The Evolution of Art

Stacie Mueller Art 100 Professor Morris 24 February 2012 The Evolution of Art To even begin to define art, we must have a starting point in history where something was first perceived as art. The question begs, though, why do we perceive it as art? To look up the word in a dictionary, you will find the term aesthetics almost always applied to its definition; however, much of we call art today is not exactly pleasing to the eye. Our shifting social attitudes have affected how art has been presented to us over time. We see depictions of hate, of war, of death, and many other forms of sorrow and horror.Moreover, we must consider how technology and modern conveniences have allowed a greater realm in the world of art: Photography and Photoshop programs, computer generated graphics, and applications for use with tablets and smart phones that allow us to modify images in an infinite number of ways. Loosely defined, the word art seems to be applied to almost anything: The written word, photo graphy, performance arts, computer graphics, commercial art, fashion, culinary, comics, and so on. For purposes of this research paper, however, the focus will be on the more concrete forms of art that we’ve come to know throughout history.The definition of art has certainly shifted and changed over time and across cultures; in this research paper we will explore how art has evolved. Art is many things to one person, and certainly carries different meanings for another person. However, anything and everything cannot be art or it would be difficult to appreciate art’s true essence; the quality that brings forth contemplation and deliberation. Besides creativity, art takes deep thought, imagination, and accomplishes a specific goal. Artists help us see things that matter and give us a different perspective with a specific goal in mind.The earliest art was discovered on cave walls in Lascaux, France. Paintings on the walls included large numbers of animals in various acti vities, as well as humans. In Art: A New History, Paul Johnson shows us the ingenuity of early artists: Pestles and mortars were found at Lascaux, with the discovery of â€Å"no less than 158 different mineral fragments from which the mixtures were made† (9). Techniques of these early artists included engraving with flakes of sharp flint, spraying paint, and the use of stencils.The use of colors, binding agents and tools to get the material to the walls such as brushes, and blow tools, is remarkable for the time period. It appears that the purpose of the cave paintings was to tell a story; as if the artists were attempting to make a connection with the animals they hunted and also feared (Getlein, 5). In the years since, many things have occurred in history affording great influence on art. The introduction of Christianity into the Roman Empire created a dynamic, cultural shift over religious beliefs (Getlein, 345).Realism, which centered around depictions of everyday life, w as seen in art during that period of time. As the Roman Empire shifted into the Byzantine Empire in the early Middle Ages, Emperor Constantine ruled that Christianity was to become the state religion. Hence, Byzantium art glorified Christianity in attempt to express its mystery. The subject matter became primarily religious and imperial, moving away from realism, while showing a more compressed, abstract style. Rather than depicting images of ordinary daily life, artists created more complex scenes that represented spiritual and heavenly splendor.Mosaic was a favored technique of Byzantium artists: An example of this is the mosaic depicting Christ as Pantokrator in the Santa Maria la Nuova (Getlein, 350). During the early Middle Ages we saw emotions in art shift back to realism in Carolingian art. When the emperor Charlemagne was crowned king in 800, uniting Christianity with Roman beliefs, chapels were designed to rival Roman and Byzantine architecture. The Chapel of Charlemagne is a mighty example of Carolingian art: Massive stone structure with an octagonal plan, mosaic decoration, and an interior framed by massive arches (Getlein, 15. 13).Some competition with Byzantium may also be implicit in Charlemagne's promotion of figural painting and carving, for he embraced and encouraged representational art at precisely the time when Byzantine rulers were renouncing images in favor of iconoclasm. The Romanesque period (1050 to 1200) gave us the proliferation of churches with thick stone walls, round arches and barrel vaulted stone ceilings. One such example is Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy (Getlein, 15. 14). Evolving from Romanesque style, Gothic art is more ornate. Churches are characterized by soaring interiors and large stained-glass windows.The Chartres Chapel exemplifies Gothic art in its flying buttresses and ornate towers (Getlein, 15. 18). During the late Middle ages, art became an even more powerful means of storytelling. This was a common device of religio us art of the Middle ages, for example in the frescoes by Giotto from the Church of San Francesco de Assisi, where sequences of panels were used to tell stories from the Scriptures or lives of saints (Getlein, 15. 26). The definition of art continues to change as we cross continents. The symbolism in African art, for example, was quite strong.The use of masks was one of the most interesting parts of their everyday life. Masks were meant to be kept in motion, as Getlein explains, because they represent â€Å"the head or face of a spirit being that has appeared in the community† (420). The nowo mask was used to represent the guiding spirit of Bondo, a women’s organization that regulates female affairs. Bondo is an initiation that prepares young girls for womanhood. An important feature of the nowo mask is the rings around its base; they are meant to represent a chrysalis, as girls emerge as women at the conclusion of Bondo (Getlein, 420).In more modern times we’ve seen various forms of â€Å"isms†: Impressionism, Expressionism, Naturalism, Realism, Modernism, and Surrealism – to name a few. Impressionist painting was perceived as working from outer appearances. Expressionistic artists intended to show a more inner dialogue, particularly with their use of color. The objective attention to appearances places Impressionism within the context Naturalism. While Naturalism and Realism are terms which are used interchangeably, the Naturalist is more impressed by the surface of things, such as the textures of fabric, the play of light, or the sheen of gold.The Realist tends to probe deeper into appearances, seeking the essence. Twentieth century Modernism is a reaction to Naturalism. Trevor Pateman describes Modernism as that which â€Å"can be defined as being concerned with the inner, or subjective, at the expense of the outer, or objective† (Pateman). The modernist viewed art as an agent of social change and even helped shape many political movements. The Surrealist movement sought techniques which would permit essence to break through the illusions of appearance, emphasizing imagery from dreams and fantasy.In this, Surrealists sought to act like Realists of the inner rather than the outer world. In all of these â€Å"isms,† however, there is a certain common ground: a focus on people, nature scenes, and everyday items. We can see that art has gone through many evolutions, but even though the technology of today has created more mediums for the creation of art, I wouldn’t say it has been transformed. Art, it seems, has forever been intended to speak the language of the unconscious mind. The human condition, nature, and events continue to capture the attention of artists. Works Cited Clowney, David. Definitions Of Art And Fine Art's Historical Origins. † Journal Of Aesthetics & Art Criticism 69. 3 (2011): 309-320. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Getlein, Mark. Living With Art. 9th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2010. Print. Johnson, Paul. â€Å"Painted Caves and Giant Stones. † Art: A New History. New York: HarperCollins, 2003. 7-16. Print. Keizer, Joost. â€Å"Michelangelo, Drawing, And The Subject Of Art. † Art Bulletin 93. 3 (2011): 304-324. Academic Search Premier. Web. 26 Feb. 2013. Pateman, Trevor. â€Å"Isms: Expressionism, Impressionism, Naturalism, Realism, Surrealism. † Selectedworks. co. uk. N. p. , 2005. Web. 2 Mar. 2013

Introduction speech Essay

Every single person faces obstacles, whether they are big or small. Either learning how to swim, driving a car for the first time, or even waking up for an 8AM class. These are just a few obstacles that occur daily. One major obstacle that constantly gets overlooked is change. A prime example of a major change in a child’s life is the transition from high school to college. Starting college, a ne place with new people, can be a daunting task for anyone. Your classmate, Abby Howell showed her true character and optimism when her adjustment to Madison didn’t go as expected. Abby, like any other 18 year old, was nervous about coming to college. She was nervous about leaving her safe haven she called home, and because of that she decided to chose Madison, a mere 9 miles from her family in McFarland. Abby arrived to school with an optimistic mindset. The nerves and jitters had surpassed and she was truly starting to get the hang of things. It was August 30th, and the sun was beaming down on Abby as she rode her bike. The sidewalk was packed so Abby had to keep switching from the sidewalk to the grass in order to avoid the pedestrians. However, one time while making the uphill venture toward the sidewalk, her front tire clipped the edge of the curb and her bike tumbled over. Abby broke the fall with her hands and ended up shattering her wrist. It’s kind of ironic; Abby was looking out for the well being of others and in turn was the one that ended up getting injured. Rather than dwell on the unlucky situation, Abby views it in a positive way and lets everyone know that â€Å"it could have been worse.† The way in which Abby handled breaking her wrist just goes to show her optimistic view on life. Abby is constantly looking at the glass half full, and is always searching for the best in every situation. Honestly, how would you have reacted?

Human Nature Essay

Over time, there have been numerous portrayals of the war between good and evil that has forever existed in society. However, very few have come forth that have shed light upon the tussle between the tendency to indulge in either one of good and evil that exists inside the human mind and continues to do so throughout the course of one’s life. It is essential to understand that works such as these are not mere contribution to literature but are in fact in depth insights into the human mind and present a picture of the nature of the perceptions that exist within it. This is so because of the fact that no matter how much man chooses to evolve in his society and surrounds himself with monuments to sophistication, there will always be the desire to break free of moral boundaries and to indulge one’s self in the free and uncontrolled activities of evil. This paper shall consider Robert Louis Stevenson’s The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde as a depiction of the fight between good and evil that ensues within the darkest of depths in the human mind, then one can see how there is a continuous battle that perseveres within these depths and that there are instances when the suggestion to be evil becomes so strong that there is no longer any degree of possible control that can be attained on the rampage that evil engages in (Colvin, Adcock and Stevenson). The novella was first published in 1886 and has served as one of the most clear and concise insights into the intricate workings of the human mind. If one was to consider the character of Dr, Jekyll, it is evident that Robert Louis Stevenson has chosen to portray that all people are not inherently either completely good or completely evil by nature, rather they hold a frame of mind that comprises partially of a tendency to good, and partially of a tendency to indulge in evil. However, if one was to refer to the bigger picture that is visible in Robert Louis Stevenson’s The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; it is evident that Robert Louis Stevenson has chosen to use his characters to reflect upon particular dimensions of human nature. For instance, one can see that in contrast to the elusive Dr. Jekyll there exists firstly, Mr. Hyde who is a severe contrast to the principles and morality that Dr. Jekyll stands for. Further on, Mr. Enfield appears to be the continuously probing element of curiosity that is ever present and active in the human mind. Lanyon appears to be a vessel that holds logic and a desire for life to be composed of a series of events that are in no way out of the ordinary or do not comply with the rudiments of logic. Also, the degree of loathing that develops amongst the common man towards this dark side of the human mind once it becomes exposed comes out to be nothing more than prevalence and broadening of the element of hatred and evil. An example of this fact can be seen in the very first few pages of The Strange Case of The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde when Mr. Enfield states in a reply to the lawyer’s question about the appearance of the suspected criminal: â€Å"I never saw a man I so disliked†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ I can’t describe him. And it’s not want of memory; for I declare I can see him this moment† (Stevenson 5). From this line, we can surmise that Mr. Enfield develops a loathing towards the creature that lurks in the darkness of the night and indulges in actions out of the pure loathing to all that is good, pure and honest. By giving personalities such as those mentioned above to each individual character and taking the traits that form these personalities to their natural extremes, Robert Louis Stevenson has taken a stance that shows how each individual holds his/her own set of good and evil traits, both of which come together to form the mind of the ordinary every day person. An aspect that should be highlighted at this point is that Dr. Jekyll is perhaps in no way different from the rest of the characters in the plot, and the only distinction that exists between Dr. Jekyll and the rest of the characters is that Dr. Jekyll crosses a threshold of sorts and enters a state of mind where his evil bent of thinking dominates over him. We can therefore surmise that Dr. Jekyll is not an individual person who manages to experiment with his own perceptions and allows his evil side to roam free, but is in fact an example of the form that any normal every day character from the plot would have taken, had it been allowed to roam free and unattended. However, if one was to raise a question concerning the value of friendship or the loyalty towards it that exists with regard to the revelation of different sides of the human mind, then one can see from Robert Louis Stevenson’s The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde that there is hardly any element of loyalty or commitment to friendship that remains when a part of the concerned party enters into the absolution of evil. It is perhaps because of the very same illustration of the forces of good and evil that exists within each individual that The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde has been subjected to not only numerous forms of adaption over time, but has also been the center of numerous interpretations for the same reason. According to an interpretation by The Guardian, Robert Louis Stevenson’s The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde can be seen in more perspectives in modern times than it could have been possibly seen in the earlier days (Campbell). This is because of the reason that the tendency to submit to the desires of evil or the desire to adhere to the principals and morals that define all that is good can be replaced by numerous other tendencies that lurk within the depths of the human mind and it is for the same reason that Robert Louis Stevenson’s The strange case of Dr.Jekyll and Mr. Hyde holds more relevance now than it did at any other point in time. Works Cited Campbell, James. The beast within. 13 December 2008. 21 May 2009 . Colvin, Sidney, Arthur St. John Adcock and Robert Louis Stevenson. Robert Louis Stevenson: his work and his personality. Hodder and Stoughton, 1924. Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Courier Dover Publications, 1991.

