Assignment on Cubism and Synthetic Cubism

Cubism Written Assignment PABLO PICASSO & Synthetic Cubism Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), a Spanish artist, is one of the most well known artists of the 20th Century. From about 1909 he worked with a French artist called Georges Braque and together they created a style of art referred to as Synthetic Cubism. Both artists created still-life paintings to which other materials were added. Select a work by Picasso that is an example of Synthetic Cubism. ? ? Provide a coloured image Name and date the work. Answer the following: Q1.Describe the Subject Matter of the artwork. ? What do you think the artist wanted us to notice? ? Describe in detail what you see in the work. ? How has Picasso arranged the objects? Describe the art elements Picasso has used in this artwork. ? Discuss the line, tone, texture, shape and colours that have been used. ? Do any of these art elements affect the mood of the work? Describe the materials and techniques that have been used to create the art work. ? How have the materials been applied? Evaluate the artwork. ? Do you like this work by Picasso?Explain why. ? What are the best qualities? Q2. Q3. Q4. Due Date _________________________ Year 7 Cubism Assignment Rubric STANDARDS Criteria E The description of the artwork is inadequate and there is basic detail by the student. D There is a limited description of the artwork which is not detailed by the student. The student gives a limited description of some of the art elements seen in the artwork. C The student makes a detailed description of some of the subject matter. B The student makes a detailed description of most of the subject matter.A The student makes a complete and detailed description of the subject matter. The student makes a complete and detailed description, including analysis, of all the art elements seen in the artwork. The student makes a complete and detailed description ,including analysis, of all the materials and techniques used The student makes an advanced evaluation and judgement of the select artwork Description of subject matter in artworks Identification, description and understanding of the art elements.The student gives a basic description of some of the art elements seen in the artwork. The student makes a detailed description of most of the art elements seen in the artwork. The student makes a good detailed description of the art elements seen in the artwork. Identification, description and analysis of Cubist materials and techniques. The student gives a basic description of some of the materials and techniques used The student gives a limited description of some of the materials and techniques usedThe student makes a detailed description of most of the materials and techniques used The student makes a good detailed description of the materials and techniques used Evaluation and judgement of Cubism artwork The student makes a basic evaluation and judgement of the select artwork The student makes a limited evaluation and judgement of the sel ect artwork The student makes a satisfactory evaluation and judgement of the select artwork The student makes a thorough evaluation and judgement of the select artwork Grade: Comments:

How well does the opening section of London Tonight cater for your needs? Essay

For this piece of work I have decided to work on the news program ‘London Tonight’. It is broadcasted on ITV at 18:30 on a daily basis. It is shown at this time as it is after the BBC News which starts at 18:00. Once the commercials from the previous programme has finished the start of London Tonight is shown. This opening section is very important as it must grab the attention of the viewer to make them keep watching the show. They do this in numerous ways. They need to let their viewers no what their watching so the opening scenes are always the same, they have the same music and graphics and starts the show by saying the headlines. They begin with the main headlines followed by the sports headline. This is to let the viewer know what is about to be shown. It also needs to show who the news is aim towards. For example if it were aimed to children then the opening scene would be like that of ‘Newsround’ and the language used would not be of a high vocabulary and would be informal. London Tonight is aimed at adults and therefore it is more formal and serious than on Newsround. London Tonight show the opening scene very well as it kept me concentrating on the news and nothing else. The presenters on London Tonight are dressed formally as it is tailored towards adults and they must look smart. The news is presented quite seriously when it comes to serious matters but not so serious when the sports is shown. This may be as they want the audience to take the Main headlines seriously. They want the audience to relax more when showing the sport as it’s not as serious as the issues brought up in the main headlines. Everyone has different expectations from the news and therefore the news must be directed at a certain audience. This is done by what headlines is shown on the news programme. The main headline in London Tonight was on the Taliban and how they wanted American and British soldiers out of the country and were burning down schools and libraries.. This was a certain report I was interested in as it relates to me. This was not the only reason I carried on watching, the crew who had been filming had no protection at all and had even come across the Taliban who were armed. The Taliban were threatening to attack and soon enough the police had come. We can see from this report that it managed to grab the viewer’s attention in many ways. The film crew managed to capture a school which had been burnt down, at first you think this is the interesting part of the report, but then we see the Taliban rushing in firing their guns and then the police rushing in. This particular scene had some ‘action’ in which would have kept viewers fixed on the channel. To see this would have been a shock to the public and it is very rare to come across the Taliban especially while trying to film on a show. As this is a real life situation the audience is fixed to what is happening especially as there is mentioning of an attack on video footage. Once the video had been shown the presenters started to discuss the report and went into much depth of why the Taliban were doing what they did. They also showed a little bit about Saddam Hussains trial as there is a connection with the headline of the Taliban. Other news articles that were shown were those of the follow ups on a bank robbery which had occurred. This was the main headline a few days back and therefore were keeping the audience updated with the subject, this is another reason people would carry on watching. As they would have heard about this in the news recently they would like to be kept updated so showing this again would grab the attention of news watchers again. More headlines are shown and is then followed by the sport, this is part of the news I enjoy as I am a big sports fan. The sport for me was not as good as I thought it would have been. It showed about the rugby and football and also about the 2012 olympics campaign. Although it showed about the Champions League matches in the football it did not go into great depth about it and therefore didn’t get my attention as much and the 2012 campaign I felt was a little boring. This is because the 2012 olympics is going to be held in London and therefore they thought this would be good to show on the London Tonight. As the news doesn’t concentrate that much about sport this could be why I didn’t find it as interesting. Overall I think the news programme was quite a success. It had managed to get my attention from the start and keep me interested. The setting was quite good as it showed Big Ben in the background giving it the London feel. The presenters weren’t too serious but yet manage to get the news across to the audience in the right way. There were many camera angles as to which the news presenters were shown which didn’t make it boring always looking in one direction. The headlines reported were of good interest to a wide variety of audiences but I think it is aimed more at young adults as it seems quite active. It tailored the needs of the audience very well as it not only showed London news but world wide affairs too. The only problem with the news programme would be that serious sport fans would not get a very in depth report on the news but they will get the main sport headlines. So in conclusion a very well put together news programme.

