Evaluation of story board “Unrelated incidents” Essay

My video is intended to portray unrelated incidents in a way which my gcse audience would understand it is also designed to increase the dramatic impact of the poem and there for increase the pupils understanding of the poem. i started the video with the image of big Ben at six o’clock, this is the image used to start the BBC news so I felt that it was an appropriate image to start this poem as it is about the news and how its read. The reason I choose a man with a posh Standard English voice to do the narration for this section is that this is stereotypically the kind of voice used to introduce the BBC news. Also the image and the voice create a image of typical English news which would increase the impact of the next section on the audience. The introduction of the Glaswegian man is the most effective and best way of presenting the poem as written to an audience through a video. The image of the man standing in a field with mountains and a lake in the background, rolling a cigarette is a dramatic contrast to the image from the first section of typical ‘Englishness’. The man is meant to represent the average everyday man from Glasgow, as the poem appears to be a look at that person’s perspective on the news, and the English attitude towards him. The sky would be moving with the storm clouds gathering to show the mans anger at the way his treating gathering and increasing. This section is meant to show the mans disgust at the attitude of the ‘scruff’ towards him because of his accent so he would be being sarcastic with these comments. The sky moving would again show the mans anger rising. The image in this section contrast sharply with the next image this should semi-shock the audience increasing the impact. Through out the video I am trying to create a feeling of contrast this is to show how sharply the image of the Glaswegian contrasts with the image of the man with the BBC accent. This scene is showing how the man is different and is rebelling against the constraints of society (a image which members of my teenage audience would agree with there for increasing the impact.) The people in the suits represent the ‘BBC accent’ and the mans clear dislike of them and opposition to them(shown by his violent walk against the flow.) The people in the suits are also meant to be shown as the ‘scruff’ which the man despises. The way the ‘scruff’s’ ignore the man shows how they don’t think he’s important enough to worry about. This leads on to the next scene. This is designed to show how the truth is ignored if its spoken by the Glaswegian despite people knowing its true, the man in the suits attitude is showing again how the Glaswegian is ignored because of the way he looks and speaks. The man in the suit shows how society doesn’t care about the man because he’s not part of the ‘scruff’. The man is narrating with the clip of Trevor Mcdonald talking to demonstrate one of the ‘scruffs’ talking. This image also brings the subject of the video back to the news which is of course the basis of the poem. This scene is then followed by a similar scene, which shows the image of the Glaswegian as one of the ‘scuffs’ talking. This section is shown in the newsroom to show how despite being different what the man says is the truth. This section of the poem is about how the man is one of the ‘scruffs’. The image of the television is used so that the violent action of the TV being smashed is shocking and contrasting. The reason I have put the man from the bench standing with the hammer and speaking with a strong accent is to put across the message that sometimes people are not what you expect them to be. Also this image is a clear ending with camera fading to black. The entire video is designed to portray the anger, bitterness and contempt the Glasswegian man has towards the â€Å"scruffs†. It is supposed to show this in a interesting and different way, I think that the dramatic changes in camera shot and scenery would help to keep the interest of the audience. The reason I have chose to include ‘Rage against the machine’ song â€Å"break stuff† is because the lyrics of this song as well as being well known are also very appropriate for this poem. Lyrics like â€Å"its just the rage built up in side of me, fist in the air in the land of hypocrisy† would help to portray the poems message also the song would help hold the audiences attention. The reason I chose not to include it during the last section is that it would distract slightly from the narrators words also the last section is very important if students are to understand the poems message. I did not feel the need to portray every image in the poem visually as I felt many were self explanatory using just aural techniques. Also I felt that it would increase the audiences interest if they had to actually search for the meaning and reasoning behind some of my scene choices.

Muslim Cities DBQ Essay

The Post-Classical Era was a time of goodness in the Middle East. Goods were plentiful, Islam was spreading, and the people were wealthy. The Muslim cities spread innovations throughout the world. The document groupings for the discussion of this topic are as follows: Documents 2, 1, and 5 are for city significance. Documents 3, 5, and 8 are for importance of trade. Finally, documents 4, 6, and 9 are for government and its role. Document 7 has been omitted due to the fact that it does not support my thesis. Muslim cities were abundant with knowledge, which they spread throughout the world. Scholars of all religions studied in Muslim cities, which were some of the first cities to produce books. In Document 2, a Muslim historian describes Cordoba, stating: â€Å"Unto it flocked seekers of science and poetry, for it was a resort of the noble and a mine of the learned.† It was a center of knowledge-seekers, perfect for any type of learned person. As the scholars came and went, they spread their knowledge with them, eventually spreading it all over the world. In addition to having much knowledge, Muslim cities also accumulated much wealth. Document 1 describes Damascus as â€Å"the paradise of the east†, discussing its luxurious features. Document 5 discusses the highly-priced silks that were sold in Muslim cities. I request an additional document, in which a non-Muslim describes Muslim cities, to better understand an outsider’s point of view. Trade was a large part of both Muslim and Arabic culture. It was how ideas and innovations spread all over the world; simply through word of mouth. Document 3 mentions Cairo’s numerous shops in the 11th century, of which the Sultan owned. Cairo was a rich city, of which was popular for trade. Document 5 describes trade in Tabriz, and the expensive materials that were traded. Document 8 is a map that shows numerous Muslim trade routes across North Africa, Southern Europe, and several parts of Asia. Muslim traded in many parts of the Eastern world, travelling by both land and sea. I request a trade catalog, to better prove where Muslims may have traded in the Post-Classical Era. Muslims were not always secure in government. In Document 4, Caliph Abd al-Malik forbade Syrian Muslims from making annual pilgrimage to holy cities  (some of which are mentioned in Document 9) due to the fact that they had a high chance of being attacked. The Muslim people were upset, but they were unable to convince their leader to change his mind. In Document 6, walls were built to guard Muslims from attackers (which was not always successful; as the Mongols and the Crusades had been successful attackers). In conclusion, The Muslim cities spread innovations throughout the world. Their populated and learned cities were a gateway to trade, which lead to successful trading all over the world. They shared their ideas with many nations, despite the fact that they occasionally had a weak government.

Urban Enterprise Zones

Some policies that could promote economic growth are tax rebates, lowering interest rates and developing Urban Enterprise Zones (UEZs). Providing rebates on home purchases, appliances and home upgrades encourages people to spend money. Lower interest rates work to stimulate home sales, credit card loans and investment in the stock market. UEZs offer lower tax rates, encouraging people to shop and spend money.2) Schumpeter's creative destruction describes how long-term economic growth is sustained by innovative entrepreneurs even when established companies are destroyed. This is less likely to occur in less developed countries because there are less entrepreneurs with less available funds than developed countries. This allows older companies, sometimes even monopolies, to maintain their position in the market.3) With reductions in government spending on higher education, the rate of growth in the United States will surely drop. Less government funding means many students will no longe r be able to afford the cost of tuition.This leads to an unskilled workforce and a downturn in economic growth. Less funding could also translate to lower quality in public colleges and universities. Many people rely on these institutions for respected degrees at a lower cost than private schools. This too would lead to less college graduates and again, an unskilled workforce.

Inquiring Minds want to know Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Inquiring Minds want to know - Assignment Example This is far more than what numbers can suggest as the supplementary text allows the reader to understand why the research was conducted (the problem recognition) along with the potential shortcomings of the study (Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006). It further aids the comprehension of statistics and quantifiable metrics. In the words of one author, the use of text allows researchers to provide background information and highlight major trends from the research. The statistical information would be presented in this case by starting from the broader background (problem recognition) and ending with specific details. This is usually used in most research reports that begin with broader context (goals and objectives of research) and end up with specific findings and recommendations. A useful tool for representing statistical data would be drawing a â€Å"five number summary† on a chart known as the box-plot. The spread in customers’ responses shall be indica ted and enable the decision maker interpret the inquiry method towards which customers are skewed. Bar charts can be used to convey values through a scaled axis and make comparison easier along a multitude of dimensions. For instance, two parallel bar charts could be constructed for 1992 and 1997 depicting the inquiry methods used. Next, a pie chart could be extremely useful to depict the responses of the primary research conducted through 676 respondents. Apart from being visually appealing, pie charts allow the percentage of total held by each category, thereby making it easier to assess its contribution towards the total ‘pie’ (Iversen, Gergen, & Gergen, 1997). For instance, the ‘forecasted’ use of internet by respondents during next five years could be compared with the use of internet during the past year using two separate pie charts. Multiple bar charts would also be extremely useful in depicting data pertaining to the â€Å"newer inquiry methodsâ⠂¬  including Web-visits, fax-on-demand and email. These charts would allow the decision maker to not only compare the data within each class but also across classes (Francis, 2008). Furthermore, the data in this case is overlapping and not mutually exclusive. For instance, the use of e-mail (as an inquiry method) in the next five years by 73.7% of the respondents does not mean that these individuals are ‘not’ included in the 72.2% of respondents that will visit the website. In other words, it is highly possible that respondents using e-mail may â€Å"also† visit the web and vice versa. This necessitates using multiple bar charts as, unlike bar charts or pie charts, a ‘total’ is not required here. Since the decision maker is concerned more about drawing the comparison than looking at the respective proportions per se this method of representing data would be highly useful. As far as the data of respondents using telephone as an inquiry method for im mediate needs and mail for non-immediate needs is concerned, tables would be the most effective way of representing data. Tables have, since long, been considered as one of the most effective way of displaying data. They enable the decision make

