at most B-Schools the difficulty level of which is quite high thus ensuring that the best talent in the industry is recruited. Thus the organisations selection methods are of quite high standard. The disadvantage of such a selection process however is that, at times a great deal of time is lost before the right candidate can be employed for the position besides being a costly affair on the companys part. Instead of such a time consuming procedure, the company can resort to employing people from competitors in similar positions. Induction refers to the process of familiarisation with the organisation and settling into the job. The selection process is only the beginning of the employee-employer relation the future of which solely depends on how satisfyingly . Labour obsolesce is highest among newer recruits and the required efficiency is reached only after the candidate has adjusted well into his role and to his work environment. Success Factor Scale (1 to 5) Review the positioning of the induction 4 Coverage of the induction programme 5 Appoint a mentor 4 Plan the induction and involve and inform others 5 Prepare the work area 5 Introduce the recruit to the organisation and the department 5 Emphasize the importance of organization policies and procedures 5 The induction programme at Infosys covers general organizational induction training, technical and departmental induction training as well as managerial executive induction training (wherever applicable). It is thus quite extensive and covers everything that a new recruit should know. The employee who is to be appointed as mentor is informed in advance and a mail about the induction is circulated within the department where the new employees have been recruited. Often the selected new recruit is sent to DC or Development Centres for a period ranging from 3-6 months whereby he/she works on live projects. In the general organizational induction training, the employee is given a rigorous training as regards the organization policies and procedures. There is a three-tier mentoring process at Infosys (The Hindu, 2010) Tier-1 of the Infosys Management Council, which consists of the companys board of directors, mentors Tier-2 leaders who in turn guide the Tier-3 group. About 45 executives are a part of the companys Tier-1 of the management council. And each of the leaders undergoes exhaustive and sustained training through the companys personal development programme PDP. Infosys training programmes are designed to enable company professionals enhance their skill sets in tune with their respective roles. The spirit of improvement, constant individual and professional growth is most apparent in how the company manages its physical, technology, or human resources. Projects such as the Infosys Leadership Institute are targeted continuous managerial growth and personal improvement. A multitude of technology advancement and other training programs provide training to employees in explicit areas of know-how, management, leadership and communication skills. Employees can also pursue their interests in areas such as arts, culture, or sports. Besides having an, Art Gallery which displays art made by employees of Infosys, there are daily quizzes and regular music gatherings that keeps creativity alive at work.   Inculcom hosts cultural programs for Infoscions. Apart from these, one can see food courts (offering Chinese, Indian, continental, etc). at Infosyss campus. Theres also a swimming pool, theres a library, internet access volley ball courts, tennis courts and the reason why all this has been done is the company believes in flexible work hours. InSync, an internal communication program focuses on keeping the Infoscion aware of the latest developments in the organization. Then there is the Toastmasters Club. It provides a platform for employees to develop communication and leadership skills. Such a relaxed atmosphere at work keeps the employees stress free and draws them more to work rather than being on leave. It also motivates them to perform better and with increased zeal and energy. However, too much of a relaxed attitude at work may lead to callousness and taking work also with the same easy going spirit. The founder of Infosys, Mr Narayan Murthy has a straightforward slogan for success keep your employees happy. He views that only those organizations can survive in the near future in which the work force shares a common goal with those of the organization (Express India, 2010). The company can do every possible thing under the sun to make its employees happy and flexible working is one such scheme. Especially for an employee who has kids or dependent parents to look after, such a scheme can ensure lifetime loyalty towards the organisation. However, this scheme is not free from disadvantages. For example a scheme such as work from home does not help cultivate the spirit of team work or working together as a team. Trainee employees are devoid working alongside qualifies technicians. Providing equal opportunities is the fundamental part of the recruitment and selection process at Infosys. Applications are always encouraged from the under-represented groups of the society. Apart from a few solitude individual cases of labour lawsuits against the company where an India-born American citizen, is supposedly alleged that her bosses at  Infosyss  Fremont, California office discouraged her from taking day off on American holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas and refrained from paying her extra for working on a holiday according to California law, the Infosys has been practically devoid of any claims of discrimination. It can be said that the recruitment and selection process is pretty robust. As regards the dismissal process, it is said that Infosys is a company where employees can easily think of retiring. To be more precise, dismissals at Infosys have only been heard of at the initial selection stages and once an employee has gone through the induction process, dismissal is a very rare phenomenon.

Stereotypes and Stereotyping in Susan Glaspells Trifles :: Trifles Essays

Stereotypes in Trifles I like this play quite a lot. It's got murder, mystery and deceit. It's interesting that the play bases a lot on stereotypes. The men are the sheriff, deputy and the attorney sent out to discover the details of the murder of a man found hanged in his bed. They look carefully in the bedroom and outside in the barn for clues and the women are sent in, I think initially, to gather some things for Mrs. Wright. The women are mocked at by the men. Worrying about things like jelly freezing and sewing. Mrs. Hale "Oh, her fruit; it did freeze. She worried about that when it turned so cold. She said the fire'd go out and her jars would break"; Hale "Well, women are used to worrying over trifles." They are not taken seriously. They are women and are not intelligent enough to understand the concept of solving a murder. The men forgot, it's the little things that bother people the most and for Mrs. Wright, it must have been death of her canary. I think the canary symbolized Mrs. Wright. Mrs. Hale describes her; "She -- come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself - real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and - fluttery. How - she - did - change"; and like a bird, Mrs. Wright even sang in a choir. But after she got married, every thing stopped. She didn't sing anymore or attend social functions. Like a bird, her house became her cage. The only happiness that she appears to have is with this bird. The bird probably sang when she could not. He was probably a companion to her, she had no children. And like her, he was also caged. Because we do not know, we can only guess that her husband killed her bird. If he killed the bird then he would have killed the only thing that was important to her. He killed her once when he married her and caged her in that house, and he killed her again when he destroyed her bird. "No,. Wright wouldn't like the bird - a thing that sang. She used to sing. He killed that, too." When Mrs. Wright was used to its singing and her world became quiet again, it was too much for her take.

Issues and Prospects of Internet Legislation

The 90’s marked the coming of an innovation, which proved the interconnectedness beyond time and space of people and institutions. Internet use had become widespread as infrastructures enabling its maximization take place and as markets and social organizations use it for various purposes be it in business, politics or socialization.However, alongside its beneficial results toward faster communication and as information dissemination facility, are issues, which drove concerned groups to seek legislations (i.  e. cyber laws or internet laws) against irresponsible use of cyberspace to further selfish and immoral ends. Some issues, which arise pertaining to the demand for legislation, are freedom of speech, jurisdiction, intellectual property and privacy.Yet, problems exist both in proposing for legislation and implementation of existing laws usually due to the vagueness of the policy and complex realities behind Internet usage.Internet has no boundaries whether jurisdictional or geographical hence, only the physical jurisdiction of the user may be subjected to the laws of his own area. Hence, legislation on cyber issues face the dilemma of identifying appropriate laws that may cover an offense made through Internet transaction. Nonetheless, there are three common laws from which to choose from; the laws in the state where the user is located; the laws of the country which hosts the server and; laws of the state where the correspondent user is located.What happens then when there are conflicts in the laws of two or all of the above? This is one issue, which affects the decent legislative initiative like in fighting cyber crimes (e. g. cybersex, hacking and cyber terrorism)- the absence of a universal law in cyber-related matters hence, the conflict of laws issue. What complicated the situation further is the argument of â€Å"privacy† and â€Å"freedom of speech† amongst those who defend against critics of personal blogs and e-journals expre ssing liberally one’s views against another.Likewise, intellectual property is a debated topic in the cyber world since transfer of files and sharing is easier now, therefore the neglect of IPR. The demand for legislation includes concerns toward regulation of content; corresponding juridical procedures and; strengthening securitization. Countries like Singapore, Saudi Arabi, Tunisia and Iran had practiced control of information rather than strictly observing policy-guided schemes. Then again, governments have been questioned vis a vis their authority to control information in blogspots, etc.The most alarming issue, which called for unity amongst developed countries in pushing for universal action, is cyber terrorism and cyber crimes. United States, Russia and EU member nations, Australia and Singapore are among those who enforced steps against those. The International Computer Crime Conference in Norway pushed for the following: formulation of multinational convention to com bat cyber crimes and to push for national security policies.

