Friday, December 27, 2019

Biography of Dalton Trumbo and the Hollywood Blacklist

â€Å"Are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Communist Party?† It was a question asked of dozens of people brought before the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) in the 1940s and 1950s, and in October of 1947, it was put to Dalton Trumbo, one of Hollywood’s best-known and highest-paid screenwriters. Trumbo and nine others—dubbed the ‘Hollywood Ten’—refused to answer the question on First Amendment grounds This stand for principle came at a steep price: federal prison terms, fines, and worst of all, a place on the  Hollywood blacklist, a prohibition that kept them from working in their chosen profession. Dalton Trumbo spent much of the rest of his life climbing back to the top. The fall from grace was particularly hard for Trumbo, who had  struggled to establish a writing career  and had risen to the upper ranks of the Hollywood studio structure less than a decade earlier. Early Life James Dalton Trumbo was born in Montrose, Colorado on December 5, 1905 and grew up in the nearby town of Grand Junction. His father, Orus, was hardworking but struggled to achieve financial stability. Orus and Maud Trumbo often had difficulty supporting Dalton and his sisters. Trumbo became interested in writing early in life, working as a cub reporter for the Grand Junction newspaper while still in high school. He studied literature at the University of Colorado with the hope of becoming a novelist. Then, in 1925, Orus decided to move the family to Los Angeles in the hopes of finding more lucrative work, and Dalton decided to follow. Within a year of the move, Orus died of a blood disorder. Dalton got what he hoped would be a short-term job at the Davis Perfection Bread Company to help support the family. He ended up staying for eight years, working on novels and short stories in his spare moments. Few were published. His big break came in 1933, when he was offered a job writing for the Hollywood Spectator. This led to a job reading scripts for Warner Brothers in 1934, and by 1935, he was hired as a junior script writer in the B-Picture Unit. Later that year, his first novel, Eclipse, was published. Early Career For the next few years, Trumbo hopped from studio to studio as he mastered his new craft. By the late 1940s, he was earning as much as $4.000 a week—a major improvement over the $18 a week he had earned at the Perfection Bread Company. He wrote over a dozen movies between 1936 and 1945, including Five Came Back, Kitty Foyle, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, and A Guy Named Joe. His personal life also flourished. In 1938, he married a former drive-in waitress named Cleo Fincher, and they soon had a family: Christopher, Mitzi, and Nikola. Trumbo bought an isolated ranch in Ventura County as a retreat from Hollywood life. Joining the Communist Party Trumbo had a reputation in Hollywood as an outspoken critic of social injustice. Having been a member of the working class for much of his life, he was passionate about labor rights and civil rights. Like many of his liberal-leaning Hollywood peers, he was eventually drawn towards Communism. His decision to join the Communist Party in December 1943 was a casual one. While not a Marxist, he agreed with many of its general principles. â€Å"People joined the Communist Party for very good, humane reasons, in my view,† he once said. The early 1940s was the high point for Party membership in the United States; Trumbo was one of more than 80,000 â€Å"card-carrying† Communists of the era. He loathed the meetings, which he described as â€Å"dull beyond description and about as revolutionary in purpose as Wednesday evening testimonial services at the Christian Science Church,† but he passionately believed in the Party’s right to exist under a Constitution that afforded Americans the freedom to assemble and to speak. The Hollywood Ten Trumbo’s affiliation was well-known at the time, and he, like other Hollywood Communist Party members, was under FBI surveillance for several years. In September 1947, the family was at their remote ranch when FBI agents arrived with a subpoena to appear before the HUAC. Trumbo’s son Christopher, then seven, asked what was happening. â€Å"We are Communists,† Trumbo said, â€Å"and I have to go to Washington to answer questions about my Communism.† About 40 members of the Hollywood community were issued subpoenas. Most simply complied with HUAC investigators, but Trumbo, along with fellow screenwriters Alvah Bessie, Lester Cole, Albert Maltz, Ring Lardner, Jr., Samuel Ornitz, and John Howard Lawson, directors Edward Dmytryk and Herbert Biberman, and producer Adrian Scott, decided not comply. In a contentious hearing on October 28, 1947, Trumbo repeatedly refused to answer HUAC members’ questions on First Amendment grounds. For his intransigence, he was found in contempt of Congress. He was later convicted on the charges and sentenced to a year in prison. Prisoner #7551 It took three years for the case to work through the appeals process, but Trumbo’s actual punishment began as soon as he returned from the hearings. He and his peers were blacklisted from working for any of the major studios and shunned by many in the Hollywood community. It was a hard time for the family both financially and emotionally, as Cleo Trumbo told People in a 1993 interview. â€Å"We were broke, and we weren’t invited anywhere. People dropped away.† With legal fees draining his savings, Trumbo returned to his B-movie roots and began churning out scripts under various pseudonyms for small studios. He worked right up until the day in June 1950 when he shaved off his signature mustache and flew east to begin his year-long prison term. Trumbo, now known as Prisoner #7551 was sent to the Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Kentucky. After almost 25 years of ceaseless work, Trumbo said that he felt â€Å"a sense of almost exhilarating relief† when the doors closed behind him. His stint at Ashland was filled with reading, writing, and light duties. Good behavior won him early release in April 1951. Breaking the Blacklist Trumbo moved the family to Mexico City after his release, hoping to get away from the notoriety and to stretch their reduced income a little further. They returned in 1954. Mitzi Trumbo later described the harassment of her new elementary school classmates when they found out who she was. Throughout the period, Trumbo continued to write for the screenplay black market. He would end up writing around 30 scripts under various pen names between 1947 and 1960. In one two-year span, he wrote 18 scripts at an average payout of $1,700 each. Some of these scripts were very successful. Among his work during this period was the classic romantic comedy Roman Holiday (1953) and The Brave One (1956). Both won Academy Awards for writing—awards that Trumbo couldn’t accept. Trumbo often passed on work to other struggling blacklisters, not only out of generosity but also  to flood the market with so many black-market scripts that the whole blacklist would look like a joke. Later Life and Legacy The blacklist continued to weaken throughout the 1950s. In 1960, director Otto Preminger insisted Trumbo receive a credit for writing the script for the Biblical blockbuster Exodus, and actor Kirk Douglas publicly announced Trumbo had written the script for the historical epic Spartacus. Trumbo adapted the script from a novel by Howard Fast, himself a blacklisted author. Trumbo was readmitted to the Writers Union and from that point on, he was able to write under his own name. In 1975, he received a belated Oscar statuette for The Brave One. He continued to work until he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 1973, and died in Los Angeles on September 10, 1976 at the age of 70. By the time Trumbo died, the blacklist was long broken. Fast Facts Bio Full Name: James Dalton TrumboOccupation: Screenwriter, novelist, political activistBorn:  December 9, 1905 in Montrose, Colorado  Died:  September 10, 1976 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaEducation: Attended  University of Colorado and University of Southern California, no degreeSelected Screenplays: Roman Holiday, The Brave One, Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo, Spartacus, Exodus Novels: Eclipse, Johnny Got His Gun, The Time of the ToadKey Accomplishments:  Joined  nine other Hollywood figures in resisting the anti-Communist House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC). Worked for years under assumed names until he was able to rejoin the Hollywood community.  Spouses Name: Cleo Fincher TrumboChildrens Names: Christopher Trumbo, Melissa Mitzi Trumbo, Nikola Trumbo Sources Ceplair, Larry.. Dalton Trumbo: Blacklisted Hollywood Radical. University Press of Kentucky, 2017.Cook, Bruce. Trumbo. Grand Central Publishing, 2015.

Thursday, December 19, 2019

Possibility Of Becoming Monopolized Market - 1007 Words

Possibility of Becoming Monopolized Market Referring to the textbook, the definition of monopoly is a market structure where a single firm serves as an entire market for a good that has no close substitutes. It acts as the crucial threat to innovation and low prices. Due to the fact, the dominance of single-firm with more than half of its market share is almost as harmful to consumer as a monopoly. Back in 1970s, the entrance of WorldCom, Inc. and Sprint into telecommunication market had effect on increasing competitive market. As of now, their merge will only stop the progress and create one of the largest monopoly in the U.S. economy. Overall, the merger of WorldCom, Inc. and Sprint will degrade the variety amount of their motives and†¦show more content†¦According to the text book, when market is highly concentrated, they become single seller market with no substitutes and firms have downward sloping demand curves. In addition, competition is already weak in Internet backbone markets with the huge gap between the prices and costs, and supernormal profits in the industry. Moreover, prices are higher with few competitors, supply is dropping related to demand, and the pace of technical innovation seems to be slow down. Therefore, increased concentration will only strengthen the anti-competitive effects in these long-distance and telecommunications markets. Barriers in Anti-competitive Markets There are several barriers that cause anti-competitive effects when merging two companies. Such as the brand name barrier and sunk cost barriers will make it tough for new companies to get immediate recognition to compete among established companies. It restricts the current firms from expanding and seems to exclude new firms from entering into the market. Also, the effect in networking appears to allow only a few businesses to dominate in telecommunications and Internet backbone markets. Due to this, the argument of WorldCom, Inc. and Sprint’s excess capacity in these markets makes them far from achieving the theory of contestable markets, which is having no barriers to entry and exit. Such ability is highly concentrated between few

