God provides Essay

SEEKING GUIDANCE The discipline of seeking guidance goes to the heart of walking with God. Guidance involves us hearing God’s voice and obeying Him. It is not only seeking His will in a specific matter, but it is a constant way of life. God provides guidance to His people in two ways. One is individual guidance, where God gives each of His children divine instruction through Scripture, reason, circumstances, and through prompting of the Spirit in the individual’s heart. In corporate guidance, God guides groups of people who gather in fellowship to seek the will of God. Both aspects are important to submit to as we seek to live in response to the voice of God. It is also a treatise on the nature of the perception of God and spiritual growth. One must believe in divine guidance. One must believe God will guide you. What God wants from each individual. Why each individual needs to seek God’s guidance. Most often, God sends divine guidance and wisdom through anointed people and not supernatural signs. You need wise counsel. Wisdom is usually gained by successful experience. Everyone has experience but only a few have successful experience. Many live in a continual cycle of action then regret but wisdom either successfully breaks bad cycles or never gets in bad cycles. It is usually far less painful to benefit from the experience of others than having to go through it ourselves. When you successfully go through something, you usually have wisdom. Everybody Knows: You can’t be all things to all people. You can’t do all things at once. You can’t do all things equally well. You can’t do all things better than everyone else. Your humanity is showing just like everyone else’s. Therefore:You have to find out who you are, and be that. You have to decide what comes first, and do that. You have to discover your strengths, and use them. You have to learn not to compete with others, Because no one else is in the contest of being you. Then: You will have learned to accept your own uniqueness. You will have learned to set priorities and make decisions. You will have learned to live with your limitations. You will have learned to give yourself the respect that is due. And you’ll be a most vital mortal. Dare To Believe: That you are a wonderful, unique person. That you are a once-in-all-history event. That it’s more than a right, it’s your duty, to be who you are. That life is not a problem to solve, but a gift to cherish. And you’ll be able to stay one up on what used to get you down. Loving ourselves being as compassionate, gentle & loving with ourselves as we would with a best friend can be pretty hard to do. This is especially true for women & survivors of abuse (including neglect). As women & survivors, we’ve been trained to deny our own feelings & needs & to take care of others. And we’re also frequently given messages that tell us not to accept or love ourselves. This is especially true for survivors; it’s so easy for us to take in the hating messages our abusers gave us & to turn that inwards on ourselves. But it is possible to love ourselves or at least to increase our self-love in increments, until we can know, deep to our cores, that we love ourselves & that we’re beautiful. Here are some of the things that have worked for me. I hope you’ll find they work for you, too. Carrying around some form of comfort & having it available right when you need it can help ease anxiety & stress & give you reassurance when you need it. I’ve found that just knowing I have a comfort bag with me is sometimes enough – and other times, I am grateful I have it with me to dip into. You might want to try carrying around some comfort & see if it makes a difference in your life. There are times when we are out in the world & need a little – or a lot – of extra comfort. Times when we are nervous or scared, feeling vulnerable or unsure of ourselves, or just not very confident. A new job, a speech we have to give, a new situation, a group where we don’t feel very welcome, or just when you’re feeling stressed out. Or, for survivors, facing something triggering, frightening, or painful. It’s times like those that portable comfort can come in handy. Portable comfort means bringing something with you on purpose that helps you to feel comforted & reminds you that you are safe & loved. There are many different ways of bringing comfort with you – and they don’t all have to be obvious. I take portable comfort with me whenever I leave the house. I have things already placed in my backpack, the pockets of my coat & sometimes even my jeans, so if I forget to bring something extra with me, I already have something with me. And I always wear the same necklace; it’s always with me. If you have time before you leave for the day, it’s a good idea to associate whatever good feeling you want to remind yourself of (comfort, safety, love) with the object. To do this, take a moment & remember when you felt comforted, safe, or loved. Hold that feeling to you. Now imagine that good feeling flowing into the object. Tell yourself that whenever you see or feel or notice that object in your day, you will be reminded of that good feeling & feel it again.

Writing and Comprehensive Form

Description of Reading and Writing Measures Standardized Test Description KTEA II Reading comprehension and Written Expression The Reading comprehension and written expression subtests were given and scored. The Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Second Edition is an individually administered measure of academic achievement for ages 4 and a half through 25. The test is available in two versions: the Brief form which assesses the achievement of reading , mathematics, written expression; and the Comprehensive Form which covers a wide range of achievement domains and an analysis of students’ errors.The Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement, Comprehensive Form, Second Edition represents a revision of the Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement Comprehensive Form. The KTEA –II Comprehensive Form has an expanded age range and has retained the five subtests from the original KTEA and has modified to allow for testing of children and adults from preschool-age through co llege-age. Nine new subtests have been added to allow for assessment of a broad range of achievement domains and skills. KTEA-II Comprehensive Form age norms are provided for ages 4 and a half through 25, and grade norms are provided for Kindergarten through Grade 12.KTEA III Comprehensive Form is curriculum-based it provides norm-referenced and error analysis systems, criterion-referenced assessment in reading, mathematics, written language, and oral language. The KTEA-II Comprehensive Form has two independent , parallel forms (A and B) and the KTEA-II Brief Form norms at ages 4 and a half through 90. These three non-overlapping batteries make the KTEA II useful for measuring student progress. The KTEA II Comprehensive Form make it an important tool for assessing academic achievement.The KTEA II measures achievement in reading, mathematics, written language, and oral language and allows the examiner to administer a single subtest or a combination of subtests to assess achievement i n one or more domains. All seven specific learning disability areas identified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendment of 1997 (IDEA,1997)are measured: basic reading skills, reading comprehension, mathematics calculation, mathematics, reasoning, oral expression, listening comprehension, and written expression.The KTEA Comprehensive Form like the KTEA was developed from a clinical model of assessment. Curriculum experts defined specific sub skills measured by each subtest and the different types of errors students are likely to make on each subtest. Standardization data guided the final error analysis System. KTEA-II Comprehensive Form content has undergone bias reviews to ensure that students of either sex and ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds can be assessed. The KTEA II Comprehensive Form was normed using two separate representative, nationwide standardizations, one in the fall and one in the spring.The procedure accurately measures students’ perform ance both at the beginning and end of he year. The KTEA-II Comprehensive Form is conformed with the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition. The KTEA II Comprehensive Form is a reliable, valid measure of academic achievement. The KTEA II allows the examiner to observe the student’s test taking behavior, motivation, and visual-motor coordination. The two parallel forms make it an ideal instrument for longitudinal studies. KTEA II Written Expression subtestDescription of writing task Students are administered an item set based on their grade. (3rd Grade) Following assessment directions from the KTEA II manual and easel, I provided the Level 3 booklet and a pencil to my student. The written expression booklet is titled Kyra’s Dragon. I explain to my student following the provided directions from the easel that this story is about a girl named Kyra and the dragon she has to find. As we go through the story, you’ll write some of the words and sentence s. This is similar to the â€Å"cloze† technique that was used in the informal assessment, The McLeod Assessment of Reading Comprehensions. ) I tell my student to write the best words and sentences he can and not to worry if he doesn’t know how to spell a word – spelling won’t count. The first item we starts with is #31 I say â€Å" Let’s start by writing your full name here† and I point to the to of the booklet. The next item #32, my student writes the sentence â€Å"The dragon carries people away. † That I dictate. Tets: Writing SkillsOn item #3 my student has to write one word to complete the sentence â€Å" The king says to Kyra, â€Å"Finding the dragon_____________ save us all. † For item #34, my student has to write one good sentence to complete a part of the story, â€Å" Kyra’s Dragon. This fill in the blank interactive story goes on with similar tasks inserting words, sentences, combining sentences, proper word usage of specific words and punctuation into the story booklet until my student gets item # 49. Item #49 is where my student must complete a timed retell of the entire story, pretending my student is the king’s scribe.My student must retell the story of Kyra’s dragon so that his grandchildren will know how people came to live in their new town. He is given 10 minutes to complete his retell. My task as administrator of this test is to follow the script on the easel, read the prompts, and point to the correct place for the student to write his answers. This took about 25 minutes to administer. I am allowed to repeat story segments and item instructions if necessary. I may also tell a student how to spell a word if they ask, since spelling is not scored in this subtest, but only if examinee asks for assistance.

