Involving others in assessments Essay

The assessment process in a beauty college involves many different people. Starting with the students that need to be assessed and who need be told the criteria which they are being assessed against so that they can try meet these needs. The teachers of the students need to be provided with a curriculum to teach and have access to various forms of information related to their subject matter so they can draw on these for course notes or offer extra material for students to give them a broader understanding of the subject. The assessors themselves need to know what facilities the college has with regards to where the tests are obtained from, what time frame is allocated, what different forms of assessment need to be conducted, what setting is in place be it a classroom or practical room or a simulation of a salon with a member of public coming in to be the client. They need to know who else in the college is qualified to assess should they have any questions and who the internal verifiers are to report to. Employers at the college need to provide assessment opportunities and find ways of networking with the staff through newsletters or internal meetings to identify good practice in assessing across the board and to maintain consistency throughout the staff. The internal verifiers are there to check the quality of assessing and to measure and improve further quality of assessments. External verifiers are needed to check that the internal verifiers are doing their job properly and check the quality of the work being done. They are usually given a selection of pre assessed papers so they can re-assess them to check for accuracy in assessing and to be able to check the standard of a college and report back to the awarding body that a college is able to claim certification for their students, or if the college needs to amend certain criteria before claiming certification. So in my college experience I was taught my course material by various teachers, assessed by teachers by written tests or projects or in the practical classroom. The teachers had to report to the principal of the college for our results and the principal often came into the assessing rooms while we were busy with class or doing tests. An external examining body from the international guild of beauty therapy was asked to do our final assessments and we were given lists stating what the examiner would be looking for. We were assessed according to the international level set by the beauty guild and only if we passed with a stipulated percentage were we awarded our qualification. Peer and Self assessment: Self assessment allows the student to work out their own strengths and weaknesses and tailor their own learning plan to best suit themselves. This works well when you have a motivated student who is willing to admit their own setbacks to themselves and strive to address these and move forward in the right direction with a better sense of what they want to achieve and how to do that. Peer assessment can be very helpful in that students get to go over their own knowledge of the subject being assessed while they assess their peer therefore doing revision and also being more aware of what they may not know or of how their peer does something better than they would have done and learning from them. I find self and peer evaluation very helpful in a beauty college especially as it is such a practical course and a lot of time is spent practicing treatments on your peers or being the client to be practiced on. When a student is being the therapist they can carry out a treatment and assess themselves on how well they have learnt the procedure and where they get stuck and need help. They will be more confident in asking their peer for help or to give them feedback about their treatment and in-turn be able to use this feedback to modify their work and learn from this. When a student is being the client this is a great opportunity for them to really feel what different types of pressure feel like and what feel good and what doesn’t and use that to adapt their own techniques. They learn what it feels like to be on the therapy bed and be aware of the sounds around them that the student therapist makes or the questions they ask and what makes sense and works and what doesn’t. This is an invaluable way that students can improve themselves and be able to help their peers improve by giving them accurate feedback. How assessment arrangements can be adapted to learners: Students learn best in slightly different ways depending on what approach works best for them. A widely used model of learning style is Flemmings’ s (2001) Visual Auditory Kinesthetic (VAK) model. If students are visual learners, they prefer to use images, pictures, colors, and maps to organize information and communicate with others. They work well from worksheets and the whiteboard and do their best on more theory based assessments like short questions, multiple choice, true and false or essays. In their practical assessments they will do well when needing to chart information the client has told them and write up skin diagnosis or plan future care appointments. If they are auditory learners they are the students who retain information better when the information is reinforced through sound. So they prefer class lectures rather than being given textbooks to read. These students do much better when their assessment are asked with short oral questions during class or explaining to an examiner why they are performing a certain treatment or using a certain method to perform a task. Being able to read their questions out aloud to themselves will also help them registered better what is required from them in the assessment. If they are kinesthetic learners then they prefer to be involved in activities. They learn through applying their knowledge practically by writing out notes during lectures or telling another person what they have learnt or performing practical treatments. Studying beauty therapy is a great choice for kinesthetic learns as much of the course involves taking part and learning through movement and a big part of your grading comes from performing treatments and demonstrating your skills to the assessors. For these learners doing theory assessments they can be kept motivated by doing diagrams or plotting graphs or doing oral reports so they are fulfilling their need for movement in learning.