Wednesday, December 11, 2019

Oil and Gas Industries of Uk Their Business Expansion

Question: Describe about the Oil and Gas Industries of Uk for Their Business Expansion? Answer: Introduction: This particular study provides an in-depth understanding of the development in oil and gas retail sectors in UK. In the year 2012, the prime minister of UK had stated in an occasion that UK trade and investment (UKTI) is going spread their hands for the development of petroleum retail sectors in UK in order to expand their wings in the international field (Localinvestuk.com. 2016). Several petroleum and retail companies are existing in UK like BG Group, Dana Petroleum, Eland Oil and Gas, Falkland Oil and Gas and so many. Somehow, they are not able to provide effective service to the customers due to present structure. Apart from UKTI, the department of business innovations and skills are also associated with this particular plan and project in order to provide immense support to the retail industry of UK so that they can raise their head widely. Unfortunately, it has been noticed that several factors have affected the structure of present petroleum retail sectors in UK as a result of which they are not their entire process of business has been affected. Therefore, this particular study has focused to highlight those factors based on which the petroleum retail sectors of UK have to face immense difficulties in order to maintain an effective business process. Moreover, this particular assignment has also focused to point out the expected technological changes that have been decided to render in the petroleum retail industry (Annett and Piech 2011). In addition, the UK trade and investment has decided to explore a change in the supply chain management within the UK petroleum retail industry. In between 1970 and 2016, they have rendered several changes in the retail markets. Discussing critically the implications of recent trends and changes within the supply chain of UK petroleum retail market between 1970 to 2016 After taking initiatives by business innovations and skills, the petroleum retail industries have rendered significant changes in their market, especially in the supply chain management. Different companies in UK like BG Group, Dana Petroleum, Eland Oil and Gas, Falkland Oil and Gas have implemented several changes within their business process in between 1970 to 2016 (Applbaum and Anatol 2010). The key changes that had been taken place in the petroleum retail industry are follows: Provident financial service has been declined from three thousand five hundred from 1970 to nine thousand until 2011. It is undoubtedly a major step taken by the business innovation and skill. The supply chain has been renovated in last two decades. The relation between the service providers and the service users has been made liberal in order to avoid communication gap. For an example, the service providers in earlier did not intend to communication with the service users effectively before supplying the product. This particular procedure has been changed in order to draw the attention of the users. Barry and Sillitoe (2011) stated that, supply chain management with the petroleum industries of UK, has stressed on the team management project rather than individual work. For an example, companies like BG Group and Dana Petroleum liked to give emphasize on the individual performance in order to deliver the product to the customers. Somehow, the head of supply chain management of those companies did not feel that this strategy has provided a positive response; rather it is possessed with some negative outcomes. Information gap rose in between one particular employee to another. Ultimately, the customers have to suffer immensely because of this. In order to avoid these circumstances, the management team had decided to emphasize on teamwork. The team members of supply chain management have to make an effective communication to each other for exchanging necessary information (Bruzzone and Longo 2014). Dana Petroleum has received a good result after implementing this particular process. They are now able to provide quality service to the customers within time. One of the major implementations in supply chain management in the petroleum industries is providing effective training and guidance to the employees. In order to give an effective supply to the customers, the employees supply chain management need necessary training and guidance in this particular field Dul et al. (2008). At the early stage, petroleum companies intended to recruit untrained employees in the department of supply chain management. As a result, they had to face immense difficulties in order to provide effective supply of their product to the customers. Free (2008) stated that Falkland Oil and Gas has started the process of training from the year 2001. As per the report of Business innovations and Skill, Falkland Oil and Gas has achieved a good result. Before coming to this particular field, employees are well aware of the product service system. As a result, customers are getting the service of their product within time. Analyzing the factors that affect the present size and structure of current oil and gas retail sectors emphasizing the impact of rising price oil Currently, it has been observed that several factors in the current petroleum industry have influenced immensely in order to maintain their business successfully (Giri and Maiti 2013). The factors that influence the structure of petroleum retail sectors are as follows: Market sectors: Except European countries, the other countries like US also play a major role for the development of petroleum industry in UK. The growth of liquefied natural gas has a greater impact to run an organization successfully. For an example, the various companies of UK like BG Group, Dana Petroleum, Eland Oil and Gas, Falkland Oil and Gas have to import LNG in order to make a balance between supply and demand. As a result, the companies have to raise their selling cost that affects the customers attention fervently. On the other hand, the growth of LNG in US is comparatively wide than UK (Hessels et al. 2009). As a result, they do not have to face enough challenges in order to create a market demand especially in the retail sector. Regulatory as well as political factors: As mentioned already, if the petroleum and gas companies of UK can make a balance within the product price and the service of product, it helps immensely to meet the target audience successfully. For an example, Dana Petroleum has decided to reduce the cost of their product by maintaining a profit. This is one kind of business strategy in order to generate a market demand (Mcconnell 2010). Unfortunately, Dana Petroleum has faced major difficulties in order to maintain the image of their organization. The management team has not made an effective plan before reducing the product cost. After the reduction of cost, the company has to face innumerable challenges in order to make a balance between supply and demand. It has made a negative impact on the image of the organization. Other factors: Other factors that affect the structure of petroleum retail industries include internal crisis, communication barriers among the employees, competitors threat in the market industry, effective strategy of the competitors and so many. Diversity management is systematically implemented in maximum organizations of UK. Petroleum companies are not exceptional to that. BG Group, Dana Petroleum, Eland Oil and Gas, Falkland Oil and Gas intends to entertain different kinds of employees within their business process. Employees are from different culture and background. As a result, Opinion differs with people of different culture and background. Different perception and opinion affect the internal environment of the organization (Rees 2010). If the maladjustment with the people of different opinion becomes the cause affecting internal environment, communication barrier is the effect of this. More specifically, if the employees cannot be able to make any unanimous decision, communication gap would raise in between them. They would not exchange relevant information with each other regarding the customer service. It affects on the structure as well as on the image of the organization (Rongen et al. 2014). Figure 1: Factors that affect the structures of oil and gas industries in UK (Source: Mcconnell 2010) Evaluating the potential of technological changes on the energy retailing industry on the next decade In order to overcome this situation, UK petroleum retail industries have decided to render relevant technological changes in order to provide effective service to the customers. With the advancement of technology, the companies like Dana Petroleum, Eland Oil and Gas, Falkland Oil and Gas would be able to expand their business more effectively beyond going any geographical boundary (Sapsanguanboon 2015). In next two years, the technological changes that are going to take place inside the organizations are as follows: Plunger Lift System: With the help of plunger lift system, the blockages that have been created through the accumulation of liquids from well can be removed. Dry Seal System: Dry seal system helps to mitigate methane leakage by removing moisture from the liquefied natural gas. Desiccant Dehydrators: At the time of using special water absorbing salt, this particular technology can be used. It helps to release the methane leakage from the liquefied petroleum gas. Compressor Maintenance: The primary responsibility of compressor maintenance is to control the leakage system from the reciprocating compressors (Swarnalatha and Sureshkrishna 2012). This particular technology has been used at the time of processing of natural gas and at the time of transportation system. Maintenance on pipeline: With the help of this particular technology, methane can be captured when at the time of flowing through this pipeline. Recovery Units in Vapor: Vapor recovery units help to capture methane that has been leaked from the oil while storing in the tank. Leak Monitoring and Repair: Leak monitoring primarily helps to detect methane leakage. It captures those leaked methane that remains complete colorless. With the help of advanced monitoring equipment the leakages of methane can be captured from various locations. Therefore, by implementing those technologies, the companies would be able to provide service that is more effective to the customers. It would automatically help to enhance the business process in the petroleum retail industry even in the international field. (Willett 2014) stated that most of the US oil and gas companies like Aloha Petroleum, American Shale Oil, ARCO have already implemented those technologies and they have positive feedback from the customers. As stated by Wilson (2011) advancement of technology is not required only for providing effective service to the customers but for the sales promotion of the company as well. The popularity of internet has already spread its wide wings throughout the World. In next two years, it is going to be more effective even than the print media as well as electronic media. Different oil and gas companies of UK like Dana Petroleum, Eland Oil and Gas, Falkland Oil and Gas has establish a public forum in their official website in order to collect direct customer response. While visiting the website, the customers can give a feedback in this particular forum mentioning their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the customer service system of that particular company. In coming years, petroleum companies are going to use technology that is more advanced. They are going to get an opportunity to make a conversation with the service providers directly through video conference. As a result, customers will get more immediate reply than even before as opined by Wu (2013). Consequently, complains from the customers are expected to be reduced. Figure 2: Different use of technologies that can change the energy of retail industry (Source: Wilson 2011) Conclusion: The entire study has provided a detailed scenario of the oil and gas industries of UK regarding their business expansion. In has been noticed that petroleum industries of UK have been planned to be innovated by the initiatives of UK trade and investment (UKTI) and Business innovations and skills. These two organizations had discovered that the business structure UK petroleum industries have been affected severely due to some unavoidable circumstances. The factors include market sector, drawback on behalf of the regulatory bodies, and other. Among the other factors, the internal problems relating to the employees at the workplace have been highlighted specifically. For an example, as already stated, implementation of diversity management within the company has been highlighted. Communication barriers take place among the employees within the organization because of the opinion of diverse people about a particular business matter. Moreover, this assignment has highlighted the expected technological changes that the petroleum companies of UK are going to implement in their organization in order to provide service that is more effective to the customers. In addition, this study has also highlighted at the end how advanced technology has become one of the major tools for the sales promotion for reaching the target audience directly. Reference List: Localinvestuk.com. 2016. UKTI - Local Investment Showcase. [online] Available at: https://www.localinvestuk.com [Accessed 13 Mar. 2016]. Annett, J. and Piech, J. 2011. The Retention of a Skill Following Distributed Training. Innovations in Education Training International, 22(2), pp.182-186. Applbaum, R. and Anatol, K. 2010. The relationships among job satisfaction, organizational norms, and communicational climate among employees in an academic organization. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 7(2), pp.83-90. Barry, G. and Sillitoe, J. 2011. Identifying the perceived barriers to participation in tertiary education among hospitality employees. Int J Contemp Hospitality Mngt, 13(1), pp.21-29. Bruzzone, A. and Longo, F. 2014. An application methodology for logistics and transportation scenarios analysis and comparison within the retail supply chain. EJIE, 8(1), p.112. Dul, J., Pieters, J. and Dijkstra, S. 2009. Instructional Feedback in Motor Skill Learning. Innovations in Education and Training International, 24(1), pp.71-76. Free, C. 2008. Supply-Chain Accounting Practices in the UK Retail Sector: Enabling or Coercing Collaboration. Contemporary Accounting Research, 24(3), pp.897-933. Giri, B. and Maiti, T. 2013. Trade credit competition between two retailers in a supply chain under credit-linked retail price and market demand. Optimization Letters, 8(7), pp.2065-2085. Hessels, J., Brixy, U., Naude, W. and Gries, T. 2009. Skill Variety, Innovation and New Business Formation. SSRN Electronic Journal, 8(10), pp.45-50. Mcconnell, C. 2010. Making upward communication work for your employees: channels, barriers, and the open door. The Health Care Manager, 4(4), pp.75-85. Rees, C. 2010. Impact of the internal market on the organizational structure and culture of supply: chain management within the NHS. European Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 1(4), pp.249-256. Rongen, A., Robroek, S., van Ginkel, W., Lindeboom, D., Altink, B. and Burdorf, A. 2014. Barriers and facilitators for participation in health promotion programs among employees: a six-month follow-up study. BMC Public Health, 14(1), p.573-600. Sapsanguanboon, W. 2015. Sustainable Retail Supply Chain Management Practices: A Case Study of a Modern Trade Retailer in an Emerging Market. Sustainability: the Journal of Record, 8(6), pp.313-323. Swarnalatha, C. and Sureshkrishna, G. 2012. Job Satisfaction among Employees of Automotive Industries in India. IJFCC, pp.245-248. Willett, R. 2014. New Workforce: New Skill Requirements to Lead to a Changed Utility Business. Nat. Gas Elec., 30(11), pp.6-11. Wilson, N. 2011. Supply chain management: a case study of a dedicated supply chain for bananas in the UK grocery market. Supply Chain Management: An International Journal, 1(2), pp.28-35. Wu, C. 2013. Supply chain performance in a monopolistic retail market with multiple suppliers. International Journal of Strategic Management, 13(3), pp.55-60.

