Monday, September 30, 2019

Bang and Olufsen

Bang and Olufsen uses the analytic approach to management. This is clearly seen in the phases of their design and production. Analytic design mostly structures their designs as engineering challenges (Lester, et. al. , 2002). The step-by step procedure of producing their products begins with the designers given free-reign over the design. It is, however, the engineers that are given the challenge to produce these designs realistically. Contrast this with interpretative management, which views designs as a â€Å"liberal art† (Lester, et.  al, 2002).However, there are some aspects of the B&O design process that bear a mark of this interpretative management system, specifically in the process where B&O acquires feedback from consumers to help update their design. The â€Å"artful making† aspect in the B&O design process may be observed in the designing phase, wherein the designers are free to design products with â€Å"substance†. It may also be seen in the Ideala b aspect of B&O, where they produce concepts and products that are innovative and revolutionary.It is interesting to note that Alessi’s design process bears a resemblance to B&O’s. This similarity may be seen in the stages of the design process where the product starts of with the designers and end with the engineers and the manufacturing process. However, what is unique about B&O is that their designers are given free-reign – that is, in Alessi, the designers are influenced by the engineering problems that will arise over their design concepts. The B&O approach is not entirely human-centered.Human-centered design is primarily observed in the goal of the design process: to create something that will suit the lifestyle of the consumer. It is however, interesting to note that the human-centered design is absent in the acquisition of feedbacks from the customer. B&O does not produce their designs due to the consumer’s negative of positive opinions on what th ey should do. Instead, B&O gives their designers the freedom and the challenge to produce their concepts from scratch.B&O emphasizes the importance of mobility, flow, and smartness among John Thackara’s design principles. Mobility is exemplified by the universality of their designs. Flow is seen in the design process itself, wherein the product is taken into a step-by-step process. And smartness can be observed in the function of their designs in the real world, beyond concepts. References: Lester, Richard K. , Pior, Michael J. , Malek, Kamal M. Interpretative management: what general managers can do for design. Managing Innovation and Change. Henry Jane, Mayle, David. 2002. SAGE.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Social Organized Crime Perspective

Social Organized Crime Perspective Social Organized Crime Perspective Social institution is a group of people or association with a certain reason, objective, or mission. This organization reaches its goal by influencing and persuading people in the public to take part, and help with reaching this purpose. Social institution applies to organized crime in various ways. Criminal organizations develop in areas that show a portion of individuals living within the jurisdiction are interested in a product that the criminal organization is offering. This is crucial as it enables the organization to effectively generate, dispense, and consume the product (Lyman & Potter, 2007). Additionally, criminal organizations target the community's social makeup, control the community has socially on its members, and the level of involvement each community member has among the rest. Furthermore, criminal organizations develop tight relations with lawful businesses and owners willing to play a part in the organizations accomplishment (Lyman ; Potter, 2007). There are empirical and speculative theories that are can be applied to organized crime and criminal behavior. Individuals involved with organized crime in Sicily and Italy had formed criminal organizations such as the â€Å"Sicilian Mafia† or â€Å"Cosa Nostra†. These persons came to the United States to avoid detection and apprehension by law enforcement in their own country, and to gain opportunities that the United States provided both legally and illegally. Upon migrating to the United States these groups began to organize, and operate many criminal organizations. It is believed that these individuals have been the main cause for the establishing of organized crime (Osmosis, 2003). The social control theory asserts that an individual who is involved with a community and has strong family relations will be less likely to engage in illegal activity than those who do not. If an individual is capable of establishing a positive rapport with community members, becomes involved and participates in community programs, such as youth, elderly, religious-spiritual, and anti-crime, the individual will most likely refrain from engaging in criminal activity or at the very least consider the consequences of a criminal act prior to committing the act (Psychological Glossary, 2010). The differential association theory considers one's social group and environment as the fundamental explanation for one's criminal behavior and the formation and joining of criminal organizations. An individual who socializes with a group or other individuals who have a history with the legal system or who engage in illegal activity are at an extremely higher risk to conform to the norms of that particular social sub-group. A prime example is a teenager who becomes involved in delinquent criminal behavior and activity as a result of peer pressure. These juveniles are susceptible to withdrawing from school, joining criminal organizations, such as street gangs, and experimenting with illegal substances and alcohol, all of which continues the juvenile down a path of addiction, career criminality, and a long criminal history into adulthood (Sutherland, 1978). The strain and anomie theory believes that individuals who engage in criminal activity do so as a result of wanting a piece of the American dream or to obtain materialistic items of value. A majority of individuals within the United States never experience the luxury of owning a fancy vehicle, house, business, or property. Most individuals residing in the United States are forced to work labor intensive jobs, receive a low paying wage, are parents who must provide and support families, and do so through legal means. Unfortunately, the desire to achieve items of value, provide a better life for one's children, such as the purchasing of school cloths, vacations, and after school activities can force some to conduct illegal business for the purpose of gaining an additional income (Sutherland, 1978). The empirical and speculative theories discussed, such as the social control, differential association, and strain and anomie theories can assist researchers, society, professionals, and law enforcement with understanding the elements that exist in different criminal organizations and criminal behavior. Each theory is supported by research, statistics, strong arguments, and facts that can be used by law enforcement in numerous ways. Theories as such display characteristics and mannerisms common in criminal behavior, along with what geographical locations are susceptible to the development of criminal organizations and activity. Furthermore, jurisdictions, in which its citizens are antisocial or uninvolved with the community, prove to be breeding grounds for many types of criminal wrongdoing that exists. References Lyman, M. , & Potter, G. (2007). Organized Crime (4th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. Osmosis. (2003). Everything: Historical interpretations on Prohibition and organized crime. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from http://everything2. com/title/Historical+interpretations+on+Prohibition+and+organized+crime Psychological Glossary. (2010). Social Control Theory. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from http://www. psychology-lexicon. com/cms/glossary/glossary-s/social-control-theory. html Sutherland, E. (1978). Differential Association Theory: Sociological Theories of Deviance. Retrieved December 10, 2011, from http://www. d. umn. edu/~jhamlin1/sutherland. html

Saturday, September 28, 2019

2 page-paper brief for a case Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

2 page-paper brief for a case - Essay Example SDI defendants aggressively marketed a test for diagnosing a common sleep disorder. According to an affidavit sworn by IRS Special Agent Julie Raftery, they at times billed twice for their services and made reward payments to doctors who participated in their tests. The US government claims that SDI employees who were in participating physicians’ offices would persuade patients to take part in a sleep study. As the cardiac diagnostic companies doing business with SDI would claim to complete a report of the results of the sleep studies, SDI staff would put fake stamps bearing the signatures of physicians reports. SDI would then recommend that a patient should take part in further studies, in which the patient’s health insurer would pay for them. The affidavit revealed cases of suspected tax fraud. At the end of a 2 year investigation led by the Internal Revenue Service with the active participation of 4 other federal and state agencies, investigators concluded that SDI F uture Health, Inc. had committed Medicare fraud. Based on the results gotten from the investigation, IRS Special Agent Julie Raftery sought for a warrant to search SDIs premises on January 28, 2002. The warrant was based on an affidavit which had information collected from 3 former employees and 2 associates of SDI.  Whether the warrant incorporated Special Agent Rafterys affidavit can be evaluated to check if it meets [the Fourth Amendments] requirements. If incorporated, then the affidavit should be evaluated to see if it satisfies deficiencies in the warrant. The SDI defendants also purportedly forced patients to make visits to SDI clinics, and told them that their assigned doctors had asked them to participate in the sleep studies. The US government states that Kaplan and Brunk lack a base to challenge the search and collection of materials from SDI’s premises. According to the government, a corporate defendant has standing with respect to searches of corporate property and

Friday, September 27, 2019

Clouds Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Clouds - Research Paper Example This paper explores why this phenomenon is common. That it is a common experience is a fact reflected in the number of jokes about the interpretation of clouds. Here is an example (British Council) : Actually, a common term to describe a sky that is covered with lots of cirrocumulus or altocumulus clouds, which appear in a regular wave pattern with blue sky showing in between, is a mackerel sky. It is called that because the clouds resemble the skin of a mackerel. But in Germany and France, the popular designation is interpreted as sheep cloud, because it reminds their people of a flock of sheep . (Sometimes a Bit Fishy). This is an example of how people in different cultures might see the same or a similar cloud formation differently. Individuals of the same culture may see the same cloud images together, or may see them differently, like a Rorschach ink blot. But why do human beings look at a cloud and see animals or faces or other very specific imagery? One research study conclude d that â€Å"uncertainty following a positive event prolongs the pleasure it causes and that people are generally unaware of this effect of uncertainty† (Wilson, Centerbar and Kermer 5). ... So if children find pleasure in lying in the grass and exercising their imaginative capacities, then continuing to see shifting cloud images might be a way to prolong their pleasure. The same might be true for vacationers on a camping trip or elderly people on a porch or in the garden. But when a busy schedule intervenes and prevents the mood of pleasurable uncertainty from continuing, or when scientific logic enters the picture, reminding them of the objective details of the cloud and the understanding that it is a cloud and not a parade of magical animals, after all, then the pleasure is cut short. In his book, Faces in Clouds (Guthrie), Guthrie offers a different kind of theory about why people see images of animals and faces in clouds. Guthrie argues that humans are hard-wired toward anthropomorphic interpretation. Humans see their own attributes in gods and spirits, but also in other animate and inanimate things and events (Guthrie 193). Humans search for signs, symbols and mean ing everywhere, constantly (198). When the natural world is close by, like a tree or the wind, then humans are able to apply language and logical analysis that rises above their natural inclination toward anthropomorphism. But as people gain distance from the natural event or object, when things or events are on the periphery, humans are less able to resist anthropomorphic inclinations (204). Human portrayal of gods is an extreme example of this. Clouds are not as distant as God, but they are in the periphery, in the sky of our world. Although we access scientific explanations about clouds, about mist and ice crystals and wind and rain, we find no satisfaction in these explanations. The natural inclination to interpret