An Assesment of the Role of the Auditor in Fighting Corruption in an Organization Essay

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction Reliable accounting and financial reporting issued by auditors help organisations in allocating resources from the society in an efficient manner. Although the primary goal of an organisation is profit making and to allocate limited capital resources to the production of goods and services for which society’s demand is great, a highly complex phenomenon which is corruption poses a threat to those goals and services. However, most organisations spend huge sums of money adopting strategies to fight corruption (Whittington et al., 2004). 2.2 History of Auditing The word â€Å"Audit† originated from the Latin word ‘auditus’ which means, ‘a hearing’. In the earlier days, whenever there was suspected corruption in a business organization, the owner of the business would appoint a person to check the accounts and require hearing the explanations given by the person responsible for keeping the accounts and funds. In those days, the audit was done to find out whether the payments and receipts were properly accounted or not accounted for (http://www.eHow.com). During the advent of the Industrial Revolution, from 1750 to 1850, auditing evolved into a field of fraud detection and financial accountability. Until then, Auditing existed primarily as a method to maintain governmental accountancy and record-keeping. The incidence of the revolution resulted in businesses expanding thereby resulting in increased job positions between owners to customers. Resultantly, management was hired to operate businesses in the owners’ absences, and owners found an increasing need to monitor their financial activities both for accuracy and fraud prevention. (http://www.eHow.com). In the early 20th century, the reporting practice of auditors, which involved submitting reports of their duties and findings, was standardized as the â€Å"Independent Auditor’s Report.† The increase in demand for auditors led to the development of the testing process for accuracy and fraud prevention. Auditors developed a way to strategically selecting key cases as representative of the company’s performance. This was an affordable alternative to examining every case in detail, required less time and a good tool for reducing fraud (http://www.eHow.com). 2.3 Overview of Auditing â€Å"Auditing is a systematic examination of the books and records of a business or the organization in order to ascertain or verify and to report upon the facts regarding the financial operation and the result thereof† (Montgomery, 2010,p.6). Again, Loughran (2010, p.5), defines auditing as, the process of investigating information that is prepared by someone else to determine whether the information is fairly stated. On the other hand, Arens et al. (2006, p.7), defines auditing as the accumulation of evidence about information to determine and report on the degree of correspondence between the information and established criteria. â€Å"Auditing is a systematic process of objectively obtaining and evaluating evidence regarding assertions about economic actions and events to ascertain the degree of correspondence between the assertions and established criteria and communicating the results to interested users†(Robertson et al., 2002,p.7).According to Knechel (2001,p.4 2), â€Å"auditing is the process of providing assurance about the reliability of the information contained in the financial statements prepared in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.† 2.4 Types of Audit There are various ways in which the work performed by the auditor has been classified or categorized. Each classification or type of audit is unique in that, each type of audit has its own perspective, objective and business organisation. Irrespective of the type of audit being conducted, the basic processes, guidelines and standards are basically the same. However, Hall (2005) classifies the types of audits that auditors perform into four; 2.4.1 Internal Audit The Institute of Internal Auditors defines internal audit as an independent function established within an organisation to examine and evaluate the audit activities as a service to the organisation. Internal audits are conducted by auditors who work for the organization (Ibid). 2.4.2 Information Technology Audit This is associated with auditors who use technical skills and knowledge to  audit through the computer system, or provide audit services where processes or data, or both, are embedded in technologies. Hence, IT audit involves the auditing of information technology, computer system and the like. IT audit allows auditors to audit through the database and computer (Ibid). 2.4.3 Fraud Audit This is the newest area of auditing, arising out of both rampant employee theft of assets and major financial frauds. In such audits, materiality is irrelevant, and the primary goal is an investigation of anomalies not to give assurance. Hence, fraud audit aims at gathering evidence of fraud and where sufficient evidence exist, fraud audit leads to conviction (Ibid). 