Privacy Laws and Policies Debate Essay

Taking a closer look at the privacy laws and policies of companies debate, I believe that it makes perfect sense for companies to monitor employees when they are on the job. Making sure employees are working is the first thing that comes to many people’s minds when this subject comes up, but the monitoring of employees also helps to make sure that their equipment is not being used unethically. Harassment and discrimination are just two of many ways in which communication technologies can be misused at work and a company may be held responsible for these actions. The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) is the primary piece of legislation that suggests employees have a right to privacy on the job, but there are three exceptions under the ECPA that effectively eliminate any substantial expectations of privacy at work. 1) If the company owns the internet, phone, or email services it falls under the â€Å"provider exception. † 2) According to the â€Å"ordinary course of business† exception the company is allowed to monitor employee communication to insure legitimate business objectives, such as quality control, preventing sexual harassment, or unauthorized use of equipment. ) Finally there is the â€Å"consent† exception; if at least one party of a communication consents to its interception then there is no violation of the ECPA (E-Monitoring, 2006). Both points for and against were discussed in the forum this week and I believe both sides had very valid points, but the reasons for monitoring were much more based in facts. Based on the responses I read I believe that while a company may have the right to monitor their employees, they should strive not to go overboard. This is because they may inadvertently create an us versus them mentality in the work place or lose important people who do not feel comfortable with how much or how they are monitored. That type of environment would greatly damage productivity, which is the opposite of what a monitoring policy is supposed to do. Mutual respect and understanding is needed first before a sensible and just monitoring plan can be created.

21 Inspiring Quotes About Life and Our World

21 Inspiring Quotes About Life and Our World A whole new world; a dazzling place I never knew. These mellifluous words from the soundtrack of Aladdin say it all. The world, however absurd, dangerous, or harsh, is a fine place to live. The world is special because of its inhabitants. Cherish our world and protect it from destruction. Our planet is our home and we are its caretaker. Here are some world quotes that fill you with intrigue and fascination. If you think about it, our world is a rich tapestry of cultures, languages, people, landscape, colors and people. Technology has helped to diffuse boundaries, whether physical or cultural. We call our world a global village because though we belong to different countries, we are essentially a single race. Sarah Ban BreathnachThe world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do.Johann Wolfgang von GoetheThe world is so empty if one thinks only of mountains, rivers and cities; but to know someone here and there who thinks and feels with us, and though distant, is close to us in spirit - this makes the earth for us an inhabited garden.Saint AugustineThe world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.Albert EinsteinWhat really interests me is whether God had any choice in the creation of the world.BuddhaWe are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world. Albert EinsteinThe world is not dangerous because of those who do harm but because of those who look at it without doing anything.Mark TwainDont go around saying the world owes you a living; the world owes you nothing; it was here first.Albert EinsteinThe most incomprehensible thing about the world is that it is at all comprehensible.Oscar WildeIn the world there are only two tragedies. One is not getting what one wants, and the other is getting it.J R R TolkienThe wide world is all about you; you can fence yourselves in, but you cannot forever fence it out.Dave BarryThe world is full of strange phenomena that cannot be explained by the laws of logic or science. Dennis Rodman is only one example.Ernest HemingwayThe world is a fine place and worth the fighting for and I hate very much to leave it.Joseph CampbellParticipate joyfully in the sorrows of the world. We cannot cure the world of sorrows, but we can choose to live in joy.Hans HofmannThe whole world, as we experience it visuall y, comes to us through the mystic realm of color.Natalie KocsisThe world is a playground, and life is pushing my swing.Henry David ThoreauWhats the use of a fine house if you havent got a tolerable planet to put it on?Charles M SchulzDont worry about the world coming to an end today. It is already tomorrow in Australia.Carl Gustav JungThe only thing we have to fear on the planet is man.E E CummingsThe earth laughs in flowers.Helen KellerAlthough the world is full of suffering, it is full also of the overcoming of it.Oscar WildeThe true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.

Evolutionary Psychology Essay

Evolutionary Psychology Essay Evolutionary Psychology Essay Evolutionary psychology is an approach to psychology which seeks to explain psychological aspects of human behavior as a function of evolution. It attempts to identify psychological processes, such as sexual selection and kinship relations, among many other things, as evolved adaptations. Critics of evolutionary psychology cite the uncertain testability of hypotheses and the general lack of experimentation within the subfield (Hankins, 2013). Evolutionary psychology should be supported because humans and human intelligence have evolved on this planet from natural selection and thus have many adaptations, including mental ones, to help them survive as an individual and as a species. It can be noted that issues involving evolutionary psychology are hard to test and/or prove, but the approach itself does contain validity (Roberts et al., 2012). Evolutionary psychology makes sense in several different aspects. First of all, humans are not exempt from evolution. We evolved through natural selection just as any other species did. As such, we have certain adaptations that help us survive and reproduce. Most obvious are physical adaptations, such as a bipedal gait or opposable thumbs. However, mental adaptations have evolved as well; evolved behaviors reflect evolved morphology (Another Lame Attack, 2013). Even though critics of evolutionary psychology are correct in pointing out that hypotheses within this field are difficult or even impossible to test, that does not erase the fact that the human mind has evolved to become complex and to adapt to certain situations and environments. Evidence of evolutionary psychology is also found in primary literature as scientific studies. For example, a study done by Kruger, et al. discovered that sexual behaviors were most indicative of cheating (Kruger et al., 2013). It is speculated that this result indicates that people would not want their partners to engage in sexual behaviors with others because that would mean the individu al who cheated would devote less time and resources to the partner and any children. In another study by Zeigler-Hill et al., people with benign (i.e. not injurious or deprecating) humor styles were found to be rated more positively among parents and peers, leading the researchers to speculate that humor has evolved as a signal and as a way to appease and bond with other members of a social group, much like mutual grooming in monkeys (Zeigler-Hill, 2013). Overall, critics of evolutionary psychology are correct to point out

