English composition Task

Since my teenage I wanted to become a computer engineer and work for multinational organization which not only pays well but also will have the opportunity to travel abroad. I am from a middle class Indian family where bearing the costs of studying from an English medium school is hard and yet my parents helped me study in English medium school. I studied English medium during all my schooling which helped me develop my literacy skills. I started learning computers since my 10th grade..This was the time of mid 1995 when the computer classes were first introduced in my school in India and I was one f the member of the first batches that was offered the basics of computer and little bit of programming. This was the beginning and I was getting interested to learn more about computers. We also had to take up a exam at the end of the course to prove our competency in the subject though it was not part of the 10th grade board exam. I scored 83 out of 100 which gave me confidence that I can succeed in this field of study.From there on during my 1 lth and 12th grade I took computer science as my specialization and also completed Bachelor's Degree in computer science. After y graduation it was time to look for my dream Job but consulting with friends, family and seniors in college I realized that the degree that I earned is not Just enough to get my dream Job and due to my interest in Hardware and Networking I immediately Joined specialization course in computer hardware and networking which is a rigorous training for one year in a private institute to equip myself with the right skills and be competent to face the Job interviews.While pursuing the course, I got a Job from a small local computer hardware firm which I only worked for couple of days and quit as I was not able to continue the course. Immediately after completing specialization in computer hardware and networking I started looking for my dream job. I initially started attending Job interviews of non multina tional organizations to understand the interview process and also to know my weaknesses so that I could improve myself.The interview process usually includes four rounds, first round is the written test which comprises of aptitude test, English grammar, computer hardware and computer networking, second round is a group discussion or communication round where a topic will be given and we will need to effectively discuss about the opic with proper tone and confidence, third round is a technical round where I will have to face an interview with computer hardware expert and final round will be with human resources personnel who will talk about the Joining process and company policies and procedures if selected for the Job.After attending a few interviews for different organizations and not able to succeed through the interviews, I worked on my weakness and was able to finally obtain a Job in a multinational intormation technology organization Hewlett Packard in India as a Technical Supp ort Engineer with the help of my literacy skills and technical competency. It was August 11 2003, 9 pm when all the interview process was completed and confirmed that I got through the interview and secured a Job. That was the proudest and happiest moment in my life which was so sweet.My family also was so proud of me about my achievement. As I started working for Hewlett Packard I never looked back. I had to go through training process for another couple of months on Hewlett Packard products and also soft skills on how to talk to customers on phone. My Job included communicating with the United States customers of Hewlett Packard and help them fix any issues with the Hewlett Packard products. With the skills I obtained academically and professionally I was able to succeed in the Job which helped not only me to grow but also my family.After 2 years to further improve my literacy skills I pursued Master's Degree in computer applications from a distance education university in India w hile I was working. This further enhanced my competency and helped me secure a much better position at work. Thus my literacy skills helped me get my dream Job in a multinational organization which not only helped me grow personally and professionally but also my family grow economically. This is a dream come true.

A Visual Art Observation Essay

Starry Night of Vincent Van Gogh is one interesting work of art to analyse. It is very striking due to its heavy brush strokes and luminous colours. The seemingly endless curves and swirls can entice you into exploring the piece more intently. Visually, it is a mystical amalgamation of black and blue. Hence, conveying an apparent picture of a town at night time. A brightly lit quarter moon settles at the top right corner of the canvas. The yellowness of it somewhat literally borrows the sun’s colour. Its luminescence, together with eleven stars draped at the upper half of the canvas, is rather too gleaming. The moon and stars appeared strangely luminous with bright colours encircling them. The lower right quadrant of the painting comprises the landscape of a silent town where the dark coloured roofs and trees are visible. Furthermore, on the lower left quadrant shows a huge cypress bush which seemed too vertically stiff against the horizontal waves of the night sky. Apparently, the artist used horizontal contours in the majority of the piece. The dotted lines formed the swirls and circles in the painting. The artist strokes are remarkable because the appeared to be made up of short lines of various colours filed together to create a vibrant and magnificent imagery of a quiet town. Every object in the paintings has consistent shapes and colour composition. The stars have a tiny red orange dot on the middle to prove its size despite its flaring surround. The mountains have black outlines to present its edges and blue-coloured soil. Likewise, the houses are also outlined in black but in their case, the surfaces vary in colours like brown, green, light blue, violet, orange and other dark shades. The trees are presented in curves in dark tones of green, blue and black. The dark bushes, however, is coloured too darkly with brown, green and black. Van Gogh has truly revealed a part of his personality and emotional status in Starry Night. The extreme use of curves and swirls indicated his uncommon vision of the world. It depicts his mental state of schizophrenia and his desire to end his life. The heavy strokes denote the depression that he was currently encountering. The bushes which appeared out of place in the painting pointed directly towards the heavens show his dark thoughts on ending his life. It gives the impression of death as it is formed with dark shades and rigorously designed to separate it from the world—same with the feelings of Van Gogh. It is also noticeable in his work that it is full opposites; starting from the straight lines to curved lines; the brightness of the stars to the darkness of the colours used; the peaceful town to the raging night sky. Who could have thought that such opposite elements could create a magnificent work of art? The painting is more than just a symbolic image of the artist’s thoughts. It is his reality which is conjured by his passion with art. The numerous curves and swirls portray his desperation to be free considering that he painted the Starry Night while he was inside a mental asylum. Vincent Van Gogh is indeed a â€Å"mad genius† as admirers would often label him (Boime, 2008, p. 1). The Starry Night contains symbolisms that are meticulously encrypted by an art genius like Van Gogh. No wonder it is one of the most attention-grabbing paintings today. Its vibrant elements and the unmistakable passion expressed through it by the artist seduce its audience in an exaggerated world of a man who only sold one painting in his lifetime. References Boime, A. (2008). Revelation of Modernism: Responses to Cultural Crises in Fin-de-Siecle Painting. Missouri: University of Missouri Press

Pollution Summary Essay

What is Air Pollution? The air we breathe supplies the oxygen that sustains life. Humans need oxygen to survive, and plants and animals need oxygen to survive. Our air supply has become contaminated by human activity. We have created machinery that has produced smog and acid rain. We have created a green house effect and have made holes in our ozone layer. Each of these acts can cause serious health problems for humans and animals, and can cause grave harm to our vegetation and ecosystems. There are seven main types of air pollutants. Raven (2008) describes them as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, hydrocarbons, ozone, air toxics, and carbon oxides. Particulate matter can come from dust, soil, soot, and asbestos Nitrogen oxides come from gasses that are produced by chemical interactions between atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen. Sulfur oxides come from chemical interactions between sulfur and oxygen. Hydrocarbons come from chemical interactions between hydrogen and carbon. Ozone comes in two forms; (1) oxygen’s reaction with UV radiation in the stratosphere and, (2) oxygen reaction in the troposphere what creates smog. Air toxics can be radioactive substances, fluorides, and hydrochloric acid, and carbon oxides are carbon monoxide and dioxide. Causes of Air Pollution Chemicals, human sources, and natural sources contribute to air pollution. Air pollution can be traced all the way back to Ancient Roman times. â€Å"Every day, the average person inhales about 20,000 liters of air. Every time we breathe, we risk inhaling dangerous chemicals that have found their way into the air. † (Caroline, David, Michael, Mindy, Neil, and Vikas, 1999, The Environment: A Global Challenge. Air Pollution). Air pollution occurs in the atmosphere and can move easily from one location to another, it is a global concern. Air pollution is a problem both outdoors and inside homes. Chemicals There are seven main types of air pollutants according to a regulatory perspective. These are: particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon oxides, hydrocarbons, ozone, and air toxics. Particulate matter is made of thousands of solid and liquid particles hanging in the atmosphere. Solid particulate matter is commonly known as dust; whereas as liquid articulate matter is known as mist. Particulate matter includes the following pollutants: soot, lead, asbestos, soil particles, sea salt, and sulfuric acid droplets. Nitrogen oxides are gases produced as a result of interaction between nitrogen and oxygen involves a supply of energy such as combustion of fuels resulting in high temperatures. Sulfur oxides are gases. These gases are a result of a chemical interaction between sulfur and oxygen. When combined with water, the result is sulfuric acid. Carbon oxides consist of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Carbon monoxide has no color, smell, or taste and is second as an air pollutant only to carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is also does not have color, smell, or taste and is a greenhouse gas. Hydrocarbons consist are a varied collection of organic compounds including hydrogen and carbon. Small hydrogen molecules are gaseous at room temperature. Hydrocarbons include methane (colorless and odorless gas principally included in natural gas), benzene (which is a liquid at room temperature), and paraffin (which is a solid at room temperature). Ozone is a form of oxygen that is a pollutant in one area of the atmosphere but essential in another area of the atmosphere. Hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) consist of hundreds of other air pollutants such as chlorine, lead, hydrochloric acid, formaldehyde, radioactive substances, and fluorides. Humans Many chemicals that cause air pollution exist naturally in our world. These chemicals are harmful in both their natural form; however, become even more harmful when burned by humans for fuel, heat, or electricity. The two main causes of air pollutants in urban areas are transportation and fuel combustion from stationary sources. The stationary sources are heating and cooling for buildings and coal-burning power plants. Vehicles such as cars, trains, heavy-duty trucks, and airplanes, produce high amounts of carbon dioxide while fuel combustion produces high amounts of sulfur dioxide. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) â€Å"are man-made compounds that were originally developed in 1930 as a safer alternative to the refrigerants then in use such as sulfur dioxide and ammonia.

Critically analyze laws of comparative advantage Essay

Critically analyze laws of comparative advantage - Essay Example The theory of comparative advantage formulated by English economist David Ricardo in the early nineteenth century1. Ricardo encouraged each country to specialize in producing commodities for which it is best suited and then trade with other countries to obtain a wide variety of goods. The increased efficiency of production within each country makes greater worldwide consumption possible. This theory suggests that all nations have an interest in opposing restraints on trade. If less developed countries (LDCs) remain isolated and closed to foreign trade and investment, they lose opportunities to benefit from the technology, capital, and consumer goods offered by industrialized nations (Barry Clark, 1998). The theory of comparative advantage, of course, argues that unrestricted exchange between countries will increase the total amount of world output if each country tends to specialize in those goods that it can produce at a relatively lower cost compared to potential trading partners. Each country then will trade some of those lower-cost goods with other nations for goods that can be produced elsewhere more cheaply than at home. At the end of the day, with free trade among nations, all countries will find that their consumption possibilities lie outside their domestic production possibilities. The basic theory assumes that all the factors of production are... Further, it is assumed that perfect competition, and not monopoly production prevails and that all resources in each country are fully employed. The last is an especially important assumption, particularly for less-developed nations, since with less-than-fully employed resources, tariffs or other forms of protection (including subsidies) to block imports and to increase domestic employment could well be the preferred policy. With less-than-fully employed resources, the key allocative issue becomes an internal mobilization of domestic resources to their full use, rather than a reallocation among alternative uses. To be reasonably confident in applying the basic Ricardian analysis and its conclusions to any country or situation, it seems sensible, in practice, to inquire to what degree the assumptions of the theory conform to the reality of the economy under investigation. (James M. Cypher, James L. Dietz, 1998) While these are important considerations having to do with the validity of assumptions in practice, there are other concerns about a blanket endorsement of the comparative advantage argument and free trade recommendations for less-developed nations. Joan Robinson's comment on the real-time effect of following free trade and specialization, at least as far as Portugal was concerned in Ricardo's original example, remains provocative and presages our reformulation. (James M. Cypher, James L. Dietz, 1998) . . The imposition of free trade on Portugal killed off a promising textile industry and left her with a slow-growing export market for wine, while for England, exports of cotton cloth led to accumulation, mechanization and the whole