2.4.4 Financial Audit Also referred to as external audits, this involves auditors who work independent of the organisation being audited. The audit objective is to give an opinion on the financial statements (Ibid). 2.5 Types of Auditors There are a number of different types of auditors; however, they can be classified under four headings: external auditors, internal auditors, government auditors, and forensic auditors. One important requirement of each type of auditor is independence, in some manner, from the entity being audited (Robertson et al., 2002). 2.5.1 External Auditors External Auditors are often referred to as independent auditors or certified public accountants (CPAs). Such auditors are called â€Å"external† because they are not employed by the entity being audited. However, external auditors audit financial statements for publicly traded and private companies, partnerships, municipalities, individuals, and other type of entities. An external auditor may practice as a sole proprietor or as a member of a CPA firm (Robertson et al., 2002). On the other hand, Boynton et al. (2001), describes external auditors as independent having education, training, and thus by virtue of their experience, external auditors are qualified to perform each of the types of activities being the operational audit activity, the audit compliance, and the financial statements audit activity. Operational audit activity has to do with obtaining and evaluating evidence  about the efficiency and effectiveness of an entity’s operating activities in relation to specified objectives. Furthermore, compliance audit activity has to do with obtaining and evaluating evidence to determine whether certain financial or operating activities of an entity conform to specified rules, or regulations (Boynton et al., 2001).Finally, the financial statements audit activity has to do with obtaining and evaluating evidence about an entity’s financial statements for the purpose of expressing an opinion on whether the financial statements are presented fairly in conformity with established criteria-usually Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (Boynton et al.,2001). 2.5.2 Internal Auditors Internal auditors are auditors employed by individual companies, partnerships, government agencies, individuals, and other entities (Messier et al., 2008). Additionally, internal auditors are also employed extensively by government and nonprofit organisations with the principal goal of investigating and appraising the activities with which the various organisational units of the company are carrying out their assigned functions (Whittington et al., 2004). However, in addition to the provision of consulting services to the organisation, internal auditors pay much attention to the study of internal control. Again, internal auditors are primarily involved with compliance and operational audit activities. With the operational audit activity having to do with the obtaining and evaluating evidence about the efficiency and effectiveness of an entity’s operating activities in relation to specified objectives (Boynton et al., 2001).Furthermore, the compliance audit activity having to d o with the obtaining and evaluating evidence to determine whether certain financial or operating activities of an entity conform to specified conditions, rules, or regulations (Boynton et al., 2001). 2.5.3 Government Auditors Government auditors are employed by federal, state, and local agencies. They generally can be considered a subset of the broader category of internal auditors. At the federal level, two agencies use auditors extensively: the Government Accountability Office and the Internal Revenue Service. The Internal Revenue Agents have their responsibility of enforcing tax laws as defined by congress of parliament and interoperated by the courts. However,  the government auditors engage in a wide range of audit activities, including financial statements audit activity, the compliance audit activity and the operational audit activity (Messier et al., 2008). Financial statements audit activity has to do with the obtaining and evaluating evidence about an entity’s financial statements for the purpose of expressing an opinion on whether they are presented fairly in conformity with established criteria-usually Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. The compliance audit activity having to d o with the obtaining and evaluating evidence to determine whether certain financial or operating activities of an entity conform to specified conditions, rules, or regulations. Finally, the operational audit activity having to do with the obtaining and evaluating evidence about the efficiency and effectiveness of an entity’s operating activities in relation to specified objectives (Boynton et al., 2001). 2.5.4 Forensic Auditors Forensic auditors are employed by corporations, government agencies, public accounting firms, and consulting and investigative services firms. They are trained in detecting, investigating, and deterring fraud and corruption (Boynton et al., 2001). 