Valuation of two England football clubs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Valuation of two England football clubs - Essay Example Consequently, this paper undertakes a valuation review of two leading teams in the English premier league namely the Southampton Football Club and Portsmouth Football Club. This has been done by reviewing the financial performance of the two clubs over the last five years to depict the current and future possible value of investing in the two different clubs. Southampton Football Club Southampton football club is one of the oldest football organizations in the English premier league since its formation in 1885. The club has been associated with the church since its formation that has earned it the saint’s nickname (Southampton.com, 2013). The performance of the team in the past has been relatively poor since it was relegated on 15 May 2005 from the premier league competitions. However, the club has been able to return to the premier league tournaments in the latest season. Furthermore, the club has been able to win the FA cup title in 1976 and second position in First Division tournament in 1984 (Southampton.com, 2013). Accordingly, the performance of the club in the past has been relatively poor compared to other clubs in the English major tournaments. Currently, the team is ranked at position 33 in the English premier league tournament after it was promoted last season. ... This has seen the financial returns of the club been relatively stable and attractive. Indeed, the club is one of the highest owned clubs by the fans due to its performance over the years. In addition, the club has been able to attract a number of the best players in the English tournaments. Currently, the club is at position 24 in the English premier league (Portsmouth.com, 2013). Financial Ratios valuation To demonstrate the financial valuation of the two organizations, a five years financial ratios computation has been undertaken. In addition, financial valuations of the two clubs have been undertaken by using the financial results of 2012. This is as demonstrated by the computations below. Financial Ratio 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 Liquidity ratios Current ratio = (current assets/ current liabilities) (Stickney, 2010) Southampton Football Club = (20,07700/ 37,306,000) = 0.54 Portsmouth Football Club = (3133294/ 361,098) = 8.68 Southampton Football Club = (14,694,000/ 25,650,000) = 0.57 Portsmouth Football Club = (6046092/ 339482) = 17.81 Southampton Football Club = (15472/ 7990 = 1.9 Portsmouth Football Club = (2480024/ 314692) = 7.88 Southampton Football Club = (1359.2/ 620) = 2.2 Portsmouth Football Club = (1974021/ 239,815) = 8.23 Southampton Football Club = (1362.0/ 614.8) = 2.22 Portsmouth Football Club = (1471235/ 235240) = 6.25 Quick ratio = (quick assets/ current liabilities) Quick assets = (current assets – inventories) Southampton Football Club = [(20,077,00 – 2,806,000)/ 37,306,000] = 0.46 Portsmouth Football Club = (3,133,294 – 32,541)/ 361,098) = 8.5 Southampton Football Club = [(14,694,000 – 1,902,000)/ 25,650,000] = 0.45 Portsmouth Football Club = (2207669 – 30,282)/

The Weed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Weed - Essay Example The story elucidates the cultural traits had been in vogue in the Indian rural areas for centuries, predominantly in respect of the exploitation of women at the hands of male dominant society. In the traditional Indian villages, the women do not have the right to choose the spouse of their choice. Instead, they have to submit to the will and commands of their father in order to enter into matrimonial relationship. Consequently, the majority of the woman folk has to spend the entire life with a person with whom they do not any record of meetings altogether. The same is also applied to Angoori, the protagonist of the story under examination. The short-story revolves round the life and activities of the only protagonist, who has recently got married in the street where the narrator/authoress resides. Her strict observing the veil, as per the traditions of the Hindu women of India, portrays her to be a conventional wife, who does not have any concern with the outer world consists of strangers belonging to both the genders. Hence, the protagonist appears to be a shy and cowardly young girl confined to her husband as well as the domestic chores and responsibilities without taking any notice of the developments being made in her social environment. Since Angoori has not entered into interaction with the outer world, she is taken to be a secluded type of girl by the narrator. Angoori had developed the habit of sitting under the neem tree at noon by the well, where the narrator also used to sit with some reading material. Her refusal to learn reading and writing, and declaring reading as a sin for the rural women was taken as a surprise for the narrator, though she got the point that Angoori was just refusing her offer of teaching her because of her indifference to the same. Hence, she appeared to be in internal conflict between her desire to learn reading and the traditions she had been imitating since her childhood, applying restrictions on the females’ seeking education. However, her inner desire to learn the same at the end of the story, where she expressed her inner longings to learn how to read and write before the narrator. The protagonist views the female desire of seeking union with male of her choice to be an outcome of the weed consumption, which the males keep with them and craftily make the girls eat the same by secretly putting it in betel. Since betel is traditionally consumed in Indian cultures, it is very popular among the males and females alike. Somehow, simplicity demonstrated by Angoori is really startling for the narrator, which could not be expected by any grown-up individual of urban area altogether. Thus, Angoori’s s presenting her to be an extremely simple girl is the rising point, which has been supported with her description of the arranging of marriages at villages by the father, elder brother or guardian of the brides. Somehow, her description of the elopement of girls after consuming weed by some male contradicts her previous statement about marriage phenomenon. Sitting idly and in a gloomy mood is quite unexpected for the narrator, who has always found her in a jovial disposition and smiling face. In addition, her silver ornaments have also been disappeared from her body along with her giggling from her lips. Thus, her disclosure about the departure of Ram Tara, the night watchman, is the climax of the story, which has not only snatched her jubilance and joys, but also created an urge in her to sing sad songs depicting lamentation on the departure of someone most desired. Her hidden longings for learning reading and writin

Resistance to Organizational Strategic Change Essay

Resistance to Organizational Strategic Change - Essay Example However the effects of the resistance to organizational change, various ways have been adopted to overcome the resistance. This essay puts into perspective various methods of managing resistance to change through aspects of education, participation, negotiation, facilitation, and coercion. It will further engage in identifying the best strategy to use at a given time, how it is supposed to be used, some of their advantages, as well as the limitations. Opposition to change usually begins with an individual and then spreads to create a faction in the organization (Kavanagh and Ashkanasy 2006). This essay attempts to answer the following questions: 1. What are the strategic developments that BMW has adopted and how can resistance to change be overcome? 2. How can the strategic developments in company be analyzed using the example of BMW? 3. What recommendations can be made in regard to the case scenario of BMW’s strategic developments? BMW is an international motor company that h as engaged in a plan to keep the company top in the industry by making appropriate and timely changes in the organization. The company has gone to the heights of making changes in its operations, staffing as well as in the management to ensure that they conform to the changing trends. Such changes have confronted opposition directly or indirectly. Resistance to organizational change can be overcome through proper policies that involve adequate preparedness and thorough sensitization of all the involved personnel. When confronted with the need for change, there are factors that organizations need to consider before the change is effected. Firstly, the organization should have a prospect of the resistance that is expected from the employees and the organizational system. The organization is composite and therefore, all its facets should be put into consideration before a change can be made. Secondly, it is important to consider the agency of the change in order to plan on how to handl e resistance. Decisions that are urgent and need immediate intervention are supposed to be handled with caution and the resistance handled immediately it immerges. In contrary, long term changes may take more time to implement and may involve extensive consultations. Thirdly, the most accurate information should be available about the change. This facilitates ease adoption and casts any doubt and suspicion. Lastly, it is important to consider the mover of the change relative to the position in the organization (Potter and Schlesinger 2008, pg 1). This is because a junior staff pushing a change alone without the support of the senior staff can be an overwhelming task, it is important that all the employees collaborate in effecting the change. Resistance from the high cadres of the organizational management or indifference can result to failure of the change. Apart from analyzing factors relating to the situation of the change, the rate of the adoption of the change is determined. It is important to analyze the situation carefully if it extensive and is deep. In addition, if the change proves to involve many people and some good amount of information, then it means it will have to be implemented in slow phases. For example, BMW’s change of the board of management structure in 2012 involved extensive consultations across the managers and the stakeholders. The aim of the change was to incorporate a

The Issue of Embodiment where Competing Sociological Positions have Essay

The Issue of Embodiment where Competing Sociological Positions have been Taken with Reference to Patriarchy, Gender, and Choice - Essay Example The issue of male dominance was not very relevant in a world that was primitive and full of physical dangers. In such a society, physical strength was considered to be important rather than intellect. It was only when the concept of safety and protection became orderly and came under the ambit of a written law that was enforced by a government that physical strength became less important. It could have been due to this that women became aware that they were not treated equally in many respects by the opposite sex. As mentioned earlier, the demand for the right to vote became one of the early expressions of dissent. The concept of male dominance appears in one of the basic psychological and social needs of human beings, namely religion. In Western religion, even the concept of God is based on masculinity. God is said to have told Adam that he had been created in the same image as the creator himself. â€Å"The god-head of this system was to be a male. This male god was endowed with a ll the creative abilities of man.† (Gardiner 2009).  The religious contention that man was created in God’s image may be one of the basic underlying factors that made a man believe that he is superior to women and hence has the right to control her. In later years, the church also played a role in this regard. â€Å"Towards 1000 A.D. the Roman Catholic Church in Europe took an increasingly negative and ambivalent stance towards women. Evil was seen to come to the world through women, women’s sexuality was seen as impure and priests were required to leave their wives and stay celibate.† (Mikkola 2005, p.6). The role of women in religion, the church, and the society was also severely curtailed during that time.  Ã‚  

Equity and Trusts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Equity and Trusts - Essay Example 500 or part of it. The equitibility of the words â€Å"†¦ I regard the money in the account as much yours as mine† by Brian shall be construed with reference to the conduct of parties. A trust is a binding agreement between a testator and the trustee for the benefit of the beneficiary. Accordingly, for there to exist a valid trust, three certainties must be present. The â€Å"certainty of words† which reveals the intention of the testator, certainty of â€Å"subject matter† (property bequeathed) which in this case is the money and the â€Å"certainty of objects† (the intended beneficiary) as upheld byâ€Å"Lord Langdale MR† as he was then in â€Å"Knight V Knight (1840).† Besides, Lindley L J in â€Å"Re Hamilton [1895]†stated that the intention of the testator in every wording or disposition should as a rule of prudent practice is construed on the merits of each case. Whereas the current case presents quite a problematic and conf licting loyalty in the application of equity and trust, it can be regarded as a constructive trust. According to Lord Denning in â€Å"Hussey v Palmer (1972)† this is a trust imposed upon by the Court whenever justice, conscience or good objective judgment demands it to be vested in the beneficiary. From conduct of parties, Brian had the intention to create a valid constructive trust. ... It’s also correct that Premafacie, the words themselves are not sufficient enough to create a valid trust but coupled with Brian’s conduct, there is a manifestation of that intention by his assurance to Amanda. For example, in the case of Paul v Constance (1977), money was placed into the account â€Å"sole name of Constance.† As it were assurances were made to Mr. Paul that the money in the account was jointly owned. Paul argued that based on that construction, it was sufficient that the wording created a joint ownership of the account. It was held that the conduct of the parties created an intention of joint ownership. Similarly in â€Å"Re Vandervell’s Trust (No 2) (1974)†, the money in the settlement was used in purchasing shares. This was done in exercise of a prevailing option for the intended beneficiary. The Court held that the conduct of these parties where upon they used the money to pay dividends into the intended settlement was sufficien t evidence of the intention to create a valid trust although no specific words were used. Therefore, in the current case, although it’s difficult to state the words in the phrase â€Å"†¦ I regard the money in the account as much yours as mine† as sufficient to create a valid trust, it’s also correct from the above case law that this wording coupled with the conduct of Brian created a valid constructive trust as sufficient certainty for that requisite intention . I advise Amanda to institute an equitable claim on the above basis because equity â€Å"looks at the intent rather than the form.† It’s the spirit behind the conduct of the parties which is important rather than the form of the statement. She will first seek an injunction to maintain the statusquo until the Court decides discretionary

