The Myth Of The Elephant Festival - 862 Words

The Elephant Festival is considered to be one of the most popular events that is celebrated in the city of Jaipur. Since the ceremony was first introduced, this festival has managed to attract a variety of outsiders due to the decor and traditions that are displayed by this animal within the Buddhist culture. This culture believes that a new monk is required to have a good relation with the older monks in order to comprehend the lifestyle and ways in which things function. The older monk must also interact with the younger individuals in order to teach them knowledge, as well as help them understand the doctrines of Buddhism. The Elephant Festival signifies not only the exchange of knowledge between the youth and the elders of their culture, but also the power that was upheld and invested into an individual. This festival celebrates the taming of the wild elephant and also gives thanks to the Gods for producing enough water for their bountiful harvest. This festive holiday is celebra ted in multiple locations but the two most popular attractions are in Thailand, while the other is located in India. â€Å"The festival dates from A.D. 310, when a tooth relic of the Buddha was found and brought from India to Sri Lanka. Before that, the annual procession gave thanks for the harvest and prayed for rain (Lopta, Peg).† During these festivals, hundreds of people are involved in the parades with specific roles to fulfill and tasks to perform. The most important roles are those taken onShow MoreRelatedThe Myth Of The Buddha1131 Words   |  5 PagesThe myth  «Birht of the Buddha » is from the earliest stage of the life of Buddha. This essay will take a closer look on this myth and critically examine what parts might be linked to actual events considering the Buddha. The word  «Buddha », as most people know, is not a name but rather an honorific title indicating a person s enlightenment. In its purest sense,  «Buddha » translates to  «the Enlightened One » or  «the Awakened One ». It should be recognized that the title is most commonly used in relationRead MoreHindu Festivals846 Words   |  4 PagesHINDU FESTIVALS Hinduism is the worlds oldest religion. Its roots date back to 4000 BC. Hinduism is widely spread out in India and around South-East Asia. Hinduism is a polytheistic religion, believing in many gods. Most of the festivals in Hinduism are centered on one or more gods. Hindus celebrate thousands of festivals every year at every part of the world. Each of the Hindu festivals is celebrated in a similar manner. They all include chanting prayers to the gods and making sweets or snackRead MoreTaking a Look at Hinduism618 Words   |  2 Pagesand worship. Puja may be done in the home, to occasional temple ceremonies and annual festivals, or even at events such as baby births and weddings. Puja is mainly performed in the home and at temples to mark certain stages of life. Puja is not mandatory and at some temples various pujas may be performed daily at various times of the day (Wikipedia 2014). One God of Hinduism is Ganesh, it is a beloved elephant faced deity. There is a story narrating that Ganesha was created by Goddess Parvati asRead MoreBuddhism And Its Impact On The World And The People Around It910 Words   |  4 Pagespresent in all areas of life.† The greek were curious, intelligent and widely known people who had constructed a religion to explain things like the origins of mankind,they conducted animal sacrifices, and put faces on their gods. They always had festivals and national sporting and artistic competitions. Religion was never too far away from an ancient greek. Also the greek constructed their civility to surround the gods in one way or another. They called on the gods for different occasions, Ares forRead MoreSummary Of Little Buddha 1044 Words   |  5 Pagesplace, and tells them to have compassion for others. In mythology, twenty-give centuries ago, King Suddhodana ruled the land learn the Himalaya Mountains. During a mid-summer festival his wife, Queen Maya took an afternoon nap. During her sleep, the Queen began to vividly dream of angels carrying her into mountains. Then, an elephant, which was adorned in white lotus, approached her and walked around her three times, before striking her on the right side of her body and disappearing into her. When theRead MoreGreat and Little Tradition1887 Words   |  8 Pagescontribution to the study of great and little traditions came from Redfield’s protà ©gà © McKim Marriott (1955) who contrasted Indian village religion with the Sanskritic textual tradition of *Hinduism. Marriott observed that fifteen of the nineteen village festivals celebrated in the village were sanctioned by at least one Sanskrit text. To explain the interaction between little and great traditions he theorized a two-way influence: local practices had been historicall y promoted into the Sanskrit canon in aRead MoreHimalayan Art1766 Words   |  8 Pagesthe Himalayan region. Once upon Many Times is an exhibition at Rubin Museum of Art representing a wide range of visual narratives and reproductions of temple murals, which can be regarded as exceptional examples of Himalayan art based upon Tibetan myths and legends. Furthermore, this paper will analyze the color arrangement, composition, proportion, hierarchy and motifs of the historical narrative Shantarakshita and scenes of his life and the Drowa Sangmo mural represented at the exhibition Once uponRead MoreChildren’s Literature in India Essay1893 Words   |  8 Pagesbookshelves. The past few years, however, have seen the germination of writers who have started to write enthusiastically for the young readers, raising hope that the genre will soon acquire a promising shape. The success of children’s literature festivals has given the much needed boost, diverting the little minds and eyes from the gizmos to the world of words. With the publishers revamping their establishments to form a separate team dedicated to producing substantial reading material with rich illustrationsRead MoreReport on Historical Place-Changunarayan2613 Words   |  11 Pageshistory. Changu Narayan, Patan Durbar Square, Swayambhunath, Chitwan and Sagarmatha are some of the historical marvels of Nepal. There are many religion, language, customs, tradition, norms and values, dress, etc. These people celebrate different festivals and worship different Gods and Goddesses. As many people are Hindu there are many temples in our country. In Kathmandu also there are many temples, so it is known as the city of temples. There are many famous temples which are enlisted in WorldRead MoreThree Most Important Composers of the Twentieth Centruy2805 Words   |  11 Pageslanguage would later develop into the sound now associated with Westerns movies and the Wild West. With the education he received in Paris, Copland set out to create a distinctly American aesthetic. He created a musical style that â€Å"combined the myths of the American West and the styles of Latin American music into populist music that spoke to a large segment of American society.† Some characteristics of this music include a â€Å"leanness of texture, starkness of color, and driving angular rhythms

The Evolution Of The Geological And Biological Science

Prior to Darwin’s time, little thought had been paid to the notion of a species changing over time- even though it was happening on a scale visible in a human lifetime, up until shortly before Darwin’s time, the climate surrounding the geological and biological sciences was not conducive to the notion of biological change over time. Prior to the systems of evolution put forth by scientists such as Lamarck, Wallace, and Darwin, the salient belief concerning species was that they were â€Å"fixed†- there was a limited number of species which remained constant over time, unchanged since their instantaneous creation. Some proponents for the fixity of species argued for vitalism, that an organism possesses a non-physical inner force or energy that†¦show more content†¦This would allow for minimal change in species over time, as their environment would be fundamentally altered and not survivable with each cataclysmic event. Catastrophism, therefore, completely precluded any form of evolution. This stood in contrast to uniformitarianism, also known as gradualism, which posited that the earth s morphology has been brought about in gradual incremental changes, and that geological processes are essentially unchanged today from the unobservable past. Lyell, a contemporary and friend of Darwin’s, was a geologist who published books advocating for this view. Darwin would have had access to Lyell’s Principles of Geology, and almost certainly relied upon it to formulate his theories of evolution- after all uniformitarianism provided the geological timeframe in which natural selection could operate, in that one could extrapolate present geological changes to the distant past. Lyell s argument for uniformitarianism served as a natural complement and muse for Darwin s theories in the capacity of the geological background that could finally afford credibility to evolution. Darwin’s theory of evolution was not the first or the on ly theory

Philosophy Plan free essay sample

Observing teachers is a great way to see the day to day operations of what goes into the setting of the class. Within the first few months of school, by then the students should have a good understanding of the expectations of the class. It is important to realize that the teacher trains the students what the rules and expectations are from day one in their classroom. These rules and expectations come from their classroom management plan. There are many reasons a child may misbehave. It could be special needs, lack of attention, or even circumstances at home. The fact of the matter is that they are allowed to. Sometimes it seems that as adults we tend to allow student to do as they want with the hope of the situation be handled by someone else. How a child behaves actually goes back on the parents and the raising of the child. We will write a custom essay sample on Philosophy Plan or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Culture and family dynamics could also play a role as well. I know that some people may say that they do not want to become their own parents, but they have. Some raise their children to respect the rules and consequences of their actions, while others raise their children with no rules and consequences at all. â€Å"The methods and strategies an educator uses to maintain a classroom environment to be conducive to learning and success† is defined as classroom management. (Jones, 2000). In my personal beliefs I think that a plan needs to be consisted of rules and procedures, as well as expectations for the students when entering the classroom. In the event of visitors in the classroom these rules and expectations should be followed also. In the classroom management plan there needs to be consequences that ate clear, understood, and enforced effectively. To me teachers should spend more time spending on teaching the students rather than mismanaging them, so that they can effectively learn. It takes time to teacher students the information that they need to know for the school year and prior to the next year. Teachers only have 180 days to teach the required information to the students with the assurance that the get it. A classroom management plan affects everyone. It can change the way students walk into the classroom, how a teacher does their job and how visitors act when they come to visit. I have seen this happen in an Elementary school, I have observed it. One class was quietly walking down the hallway and another class was using outside, loud voices. It was interesting the reaction some students had to the differences within the two classes. My philosophy on classroom management came from my schooling and personal observations. I do not have a physical classroom yet, but have seen many different styles each teacher uses when in the classroom. The theoretical perspective that best describes my personal philosophy is the personal needs theory. Stanley Coopersmith discussed â€Å"that individuals need to experience a sense of significance, competence, and power† (Jones Jones, 2010, p. 33). I believe that it is important that a student trust and builds a positive rapport or relationship with you. I believe that students, who trust and believe in their teacher, with this the student, may tend to work harder and it gives the student the belief that they can accomplish any task. When a level of trust and relationship is developed, it gives the students ownership or pride in their classroom. Any teacher has personal theories and needs in their class, it is important to build that trust or a classroom management plan could fall apart in no time at all. I believe that my personal philosophy will play a role in my actual plan, but I also need to realize that I may have to adjust it as I begin to teach. The adjustment may have to happen as I get a new set of students each year or even once I get certain students who may need me to adjust my plan. My philosophy is just a foundation to my ultimate plan for success with my students. Adjustments are a daily part of all teachers, even the best ones, as they go forward. All these adjustments are in the best interest on the students. My personal philosophy, I believe is an important one. I believe that students need to realize that everything is not always fair in life. I believe that students need to understand that actions in life also have rewards and consequences. I also believe that it is also important to teach students that everyone has the same opportunities and only we, as individually, can make the most of ourselves.