Thursday, September 26, 2019

Outline of Annotated Bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

Outline of Annotated Bibliography - Essay Example It explains how nature tries to balance the differences of men and women so they will be able to mate. An example is the equalization of testosterone levels between the sexes. Studies by Dr. Marazziti, a professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pisa revealed that other levels of hormones, like serotonin and oxytocin gets altered in the early phases of a romance, but eventually goes back to normal after some time. Related to the article of Kahn, this article, a magazine article whimsically written as a narrative discusses the physiological effects of romance. It reports anthropologist Helen Fisher’s studies on the biochemical pathways of love in all its manifestations: romance, lust, attachment, etc. Fisher has done experiments on people â€Å"in love† by putting them in MRI machines and studying how their brain works when shown a photograph of their beloved ones. It was found out that the effect is stimulating the part of the brain associated with reward and pleasure and stimulates the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter responsible for creating intense energy, exhilaration, focused attention, and motivation to win rewards. The article also discussed studies by Donatella Marazitti, (previously mentioned in the annotation before this current one) who studied the similarities of low serotonin hormone levels of people in love and people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. It also shares other biological effects of passion and romance, the way dopamine levels of passionate lovers are high when a romance is new but when it gets comfortable enough, couples thrive on oxytocin, the hormone responsible for attachment to one another. This article reports the advantages of sex and gets into a discussion of non-verbal signals women give out during the courtship period of a romantic relationship. Some signals that women give out when they are interested in a man is flashing eyebrows, eye contact, smiling, primping, showing of palms, running fingers

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Organizational Philosophies and Technology Paper Essay - 1

Organizational Philosophies and Technology Paper - Essay Example Setting and Managing Ethical Standards with Technology Technology is a body of knowledge organizations can use to create tools and develop skills using scientific method and material to meet an objective or solve a problem (National Institute of Health, 2011). The Diagram below illustrates the flow of technology and its use in solving problems within the organization: Diagram 1: Retrieved from http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih4/technology/guide/lesson1.htmeferences Ethical issues such as trust, privacy, and the reliability of information formerly were the primary focus in discussions about ethics, however with the introduction of emerging technologies into the organizational culture new ethical issues are evolving. The discussion of ethics and technology is not merely one in which human beings are susceptible or tempted to act unethical or illegally, but is one focused on the new organizational environment emerging between human beings and robots that is creating conce rn (Santana, Vaccaro & Wood, 2010, pp. 662-663). Santana et al. make the observation that the new informational virtual environments are creating new kinds of interaction resulting in the possibility of higher risks of ethical breaches within the organization. The process of networking systems of technologies into the organizational culture directly affects behavior influencing organizational design (Santana et al., 2010). Organizations philosophies now must take into account macro-ethics that include animate, inanimate, and informational entities (Santana, Vaccaro & Wood, 2010, pp. 661-663). The new ethical environmental dimensions created by technology are changing. The environments of living and physical things including informational objects such as intelligent software, artificial agents, and robots are requiring leaders to analyze their organizational structural design and internal processes. Santana et al. uses the example of the informational exchange between human beings an d robots or â€Å"virtual entities† in which human behavior and activities are affected by decisions made by machines. As an example take for instance a supply chain system in which a machines make the decision to order supplies or materials then issues instructions to human workers to process the request (Santana et al., 2010, p. 662); the ethical issue is not that a machine made the decision but one of who should take responsibility for making the decision in the event the order is incorrect. The human response is one in which he or she simply was following the instructions and therein is the ethical issue. Scholars question how to draw the lines of responsibility in the new environments and who should make the decision to implement the boundaries created that are affecting the relational interaction between humans and machines. Shaping Organizational Culture with Technology One of the primary challenges of implementing a technology strategy into a culture is how to network the various work units, systems, and communication processes within the organizational structure. The use of technology requires a system of networks to enable organizations to connect multiple layers of knowledge and information for vertical alignment and horizontal consistency (Barrette, 2005, pp. 221-223). As a noun, â€Å"

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

America as Bottom Up Country Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

America as Bottom Up Country - Essay Example This is the line taken in Howard Fineman's "The Thirteen American Arguments". But to what extent is the United States of the 21st century really a bottom-up society, and does the Internet really enhance the powers of the ordinary person To answer these questions, we must first identify the ways in which government impinges on the citizen, and vice-versa. In a representative democracy the powers of the government, once it is elected, can be surprisingly draconian, and they are certainly very great. They always include the power to incarcerate citizens, and in some cases to kill them. There is obviously considerable variation between governments such as that of France, where the President can exercise almost monarchical powers in some situations, and governments such as that of Switzerland, where power is mainly decentralised to the Cantons and can be diluted by citizens calling for a referendum. The constitution of the United States probably places it about three quarters of the way between the centralist authoritarian extreme and the decentralist pluralist extreme. In other words, America is far closer to Switzerland than to France. This is hardly surprising, as the Founding Fathers in Philadelphia set out to devise a constitution that was full of checks and balances. The main ones are the separation of powers between Federal govern ment institutions, namely Congress, President and Supreme Court, and the sharing of powers between the Federal and State authorities. The theory seems clear, but the practice has often been murky. Although Lincoln is to be applauded for taking up arms to free the slaves, the Union armies effectively crushed the southern states for attempting to pursue an independent line. And governments down the ages have imposed swathes of regulations on their citizens, some of which compel people to do things, others of which forbid them from doing things. These regulations reach into every facet of our lives, ranging from speed limits to compulsory school attendance. Furthermore, the system of taxes and government spending in the United States, as elsewhere, has created an increasing transfer of effective decision-making power from the people to the government. In most Western countries, governments now tax and spend around 35-45% of their national income. In the case of America, the figure is around 36%, of which about half is spent by the Federal government and the rest by State and local governments. This means that ordinary people are losing more than one third of all the economic resources they create. And more than one third of the vast American economy is at the disposal of government officials, rather than being available to spend according to the preferences of individual citizens. The power to decide the allocation of economic resources is one of the most important ways in which people can shape their own lives and the society they live in. The era of big government programs which arrived with President Roosevelt's admirable New Deal in response to the Great Depression, is alive and kicking. It has suffered some set-backs, most notably during President Reagan's time, but with the fiscal deficit ballooning under President Bush in the past few years, and with President Obama promising a raft of fiscal stimulus measures to kick-start the ailing economy, Big Government is certainly far from finished. So what powers do ordinary people have over the government Well, of course, they have the

Monday, September 23, 2019

Competitor Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Competitor Analysis - Assignment Example Well, one must keep in mind that the competitor is also there to tap the market for making profit and growing his business. Also, from the buyer's/ consumer's point of view, competition can be defined as the best bargain offer grabbed by the customer. Perfect Competition: This is an extreme case and is more of a concept in which each competitor offers or seeks exactly a similar thing, as do the others. There's nothing to differentiate one from the other and depending upon price one can be substituted with the other. From the strategic planning point of view, competitor analysis is very important for any company's long-term survival. There was a time couple of decades ago when the management of one company used to make it sure that there be no mention of its rival during discussions as it would give unnecessary mileage to its rival. No more. Now the trend has reversed and companies do much more research in understanding the rival and take pride in listing the advantages that their product has over the rival's. Competitor analysis has several important roles in strategic planning; Frederick the Great said, "It is pardonable to be defeated, but never to be surprised."1 This effectively meant - go to war fully prepared i.e. know the competitor well. Therefore, by knowing our Competitors we may be able to predict their next moves, exploit their weaknesses and respond to their strengths. We have selected TESCO as the company for our analysis because Tesco is UK's largest retailer, having around 1800 stores in UK alone and more than 2300 stores worldwide, with group sales crossing m 37,070 worldwide at the end of financial year 2005. An international retailer of food, non-food and retailing services, Tesco currently operates in the China, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the UK. Recent figures from market research group TNS showed the group had boosted its share of the UK grocery market by 1.5% to 30.5%. One in every 8 is now spent in this supermarket giant, and it's rising. Asda was second, with a 16.7% market share and Sainsbury's third with 16.2%. The group is on a progressive path and some more announcements are due in the coming months with Next Annual Report Due in May - 2006 and Next AGM on July 7th. Tesco is securing itself a position in the top echelon of an elite group of international retail organizations identified by Professor Neil Wrigley of

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Comparison Buying a Home vs. Renting an Apartment Research Paper

Comparison Buying a Home vs. Renting an Apartment - Research Paper Example Renting is an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good or property owned by another person or company (Answers, 2009). Renting agreement are very popular in the United States because they are a cheaper way to obtain a home or apartment. A person that rents does not have to pay any property taxes since they are not the owners of the home. Lease agreements for apartments or homes typically are signed for a time span of one year. A person that rents an apartment benefits in others such as having great flexibility. If a person does not like the place, they can move out into another rented apartment after the term of the lease expires. Another advantage of renting is that a person does not have to have good credit in order to qualify for the lease. Credit scores and standing are rarely a part of the renting agreement process. We are living in some tough economic times. The unemployment rate in the United States has reached a whopping 9.5% (Bls, 2009). When people lose their jobs sometimes it is hard to pay a mortgage. A person that leases can maneuver better during hard economic times. A person that leases has the option of leaving the place and moving in with relatives until they get back on their feet. A rental agreement is short term commitment, thus it gives a person more flexibility as far as being able to relocate easier. Despite the many advantages of leasing, there are also major cons associated with renting. A person that pays rent is always giving money to someone else without the benefit of getting any financial rewards in return. When a person rents they are basically paying another bill, thus renting could be categorized as a type of expense. Buying a home is a completely different proposition. Â  

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Research Paper Outline Examples Essay Example for Free

Research Paper Outline Examples Essay Once youve already decided what topic you will be writing about, the next thing you should pay attention to is the scope of your paper or what you will be including in your discussion. The broader your topic is, the more difficult it is to discuss your topic in full details. This is why you should establish before hand the scope and limitations of your paper and this will be the foundation of your research paper outline. Basically, your outline will constitute three main parts namely the Introduction, the Body and the Conclusion. But to make sure your paper is complete, consult your instructor for specific parts he/she wants to be included in your research paper. Sample outlines for research papers will be given later on. But first, let us discuss the main parts of your paper and what information each should cover. Introduction The Introduction should contain your thesis statement or the topic of your research as well as the purpose of your study. You may include here the reason why you chose the particular topic or simply the significance of your research papers topic. You may also state what type of approach it is that youll be using in your paper for the entire discussion of your topic. Generally, your Introduction should state briefly all the major points of your topic your readers will be reading about. Body The body of your paper is where you will be presenting all your arguments to support your thesis statement. Please be reminded of the â€Å"Rule of 3† where you should find 3 supporting arguments for each position you take. Start with a strong argument, followed by a stronger one, and end with the strongest argument as your final point.