Corporate Communications of Marriott Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corporate Communications of Marriott - Essay Example "Those ideas quickly find their way into the hands of members of the team at HQ who can either solve the problem or spread the word about a good concept that works." Managers need to understand the basics of the company's products and services to manage with depth. For many years their chief financial officer and other non-operations executives have been required to attend the company's "food school" to gain a bit of "hands on" experience with the products and services that form the basis of Marriott's world. Mr. Marriott recounts that his dad particularly enjoyed talking to his employees. Marriott's corporate legend is full of stories of his father perched on a hotel lobby sofa, listening to the family problems of one of their associates while senior managers "cooled their heels" waiting for him to return to the office. He confirms that the stories are true. His Dad felt very strongly that the concerns and problems of the people who worked for him were always worth listening to. In his eyes, a successful company puts its employees first. Mr. Marriott says: "I couldn't agree more. When employees know that their problems will be taken seriously, that their ideas and insights matter, they're more comfortable and confident. In turn, they're better equipped to deliver their best on the job and to the customer. Everyone wins: the company, the employee the customer." The philosophy of putting employees first is particularly important in the hospitality industry, because Marriott is in the people business, not just the service business. Customers are not just affected by the tangible parts of the business but the intangibles as well. If the people who are responsible for supplying that human touch are unhappy, tired, stressed, poorly trained, or otherwise distracted, they're probably not going to do a good job. On the flip side, if employees are content, confident, and generally happy with themselves and the job, their positive attitude will be felt in everything they do. The Marriott "Pathways to Independence" is employer-sponsored welfare reform done right. An employer needs to stay involved with new employees to help them overcome their failure points. Other areas of success: "over-managing" by design and work-life programs. He recounts many ways in which these tasks have become more daunting as the nation's hourly workforce has become more multicultural in makeup. Many of their hourly associates "must cope with complicated immigration procedures, interpersonal cultural clashes, and social discrimination, in addition to the pressures of child care, elder care, substance or domestic abuse, or housing problems." To that end, Marriott started a toll-free consultation service for their associates staffed by social workers who field questions and find solutions to just about any problem. And they can do it in more than 100 languages. They rolled out the 800 Associate Resource Line (ARL) on a national basis in 1996, after a two-year regional trial run. Although the program is based on intensive studies of their associates' needs, the thinking behind it is actually pretty simple. At heart, it's really just a higher-tech version of Mr. Marriott's Dad's

Health Care Data Trends Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Health Care Data Trends - Case Study Example The organizations that are not very well prepared may find themselves exposing their clients to greater charges and costs through insurance facilities (Safran, Bloomrosen, Hammond & Labkoff, 2006). Organizations may also find themselves stifled of financial resources because of over-insurance. Many applications in smart-phones and other data devices may leak useful information about patients to healthcare providers leading to a direct insecurity. These applications may also be a platform for the spread of unwarranted personal information with third parties (Safran, Bloomrosen, Hammond & Labkoff, 2006). Strategic partnerships demand utmost good faith and the practitioners in the medical fraternity must be sure the integrity of the companies they contract to handle their specialized services associated with data management. Otherwise, such partners could be leeway through which violations of privacy may occur. Many people often lick their medical information in terms of pictures and diagnostic details. It is possible that practitioners will also share with others and the wider public patient information on the social media with extensive legal repercussion. Many litigation in the medical fraternity have been witnessed that border on class disputes and discriminatory practices. Each medical establishment needs to alert their officials in the manners of addressing the class issues that are embedded in the medical practices. The laws that govern patient security with regard to medical data are many. However, the key laws of the Hippocratic Oath forbid the practitioners from sharing or disclosing patient information with other parties (Mouratidis, Giorgini & Manson, 2005). Specific public policy regulations addressed to the fields of medical research, law enforcement and social welfare, disease control and pricing module of the heath care could be the best approaches to effectively controlling the system

Class, Democracy and Resistance In Contemporary Thailand. What is the Dissertation

Class, Democracy and Resistance In Contemporary Thailand. What is the red shirt yellow shirt conflict about - Dissertation Example It then proceeds to explore why, if the Red Shirts are indeed representative of those who have been oppressed by an elite urban-centric Thailand, support is being given to a leader like Thaksin Shinawatra who, by all showing, is a rent-seeking and corrupt politician. It uses class and resistance as lens by which the red shirt and yellow shirt phenomenon may be understood and seeks to unravel tha complex dynamics that underlie Thai-style contemporary politics. II. Introduction The image is a searing one, and has captured the attention of a global audience. Outside Siam paragon, one of Bangkok’s gleaming edifices, a man stands with his fist clenched. He has the weatherbeaten face of a rural farmer from northern Thailand and he is in a red shirt. The picture captures the audience because of the juxtaposition it presents: the two faces of one country. On the one hand, as represented by the posh mall that is the Siam Paragon, it is a modern and bustling economy, well on its way to Capitalist-style development. On the other hand, it is a simmering hotbed of discontent, with rural labourers coming to the center so that their voices may finally be heard. This contradiction lies at the very heart of the Red Shirt and Yellow Shirt conflict in Thailand. This paper aims to discuss the political conflict in Thailand between the Red Shirts and the Yellow Shirts in Thailand, a conflict that has led to many dramatic scenes being played out before the international media but whose underlying themes and issues remain hidden from the Western spectator. There is much myth-making that has helped both sides along: with one side demonizing the other and glorifying its own, and people seeing only what they choose to see. The conflict illustrates the complexity of Thai politics, and the stark class injustices and inequality that have attended the so-called Land of the Free. On the one hand, there is a group who has long been a victim of historical injustices and seeks to be hear d by the center and it does so by supporting a strongman whose political career has been riddled by charges of corruption and misfeasance in public office (see: Chaturon, 2009). On the other hand, is a group affiliated with the â€Å"People’s Alliance for Democracy† (PAD) who professes support for the King and who levels on Thaksin the charge of not being respectful enough to the Thai Monarch, but who represent the elite and middle class in Thai society and to the lower classes in rural Thailand (Chaturon, 2009), partially responsible for the gaping inequalities in the political economy of Thailand by protecting the status quo from which they benefit. Andre Vltcheck (2010) puts it succinctly: Imagine that you are Thai and poor, as most people in this country still are. Imagine that you are aware of your social position, as most poor Thais are, and that you are educated and understand the complexities and hidden meanings of political life of your country, which most Tha is do not. You have basically two alternatives if suicide or emigration is not the option: to support the outrageously elitist aristocracy and the army (many of whose members now paint themselves

Database Technology Essay Example for Free

Database Technology Essay Objectives of the course: †¢ This course aims to provide continuum to where the first course of databases left off. Design aspects of relational databases are covered. †¢ Complex data models like OO OR parallel and distributed are introduced. †¢ The course provides students a good overview of the ideas and the techniques, which are behind recent developments in the fields of data warehousing and Online Analytical Processing (OLAP). 1. Overview Review of relational database systems, ER diagram, SQL. 2. Integrity and Security Domain constraints; referential integrity, assertions; triggers; triggers and Assertions in SQL. Security and Authorization; Authorization in SQL. 3. Relational Database Design First Normal form; pitfalls in relational database design, functional dependencies; decomposition. Desirable properties of decomposition. Boyce – Code normal form; 3rd and 4th normal form. Mention of other normal forms. 4. The ER Model Revisited Motivation for complex data types, User Defined Abstract Data Types And Structured Types, Subclasses, Super classes, Inheritance, Specialization and Generalization, Relationship Types of Degree Higher Than Two. 5. Object-Oriented Object relational databases Object Identity, Object Structure, and Type Constructors, Encapsulation of Operations, Methods, and Persistence, Type Hierarchies and Inheritance, Type extents and Queries, Database Design For An ORDBMS Nested Relations and Collections; Storage And Access methods, Overview of SQL3. 6. Parallel and Distributed Databases Parallel Query Evaluation; Parallelizing Individual Operations, Sorting, Joins; Distributed Database Concepts, Data Fragmentation, Replication, and Allocation techniques for Distributed Database Design; Query Processing in Distributed Databases; Concurrency Contr ol and Recovery in Distributed Databases. 7. Enhanced Data Models for Advanced Applications. (Overview and Design issues) Temporal Databases; Spatial Databases Geographic Information Systems, Mobile Databases. 8. Data Warehousing and OLAP. a) Data Warehouse Basics: Data Warehouse (DW) Introduction Overview; Data Marts, DW components; Data warehouse architecture; ETL Data Transformation – Extracting, Conditioning, cleansing, Scrubbing, Merging, etc., b) OLAP: Multi-dimensional modeling Fact table, dimensions, measures, examples; Schema Design – Star and Snowflake; OLAP OLAP Vs OLTP, ROLAP, MOLAP, HOLAP; tools. OLAP Operations – Rollup, Drill-down, Dice slice, pivot. Text Books: 1. Elmasri and Navathe, â€Å"Fundamentals of Database Systems†, Pearson Education 2. Raghu Ramakrishnan, Johannes Gerhke, â€Å"Database Management Systems† McGraw Hill 3. Kimball, Ralph; Reeves, Laura et al Data warehouse Lifecycle Toolkit: expert methods for designing, developing, and deploying data warehouses Wiley publications. References: 1. Korth, Silberchatz, Sudarshan, â€Å"Database System Concepts† McGraw Hill 2. C.J.Date, Longman, â€Å"Introduction to Database Systems†, Pearson Education 3. Paulraj Ponnian, â€Å"Data Warehousing Fundamentals†, John Wiley. Term Work Term work shall consist of at least 10 assignments/programming assignments and one written test. Marks 1. Attendance (Theory and Practical) 05 Marks 2. Laboratory work (Experiments and Journal) 10 Marks 3. Test (at least one) 10 Marks The final certification and acceptance of TW ensures the satisfactory performance of laboratory Work and Minimum Passing in the term work. Suggested Experiment List 1. At least one or two review SQL assignments covering triggers, assertions and authorizations. 2. Object Oriented Queries 3. Case study assignments for OO and OR database. 4. Two mini projects in distributed and parallel databases. 5. Hands on any one good warehousing tool (Oracle/SQL server Analysis tool etc.) 6. A full fledged mini project in which a student will design and implement a data warehouse. The data warehouse must be populated and OLAP queries and operations to be demonstrated for the warehouse.