The Theme of Sexuality in Their Eyes Were Watching God Research Paper

The Theme of Sexuality in Their Eyes Were Watching God - Research Paper Example novel, and Hurston describes it in the context of slavery to show that it was a regular and repeated aspect of the black woman’s experience in slavery, and occurred in the early formative age of adulthood in the place of a woman’s education. The relation of racist authority to rape in the narrative is that Janie’s father and grandfather are both portrayed as white, and the educational system is equated in lineage with the system of slave ownership. This is a fundamental social and political critique that is introduced through the common dialect of the Southern woman and related through her personal sexual experience. The historical base is expressed by Zora Neale Hurston through sexual relationships, and this interracial sexuality is paradoxical, integral, and structural in her writing throughout the novel. In this context of repression, Hurston presents only a brief glimpse of the hope for genuine love in youth, which is quickly replaced with a black folk tradition that is portrayed as repressive to womanhood in a manner equally to be resisted and run away from as slavery. The repression of family tradition is portrayed through forced marriage, which implied another type of rape and forced servitude of the woman. Janie’s compromise is to arrange a marriage on her own terms that supports her own self materially on her own terms, even if she has to leave everything she knows to do so. Thus she provides for her needs while giving herself a limited economic role in the society at large through her husband’s business. When this ends early through the death of Joe Starks, Janie has the ability to choose any man in her society from a position of independent stature. Rather than the professor or tycoon, Hurston presents Tea Cake as a model of the black male with whom Janie most identifies. Their love also accelerates into death, but in this instance it is from the increased slow burn of passions, rather than their extinguishment. In the end, the gossip of black

How Personal Can Ethics Get Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

How Personal Can Ethics Get - Essay Example For this very reason, it has become matter-of-factly for executives to trade in what is moral for what is lucrative. Decision-making is an integral process of everyday life. In a nutshell, it governs everything that we do from the moment we gain consciousness everyday. We decide what time to wake up, what breakfast to eat, what clothes to wear, etc. The same goes in a business environment. Every decision that must be made affects the entire company. But more than this, it also affects the community and is not delineated to only those belonging to the company. When one looks at every decision process in this context, then greed shall not govern the action of corporate honchos that run businesses which in turn affects everyone’s lives. â€Å"There is a natural principle of benevolence in human beings which, to some extent, has the same relation to society that self-love has to the individual† (Borchart & Stewart, 1986). Culture, from the origin of the word itself means cu ltivate. It is an aspect which can be formed and molded according to the necessities of the time and the will of those forming it. It may be for the better or for the worse depending on the vision of the leader who oversees the group. The same goes for an organization and how it may develop its culture. When it is focused on short-term goals of profit generation without regard for the welfare of other people, and when this is done time and again, then it becomes a part of that company’s culture and its own identity. Once this happens it becomes difficult to break away from and willpower is necessary to steer it into its right track. But when an organization builds from within itself a culture of excellence with concern for other members of the community, then this emanates and the growth of the organization becomes evident as all members have the common goal and the common missions that they must adhere to. Whole Foods Market presents an example for a company that strives to change the perception of a business venture and make it an overall experience for its customers. Founded by John Mackey in 1980, the small company has grown into a large corporation with 170 stores. Driven by the idea to make grocery shopping a whole new experience, Mackey launched the company which incorporated a wide array of choices and interactive experience with its courteous and informed employees. Steve Demos of White Wave says, â€Å"Wall Street – that’s where the fun begins. They only measure one thing, the bottom line. My goal is to demonstate that the principle-based business model is more profitable than its counterpart, and when we do, Wall Street will chase us instead of the other way around† (Slocum & Hellriegel, 2007). Like Demos, Mackey ardently believes in not sticking by the rules laid out in Wall Street whhere big and fast profit is the name of the game. He argues that a steady growth directed at a long-term goal is the way to go rather than relying on quarterly figures to determine the next steps of the company. Whole Foods even went so far as to release a ‘Declaration of Interdependence’ affirming their motto: â€Å"Whole Foods, Whole People, Whole Planet.† Corporate greed had always been regarded as an acceptable reality in our society. Big busineeses always had been denoted as having attained their status based on shady transactions and corporate manipulations that CEOs must

Advanced Project-Complete knowledge of Public Relations as it Relates Essay

Advanced Project-Complete knowledge of Public Relations as it Relates to Creating a PR Campaign - Essay Example This paper will explain the essentials of public relations and analyze the ingredients of effective public relations campaigns while putting more weight on television-oriented campaigns. On a professional perspective, public relations is a collection of exercises that the administration embraces to measure and assess the mentality, estimations and assumptions of the general population about the institution (Bernays 3). The readiness of an advertising arrangement is a vital piece of whoever decides courses of action, techniques, and policies regarding public interest, which the organization will abide by and implement (Wilcox 8). Public relations is used in conventional marketing to influence the buying habits of customers. Moreover, public relations is part of a comprehensive amalgam of marketing communications including sales promotion, advertising, and direct sales (Bernays 12). Effective utilization and practice of the theory of public relations results in the improvement of the organization’s public view, which often depicts an ethical and responsible company concerned with its customers’ welfare (Wilcox 3). The basic functions of public relations can be categorized into community relations, employee relations, financial relations, crisis communications, and political and government relations (Bernays 10). Any institution ought to be seen as a decent group part and ought to have the goodwill of that group in which it directs its operations. A powerful program for group relations ought to be far reaching and proceeding. Institutions can execute a scope of projects on a consistent or continuous premise meant for enhancing group relations. Subsequently, one of the center capacities of PR is to abbreviate the group-business gap (Bernays 10). At the point when institutions help projects and activities that better the life

Article Abstract 8 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Article Abstract 8 - Essay Example The empirical analysis is carried out on a racial basis. The conclusion of the research is that race has no significance whatsoever where the price of a rookie baseball card is concerned. This conclusion was reached after lack of evidence of customer discrimination on racial basis for the blacks or Hispanics research subjects (Gabriel, Curtis and Timothy 228). The estimation of the results of the research analysis has been well broken down and articulated well. This is especially so after the results being differentiated for the hitter and pitchers and the composite indexes of the prices well indicated. The estimated results also differentiate between the card price of Hispanics and that of the blacks in the descriptive statistics. The researchers did not clearly explain the sample size, population or even the sampling technique used in this particular research. The other thing that should have been present but lacked in this research is more literature review. The researchers only dwelt on literature by one group of researchers and hence making the research not

Capital Budgeting Process Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Capital Budgeting Process - Assignment Example The foremost reason for going public is to raise additional capital by issuing shares to the general investing public. This means other funding sources such as internally generated profits or financing through bank loans had been considered and set aside in favor of an IPO. Owners of private companies will now have to contend with the fact that they will lose some control by the issuance of new shares but they have other compensation in return for doing it such as new funds for expansion (new products and new markets), increased liquidity for the current shareholders by creating an active market for the stock to trade and change hands, the stock itself can become a valuable currency to fund new acquisitions (some mergers are made using company stock instead of cash payment), increase employee motivation through stock options to compensate good performance and in general enhance a companys reputation via a well-executed IPO process from start to end. Preparations are made long before the actual IPO itself and it involves three main participants: the issuing firm, the underwriter and the public. The initial public offering can become a difficult and contentious issue if not handled properly because of the conflicting claims and interests of the three main parties mentioned. An important factor that determines if an IPO is successful is correct timing. As they say, timing is everything, from setting an ideal price range that maximizes the funds that will be generated to the market's reception of the offering. If a decision had been made to go through with the IPO, there are two considerations to be made regarding correct timing: firstly is the stage of the firm's development.

Training and Development Task 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Training and Development Task 1 - Essay Example irectly, there are safety precautions that must be in place, and observed with utmost care as demanded by most of the occupational health and safety regulations (Brumitt & Human Kinetics (Organization), 2010). In many industries, people have succumbed injuries caused by poor human resource management. Professionalism, besides safety management is a crucial consideration as far as managing human input is concerned. Employees should be adequately equipped with the appropriate skills required in various production areas, which calls for sufficient implementation of training and talent development measures. The proper establishment of favorable working conditions is also important to this pursuit – management of human resource in the residential roofing installation company. When the employees are safe and enhanced professionally, they would eventually attain the highest performance ratios (Landy & Conte, 2010). To initiate the training and development programs successfully, a needs assessment should be conducted effectively. The management should conduct the systematic process of addressing and determining the needs emanating from the current and desired conditions. To identify the need appropriately, the measurement of the wanted (future) conditions as well as the current conditions is imperative. This would help notify the needs of the operational situations that need to be tackled in the process of human resource management. Numerous requirements are needed to curb the challenges faced by the company to ensure employees are safe and well cared for during their operations such as the use of safety tools besides training. Conducting the needs assessment, prior to training, helps the company in many ways. For instance, it enables the company to identify the prospective needs for the production process. The needs assessment procedures also establish the nature and causes of needs experience d by the company. Lastly, by the realization of the needs, their causes and

Respecting the Planet With Sustainable Consumption and Production Essay

Respecting the Planet With Sustainable Consumption and Production - Essay Example This strategy has been formulated in acknowledgement of the government's responsibility of "respecting the limits of the planet's environment, resources and biodiversity" and launched through the publication of Securing the Future: Delivering UK Sustainable Development Strategy (2005). There are four definite strategic priorities that the government has decided upon, namely sustainable consumption and production, climate change, natural resource protection, and sustainable communities. The way the government deals with its priorities would be a decisive factor in determining whether we are, in fact, respecting the limits of the planet's environment, resources and biodiversity. The UK government is talking of a "one planet economy" when it comes to its strategies for sustainable consumption and production. Securing the Future relates the fact that the environmental effects of increasing global consumption and production patterns are adverse to the point of severity. Moreover, trade liberalization has got to be promoted and supported internationally, along with environmental protection and sustainable development to help the developing nations of our world. ... another need expressed through the new strategy is to raise people's awareness of social and environmental issues so that all citizens and consumers would hold themselves responsible for respecting the limits of the planet's environment, resources and biodiversity.In detail, the strategy for sustainable consumption and production involves seven concerns. First, it is crucial at this point in time that we engage in the augmentation of UK and international measures to improve the environmental performance of goods and services. This includes an enhancement of product design. Second, resource efficiency must be improved with renewed commitment. Waste must be reduced in addition to harmful emissions across business sectors. The Business Resource Efficiency and Waste (BREW) program is an aid and a means to achieve our goal. Third, the government would like to influence the consumption patterns of people across the world so as to respect the limits of the planet's environment, resources an d biodiversity. This strategy includes the issue of proposals for new advice - with latest facts - for consumers. Fourth, the UK government would like new commitments on sustainable procurement in the public sector. This is to make the United Kingdom a leader within the European Union by the year 2009. Fifth, the government plans to provide as much support as required for innovation to introduce new goods, materials, and services. Sixth, the UK government would like to strengthen its partnerships with key business sectors, that is, food, environmental industries, transport, tourism, retailers, and the construction industries. Lastly, the government aims to review its waste strategy with greater stress on moderating waste at source and making use of the waste as a