On-the-Job Training Essay

ASSESMENT OF THE PRACTICUM PROGRAM Its proven and well tested! Experience is definitely the best teacher. There are countless things that I’ve learned during my On-the-Job Training at Best Western Premier F1 (Fort 1) Hotel in Bonifacio Global City, Taguig, Metro Manila. Being in a new and never-been-to environment was a big challenge to me. I exerted great effort to cope up with the means and manner of living of the new environment that I’d indulged into. Associated essay: Problems Encountered by HRM Students A.K. Kraipak CaseI did my best to blend in and went in with the flow of what the real world is offering, the sheer pressure and always on the move, busy and fast-pacing world of the metro cities. With tall and grand infrastructure, busy multi-lane roads, huge crowd of people whom I passed-by now and then, and the hustle and bustle caused by the usual cacophony of the metro cities created not only by great number of vehicles but also by the muttering shouting people; the digging and pounding of the upgrading and growing enormous new structures made of cement and steel.At first, I was so scared and nervous but was very excited at the same time. While configuring and scrutinizing the entire vicinity of the area where I did my OJT, at some point I lost my sense of direction. It was nerve-wracking yet it was a funny experience though. Good thing, later on I managed to find my way through every destination that I supposed to go to. I w as able to meet many distinct individuals and gained many relevant insights about the hotel industry, getting a profound job and a glimpse of how it really looks like.That very moment, it came to my senses that I must never waste the opportunity that I had, I must give my best and with all extend learn everything what I can learn about hospitality industry that will broaden and expand my knowledge and skills in my field of expertise and never confide myself with the hindrances in achieving my ultimate goals in life. For the very first time, I had experienced a real job interview with a real Human Resource executive in a real HR office. Everything seemed so formal with air of professionalism in the atmosphere of the office.Every personnel were so prim and proper wearing their corporate suits and were very polite and amiable. Upon arriving a bit early of the scheduled interview, I waited for my name to be called by the executive secretary. When the interview had started, I tried my be st to hide my nervousness. To my astonishment, the HR executive turned out to be very kind and easy to talk with. He wasn’t stern and strict as what I had expected; in fact he helped me boost up my confidence that made me feel comfortable talking with him all throughout the interview.Everything went well, I was told to wait for an email and a text message for the confirmation and schedule of the orientation before I could start my training in the hotel. I was informed that their hotel requires their On-the-Job Trainees to render not less than 500 hours and preferably at least 720 hours of training as imposed by the management of the hotel and being very benevolent to the welfare of their OJT trainees, they allow students to have their practices on the desired departments they required to be assigned to.During our orientation, we were taught about the essential features and information of the hotel and its services and standards. They taught us how to handle costumer and do se rvices in accordance to the premiere standard of the hotel. I had my orientation together with some students from De la Salle of St. Benil, Pamantasan ng Pasig, and other famous schools in Manila, Pampanga and Batangas. I learned that even if I came from a college in the province, it doesn’t mean I cannot cope up with them, that they are much more equipped and skilled than me.I had proved to them that students from Saint Vincent’s College possesses an edge in customer service and are much more hardworking and we can compete with them in the field of hospitality industry as being taught and embedded to us by our skilled and competent instructors. I am blessed because all the personnel of the hotel were so kind and generous to me during my training at Best Western F1 Hotel. They had taught me well and were very much willing to share all their insights about their job and about the natures of services in hospitality industry.As per assigned by the Human Resource Departmen t, my first assigned pose was as an assistant of the Accounts Payable Manager in the Accounting office of the hotel, where my task involves with screening and handling incoming calls, attend to guest that goes in the office, receiving and logging down received documents, checking and reviewing incoming receipts and invoices and summarizing them down in the excel table.Also attend to basic accounting procedure and processes like checking salary distributions of casual and on-call employees, second review checking for billing statements and payables of the hotel and dissemination of checked and reviewed payable and reimbursement accounts of executive personnel. Making summary of cash disbursement of the hotel, checking purchase order invoices and filling them for preparation of payable checks to clients.Later on I realized that the office that I was assigned to is the Chairman’s office, the owner of the hotel. In the office I learned to be very careful in my every action especi ally in handling payable accounts transaction for it involves huge sum of money. The executive employees were so kind and friendly despite of their high positions in the company. They crank jokes to break the silence in the office and they are generous enough to share some snacks or food that they have even to me though I was just an OJT.I admired the executive bosses because though they have high positions they are humble and down-to-earth, like the hotel’s General Manager, Cost Control Manager, Credit Manager and especially the Resident Manager of the hotel who he, Himself wipes cutleries, fold table napkins and do table set-ups during busy hours in the function rooms. The next department that I was assigned to was in Housekeeping. Here, I learned a lot of things about room services and standards after my first task as a public area attendant.I have encountered many distinctive types of guest and I was taught how to handle them well. Most of our guest staying in the hotel a re foreigners, that’s why I was told to pay attention carefully to each and every request of the guest especially to Korean’s and other Asian guests because most of them don’t know how to converse well in English. I was partnered to the hotel’s Room Attendant who treated and taught me well everything that I wanted to know about being an excellent housekeeper and effective customer service.He showed me some good techniques in bed making and doing duvet in an easy and fast manner. He taught me ample of towel folds and proper way of arranging amenities in a Premiere standard. He guided me in every rooms cleaning procedure and added some techniques how to effectively finish it quickly and splendidly. He also taught me all the amenities and facilities of each room types. He allows me to have my on hand experience throughout all procedure and guides me if I’m having a hard time.Every time we are done with our room clean-up and make-up room requests, we p roceed to the pantry to arrange the stocks and amenities in the trolley and the storage while waiting for new guest request and room services. I also assigned to the linen and laundry section of the housekeeping department where I learned a lot about different laundry services and how to operate facilities and machineries. I was able to do laundry pick-up and delivery procedures, logging and incorporating each services we had rendered and trusted enough to post it in using the Opera system in the computer.The staff treated me like I’m one of them and they even trusted me with big tasks like when they assigned me to take over the duty of the linen attendant who got sick and was absent that day. Since no one can replace her for a while, they assigned me the duty to handle all linen and laundry responsibilities because they were confident that I am skilled enough to handle the task. I was also given a chance to be the housekeeping coordinator who attends to all calls for houseke eping intended for guest requests and room status reports and updates.I experienced turndown services and did rooms cleaning and services on my own without the aid of a Room Attendant during full house accommodation of the hotel and also assigned to mini-bar housekeeping attendant to check and replenish all amenities needed in the mini-bar and pantry areas. Finally, I was assigned to the Food and Beverage department. This time all my skills and patience has been well tested. I experienced a lot of functions and events during banquet services.It was absolutely a tough task because it seems like we never run out of guests to attend with plus we need to serve them food precisely to the scheduled time and extra services upon requested. Mostly of the guests that we had were from huge and renounced companies like Proctor and Gamble, Mead Johnsons, Holcim, Unilever, and many more whom usually they brought with them guests celebrities like, Coco Martin, Tony Gonzaga, Bea Alonzo, John Estrad a, Kathryn Bernardo, Lovie Poe etc during their held events at F1 hotel.That’s why we were instructed well by the supervisors to be extra careful in handling and attending guests especially the VIP’s. I learned to do multi-tasking and was thought how to do different food station and table set-ups which varies depending upon the kind and theme of the event. I’ve learned that you need to handle each and every costumer well with extra care. As we all know, costumer is the lifeblood to every business. It is a must to treat them well and provide their needs, wants and give them a satisfying service because the success of every business relies on them.I’ve learned to adjust to every person or costumer that comes in the workplace, not every individual is alike so you must know how to handle each situation and adjust to their differences. Also, you need to be versatile, well rounded and able to work efficiently under pressure. In case of any problem, you need to act on it promptly. Being shy or sluggish has no room in this industry. You need to have focus, have a presence of mind and give your best on everything you do.Knowing your job and enjoying what you’re doing also helps a lot for an effective performance in providing quality performance in costumer service, you need to smile, have a positive attitude, be patient and create rapport with the every person that you’re dealing with, especially the costumer. I also acquired from my On-the-Job training that for a person to be efficient and successful, you need to work hard, exert great effort, work well even under pressure, be flexible, learn from every mistake and correct them, never complain on task given to you, respect your co-workers, be humble and have your mind set on what you’re doing.I really had a great experience with all the people around me during my practicum, especially the staffs. They taught me a lot and I really learned a lot from them. All of them are friendly and fun to work with. During the practicum they help us learn many thing and allows us to have a first-hand experience with dealing with costumer and if ever we commit mistake they are considerate enough to guide us in correcting them, tells us what to do to refrain from doing it again, teach what we can further do to improve our learning on different aspects in customer service and expound our newly acquired learning.First they let us observe what to do in different task and how they do it then assist us in performing it and finally let us do it in our own. I also experienced meeting different customer that come and go in the workplace; most of them are kind, approachable and easy to deal with and there are also those who are very strict and rude but eventually I’ve learned to handle and deal with them well, you just need to be patient with them, humble and please them with a great and satisfying service.One event that I can’t really forget during my practic um was when I had successfully accomplished my task well, had pleased a bunch of costumer and they complimented on my service. They uttered that they are pleased with my performance and the management complimented me and said that we were very well taught by our school where I came from because of the quality of good service, hard work and dedication that I showed them.It was really a great privilege to have heard such gratifying words from people that you had worked with. It was as if all my hard work and stress had paid off and I were further motivated to do better, show my best in everything that I do and prove that hotel and restaurant management students of Saint Vincent’s College are skilled, knowledgeable and competent enough to compete with other colleges and universities offering the same field of study in terms of hotel and restaurant industry.Indeed, this practicum experience is really a great help to each every student that wishes to be in the Hospitality Industry for it will really allows student to be more skillful in doing different task in hotel, restaurants and other related establishments in providing customer service. For those who will undergo the practicum program soon, they must be disciplined and must do their best in everything they do. They must be patient, must have perseverance, and must have a presence of mind and willing work without being told.They also need to know well what they are doing, focus, establish rapport with the people around them, be well rounded and ensure quality service to costumer. They must learn to adjust to every situation. And must be eager to learn new things that can help them in the near future because this is just a start and a taste of what the real world can be, where you will face real costumers and problems that you need to please and overcome.

The Rise of Islam as a Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Rise of Islam as a Religion - Essay Example Though he received a rejection from the first time but with time, he started to get the followers through his teachings. His main teachings based on equality (Fordham, 2013). Q2. Compare and contrast the caliphates of Damascus and Baghdad (socially and politically) how did the Caliphate serve, to continue Muhammad’s legacy? What were some of the cultural, technological and academic achievement made during caliphate? I support the opinion of the third students, who states that it led to the spread of the Islamic religion and changed the political rule from democracy to monarchy. However, in those times of the Caliphate, there was resistance from the non-believers. The spread of Islam enabled Baghdad to become the city of the Caliphate and there was the introduction of technology, which contributed to the Muslim culture, the introduction of writing has influenced the current knowledge on writing such as arithmetic and medicine, as well as astronomy (Fordham, 2013). The second student states that, initially, there were many religions that believed in many gods, the spread of Islam through Muhammad changed everything as his idea of peacemaking and that strengthen the military work. The economic status of the nation was also improved since everything was done under to always of religion; hence, there was a reduced exploitation practice. Muhammad became politically powerfully when he went to Medina, he used his power to have what he wanted; therefore, through his power, he managed to write a new constitution (Fordham, 2013). I agree with third students, who states that indeed Muhammad was a charismatic man invented new ideas based on the Islamic religion and influence the social life of people in Bedouin.

Economics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Economics - Research Paper Example Not just did it prompt the New Deal in America, however all the more fundamentally, it was an immediate reason for the ascent of fanaticism in Germany expediting World War II. 1. Stock Market Crash of 1929 Numerous accept mistakenly that stocks slam that happened on 29th, which is also known as the Black Tuesday, is the same thing as the Great Depression of 1929. In fact, this is one essential reason that further expedited the Great Depression. Two months after the definitive collision that took place in the month of October, stockholders had to let go of around $40 billion dollars (Walton and Rockoff). In spite of the fact that money markets started to recover some of its misfortunes, toward the conclusion of 1930, it simply was insufficient and America without a doubt entered what is known as the Great Depression. 2. American Economic Policy with Europe As organizations started coming up short, the legislature made the Smoot-Hawley Tariff in 1930 to help secure American organizatio ns. This charged a high assess for imports along these lines accelerating less exchange between America and remote nations on top of some budgetary striking back. 3. Bank Failures All around the 1930s over 9,000 banks fizzled. Bank stores were uninsured and accordingly as banks failed individuals essentially lost their investment funds. Surviving banks, unsure of the budgetary circumstance and concerned for their survival, quit being as eager to make new advances. This aggravated the circumstances expediting less and less uses (Cravens). 4. Reduction in Purchasing Across the Board With the stock exchange slam and the reasons for alarm of further monetary hardships, people from all classes quit acquiring things. This then prompted a lessening in the amount of things processed and in this way a decrease in the workforce. As individuals lost their employments, they were unable to stay aware of paying for things they had purchased through portion arranges and their things were repossess ed. More stock started to amass. The unemployment rate climbed above 25% which implied, obviously, even less using to help mitigate the budgetary circumstance (Walton and Rockoff). 5. Drought Conditions Whilst not an immediate reason for the Great Depression, the dry spell that took place in the Valley of Mississippi Valley in 1930 occurred at such an extent that numerous couldn't even pay their assessments or different obligations and needed to offer their ranches for no benefit to themselves. The zone was nicknamed "The Dust Bowl." 2) Why did the Great Depression last so long? In the wake of being a shut book for quite some time, economists have returned to the Great Depression utilizing later advancements as a part of monetary hypothesis and quantitative strategies. This new examination is amazing, as it uncovers that some parts of the Depression differentiate pointedly with long-standing descriptions (Walton and Rockoff). The routine perspective is that the Depression started as an arrangement mixture subsidence, which then turned into the Depression through saving money emergencies and the disappointment of the Federal Reserve to grow the cash supply. This view additionally contends that the recuperation from the Depression was on track until 1937, when the Fed raised bank hold necessities and President Roosevelt diminished financial boost. In any case the quick profundity and the constant span of the Depression are conflicting with conventional