IT - Project Summary Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

IT - Project Summary - Essay Example The mission state to define the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad The expected result of this project is approximately 60% decrease in the time taken by the employees to complete a business transaction and also complete elimination of the inconveniences that are brought about by human error. In addition the transport cost that the company incurs annually will be halved. The proposed technology has substantial intellectual merit for a number of reasons: the resources wasted by the employees in performing a business task using the current information technology are saved and used to expand the business; the work environment that the employees will have will be favorable and at the same time the company will have the opportunity of outdoing the competitors in the market. This will eventually translate to the company’s profit. The tablet computing project is going to have wide implication on the company and the industry for many reasons: there will be a good f low of information between different departments and different branches. It will entail cloud computing where all the operation done in the business and data storage are based in the internet. The key tool that is used to achieve this is by use of iPads from the leading technologist Apple. The mission state to define the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad The expected result of this project is approximately 60% decrease in the time taken by the employees to complete a business transaction and also complete elimination of the inconveniences that are brought about by human error. In addition the transport cost that the company incurs annually will be halved. The proposed technology has substantial intellectual merit for a number of reasons: the resources wasted by the employees in performing a business task using the current information technology are saved and used to expand the business; the work environment that the employees will have will be favorable and at t he same time the company will have the opportunity of outdoing the competitors in the market. This will eventually translate to the company’s profit. The tablet computing project is going to have wide implication on the company and the industry for many reasons: there will be a good flow of information between different departments and different branches. It will entail cloud computing where all the operation done in the business and data storage are based in the internet. The outcome of this project will enable the company to digitalize all the business operation and the security of information is enhanced because this technology provides the best information confidentiality, authenticity, accuracy and availability. The idea of any businessman or woman having to return to the office every time they needed to send an email or check the shipping status of inventory is preposterous; however not long ago it was reality. In today’s age given tablet computing, which provide s reliability and accuracy to users; companies can stay on the cusp of an ever-growing competitive edge with Tablets. Another benefit for businesses is iWork, an app that allows companies to create and share documents, presentations and spreadsheets. Mission statement they claim to be â€Å"†¦ defining the future of mobile media and computing devices with iPad. It is this futuristic outlook that separated Apple from competitors and launched them into such endeavors as the iPad. Another benefit is the way in which the client will feel towards the business since they can get the service at the convenience of their home. This will boost the corporate image of the company since it will join the few companies that have embraced advanced information technology. Reference Dietz, J. (2009). Project Summary: Evaluation of new and emerging technologies. U.S. project

Leadership and organisations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Leadership and organisations - Essay Example This essay discusses only some of the various leadership theories, styles, and models that have been developed in the interest of management science. Many have been conceptualized from observing the practices of leaders and viewing them in the context of their organizational setting. While the discussion is not exhaustive, it is illustrative of the breadth of leadership theory and its situation within the larger arena of organizational management theory. Throughout history, nations rose and fell on account of good and bad leaders, compelling social and behavioural theorists to seek a pattern of attributes or behaviours that would account for the difference. The presumed objective is to identify what makes good leaders, and from thence to formulate guidelines by which good leaders may be identified (in the case of inborn leaders) or developed (in those cases where leaders are seen as created). A brief summary of leadership theories in modern history are shown in the table below. Great man theories espoused the view that leaders are born and not made, meaning that there are only those select few (whether chosen by the divine wisdom or by destiny) who rise above the rest and emerge as leaders. The term alludes to the early concept that all leaders are male, or women with male qualities, particularly in battle. The notion of leadership as birthright is consistent with the traditions of several nations until now, whose leaders acquire their status from their lineage. Aside from the monarchies still existing in Europe (England, the Netherlands), Asia (Japan, Thailand), the Middle East (Jordan, Saudi Arabia, the emirates of the UAE), or the ethnic tribes in Africa (Zulu, Burundi, Chad), there are militarily installed dictatorial dynasties such as the Kims of North Korea and the Castros of Cuba. In such cases, the original leader is looked up to as some benign national patriarch, and his issue by rule are endowed with the mandate to be revered, even

The Growing Role Of Technology In Modern Age Essay - 1

The Growing Role Of Technology In Modern Age - Essay Example Ray Kurzweil addresses how nano-engineered fuel cells can be a step in the right direction as far as the future realms are concerned. He asserts that this is the next chapter of engineering since there is immense safety present as far as transmission and transfer of nano-engineered fuel cells are linked plus there are apparently no hurdles or disruptions that can be come across in the future. He has touched base with poverty in Asia and has quoted different facts and figures from the World Bank which substantiates his point. He is of the view that the potential to overcome disease and poverty is there as far as the world bodies are concerned. The will and determination must be enacted by the people who shall actually bring the very change in motion, and that too for the betterment of all and sundry. Since Ray has been a student of technology and its changing trends for a long amount of time, he suggests that technology in his view seems to develop in an exponential manner and thus raises estimated which are based around the years 2010, 2011 and 2012. He goes back in the past and tells the audience about the Genome Project that took place in the year 1990 which turned out to be a failure. Also, he talked about how serious diseases like HIV and SARS were overcome easily within a span of one month when these started to spread in different parts of the world. This was done through evidence provided by different logarithmic graphs so that data trends can be easily explained to everyone. Going one step further, he shows how cell phones, the telephone, and other relevant tools and devices took years to catch up with the people. This was made apparent through research done on his part. However, he suggested that these trends have become quicker to adopt as far as the modern day generations are concerned.

Alternative explaination for any one of the follow technological Essay

Alternative explaination for any one of the follow technological failures - Essay Example Swissair 111’s electrical catastrophe â€Å"involved the wiring in the entertainment system located near the cockpit† (Scarry, p.1). However, military submarines and planes close by are believed to have generated electromagnetic transmissions that impacted the Swissair flight. The purpose of this paper is to select an alternative method of explaining technological failure. Thus, how Charles Perrow’s theory of normal accidents explaining the Three Mile Island Disaster can be used to explain the Swissair 111 accident which took place on the 2nd of September, 1998 will be examined. It will be investigated how according to Perrow’s theory failures interact with each other, and the tight coupling of the elements of the advanced technological system further multiply the chances of disasters taking place on unprecedented scales. It will be seen that instead of providing an alternative explanation, Perrow’s theory basically enhances one’s understanding of the technological failure of Swissair 111, explaining the reason for the crash to take place, as an inevitable or ‘normal’ accident. Apart from the original theory of electromagnetic interference that caused the crash of Swissair 111, Perrow’s theory of normal accidents that explains the Three Mile Island Disaster can be used for elucidating the Swissair accident. According to Perrow, when system characteristics have interactive complexity and tight coupling, the result will be an inevitable system accident or normal accident. â€Å"The odd term ‘normal accident’ is meant to signal that, given the system characteristics, multiple and unexpected interactions of failures are inevitable† (Perrow, p.5). This inevitability of failure is inherent to the system. Although system accidents are uncommon, they can produce catastrophes. The characteristics of the system make it innately vulnerable to accidents, hence the accidents are described as ‘normal’. Thus, the complexity of the

German Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

German - Essay Example The wall’s real purpose was most likely to halt defection and emigration, which had marked The Eastern block of communism and Germany after the end of the Second World War. This paper aims to discuss the building, function, and fall of the Berlin wall. The Berlin wall separated the people of West Berlin and East Berlin for twenty-eight years. Following the end of World War two in the year 1945, the allies on victory divided Germany into four parts. These allies were Russia, the United States, France, and Britain. Each ally took control of one sector. The sectors taken over by the British, French, and the United States merged to form the federal Republic of Germany, or West Germany. The sector controlled by the Russians became a communist republic, East Germany or as it was then called the German Democratic Republic. This was ratified on October the 7th of 1949. This created an invisible barrier that separated the West from the East. Winston Churchill christened this barrier the Iron Curtain. Despite the fact that Berlin lay deep in Soviet territory, the allies had agreed to divide the city. This led to another quarterly subdivision. The French, British, and U. S. sectors merged to form the city of West Berlin, with the sector cont rolled by the Soviets becoming the capital of East Germany and being called East Berlin. These new countries were established, not by the general population, but by the occupying forces. While the communists ruled the eastern region, most of its residents were not happy with communism and were not communists themselves. However, not a part of the iron curtain, the Berlin Wall was erected, in 1961, and acted as a reminder of the existence of the iron curtain. The wall itself was constructed from cement, steel, and barbed wire fences reinforced with explosives and traps. The wall was adorned by guard towers regularly positioned with weaponry and machineguns

What you learned Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

What you learned - Assignment Example And Aristotle was also the one who had pointed on mimesis in human nature, so things can be learned on examples. After studding philosophy myself I think one should examine it to have a feeling he’s getting wiser and becoming more thoughtful and reasonable person. Felling of self-improving gives you dignity. And also philosophy gets thinking and questioning into a habit, so one will do less false and forced choices. I think following ethical goals in everyday life is necessary, because originally ethics is about rules and norms that keep society, compared to professional life where also professional ethics rules exist. According to Aristotle, ethics is about good actions. So I’m going to make actions in order to respect animal rights by not buying products made from natural animal’s skin and forming myself a habit to check if production was tested on animals. And I’m going to try to persuade my family and friends do the same by setting an example and by giving them knowledge why respecting animal rights in such way is good. Because like Plato, I think reasonable understanding what’s good is prerequisite for good

The implementation of Occupational Health and Safety Act Essay

The implementation of Occupational Health and Safety Act - Essay Example 1990, CHAPTER O.1 PART III.1; 32.1-32.4). The plant is covered under the Industrial Establishment regulation of the OHS act (R.R.O. 1990, Reg. 851, s.3.). The Ontario act and the regulations for industrial establishment The plant has an open layout. The layout is segmented into various sections where specialized work is carried out. The circular saw is located in the carpentry and joinery section. Although the plant employs 50 workers, only about 10 employees are trained in the use of the circular saw. The circular saw used is an electrically powered saw. It uses its own electrical outlet and cannot be operated by any other means. It was first installed about 8 years ago by the manufacturers and is fully owned by the company. There are 5 circular saws in the work area; two are with radius of about 10 inches and the others about 8 inches in diameter. The circular saw has procedures of use that details maintenance time-lines, hours of operation and troubleshooting. Above all the designers and manufacturers have outlined in the operation manual that only authorized persons should operate the equipment. The manufactures have also suggested a restricted work area. (i) Pre-use: there is no operational checklist prior to use of the circular saw. ... (i) The area is not clearly marked as a restricted area. Un-authorised personnel usually occupy it. (ii) The work area is not clear of debris such as dust and wood chips. The sanitation and maintenance is performed at the discretion of the operators, usually after long periods. (b) Employee Training The manufacturers (designers) have provided training manuals for the equipment. However, (i) Newly assigned workers including temporary workers do not receive the prescribed level of training before operating the saw. (ii) Workers from other sections of the plant frequently use the saws without training or supervision. (iii) Training updates on use of the saw is not scheduled for any of the workers. (iv) The manuals of operation for the section (including for circular saw equipment) are not in full display therefore are hardly referenced by employees. (c) Maintenance of Equipment Regular and periodic maintenance is prescribed by the manufacturer of the circular saw. The assessment of the equipment maintenance is as follows: (i) Pre-use: there is no operational checklist prior to use of the circular saw. Therefore the saw is not always checked for lodged bits and chips stuck under the blades. The saw is not checked for performance before use e.g. there is no testing of emergency stops. (ii) Post-use: Debris from operating the saw is not cleared from away. Guards are not always deployed to restrict blade movement during cleaning. Electrical power is not turned off during post operation use. (iii) Manufacturers have completed a scheduled maintenance of the equipment. (d) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) The use of PPE is left to the discretion of the workers. An assessment revealed the following non-compliance: (i) The