Business Reporting and Strategic Planning

In present scenario, every business depends on computers for every type of task from data entry to reporting and strategic planning. The software are the basic need of companies for communication, entertainment and reporting tools. The need of accounting software is very obvious as there is severe requirement of tracking assets and handling transactions on regular basis. MYOB is an accounting software that is being used by small traders and new start-ups in Australia. LiveAccounts is its first accounting software that is based in cloud based accounting solution. This software has minimized functions specially designed for small businesses. By using this software small businesses can easily manage finances on cloud anytime anywhere through internet. (R2bmanagement.com.au, 2016) The complete business data is saved on cloud. It makes the information available at all times in updated form. Due to cloud storage the data is stored on a centralized cloud server. This server is shared among all the employees of company. It has a very simple and clear interface, which allows all the basic functionalities in very easy manner. As the application is very light weighted, it can easily accessible through virtual machines. (BIT, 2016)This software provides the facility of raising invoices, payroll generation on monthly basis for employees, track expenses of organiz ation and the managing GST online. Automatic banking integrated feeds will ensure the income tax calculation, deductions and bonuses features. MYOB accounting software is the short form of Mind Your Own Business. It is a well-known brand name of an Australian MNC. This company deals in the software related to accounting, retail, CRM, HRM, tax products and payroll software along with web hosting support for small and medium sized businesses. These products are mainly adopted in Australia and New Zealand. This company was started in 1980 founded by Christopher Lee and Teleware Inc. Teleware was later on adopted by Best software Inc. in 1993. It is a public sector company having headquarter at Glen Waverley, Victoria in Australia. The MYOB software is available in two versions the trial version and licensed version. (Myob.com.au, 2016) The trail version is available for limited time period (30 days) and it can be converted anytime in the licensed version. Trail version is used for evaluation purpose only. In case of trail version user can create and access company files for 30 days only. After it user must purchase the full version of this software. As per the MYOB business letter reveals that near about 35% Australian companies having their own websites and only 18% of them are actively using social networking sites for the promotion of their business. (Theicehouse.co.nz, 2016) The most of the users who are actively using the social media in present conditions in Australia are 27%. This figure can be classify as 24% of users who belong to age group 18-39, 22% business owners who belong to Retail and Hospitality, 20% businesses spend on advertise on websites and only 20% of businesses use SEO/SEM in their market trends. Although the earlier data available explains about the low adoption of technologies in business but the latest figures shown by MYOB CEO Tim Reed explains that online marketing is now growing in Australia. (Growthpath.com.au, 2016) MYOB has gained a huge rise with the completion of Banklink purchase in Australia recently. MYOB has disclosed that it has successfully completed the purchasing of accounting solution provider of New Zealand named Banklink In the accounting software market of Australia, there are three main big companies on limelight, MYOB, Intuit and Xero. (Heber, 2015) The main competition among these companies is for dominance. This software provides the convenience of tracking accounts in a simple way. The need of physical books, invoices is now not necessary and all the decisions regarding cash flow can be manage through the software. The main objective of all these companies is to capture the market share, and they are actively involved to do anything for this. There is a huge contribution of these companies in the market share of accounting software. MYOB has built successfully its own offering and managing its market share between $AU831.7 and $AU833.8 million. If we discuss about the Xero, it is a new venture which spends near about $250 million on the software development. The company has more than 400000 clients across the globe, which uses transactions and invoice services of the software in the ratio of 240:95 The Intuit is also planning for the heavy investment in Australia. The accounting software has a wide scope in the Australian market. Intuit has developed the functioning of PDF data extraction, which supports the data extraction from bills and automated entry in software. MYOB is now in condition of valuing the company at a very impressive enterprise vale that exists in between $A2.34 and $A2.69 billion. As per the Evans and Partner the analysis figures if all these three companies can be represented as: As we have seen that there is a huge competition between MYOB, Xero and Intuit in the market of accounting software. In this section we are going to elaborate the comparison between the Xero and MYOB and the outcome is that both products have their own advantages and disadvantages. Not any of the products is completely fit the need of customer. For example if there is requirement to handle exchanging of transactions and stock control then MYOB is much preferred as compare to Xero. If we have to deal with small sized business then Xero is preferred and it offers the services in very easy and simple manner. (Itseducation.asia, 2016) Because of the competition every company tries to provide the services in an efficient and much better way. Following are the advantages on various parameters: MYOB provides the online services with the facility of cashbook having cost of $16 per month and the accounting facility on the cost of $29 per month. MYOB facilitates the Account right live that can be used on desktops and is not fully online. Although it has slow speed and higher cost but it will be resolve in the coming future as per the commitment of MYOB. MYOB provides the Account right premier that is available for desktop only and it has the capability to handle the management of inventory and foreign exchange. This is used mainly in large business organizations. MYOB provides the facility of data storage on cloud also. That’s why the data security must be taken seriously. The software has the option of security implementation that is very secure for online banking system. MYOB live is the cloud product that can be used in online as well as in offline mode. There is provision to toggle between the two modes. Only we have to deal with the versions that will be created in this case by syncing data on regular basis. The major concern in the implementation of MYOB is providing data security. (Technologies, 2016)Â   This is the major concern as the software can be accessed in online way and it increases the chances of vulnerability issues. Although MYOB has very high security architecture, some of the organizations are not able to follow security aspects. Second challenge regarding MYOB is that it is not an easy to use software, the employees of organization must be trained for this. Third challenge is that some of the organizations are not able to take advantage of cloud automation through MYOB. It is very difficult to arrange appropriate training sessions or webinars for the MYOB essentials. Although MYOB is very efficient software but for the successful implementation we must pay attention towards the following key factors: (Myob.com.au, 2016) Protecting the sensitive information from unauthorized access is very important. In MYOB the company files can be secure by taking appropriative security measures. (Myob.com.au, 2016) It must be ensure that the company files must be secure. This can be possible by providing appropriate credentials to each user account. Passwords must be strong as per the pattern specified, such as it must contain minimum 8 characters long having combination of alphabets, numeric and special characters. It must be ensure that company files must be secured by applying password. In MYOB files can be protected through AccountRight. By using this feature a password can be set for every user even for specific task, they can perform in company files. In every business organization, the systems must be protected by using a firewall. It restricts internet users for accessing system. To install the firewall on system, windows XP or above operating system can be used. Computer viruses and malwares can proved themselves dangerous from the security concerns. Before downloading and storing any file on the system, it must be scanned for any virus or malware attack. The conclusion of this literature review can be elaborated as the accounting software is the basic need of business organizations in Australia. (Bookkeepers Sunshine Coast, 2013) MYOB is software which can be used for various activities to overcome the errors and difficulties those were present in traditional manual system. Computerized system is integrated in well manner and once the data is inputted in the system, it will be recorded in different records at the same time. Using accounting software will lead a high speed processing in automated form which will generate accurate and fast invoices, purchase order and payroll documents. These are some of the positive points of using MYOB as accounting software. If any user wants to use this software he can download the trail version and after having look of various services they can go for full version. R2bmanagement.com.au. (2016). An Introduction to MYOB LiveAccounts | Articles. [online] Available at: https://www.r2bmanagement.com.au/articles/405/an-introduction-to-myob-liveaccounts [Accessed 15 Aug. 2016]. Heber, A. (2015). The cloud accounting supremacy war in Australia. [online] Business Insider Australia. Available at: https://www.businessinsider.com.au/charts-the-battle-for-supremacy-in-australias-cloud-accounting-market-2015-4 [Accessed 16 Aug. 2016]. Myob.com.au. (2016). MYOB Security Recommendations. [online] Available at: https://myob.com.au/myob/australia/myob-security-recommendations-1257829253909 [Accessed 16 Aug. 2016]. Technologies, R. (2016). MYOB: Benefits and Challenges for your Organisation. [online] Blog.rgtechnologies.com.au. Available at: https://blog.rgtechnologies.com.au/myob [Accessed 16 Aug. 2016]. Itseducation.asia. (2016). The Advantages of Using Computerised Accounting Software, MYOB, Mind Your Own Business. [online] Available at: https://www.itseducation.asia/computerized-accounting.htm [Accessed 16 Aug. 2016]. Myob.com.au. (2016). Development-X | add-on developer for MYOB accounting software. [online] Available at: https://myob.com.au/addons/developer/40/developement-x/ [Accessed 16 Aug. 2016]. Growthpath.com.au. (2016). Review of Cloud Accounting (Xero, Saasu, MYOB Essentials, QuickBooks) | Business IT. [online] Available at: https://www.growthpath.com.au/Business-IT/review-of-myob-liveaccounts-and-xero-accounting-in-the-cloud.html [Accessed 17 Aug. 2016]. Theicehouse.co.nz. (2016). Key sectors leading online business adoption – MYOB Findings. [online] Available at: https://www.theicehouse.co.nz/key-sectors-leading-online-business-adoption-myob-findings/ [Accessed 17 Aug. 2016]. BIT. (2016). 7 accounting packages for Australian small businesses compared: including MYOB, QuickBooks Online, Reckon, Xero. [online] Available at: https://www.bit.com.au/Review/344651,7-accounting-packages-for-australian-small-businesses-compared-including-myob-quickbooks-online-reckon-xero.aspx [Accessed 17 Aug. 2016]. Myob.com.au. (2016). MYOB Add-On Centre | find great 3rd party tools to augment MYOB Business Management Software. [online] Available at: https://myob.com.au/addons/category/26/network-security/ [Accessed 17 Aug. 2016].

CTV Building Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

CTV Building - Assignment Example The report produced by the Royal Commission had also officially identified the key players after the disaster. This report aims to evaluate the faults on the part of the key players and stakeholders leading to technical deficiencies in the design of the building. Gerald Shirtcliff was the CTV building’s site manager and he was later found to have faked his qualifications and therefore was not up to the mark. The head of the consultation firm, ARCL, Alan Reay was said to be â€Å"ultimately responsible† even though his designer and engineer David Harding was inexperienced in working with multi-storey buildings. This is because Reay had supervised Harding and therefore he was responsible for relying too much on the incompetent engineer. According to Reay, he thought that Harding being a registered engineer was eligible for the task. In reality Harding lacked the necessary experience and was also inexperienced to use the software Etabs with which the seismic testing of the building was done. Moreover, the Christchurch City Council was blamed for having issued a building permit despite the presence of structural weaknesses. The weaknesses were further deepened after the 2010 Christchurch earthquake and the Christchurch City Council had a very brisk assessment of the building. ... The boulders start breaking and falling on the streets and a chaos strikes. People start running here and there in confusion in order to protect themselves from the falling debris. The road starts to crush and bend as it the ground shakes (Wilson, 2012). These are the live moment experiences of Alex, a witness of the massive, life threatening earth quake that took place in Christchurch, New Zealand on 22nd February 2011. The earth quake had a magnitude of 6.3 units on the Richter scale and was extremely savage and disastrous. Figure 1. Tragic Aftermath. This picture shows the damaged building. The Press. (March 26, 2013). Tragic aftermath [Photograph]. Retrieved from The Canterbury Television building was huge and employed a large number of people including doctors, dentists, counselors, journalists, TV crews and the list goes on. The earthquake killed 115 people including international students enrolled in a language school that was also located inside the building. Search and rescu e teams from various countries such as United Kingdom and Japan flew to New Zealand in order to recover the dead bodies that had been buried deep inside the remains (Bryant, 2013). The CTV building had collapsed completely and there was little hope that anyone could have survived beneath it. Three critical factors caused its collapse, as described in a report released after the earthquake. Firstly, there was a violent horizontal ground shake that took place. Secondly, the columns were brittle and lastly, the layout of the structural walls was asymmetrical (International Business Times, 2012). Figure 2. A rescue worker walks through the rubble in central

Creativity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Creativity - Essay Example Morris 2006 gives a different definition of creativity when compared to the thoughts of the author of this paper. Morris suggests that the characteristics of creativity firstly involves ‘thinking or behaving imaginatively.’ Secondly, creativity is ‘imaginative’, thirdly, ‘something original’ must be the result of the process and fourthly, ‘the outcome must be of value in relation to the objective.’ Further, Morris adds additional elements to this definition. Creativity is also seen as the connection of body and mind in search of ‘new knowledge’ and includes a ‘risk’ factor in its outlook. (Pann Baltz, quoted in Morris 2006) If creativity is determined by one’s willingness to allow oneself to explore one’s inner workings then clearly some people are more ceative than others. Just like some leaders are born and some are made I believe that creativity within a particular individual can be nurtured to develop into an awesome resource. It is therefore dependent on the environment and the level of encouragement that one obtains that boosts creativity. Howard Gardner in his theory on multiple intelligences suggests that each individual can learn in different ways. Hence one can deduce that individuals can be creative in distinctive ways as well. Pablo Picasso claims that â€Å"Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.† Children in particular are naturally creative. They are curious, imaginative, purposeful and appreciate beauty. Therefore there is an innate dimension of creativity deposited in the young at heart. In the same vein , however, children’s natural creativity can be stifled and destroyed by some adults who refuse to allow them to explore and demonstrate their inner self. We can encourage children to be creative by giving them the latitude they need to explore their inner being and their environment to