Wednesday, December 4, 2019

Rain Forests All The Way Essays - Ecosystems,

Rain Forests All The Way Rain Forests All the Way The discussions these days are why are the rain forests depleting? Well this research will help change the opinions of many people. Some facts about rain forests are, ?Tropical rain forests occupy about 7 percent of the earth's surface but harbor as much as 50 percent of the world's plant and animal species. Also about 57 percent of all rain forests remaining are in the tropics in the Western Hemisphere: 30 percent are in Brazil. At the current rate of deforestation, tropical rain forests could be wiped out in 177 years. Less than 5 percent of the world's tropical rain forests are protected within national parks and reserves (Steve Grant, 2)?. Rain forests are becoming very scarce and should be taking into concern because depletion of rain forests is a problem. One method of cutting down rain forests is slash-and-burn agriculture. Grant defines slash-and-burn agriculture as ?Smallholders that are cutting down four or five acres of forest and set it on fire. The resulting ash fertilizes the soils, which are notoriously poor in the tropics (1)?. Grant explains that now that there is only charred stumps left, a lot of light reaches the ground and is oppressively hot (1). ?In the past, a logger might take only a few trees per acre. While that would allow more light into the forest floor and raise the risk of fire (Grant, 2)?. So when people decide to cut down forests they are increasing the risk of fire. Rain forests have been burning up lately. An analysis of satellite by the EDF indicates that burning of rainforest land in Amazon increased 28% from 1996 to 1997 (Amazon rainforest, 1). Research shows ?A total of 19,115 fires are reported from the NOAA-12 satellite images in the sample in 1996, while 24,549 fires appear in the 1997 data over the period (1)?. One reason for rampant burning is that Brazil's environmental agency has had no legal authority to enforce environmental law since 1989. A bill in the Brazilian congress that would close the loophole passed the Senate earlier this year, but has been blocked by special interests in the Lower House (2). So of the reasons why the burning continues is because of the government and the burning is increasing more and more because we need more land and crops. Since the statistics show that rain forest are getting burned up, the government and people need to start taking concern towards the rain forest. The point of this paper was to persuade people as a whole to take rain forest into concern and act on it. Some solutions to the problem are that the government should take better responsibility and take control of the burning of the rain forest. Also the people can help the government out by understanding the needs of our rain forest.

Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Representation of Culture in Japanese Animation Essay Example

Representation of Culture in Japanese Animation Essay RESEARCH PROPOSAL: REPRESENTATIONS OF CULTURE IN JAPANESE ANIMATION BY: ASHA JHINA ROLL NO. : 0914152 SUMITTED TO: DR. SAGARIKA GOLDER CHRIST UNIVERSITY BANGALORE Animation, more commonly known as cartoons is a very integral part of a child’s growing years. A medium which started out with a sole purpose of providing entertainment has progressed into a kind of a new-age education method. Cartoons/animations are not merely a tool to keep viewers occupied, it aims to familiarise people with their culture and their roots. Through this research paper I aim to isolate the very specifics of culture which are represented in media, especially cartoons. I have narrowed my research to ‘manga’ more commonly known as ‘anime’ which is the Japanese form of animation. Japan is known to have one of the oldest and strongest historical and cultural roots which are still relevant. Previous research has shown that people who are regular followers of anime do not watch it just as a form of entertainment but also to learn about a new and enigmatic culture. The Japanese are not one of the most outgoing people therefore a medium such as anime provides an interesting as well as visually appealing insight into their lives and culture. I wish to write my research paper by referring to the different kinds of work that has been done on this topic by others. This paper shall be based on facts collected through research and a survey among anime followers. By the end of this research I aim to draw parallels between Japanese culture and the content of different Animes. We will write a custom essay sample on Representation of Culture in Japanese Animation specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Representation of Culture in Japanese Animation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Representation of Culture in Japanese Animation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Meaning and Family History of the Surname Estrada

Meaning and Family History of the Surname Estrada The toponymic surname Estrada originates from any of the many places in Spain and Portugal named Estrada, from Estrada, meaning road. Derived from the Latin stata, denoting a road or paved way, which in turn derives from sternere, to strew or cover. Estrada is the 52nd most common Hispanic surname. Surname Origin:  Spanish, Portuguese Alternate Surname Spellings:  DE ESTRADA, ESTRADO, ESTRADER Famous People With the Surname Erik Estrada – American actor of Puerto Rican descentToms Estrada Palma – First president of Cuba (1902–1906)Elise Estrada – Canadian pop-singer and actressJoseph Estrada – film actor, producer, former president of the Philippines Where Do People With the Estrada Surname Live? According to Public Profiler: World Names the majority of individuals with the Estrada surname live in Spain and Argentina, followed by concentrations in the United States, Canada, and France. Genealogy Resources for the Surname Estrada Family Crest - Its Not What You ThinkContrary to what you may hear, there is no such thing as an Estrada  family crest or coat of arms for the Estrada  surname.  Coats of arms are granted to individuals, not families, and may rightfully be used only by the uninterrupted male-line descendants of the person to whom the coat of arms was originally granted.   ESTRADA Family Genealogy ForumSearch this popular genealogy forum for the Estrada surname to find others who might be researching your ancestors, or post your own Estrada query. Source: Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967. Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998. Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003. Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989. Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003. Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997. Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

What is the CAPM and of what practical use is it Essay - 3

What is the CAPM and of what practical use is it - Essay Example According to CAPM, the expected return of a portfolio or a security is considered to be equal to the rate of a risk free security plus a premium for the risk factor. The risk factor is mainly calculated by taking a measure of risk called as beta in the model of CAPM. Beta is considered to compare the returns on a particular security to the market return. The formula for the CAPM is as follows: The development of the CAPM was mostly to explain the pricing of risky securities in the market. It is considered as a more practical approach to stock valuation as compared to the Markowitz theory which is considered to be more theoretical (Armitage, 2005, p. 51). The assumptions of the Capital Asset Pricing Model are as follows: I) It is considered that investors in general tend to maximize the utility of their wealth. The preferences of investors are taken into consideration through the concept of utility in the CAPM. Investors considered to be more willing to take risks are considered to have increasing marginal utility with regard to wealth while investors who are considered to be risk averse tend to have less preference for incremental wealth when it is considered to be associated with higher risk. II) It is considered that investors in general show similar expectations with regard to return and risk. It is considered in this regard that if investors do not have similar expectations, there will be no homogeneity in the conceptions of investors and as such no single efficient frontier line will apply to all investors. III) It is held that investors tend to make investment decisions on a rational basis depending on their preference for return and risk. Risk is considered to be mainly measured by two factors such as variance and mean. CAPM is considered to assume that rational investors tend to diversify away unsystematic