HealthWise Requirement Analysis Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HealthWise Requirement Analysis - Case Study Example Ltd. to conducts a requirement analysis to establish the needs and requirements of the proposed Information System. Requirement analysis is basic software development activity. The purpose of this phase is to outline business needs based on user interviews, study of existing system of information conducted in the client environment and through other information gathering techniques. Requirement analysis provides the foundation for a solid application development. It is a technical document prepared and finalized by a requirement analyst, which provides user specific details of the proposed system to help software engineers in the development of actual application. It contains several functional and non-functional requirement, user analysis and details of required forms and reports that are deemed essential to fulfill operational needs of the organization and the implementation of the system in client’s environment. Grady (2006, p. 4) states the detail of this process in these words, â€Å"System requirement analysis is a structured or organized methodology for identifying an appropriate set of resources to satisfy a system need and the requirement for those resources that provide a sound basis for the design or selection of those resources.† 2. ... Secondly, the HealthWise is rapidly gaining customers’ confidence and the management can foresee a major expansion of the business network around the globe in the near future. This expansion will not only require a streamlined information system in place but it should also be able to accommodate a fair amount of information supposed to be generated with the business growth. Therefore, HealthWise new Information System (HWIS) is required to be design with this future expansion in mind and should be reasonably sizeable to support the functions of a medium sized enterprise. Keeping in view the problems with the current paper-based system a web-based management information system is proposed by the Technologies & Solutions Pvt. Ltd. The system will facilitate decision-making process through its predefined and custom queries and reports. The system will store all information related to distributor, customers, sales and payments in a database. The system will accept input in structu red web forms and will provide on the fly reports pertaining information about distributors, sales volume in dollars, distributor groups and relative performances etc. HWIS will store and present information on all six product lines in an efficient manner. Moreover, HWIS will also accept direct purchase orders from the customer and will provide support to HealthWise staff and distributors to log into the system remotely through Virtual Private Network (VPN) connections to access web-based system. HWIS will provide web-based access to its database on verification of authorized login credential in an efficient and timely manner. 3. Design Specifications The system will be designed to support all business processes

What is global sourcing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What is global sourcing - Assignment Example Global sourcing is important due to the fact that it broadens the knowledge on how to conduct businesses in other countries (Schneid, 2010). In addition, global sourcing is always cheaper than producing the goods and services on one’s own. Furthermore, global sourcing leads to reciprocating of trade. For instance, it ensures both buying as well as selling an organization at the same time (Sollish and Semanik, 2011). This leads to creation of a mutually beneficial economic bond between the companies involved in the transaction, as well as, create strong business relations between the countries involved. Global sourcing also allows a nation to tap into the raw materials of other nations, at lower costs under the cover of trade relations (Oshri and Global Sourcing Workshop, 2010). This is very beneficial if the buying nation has limited resources, or if it is in need of preserving its resources. These are some of the reasons as to why a company based in the United States would choose to purchase items and services from foreign

Ethics in Financial Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics in Financial Management - Essay Example In today's world, organisations and workplaces have become extremely diversified and have adopted varied stance s in terms of job processes and the general outlook. What is striking in such a scenario, is the prevalence of organizational or work ethics. Ethics has evolved to become an important aspect of organizational functioning, since it deals with the self-esteem and the very importance attached to employees in an organisation. Is it but well known, that an employee is the building block of an organisation and the importance attached to ethics in today's organisations are a reflection of the same. Financial Code of Ethics is important for the smooth functioning of any organisation. One of the important aspects of financial code of ethics, is to maintain integrity in the generation of accounts. One must ensure the hierarchal accountability and must also adhere to strict confidentiality and secrecy. It is also important to make use of the independence given and to maintain high levels of honesty and transparency. The Enron scandal was something that rocked the business world and also inspired books and movies based on it.

The Transition From Youth to Adulthood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Transition From Youth to Adulthood - Essay Example It is a journey adddressed in both The All-American Poem, by Matthew Dickman, and This is Our Youth, by Kenneth Lonergan The All-American Poem is a collection of poetry that describes a variety of experiences had by a young adult, most centered around either awakenings or memories. This Is Our Youth takes us along as two young men attempt to make a drug deal with a stolen fortune. Though the language is very different – The All-American Poem is lyrical and image-rich, This is Our Youth rough and conversational – they both reach a common conclusion: youth does not die easy. Both works characterize the transition from youth to adulthood with a period of denial, when a young person responds to an adult situation, or to the transition itself, in a childish way. Is Our Youth, for example, begins with a literal physical split between Warren and his father. Tired of Warren's pot habit, his father kicks him out of the house. Warren responds with a casualness that marks him as m ore childlike than he would care to admit: â€Å"...'there's some cash, now pack up your shit and get out before I beat your fuckin' head in. And I was like, â€Å"Whatever.' So he went on a date with his whore, and I packed up my stuff and left.† (Lonergan I.i) The leaving of one's childhood home is perhaps the most literal transition to adulthood, and here Warren responds with a shrug and one-word response worthy of any teenager. Although the langauge is less rough, a similar situation plays out in the poem â€Å"V† in The All-American Poem. The narrator is fantasizing about a girl, but the images of his fantasies are extremely childlike. â€Å"I could show her my comic books/And PlayStation. We could pull out/My old D&D cards/ and sit in the basement with a candle lit.† (Dickman 33) The contrast here between an adult action and youthful pastimes suggest that, like Warren, the narrator has not yet departed childish attitudes. Although these lines are mixed wi th references to physics and math, the lack of many adult references in this portion of the poem suggests that the narrator's thoughts are, like Warren's, more childish than he knows. The difference between the two characters, however, is that the poem's narrator engages in childlike thoughts and adult actions. Warren's situation plays out in an opposite way; the action of leaving home is adult, but his reaction to that leaving betrays a childish mindset. Childish thoughts aside, however, these situations describe the brink of adulthood in a way that becomes more obvious when the scales begin to tip. On the following page, the language of â€Å"V† becomes significantly more adult, with many sexual and physical references and stark language that startles in its transition from the poem's earlier innocence. Dickman writes, â€Å"It's been talking sleazy to all of us/And there's nothing about the hydrogen bomb/That makes me want to wear a cock ring,† and â€Å"Maybe she wants to be measured beyond/The teaspoon shadow of an anus†. (34) The more adult themes appear abruptly, invoking the image of a quick and violent change. Unsurprising because This is Our Youth is significantly longer than â€Å"V,† Warren's attitude takes longer to change. At first, he responds to his exile by stealing money from his father, with the same casual attitude: â€Å"....hopefully he'll think one of his cohorts ripped him off. Or, like, his slut did it.† (Lonergan I) But when he and his friend Dennis decide to take the money and buy

Analysis of Images of Organization by Gareth Morgan Essay - 1

Analysis of Images of Organization by Gareth Morgan - Essay Example I) He explains that ‘Metaphor is inherently paradoxical in nature and has far-reaching consequences. One major problem that faces modern management today is our mechanical way of thinking about organizations, that is so deeply rooted in us, that we find it find it very difficult to organize things in any other way. In Chapter 2, (Morgan, 2006, pg. 11) enlightens us on how labor became revolutionized and how machines took command in the workplace. In ancient times work was carried out in a very laborious way, making use of only manual labor. As time passed and people became more civilized they began making tools to assist them in their work. Nowadays, Mechanization has taken over every area of work making it much more easy for us than it was in ancient times. Productivity has increased a thousand fold because of the great transition from being a craft to factory production. (Morgan, 2006, pg. 11) However, in the course of this revolutionization in work culture, we have to bear the assault made on the human spirit. We have adapted ourselves to the machine age and have come to use machines as a metaphor for ourselves and the society at large because we have to mold ourselves according to mechanical principles that have become part and parcel of our lives. Gareth Morgan, in chapter 3 of Organization as Flux and Transformation explains the importance of an ‘Open System’ that involves a continuous cycle of transformation, input, output and constructive feedback. In order to achieve such a harmonious working atmosphere, it is imperative to maintain healthy relationships between the environment and the internal functioning of the organization. Referring to Humberto Maturana and Francisco Varela, Morgan argues that their opinions on the ‘Open system’ differ as they feel that ‘all living systems are organizationally closed, autonomous systems of interaction that make reference only to themselves.†

Resistors in series and parallel Essay Example for Free

Resistors in series and parallel Essay Resistors are used in various real life applications to perform tasks that involve: limiting the current that goes through a section of a circuit, introducing a voltage drop in a circuit, generating heat and the protection of components of a circuit. It is important to calculate the resistance of resistors so that the electrical circuits produced using them will perform in the manner that their manufacturer wanted them to. If the wrong resistance/resistor is used then delicate components that need only a relatively small amount of current may be destroyed. All resistors have a level of tolerance. This is to allow for imperfections in the manufactured object. It was determined through experimentation that all of the resistors that were used in this experiment were within their tolerance range with the exception of R4 (See Table 1). This resistor had a nominal value of 1600 ohms and a tolerance of +/-5%. This means that this resistor should have had a value within the range of 1520-1680 ohms, however  the actual resistance was found to be 1798 ohms. It is possible that this may have been due to a manufacturing fault or a labelling error. The total predicted resistance was determined by using the series and parallel resistor laws and the resistance values of the various components of the circuit. The tolerance range for the circuit was predicted to be between 1847.3-2319.2 ohms. Through experimentation the actual total resistance for the circuit was 2216.62 ohms, this value was within the predicted range. The actual resistance value of component 1 was 263.26 ohms; this was within the predicted range (271.36-245.51 ohms). The actual resistance value of component 2 was 1764.26 ohms; this was within the predicted range (1664.24-1846.36 ohms). The actual resistance value of component 3 was 2216.62 ohms; this was within the predicted range (2319.20 and 1847.3 ohms). The actual resistance of the resistors was found by using a multimeter. Some systematic error may have occurred in this experiment if the multimeter was not calibrated correctly during testing. Temperature fluctuations may have caused inconsistencies in this experiment. The reason why resistance occurs is that a metal consists of lattice of atoms that each has a shell of electrons. The metal is a conductor because the electrons are free to dissociate from their parent atoms and travel through the lattice. When a voltage is applied the electrons drift from one side of the metal to the other. In real material imperfections scatter the electrons resulting in resistance. Temperature is able to affect resistance because temperature causes the atoms to vibrate more strongly creating even more collisions and further increasing the resistance. Conclusion: The aim of the experiment was to compare the predicted and actual resistance in the circuit of resistor combinations in series and parallel. The results of this experiment found that the series and parallel resistor laws were reasonably good indicators of the real world values of resistance for circuits that contained resistors in series and parallel. One example of this was that the total resistance of the circuit made was found to be 2216.62 ohms which was within the predicted range (this predicted range was calculated by using the upper and lower tolerance values for the resistors used in the circuit. From the data obtained it can therefore be seen that all three resistor laws stated in the Background section of this report are quite useful in calculating theoretical values for the resistance of circuits in series and parallel that are close to the real world values. Bibliography: resistor. Wikipedia. Wikipedia, 2005. Available: http://www.answers.com/topic/resistor-1 24 Jul. 2005. resistor. WordNet 1.7.1. Princeton University, 2001. Available: http://www.answers.com/topic/resistor-1 24 Jul. 2005. resistor. Electronics. Twysted Pair, 2001. Available: http://www.answers.com/topic/resistor-1. 24 Jul. 2005. Storen, A and Martine, R. (2000) Nelson Physics VCE Units 3 and 4. Nelson Publishing: Sydney. (pp 221-226)