Mice and men Explore the themes of loneliness in Of mice and men Essay Example for Free

Mice and men Explore the themes of loneliness in Of mice and men Essay The story of mice and men had lots of lonely people with no family and no friends; thats the reason why Lennie and George are different is because they have got somebody who cares for them. Most of the characters in the novel feel scared of showing their true emotions. For example, when candys dog was about to get shot candy didnt tell the other workers that he needed the dog and that is was a friend to him. I dont think any of the characters want to show weakness. The title of the novel is of mice and men was written in the 1300s. At the time of the novel there were many workers who travelled form ranch to ranch looking for jobs. The most isolated group at the time were Negroes be cause they were considered inferior and no one wanted to be with them. There were no laws against racism and it was tolerated all over the country. Crooks is the stable buck and he is a Negro so he is also the loneliest man on the ranch. His race and colour made him isolated from all the other members of the group. A lot of people bully crooks; Curleys wife says, Well, you keep your place, then, nigger. I could get you strung up to a tree so easy it isnt true. Crooks is a proud man and also the most educated as well; he reads lots of books but the most important book is the 1905 California civil code. This book says that Crooks is no slave and can do what he wishes with his life but nobody takes this into consideration because he is still treated as a slave, which they can push around. Once on Christmas day the workers forced crooks to fight even though he had a bad back. All the other workers think they can make Crooks do what they want. He is isolated from the others; he doesnt go to talk to them and they dont come to talk to him. There is only one person that come s into Crooks hut and that is Slim. Crooks is very proud because he knows that he is free and he keeps himself aloof from all the other workers. He doesnt talk to any of the other workers, he says, Books aint no good. A guy needs somebody-to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he aint got nobody. This is from a conversion which he has with Lennie. Crooks spent the most time working on the ranch and the only person he tells his true feelings to is to Lennie. Because Crooks knows that Lennie would probably forget. Near the end of chapter four crooks starts to get along with Candy. Crooks even offers to work on the ranch which George ,Candy and Lennie are going to go to but after Curleys wife threatens Crooks and then he says , well, just forget it . I didnt mean it. Just fooling. This shows the reader that crooks knows that he will never be treated differently.

Reflection on Te Tiriti O Waitangi in Practice Setting

Reflection on Te Tiriti O Waitangi in Practice Setting Assessment Task 1 During my placement my coordinator and I had been practicing te tiriti o Waitangi in all aspect of service given to clients. It has four principles namely partnership means a written agreement between the client and the social worker through consenting contract in which the client allows the social worker to conduct consultation to gather information and disclose all relative information that will help in caring for the client. Protection means taking good care of one’s culture such as in te tiriti o Waitangi it is stated that maori have their ownj absolute sovereignty in term of their tonga relatively clients should be make aware of their own protection right that greatly serve their culture, traditions and customary practice allowing them express their feeling using their own language respecting them whatever their situation, providing gender appropriate social worker, and by giving privacy and confidentiality. Participation means involvement of nwhanau in all levels of care, consultation and in making of care plans. Also using Maori models of health such as te whare tapa wha which covers all the aspect of wellbeing namely hinegaro, wairua, tinana and whanau. Permission means allowing them to practice their own culture by giving them the right to speak te reo maori any time and providing them accessible service to health. Assessment Task 2 Context/Setting Individual/group Age group Summary of reason for admission to residential care L.J. young adult The client has committed several times of criminal offending and her family could not control him anymore. Meetings and Communication (related to admission process) Date Notes/key points of information provided to the residents We gave the client a brief information about the facility his going to stay for a brief time, also information about what his going to expect from us and the facility. Furthermore, we described the admitting process so he will be able to cooperate accordingly. The information that I gathered from the clients that determines his place of residence are the following spiritual beliefs, cultural and spiritual practices. I made sure that he can still observe his routines like attending church and perform cultural related acts such as karakia. I also gather information with regards to his health condition if there is any history of disease he has and medication he had been taken if there is any. His dietary requirements if there is limitation or required diet he should take any allergies to food, I made sure that in his placement he will still be able to eat their traditional food. I formation about his whanau and support people is the most important, I asked him some questions about his family background so that I know where to contact them for the progress of the client. Lastly I interviewed him about his hobbies and activities that his been doing before so that I can help him in pursuing it while his inside the facility or give him certain ac tivities that will help him divert his attention. First is that we made sure that his safety is prioritize in a way that he has a safe environment and away from people or things that triggers his aggressiveness. Second, we assessed him with regards to his health situation, any medication his taking also his education and social history. Third, we interviewed his whanau to gather significant information regarding their son’s behavior any gather information with regards to the reason of his offending acts. Lastly, we sort out the information gathered and determine the appropriate placement he needs that will suits his over all wellbeing. we made sure that all relevant information are gathered by having some time to talk with his peers, because we supposed that he is more close to his friends and more comfortable in telling their emotions rather than his parents, to know what are their social activities to determine the main reason of his acts. Assessment task 3 Contribution to planning for care of the resident Date Notes/key points of any meetings or other communication details of actions related to planning for the care of the resident Through meetings with his whanau we were able to gather relevant information of what they observe on their child that can affect his deeds. We also assessed and involved the client in making the plan. Factors that we considered during planning are the following his appropriateness of the service given by the facility, special needs that they can provide such as health needs if he has regular medication, educational necessities like enrolling for an alternative school, cultural needs wherein his given time to attend church to practice his customs and beliefs and making sure that his social needs are met like involving him in a community activities that suits his interest or hobbies. We also considered other agencies that could help on facilitating his rehabilitation such as CYFs. matching of the resident’s needs with the services provided by the residence, objectives of the plan, resources that are available to achieve the objectives of the plan, time frame that is consistent with the use of available resources, the roles and responsibilities of people in the plan, methods of evaluating progress. We made sure that the client and whanau are always involved in all levels of care in order to produce and promote effective care planning that suits his needs and desires while rehabilitating him. Assessment Task 4 Contributions to care of resident Date Notes/key points of any meetings or other communication, details of actions related to care of residents After planning we informed the client that the information that he gave to us during planning will reflect to the cares that will going to deliver. My roles and responsibilities for the client are to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the resident as their first consideration at all times. I was able to fulfil all their allocated responsibilities in accordance with the social worker’s role in the residential care plan such as assessing, planning, intervening, and evaluating. It is important to have an ongoing contact by the whanau throughout the stay of the client in the facility with accordance with the residents plan. Providing contact plan for the resident to know if the whanau comes during the desired day to visit. We facilitated the contact through regular visitation, telephone call if the family is unable to come personally and planned joint meetings with residential staff. Supervision and custodial care of the resident is carried out according to the plan and residential requirements such as secure environment and making sure that the family have a regular visit to the client. We also made sure that legislative requirements are followed, health and safety management is implemented and behavioural management is noted. As a healthcare provider I encourage self-determination through engaging the client in making the plan to fulfill their identified roles and take ownership of these roles. I made sure that I am promoting client’s self determination by outlining agency’s objectives and appropriate legislation. Notifying client and whanau regarding the restrictions and extent of the meeting and allowing them to identify the best options. Mostly, working collaboratively with the family to discover a focus where agency mandate and whanau choices aren’t aligning. We discourage dependency through providing enough room for the family to create their own possible solutions and we also step aside in order for them to step up. During decision making we made sure that all his cultural beliefs and values are given importance. Moreover, care given to him are always based on their customs and in accordance of the te tiriti o Waitangi. Assessment Task 5 Contribution to evaluation of residential care plan Date Notes/key points related to the evaluation of the resident care plan After all the interventions and cares done to the client we are required to have an evaluation. We informed the client about his progress and update about the evaluation process to be done that will determine his objectives are met. I monitored my client’s progress through confirming his safety and wellbeing. I reviewed his daily care plan to know the outcomes related to the achievement of objectives and to know if there are any further options that can be identified. I did a completion of checklist wherein I reviewed his objectives and tick the list of implemented actions that was successfully done and kept accurate records of conversation and meetings. Also regular check of hi placement wether it is secured and safe from triggers like addiction and bad peers. Regarding his wellbeing we made sure that he is regularly checked up by the GP and make sure that all his medication are taken regularly and not lapsing tom cure his current mental illness. Making sure that he is attending the alternative school placement and he keeping his curfew. Secured his information and made sure that only necessary people can access his file and kept his confidentiality by not disclosing the information that I know from people who are not relevant or helpful in his situation. Health and Safety Act 1992 it is relevant because it contains all the important rights of the client on what he can expect from his healthcare provider or social worker. This legislation is helpful in dealing with my client because I know where to based my actions and decisions to make sure that all of it are right and relevant to the outcome for the client.