Friday, September 20, 2019

Managing Diversity in Employement

Managing Diversity in Employement Managing Diversity in Employment Identification and Discussion about Segregation in  Labour Market with National and Governmental Perspective The purpose of this essay is going to identify and discuss the main things of segregation and discrimination in term on national and organizational issues in Singapore. Due to segregations in labour market, which are ethnic, age, sex or gender, disability, and sexual orientation, there are pros and cons for each of them. In the following paragraph, the writer is going to elaborate and discuss with further information. Labour market is a place that employers and employees interact with each other. Employers want to hire the best candidates, while the candidates are trying their best to suit the job requirements. Hence, labour demand is the employers in an organization and labour supply is the candidates who give their abilities to the company. (Times Internet Limited, 2014) Labours in the market are based on age, race, ethnicity, gender, disability, and sexuality. In the following paragraph, the writer will identify and discuss the national evidence that talk about statistics labour market in Singapore.  Ã‚   In the organization, there is no much segregation of ethnic group because there are several ethnic groups of people who work together, such as Indians, Chinese, Malays, and others. For example, Marriott Hotel and HSL in Singapore have put opportunities for people ethnics to works together. In order to maximize the potential of teams in term of managing workplace diversity, the companies’ believes an inclusive and harmonious workplace. They believe in selecting the right people and developing employees’ competencies to work in diverse environment, such as self-awareness, adaptability, and team work. For example, people interact with different profile so that assimilate them in an organization. Another event is annual workers dinner, the company mixes them up so that they do not seat with same nationalities. They can mingle, catch up, and have lots of fun. (Government of Singapore, 2014) Ethnicity is a tool of identity formation and imagination to involve in boundary-formation, conflict and racism. Hence, there occurs racism in Singapore. For instance, Singapore Malays are imagined to be incapable of or uninterested in entrepreneurial endeavours. In contrast, Singapore Chinese are seemed to be natural entrepreneurs to seek profit at every opportunity regardless of their ethnicity. Another example, in Chinese culture, ignores differences in sub-ethnic groups, social class, places of origin and so on. (Kopnina, 2004, p.249) Hence, Singapore government is supported the labour market, which contains people who are segregated by ethnic, age, sex or gender, and others. Even, the segregation in term of ethnic in a society occurs in order to respect people’s preferences. For example, most Indians are living at Little India and one of their authentic shops is Mustafa. However, it allows other ethnics to shop there as well. Stereotype is a highly potential influencing for discrimination. Thus, disparaging opinions, myths, and others overshadow the good qualities, characteristics, and abilities of older workers so that they tend to receive disadvantage in a workplace. However, the government set certain rules so that many companies have bolstered older workers’ willingness and abilities in an organization. For instance, in McDonalds, most of the morning shifts are older people because they will be more diligent and willing to wake up to work in the morning compared with the middle or young people. Hence, older people have opportunity to work in the morning and others in the afternoon and evening. On the other hand, the segregation can show some respects to the senior people. For example, people who work for long time in the company will be pay higher than junior level. In case of Singapore government, it has provided a chair for older people in accommodation. For instance, it provides special chairs for older people, disable, pregnant, and people with child in the mass rapid transit (MRT), bus, and other public transportations. Furthermore, the government has done certain policies in Singapore, such as government has reduced employers’ wage costs by lowering the Central Provident Fund (CPF) contribution for older workers, has encouraged employers to make a training lessons for workers above 40 years old with subsidized who earn less than $1,500 a month, and also has encouraged to retraining the mature workers through video-based training programmes and courses which provided by National Productivity Board (NPB). (Debrah, 1996, p.819) Stereotype occurs when individuals are not judged by their own unique characteristics or merit but on generalized characteristic based on group they belong to. People usually stereotype due to disadvantageous of women for selection, promotion decisions, and placement. Hence, there occur invisible barriers that prevent women in reaching the upper echelons of management. (Pichler, et at, 2008, p.466) However, the writer believe that the successful company is when it wants to respect each other regardless of their sex or gender and other disparities, instead consider on what advantages it will gain due to differences. For example, Mr. Antony Page as a General Manager at Marriott hotel in Singapore believes in diversity benefits. 60% of management teams are led by women. This leads the company to be successful and increase people awareness of its good brand names. Another example, Tet Wai Holdings Pte Ltd in Singapore, Maxine R. Hays as a President in that company said that Women must be trained for the technological revolution for they are not left behind and bring benefit for companies and their own selves as well as men. (The Singapore Business and Professional Womens Association, 1982) Moreover, segregation in term of sex or gender due to woman financial stability, like adequate health care and adequate Central Provident Fund (CPF) savings. Mostly, women have around 40 per cent lesser savings in their CPF accounts than men. (Wee and Hill, 2013) Though Convention to Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which Singapore acceded to in 1995, it still on the progress to demolish the sex or gender discrimination because some organizations have not eliminated the discrimination fully. There are several companies that prefer in the equal opportunities for every employee regardless of their gender, race, age, ability and others. For example, Han’s FB that adopts tripartite fair employment practices in 2008. Han’s FB company profit has increased since it hires people with disabilities (PWDs) to the company. Its profit jumped to more than 200% than previous years. (Fook, 2011) Hence, this company is tolerated with disparities in employment, including disable workers. In term of disability, Government of Singapore has been very supportive because it launched the Open Door Fund in 2007 in order to provide financial support to redesign jobs, modify workplaces as well as train people with disabilities. For example, Government provides the Assistive Technology Fund to help disabled students and employees purchase the technology devices for the sake of their education and work purposes. (Human Capital Singapore, 2012) Sexual orientation in the workplace also does as the government stated in Singapore, it is trying to implement the non-discrimination climate against sexual orientation in an organization. The reasons for organization allows the sexual orientation workers because they might bring better performance, enhance career progression, creativity, and productivity. (Day Greene, 2008, pp.640-41) In term of sexual orientation, in 2007, Singapore government stated that gays and lesbians have no legal protection towards employment discrimination. However, the Prime Minister, Goh, has given proclamation a non-discrimination regulation in the civil service which could be a signal for a real improvement security of gays and lesbians. (Badgett Frank, 2007, p.170) Furthermore, in 2008, Singapore government provides an equal protection of the law, which is stated Article 12(1) of the Singapore constitution guarantees equal protection: All persons are equal before the law and entitled to the equal protection of the law should not be treated any differently. (Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, 2008, p.27) Segregation in labour market is about putting people apart from another in term of age, gender, race, and ability of them so that a nation and an organization knows the benefits and disadvantages as well as treats them according to their needs. Hence, national and organizational policy might not only giving an equal opportunity, but also providing a diversity management regarding people’s segregation and segmentation. For knowing the segregation, the nation and organization does not always provide the helpful reaction for the people. However, they could bring a hampered effect for their actions. For example, the older people are being discriminated by an organization. Furthermore, diversity management is important for a company because it will bring several opportunities for the company. For instance, different ideas and perspective, productivity, increase good circumstances, self-improvement, flexibility, adaptable to change, and many others. Hence, it obtains a compatitive advantage due to implement the diversity management in an organization. (Barrak, 2014, p.231) In conclusion, the segregation inside the organization and government could be called as a main thing for Singapore to look at, especially sex or gender in organization because there have disparities or stereotype for women in doing certain job. In addition, the organization or even government might consider for managing diversity so that the gap between men and women is getting closer and instead taking some advantages from differences. In order to render a company to be successful, there are several ways to do, such as evaluating diversity and equality management with a proper evaluation and improving diversity program effectiveness. (Richard, et at, 2013, p.236) For example, in order to gain various ideas with creating a unique package, a design product company could recruit a diverse workforce to enter the company. References Badgett, M. V. L. and Frank, J. (2007): Sexual Orientation Discrimination: An International Perspective. 1st ed. New York and Canada: Taylor Francis Group. Barrak, M. E. M. (2014): Managing Diversity: Toward A Globally Inclusive Workplace. 3rd ed. United States of America: SAGE Publications, Inc. Day, N. E. and Greene, P. G. (2008): A Case for Sexual Orientation Diversity Management in Small and Large Organizations. Human Resource Management, 47(3): 637-54. Debrah, Y. A. (1996): Tackling age discrimination in employment in Singapore. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 7(4): 813-31. Fook, H. C., 2011. Philosophy, Policy, Training, and Charity. [Online] Available at: http://www.hanis.sg/hans.html [Accessed 28 August 2014]. Government of Singapore, 2014. Fostering Inclusive and Harmonious Workplaces. [Online] Available at: http://www.mom.gov.sg/employment practices/Pages/WDM.aspx [Accessed 29 August 2014]. Human Capital Singapore, 2012. Hiring the Disabled Mere Words by Employers or Real Deeds?. [Online] Available at: http://hcs.com.sg/v2/index.php/info/view_news/hiring-the-disabled-mere-words-by employers-or-real-deeds- [Accessed 28 August 2014]. Kopnina, H., 2004. Cultural hybrids or ethnic fundamentalists? discourses on ethnicity in Singaporean SMEs. Asian Ethnicity, 5(2): 245-52. Ministry of Community Development, Youth and Sports, (2008): Singapores Fourth Periodic Report to The UN Committee for the Convention on the elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women. Singapore: Fabulous Printers Pte Ltd. Pichler, S., Simpson, P. A. and Stroh, L. K. (2008): The Glass Ceiling in Human Resources: Exploring the Link between Womens Representation in Management and the Practices of Strategic Human Resource Management and Employee Involvement. Human Resource Management, 47(3): 463-79. Richard, O. C., Roh, H. and Pieper, J. R. (2013): The Link between Diversity and Equality Management Practice Bundles and Racial Diversity in the Managerial Ranks: Does Firm Size Matter?. Human Resource Management, 52(2): 215-42. The Singapore Business and Professional Womens Association, 1982. The Employment of women in a restructuring society, Singapore: SBPWA. Times Internet Limited, 2014. Definition of Labour Market. [Online] Available at: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/definition/labour-market [Accessed 21 August 2014]. Wee, V. and Hill, S. 2013. Gender dimension to inequality in Singapore. [Online] Available at: http://www.aware.org.sg/2013/10/gender-dimension-to-inequality-in-singapore/ [Accessed 29 August 2014].