Choose the Right Path in Life Essay Example for Free

Choose the Right Path in Life Essay Damion Booker is a 6’5 point guard from Rialto, California that is supposedly the best point guard since Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson was an incredible athlete he was versatile, had basketball IQ, he averaged a double double, and most of all a leader on the court. Damion Booker followed those same exact aspects. Damion Booker was the first round draft pick and was drafted to Los Angles Hokies and previously went to Rialto State University (RSU). Damion Booker majored in Business and had a GPA of 3. 9. Not only did he have great athleticism and skill, he was intelligent. He made honor roll every year and challenged himself more and more. Every teacher loved him and was very popular around campus. He was also involved in many activities such as karate, played piano, and volunteered at a senior citizen home a couple of hours every summer break. While being involved in many activities he met a guy named Elijah Hearth. Elijah Hearth was a good friend, but also a troublemaker. In addition, while Damion Booker was hanging out with his friend Elijah Hearth he met a new agent and felt he was fit for the job. His first agent was unreliable and not trustworthy. A few days later Damion Booker got a call saying there was an NBA Lockout while at home. His agent said he didn’t have an idea when the new season was going to begin. He was very shocked and heartbroken, He couldn’t believe it. Damion Booker had to find some way to make money so he decided to own a business that he’s been attempting since he was a senior in college. Damion Booker was bored so he became more involved. A few weeks later his resteraunt opened it was named Damion Booker Palace. He made big bucks and had a lot of money. As a result, he became very cocky in everything he did. It took a lot of his time to owning that restaurant. He took time away from basketball to put in work to own the Palace. He had earned money twice as fast as regular people who started their business. For most people it takes years to own a business, but for Damion Booker it took him a month. The background behind that was that he made this special sauce that attracted people all over the world. Damion Booker made a tasty, scrumptious sauce that was called the Damion Cold Killer Pasta Sauce. It was supposedly the best sauce nationwide and it’s the bestseller at Damion Palace. It attracted wild, bizarre eaters like Andrew Zimmern. The pasta sauce was so good Andrew Zimmern said it was the best pasta he ever tasted. As a result, to the Cold Killer Pasta Sauce it did have a secret ingredient. The secret ingredient was this famous pepper that came from Peruvia. It was called the Peruvian Puff Pepper. The Puff Pepper had this special flavor that made ingredients spicier and more flavorful. The sauce also had extra amounts of salt and other excessive ingredient but the extra salt and the puff peppers are the ones that made the sauce taste better and more addicting. The sauce became so addicting that it made skinny people fat and the fat people become fatter. The sauce is sort of in comparison to a big mac from McDonald’s. Lots of people bought it and it was very addicting. The Puff Pepper had a special element that made you beg for more and more. Damions Palace put many businesses on bankrupt because of how good their specialty was. The only business that remained standing were McDonald’s, Jack in the Box, Carls Jr, Taco Bell, Applebee’s, Panda Express, and Denny’s but th ey were losing the average customers because Damion Palace was taking over because of their special pasta sauce. They were also losing money to in which that was a bad thing and tried putting more advertisements onto TV commercials, radios, billboards, and blimps. People didn’t care to much about the advertisement of TV commercials, blimps, billboards, and radios all the people cared about was Damions Palace and their special pasta sauce. Damion Booker came up with the idea on one boring weekend and decided to cook. All of a sudden, he came up with making pasta sauce because that was his mother’s favorite thing to eat while she was young and she would make it on special occasions. He went into his cabinet and pulled things such seasonings such as salt and pepper, and all kinds of sauces that his mom had stored. Then, Damion pulled out a bowl and started mixing a concoction. He tasted a couple of mixes and didn’t like them to well. After a couple of more mixes he tasted a delightful sauce that he believed tasted quite amusing. They didn’t have much because they Damion’s mom didn’t make much money. They weren’t poor but they weren’t fortunate. After tasting the sauce he knew he was going to become successful in the future. While doing this he realized he needed a backup plan for when the NBA comes out of its lockout. His backup was to have his brother take over Damion Palace when the NBA lockout ends. By the time Damion got settled to being a business owner the lockout had ended and it was time for Damion to start basketball again. The first couple of weeks the Palace ran very smoothly. At one point they had more customers than ever recorded. Damion was getting settled with basketball and his brother was taking over the best restaurant in the nation. Life couldn’t get any better for the Booker family! As life ran smoothly they became extremely arrogant until a fire burned down the Palace. Damion was gloomy and felt like a complete failure, but still confident. Although the palace burned down, Damion didn’t know the place was burned down until the all-star break he checked in and called his brother to ask how the restaurant was running. Damion brother told him the place got burned down. Damion was furious! Damion’s Brother didn’t want to interfere with Damion’s basketball career. Their relationship was corrupted and didn’t talk to one another for a long time. They constantly would argue and have many quarrelsome disagreements. When The Bookers lost their restaurant, they became unfortunate again and were very depressed. Their family began to go on corners and beg for money for a living but not for very long. They were going through some tough times but they always overcome the tough situations. By the time the Bookers started making more money Damion had started preseason basketball with the Los Angles Hokies. He was a star on his team like the whole world already suspected. To modern times Damion Booker came to the NBA similar to Kyrie Irving. Kyrie Irving was a first round draft pick and immediately became a star in the NBA. Life became good for Damion Booker again he was getting fame and publicity. He was getting so much fame and publicity that he acted as if he forgot that his own restaurant got burned down and started treating his family very well. He started to be in magazines, commercials, and on the internet. Damion Booker became the face of basketball and more importantly the face of Rookies. Overtime Damion Booker became cocky bad things begin to happened to him again. Damion booker was going for a slam dunk on a fast break and hurt his ankle. He was on the ground for 10 minutes and couldn’t get up. He felt paralyzed and the medical staff had to pick Damion up put him on a stretcher. The next day he went to the doctor and they told him he had a ruptured Achilles tendon and that he will never be able to play basketball again. Damion Booker was upset because basketball was his life and if you took basketball away from him it was like taking his life away. Basketball was his Life! He played it almost every day and whenever he had the time. On the offseason of when Damion was in college he would always go to the park and have pickup games. He would dominate and win almost every single game. Damion didn’t want to listen to the doctors. He refused to listen to anything they said. Damion was going to come back and play in the NBA regardless if they said he could or couldn’t. The network technician believed that he was going to be out for his career and so did the whole world. Unbelievably Two months later, Damion stepped on the court and the nation was shocked. It was a remarkable return and on his debut from returning he had twenty- two points, six assists, and five rebounds. People knew this kid was special because nobody had ever recovered from a ruptured Achilles tendon and also because of how fast he recovered from his injury. Later, he got rookie of the year and averaged 18 points a game and became cocky again. In Addition, to Damion getting cocky after he won rookie of the year he began to get caught and this time he was messed up for life. He started getting influenced by his friends and thinking he was better than everyone in the world. That same night he won rookie of the year Damion went out partying with his friend. There was drugs and alcohol that he got into that just completely messed up his mindset. He started missing several practices, get to the team room late, disrespect the coaches, and many other things that got him into some trouble. Also, his numbers dropped, and appeared always tired. Instead of Damion averaging 18 points a game coming from the injury he averaged about 8 points a game. As he kept doing these actions they noticed a drastic change and ordered Damion to take a drug test. A couple days later the team got the results and he failed the drug test. After they got the results the Hokies released him to free agency and no other team wanted him. He realized he made a mistake and started to feel depressed. As a result, he got kicked out of the NBA and felt so lost he committed suicide.