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

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

The Green Anaconda - Essay Example The Eunectus marinus, also known as the ‘’Green Anaconda’’ is the best know of these species. Possibly lizard posterity, these snakes contain hints of pelvic and hind limbs. The workings of an Anaconda’s body are mostly unknown, with only theories concerning the two working lungs present inside it in contrast to the usual elongated one (Pinney, 1991). The Green Anaconda is usually found inside rivers, marshes and lakes in South America predominantly in the basins from Venezuela to Argentina. In some places, they also live in flooded grasslands. In dry weather, they seek refuge in caves. Their skin color helps them to camouflage themselves in the river’s contents. These anacondas are excellent swimmers and keep to their territory, which varies during the year (National Geographic, web). The Green Anaconda is built to best overcome its prey. Its lean, strong body coils around its victim, squeezing them until they die of suffocation. The muscle b ones are somewhat relaxed, the lower jaw and the upper jaw not joined and the surrounding muscles powerful, enabling the anaconda to swallow victims larger than normally possible. The thick skin and the razor sharp teeth that turn towards the back of its mouth leave the prey helpless against this deadly predator. The teeth’s function is hardly biting down or even gnawing, they are a means of trapping the prey (Thorbjarnarson, 1995). The Green Anaconda is believed to be a patient predator, mainly hunting in water bodies. It estimates the size of its victim by contrast with the size of its mouth. With only its eyes and mouth above water, the anaconda senses its prey through vibrations occurring though the water. Once its victim is close enough, in order to keep it in place, the anaconda bites it, quickly coiling its large body around it in order to suffocate and then, swallow its meal. When the anaconda squeezes its victim, it simultaneously breaks their spine or neck. The Anac onda’s usual victims are deer, pigs, turtles and sometimes, jaguars (Murphy, 1997). These victims are swallowed completely. Owing to the Green Anaconda’s slow metabolism, this snake can survive for as much as a few months. The length of time is decided by the size of its prey. This phenomenon has allowed the anaconda to survive in droughts and famines. On the other hand, food is not the only motivation for hunting. Hunting is considered to be correlated with successful mating (Pinney, 1991). The Eunectus marinus’s mating is very complex. Pheromones are secreted by the female in order to attract the male. A group of males gather around one female during the end of the March. An accumulation of males (even as many as twelve) form a ‘’mating ball’’. Shallow waters usually host the call for these. Male anacondas try inserting their hemipenes, into the female’s cloaca. In preparation for copulation, the male anacondas also try famili arizing themselves with the female anaconda’s smell. Once a male manages to insert a waxy plug in the female’s cloaca, she is prevented from further fertilization (Rivas, 2001). Once pregnant, the female can no longer feed for as long as she carried the offspring, which can be as long as six to seven months. The eggs of an Anaconda hatch within the female and come out as in their normal physical form. The eggs can be up to one hundred. The Anaconda does not portray any parental inclinations. The closest

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Emergency Management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Emergency Management - Assignment Example It is essential for National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to develop a strategic partnership with other stakeholders and implement proactive approaches to emergency management (National Emergency Management Association, 2011). Emergency managers should coordinate with other Federal agencies such as the Department of Health and Human Services and National Weather Service in disaster preparedness. I have noticed that safeguarding the critical infrastructures like the highways, buildings, and seaports is not enough since Emergency Management efforts should focus on hazard identification, and land use planning (Virginia Department of Emergency Management, 2007). I have understood that emergency managers should save and protect lives in case of disasters, mitigate damage on physical property and environment, coordinate communications through incident command system (ICS) and provide essential services to the victims (National Emergency Management Association, 2011). I have also lear ned that Emergency Operations Center should involve members from different skills background such as fire services, search and rescue operations, transportation, medical services, and relief support and information technology in order to coordinate the communications and operations. My respondents suggested several skills that Emergency Managers that are critical. For instance, some mentioned that emergency managers should have specialized skills in disaster identification and assessment. I acknowledge that is a critical skill in modern emergency management since prior hazard identification, mitigation and preparedness will be capable of reducing the impact and damage to property and loss of lives. I believe that the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina and Gulf Coast oil spills would be minimal if the emergency management departments had foreseen the disasters.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Treatment Options for Fractured Bridge

Treatment Options for Fractured Bridge Case Study: Discuss the treatment options of a case that you have treatment planned as part of your ICEi clinical portfolio. Patient complaint: Had a bridge in upper left area which had fractured and wanted to enquire about the possibility of implant treatment to replace the teeth and close the gap . History of present condition: Patient had a bridge for years for his one front missing tooth , and had recently fractured the bridge .No pain or discomfort from the broken tooth and has left the gap as such .Patient also had tried dentures for his other missing teeth but was not able to get used to them. Patient wanted to explore the options to replace his front missing teeth, in particular with dental implants. Patient not in any discomfort, and did not report any other dental problems. Patients’ expectation from the treatment is to replace front teeth, so that they look, function and feel like his own teeth and can give him confidence to smile as before . Social History: Patient rarely consumes alcohol and is a non-smoker Low sugar intake in diet Medical History: High blood pressure Medications: Ramipril, Cardioplen (Felodipine) / Simvastatin Extra oral examination: No abnormality detected Intra oral examination Soft Tissue: The soft tissues intra-orally were in good health. Periodontal condition: Bleeding on probing at some areas and calculus in lower front teeth. Grade 1 mobility with LR1, LL1 teeth but the pocketing depth was within normal range. Patient had average oral hygiene. Teeth :Teeth and existing restorations and crowns were generally in good condition. Generalised mild attrition was noted. Missing teeth: UR8 UR7 UR6 UR5 UL3 UL6 UL7 UL8 LR7 LR6 LR5 LL5 LL6 LL7 Crowned teeth (PBC) UR4 UR3 UR2 UR1 UL2 Restored teeth UL5 LR8 LR4 LL8 restored with amalgam restoration LR8 LL8 drifted mesially. UL4 tooth was fractured which was an abutment for mesial cantilever bridge (UL3-pontic, UL4- retainer crown), No caries, minimal coronal tooth structure present Occlusion: Upper arch Kennedy’s Class 1, Modification 1, considering missing UL3. Lower arch Kennedys Class 3, Modification 1 relationship was present. Due to missing posterior teeth in both upper and lower arch, patient had an edge to edge bite No obvious canine guidance or group function on lateral movements. Lip / Smile line: Lip and smile lines were positioned in such a way that when smiling broadly some of the gum margins of teeth were seen. An average (Moderate) lip line was hence recorded.(Van der Geld, Oosterveld et al. 2011). Bone morphology on palpation: UL3 area was noted to have buccal bone defect on palpation. UL4 tooth was having good hard tissue height and width due to the presence of the tooth. Diagnostic tests: Radiographs taken: DPT x-ray was done to assess the alveolar bone levels Periapical X-ray UL34 was done to assess the quality and quantity of bone available for the implant fixture. Photographs: Front view (close up) to record the lip line Intraoral view of UL3, UL4 area Bone defect picture Diagnosis: Failed anterior cantilever bridge (UL3 pontic, UL4 retainer) UL4 fracture tooth (no caries minimal tooth to restore) Upper and Lower partially edentulous arches. Generalised chronic mild gingivitis Patient wishes: Patient prefers a fixed option for the gap in the front. Treatment planning, objectives and considerations: Treatment is indicated to restore aesthetics and function and would also benefit the patient psychologically to have confidence in his smile again (Lindsay, And et al. 7). Considering patient desires, specific objectives of the treatment should be to restore missing UL3 tooth and UL4 tooth with a fixed option. The bone around the fractured tooth (UL4) is adequate, and there is sufficient bone height and width to allow the restoration of implant fixture. However, the bone around the missing tooth (UL3) was inadequate with bony defect and would need bone grafting to aid the long-term stability of the fixture. This can also further help to improve aesthetic results after implant treatment. Risk factors / limitations: Fracture of buccal bone can occur during extraction of UL4. UL3 has been noted to have less adequate bone, the implant restoration may have a higher restoration margin than the natural teeth, and tooth might appear to emerge higher up the gum than the adjacent teeth. No posterior support present in the present compromised occlusion and risk of excessive load on implants and hence failure of implants due to biomechanical reason and occlusion overloading(Kim, Oh et al. 2). Lack of primary stability of implants and Implant failure. (Chrcanovic, Chrcanovic et al. 6). Treatment options for the replacement of the missing teeth are: No treatment Leave Gap UL3 (Kanno, Carlsson 2006),Leave alone UL4 Extraction of UL4 and partial dentures (Davenport, Basker et al. 2000). Bridge (Not advised in this case, considering UL2 heavily restored and not suitable as an abutment). (Anonymous 2007). Implant options : UL4 implant and mesial cantilever bridge with UL3 UL4 (Implant supported bridge), (Kim, Ivanovski et al. 2). b. UL4 implant supported crown and UL3 Implant supported crown with bone grafting in UL3 (Al-Khaldi, Sleeman et al. 2011). Advantages and Disadvantages of different treatment options : 1. Leave, accept gap / Leave alone fractured UL4 Advantages: No treatment required No surgery Accept gap, no cost Disadvantages: Unaesthetic Drifting / Tilting of adjacent teeth Function and phonetic compromised Continuous bone loss, making restoring site more challenging at later date. Development of occlusal interferences Risk of caries developing UL4 Risk of acute pain / swelling and infection UL4 2. Partial dentures Advantages: No surgery Low cost Few visits for treatments Disadvantages: May be unstable Food accumulation Does not prevent bone loss Tolerance can be difficult 3. Bridge work (Not advised / feasible in this case) Advantages: No surgery Low cost Few visits for treatments Teeth are fixed Disadvantages: Healthy teeth prepared for support, Risk of loss of vitality ,may need Root canal treatment or Extraction at later date . Food accumulation as difficult to floss Does not prevent bone loss High cost Fracture of bridge or any part of it , needs replacing with new bridge as difficult to repair . Implant options: a) UL4 implant and mesial cantilever bridge with UL3 UL4 (Implant supported bridge) Advantages: Less cost as one implant to be placed No bone grafting needed, one surgical visit would be less. Treatment completion would be early as no bone augmentation needed. Fixed prosthesis Prevent bone loss at UL4 site Disadvantages / Limitations: Risk of implant failure is high due to excessive occlusal load due to missing posterior support. Compromised aesthetic outcome for UL3 due to bone defect present. If bridge work fails, would then plan to put two implants as planned as the next option and hence further cost. Oral hygiene needs to be maintained. b) UL4 implant supported single crown and UL3 Implant supported single crown with bone grafting in UL3 area. Advantages: Fixed prosthesis Prevent further bone loss at UL3 UL4 sites. Better aesthetic results. Individual implants, easy to maintain oral hygiene. Risk of failure due to occlusal load decreases as forces divided on two fixtures. If an implant fails, they could be replaced or treated individually. Long term clinical data reveals that the prognosis for implant treatment is very high, in the region of 90-95%. (Pjetursson, Pjetursson et al. 6). Disadvantages / Limitations: More cost as two implants and bone augmentation required. One surgical appointment added and wait for bone material to mature and hence prolonged treatment time. Risk of implant fixtures failure to ossteointegrate. The success of implant treatment will mainly depend on the ability to maintain a very high level of oral hygiene and plaque control measures in the long term. Need to attend dentist at 3-6 monthly intervals to ensure good periodontal (gum) condition is maintained around your implant fixture and standing natural teeth. Provisional restoration options: No Provisional restoration or Denture Patient opted for No Provisional restoration Type of bone grafting options 🙠 Dib 2010) An osseous graft can be osteogenic, osteoinductive or osteoconductive agent. Osteogenic graft contains vital cells, which will contribute to new bone growth. Osteoinductive graft stimulates the differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells into osteoblasts due to the bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs). Osteoconductive graft will serve as a scaffold for new bone formation. Graft materials are also classifies as: Autograft bone, obtained from the same individual. Allograft bone, obtained from a different individual, but from the same species (Bone bank) Xenograft bone, obtained from different species (Bovine) Alloplast graft is made of synthetic materials. Patient had no reservation for xenograft and hence xenograft Bio-oss was agreed to be used. Patient information leaflet given on same. Treatment agreed and planned: From the options discussed and considering patients’ wishes , it was agreed to plan two individual implant retained single crowns with bone augmentation at UL3 site and it was proposed to do: Scale and polish Extract the UL4 tooth and Bone Graft UL3 area Place two implant UL3 and UL4 Fabricate new upper and lower partial dentures Maintenance instruction and regular follow up A report was sent to the patient with all the options written after the consultation and attached with a breakdown of the costs for consideration and consent to proceed. Reference list : AL-KHALDI, N., SLEEMAN, D. and ALLEN, F., 2011. Stability of dental implants in grafted bone in the anterior maxilla: longitudinal study. British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, 49(4), pp. 319-323. ANONYMOUS, 2007. Long-term survival of complete crowns, fixed dental prostheses, and cantilever fixed prostheses with posts and cores on root canal-treated teeth. British Dental Journal, 203(9), pp. 523. DAVENPORT, J., BASKER, R., HEATH, J., RALPH, J. and GLANTZ, P., 2000. The removable partial denture equation. British Dental Journal, 189(8), pp. 414-24. DIB, M., 2010. Successful Bone Grafting. Oral Health, 100(4), pp. 106-107,109. KANNO, T. and CARLSSON, G.E., 2006. A review of the shortened dental arch concept focusing on the work by the Kà ¤yser/Nijmegen group. England: Blackwell Publishing Ltd. KIM, P., IVANOVSKI, S., LATCHAM, N. and MATTHEOS, N., 2. The impact of cantilevers on biological and technical success outcomes of implantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ supported fixed partial dentures. A retrospective cohort study. Clinical oral implants research, 25(2), pp. 175; 175-184; 184. KIM, Y., OH, T., MISCH, C.E. and WANG, H., 2. Occlusal considerations in implant therapy: clinical guidelines with biomechanical rationale. Clinical oral implants research, 16(1), pp. 26; 26-35; 35. LINDSAY, S., AND, K. and JENNINGS, K., 7. The psychological benefits of dental implants in patients distressed by untolerated dentures. Psychology Health, 15(4), pp. 451; 451-466; 466. PJETURSSON, B.E., PJETURSSON, B.E., BRÄGGER, U., LANG, N.P. and ZWAHLEN, M., 6. Comparison of survival and complication rates of toothà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ supported fixed dental prostheses (FDPs) and implantà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ supported FDPs and single crowns (SCs). Clinical oral implants research, 18, pp. 97; 97-113; 113. VAN DER GELD, P., OOSTERVELD, P., SCHOLS, J. and KUIJPERS-JAGTMAN, A.M., 2011. Smile line assessment comparing quantitative measurement and visual estimation. American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics, 139(2), pp. 174-180.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Blue Whales :: Biology Ecology Nature