Cengage Learning Essay Example for Free

Cengage Learning Essay After taking the survey regarding the climate of my organization, I gained interesting insight into my company’s position in the work/life area. The survey provided by the Work and Family Connection asked twenty questions, in which I enjoyed answering. 1. My manager/supervisor treats my work/life needs with sensitivity. Agree 2. It is usually easy for me to manage the demands of both work and home life. Agree 3. My career path at this company is limited because of the pressure of home life demands. Disagree 4. My job at this company keeps me from maintaining the quality of life I want. Disagree 5. My manager/supervisor is supportive when home life issues interfere with work. Disagree 6. My manager/supervisor focuses on results, rather than the time I am at my desk. Disagree 7. My manager/supervisor has a good understanding of flexible work hour practices. Agree 8. If I requested a flexible work arrangement, my manager/supervisor would support me. Agree 9. My manager/supervisor is often inflexible or insensitive about my personal needs. Disagree 10. I believe my manager treats me with respect. Agree 11. My manager allows me informal flexibility as long as I get the job done. Agree 12. My manager tends to treat us like children. Disagree 13. My manager seldom gives me praise or recognition for the work I do. Disagree 14. My manager seems to care about me as a person. Agree 15. I would recommend this company to others. Agree 16. The work I do is not all that important to this company’s success. Disagree 17. If I could find another job with better pay, I would leave this organization. Disagree 18. If I could find another job where I would be treated with respect, I would take it. Disagree 19. If I could find another job where I could have more flexibility, I would take it. Agree 20. I am totally committed to this company. Agree Since I scored seventeen, I am in the category that states that my organization is supportive and more flexible than most; however, there is room for me to grow (Snell Bohlander, 2013). This scoring seems highly accurate to me. I do feel as though I have a very supportive and flexible place of employment; however, I feel that there is room for improvement. References Snell, S. , Bohlander, G. (2013). Managing human resources. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.

Challanges That Face The Change Management Business Essay

Challanges That Face The Change Management Business Essay Change management is a structured and strategic approach to initiate and manage the change process in the organization structure and culture as well as the individuals/teams behaviour and attitude towards the change transition in the field of the business processes, technology implementation or any other policies of an enterprise. Change management is about modifying or transforming organizations in order to maintain or improve their effectiveness. Change Management Models: There are several change management models that the enterprises follow while undertaking the change management process depending upon the ground realities and the organizational culture of the enterprise seeking the change processes. One of such models popularly known is described by John Kotter, who has set out an eight-step strategy for change management. These are as below 1. To establish a sense of urgency among the people in the organization. 2. To create a guiding coalition which will steer the reformation with the correct focus and aim to achieve the desired outcome. 3. To develop a clear vision and plan the strategy accordingly. 4. To communicate the change in vision to the people of the organization in a clear fashion. 5. To empower employees towards taking broad-based action to benefit the organization. 6. To generate short-term wins which in a whole would give the organization a long term winning result. 7. To consolidate all the gains of different volumes and ultimately produce desired changes. 8. To anchor new approaches in the culture and operation process of the organization. The above described model is designed keeping in focus on specific activities that will impact results. The benefits of using this model include evaluating employee resistance, help employees transition through the process, create employee specific action plans, and develop a change management plan keeping all the employees of the organization in mind and involve them in the entire process. Case Study Details: The Change Leader: In May 1996, K.V. Kamath replaced Narayan Vaghul as CEO of Indias leading financial services company Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI). Immediately after taking charge, Kamath felt and understood that the organization needs to go through a change to shift its focus from just being a bank to create a difference and stand tall and different from all other competitors to create a brand name in the economic structure of India as well in entire south east Asia and introduced massive changes in the organizational structure and the emphasis of the organization changed ICIC from just a development bank mode to that of a market-driven financial conglomerate. The changes also brought in a lot of confusion among the employees, with media reports frequently carrying quotes from disgruntled ICICI employees. According to analysts, a large section of employees began feeling alienated. The discontentment among employees further increased, when Kamath formed specialist groups within ICICI like the structured projects and infrastructure group. Doubts were soon raised regarding whether Kamath had gone too fast too soon, and more importantly, whether he would be able to steer the employees and the organization through the changes he had initiated. Background: ICICI was established by the Government of India in 1955 as a public limited company to promote industrial development in India. The major institutional shareholders were the Unit Trust of India (UTI), the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) and the General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) and its subsidiaries. The equity of the corporation was supplemented by borrowings from the Government of India, the World Bank, the Development Loan Fund (now merged with the Agency for International Development), Kreditanstalt fur Wiederaufbau (an agency of the Government of Germany), the UK government and the Industrial Development Bank of India (IDBI). The basic objectives of the ICICI were to à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Assist in creation, expansion and modernization of enterprises à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Encourage and promote the participation of private capital, both internal and external à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Take up the ownership of industrial investment; and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Expand the investment markets. In 1992 ICICI tied up with J P Morgan of the US to form an investment banking company, ICICI Securities Limited. In line with its vision of becoming a universal bank, ICICI restructured its business based on the recommendations of consultants McKinsey Co in 1998. In the late 1990s, ICICI concentrated on building up its retail business through acquisitions and mergers. It took over ITC Classic, Anagram Finance and merged the Shipping Credit Investment Corporation of India (SCICI) with itself. ICICI also entered the insurance business with Prudential plc of UK. ICICI was reported to be one of the few Indian companies known for its quick responsiveness to the changing circumstances. While its development bank counterpart IDBI was reportedly not doing very well in late 2001, ICICI had major plans of expanding on the anvil. This was expected to bring with it further challenges as well as potential change management issues. However, the organization did not seem to much perturbed by this, considering that it had successfully managed to handle the employee unrest following Kamaths appointment. Change Challenges Part I ICICI was a part of the club of 3 developmental finance institutions named ICICI, IDBI and IFCI, who were the sole providers of long-term funds to the Indian industry. When the requirement used to be large in volume, all three used to organize and raise the money for required funding and investment. However, the deregulation beginning in the early 1990s, allowed Indian corporate to raise long-term funds abroad, putting an end to the DFI monopoly. The government also stopped giving DFIs subsidized funds. Eventually in 1997, the practice of consortium lending by DFIs was phased out. It was amidst this newfound independent status that Kamath, who had been away from ICICI for eight years working abroad2, returned to the helm. At this point of time, ICICI had limited expertise, with its key activity being the disbursement of eight-year loans to big clients like Reliance Industries and Telco through its nine zonal offices. The change program was initiated within the organization, the first move being the creation of the Infrastructure Group (IIG), Oil Gas Group (OG), Planning and Treasury Department (PTD) and the Structured Products Group (SPG), as the lending practices were quite different for all of these different segment of industries. Kamath picked up people from various departments, who he was told were good, for these groups. The approach towards creating these new skill sets, however, led to one unintended consequence. As these new groups took on the key tasks, a majority of the work, along with a lot of good talent, shifted to the corporate center. While the zonal offices continued to do the same work disbursing loans to corporates in the same region their importance within the organization seemed to have diminished. An ex-employee remarked, The way to get noticed inside ICICI after 1996 has been to attach yourself to people who were heading these (IIG, PTD, SPG, OG) departments. These groups were seen as the thrust areas and if you worked in the zones it was difficult to be noticed. Refuting this, Kamath remarked, This may be said by people who did not make it and there will always be such people. Some of the people who did not fit in this set-up were quick to leave the organization. However, this was just the beginning of change-resistance at ICICI. In the major client group, a staff of about 30-40 people handled the needs of the top 100 customers of ICICI. On the other hand, about 60 people manned the growth client group, which looked after the needs of mid-size companies. Obviously, the bigger clients required more diverse kinds of services. So working in MCG offered better exposure and bigger orders. The net effect was that the MCG executive ended up doing more business than the GCG executive. A middle-level manager at ICICI commented, The bosses may call it handling growth clients but the GCG manager is actually chasing non-performing assets (NPA)4 and Board of Industrial and Financial Restructuring (BIFR)5 cases. Kamath was quick to deny this allegation as well, Just because somebody is within the MCG does not guarantee him success. And these assignments are not permanent. Todays MCG man could easily by tomorrows GCG person and vice-versa. Complaints against these changes put in continued and ICICI was blamed for not putting in adequate systems in place to develop the right people. The manner, which ICICI recognized an individuals efforts the feedback process was also questioned. A manager remarked, Last year the bonuses varied from Rs 30,000 to Rs 250,000 depending on the performance. In many cases the appraisal scores were same but the bonus amount was not. And we were not told why. While Kamaths comments in the media seemed to dismiss many of the employee complaints, ICICI was in fact, putting in place a host of measures to check this unrest. One of the first initiatives was regarding imparting new skills to existing employees. Training programmes and seminars were conducted for around 257 officers by external agencies, covering different areas. In addition, in-house training programmes were conducted in Pune and Mumbai. During 1995-96, around 35 officers were nominated for overseas training programmes organized by universities in the US and Europe. ICICI also introduced a two-year Graduates Management Training Programme (GMTP) for officers in the Junior Management grades. Along with the training to the employees, management also took steps to set right the reward system. To avoid the negative impact of profit center approach, wherein pressure to show profits might affect standards of integrity within an organization, management ensured that rewards were related to group performance and not individual performances. To reward individual star performers, the method of selecting a star performer was made transparent. This made it clear, that there would be closer relationship between performance and reward. However, it was reported that pressure on accountability triggered off some levels of anxiety within ICICI which resulted in a lot of stress in human relationships. By 2000, ICICI had emerged as the second largest financial institution in India with assets worth Rs 582 billion. The company had eight subsidiaries providing various financial services and was present in almost all the areas of financial services: medium and long term lending, investment and commercial banking, venture capital financing, consultancy and advisory services, debenture trusteeship and custodial services. Change Challenges Part II ICICI had to face change resistance once again in December 2000, when ICICI Bank was merged with Bank of Madura (BOM). Though ICICI Bank was nearly three times the size of BOM, its staff strength was only 1,400 as against BOMs 2,500. Half of BOMs personnel were clerks and around 350 were subordinate staff. There were large differences in profiles, grades, designations and salaries of personnel in the two entities. It was also reported that there was uneasiness among the staff of BOM as they felt that ICICI would push up the productivity per employee, to match the levels of ICICI7. BOM employees feared that their positions would come in for a closer scrutiny. They were not sure whether the rural branches would continue or not as ICICIs business was largely urban-oriented. The apprehensions of the BOM employees seemed to be justified as the working culture at ICICI and BOM were quite different and the emphasis of the respective management was also different. TABLE I POST-MERGER EMPLOYEE BEHAVIORAL PATTERN PERIOD EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR Day 1 Denial, fear, no improvement After a month Sadness, slight improvement After a Year Acceptance, significant improvement After 2 Years Relief, liking, enjoyment, business development activities Based on the above findings, ICICI established systems to take care of the employee resistance with action rather than words. The fear of the unknown was tackled with adept communication and the fear of inability to function was addressed by adequate training. The company also formulated a HR blue print to ensure smooth integration of the human resources. (Refer Table II). TABLE II MANAGING HR DURING THE ICICI-BOM MERGER THE HR BLUEPRINT AREAS OF HR INTEGRATION FOCUSSED ON à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ A data base of the entire HR structure à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Road map of career à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Determining the blue print of HR moves à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Communication of milestones à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ IT Integration People Integration -Business Integration. à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Employee communication à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Cultural integration à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Organization structuring à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Recruitment Compensation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Performance management à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Training à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Employee relations ICICI transferred around 450 BOM employees to ICICI Bank, while 300 ICICI employees were shifted to BOM branches. Promotion schemes for BOM employees were initiated and around 800 BOM officers were found to be eligible for the promotions. By the end of the year, ICICI seemed to have successfully handled the HR aspects of the BOM merger. Learnings From the Case Study: 1. Change Identification Awareness of necessity for organizational renewal created in the life cycle of company to preserve local competitive market and being capable to take global market in future. 2. Goal Setting Positive consequences of change process were listed to make better sense about changes. This list components including: a) Better quality of services to client b) Achieve much more income c) Go ahead of rivals d) Prepare and set modern standards in the banking and investing industry e) Better management for referred projects 3. Current State Evaluation In the ICICI there are some potentialities such as skills, knowledge, financial resources and human resources which are elements to support change process, but these were not utilized with management methods. In addition, considering capability of company and its target it was needed to engage some new specialties and also there was not any procedure for communication between employees. 4. Implementation In a change process, the most important points to start up are those which have maximum problems, so in order to solve these problems some improvement projects were defined as below: a) Promotion of human resources Prepare and modify organization structure to modern matrix structure instead of hierarchy structure. Execute evaluation systems based on 360 degree evaluation. Employing centralized experts instead of outsourcing. b) Improving coordination procedures by management information systems. In the Current State Evaluation stage it was recognized that the most problematic thing is method of communication between different departments, so responsibility matrix and information flow diagram prepared for design and build units. After that, by utilizing information systems to integrate activities in each unit, employees could simply share their needs or basic data and also managers could extract reports from reliable and integrated system. c) Managing projects by using project management standards and finally implementing enterprise project management. First of all project charter was created for each project, then responsibilities matrix applied, after it scheduling and checklists prepared for both phases design and construction. This led to control quality by filling out the checklists and clarify inspection points through every process. According to defined information systems, all of the members of project team could use their own required information by online accessible project charter. Finally project book as a document which has characteristic of lessons learned prepared for projects. 5. Oppose to Halted Factors The common problem which occurres during the implementing change process is resistance, so for an organization which wants to prevent problems it is extensively important to response to employees (internal customer). In order to oppose to negative factors and reduce resistance, below activities performed: a) Interior design with suitable work environment ergonomics b) Training self management, appropriate communications and teamwork to employees which lead to increase professional capability of personnel c) Arranging coordination meetings and clarify management strategies to middle managers and also to employees d) Encouraging employees to cooperate in improvement projects e) Exactly making known for employees the whole processes in the field of their own 6. Continues Improvement and Control 6. Continues Improvement and Control By the above study we know the actual performance of the change management process and what the process is capable of doing if it is operated according to established procedures. A system measurement of the performance is actually needed during the all steps of implementation change management in order to being capable to compare achievements and the objectives. This helps leadership to manage change process with systematic well-timed feedbacks. Although the feedbacks might be positive or negative but in the negative cases some efforts will be used to understand what the mistake is. For instance in ICICI there were some evaluation forms which was must to be filled out by clients to modify or complete execution experiments and all of that will be used to improve processes of the project execution team Conclusion: The above study provides us with the conclusion that the actual performance of the change management process and what the process is capable of doing, if it is operated according to established procedures. A system measurement of the performance is actually needed during the all steps of implementation change management in order to being capable to compare achievements and the objectives. This helps leadership to manage change process with systematic well-timed feedbacks. Although the feedbacks might be positive or negative but in the negative cases some efforts will be used to understand what the mistake is. For instance in the ICICI there are some evaluation forms which must fill out by clients to modify or complete execution experiments and all of that will be used to improve processes of the project execution team. The purpose of this paper is to develop a method that will help companies recognize weak points in their change management process and improve it, to measure quantity of success in the change management process, a procedure which was defined in ICICI. ICICI had the well laid planning in effect. They first involved them in leading to predetermined quality and time, including client satisfaction, improving standards and diversifying in business requirements. The last criterias were employees satisfaction and cost reduction. With applying this procedure it helped them to recognize that how much of the objectives were achieved by implementing change management, so a questionnaire had been prepared to evaluate the results of implementing change management. Questions: The below listed questions refer to all phases of the change management process and require answers that are required to be answered for assessment. 1. Client Satisfaction. 2. Employees Satisfaction. 3. Improving Working Standards. 4. Information Systems. 5. Cost Reduction