Review of Leading In a Culture of Change

Review of Leading In a Culture of Change Leading in a culture of change by Michael Fullan is a small but powerful book on the dynamics of change and the role of leadership in managing and coping with the change process. Michael Fullan, the dean of the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toranto is an international authority on educational reforms .Fullan opens by quoting Robert Steinberg: The essence of intelligence would seem to be in knowing when to think and act quickly, and knowing when to think and act slowly (p. x). Fullan is concerned with not only the decision, but the timing involved in making the correct decision. He argues that good leadership is not inborn rather one must learn to lead by mastering five core competencies- moral purpose, understanding change process, relationship building, knowledge building and coherence building. Fullan devotes an entire chapter to each competency and illustrates each concept with a solid and provocative collection of public education and private corporation cases. This makes the book a useful tool for an administrative team workshop or school board. It would stimulate excellent discussion on mission and purpose and the clima te in which a healthy organization can change for the better. He also articulates three personal characteristics (energy, enthusiasm, hope) that all effective leaders possess. This book offers a realistic perspective to those who are at the beginning of their leadership career and should be inspiring to those who have attained their peaks. The ambiguities of change forces in the schools are more easily understood after considering Fullans insights into organizational change and leadership. He neither oversimplifies the mission of the school administrator nor makes the work appear impossible. Fullan offers advice for leaders to help them rise above the challenges of the new technology, a changing market place and the crises in the public scenario. He argues that leadership today requires the ability to mobilize constituents to do important but difficult work under conditions of constant change. Fullan demonstrates that successful leaders in education and business have much in common. He took an equal number of change case studies in education and in business and examined leaders behavior and mindsets. The first chapter, A Remarkable Convergence, conveys the theme of the book. The author advises that change cannot be managed. It can be understood and perhaps led, but it cannot be controlled. This chapter is devoted to the discussion of effective leadership, stating within the first page this is not the book about super leaders. Charismatic leaders inadvertently often do more harm than good because, at best, they provide episodic improvement followed by frustrated or despondent dependency. Superhuman leaders also do us another disservice: they are role models who can never be emulated by large numbers (p. 1). The author weaves the business world and the educational world together as learning organizations, stating that if they fail to evolve together they will fail to survive. He suggests five themes for successful leadership: moral purpose, understanding change, developing relationships, knowledge building and coherence making. Fullan argues that when the goal is sustainable change in a knowledge society, business and education leaders increasingly have more in common. Like the business leader, the principal of the future the Cultural Change Principal must be tuned to the big picture, a sophisticated conceptual thinker who transforms the organization through people and teams In chapter 2, Moral Purpose, Fullan argues that all five components are strongly connected with each other. Moral purpose is seen as both an end and means. In education, every leader, whether an administrator or teacher must see an important end, making a difference in the lives of students. He continues by stating that, if you dont treat others fairly, you will be a leader without followers (p. 13). Fullan describes two excellent examples of moral purpose. The Monsanto Companys remarkable transformation, under its new CEO, Robert Shapiro, started with a series of town hall meetings discussing the unsustainable problems of hunger facing humanity. That discussions lead to ten thousand of Monsantos employees becoming involved feeding the world. The second example is the national Literacy and Numeracy strategy, the nation wide initiative to improve both the literacy and numeracy of Great Britains twenty thousand schools in which Fullan has been an active participant. The author clearly makes his point; social consciousness and the concept of being a good citizen apply internally as well as externally whether in the business or educational system. In chapter three Understanding Change, Fullan states that the purpose of this book is to understand change in order to lead it better. . . .the goal is to develop a greater feel for leading complex change, and to develop a mind-set and action set that are constantly cultivated and refined. Page 34 of this book states that, change can be led, and leadership does make a difference. He suggests that having innovative ideas and understanding the change process is not the same thing. Indeed, the case can be made that those firmly committed to their own ideas are not necessarily good change agents because being a change agent involves getting commitment from others who might not like ones ideas. Fullan quotes Kotter`s eight step process for initiating top down transformation (1996, p. 21) Establishing a Sense of Urgency Creating a Guiding Coalition Developing a Vision and Strategy Communicating the Change Vision Empowering Broad-Based Action Generating Short-Term Wins Consolidating Gains and Producing More Change Anchoring New Approaches in the Culture Further he quotes Beer, Eisenstat, and Spectors observations (1990) about drawing about bottom-up ideas and energies Mobilize commitment to change through joint diagnosis(with people in the organization) of business problem Develop a shared vision of how to organize and manage for competitiveness Foster concerns for the new vision, competence to enact it, and cohesion to move it along Spread revitalization to all departments without pushing it from the top Institutionalize revitalization through formal policies, systems and structure Monitor and adjust strategies in response to problems in the revitalization process Then Fullan shares Hamels advice (2000) to lead the revolution Step 1: Build a point of view Step 2: Write a manifesto Step 3: Create a coalition Step 4: Pick your targets and pick your moments Step 5: Co-opt and neutralize Step 6: Find a translator Step 7: Win small win early, win often Step 8: Isolate, infiltrate, integrate He offers the following guidelines for understanding change: The goal is not to innovate the most. Innovating selectively with coherence is better. Having the best ideas is not enough. Leaders help others assess and find collective meaning and commitment to new ways. Appreciate the implementation dip. Leaders cant avoid the inevitable early difficulties of trying something new. They should know, for example, that no mater how much they plan for the change, the first six months or so of implementation will be bumpy. Redefine resistance. Successful leaders dont mind when naysayers rock the boat. In fact, doubters sometimes have important points. Leaders look for ways to address those concerns. Reculturing is the name of the game. Much change is structural and superficial. Transforming culture changing what people in the organization value and how they work together to accomplish it leads to deep, lasting change. Never a checklist, always complexity. There is no step-by-step shortcut to transformation; it involves the hard, day-to-day work of reculturing. The Cultural Change Principal knows the difference between being an expert in a given content innovation and being an expert in managing the process of change. This principal does not make the mistake of assuming that the best ideas will carry the day. Instead, the Cultural Change Principal provides opportunities for people to visit sites that are using new ideas, invites questions and even dissent, and expects the change process to proceed in fits and starts during the first few months of implementation. Nevertheless, such a principal forges ahead and expects progress within a year because he or she has nurtured the conditions that yield results sooner rather than later. The title of chapter four, Relationship, Relationship, Relationship, is self explanatory. Success of any venture depends upon the people involved in the change process. Leaders must be skillful relationship builders with diverse people and groups. The single factor common to every successful change initiative is that relationships improve. If relationships improve, things get better. If they remain the same or get worse ground is lost. Effective leaders constantly foster purposeful interaction and problem solving. They are wary of easy consensus. Emotional intelligence is at the core of leaders who are continuously successful in a culture of change. Fullan makes an excellent point concerning change while discussing high stakes testing. We must resist the urge to focus on short term results by placing our emphasis on long-term results and the systemic improvements that will generate the lasting change we are seeking. The chapter five is knowledge building. Leaders need to commit themselves to constantly generating and increasing knowledge inside and outside the organization. Effective leaders understand the value and role of knowledge creation; they make it a priority and set about establishing and reinforcing habits of knowledge exchange among organizational members. Fullan describes a number of strategies used in education, business, and the military for turning information into knowledge by engaging people in an orchestrated social process. The key skill here is to convert information to knowledge through purposeful social interactions. In chapter six, coherence building, the author takes the reader on a journey of guiding people through their differences and enabling those differences to surface. He builds on the hypothesis that creative ideas and novel solutions are often generated when the status quo is disrupted. He discusses the frustration felt by many when a school district has a large number of improvement programmes operating at the same time. Fullan argues that we are in complex (rather than chaotic) times and that the central tendency of dynamic, complex systems is to constantly generate overload causing fragmentation, uncertainty and confusion. Effective leaders guide people through differences and enable differences to surface while creating coherence. They tolerate enough ambiguity to keep creative juices flowing, but seek coherence along the way. They ensure strategies are in place to keep people focused and moving in a purposeful direction. In chapter seven, The Hare and The Tortoise, Fullan refers to the Fontaines Fable of the hare and the tortoise. Developing leaders are more tortoise-like than hare-like. Three powerful lessons about leadership are identified: the vital and paradoxical need for slow knowing overtime, the importance of learning in context , and the need for leaders at all levels of the organization, in order to achieve wide spread internal commitment. Good leaders foster leadership at other levels. Leadership at other levels produces a steady stream of future leader for the system as a whole. Fullan concludes that leaders in a culture of change will be judged as effective or ineffective not simply by their results and who they are as leaders, but by the leadership they develop in others. Fullans writing style is more familiar than authoritative with liberal amount of case histories from both the business world and the world of education. The theme of this book is that all of us can improve our leadership abilities simply by focusing on a small number of key dimensions. Fullan ties each chapter to the previous one re-emphasizing the previous chapter through reinforcement in the current one. This book states that two things have occurred in recent times that have aided the discovery and pursuit of effective leadership. The first is that the knowledge base of what it takes to be an effective leader is getting broader and deeper, and with more insight. The second thing that happened is that there are many more examples of transformation in both business and education. In reading this text and then reviewing it, I concluded that there were three basic premises that were utilized to accomplish the purpose of the book. I think that the first premise was found within the verbiage of the preface, which related that this book is about how leaders can focus on certain key change themes that will allow them to lead effectively under messy conditions. This book is also about how leaders foster leadership in others, thereby making themselves dispensable in the long run (p. x) The second premise is that each and every leader, whether the CEO of a multinational corporation or a school principal, can become much more effective by focusing on a small number of core aspects of leadership and by developing a new mind-set about the leaders responsibility to himself or herself and to those with whom he or she works (p. 2). The premise this book uses to achieve its purpose is that it delves into the complexities of leadership . . . It provides insights, strategies, and, ultimately, better theories of knowledge and action suited to leadership in complex times (p. 10). The book lists five components of leadership that were discussed and reviewed (in detail in separate chapters) to support the three premises that were utilized to achieve its purpose. These five components were: moral purpose (which means acting with the intentions of making a positive difference in the lives of employees, customers, and society as a whole), understanding the change process (I think this is self-explanatory), relationships (which means consummating relationships with diverse people and groups; effective leaders constantly foster interaction and problem solving, and are wary of easy consensus), knowledge creation and sharing (which represents a merging of the previous three components to arrive at something new to help or facilitate the change or an understanding of it), and coherence (which is eliminating the ambiguity associated with new knowledge created and shared connecting the new knowledge to existing knowledge). The book argues that by utilizing these five components, we have the correct checks and balances for simultaneously letting go and reining in. When leaders act in the ways recommended, they will disturb the future in a manner that approximates the desired outcomes, Leading in a Culture of Change integrates the most current ideas and theories on effective leadership to support and illustrate five core competencies for leading in complex times. Fullan links components of his leadership framework with concrete examples and cases used in education and business. Moreover it allows the reader to apply the methods gradually. I found the book easy to read and quite enlightening, reinforcing some of my personal beliefs concerning successful leadership styles in the culture of change. Leading in a culture of change deals with the complexities of leadership; it provides insights, strategies and better theories of knowledge and action suited to leadership in difficult times. This book is a call for action, equipping leaders with ideas and strategies for deep success. I found this book both enjoyable and enlightening. Each page offered positive in sight into leading the change process. I would recommend this book to all administrators, whether at the central office level or on the campus. It would be an excellent centerpiece for staff development revolving around the change process. Fullan does not lead the reader to believe that by following simple steps all will work out fine. Instead he offers a path to change with many positive examples of companys and educational systems growing, developing, and maturing towards a common goal.