Merlin Magician Essays - Merlin, Camelot, Uther Pendragon, Nimue

Merlin Magician Merlin, the greatest magician of all time. He lived, if indeed he lived at all, in Wales and southern England during the dawn of Christianity in those lands, long before written historical records were kept. Yet, his name is universally recognized around the world as synonymous with magic, and his popular image is almost as well known as that of Santa Claus. The beginning and ends of all things are all within Merlin's sight. he keeps the prophecies of the future, he holds the memories of all that has passed. When you hear the name Merlin an immediate image springs into the mind of an old man with a flowing white beard and bushy white eyebrows, dressed in a midnight blue robe and a tall pointed hat covered with stars. He is the prototypical wizard. Merlin is best known as the teacher and advisor of Arthur Pendragon, king of all the Britons. The legends of these two mythical figures are linked, but there is no certain proof that either man existed. Supposedly on Merlin's advice the famous Round Table of Arthur's court was built and he helped select 50 of the knights who were to sit at the table. The popular myth of Merlin, as we know it today, has come down to us primarily from two sources; one, the historian Geoffrey of Monmouth and the other, a writer, Sir Thomas Malory. Both men collected bits and pieces from earlier sources. Most of Malory's work was based on the French Arthurian prose cycle, a group of French medieval romances centered around the court of King Arthur. Before Malory, both Merlin and Arthur were better known on the Continent than they were in England. Malory's work crystallized the Arthurian legend into the form we recognize today. We know Merlin as a mysterious figure whose origin is uncertain. he has the power to communicate with animals, to see visions of the future, and to work miracles of magic. he has no specific home but dwells in the forest. After Arthur's ascent to the throne, Merlin lives with him for a time in Camelot. Merlin usually first appears in the modern stories as the teacher of young Arthur, although he sometimes is mentioned briefly in his role as advisor to Arthur's father, Uther Pendragon. Employing both his wise advice and his magic, Merlin helps Arthur to prevail in his wars against the Saxons. he uses his magic to construct Camelot. Shortly after the victorious Arthur has been betrayed by his queen, Guinevere, and his best friend, Sir Lancelot, Merlin mysteriously disappears leaving Arthur to find his own way out of his difficulties. The ancient legend of Merlin is fragmentary and sometimes self-contradictory, because it was assembled from a variety of sources over a long span of time, but we can sketch out the most important details in the mythical life of Merlin with some assurance. One which conspired about the birth of the antichrist by sexually uniting a mortal woman with a demon to produce an unnatural offspring. A particularly devout family was selected and made to suffer torments in order to weaken the faith of its members. One by one they died horrible deaths, until at last only a young woman remained. She placed herself under the protection of the Church, but in a moment of despair opened herself to the intrusion of the demon. The child Merlin was the result of this union. Merlin was destined to be the Antichrist, but the quick action of the woman's confessor, a priest named Blayse, prevented this outcome. When the child was born, his mother protested to her holy protectors that she had not had sex with any man. Immediately the child was baptized, and by this act placed Merlin under the protection of Christ and gave him a new destiny. Even as an infant, Merlin showed signs of his demonic origins. He saved the life of his mother from her enemies, and displayed his prophetic gifts by proclaiming the dark family secrets of those who accused his mother of sorcery. At that time, Vortigen was king of the Britons. The king was greatly troubled by a mysterious difficulty while trying to build a stone tower on a projection of ground surrounded by a lake that was to act as the tower's natural defensive moat. The foundation of the tower appeared solid enough, but every night the ground beneath the tower would shake and cast down all the stones that had been placed the day before. Vortigen consulted with

Writing Prompts for 5th Gradeers

Writing Prompts for 5th Gradeers By fifth grade, students are developing basic fluency as writers. In order to hone their skills, fifth  graders should practice supporting claims with factual information, conveying information clearly, and writing narratives in a logical order. The following fifth-grade writing prompts encourage students to develop their skills through topics that are meaningful to them. Narrative Essay Writing Prompts Narrative essays tell a story based on a student’s personal experience. They encourage students to use descriptive writing to reflect on their experiences, explain them in a logical manner, and draw conclusions from them. New Beginnings.  This is your  last year of elementary school. What are you most excited or most nervous about when you think of starting middle school?Betwixt. Students in 5th grade are often referred to as â€Å"tweens,† meaning that they are between the young child and the teen years. What is the hardest thing about being a tween in today’s society?Besties.  What is the best book you’ve ever read? What made it so special?Reflections.  Do  you remember your first-ever day of school? Describe one vivid memory from that day.Bullies. Have you ever witnessed someone bullying another student? What happened and how did it make you feel?Man’s Best Friend.  Do you share a bond with your dog or other pet? Describe your pet, and explain what makes your relationship unique.Families.  A family isn’t always a mom, a dad, and their children.  Write about the ways your family is the same as and different from  other types of families  and wha t makes your bonds so strong.Holiday Memories.  Think about one of your favorite holiday-related memories. Write an essay describing it and tell why it is so unforgettable. Guilty.  Think about a time you did something that made you feel guilty. Describe what happened.The Ultimate Field Trip.  If you could choose anywhere in the world to go on a field trip, where would you choose and why?Family Game Night.  Do you enjoy playing games with your family? Describe your favorite family game or activity.Tasty Treats.  What is your favorite food? Describe it as if you were introducing it to someone who has never seen or tasted it.Someday.  Have you thought about what you want to be when you grow up? Write an essay explaining why you think you’d like that career. Persuasive Essay Writing Prompts Persuasive essays are those written to convince another person to agree with the writer or take action. These persuasive essay prompts inspire 5th graders to share their passions with an audience. Pets Day.  You’ve just gone to work with your parent for â€Å"bring your child to work day.† Write an essay convincing your school to have a â€Å"bring your pet to school† day.Yuck.  What is your least-favorite cafeteria food? Give three compelling reasons why your school should quit serving it.Let’s Trade.  Your friend’s lunches from home always look better than yours. Write an essay convincing  your buddy  that you should start swapping meals every day. Be sure to  highlight the benefits of the food you bring!Home Alone. Write an essay convincing your parents that you are old enough and responsible enough to stay at home alone.Sunny Day.  The weather outside is beautiful for the first time in weeks. Persuade your teacher not to assign any homework so that you’ll have time to go out to play.The Sequel.  The long-awaited sequel to your favorite book or video game is now available. Convince your brother or sister to do your c hores this week so that you have plenty of time for reading or gaming.Seating Chart.  Because of your teacher’s seating chart, you’re not going to be able to sit next to your friend all year! Persuade your teacher to let students choose their seats. Birth Order. Are you an only child, the oldest sibling, the youngest, or the middle? What makes your birth order the best?The Ultimate Game.  What is the best video game on the planet? Explain why it’s better than similar games.Life Lessons.  What are the three most important lessons parents should teach their children and why?Test Time.  Do you think standardized tests  are helpful or harmful? Explain your answer.Tunes.  Some studies have shown that listening to music can help students concentrate. Should students be allowed to listen to music using headphones during independent work times at school? Persuade the reader of your answer.Catch-22.  You’re not a big fan of writing. Write an essay  convincing  your teacher that you shouldn’t have to write any more essays this year. Expository Essay Writing Prompts Expository essays are often called how-to essays. They usually teach the reader something or provide facts about a particular topic. Let’s Play. Your family frequently attends community theater productions, but your friend has never seen one. Write an essay describing what he or she can expect during the evening.Band. Youre graduating elementary school, and a younger student is taking your spot in the school band. Explain to him or her how to clean and care for your  musical  instrument.Lessons Learned. Write an essay to a younger sibling explaining two or three key strategies for having a positive 5th-grade experience.Class Pet.  You’ve cared for your class pet this week, but now it’s another classmate’s turn. Explain how to feed and care for the pet properly.Upgrade Ahead.  You have an idea to improve your school. Explain it.Safety Zone.  Explain three of the best steps kids can take to be safe online.Family Traditions.  Does your family have any customs or traditions that might be unfamiliar to a classmate? Describe them.Pen Pal.  Describe for your pen  pal who lives in another state an  animal native to your area, including its physical characteristics, behaviors, and any sounds that it makes. Creepy Crawlies.  Compare and contrast two insects or animals that are similar, but have different characteristics such as a bumblebee and a yellow jacket or a horse and a mule. How are they alike and how are they different?Clean Up.  Your class is going to spend a day cleaning up at a local park. You’ve done this with another group before, but some of your classmates haven’t. Explain the process.Action.  Your favorite book was made into a movie. Compare and contrast the film and book versions.Team Players.  Explain how contributing responsibly helps or how it hurts a group when someone doesn’t do his part.Tell and Show.  Your class is having a â€Å"tell and show† day. You have to describe your item in as much detail as possible without naming it. Only when the class guesses or gives up can you show your item. Write out the description of your item. Creative Writing Essay Prompts Creative writing allows students to engage their imaginations and story-telling skills while also practicing vital writing skills such as sequence and description. Magic Lamp.  You’ve just found a  magic lamp. What happens when you rub it?Say Cheese.  You are given an exceptional camera. Everything you take a picture of becomes yours, but you can only take three pictures. Tell a story about the photos you take.Invisible Man. One morning, you glance in the mirror and realize that you don’t have a reflection. You’ve become invisible! Write a story about your day.Gone to the Dogs.  Write a story from your pet’s point of view.All Hail the King.  Imagine that you discover an uncharted land that you claim as a new country. And, you’re the ruler! Describe your country, its people, and your newfound position of power.Part of the Story.  One night, you doze off after reading the latest book in your favorite series. When you wake, you discover that you’re in the story! Write about your adventures.Before or After. Imagine that you live either 100 years in the past or 100 years in the future. What is yo ur life like?Dr. Doolittle.  You’re walking through a pet store when you  discover that you can talk to the animals.  What happens next? Meet and Greet. Imagine that you can meet anyone you’re studying in school right now from famous scientists to historical figures to the characters in the class read-aloud. Write a story about your meeting with that person.Switcheroo. If you could switch lives with anyone in your school, who would it be? Write about your day in the life of that person.Holiday Loop.  Imagine you get to relive your favorite holiday every day. What’s that like?Tall Tales. Tall tales are possibly true stories that contain  highly exaggerated actions or events. Create a tall tale about something that happened in your family.Teachers Pet. Imagine that your teacher is actually your parent. Describe a day in class.