My New Life with Wickham Essay -- Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

I have been living in London with Wickham for several months now, and, although none of my family would agree with this, I am glad that I ran away with him, he likes me very much and I care for him dearly. After all, if I had asked for father’s permission to go and live with Wickham, without being married, surely he would have said no without any hesitation. So I thought, if I wanted to be with Wickham, I had no choice but to run away with him. At the time, I thought, why not now? So I did. I love being here, in London, alone with my Wickham, sometimes I do feel quite lonely though, because Wickham goes out gambling at least every other day I would say. I am in the process of stopping Wickham from gambling, he is so addicted. I try to tell him that he will never get a better paying job if he keeps gambling, he will have too bad a reputation. He keeps saying that he will try and stop, but he always ends up going off in the evening. He cannot control himself. It is terrible really. When he is out, and I am alone, I do think of my family, my sisters, mother and father, I do miss them all very very much. On the whole, I am relatively happy with my life though. One good thing is, even though I am the youngest of us 5 sisters, I am the first to be married! So mother will be very proud of me. Now, I am the most important one, I will be put first. We have only been married for one month, but I love it. Wickham does not seem to view things any differently, he still treats me exactly the same, it is as if nothing has changed. One strange thing about our wedding was Mr. Darcy being there, most surprising. When Mr. Darcy came to us one evening, offering to organise our whole wedding and pay for it all, I was so shocked. It... ...zzy would ever marry. I am quite jealous that Lizzy will be living in the grand estate of Pemberly, and she will be ever so rich, that I am glad of. Because myself and Wickham are in debt and there is no hope of us ever having our own house, so hopefully we will be given help financially so we can have our own house. If we are very lucky, Darcy might help Wickham with some business of some kind. I do not see why they should keep all their money to themselves, that would be ever so selfish of them. I feel that I am the luckiest girl alive, I am married to the finest, most handsome man in the world. I imagine every woman must be envious of Wickham being at my side. I could not have married a finer man, and I could not have made my sisters more envious of me. Kitty and Mary do not have a chance of finding a man as good and kind as I have. Life could not be better.

Jurassic Park :: essays research papers

The Question of Control as Presented in Jurassic Park According to Arnold Pacey How could one describe the relationship between humans and nature? Perhaps it is one of control, a constant struggle between the power of the elements and the sophistication of human mechanization. Could it be one of symbiosis, where man and nature coexist in relative peace? Are we, as a species, simply a part of nature’s constantly changing realm? This issue is one that philosophers have debated for centuries. Where does mankind fit into the vast network of interacting environments and beings called nature? From the beginning of time, we have attempted to set ourselves apart from the rest of Earth’s creatures. Given the ability to reason, and to feel, and most importantly, to choose, we find ourselves with "the impulse to master and manipulate elemental force" (Pacey 86). We must fight, we must advance, and we must control all these elements of the natural world. But just how much of that world do we control? Surely people attempt and perceive control over nature, but do they succeed? The question of control, over nature in specific, is one of the prevalent themes that runs through Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park. This novel is set on a small island off the coast of Costa Rica called Isla Nubar. On this island, construction of a new, virtuostic, state of the art park is almost complete, when a gathered team of paleontologists, businessmen, and a mathematician arrive to approve of the park opening. All seems well until the "experts" lose control of the park, leaving the main attractions, genetically engineered dinosaurs, free to roam and hunt. This loss of control further contributes to the downward spiral the park experiences, resulting in numerous deaths. How, one might ask, could a team of technicians and experts let something like this happen? The answer is simple. They over-estimated their perceived sense of control over one of the world’s most unpredictable forces†¦ nature. The theme of man’s perceived control over nature is one that Crichton has masterfully incorporated into his novel. The actions of the park experts present to the reader the false idea "that the proper role of man is mastery over nature" (Pacey 65). Mankind has always attempted to achieve this mastery, and the construction of Jurassic Park is a perfect example. Crichton uses the character of Ian Malcolm to constantly present this theme.