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit To Change Something Essay -- essays res

Americans are well renown for their utter dissatisfaction for the current social, political, and economic status of their nation. Of course, it comes as now surprise that Americans are so driven to produce changes. The feisty, perseverance has been with the American people since the Revolutionary War, even before then. However, no matter how much a certain aspect of life is altered, not everyone will be pleased. Even though reform was a trend all throughout America's history, the 1830's and 1840's seem to be a time where reform was a popular fad. The women's right movement was a very predominant reform during this time. After years of servitude, many women were not longer going to be idle and quiet as their rights continually were denied to them. Many women felt as if they were being held captive or held prisoner by invisible bonds. For those women who did work out of the home, they finally were struck with a hard blow. Pay for a woman was the half the pay of a man. The Seneca Falls Manifesto was a revolutionary document for the women's document. Modeled after the Declaration of Independence, the authors proclaimed the atrocities committed by the men around them. "He has withheld from her rights which are given to the most ignorant and degraded men-both natives and foreigners....He has taken from her all right in property, even to the wages she earns." Despite their intelligence, perseverance, and peaceful way by which women conducted their movement, they still endured much criticism and mockery, but not only the press, but by Congress also. Feminists made an appearance around this time, the most famous being Lucy Stone. Stone and other feminists were particularly against the "traditional marriage." Some feminists were lucky to attain support from men in their crusade for rights. However, the majority of the male population felt women were to be docile, that "Her proper sphere is home, and her proper function is the care of the household, to manage a family, to take care of children, and attend to their early training." Religion, always a popular item chosen to be changed. People can never make up their minds. They choose one faith, and realize it is not for them, so they switch to another. Attitudes similar to these were the cause of the Second Great Awakening. One major religion, the Mormon belief, made a spectacular debut... ...n with rods, and lashed into obedience!" The Humanitarian Reform was begun by Dorthea Dix, however, many people, often relating religion to their actions, keep this movement going. For once in their lifetimes, the Indians were finally being seen as human beings, not barbarous creatures. Alexis de Tocqueville was a major campaigner in the better treatment of Indians. Tocqueville and another reformer, George Caitlin felt some land should be given back to the Native Americans, so their customs and ways of life might not fade away. "These are great evils, and it must be added that they appear to me to be irremediable. I believe that the Indian nations of North America are doomed to perish.....The Indians had only the alternative of war or civilization...the must either destroy the Europeans or become their equals..." A pattern seemed to have formed within the reforming of the 1830's and 1840's. All of a sudden, Americans wanted better treatment for everyone, well almost all Americans. Finally injustices were being recognized. They oppressed would endure bondage no longer. Revolutions started all over America, revolutions which paved the way for the present day America.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

An Evaluation of My Writing :: How Have I Changed As A Writer

Over my career of schooling my writing has changed dramatically at times and very little at others. Through my years of schooling people have determined my main weaknesses and strengths that I should work on with my writing. My biggest weakness is writing introductions and conclusions they must be so complicated and require so much thought to be defined as good. I excel at writing body paragraphs and explaining all the facts that back up your main ideas though. In all my years of going to school I have had trouble writing introductions and conclusions for my papers. All of my teachers would tell me that you would want your introduction to flow and clearly start what you are going to talk about. When ever I would write an introduction it would never flow. It is always fairly choppy and I could not figure out how to smoothen it out. Now that I am in college people have told me to not summarize my paper in my introduction. This requires even more creativity and thought to create an introduction, which I can never seem to think of. This also applies to my conclusions as well on how they must be so complicated. When writing an introduction and or conclusion there are suppose to be all different techniques to help write them but I can never apply any of them to what I am writing so they rarely help me. Also depending on the class I am writing for determines how difficult it is for me to write an introduction and conclusion. For exampl e, English papers and philosophy papers usually give me a bit more trouble then history papers. I have learned from being in college that English and philosophy papers need to be much more elaborate and deep. When writing a history paper you must be direct and right to the point and that is what I seem to do best. It shows because my history paper grades are a bit higher then my philosophy and English papers. Where there are weaknesses there are also strengths and mine lie within the body paragraphs. I arrange my ideas well by using quotes about my subject and explaining them.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Blood Promise Chapter Three