Common Computer Based Information Systems Information Technology Essay

Common Computer Based Information Systems Information Technology Essay Human resources- finds and hires people, handles such matters as sick leave, retirement benefits, evaluation, compensation, and professional development. Research- conducts product research and development, monitors and troubleshoots new products. Discuss the roles of the three kinds of management in a corporation. Top level- concerned with long-range planning and forecasting. Middle-level- deals with control, planning, decision making, and implementing long term goals. Supervisors- control operational matters, monitor day- to -day events, and supervise works. What are the four most common computer-based information systems? Transaction processing system(TPS) Management information system(SIM) Decision support systems(DSS) Executive support systems(ESS) Describe the different reports and their roles in managerial decision making. Transaction processing system(TPS)- record day-to-day transactions. For example in accounting, which handles in six activities: sales order processing, accounts receivable, inventory and purchasing, accounts payable, payroll, and general ledger. Management information system(SIM)-produce predetermined periodic, exception, and demand reports. Management information system use database management systems to integrate the databases of different departments. Decision support systems(DSS)-enable managers to get answers for unanticipated questions. Teams formed to address large problems use group decision support systems(GDDS). A DSS consist of user, system software, data-internal and external, and decision models. Three types of decision models are strategic, tactcal, and operational. Executive support systems(ESS)-assist top-level executives. An executive support system is similar to MIS or DSS but easier to use. ESSs are design specifically for top-level decision makers. What is the difference between an office automation system and a knowledge work system? Office automation systems(OAS) support data workers who are involved with distribution and communication of information. Project managers and videoconferencing systems are OAS. Knowledge work systems(KWS) support knowledege workers, who creates information. Many engineers use computer aided design/ computer aided manufacturing(CAD/CAM) systems. CHAPTER 12 : DATABASES Describe the five logical data groups or categories. Character-the most basic logical data element. It is a single letter, number or special character such as a punctuation mark or symbol like $. Field-field or group of related character. A data field represents an attribute (description/characteristic) of some entity (person, place, thing or object). Record-collection of related fields. A record represents a collection of attributes that describe an entity. Table-collection of related records. Database-an integrated collection of logically related tables. What is the difference between batch processing and real-time processing? Batch processing-data is collected over a period of time and the processing happens later all at one time. Real-time processing-happens immediately when the transaction occurs. Identify and define the five part of DBMS programs. DBMS engine-a bridge between the logical view of the data and the physical view of the data. When users request data(logical perspective), DBMS engine handles the details of actually locating data(physical perspective). Data definition subsystem-the logical structure of data-base by using a data dictionary or schema. This dictionary contains a description of the structure of data in database. Data manipulation subsystem-provides tools for maintaining and analyzing data. Maintaining data known as data maintenance involves adding new data, deleting data and editing existing data. Analysis tools support viewing all or selected parts of data, querying database and generating reports. Application generation subsystem-provides tool to create data entry forms and specialized programming languages that interface or work with common and widely used programming languages such as C or Visual Basic. Data administration subsystem manages the database; database administrators (DBAs) are computer professionals who help define processing rights. What are the five types of databases? Why does more than one kind of database exist? -Individual -Company -Distributed -Commercial Databases available for general and specific business purposes include business directories, demographic data, business statistical information, text databases, and Web databases. What are some of the benefits and limitations of databases? Why is security a concern? Two important security concers are illegal use of data and unauthorized access. Most organizations use firewalls to protect their internal networks. Some benefits are in business such as financial and marketing. Limitation is for security of the organizations.

Toys :: essays research papers

Toys"R"Us INTRODUCTION In this assignment I have chosen to focus on explaining what kind of company Toys"R"Us is, giving a brief, short summary of the firms history, their corporate responsibilities, what their competitive advantages are and how they implement their strategies through retailing and merchandise. I also found it relevant to explain the market situation in the toy-industry and what the trends are, for understanding what other difficulties that are important to consider in order to survive. SHORT HISTORY In 1948, a company which totally dedicated themselves to children and their needs, was formed by Charles Lazarus in Washington DC. This was a perfect timing in relation to the post-war baby boom period, the demand for accessories for children was high, and the main purpose for the company was to carry furniture for babies. After some time, he heard customers saying phrases like "I need a toy for my baby", so he began selling toys aswell. Mr.Lanzarus tried to give his customers what they wanted he understood early that this was the best way to keep his customers. In 1957, he opened his first toy supermarket, and with specialized retailing and the off-price positioning, he revolutionized the concepts in the pre-mall and discount days. After this success, he sold his business to Interstate, which later went bankrupt. Mr.Lazarus rejoined the company and made it profitable, and in 1978 it became a public company; Toys"R"Us,Inc. DIVISION OF THE COMPANY Today, Toys"R"Us is a $11 billion dollar company and they have over 1500 stores over the whole world. The company is divided into six different divisions: Toys"R"Us US Strongly focuses on strengthening the shopping experience by providing better service and better merchandise. There are around 680 locations of Toys R Us in the US. Toys"R"Us International Is licensed, franchised and operated through over 570 locations in 29 countries outside the US Kids"R"Us Consists of more than 375 locations where children ´s clothing and toys are all under one roof, and oughts to offer all of the latest fashions and of course high quality merchandise. Imaginarium Toysrus.com Developed in alliance with Amazon.com in order to offer an online shopping service. Babies"R"Us Offers everything parents need for their babies, like furniture, bedding, car seats etc. All products can be purchased under one roof By organizing their organization into these different divisions, it gives them a competitive advantage because it makes it easier to focus in the certain areas. These divisions are very different from each other, and needs specialization in all the different aspects.

Light and Dark in Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad Essay -- Joseph C

     Ã‚   In the book, Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad, all the characters are pulled into a well of black despair. Conrad uses the darkness of the situation contrasted to the light of society to show man’s dependence on western morals, and how when these morals are challenged by the darkness, the light crumbles under its newly weakened foundation. The contrast between light and dark is most stark in the themes of setting, the changes in Europeans as they drive farther into the Congo, and the white man’s collapse under the ultimate darkness of the Innermost Congo. The setting of Heart of Darkness is a very critical part of the book, and Conrad goes to extreme lengths to highlight the evil radiating from the region in which he sets his book. First, the tale is told in a frame story pattern, Marlow is relating his experience to friends in a setting different from that of the primary tale. But the setting where Marlow tells his tale is a foreshadow of what is to come. Marlow presents his story on a boat in the dark of night, creating a sense of evil surrounding the story. The darkness is so deep where Marlow rests during the telling of his tale, that he cannot see his friends, and instead tells the story to the darkness itself. Once the narrative begins, Conrad quickly places his character in another situation which only foretells of the place to which he is going. Within a Belgian office, Marlow examines a map of the area into which he is traveling, he describes it, "...on one end a large shining map, marked with all the colours of a rainbow. There was a vast amount of red-good to see at any time, because one knows that some real work is done in there, a deuce of a lot of blue, a little green, smears of orange, and, on the... ...s us human, but we must always understand that it is only a mask, and not the truth, because one day everyone will be faced with the darkness of the true nature of our world, and we will stare into the heart of the darkness, and it will break us, as it did to Kurtz, or enlighten us, as it did to Marlow.       Works Cited and Consulted Conrad, Joseph. Heart of Darkness. New Jersey: The Ecco Press, 1992. Guerard, Albert J. Conrad the Novelist. Cambridge, MA.: Harvard U. Press, 1958. Guerard, Albert J. "Heart of Darkness". TCLC. 13:114. Karl, Fredrick R. "Heart of Darkness". TCLC. 6:121. Kimbrough, Robert, ed. Heart of Darkness: An Authoritative Text, Backgrounds and Sources, Criticism. By Joseph Conrad. 3rd ed. Norton Critical Edition. New York: Norton, 1988.   Meyers, Jeffrey.   Joseph Conrad.   New York:   Charles Scribner's Sons, 1991.

Week Two Learning Team Reflection on Personal Liability

Week Two Learning Team Reflection on Personal Liability Law/531 October 2, 2012 ? Week Two Learning Team Reflection on Personal Liability Benefits to Commerce Team C colleagues decided on the following opinions in respect to the advantages of commerce using shareholders and other entities for protection against personal liability losses. Commerce is the buying and selling of goods or services within cities, states, and globally. The legal structure of a business will establish the liable responsibilities of the business owner.When a business is established as a Corporation or an LLC this structure separates business owner’s personal assets from the business debit and liability. The benefits of commerce acquiring shareholders or other entities to protect and shield their members from personal liabilities are a consideration that every entrepreneur should seek professional advice before starting a business. â€Å"As a separate legal entities, corporations are liable for their o wn debts and obligations† (Cheeseman, p. 558, 2010). By the corporation having shareholders it is limiting their loss if a potential suit arises.If they were to be sued they would be limited to the extent of their financial investment in the corporation. The officers of the corporation create a shield that protects them from liability, and from having their personal assets at risk. The benefit of having a corporation is that corporations itself becomes a legal entity; therefore the liability is taken away from an owner. If lawsuits arise the assets of the corporation will be at risk; however, the shareholders will not bear any personal liability. Therefore, potential investors in a corporation seek to have professional executives who use good judgment in running a business.The net worth of the corporation is also determined by the shareholders investment in the business and should there be a suit the corporation stands to be financially stronger than a business owned by a sole proprietor. If protecting investors was not available through legal methods most investors would not take the risk of losing their personal assets along with their investment. Personal Liability of Shareholders Team C colleagues decided on the following opinions in respect to the advantages of needing personal liability attached to individuals in violation and performing misdeeds.The United States is a country of laws. Believing that individuals and businesses are responsible for the actions and decision they make while in a position of authority. Personal liability is sometimes imposed the shareholders are normally not liable for the corporate debts incurred. (Cheeseman, 2010) Beginning around 1940, the government started enacting laws that attempted to protect society from unscrupulous businesses. History has shown that these laws alone cannot protect society from the misdeeds of individuals.Businesses always have relied on the consumer for continued existence. Therefore, a mutua l trust must occur to maintain the balance of commerce. People run businesses; therefore it is reasonable to consider that those that have a fiduciary responsibility should be held accountable for the misdeeds or torts that occur because of their negligence. Current laws consider a corporation as a legal entity accountable for any torts the members of that company may commit. Members of management under the same laws are afforded protection against claims on personal assets.If this protection did not exist individual’s assets could be attached to any litigation against the company regardless of which members were at fault. One may think attaching personal liability to managing members would be a reasonable solution. After all, they are the individuals who have stewardship over the company. In fact, this action would be counterproductive harming society and commerce alike. Corporate officers and business leaders would not want to take on the risk and would refrain from seeking a managing role within a corporation. The immediate effect on commerce would be devastating.Those with experience and know-how would simply remove themselves from management responsibilities, creating a vacuum for less qualified individuals, increasing the potential for torts to occur. Shareholders confidence would wane, stock markets would falter, and the economy would suffer a financial meltdown. Team C members also concur that corporations have protection for their shareholders regarding their personal information, but they do not hold the shareholders responsible if the corporation goes bankrupt or shuts down. Shareholders are only responsible for the amount of money they have invested in the company.Piercing the corporate veil is the doctrine stating that if the shareholder uses the corporation improperly, the court of equity disregards the corporate entity. The shareholder is personally liable for the corporation's debts and obligations (Cheeseman, 2010). This is also known a s the alter ego doctrine because the corporation becomes the alter ego of the shareholder. Still today sole proprietorships are the most popular form of starting a business and having ownership. The definition is a business owned by one person and not incorporated with any others.In the business world sole ownership is not separate and cannot be split apart from the owners personal assets (Fairfax, 2011). The unincorporated business is exposed to unlimited liabilities and loss of personal asset protection. In today’s commerce environment having unlimited liability is the single most substantial difference between having shareholders and other entities shielding the business and sole ownership. Concluding, it is imperative that individuals interested in starting a business take the appropriate measures to decide how they simply will protect the business from potential liability, or loss.Seeking the advice of professionals can facilitate making the proper decisions. ? Reference Cheeseman, H. (2010). Corporate Formation and Financing, Business Law (7th ed. )(pp. 556- 576). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Prentice Errors And Omissions Insurance – E. (2012, September 28). Retrieved from (I) INVESTOPEDIA: http://www. investopedia. com/terms/e/errors-omissions-insurance. asp#axzz27oyyIDBO Fairfax, L. M. (2011, July). The Model Business Corporation act at Sixty. Law & Contemporary Problems, 74(1), 19-30.