Blue Whales The Blue whale is the largest creature of the sea, in fact, it is the largest creature known to man. Contrary to what most people think, even though Blue whales live in the sea, they are mammals. They breathe air, have their babies born alive and can live anywhere from 30 to 70 years. The Blue whale is a baleen whale, and instead of having teeth, Blue whales have around 300-400 baleen plates in their mouths. They fall under the category of the rorquals, which are the largest of the baleen family. The scientific name of the Blue whale is, Balsenoptera musculus. Introduction Whales are separated into two groups, the baleen and the toothed whales. The blue whale is the largest baleen whale and the largest animal that ever lived on Earth, including the largest dinosaurs. Baleen are rows of coarse, bristle-like fibers used to strain plankton from the water. Baleen is made of keratin, the same material as our fingernails. They live in pods, the have two blowholes. The blue whale has a 2-14 inch (5-30cm) thick layer of blubber. Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) are baleen whales (Suborder Mysticeti). They are one of 76 species and are marine mammals. Background The Blue whale is called a ^rorqual^, a Norwegian word for ^furrow^ referring to the pleated grooves running from its chin to its naval. The pleated throat grooves allow the Blue whale^s throat to expand during the huge intake of water during filter feeding; they can ^hold 1,000 tons or more of food and water when fully expanded^ (Small 1971). Blue whales have 50-70 throat grooves. Blue whales grow up to about 80 feet (25m) long on average, weighing about 120 tons. The females are generally larger than the males, this is the case for all baleen whales. ^The largest specimen found was a female 94 feet (29m) long weighing more than 174 tons^ (Satchell 1998). The head of the Blue whale forms up to a quarter of the total body length. Compared with other rorquals, the head is very broad. The blue whale heart is the size of a small car and can pump almost 10 tons of blood throughout the body. They have a very small, falcate (sickle-shaped) dorsal fin that is located near the fluke, or tail. Blue whales have long, thin flippers 8 feet (2.4m) long and flukes that are 25feet (7.6m) wide. The blue whale^s skin is usually blue-gray with white-gray spots. The underbelly has brown, yellow, or gray specks. Blue Whales :: Biology Ecology Nature Blue Whales The Blue whale is the largest creature of the sea, in fact, it is the largest creature known to man. Contrary to what most people think, even though Blue whales live in the sea, they are mammals. They breathe air, have their babies born alive and can live anywhere from 30 to 70 years. The Blue whale is a baleen whale, and instead of having teeth, Blue whales have around 300-400 baleen plates in their mouths. They fall under the category of the rorquals, which are the largest of the baleen family. The scientific name of the Blue whale is, Balsenoptera musculus. Introduction Whales are separated into two groups, the baleen and the toothed whales. The blue whale is the largest baleen whale and the largest animal that ever lived on Earth, including the largest dinosaurs. Baleen are rows of coarse, bristle-like fibers used to strain plankton from the water. Baleen is made of keratin, the same material as our fingernails. They live in pods, the have two blowholes. The blue whale has a 2-14 inch (5-30cm) thick layer of blubber. Blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus) are baleen whales (Suborder Mysticeti). They are one of 76 species and are marine mammals. Background The Blue whale is called a ^rorqual^, a Norwegian word for ^furrow^ referring to the pleated grooves running from its chin to its naval. The pleated throat grooves allow the Blue whale^s throat to expand during the huge intake of water during filter feeding; they can ^hold 1,000 tons or more of food and water when fully expanded^ (Small 1971). Blue whales have 50-70 throat grooves. Blue whales grow up to about 80 feet (25m) long on average, weighing about 120 tons. The females are generally larger than the males, this is the case for all baleen whales. ^The largest specimen found was a female 94 feet (29m) long weighing more than 174 tons^ (Satchell 1998). The head of the Blue whale forms up to a quarter of the total body length. Compared with other rorquals, the head is very broad. The blue whale heart is the size of a small car and can pump almost 10 tons of blood throughout the body. They have a very small, falcate (sickle-shaped) dorsal fin that is located near the fluke, or tail. Blue whales have long, thin flippers 8 feet (2.4m) long and flukes that are 25feet (7.6m) wide. The blue whale^s skin is usually blue-gray with white-gray spots. The underbelly has brown, yellow, or gray specks.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Night World : Huntress Chapter 18