â€Å"Wait-what?† I exclaimed. That wasn't in the plan. That wasn't in the plan at all. I was trying to move through Russia in as incognito a way as possible. Plus, I didn't really relish the thought of having a tagalong-particularly one who appeared to hate me. I didn't know how long it would take to get to Siberia-a couple days, I thought-and I couldn't imagine spending them listening to Sydney talk about what an unnatural, evil being I was. Swallowing my outrage, I attempted reason. After all, I was asking a favor here. â€Å"That's not necessary,† I said, forcing a smile. â€Å"It's nice of you to offer, but I don't want to inconvenience you.† â€Å"Well,† she replied dryly, â€Å"there's no getting around that. And it's not me being nice. It's not even my choice. It's an order from my superiors.† â€Å"It still sounds like a pain in the ass for you. Why don't you just tell me where it is and blow them off?† â€Å"You obviously don't know the people I work for.† â€Å"Don't need to. I ignore authority all the time. It's not hard once you get used to it.† â€Å"Yeah? How's that working out for you with finding this village?† she asked mockingly. â€Å"Look, if you want to get there, this is the only way.† Well-it was the only way I could get there if I used Sydney for information. I could always go back to staking out the Nightingale†¦ but it had taken me this long to get a lead from there. Meanwhile, she was here right in front of me with the information I needed. â€Å"Why?† I asked. â€Å"Why do you have to go too?† â€Å"I can't tell you that. Bottom line: They told me to.† Lovely. I eyed her, trying to figure out what was going on here. Why on earth would anyone-let alone humans with their hands in the Moroi world -care where one teenage dhampir went? I didn't think Sydney had any ulterior motives-unless she was a very, very good actress. Yet, clearly the people she answered to had an agenda, and I didn't like playing into anyone's plan. At the same time, I was anxious to get on with this. Each day that passed was another in which I didn't find Dimitri. â€Å"How soon can we leave?† I asked at last. Sydney, I decided, was a paper-pusher. She'd shown no real skill in tracking me earlier. Surely it wouldn't be that hard to ditch her once we were near enough to Dimitri's town. She looked kind of disappointed at my response, almost as though she'd hoped I would decline and then she'd be off the hook. She didn't want to come with me any more than I wanted her to. Opening her purse, she took out her cell phone again, fiddled with it a couple of minutes, and finally produced some train times. She showed me the schedule for the next day. â€Å"Does that work for you?† I studied the screen and nodded. â€Å"I know where that station is. I can be there.† â€Å"Okay.† She stood up and tossed some cash on the table. â€Å"I'll see you tomorrow.† She started to walk away and then glanced back at me. â€Å"Oh, and you can have the rest of my fries.† When I first came to Russia, I stayed in youth hostels. I'd certainly had the money to stay elsewhere, but I wanted to remain under the radar. Besides, luxury hadn't really been the first thing on my mind. When I began going to the Nightingale, however, I found I could hardly return to a boarding house of backpacking students while wearing a designer dress. So I was now staying at a posh hotel, complete with guys who always held the doors open and a marble-floored lobby. That lobby was so big that I think an entire hostel could have fit in it. Maybe two hostels. My room was large and overdone too, and I was grateful to reach it and change out of the heels and dress. I realized with only a small pang of regret that I'd have to leave the dresses I'd bought in Saint Petersburg behind. I wanted to keep my luggage light while jaunting around the country, and even if my backpack was large, there was only so much I could carry. Oh well. Those dresses would make some cleaning woman's day, no doubt. The only bit of ornamentation I really needed was my nazar, a pendant that looked like a blue eye. It had been a gift from my mother, which had in turn been a gift from my father. I always wore it around my neck. Our train for Moscow left late in the morning, and we would then catch a cross-country train to Siberia. I wanted to be well rested and ready for it all. Once in my pajamas, I snuggled under the bed's heavy comforter and hoped sleep would come soon. Instead, my mind spun with all the things that had happened recently. The Sydney situation was a bizarre twist but one I could handle. As long as we stuck to public transportation, she could hardly lead me into the clutches of her mysterious superiors. And from what she'd said about our travel time, it would indeed only take a couple of days or so to reach the village. Two days seemed both impossibly long and impossibly short. It meant I could very well be confronting Dimitri in a few days†¦ and then what? Could I do it? Could I bring myself to kill him? And even if I decided I could, would I actually have the skill to overpower him? The same questions that I'd been asking myself for the last two weeks kept plaguing me over and over. Dimitri had taught me everything I knew, and with enhanced Strigoi reflexes, he would truly be the god I'd always joked he was. Death was a very real possibility for me. But worrying wasn't helpful right now and, looking over at the clock in the room, I discovered I'd been lying awake for almost an hour. That was no good. I needed to be in peak condition. So I did something I knew I shouldn't do, but which always worked to get my mind off my worries-largely because it involved me being in someone else's mind. Slipping inside Lissa's head required only a small amount of concentration on my part. I hadn't known if I could do it when we were far apart, but I'd discovered the process was no different than if I were standing right beside her. It was late morning back in Montana, and Lissa had no classes today since it was Saturday. During my time away, I'd worked very hard to put up mental walls between us, almost completely blocking her and her feelings out. Now, inside her, all the barriers were down, and her emotions hit me like a tidal wave. She was pissed off. Really pissed off. â€Å"Why does she think she can just snap her fingers and get me to go anywhere she wants, anytime she wants?† Lissa growled. â€Å"Because she's the queen. And because you made a deal with the devil.† Lissa and her boyfriend, Christian, were lounging in the attic of the school's chapel. As soon as I recognized the surroundings, I nearly pulled out of her head. The two of them had had way too many â€Å"romantic† encounters up here, and I didn't want to stick around if clothes were going to be ripped off soon. Fortunately-or perhaps not-her annoyed feelings told me there'd be no sex today, not with her bad mood. It was kind of ironic, actually. Their roles were reversed. Lissa was the raging one while Christian remained cool and collected, trying to appear calm for her sake. He sat on the floor, leaning up against the wall, while she sat in front of him, his legs apart and his arms holding her. She rested her head on his chest and sighed. â€Å"For the last few weeks, I've done everything she's asked! ? ®Vasilisa, please show this stupid visiting royal around campus.' ? ®Vasilisa, please jump on a plane for the weekend so that I can introduce you to some boring officials here at Court.' ? ®Vasilisa, please put in some volunteer time with the younger students. It looks good.'† Despite Lissa's frustration, I couldn't help a little amusement. She had Queen Tatiana's voice down perfectly. â€Å"You would have done that last one willingly,† Christian pointed out. â€Å"Yeah†¦ the point being willingly. I hate her trying to dictate every part of my life lately.† Christian leaned over and kissed her cheek. â€Å"Like I said, you made a deal with the devil. You're her darling now. She wants to make sure you're making her look good.† Lissa scowled. Although Moroi lived inside human-run countries and were subject to those governments, they were also ruled by a king or queen who came from one of the twelve royal Moroi families. Queen Tatiana-an Ivashkov-was the current ruler, and she'd taken a particular interest in Lissa as the last living member of the Dragomir family. As such, Tatiana had cut Lissa a deal. If Lissa lived at Court after graduating from St. Vladimir's, the queen would arrange for her to attend LehighUniversity in Pennsylvania. Lissa was a total brain and thought living in Tatiana's household would be worth it to attend a semi-big, prestigious university, as opposed to the tiny ones Moroi usually went to (for safety reasons). As Lissa was finding out, though, the strings attached to that deal were already in place now. â€Å"And I just sit and take it,† Lissa said. â€Å"I just smile and say ? ®Yes, your majesty. Anything you want, your majesty.'† â€Å"Then tell her the deal's off. You'll be eighteen in a couple of months. Royal or not, you're under no obligations. You don't need her to go to a big school. We'll just take off, you and me. Go to whatever college you want. Or don't go to college at all. We can run off to Paris or something and work at a little cafe. Or sell bad art on the streets.† This actually made Lissa laugh, and she snuggled closer to Christian. â€Å"Right. I can totally see you having the patience to wait on people. You'd be fired your first day. Looks like the only way we'll survive is if I go to college and support us.† â€Å"There are other ways to get to college, you know.† â€Å"Yeah, but not to any that are this good,† she said wistfully. â€Å"Not easily, at least. This is the only way. I just wish I could have all this and stand up to her a little. Rose would.† â€Å"Rose would have gotten herself arrested for treason the first time Tatiana asked her to do something.† Lissa smiled sadly. â€Å"Yeah. She would have.† The smile turned into a sigh. â€Å"I miss her so much.† Christian kissed her again. â€Å"I know.† This was a familiar conversation for them, one that never grew old because Lissa's feelings for me never faded. â€Å"She's okay, you know. Wherever she is, she's okay.† Lissa stared off into the attic's darkness. The only light came from a stained-glass window that made the whole place look like a fairyland. The space had been recently cleaned out-by Dimitri and me, actually. It had only been a couple of months ago, but already, dust and boxes were accumulating once more. The priest here was a nice guy but kind of a pack rat. Lissa noticed none of this, though. Her thoughts were too focused on me. â€Å"I hope so. I wish I had some idea-any idea-where she is. I keep thinking that if anything happened to her, if she-† Lissa couldn't finish the thought. â€Å"Well, I keep thinking that I'd know somehow. That I'd feel it. I mean, I know the bond's one-way†¦ that's never changed. But I'd have to know if something happened to her, right?† â€Å"I don't know,† said Christian. â€Å"Maybe. Maybe not.† Any other guy would have said something overly sweet and comforting, assuring her that yes, yes, of course she'd know. But it was part of Christian's nature to be brutally honest. Lissa liked that about him. So did I. It didn't always make him a pleasant friend, but at least you knew he wasn't bullshitting you. She sighed again. â€Å"Adrian says she's okay. He visits her dreams. I'd give anything to be able to do that. My healing's getting better and better, and I've got the aura thing down. But no dreams yet.† Knowing Lissa missed me hurt almost more than if she'd completely written me off. I'd never wanted to hurt her. Even when I'd resented her for feeling like she was controlling my life, I'd never hated her. I loved her like a sister and couldn't stand the thought of her suffering now on my behalf. How had things gotten so screwed up between us? She and Christian continued sitting there in comfortable silence, drawing strength and love from each other. They had what Dimitri and I had had, a sense of such oneness and familiarity that words often weren't needed. He ran his fingers through her hair, and while I couldn't see it so well through her own eyes, I could imagine the way that pale hair would gleam in the rainbow light of the stained-glass windows. He tucked several long locks behind her ear and then tipped her head back, bringing his lips down to hers. The kiss started off light and sweet and then slowly intensified, warmth spreading from his mouth to hers. Uh-oh, I thought. It might be time to take off after all. But she ended it before I had to. â€Å"It's time,† she said regretfully. â€Å"We've got to go.† The look in Christian's crystal-blue eyes said otherwise. â€Å"Maybe this is the perfect time for you to stand up to the queen. You should just stay here -it'd be a great way to build character.† Lissa lightly elbowed him and then planted a kiss on his forehead before standing up. â€Å"That is not why you want me to stay, so don't even try to play me.† They left the chapel, and Christian mumbled something about wanting to do more than play that earned him another elbow. They were heading toward the administration building, which was in the heart of the upper school's campus. Aside from the first blushes of spring, everything looked like it had when I'd left-at least on the outside. The stone buildings remained grand and imposing. The tall, ancient trees continued their watch. Yet, inside the hearts of the staff and students, things had changed. Everyone carried scars from the attack. Many of our people had been killed, and while classes were up and running again, everyone still grieved. Lissa and Christian reached their destination: the administration building. She didn't know the reason for her summoning, only that Tatiana had wanted her to meet some royal guy who had just arrived at the Academy. Considering how many people Tatiana was always forcing her to meet lately, Lissa didn't think too much of it. She and Christian stepped inside the main office, where they found Headmistress Kirova sitting and chatting with an older Moroi and a girl about our age. â€Å"Ah, Miss Dragomir. There you are.† I'd gotten in trouble with Kirova a lot while I'd been a student, yet seeing her now made me feel kind of nostalgic. Getting suspended for starting a fight in class seemed worlds better than traipsing through Siberia to find Dimitri. Kirova had the same birdlike appearance she'd always had, the same glasses balanced at the end of her nose. The man and girl stood up, and Kirova gestured to them. â€Å"This is Eugene Lazar and his daughter Avery.† Kirova turned back toward Lissa. â€Å"This is Vasilisa Dragomir and Christian Ozera.† A fair bit of sizing up went on then. Lazar was a royal name, but that was no surprise since Tatiana had initiated this meeting. Mr. Lazar gave Lissa a winning smile as he shook her hand. He seemed a bit surprised to meet Christian, but the smile stayed. Of course, that kind of reaction to Christian wasn't so unusual. The two ways to become Strigoi were by choice or by force. A Strigoi could turn another person-human, Moroi, or dhampir-by drinking their blood and then feeding Strigoi blood back to them. That was what had happened to Dimitri. The other way to become Strigoi was unique to Moroi -and it was done by choice. Moroi who purposely chose to kill a person by drinking blood would also turn Strigoi. Usually, Moroi only drank small, nonlethal amounts from willing humans. But taking so much that it destroyed another's life force? Well, that turned Moroi to the dark side, taking away their elemental magic and transforming them into the twisted undead. That was exactly what Christian's parents had done. They'd willingly killed and become Strigoi to gain eternal life. Christian had never shown any desire to become Strigoi, but everyone acted as though he were about to. (Admittedly, his snarky attitude didn't always help.) A lot of his close family-despite being royal-had been unfairly shunned as well. He and I had teamed up to kick a fair amount of Strigoi ass during the attack, though. Word of that was getting around and improving his reputation. Kirova was never one to waste time with formalities, so she got straight to the point. â€Å"Mr. Lazar is going to be the new headmaster here.† Lissa had still been smiling at him politely, but her head immediately jerked toward Kirova. â€Å"What?† â€Å"I'm going to be stepping down,† explained Kirova, voice flat and emotionless enough to rival any guardian's. â€Å"Though I'll still be serving the school as a teacher.† â€Å"You're going to teach?† Christian asked incredulously. She gave him a dry look. â€Å"Yes, Mr. Ozera. It was what I originally went to school for. I'm sure if I try hard enough, I can remember how to do it.† â€Å"But why?† asked Lissa. â€Å"You do a great job.† It was more or less true. Despite my disputes with Kirova-usually over me breaking rules-I still had a healthy respect for her. Lissa did too. â€Å"It's something I've thought about returning to for some time,† explained Kirova. â€Å"Now seemed as good a time as any, and Mr. Lazar is a very capable administrator.† Lissa was pretty good at reading people. I think it was part of spirit's side effects, along with how spirit made its users very, very charismatic. Lissa thought Kirova was lying, and so did I. If I'd been able to read Christian's mind, my guess would have been that he felt the same way. The attack on the Academy had sent a lot of people into a panic, royals in particular, even though the problem that had led to the attack had long since been fixed. I was guessing that Tatiana's hand was at work here, forcing Kirova to step down and have a royal take her place, thus making other royals feel better. Lissa didn't let her thoughts show, and she turned back to Mr. Lazar. â€Å"Well, it's very nice to meet you. I'm sure you'll do a great job. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you.† She was playing the proper princess role perfectly. Being polite and sweet was one of her many talents. â€Å"Actually,† said Mr. Lazar, â€Å"there is.† He had a deep, booming voice, the kind that filled a room. He gestured toward his daughter. â€Å"I was wondering if you could show Avery around and help her find her way here. She graduated last year but will be assisting me in my duties. I'm sure she'd much rather be spending time with someone her own age, however.† Avery smiled, and for the first time, Lissa really paid attention to her. Avery was beautiful. Stunning. Lissa was beautiful too, between that gorgeous hair and the jade green eyes that ran in her family. I thought she was a hundred times prettier than Avery, but beside the older girl, Lissa felt kind of plain. Avery was tall and slim like most Moroi but had a few sexy curves thrown in. That kind of chest, like mine, was coveted among Moroi, and her long brown hair and blue-gray eyes completed the package. â€Å"I promise not to be too much of a pain,† said Avery. â€Å"And if you want, I'll give you some insider's tips on Court life. I hear you're going to be moving there.† Instantly, Lissa's defenses went up. She realized what was going on. Not only had Tatiana ousted Kirova, she'd sent a keeper for Lissa. A beautiful, perfect companion who could spy on Lissa and attempt to train her up to Tatiana's standards. Lissa's words were perfectly polite when she spoke, but there was a definite edge of frost in her voice. â€Å"That'd be great,† she said. â€Å"I'm pretty busy lately, but we can try to make the time.† Neither Avery's father nor Kirova seemed to notice the back off subtext, but something flashed in Avery's eyes that told Lissa the message had come through. â€Å"Thanks,† said Avery. Unless I was mistaken, there was some legitimate hurt in her face. â€Å"I'm sure we'll figure something out.† â€Å"Good, good,† said Mr. Lazar, totally oblivious to the girl drama. â€Å"Maybe you can show Avery to guest housing? She's staying in the east wing.† â€Å"Sure,† said Lissa, wishing she could do anything but that. She, Christian, and Avery started to leave, but just then, two guys entered the room. One was a Moroi, a little younger than us, and the other was a dhampir in his twenties-a guardian, from the look of his hard, serious features. â€Å"Ah, there you are,† said Mr. Lazar, beckoning the guys in. He rested his hand on the boy's shoulder. â€Å"This is my son Reed. He's a junior and will be attending classes here. He's very excited about it.† Actually, Reed looked extremely unexcited. He was pretty much the surliest guy I'd ever seen. If I ever needed to play the role of a disgruntled teen, I could have learned everything there was to know about it from Reed Lazar. He had the same good looks and features as Avery, but they were marred by a grimace that seemed permanently attached to his face. Mr. Lazar introduced the others to Reed. Reed's only response was a guttural, â€Å"Hey.† â€Å"And this is Simon, Avery's guardian,† continued Mr. Lazar. â€Å"Of course, while on campus, he doesn't need to be with her all the time. You know how it goes. Still, I'm sure you'll see him around.† I hoped not. He didn't look as completely unpleasant as Reed, but he had a certain dour nature that seemed extreme even among guardians. Suddenly, I kind of felt sorry for Avery. If this was her only company, I'd want to befriend someone like Lissa pretty badly. Lissa, however, made it clear that she wouldn't be part of Tatiana's schemes. With little conversation, she and Christian escorted Avery to guest housing and promptly left. Normally, Lissa would have stayed to help Avery get settled and offered to eat with her later. Not this time. Not with ulterior motives afoot. I came back to my own body, back in the hotel. I knew I shouldn't care about Academy life anymore and that I should even feel bad for Avery. Yet lying there and staring into the darkness, I couldn't help but take some smug-and yes, very selfish-satisfaction out of this encounter: Lissa wouldn't be shopping for a new best friend anytime soon.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Democracy In Queensland Essay