3 Dose Acellular Pertussis Vaccine Health And Social Care Essay

Whooping cough whooping cough is a contagious respiratory piece of land unwellness caused by a fastidious Gram negative coccobacillus, Bordetella whooping cough, or on occasion B. parapertussis ( Edmunds et al. , 2002 ) , with sole affinity for the mucosal beds of the human respiratory piece of land. It is a vaccinum preventable disease recognized world-wide as a extremely infective disease with important associated childhood morbidity, showing clinically as pneumonia, purging, choking enchantments, ictuss, encephalopathy and decease ( Galanis et al. , 2006 ; Health Canada, 2005 ; [ 2 ] . Globally, an estimated 50 million instances of whooping cough disease and 300,000 pertussis- related deceases occur yearly, largely among babies who are excessively immature to hold completed the primary inoculation series ( Halperin, 2001 ) . In the past decennary, an addition in the incidence has been observed in many developed states combined with a displacement in the incidence towards older age groups which may be related to increased consciousness, alterations in disease susceptibleness and vaccinum features, switching demographics, and familial fluctuations [ 2 ] . Although whooping cough is more terrible in babies and immature kids, the increasing incidence in striplings and grownups is a major concern as grownups are an of import beginning of transmittal to babies, infection in grownup cause ‘s important morbidity and high costs [ 3-5 ] . Stoping immunisation with whooping cough vaccinum in Sweden in a antecedently extremely immunised population resulted in the revival of the disease ( Mortimer 1988 ) . By 1994, an estimated 71 million whooping cough instances and 626 whooping cough deceases were being prevented worldwide each twelvemonth through immunisation ( Ivanoff & A ; Robertson 1997 ) . In the absence of an immunisation programme 80 % of lasting neonates would get whooping cough in the first five old ages of life ( Fine & A ; Clarkson 1984 ) . Due to concerns about safety and efficaciousness of whole-cell whooping cough vaccinum ( Romanus et al. , 1987 ) , diphtheria-tetanus-acellular whooping cough vaccinums ( DTPa ) were included in the Swedish inoculation plan at 3, 5 and 12 months of age in January 1996. Vaccination coverage quickly reached more than 98 % and an intensified clinical certification of reported laboratory-confirmed whooping cough in preschool kids started in October 1997. There was a widespread diminution in whooping cough incidence throughout the state merely four old ages after the debut of DTPa in Sweden, the reported incidence of culture-confirmed whooping cough being 80-90 % lower than earlier DPTa debut. Sweden is a Norse state in Northern Europe, bordered by Norway on the West and Finland on the E, connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Oresund. It is the 3rd largest state in the European Union by country, holding a entire population of about 9.5 million and population denseness of 21 dwellers per square kilometre.Whooping cough Incidence in Sweden before and after debut of noncellular whooping cough vaccinumsThe incidence rates of whooping cough after the debut of noncellular whooping cough vaccinum were markedly lower compared to before debut ( See graph 1 ) . The decrease of the incidence of whooping cough was most marked in the age groups covered by the three doses of DTPa at 3, 5, and 12 months of age ( 1-2-year-old in 1998 to 1-4-year-old in 2000 ) , with highest incidence happening among babies who were unvaccinated or had received merely 1 dosage of diphtheria-tetanus-acellular whooping cough vaccinum. The incidence among unvaccinated 0-2-month-old kids was 235 p er 100,000 individual old ages compared to an mean incidence of 337 per 100,000 individual old ages in that age group during the 10-year period 1986-1995 before debut of DTPa ( RR 0.70, 95 % assurance interval ( CI ) 0.59-0.83 ) . In kids who had received merely one dosage of whooping cough vaccinum the incidence was 230 per 100,000 individual old ages and including all kids in the age group 3-4 months the incidence was 304 compared to an mean incidence of 677 per 100,000 individual old ages in that age group during 1986-1995 ( RR 0.45, 95 % CI 037-0.54 ) . A pronounced diminution of the reported incidence occurred after the 2nd and 3rd dosage of DTPa. After the 2nd dosage the incidence was 52 per 100,000 individual old ages. In to the full vaccinated kids ( three doses of DTPa ) the incidence was 11 per 100,000 individual old ages in kids below 2 old ages of age and 37 per 100,000 thereafter. Decreases were besides seen among older preschool-age kids, in the age groups 25-34 old ag es of age and in the +35 age groups, but non among kids aged 7-19 old ages. Degree centigrades: Documents and SettingsAdministratorDesktopEdinburgh hebdomad 1ASSIGNMT 2Important also1-s2.0-S0264410X02007776-gr1.gif The one-year incidence of culture-confirmed B. whooping cough was 89-150 per 100,000 before debut of noncellular whooping cough vaccinums. After a rapid bead in 1996-1997 the overall one-year incidence reached 17-26 per 100,000 individual old ages. The overall incidence of notified culture- and polymerase concatenation reaction-confirmed whooping cough dropped from 113 to 150 per 100,000 during 1992-1995 to 11 to 16 per 100,000 during 2001-2004. In countries of enhanced surveillance, the incidence of whooping cough was 31 per 100,000 person-years after 2 doses and 19 per 100,000 person-years after the 3rd dosage at 12 months of age. The age-specific incidence remained low for about 5 old ages after the 3rd dose but increased in kids aged 6 to 8 old ages, going 32 and 48 per 100,000 person-years, severally.Hospitalization due to pertussisDuring the period of 1997-2000, there were 145 hospital admittances due to culture-confirmed whooping cough among kids born 1996 or subsequently, dem oing an overall incidence of 18 hospitalizations per 100,000 individual old ages. Most of these kids were unvaccinated ( n = 116 ) , out of these, 97 including two deceases were below 3 months of age ( incidence 158 per 100,000 individual old ages below 3 months of age ) . There were 25 hospital admittances among kids with whooping cough who had received one dosage of DTPa ( incidence 61 per 100,000 ) , and four among kids above 5 months of age who had received two or more doses of DTPa ( incidence 0.6 per 100,000 ) . The continuance of infirmary stay was longer in the unvaccinated kids compared to the immunized kids: hospitalization for more than 1 hebdomad was seen in 49 % ( 57 of 116 hospital admittances ) among unvaccinated kids, compared to 24 % ( 6 of 25 ) among kids who had received one dosage of DTPa, and none among the four hospitalized kids who had received two or more doses of DTPa.Economic impact of the diseaseWhooping cough may be a drawn-out, terrible and awful disease ensuing in serious sequelae, doing a considerable hurt to both the kid and the household as a whole ( Johnston et al. 1985 ) . Due to the long- permanent class of the disease, the patients are exhausted, lose appetency and weight, and have disturbed dormant wonts. Behavioral alterations observed in whooping cough patients include crossness, anxiousness, and reverses in development ( Mark & A ; Granstrom 1992 ) . The disease hence becomes a â€Å" household matter † ( Mortimer 1990 ) because of societal and economic effects for the stricken households. Episodes of choking, apnoea or cyanosis in sick kids are straitening events for the full household. A survey reported disturbed slumber for 78 % of parents, with 53 % holding to go to to the kid 4 times or more each dark ( Mark & A ; Granstrom 1992 ) . The economic effects of the disease include disbursals for medical visits and drugs, and the demand to remain at place from work for a drawn-out period to take attention of the s ick kid. Meanwhile the cost of a non-hospitalised instance of whooping cough in Sweden is non documented, some European states has been estimated at ?22 per visit ( Netton and Dennet, 1999 ) and a 10-day class of Erythrocin at ?4.40 ( eBNF-36 ) . Hospital stay due to pertussis would be on mean 5 yearss at ?297 ( Netton and Dennet, 1999 ) per twenty-four hours plus extra follow up GP audiences, numbering ?1529 per patient, once more, approximately 12.5 % of hospitalised instances require specializer attention, sing on mean 4 yearss pediatric ITU attention for complications of whooping cough at ?1065 per twenty-four hours ( www.doh.gov.uk/nhsexec/refcosts/refcost2000.pdf ) and 12 yearss general ward stay, numbering ?7868 ( Matt et al. , 2001 ) . In the 1980s, the hospitalization rate attributable to pertussis in Sweden was 12 to 18 per cent for all ages ) and the average continuance of infirmary stay was 8 yearss for babies younger than 6 months, 6 yearss for kids 6-11 months of age, and 4 yearss for patients older than 12 months ( Romanus, Jonsell & A ; Bergquist 1987 ) .Issues coming upLong-run effectivity of this inoculation plan showed increased incidence of whooping cough among 7- to 8-year-olds ( i.e. chiefly noncellular whooping cough vaccine-vaccinated kids ) . This shows waning of vaccine-induced protection from whooping cough. There is a attendant addition in incidence among babies, most probably infected by older siblings, hence inoculation schemes need to be reinforced. Expanded inoculation should hold included adding supporter doses to bing childhood agendas ( preschool or stripling ) ( Gustafsson et al. , 2006 ) . Vaccine boosting has had marked possible benefits in several European states, Canada and USA ( aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦aˆÂ ¦.. ) . Attempts should be directed to increase or keep coverage of babies with three doses of DPT vaccinum at 90 per cent or higher. Surveillance of whooping cough morbidity should be strengthened and, ideally, whooping cough should stay a reportable disease. Inoculation agenda should hold besides included specific grownup subgroups that have the highest hazard of conveying B. whooping cough infection to babies ( i.e. , new parents, other contacts of neonates, and wellness attention workers ) . Reported informations based on hospitalized instances may endure from disproportional representation of terrible instances in younger kids and babies. During eruptions, describing rates may increase because of temporarily enhanced consciousness of doctors, anxiousness in the community, and media attending ( Crombie 1983 ) . Merely an approximately 5 to 25 per cent of all whooping cough instances are reported in Developed states ( Jenkinson 1983, Hinman & A ; Koplan 1984, Clarkson & A ; Fine 1985, Thomas 1989 ) and is disproportionately higher for hospitalized patients with authoritative, laboratory- confirmed disease ( Centers for Disease Control 1990 ) .DecisionMeeting the GIVS ends would intend protecting kids against 14 diseases which include whooping cough among others. With 90 % of kids under-five old ages old vaccinated against whooping cough among others, by 2015 immunisation could forestall an extra two million deceases a twelvemonth in this age group, doing a major part to meeting MDG 4. While the impact on child deceases entirely would be sufficient justification for the usage of vaccinums, the decrease of long-run disablement among kids and the cost nest eggs from decrease in clinic visits and hospitalization more than warrant their usage in kids everyplace. By maintaining kids healthy, immunisation lengthens life anticipation and the clip spent on productive activity, and thereb y contributes to a decrease in poorness ( MDG 1 ) . Harmonizing to Harvard School of Public Health squad â€Å" Healthy kids execute better at school and healthy grownups are both more productive at work and better able to be given to the wellness and instruction of their kids. Healthy households are besides more likely to salvage for the hereafter ; since they tend to hold fewer kids, resources spent on them go farther, thereby bettering their life chances † ( Bloom et al. , 2005 ) .