Regression and Statistical Effects Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Regression and Statistical Effects - Assignment Example The data is divided into two groups. The total data set is divided into 4 segments: low lifetime, low revenue; low lifetime high revenue; high lifetime, low revenue, and high lifetime, high revenue. The first step ion the analysis is the calculation of bivariate Pearson’s correlation coefficient between lifetime and profit. The author graphically analyses the trends between profitability and lifetime of the customer. Then, a linear regression model is developed to describe the relation for the four segments. The author then suggests a method using discriminant analysis that helps managers find out the most profitable customers. The research finds that it is not necessary that long-life customers are more profitable than short-life customers. The author also concludes that long-life customer do not necessarily pay more, and have higher costs. Regression analysis has been used in the study to the relation between the profitability of the customer and time. The researcher regress the profitability of the 4 segments with respect to time using the equation The relation between the profitability and time can be ascertained by the sign of the regression coefficient. A positive coefficient indicates a positive relation between the profitability and time for the particular segment. The researcher also makes use of a dummy variable to reflect the effects of a large first month purchase because purchase amount for the first month is generally found to be higher than succeeding months. Besides this, the researcher also attempts to draw broad conclusions regarding the direction of relation between the profits and time by using Pearson’s correlation coefficient, and charts depicting the behaviors of the 2 groups. The small correlation coefficient (0.175 for Cohort 1 and 0.219 for Cohort 2) indicates a moderate linear relation between the lifetime duration and lifetime profits. Besides this, the researcher draws the graphs with lifetime

How do Arab American children cope with being raised biculturally in Essay

How do Arab American children cope with being raised biculturally in America today - Essay Example Being an Arab child brought up in America, I have lived in troubled times and faced such troubling questions. But my attempt has always been to take that question as an inspiration, not a provocation. I have spent more consistent time in the United States, receiving my education in the U.S., being raised by an American mother and I have stronger roots in the American culture. My first language is English, and I am like any other American youth in my taste selections of food, clothing, music and even romance. When looking back, I wonder how it would have been, if I were equally immersed in the culture of my father’s place of origin, Qatar. I have a friend, half-German and half-Indian, who is a passionate nature lover and who says, â€Å"My roots are in nature.† And I thought, what a beautiful concept! Thinking on similar lines, I also would like to say, â€Å"My roots are in humanity,† but I find it is not so simple as that. The underlying theme of nature is harmo ny while that of humanity is checkered with conflicts. We, humans have been defining our self more based on differences than on similarities. I realize that many Arab children who have been brought up in Germany might be having similar thoughts. My life started soon after the Gulf war of 1990-91 ended and I have grown up through the period that hosted Afghan war, the September 11 tragedy and the Iraq occupation by US forces. Leading a normal life in America, far away from the geographical and even emotional coefficients of the conflict zone, I could see a historical human drama unfolding. As a child, I had only a vague sense of being part of that drama. I was moreover insulated by the secular ambience that my parents constructed for me. Research has indicated, â€Å"religion is an important factor in Arab American families, but not in the way American media and cynical politicians have portrayed it† (Lamanna and Riedmann, 71). The western stereotype of Arab families is busted in such research as they show that â€Å"religion is important to Arab Americans, just as it is to the majority of Americans† (Lamanna and Riedmann, 71). My father is from Doha, Qatar and my mother is American. They met while they were at University. Shortly after graduation, my father took a job in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), and my mother went with him. After about a year, transferred to London, he settled with my mother in England where they lived for the next three years. Then my father had a job opportunity in his home country and went to Doha, again with my mother. That is where I was born on July 9 1991, just after Operation Desert Storm had concluded. My family remained in Doha for the next several years until my mother wanted to return to the United States, mainly for the purpose of education for my siblings and me. Our family would make the long trip back and forth to Doha many times throughout my childhood and teenage years. That is when I began to feel that I w as not Arab enough in Doha and sometimes not American enough in America. I have dual citizenship, an American passport and Qatari passport. I look more Arabic, but I cannot speak Arabic fluently. I even took Arabic language class in college and studied politics of the Middle East in college, just to fill in the cultural gap, to understand things better. But it is a sad fact that Arab language is taught in only a few schools in America. People would always ask me where I was from. And people in

Hum final Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Hum final - Essay Example As such, let us look into one of the more intriguing argument pertinent to the existence of God. St. Anselm is one of the leading theologian-philosopher during the medieval period. He provided us with one of the many versions of the ontological argument for the existence of God. According to Anselm, ‘God is the greatest conceivable being.’ And since God is the greatest conceivable being, therefore God exists. Now, one may not agree right away with him but let us try to clarify some point made by St. Anselm. Two things can be inferred from the argument. First, the human mind is capable of conceiving the greatest being. That to say, that it is only the human mind that has the capability and the capacity to recognize the greatest being. Second, the moment that the greatest being is conceived, it exists. At the onset it seems that St. Anselm seems to jump from mental conception of a being to its actual existence. But is he guilty of it? No! For St. Anselm, the actual existence is greater than mental existence so much so that â€Å"if the greatest conceivable is not ac tual, it is not the greatest conceivable being† (Grave 32) As such, at the core of his argument is the truism that existence is better and that understanding this is the greatest key to ‘defining’ God. What is existence then? If we are going to look at Realism, in its simplest form, it affirms the claim that X (a thing) exists at a given place Y in time Z. This is basically similar with axiom of location which purports the idea that a thing if it is real, exists at least on one location, and at most one location. It attests to the reality of matter, thus affirming materialism or the physical body of objects. As such, it is not surprising that naturalism basically supports this strand of interpretation in lieu of existence. On the other hand, another way of understanding existence is via apprehension of the universals or forms or ideas and this is termed as

Littering the side of the street Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Littering the side of the street - Assignment Example Additionally, trash may harbor diseases, which can be passed to animals eating it. Also, litter may attract other litter since it tells people to continue dumping litter in the same place. Moreover, litter may turn out to be a fire hazard. Furthermore, apart from littering being bad, it just looks disgusting (â€Å"JB Green Team†). Cigarette butts are considered the main source of litter (â€Å"Keep America Beautiful†). Despite being small, they are very dangerous. Cigarette butts have harmful chemicals such as arsenic that contaminates both soil and water. Cigarette butts are also a potential fire hazard (â€Å"JB Green Team†). It simply means that cigarettes can now not only harm us when we smoke it, but even when we do not smoke it. Generally, litter prevention starts with an individual. As an individual minimizing litter may be easy, however it requires vigilance. For beginners, never throw trash from your  car, and always ensure that you tightly seal the household garbage bins so that animals do not get the contents. Also, never forget your garbage upon leaving a public space such as a park. If you smoke then consider quitting bearing in mind the impacts that cigarettes have on the environment. Furthermore, if the roadway to your home is like an asylum for litter, volunteer for a cleanup. â€Å"Litter in America: Results from the Nation’s Largest Litter Study.† Keep America Beautiful, Inc. 2010. Web. 19th April 2015.

Research on ''Job stress'' and statistical analysis Paper

On ''Job stress'' and statistical analysis - Research Paper Example The finding revealed that a significant negative impact of Job 'Job stress'' and statistical analysiss satisfaction on the level of stress. A significant negative impact between the employment status and the job stress is also realized. Introduction Workplace life plays a vital role in an individuals’ social life. The dynamic nature of the work environment has forced people to engage in job related task leading to avandornment of the social life. The unsatisfactiry state of employees makes them to concentrate on aspect or tasks that will result to improvement of their output. On the other hand, the status of employment also pushes people to strain and get stress. For instance, individuals with greater levels of job stress may be unsatisfied with the kind of work he or she does and hence leadss to unhappiness at work place. Such issues triggers burned outs or frustration when such an individual encounter a snmall challenge. Such inccident impacts negatively on the organizations output leading to low profits. The goal of theis research id to find out individuals factors that implacts on the oevrall performace and one’s job satisfaction. The most appropriate group to interview is the workers in the teaching fields are they the most affected. Previsous studies showed that the gender of an employee contributes a lot to the level of stress that one gets at work place. Other factors such as job satisfaction also influence the empployees overall performance. Since most organization is striving to increase its employees’output, the employees tend to struggle to satisfy the company’s needs. The level of stress that an individual has depends greatly on the factors that cause it. Beehr and Newman (2012) define stress as a situation that compels an individual to stray from the normal state as a result of disturbed physiological condition. From this definition, it is crucial for us to emphasise on stress management at work place. It is found out t hat the state of most individuals in the teaching fraternity is innfluenced by demographic factors. Job related stress within workers is mostly affected by role management in the organization. The management of role in the organization can be a key factor which instills stress on workers. Role stress in this context refers to any organizational undertakin that has detrimental effects on the employee. There are roles of the management that stand out to conflict to the wishes of the employees (Beehr 2011). Work and family are disjoint; therefore the family status on an individual can greatly affect the workers’job life. The situation is two-way traffic; where the family life is the source of stress that manifest at work place or the job life being the source of stress that will be spilled to the family life. Connection between job satisfaction and job stress Many researchers have tried to find out the connection between job satisfaction and stress. Job stress and job satisfctio n are two critical aspects given concentration in the HRM research projects. Stamps & Piedmonte (2010), argued that a significatn connection between job stress and job satisfaction. Another reserch by Cooper, et al (2011) also revealized that the root cause of job stress is job disatisfaction. In addition, Fletcher (2010) found out that soneone can be stressed because he or she is not satisfied with the kind of work he does. Theoretical Framework and Hypotheses