Democracy is a form of government wherein the regime that would be formed or was formed in a certain nation is based on vox populi (â€Å"voice of the people†) and or the rule of the majority. Furthermore, in this type of government, the consent of the governed is still based on the majority with an assumption of a free and fair election conducted, on the goal or objective of protecting for the political minorities, fair and just treatment or execution of the law and basic human rights, and political pluralism (Camp, 1841). We can say that the people or individuals electing the government and its government officials, has the power to alter, accept or reject some decisions made by the elected rulers. In the modern-day world of political views, beliefs and principles, the definition of democracy seems vague and for others, it is ambiguous having different meanings depending on the nation having this type of government (Dunn, 2005). The article published Last February 1, 2007 in the editorial section of The New Zealand Herald, which was entitled â€Å"Sometimes, democracy can stink,† talks about Queensland regarding public consultations, government rule and in general, democracy. It was said that Queensland is under a critical situation of having the worst condition when it comes to water shortage during the summer. So the government of Queensland asked the opinion of the majority about a proposed use of recycled water. Since Queensland is a nation under a democratic government, as much we could say that Australians (in Queensland) live in democracy, having a political system wherein they have the power to vote for or choose through their ballots their government and government representatives, therefore, it was a proper action for them to consult the majority first. The problem was that the state premiere announced the cancellation of the said referendum. The people of Queensland or the majority would have to drink or use the recycled water whether they like it or not. Democracy in this aspect was bypassed, but if you would look at the problem or the crisis which Queensland would have to suffer in the future, the decision of the state was just and necessary. The author of the article carefully looks at some instances wherein democracy in a nation sometimes becomes a problem. The author may not be a government official, but it seems that he or she has good political and social background and knowledge. He or she is able to show that with or without democracy, the people of Queensland and its government officials would have to do their own parts and that they have the responsibility in taking steps for the development or progress of their nation. The author sees the action taken by the state or the government officials regarding the issue was just and shows that the ruling class has the capacity for good governance. The action which they took might not have been a democratic one, but it was a lesson regarding a good government. Democracy, lying on the principles such as the sovereignty of the people, government based upon consent of the governed, majority rule, minority rights, guarantee of basic human rights, and the others, lies on a divine fact that within its hearts, is freedom (Thayer, 1919). This freedom is possessed by the individuals, either the rulers or the individuals ruled. This freedom, that they posses should be enough to create ways or implementations that would benefit the majority. I think that democracy is not truly bypassed even without the consent of the majority as long as the rule or law implemented benefits the majority most, and does not cause harm of any form or in any way. In the case of the implementation of the use of recycled water in Queensland, it was a right decision, and that it does not harm the majority but rather help them survive longer. Individuals who are very attached to the â€Å"definition† of democracy or those who are lovers of democracy would see this act of the state of Queensland as preposterous. They would argue that the majority was neglected and that due process was not done. But this is not the case. The government and the government officials of Queensland’s decided or implemented the use of recycled water because they considered and thought of the majority and it was just a fair decision. It does not matter whether the referendum results was a â€Å"yes† or a â€Å"no† from the majority. Through public consultations or the referendum, the government could receive a majority of â€Å"no† or a majority disagreeing with the use of recycled water, but later on as the water crisis worsens, the state would implement it, thus, leading to an inconsistency in the government, decreasing the hope or trust given to the state by its people. Thus, the cancellation of the referendum was justified. If the government of Queensland did not implement the use of recycled water, then Queensland would be approaching its end. It is a situation wherein the people of Queensland do not have a choice. They have the option of drinking or not drinking the recycled water because of certain reasons such as unpalatability, but ultimately, they have to or else, they would die of thirst. The problem was addressed by the government as to ensure the needs and the safety of the majority living in Queensland. The referendum, through the questionnaires, public polls, public interviews and other statistical measures may not be enough to ensure a firm or the best decision that has the most benefit. The government of Queensland, more specifically its officials, had taken great depth in studying the best solution to address both the problems being undertaken and the inhabitants of Queensland. Furthermore, in their government website, the recycled water which was to be given to the majority is wastewater which highly purified and treated to an extent that it reaches the highest quality or standard. They even promote safe, environmentally sustainable, cheap source and enough water supplies through purified recycled water. The recycled water also passes a strict series of processing and guidelines to ensure the safety of the majority and for the progress of the society. The article regarding the democracy in Queensland, ethically shows that sometimes, democracy may not be fulfilled or followed strictly or thoroughly. Socially speaking, the government of Queensland performs its duties under due process for the protection of the political minorities and for the benefit or sake of the majority. A good government has a central role of performing plays or actions that would ensure a progress or development of the country or nation, economically or socially (Slinn, 2004). Furthermore, the referendum might have been cancelled or what the majority has to say might not have been legally considered in the actions that the state has taken, but it does not mean that democracy in Queensland is dead and the majority no longer has the power. It only means that the actions taken shows that the majority was in power and that the action taken was for their benefit, and not for the benefit of the ruling body. In addition to this, the government or the state was also at risk regarding the cancellation of the referendum, because they could be perceived to violate the democracy in Queensland, when in fact, they do not. The democratic law of giving benefit to the majority is the sovereign entity in this issue (Oswald, 1986). The author does not mislead people in stating that democracy sometimes stink. He or she does not generalize democracy to be a burden and he or she does not imply that democracy is a weak type of government. From the title of the article, he or she initially states â€Å"sometimes†, implying that it democracy is not always that bad, but in this case regarding the crisis in Queensland, it was.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Oedipus Rex vs. Hamlet