Oligopoly Structure Of Markets Beneficial To The Consumer

Oligopoly Structure Of Markets Beneficial To The Consumer (Tutor2U, 2007)An oligopoly market is a market structure which shares a large percentage of the market by a few firms. It results in a high degree of market concentration. An important characteristic of an oligopoly is interdependence between firms. Being interdependence means that each firm must be careful of the likely reaction of other firms in the market when making pricing and investment decision (Tutor2U, 2007). In addition, oligopoly market is barriers to entry and non price competition. It means by increasing market share without changing price, which can take the form of persuasive advertising, quality of service, loyalty schemes, free gift and packaging (The student room, 2005). According to the characteristic of oligopoly above, this is shown in the UK supermarket industry, as the diagram shown (Tutor2U, 2007); there are three main supermarkets which are Tesco, Sainsburys and Asda. The main supermarkets are now having more than three quarters which is 72% of the grocery ma rket. For the purpose of this essay, it will be a discussion about the market structure of the UK supermarket whether it provides some significant benefits for consumers. There are only few supermarkets with similar products in oligopoly market. Because most food manufacture will supply to the entire supermarket, such as Kelloggs and Heinz (Just food 2010). The supermarket produces its own generic or own-label goods for some products. They have produced their own-label product ranges from food to some basic cares. For example, Tesco planed to extend its Finest to include a range of homecare. Own-label sales generate 38% of Sainsburys total revenue, with its Taste The Difference premium range estimated to contribute between à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡200m and à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡300m. However, many of these generic products are made at the same factory, and are simply labelled differently for the different stores, so this is a false differentiation of products. This means that all of the products available for sale in the different supermarkets are the same, which is one of the features of an oligopoly (Tutor2U, 2007). Therefore, consumers do not have any choices because the re are only few big supermarkets in the market, which are selling the same product with different package. It is a negative side for consumers. In addition, the firms charge the same price in an oligopoly (PEOI, 2000). However, the UK supermarket suppliers have the same products are supplied to the firms. Therefore, the cost of all the supermarkets will be the same as each other. For example, the Cravendale Fresh Filtered Semi Skimmed Milk was priced as à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡1.05 in Sainsburys. However, Asda sold it as 86p (Mysupermarket Insights, 2000). All in all, this theory of oligopoly of supermarket structure can provide some benefits to consumers as they can have a more valuable price by comparing different price of the main supermarkets. However, the products which sole in the supermarkets are all very similar price. Firms compete on price in an oligopoly market. Therefore, they can become a price maker and making higher profit. This feature can result in the price wars where one supermarket has price cuts in its goods and other firm will follow this situation (Wisegeek, 2003). For instance, Morrisons has fallen to 57p/kg and 59p/kg of bananas. After Morrisons promotion, Tesco has also made some price cuts, worth à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡1.2bn. Lastly, Asde sells two million kilograms of bananas a week by charging 46p/kg, which is the lowest price in 14 years (Mailonline, 2000). The price competition can be shown in the Kinked Demand Curve (Economics help, 2003). If the price raise from (Economics help, 2003)P1 to P, then firms will lose a large share of the market because they become uncompetitive. If firms cut the price down, firms can gain a larger market share. However, other firms will cut price too. Therefore demand is inelastic for a price cut. In a price war, Tesco had a price cut which was between 3% and 25% discount promotion. This could result in increasing 12% market share in eight weeks. Therefore, consumers can cost less by having this price competition as there are many different promotion and price war which should provide benefit to consumers. Moreover, supermarkets need to compete other ways besides price. It means supermarkets should increase market share without changing prices. This can be shown in persuasive advertising, quality of service, loyalty schemes, free gifts, packaging and temporary price reductions, which are required to attract consumers (The student room, 2005). Therefore, these factors are aimed to bind consumers to particular supermarkets for reasons other than price. Firstly, according to research data from Nielsen media Research, Sainsburys spent some à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡9.97m compared to Tesco which spent à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡7,3m. However, with Asda spending some à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ¡4.23m, the two giants of the UK supermarkets still highly cost in advertising (CBI Interactive Inc, 2000). The more advertising is shown to consumers, the more possibility to attract and give information to the consumers. Secondly, research by Baruch Colleges business school in the US has found that, western consumers are more prefer to gifts th at reword loyalty and patronage than pure luck or blanket rewards. So, consumers may feel happy to spend money by getting discount. Also, the bigger the discount of the loyalty card, the better attractive of consumers. Consequently, as there are also some other factors that can influence consumers in an oligopoly market. It means consumers can gain different benefits from this non-price competition between firms. Consequently, although consumers do not have many choices as there are only few big supermarkets, and prices are identical in some ways, consumers still can have benefit which is provided by oligopoly market. As consumers can have lower price product by the price competition. In addition, the interdependent firms compete in other ways, for example, discounting, advertising, and quality of service, which are give consumers a more valuable consideration. In this case, the oligopoly market structure creates a situation that is beneficial to the consumers.

Reflecting on the Dead Essay -- essays research papers fc

Reflecting on the Dead In Katherine Mansfield’s â€Å"The Garden Party† and in D.H. Lawrence’s â€Å"Odour of Chrysanthemums,† two women were in a situation where death was literally at their feet. In â€Å"The Garden Party,† Laura finds herself contemplating the dead body of Mr. Scott, a man of lower class who lived at the bottom of the hill from her house. In â€Å"Odour of Chrysanthemums,† Elizabeth finds herself contemplating the dead body of her husband, Walter. Although the relationships these women shared with the dead men were completely opposite, they both had striking similarities in the ways that they handled the situation. Both women ignored the feelings of the families of the deceased, failed to refer to the deceased by name, felt shame in the presence of the deceased and both had a life and death epiphany. Although Laura and Elizabeth were in two similar yet very different situations, they both had contemplated the dead men, acted in similar ways, fel t similar emotions and both ended up having an epiphany regarding life and death at the end of the story. No real concern was shown in either story for family members of the dead. In fact the only concern shown by Laura and Elizabeth was only concern for themselves. In â€Å"The Garden Party,† Laura did not once show any consideration for Mr. Scott’s family. Even in the presence of the widow and her sister, Laura never mentioned anything about feeling sorry for them about their loss. The most concern shown for Mr. Scott’s family was before a party that her family was throwing when she questioned, â€Å"what the band would sound like to that poor woman† (Mansfield 2429). Laura also never showed concern for Mr. Scott’s children. Her reference to Mr. Scott’s wife and children as the â€Å"poor woman and those little children† (Mansfield 2430), was the only sympathy the widow and her family received from her. Laura seemed only concerned with how â€Å"terribly nervous† she was and that she was being watched with â€Å"staring eyes† (Mansfield 2432). She didn’t even acknowledge that Mr. Scott had a family that was suffering. Elizabeth, in â€Å"Odour of Chrysanthemums,† lacked the same condolence. Unlike Laura, this was her own family she lacked sympathy for. She never expressed any responsibilty about how her children were going to handle the loss of their father. At the end of the story is the only time Elizabeth expressed concern for her children ... ..., but Laura saw a beauty in death which helped her to see the beauty of life. Elizabeth realized the frightening possibility that life was just an immediate placement and that her reality resided in death. Even though Laura and Elizabeth were uncompassionate towards the families, failed to call the deceased by their names, felt shame and had a life and death epiphany, both women had different stances and reasons concerning their actions. The relationship and the personal or social difference that Laura and Elizabeth shared with the dead men were all factors in how they acted, reacted and lastly how these affected the epiphany that the two women experienced throughout and at the end of these stories. Works Cited Lawrence, D.H. â€Å"The Odour of Chrysanthemums.† The Norton Anthology of English   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2316-2330. Mansfield, Katherine. â€Å"The Garden Party.†Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Norton Anthology of English   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Literature. Ed. M.H. Abrams. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. 2000.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  2423-2433.

Does the movie THE PASSION bring about anti semitism Essay -- essays r

The Passion of the Christ, by Mel Gibson has taken America by storm. In the US alone, it made $83,848,082 its first weekend. As of April 25, 2004 it has grossed worldwide over $364 billion. Not bad for a movie with a budget of $30 million.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The movie is subject to a lot of criticism. People are worried about many things. Are the images depicted correct? Is it too gory? What will people’s reaction be? Will any demographic of people get hurt from the movie? A Catholic teacher from California was fired for offering students extra credit to see the Passion. (It is a rated â€Å"R† movie) There are many other problems too. Does The Passion bring about acts of anti-semitism? This will be the purpose of this paper.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  To answer this question, I conducted a simple experiment with different variable. The first variable is age. The second is location. I interviewed sixteen people, (eight women and eight men) and asked them the same questions. Four males and females are from the Binghamton area, and four males and females are from the Long Island area.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I grouped the ages from 18-25, 25-35, 35-55, and 55 and on. I asked each person their faith/religion. I originally asked more than 16 people, but people who refused to answer the question or people of no faith were thrown out. I conducted the experiments at Loews Town Square 9, located at 2425 Vestal Parkway, Binghamton, and Loews Roosevelt Raceway, located at 1025 Corporate Drive in Westbury, Long Island.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I asked each person six question. The results follow: Sex:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Male Age Group:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   18-25  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Location:  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Binghamton  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Religion/Faith: Christian  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Extra Pertinent Information: Very religious. Attends services regularly. Thoughts before movie: Excited to see a religious movie. Would you consider yourself an aggressive or easily agitated person? â€Å"Not really. Pretty laid back.† Do you consider yourself a religious person? Yes. Definitely. Do you think the movie will make people angry at th... ...s of the experiment are clear. One hundred percent of people showed aggression towards the Jews, after all but two claimed to not have an aggressive personality. Just look at message boards posted throughout the internet, or just talk to people. The aggression is there. And unfortunately, Mel Gibson’s movie is causing hostile acts.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I did not see the movie until the experiment was complete, in order to keep this experiment unbiased. I think that the anti-semitism in the movie was extraordinarily clear. I actually think it is totally contrary to the Catholic doctrine. Another thing is the history of the Gibson family. Mel’s father, Hutton, is an open anti-semite, holocaust denier, and accuses the current pope of being Jewish. When a person grows up in a household learning that, it stays with the person. I can prove this with another experiment. Kids who grow up getting physically abused, are usually abusive parents themselves.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In conclusion, the movie does cause anti-semitism and anti-semitic acts. The evidence is clear from the experiment. Hopefully, the world can get through this without any incidents.

Learning in a Group Essay

1. What do you learn from working in a group? I learnt that by working in a group, we work towards a shared purpose and common goals in doing so shared our varied experiences and skills and in the cooperation with each other. Students are much likely to perform well when they work effectively in a group. This is because good group work creates synergy – where it combine effect of the group is greater than the sum of individual effort. Working together as a group can apply individual perspectives, experiences and skills to solve complex problems, creating new solutions and ideas that, and be beyond the scope of any one individual. As well as enhancing class performance. Good group work benefits individual too. It enables mutual support and learning, can generate a sense of belonging and commitment. I also learnt the following benefits on working in groups: †¢Apply a mix of skills that go beyond the scope of one individual. †¢Solve complex problems that take more than one mud. †¢Generates new ideas. †¢Provide support and help group members. †¢Give students a sense of belonging. †¢Enhance communication. †¢Help students to learn from each other and develop. †¢Generate commitment. Q. 2 what do you think can be done to make this course (Lifelong Education/ more interesting. INTRODUCTION Lifelong learning skills are wide concern in tertiary education. Fostering these skills requires reconsideration and changes to traditional approaches to teaching and learning. We are living in a time of knowledge explosion. University or colleges are unlikely to be able to teach all the essential knowledge a student needs for their whole career within a four-year period. Moreover, much of the knowledge student learn in the university will be out of date when they leave, because of the rapid technical developments. This means student and have to master a self-learning method and a set of lifelong learning skills in order to meet the demand of their future, professional lives. Quality teaching and learning in tertiary education should aim to develop student’s lifelong learning skills. Each teacher should make a contribution in developing these skills when teaching a certain course. How to make the course (lifelong Education) more interesting includes †¢Group working tutorials; workshop tutorial classes are aimed at developing student’s self directed leaving, group work and interpersonal skill the classroom for intervals should have movable desk and class. Each interval class should contain about 15 student and last one hour. The tutor will ask question to guide students to think and to work together to determine potential solutions to a problem. Some questions will challenging and relevant to real world, while some are from previous lectures and assignments. Student in each group are expected to work with each other, to share their ideas to discuss, and to debate and convince each other, thus creating an active and interactive learning environment. One student in each group will be asked to give a short presentation to the whole class. †¢Interaction in lectures Whatever the similarities and differences in learning styles and intelligence among your student, you can help your entire student by employing a range of active learning approaches (talking and listening, writing, reading, reflecting) and by using varied teaching techniques and strategies. †¢ The course lifelong education is suppose to be handle by a professional lecturers, people like Prof . M. B Shitu, Mal. Sani Bala Hassan, those who during the lectures will give students the opportunity to think and talk, and set some time during lectures for asking question or encouraging student to answer and ask question: In this way student understanding can be assess and make them engage with the activity. There is also need to introduce hardware demonstration in lectures. Although software demonstration are cheap and convenient, it is a virtual world . When doing demonstration let student predict what will happen next, and ask them to observe things going on and explain the theory behind it . Some question may follow to make the student learn interactively and to establish connections between pre-existing knowledge and new information. In this way student are expected to develop observational skills and thinking and these will make the course more interesting. †¢The lecturer supposes to use two o three case studies in the course. Case studies tell real and complete story, usually interdisciplinary and set in a real world context, and have academic and professional significance and social implications. With case studies, students can develop problem solving skills for seeking and assessing information and interdisciplinary knowledge. †¢Students should be taught according to their aptitude. Give excellent student’s additional training. For example, a few exemplary students will be encouraged to give mini lectures to review material or less important sections. Thus, they develop oral and leadership skills from the process of searching for information and inquiry about classmates understanding. †¢Lecturers for the course must consider the features of their courses and the characteristics of their learners before they think about what kind of knowledge and skills students will learn from the course. Then they must decide which teaching strategies are suited to their course. They should try and adapt contemporary teaching strategies to create a more student – centred teaching and learning climate for developing students’ lifelong learning skills. Students are expected to develop problem solving skills, lateral thinking skills, group work ability, self-directed learning skills, and communication skills in the cause of lifelong education. †¢Lecturers’ must adopt student-centred approaches in teaching and learning. The so called student-centred approach means that teachers should think about how the learners learn and make the student actively involved in the teaching process. In most cases, a combination of several teaching outcomes. Lectures in this course should work out the suitable strategies for themselves, the students and the course content. CONCLUSION Teaching and learning is a cooperative process between teachers and students. Before a lecturer tries to teach in a different way, he/she needs to introduce students to new teaching and learning theories. And also need to seek colleagues support and finds to implement appropriate changes. The work may be challenging and time consuming. Hopefully, opportunities will coexist with challenges. A good lecturer motivates him/her self in pursing quality teaching.