The Yellow Wallpaper -- Literacy Analysis

Are asylums meant to shelter the affected persons or to help society flee away from abnormalities that are inevitable in human life? What are the consequences of keeping a person kept captive behind these so called ‘shelters’? These questions are some of the many that are inquired in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Within the lines of the obscure plot in this short story, the author makes it clear that the unnamed protagonist was not, in fact, insane or suffering from a definitive disease or mental malfunction. However, this ‘mental disorder’ is only a way that the narrator actively rebels against society and how patriarchy has restricted her into becoming a heap of insecure thoughts. In the introduction of the story the unnamed narrator describes her ‘illness’ and the ‘conditions’ she faces, however through the analysis of her writing she begins to reveal the oppression that she is forced to submit to. Much of the protagonist’s oppression comes from her husband, as he does not believe she is sick at all. Because she is timid and is subdued by her spouse she believes, like the rest of society, that a male’s qualifications can automatically make him right. The narrator tends to question her husband’s view, but then covers it up with his credentials in her private journal entries, â€Å"You see he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do? If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression -- a slight hysterical tendency -- what is one to do?† (Gilman Wallpaper, 1) This is only the beginning of the oppression and the beginning of the narrator’s rebellion against a society controlled by men. The au... ...nd The Yellow Wallpaper. Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'." The Captive Imagination: A Casebook on "The Yellow Wallpaper,". Ed. Catherine Golden. New York: Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1992. 51-53. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 62. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. [New York]: Feminist, 1973. Print. Knight, Denise D. "'I am getting angry enough to do something desperate': The Question of Female 'Madness.'." "The Yellow Wall-Paper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: A Dual-Text Critical Edition. Ed. Shawn St. Jean. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2006. 73-87. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 201. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. The Yellow Wallpaper -- Literacy Analysis Are asylums meant to shelter the affected persons or to help society flee away from abnormalities that are inevitable in human life? What are the consequences of keeping a person kept captive behind these so called ‘shelters’? These questions are some of the many that are inquired in The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. Within the lines of the obscure plot in this short story, the author makes it clear that the unnamed protagonist was not, in fact, insane or suffering from a definitive disease or mental malfunction. However, this ‘mental disorder’ is only a way that the narrator actively rebels against society and how patriarchy has restricted her into becoming a heap of insecure thoughts. In the introduction of the story the unnamed narrator describes her ‘illness’ and the ‘conditions’ she faces, however through the analysis of her writing she begins to reveal the oppression that she is forced to submit to. Much of the protagonist’s oppression comes from her husband, as he does not believe she is sick at all. Because she is timid and is subdued by her spouse she believes, like the rest of society, that a male’s qualifications can automatically make him right. The narrator tends to question her husband’s view, but then covers it up with his credentials in her private journal entries, â€Å"You see he does not believe I am sick! And what can one do? If a physician of high standing, and one's own husband, assures friends and relatives that there is really nothing the matter with one but temporary nervous depression -- a slight hysterical tendency -- what is one to do?† (Gilman Wallpaper, 1) This is only the beginning of the oppression and the beginning of the narrator’s rebellion against a society controlled by men. The au... ...nd The Yellow Wallpaper. Works Cited Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "Why I Wrote 'The Yellow Wallpaper.'." The Captive Imagination: A Casebook on "The Yellow Wallpaper,". Ed. Catherine Golden. New York: Feminist Press at the City University of New York, 1992. 51-53. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Janet Witalec. Vol. 62. Detroit: Gale, 2003. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. The Yellow Wallpaper. [New York]: Feminist, 1973. Print. Knight, Denise D. "'I am getting angry enough to do something desperate': The Question of Female 'Madness.'." "The Yellow Wall-Paper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: A Dual-Text Critical Edition. Ed. Shawn St. Jean. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2006. 73-87. Rpt. in Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism. Vol. 201. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 10 Feb. 2012.

Benefits of a Yoga Practice

History of Yoga The exact history and origins of yoga is uncertain; however, there are pieces that have been connected and allow some conclusions. Stone carvings depicting figures in Yoga positions have been found in archeological sites in the Indus Valley dating back 5,000 years or more. In ancient times, the desire for greater personal freedom, health and long life, and heightened self-understanding gave birth to this system of physical and mental exercise which has since spread throughout the world. The word Yoga means â€Å"to join or yoke together,† and it brings the body and mind together into one harmonious experience.One of the earliest texts about Yoga was compiled by a scholar named Patanjali, who talked about the most common Yoga theories and practices of his time in a book called Yoga Sutras as early and the 1st and 2nd century B. C. or as late as the 5th century A. D. The system that he wrote is known as â€Å"Ashtanga Yoga† or the eight limbs of Yoga, gene rally known as Classical Yoga today. The eight steps include yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, pratyhara, dharana, dhyana, and Samadhi. Yoga arrived to the United States somewhere around the late 1800s, but hadn’t become commonly known until the 1960s.It is well known that the techniques of Yoga can contribute to general health and well-being. Many physicians recommend Yoga to patients who suffer from heart disease, back pains, depression, arthritis, insomnia, asthma, and other chronic conditions. Philosophical Roots and Principles The philosophy of yoga has been passed on from teacher to student for many generations over the last 5,000 years. There is no true definition on what yoga really is. Some may say it is only a way to relax, others say it is a form of excersice, and others say it is a way of life.In essence, yoga practice aims to align the body with the mind through fluid movement and controlled breathing. At the base of the yoga practice, there are five basic principl es: exercise, breathing, relaxation, diet, and meditation. Exercise: This principle revolves around the idea that our physical body is meant to move and exercise. One’s spiritual health begins with physical health. Yoga benefits every part of your body – joints, muscles, blood circulation, digestion, etc. Practicing Yoga makes your body relaxed, gives you more strength and energy, and rejuvenates the various systems of the body.Breathing: Yoga’s lifestyle is centered around breathing. Yoga emphasizes attention to breath, and taking long, deep inhalations, making use of all the parts of your Lungs to increase your oxygen intake. Proper Breathing should be deep, slow and rhythmical. This increases lung capacity and oxygen flow throughout the body, which clears and cleanses the mind. Relaxation: One achieves inner peace through proper relaxation. Relaxation begins in the physical body, losing all tension within the muscles. This then extends to the mind, and positi vely affects one’s actions throughout the day.Diet: A proper diet should accompany a yoga practice to maintain a healthy physical body. Improper diet results to mental inefficiency and blocks spiritual awareness. A proper diet should nourish both mind and body. It should consist of eating only natural foods, and only when one is hungry. Meditation: The most important aspect of yoga is positive thinking and meditation. Everything in the physical body is controlled through the mind. Meditation allows ones self to control the mind to channel positive thinking and spiritual health. This allowing a more relaxing Yoga practice, which leads to a calm and positive day,Why is nutrition important in yoga? The basic principle of nutrition in yoga is to eat small quantities of high quality foods without producing toxins. It is easy to result to heavily processed, nutrition poor, calorie dense foods within a normal life that’s full of stress. Eating unhealthy puts you at more risks of diseases, while a well-nourished body makes it easier to cope better, while also reducing your possibility of disease and reducing your stress levels. The body requires food to supply energy to function normally. It also needs it to repair tissue and organs. The perfect balance in diet is different for ach person. To find balance, it is important to know one’s own individual needs, the best preparation methods, the properties of foods, and to choose a broad range of high quality foods. When a good attitude and ample exercise are combined, one finds no limit to total health of the mind, body, and spirit. Five Yoga Poses Downward facing dog: Come to your hands and knees with the wrists underneath the shoulders and the knees underneath the hips. Curl the toes under and push back raising the hips and straightening the legs. Spread the fingers and ground down from the forearms into the fingertips.Outwardly rotate the upper arms broadening the collarbones. Let the head hang, mo ve the shoulder blades away from the ears towards the hips. Engage the quadriceps strongly to take the weight off the arms, making this a resting pose. Rotate the thighs inward, keep the tail high and sink your heels towards the floor. Dragonfly Pose: Begin standing in mountain pose. Shift your weight into your right leg and bring the left ankle to cross your right thigh just above the knee. Your shin will be parallel to the floor. This is same position from which you enter flying crow.Come into a forward bend, bringing the palms of the hands to the floor. Bend the right leg (the standing leg) and twist your torso to the right, walking your hands over until your palms come in front of the right foot. This is a similar arm position to side crow. Bend your elbows down to chaturanga position and bring the sole of your left foot onto the shelf created by your left upper arm. Try to get the foot as high up your arm as possible. Bring the right thigh to rest on the left upper arm as well. Tip forward, bringing your weight into your arms as the right leg straightens out to the side and right foot leaves the floor.To come out, bend the right knee and bring the right foot back to the floor. Half Moon Pose – Ardha Chandrasana: From Trikonasana, soften the right knee and bring the left hand to your hip. Bring the right hand to the floor about a foot in front of the right foot with the fingertips on the floor. Begin to straighten the right leg while simultaneously raising the left leg. Open the hips, stacking the left hip on top of the right hip. Bring the left leg straight and parallel to the floor, flexing the left foot with the toes facing forward.When you feel balanced on the right leg, reach the left arm up toward the ceiling, opening the chest and making a straight line with the right and left arms. Finally, bring the gaze up toward the left fingertips. Child's Pose – Balasana: From Downward Facing Dog, drop the knees to the floor. Spread the knees as wide as the mat, keeping the big toes touching. Bring the belly to rest between the thighs and the forehead to the floor. There are two possible arm variations: Either stretch the arms in front of you with the palms toward the floor or bring the arms back alongside the thighs with the palms facing upwards.Do whichever feel more comfortable to you. Bridge Pose – Setu Bandha Sarvangasana: Come to lie on the back. Bend the knees, bringing the soles of the feet parallel on the mat close to the buttocks. Lift the hips up towards the ceiling. Interlace the fingers behind your back and straighten the arms, pressing them down into the mat. Roll one shoulder under and then the other. Lift the hips higher. Draw the chest toward the chin, but do not move the chin toward the chest. Make sure the feet stay parallel. Release the hands and bring the upper, middle, and then lower back down. Rest, allowing the knees to knock together.