A snake, which weaves itself throughout the veins of a family, spews its fatal venom into capillaries and infecting the soul. The poison of betrayal, despair and the disease of the psyches cloud the mind in both Oedipus Rex and Hamlet. In both instances, all characters fall victim to a shattered world, ripped apart by failed expectancies. Prince Hamlet and King Oedipus both watch as their families become dismembered. There was a pattern of ideals that were violated and corrupt, progressing the plays’ actions. The helping hands which aided the unraveling of their lives were perverted concepts, everyday characteristics needed to lead a sane life. These corrupt philosophies which color the pages of these plays touch on the ideals of cursed love, crumbled loyalty, a broken family and the virtue of suffering; all of which aid in the destined doom of the characters. Love is golden, pure. It’s the saving grace which sheds light in the darkest of nights. But in our main characters’ stories, it’s part of their downfall. In both novels, love is one of the threads that are snapped. The tainted, incestuous love of Jocasta and Oedipus Rex helped to prove the prophecy true. It was essentially a mockery of what love is, for they believed it to be true but in the end what they really felt was the love of a mother to her son. Teiresias lays the first seed of their crime, crying to him, â€Å"I say thou livest with thy nearest kin in infamy, unwitting in thy shame. † As the truth unfolds and the couple begins to realize the depth of their sins, the love which they once knew morphs into an ugly, distorted perversion. It resulted in Jocasta’s suicide and Oedipus’s loss of sanity. The revolting reality that the truth posed was too much for the characters to rationalize. In the case of Hamlet, Ophelia’s rejection only added to the deep depression that already colored the Prince’s mind. Hamlet’s spurned desire caused him to alienate Ophelia, leaving him lonelier and believing that there was no one there for him. As he was contemplating suicide, he includes the â€Å"pangs of despised love† as one of the wounds that ravage his mind. Our Prince is angered by Ophelia’s rejection and unleashes his wrath on her, accusing that â€Å"God has given you one face and you make yourselves another. You jig and amble, and you lisp, you nickname God’s creatures and make your wantonness your ignorance. † His isolation and cruelty left Ophelia reeling and despairing, thus ending with the taking of her own life. Another instance of â€Å"incest† was between Claudius and Gertrude. The taboo of their relationship brought about Gertrude’s death and added to Hamlet’s reasons for avenging his father by murdering Claudius. When the cement bonds of family are crushed and ground into dirt, it could cause one to question their life, their worth. All they’ve known vanishes. Family is the stoic rock that is supposed to support you, be there for you in times of need. As Oedipus inadvertently betrays himself and his family, he spells out the demise of his blood line and all others involved. His family becomes a perversion of what a true one should be, spawned out of betrayal and sin. His realization of his broken family snaps his sanity, crying out, â€Å"Then had I never come to shed my father's blood nor climbed my mother's bed; the monstrous offspring of a womb defiled, co-mate of him who gendered me, and child. Was ever man before afflicted thus, like Oedipus? because of the God’s will, he kills his own father and sleeps with his mother. He’s fulfilling the prophecy and his destiny, committing taboos that will end up ripping apart the seams of his rational mind. The betrayal of Jocasta and Laius helped the story to progress as well. If they’d never abandoned their newborn son for death, Oedipus might have avoided ignorantly sleepi ng with his mother and carelessly murdering his father. The cursed King also broke the trust of his people. He alone was the cause of the plague that claimed so many innocent citizens of Thebes. Oedipus only wasted time and effort trying to search for the culprit when it was he who was the villain, accusing the innocent of treachery and pointing his finger at all the wrong places. The lover’s tryst between Ophelia and Hamlet could be categorized as betrayal as well as spurned love. Hamlet looked to the woman he loved for support in his dark time, but she refused him and sent him away at the advice of her father. He illustrates his sense of deception when he says, â€Å"Ay, truly, for the power of beauty will sooner transform honesty from what it is to a bawd than the force of honesty can translate beauty into his likeness. This was sometime a paradox, but now the time gives it proof. I did love you once. † The advice Ophelia received from Polonius to stop seeing Hamlet made the Prince believe that she was just a whore, playing with his emotions. The relationship of Gertrude and Polonius also created a sense of disloyalty for Hamlet. The Queen hardly endured the mourning period of her late husband before diving into bed with King Hamlet’s murderer. Hamlet formulated a distrust for women as a result of his mother’s actions, lashing out at Ophelia exclaiming, â€Å"Get thee to a nunnery. Why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent honest, but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me. † Once Hamlet learned that his mother was not only sleeping with the King’s brother, but his murderer as well, the knife of disloyalty cut even deeper. Revenge then began to taint his mind with the realization of this great betrayal. But, the driving force behind the thirst for the death of Claudius came from the broken trust between brothers. As Claudius poured the venom into King Hamlet’s ear, it sealed his own death. In both Hamlet and Oedipus Rex, the drama revolves around a broken and disjointed family. Your relatives are those you trust, a net to catch you from any treacherous fall. Oedipus tears apart his family as he taints it with murder and incest, incurring his madness and his parent’s demise. He knows that because of his dark deeds, he has set a life for his daughters in which they’ll always be haunted by his actions. His knowledge of this sin makes him spurn himself, â€Å"Their father slew his father, sowed the seed where he himself was gendered, and begat these maidens at the source wherefrom he sprang. Jocasta and Laius also aided in the destruction of their family’s foundation when they tried to kill their own son. Oedipus narrates this when he claims, â€Å"No, let me be a dweller on the hills, on yonder mount Cithaeron, famed as mine, my tomb predestined for me by my sire and mother, while they lived, that I may die slain as they sought to slay me, when aliv e. † But, destiny won out and punished them for their cruelty, for the prophecy was still fulfilled. In the case of Hamlet, Claudius takes a sledgehammer to the Royal family of Denmark when he kills his own brother. This action was the spark which ignited the flame that would engulf the entire family. The Ghost of King Hamlet exposes the treachery of his brother, revealing â€Å"But know, thou noble youth, the serpent that did sting thy father’s life now wears his crown. † The loss of his father was the initiating action that commenced Hamlet’s depression and the discovery of Claudius’s role spurs him to consider murdering Claudius. When Hamlet finally avenges his father, he makes his uncle’s broken brotherhood known, â€Å"Here, thou incestuous, murderous, damned Dane, drink off this potion. Is thy union here? Follow my mother. † Another family wrecked in the play was Polonius’s family. As a conspirator to Claudius, he received his karma when Hamlet killed him. His action brought down his children as well. He convinced Ophelia to disregard Hamlet’s advances, thus incurring the Prince’s loathing for her and making her commit suicide. Claudius convinced Laertes that Hamlet was sick in the mind, dangerous, and the cause for the death of his family. The actions of the two men brought down this second family, as Polonius’s children were lured into the deceiving web of lies which they had spun. Like the venom poured into King Hamlet’s ear, another type of poison seethed into the minds of our plays’ characters. These doomed persons both endured torturous suffering of the mind and the heart. In Oedipus Rex, Jocasta couldn’t bear the knowledge of the terrible sins she had committed. In her last despairing words, she cries â€Å"O woe is thee, poor wretch! With that last word I leave thee, henceforth silent evermore. † Oedipus couldn’t stomach his own tainted self and whatever was left of his corrupted family. His plea cries for blindness, to blacken all that is sinful, â€Å"Dark, dark! The horror of darkness, like a shroud, wraps me and bears me on through mist and cloud. Ah me, ah me! What spasms athwart me shoot, what pangs of agonizing memory? † But no matter what he does, he cannot escape his sins, even as he stabs his eyes. The suffering of these characters, brought on by the knowledge of what they had committed, was the ultimate weapon which ended them. Our Prince Hamlet was inflicted with the disease of the mind, depression. It lingered in the corners of his mind, a black cloud which fostered his dark thoughts and wishes to avenge his father and all who has wronged him. Hamlet also questions the validity of living, whether it was worth it. â€Å"To be or not to be? † To live or not to live? He’s outlining his depression in that soliloquy, debating â€Å"whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take to arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them. † He paints the image of his tired mind set, for â€Å"who would be the whips and scorns of time? There is also poor Ophelia, who has cracked underneath her ex-love’s cruel words. â€Å"Well, God'ield you! † She cries in her insanity, â€Å"They say the owl was a baker’s daughter. Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be. God be at your table. † She cries her nonsensical words, demonstrating her fragile state of mind. She ultimately becomes so haunted by the stinging words of Hamlet that she cannot bear her life any longer, thus drowning herself. Both of these characters’ sufferings gave rise to their final death. In the works of Oedipus Rex and Hamlet, the main characters all suffer a tragic end. It’s the themes that permeate the pages which causes their ultimate doom. When a chain of events are set into motion, un-foretold consequences may lurk behind. And so those consequences begin to taint the concepts that we all inherently rely on for a happy life. As human beings, we strive to attain love, to be accepted into one’s heart and to do the same. Accompanying love is the expectancy of fidelity. When Prince Hamlet witnessed the countless deceptions, he lost faith in his fellow man. Also family, in which there are ties that are stronger than ever, is expected to remain truthful and just to their relationships but this is violated in both plays. As a result, the violation of all the expected concepts brings about the plague of despair that infects one’s mind. At the realization that life isn’t living up to what they hoped for, questions of existence arise. And so these ideals of cursed love, crumbled loyalty, a broken family and the virtue of suffering all spelled out the imminent demise of our poor characters.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Debt Policy and Value