Medea, by Euripides: Betrayal and Loyalty

Medea, by Euripides: Betrayal and Loyalty Throughout Greek dramas there is always an underlying message of opposing values. This message allows the audience to learn about human nature, and life lessons. The play Medea, by Euripides, is no exception to this overall pattern in Greek dramas. The play exhibits the conflict between the opposing values betrayal and loyalty through characters and their shifting sympathies. Euripides seems to value loyalty over betrayal through his demonstrations of the dangers of one who lets their emotions take over reason in his tragedy Medea. He shows this through elucidation of secondary characters, a vivid pathos, and clear logos. The play uses pathos, or emotional appeal, to emphasize the importance of loyalty. Medea, in the beginning of the play, was suffering, because Jason did not have the loyalty to stay with her, so the people felt sympathy towards her. Her emotional state was caused by how important loyalty was to her, and now she is completely broken psychologically, Oh I wish That lightning from heaven would split my head open (6). That quote reflects how she is truly feeling, hopeless. Emotionally, Medea brings up the fact that she betrayed her country, her father, and killed her own brother to how emotionally connected she is with her loyalty to Jason, Oh, my father! Oh, my country! In what dishonor I left you, killing my own brother for it (6). From that quote, Medea does not use any words of retribution, which has given her enough emotional appeal that the chorus truly believes that she is the victim of the situation. Logos, or logical appeal, is used in the play to show that Medeas acts of violence were centered more on revenge rather than the prosperity of her children. Medea has had numerous opportunities to obtain a secure lifestyle for herself and her children. Medea is faced with an opportunity to make her and her childrens life better from Jason, and she turns him down saying she doesnt want his pity, I shall never accept favorsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Nor take a thing from youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ There is no benefit in the gifts of a bad man (20). Jason was making a logical argument, but Medea lets her emotions cloud her judgment and refuses Jasons offering, But you refuse what is good for youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ You are sure to suffer for it (20). This is showing that Medea is more focused on betraying Jason than her childrens well being, because Jason had offered a logical argument that would have benefited her. If she had accepted Jasons offer, her children would have had some kind of support when they go t into exile. Furthermore, if Jason had been able to marry again, her children would have been considered royalty and would have had a claim for the throne. Medeas avaricious hunger for revenge eventually brings her to slaughter her children. She kills them out of her own benefit not their own, because she is blinded by her own emotions, I know indeed what evil I intend to do, But stronger than all my afterthoughts is my fury, Fury that brings upon mortals the greatest evils (35). That quote reveals her true desires when she is on stage alone. The logical argument here comes from the chorus whose position is that there is no reason good enough for her to slaughter her own children. The chorus eventually had to beg the Gods for Medea to stop and have her reconsider logically about her decision to murder her children, O heavenly light, hold her hand, Check her, and drive from out the house The bloody Fury raised by fiends of Hell (41). That quote shows that Medea has truly gone mad in that she has thrown away all of her sense of reasoning, and is focused entirely on getting revenge. Through logos, Euripides shifts the audiences sympathies from Medea to the victims of her plans. This shows that Loyalty is being emphasized more, because of Jasons offering of help, and the chorus plea to help the children. Some would argue that Euripides makes a strong case for the dangers of betrayal, and that there is not a case for loyalty. They may claim that Medea killed her children because she wanted to betray Jason. Another claim would be that the chorus betrayed Medea because she was going to kill her children. Though, that argument fails when the audience looks at the emotional and logical claims presented by the chorus and Jason. Despite the arguments the Jason presented were callous and anti feminist, the truth is that they support the value of loyalty. Jason believes that Medeas suffering was caused by her own hand, and that if she had been loyal and less emotional the whole epidemic could have been averted. An example would be Medeas exile, which was caused by her cursing the royal family, and thirst for revenge and betrayal, You called down wicked curses on the Kings family (20). Another example would be the death of the princess, which was justified by the chorus whose still loyal to Me dea, Heaven, it seems on this day has fastened many Evils on Jason, and Jason deserved them (40). During the entire play of Medea, Euripides is advocating loyalty by displaying the dangers of uncontrollable betrayal. Through the use of elucidation of secondary characters, a vivid pathos, and clear logos Euripides demonstrates the consequences of one who lets their emotions interfere with their reasoning. He is able to presents that by chasing loyalty, one could never their eyes on the path of retribution. Technological Progress Essay | IT in the Last Decade Technological Progress Essay | IT in the Last Decade Some technological inventions have affected our life greatly for the past decades, especially computers. Its true that computers really provide us more convenient life. With computers, we can deal with many documents even faster, we can use computer to control machines to work, and we can also buy what we want through the Internet on computers. Nevertheless, computers also brought some bad effects to our life; here are some examples of the bad effects that computers have brought to us. One of the bad effects is the impact for art. There are more people tend to create art works by computers, for, those created by computers are neat and tidy. In my opinion, however, they are only squares, straight lines, and other boring things, which are supposed to be called art works. From art works, we can see what an artist wants to deliver to us; we can feel the passion, the eager or even the suffer just like what the artist felt from his/her work. For example, in Renoirs paintings, we can easily find the tenderness and his pity for people because he had given his spirits to his paintings. Even though computers can also make paintings in Renoirs style, we cant see any emotion or spirit in them at all since computers can only imitate rather than create. Another bad effect is that computers have brought much solitude into peoples life. For instance, there are more and more people would like to stay home using computers rather than going out to have interaction with people. This is because these people are poorly educated in a holistic manner. Thus, your viewpoint has caused some misunderstanding. Its not a good phenomenon, for everyone has to know how to get along with others; theres no one can live on his/her own. Whats more, we cant deny that, with the help of computers, we become lazier than we used to be. For example, many students tend to find information simply on the Internet instead of going to libraries for their homework, and if their teachers ask them to hand their homework in type form, the only thing they have to do is copy the information. Therefore, students wont get anything from their assignments. When it comes to technology, some people will lose the original treasure in human beings, like diligence and sociability. We cant rely on technology too much. After all, technology is used to help us. We should take advantage of technology instead of being taken advantage of by technology. References: Karsten Bjerring Olsen, 2006. Productivity Impacts of Offshoring and Outsourcing: A Review, OECD Science, Technology and Industry Working Papers 2006/1, OECD, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry. Robert J. Barro Jong-Wha Lee, 2000. International Data on Educational Attainment Updates and Implications, NBER Working Papers 7911, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. Other versions: Robert J. Barro Jong-Wha Lee, 2000. International Data on Educational Attainment: Updates and Implications, CID Working Papers 42, Center for International Development at Harvard University. Barro, Robert J Lee, Jong-Wha, 2001. International Data on Educational Attainment: Updates and Implications, Oxford Economic Papers, Oxford University Press, vol. 53(3), pages 541-63, July. Dale W. Jorgenson Khuong Vu, 2005. Information Technology and the World Economy, Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 107(4), pages 631-650, December. Mary Amiti Shang-Jin Wei, 2005. Fear of service outsourcing: is it justified?, Economic Policy, CEPR, CES, MSH, vol. 20(42), pages 308-347, 04. Other versions: Mary Amiti Shang-Jin Wei, 2004. Fear of Service Outsourcing: Is it Justified?, IMF Working Papers 04/186, International Monetary Fund. Mary Amiti Shang-Jin Wei, 2004. Fear of Service Outsourcing: Is It Justified?, NBER Working Papers 10808, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. Sà ©bastien Jean Giuseppe Nicoletti, 2002. Product Market Regulation and Wage Premia in Europe and North America: An Empirical Investigation, OECD Economics Department Working Papers 318, OECD, Economics Department. Dale W. Jorgenson Khuong Vu, 2005. Information technology and the world economy, Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Anne O. Krueger Andrew Berg, 2003. Trade, Growth, and Poverty: A Selective Survey, IMF Working Papers 03/30, International Monetary Fund. Gene M. Grossman Esteban Rossi-Hansberg, 2006. The rise of offshoring: its not wine for cloth anymore, Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, pages 59-102. Andrea Bassanini Romain Duval, 2006. Employment Patterns in OECD Countries: Reassessing the Role of Policies and Institutions, OECD Social, Employment and Migration Working Papers 35, OECD, Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs. Other versions: Andrea Bassanini Romain Duval, 2006. Employment Patterns in OECD Countries: Reassessing the Role of Policies and Institutions, OECD Economics Department Working Papers 486, OECD, Economics Department. Katz, Lawrence F. Autor, David H., 1999. Changes in the wage structure and earnings inequality, Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 26, pages 1463-1555 Elsevier. Olivier Blanchard, 1998. Revisiting European Unemployment: Unemployment, Capital Accumulation, and Factor Prices, NBER Working Papers 6566, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. Other versions: Blanchard, Olivier, 1998. Revisiting European Unemployment : Unemployment, Capital Accumulation and Factor Prices, Research Series, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), number GL28. repec:rus:hseeco:123073 is not listed on IDEAS Douglas Gollin, 2002. Getting Income Shares Right, Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 110(2), pages 458-474, April. Other versions: Douglas Gollin, 2001. Getting Income Shares Right, Department of Economics Working Papers 192, Department of Economics, Williams College. Irina Tytell Shang-Jin Wei, 2004. Does Financial Globalization Induce Better Macroeconomic Policies?, IMF Working Papers 04/84, International Monetary Fund. J. Bradford Jensen Lori G. Kletzer, 2005. Tradable Services: Understanding the Scope and Impact of Services Outsourcing, Peterson Institute Working Paper Series WP05-9, Peterson Institute for International Economics. Slaughter, Matthew J., 2001. International trade and labor-demand elasticities, Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 27-56, June. Young, Alwyn, 1995. The Tyranny of Numbers: Confronting the Statistical Realities of the East Asian Growth Experience, The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 110(3), pages 641-80, August. Fajnzylber, Pablo Lederman, Daniel, 1999. Economic reforms and total factor productivity growth in Latin America and the Caribbean (1950-95) an empirical note, Policy Research Working Paper Series 2114, The World Bank.

Ordinary People :: essays research papers

The book Ordinary People explains the troubles that occur in a typical American family. The family, the Jarrets, tries to maintain as much as a normal life as possible without a dysfunctional status. In the beginning of the story, the family deals with minor problems that had little impact to them. Since they had just moved to a new house in a new neighborhood, they try to establish relationships with other neighbors. Their son, Conrad, faces depression in which he must recover from through frequent visits to the hospital, and to his psychiatrist. The father of the family, Calvin, is a determined and responsible man, is positive on his outlook in life and looks forward to everything, including having a productive day at work. He tries to take care of Conrad by giving sending him to a psychiatrist. The mother, Beth, a strong working woman, is also like Calvin; she is responsible to the family as well. Obviously, the parents have no personal problems, but ironically they create conflic ts with each other. Although these conflicts are very minor, they eventually build up to separate the family later on throughout their marriage. An example of this was seen while the parents had troubles deciding where and when to go on vacation during their night out at dinner, because both their times conflicted with each other. The both of them always had minor conflicts that sprouted out every once in a while, but they were acceptable to each other. Conrad on the other hand had problems with his low self-esteem, grades in school, depression, suicide and interacting with other people. The loss of Buck brought Conrad down to his depression and low self-esteem, which eventually collapsed on his academic achievements in school. Also his social attitude towards society was weak, since his moods were always aimed towards quiet environments and loneliness. He took blame for his brother’s death in a boat accident and wanted to commit suicide. Conrad wanted to be in his own world, where he could relax and be in peace from all the annoying people in his life. The only people he really spoke with outside of his family were his teammates in his swim team, Lazenby, Bergen, his psychiatrist, Jeannine, and Karen. This did not necessarily mean that he liked the people he had relationships with. Conrad found his own teammates annoying, his psychiatrist too nosy in his life, and Karen wasn’t creditable either because she had similar problems like him, since they met each other at the hospital.

A Passage to India:An Examination of the Work in a Historical Context :: essays research papers

A Passage to India by Edward Morgan Forster is truly one of the great books of it’s time. Written in an era when the world was more romantic, yet substantially less civil to the unwestern world than it is today; E. M. Forster opened the eyes of his fellow countrymen and the world by showing them the truth about British Colonialism. The novel aids greatly in the ability to interpret events of the time as well as understand the differences between the social discourse of then and now.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To fully understand A Passage to India and its cultural and historical significance one must first understand the world in which it was written, and the man who wrote it. Forster published the novel in 1924 England, a place much different than the England of today. At the time the sun still didn’t set on the British empire and there were still serious societal influences form the Victorian Era.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Forster was born on January 1st 1879; his family was part of London's upper-middle class. At the age of two Forster's father died, leaving only his mother to raise him. Their relationship was very strong and stayed that way up until her death in 1945. Forster was educated in Kent up until 1897, and then went on to King’s College at Cambridge.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Immediately after his graduation from the University in 1901, Forster began to travel around the world, spending much of his time in Italy, Greece, and Germany. His first novel, Where Angels Fear to Tread was published in 1905 and was received with good reviews. By the publication of his fourth novel, Howard's End in 1910 Forster had become a member of what was known in writing circles as the Bloomsbury Group, a distinguished group of writers including Virginia Wolf, John Maynard Keynes, and many others. In 1912 Forster made his first visit to India; and in 1021 after having served for the Red Cross in Egypt during world war one, he returned to India to be the private secretary to the Maharajah of Dewas. Forster based A Passage to India on the experiences he had while working for the Maharajah.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The world of Colonial India was much different than that of England at the time, or of the India of today. The country was ruled by the British military. British patriots and ex-patriots living in India had a culture all there own; they were not at all oppressors but did have a completely different culture than the indigenous peoples of the country.

Charles Lindbergh :: essays research papers

Charles Lindbergh was a man of many accomplishments. In his time, everybody loved him. Charles was well known all over the world. He was a hero, he represented all that could be accomplished in the future. He was a figure for doing what nobody else thought could be done. Lindbergh was one of those people that everyone else wanted to be. Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born in Detroit on February 4, 1902, to Charles Lindbergh, Sr., and Evangeline Land Lodge. Yet, he grew up in a small town in Nebraska. Lindbergh was a whiz with mechanics. By age twelve, he was in charge of driving and fixing the car. In high school, he assembled a tractor from a mail order kit. When he was eighteen he entered the University of Wisconsin to study engineering. He found he was more interested in flying, so after two years of college, he dropped out and became a barnstormer, which was a pilot who performed daredevil stunts at fairs, and airshows. Lindbergh was a favorite among the crowds. People would travel from all different places, even Europe, to come see his daredevil tricks. In 1924 Lindbergh enlisted in the U.S. Army so he could be trained to be a pilot. During this time he was given the nickname “Lucky Lindy'; because he would attempt daredevil stunts with his airplane, and always seem to evade punishment from upper officers. In 1925 he graduated as the top pilot in his class. He soon began working as a mail deliverer between St. Louis and Chicago. Lindbergh soon heard of an offer given in 1919 by a New York hotel owner named Raymond Orteig. The offer was this: the first aviator to fly nonstop from New York to Paris would receive 25,000 dollars. Nobody had succeeded by 1927, and Lindbergh decided he could do it if he had a suitable plane. Remember, in 1919 this was a very scary thing to do! There was no radio on your plane, so if it went down, you could not call for help, and nobody would know where you were. Also, there was no coast guard, no search and rescue teams, so if you crashed, you were dead. He arranged for nine St. Louis businessmen to help him finance his plane. A company in San Diego called Ryan Aeronautical Company was chosen to construct the plane, which Lindbergh helped design. The plane was named "The Spirit of St. Louis". A transcontinental record was immediately set in a test run when Lindbergh flew from San Diego to New York City in

John Proctor Essay

Everybody has come across someone who at first seemed like a nice, genuine person, but as secrets from the past come out, opinions change about that person. In the play written by Arthur Miller, The Crucible, John Proctor is a well respected farmer. John is hiding his secrets from his past to protect his reputation throughout the town. John Proctor’s main traits are that he is brave, extreme and dignified. Bravery is a trait that suits John Proctor well. When Proctor tried to convince everyone that the girls were lying, this was an instance of bravery because children were thought of as the vice of god and they were free of sin. Proctor also fought the court trying to keep them from convicting his spouse even though nobody else would dare to do. John says in court, â€Å"I’ll tell you what’s walking Salem, vengeance is walking Salem. We are what we always were in Salem, but now the little crazy children and jangling the keys of the kingdom, and common vengeance writes the law! This warrants vengeance! I’ll not give my wife to vengeance!† Another quality that made him brave was when he confessed to the court that he had an affair with Abigail just to save his life. John says, â€Å"I have known her sir, I have known her.† John Proctor being brave is obvious but he can also be very extreme at some times. An instance of Proctor’s extremity was when he shouted, â€Å"I say – I say – God is dead!† and that he will see all of them burn in hell. That statement implied to the court that Proctor worshipped the Devil and committed perjury. When Proctor tore the warrant issued for the arrest of Elizabeth, it showed his ability to defy the court and in a way his religion because the court was controlled by religion. Keeping Mary Warren from court was extreme because he was keeping her from doing her duty and from feeling important for the first time. Even if one is brave or extreme, this doesn’t mean that they cannot be dignified too. Proctor acted dignified when he tries to please his wife in every way after he admitted to having an affair with Abigail. He did this by doing what she said and not complaining and acting nice and calm. He also exhibits dignity when he signs the confession and then later tears it up. This showed that he cared more about his belief and his name than he did about his life. By not buckling under pressure, Proctor was able to refuse to give into Danforth’s and Abigail’s power of persuasion, which showed a great deal of dignity. John Proctor is a character who seemed like a nice, honest man. But, as his secrets were revealed, we noticed he was a man with a past that he could not erase. John was hung for his crime, rather than destroying his name by the towns people knowing him for his crime.