F-100 Super Sabre in the Vietnam War

F-100 Super Sabre in the Vietnam War The North American F-100 Super Sabre was an American fighter aircraft that was introduced in 1954. Capable of supersonic speeds, the F-100 was North Americans successor to the earlier F-86 Sabre which had seen great success during the Korean War. Though plagued by early performance and handling issues, the definitive version of the aircraft, the F-100D, saw extensive use during the Vietnam War both as a fighter and in a ground-support role. The type was phased out of Southeast Asia by 1971 as newer aircraft became available. The F-100 Super Sabre was also utilized by several NATO air forces. Design Development With the success of the F-86 Sabre during the Korean War, North American Aviation sought to refine and improve the aircraft.  In January 1951, the company approached the U.S. Air Force with an unsolicited proposal for a supersonic day fighter that it had dubbed Sabre 45.  This name derived from the fact that the new aircrafts wings possessed a 45-degree sweep.   Mocked up that July, the design was heavily modified before the USAF ordered two prototypes on January 3, 1952.  Hopeful about the design, this was followed by a request for 250 airframes once development was complete.  Designated the YF-100A, the first prototype flew on May 25, 1953.  Using a Pratt Whitney XJ57-P-7 engine, this aircraft achieved a speed of Mach 1.05.   The first production aircraft, a F-100A, flew that October and though the USAF was pleased with its performance, it suffered from several crippling handling issues.  Among these was poor directional stability which could lead to a sudden and unrecoverable yaw and roll.  Explored during the Project Hot Rod testing, this issue led to the death of North Americans chief test pilot, George Welsh, on October 12, 1954.   YF-100A Super Sabre prototype in flight. US Air Force   Another problem, nicknamed the Sabre Dance, emerged as the swept wings had a tendency lose lift in certain circumstances and pitch up the aircrafts nose.  As North American sought remedies for these problems, difficulties with the development of the Republic F-84F Thunderstreak compelled the USAF to move the F-100A Super Sabre into active service.  Receiving the new aircraft, the Tactical Air Command requested that future variants be developed as fighter-bombers capable of delivering nuclear weapons. North American F-100D Super Sabre GeneralLength:  50  ft.Wingspan:  38  ft., 9  in.Height:  16  ft., 2.75  in.Wing Area:  400 sq. ft.Empty Weight:  21,000  lbs.Max Takeoff Weight:  34,832  lbs.Crew:  1PerformanceMaximum Speed:  864  mph (Mach 1.3)Range:  1,995  milesService Ceiling:  50,000  ft.Power Plant:  Ã‚  1 Ãâ€"  Pratt Whitney J57-P-21/21A  turbojetArmamentGuns:  4Ãâ€"  20 mm  Pontiac M39A1  cannonMissiles:  4  Ãƒâ€"  AIM-9 Sidewinder  or  2Ãâ€"  AGM-12 Bullpup  or  2 Ãâ€" or 4 Ãâ€"  LAU-3/A  2.75 unguided rocket dispenserBombs:  7,040 lb.  of weapons Variants The F-100A Super Sabre entered service on September 17, 1954, and continued to be plagued by the issues that arose during development.  After suffering six major accidents in its first two months of operation, the type was grounded until February 1955.  Problems with the F-100A persisted and the USAF phased out the variant in 1958.   In response to TACs desire for a fighter-bomber version of the Super Sabre, North American developed the F-100C which incorporated an improved J57-P-21 engine, mid-air refueling capability, as well as a variety of hardpoints on the wings.  Though early models suffered from many of the F-100As performance issues, these were later reduced through the addition of yaw and pitch dampers.   Continuing to evolve the type, North American brought forward the definitive F-100D in 1956.  A ground attack aircraft with fighter capability, the F-100D saw the inclusion of improved avionics, an autopilot, and the ability to utilize the majority of the USAFs non-nuclear weapons.  To further improve the aircrafts flight characteristics, the wings were lengthened by 26 inches and the tail area enlarged.   While an improvement over the preceding variants, the F-100D suffered from a variety of niggling problems which were often resolved with non-standardized, post-production fixes.  As a result, programs such as 1965s High Wire modifications were required to standardize capabilities across the F-100D fleet.   RF-100 Super Sabre in flight.   US Air Force Parallel to the development of combat variants of the F-100 was the alteration of six Super Sabres into RF-100 photo reconnaissance aircraft.  Dubbed Project Slick Chick, these aircraft had their armaments removed and replaced with photographic equipment.  Deployed to Europe, they conducted overflights of Eastern Bloc countries between 1955 and 1956.  The RF-100A was soon replaced in this role by the new Lockheed U-2 which could more safely conduct deep penetration reconnaissance missions.  Additionally, a two-seat F-100F variant was developed to serve as a trainer. Operational History  Ã‚  Ã‚   Debuting with the 479th Fighter Wing at George Air Force Base in 1954, variants of the F-100 were employed in a variety of peacetime roles.  Over the next seventeen years, it suffered from a high accident rate due to the issues with its flight characteristics.  The type moved closer to combat in April 1961 when six Super Sabres were shifted from the Philippines to Don Muang Airfield in Thailand to provide air defense.   With the expansion of the U.S. role in the Vietnam War, F-100s flew escort for Republic F-105 Thunderchiefs during a raid against the Thanh Hoa Bridge on April 4, 1965.  Attacked by North Vietnamese MiG-17s, the Super Sabres engaged in the USAFs first jet-to-jet combat of the conflict.  A short time later, the F-100 was replaced in the escort and MiG combat air patrol role by the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II.   Later that year, four F-100Fs were equipped with APR-25 vector radars for service in suppression of enemy air defense (Wild Weasel) missions.  This fleet was expanded in early 1966 and ultimately employed the AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile to destroy North Vietnamese surface-to-air missile sites.  Other F-100Fs were adapted to act as fast forward air controllers under the name Misty.  While some F-100s were employed in these specialty missions, the bulk saw service providing accurate and timely air support to American forces on the ground.   A USAF F-100F of the 352d TFS at Phu Cat Air Base, South Vietnam, 1971. United States Air Force Historical Research Agency As the conflict progressed, the USAFs F-100 force was augmented by squadrons from the Air National Guard (ANG).  These proved highly effective and were among the best F-100 squadrons in Vietnam.  During the later years of the war, the F-100 was slowly replaced by the F-105, F-4, and LTV A-7 Corsair II.   The last Super Sabre left Vietnam in July 1971 with the type having logged 360,283 combat sorties.  In the course of the conflict, 242 F-100s were lost with 186 falling to North Vietnamese anti-aircraft defenses.  Known to its pilots as The Hun, no F-100s were lost to enemy aircraft.  In 1972, the last F-100s were transferred to ANG squadrons which used the aircraft until retiring it in 1980. Other Users The F-100 Super Sabre also saw service in the air forces of Taiwan, Denmark, France, and Turkey.  Taiwan was the only foreign air force to fly the F-100A.  These were later updated to close to the F-100D standard.  The French Armee de lAir received 100 aircraft in 1958 and used them for combat missions over Algeria.  Turkish F-100s, received from both the U.S. and Denmark, flew sorties in support of the 1974 invasion of Cyprus.

Film Noir Scorsese and fhe Gangster Film Movie Review

Film Noir Scorsese and fhe Gangster Film - Movie Review Example The Maltese Falcon is considered to be one of the key films cementing the genre in the respect of the public, as well as establishing its archetypes. The end result has been such quintessential crime films as Scar Face, The God Father, The Departed and the most recent American Gangster. These films are notorious for depicting East inner city life, and no director has become more known for this than Martin Scorsese. No New York director has more authentically imbedded New York ideals into popular culture than Martin Scorsese. Classified as a contemporary auteur he has carved a niche as a New York Hollywood director. The auteur theory protests that the director's films reflect the particular director's personal creative vision, as though he or she were the sole author of the work. The French word for author, many film producers have notably been credited for having auteur like influences on film projects. It has also had a major impact on film criticism, since it was erected by film director and critic Francois Truffaut in 1954. This is partly why Auteurism is most immediately connected with French New Wave. This of course, was a connection made most commonly in the mid 1950's to 60's before American filmmakers embodied the theory. Today, no contemporary American director more deserves the title of auteur than Martin Scorsese. He has presented his genuine Italian New York culture in such an auth entic way that, for so long, it is unclear whether his work is a reflection of the city, or the city is a reflection of his work. Martin Scorsese is the perfect example of an auteur because he uses the same thematic consistencies throughout all of his work. These entail Catholicism, virgin/whore conflict, redemption, ethnic pride, and of course crime culture. On top of this, he supports all of his plots with very eclectic soundtracks. The cinematography he uses is very similar in all of his films. He utilizes the fluid motion of the camera with each shot, while making the mis-en-scene of each frame valuable to the plot of the story. He is also know for using some of the same actors in his films, specifically Robert Deniro, Joe Pesci, and Harvey Keitel. Of his large body of work, Mean Street symbolizes the blue print to the archetype that has become his unique style (Raymond, 2002). It was his first film and it contains all of the key characteristics with which he modeled his style. Scorsese has a visual style that relies on the city of New York. Mean Street embodies the culture that comes with this location. In the film, the audience is subjected to getting to know characters who spend their time womanizing, hustling, fighting, and drinking. Centered on the struggles of four men in their mid-20's and all residents of Little Italy, who are working their way up the rungs of gangster culture, some are loan sharks, and some are just plain hoods. Tony (David Proval) is a big friendly guy who runs the neighborhood bar; Michael (Richard Romanus) is a small-time loan shark who tends to rip off Brooklyn adolescents. Johnny Boy (Robert De Niro) is an irresponsible hood who borrows money from loan sharks that he never intends to pay back, and Charlie (Harvey Keitel) is the nephew of the mafia boss Giovani (Cesar Danova). Charlie's only aspiration is to run his own restaurant. Mean