ICT in Manufacturing Essay Example for Free

ICT in Manufacturing Essay In the face of ever-increasing competition from international market, many labour-intensive manufacturing companies face a stark choice: automation, or evaporate. Here are some of the many ways in which computers are used in the manufacturing world. Order entry and processing systems accept and process customer orders. A fully integrated system will also calculate the quantity and cost of materials needed to make the items ordered, produce reports on any shortages of materials in stock that need to be ordered and raise the purchase order. It will then track the progress of the order through the manufacturing process so that customer queries can be answered. Project management software provides management with the information necessary to keep projects within budget and on time. Reports can be produced showing actual costs versus projected costs, and the number of days ahead or behind schedule. Expert systems can be used in a multitude of ways from calculating the cost of a new multi-storey office block to detecting when a batch of beer is ready for the next stage of the brewing process. Bass the brewers has built a machine that can perform the daunting task of smelling beer and deciding if its up to snuff. The technology that makes this possible is neural computing, the revolutionary process that mimics the way the human brain works. The artificial nose makes a complex series of judgements based on the electrochemical stimuli received by its gas sensors, and could save the brewers a fortune. By detecting an over-active yeast or a weak crop of hops at an early stage in the fermentation process, the nose could save us having to throw away a whole batch 345,600 pints of beer, explained Ian Morris of Bass. It is not just brewers who are interested in the artificial nose. Manufacturers of instant coffee, perfume and other aromatic products are spending huge sums, in co-operation with researchers at several universities, to build a better-than-human olfactory sensor. Source: Garth Alexander, The Sunday Times 19 September 1993. CAD systems allow designers and engineers to create designs on screen for thousands of products ranging from the tiniest computer chip to bridges, buildings and aeroplanes. The software allows users to create 3-dimensional solid models with physical characters like volume, weight and centre of gravity. The models can be rotated and viewed from any angle, edited and sorted. The computer can perform calculations to evaluate its performance under different stresses, or crash-test a new design of a car before it is even manufactured. Animation software can be used to enable a viewer to Walk through a 3-D model of say, a building that exists only in the computers memory. Precimax was founded in 1988 and has grown to a 30-employee company with an anticipated turnover in 1997 of i 1. 4 million. It offers a full manufacturing service from initial design through to supply of fully finished components and assembles. Production is predominantly on CNC (computer numeric control) turning and machining centres, and programs can be created from customers drawings or directly from CAD via modem or disk. Batches range from one-off up to 5,000, but are more typically in the 50 to 500 brackets. In size, turned components measure up to 250mm diameter. Precimax is a major supplier of components for train braking and door systems and is currently producing parts for use in the platform edge doors for London Undergrounds Jubilee Line extension. It also has a contract with a postal equipment manufacturer for monthly deliveries of rollers and other parts for letter-sorting machines. Precimax uses Datatrack for Windows for keeping track of its annual 3,000 orders. The system includes estimating and quoting sales order processing, purchasing, job costing and delivery. The commercial director commented, A system to handle this level of business is essential. Without it, we would be lost. It enables us to control cost and better understand our customers and manufacture. It gives us accurate information, so we can communicate with our customers on cost and deliveries quickly and with confidence.

Political parties Essay Example for Free

Political parties Essay In most political environment of the world, the issue of attracting increased voters is critical to the development of any political party. Most party candidates run progressive and aggressive political campaign in other to win more voters. Political parties around the world device various means of increasing their chances of winning elections. A very good example is the just concluded United State presidential election. The country’s parties in one way or the other influence the election results through their various campaigns. There will be a comprehensive discussion on this matter in this write up. According to Micah Sifry, who argued that voter turnout would increase if party candidates run progressive and populist campaigns. In some cases, this could work and in practice, progressive and populist campaigns do determine the increased turnout of voters, but most times this may not be. What will determine this may be the assurance on the part of the political aspirant that went they are elected, the economic goals would be achieved. In essence, political party’s primary obligation has significant effect on the voter’s turnout that could be necessary in future election. In future, political parties may continue to use these campaign strategies. However, there maybe a major change in the way this is conducted. Political parties will develop different platforms, issues and debates that could determine the number of voter’s turnout. These platforms and issue could be in form of given detailed report on what the political aspirants will do if elected. Others could be to develop campaign publicity and events around the country, utilization of publications to educate the generality about their campaign progress, plan tours where political aspirants will be required to speak and answer questions from the public. The progressive and populist campaign refers to direct effort by political parties to give a detail issue or account of what their respective candidate would solve if elected. The populist is an America phenomenon, which was developed to take the issue of the populace needs into consideration. The USA faces series of progressive and populist campaign, because most political aspirants get to office without fulfilling the various promises made during their political campaigns. This has contributed to the problem that could face the country in terms of political elections in future. The aggressive and populist campaign has some resemblance of today’s campaign process. In some ways, the country is trying to address this issue in different forms. The just concluded presidential election is a very good example of this issue. During the campaign, the two parties involved developed several ways of attracting voters to their side. They used different means of election campaign to have a great chance of winning, but the government-devised strategies to address this issue. In conclusion, what determines the increased number of electorates’ turnout depends on the way political parties make use of various political campaign strategies. In essence, aggressive and populist campaign strategy is just a necessary condition and not a sufficient condition for increasing the number of voters’ turnout during election. Reference: Rutenberg J. , Nagourney A. , (2008). An Adviser Molds a Tighter, More Aggressive McCain Campaign. The New York Times, Politics. http://www. nytimes. com/2008/09/07/us/politics/07schmidt. html? _r=1