Definition and Examples of Hypocoristic Names

Definition and Examples of Hypocoristic Names A hypocorism is a  pet name, nickname,  or term of endearment - often a shortened form of a word or name. Adjective: hypocoristic. It derives from the Greek word meaning to use child-talk. Robert Kennedy notes that many hypocorisms are ​monosyllabic or disyllabic, with the second syllable bearing no stress (The Oxford Handbook of the Word, 2015). Examples and Observations Mikey, Mikey, come on. Our parents are worried. Its dinnertime. Why dont we go home?(Chunk to his friend Michael Mikey Walsh in The Goonies, 1985)Oh, Slothy. I may have been bad. I may have kept you chained up in that room, but it was for your own good.(Mama Fratelli to her son Lotney Sloth Fratelli in The Goonies, 1985)If you call your granddaughter Toots, you are being hypocoristic.(Roy Blount, Jr., Alphabet Juice. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2008)Now, children, I want you to tell me your names again, and I want you to speak just as distinctly as Mary Chapman did. And I want you to speak your real names. You must not say your baby-names, such as Jimmie, for James; Lizzie, for Elizabeth; Johnny, for John. The first row, stand!(Teacher in The National Music Teacher by Luther Whiting Mason, 1894)Born a slave on March 15, 1843, on the Gray plantation in Noxubee County, Mississippi, the infant was given a slave name, Richard Gray. Around the plantation, though, the overseers called him D ick, short for Richard.(Juan Williams and Quinton Dixie, This Far by Faith: Stories from the African American Religious Experience. William Morrow, 2003) Kitsy, she encourages, like shes trying to teach a parakeet to ask for a cracker. Its short for Katherine Isabelle. My grandmother is Itsy, short for Isabelle, my mother is Bitsy, short for Elizabeth Isabelle, and my daughter is Mitsy, short for Madeleine Isabelle. Isnt that just adorable?(Wade Rouse, Confessions of a Prep School Mommy Handler: A Memoir. Harmony Books, 2007) Hypocoristic Forms of First Names in the Modern English Period Most first names of any currency had recognized hypocoristic forms. Some names attracted only one or two main forms; others had several; and there was scope for a fair degree of free inventiveness. In the first category, and all dating from the 17th and 18th centuries, were: Di (Diana); Frank and Fanny (Frances); Jim (James); Joe (Joseph); Nell (Helen); and Tony (Anthony). Other names attracted a larger number of hypocoristic forms, mainly because they were commoner names . . .. Examples are Aggie, Nessa, Nesta (Scots) and Nest (Welsh) for Agnes; Doll, Dora, Dodee, Dot and Dolly (modern) for Dorothy or Dorothea; Mey, Peg, Maggie (Scots), Margery, Maisie, May and Madge for Margaret; and above all the many names deriving from Elizabeth. These include Bess, Bessie, Beth, Betsy, Eliza, Elsie, Lisa (modern), Lizbeth, Lizbie, Tetty, and Tissy. It will be noted that all of these are girls names, and they seem to have been far more prone to hypocoristic formations in the post-medieval period than boys names. Some hypocoristic forms became independent names, like Elsie, Fanny and Margery. (Stephen Wilson, The Means of Naming: A Social and Cultural History of Personal Naming in Western Europe. UCL Press, 1998) Hypocoristics in Australian English The use of hypocoristics for common nouns and proper nouns is a notable feature of the speech of many Australians. Occasionally there are pairs. Sometimes one form, usually an /i/ form, is seen as babytalk: [Roswitha] Dabke (1976) notes goody/goodoh, kiddy/kiddo, and compare jarmies-PJs/pyjamas, and kanga (babytalk)-roo/kangaroo. However, sometimes different hypocoristics have different denotations, with the /o/ form more likely to denote a person: herp reptile, herpo herpetologist; chockie chocolate, chocko chocolate soldier (Army reserve); sickie sick leave, sicko psychologically sick person; plazzo plastic nappy, plakky plastic (adjective). But often there are no clear differences: milky-milko/milkman, commy-commo/communist, weirdy-weirdo/weird person, garbie-garbo/garbage collector, kindie-kinder/kindergarten; bottlie-bottlo/bottle merchant, sammie-sandie-sangie-sanger-sambo/sandwich, preggie-preggo-preggers/pregnant, Proddo-Proddy/Protestant, pro-prozzo-prostie-prozzie/prostitute. Speakers who use more than one hypocoristic may assign to them the meanings proposed by [Anna] Wierzbicka. But if a speaker uses only one of the possible hypocoristics, for them the hypocoristic may have a general meaning of informality, and not the proposed fine-grained differences. This remains to be explored. (Jane Simpson, Hypocoristics in Australian English. A Handbook of Varieties of English: A Multimedia Reference Tool, ed. by Bernd Kortmann et al. Mouton de Gruyter, 2004)

Engaging in Evidence Based Practice and Clinical Effectiveness Essay

Engaging in Evidence Based Practice and Clinical Effectiveness - Essay Example (Parahoo, 1997) EBP is also a key factor in the NMC (2008) Code of Professional Conduct, which states that nursing professionals are personally accountable for their quality of care giving, and must provide the highest quality of service to patients that is consistent with evidence-based research. In 2005, NICE was combined with the Health Development Agency as an independent organization to deliver quality healthcare based on professional standards of medical practice in a standardized manner across public healthcare institutions and in order to assist with government programs intended to improve the quality of service in the industry. Nurses are increasingly expected to base their practice on empirical medical research data represented in scientific literature or established medical treatment practices that are generated through research publications (Burns & Grove 1999). The purpose of this report is to apply the principles of Evidence Based Practice (EBP) to the use of supplemental oxygen (O2) in hospitals as a treatment response for myocardial infarction (MI). The rationale for this search is that supplemental oxygen is used in hospitals and clinics traditionally in ways that is inconsistent with latest medical research and this has led to a recent change in practice in healthcare institutions as well as in public policy that still may not be represented in everyday nursing practice. By applying EBP principles, a nurse can review the medical literature and research regarding the use of oxygen in MIs by focusing on the most recent clinical trials. By understanding the use and contra-indications of supplemental O2 in MIs as accepted in published literature, nurses on coronary care units (CCU) can be more prepared for work in the workplace. In order to effectively search the topic of oxygen use in clinical applications related to heart treatment, it w as important to clearly define the research by using the PICO framework (Patients, Interventions, Comparisons and Outcomes) to develop the areas of inquiry. The search criteria focused on were based initially the keywords: â€Å"Myocardial, Infarction, Hyperoxic, Coronary, and Oxygen†. Published papers were identified through a search of online databases via the University of Plymouth intranet site including; CINAHL, MEDLINE, SwetsWise, Taylor & Francis, Oxford Journals & ScienceDirect. In the search, very few original research studies published between 2001 to 2011 were found, it was required to revise the search to include a more specialized use of keywords, all relating to â€Å"oxygen and myocardial function†. Five research papers were then selected as representative of consensus in medical research through peer review and implementation in cardiac treatment programs. CRITICAL REVIEW OF LITERATURE Previously oxygen was given as a standard aspect of MI treatment, re gardless of the patient’s level of oxygen saturation level, as part of the standard response of health practitioners to a critical care emergency such as a heart attack. Although NICE (2010) have amended their guidelines to recommend that patients only be given oxygen if their blood saturation level is below 94% , many nurses on general wards are still giving oxygen to critical heart attack patients as a regular aspect of treatment, as they are unaware of its detrimental effects in counter-indications or the latest research on the topic. Since many hospitals are

UK Fashion and Media Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

UK Fashion and Media Industry - Essay Example This industry for many years has grown tremendously becoming one of the notable industry in the UK. According to Fridson 2011, he provides that UK fashion and Media industry has a significant impact on the social and economic impact in the country. The fashion industry in the UK has become integrated into its citizens live hood. This has become turned fashion to be a possible trivial and enjoyable thus becoming more attractive to the potential and the prospective customers (Fridson 2011). This analysis is essential in the assessment of any market if it is worth to invest in it. This comprises the examination of the external macro-environment which is an important aspect of a company before preparing a business plan. The external environment examination is important in the decision-making process. It is also appropriate to carry out this analysis over sometime to ensure that all the uncertainties and the dynamic nature of the industry are addressed in the context of fashion industry market in the United Kingdom (Dransfield 2005). The fashion industry in the UK is considered one of the competitive markets the world. Big fashion companies such as Burberry, Marks & Spencer, TopShop, French Connection, and Supergroup. It is important to note that marketing consultancies and the media in the context fashion industry have a greater opportunity, in the provision of goods and services. This translates into the need for more consultancies and sound marketing techniques and strategies. Therefore it is a perfect consideration to acquire a UK marketing media agency. Most of the companies in the current corporate world consider growing their businesses by acquiring another company as a way of expansion. This is attributed to most new companies which are in their boom opting for mergers or acquisition. It is important for the buying company to take into consideration several factors before acquiring.