The Twilight Saga 3: Eclipse Chapter 4. NATURE

I WAS HAVING A BAD WEEK. I knew that essentially nothing had changed. Okay, so Victoria had not given up, but had I ever dreamed for one moment that she had? Her reappearance had only confirmed what I'd already known. No reason for fresh panic. In theory. Not panicking was easier said than done. Graduation was only a few weeks away, but I wondered if it wasn't a little foolish to sit around, weak and tasty, waiting for the next disaster. It seemed too dangerous to be human – just begging for trouble. Someone like me shouldn't be human. Someone with my luck ought to be a little less helpless. But no one would listen to me. Carlisle had said, â€Å"There are seven of us, Bella. And with Alice on our side, I don't think Victoria's going to catch us off guard. I think it's important, for Charlie's sake, that we stick with the original plan.† Esme had said, â€Å"We'd never allow anything to happen to you, sweetheart. You know that. Please don't be anxious.† And then she'd kissed my forehead. Emmett had said, â€Å"I'm really glad Edward didn't kill you. Everything's so much more fun with you around.† Rosalie had glared at him. Alice had rolled her eyes and said, â€Å"I'm offended. You're not honestly worried about this, are you?† â€Å"If it's no big deal, then why did Edward drag me to Florida?† I'd demanded. â€Å"Haven't you noticed yet, Bella, that Edward is just the teeniest bit prone to overreaction?† Jasper had silently erased all the panic and tension in my body with his curious talent of controlling emotional atmospheres. I'd felt reassured, and let them talk me out of my desperate pleading. Of course, that calm had worn off as soon as Edward and I had walked out of the room. So the consensus was that I was just supposed to forget that a deranged vampire was stalking me, intent on my death. Go about my business. I did try. And surprisingly, there were other things almost as stressful to dwell on besides my status on the endangered species list. . . . Because Edward's response had been the most frustrating of them all. â€Å"That's between you and Carlisle,† he'd said. â€Å"Of course, you know that I'm willing to make it between you and me at any time that you wish. You know my condition.† And he had smiled angelically. Ugh. I did know his condition. Edward had promised that he would change me himself whenever I wanted . . . just as long as I was married to him first. Sometimes I wondered if he was only pretending that he couldn't read my mind. How else had he struck upon the one condition that I would have trouble accepting? The one condition that would slow me down. All in all, a very bad week. And today was the worst day in it. It was always a bad day when Edward was away. Alice had foreseen nothing out of the ordinary this weekend, and so I'd insisted that he take the opportunity to go hunting with his brothers. I knew how it bored him to hunt the easy, nearby prey. â€Å"Go have fun,† I'd told him. â€Å"Bag a few mountain lions for me.† I would never admit to him how hard it was for me when he was gone – how it brought back the abandonment nightmares. If he knew that, it would make him feel horrible and he would be afraid to ever leave me, even for the most necessary reasons. It had been like that in the beginning, when he'd first returned from Italy. His golden eyes had turned black and he'd suffered from his thirst more than it was already necessary that he suffer. So I put on a brave face and all but kicked him out the door whenever Emmett and Jasper wanted to go. I think he saw through me, though. A little. This morning there had been a note left on my pillow: I'll be back so soon you won't have time to miss me. Look after my heart – I've left it with you. So now I had a big empty Saturday with nothing but my morning shift at Newton's Olympic Outfitters to distract me. And, of course, the oh-so-comforting promise from Alice. â€Å"I'm staying close to home to hunt. I'll only be fifteen minutes away if you need me. I'll keep an eye out for trouble.† Translation: don't try anything funny just because Edward is gone. Alice was certainly just as capable of crippling my truck as Edward was. I tried to look on the bright side. After work, I had plans to help Angela with her announcements, so that would be a distraction. And Charlie was in an excellent mood due to Edward's absence, so I might as well enjoy that while it lasted. Alice would spend the night with me if I was pathetic enough to ask her to. And then tomorrow, Edward would be home. I would survive. Not wanting to be ridiculously early for work, I ate my breakfast slowly, one Cheerio at a time. Then, when I'd washed the dishes, I arranged the magnets on the fridge into a perfect line. Maybe I was developing obsessive-compulsive disorder. The last two magnets – round black utilitarian pieces that were my favorites because they could hold ten sheets of paper to the fridge without breaking a sweat – did not want to cooperate with my fixation. Their polarities were reversed; every time I tried to line the last one up, the other jumped out of place. For some reason – impending mania, perhaps – this really irritated me. Why couldn't they just play nice? Stupid with stubbornness, I kept shoving them together as if I was expecting them to suddenly give up. I could have flipped one over, but that felt like losing. Finally, exasperated at myself more than the magnets, I pulled them from the fridge and held them together with two hands. It took a little effort – they were strong enough to put up a fight – but I forced them to coexist side-by-side. â€Å"See,† I said out loud – talking to inanimate objects, never a good sign – â€Å"That's not so horrible, is it?† I stood there like an idiot for a second, not quite able to admit that I wasn't having any lasting effect against scientific principles. Then, with a sigh, I put the magnets back on the fridge, a foot apart. â€Å"There's no need to be so inflexible,† I muttered. It was still too early, but I decided I'd better get out of the house before the inanimate objects started talking back. When I got to Newton's, Mike was methodically dry mopping the aisles while his mom arranged a new counter display. I caught them in the middle of an argument, unaware that I had arrived. â€Å"But it's the only time that Tyler can go,† Mike complained. â€Å"You said after graduation -â€Å" â€Å"You're just going to have to wait,† Mrs. Newton snapped. â€Å"You and Tyler can think of something else to do. You are not going to Seattle until the police stop whatever it is that is going on there. I know Beth Crowley has told Tyler the same thing, so don't act like I'm the bad guy – oh, good morning, Bella,† she said when she caught sight of me, brightening her tone quickly. â€Å"You're early.† Karen Newton was the last person I'd think to ask for help in an outdoor sports equipment store. Her perfectly highlighted blond hair was always smoothed into an elegant twist on the back of her neck, her fingernails were polished by professionals, as were her toenails – visible through the strappy high heels that didn't resemble anything Newton's offered on the long row of hiking boots. â€Å"Light traffic,† I joked as I grabbed my hideous fluorescent orange vest out from under the counter. I was surprised that Mrs. Newton was as worked up about this Seattle thing as Charlie. I'd thought he was going to extremes. â€Å"Well, er . . .† Mrs. Newton hesitated for a moment, playing uncomfortably with a stack of flyers she was arranging by the register. I stopped with one arm in my vest. I knew that look. When I'd let the Newtons know that I wouldn't be working here this summer – abandoning them in their busiest season, in effect – they'd started training Katie Marshall to take my place. They couldn't really afford both of us on the payroll at the same time, so when it looked like a slow day . . . â€Å"I was going to call,† Mrs. Newton continued. â€Å"I don't think we're expecting a ton of business today. Mike and I can probably handle things. I'm sorry you got up and drove out. . . .† On a normal day, I would be ecstatic with this turn of events. Today . . . not so much. â€Å"Okay,† I sighed. My shoulders slumped. What was I going to do now? â€Å"That's not fair, Mom,† Mike said. â€Å"If Bella wants to work -â€Å" â€Å"No, it's okay, Mrs. Newton. Really, Mike. I've got finals to study for and stuff. . . .† I didn't want to be a source of familial discord when they were already arguing. â€Å"Thanks, Bella. Mike, you missed aisle four. Um, Bella, do you mind throwing these flyers in a Dumpster on the way out? I told the girl who left them here that I'd put them on the counter, but I really don't have the room.† â€Å"Sure, no problem.† I put my vest away, and then tucked the flyers under my arm and headed out into the misty rain. The Dumpster was around the side of Newton's, next to where we employees were supposed to park. I shuffled along, kicking pebbles petulantly on my way. I was about to fling the stack of bright yellow papers into the trash when the heading printed in bold across the top caught my eye. One word in particular seized my attention. I clutched the papers in both hands as I stared at the picture beneath the caption. A lump rose in my throat. SAVE THE OLYMPIC WOLF Under the words, there was a detailed drawing of a wolf in front of a fir tree, its head thrown back in the act of baying at the moon. It was a disconcerting picture; something about the wolf's plaintive posture made him look forlorn. Like he was howling in grief. And then I was running to my truck, the flyers still locked in my grip. Fifteen minutes – that's all I had. But it should be long enough. It was only fifteen minutes to La Push, and surely I would cross the boundary line a few minutes before I hit the town. My truck roared to life without any difficulty. Alice couldn't have seen me doing this, because I hadn't been planning it. A snap decision, that was the key! And as long as I moved fast enough, I should be able to capitalize on it. I'd thrown the damp flyers in my haste and they were scattered in a bright mess across the passenger seat – a hundred bolded captions, a hundred dark howling wolves outlined against the yellow background. I barreled down the wet highway, turning the windshield wipers on high and ignoring the groan of the ancient engine. Fifty-five was the most I could coax out of my truck, and I prayed it would be enough. I had no clue where the boundary line was, but I began to feel safer as I passed the first houses outside La Push. This must be beyond where Alice was allowed to follow. I'd call her when I got to Angela's this afternoon, I reasoned, so that she'd know I was fine. There was no reason for her to get worked up. She didn't need to be mad at me – Edward would be angry enough for two when he got back. My truck was positively wheezing by the time it grated to a stop in front of the familiar faded red house. The lump came back to my throat as I stared at the little place that had once been my refuge. It had been so long since I'd been here. Before I could cut the engine, Jacob was standing in the door, his face blank with shock. In the sudden silence when the truck-roar died, I heard him gasp. â€Å"Bella?† â€Å"Hey, Jake!† â€Å"Bella!† he yelled back, and the smile I'd been waiting for stretched across his face like the sun breaking free of the clouds. His teeth gleamed bright against his russet skin. â€Å"I can't believe it!† He ran to the truck and half-yanked me through the open door, and then we were both jumping up and down like kids. â€Å"How did you get here?† â€Å"I snuck out!† â€Å"Awesome!† â€Å"Hey, Bella!† Billy had rolled himself into the doorway to see what all the commotion was about. â€Å"Hey, Bil -!† Just then my air choked off – Jacob grabbed me up in a bear hug too tight to breathe and swung me around in a circle. â€Å"Wow, it's good to see you here!† â€Å"Can't . . . breathe,† I gasped. He laughed and put me down. â€Å"Welcome back, Bella,† he said, grinning. And the way he said the words made it sound like welcome home. We started walking, too keyed up to sit still in the house. Jacob was practically bouncing as he moved, and I had to remind him a few times that my legs weren't ten feet long. As we walked, I felt myself settling into another version of myself, the self I had been with Jacob. A little younger, a little less responsible. Someone who might, on occasion, do something really stupid for no good reason. Our exuberance lasted through the first few topics of conversation: how we were doing, what we were up to, how long I had, and what had brought me here. When I hesitantly told him about the wolf flyer, his bellowing laugh echoed back from the trees. But then, as we ambled past the back of the store and shoved through the thick scrub that ringed the far edge of First Beach, we got to the hard parts. All too soon we had to talk about the reasons behind our long separation, and I watched as the face of my friend hardened into the bitter mask that was already too familiar. â€Å"So what's the story, anyway?† Jacob asked me, kicking a piece of driftwood out of his way with too much force. It sailed over the sand and then clattered against the rocks. â€Å"I mean, since the last time we . . . well, before, you know . . .† He struggled for the words. He took a deep breath and tried again. â€Å"What I'm asking is . . . everything is just back to the way it was before he left? You forgave him for all of that?† I took a deep breath. â€Å"There was nothing to forgive.† I wanted to skip past this part, the betrayals, the accusations, but I knew that we had to talk it through before we'd be able to move on to anything else. Jacob's face puckered up like he'd just licked a lemon. â€Å"I wish Sam had taken a picture when he found you that night last September. It would be exhibit A.† â€Å"Nobody's on trial.† â€Å"Maybe somebody should be.† â€Å"Not even you would blame him for leaving, if you knew the reason why.† He glared at me for a few seconds. â€Å"Okay,† he challenged acidly. â€Å"Amaze me.† His hostility was wearing on me – chafing against the raw; it hurt to have him angry with me. It reminded me of the bleak afternoon, long ago, when – under orders from Sam – he'd told me we couldn't be friends. I took a second to compose myself. â€Å"Edward left me last fall because he didn't think I should be hanging out with vampires. He thought it would be healthier for me if he left.