Competition, Monopoly, and Oligopoly & Monopolistic Competitive Market Term Paper

Competition, Monopoly, and Oligopoly & Monopolistic Competitive Market Structure - Term Paper Example The research explained briefly on the perfect competitive market structure and revealed some features of this market structure. It described the way firms maximize profits with the help of diagrams, the researcher revealed the way they maximize profit at the equilibrium point in both short and long run. Lastly, the conclusion summed up the discussion, and the researcher provided some significant areas for further research study. The market is structured depending on varied factors and variation that determine the market structure of a particular firm in an economy. Competition is one of the factors or conditions that determines the structure of a firm. The economists assume that there are many buyers and sellers in the marketplace; hence, they compete favorably for the available products in the market. Therefore, competition in the market contributes to changes of prices for commodities; thus creating a shift in demand and supply curve. Furthermore, there are substitute products in t he marketplace; thus, when one product increases the prices, consumers chose the alternative of consuming substitute products. The buyers and sellers have the ability to influence prices for commodities, and this contributes to increased competition in the market. ... The buyers and sellers may exchange property rights and everyone in the market interacts voluntarily in order to achieve self-interest. The buyers and sellers interact; thus, they signal much information about the product through product prices. Successful sellers reduce prices in order to influence buyers and out-compete their competitor (Mankiw 2011, 36). The sellers can maximize profits in case the price exceeds the products costs. Monopoly A monopoly refers to a market structure whereby only a single producer or buyer for a commodity exists. The monopoly firms are the price makers because they are single sellers in the market. Monopoly is a single business firm and it is characterized by varied features including market restrictions because of high costs and production of homogenous products. The government has powers to control or restrict entries into the market by creating barriers. The barrier to market entry may result because the firm may have exclusive rights of accessing the natural resources. For instance, the Kenya Power and Lighting Company is a monopolistic firm because the government takes control over the resources. The same case applies to Saudi Arabia oil industry because the Saudi government is the sole control of the natural oil reserves. The market also have a patent right that impede other competitors from entering into the market. The monopoly firm is classified into numerous features including perfect monopoly whereby the single seller does not have substitute products. Therefore, there is no perfect competition, but such firms are extremely rare. Another one is imperfect monopoly whereby the single seller does not have close substitute products meaning that the

Summary Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 28

Summary - Assignment Example The use of a mycorrhizal fungus in the experiment was employed leading to effective data collection on the modes of communication. The plants used the fungi hyphae network to communicate with each other including the transfer of nutrients between the plants. Plants communicate on the issues including insect attack. It was found that plants reacted to the scent or volatile organic compounds by developing defense or emitting chemicals that attract aphid eating wasps which feed on the aphids infesting the area. The separation of the plants by covering those using plastics and pots gives a clear indication of the communication process. The separation of the plants both using pot and plastic bags in the air, led to no communication between the plants. Thus, the findings supported the analogy of communication between plants. Therefore, it can be proven without doubt that plants communicate effectively. From the research of Richard karban and Babikova, it is evident that communication between plants is a continuous and regular. In conclusion, the communication between plants was not understood until the findings of the various researches were

Keynesian Economics Vs. Classical Economics Essay

Keynesian Economics Vs. Classical Economics - Essay Example The Keynesian and Classical economics also differ on their understandings of the behavior of prices. Whereas classical economics view prices and wages as flexible, Keynesians view them as inflexible or sticky downwards. For this reason, Keynesians do not think prices can be relied on to quickly drop and pawn the adverse effects on employment that can result from a decline in total demand. Since prices do not drop, there is no mechanism to ensure that full employment will automatically be restored. The Classical and Keynesian economics also differ in the desirability of an active role by government in maintaining the economy as close as possible to a non-inflationary, complete employment level of output. The Classical economics holds that the government should assume a less active role in stabilizing the economy. They believe that the economy if left alone will incline to run at its full (or natural) employment output (Tucker 484). Overall price and employment levels are the greatest concern in the economy. If government views its primary responsibility as keeping markets as free as possible, the resulting movement of wages and prices should lead to the adjustments necessary to ensure natural or full employment levels. Conversely, Keynesians believe the government should play a more lively function in stabilizing the economy. According to the Keynesian model, there is no reason to expect an economy, left alone, to reach a full employment level of output automatically (Tucker 484). According to Keynes, unemployment, or a recession, occurs due to lack of spending.

Romance without Finance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Romance without Finance - Research Paper Example Though two princes sought Portia’s hand in marriage, their royalty and riches did not impress her, settling instead for Bassanio who did not have an impressive title or riches but pleasant character impressed her and they married (Smith 45-47). This play is reflected in current romantic relationships whereby some flourish without finances while others fail. Finances play a crucial role in romantic relationships, but they are not enough to sustain them. In society, Smalley (1997, p12) notes that the roles of men and women are well defined in family, and other social places. These roles are clear from ancient times and they are included in religious texts including the Bible, the Koran among others. Providing the family with security and other necessities is the role of man, while the woman is supposed to take care of the children and the husband (Smalley 17-21). According to Christian teachings, the man is the leader of the family responsible for making all decisions even witho ut consulting with his wife (Smalley 41). In this regard, a man is supposed to dedicate his efforts working to ensure that his wife and children are well provided, while the woman should dedicate her life doing domestic chores and taking care of the children. ... Men for instance are supposed to be aggressive and competitive while women are required to be submissive and loyal to their husbands. Consequently, men hold most leadership positions in the society while women are relegated to lower segments. For long period, women remained in the periphery of the society, due top lack of economic and political power. Because of the imbalance between the two sexes, women for long periods have remained completely dependant on their husbands in families and in relationships. Thus, the role of man as the sole provider is so entrenched that women expect men to provide them with emotional and material resources in romantic relationships (Bach 54-59) Many relationship experts contend that the current romantic relationships are based on the traditional roes of both sexes, whereby women are expected to be that helpless girl, waiting to be rescued by a handsome, armored prince (Smalley 53). In the current society, it is widely accepted for a woman to depend o n the husband for financial support, but if the woman is the one supporting the husband, it is considered that there is no romance in the relationship. In the modern society, the welfare of the women has changed dramatically from the traditional woman whose role was restricted to domestic work to powerful and more assertive individuals. Today, women hold prestigious positions, including head of states, chief executives of large multinational companies, and successful business owners among other influential positions in the society. While submission and humility characterized the traditional woman, many of them nowadays are competitive and risk takers who know exactly what they want in a relationship. In an ordinary family set up and in relationships,

Mergers and Acquisitions in UK Banking Sector Essay

Mergers and Acquisitions in UK Banking Sector - Essay Example Moreover, it is not always necessary that the target board has a preceding knowledge of the same. Mergers and Acquisitions are associated with various terminologies which aid in analyzing the subject in an efficacious manner. Although, acquisition delineates the purchase of a smaller firm by the larger one, at times, it does happen that a smaller firm takes-over the management regulation of a largely developed corporation, thereby, keeping its name for the collaborated body which can be taken to meaning as reverse take-over. Similarly, reverse-merger deals with enabling the private company which has authoritative prospects along with enthusiasm to hoist the financial purchasing a publicly cataloged shell firm, too often, the one with limited assets. The act of mergers and acquisitions is quite intricate, however, with a variety of dimensions impacting its consequences, the process of studying mergers and acquisitions becomes handy. Usually, mergers and acquisitions are a significant part of the expansion strategy as they can be documented as horizontal deals in which the competitors are united. According to Gaughan, the $77.2 billion merger between Exxon and Mobil is one of the finest examples of a successful horizontal deal in the year 1998 (Gaughan, 2001). Horizontal mergers and acquisitions are the ones that occur between the companies generating analogous goods and offer analogous assistances. They take place quite often as a consequence of bigger companies trying to generate more efficacious economies of the scale. On the other hand, by straight away merging with the suppliers, it is possible for a company to decrement its reliance, thereby, incrementing profitability. This merger is a Vertical one, in which two companies generate different goods and services for one precise finished product. One of the perfect examples of a vertical deal is the $6.6 billion merger between Merck and Medco in the year 1993, who were a pharmaceutical manufacturer and a pharmaceutical distributor, respectively (Gaughan, 2001). Companies may also get their hands on the firms which are in entirely different industrial silhouettes. These kinds of deals can be called as conglomerate mergers which are delineated by an efficient example of Daimler Benz's deals in the aerospace industry sectors that helped replicating the premium automobile producer in to a multinational company or a conglomerate,