Week 2 Quiz

. (TCO 2) Bubba’s Crawfish Processing Company uses a traditional overhead allocation based on direct labor hours. For the current year overhead is estimated at $2,250,000 and direct labor hours are budgeted at 415,000 hours. Actual overhead was $2,200,000 and actual direct labor hours worked were 422,000. (a) Calculate the predetermined overhead rate. Rate, based on budgeted factory overhead cost and budgeted activity, that is established before a period begins. 2,250,000/415,000Budgeted activity units used in the denominator of the formula, more often called the denominator level, are measured in direct labor-hours, machine-hours, direct labor costs, or production units. Read more: http://www. answers. com/topic/predetermined-overhead-rate#ixzz2NxCv9pKK (b) Calculate the overhead applied. Applied overhead = predetermined overhead rate x actual direct labor (c) Determin Prorate the overhead variance to the appropriate accounts 765 – 750 = variance of 15K Rate This Answe r e the amount of overhead that is over/under applied. 2. TCO 2) Thibodeaux Limousine Corporation is trying to determine a predetermined manufacturing overhead. Estimated overhead for the upcoming year is $776,000. Budgeted machine hours are 105,000 hours, and budgeted labor hours are 17,500 hours at a rate of $10. 00 per hour. Compute the predetermined overhead rate based on: (a) Direct labor dollars Labor rate variance = (Actual hours worked ? Actual rate) ? (Actual hours worked ? Standard rate) Read more at http://accounting4management. com/direct_labor_rate_variance. htm#pqUTOT7ClOOtMr4F. 99 (b) Direct labor hours (c) Machine hours 3. TCO 1) List and briefly describe four of the five differences between managerial accounting and financial accounting 4. (TCO 2)The following information is available for Sappy’s Surgical Shears for the fiscal year ending December 31, 20XX. Beginning balance in Finished Goods $ 17,000 Ending balance in Finished Goods 15,200 Beginning balance in Work in Process 2,500Ending balance in Work in Process 1,836 Selling expenses 123,000 General and administrative expenses 89,000Direct material cost 54,500 Direct labor cost 66,000 Manufacturing overhead 21,400 Sales 385,000 Prepare a schedule of cost of goods manufactured. . (TCO 2) Match each of the following six terms with the phrase that most closely describes it. Each answer below may be used only once. Read also Quiz Week 42. ______ 1. activity-based costing ______ 2. cost of goods available for sale ______ 3. period costs ______ 4. process costing system ______ 5. just-in-time system ______ 6. work in process A) Costs assigned to the goods produced; also known as manufacturing costs (B) Materials costs that are not traced directly to products produced (C) System that seeks to minimize Raw Materials Inventory and Work in Process Inventory (D) Cost of items that are completed and transferred from Work in Process Inventory to Finished Goods Inventory (E) Costs that are identified with accounting periods rather than with goods produced (F) Actual overhead is greater than overhead that has been applied to products (G) Method of assigning overhead costs that uses multiple allocation bases (H) System that uses job-order sheets to collect costs for each individual job (I) Cost of all materials and parts that are directly traced to the items produced (J) Beginning balance in the Finished G oods Inventory plus cost of goods manufactured (K) Overhead applied to products is greater than the actual overhead costs incurred (L) Used by companies that produce large quantities of identical items (M) Cost of all manufacturing activities other than direct material and direct labor (N) Inventory account that contains the cost of goods that are only partially completed 6. (TCO 2) Far Out Ceramics akes custom macaroni tile and applies job-order costing. The following information relates to the fiscal year ending December 31,20XX. Beginning balance in Raw Materials Inventory $ 12,500 Purchases of raw material 189,000 Ending balance in Raw Materials Inventory 14,300Beginning balance in Work in Process 24,500 Ending balance in Work in Process 23,100Direct labor cost 89,700 Manufacturing overhead applied 66,200 Actual manufacturing overhead 64,100Beginning balance in Finished Goods 28,900 Ending balance in Finished Goods 24,300Sales 432,000Selling expenses 120,000 General and administ rative expenses 86,000 How much is cost of goods sold? 7. TCO 2) Match each of the six following terms with the phrase that most closely describes it. Each answer may be used only once. _____ 1. Direct costs _____ 2. Fixed costs _____ 3. Incremental costs _____ 4. Economic Resource Planning system _____ 5. Noncontrollable costs _____ 6. Opportunity costs (A) Costs that increase or decrease in total in response to increases or decreases in the level of business activity (B) Costs that are directly traceable to a product, activity, or department (C) Costs that a manager can influence (D) The difference in costs between decision alternatives (E) Costs incurred in the past that are not relevant to present decisions (F) Costs that cannot be influenced by a manager G) Financial plans prepared by management accountants (H) Value of the benefits foregone when one decision alternative is selected over another (I) Costs that cannot be directly traced to a product, activity, or department or a re not worth tracing (J) Costs that do not change in total with changes in the level of business activity (K) These systems prepare a master production systems and all the support across the company. (L) Allows companies and suppliers to share information to improve efficiency in getting inputs. (M) Allows customer data analysis and support, often in online format for customers. 8. (TCO 3) The Marinade Department began the period with 150,000 units.During the period the department received another 180,000 units from the prior department and at the end of the period 112,000 units remained which were 17%complete. How much are equivalent units in The Marinade Department’s work in process inventory at the end of the period? (TCO 3) The Franc Zeppo Venture manufactures a product that goes through two processing departments. Information relating to the activity in the first department during April is given below: Work in process, April 1: 50,000 units (80% completed for materials a nd 60%completed for conversion. Work in process, April 30: 45,000 units (70% completed for materials and 60%completed for conversion. 4. The department started 380,000 units into production during the month and transferred 385,000 completed units to the next department.Compute and calculate the equivalent units of production for the first department for April, assuming the company uses the weighted-average method of accounting for units and costs. 1. Question : (TCO D) A company that has a profit can increase its return on investment by Student Answer: increasing sales revenue and operating expenses by the same dollar amount. increasing average operating assets and operating expenses by the same dollar amount. increasing sales revenue and operating expenses by the same percentage. decreasing average operating assets and sales by the same percentage. Instructor Explanation: Chapter 12 2. Question : (TCO D) Given the following data, what would ROI be?Sales $50,000 Net operating income $5,000 Contribution margin $20,000 Average operating assets $25,000 Stockholder's equity $15,000 Student Answer: 10% 20% 16. 7% 80% Instructor Explanation: See Chapter 12. ROI = Net operating income / Average operating assets = $5,000 / $25,000 = 20. 0% 3. Question : (TCO D) Given the following data: What is the return on the investment (ROI)? Sales $50. 000 Net operating income $5,000 Contribution margin $20,000 Average operating assets $25,000 Stockholder's equity $15,000 Student Answer: 10% 20% 16. 7% 80% Instructor Explanation: ROI = Net operating income / Average operating assets = $5,000 / $25,000 = 20. 0%