Strategic performance measurement

Strategic performance measurement Introduction to Strategic performance management and its Importance (Moore, 2010) illustrates that strategic performance management system focuses on the workers individual input which is stemmed from a culture inside the company based on interest and worth and it helps the employee to keep attention on base line. With the help of ‘Strategic performance management a company makes a clear mission, sets objectives and creates obvious gettable goals. ‘Strategic performance management is an influential apparatus which guides the company to gauge the outcomes, and helps the organization to find the poor areas which require attention (Moore, 2010). Many companies cannot judge their clear direction and fail in achieving their targets and that is the way for workforce dissatisfaction. With a proper system in place the companies know which goals should be prefers and what should be time frame to achieve those goals. With the help of a ‘performance management system they know whether they have to give importance to consumer or is the internal strengths are more important. They also come to know that which goals should be given more importance than others (Moore, 2010). As a result ‘strategic performance management helps a company to clearly define its objectives and makes the mission more clear and if everything is clear for the workforce then they know their roles which help the organization in order to get success. (Moore, 2010). Aims and Objectives of the Assignment In this assignment there is emphasis given to the importance of ‘Strategic Performance Management, its purpose and the main role in the success of an organization. The selected company is Tesco Plc and what it is doing in terms of its performance management. In addition to this the setting or desired goals and their achievement is discussed. The role of teams and the techniques for the setting targets for teams are elaborated. Moreover, it is discussed that how teams help the company achieve its objectives. There is also emphasis on the job of top management to motivate the workforce in order to get the targets are discussed and in the end the ways and means of keeping the employees motivated are presented. Brief Introduction to Selected Organization Tesco Plc started its business as a value retailer in 1929 and later on it became a top retail giant doing its business in more than fourteen countries with its core UK operations where it holds more than 35 % market share. The company has achieved this position with its ‘growth strategy which focuses on its expansion projects ranging from customers to geographies. It introduced its new strategy in 1997 with a ‘Corporate Steering Wheel which focuses on key expansion areas. The company has an integrated ‘Strategic performance management plan in place in order to take it forward in UK as well as abroad (Dransfield, 2001). LO1: Performance Targets and Strategic Objectives 1.1 Links between team performance and strategic objectives Organizations need to set clear strategic goals in order to be successful in the competitive market. These goals should be realistic and clear so that anybody associated with the operations of the organization knows his/her duty regarding these goals (Wyld, 2010). Important aspects About Strategic Objectives (Birnbaum, 2009) explains the importance of 10 strategic goals which are needed to be considered by any organization in order to gain success in the marketplace. Market Standing: The Company should make its strategic objectives keeping in the view its current position and the desired position in the market by comparing it with the rivalry it is facing. Tesco is currently number one in the UK market against its major rivals like Asda and Sainsburys as it holds more than 35 % of the market share as compared to almost 15 % of Asda and Sainsburys Innovation: The Company should bring fresh products and services in its line-up including new technology and that is the way of progress. Tesco has started new products in its stores including its non-food section and its financial services as part of its growth strategy and has brought new technologies which can take the company to new heights with the help of fast processing, operations and customer services. Human resources: In order to gain its strategic objectives the organization needs to choose and improve the best of its human resource. If workforce is working efficiently then the company can beat its rivals. Tesco in its ‘Corporate Steering Wheel has given a specific place to its employees and their progress is monitored and presented every month in the ‘Wheel placed in front of them in every store (Woods, 2008). Financial Resources: The organization should have sufficient monetary resources in order to start its plans and follow them with more investment. If not then the plan of bringing new goods, new technology, new business and many other projects are under great pressure to grow. Tesco, over the years have grown its stores line up from Metro, Express and Hypermarkets and have also started its businesses in emerging markets like china and India. Physical Resources: The basic infrastructure of the company and its usage, the physical ability of the company is needed in order to show its strength in the market. Tesco has several physical resources which are a sign of its success. It has more than 2000 stores in UK and more than 400 in international market and it is still expanding Productivity: Proficient utilization of company possessions as needed is productivity. Tesco has given it great consideration over the years and has many ways to produce its products and services. Social Responsibility: Taking care of the values of community and the company ‘stakeholders and if the company takes care of it, it is successful in modern business. Tesco has made the ‘taking care of community as one of the core parts of its growth strategy presented in 1997 (www.tescocorporate.com). Profit Requirements: Expansion and fiscal strength are two main factors in profit requirements. Expenses minus cost is usually known as profit and if the company is going in profit it can achieve its targets and grow. Tesco faced a serious crisis at the start of year 2009 due to recession and it had two consecutive losses in its first two quarters of 2009 which had a serious blow on its plan to start its business in US. Action Planning: Laying of a proper plan in order to get the objectives. The company can achieve its goals if the plan goes as it is planned. Tesco has got a lot of success because it makes realistic and achievable plans. Future Course of Action: The Company should make plans of future keeping in view what it is doing now, who does it for the company and what are the prospects and routes to get it. Tesco revises its position by displaying its steering wheel in all of its outlets translated in different languages and keeps an eye on its overall performance and its route towards success (Dransfield, 2001). Workforce requirements (team) capable of achieving above strategic objectives (Coisson, 2010) emphasizes the need of a group of employees working together as a team in the organization. The management in all successful companies put ‘team-building activities in place and do the conferences in order to give knowledge to employees of the need of teams. In order to know what the benefit of making ‘teams in few steps are important as mentioned below: The employees should be provided opportunities to get the knowledge of influence of working in a team environment. The company should make the benefits of a team clear to the workforce as a ‘team constructs the innovation and changes the quality of the work towards positive results. The company should emphasize on the need of loyalty towards the team in the mind of workers. There should be proper systems in place in which the employees know their importance and work with eagerness towards the company. They should know that working in a team will enhance their knowledge and skilfulness and make them distinctive in a unit of workers. Different skills emerge as a result of working in a team and employees should know it. (Likierman, 2009) illustrates the Tesco uses the ‘balanced scorecard in order to check the performance of employees linked with the company objectives. The company works on this scorecard in order to make a worker know that if his own goals are accomplished then the company objectives are also achieve while working in a team and in everyday job the workforce does know the effectiveness of working in a team and the balance of company values with his own intentions. 1.2 Tools and techniques available to set team performance targets: Company Example: Litton SLC and its Self-Directed Work Teams (SDWT) (Phillips, 1994) Litton Company makes navigation systems for ‘cruise missiles and ‘fighter gets has almost six hundred workers. It had a top-to-bottom conventional structure in 1981 which was later on changed into ‘circles known as employee ‘circle partic plan in 1981. It consisted of 3 circles, and on the base of progress of these circles of employees working together, they changed to 15 circles in 1982 and in 1983 these circles changed into teams. For the next 1.5 years there was a great progress and continual improvement in the company as a result of these teams working together. There were regular team meeting on the company floor ‘once every week in which company executives used to sit with the team members. Since 1985, all of these team members were provided with 3 days training and in 1987 these teams were changed into ‘self-directed-work-teams (SDWT) and as the new boss took interviewed one hundred team members from different teams he find out that there were 1-2 leaders in every team that could lead the company in the future. Since then the number of teams had reached ‘133. On the basis of (SWDT), the top management thought to change its product line to two different product lines: 1. â€Å"P-500 product line† and 2. â€Å"Ring lazor Gyro Product line† and all this was possible due to the team performance. The company then applied total quality management technique (TQM), the waste was reduced, quality was improved, and there was more return on investment (ROI) and many other benefits. Since 1993, the company created 14 focused factories, ROI was more than 600 %, waste was reduced 50% and federal government put the company on the â€Å"preferred list† of companies by looking at its progress. This example proves that how important is building teams and what are the benefits to the organization. Tools and Techniques There are many tools and techniques used for the performance measurement, but here we will discuss â€Å"Mickensys 7S† model. McKinseys 7 S models One of the most important tools of measuring the ‘team performance targets is â€Å"Mckinseys 7S Model which was made to measure the performance of a company by a company called Mckinsey and Company (Pascale et al, 1981). All of the ‘variables of this model start from the Letter â€Å"S.† We will use this technique here to find out the performance of Tesco teams as follows: These 7S include â€Å"Strategy, Structure, systems, skills, style, staff and shared values.† These variable are also known as â€Å"managerial molecule.† (Peters Waterman, 1982). Most of the American companies gave more importance to first three of the variable while neglected others but most of the Japanese considered first two as â€Å"soft variables.† Amercians thought that the first three could change. Mickensys model does not give importance to the external factors that affect the strategy of the organization. Here we will have a analysis of the variables aligned with the objectives of the company. Using the 7S Model to Analyze an Organization So the 7S mentioned in the model are distributed into soft and hard parts. The first three are clearly mentioned in the company reports normally but in order to understand the real situation of the company the soft components are our main focus because the workforce changes these components from time to time. if we want to have a clear knowledge of the company they should be analyzed briefly. Tesco is not like the other organizations where there is more emphasis given to hierarchy than the individual performance. All of its employees know their job and how to do it. Tesco employees know what is anticipated from them and whether they have achieved the given target or not (Gibbs et al, 2009). The ‘plan and review document is given to all of the workers and their performance is mentioned on the ‘steering wheel which is posted weekly and monthly in order to show their performance standing. Also all the soft components of Micknsys model are interrelated between each other such as values with the workforce and the employee goals and this interralated qualities are coincided in the ‘Corporate Steering Wheel of Tesco and when it is displayed at the end of the month, everything is mentioned clearly in this model. The scorecard of Tesco is practical and it aligns the employee goals to company values and supports the employees align their own values in their daily job. Although most of the company culture and values are related to the ‘core of those companies but Tesco employees can pursue their own goals aligned with the company goals (Likierman, 2009). 1.3 The Value of Team Performance Tools to Measure Future Team Performance: Capacity and Capability of Current Workforce (Chuasiriporn, 2010) thinks that ‘performance measurement can made official with the help of diagrams and charts in order to keep an eye on the growth to fulfil the goals of the organization. The only method to do it is to keep measuring it in the form of numbers. When the data is put in the shape of a graph, then it can be a lead for the prospects the company wants to achieve. Function There should be a estimation of current performance of the organization in full and all of the components to be measured should be clearly mentioned. Time Frame Clear ‘dates should be fixed in order to achieve some objectives, there might be a difference of opinion in the mind of workers and their managers but still a fixed time frame should be mentioned. Weightage There should be clarity of which goals to be achieved first and which ones have a secondary importance. Those objectives which are needed to be taken care of first, should be prioritised. Considerations All of the targets should be flexible and changeable in performance measurement. There should be a clear vision about the target and if any change is needed should be done. That means there should be proper ‘tracking of all the measures. (Tesco Case Study) gives an idea of the ‘balanced scorecard used at Tesco in order to measure the performance of the employees and core reimbursements are given below: It clearly shows what is going to be measured by giving the current performance It shows what is coming next which will be gauged It clarifies the workers performance in detail and his/her contribution to the company There is a clear way shown in it where the company wants to go and which goal is more important It gives the performance of the teams clearly and shows them they way forward. LO2: Team Performance targets to contribute to meeting strategic objectives: 2.1 Analysis of required performance targets within teams against current performance: There should be an agreement in the teams about the specific targets to be achieved in a specific period of time, keeping in view what is most important to do first. (Hanson, 2010) thinks that in order to have influential management, the ‘performance measurement is important. He considers various steps to be consideredL Tesco has plan to introduce hypermarket shoping mall which is running successful in China. While international level tesco open superstore in india with tata group which is a success of tesco in Asia. Whil in Europe tesco has plan to open more store food and non food. Name your company goals, not more than 5 as more aims lead to confusion Anything related to success of any goal should be practical. For example training of ‘health and safety if there is a danger of accidents The goals of success should be changed into metrics. For example if the company has to pick up the sales, then how much sales? How the objectives will be achieved, what is the baseline of success target? Put a 3 point range in place, ‘minimum, moderate and â€Å"stretch† targets. For example, if the company wants to set a goal of how many workers will finish their training by the end of the quarter and ‘ passing grade is set at 70%, then the management can set 60% of employees at minimum, 65% moderate and 85% at stretch. 2.2 Individual commitments to team performance in achievement of organizational goals: (Nash, 2009) explains that organizations should always give more importance to each of the individuals who are working in a team; workers should be given more confidence and must be engaged in all the works done by the team.( There are many factors important in this regard including taking care of the individual preferences, their choices, the values of the individual, giving them importance and rewarding them if any target is achieved. These factors can be helpful in useful contribution of the individual. When this individual with the encouragement will join a team he/she will contribute and the team will be high performing one. 2.3 Application of delegation, mentoring and coaching to the achievement of organizational objectives: Any kind of mentoring and coaching influences the performance of the individual with new skills, behaviour and new commitment with the job. If the team member is not coached about whole of the environment and how to do the job, that member is not confident and if not confident will not contribute positively to the team. (Johnson, 2009 believes that there should be five steps given importance in this regard 1. Setting clear goals 2. Training 3. Behaviour observation 4. Feedback and 5. Positive reinforcement. 2.4 A team performance plan to meet organizational objectives: (Holman, 2009) describes the importance of ‘team performance plan as this plan is not just managed in 1 department of the company; it is in the whole organization. This team performance plan has brings many benefits to the organization as the team performance Solves many problems and is helpful in different choices. Because there is not just one person taking all the decisions, it is the whole team which does it, so they become easy. There is more communication in different team members after working on this plan. The team members are able to communicate their knowledge and skills with each other. There are more chances of risk if the management is not working in the form of teams and if any problem occurs, then teams can handle it better. Different departments can be collaborated with the teams of each department sharing the same kind of idea. Also there is always resistance to any kind of change, so teams can handle this matter far better. Even a team member can give his views and top management has to listen to it because it is good platform. So all the targets set by organization can be achieved by dividing the big objectives into small set of performance measures. Teams working at Tesco consist of all kinds of workers and they keep sharing their work and duties. There is great importance given to company growth strategy but the whole of the workforce which consists of teams knows what they have to do, what is the company goal and what is their own target and the route to achieve it. There is a great collaboration in teams and they work together to achieve the company objectives and they are informed every week that what is the company target and what is their progress with the help of ‘Tesco Steering Wheel. LO3: Monitoring 3.1 The process for monitoring team performance and initiate changes where necessary: It is the responsibility of any leader to monitor the performance of any team. There can be many ways to monitor the performance (Papa, 2010). One of them can be that there should be clear objectives in mind of the leader and if the team reaches those targets then it is clear that performance is good otherwise not. Another way is taking the feedback from the team, either with the internal resources or external ones. If there is positive response from the team members, it means there are good expectations from the team and vice versa. 3.2 Evaluation of team performance against agreed objectives: (Diligent, 2009) thinks that it is not easy to be a leader in a team and evaluate a team performance. Being in a team and leading it is one of the most difficult works to do. If there is low morale in the team it does not always mean that team is performing well but leadership is weak. Team member work in negative fashion if they think they are not treated properly by the leader. In order to get out of situation like this, a top leader has to evaluate the team performance if anything has gone wrong. Tesco leaders are not rigid but there is a democratic culture within the organization and there has not been many cases of team members going to court in order to tell that they are mistreated. A leader should have one-on-one meetings with the member in order to get their suggestions, answer their questions and solve their problem, these things give them confidence and show them their importance. A leader should take care of team members by knowing their everyday life routines so that they feel that they are not just the machines but in reality a treated as a human being. A good leader puts trust in the team member after he gives them a job and if they are pressurized too much, they may not cooperate. LO4: Politics of personal interaction and influence of Leadership 4.1 Influencing and persuading methodologies to gain the commitment of individuals to a course of action: According to (Batumalai 2008) it is important for the leaders to ‘persuade the team members in order to get them involved in the decision making and improve the team-work. There are many ways of doing it as mentioned below: Deal people with positive attitude and they will respond positively. If the person is given a responsibility then he will be committed to it and will be consistent to it, so give them a responsibility. Presenting examples to the team member of the same ‘actions done by other can persuade them to do things. Tell them if any other company has done it, you can do it as well (Festinger, 1954). If the team members like the leader, they will listen to him and the qualities of a good leader include the liking capability as well. The workers should be given rewards on the accomplishment of any project or course of action and this motivates them to do more for the company. At Tesco team leaders are those workers who already have been in teams and know how to persuade people to work in a healthy environment. The techniques used in Litton are most effective ones in this regard where the top executives of the company used to sit on the same floor as the lower level employees. 4.2 Commitment of Individuals: Gains and Losses The Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) (Fagnani, 2006) describes that in order to give importance to the performance of an individual in a team and makes the things easy for the team-work, the knowledge of different ‘personality types is important and ‘Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is one way of doing it. The model has described four personality types: ‘extroverts/introverts, sensing/intuition, thinking/feeling and judging/perceiving. On the base of these results there are sixteen personality types discovered. There are many methods used in MBTI to determine the personality of the team member and what role he/she can play in the team. One way of doing it is ‘Indoor roping by using this technique, there are six ropes used, as they are put on the floor, as a personality test the team members are asked to stand in one of the ropes. At the end the completely different types of personalities will be in opposite sides of the ropes. Similarly another method used is ‘role playing in which members of the team are asked to fire other individual from the job. Some of them show sympathy towards that individual while other do it straight away, so a emotional situation arises. Lastly, ‘fun exercises are one way of doing it in which different individuals are given a specific task to do and one of the member helps them, this shows how two members of the same team can work together. (Thomas, 2008) describes the team building exercises and role playing at Tesco Hertfordshire in a case study and demonstrates the importance of fun games played in order to build teams and shows the enjoyment. Training staff and developing leaders (Thomas, 2010) describes the importance of giving training and producing leaders in the organizations around the world. In the difficult time of today there are so many companies cutting down on training but there is great need of doing it as seventy percent of companies are putting more money in training and team building. There should be more budget allocated for the training as it is important for company future. But there should be more precise approach in terms of training of employees than doing it as a practice in every field. There should be more focus on precise training and weight age should be given to the most preferred training and needed most. Company should focus on the laps of the skills of the employees and should try to train them in order to fill those gaps, in this way a lot of money can be saved on the training. For the development of leaders in the organization, existing leaders should work together with the trainers in order to give the coaching with the training. In the time of recession, the companies are trying to cut down on training in to get the short-term benefits but they forget the long-term payback of this investment. At Tesco every year around 7000 staff member get the training and another way of saving money for the company is that around ten thousand of the workforce change their jobs within the company which helps the company to make leaders and retain its workers who will be good loyal leader working with the company in the future. Conclusion In the assignment we discussed different issues ranging from importance of strategic performance measurement to the making of leaders. So it looks like the direction of the assignment was that how a company can make great leaders and get prosperous in the future. Any workers who joins the company is not a leader but just a worker who knows nothing how to become an influential part of the management. It is the performance measurement who guides the worker to become a good leader. The company we chose for the assignment also looks an ideal company in this regard.