You Suck: A Love Story Chapter 6

Chapter Six Do Animals Get the Blues? Clint was the only one of the Animals still left at the Marina Safeway. He was tall, with a wild mop of dark hair and thick, horn-rimmed glasses that were held together with medical tape, and he had a look of deep panic on his face. He'd been trying to keep the store together for nearly a week with only a couple of stock boys from the day crew, and a porter from a temp service (even Gustavo, the Mexican porter with five kids, had taken off with the Animals), but now a huge order had come in on the truck and he knew he needed professionals. He dialed Tommy's number for the fifth time that night. It was four in the morning, but Tommy was their leader – and perhaps the best frozen-turkey bowler the world had ever known. He knew what it meant to be an Animal; he would be awake. The machine beeped. Clint said, â€Å"Dude, they're all gone. I need your help. It's just me, some temps, and the Lord to-night.† Clint had been recently reborn after five years in a drug-induced haze. He swore that the Lord would forever be on his night crew. â€Å"The guys took off for Vegas. Call me. No, just bring your box cutter and come to work. I'm buried.† Once they had been nine strong, the Animals. Nine men, all under the age of twenty-five, left alone in a grocery store for eight hours with only Tommy to supervise them. They'd been given their name by the day manager, who had come in one morning to find them drunk, hanging from the giant Safeway letters on the front of store, pelting one another with marshmallows. Tommy had recruited them to fight the old vampire. They'd found the vampire, sleeping inside a vault on his yacht, and they had also found his art collection. After selling it for ten cents on the dollar, each of them had netted a hundred thousand dollars. Tommy went home with Jody, Clint went home to pray for the vampire's soul. Simon had been killed. The rest of the Animals headed for Vegas. Clint hung up the phone, then sat down hard in the manager's chair. It was too much responsibility. The weight of it would drive him over the edge. Even now he could hear dogs barking in his head. â€Å"Front door,† the temp night porter called over the half wall of the office. Clint stood up to see the Emperor and his dogs at the double electric doors. He grabbed the keys, disarmed the alarm, and opened the door. The Boston terrier shot by him, heading for the beef-jerky display. â€Å"Your Majesty,† Clint said. â€Å"You're out of breath.† The big man held his chest as he panted. â€Å"Gather the troops, young man. C. Thomas Flood has been turned to a bloodsucking fiend. Gather your weapons, we must charge again into the breach.† â€Å"It's just me and noobs,† Clint said. â€Å"Did you say that Tommy's a vampire?† â€Å"Indeed. I saw him not two hours ago. As pale as death.† â€Å"Well, that's not good.† â€Å"Your talent for stating the obvious is unprecedented, young man.† â€Å"Come in.† Clint stepped away from the door. â€Å"We are going to need to pray on this.† â€Å"Well, there's a start,† said the Emperor. â€Å"Then I need to call Tommy and tell him to never mind about coming to work,† Clint said. â€Å"Splendid,† said the Emperor, without a hint of sarcasm. â€Å"I believe we've achieved a new level of doomed.† â€Å"You've always been good to me,† Jody said. â€Å"Well, I try,† Tommy said. He was going up the narrow stairway to their loft. She was slung over his shoulder, her forehead bounced off his belt with every step. She seemed so light. Tommy was still amazed at his newfound strength. He'd carried her ten blocks already and he wasn't even feeling it. Well, he was a little tired of listening to her, but physically he wasn't fatigued at all. â€Å"I can be such a bitch sometimes.† â€Å"That's not true,† Tommy said. Yes, it was. â€Å"Yes it is, yes it is. Yes I am. I am a total bitch sometimes.† Tommy stopped at the top of the steps and dug in his pocket for his keys. â€Å"Well, maybe a little, but – â€Å" â€Å"So I am a bitch? You're saying I'm a bitch?† â€Å"Oh my God, is the sun never going to come up?† â€Å"Listen, you're lucky to have me, you wuss.† â€Å"Yes I am,† Tommy said. â€Å"You are?† He swung her over to her feet, then caught her before she went over backwards into the wall. She had a big goofy smile on her face. Sometime during the evening, blood had dripped down the front of her blouse and there was some smeared on her lip. She looked a little like she'd been punched out. Tommy tried to rub away the blood with his thumb. The cloud of alcohol breath she let go on him made him wince. â€Å"I love you, Tommy.† She fell into his arms. â€Å"Right back at you, Jody.† â€Å"I'm sorry I gave you noogies. I'm still learning to harness my powers, you know.† â€Å"That's okay.† â€Å"And called you a wuss.† â€Å"No problem.† She licked the side of his neck, nipped at him. â€Å"Let's make love before the sun comes up.† Tommy looked over her shoulder at the destruction they had wrought on the loft the last time they'd done it, and he said something he never thought he would hear coming out of his own mouth. â€Å"I think I've had enough for tonight. Maybe we should just lock down.† â€Å"You think I'm fat, don't you?† â€Å"No, you're perfect.† â€Å"It's because I'm fat.† She pushed him away and stumbled into the bedroom, then tripped and tumbled face-first into the shredded remains of their bed. â€Å"And old,† she added, although it was only through his acute vampire hearing that Tommy understood this, since she was speaking directly into the mattress. â€Å"Fat and old,† she said. â€Å"You're going to get whiplash from those mood swings, Red,† Tommy said quietly as he climbed into bed with his clothes on. Then he lay there beside her thinking about all that they had to do, about how they were going to have to find a place and move without going out during the day, and beyond that, just exactly how were they going to survive and stay hidden? The Emperor could tell. Tommy could tell he could tell. And as much as he liked the Emperor, it wasn't a good sign. And so even as he worried, and listened to his girlfriend yell at him, C. Thomas Flood became the first vampire in history to actually pray for the sun to come up. A few minutes later, his prayers were answered, and the two of them went out. Since becoming a vampire, Jody had always hated the way consciousness came on at dusk like the streetlights coming on. There was no groggy twilight between sleep and wakefulness, just â€Å"bam, welcome to the night, here's your to-do list.† Not tonight. Tonight she got her twilight, her grogginess, and a headache as well. She sat upright in bed so fast she nearly somersaulted off the end, then, when her head didn't seem to follow her, she lay back down with such force that her pillow exploded, sending out a snowstorm of feathers to whirl around the room. She moaned and Tommy came bounding into the room. â€Å"Hey,† he said. â€Å"Ouch,† Jody said, grabbing her forehead with both hands as if to hold her brains in. â€Å"That's new, huh? Vampire hangover?† Tommy waved some feathers out of the air in front of him. â€Å"I feel like death warmed over,† Jody said. â€Å"Cute. I'll bet you're missing coffee right now.† â€Å"And aspirin. I've fed off of you when you'd been drinking. Why did it affect me now?† â€Å"I think maybe the huge cat guy had a little more in his blood than I did. Anyway, I have a theory about that. We can test it later, when you feel better, but right now we have a ton of stuff we have to do. We've got to figure out the move. Clint called me from the store last night. Wanting me to work. Then he called back all freaked out, saying I shouldn't come in.† Tommy played the message for her. Twice. â€Å"He knows,† Jody said. â€Å"Yeah, but how does he know?† â€Å"Doesn't matter. He knows.† â€Å"Fuck!† â€Å"Little bit softer now,† Jody said, holding her hair like it was hurting her. â€Å"Too loud?† Jody nodded. â€Å"You know, for your notebook, Tommy. Vampire senses when you're hungover? Not so good.† â€Å"Really? That bad?† â€Å"Your breath is nauseating me from across the room.† â€Å"Yeah, we need toothpaste.† â€Å"There's someone at the door?† Jody covered her ears. She could hear sneakers scraping the sidewalk from all the way downstairs. â€Å"There is?† The door buzzer sounded. â€Å"Yep,† she said. Tommy ran to the front windows and looked down to the street. â€Å"There's a Humvee limo out there that's about a block long.† â€Å"You'd better answer it,† Jody said. â€Å"Maybe we should just hide. Pretend we re not home.† â€Å"No, you need to get it,† Jody said. She could hear the shuffling at the door, the rock and roll playing in the limo, the bong bubbling, lines being chopped on a CD case, and a male voice repeating the phrase â€Å"sweet blue titties† over and over like a mantra. She grabbed the pillow from Tommy's side of the bed and pulled it over her head. â€Å"Answer it, Tommy. It's the fucking Animals.† â€Å"Dude,† said Lash Jefferson, a wiry black man with a newly shaved scalp, wearing mirror shades. He pulled Tommy out of his doorway and hugged him furiously – crazed, back-slamming, good-to-see-you guy hugs. â€Å"We are so fucked, dude,† Lash continued. Tommy pushed away, trying to reconcile that he was glad to see his friend with the fact that Lash smelled like a beer-bar urinal filled with mackerel. â€Å"I thought you guys went to Vegas,† Tommy said. â€Å"Yeah. Yeah. We did. Everyone's in the limo. It's just that I need to talk to you. Can we go inside?† â€Å"No.† Tommy almost said that Jody was sleeping, which had been his excuse for keeping the Animals out of his loft in the past, but Jody was supposed to have left town. â€Å"Step in the stairway, I've got something happening upstairs.† Lash nodded and looked over the top of his shades and bounced his eyebrows. His eyes were bloodshot and glazed over. Tommy could hear his heart racing. Coke or fear, he guessed. Both maybe. â€Å"Look, dude,† Lash said. â€Å"First thing, we need to borrow some money.† â€Å"What? You guys have over a hundred grand each from the art we sold.† â€Å"Yeah, we did. We had a big weekend.† Tommy figured in his head. â€Å"You guys blew over six hundred grand in what – four days?† â€Å"No,† Lash said. â€Å"No, not all of it. We're not completely broke.† â€Å"Then why do you need to borrow money?† â€Å"Just twenty grand or so, to get us through to tomorrow,† Lash said. â€Å"Luckily I almost have my MBA and have mad business skills. Otherwise we'd have been broke yesterday.† Tommy nodded. Twenty grand was about six months' salary for him at the Safeway. He'd been a little intimidated by Lash's almost-MBA up until now. Now he was just worried that Lash would be able to tell he had changed. He said, â€Å"So, like you were saying, you're fucked.† â€Å"We were doing fine, only down like ten grand each, until we met Blue.† Lash looked at the ceiling wistfully, like it was a distant memory he was trying to conjure, instead of something that had happened a couple of nights ago. â€Å"Blue?† â€Å"You know that group they have in Vegas? The Blue Men?† â€Å"Yeah, the guys who paint themselves blue and pound on pipes and stuff?† Tommy was lost. â€Å"Yeah,† Lash said. â€Å"Well, it turns out there are blue women, too. Or at least there's one. And dude, she's sucking us dry.† In the back seat of the limo, Blue held Barry's face between her boobs, snugly enough to keep him under control, but not so snug that he couldn't breathe. While the other Animals had drunk, smoked, and fucked themselves into a zombielike stupor – and now lay sprawled about the glittery interior of the limo – Barry had opted to do two hits of XTC, a line of coke, and a bong load of sticky skunk weed, which had put his brain into some sort of redundant tribal loop that had him kneeling naked before her, chanting â€Å"sweet blue titties† for the last twenty minutes. She just couldn't take it anymore, so she had grabbed his curl-fringed bald head and pulled his face into her cleavage just to shut him up. Mercifully, he had gone quiet, because she really didn't want to suffocate him as long as he still had money. It takes a meandering road of wrong turns to take a girl from being the milky-skinned Cheddar princess of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, to a blue-dyed call girl turning tricks at downtown casinos in Vegas, but Blue would be damned if she'd add yet another wrong turn by smothering a golden goose between her proportionally improbable silicon joy orbs. The Animals were her way out, and if she had to stay in character as an Alien Pleasure Unit or a blueberry muffin to keep them on the hook, she would. Blue was a method hooker. Early in her adventures, after she'd left cocktailing due to a propensity for spilling drinks, and before she'd begun stripping, where her lack of balance was mitigated by the presence of a sturdy pole, she had a short career acting in low-budget porn. She befriended a promising actress named Lotta Vulva, who gave her a book on the Stanislavski Method. â€Å"If you can find your sense memory,† Lotta said, â€Å"it will keep you from barfing on the actors. Directors hate that.† The  «Method » had served Blue well since then, as it allowed her to calculate betting odds or figure her checkbook while her character was performing acts that she herself would have found unpleasant or outright disgusting. (How much better to reside in her sense memory of the budding Cheddar princess, coaxing the hearty, whole-milk goodness from the udders of a Holstein, than to face the harshly lit reality of her actions?) After six months Blue was driven out of the film business by a  «defect » one director called â€Å"not enough tits to fill a shot glass,† which no amount of Method was able to remedy. She returned to cocktailing, albeit at a strip club, where she seldom had to carry more than one ten-dollar beer at a time, until she saved enough money for breast-augmentation surgery and made her way to the pole. She danced her way through her twenties, before she was driven off the stage by younger, more gravity-resistant girls, and because she had skipped personal typing class in high school and had therefore besmirched her permanent record, she landed in the employ of an outcall escort service. â€Å"I feel like I'm doing Domino's delivery blow jobs,† Blue told her roommate. â€Å"Satisfaction in twenty minutes or less or your money back. And the agency is taking most of the money. I'll never get out of this business at this rate.† â€Å"You need a gimmick† said her roommate, a cocktail waitress at the Venetian. â€Å"Like those Blue Men guys in the show. I swear they'd just be a bunch of frat boys beating on garbage cans if they weren't painted blue.† And so it began. The fallen Cheddar princess of Fond du Lac found some semipermanent skin dye, opened credit-card deposit accounts, had some pictures taken, placed ads in all the free sleaze rags around the city, and Blue was born. It wasn't as if she wouldn't have been able to make a living without the gimmick – most guys will shag a snake if you hold it steady for them. But it turned out they would pay a lot for the exotica of a blue woman. She worked as much as she could handle, and her savings had climbed to the point where she could actually see the possibility of an exit. But about that same time, she realized that by going blue, she had opted out of the pipe dream of every hooker, stripper, and telemarketer: the rich guy who would take her away from it all. The whale who would drop a fortune on her to become his personal pet. There would be no big score for the blue chick, or so she thought, until the Animals called her in for a combination strip show and fuckfest. Where they got the money didn't matter. What mattered was that they had a lot of it, and it appeared that they would keep giving it to her until it was all gone. She had nearly half a million dollars in her makeup case, and Blue – the character Blue – could put up with a lot of attention from the Animals while she hid in the back of her mind and formulated an investment strategy. The tall, skinny one, Drew, had opened the hotel-room door an d said, â€Å"Hi. We discussed it and agreed that when we were kids, we all really wanted to bone a Smurf.† â€Å"I get that a lot,† said Blue. â€Å"We just wanted to bone a Smurf,† Lash said. â€Å"Understandably,† said Tommy. â€Å"She's really nice,† Lash said. â€Å"Important quality in a ho,† said Tommy. â€Å"But now we can't seem to quit.† â€Å"So you want me to do what – hold an intervention?† â€Å"No, you're our leader. We look to you for other things. So we want you to give us money so we can keep partying, and pay our rents and stuff.† â€Å"And when all of my money is gone, then I can intervene.† â€Å"Sure, if you feel you have to,† said Lash. â€Å"How's your credit?† â€Å"Lash, are you high?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Right. Of course. What was I thinking?† Tommy was relaxing now about Lash noticing that he was a vampire. Clearly the former stewards of Safeway night stock, in addition to being wasted, had gone collectively out of their minds. â€Å"Lash, I don't almost have an MBA like you, but isn't there sort of some business principle that you're violating? I mean, isn't there a class about not spending your rent money on hookers or something?† â€Å"Step off, Flood,† Lash said. â€Å"You hooked up with a vampire.† â€Å"She was cute,† Tommy said. â€Å"An important quality in a vampire,† Lash said, looking over the top of his shades. â€Å"She had sex with me,† Tommy countered. He wanted to say that she was nice, but Lash had already used ;nice; for his blue hooker. â€Å"I think I've made my point,† Lash said. â€Å"Give me your money.† â€Å"You haven't made your point. You completely haven't made your point.† Tommy reared back as if to punch Lash in the chest, as the Animals did to one another all the time, but remembered that now he might crush some of the Animals' ribs. Instead, he said, â€Å"Don't make me cave in your skinny chest, bee-yotch.† â€Å"Your redheaded vampire kung fu is no match for the fearsome blue booty kung fu.† Lash made a howling chicken noise and waved his hands around as he fell back into a fighting stance, then went right back onto his ass on the steps. He laughed until he choked, then coughed and said, â€Å"Seriously, dude, if you don't give us money, we're going to be totally broke in about six hours. I did the math.† â€Å"You could go back to work,† Tommy said. â€Å"Clint called here last night. They're buried at the store. They need night stockers.† â€Å"No?† Lash said, pulling down his sunglasses. â€Å"Yes,† Tommy said. â€Å"Then we're not fired?† â€Å"Evidently not,† Tommy said. â€Å"That's it. We could go back to work. That's what we'll tell her. We have to go back to work.† â€Å"Why didn't you just tell her to go away before she did you all the way here from Vegas.† â€Å"We didn't want to be rude.† â€Å"Oh, right. Well then, off you go.† Lash pushed to his feet and steadied himself on the banister long enough to look Tommy in the eye. â€Å"You okay? You look pale.† â€Å"I'm heartbroken and shit,† Tommy said. He hated it, but Lash's bloodshot eyes peering over the sunglasses had actually given him a twinge of hunger. â€Å"Right.† Lash went through the security door. Tommy watched him as he paused at the rear door of the limo and turned back. â€Å"You need some blue nooky to cheer you up?† Lash asked. â€Å"Our treat.† â€Å"No, I'm good,† Tommy said. â€Å"All for one, and whatnot,† Lash said. â€Å"Appreciate it.† Tommy shrugged. â€Å"Heartbroken.† â€Å"Okay.† Lash threw open the limo's door and two of the Animals, Drew and Troy Lee, rolled out onto the pavement, followed by a great storm cloud of pot smoke. â€Å"Fuck, dude. Did you know there was a door there?† said Drew, the scruffy thin one. â€Å"Look,† said Troy Lee, the Asian guy who actually did know kung fu. â€Å"Hey, look, it's fearless leader.† â€Å"Go to work,† Tommy said. â€Å"It's only seven. You guys can get sobered up and be completely ready for your shift at eleven.† Not a chance, Tommy thought. â€Å"Yeah, we can do it,† Lash said, peeking into the limo. â€Å"Hey, Barry, climb off, motherfucker, I'm up next, then it's Jeff's turn. I put it on the board. Blue, don't let him do that to your ear, baby, you won't hear for a month.† Tommy closed the security door and sat down hard on the steps, hiding his face in his hands to try to make it all go away. The Animals had been his friends, his crew. They had taken him in when he was alone in the city, made him their leader, and if he got the tone of Clint's second message right, in about four hours, when they got to the store, they were going to turn on him.