Sample Answer the Curse Essay Example for Free

Sample Answer the Curse Essay 1. Write on a character that show responsibility in her or his actions Based on the Novel â€Å"The Curse† by Lee Sue Ann, the character that shows responsibility in her actions is Azreen Saleh. Azreen is not only a responsible sister and daughter but also a responsible student and friend . Firstly, Azreen as a responsible sister comes back immediately when she hears of her sister’s death although at that time she is about to sit for an examination that is important for her. She postpones her examination in order of giving her sister her last respect. Secondly, as a daughter she shows her responsibility firstly, when she spends the whole night repairing her mother’s favourite rattan basket that was broken by the heavy durians that she and Madhuri has brought in. Subsequently, with Madhuri’s help she makes a new rattan basket that looks like the one that she and Madhuri have broken. In addition to that, Azreen accepts the offer to further her studies in London for the sake of upbringing her family social status and thus could then save a lot of money to get a better treatment for her mother that is paralyzed by the bull escape incidents that she . Thirdly, as a friend and a student, Azreen shows her responsibility when she accepts to join the school hockey team as a substitution to Hock Seng that is injured. She does that even though she knows that she will be the only girl in the team and this will tarnish her image as a girl. In fact she plays very well and almost scores a goal. In addition to that, Azreen shows that she is a responsible friend, when she brings a full basket of fresh vegetables and tomatoes to The Old Lady of the forest to replace the one that she tramples earlier when she comes to The Old Lady’s house for the first time. In conclusion, throughout the story, Azreen shows that she is a very responsible towards her actions. In fact, I would like to have her as a friend as a friend as such is hard to come by. 2. Which character do you like the most? The novel I have studied is ‘The Curse’ by Lee Su Ann. The novel is about the main character, Azreen, who returns from England after she finds out about her sister’s death. Upon her return, she is surrounded by many secrets. She discovers the circumstances of Madhuri’s death later in the story. At the end of the story she finds out the truth and leaves for London an orphan but more resilient and wise. The character I like most is Azreen Salleh. She is a 20-year-old student who is studying in a university college in London on an exchange programme. She is short, bespectacled, rather bookish and outspoken. I like Azreen because she is outspoken and she is not afraid to spoke her mind. She is vocal and says her opinions although sometimes she says the wrong things at the wrong time. She also hates her father’s treatment of her foster parents and Madhuri’s burial ceremony that is conducted without her presence. In handling the village gossip, Pn Normala, Azreen tells her off that the rain has started even before the Old Lady comes into town. The second quality she has is she is courageous. As a child, she plays hockey and football with the boys. In the bull’s incident, she is brave enough to accept the blame for the bull’s escape instead of blaming someone else. Azreen also shows her courage by taking up the dare to knock on the Old Lady’s door when none wants to do it. In another instance, Azreen confronts her father about Madhuri’s murder despite her young age. Azreen also has strength of character. When she returns to her village, she hears a lot of gossip surrounding her sister’s death such as as Madhuri having white blood and her death signals a curse to the villagers. Azreen feels upset but she never retaliates. Sheshows patience and strengh because she knows that whatever she does, she cannot stop the villagers from gossiping about her family. In another instance, Azreen is told that her sister is murdered. She should have been very upset about this news but she takes it calmly and does not become hysterical. Later, when she finds out that her father is the culprit who kills Madhuri, she feels no anger but regrets that it has to happen. She understands her father’s anger and shame because Madhuri has been having an illicit affair with Ashraf although she is already married to Hj Ghani. Azreen also shows a lot of strength because after all that has happened to her family, she stays composed and strong and returns to England for her examinations. In conclusion, there are many qualities in Azreen that I admire and she is the character that I like most in the story. 3. Write on a character whom I think is exemplary a) In the Curse by Lee Sue Ann, the character whom I think is exemplary is The Old Lady of the forest. Throughout the novel, she shows strength of character and wisdom. When she first moves to the village as a newlywed, she is popular among the villagers and she enjoys a blissful marital life with her husband. Everything changes as her husband who becomes an alcoholic starts to abuse her and finally she retaliates and kills him. From then on, the villagers treat her like an outcast. She is forced to move out of the village and makes an abandoned house her home. She lives alone for years until she befriends Azreen and becomes her mentor and will console her whenever she has a fight with her parents. When Asraf approaches The Old Lady for help, she is hesitant about going back to the village. Yet she agrees and doing so, she puts her life at risk. When she is trapped in the burning house, she tells Azreen to save herself and she perishes in the fire. Even at death’s door, she reminds Azreen about the importance of forgiveness and tells her to heed all the advice she has given her. The Old Lady is therefore an exemplary character as she is strong, wise and honourable. b) Based on the novel The Curse by Lee Sue Ann, the character that I consider exemplary is Azreen because she is courageous and brave. She shows resilience and she always fight for what she believes in. Firstly, Azreen who does not believe the villagers tales about The Old Lady is being brave by accepting her friend’s challenge to firstly knocking on the door of The Old lady and then meet her in person. . Subsequently, she befriends The Old Lady and makes her, her precious confidante and counselor. In addition, Azreen is courageous by confronting Puan Normala’s mob outside Mohd Asraf’s house when Nek once again has fallen ill and died in order to stop her from entering Nek’s house. Although she is outnumbered, she dares to face Puan Normala’s horde to protect Nek’s house from them. Moreover, she confronts a group of men led by Asraf who goes to the Old lady’s house to seek revenge after Nek dies as they believe the Old lady has poisoned Nek. It is a dog-eat-dog world out there and we must be brave and courageous to overcome our daily obstacles and stand for our own rights. We should not be intimidated by our fear and we must be like Azreen in order to survive the world. The second exemplary qualities of Azreen is that she portrays resilience throughout the story and she constantly fights for what she believes in. This can be seen when Azreen does not give up and is determine and resilience to seek the truth of Madhuri’s death even though others do not want to tell her the truth. She asks Asraf and The Old Lady about Madhuri’s death and slowly gather evidences and finally she knows the truth about Madhuri’s killing. In her village, a woman should be conservative and well mannered but Azreen is a contrast to that and thus she is hated but she ignores the villagers’ perception of her, as she believes that women have their own rights. This can be seen as she befriends Asraf and joins the boys’ hockey team and similarly makes The Old Lady her best friend. In this cruel world, we must stand for our own right and fight for what we believe in. We must follow Azreen’s resilience to make this world a better place. 4. Write on a character that I admire / like The novel The Curse by Lee Su Ann is very interesting. The character I like the most is Azreen. Azreen is from Langkawi. She studies in London. Her father is Salleh Ghani. Her sister is Madhuri. Madhuri is not Azreen real sister. I like Azreen because she is responsible. She takes care of her sick mother. She bathes and feeds her mother. When Old Lady vegetable garden is trampled, she repairs it. Azreen is determined. She always studies hard. She also wants to find Madhuri’s murderer. She does not give up. Finally, she finds out the truth. Azreen is also brave and courageous. She is Old Lady’s friend. She is not afraid of the stories. The villagers say she is a witch. Azreen does not care. It is not true. When Old Lady’s house is in fire, Azreen wants to rescue her. She is really brave. I like Azreen because she is a loyal. She defends Mohamad Asraf. She says she opens the gate of the farm. Azreen is a strong girl. I wish I have a friend like her. When her mother’s basket is damaged, she takes the blame. Azreen wants to protect the people she loves. Azreen is responsible, determined, brave and loyal. Those are the reasons why I like her. She is a good role model.

Essay --

Introduction Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is refers to the enterprise to create profits, bear legal responsibility to shareholders, while also taking into account the impact on the result of the various stakeholders. Corporate social responsibility is an important way towards sustainable development, it is consistent with the reasonable expectations of the business community as a whole, not only will not divert energy companies, but also improve the competitiveness of enterprises and reputation. As a supplier of energy to approximately 5% of Americans and more than 40% of Californians, PG&E is the investor-owned utilities company, which provide natural gas and electricity and focus on Hydroelectric, Nuclear, Fossil fuels and Solar power. (PG&E, 2014) PG&E has a long-term strategy in environmental sustainability to addressing the climate change issue. Their economic vitality sustainability programmes focus on bringing economic benefits to the communities as part of corporate social respo nsibility. Like the PG&E company channelled $2.5 million to economic development charitable commitment in 2013.( PG&E, 2013) Economic benefit and social impact PG&E Company seeks to exceed the current standard of environmental protection. They decided to improve the standard of management system, which can help them to innovate some environmental protection programs. Moreover, PG&E train all the employees on sense of environmental protection. Facing with long-term sustainability environmental strategy, lots of investor will be willing to invest some new clean power that can both protect environment and raise the profit. Therefore, PG&E improve efficiency at the power like solar, bio energy and hydro energy. The ripple effect, which PG&... ...successfully achieved CSR in many ways. In order to meet a satisfactory CO2 output, such utility enterprise needed to create a strategy that can adapt different situation in climate change, PG&E is a responsible enterprise that obeying CSR development as well as any social impact while making profit. Win-win strategy is a really good example for pre planning the company strategy to face up coming challenge and also gives you a overview about the performance of the company itself. In the Win-win strategy, PG&E seek to find out some ways to create some renewable and clean energy like Hydro energy and solar power. This will be a huge step for PG&E to become more environmental friendly. In this action, investor, researcher, customer and environmentalist, all of them think that PG&E performing well. The position of PG&E in FT Global 500 will be rising in the future.