Jez heard herself scream, but only faintly. There was a roaring in her ears as if the BART train was coming at her again. And a pain that engulfed her whole body, sending agonized spasms through her limbs. It centered in her chest, though, where something white-hot was lodged inside her, crushing her lung and dislodging her internal organs and burning right beside her heart. She'd been staked. What she had done so often to others had been done to her. She hadn't realized anything could hurt like this. She was glad none of her victims had lived long to keep suffering. The wood of the stake was poisoning her heart, she knew. Even if it were removed, she would die. No vampire could survive contact between living wood and its undead heart. Still, she would live for a little while-in unimaginable agony as the poison ate through her. A voice was screaming in her mind. Jez-JezJezJez†¦ Over and over, incoherently. Morgead, she thought. And she hoped he wasn't feeling any of what she was feeling through the silver cord that connected them. Hugh and Claire were sobbing. Jez wished they wouldn't. They had to stay calm; to think of a way to save themselves. Because she couldn't help them anymore. Over the sobbing she heard a shrill and angry voice. Lily. â€Å"What is wrong with you?† Lily was saying. â€Å"Don't you see what's happening to her? Don't you want to save her?† Through the red haze that filled Jez's vision, she felt dim approval. They were doing what she'd told them. Whichever of them was the Wild Power was suppressing it Good. That was what mattered. Although she couldn't really remember why any longer†¦. Suddenly a face broke through the red haze. It was Lily, bending over her. â€Å"Don't you understand?† Lily yelled. â€Å"You can stop this right now. Ill have him kill you cleanly-all the pain will be over. All you have to do is tell me who it is.† Jez smiled at her faintly. She couldn't breathe to answer, and she didn't want to try. Would you believe that I don't know? she thought. No, I don't think you would. †¦ The pain was getting less by itself. It was as if Jez was moving farther and farther away from it. â€Å"How can you be so stupid?† Lily was screaming. Her face was twisted, and to Jez's vision, floating in a scarlet mist. She looked like a monster. Then she turned and seemed to be screaming at someone else. â€Å"All right. Get the other vampire down here, too. Morgead.† She was looking at Jez again. â€Å"We'll just have to stake your friends one after another until the Wild Power decides to reveal itself.† No. No†¦ Suddenly everything was much clearer around Jez. She could see the room again, and she could feel her own body. There was still the roaring in her ears, but she could hear Claire's sobs over it. No. Lily couldn't mean it. This couldn't be happening†¦. But it was. They were shoving Morgead down on the floor beside her, and Claire and Hugh beyond him. The thugs with spears were getting into position. No. No. This can't happen. Jez wanted to scream at them, to tell the Wild Power to do something, because everything was lost now anyway. But she didn't have air to scream. And she felt so adrift and confused anyway†¦. Her universe had become disjointed. Her thoughts seemed to be unraveling at all once, past memories combining with flashing sensory impressions from the present, and with strange new ideas†¦. If it was involuntary, why didn't the Wild Power work magic more often? Unless there was some other requirement†¦. I can't let this happen. The dampness of blood spreading around her heart. †¦ Claire's nails digging into her arms. â€Å"When there's no physical way to escape †¦Ã¢â‚¬  Power in the blood. Claire on the floor there. Screaming and screaming†¦ Something building inside her, hotter than the stake. Morgead beside her whispering, â€Å"Jez, I love you.† Pierce with the stake over him. Morgead looking up unafraid†¦. Hotter than the heart of a star. Hugh in the distance saying almost quietly, â€Å"Goddess of Life, receive us; guide us to the other world. . . .† Hotter than the sun and colder and bluer than the moon, like fire that burned and froze and crackled like lightning all at once. Something that filled her with an energy that was past rage and past love and past all controlling and that she recognized in her soul even though she'd never consciously felt it before. It was swelling Jez to bursting, a pure and terrible flame that was never meant to be unleashed like this†¦. â€Å"Do it!† Lily shouted. And Jez let it free. It came roaring out from her in a silent explosion. Blue fire that streamed from her body and blasted in all directions, but especially up. It came out and out and out, engulfing everything, flowing from her in a never ending torrent. Like a solar flare that didn't stop. It was all she could see. Blue flames, streaked with blue-white lightning that crackled almost soundlessly. Just like the fire that had cocooned her on the BART tracks. Except that now she could tell where it was coming from, even if she couldn't direct it. She knew how to let it out, now, but once out it did what it wanted. And it wasn't meant to be used this way. That was the only thing she knew clearly about it. She'd been letting it slip out when she was desperately upset-when she was worried for someone's life, and she knew that she couldn't do anything else to save them. That was forgivable, because it had been unconscious. This wasn't. She was probably violating some law of the universe or something. The blue fire was only meant to be used in the last battle, when the darkness came and the Four were called to stand against it. I suppose that means I should try to stop now, Jez thought. She wasn't sure how to do it. She guessed that she needed to call it back, somehow, to draw it down into her body again. Maybe if I sort of tug†¦. She did-something. A gathering-up with her mind. It was harder than letting the fire go had been, but it worked. She could feel it returning, flooding back inside her, as if she were sucking it in. †¦ And then it was gone, and Jez could see the world again. Could see what it had done. The house had disappeared. Or most of it, anyway. There was about a foot and a half of ragged wall left all around, with charred insulation spilling out. Blue energy like electricity ran along the edges here and there, fizzing. Other than that, no house. Not even chunks of wreckage lying around. There were fine bits of debris floating down, making the sunlight hazy, but that was all. It got†¦ vaporized, Jez thought, searching for the right word. No Lily. No Azarius. No Pierce. And none of the ugly thugs. Goddess, Jez thought. I didn't mean to do that. I only wanted to stop them from hurting Morgead and Claire and Hugh. †¦ What about them? she thought in a sudden panic. She turned her head, painfully. They were there. And alive. They were even stirring. The cords they'd been tied with were lying on the carpet, sizzling with that same blue energy. It's so weird to have a carpet without a house to go with it, Jez thought fuzzily. She was going away again. And that was too bad, but at least it didn't hurt anymore. The pain was gone completely, replaced by a warm and sleepy feeling-and the sensation of gently floating outward. Her eyelids felt heavy. â€Å"Jez? Jez!† It was a husky whisper. Jez opened her eyes to see Morgead's face. He was crying. Oh, dear, that was bad. Jez hadn't seen him cry since†¦ when was it? Sometime when they'd been little kids†¦. Jez, can you hear me? Now he was talking in her mind. Jez blinked again, and tried to think of something comforting to say to him. â€Å"I feel warm,† she whispered. â€Å"No, you don't!† He said it almost in a growl. Then he looked behind him, and Jez saw Hugh and Claire crawling up. They were all shining with golden light. â€Å"You're so pretty,† she told them. â€Å"Like angels.† â€Å"This isn't the time for your weird humor!† Morgead shouted. â€Å"Stop it! Don't yell at her!† That was Claire. Claire was crying, too, lovely tears that shone as they fell. She reached out and took Jez's hand, and that was nice, although Jez couldn't exactly feel it. She could see it. â€Å"She's going to be all right,† Morgead was snarling. â€Å"She's lost blood, but she'll be okay.† Someone was stroking Jez's hair off her face. She felt that; it was pleasant. She frowned slowly at Morgead, because there was something important to tell him, and talking was difficult. â€Å"Tell Hugh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  she whispered. â€Å"Tell Hugh your freaking self! He's right here! And you're not going anywhere.† Jez blinked with the difficulty changing focus. Yes, there was Hugh. He was the one stroking her hair. â€Å"Hugh†¦ the prophecy. I figured out what the two eyes watching were. They're the sun and the moon-get it? Two eyes†¦ for somebody who belongs to both worlds.† â€Å"The Day World and the Night World,† Hugh said softly. â€Å"You got it, Jez. That was so smart.† â€Å"And blood,† Jez whispered. ‘†Power in the blood'-that's why I couldn't do it anytime I wanted. Blood has to flow before you can let out the power. The first two times Claire was scratching me. And this time . . .† Her voice died off, but it wasn't important. Everybody could see the blood this time, she knew. Hugh's voice was thick. â€Å"That was smart, too, Jez. You figured it out. And you saved us. You did everything just right.† â€Å"No†¦ because there's only going to be three Wild Powers now†¦.† â€Å"No, there aren't,† Morgead raged. â€Å"Listen to me, Jez. There's no reason for you to die-â€Å" Jez couldn't manage a smile anymore, or a sentence. But she whispered gently, â€Å"Wood†¦ poison.† â€Å"No, it isn't! Not to humans. And you're half human, Jez. You're vampire enough to survive something that would kill a human, but you're human enough not to be poisoned by wood.† Jez knew better. She couldn't see much anymore. Only Morgead, and he was getting indistinct. It wasn't that the world was dimming, though-it was getting brighter. Everything was golden and shining. Four less one and darkness triumphs, Jez thought I'm so sorry about that. I hope they can manage it somehow. It would be so sad for everything human to be lost. There's so much good in the world, and so much to love†¦. She couldn't even see Morgead now. Only gold. But she could hear. She could hear Claire whispering to her in a voice broken by tears, and feel wetness dropping on her face. â€Å"I love you, Jez. You're the best cousin anybody could ever have.† And Hugh. He was crying, too. â€Å"Jez, I'm so proud to be your friend†¦.† And then, through the mist and the gold and the warmth and peace, came a voice that wasn't gentle at all. That was roaring in sheer outrage and fury. â€Å"DONT YOU DARE DIE ON ME, JEZEBEL! DON'T YOU DARE! Or I'll follow you to the next world and KILL you.† Suddenly, in the pretty gold mist, she could see something else. The only thing in the universe that wasn't golden. It was a silver cord. â€Å"You come back and you do it right now,† Morgead bellowed in her ears and in her mind. â€Å"Right now! Do you hear me?† The peace was shattered. Nothing seemed quite so warm and wonderful anymore, and she knew that once Morgead got into one of his Excited States, he wouldn't stop yelling until he got what he wanted. And there was the cord right in front of her. It was strong, and she could feel that the other end was somewhere in. Morgead's heart, and that he was trying to drag her back to him. All right. Maybe if I just grab on†¦. Somehow, she was holding on to it, and bit by bit, pulling herself back. And then the golden light was fading and she was inside a body that hurt and Morgead was holding her and kissing her and crying all at the same time. Claire's voice came from beyond him. â€Å"She's breathing again! She's breathing!† â€Å"I love you, you stupid human,† Morgead gasped against Jez's cheek. â€Å"I can't live without you. Don't you know that?† Jez whispered, â€Å"I told you never to call me Jezebel.† Then she fainted. â€Å"Time for a nice bath,† the nurse said. â€Å"And then we can have a visitor.† Jez eyed her narrowly. The woman was kind, but she had some mania for sponge baths, and she was always putting strange-smelling ingredients in the water. Which was actually not that surprising since she was a witch. â€Å"Skip the bath,† Jez said. â€Å"Let the visitor in.† â€Å"Now, now,† the witch said, shaking a finger and advancing with the sponge. Jez sighed. Being a Wild Power in a Circle Daybreak sanctuary meant that she could have pretty much anything she wanted-except that everyone was still treating her like a little kid. Especially the nurses, who spoiled her and flattered her, but talked to her as if she were about three. Still, she was glad to let the Circle take care of some things. Keeping her relatives safe, for instance. Although she was almost fully recovered, thanks to a strong constitution and a lot of healing spells from the witches, she wasn't up to that yet. Uncle Bracken and the entire Goddard family needed constant protection, since Hunter Redfern and the Night World Council were all undoubtedly after them by now. The Circle had imported some experts from back East to take care of it. A rival vampire hunter, of all things, named Rashel something. Plus her soulmate, a vampire-turned-Daybreaker called Quinn. At least they were competent. They'd gotten Jez's uncle Bracken, as well as the remnants of the gang out of San Francisco, a city that was going to be bad for their health for a while. Morgead was trying to get the gang to join Circle Daybreak for their own good, and he said that Raven, at least, was showing some interest. Val and Thistle were being stubborn, but that was hardly surprising. What was important was that they were alive. Pierce, on the other hand, was simply gone. No one had seen a trace of him or Lily or any of her people since Jez blasted them. Apparently they had truly been vaporized, and Jez couldn't bring herself to feel too badly. â€Å"All done!† the nurse said brightly, straightening Jez's pajama top. Which was just as well because at that moment a black head came poking in the door. â€Å"What is going on in here? You getting ready to go to the opera or something?† Jez raised her eyebrows at Morgead. â€Å"Maybe. Are you telling me I can't?† He snorted and came in as the nurse went out â€Å"I wouldn't dare tell you that. You're the princess, right? You can have anything.† â€Å"Right,† Jez said, with huge satisfaction. â€Å"So how*re Hugh and Claire?† â€Å"Claire's fine; she fits right in with the witches here. I think she's trying to get them to put up a Web page. And Hugh's just his same stupid self. He's off saving chipmunks from toxic waste or something.† â€Å"And how about the kid?† â€Å"The kid,† Morgead said, â€Å"is living it up. The Day-breakers are crazy about her; something about one of the oldest Old Souls ever found:-I dunno. Anyway, they're trying to talk her mom into letting her live here. She says thanks for saving her life and she's drawing you a picture.† Jez nodded, pleased. It would be nice if Iona came to live at the sanctuary; it meant Jez could see her a lot. Not that Jez planned to live here all the time herself-she and Morgead needed their freedom. They couldn't be penned in; they had to be able to come and go. She just hadn't gotten around to telling the Daybreakers that yet. With the people she loved taken care of, she could turn her attention to other matters. â€Å"Is that chocolate?† â€Å"It's the only reason you like to see me, isn't it?† Morgead said, allowing her to take the box. He sat beside her, looking tragic. â€Å"Nah,† Jez said with her mouth full. She swallowed. â€Å"Everybody brings 'em.† Then she grinned. â€Å"I like to see you for a different reason.† He grinned wickedly back. â€Å"I can't think what that could be.† â€Å"Hmm†¦ you're right†¦ maybe there is no other reason.† â€Å"Watch it, Jezebel,† he growled and leaned forward menacingly. â€Å"Don't call me that, idiot.† â€Å"You're the idiot, idiot.† â€Å"And you're-† But Jez never got to finish, because he stopped her mouth with a kiss. And then his arms were around her-so gently- and the silver cord was humming and everything was warm and there were only the two of them in the world. One from the land of kings long forgotten; One from the hearth which still holds the spark; One from the Day World where two eyes are watching; One from the twilight to be one with the dark. [The End]