Childhood Obesity in School Essay

Childhood obesity is a problem in the United States. It affects a child’s life tremendously. Childhood obesity in school is an important subject for one to learn about. People who have children or plan on having children need to know the risks that are involved in this disorder. Childhood obesity is a serious problem for children but it can be worse in schools. School life is hard enough for a child to adjust; it is even harder for a child to deal with school and obesity at the same time. There are many aspects to how childhood obesity affects children in schools: it affects their learning abilities, it affects their social skills and their psychological well-being, and it also affects their health. Childhood obesity is when a child has an excessive amount of body fat in relationship to lean body mass. Childhood obesity is sometimes a genetic disorder and sometimes an environmental situation issue. By genetics it means it can be given to the child by anyone in their family lineage. By environmental situation issues it means it is based on the foods a child eats, whether they exercise regularly, or by the habits they learn. Mass media also is a consideration in child obesity as advertisements can affect how a child wants to eat. Fast food companies attract many children just in their advertisements alone. The internet also affects children and they get to use the internet at school. They see advertisements online or play games online that make them not want to be active in everyday life. There are so many aspects to a child’s life that can lead to obesity and most of it starts at home but then overflows into the academic life of a child. Children who are obese tend to have more health issues and the health concerns can affect their everyday school life. The regularity of childhood obesity is a public health concern. Childhood obesity is connected to a variety of detrimental health conditions including diabetes, metabolic  syndrome, and heart disease (Freedman, Diets, Srinivasan, and Berenson, 1999). The more health issues a child has the more it affects school life. Children with health concerns from obesity end up missing a number of days for being sick and that puts them behind in their school work. The time away from school leads to missed assignments and also less socialization time with peers. Children who are obese tend to be sleepy and not be able to pay attention during classroom lectures. Overweight children also can have serious health issues now and as well in adult years; such as high cholesterol and blood pressure, bone and joint issues, and even sleep disorders which can affect every day routine (John, H., 2011). The problem of obesity is not contained than it will â€Å"surpass tobacco as the leading cause of death† (Bhattacharya 2004, p.1). Childhood obesity affects children with their learning abilities in the classroom. Occasionally how a child is affected educationally by childhood obesity is not as obvious as the health concerns that arise from the obesity. Children who are obese tend to have low self-esteem and do not participate as well in class discussions. As new clinical practice guidelines are being developed to address childhood obesity, the reduction of depression, anxiety, and low self-esteem associated with being overweight should also be considered in developing the guidelines (Cornette, 2008). It has not really been studied accurately or in excess but one would wonder if obesity would affect the brain because of lack of blood flow or just lack of healthiness. If the brain is hindered in any way then learning is definitely impacted. Obese children have a hard time with the affects obesity has on their social skills and their psychological well-being. Being bullied is something that is a common occurrence with obese children. Obese children have a hard time socializing due to being picked on. They also get labeled with titles that sometimes do not fit them just because of their appearance: lazy, slouch, unattractive, and mean. Sometimes they actually get labeled as the bully because of their size when actually they are not. Obesity in children is also associated with an elevated risk of various psychosocial problems. Children who suffer from obesity are more likely to have behavioral problems  and emotional disturbances (Stradmeijer, Bosch, Koops, and Seidell, 2000). Obesity limits students’ ability to excel in social and psychological problems, such as being bullied and low self-esteem. Obese children that are bullied can be very emotional or very quiet and hold everything in and that can lead to other problems as well. Results from a small-scale study of 106 obese children, between the ages of 5 and 18, revealed that obese students were often subject to teasing and ostracism, and that they reported having trouble keeping up with their peers, both physically and academically the emotional and social stress from being obese can be very hard on a child (Browman, Darcia Harris, 2003). Both as a parent or a student, all should understand the emotional and physical impacts that can cause great danger to an overweight child. Children with an inactive lifestyle, large at birth, with high-risk family health behaviors, and from a family with low income or low education attainment, were more likely to be obese. Findings suggest that interventions targeting family and supporting people to implement lifestyle changes are promising to prevent childhood obesity (Brophy, Cooksey, Gravenor, Mistry, Thomas, Lyons & Williams, 2009). In addition, efforts appear to be focused on reducing weight, a small amount attention is directed to the psycho-socio-emotional effect that being overweight have on children. Studies are important because they show that childhood obesity is not only associated with health risk but also with problems in social interactions and relationships (Janssen, Craig, Boyce & Pickett, 2003). Children that are obese also have a hard time doing some of the activities in school. When interviewing two teachers at Tennessee Ridge Elementary School and asking them about the effects of childhood obesity in their classrooms both had somewhat of the same answer. â€Å"Obese children have a harder time playing most of the physical activities I have planned that involve them getting up and down a lot† (Moore, 2012). As well as Mrs. Tomlinson (2012) stated that â€Å"children who are overweight seem to have a hard time getting up and down during our rug times and seem to have difficulty sitting in the crisscross position for more than a few minutes†. These students end up feeling like they are left out or feeling different than other children. They are also less likely to be able to keep up with  the other children on the playground. This is where one runs into the situation of being picked last on the playground or just simply being left out. This leads to a lot of the other complications obese children face in schools. There are many ways that the school system tries to help children stay fit and not have to battle obesity. One of the ways the schools try to help is by serving healthy lunches and snacks. They have also taken vending machines out of schools as much as possible. Also the schools try to ensure every child gets plenty of physical activity time and recess time. Teachers add activities that involve moving and being active in their curriculums; such as allowing children to sit on exercise balls while doing desk work and doing learning drills with physical activities. Exercising actually makes children less stressed and makes them focused on learning. â€Å"Young children who exercise at school perform better in concentration tests, researchers have said after a study on pupils in Aberdeen† (Williams, 2010). Being active and watching what a child eats can significantly help children it also teaches them good habits that will benefit them later on in life as well. Another way children learn is by example and teachers can set an example for children as well as their parents can. For example, teachers are not allowed to carry soda cans around they have to put it in different containers if they are drinking soda at school. Even with the schools being involved it is important for parents to do the same at home. Most schools and communities offer health programs and exercise classes for parents and children. Children are at school as much as they are at home and so in order to help children with obesity it needs to be a joint effort. Obesity is a serious situation and in children it is more serious. Obesity can affect a child a lot more than an adult because of all the social and emotional situations that arise that obese children are not ready to handle. Sometimes children cannot handle situations as well as adults can. The effects of childhood obesity can be very overwhelming to a child especially in the school environment. It is important for people to be aware of the effects of obesity in children and in the school system. Having obesity affect so much of a child’s school life can also interfere with their  future. Obesity harmfully impacting academics should make parents, educators, and policy makers alike have an even greater incentive to curb the threat of obesity in this country. References Bhattacharya, S. (2004). Obesity to Surpass Tobacco as Top U.S. Killer. Retrieved fromwww.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn4763. Boyce, W., PhD, Craig, W., PhD, Janssen, I., PhD, & Pickett, W., PhD (2003). Associations between overweight and obesity with bullying behaviors in school-aged children. PEDIATRICS , 113(1187), Retrieved from: pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/113/5/1187.full.html Brophy, S., Cooksey, R., Gravenor, M., Mistry, R., Thomas, N., Lyons, R., & Williams, R.(2009). Risk factors for childhood obesity at age 5: Analysis of the millennium Cohortstudy. BMC Public Health, 9(467), doi: 10.1 186/1471-2458-9-467 Browman, Darcia Harris, 2003. Child Obesity Hurts Emotional Health, Study Says. Education Week: Vol 22, Issue 32, p. 9. Cornette, R. (2008). The emotional impact of obesity on children. Worldviews on EvidenceBased Nursing, 5(3), 136-141. doi: 1545-102Ãâ€"1/08 Freedman, D. S., Dietz, W. H., Srinivasan, S. R., & Berenson, G. S. (1999). The relation ofobese to cardiovascular risk factors among children and adolescents: The BogalusaHeart Study. Pediatrics, 103, 1175-1182. John, H. (2011, 3 12). Retrieved from http://www.nsba.org/Board-Leadership/SchoolHealth/obesity-and-schools Moore, S. (2012, Decemeber, 01). Interview by B.A. Self [Personal Interview]. What effects do you see childhood obesity having in your classroom? Stradmeijer, M., Bosch, J., Koops, W., & Seidell, J. (2000). Family functioning and psychosocial adjustment in obese youngsters. International Journal of Eating Disorders,27, 110-114. Tomlinson, J. (2012, November, 29). Interview by B.A. Self [Personal Interview]. What effects do you see childhood obesity having in your classroom? Williams, J. (2010, April 19). Bbc world news. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/north_east/8629867.stm