China Dolls Essay

Jeffrey Cheong picked up the folder marked â€Å"URGENT†, which his secretary had just placed on his table and looked at its content. The folder contained letters from two of his major clients, KiKi and Houida. Both KiKi and Houida, two European fashion houses, were Haute Couture Fashion Berhad (HCF)’s first customers and have been with HCF since its inception. They were writing to Jeffrey to inform him that they may be looking to China to â€Å"contract manufacture† for them as the prices there were very competitive. Jeffrey stared out of his window in contemplation. He was in a dilemma. Loss of its two major clients would be disastrous to HCF. As it stood, HCF had been experiencing falling margins and profits over the last few years as evidenced in the financial statements enclosed. Loss of Kiki and Houida would mean that HCF would then be incurring losses. As soon as his other clients heard of this new development, they too would be taking similar steps. Jeffrey realised he had to review his strategy quickly if he wanted to retain the present clientele. He knew the inevitable. During the late 1990’s and into the early 21st century, China had made inroads into the textile industry and was forecasted to grow further. Following the relaxation of trade barriers, many of the European and American fashion houses were looking at importing clothes from China at very low prices. This was mainly due to its low operating costs. This had a massive negative impact on many companies operating at higher costs and based elsewhere. The previous adverse perception of â€Å"Made in China† labels had slowly changed as China now manufactured clothes that are higher quality at substantially lower operating costs. If Jeffrey wanted to survive in this industry, he too must consider moving his operations to China. Haute Couture Fashions Bhd (HCF) Houte Couture Fashions Bhd was established in the 1974 by the Tan family. Tan Boon Kheong, the patriarch of the Tan family was a skilled master cutter,  trained by British cutters in 1950s in Penang. He ran a small but successful business tailoring men’s clothing in Argyll Road, Penang until his retirement in 1980. Peter Tan, the oldest son of Tan Boon Kheong, initially under his father as a young 17-year-old but after three years left for Europe as he was interested in creating for both men and women’s fashion, rather than merely tailoring men’s suits and pants. His sojourn in Europe saw him training at Yves St Laurent and Gucci. He had a keen eye on women’s silhouette and soon established himself as a talented designer. Many of the fashion houses were happy to employ him into their team. He returned to Malaysia with a wealth of experience, eager to put his newly acquired knowledge into use. His return to Malaysia coincided with the trend of European clothes’ manufacturers looking at Asia for outsourcing. Peter saw this as an opportunity to kick-start his business venture, especially with his contacts with the European fashion houses. HCF started out as a family owned business with all of its shares being held by the Tan family. Peter prepared to bid for contract manufacturing deals with the European fashion houses. With the help of his contacts and excellent track record with the fashion houses, he soon managed to convince three of them to sign outsourcing deals with him. These fashion houses were keen on doing business with the people known to them as they set-off their new venture. HCF’s Growth HCF started its first fully equipped factory in Penang in November1974. Under Peter’s helm, HCF very quickly established itself as a high quality manufacturer of both men’s and women’s clothes. It had no difficulty meeting the demand of the fashion houses as Peter had recruited several European-trained Malaysian designers to join his team. By late of 1970s, HCF’s turnover had reached RM10 million. Over the ensuing five years since its inception, HCF had managed to add two more European fashion houses into its customer base. HCF’s talented designers were  providing inputs toward the development of the ready-to-wear designs and were well received by the fashion houses. HCF was now faced with a problem. The factory located in Penang was no longer big enough to cope with the production capacity. Peter quickly sourced a large plot of land in mainland Penang – Butterworth and began building a new and much larger state-of-the-art factory to cater for the growing demand. In July 1980, HCF opened its new factory in Butterworth. Peter, then the Managing Director of HCF, decided not to shut down the Penang factory but operated both factories. HCF then employed between 80 to 100, mostly tailors in the Penang factory, while the Butterworth factory employed about 300 employees. HCF continued to experience growth in sales throughout the early 1980s to mid 1990s, charted annual sales of around RM100 million. Its customer base had also increased, drawing in customers from Europe as well as America. Profits were also riding high. HCF opened two more factories. In 1990, it opened its third factory in Jitra, Kedah. The factory had a capacity of producing 1 million garments a year with a strength of 300 employees. In 1995, due to even increasing demand for its clothes, HCF decided to open its fourth factory with a production capacity of 2 million garments a year. This time, it looked to Thailand, as labour was very cheap. HCF set up a wholly owned subsidiary Haute Couture (Thailand) Pte. Ltd to operate the Chieng Mai based factory. It recruited about 500 employees. In 1997, Malaysia was facing financial crisis, with foreign exchange market volatility being the main issue. Manufacturers with foreign customers were unable to honour their contract price as exchange rates fluctuated. HCF was cought unaware. HCF had to tender for a contract six months before the delivery of the consignment. Fluctuation in the exchange rates made it impossible to predict the cost of material that HCF had to purchase form the fashion houses. HCF found itself selling its garments at very low margins for the very first time. 1998 saw HCF suffering its first loss since its inception. Many of its competitors also suffered losses and some even had to cease manufacturing. In a bid to survive the financial tsunami that had hit  Malaysia, Peter Tan consolidated HCF’s position by deciding to cut operating costs. HCF’s major cost apart from the cost of imported material was labour cost. Peter Tan made the decision to shut down the Penang factory, much to the dissent of his father. HCF was still able to meet the demand while still operating the other three factories in Butterworth, Jitra and Chieng Mai. He also decided to shift as much of the production to Chieng Mai, as the labour cost was a quarter of the labour cost incurred in the Malaysian factories. Moreover, HCF was facing labour shortage problems in Malaysia, as many of the labour force were moving to the cities for better prospects. As a result of this consolidation exercise, about 300 of HCF’s employees were made redundant, many of whom had been with HCF since its inception. Over the next few years, its profitability increased gradually and HCF slowly pulled itself out of the loss making situation. HCF managed this difficult feat because of its customer base as well as its reputation for high quality clothes, which commanded premium prices with its customers. The financial crisis had not affected Europe much, and as such, demand for the clothes continued. HCF’s Contract Manufacturing Structure The contract manufacturing deals signed with the European fashion houses were such that the designs were provided by the fashion houses and HCF had to adhere to the designs when producing the respective labels. The fashion houses welcomed suggestions from HCF’s designers but were particular that the designs were not crossed between the various labels that HCF was producing. Cross producing design between labels would be disastrous for HCF as it would immediately loose the contract for the labels involved. Further, the European fashion houses would supply the material for the clothes as they wanted to maintain the quality of the output. HCF purchased the material, sourced for appropriate accessories locally and produced the clothes. The fashion houses would contract for â€Å"a specific quantity of a specific design at a specific quality† to be delivered at a specific time. Any variation outside the contract stipulation would have to be borne by HCF itself. Usually, the contracts were for delivery of clothes one season ahead. This meant that summer’s design clothes would have to be delivered by the beginning of spring. HCF would sell the manufactured clothes at a contracted price. The fashion houses allowed HCF to tender for the contract price based on the design, quantity and price of material supplied. The contract tendering process usually took place about six months before the due date for the delivery of a season’s batch. HCF’s Customers HCF manufactured ready-to-wear clothes for a number of European and American fashion houses. Its clothes were well-sought after for its modern designs and high quality finishing. HCF’s customers have remained loyal over the last three decades, although its major coup was the securing of 2 major American fashion houses as its customers within the last 5 years. All of HCF’s clothing was manufactured under the customer’s own label.