Friday, November 8, 2019

A Nucleus a Day essays

A Nucleus a Day essays Wow, another exciting day is about to begin. Sometimes I get so tired of being the brains of this whole operation, but it is fun to be the boss and give the orders. Lets examine a typical day: I am the nucleus. My life is very complicated because there are constantly things going on and I hardly have time to talk to you. But since I started telling you about myself then I might as well finish it up. I am the most important organelle in this body that I am in; I am the brain of the cell. My primary purpose is to control the actions inside the cell. I contain the RNA and the DNA of the cell, and both of these work together to build and control the cell. I also produce these things called proteins and they are carried by the endoplasmic reticulum to other parts of the cell. The proteins are messengers and they give the orders to the cells. I am studded with pores that control what comes into the cell and what leaves the cell. These pores are filled with a large nuclear protein complex and these make barriers and plugs because the NPC is so big. Bigger molecules that want to enter this cell have to go through the central part. The nucleolus that is in me is the si te for RNA and the packaging of ribosomal subunits for export to the cytosol. The DNA strand is sometimes a very long molecule, and sometimes it needs to be compacted to fit into a certain spot. It can be reduced in size by rapping it around a nucleosomes arrangement of histone proteins. This can result in the DNA strand to be reduced so it will fit in the space. Well, cant talk any longer but it was nice to take a break ...

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

ENGLISH ESSAY WRITING SERVICE for Students

ENGLISH ESSAY WRITING SERVICE for Students Essay writing is important and mostly crucial part of education process. Through the essays students are able to demonstrate their unique capabilities. The primary goal of essay writing is to determine the ability to organize a well-structured essay in a logical and systematical manner. When the student is lacking such ability, actions must be taken at once. One of the options is to buy custom written papers from online English essay writing service. Professional writers with years of writing experience will write a paper you need including all personal requirements you wish to include. Every essay writing assignment is your chance to improve your paper writing skills. Explore and read more information do as much research as you can and continue writing. Your essay writing skills are promised to be improved. Good English is your primary objective. The second important aspect is proper essay structuring start with introduction and finish up with nice and logical conclusion. For all other assignment writing requests, use professional essay writing service.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Managing Human Capital Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Managing Human Capital - Essay Example Recently, there has been surging demand of designing, developing and implementing a total Performance Management system which will assist the organisation in conducing the strategic human resource planning process. Traditionally, the appraisal was done at year-end by the manager or supervisor of an employee in an informal way. The appraiser had to rate the performance of the employees on predetermined standards. This technique was ineffective as it reviewed the past performance of the employees and there was lack of feedback mechanism and suggestions for future developmental opportunities for the employees. In order to address the discrepancies in the outdated appraisal processes, it was recommended that a Performance Management system is developed. This concept allows the organisations to not only evaluate an employee’s performance but the individual is made part of the process. Also, the employees have clarity about their roles, accountabilities, responsibilities, expected outcomes and behaviours. As a result, the employees are able to designate their best efforts and make sure that they make valuable contribution in organisation’s long-term objectives. Hence, the performance appraisal process has to be developed in alignment with the organisational strategy and the corporate objectives so that the individual’s goals are effectively and strategically determined. Every organisation is run and managed by people who assist them in attaining the desired goals and objectives. A company’s performance is dependent on the total sum of the members’/workforce’s performance (Biron, Farndale & Pauuwe, 2011; Hutchinson, 2013). As a result, the success of a firm relies on its ability of measuring the performance of employees accurately and objectively so that individuals can be utilised at optimum level as a valuable resource (Aguinis, 2013; Sharma et al., 2011). On the basic level, an individual’s performance is the record of the results or outcomes

Friday, November 1, 2019

Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 6

Marketing - Assignment Example Business goods can be distributed in the following manner: producer to consumer; producer to agent to consumer; producer to distributor to consumer; producer to agent to distributor to consumer. Finally, services, because of its nature can only be distributed either directly to consumers or through an agent. Decisions as to which path to take must take into account, among others, the resources available, the market itself whether local or foreign, the price of the goods, and geographical feasibility. Avon and Tupperware, for example, sells its products directly to consumers whilst Procter and Gamble sells through retailers like supermarkets. Insurance and travel industries sell through agents. Producers must also take into account factors such as the most effective distribution channel, the most appropriate level of distribution intensity and degree of channel integration. In the first, considerations such as buyers’ expectations, geographical location and clustering of target consumers, producers’ resources, nature of the goods, and the channels that are being used by competitors are taken into consideration. The second consideration involves the number of channels to be used per area, which may be intensive, selective or exclusive, and should be dependent on the resources of the producer, the image it wants to project and its main priorities. Tyrell Potato Chips, for example, sells only to specialist retailers that gives it an upmarket image and allows it to gain a 35% profit margins not duplicated by its competitors. Finally, the third consideration will depend on how much the producer wants to get involved in the distribution and sales of the goods. It c an opt to choose the conventional methods, franchising such as the practice of McDonald’s, Starbucks, Body Shop and Benetton, or to go all the way by buying all channels involved to

Wednesday, October 30, 2019

Onsumer law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Onsumer law - Essay Example If the credit card provider and the bank, which is acting on behalf of the supplier/ Retailer are the same then only the transaction will have effect on only three parties. Consumer Credit agreements: In Consumer Credit Agreement the creditor provides finance to the debtor for purchase of goods and services and such finance shall be within the specified amount. The credit provided by the creditor to the debtor includes Credit sale and conditional sale such the agreements of bank overdraft and credit card, which are also termed as revolving credit or running account. Under these agreements the debtor purchases the goods and or services from the supplier or wholesaler or retailer etc and the creditor makes the payment for the debtor and such credit the creditor shall fix limit, from time to time. The further classification of these agreements are unrestricted credit agreements and restricted use credit agreements. Bank loans fall in the category of unrestricted credit agreements. ... Dealer is an Agent of Creditor: In accordance with Section 56 of the Consumer Credit Agreement a person who makes negotiations of a regulated agreements between the creditor and the debtor is called the agent of creditor, such person includes a dealer in hire-purchase and a retailer who allows the customer to pay through credit card for the goods supplied. This section gives the protection to the consumer by making creditor liable for any breach of contract of sale either due to misrepresentation or due to any reason, and giving liberty to the consumer to sue the creditor for the breach of contract of sale2. Liability of Creditors in Consumer Credit Agreement: Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 provides that the creditor is liable for the default of the supplier and the debtor has a claim against the creditor similar to that of his claim against the supplier in the Consumer Credit Agreements such as hire-purchase, credit sale and conditional sales. The creditor is jointly and severally liable to the debtor. The consumer who purchases the goods from supplier or wholesaler or a retailer using the credit card has right to claim against credit card issuing company, which provides the credit card to the consumer3. Therefore the Section 75(1) and Section 56 of the Consumer Credit Act gives the protection to the consumers against the creditor such as the credit card issuing bank for any breach of contract of sale including implied conditions such as fitness and satisfactory quality as explained in the sale of goods act. This section provides to the consumer who makes the payment of the price of goods through the credit card, to claim against the supplier and also the

Monday, October 28, 2019

HR Strategic aspects of the labour market and Managing organisational performance Essay Example for Free