Succubus Dreams CHAPTER 14

I worked an evening shift that day and had made plans to have lunch with Maddie. She and I had worked several shifts together in the last week or so, but things were getting so crazy at the store that we hardly had a chance to talk anymore. â€Å"Well, aren't we the rebels?† she said when the waiter set two margaritas on the table. We were at the â€Å"unholy† place Peter, Cody, and Hugh had tried to lure me out to a few nights ago. â€Å"Nah,† I said, licking the edge of my glass. Salt and lime juice were proof of God's existence. And tequila was proof of Satan's. â€Å"We don't work for three more hours. We'll be sober by then. Besides, I'm your superior, and I say it's okay.† We clinked glasses and drank up. â€Å"I feel like I'm boring,† she told me halfway through our meal. â€Å"Not true.† â€Å"It is. I don't do anything with my life.† She held the glass by its stem, swirling the contents around and around. â€Å"Doug goes out every night, either to practice or party or whatever. Me? If I'm not at work, I'm home writing articles or watching reality TV.† â€Å"What do you wish you were doing instead?† â€Å"I don't know. There are lots of things I've thought about. Skydiving. Travel. Always kind of wanted to go to South America. But it's hard, you know? Those kinds of things force you to break out of your comfort zone.† â€Å"There's no reason you can't do those things. You're smart and capable, and I think you're braver than you give yourself credit for.† She smiled. â€Å"Why are you such a cheerleader for me?† â€Å"Because you're awesome.† The truth was, I was starting to realize, Maddie reminded me of myself when I'd been mortal. Not entirely comfortable with my body (I'd been insanely tall). Not always so adept socially (my sharp attitude had gotten me in trouble a lot). That version of me was centuries gone, but a kernel of it would always be within me. I gestured the waiter over and shook my glass at him. â€Å"Hey, Josh. Can you hook me up?† Josh the waiter, who looked too young to drink, took the glass with a grin. â€Å"You bet. Same thing?† â€Å"Yep. Although†¦I hate to tell you this, but it was kind of weak.† Josh adopted an offended air. â€Å"Was it? I'll yell at the bartender immediately. Maybe I'll make him come over and apologize on bended knee.† â€Å"No need,† I said magnanimously. â€Å"Just have him add an extra shot this time.† He gave a gallant bow and winked. â€Å"As you command.† Maddie groaned when he was gone. â€Å"See? I could never flirt that way. Certainly not with jailbait like him.† â€Å"Sure you can.† She shook her head. â€Å"No. I have the worst luck with men.† â€Å"How is that possible? You're always saying funny things to me.† â€Å"You're not a man. And I'm not afraid of you,† she explained. â€Å"You're afraid of Josh the waiter?† â€Å"Well†¦no, not exactly. But I just get so self-conscious. All flustered and stuff.† I leaned forward and spoke in a conspiratorial tone. â€Å"Trade secret. Everyone's self-conscious. Act like you aren't, and you'll be a superstar.† Josh brought me my margarita. I thanked him with more flirting while Maddie looked thoughtful. When he went to check on another table, she sighed. â€Å"Did you know that I've only ever slept with two guys?† â€Å"So?† â€Å"So, I'm twenty-nine! Isn't that sad?† I thought about my track record. No point even trying to count. â€Å"Just means you have standards.† She grimaced. â€Å"You haven't met the guys.† â€Å"So find a good one. Plenty of them out there.† I had a weird flash of d? ¦j? ¤ vu to past conversations with Tawny. â€Å"Not that I've seen. Well, except maybe Seth. He's one of the good ones.† She sighed. â€Å"He still hasn't mentioned our date.† â€Å"Hasn't he?† I'd have to get on him about that. â€Å"Yeah. Unless babysitting his nieces counts.† She shrugged. â€Å"It's okay. Like I said, I know he just did it because he felt bad. I appreciate the gesture. Oh hey, I overheard Seth saying something to Doug about how you wanted a Christmas tree. Are you having trouble finding one or something?† I groaned. â€Å"Not that again.† â€Å"So†¦you don't want one? Or do you? You seem like the kind of person who would.† â€Å"Honestly? I'm indifferent.† I shook my head. â€Å"It's something my friend Peter started, then he told Seth.† She cut me a suspicious look. â€Å"You know, you sure seem to hang out with Seth a lot.† â€Å"Hey, you can be friends with nice guys too.† I had no idea why I still felt the need to keep my relationship with Seth a secret. Some instinct told me it was the right thing to do. â€Å"Too bad,† said Maddie, finishing her own margarita. â€Å"I bet he'd treat his girlfriend like a princess.† â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed wryly. â€Å"So long as that princess doesn't mind a mistress. Sometimes I think his writing will always be his first love.† To my surprise, Maddie didn't laugh or look outraged. â€Å"Well, I think that's the price you've gotta pay if you want to be with a man like that. It might be worth it.† Now I became pensive, wondering if this was true. Was I too hard on Seth and his distractibility? When lunch wrapped up, we walked back – not too tipsy – to the bookstore. I nudged Maddie as we stepped inside. â€Å"Okay, here's the deal. In the next week, I want you to do three adventurous things.† She looked startled. â€Å"What kind of adventurous things?† â€Å"I don't know.† I pondered, thinking I might be drunker than I'd suspected. â€Å"The adventurous kind. Go out clubbing. Wear red lipstick. Doesn't matter. All I know is that there's going to be a pop quiz later, okay?† â€Å"That's ridiculous. It's not that easy,† she said with a scowl, turning away. â€Å"You can't just make something like that happen.† â€Å"Did I just hear you tell Maddie to go clubbing?† Seth's voice asked a moment later. She was already halfway across the store, and I doubted she'd take me up on my challenge. Too bad. I turned around to face him. â€Å"I'm helping her live life.† â€Å"By drinking in the middle of the day?† he teased. I pointed upstairs. â€Å"Don't you have a book to finish? I'll talk to you later. I have important things to do.† I felt only a little bad about dismissing him, seeing as we had dinner plans and would see each other later. He wandered off to write, and I threw myself into my work. Someone was home sick, so I got to be out amid the holiday shopping frenzy. Maddie worked a register beside me, and I was pleased to see how cheery and charismatic she was with customers. When closing time came, I stopped in front of the newspapers, looking for†¦well, I didn't know what. But I hadn't forgotten about that poor drowning victim. I wondered if there might be more about him – or more about anything that might help me figure out what was happening to me in my sleep. Sadly, the headlines offered no insight today. Seth and I drove to Pioneer Square for our late dinner and unsurprisingly couldn't find parking. We ended up several blocks away and were freezing by the time we entered the restaurant. The trek was worth it, though. This place was one of my favorites, serving up Cajun food spicy enough to chase away the winter chill. With gumbo and ? ¦touff? ¦e, it was hard to brood for too long. We'd almost finished dessert when my cell phone rang. I didn't recognize the number. â€Å"Hello?† â€Å"Hey, Georgina. This is Vincent.† â€Å"Hey,† I said, surprised to be hearing from him. â€Å"Look, I really need to talk to you in person. Is there any way I can see you?† â€Å"Right now?† â€Å"Yeah†¦it's kind of important.† I glanced over at Seth, who was finishing the last of his bread pudding. He was so easygoing, I doubted he'd mind if Vincent stopped by. â€Å"I'm out with Seth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It'll just take a few minutes,† Vincent promised. â€Å"Okay.† I told him where we were, and he told me he'd be there shortly. He wasn't kidding. I'd barely explained the situation to Seth when Vincent walked into the restaurant. â€Å"What'd you do, fly over here?† I asked as he slid into a chair beside us. â€Å"Nah, I was just close.† He gestured to the remnants of our desserts. â€Å"Looks good.† â€Å"It was great,† I said. â€Å"Now, what's up?† He hesitated and glanced in Seth's direction. â€Å"It's fine. Seth knows everything,† I assured him. The waitress came by and dropped off our receipt and change. Vincent studied Seth a moment more, then turned back to me. â€Å"Okay. I just have a quick question for you. We can talk about it on our way out.† The three of us set out into the cold again, heading toward Seth's car. â€Å"So,† Vincent began. â€Å"Remember that story you told me a little while ago? About the cop shooting his partner?† â€Å"Yup.† â€Å"Where'd you hear it?† We walked in silence for a few moments as I tried to remember. â€Å"I don't know. Probably on TV. Maybe I saw the headline at the store. Can't recall.† â€Å"Are you sure?† I frowned. â€Å"Positive.† Vincent sighed. â€Å"Well, here's the thing. I looked into that story and had a hard time finding out anything. It was never made public. I actually had to go investigate with some police sources.† â€Å"It had to have been made public. How else would I have known?† â€Å"That's what I'm trying to figure out.† I racked my brain. Where had I heard it? No clue. I'd just known it when I talked to Vincent that day. But, obviously, it hadn't sprung up in my head out of the blue. â€Å"Do you know anybody in the police department?† he suggested. â€Å"No one I would have talked to. Maybe I overheard someone. Seriously, I just†¦I just can't remember.† â€Å"What's the story?† Seth asked me. Puzzle pieces suddenly fell together. The cop was just like the guy who'd swam Puget Sound. Both had had a vision of something that wasn't true, but their subsequent actions had brought it about. And I had known about both stories before I should have. â€Å"Georgina?† asked Seth. â€Å"This cop went crazy in a store and started – â€Å" â€Å"Okay, just stop. Just fucking stop.† The three of us jerked to a halt as the voice came out of the darkness. In heading toward our remote parking spot, we'd strayed quite a ways away from the hustle and bustle of Pioneer Square. And from around a corner, a man in need of a shave and clean clothes had emerged. He made Carter look genteel. Muggings were rare in Seattle, but statistics meant little when actually being mugged. The man had a gun aimed at us. â€Å"Give me everything you've got,† he growled. He had kind of a wide-eyed, paranoid look, and I wondered if he was on something. Again, it meant little. He had a gun. We didn't. â€Å"Every fucking thing. Wallet. Jewelry. Whatever. I'll shoot. I swear to God, I will.† I took a step in front of Seth and Vincent, small enough not to raise the guy's alarms but enough to put me in the line of fire. I'd been shot before. It hurt, but it couldn't kill me. My humans were the ones in danger. â€Å"Sure,† I said, reaching into my purse. I kept my voice low and soothing. â€Å"Whatever you want.† â€Å"Hurry up,† he snapped. His gun was aimed squarely at me now, which was fine. Behind me, I heard Seth and Vincent rustling around for their wallets as well. With a pang, I realized I'd have to give up Seth's ring, which I'd worn on a chain around my neck tonight, but that was a small price to pay if we all walked away from this unscathed. Suddenly, I saw movement in my peripheral vision. Before I could stop him, Seth lunged forward toward the man and slammed him into the side of the brick building near us. I had never taken Seth for the fighting type, but it was actually pretty impressive. Unfortunately, it was not needed at the moment. Vincent and I sprang into the fray, moving at exactly the same time. The guy had been forced to lower his gun while Seth pinned him against the wall, but the attacker was struggling with the ferocity of a bear. Vincent and I tried to add our own strength, mainly hoping to wrest the gun away. It was one of those moments in time that seemed both really long and really short. Then, the gun went off. My two companions and I stopped moving. The guy used the brief lull to wiggle away from us and ran off into the night. I exhaled a breath of relief, grateful it was all over. â€Å"Georgina – † said Vincent. Seth sank to his knees, and that's when I saw the blood. It was all over his left thigh, dark and slick in the watery light of a flickering streetlight. His face was pale and wide-eyed with shock. â€Å"Oh, God.† I fell down beside him, trying to get a look at the leg. â€Å"Call 911!† I screamed at Vincent. Having anticipated me, he already had his cell out. Some part of my brain listened to him speaking frantically into the phone, but the rest of my attention was on Seth. â€Å"Oh God, oh God,† I said, ripping off my coat. Blood was pouring steadily out of the wound. I pressed my coat into it, trying to slow the bleeding. â€Å"Hang with me. Oh, please, please, hang with me.† Seth's eyes looked at me with both tenderness and pain. His lips parted slightly, but no words came out. I lifted the coat and looked at the wound. Vincent knelt beside me. â€Å"It won't stop, it won't stop,† I moaned. Vincent peered over my shoulder. â€Å"Femoral artery.† After over a millennium, I knew the human body and what could kill it. I would have realized what kind of a shot this was if I hadn't been so hysterical. â€Å"It'll drain him,† I whispered, pressing the coat into his leg again. I had seen it happen before, watched people bleed to death right in front of me. â€Å"It'll kill him before they get here. That bullet hit perfectly.† Beside me, I heard Vincent take a deep, shaking breath. Then, his hands covered mine. â€Å"Take it away,† he said softly. â€Å"I have to slow the bleeding.† But he gently lifted my hands away, taking the coat up as well. There was blood everywhere. I imagined I could see it steaming in the cold air. Vincent rested his hands on Seth's thigh, oblivious to the mess. Words formed on the tip of my tongue but never came out. The air around us began burning, and a prickling feeling raced across my skin. For a moment, Seth seemed to be bathed in white light. From Vincent, I suddenly had the sensation of dried lavender and humidity. It was tinged in something else†¦something I'd never hoped to sense again. Then, it all faded away. Vincent removed his hands, and when I looked down, blood no longer oozed from Seth's thigh. â€Å"I'm sorry,† gasped Vincent. â€Å"I'm not so good at healing, and if I do any more, the others will sense me. This will keep him alive until the ambulance gets here.† In the distance, I heard the faint sounds of sirens. In my chest, my heart thudded. The world slowed its pace. How long had Vincent said he'd known Yasmine? Fifteen years. Too, too long. He didn't look any older than thirty. They hadn't met when he was a teen. The timing didn't make sense. Neither did the fact that he had just healed a major injury. But none of that was as telling as what else I'd already discovered. For just a moment, he'd let his defenses slip, and I'd felt – an immortal signature. And while immortals have unique features of their own, all types of immortals have certain attributes that identify them by creature as well. Succubi. Vampires. Angels. Demons. Vincent's signature had given him away. The others will sense me. I stared at Vincent as red flashing lights rounded the corner. My eyes were as wide as Seth's had been. â€Å"You're a nephilim,† I breathed.