Romance without Finance Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Romance without Finance - Research Paper Example Though two princes sought Portia’s hand in marriage, their royalty and riches did not impress her, settling instead for Bassanio who did not have an impressive title or riches but pleasant character impressed her and they married (Smith 45-47). This play is reflected in current romantic relationships whereby some flourish without finances while others fail. Finances play a crucial role in romantic relationships, but they are not enough to sustain them. In society, Smalley (1997, p12) notes that the roles of men and women are well defined in family, and other social places. These roles are clear from ancient times and they are included in religious texts including the Bible, the Koran among others. Providing the family with security and other necessities is the role of man, while the woman is supposed to take care of the children and the husband (Smalley 17-21). According to Christian teachings, the man is the leader of the family responsible for making all decisions even witho ut consulting with his wife (Smalley 41). In this regard, a man is supposed to dedicate his efforts working to ensure that his wife and children are well provided, while the woman should dedicate her life doing domestic chores and taking care of the children. ... Men for instance are supposed to be aggressive and competitive while women are required to be submissive and loyal to their husbands. Consequently, men hold most leadership positions in the society while women are relegated to lower segments. For long period, women remained in the periphery of the society, due top lack of economic and political power. Because of the imbalance between the two sexes, women for long periods have remained completely dependant on their husbands in families and in relationships. Thus, the role of man as the sole provider is so entrenched that women expect men to provide them with emotional and material resources in romantic relationships (Bach 54-59) Many relationship experts contend that the current romantic relationships are based on the traditional roes of both sexes, whereby women are expected to be that helpless girl, waiting to be rescued by a handsome, armored prince (Smalley 53). In the current society, it is widely accepted for a woman to depend o n the husband for financial support, but if the woman is the one supporting the husband, it is considered that there is no romance in the relationship. In the modern society, the welfare of the women has changed dramatically from the traditional woman whose role was restricted to domestic work to powerful and more assertive individuals. Today, women hold prestigious positions, including head of states, chief executives of large multinational companies, and successful business owners among other influential positions in the society. While submission and humility characterized the traditional woman, many of them nowadays are competitive and risk takers who know exactly what they want in a relationship. In an ordinary family set up and in relationships,

An Exploration of Morality and Privacy Essay Example for Free

An Exploration of Morality and Privacy Essay Shakespeares Measure for Measure is a play that is hard to like. It is stark, structured, and monotoned in dialogue and plot. The characters within the play are overwhelming disgusting specimens of humanity who are one dimension characters which seem to not be fully developed. Central character, The Duke, is a cruel and calculating leader that is more like a puppet master than a living, breathing man. He is responsible for manipulating the characters and free will within the play, Measure for Measure. The Dukes actions are morally wrong. While The Duke claims his motivations are pure and he is trying to observe the governance of Vienna, there are other motives. The Duke likes to control people, by pretending to be a Friar is able to emotional rape and manipulate people and their free will. The Duke, who lives Italy, is in charge and it is his civic duty to maintain order. However, he seems unable to do so on his own. He employs the indifferent and unemotional Lord Angelo to carry out the gruesome work as punisher. The Duke, instead, decides that he should go out and mingle with his citizens. He decides to dress like and pretend to be a Friar. Lord Angelo, like many corrupt official, becomes intoxicating with power, using it for his own gain. The Duke shrugs off his duties to another individual which is obviously not trust worthy. He does this because he is lazy and is not entirely comfortable with enforcing the law. The Duke believes that he is incapable of enforcing the law himself and therefore his authority is reduced. He comments, to Thomas, our decrees, / Dead to infliction, to themselves are dead, / And Liberty plucks Justice by the nose (1. 3. 27-29). Thomas responds It rested in your Grace / To unloose this tied-up Justice when you pleased (1. 3. 31-32). It is clear that Thomas also believes that The Duke has intentionally stop doing the job he is responsible for. The Duke acknowledges Thomas point and explains that he wants to remain a kind leader and not one known for punishment. He states Twould be my tyranny to strike and gall them / For what I bid them do; for we bid this be done / When evil deeds have their permissive pass, / And not the punishment (1. 3. 36-39). Instead of completing his civic duties, The Duke chooses to go down to the prison and pretends to be a Friar. In pretending to be a religious figure he breaking the trust which individuals place in God and the people who are chosen to represent God. His behavior is questionable and his motives are clear he wants to be a voyeur. He claims he wants to be closer to the people he was chosen to lead however, this is the ultimate control. The Duke is supposed to be civic minded and ethical yet he easily chooses to deceive the people, in prison, that need him, whether a Friar or a Leader, him most. As he takes peoples confessions he taunts them. For example when he speaks with Juliet who has conceived out of wedlock, his approach is callus. The Duke informs her that it is her fault the man, Claudio, she loves will be punished by Lord Angelo through execution. Then the Duke talks to Claudio, and advises him that he should just give up hope of life and seeking Juliet again and hoped he is prepared to die (3. 1. 4). This is followed by a long, unemotional speech about how life is not worth living and that nothing in life really matters, as way to encourage Claudius to be thankful for his early demise. The Duke is not done yet, he continues to make people believe he is a Friar and uses this power to manipulate them. The Duke becomes aware that Claudios sister, a virgin, has agreed to have sex with him. In doing so, Lord Angelo has agreed that Claudio will not be killed. Isabella explains the situation to her brother. However, The Duke insists on listening. He requires the prison to offer him a concealed (3. 1. 53) spot. Eventually, The Duke reveals himself and claims that Lord Angelo was never serious and had never the purpose to corrupt her; only he hath made an assay of her virtue to practice his judgment with the disposition of natures (3. 1. 161-164). Once again The Duke is manipulating the lives of the people he is supposed to protect and look after. He creates situations and causes people to react in certain ways. He is amused and satisfied with himself. The Duke then tells Claudio that his execution will happen. Then The Duke changes his mind and decides that he will sleep with Lord Angelos ex finance instead of Isabella. The Duke insists that this is a good thing because the doubleness of the benefit defends the deceit from reproof (3. 2. 262-263). The Dukes manipulations continue when Lord Angelo demands that Claudio be executed and The Duke suggests that they should just substitute another inmate for Claudio. Even after Claudios live is saved, The Duke insists on telling Isabella that Claudio is dead. It is morally unacceptable that The Duke pretends to be a Friar. While The Duke claims that he is monitoring Lord Angelos virtue as a governorship it is clear that The Duke has his own motives in pretending and ease dropping. He believes that he has the power to a be a puppet master and pull the strings of everyone below him. If The Dukes true motive was in measuring how well Lord Angelo is doing his job, he would have confronted him much sooner then he actually does. The Duke inflicts unnecessary harm on people for his own pleasure and feeding of his own ego.