The Narrator of One Hundred Years of Solitude Essay -- One Hundred Yea

The Narrator of One Hundred Years of Solitude Who is this narrator of One Hundred Years of Solitude? He or she knows the whole history of the Buendias better than any of them know it. But the narrator is not quite omniscient. For example, the opening sentence (quoted earlier) and Pilar's insight into the "axle" of time are two of the very few places where the narrator claims to be able to read a character's thoughts. Generally, we get to know characters from close observation of what they say and do, and we have to infer what they may be thinking. The narrator's knowledge also fails us in the one great unresolved mystery: Jose Arcadio, elder son of the founder, is murdered in his bed, but no one ever knows by whom. The narrator is also ignorant of who guns down all of the colonel's illegitimate sons and, in fact, seems as surprised as we are when the last survivor from among these sons appears in Macondo and is also shot down. There are two likely candidates for narrator. One is Melquiades, the gypsy magician and wise man...

The Plausibility of Artificial Intelligence Essay -- Science Scientifi

The Plausibility of Artificial Intelligence Can mankind create intelligence? Can the dream of artificial intelligence ever be realized? Is it possible to formulate intelligence out of inorganic matter? In this paper, I intend to show that artificial intelligence is indeed attainable, that it is within the capacity of human intelligence to fashion intelligence out of non-living materials. Let me begin with one of the major theories concerning the philosophy of artificial intelligence: The Church-Turing thesis. The Church-Turing thesis is the brainchild of Alan Turing and Alonzo Church. It concerns the concepts of â€Å"effective† and â€Å"mechanical† in logic and mathematics. Both Turing and Church reached the hypothesis independently and in different forms. But both forms confront similar issues and the general form is known as the ‘Church-Turing thesis’. In general, the thesis asserts that a machine can execute all processes that are ‘mechanical’[1]. Clearly, there is some ambiguity in this statement. What is meant by mechanical? What is meant by machine? ‘Mechanical’ (or ‘effective’ as Turing sometimes uses) is used in a very strict sense. A process that is mechanical must satisfy the following four properties. First, it must be set out in terms of a finite number of exact instructions. Each instruction must in turn contain a finite number of symbols. Second, if carried out properly, it must produce the desired result in a finite number of steps (a finite amount of time). Third, in practice or in principle, it must be able to be carried out by a human being unaided by any machinery (except paper, pencil, etc.). And finally, it must not demand any insight or ingenuity on the part of the human bei... ...l> (visited 06 Dec. 2002) [4] P. Millican and A. Clark, ed. The Legacy of Alan Turing [5] Herken, Rolf, ed. The Universal Turing Machine: a half-century survey [6] P. Millican and A. Clark, ed. The Legacy of Alan Turing [7] Hofstadter, Douglas. Godel, Escher, Bach: and eternal golden braid. (pg 561) [8] see Hofstadter (pg. 18, 438, 561, 738-739) [9] Hofstadter (pg. 561) [10] Garson, James. â€Å"Connectionism† Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 19 Aug. 2002. < http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/connectionism/> (visited 06 Dec. 2002) [11] Garson, James. â€Å"Connectionism† Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy [12] Srinivasa Rao, K. Srinivasa Ramanujan : a mathematical (East West Books, c1998) [13] Miller, Leon K., Musical savants : exceptional skill in the mentally retarded. (Hillsdale, N.J : L. Erlbaum, 1989.)

Accepting the Extraordinary in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Essay

My life, although not without surprises and unusual events, is dictated by predictable and ordinary elements. However, through fiction I am transported into a world of boundless imagination and extraordinary themes. One such example is evident in my response to Mary Shelley’s gothic novel Frankenstein. Through fiction, Shelley invites the reader to accept the extraordinary. Firstly, we are led to believe that Victor Frankenstein is able to create life by shocking it with electricity, and to this I responded with an imaginative curiosity. But it was the consequences of the creation provoked a stronger response from me. The element of horror Victor experiences and his reaction to the ‘god like’ qualities bestowed upon him as creator is truly extraordinary. Victor, like no other man, experiences the feeling of immense power and responsibility as creator of man, and this provoked a sympathetic response from me. Finally I also accepted and responded to the extraordinar y concept of the monster, who, unlike to the majority of humanity, is created without a sense of cultural identity. Additionally, what is extraordinary to me as a reader is the humanity and intelligence the monster displays, despite the disadvantageous of his creation. This made me have sympathy for monster and served to blotch the credibility of Victor. Throughout the novel I was inclined to accept Shelley’s invitation and to explore a deeper view of humanity. The most apparent extraordinary element in Frankenstein is the concept of galvanic creation. Shelley invites us to believe that Victor can bestow life to the inanimate monster. This achieved by stressing the power and enticement (None but those who have experienced them can conceive of the enticement of science... ...ng the extraordinary I responded in favour of the monster and in disfavour of Victor. In her novel Frankenstein, Mary Shelley invites us as readers to accept the extraordinary. In accepting this invitation my response to the major characters in the novel, Victor and the monster, changed noticeably. Firstly I responded in favor of Victor, due to the extraordinary position he finds himself in as creator of man. But as the novel progressed I was invited to accept the extraordinary humanity of the monster, and this provoked a sympathetic response from me. We as readers are positioned to accept the elements of Frankenstein that are out of the ordinary because Shelley encourages an imaginative response from us. Throughout my reading my imagination was the dictum that influenced my response. By accepting the extraordinary I am able to explore a deeper view of humanity.