EMBA 8500 #1 Book value of debt Book value of equity Market value of debt Market value of equity Pretax cost of debt After Tax cost of debt rd Market value weights of: Wd Debt We Equity bL Levered beta Rf Risk-free Rate Market Premium RM Ke Cost of equity WACC EBIT – Taxes (34%) EBIAT + Depreciation – Capital expense Change in Net Working Capital Free Cash Flow Value of Assets ( FCF/WACC) CASE # 31 0% Debt 100% Equity $ $ 20,000 $ $ 20,000 7. 0% 4. 62% $ 34% $ $ $ $ $ $ 0 1 0. 8 7% 8. 6% 13. 88% 13. 88% 4,206. 00 1,430. 04 2,775. 96 1,000. 00 (1,000. 00) 0 2,775. 96 19,999. 1 25% Debt 75% Equity $ 5,000 $ 15,000 $ 5,000 $ 16,700 7. 0% 4. 62% 12/2/2012 50% Debt 1) As the firm becomes more leveraged the WACC will change because debtholders have a 50% Equity fixed claim on cash which increases the risk for stockholders. This can cause the stock to go up $ 10,000 and firms can reduce the taxes paid, thereby freeing up more cash. Debt also increases the risk $ 10,000 of bank ruptcy. $ 10,000 $ 13,400 (Debt * Tax Rate) + BV Equity 7. 0% 4. 62% (Pretax * (1-Tax Rate)) 23. 0% 42. 7% 77. 0% 57. 3% 0. 96 1. 19 7% 7% 8. 6% 8. 6% 15. 24% 17. 27% 12. 79% 11. 6% $ 4,206. 00 $ 4,206. 00 $ 1,430. 04 $ 1,430. 04 $ 2,775. 96 $ 2,775. 96 $ 1,000. 00 $ 1,000. 00 $ (1,000. 00) $ (1,000. 00) 0 0 $ 2,775. 96 $ 2,775. 96 $ 21,699. 69 $ 23,399. 66 Added Tax Shield increase value VL = VU + TD MV Debt / (MV Debt + MV Equity) MV Equity / (MV Debt + MV Equity) 0. 8 is the b u b L = b u [1+(1-T) * D/E HAMADA D/E Ratio 29. 94% 74. 63% Ke = Rf + (b L * RM) CAPM WACC = (Wd * rd) + (We * re) EBIT * Tax Rate EBIT – Tax amount V = FCF/WACC M3DISK – Maryann Albert, Mike Arendosh, Mark Jarboe, Dan Pool, Ivo Hegelbach, Sean McPherson, Krista Massell 1

Ink Made from Teabags Essay

* 1. Background of the Study Tea is created by using the leaves of a plantknown as Camellis sinensis. This plant is native tomainland China, South and Southeast Asia, but it istoday cultivated across the world in tropical andsubtropical regions. It is an evergreen shrub orsmall tree that is usually trimmed to below 2 m(6.6 ft) when cultivated for its leaves. It has astrong taproot. The flowers are yellow-white, 2.5-4cm (0.98-1.6 in) in diameter, with 7 to 8 petals. * 2. Tea-drinking can be traced back to the 10thcentury BC in China before it was spread toKorea and Japan. Basically, this drink is madeby brewing tea leaves to create an extract. Dueto the chlorophylls and other pigments in theleaves, the extract commonly appears with abrown color. * 3. Objectives This research is being done to find out thepotency of the extract of the leaves from theplant Camellis sinensis as an ink. Nowadays,ink is a pigment in a liquid or paste form used ascolorants and dyes. Also, they are becomingmore and more expensive because of theirincreasing purposes. * 4. Our research aims to produce this ink as acheaper alternative to those commercial ones.Compared to the ink we are aiming to create,commercially produced inks are toxic and canbe hazardous to a person’s health once there isa inappropriate contact with it.To match with the color and consistency ofother inks, we will be adding other substances,specially vinegar and cornstarch, which arecommon and easy to find. * 5. Statement of the Problem Generally, this investigatory project aims to find out iftea bags can be used to create an ink. Specifically, it aimsto answer the following questions:1. Can vinegar strengthen the color of the product, ink?2. Can cornstarch contribute to achieving the rightconsistency of the ink?3. Are the processes boiling and straining efficient intaking the extract out of the tea bags? * 6. Hypothesis of the Study†¢ Extracts taken from tea bags have thepotential to be made into an ink. †¢ If vinegar and cornstarch are added to themixture, then the product would have astronger color and thicker consistency than toan ordinary ink. * 7. Significance of the Study This investigatory project will benefit us byproducing an alternative for other inks. Theseother manufactured inks nowadays come quiteexpensive prices, but since the materials to beused in our project are common and easy to find,you will be spending less money. Also, no harmfulchemicals will be used in making our ink.Therefore, it is non-toxic compared tocommercially sold inks which have the tendenciesof causing harm to one’s health and to theenvironment. * 8. Scope and Limitations Our research and experiments are onlylimited to making a simple ink as a colorant. Itdoes not include inks that are used in machinessuch as printers, copiers, etc. Also, our studyincludes the effects of vinegar and cornstarchon the product. To have accurate observations,we will be creating two set-ups: an ink withoutvinegar and cornstarch and one with vinegarand cornstarch. * 9. This history of Chinese inks can be traced back tothe 18th century BC, with the utilization of naturalplant dyes, animal, and mineral inks based on suchmaterials as graphite that were ground with water andapplied with ink brushes.The India ink used in ancient India since at least the4ath century BC was called masi, and was made ofburnt bones, tar, pitch, and other substances appliedwith sharp pointed needle.Saffron is well know as the source of a truly brilliant ifrather fugitive yellow and there is evidence of it’s use,both as a colorant and medicine, in the Greek andPersian civilizations of the same period. * 10. Indian skill in vegetable dyeing and painting reached ahigh point inthe two centuries from 1600 to 1800 AD, when the paintingand resist dyeing of cotton cloth known to us as Chintzbecame the basis of the largest trade in textiles that the worldhad ever seen. The Strasbourg manuscript of an earlier period, also describesthe use of a whole range of plants used in the manufacture ofinks and water-colours. Later we see developments invegetable block-printing inks in 17th and 18th century Japanwhere it is interesting to note that some colours were actuallyleached from previously dyed cloth.Early historical accounts of tea are unclear, for the Chinesecharacter for tea had not been standardized, and severalother Chinese characters appear in books referring very likelyto the same plant, Camellia Sinensis, what we now call tea. * 11. Tea dyeing is an easy way to mute fabrics or give theman older, antiqued look. Tea stains the fibers and gives asemi-permanent dull brown â€Å"dirty† tone to the wholepiece. It is used when you want to â€Å"antique† a craft textilesuch as a doll dress or small quilt.Griffiths uses the medium of tea and ink (sometimesgraphite, wodka, whiskey, and others) to create the pieces. Tea and ink as a medium has become a trademark for Griffiths in the art world. * 12. Set-Up AExperimental Set-up * 13. Materials:ââ€"  7 teanagsââ€"  1  ½ cups of waterââ€"  1 tablespoon of vinegarââ€"  Cornstarchââ€"  Strainer and forkââ€"  Bottle * 14. PROCEDURE ââ€"  Place the 7 teabags in 1  ½ cups of boilingwater. * 15. ââ€"  Create the tea for 6-8 minutes * 16. ââ€"  Remove the teabags from the boilingwater. Use a strainer and a fork to removeall the extracts. * 17. ââ€"  While stirring the tea, add a tablespoonof vinegar. * 18. ââ€"  Continue to stir it. Add as muchdissolved cornstarch as you need to haveyour desired consistency. * 19. ââ€"  Remove it from the heat and let itcool. When done, store in a bottle * 20. Set-Up BControlled Set-up * 21. Materials:ââ€"  7 teanagsââ€"  1  ½ cups of waterââ€"  1 tablespoon of vinegarââ€"  Cornstarchââ€"  Strainer and forkââ€"  Bottle * 22. PROCEDURE ââ€"  Place the 7 teabags in 1  ½ cups ofboiling water. * 23. ââ€"  Create the tea for 6-8 minutes * 24. ââ€"  Remove the teabags from the boilingwater. Use a strainer and a fork to removeall the extracts. * 25. ââ€"  Remove it from the heat and let it cool.When done, store in a bottle. * 26. FINDINGS During the procedure itself, we have observed theboiling is an effective process of extraction. Rightafter we have placed the teabags in the boiling water,the change of color is very noticeable. During thisstep the mixture had a very strong smell form the tea.While following the procedures for the set-up Awhich included the placing of vinegar, there was noimmediate change in color as we expected. Instead,the vinegar’s effect was seen when we tried to paintthe two Inks on paper. While applying the ink onpaper, it was harder to use Ink B because it’sconsistency was very watery. Thus it became runnyand scattered unlike ink A. * 27. After letting them dry, it was seen thatink A had darker color while ink Bswritings faded. * 28. DISCUSSION OF RESULTS Our hypothesis which states that teabags have thepotential to be made into an ink if vinegar andcornstarch is added is proven correct. We had twoset-ups which were Set-up A that has vinegar andSep-up B that has no vinegar. Vinegar is mainly adilute aqueous solution of acetic acid which is animportant reagent and industrial chemical, mainlyused in the production of cellulose acetate. * 29. A cellulose acetate is used as film base inphotography and a film base is a transparentsubstance which acts as a support medium for thephotosensitive emulsion that lies atop it, its basegenerally accounts for the vast majority of thethickness of any given film stock. The addition of vinegar and cornstarch in making anink can result to a thicker consistency and consistentcolor which is better for the usage of the ink. Ourobservation prove that adding vinegar to themixture can be made into an ink because withoutthe vinegar there would be no consistency on themixture and it will be less seen. * 30. SUMMARY There are many different kinds of ink. In ourexperiments we will use tea bags as the maincomponent of out ink. Having two different set-ups will provide the chance to compare the colorsand consistencies. Cornstarch is an efficientadditive to have the right consistency of theproduct. Also vinegar is also efficient, throughthere is no obvious change in color, it was seenthat it gave the ink a consistent color whetherwere dry. * 31. We therefore conclude the one can create animprovised ink using the extract from tea bags.This will be very convenient and cheapbecause the ingredients to be used arecommonly found around the house. Also, thesaid processes, boiling and straining, are canbe easily done. * 32. CONCLUSIONââ€"  Tea bags can be used to create an ink.ââ€"  Vinegar can strengthen the color of theproduct, ink.ââ€"  Cornstarch effectively contributes toachieving to the right consistency of the ink.ââ€"  The processes boiling and straining areefficient in taking the extract out of the teabags.