Health Care Reform Project Essay

Introduction â€Å"By 2030, one in five Americans will be over age 65, and the healthcare system is just beginning to feel the burden. (Matthews, 2013)† Medical technologies, from the discovery of antibiotics to the portable defibrillators in nearly every workplace in the United States, have succeeded in prolonging life. In fact, humans are living about thirty years longer. (Matthews, 2013) This creates a gigantic problem for the US government: Who is paying for the health care of these aging individuals? Cause of Death for Seniors Over Sixty-Five An article in live science last year indicates that a senior over 65 years of age is most likely to die from falls resulting in head trauma. (Live science, 2013) â€Å"Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a major cause of death and disability in the United States, contributing to about 30% of all injury deaths. Every day, 138 people in the United States die from injuries that include TBI. Those who survive a TBI can face effects lasting a few days to disabilities which may last the rest of their lives. Effects of TBI can include impaired thinking or memory, movement, sensation (e.g., vision or hearing), or emotional functioning (e.g., personality changes, depression). These issues not only affect individuals but can have lasting effects on families and communities (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014).† Falls resulting in traumatic brain injury for seniors, if the trauma is severe, may result in months – if not the remainder of the individual’s life and l eave the individual in need of around the clock nursing care. The ensuing results, if the individual survives a traumatic brain injury, may render the individual’s personality (change in mental status, mannerisms, or habits) being adversely affected to severe deficits  in the senses. The capability of walking and/or talking, the use of one or both arms, and the ability to control bodily functions are all possibilities that may occur if an individual suffers traumatic brain injury. The cost of therapy and nursing care can swiftly deplete a senior’s savings. Once stabilized, following the occurrence, an individual, if the individual is able to ambulate sufficiently returns, he or she may live for additional decades. If the ability to ambulate is grossly affected, despite adequate care, the individual stands to experiences frequent battles with lung infections, which may eventually lead to death. Regardless, beyond 65 years of age with one or more chronic diseases, the need for assistances will grow with each year. According to Matthews, seniors tend to â€Å"romanticize† the past – a time when families took care of their elders, often at home. If a senior is in anticipation of this happening, chances are the realization dwindles with each passing year. (Matthews, 2013) Most of the baby boomers with chronic illness will require nursing home care and will rely upon Medicare and Medicaid to withstand paying for it. Who Pays for Baby Boomer’s Health Care? Couples turning sixty-five now should assume their portion of long term health care will be a minimum of $220,000 or more out of pocket. Most baby boomers have $50,000 or less when sixty-five rolls around and will expect to rely solely on Medicare and Medicaid. (Gleckman, 2013) This mindset is unrealistic. The number of people already dependent on these systems that are under sixty-five has nearly bankrupts the systems and the anticipation of the addition of large numbers of baby boomers certainly more than justifies the need for Health Care Reform. Conclusion Many baby boomers failed to prepare for the high health costs associated with aging. Medical technology has prolonged life. However, for all the technology, nothing was done to ensure the baby boomers (or those younger than the â€Å"boomers†) retained adequate savings to meet the high cost of health care. Realistically, a twenty-five year old couple – each earning minimum wage – has a gross salary of $580 per week, $2,513 per month. The couple would have to save 25% of their gross salary to come â€Å"close† to the amount needed to cover out of pocket expenses after sixty-five years of age.  (Gleckman, 2013) In today’s society, is that reality? What happens then? Baby Boomer’s reality check has yet to reach full impact. It is going to take tremendous government change and far more restraint on the US citizen to pay for senior care in the future. References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (June, 2014). Injury & Prevention & Control: Traumatic Brain Injury. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/get-the-facts.html Gleckman, H. (5/22/2013). Why Baby Boomers Need to Get Real About Health and Long-Term-Care Costs in Retirement. Retrieved from http://www.forbes.com/sites/howardgleckman/2013/05/22/why Live science (January 15, 2013) what’s the leading cause of death for the elderly Retrieved from http://wwwlivescience.com/32413-what’s-the-leading-cause-of-death Matthews, S. (10/03/2013). How the Aging Population is changing the Health Care System. Retrieved from http://www.everydayhealth.com/senior-living/aging-and-health WHO, International (May, 2014). The top 10 causes of death. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs310/ent

Ethical Issues In The ICU Essay

Medical practitioners are faced with the challenge of making decisions on whether to withhold or withdraw a patient’s life sustaining therapy in the intensive care unit. Intensive care units are departments which provide high quality and advanced forms of therapies to very ill patients in the intensive care unit at an increased cost. These patients’ expectations are high with regard to modern medicine, and as a result, have led to the rise of complex ethical issues in the ICU. Clinicians managing patients in the intensive care unit face many ethical problems during the patient’s routine care. This is seen in cases of withholding life sustaining therapy, withdrawing life sustaining therapy, informed consent and making decisions that affect the patients. Introduction Ethical related issues in the intensive care unit are a dilemma facing medical practitioners and nurses. This has affected the quality of care given to the patients in the ICU. Nurses responsible for caring for critically ill patients are faced with many ethical problems in the ICU due to the lack of enough full time critical care personnel and lack of enough funds to facilitate and run the intensive care units. A guideline on ethical issues in the intensive care unit demands that nurses offering critical care to patients apply the care with humanity by showing respect for the emotions and choices of the patients and their families. Nurses in this field are required to provide all necessary information to the patients and the family, counsel them and assist in interpreting the results so they can make well informed decisions. Nurses must consult with all physicians involved in the patients’ management. ethical problems facing nurses in he intensive care unit range from aggressive forms of treatment, following the wishes of the patients families to using extreme forms of reducing pain and assisted suicide and euthanasia.. Care of patients in the intensive care units involves aggressive forms of treatments with high risks associated with them and high-tech modern medicine which has higher risks than improving the patients’ prognosis. Critically ill patients and terminally ill patients who should be left to die in the comfort of their homes like in the earlier days are now made to undergo last minute aggressive treatments which may end up being no significant. In such cases when the treatment fails and the patient dies, the patients’ family blames the nurses and doctors for being insensitive to their wishes. Nurses are faced with the burden of not knowing where to draw the line between extending the natural process of dying by applying aggressive forms of medical care and when to apply life support systems. Ethics require that medical practitioners and nurses put the interests of their patients and their families’ first rather than applying futile medical technology to save the life of the patient or prolong their dying process against the family’s wishes. Nurses in the care of critically ill patients are required to set proper goals and interventions for terminal are of patients. End of life decisions should be made after consensus with all involved physicians. Critically ill patients in the intensive care unit get the most complex forms of treatment even in cases where their prognosis is poor. These patients also die under the most undesirable situations such as comatose conditions or under ventilatory support. Research studies have shown that critically ill patients are put through very aggressive forms of treatment which the clinicians would not want to undergo. The same studies have shown that the majority of patients in the intensive care unit are on a life-limiting care. Only very few patients in the intensive care unit receive full life support treatment and CPR. Most nurses and medical care givers are faced with the burden of choosing whether to resuscitate a patient or not when their prognosis is poor. Categories of ethical problems Cost reduction Critical care of patients in the intensive care unit is the most expensive form of treatment. Critical patients who die are said to accumulate more expenses than those who survive. This is because aggressive modern medicine for sustaining life is very expensive. Due to this the standard of care give in intensive care units has deteriorated as it focuses more on cost reduction rather than provision of quality health care. Medical care providers are often faced with the burden of how to establish when to provide full life support to patients and when to withdraw life sustaining support. These decisions are usually based on the patient’s age, type of illness or their prognosis. In effect the medical care providers are influenced to make biased decisions. Defining the standards of care to be given in the intensive care units is based on reducing the incurred costs. (Lo B. (2005). Quality of care Most health care institutions have developed strategies of limiting life support on critically ill patients. Families of critical patients may wish to write do not Resuscitate orders if their patient’s rate of survival is low. In case this is done, this category of patients receives less attention from medical personnel and less care from nurses. Strategies of limiting life support have been based on the patients’ age, prognosis and the family wishes. Patients who are categorized as old and with a poor prognosis tend to get less attention from the medical care providers and the care given to them is of less quality. Rather that receiving actual medical care these patients are given sedatives and narcotic analgesia. Terminally ill patients receive fewer medical interventions before death and are usually given narcotic analgesics to mitigate pain and sedatives to reduce their suffering. Ethical guidelines urge that all patients be given quality care irrespective of their condition but medical care providers often base their interventions on biased decisions. The concept of futility Medical care providers use the concept of futile therapy to withhold or withdraw life sustaining treatment. In the clinical practice very few things are of absolute certainty and so physicians must avoid making decisions based on the futility of the treatment. The outcome of CPR application cannot be based on whether the patients’ family signed the Do not Resuscitate order. Every other patient in the intensive care unit should be given quality care based on facts rather than assumptions. Decisions on withholding or withdrawing life support should be discussed with the patients or with their family members. This expresses respect for their rights and wishes and helps in avoiding conflicts which may lead to legal litigations. The medical personnel are faced with a dilemma in cases where the patient’s prognosis is poor and extending the natural process of dying through aggressive treatment would be futile. In such cases some family members could insist on sustaining the patients’ life. The medical personnel thus have no option in deciding what is best for the patient. Putting such a patient through aggressive treatment enables the family to understand the realities of the concept on withholding or withdrawing the life support. Autonomy This principle demands that no form of treatment should be administered to patients without their own approval or that of their family members, except in cases of emergency where immediate intervention is required. Patients and their families have the right to disapprove any form of treatment and their wishes should be respected. These wishes should be indicated on a written consent in form of advance directive. However, when writing the directive the patient may not have anticipated his present condition or he may decide to change his mind. Medical personnel are thus faced with burden of making the best decision for the patient by putting the patient’s interests first. In the intensive care unit, medical personnel deciding whether to apply CPR on a patient with a good prognosis or to follow his family wishes to withdraw life support. The reliability of family members to represent the best interests of the patients is questionable because some family members may want to withdraw the patient’s life support for their own selfish interests. As a result, doctors and nurses are required to make the best decision for the patient irrespective of the family’s wishes. (Pozgar G. D (2005). Euthanasia and assisted suicide Euthanasia is whereby a medical care provider administers a lethal dose to the patient while in assisted suicide the killing drug is self administered by the patient with the help of a physician. This practice is no widespread, although physicians all over the world are engaging in the practice. They justify their actions as a form of relieving their patients from pain and suffering. In some cases patients do not give consent for euthanasia but still physicians practice it. Most family members choose terminal sedation whereby patients are put in a comatose condition and then food and water is withdrawn. (Morton P. G (2005) Organ donation Patients in the intensive care unit requiring critical care may require an organ transplant to assist in sustaining their life. Patients and family members might have advance directives which disapprove the idea of organ transplants. Medical care givers have a difficult time determining whether a patient should receive an organ donation or not. Performing an organ transplant without the patients or family’s consent could lead to a legal litigation. (Melia K. M (2004). The principle of beneficence In this situation the medical care provider is faced with a moral dilemma in making the best decision fro the patient with regard to his interests rather than those of the family. The role of a physician to apply his best judgement for the patient’s interest is hindered by the patients’ family which rejects the concept of futility. Such family members impose unreasonable demands on the physician to extend the natural process of dying. This only prolongs the patient’s pain and suffering. Medical personnel should therefore be able to make the best decisions for the patients. Ethical issues in the nursing field hinder the ability of physicians to administer quality medical care to critical patients in the intensive care unit.  Physicians are urged to shoe humanity and compassion when applying intensive care to critical patients. Nurses and doctors should set goals and objectives when giving end of life care to patients with both good and poor prognosis. In regard to ethical issues in the intensive care unit, medical care givers should know that their duties are both directed towards the patients and the families. Before carrying out any medical treatment and procedure, nurses and doctors should obtain written consents form patients or their immediate family members to avoid ethical dilemmas which may lead to legal litigations.