The Farewell to Miss American Pie

â€Å"Bye-bye Miss American Pie†. These words were now immortalized in the halls of music industry, and perhaps will be last tribute to the legendary era of ‘rock and roll’ and turbulent times of the 60’s. This song was created by Don McLean, and became phenomenal hit in 1971, charting almost four weeks on the billboards. But there is more than saying goodbye to Ms. American Pie, which in itself is a symbol and image to the profound interpretation of the song. The message pierces more than a county boy strumming a guitar, or it speaks beyond the farewell to an unknown lady.Don McLean, in his official website, made interesting comments regarding the song. While he allowed the song to be interpreted in various lenses, he himself confessed that the song was an allusion to historical or factual events, people and places that his song discussed. Don McLean said, â€Å"I am very proud of the song, it’s biographical in nature, and I don’t think anyo ne has ever picked up on that, the song starts off with my memory with the death of Buddy Holly.But it moves on to describe America, as I was seeing it, and how I fantasizing it might become, its part of reality and part of fantasy but I’m always in the song as a witness, or even as a subject, sometimes in some verses† (Starry, Stary Night Video 2000, cited in www. don-mclean . com). Realizing that McLeans work is to be approached in autobiographical sense, the memories of his childhood his personal persuasions and feelings can be deduced.In the very first line, â€Å"A long, long time ago, I can still remember, how the music made me smile, and I knew If I had a chance, that I could make those people dance, and, maybe they’ll be happy for a while†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Miss American Pie lyrics). The persona in the song, was â€Å"I†, a first person point of view, bolstering the point of McLean that this is biographical. The persona clearly stated that it was his à ¢â‚¬Ëœmemory’ and it was his wish to ‘make people smile and happy’ for a while. This simple statement speaks of a typical young man musician’s dream, his own wishful thinking.As also stated in his website, the song was openly dedicated to the death of Buddy Holly and his companions, who died in a plane crash. This tragic death, moved to illustrate the transiency of life, and wishes in that sense are to be as pure, as simply stating: â€Å"chance to make people dance and make them happy for a while†. Clear from the second and third stanza the descriptions were, â€Å"But February made me shiver†¦bad news on the doorstep, I couldn’t make one more step†. This alludes to the death of Buddy Holly, one of the prominent rock singers in the 60’s (RS, 2004).Their plane crashed in February 3, 1959, which shocked their audience of their untimely death. It could be said that the dedication of the song to Buddy Holly was not because he was a major contributor to the genre of McLean’s music, rather, it was a common knowledge that Buddy Holly was the pioneer of rock & roll music, long before, Elvis Presley, and the Beatles invaded the long playing discs. But the death of Buddy Holly was more than the death of an individual, as the song suggests â€Å"This’ll be the day that I die†¦Ã¢â‚¬ .The demise of Buddy Holly signifies the death of a young promising man, the death of dream, and the death of wishful thinking. Linking the first stanza, to the second and third, the dream of the persona, to live, to entertain, presented a harsh reality of transiency, of â€Å"non-permanence of things. Like the death of Buddy Holly, who may epitomize the budding career of an ambitious young man only to be interrupted by the fact that, death is no respecter of persons.The chorus lines, were repetitious saying â€Å"bye-bye Miss American Pie†. The seeming relevance of this allusion is the representation of American Pie, as the symbol of the â€Å"young and vibrant Americans†. As McLean admitted, â€Å"the song was written as my attempt at an epic song about America, and I used the imagery of music and politics to do that. Also, I was influenced by the Sgt. Pepper album, and the American Pie album was my attempt to do that, but the song totally overshadowed the album† (McLean, 2000, cited www.don-mclean. com). Thus, the â€Å"American Pie† is an image of America, and the persona’s attempt to picture the America as it strives to be, and it might become. But contrasting words will reveal that, if the persona illustrates â€Å"American Pie† as the young America, then why a bid of farewell? Is the persona, trying to say goodbye to future America has? Again, it can be viewed skeptically, the young dream, as mentioned earlier, the wishful thinking must not be allowed to vanish, it must move, it must sojourn.The next lines driving the chevy, â€Å"but the l evee was dry†, this illustrates the life of the young America to rise, go or, to go farther, or move on. But the dry levee was said to illustrate the painful realities of life as we move along. Even driving oneself to that dream, the levees of experiences and circumstance would always be dry. A realism is seem to be presented, that life is not a bed of roses, rather it was a long winding trip to the end. The melancholic lines continuously read: â€Å" The good’ol boys were drinking, whiskey and rye, saying this’ll be the day that I die†¦Ã¢â‚¬  .Presenting the realistic point of view, the good old boys verbalized the promising young people, yet with the painful realities, they have succumbed to the defeatists attitude of lurking themselves, as pictured by the words, â€Å"drinking, whiskey and rye†. The drinking symbolizes solitary, loneliness and isolation. This thought bolstered the point of death, and surrender by proclaiming â€Å"this’ll be the day that I die†. Two oppositions may come into the picture.First, wishful thinking and dreams versus the paralyzing truths of life, we may succumb to surrender and declare our defeat with our own death—demise of our dreams, our lives, our hopes. Yet, this could pose as challenge, that the farewell to Miss American Pie, may be a welcome to her—as we welcome the challenges and bitter moments in our lives with energy and courage. The song illustrates several allusions more to the music icons, the rage of politics, the America’s society, but this attempt is to illustrate the more profound meaning of the song, realization of life, and how do we deal with it.As said, we may live and fight be sad, and drink whiskey and rye to our own discontent or we may rise above the situation, and welcome our American Pie, with â€Å"Hi, Hi, Miss American Pie†¦Ã¢â‚¬  SOURCES: Don McLeans. Don McLean’s American pie. American Pie. com. 2007. May 29, 2007 < http://www. don-mclean. com/americanpie. asp> The Immortals: The First Fifty, Rolling Stone Issue, 946. Rolling Stones. April 15, 2004. Bressler, Charles. Literary Criticism: An Introduction to Theory and Practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 1994 (please include the source in LA Times, the data is difficult to recover, LA Times, February 3, 1959. )