HR Strategic aspects of the labour market and Managing organisational performance Essay The economic events occurring during the last two decades provide indications and evidences that the area of human resourcing has significantly changed in response to the emerging complexities of the discipline. Perhaps, among the primary components of corporate organization, the dynamics of human resourcing appear to be the most challenging as well as complex. Experts in the area of Human Resource Management (HRM) invariably agree that the surging demand for a new organizational role for the human capital. Even the usually common terminologies used to describe the HRM processes, such as labor contracting, training and development, performance evaluation, have been recycled to outsourcing, learning and growth or performance management systems. Many even replaced, such as personnel to human resource to human capital, to describe in more sophisticated way, the new character of human resourcing. Still, HRM practitioners are of the opinion that changes will continue to pervade the HR area and may soon take or evolve into new competencies again. Torrington’s Views: The HRM discipline and the Labour market Torrington presents the burgeoning labour issues confronting many organizations as propounded by theorists and practitioners. Indeed, the complexities of human resourcing are invariably revealed in the documented HR practices compiled by the author, who has been keenly observing that the area of human resource management is beginning to undergo a form of transformative process where the task s, positions and the organization virtually mutates into its more sophisticated form. Based on data provided by the author and taken from a report, there is a general shortage of workers especially the young sector. In the area of healthcare, the National Health Service (NHS) is spending ? 1bn annually on temporary, agency and locum staff. According to Laing and Buisson, well known heathcare analysts, the demand for agency staff is expected to increase across public and private healthcare sector in response to the long-standing manpower shortages in practically every healthcare occupation. The author adds that the size of the market for manpower has risen by more than four times during the two decades commencing from 1992. Even the NHS had to triple their budget expenditures during the same period. Torrington estimates this sector is worth ? 2. 4bn in the market. However, the core of the problem has shifted to the quality of care that many temporary staff provide, thus the decision to reduce manpower outsourcing, Here, the need to get better deals from agencies is becoming paramount as new alternatives of human resourcing in this sector is being addressed. The author concludes by proposing an appropriate response system through flexible staffing solutions. Torrington highlights the strategic aspects of resourcing to respond effectively to the critical messages demanded and manifested by the labor market trends. Here, he analyzes the need to adopt certain flexible resourcing choices that will focus attention either to the ready-made or home grown human capital. The labor market trends bespeak of the dilemma faced by the human resourcing industry in general. A number of recommendations are provided to address this set of HR issues – the retention strategy. The retention indicators point to a disturbing trend at the charts. The issue of retention and its corresponding techniques and strategies has been brought into the open as a result of the need to assuage the cost of transfers, job and even career shifts. The author brings the issue of turnover rates and trends as indicative of HR instability in many sectors while exacting some forms of costs on the organization as a result of new rounds of resourcing and the need to adopt staff retention strategies. Torrington insists that organization strategies versus HR strategy issues not only should be HR-driven but primarily must mutually provide a perfect fit. The author discloses the strategic aspects of performance how these are driven by HR policies and processes as practiced. This is implied to mean that a change in perspective be made in the human resourcing function: from taking control of the employment processes to a more significant HR function of managing performance. True enough, this shift in focus may have been long wanted to smoothen human capital transitions to work excellence. This further suggests that efforts are better spent on ensuring that performance management becomes the primary driver of the HR function. A number of firms have found better insights into this form of HR shift considering that the new HR performance processes adds relevance and more meaningful roles for HR theorists and practitioners rather than just the documentary and aspect legalese of human resourcing. The author proposes the adoption of a performance management system that translates into organizational performance anchored on the knowledge and learning processes as HR initiatives. Here, the proactive roles expected of the HR practitioners are deemed directed towards gradually converting the company into a learning organization where the human capital competencies are planned, managed and nurtured. Performance management system indeed is a critical need as with the 360 degree feedback system. Conclusion Torrington proposes a two-dimensional performance appraisal system based on individual and team perspectives. He emphasizes management of employee performance guided towards organizational and personal goals and objectives and an objective appraisal system to measure extent of accomplishment based on target setting. A sequential and step-by-step approach is propounded with a component critique system based on an overarching 260 degree feedback system. A comparison and contrasting view of performance management system (PMS) and its environment of procedures indicate that the PMS has and is being widely used in organizations out to harness the potentials of its people. The degree of effectiveness indicates the variability of conceptualization and implementation, but nonetheless removes the major irritants in people management that ultimately affect the relationship as well as the performance dimensions of each of the component of the human capital sponsored primarily by senior management. Thus, the proactive nature of the PMS approach entitles it to wider adoption and desirability among organizations aiming to address many of its human resourcing issues. Subject 2 Performance Management System: Linking Organizational Goals Torrington outlines the essential factors in managing organisational performance showing how a Performance Management System (PMS)links to organisational goals. Concrete and abstract benefits and disincentives are identified and benchmarked with industry practices guided by the universal principles and theories of performance management. As practiced, performance management systems commence from the goal and target setting based on the requirements of the job. Here, employees and workers are clarified in the objectives of their positions, the requisite competence, and the learning and growth perspectives if the job as well as the compensation based on how the organization assesses the relative important of the task. The use of the PMS has been tested widely and has proven to be more effective than the traditional evaluation system. This is because of the inclusion of a compendium of measures that ensures that organizational goals are aligned with the specific tasks assigned to the employee. From the targets, agreements on the degree and how these targets are achieved under quality processes are laid down and the PMS target setting contract is accomplished. Thus, the use of the PMS allows the following benefits to accrued to both the worker and the organization: among others, expectations are clear and scope and limitations of the jobs are understood by both sectors; employees can clearly predict and manage their own levels of performance based on targets as well as the needed support to accomplish the tasks; there is an objective system of evaluation and appraisal that removes subjectivity and abstract judgments; when provided with an incentive and reward systems, PMS becomes effective as a tool and basis of rewards and incentives; and, there is a better working relationship between the worker and his superior based on earlier agreements and covenants. Likewise, PMS considers possible constraints and limitations on both sides, thus alternative measures are agreed for the degree of performance resulting from the occurrences of such constraints and impediments. For the organization, the benefits are clear in terms of stronger motivation on the worker; budgeting can be integrated into the system through measurable and appropriate inventive and rewards system; the subsequent appraisal and evaluation system allows for an ideal atmosphere for the discussion of the evaluation and appraisal results to encourage future performance based on areas that additionally needed reinforcement and support. In addition, PMS encourages both individuals and teams to be evaluated based on targets that are aligned with the organizational goals. On the other hand, the disadvantages of adopting a Performance Management System (PMS) includes the requirement for a more detailed procedures and measurement system that may prove to be too elaborate and complex for the worker to understand and appreciate. Likewise, the process of documentation in support of the performance is considered difficult and tedious. Further there is no assurance that performance can indeed by achieved as there may be unforeseen circumstances not considered during the target setting completed before the start of the performance period. (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, Wright, 2008) Nonetheless, there is a need to study the organizational culture on whether the latter would help the system or otherwise. Conclusion Taking into account the benefits and disadvantages of Performance Management Systems (PMS), the absence of a more measurable, objective and comprehensive system of measuring and evaluating performance is non-existence despite the presence and utilization of good measuring tools and instruments. This is the complexity of the new HResourcing strategy that allows greater flexibility and uniqueness in the approach to managing performance. On the overall, the rationale for adopting PMS far outweighs the need to ignore the benefits provided by this new system. Often, the major constraint in adopting PMS is whether the organizational culture would allow such a change in the system. Thus, the efforts may indeed be tedious, but nonetheless, there is strong desirability in the system that will be more advantageous to every stakeholder in the PMS environment system.

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Lessons from Hewlett-Packard Case Essay -- corporate spying, hp corpora

Hewlett-Packard Corporation plays an important role in the Information Technology products. In the report, it will choose two of the issues which are related to each other from the Hewlett-Packard troubles list. The first issue is the congressional federal did research to the corporate spying and pretexting in 2006. The second issue is about Mark Hurd, who was the president and CEO in HP, was accused of sexual harassment and did illicit business which conduct that he is short of judgment. First, the report begin with identify the moral problem which combine with some relevant background information which can let the reader better understand the situations. Next part, the report will definitely point to point analysis two of the issues related with the moral problem which are covering in the organizational behavior, so that reader can deeply understand and interpretation the problems. At last, finding the feasible ways and establishing the clear effectiveness solutions are the importa nt steps to pull HP Corporation through the downturn. The purpose of this report is using organizational behavior knowledge to comprehend and solve the HP workers’ moral problem. â€Æ' In the report, the first issue describe Hewlett-Packard Corporation was involved into an investigation of spying and pretexting by a congressional federal. According to Hyatt (2007), Patricia Dunn, who was the chairwoman in HP, illegally obtained the private phone records and some of the employee’s information which using the pretexting method led to HP corporation internal leaks. In the second issue, in his article, Hurd on the Street, Booth (2010) describes Mark Hurd, who was the chief executive officer in HP, was got fired on account of intentionally faked financial sta... ... Works Cited Barnard, J. (1992). Successful CEOs Talk about Decision Making. Business Horizons, 35(5), 70-74. Sheeder, F. (2006). If you Find Yourself in A Hole, Put Down the Shovel. Journal of Health Care Compliance, 8(6), 51-52. Booth, R.A. (2010). Hurd on the Street. Regulation, 33(4), 2-4. Collins, D. (2006). Five Levees for Improving Ethical Performance. Strategic Finance, 88(1), 19-21. Gebler, D. (2006). Creating an Ethical Culture. Strategic Finance, 87(11), 28-34. Hyatt, J. (2007). Lessons from Hewlett-Packard. Board Leadership, 2007(90), 6-7. Ostapski, S.A. & Pressley, D.G. (1992). Moral Audit for Diabco Corporation. Journal of Business Ethics, 11(1), 71-80. Priem, R. L., Walters, B. A., & Li, S. (2011). Decisions, Decisions! How Judgment Policy Studies Can Integrate Macro and Micro Domains in Management Research. Journal of Management, 37(2), 553-580.