Spirit Bound Chapter Seventeen

THE ENTIRE ROOM SEEMED to hold its breath. Yet even in the face of miracles, guardians–or Strigoi, for that matter–were hard to distract. Fights that had paused now resumed with just as much fury. The guardians had the upper hand, and those of them who weren't engaged with the last surviving Strigoi suddenly leapt toward Lissa, trying to pull her away from Dimitri. To everyone's surprise, she held on to him tightly and made a few feeble attempts to fight off those crowding around her. She was fierce and protective, again putting me in mind of a mother defending her child. Dimitri was holding on to her just as intently, but both he and Lissa were outmatched. The guardians finally pried them apart. There were confused shouts as guardians tried to determine whether they should kill Dimitri. It wouldn't have been hard. He was helpless now. He could barely stand when they jerked him to his feet. That woke me up. I'd simply been staring, frozen and dumbstruck. Shaking off my daze, I sprang forward, though I wasn't sure who I was going for: Lissa or Dimitri. â€Å"No! Don't!† I yelled, seeing some of the guardians move in with stakes. â€Å"He's not what you think! He's not Strigoi! Look at him!† Lissa and Christian were shouting similar things. Someone grabbed me and pulled me back, telling me to let the others handle this. Without even thinking, I turned and punched my captor in the face, discovering too late it was Hans. He fell back a little, seeming more surprised than offended. Attacking him was enough to attract the attention of others, however, and soon I had my own group of guardians to fight off. My efforts didn't do any good, partially because I was outnumbered and partially because I couldn't take them on the same way I'd attacked Strigoi. As the guardians hauled me out, I noticed then that Lissa and Dimitri had already been removed from the room. I demanded to know where they were, yelling that I had to see them. No one listened to me. They dragged me away, out of the warehouse, passing a disturbing amount of bodies. Most were Strigoi, but I recognized a few faces from the guardian regiment at the Court. I grimaced, even though I hadn't known them well. The battle was over, and our side had won–but at a great cost. The surviving guardians would be doing cleanup now. I wouldn't have been surprised if Alchemists showed up, but at the moment, none of that was my concern. â€Å"Where's Lissa?† I kept demanding as I was shoved inside one of the SUVs. Two guardians slid in with me, one sitting on each side. I didn't know either of them. â€Å"Where's Dimitri?† â€Å"The princess has been taken to safety,† one of the guardians said crisply. He and the other guy stared straight ahead, and I realized neither was going to acknowledge the question about Dimitri. He might as well not exist for any of them. â€Å"Where's Dimitri?† I repeated, speaking more loudly in the hopes that might get an answer. â€Å"Is he with Lissa?† That got a reaction. â€Å"Of course not,† said the guardian who'd spoken before. â€Å"Is he†¦ is he alive?† It was one of the hardest questions I'd ever asked, but I had to know. I hated to admit it, but if I were in Hans's place, I wouldn't have been looking for miracles. I would have been exterminating anything I perceived as a threat. â€Å"Yes,† said the driver at last. â€Å"He†¦ it†¦ is alive.† And that was all I could get out of them, no matter how much I argued and demanded to be released from the car–and believe me, I did a lot of that. Their ability to ignore me was pretty impressive, really. To be fair, I'm not even sure that they knew what had happened. Everything had occurred so fast. The only thing these two knew was that they'd been ordered to escort me out of the building. I kept hoping someone I knew might join us in our SUV. Nope. Only more unknown guardians. No Christian or Tasha. Not even Hans–of course, that was understandable. He was probably afraid I'd accidentally punch him again. When we were loaded up and on the road, I finally gave up my badgering and sank back into the seat. Other SUVs had left with ours, but I had no clue whether my friends were in them. The bond between Lissa and me was still numb. After that initial shock where I'd felt nothing, I'd slowly regained a slight sense of her, telling me we were still connected and that she was alive. That was about it. With all that power that had blasted through her, it was almost like the bond had been temporarily fried. The magic between us was fragile. Each time I tried to use the bond to check on her, it was as though I'd stared too brightly at something and was still blinded. I just had to assume it would reestablish itself soon because I needed her insight on what had happened. No, scratch insight. I needed to know what had happened, period. I was still in a bit of shock, and the long ride back to Court allowed me time to process what few facts I had access to. I immediately wanted to jump to Dimitri but needed to start at the beginning if I really wanted to analyze all that had occurred. First: Lissa had charmed a stake and withheld the info from me. When? Before her college trip? At Lehigh? While captive? It didn't matter. Second, in spite of her failed pillow attempts, she had gotten the stake into Dimitri's heart. It had been a struggle, but Christian's fire had made it possible. I winced, recalling the burns Lissa had suffered during that ordeal. I'd felt the pain of those before the bond blanked out, and I'd also seen the marks on her. Adrian wasn't the world's best healer, but hopefully his magic would be enough to take care of her injuries. The third and final fact here†¦ well†¦ was it a fact? Lissa had stabbed Dimitri and used the same magic she would for a healing†¦ and then? That was the big question. What had happened, aside from what felt like a nuclear explosion of magic through our bond? Had I really seen what I thought I'd seen? Dimitri had†¦ changed. He was no longer a Strigoi. I felt it in my heart, even though I'd only had that brief glimpse of him. It had been enough to allow me to see the truth. The Strigoi features were gone. Lissa had done everything Robert had sworn she needed to do to restore a Strigoi, and certainly after all that magic†¦ well, it was easy to believe anything was possible. That image of Dimitri came back to me, clinging to Lissa with tears running down his face. I'd never seen him so vulnerable. Somehow, I didn't believe Strigoi cried. Something in my heart twisted painfully, and I blinked rapidly to stop from crying too. Glancing around, I tuned back into my surroundings. Outside the car, the sky was lightening. It was nearly sunrise. The guardians with me had signs of weariness on their faces, yet the alert expressions in their eyes never faltered. I'd lost track of the time, but my internal clock told me we'd been on the road for a while. We had to almost be back at Court. Tentatively, I touched the bond and found it was back but still fragile. It was like it flickered in and out, still reestablishing itself. That was enough to put me at ease, and I breathed a sigh of relief. When the bond had first come about years ago, it had been so strange†¦ surreal. Now I'd accepted it as part of my life. Its absence today had felt unnatural. Looking through Lissa's eyes, at the SUV she rode in, I immediately hoped I'd see Dimitri with her. That one glimpse at the warehouse hadn't been enough. I needed to see him again, needed to see if this miracle had truly happened. I wanted to drink in those features, to gaze at the Dimitri from so long ago. The Dimitri I loved. But he wasn't with Lissa. Christian was there, however, and he glanced over at her as she stirred. She'd been asleep and still felt groggy. That, combined with the aftereffect of that searing power earlier, kept our connection a little hazy. Things shifted out of focus for me off and on, but overall, I could follow what was happening. â€Å"How do you feel?† asked Christian. His voice and his eyes as he peered at her were filled with so much affection that it seemed impossible she didn't notice. But then, she was a little preoccupied right now. â€Å"Tired. Worn out. Like†¦ I don't know. Like I've been thrown around in a hurricane. Or run over by a car. Pick something horrible, and that's what I feel like.† He gave her a small smile and gently touched her cheek. Opening myself to her senses more, I felt the pain of her burns and that he was tracing the skin near one, though being careful to keep away from it. â€Å"Is it awful?† she asked him. â€Å"Is all my skin melted off? Do I look like some alien?† â€Å"No,† he said, with a small laugh. â€Å"There's not that much. You're beautiful, like always. It would take a lot for that to change.† The throbbing pain she felt made her think that there was more damage than he was admitting to, but the compliment and the way he'd said it went a long way to soothe her. For a moment, her whole existence focused on his face and the way the rising sun was starting to light it up. Then the rest of her world came crashing down on her. â€Å"Dimitri! I need to see Dimitri!† There were guardians in the car, and she glanced around at them as she spoke. As with me, no one seemed willing to acknowledge him or what had happened. â€Å"Why can't I see him? Why'd you take him away?† This was directed to anyone who would answer, and at last, Christian did. â€Å"Because they think he's dangerous.† â€Å"He's not. He's just†¦ He needs me. He's hurting inside.† Christian's eyes suddenly went wide, his face filling with panic. â€Å"He's not†¦ You aren't bonded to him, are you?† I guessed by the look on his face that Christian was recalling Avery and how bonding with multiple people had pushed her over the edge. Christian hadn't been there for Robert's explanation of the soul going to the world of the dead and how restored Strigoi didn't get bonded. Lissa shook her head slowly. â€Å"No†¦ I just know. When I†¦ when I healed him, we had this connection, and I felt it. What I had to do†¦ I can't explain it.† She ran a hand through her hair, frustrated that she couldn't put her magic into words. Weariness was starting to overtake her. â€Å"It was like I had to do surgery on his soul,† she said at last. â€Å"They think he's dangerous,† repeated Christian gently. â€Å"He's not!† Lissa glared around at the rest of the car's occupants, all of whom were looking somewhere else. â€Å"He's not Strigoi anymore.† â€Å"Princess,† began one of the guardians uneasily, â€Å"no one really knows what happened. You can't be sure that–â€Å" â€Å"I am sure!† she said, voice too loud for the small space. There was a regal, commanding air to it. â€Å"I know. I saved him. I brought him back. I know with every single part of me that he's no longer Strigoi!† The guardians looked uncomfortable, again not speaking. I think they were just confused, and really, how could they not be? There was no precedent for this. â€Å"Shh,† said Christian, putting his hand on hers. â€Å"There's nothing you can do until we're back at Court. You're still hurt and exhausted–it's written all over you.† Lissa knew he was right. She was hurt, and she was exhausted. That magic had ripped her apart. At the same time, what she had done for Dimitri had created a bond to him–not a magical one, but a psychological one. She really was like a mother. She felt desperately protective and concerned. â€Å"I need to see him,† she said. She did? What about me? â€Å"You will,† said Christian, sounding more certain than I suspected he was. â€Å"But just try to rest now.† â€Å"I can't,† she said, even while stifling a yawn. That smile flickered back across his lips, and he slipped his arm around her, pulling her as close as the seat belts would allow. â€Å"Try,† he told her. She rested her head against his chest, and his closeness was a type of healing in and of itself. Worry and concern for Dimitri still coursed through her, but her body's needs were stronger for the moment. At last, she drifted into sleep in Christian's embrace, just barely hearing him murmur, â€Å"Happy birthday.