You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 9~10

Chapter Nine It's Like Time Travel, Only You know, Slower†¦ THE CHRONICLES OF ABBY NORMAL: Tortured Victim of the Daylight Dwellers So here I am again, to open my veins and spill my pain onto your pages. My dark friend, after sixteen years of totally boring existence, I come to you at last with a glimmer of hope to break through the gloomth that is my miserable life. OMG! I have found him! Or I should say, he has found me. That's right, my Dark Lord has found me. A for-real vampyre. He is called the vampyre Flood, and he didn't say, but I think he is descended from European royalty – a viscount or a discount or one of those. I was in Walgreens with Jared when we saw him – and OMFG he's so hot, in a totally stealth way. I would have thought he was just a totally mainstream geek or something, with his flannel shirt and jeans, but he asked us about buying syringes and I totally saw his fangs come out. So, I was like, â€Å"I can hook you up with my dealer,† like that, and then he looked at my T-shirt and saw Byron's picture on it and he quoted â€Å"She Walks in Beauty,† which is like my favorite poem next to the one by Baudelaire about his girlfriend being nothing but worm food, except that Lily called that one first because Baudelaire is her fave poet and so she got the shirt with him on it, even though Byron is way more scrumptious and I would do him on sharp gravel if I had the chance. So I went home and changed my clothes and fixed my makeup, and when we got to Glas Kat we breezed by the door like we were twenty-five or something. Jared made our IDs himself at Kinkos and we both look so mature in our pictures, although I think he overdid it with the mustache. Anyway, we were there like ten minutes, and this song came on that I really like – â€Å"Boning You in the Ossuary,† by Dead Can Dub – which is so cool and macabre. And I tried to get Jared to dance, but this guy comes by and grabs Jared's cape and says, â€Å"Blacks fade much?† and that was it. Jared went into a level-five freak-out, and turned into a total fuckwit, trying to get me to hide him and stuff, and then just saying he couldn't take it anymore and he had to go home and redye right then. So he abandoned me to the dank loneliness that is the night and I bought a bottle of water and some chips and got ready to grieve my lost youth, when HE showed up. OMG! Check it, he actually knew Byron and Shelley! He used to party with them in Switzerland when they were all young. They all did laudanum and read ghost stories and stuff, and then they actually invented Goth, right there in this villa on some lake. He is like THE SOURCE! He took me for coffee and I wanted to give myself to him right there in Starbucks. Lily will be totally jealous. So he said I have to wait. He is connected to some ancient Celtic vampire countess and I'm supposed to find them an apartment in the morning. He even gave me the name of a rental agent to call and a big wad of cash. I have to prove myself worthy of his trust, otherwise there's like no way he'll bestow the dark gift on me, and I'll totally have to finish my sophomore year and probably end up in junior college or working at Old Navy or something. So, since we're off for Christmas break, I'm going to call this woman and go find an apartment for the vampyre Flood and the Celtic vampyre countess. And when Flood rises from the grave at sunset, I will get my reward. I'm totally freaked about meeting the Celtic vampyre countess. Flood says she has a temper. What if she hates me? Flood says he's not really into her – it's not like that. It's like, she's his vampyre sire, and they've been together for like five hundred years, so, you know, they have history, and I can respect that. Note: Make sure to find out if I need to move their native soil to the new apartment before we move their coffins. Note: Do I need to have a coffin made? Is it okay if it's purple? Oh yeah, my sister Ronnie has head lice. Chapter Ten Red, White, and Blue, Not Necessarily in That Order Snow White, thought Blue. With the seven to look after me, and me them, I could be just like Snow White. Granted, the Animals weren't exactly dwarves, Jeff Murray, the ex-high-school-basketball star was at least six five, and Drew, their resident pharmacologist, was pretty close to that height, but she wasn't exactly Snow White either. Still, they were all kind to her, considerate, and basically respectful of her, within their limits as a bunch of pot-head punani hounds. They did seem to have a decent work ethic, were loyal, didn't fight among themselves, and were relatively clean, as guys this age went. In a few days, she'd have the rest of their money, she knew it, and they knew it, but then what? It was a ton of money, to be sure, but it wasn't fuck-you money. (Defined as having so much money that you can say â€Å"fuck you† to anyone, anywhere, anytime, and not have to worry about the consequences.) She'd have to find something to do, somewhere to go. As the possibility of her getting out of the life finally loomed large, she realized that she was going to need a new life to live, and frankly, it was scaring the hell out of her. Time isn't kind to a girl living on her looks, and she'd already extended her sell-by date by going blue, but what now? Who knew that the future she'd been hoping for would show up with such sharp teeth. So Blue asked herself the question†¦ Can a fallen Cheddar princess of Fond Du Lac make a life with seven perpetually adolescent party animals from the Bay Area? Maybe it could happen, but she had her misgivings about dwarf number seven: Clint. In her experience, it took a lot of work to fuck the Jesus out of a guy, and even then, he was prone to come down with a bad case of the guilts a day or two later. Not really a problem when you were working outcall, but if you were going to high-ho a whole pack of dwarves on a semipermanent basis, one of them having a high-maintenance, holy-ghost haunting was going to be a problem. â€Å"Whore of Babylon,† Clint said as the Animals led her into the Safeway like they were presenting her at the palace. She paused in the automatic doors, despite the fact that she felt like she was turning blue under her blue, dressed as she was in a silver lam minidress and six-inch clear Lucite heels, none of it protecting her from the frigid wind coming off the Bay, whipping through the Marina Safeway parking lot. Thinking she'd probably spend most of her time naked, she hadn't packed for San Francisco weather. â€Å"I've never even been to Babylon,† she said. â€Å"But I'm open to new experiences.† She licked her lips and stepped to where her breasts were within an inch of Clint's chest. He turned and bolted to the office, chanting, â€Å"Get thee behind me, get thee behind me, get thee behind me,† the whole way. â€Å"However you want it, baby,† said Blue. She decided she'd think of him as Freaked, the paranoid dwarf. â€Å"Barry will show you to the break room,† Lash said. He'd become the new leader of the Animals, mainly because he tended to be the most sober. â€Å"Jeff, send the limo back and lock the doors. Drew, make some coffee. Gustavo, see what the situation is on the floors. We may need you to throw stock on the shelves.† They stood there, looking at him. Stoned. Drunk. Baffled. Blue would think of Barry, the little, prematurely bald guy, as her special dwarf, Baffled. She smiled. Clint peeked over the three-quarter wall of the office. â€Å"Hey, you guys. You should know that the Emperor was here last night. He says that Tommy Flood is a vampire.† â€Å"Huh?† Lash said. â€Å"He's a vampire. That girl of his, she didn't leave town. She changed him.† â€Å"Get the fuck outta here,† said Jeff. Clint nodded furiously. â€Å"It's true.† â€Å"Well, fuck,† said the others, in an unsynchronized chorus. â€Å"Meeting,† Lash announced. â€Å"Gentlemen, take your seats.† He looked apologetically to Blue. â€Å"This shouldn't take long.† â€Å"I'll make coffee,† she said. â€Å"Uh†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Lash seemed concerned. â€Å"Blue, we're kind of on a budget from here on out.† â€Å"Coffee's free,† Blue said. She turned and started heading to the back of the store. â€Å"I'll find it.† The Animals watched Blue walk away and, when she turned the corner, gathered by the registers. Clint unlocked the office door and came out. â€Å"So, we have to notify those cops, so they can help us hunt him down.† Lash looked at the Animals, who looked back. Lash raised an eyebrow. The others nodded. Lash put his arm around Clint's shoulders. â€Å"Clint, the guys and I have discussed it, and we'd all like to do something for you.† Clint ran back in the office and slammed the door. â€Å"No! We have to destroy the agents of Satan.† â€Å"Right. Of course. We'll get right on that. But first I'd like you to ask yourself something, Clint. And I'd like you to answer not as the born-again man that you are now, but from that little boy that's inside of all of us.† â€Å"Okay,† Clint said, peeking over the office door. â€Å"Clint, haven't you ever wanted to bone a Smurf?† Jody heard Tommy come in the security door downstairs and met him on the stairs with a big hug and a backbreaking kiss. â€Å"Wow,† Tommy said. â€Å"Are you okay?† â€Å"I'm really good now. I was just checking on William. I think he pooped himself.† â€Å"I'm so sorry, Tommy. I shouldn't have left you on your own this soon.† â€Å"It's okay. I'm okay. Hey, you have something on your dress.† Jody was still wearing the little black dress. Some of the dust that was James O'Mally was still clinging to it near the hemline. â€Å"Oh, I must have bumped up against something.† â€Å"Let me get that for you,† Tommy said, brushing at her thigh, then starting to raise the dress up past her waist. Jody caught his hand. â€Å"Horndog!† Chet the huge shaved cat looked up for a second, then put his head back down on William's chest and went back to sleep. â€Å"But you left me on my own,† Tommy said, trying to sound sad, but smiling too much to make it work. â€Å"You're fine.† She looked at her watch. â€Å"We only have about forty minutes till sunup. We can talk while we get ready for bed.† â€Å"I'm ready for bed now,† Tommy said. She led him up the stairs into the loft, through the great room, the bedroom, and into the bathroom. She grabbed her toothbrush off the sink and tossed Tommy his. She pasted, then chucked the tube to him. â€Å"Do we still have to floss?† Tommy asked. â€Å"I mean, what's the point of being immortal if we have to floss?† â€Å"Yeah,† Jody said, through a mouthful of pinkish foam, â€Å"you should just go lie in the sun and get it over with, rather than suffer the torture of flossing.† â€Å"Don't be sarcastic. I didn't think we could get sick at all, but your hangover proved that to be wrong.† Jody nodded and spit. â€Å"Don't swallow any when you rinse. The water will come right back up.† â€Å"How come your foam is pink? My foam isn't pink. And I went last.† â€Å"My gums might be bleeding,† Jody said. Jody wasn't ready to tell him that she'd taken someone tonight. She would tell him, just not now. So, to change the subject, she summoned her superhuman strength and pantsed him. â€Å"Hey!† â€Å"When did you get skull-and-crossbones boxers?† â€Å"I bought them tonight, when you were getting Christmas presents. I thought they would seem dangerous.† â€Å"You bet,† Jody said, nodding furiously to keep from laughing. â€Å"And you'll blend in – in case you're ever caught with your pants down in the pirate locker room.† â€Å"Yeah, there's that,† Tommy said, a little toothpaste foam dribbling down his chest as he looked at his boxers. â€Å"I have the whitest legs in the universe. My legs are like great white carrion worms.† â€Å"Stop, you're making me horny.† â€Å"I've got to use that tanning lotion we bought. Where is it?† Jody moved with catlike speed out to the kitchen, snatched the lotion off the counter, and was back sitting on the edge of the bed in only a couple of seconds. If she could just keep Tommy from asking any questions until sunup, she was sure she'd figure out a way to tell him about the old man. â€Å"Come over here, worm legs, let me put some lotion on you.† To emphasize her commitment to lotionization, she stood, pulled the straps of her dress off her shoulders, and let it fall to the floor at her feet. She stepped out of her dress and stood there, in just her pumps and a silver necklace with a tiny heart that he had given her. Tommy hopped out of the bathroom – his pants still around his ankles – one long hop, and he stood in front of her. Jody smiled. Give a geek supernatural agility and speed, and what you get is a superagile, speedy geek. â€Å"You went out commando, in that dress?† â€Å"Never again,† Jody said, grabbing the waistband of his boxers and pulling him toward her. â€Å"These are mine, now. I want to be dangerous.† â€Å"That's so, so slutty,† he said, lisping a little, his fangs coming out now. â€Å"Yep. Where do you want to start with the lotion?† He pulled her close and kissed her neck. â€Å"We have to be careful not to break the furniture this time.† â€Å"Fuck it, less to move,† she said, her own fangs coming out now. She raked them down his chest. â€Å"If we figure out a way to get a place before someone kills us.† â€Å"Oh, yeah, I found us a minion,† he said as she bit into his side and tore his boxers off in a single swift pull. â€Å"What?† But Tommy was finished talking for a while. Blue watched as the Butterball rocketed by her and slammed into a triangle of two-liter soft-drink bottles – the front bottle burst, sending a cola-brown eruption of foam across the floor by the meat case. â€Å"Strike!† Barry shouted. He danced in a tight circle among the Animals, pointing and chanting, â€Å"I own you, and you, and you,† to each as he passed. Blue looked to Lash, and raised a cobalt eyebrow. Lash shrugged. â€Å"It happens. That's why we use diet soda. It's not as sticky.† He had decided that they all needed to sober up some more before they started stocking the shelves; thus the turkey bowling. â€Å"Can someone bring a mop?† Clint said. Because he would not gamble, he was the designated pin setter. He was scrambling around trying to retrieve soda bottles even as Jeff Murray was warming up at the other end of the aisle, swinging a Foster's Fresh Frozen Homestyle in each hand. He believed that he got better pin action off the Foster's because of the savory gravy packet stuffed in its center. He claimed that Foster's had mastered superior poultry technology, and was, in fact, working on an oversized titanium turkey. The other Animals were forced to point out to him that he was completely full of shit as they sprayed root beer on him. â€Å"So you guys hunted vampires?† Blue asked Lash. She had come back to the front with coffee for everyone just in time to hear Lash lay out the scenario for the Animals. She'd held off asking any questions until now. A Fresh Frozen meat missile zipped down the aisle between them. Lash didn't even blink. â€Å"Yep. We didn't kill him. We just blew up his yacht and took his art. That's where we got the money.† â€Å"Yeah, right,† said Blue. â€Å"I got that part. It's the vampire part I'm not clear on. Like a real vampire. A real, blood-drinking, can't-go-out-in-the-day, live-forever vampire.† â€Å"We figured he had to be at least six hundred years old,† Troy Lee added, joining in the conversation. â€Å"Blue, you wanna skid the buzzard?† He nodded to the end of the aisle, where Jeff was offering his spare Fresh Frozen turkey like a sacrifice. â€Å"So you guys, who work in a grocery store, have seen a vampire?† â€Å"Two of them,† Lash said. â€Å"Our night-crew leader, Tommy, was living with one of them.† â€Å"She was hot,† Troy Lee added. â€Å"Vampire hunters?† Blue couldn't believe it. â€Å"Well, not anymore,† Lash said. â€Å"Yeah,† Troy Lee said. â€Å"Clint says that Tommy's a vampire now. We're not going to mess with him.† â€Å"Spawn of Satan!† Clint shouted from the end of the aisle. Drew, who Blue had decided to think of as Doc, because he always carried the pot, ran down the aisle and shot-putted a twelve-pound self-basting at Clint's head. â€Å"Shut the fuck up!† Clint ducked and covered. The turkey went over the meat counter and stuck in the drywall by the window at the back of the meat department. To Blue, Drew said, â€Å"Sorry, couldn't be helped.† â€Å"Well, that's gonna take all night to patch,† said Clint. Lash looked at Troy Lee. â€Å"Could you kill him?† â€Å"On it,† Troy Lee said, falling into a fighting stance, before taking off and chasing Clint around the corner. â€Å"Prepare to die, White Devil!† â€Å"So,† said Blue. â€Å"You were saying?† â€Å"Well, Clint says Tommy is a vampire now, and we should go stake him out or something, but he's one of us, so we've decided to pursue a policy of Buddhist tolerance.† Just then Troy Lee dragged Clint back around the corner in a headlock. Despite being six inches shorter and forty pounds lighter than Clint, he'd studied martial arts since he was six and that took size out of the equation. â€Å"Should I hypnotize the chicken?† Troy asked. â€Å"Make it so,† said Lash. Troy Lee adjusted his chokehold on Clint. The larger man's eyes bugged out, his mouth moved like a gasping fish out of water, and he went limp in Troy's arms, who then dropped him in the puddle of diet soda on the floor. â€Å"He'll come around in a second or two.† Lash leaned into Blue to explain. â€Å"We used to call it choke the chicken, but that sounded kind of gayish.† â€Å"Of course,† said Blue. That trick would come in handy in her work. She'd have to ask Troy Lee to teach it to her. â€Å"And you think that your friend and this girl are really vampires.† â€Å"I suppose. Clint said he heard it from the Emperor, and he was the one that turned us on to the old vampire guy in the first place. Either way, they're not our problem.† â€Å"What if I said they were?† Blue said. Her mind was putting it together like a sewing machine on crack. It was insane, but for once she could see a future stretching out before her, welcoming her. â€Å"What if I said I wanted you to go after them?† Lash blinked at her like she was speaking Klingon. â€Å"Huh?† He looked at the other Animals, who had stopped bowling and moved into range of the conversation. They stood there with frosty gobblers steaming in their hands like they were on wet-nurse duty for a group of headless infant snowmen. â€Å"Flood is our friend,† Lash said. â€Å"I don't want you to kill him,† Blue said. â€Å"Just catch him.† Lash looked to the others, who looked away – at the floor, at the cabbage and lettuce counter, at the turnips, at their frozen charges. â€Å"I'll make it worth your while,† Blue said. Jody lay on the bed watching Tommy turn slowly, back and forth in the air like a pale white-boy mobile. The loft had twenty-foot ceilings with open, industrial-style beams, and sometime during their lovemaking, they had both ended up hanging from them. Jody dropped to the bed after she came, but Tommy still hung by one hand. The bright side was that with the exception of the set of shredded sheets upon which she lay, they had kept the destruction to a minimum. The downside – well, she really could have gone a couple of lifetimes without seeing him from this angle. â€Å"We did good,† Jody said. â€Å"Hardly anything broken.† â€Å"You think that monkeys really do it that way?† Tommy replied. â€Å"I always thought you were just using that as an expression.† She'd thought she could remain detached enough about their lovemaking to stay in control – to enjoy it, but to use it, as it were – but since Tommy had changed, it wasn't like that anymore. She lost herself in it, she didn't just make love with him, she fucked him like a crazed monkey girl. It was good, but disconcerting. She had liked being in control. â€Å"You look amazing from this angle,† Tommy said. â€Å"You look like a man-shaped fluorescent lightbulb,† Jody said, grinning at him, then noticing a change. â€Å"Do not get wood, Thomas Flood. You will not get wood, do you hear me?† â€Å"You sound like my mom,† Tommy said. â€Å"Ewwwww,† Jody said, shuddering and covering her eyes. â€Å"Ewwwww,† Tommy said, realizing what he had just said and about what and whom. He dropped to the bed and bounced. â€Å"Sorry. Quick, put the self-tanning lotion on me, we only have a few minutes before sunup.† â€Å"Okay, but just the lotion.† â€Å"Right, go.† Jody took the lotion and squirted some on her hands. â€Å"Turn around, I'll get your back.† â€Å"But – â€Å" â€Å"Just point that thing the other way, writer boy, you have had all the monkey love you're going to get tonight.† She said it, but she didn't mean it – she'd go another round if he wanted, if they had time before sunrise. Then she remembered. â€Å"Did you say you found us a minion?† â€Å"Yeah, I did. She's going to start tomorrow – er, today. I gave her money to get us an apartment. Told her what we needed.† â€Å"Her?† â€Å"Yeah, you remember that girl we saw in the drugstore?† Jody stopped rubbing, grabbed his shoulders, and spun him around. â€Å"You gave our deposit money to a nine-year-old?† â€Å"She's not nine. She's sixteen.† â€Å"Still, Tommy. You trusted our secret to a sixteen-year-old girl?† â€Å"She already knew.† â€Å"Yes, because you let your fangs show like some doofus of the night. You could have explained that somehow, or better yet, never seen her again.† â€Å"Look, she's smart, and she'll be loyal. I promise.† â€Å"You could have just gotten us killed.† â€Å"What would you have done? Huh? You have to trust someone.† â€Å"But a sixteen-year-old kid?† â€Å"I'm only nineteen, and I was a great minion. Besides, she thinks I'm her dark lord.† â€Å"Did you even tell her about me?† â€Å"Of course, she knows all about you. Knows that you're my sire – that's what they call the vampire who made you. I even told her that you were older, that you had vast experience.† â€Å"Vast? Vast experience sounds like I'm a slutty old divorcee. How old does she think I am?† â€Å"Five hundred.† â€Å"What?† â€Å"But you look great for five hundred. I mean, look, you got my attention. Do my front.† â€Å"Do your own front.† She threw the lotion bottle at him and he snatched it out of the air. â€Å"Love you,† Tommy said, slathering self-tanning goo all over his face and chest. â€Å"I'm going to lock the bedroom door,† Jody said as the alarm on their watches started beeping, signaling ten minutes before sunrise. She'd gotten the alarm watches for both of them, just in case. â€Å"You didn't give her keys, did you?† â€Å"Not to the bedroom.† â€Å"Great. What if she finds William in the stairwell and stakes him out? You could have given our key to a Buffy wannabe – â€Å" â€Å"This stuff is supposed to take like eight hours to work, so by sundown I'll be sexy bronze.† â€Å"There's a bronze vampire in the living room. Why don't you go ask him how that's working out for him?† â€Å"He's impersonal bronze, not sexy bronze like I'll be.† â€Å"Come to bed. And put on a T-shirt. I don't want a sexy bronze stain on the sheets, even if they are torn up.† Tommy sniff-tested a half-dozen shirts, finally decided on one, climbed into bed, and was kissing Jody good morning when the sunrise put them out.