Night World : The Chosen Chapter 14

The first person Rashel met in the mansion was Ivan. It was sheer dumb luck, the same luck that had helped keep her alive so far tonight. She slipped in the back door, the way she and the girls had gone out. Standing in the huge silent kitchen, she listened for an instant to the music that was still blasting from the inner house. Then she swiveled to check the cellar-and met Ivan the Terrible running up the stairs. He had clearly just discovered that his twenty-four valuable slave girls were missing. His blond hair was flying, his eyes were wide with alarm, his mouth was twisted. He had the taser in one hand and a bunch of plastic handcuffs-the kind police use on rioters-in the other. When Rashel suddenly appeared on the stairway, his eyes flew open even wider. His mouth opened in astonishment-and then Rashel's foot impacted with his forehead. The snap kick knocked him backward, and he tumbled down the stairs to hit the wooden door below. Rashel leaped after him, making it to the bottom only a second after he did. But he was already out. â€Å"What are these? Were you supposed to take some girls up?† She kicked at the plastic handcuffs. Ivan the Unconscious didn't answer. She glanced at her watch. Only a quarter to nine. Maybe he'd been taking the girls to get washed or something. It seemed too early to start the feast. Running noiselessly back up the stairs, she quietly closed the door. Now she had to follow the music. She needed to see where the vampires were, how they were situated, how she could best get at them. She wondered where Lily was. The kitchen opened into a grand dining room with an enormous built-in sideboard. It had undoubtedly been made to accommodate whole suckling pigs or something, but Rashel had a dreadful vision of a girl lying on that coffinlike mahogany shelf, hands tied behind her, while vampire after vampire stopped by to have a snack. She pushed the idea out of her mind and moved silently across the floorboards. The dining room led to a hall, and it was from the end of the hallway that music was coming. Rashel slipped into the dimly lit hall like a shadow, moving closer and closer to the doors there. The last door was the only one that showed light. That one, she thought. Before she could get near it, a figure blocked the light. Instantly Rashel darted through the nearest doorway. She held her breath, standing in the darkened room, watching the hall. If only one or two vampires came out, she could pick them off. But nobody came out and she realized it must have just been someone passing in front of the light. At the same moment she realized that the music was very loud. This wasn't another room-it was the same room. She was in one gigantic double parlor, with a huge wooden screen breaking it up into two separate spaces. The screen was solid, but carved into a lacy pattern that let flickering light through. Rashel thrust her knife in her waistband, then crept to the screen and applied her eye. A spacious room, very masculine, paneled like the dining room in mahogany and floored in cherry parquet. Glass brick windows-opaque. All Rashel's worry about somebody looking out had been for nothing. A fire burned in a massive fireplace, the light bringing out the ruddy tones in the wood. The whole room looked red and secret. And there they were. The vampires for the bloodfeast. Seven of the most powerful made vampires in the world, Fayth had said. Rashel counted heads swiftly. Yes, seven. No Lily. â€Å"You boys don't look that scary,† she murmured. That was one thing about made vampires. Unlike the lamia, who could stop aging-or start againwhenever they wanted, made vampires were stuck. And since the process of turning a human body into a vampire body was incredibly difficult, only a young human could survive it. Try to turn somebody over twenty into a vampire and they would burn out. Fry. Die. The result was that all made vampires were stuck as teenagers. What Rashel was looking at could have been the cast for some new TV soap about friends. Seven teenage guys, different sizes, different colors, but all Hollywood handsome, and all dressed to kill. They could have been talking and laughing about a fishing trip or a school dance†¦ except for their eyes. That was what gave them away, Rashel thought. The eyes showed a depth no high school guy could ever have. An experience, an intelligence†¦ and a coldness. Some of these teenagers were undoubtedly hundreds of years old, maybe thousands. All of them were absolutely deadly. Or else they wouldn't be here. They each expected to kill three innocent girls starting at midnight. These thoughts flashed through Rashel's mind in a matter of seconds. She had already decided on the best way to plunge into the room and start the attack. But one thing kept her from doing it. There were only seven vampires. And the eighth was the one she wanted. The client. The one who'd hired Quinn and set up the feast. Maybe it was one of these. Maybe that tall one with the dark skin and the look of authority. Or the silvery blond with the odd smile†¦. No. Nobody really looks like a host. I think it's the one who's still missing. But maybe she couldn't afford to wait. They might hear the powerboats leaving over the steady pounding of the music. Maybe she should just†¦ Something grabbed her from behind. This time she had no warning. And she wasn't surprised anymore. Her opinion of herself as a warrior had plummeted. She intended to fight, though. She went limp to loosen the grip, then reached between her own legs to grab her attacker's ankle. A jerk up would throw him off balance†¦. Don't do it. I don't want to have to stun you, but I will. Quinn. She recognized the mental voice, and the hand clamped across her mouth. And both the telepathy and the skin contact were having an effect on her. It wasn't like before; no lightning bolts, no explosions. But she was overwhelmed with a sense of Quinn. She seemed to feel his mind-and the feeling was one of drowning in dark chaos. A storm that seemed just as likely to kill Quinn as anyone else. He lifted her cleanly and backed out of the room with her, into the hall, then up a flight of stairs. Rashel didn't fight. She tried to clear her head and wait for an opportunity. By the time he'd pulled her into an upstairs room and shut the door, she realized that there wasn't going to be an opportunity. He was just too strong, and he could stun her telepathically the instant she moved to get away. The tables had turned. There was nothing to do now but hope that she could face death as calmly as he had. At least, she thought, it would put a stop to her confusion. He let go of her and she slowly turned to look at him. What she saw sent chills between her shoulder blades. His eyes were as dark and chaotic as the clouds she'd sensed in his mind. It was scarier than the cold hunger she'd seen in the eyes of the seven guys downstairs. Then he smiled. A smile that shed rainbows. Rashel pressed her back against the wall and tried to brace herself. â€Å"Give me the knife.† She simply looked at him. He pulled it out of her waistband and tossed it on the bed. â€Å"I don't like being knocked out,† he said. â€Å"I don't know why, but something about it really bothers me.† â€Å"Quinn, just get it over with.† â€Å"And it took me a while to get myself untied. Every time I meet you, I seem to end up hog-tied and unconscious. It's getting monotonous.† â€Å"Quinn†¦ you're a vampire. I'm a vampire hunter. Do what you have to.† â€Å"We're also always threatening each other. Have you noticed that? Of course, everything we keep saying is true. It is kill or be killed. And you've killed a lot of my people, Rashel the Cat.† â€Å"And you've killed a lot of mine, John Quinn.† He glanced away, looking into a middle distance. His pupils were enormous. â€Å"Less than you might think, actually. I don't usually kill to feed. But, yes, I've done enough. I said before, I know what you think of me.† Rashel said nothing. She was frightened and confused and had been under strain for quite a long time. She felt that at any moment she could snap. â€Å"We belong to two different races, races that hate each other. There's no way to get around that.† He turned his dark eyes back on her and gave her a brilliant smile. â€Å"Unless, of course, we change it.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† â€Å"I'm going to make you a vampire.† Something inside Rashel seemed to give way and fall. She felt as if her legs might collapse. He couldn't mean it, he couldn't be serious. But he was. She could tell. There was a kind of surface serenity pasted over the dark roiling clouds in his eyes. So this was how he'd solved an unsolvable problem. He had snapped. Rashel whispered, â€Å"You know you can't do that.† â€Å"I know I can do that. It's very simple, actually- all we have to do is exchange blood. And it's the only way.† He took hold of her arms just above the elbow. â€Å"Don't you understand? As long as you're human, Night World law says you have to die if I love you.† Rashel stood stricken. Quinn had stopped short, as if he were startled himself by what he'd said. Then he gave an odd laugh and shook his head. â€Å"If I love you,† he repeated. â€Å"And that's the problem, of course. I do love you.† Rashel leaned against the wall for support. She couldn't think anymore. She couldn't even breathe properly. And somewhere deep inside her there was a trembling that wouldn't stop. â€Å"I've loved you from that first night, Rashel the Cat. I didn't want to admit it, but it was true.† He was still gripping her tightly by the arms, leaning close to her, but his eyes were distant, lost in the past. â€Å"I'd never met a human like you,† he said softly, as if remembering. â€Å"You were strong, you weren't weak and pathetic. You weren't looking for your own destruction. But you were going to let me go. Strength and compassion. And†¦ honor. Of course I loved you.† His dark eyes focused again. He looked at her sharply. â€Å"I'd have been crazy not to.† Falling into darkness†¦ Rashel had a terrifying desire to simply collapse in his arms. Give in. He was so strangely beautiful, and the power of his personality was overwhelming. And of course she loved him, too. That was suddenly excruciatingly clear. Undeniable. From the beginning he had struck a chord in her that no one else had ever touched. He was so much like her-a hunter, a fighter. But he had honor, too. However he might try to deny it or get around it, deep inside him there was still honor. And like her, he knew the dark side of life, the pain, the violence. They had both seen-and done-things that normal people wouldn't understand. She was supposed to hate him†¦ but from the beginning she'd seen herself in him. She had felt the bond, the connection between them†¦. Rashel shook her head. â€Å"No!† She had to stop thinking these things. She would not surrender to the darkness. â€Å"You can't stop me, you know,† Quinn said softly. â€Å"That ought to make things easier for you. You don't even have to make a decision. It's all my fault. I'm very, very bad, and I'm going to make you a vampire.† Somehow that gave Rashel her voice back. â€Å"How can you do that-to someone you love?† she spat. â€Å"Because I don't want you dead! Because as long as you're human, you're going to get yourself killed!† He put his face close to hers, their foreheads almost touching. â€Å"I will not let you kill yourself,† he said through his teeth. â€Å"If you make me a vampire, I will kill myself,† Rashel said. Her mind had cleared. However much she wanted to give in, however enticing the darkness might be, it all disappeared when she thought of how it would end. She would be a vampire. She'd be driven by bloodlust to do things that would horrify her right now. And she'd undoubtedly find excuses for doing them. She would become a monster. Quinn was looking shaken. She'd scared him, she could see it in his eyes. â€Å"You'll feel differently once it's done,† he said. â€Å"No. Listen to me, Quinn.† She kept her eyes on his, looking deep, trying to let him see the truth of what she was saying. â€Å"If you make me a vampire, the moment I wake up I'll stab myself with my own knife. Do you think I'm not brave enough?† â€Å"You're too brave; that's your problem.† He was faltering. The surface serenity was breaking up. But that wasn't really helpful, Rashel realized, because underneath it was an agony of desperate confusion. Quinn really couldn't see any other solution. Rashel couldn't see any herself-except that she didn't really expect to survive tonight. Quinn's face hardened, and she could see him pushing away doubts. â€Å"You'll get used to it,† he said harshly, his voice grating. â€Å"You'll see. Let's start now,† he added. And then he bit her. He was so fast. Unbelievably fast. He caught her jaw and tilted her head back and to the side-not roughly but with an irresistible control and precision. Then before Rashel had time to scream, she felt a hot sting. She felt teeth, vampire teeth, extended to an impossible delicacy and sharpness, pierce her flesh. This is it. This is death. Panic flooded her. But it wasn't death, of course-not yet. She wouldn't even be changed into a vampire by a single exchange of blood. No, instead it would be slow torture†¦ days of agony†¦ pain†¦. She kept waiting for the pain. Instead she felt a strange warmth and languor. Was he actually drinking her blood? All she could sense was Quinn's mouth nuzzling at her neck, his arms around her tightly. And†¦ His mind. It happened all at once. In a sudden silent explosion, white light engulfed her. It burst around her. She was floating in it. Quinn was floating in it. It was shining around them and through them, and she could feel a connection with Quinn that made their last connection seem like a faulty telephone line. She knew him. She could see him, his soul, whatever you wanted to call it, whatever it was that made him John Quinn. They seemed to be floating together in some other space, in a naked white light that revealed everything and mercilessly lit up all the most secret places. And if anyone had asked her, Rashel would have said that would be horrible, and she would have run for her life to get away from it. But it wasn't horrible. She could see dreadful dark bits in Quinn's mind, and dreadful dark bits in hers. Tangled, thorny, scary parts, full of anger and hate. But there were so many other parts-some of them almost unused-that were beautiful and strong and whole. There was so much potential. Rainbow places that were aching to grow. Other parts that seemed to quiver with light, desperate to be awakened. We ask so little of ourselves, Rashel thought in wonder. If everybody's like this-we stunt ourselves so badly. We could be so much more†¦. I don't want you to be more. You ‘re amazing enough the way you are. It was Quinn. Not even his voice, just-Quinn. His thoughts. And Rashel knew her thoughts flowed to him without her even making an effort. You know what I mean. Isn't this strange? Does this always happen with vampires? Nothing like this has ever happened to me in my life, Quinn said. What he felt was even more, and Rashel could sense it directly, in a dizzying sweet wave. There was an understanding between them that ran deeper than any words could convey. Whatever was happening to them, however they had gotten to this place, one thing was obvious. Under the white light that revealed their inner selves, it was clear that small differences like being vampire or human didn't matter. They were both just people. John Quinn and Rashel Jordan. People who were stumbling through life trying to deal with the hurt. Because there was hurt. There was pain in the landscape of Quinn's mind. Rashel sensed it without words or even images; she could feel the feelings that had scarred Quinn. Your father did something-he killed Dove? Oh, John. Oh, John, I'm so sorry. I didn't know. Rainbow lights shimmered when she called him John. It was the part of him that he had repressed the most ruthlessly. The part that she could almost feel growing in her presence. No wonder you hated humans. After everything you'd ken through, to have your own father want you dead†¦ And no wonder you hated vampires. They killed someone dose to you-your mother? And you were so young. I'm†¦ sorry. He wasn't as easy with words as she was, but here they didn't need words. She could sense his sorrow, his shame, and his fierce protectiveness. And she could sense the emotion behind his next question. Who did it? I don't know. I'll probably never know. Rashel didn't want to pursue it. She didn't want to feed the dark side of Quinn; she wanted to see more of the shimmering light. She wanted to make the light grow until the dark disappeared. Rashel, that may not be possible. Quinn's thought wasn't bitter; it was serious and gentle. Tinged with infinite regret. I may not be able to become anything better- Of course you can. We all can. Rashel cut him off with absolute determination. She could feel the bone-deep cold that had set into him years ago, that he'd allowed to set in. I won't let you be cold, she told him, and she went for a romp in his mind, kissing things and blowing warmth into them, thinking sunlight and comfort everywhere. Please stop; I think you're killing me. Quinn's thought was shaky-half serious and half hysterical, like the helpless gasp of somebody being tickled to death. Rashel's whole being was singing with elation. She was young-how strange that she had never really felt young until now-and she was in love and stronger than she had ever been before. She had John Quinn the vampire squirming and semi-hysterical. She was unstoppable. Anything was possible. I'll make everything be right, she told Quinn, and she was happy to see that she'd driven his doubt and his sadness away, at least for the moment. Do you really want me to stop? No. Quinn sounded dazed now-and bemused. I've decided I'll enjoy dying this way. But†¦ Rashel couldn't follow the rest of his thought, but she felt a new coldness, something like a wind from outside. Outside. She'd forgotten there was an outside. In here, in the private cocoon of their minds, there was nothing but her and Quinn. It was almost as if nothing else existed. But†¦ There was a whole world out there. Other people. Things happening. Things Rashel had to stop†¦. â€Å"Oh, God, Quinn-the vampires.†