Promote communication in health and social care Essay

Communication is one of the most essential tools we have to help us interact with other people around us. We use it constantly in our everyday lives whether it be at work, with friends or at home with our families. The way we communicate reflects our personality and the way we come across to other people and build trust and relationships. Reasons why people communicate. †¢ Building relationships with the people around us †¢ Maintaining relationships †¢ Sharing ideas and thoughts †¢ Expressing feelings and needs †¢ Gaining reassurance and acknowledgement †¢ Gaining information and sharing information When we have a new child starting we have an â€Å"all about me† form that we ask the parent to complete. We do this to get to know the child and his/her likes and dislikes so that they can feel comfortable and to start building a relationship with that child and parent. We sit down with the parent to have a talk about this and also ask them if they would like a drink so that they feel welcome and at ease. As well as building relationships with the children and parents it is important to build relationships with the people we work with. Asking them questions about themselves and telling them about yourself. When a parent brings a child in in the morning we greet them and the child saying good morning and smiling. Likewise when the child is collected saying goodbye and taking time talking to the parent about the child’s day. This helps maintain the relationship with the parent and child. Letting them know that we have time to speak to them and to listen. Likewise talking to the other staff members about their interests or if they had a nice weekend. Greeting them when coming in also helps to maintain a good working relationship with them. It is important for adults as well as children that they feel listened to and feel like their ideas and thoughts are important. Listening to a child will not only help build a relationship with that child but also make the child feel valued and build their self esteem. Also listening to what they have to say and respecting their feelings is an important way to meet the child’s needs. When we meet new people one of the first things we do is to share and gain information with that person. This will help to establish a relationship with that person. This is also a vital part of working well with other people. When starting at the setting I first of all did this with the other staff by telling them about me and learning about them and also learning about the setting and how they do things there. With the children I asked them questions like their names and about the important people in their lives. This has helped me build relationships not just with the children at the setting bu t also the people that I work with. Especially with the children that I work with I am finding it very important in building a relationship with them to reassure them and acknowledge their achievements. Praising them and showing them with my body language that they are important. They respond well to doing â€Å"high 5’s† and keeping eye contact while they are talking to me. Likewise using some of the same tools with parents and colleagues help to acknowledge and reassure them that I am interested in what they have to say. It is very important to be able to communicate well with the people you work with. Not just to be happy yourself and to feel valued but also to provide the best care for the children in your setting. It is also important to be able to communicate well with the parents so that they feel that their needs are being met. They need to be able to leave the children in your care knowing that they will be safe and happy. When communicating with people we don’t just use our voices but also non-verbal communication like eye contact, touch and body language. The non-verbal communication can be more powerful than the verbal. At the setting where I work we have a little boy who isn’t using many words yet to communicate. He will come and take your hand and show you what it is he  wants. Using the information we have in the â€Å"all about me† form we know that he likes animals and to watch The Jungle Book on DVD. So we get the animals out and talk to him about them, asking him what noises those animals make and what they like to eat. Non-verbal communication is also very powerful when speaking to adults. Looking a the person you are speaking to can give you an idea of how they are feeling and also how they are reacting to what you are saying. The way you say some thing might be understood one way face to face with a person but will be understood differently over the telephone. Likewise listening skills are a very good tool to communicate well with the people around you. If you don’t take time to listen to the children you will not be able to build a relationship with them. Also being able to learn from the other staff at your setting is important and would be impossible without good listening skills. If the communication isn’t clear it can lead to misunderstanding. This can happen easily especially with children at a young age. It can also be a factor that a child, parent or colleague come from a different culture. As I am from Denmark but have lived in the UK for more than 13 years now I have felt this first hand. When I first moved here I worked with a man who used to speak to me as if I didn’t understand. That made me feel like I was inadequate whereas he probably thought he was helping me. On the other hand I have had people using long and difficult words that I didn’t understand and therefore making me feel less able to communicate with them. Feeling comfortable enough to ask questions and to say to the people you work with that you didn’t understand is very important so that misunderstandings don’t happen. Using different skills of communication would also be very helpful to make sure that the person you are talking to will be able to unde rstand you. You might have to simplify your language or use visual aids like pictures or in some cases have to use outside help like a translator or a speech therapist. To me good communication is all about building relationships with the people around you. This is even more important in the area of work that we do with children. Not only building the relationship with the parents, children and  colleagues but to teach the children from a young age to also communicate well and to help them to learn to build their own relationships with us, the children around them and everywhere else that they meet other people. Book used for information: Level 3 Diploma Children & Young people’s Workforce Early Learning and Childcare by Penny Tassoni, Kate Beith, Kath Bulman and Sue Griffin