† Jacob did a double take. He had to scramble for a minute. Whatever he'd been planning to say, it clearly no longer applied. I was glad he didn't know the catalyst behind Edward's decision. I could only imagine what he'd think if he knew Jasper had tried to kill me. â€Å"He came back, though, didn't he?† Jacob muttered. â€Å"Too bad he can't stick to a decision.† â€Å"If you remember, I went and got him.† Jacob stared at me for a moment, and then he backed off. His face relaxed, and his voice was calmer when he spoke. â€Å"That's true. So I never did get the story. What happened?† I hesitated, biting my lip. â€Å"Is it a secret?† His voice took on a taunting edge. â€Å"Are you not allowed to tell me?† â€Å"No,† I snapped. â€Å"It's just a really long story.† Jacob smiled, arrogant, and turned to walk up the beach, expecting me to follow. It was no fun being with Jacob if he was going to act like this. I trailed behind him automatically, not sure if I shouldn't turn around and leave. I was going to have to face Alice, though, when I got home. . . . I supposed I wasn't in any rush. Jacob walked to a huge, familiar piece of driftwood – an entire tree, roots and all, bleached white and beached deep in the sand; it was our tree, in a way. Jacob sat down on the natural bench, and patted the space next to him. â€Å"I don't mind long stories. Is there any action?† I rolled my eyes as I sat next to him. â€Å"There's some action,† I allowed. â€Å"It wouldn't be real horror without action.† â€Å"Horror!† I scoffed. â€Å"Can you listen, or will you be interrupting me with rude comments about my friends? â€Å" He pretended to lock his lips and then threw the invisible key over his shoulder. I tried not to smile, and failed. â€Å"I'll have to start with the stuff you were already there for,† I decided, working to organize the stories in my head before I began. Jacob raised his hand. â€Å"Go ahead.† â€Å"That's good,† he said. â€Å"I didn't understand much that was going on at the time.† â€Å"Yeah, well, it gets complicated, so pay attention. You know how Alice sees things?† I took his scowl – the wolves weren't thrilled that the legends of vampires possessing supernatural gifts were true – for a yes, and proceeded with the account of my race through Italy to rescue Edward. I kept it as succinct as possible – leaving out anything that wasn't essential. I tried to read Jacob's reactions, but his face was enigmatic as I explained how Alice had seen Edward plan to kill himself when he'd heard that I was dead. Sometimes Jacob seemed so deep in thought, I wasn't sure if he was listening. He only interrupted one time. â€Å"The fortune-telling bloodsucker can't see us?† he echoed, his face both fierce and gleeful. â€Å"Seriously? That's excellent!† I clenched my teeth together, and we sat in silence, his face expectant as he waited for me to continue. I glared at him until he realized his mistake. â€Å"Oops!† he said. â€Å"Sorry.† He locked his lips again. His response was easier to read when I got to the part about the Volturi. His teeth clenched together, goose bumps rose on his arms, and his nostrils flared. I didn't go into specifics, I just told him that Edward had talked us out of trouble, without revealing the promise we'd had to make, or the visit we were anticipating. Jacob didn't need to have my nightmares. â€Å"Now you know the whole story,† I concluded. â€Å"So it's your turn to talk. What happened while I was with my mom this weekend?† I knew Jacob would give me more details than Edward had. He wasn't afraid of scaring me. Jacob leaned forward, instantly animated. â€Å"So Embry and Quil and I were running patrol on Saturday night, just routine stuff, when out of nowhere – bam!† He threw his arms out, impersonating an explosion. â€Å"There it is – a fresh trail, not fifteen minutes old. Sam wanted us to wait for him, but I didn't know you were gone, and I didn't know if your bloodsuckers were keeping an eye on you or not. So we took off after her at full speed, but she'd crossed the treaty line before we caught up. We spread out along the line, hoping she'd cross back over. It was frustrating, let me tell you.† He wagged his head and his hair – growing out from the short crop he'd adopted when he'd joined the pack – flopped into his eyes. â€Å"We ended up too far south. The Cullens chased her back to our side just a few miles north of us. Would have been the perfect ambush if we'd known where to wait.† He shook his head, grimacing now. â€Å"That's when it got dicey. Sam and the others caught up to her before we did, but she was dancing right along the line, and the whole coven was right there on the other side. The big one, what's-his-name -â€Å" â€Å"Emmett.† â€Å"Yeah, him. He made a lunge for her, but that redhead is fast! He flew right behind her and almost rammed into Paul. So, Paul . . . well, you know Paul.† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"Lost his focus. Can't say that I blame him – the big bloodsucker was right on top of him. He sprang – hey, don't give me that look. The vampire was on our land.† I tried to compose my face so that he would go on. My nails were digging into my palms with the stress of the story, even though I knew it had turned out fine. â€Å"Anyway, Paul missed, and the big one got back on his side. But by then the, er, well the, uh, blonde . . .† Jacob's expression was a comical mix of disgust and unwilling admiration as he tried to come up with a word to describe Edward's sister. â€Å"Rosalie.† â€Å"Whatever. She got real territorial, so Sam and I fell back to get Paul's flanks. Then their leader and the other blond male -â€Å" â€Å"Carlisle and Jasper.† He gave me an exasperated look. â€Å"You know I don't really care. Anyway, so Carlisle spoke to Sam, trying to calm things down. Then it was weird, because everyone got really calm really fast. It was that other one you told me about, messing with our heads. But even though we knew what he was doing, we couldn't not be calm.† â€Å"Yeah, I know how it feels.† â€Å"Really annoying, that's how it feels. Only you can't be annoyed until afterwards.† He shook his head angrily. â€Å"So Sam and the head vamp agreed that Victoria was the priority, and we started after her again. Carlisle gave us the line, so that we could follow the scent properly, but then she hit the cliffs just north of Makah country, right where the line hugs the coast for a few miles. She took off into the water again. The big one and the calm one wanted permission to cross the line to go after her, but of course we said no.† â€Å"Good. I mean, you were being stupid, but I'm glad. Emmett's never cautious enough. He could have gotten hurt.† Jacob snorted. â€Å"So did your vampire tell you we attacked for no reason and his totally innocent coven -â€Å" â€Å"No,† I interrupted. â€Å"Edward told me the same story, just without quite as many details.† â€Å"Huh,† Jacob said under his breath, and he bent over to pick up a rock from among the millions of pebbles at our feet. With a casual flick, he sent it flying a good hundred meters out into the bay. â€Å"Well, she'll be back, I guess. We'll get another shot at her.† I shuddered; of course she would be back. Would Edward really tell me next time? I wasn't sure. I'd have to keep an eye on Alice, to look for the signs that the pattern was about to repeat. . . . Jacob didn't seem to notice my reaction. He was staring across the waves with a thoughtful expression on his face, his broad lips pursed. â€Å"What are you thinking about?† I asked after a long, quiet time. â€Å"I'm thinking about what you told me. About when the fortune-teller saw you cliff jumping and thought you'd committed suicide, and how it all got out of control. . . . Do you realize that if you had just waited for me like you were supposed to, then the bl – Alice wouldn't have been able to see you jump? Nothing would have changed. We'd probably be in my garage right now, like any other Saturday. There wouldn't be any vampires in Forks, and you and me . . .† He trailed off, deep in thought. It was disconcerting the way he said this, like it would be a good thing to have no vampires in Forks. My heart thumped unevenly at the emptiness of the picture he painted. â€Å"Edward would have come back anyway.† â€Å"Are you sure about that?† he asked, belligerent again as soon as I spoke Edward's name. â€Å"Being apart . . . It didn't work out so well for either of us.† He started to say something, something angry from his expression, but he stopped himself, took a breath, and began again. â€Å"Did you know Sam is mad at you?† â€Å"Me?† It took me a second. â€Å"Oh. I see. He thinks they would have stayed away if I wasn't here.† â€Å"No. That's not it.† â€Å"What's his problem then?† Jacob leaned down to scoop up another rock. He turned it over and over in his fingers; his eyes were riveted on the black stone while he spoke in a low voice. â€Å"When Sam saw . . . how you were in the beginning, when Billy told them how Charlie worried when you didn't get better, and then when you started jumping off cliffs . . .† I made a face. No one was ever going to let me forget that. Jacob's eyes flashed up to mine. â€Å"He thought you were the one person in the world with as much reason to hate the Cullens as he does. Sam feels sort of . . . betrayed that you would just let them back into your life like they never hurt you.† I didn't believe for a second that Sam was the only one who felt that way. And the acid in my voice now was for both of them. â€Å"You can tell Sam to go right to -â€Å" â€Å"Look at that,† Jacob interrupted me, pointing to an eagle in the act of plummeting down toward the ocean from an incredible height. It checked itself at the last minute, only its talons breaking the surface of the waves, just for an instant. Then it flapped away, its wings straining against the load of the huge fish it had snagged. â€Å"You see it everywhere,† Jacob said, his voice suddenly distant. â€Å"Nature taking its course – hunter and prey, the endless cycle of life and death.† I didn't understand the point of the nature lecture; I guessed that he was just trying to change the subject. But then he looked down at me with dark humor in his eyes. â€Å"And yet, you don't see the fish trying to plant a kiss on the eagle. You never see that.† He grinned a mocking grin. I grinned back tightly, though the acid taste was still in my mouth. â€Å"Maybe the fish was trying,† I suggested. â€Å"It's hard to tell what a fish is thinking. Eagles are good-looking birds, you know.† â€Å"Is that what it comes down to?† His voice was abruptly sharper. â€Å"Good looks?† â€Å"Don't be stupid, Jacob.† â€Å"Is it the money, then?† he persisted. â€Å"That's nice,† I muttered, getting up from the tree. â€Å"I'm flattered that you think so much of me.† I turned my back on him and paced away. â€Å"Aw, don't get mad.† He was right behind me; he caught my wrist and spun me around. â€Å"I'm serious! I'm trying to understand here, and I'm coming up blank.† His eyebrows pushed together angrily, and his eyes were black in their deep shadow. â€Å"I love him. Not because he's beautiful or because he's rich!† I spat the word at Jacob. â€Å"I'd much rather he weren't either one. It would even out the gap between us just a little bit – because he'd still be the most loving and unselfish and brilliant and decent person I've ever met. Of course I love him. How hard is that to understand?† â€Å"It's impossible to understand.† â€Å"Please enlighten me, then, Jacob.† I let the sarcasm flow thick. â€Å"What is a valid reason for someone to love someone else? Since apparently I'm doing it wrong.† â€Å"I think the best place to start would be to look within your own species. That usually works.† â€Å"Well, that just sucks!† I snapped. â€Å"I guess I'm stuck with Mike Newton after all.† Jacob flinched back and bit his lip. I could see that my words had hurt him, but I was too mad to feel bad about that yet. He dropped my wrist and folded his arms across his chest, turning from me to glare toward the ocean. â€Å"I'm human,† he muttered, his voice almost inaudible. â€Å"You're not as human as Mike,† I continued ruthlessly. â€Å"Do you still think that's the most important consideration?† â€Å"It's not the same thing.† Jacob didn't look away from the gray waves. â€Å"I didn't choose this.† I laughed once in disbelief. â€Å"Do you think Edward did? He didn't know what was happening to him any more than you did. He didn't exactly sign up for this.† Jacob was shaking his head back and forth with a small, quick movement. â€Å"You know, Jacob, you're awfully self-righteous – considering that you're a werewolf and all.† â€Å"It's not the same,† Jacob repeated, glowering at me. â€Å"I don't see why not. You could be a bit more understanding about the Cullens. You have no idea how truly good they are – to the core, Jacob.† He frowned more deeply. â€Å"They shouldn't exist. Their existence goes against nature.† I stared at him for a long moment with one eyebrow raised incredulously. It was a while before he noticed. â€Å"What?† â€Å"Speaking of unnatural . . . ,† I hinted. â€Å"Bella,† he said, his voice slow and different. Aged. I realized that he sounded suddenly older than me – like a parent or a teacher. â€Å"What I am was born in me. It's a part of who I am, who my family is, who we all are as a tribe – it's the reason why we're still here. â€Å"Besides that† – he looked down at me, his black eyes unreadable – â€Å"I am stillhuman.† He picked up my hand and pressed it to his fever-warm chest. Through his t-shirt, I could feel the steady beating of his heart under my palm. â€Å"Normal humans can't throw motorcycles around the way you can.† He smiled a faint, half-smile. â€Å"Normal humans run away from monsters, Bella. And I never claimed to be normal. Just human.† Staying angry with Jacob was too much work. I started to smile as I pulled my hand away from his chest. â€Å"You look plenty human to me,† I allowed. â€Å"At the moment.† â€Å"I feel human.† He stared past me, his face far away. His lower lip trembled, and he bit down on it hard. â€Å"Oh, Jake,† I whispered, reaching for his hand. This was why I was here. This was why I would take whatever reception waited for me when I got back. Because, underneath all the anger and the sarcasm, Jacob was in pain. Right now, it was very clear in his eyes. I didn't know how to help him, but I knew I had to try. It was more than that I owed him. It was because his pain hurt me, too. Jacob had become a part of me, and there was no changing that now.