Huntingtons disease report essays

Huntingtons disease report essays An individual with Huntington's disease often has problems in three areas: control of bodily movements, intellectual functioning and emotional control. The intensity and number of the above symptoms, however, varies with each Huntington's disease patient. (3) Early symptoms of HD can differ from person to person, and are easily ignored or misinterpreted. The affected person may experiences mood swings, become irritable, apathetic, lethargic, depressed or angry. Sometimes these symptoms disappear as the disease progresses; sometimes they develop into hostile outbursts or deep depression. Uncontrolled movements may develop in the fingers, feet, face or trunk. These tics are the beginnings of chorea, and can become more intense if the patient is anxious or disturbed. In time, new symptoms begin to emerge: mild clumsiness, loss of coordination and balance problems. Walking becomes increasingly difficult, and the person may stumble or fall. Speech may become slurred. The patient may begin having trouble swallowing or eating. Gradually he or she may lose the ability to recognize others. In rarer variations of HD, the disease is characterized not by its onset age but by the unique nature of the symptoms. Some adults with HD never develop chor ea. Instead, they become rigid, moving little, if at all. Their condition, called akinesia, gives rise to the distinguishing name akinetic-rigid HD, sometimes referred to as the Westphal variant of HD. (1) The source of Huntington's disease lies in the most basic element of human heredity: a single gene. The gene that produces HD is found on chromosome 4, one of the 22 non-sex-linked or "autosomal" chromosome pairs. This means that men and women are at equal risk of inheriting the disease. Because HD is an autosomal dominant disorder, only one copy of the defective gene, inherited from either parent, is needed to produce the disease. Because each parent cont ...