† Twenty minutes later, our convoy arrived back at Court. I thought this meant instant freedom, but my guardians took their time in getting out, waiting for some signal or directions that no one had bothered to tell me about. It turned out they were waiting for Hans. â€Å"No,† he said, firmly putting a hand on my shoulder as I shot out of the car and tried to race away to†¦ well, I wasn't sure where. Wherever Dimitri was. â€Å"Hold on.† â€Å"I have to see him!† I exclaimed, trying to push past. Hans was like a brick wall. Considering he'd actually fought a lot more Strigoi than me tonight, you'd have thought he'd be tired. â€Å"You have to tell me where he is.† To my surprise, Hans did. â€Å"Locked away. Far, far out of your reach. Or anyone else's. I know he used to be your teacher, but it's better if he's kept away for now.† My brain, weary from the night's activities and overwrought with emotion, took a moment to process this. Christian's words came back to me. â€Å"He's not dangerous,† I said. â€Å"He's not a Strigoi anymore.† â€Å"How can you be so certain?† The same question Lissa had been asked. How could we really answer that? We knew because we'd gone to incredible pains to find out how to transform a Strigoi, and when we'd completed those steps, there'd been an atom bomb of magic. Wasn't that enough proof for anyone? Hadn't Dimitri's appearance been enough? Instead, my answer was like Lissa's. â€Å"I just know.† Hans shook his head, and now I could see he actually was exhausted. â€Å"No one knows what's going on with Belikov. Those of us that were there†¦ well, I'm not sure what I saw. All I do know is that he was leading Strigoi a little while ago, and now he's out in the sun. It doesn't make any sense. No one knows what he is.† â€Å"He's a dhampir.† â€Å"And until we do,† he continued, ignoring my comment, â€Å"Belikov has to stay locked up while we examine him.† Examine? I didn't like the sound of that. It made Dimitri seem like a lab animal. It made my temper flare, and I nearly started yelling at Hans. A moment later, I got myself under control. â€Å"Then I need to see Lissa.† â€Å"She's been taken to the medical center for treatment–which she needs very badly. You can't go there,† he added, anticipating my next response. â€Å"Half the guardians are there. It's chaos, and you'd be in the way.† â€Å"Then what the hell am I supposed to do?† â€Å"Go get some sleep.† He gave me a wry look. â€Å"I still think you've got a bad attitude, but after what I saw back there†¦ well, I'll say this. You know how to fight. We need you–probably for more than paperwork. Now go take care of yourself.† And that was that. The dismissal in his voice was clear, and as the guardians hurried around, it was like I didn't exist. Whatever trouble I'd been in before seemed long forgotten. No more filing in the wake of this. But what was I supposed to do? Was Hans crazy? How could I sleep? I had to do something. I had to see Dimitri–but I didn't know where they'd taken him. Probably the same jail Victor had been kept in, which was inaccessible to me. I also needed to see Lissa–but she was deep in the medical center. I had no power here. I needed to appeal to someone with influence. Adrian! If I went to Adrian, maybe he could pull some strings. He had his royal connections. Hell, the queen loved him, in spite of his slacker ways. As much as it killed me to accept, I was realizing that getting in to see Dimitri right away was going to be nearly impossible. But the medical center? Adrian might be able to get me in to see Lissa, even if it was crowded and chaotic. The bond was still blurry, and talking to her directly would allow me to score faster answers about Dimitri. Plus, I wanted to see for myself that she was all right. Yet when I reached the housing Adrian stayed in at Court, I was informed by the doorman that Adrian had already left a little while ago to–ironically enough–go to the medical center. I groaned. Of course he'd already be there. With his healing abilities, they would have summoned him out of bed. Weak or not, he could definitely help. â€Å"Were you there?† the doorman asked me as I started to turn away. â€Å"What?† For a minute I thought he was talking about the medical center. â€Å"The battle with the Strigoi! The rescue. We've been hearing all sorts of things.† â€Å"Already? What did you hear?† The guy's eyes were wide and excited. â€Å"They say almost every guardian died. But that you captured a Strigoi and brought him back.† â€Å"No, no†¦ there were more injuries than deaths. And the other†¦Ã¢â‚¬  For a moment, I couldn't breathe. What had happened? What had really happened with Dimitri? â€Å"A Strigoi was changed back to a dhampir.† The doorman stared. â€Å"Were you hit on the head?† â€Å"I'm telling the truth! Vasilisa Dragomir did it. With her spirit power. Spread that around.† I left him with his mouth hanging open. And like that, I had no more options, no one else to get information from. I went back to my room feeling defeated but far too keyed up to sleep. At least, that's what I initially thought. After some pacing, I sat on the bed to try to come up with a plan. Yet before long, I felt myself falling into a heavy sleep. I awoke with a start, confused and aching in parts of my body that I hadn't realized had taken hits in the fight. I peered at the clock, astonished at how long I'd slept. In vampire time, it was late morning. Within five minutes, I had showered and put on non-torn, non-bloody clothes. Just like that, I was out the door. People were out and about their daily business, yet every couple or group I passed seemed to be talking about the battle at the warehouse–and about Dimitri. â€Å"You know she can heal,† I heard one Moroi guy say to his wife. â€Å"Why not Strigoi? Why not the dead?† â€Å"It's insane,† the woman countered. â€Å"I've never believed in this spirit thing anyway. It's a lie to cover up the fact that the Dragomir girl never specialized.† I didn't hear the rest of their conversation, but others I passed had similar themes. People were either convinced the whole thing was a scam or were regarding Lissa as a saint already. Every so often, I'd heard something weird, like that the guardians had captured a bunch of Strigoi to experiment on. In all the speculation, though, I never heard Dimitri's name come up or knew what was really happening to him. I followed the only plan I had: Go to the guardian building that held the Court's jail, though I was unsure what I'd actually do when I got there. I wasn't even entirely sure that was where Dimitri still was, but it seemed the most likely place. When I passed a guardian along the way, it took me several seconds to realize I knew him. I came to a halt and turned. â€Å"Mikhail!† He glanced back and, seeing me, walked over. â€Å"What's going on?† I asked, relieved to see a friendly face. â€Å"Have they let Dimitri out?† He shook his head. â€Å"No, they're still trying to figure out what happened. Everyone's confused, even though the princess still swore up and down after she saw him that he's not Strigoi anymore.† There was a wonder in Mikhail's voice–and wistfulness too. He was hoping that it was true, that there might be a chance for his beloved to be saved. My heart ached for him. I hoped he and Sonya could have a happy ending just like– â€Å"Wait. What did you say?† His words drew my romantic musings to a halt. â€Å"Did you say Lissa saw him? You mean after the fight?† I immediately reached for the bond. It was gradually growing clearer–but Lissa was asleep, so I learned nothing. â€Å"He asked for her,† Mikhail explained. â€Å"So they let her in–guarded, of course.† I stared, my jaw nearly dropping to the ground. Dimitri was seeing visitors. They were actually letting him see visitors. The knowledge lit up the dark mood that had been building in me. I turned away. â€Å"Thanks, Mikhail.† â€Å"Wait, Rose–â€Å" But I didn't stop. I ran to the guardians' holding building at a full-out sprint, oblivious to the looks I got. I was too excited, too invigorated with this new info. I could see Dimitri. I could finally be with him, back the way he was supposed to be. â€Å"You can't see him.† I literally came to a halt when the guardian on duty in the front reception area stopped me. â€Å"Wh-what? I need to see Dimitri.† â€Å"No visitors.† â€Å"But Lissa–er, Vasilisa Dragomir got to see him.† â€Å"He asked for her.† I stared incredulously. â€Å"He must have asked for me too.† The guardian shrugged. â€Å"If he did, no one's told me.† The anger I'd kept back last night finally awoke. â€Å"Then go find someone who knows! Dimitri wants to see me. You have to let me in. Who's your boss?† The guardian scowled at me. â€Å"I'm not going anywhere until my shift is over. If you've got clearance, someone will let you know. Until then, no one without special permission is allowed to go down there.† After taking out a fair portion of Tarasov's security, I felt pretty confident I could easily dispatch this guy. However, I felt equally confident that once I got to the depths of the jail cells, I'd run into a lot more guardians. For a second, taking them out seemed very reasonable. It was Dimitri. I would do anything for him. A slight stirring in the bond made me see reason. Lissa had just woken up. â€Å"Fine,† I said. I lifted my chin and gave him a haughty look. â€Å"Thanks for the ‘help.'† I didn't need this loser. I'd go to Lissa. She was staying at almost the opposite end of the Court's grounds from the holding area, and I covered the distance at a light jog. When I finally reached her and she opened the door to her room, I saw that she'd gotten ready almost as quickly as I had. In fact, I could feel that she'd been pretty close to leaving. Studying her face and hands, I was relieved to see that almost all of the burns were gone. A few red spots lingered on her fingers, but that was it. Adrian's handiwork. No doctor could have made that happen. In a pale blue tank top, with her blond hair pulled back, she didn't look at all like anyone who'd been through such a major ordeal less than twenty-four hours ago. â€Å"Are you okay?† she asked. In spite of everything else that had happened, she'd never stopped worrying about me. â€Å"Yeah, fine.† Physically, at least. â€Å"You?† She nodded. â€Å"Fine.† â€Å"You look good,† I said. â€Å"Last night†¦ I mean, I was pretty scared. With the fire†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I couldn't quite finish. â€Å"Yeah,† she said, looking away from me. She seemed nervous and uncomfortable. â€Å"Adrian's been pretty great healing people.† â€Å"Is that where you're going?† There was agitation and restlessness in the bond. It would make sense if she wanted to hurry over to the medical center and help out too. Except†¦ further probing gave me the startling truth. â€Å"You're going to see Dimitri!† â€Å"Rose–â€Å" â€Å"No,† I said eagerly. â€Å"It's perfect. I'll go with you. I was just over there, and they wouldn't let me in.† â€Å"Rose–† Lissa looked very uncomfortable now. â€Å"They gave me some bullshit about how he'd asked for you and not me and that that's why they couldn't let me in. But if you're going, they'll have to let me.† â€Å"Rose,† she said firmly, finally breaking through my chatter. â€Å"You can't go.† â€Å"I–what?† I replayed her words, just in case I'd misheard them. â€Å"Of course I can. I need to see him. You know I do. And he needs to see me.† She slowly shook her head, still looking nervous–but also sympathetic. â€Å"That guardian was right,† she said. â€Å"Dimitri hasn't been asking for you. Only me.† All my eagerness, all that fire, froze up. I was dumbstruck, confused more than anything. â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I recalled how he'd clung to her last night, that desperate look on his face. I hated to admit it, but it kind of made sense why he would have asked for her first. â€Å"Of course he'd want to see you. Everything's so new and strange, and you're the one who saved him. Once he comes around more, he'll want to see me too.† â€Å"Rose, you can't go.† This time the sadness in Lissa's voice was mirrored through the bond, flooding into me. â€Å"It's not just that Dimitri didn't ask to see you. He asked specifically not to see you.†