Barcode Reader Technology Overview

Barcode Reader Technology Overview A barcode reader (or barcode scanner) is an electronic device for reading printed barcodes. Like a flatbed scanner, it consists of a light source, a lens and a light sensor translating optical impulses into electrical ones. Additionally, nearly all barcode readers contain decoder circuitry analyzing the barcodes image data provided by the sensor and sending the barcodes content to the scanners output port. Methods Scanning methods are distinguished by the amount of operator manipulation required: Pen or wand-type readers: requires the operator to swipe the pen over the code. Semi-automatic handheld readers: The operator need not swipe, but must at least position the reader near the label Fix-mount readers for automatic reading: The reading is performed laterally passing the label over the reader. No operator is required, but the position of the code target must coincide with the imaging capability of the reader and ll Reader gates for automatic scanning: The position of the code must be just under the gate for short time, enabling the scanner sweep to capture the code target successfully. Types Of Technology The reader types can be distinguished as follows: Pen Type Readers Pen type readers consist of a light source and a photodiode that are placed next to each other in the tip of a pen or wand. To read a bar code, the tip of the pen moves across the bars in a steady motion. The photodiode measures the intensity of the light reflected back from the light source and generates a waveform that is used to measure the widths of the bars and spaces in the bar code. Dark bars in the bar code absorb light and white spaces reflect light so that the voltage waveform generated by the photo diode is a representation of the bar and space pattern in the bar code. This waveform is decoded by the scanner in a manner similar to the way Morse code dots and dashes are decoded. Laser Scanners Laser scanners work the same way as pen type readers except that they use a laser beam as the light source and typically employ either a reciprocating mirror or a rotating prism to scan the laser beam back and forth across the bar code. As with the pen type reader, a photodiode is used to measure the intensity of the light reflected back from the bar code. In both pen readers and laser scanners, the light emitted by the reader is tuned to a specific frequency and the photodiode is designed to detect only this modulated light of the same frequency. CCD Readers CCD readers (also referred to as LED scanner) use an array of hundreds of tiny light sensors lined up in a row in the head of the reader. Each sensor measures the intensity of the light immediately in front of it. Each individual light sensor in the CCD reader is extremely small and because there are hundreds of sensors lined up in a row, a voltage pattern identical to the pattern in a bar code is generated in the reader by sequentially measuring the voltages across each sensor in the row. The important difference between a CCD reader and a pen or laser scanner is that the CCD reader is measuring emitted ambient light from the bar code whereas pen or laser scanners are measuring reflected light of a specific frequency originating from the scanner itself. Camera-Based Readers 2D imaging scanners are the fourth and newest type of bar code reader currently available. They use a small video camera to capture an image of a bar code. The reader then uses sophisticated digital image processing techniques to decode the bar code. Video cameras use the same CCD technology as in a CCD bar code reader except that instead of having a single row of sensors, a video camera has hundreds of rows of sensors arranged in a two dimensional array so that they can generate an image. There are a number of open source libraries for barcode reading from images. These include the ZXing project, which reads one- and two-dimensional barcodes using Android and JavaME, the JJIL project, which includes code for reading EAN-13 barcodes from cellphone cameras using J2ME, and Zebra (Changed name to ZBAR), which reads various one-dimensional barcodes in C. Even web site integration, either by image uploads (e.g. Folke Ashberg: EAN-13 Image-Scanning and code creation tools) or by use of plugins (e.g. the Barcodepedia uses a flash application and some web cam for querying a database), have been realized options for resolving the given tasks. Omni-Directional Barcode Scanners Omni-directional scanning uses series of straight or curved scanning lines of varying directions in the form of a starburst, a lissajous pattern, or other multiangle arrangement are projected at the symbol and one or more of them will be able to cross all of the symbols bars and spaces, no matter what the orientation. Omni-directional scanners almost all use a laser. Unlike the simpler single-line laser scanners, they produce a pattern of beams in varying orientations allowing them to read barcodes presented to it at different angles. Most of them use a single rotating polygonal mirror and an arrangement of several fixed mirrors to generate their complex scan patterns. Omni-directional scanners are most familiar through the horizontal scanners in supermarkets, where packages are slid across a glass or sapphire window. There are a range of different omni-directional units available which can be used for differing scanning applications, ranging from retail type applications with the barcodes read only a few centimetres away from the scanner to industrial conveyor scanning where the unit can be a couple of metres away or more from the code. Omni-directional scanners are also better at reading poorly printed, wrinkled, or even torn barcodes. Housing Types The reader packaging can be distinguished as follows: Handheld scanner: with a handle and typically a trigger button for switching on the light source. Pen scanner (or wand scanner): a pen-shaped scanner that is swiped. Stationary scanner: wall- or table-mounted scanners that the barcode is passed under or beside. These are commonly found at the checkout counters of supermarkets and other retailers. Fixed position scanner: an industrial barcode reader used to identify products during manufacture or logistics. Often used on conveyor tracks to identify cartons or pallets which need to be routed to another process or shipping location. Another application joins holographic scanners with a checkweigher to read bar codes of any orientation or placement, and weighs the package. Systems like this are used in factory and farm automation for quality management and shipping. PDA scanner: a PDA with a built-in barcode reader or attached barcode scanner e.g. Grabba. Automatic reader: a back office equipment to read barcoded documents at high speed (50,000/hour) e.g. Multiscan MT31 Methods Of Connection Early Serial Interfaces Early barcode scanners, of all formats, almost universally used the then-common RS232 serial interface. This was an electrically simple means of connection and the software to access it is also relatively simple, although needing to be written for specific computers and their serial ports.{10} Proprietary Interfaces There are a few other less common interfaces. These were used in large EPOS systems with dedicated hardware, rather than attaching to existing commodity computers. Wand emulation is another output type that takes the raw wave and decodes it, normalizing the output so it can be easily decoded by the host device. Wand emulation can also convert symbologies that may not be recognized by the host device into another symbology (typically Code 39) that can be easily decoded.{11} Keyboard Wedges With the popularity of the PC and its standard keyboard interface, it became ever easier to connect physical hardware to a PC and so there was commercial demand similarly to reduce the complexity of the associated software. Keyboard wedge hardware plugged between the PC and its normal keyboard, with characters from the barcode scanner appearing exactly as if they had been typed at the keyboard. This made the addition of simple barcode reading abilities to existing programs very easy, without any need to change them, although it did require some care by the user and could be restrictive in the content of the barcodes that could be handled. Later barcode readers began to use USB connectors rather than the keyboard port, as this became a more convenient hardware option. To retain the easy integration with existing programs, a device driver called a software wedge could be used, to emulate the keyboard-impersonating behaviour of the old keyboard wedge hardware. PS/2 Port Most barcode readers now use a PS/2 or USB cable for output: PS/2 cables are connected to the host computer in a Y formation, the PS/2 keyboard port with its first end, to the keyboard with its second, and to the barcode reader with its third end. The barcode characters are then received by the host computer as if they came from its keyboard decoded and converted to keyboard input within the scanner housing. This makes it easy to interface the bar code reader to any application that is written to accept keyboard input USB is supported by many newer scanners. In many cases a choice of USB interface types (HID, CDC) are provided. Some have Powered USB. Wireless Networking Modern handheld barcode readers are operated in wireless networks according to IEEE 802.11g (WLAN) or IEEE 802.15.3 (Blueooth). However, such configuration limits the time of operation from battery or rechargeable battery and required recharging at least after a shift of operation. Resolution The scanner resolution is measured by the size of the dot of light emitted by the reader. If this dot of light is wider than any bar or space in the bar code, then it will overlap two elements (two spaces or two bars) and it may produce wrong output. On the other hand, if a too small dot of light is used, then it can misinterpret any spot on the bar code making the final output wrong. The most commonly used dimension is 13 mils (0.3302 mm). As it is a very high resolution, it is extremely important to have bar codes created with a high resolution graphic application. While cell phone cameras are not suitable for many traditional barcodes, there are 2D barcodes (such as Semacode) which are optimized for cell phones. These open up a number of applications for consumers: Movies: DVD/VHS movie catalogs Music: CD catalogs, play MP3 when scanned Book catalogs Groceries, nutrition information, making shopping lists when the last of an item is used, etc. Personal Property inventory (for insurance and other purposes) Calling cards: 2D barcodes can store contact information for importing. Brick and mortar shopping: Portable scanners can be used to record items of interest for looking up online at home. Coupon management: weeding expired coupons. Personal finance. Receipts can be tagged with a barcode label and the barcode scanned into personal finance software when entering. Later, scanned receipt images can then be automatically associated with the appropriate entries. Later, the bar codes can be used to rapidly weed out paper copies not required to be retained for tax or asset inventory purposes. If retailers put barcodes on receipts that allowed downloading an electronic copy or encoded the entire receipt in a 2D barcode, consumers could easily import data into personal finance, property inventory, and grocery management software. Receipts scanned on a scanner could be automatically identified and associated with the appropriate entries in finance and property inventory software. Code 39 Code 39 (known as USS Code 39, Code 3/9, Code 3 of 9, USD-3, Alpha39, Type 39) is a barcode symbology that can encode uppercase letters (A through Z), digits (0 through 9) and a handful of special characters like the $ sign. A Code 39 Barcode Label The barcode itself does not contain a check digit (in contrast to—for instance—Code 128), but it can be considered self-checking by some; on the grounds that a single erroneously interpreted bar cannot generate another valid character. Possibly the most serious drawback of Code 39 is its low data density: It requires more space to encode data in Code 39 than, for example, in Code 128. This means that very small goods cannot be labeled with a Code 39 based barcode. However, Code 39 is still widely used and can be decoded with virtually any barcode reader. One advantage of Code 39 is that since there is no need to generate a check digit, it can easily be integrated into existing printing system by adding a barcode font to the system or printer and then printing the raw data in that font. The name Code 39 is derived from the fact that three of the nine elements that constitute a codeword are wide elements, the remaining six are narrow. Code 39 was developed by Dr. David Allais and Ray Stevens of Intermec in 1974. It was later standardised as ANSI MH 10.8 M-1983 and MIL-STD-1189. The width ratio between narrow and wide can be chosen between 1:2 and 1:3. The details of CODE 39 can be seen in Appendix A.

Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect Essay -- Environmental Global

Global Warming and the Greenhouse Effect The greenhouse effect, in environmental science, is a popular term for the effect that certain variable constituents of the Earth's lower atmosphere have on surface temperatures. It has been known since 1896 that Earth has been warmed by a blanket of gasses (This is called the "greenhouse effect."). The gases--water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (CO2), and methane (CH4)--keep ground temperatures at a global average of about 15 degrees C (60 degrees F). Without them the average would be below the freezing point of water. The gases have this effect because as incoming solar radiation strikes the surface, the surface gives off infrared radiation, or heat, that the gases trap and keep near ground level. The effect is comparable to the way in which a greenhouse traps heat, hence the term. Environmental scientists are concerned that changes in the variable contents of the atmosphere--particularly changes caused by human activities--could cause the Earth's surface to warm up to a dangerous de gree. Since 1850 there has been a mean rise in global temperature of approximately 1? C (approximately 1.8? F). Even a limited rise in average surface temperature might lead to at least partial melting of the polar icecaps and hence a major rise in sea level, along with other severe environmental disturbances. An example of a runaway greenhouse effect is Earth's near-twin planetary neighbor Venus. Because of Venus's thick CO2 atmosphere, the planet's clo...

Rahzel :: History

Rahzel Rahzel M. Brown was born in Queens, New York and recalls that â€Å"not having† was never an excuse for â€Å"not doing†. Just as in its most organic state the essence of hip hop is ‘making something out of nothing,’ Rahzel learned how to feed his need to be creative. â€Å"We didn’t have the turntables inside the locker room and we couldn’t bring our boom box in there. Either we were banging on the locker, or somebody was (making music) with their mouth. I was the one who made the beats with my mouth. I worked hard so that if you closed your eyes you would swear that you were hearing a record, a radio, or a band.† Over time, Rahzel’s own gifts for vocal percussion led him to seek his own career as an artist. Others, like Biz Markie, Doug E. Fresh, and the Fat Boys’ Buffy had made strides in the form, but Rahzel possessed a talent so great, he was soon recognized up and down the east coast as the premiere human beat box ar tist. He already had a thriving solo career when The Roots asked him to join their group. â€Å"Being with The Roots enhanced what I was doing even more,† says Rahzel. â€Å"We’re colleagues, and we have tremendous respect for each other. They respect my history, I respect theirs.† He is undeniably the best beat boxer living on in this world today. As a kid he went to Grandmaster Flash's shows regularly, absorbing everything he saw and heard. Grandmaster Flash is another famous beat boxer that took the world by storm in every concert that he did. Rahzel grew up to live with beat boxing and used to be a roadie for the Ultramagnetic MCs. He later joined the Roots after guest staring on one of their early albums that sold million of copies world wide and became famous for there vocal and beat technique at the same time. This means that Rahzel and the group he was with would sing together and at the exact same time would come up with beats which sounded like a full band with drums, base, piano, and vocal. But Rahzel can sing a chorus and provide the back up beat simultaneously better then anybody in that group could. Rahzel doesn’t only beat box but He can also impersonate a number of rappers and singers. For instance he has this song called â€Å"if your m other only knew† and in that performance he did in front of hundreds and thousands of Americans in Louisiana, he impersonated his aunty when she caught him and his girl friend at that time making out.