Why personal responsibility is important

For some personal responsibility is not the culprit of obtained success. â€Å"Nevertheless† personal responsibility is the key factor to achievement. Personal responsibility provides structure as well as builds character. It enables a student to be confident and secure in all things whether personal or professional. Personal Responsibility can help achieve successful aspirations. A student plans become priority and goals are met with diligence. By having this personal responsibility structure is provided, consistent short goals are placed.Thus† making long term goals obtainable, this creates a self-sufficient student. The column Success is made by failures (Harvey Mackay Columnist) points out to the reader a fatalistic attitude prevents people from accepting responsibility for their position in life. By embracing the personal responsibility the student is more aware of their actions and often taps into her own self-motivation. A self-motivated responsible student has a higher chance of completion because they accept that it is only her that can be the hindrance to their academic growth.To give an example professional basketball player Terrence Rencher abandoned school to pursue a career in professional basketball. However his sense of personal responsibility enabled him to return. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education â€Å"In 2008 Mr. Rencher, who describes himself as a â€Å"finish-what-I-start type of person,† graduated from Texas with a B. A. in community studies. Now an assistant men's basketball coach at the University of Tulsa, he says he never viewed his decision to turn pro as the end of his academic career. always knew I would come back,† he says. â€Å"It was a personal thing for me. † A student with personal responsibilities will have the correct mentality to complete their academic career. Personal responsibility creates a credible student. A student's character is formulated, positive work habits become a must. With this prioritization assignments are completed, time is scheduled adequately. Discipline is instilled, According to Harvey Mackey Columnist â€Å"Anyone who has accomplished anything worthwhile has never done it without discipline.Discipline takes self-control, sacrifice, and avoiding distractions and temptations. It means staying focused. The quote in itself sums up a great deal of personal responsibility to me. To be a successful college student personal responsibility must become a favorite acquaintance. The student adapts to the challenge and succeeds. A student who knows this is a secure student proud of the work that is done and the ambition does not waiver. A certainty is apparent, their interests are piqued, and they come to class ready to learn. Some even taking on leadership roles in and out of the classroom.For many students without setting responsibilities they, feel a drift failure occurs more frequently. Whether it is a decreased grade or the dropping of t he class and for the extremely unorganized the leaving of school all together. Supporting what was said earlier Personal responsibility plays a major role in any endeavor that a student embarks on. A responsible student knows the best way to embrace a sense of responsibility is to plan. Writing suggestions may help with seeing the destination head and contrasting the past. Set accurate time aside to work, study, and collaborate witn tellow classmates.By doing this you ensure you stay on task the end is always clear and obtainable. Find a mentor or fellow student who has accomplished what you want to achieve this sets up a study support system. Always be aware of the workshops or program available to sharpen your skills, and never be afraid to ask for help. Asking for help can give you clarity in so many ways. According to Mauricio Ruede â€Å"Being responsible is what your career depends on- gong to class, urning in assignments on time, studying for exams in advance, and most impor tantly, knowing when to go out and when to stay home.Becoming a master student means setting and accomplishing goals-not to prove anything to anyone but yourself. † In conclusion although for some personal responsibility is not listed in direct correlation with success, it is and always will be the main reason for achievement. Accepting and embracing the responsibility not only builds character, confidence, and achieved aspirations the student will be apt to pursue anything with an admirable tenacity.