What Is NUMATS Should You Participate

What Is NUMATS Should You Participate SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips In this guide, I'll be discussing NUMATS or Northwestern University's Midwest Academic Talent Search Program.NUMATS provides advanced tests to younger students to find their academic strengths and weaknesses and to suggest academic supplements to help these gifted students thrive. Depending on your score on the test, you may be offered a chance to attend one of theirsubprograms. While you can read all about this programon the NUMATS website, the information can be difficult to dissect. For this reason, I’ve gathered all the necessary information and put it into this easy-to-read guide. I recommend reading the entire guide, but I’ve created a Table of Contents that lists the specific sections to help you find whatever information you need. What IsNUMATS? What Do You Do in the Program? Why Should You/Your Child Participate? How To Apply and Application Requirements How Much Does ItCost? Tips on How to Get In What Is the NUMATS Talent Search? What Do You Do in the Program? NUMATS is a program that offers advanced children above-grade-level testing to accurately measure their academic strengths. Depending on how well they perform on the tests, there may also be other programs available toparticipants. While students are already tested in school, if you or your child scores above the 90th percentile on their standardized tests, the scoreisn’t telling you what your child knows beyond what was covered on the test.NUMATS provides students with theopportunity to take certaintests years before they normally would. For example, the EXPLORE test, typically given in eighthgrade, is offered to students in grades three through six, and the ACT andSAT, typically taken in 10th or 11th grade, areoffered to students in grades six through nine. After studentstake one of thetests, theyreceive recommendationsonareas theycan improve in, and, depending on their score, theymaybe offered an invitation to participate insupplemental programs.These supplemental programs include online, weekend, and summer programs. Supplemental programs offer advanced, unique courses to students that allow them to be appropriately challenged and learn more about a subject of interest to them. Some supplemental programs last onlya single weekend while others run formultiple weeks or weekends. Supplemental programs canbe online or in-person classes, depending on the specific course. Who’s Eligible for the NUMATS Program? Students in grades three through nine who meet one or more of the following criteria can enroll in the program: Participated previously in NUMATS or another talent search program. Qualify for their school’s gifted program. Be recommend bya teacher or parent, based on their exceptional verbal or mathematical reasoning skills, consistently high level of performance on demanding coursework, or repeatedrequests for more challenging academic experiences. Meet grade-level assessment criteria in either verbal/reading or math on a nationally normed or state achievement test. What Are the NUMATS Test Dates for 2015-16? EXPLORE, SAT, and ACT tests are offered through NUMATS year round. There are test centers throughout the US, so you can participate in NUMATS no matter where you live.You can search for a test date at a test center near you through the NUMATS website. Why Should You Participate in NUMATS? When you participate in NUMATS, you’re provided with test preparation materials.After you take atest and receive your scores, you’ll get recommendations for selecting future classes and extracurriculars in math, science, social science and the humanities based on your scores. Also, you’ll receive instructional resources for use at home and in the classroom.For high scorers, there will be an award ceremony at Northwestern with scholarships presented to first-place scorers. Depending on your score on the tests, you may receive invitations toNorthwestern’s other gifted programs. As I mentioned before, these programs include online, weekend, and summer programs, and are offered to students ages 4 through 17. Through these supplemental programs, students cantakeadvanced, unique classes that allow them to be appropriately challenged and learn more about a topicof interest to them. However, ifyou live far from Northwestern, you may be limited to participating in online and summer programs. These courses can help you connect with other gifted students and will push you to rise to your full potential. In addition, you get to test out subjects you're interested in (such as playwriting or rocket science) at a young age to see if you might want to pursuea career in that field. It's great to get this exposure at a younger age rather than wasting time and money in college debating what you should major in. For students in high school, you also can get access to AP courses online for which you can get college credit. If you've never heard of AP, learn more about AP classesin our other guide. I’d highly recommend doing NUMATS if you qualify and can afford it. How To Apply and Application Requirements You apply through the NUMATS website by creating an account. The application requirements are the same as the eligibility requirements listed above. As I said before, you need to meet one of the following requirements and provide proof in your application: Previously participated in NUMATS or another talent search program Participate in the gifted program at your school Meet grade-level assessment criteria in either verbal/reading or math on a nationally normed or state achievement test Can provide a teacher or parent letter of recommendation stating you’re performing at a consistently high level in verbal/reading or math. How Much Does NUMATS Cost? The exact cost of taking the NUMATS test is $74-93.50, depending on which test you take. This feecovers the cost of taking the test and the cost of the NUMATS program (which includes access to all of the benefits listed above in the Why Participate section). Is There Financial Aid? How Do You Apply For It? Yes, NUMATS offers need-based financial aid only for applicants whoqualify for other federally subsidized programs (such as the National School Lunch Program).Financial aid can be requested when you register for NUMATS online. To apply for financial aid, you must submit a letter stating you meet the financial aid eligibility criteria. The letter must be written on school letterhead and signed by a school official. Here is an example of a financial aid eligibility letter.Submit the letter to NUMATS by your chosen test's registration deadline.Fax to 847-467-4283, email numats@ctd.northwestern.edu, or mail to NUMATS Financial Aid, 617 Dartmouth Pl, Evanston, IL 60208. Tips on How to Get a High Score You should try to score high on your NUMATS test (EXPLORE, SAT, or ACT) because if you score high enough, you can qualify for the amazingsupplemental programsI mentioned above, as well as scholarships. First place scorers are invited to an award ceremony at Northwestern and presented with scholarships. Additionally,depending on your score, you could be offered grants to participate in the supplemental programs (mentioned earlier) in partnership with theJack Kent Cooke Foundation. If you’re hoping to do well in the NUMATS program, you’ll want to do a lot of EXPLORE, SAT, or ACT prep.We’ve got great resources to help you prepare for the SAT and the ACT. You should check out online resources for EXPLORE preparation or consider buying an EXPLORE prep book. What’s Next? Learn aboutother pre-college programs such as the Emory Pre-College Program. Not sure where you want to go to college? Learn how to do college research right.Not sure how you'll pay for college? Check out our guide to paying for college. Trying to decide where to go to high school? Learn how to compare high schools using SAT or ACT score. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Human Resource Management Case Assignment Essay

Human Resource Management Case Assignment - Essay Example This is based on the fact that the organization is acknowledging their superior contributions or services. The rewards are aimed at motivating them towards sustaining or even improving their superior performances. ii. Employees with average performances get substantially smaller rewards or bonuses. This is aimed at encouraging them to improve their efforts by working harder so as to achieve greater rewards in the succeeding periods. iii. Employees with poor performances do not receive any increase in pay or bonus. This is to indicate that they need to improve their performance or seek alternative positions by leaving the organizations. Pay for performance strategy has been noted as one of the best motivating strategies for organizations that seek to enhance their overall performance. However, experts warn that organizations should support such a strategy using other alternative options because money is not the ultimate motivating factor. For instance, organizations are advised to als o include promotions, improvements in working environments or even involve employees in making decisions in addition to the pay for performance system (Chen & Hsieh, 2006). This will ensure that an organization addresses all the factors that motivate employees. Alternative Payment Approaches to Pay for Performance Lockstep pay The most common payment approach among legal firms is the lockstep pay. The payment approach involves an organization using the length of time on the job when determining the ultimate level of compensation for its employees. As noted earlier on, the payment system is common among law firms where lawyers are paid based on the amount of billable hours spent serving clients. Research studies indicate that lawyers earn their income as if they were independent contractors. What this means is that their level of payment varies depending on the amount of revenue generated from the clients that they have served at person levels. However, the lock step payment system i nvolves attorneys with the same level of seniority receive the same level of income. The level of income is entirely determined by the overall performance of the organization. There are exceptions to the system whereby the organization may make adjustments as an exception rather than a rule. Total Reward Compensation The total rewards system of compensation involves more than just the basic pay and benefits. It involves the entire remuneration system that consists of all the direct and indirect payment packages (Reynolds, 2005). The system incorporates pay with all the necessary factors that motivate and are valued by employees. The system also offers numerous approaches to reward other than pay and benefits. It does not rely on a single method of rewarding employees. The system closely resembles the pay for performance system in the sense that the total reward system is based on the level of competency and performance of staff. Reward is solely based on merit rather than experience or job position (Berger & Berger, 2008). The higher the performance the higher the reward and low performance is highly condemned. However, total reward is different from pay for performance because it incorporates all the elements of employee motivation rather than monetary rewards. In fact, research studies on employee motivation indicate that the system motivates and influences the behavior of workers to a larger extent than the pay for perfo

Philosophy of Film. Film as thought experiments Essay

Philosophy of Film. Film as thought experiments - Essay Example Thought experiments are an important part of many abstract theoretical sciences, and play a significant role in the field of philosophy in which the philosophers have to investigate and illuminate multifaceted issues and dense theories which they cannot experiment empirically. It is not wrong to say that thought experiments are themselves complicate to comprehend because they are a complex subject. The Trolley Problem is a famous thought experiment in the field of ethics (Thomson, 1985), which intends to discuss that in the physical world, there is often not a moral course of action that one can proceed with, given choices. It involves a madman who has tied five people on one trolley track, and one on another. A trolley is careening toward the five people and you, as a savior, can save either the five people or the one on the other track. When you save the five people, you are held guilty to have killed the other one, and when you do nothing you are accused of immoral act of doing no thing to save them. Another thought experiment is Monkeys and Typewriters that says that infinite number of monkeys, if given infinite time on infinite number of computers, can produce a work of Shakespeare (Sober 116). How film is considered as a thought experiment is an interesting topic. Film can prove philosophical in the same way as one of the thought experiments. Filmmakers have tried to incorporate thought experiments in many recent films like The Batman (The Trolley Problem) and The Dark Knight (The Prisoner’s Dilemma). Whether film can be regarded as thought experiments or as a piece of philosophy has been a hot topic of debate between the philosophers of modern times. The modern concept of filmmaking has this thing that film can do philosophy other than mere entertainment, and can be considered as legitimate works of philosophy. Wartenberg asserts that thought experiments are a strong bridge between film and philosophy, although they are not the philosophers’ realm entirely (57). He asserts that the strongest evidence that thought experiments provide a link between film and philosophy is â€Å"their reliance on hypothetical-i.e. fictional scenarios† (57). The film, the Matrix, is about the deception hypothesis in which whatever the characters of the film experience is such a reality that is in fact â€Å"a huge, interactive perceptual illusion†¦created and maintained by the computers that have taken over the world† (Wartenberg and Curran 276). The concept is based upon such a world that depicts time 200 years later, and it has been regarded as computers’ triumph against human beings in a distressing combat. Computers have been shown breeding humans as humans have been devising ways to breed animals. The philosophy in the film is that human bodies are shown generating more energy than they are consuming, and for this extra energy that is being expelled out, computers have been designed in such a way that they br eed humans that are kept in a skyscraper. The logic behind the concept is that â€Å"humans need to have their minds distracted while their bodies produce the required electrical energy† (Wartenberg and Curran). How the film raises the question that the whole perceptual experience of the