Max’s Restaurant Research Paper Essay

1.FRANCHISENAME: Aguillon Ventures, Inc., 2.BRAND AND TRADEMARK: Max’s Restaurant 3.BUSINESS CONCEPT: Max’s Restaurant is a Philippine-based restaurant serving fried chicken and Filipino dishes. What started out as a small cafà © in the Philippines has successfully transitioned into a proud Filipino tradition that is also making waves in the global front as an international brand. Today, â€Å"the house that fried chicken built† has expanded to 123 local and 10 international branches. Max’s is more than just a food brand. It takes after characteristics that are innate to Filipinos – hospitality, generosity and passion for good food. The recipes have been intricately developed for 66 years and given a modern twist to cater to the increasingly discriminating tastes of customers from all over the world. To a lot of people, Max’s is a nostalgic place that reminds them of countless memorable experiences with their family, friends and loved ones. It is a place to nurture relationships, and â€Å"a home away from home.† 4.TARGET CUSTOMERS: Their target customers is high class family 5.TERM: The term of the Max’s Restaurant franchise is six (6) years with the right to renew 3 additional terms; total of 24 years. 6.SITE/LOCATION/ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN: Our Business Development Department can create a detailed site plan indicating the specific location of a desired prototype facility based on specific information and requirements provided by the franchisee about the proposed site. In addition, the department can prepare building plans and specifications detailing the requirements for overall design, furnishings, store layout, equipment, fixtures and interior decor specifications. Max’s Restaurant currently has over 127 branches in the Philippines. The chain also has branches in the U.S. states of California, Hawaii, and New Jersey, and its first Canadian branch in Toronto, Ontario. A store opened in Vancouver, British Columbia in March 2012. More branches will open soon in Sydney, Australia , and Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Queens, New York. PRODUCT & SERVICES: It’s signature dish is its fried chicken—Max’s dubs itself â€Å"the house that fried chicken built†. It’s often served with rice and/or kamote (sweet-potato) fries. Other items on Max’s menu are Filipino dishes like pancit, kare-kare, nilagang baka, sinigang na baboy, lechon kawali, pork adobo, bicol express, and crispy pata among others. Service is generally good, but the usually high volume of customer traffic at its mall  locations doesn’t lead to the cleanest or most relaxing of environments at those branches. Max’s is a casual dining restaurant leaning more towards fast food rather than fine dining. Pre-packaged caramel bars accompanying some meals and Max’s bakery kiosks at some restaurants drive the point home. Some services: Takes Reservations Walk-Ins Welcome Good For Groups Good For Kids Take Out Delivery Catering Waiter Service Outdoor Seating 8.PRICING STRATEGY: Max’s Restaurant pricing strategy is based on these costs: Direct costs. These are the ingredient costs associated with the food item itself. This involves the purchasing food, portion sizes, food waste from spilling, overcooking or spoiling. Indirect costs.   Indirect costs are those that do not include the actual ingredients that make up a dish, but the aspects of your restaurant that add perceived value or quality. These provide significant basis upon which to charge higher prices. Preparation and labor. The labor to prepare a menu item is considered an indirect cost. Menu items that require time, effort, artistry or talent to prepare merit a higher menu price than something that simply requires heating and plating. Overhead expenses. Overhead costs for items such as dà ©cor, product presentation, amenities and marketing efforts. Although slightly less common, these can create added value and validate higher menu item prices. Volatile food costs. Many raw commodity food items, or basic ingredients with minimal quality  variance, may fluctuate as often as daily. In a case such as this you have two easy options: raise your prices or work with a seasonal menu. Seasonal menus allow flexibility for buying crops in season, or in supply, to keep costs down. Service type. Prices will undoubtedly change depending on whether your restaurant is a fast-casual restaurant or a fine dining restaurant. Be sure your prices represent the service value your customers receive. For instance, full service restaurants can always charge more for their hamburgers than quick-service joints, because full service restaurants are also providing greater ambience, better service and often better ingredients than the quick-service alternative. 9.QUALITY CONTROL METHOD: Prior to the commencement of operations, the corporate training department will provide the franchisee and eight members of the management team with hands-on training that spans 4 months. This training will incorporate classroom content and applied in-restaurant developmental modules that will extensively cover subjects ranging from administrative and operational matters to marketing. Regular refresher and developmental training programs will also be given as needs arise. Max’s is a firm proponent of su stainable continuous training of all Max’s franchises and employees to closely align our business model and company values and enrich the integral bond between store staff, guests and restaurant profitability. Each franchise store can expect holistic support and servicing 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. A dedicated Franchise Area Manager will be assigned specifically to assist the franchisee in running the store. The key aim of the operations team is to create sales-building efforts and to ensure that Max’s high quality and safety standards are maintained across all store operations. FAMs will see to it that the store meets its sales targets and increases its profitability. FAMs conduct staff meetings, regularly make store visits and conduct training for procedural updates and rollouts for new programs and menu items. 10.MARKETING SYSTEM: Max’s firmly believes that marketing is the driving force that propels the restaurant brand forward. Our team is composed of marketing professionals and will provide each and every store with the best marketing service available to ensure brand loyalty and saliency in the market. The marketing group will provide support for new  product launches, sales-driven in-store promotions, above-the-line advertising efforts, and viable media planning. You can also expect dynamic local store marketing projects and exceptionally designed merchandising collaterals. Strategic brand mapping, intensive competition analysis, new product development and consumer-based research comprise the marketing support extended to all Max’s stores. 11.ADVERTISEMENT: In earlier television and cinema advertisements, the restaurant usually marketed itself as a place for Filipino families to get together. It also established its slogan â€Å"Sarà ¡p to the bones!† (â€Å"Delicious to the bones!†). More recently, a popular series of television advertisements told the story of a Max’s employee who was the childhood love of a popular TV celebrity, played by Piolo Pascual. The series showed the two characters as children, then as adults accidentally meeting at Maxâ €™s. The denouement of the story is when the celebrity recognizes the employee from their childhood. This commercial became so popular that it launched the showbiz career of Isabel Oli, the model who played the employee.

It’s raining – Creative Writing

It's raining. It hasn't rained this hard since the day she left me, the day she told me how she'd sold her ring. It took three months wages to buy that ring, three whole months and she just sold it to a complete stranger, told me she didn't love me anymore. She'll be leaving work soon, on her way home. Eleven-thirty, same time she does every night, only tonight is different. Tonight she won't be getting home. This is the last night those men will look at her. He's going to sort that out for me. He'll have to leave soon too; otherwise he'll miss her, but maybe that would be better. This could be the only chance to free me, I can't go on, when every move I make depends on her, I can't let her control my life anymore I need to break free. The world outside is looking even less inviting, full moon. Its overcast the stars are blurred. Well not just the stars, everything is blurred. Something's not right. This old leather armchair, and the bottom of my brandy bottle grows more comfortable still, the rains angry drops are hammering against the window pane, I don't think I can stare out the window any longer, this is eating me from inside, what was I thinking, I have to stop him, before it's too late, before I lose her completely. I'm going to go now, got my coat now I just need to step into the bitter cold New York winter. I haven't even shut the door properly, there isn't time. He'll be leaving now too, his wild scraggly hair will be blowing around in the wind his hands to tired to move it out the way, and I can picture him in my mind, only my vision of him is misty, over the years I have found myself losing touch. Still, he knows what he's doing, he's ready. He'll have no shame; I'll be the one who has to pick up the pieces. She smiles at me when I think of her, she told me she saved that smile for me, liar. I went to surprise her at work, on her birthday last week. Bought her flowers and everything, then I saw it. She smiled at them the same way; she had that twinkle in her eye for every man in that bar. That's when I saw him first, through the window of that place. We looked at each other for just a split second, but that was enough to know. She'd hurt him to. The rains pouring down harder still, even me thick trench coat can't stop it pounding down so hard on me. It's not pounding as much as my heart though, my hearts pounding like thunder, like a trapped animal, there's a storm raging inside me, I cant lose her. My feet are getting heavier after every step I take, I can feel a cold sweat rushing all over my body, my hands are gripped so tightly with fear, I can't run any faster. It's such a busy place, so full of people all the time, so full of life. Still I feel alone, empty without her. My heart beats faster still, I keep seeing him, first in front of me then behind, he's going to hurt her. How can it have come to this, why did she have to leave me, things were so perfect. I can see him properly no, there's no mistaking it he's just across the road. Weaving in and out of the yellow taxis I think I'm getting closer to him. I'm passing so many trees, the more I pass the less I can work out there shape, i'm losing all definition. Everything seems a blur. The smoky exhausts of the double-parked cars have made the air heavy. Yet even with all the traffic I still feel distant, this place that's been home for so long suddenly seems a whole new world to me. This is what I imagine it to be without her, lost forever in a world I'll never be able to clasp, she grounds me, helps me through life, well she is my life. The noise of the city is beginning to fade away as my path leads me away from the busy streets, he's here. I keep seeing him but then he's gone, maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. Between my footsteps and my loss of breath my mind is beginning to wonder, back to the day I first met her, when she wouldn't even notice me whatever I did, I think she changed when she met me, I don't know , but I can imagine. I think something changed in her after I met him too, it was as if she knew I knew about him. My heart shunted when I saw her, I froze for a second, her blonde hair blew gently in the wind, the full moon was shining through the branches of central park, casting eerie shadows on the path she was walking. She held her umbrella with one hand, while attempting to light a cigarette with the other, her black stiletto heels tapped steadily along the bridge. There he is, lying in wait. Now's my chance. She just looked right at him, I can see it in his eyes, she knew him, and she knows what he's going to do. He flicked out the knife that had been gripped in his hand so tightly all this way, he can see me in its reflection, he's smiling. She's dropped her cigarette onto the floor and is running, he's running after her, and I after him. Her heels are sinking into the wet ground, he's catching her, but I'm catching him. As he wrapped his tired hands around her neck I began to struggle with him, I begged him to stop, and so did she. Her body grew heavy with the dread of what was to come. The knife fell to the ground, I had control, I'd beaten him. I released her from my grip, brushed back my scraggly hair, grabbed her hand, tried to feel for a pulse. There wasn't one. Then I looked at her hand, it glistened at me, like her eyes used to, her ring she still had it on. Maybe she did still love me. I cried for her to come back to me, the end came anyway. Then I felt it, the ice-cold air flowing over me, around me and through me, she was dead, he had killed her, I had killed her.