The Return: Midnight Chapter 29

â€Å"Oi!†Damon shouted from outside the palanquin. â€Å"Is anybody else looking at this?† Elena was. Both Stefan and Bonnie had their eyes shut; Bonnie was wrapped in blankets and cuddled against Elena. They had rol ed down al the curtains of the palanquin except one. But Elena had watched through the single window, and had seen how tendrils of fog had begun drifting by, first just filmy tatters of mist, but then longer, ful er veils, and final y blankets, engulfing them whole. It seemed to her that they were being deliberately cut off from even the perilous Dark Dimension, that they were passing a border into a place they weren't meant to know about, much less enter. â€Å"How do we know we're going in the right direction?†Elena shouted to Damon after Stefan and Bonnie woke. She was glad to be able to talk again. â€Å"The thurgs know,†Damon cal ed back. â€Å"You set them on a line and they walk that line until somebody stops them, or – â€Å" â€Å"Or what?†Elena yel ed out of the opening. â€Å"Until we get to a place like this.† This was obviously bait, and neither Stefan nor Elena could resist taking it – especial y when the thurg they were riding stopped. â€Å"Stay here,†Elena said to Bonnie. She pushed a curtain out of the way and found herself looking too far down at white ground. God, these thurgs were big. The next moment, though, Stefan was on the ground holding up his arms. â€Å"Jump!† â€Å"Can't you come up and float me?† â€Å"Sorry. Something about this place inhibits Power.† Elena didn't give herself time to think. She launched into the air and Stefan caught her neatly. Spontaneously, she clung to him, and felt the familiar comfort of his embrace. Then he said, â€Å"Come look at this.† They had reached a place where the land ended and the mist divided, like curtains being held to either side. Directly in front of them was a frozen lake. A silvery frozen lake, almost perfectly round in shape. â€Å"Lake Mirror?†Damon said, cocking his head to one side. â€Å"I always thought that was a fairy tale,†Stefan said. â€Å"Welcome to Bonnie's storybook.† Lake Mirror formed a vast body of water in front of them, frozen right into the ice sheet below her feet, or so it seemed. It did look like a mirror – a purse mirror after you'd breathed softly on it. â€Å"But the thurgs?†Elena said – or rather whispered. She couldn't help whispering. The silent lake pressed on her, as did the lack of any kind of natural sound: There were no birds singing, no rustling in the bushes – no bushes! No trees! Instead, just the mist surrounding the frozen water. â€Å"The thurgs,†Elena repeated in a slightly louder voice. â€Å"They can't possibly walk on that!† â€Å"Depends on how thick the lake ice is,†Damon said, flashing his old 250-kilowatt smile at her. â€Å"If it's thick enough, it'l be just like walking on land for them.† â€Å"And if it isn't?† â€Å"Hmm†¦Do thurgs float?† Elena gave him an exasperated glance and looked at Stefan. â€Å"What do you think?† â€Å"I don't know,†he said doubtful y. â€Å"They're very large animals. Let's ask Bonnie about the kids in the fairy tale.† Bonnie, Stillwrapped in fur blankets that began col ecting chunks of ice as they dragged on the ground, looked at the lake grimly. â€Å"The story didn't go into detail,†she said. â€Å"It just said that they went down, down, down, and that they had to pass tests of their courage and – and – wittiness – before they got there.† â€Å"Fortunately,†Damon said, smiling, â€Å"I have large enough amounts of both to make up for my brother's entire lack of either – â€Å" â€Å"Stop it, Damon!†Elena burst out. The moment she'd seen the smile, she'd turned to Stefan, pul ed him down to her height, and begun kissing him. She knew what Damon would see when he turned back toward them – her and Stefan locked in an embrace, Stefan hardly aware of anything being said. At least they could Stilltouch with their minds. And it was intriguing, Elena thought, Stefan's warm mouth when everything else in the world was cold. She looked quickly at Bonnie, to make sure she hadn't upset her, but Bonnie was looking quite cheerful. The farther I seem to drive Damon away, the happier she is, Elena thought. Oh, God†¦this is a problem. Stefan spoke up quietly. â€Å"Bonnie, what it comes down to is that it has to be your choice. Don't try to use courage or wit or anything except your inner feelings. Where do we go?† Bonnie glanced back at the thurgs, then looked at the lake. â€Å"That way,†she said, without hesitation, and she pointed straight across the lake. â€Å"We'd better carry some of the cooking stones and fuel and backpacks with iron rations in them,†Stefan said. â€Å"That way, if the worst happens, we'l Stillhave basic supplies.† â€Å"Besides,†said Elena, â€Å"it'l lighten that thurg's load – if only by a little.† It seemed a crime to put a backpack on Bonnie, but she insisted. Final y, Elena arranged one fil ed entirely with the warm, curiously light fur clothes. Everyone else was carrying furs, food, and poop – the dried animal dung that would from now on be their only fuel. It was difficult from the first. Elena had only had a couple of experiences with ice that she had reason to be wary of – but one of those had almost been disastrous for Matt. She was ready to jump and whirl at any crack – any sound that the ice was breaking. But there were no cracks; no water flowing up to slosh onto her boots. The thurgs were the ones who seemed actual y built for walking on frozen water. Their feet were pneumatic, and could spread out to almost half again their original size, avoiding putting too much pressure on any one section of ice. Crossing the lake was slow, but Elena didn't see anything particularly deadly about it. It was simply the smoothest, slickest ice she had ever encountered. Her boots wanted to skate. â€Å"Hey, everybody!†Bonnie was skating, exactly as if she were in a rink, backward and forward and sideways. â€Å"This is fun!† â€Å"We're not here to have fun,†Elena shouted back. She longed to try it herself, but was afraid to make cuts – even scuffs – in the ice. And beside that, Bonnie was expending twice as much energy as she needed to. She was about to cal out to Bonnie and tel her this, when Damon, in a voice of exasperation, made al the points she had thought of, and a few more. â€Å"This isn't a pleasure cruise,†he said shortly. â€Å"It's for the fate of your town.† â€Å"As if you care,†Elena murmured, turning her back on him and touching the unhappy Bonnie's hand both to give comfort and to get them going at arm's length again. â€Å"Bonnie, do you sense anything magical about the lake?† â€Å"No.†But then Bonnie's imagination seemed to fly into high gear. â€Å"But maybe it's where the mystics from both dimensions al gathered to exchange spel s. Or maybe it's where they used the ice like a real magic mirror to see faraway places and things.† â€Å"Maybe both of them,†Elena said, secretly amused, but Bonnie nodded solemnly. And that was when it came. The sound Elena had been waiting for. Nor was it a distant booming which could be ignored or discussed. They had been walking at arm's length from one another to avoid stressing the ice, while the thurgs walked behind them, and to either side – like a flock of geese with no leaders. This noise was a dreadful y near crack like the report of a gun. Immediately, it sounded again, like a whiplash, and then a crumbling. It was to Elena's left, on Bonnie's side. â€Å"Skate, Bonnie,†she shouted. â€Å"Skate as fast as you can. Scream if you see land.† Bonnie didn't ask a single question. She took off like an Olympic speed skater in front of Elena, and Elena swiftly turned. It was Biratz, the thurg Bonnie had asked Pelat about. She had one monstrous back leg in the ice, and as she struggled, more ice cracked. Stefan! Can you hear me? Faintly. I'm coming for you. Yes – but only come as close as you need to Influence the thurg. Influence the – ? Make her calm, put her out, whatever. She's ripping up the ice and it'll just make it harder to get her out! This time there was a pause before Stefan's answer came. She knew though, by faint echoes, that he was talking telepathical y with someone else. All right, love, I'll do it. I'll take care of the thurg, too. You follow Bonnie. He was lying. Or, not lying, but keeping something from her. The person he'd been sending thoughts to was Damon. They were humoring her. They didn't mean to help at all. Just at that moment she heard a shril scream – not so far away. It was Bonnie in trouble – no! Bonnie had found land! Elena didn't lose another second. She dumped her backpack on the ice and skated straight back to the thurg. There it was, so huge, so pathetic, so helpless. The very thing that had kept it safe from other Godawful Hel acious monsters in the Dark Dimension – its great bulk – was now turned against it. Elena felt her chest tighten as if she were wearing a corset. Even as she watched, though, the animal became calmer. She stopped trying to get her left hind leg out of the ice, which meant that she stopped churning up the ice around it. Now Biratz was in a sort of crouching position, trying to keep her three dry legs from going under. The problem was that she was trying too hard, and that there was nothing to push against except breakable ice. â€Å"Elena!†Stefan was within earshot now. â€Å"Don't get any closer!† But even as he said it, Elena saw a Sign. Just a few feet away, lying on the ice was the tickle-prod that Pelat had used to get the thurgs going. She picked it up as she skated by and then she saw another Sign. Reddish hay and the original covering for the hay – a giant tarpaulin – were lying behind the thurg. Together they formed a broad wide path that was neither wet nor slick. â€Å"Elena!† â€Å"This is going to be easy, Stefan!† Elena pul ed a pair of dry socks out of her pocket and drew them up over her boots. She fastened the tickle stick to her belt. And then she started the run of her life. Her boots were fur with something like felt underneath and with the socks to aid them, they caught on the tarpaulin and propel ed her forward. She leaned into it, vaguely wishing Meredith were here, so she could do this instead, but al the time getting closer. And then she saw her mark: the end of the tarp and beyond it floating chunks of ice. But the thurg looked climbable. Very low in back, like a dinosaur halfway into a tar pit, but then rising up along the curved backbone. If she could just somehow land there†¦ Two steps til jump-off. One step til jump-off. JUMP! Elena pushed off with her right foot, flew through the air for an endless time, and – hit the water. Instantly, she was soaked from head to foot and the shock of the icy water was unbelievable. It caught hold of her like some monster with a handful of jagged ice shards. It blinded her with her own hair, it squeezed al the sound out of the universe. Somehow, clawing at her face, she freed her mouth and eyes from hair. She realized that she was only slightly below the surface of the water, and that was al she needed to push upward until her mouth broke the surface and she could suck in a lungful of delicious air, after which she had a coughing fit. First time up, she thought, remembering the old superstition that a drowning person wil rise three times and then sink forever. But the strange thing was that she wasn't sinking. There was a dul pain in her thigh but she wasn't going under. Slowly, slowly, she realized what had happened. She had missed the back of the thurg, but landed on its thick reptilian tail. One of the serrated fins had gashed her, but she was stable. So†¦now†¦al I have to do is climb the thurg, she puzzled out slowly. Everything seemed slow because there were icebergs bobbing around her shoulders. She put up a fur-lined gloved hand and reached for the next fin up. The water, while making her soaking clothes heavier, supported some of her weight. She managed to pul herself up to the next fin. And the next. And then here was the rump, and she had to be careful – no more footholds. Instead she grabbed for handholds and found something with her left hand. A broken strap from the hay carrier. Not a good idea – in retrospect. For a few minutes that qualified as among the worst in her life she was showered with hay, pounded with rocks, and smothered in the dust of old dung. When it was final y over she looked around, sneezing and coughing, to find that she was Stillon the thurg. The tickle stick had been broken but enough remained for her to use. Stefan was frantical y asking, both aloud and by telepathy, if she was All right. Bonnie was skating back and forth like a Tinker Bel guide, and Damon was cursing at Bonnie to get back to land and stay there. Meanwhile Elena was inching up the rump of the thurg. She made it through the crushed supply basket. She final y reached the thurg's summit, and she settled just behind the domed head, in the seat where a driver would sit. And then she tickled the thurg behind the ears. â€Å"Elena!†Stefan shouted, and then Elena, what are you trying to do? â€Å"I don't know!†she shouted back. â€Å"Trying to save the thurg!† â€Å"You can't,†Damon interrupted Stefan's answer in a voice as cold and Stillas the place they were in. â€Å"She can make it!†Elena said fiercely – precisely because she herself was having doubts about whether the animal could. â€Å"You could help by pul ing on her bridle.† â€Å"There's no point,†Damon shouted, and turned about-face, walking quickly into the mist. â€Å"I'l give it a try. Throw it out in front of her,†Stefan said. Elena threw the knotted bridle as hard as she could. Stefan had to run almost to the edge of the ice to grab it before it fel in. Then he held it aloft triumphantly. â€Å"Got it!† â€Å"Okay, pul ! Give her a direction to start in.† â€Å"Wil do!† Elena tapped Biratz again behind her right ear. There was a faint rumble from the animal and then nothing. Elena could see Stefan straining at the bridle. â€Å"Come on,† Elena said, and slapped sharply with the stick. The thurg lifted up a giant foot, placed it farther on the ice, and struggled. As soon as she did, Elena smacked hard behind the left ear. This was the crucial moment. If Elena could keep Biratz from crushing al the ice between her back legs, they might have a chance. The thurg tentatively lifted her left hind leg and stretched it until it made contact with the ice. â€Å"Good, Biratz! Now! â€Å"Elena shouted. Now if Biratz would only surge forward†¦ There was a great upheaval underneath her. For several minutes Elena thought that perhaps Biratz had broken through the ice with al four legs. Then the thrashing changed to a rocking motion and suddenly, dizzyingly Elena knew that they had won. â€Å"Easy, now, easy,†she cal ed to the animal, giving her a gentle tickle with the stick. And slowly, ponderously, Biratz moved forward. Her domed head drooped farther and farther as she went, and she foundered at the edge of a bank of mist, breaking the ice again. But there she only sank a few inches before meeting mud. A few more steps and they were on solid ground. Elena had to suck in her breath to stifle a scream as the thurg's domelike head slumped, giving her a short and scary ride to where the tusks re-curved on themselves. Somehow she slid right between them and had to hastily scramble off Biratz's trunks. â€Å"It was pointless, you know, doing that,†Damon said from somewhere in the mist beside her. â€Å"Risking your own life.† â€Å"What d-do you mean p-pointless?†Elena demanded. She wasn't frightened; she was freezing. â€Å"The animals are going to die anyway. The next trial is one they can't manage and even if they could, this isn't a place where anything grows. Instead of a quick clean death in the water, they're going to starve, slowly.† Elena didn't answer; the only answer she could think of was, â€Å"Why didn't you tel me earlier?†She had stopped shivering, which was a good thing, because a moment ago her body had felt as if she might shake herself apart. Clothes, she thought vaguely. That was the problem. It certainly couldn't be as cold here in the air as it had been in that water. It was her clothes that were making her so cold. She began, with numb fingers, to take them off. First, she unfastened her leather jacket. No zippers here: buttons. That was a real problem. Her fingers felt like frozen hot dogs, and only nominal y under her direction. But somehow or other she managed to undo the fastenings and the leather dropped to the ground with a muffled thump – it had taken a layer of her inner fur off with it. Ick. The smel of wet fur. Now, now she had to – But she couldn't. She couldn't do anything because someone was holding her arms. Burning her arms. Those hands were annoying, but at least she knew who they belonged to. They were firm and very gentle but very strong. Al that added up to Stefan. Slowly, she raised her dripping head to ask Stefan to stop burning her arms. But she couldn't. Because on Stefan's body there was Damon's head. Now that was funny. She'd seen a lot of things that vampires could do, but not this swapping heads business. â€Å"Stefan-Damon – please stop,†she gasped between hysterical whoops of laughter. â€Å"It hurts. It's too hot!† â€Å"Hot? You're frozen, you mean.†The deft, searing hands were rubbing up and down her arms, pushing back her head to rub her cheeks. She let it happen, because it seemed to be only sense that if it was Damon's head, they were Stefan's hands. â€Å"You're cold but you're not shivering?†a grim Damon-voice said from somewhere. â€Å"Yes, so you see I must be warming up.†Elena didn't feel very warmed up. She realized that she Stillhad on a longer fur garment, one that reached to her knees under her leather breeches. She fumbled with her belt. â€Å"You're not warming up. You're going into the next stage of hypothermia. And if you don't get dry and warm right now, you're going to die.†Not roughly, he tilted her chin up to look into her eyes. â€Å"You're delirious now – can you understand me, Elena? We need to really get you warm.† Warm was a concept as vague and faraway as life before she had met Stefan. But delirious she understood. That was not a good thing. What to do about it except laugh? â€Å"All right. Elena, just wait for a moment. Let me find – â€Å"In a moment he was back. Not quick enough to stop her from unwrapping the fur down to her waist, but back before she could get her camisole off. â€Å"Here.†He stripped off the damp fur and wrapped a warm, dry one around her, over her camisole. After a moment or two she began to shiver. â€Å"That's my girl,†Damon's voice said. It went on: â€Å"Don't fight me, Elena. I'm trying to save your life. That's al . I'm not going to try to do anything else. I give you my word.† Elena was bewildered. Why should she think that Damon – this must be Damon, she decided – would want to hurt her? Although he could be a bastard sometimes†¦ And he was taking off her clothes. No. That shouldn't be happening. Definitely not. Especial y since Stefan must be somewhere around. But by now Elena was shivering too hard to talk. And now that she was in her underwear, he was making her lie down on furs, tucking other furs around her. Elena didn't understand anything that was happening, but it was al starting not to matter. She was floating somewhere outside herself, watching without much interest. Then another body was slipping in under the furs. She snapped back from the place she had been floating. Very briefly she got a look at a bare chest. And then a warm, compact body slid into the makeshift sleeping bag with her. Warm, hard arms went around her, keeping her in contact al over her body. Through the mist she vaguely heard Stefan's voice. â€Å"What the hell are you doing?†