2.6 Roles of the Auditor The role of both the internal and external auditor in the business and economic life of the society is very important. Modern business enterprises are quite large and mostly in corporate form wherein shareholders do not necessarily engage in the running of the management team to run the business on behalf of the shareholders. As a result, management is required to prepare and submit accounts of their stewardship to reflect the true financial position of the entity’s activities (Yiadom, 2009).  ¬The Role of the Auditor in the Internal Control Internal control is broadly defined as a process, executed by an entity’s board of directors, management, and other personnel, designed to provide reasonable assurance regarding the achievement of objectives in the following internal control categories: 1.Effectiveness and efficiency of operations. 2.Reliability of financial reporting. 3.Compliance with laws and regulations. Management is responsible for internal control. Managers establish policies and processes to help the organization achieve specific objectives in each of these categories. Auditors perform audits to evaluate whether the policies and processes are designed and operating effectively and provide recommendations for improvement (Messier et al., 2008).  ¬The Role of the Auditor in Corporate Governance Corporate governance is a combination of processes and organizational structures implemented by the Board of Directors to inform, direct, manage, and monitor the organization’s resources, strategies and policies towards the achievement of the organizations objectives. The internal auditor is often considered one of the â€Å"four pillars† of corporate governance, the other pillars being the Board of Directors, management, and the external auditor(Business web (online) 2006 http://www.allbusiness.com). A primary focus area of internal auditing as it relates to corporate governance is helping the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors (or equivalent) perform its responsibilities effectively. This may include reporting critical internal control problems, informing the Committee privately on the capabilities of key managers, suggesting questions or topics for the Audit Committee’s meeting agendas, and coordinating with the external auditor(Business web (online) 2006 http://www.allbusiness.com).  ¬Role of the Auditor in Risk Management Auditing professional standards require the function of the auditor to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the organization’s risk management processes. Risk management relates to how an organization sets objectives, then identifies, analyzes, and responds to those risks that could potentially impact its ability to realize its objectives. Management performs risk assessment activities as part of the ordinary course of business in each of these categories. Examples include: strategic planning, marketing planning, capital planning, budgeting, hedging, incentive payout structure, and credit/lending practices. Sarbanes-Oxley regulations also  require extensive risk assessment of financial reporting processes (Business web (online) 2006 http://www.allbusiness.com). Corporate legal counsel often prepares comprehensive assessments of the current and potential litigation a company faces. Internal auditors may evaluate each of these activities, or focus on the processes used by management to report and monitor the risks identified. For example, internal auditors can advise management regarding the reporting of forward-looking operating measures to the Board, to help identify emerging risks (Business web (online) 2006 http://www.allbusiness.com). In larger organizations, major strategic initiatives are implemented to achieve objectives and drive changes. As a member of senior management, the Chief Audit Executive may participate in status updates on these major initiatives. This places the Chief Audit Executive in the position to report on many of the major risks the organization faces to the Audit Committee, or ensure management’s reporting is effective for that purpose (Business web (online) 2006 http://www.allbusiness.com). 2.7 Overview of Corruption Although there is no universal or comprehensive definition as to what constitutes corrupt behaviour, most definitions share a common emphasis upon the abuse of public power or position for personal advantage (Boadi, 2002 vol.4 no.2).The Oxford Unabridged Dictionary defines corruption as â€Å"perversion or destruction of integrity in the discharge of public duties by bribery or favour.† Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines it as â€Å"inducement to wrong by improper or unlawful means (as bribery).† A succinct definition of corruption used by the World Bank is â€Å"the abuse of public office for private gain.†Corruption is a complex multi-faceted social phenomenon with innumerable manifestations. It takes place as an outcome of deficiencies in the existing public administration apparatuses and systems as well as cultural, economic, political and social factors. Differences of opinion still exist as to the meaning of the term corruption. This is primarily because individuals look at corruption from their own vantage points influenced by surrounding environment (Khan, 2004). Coherently, Swain& Dininio (2000), explains corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain. It encompasses unilateral abuses by government officials such as embezzlement and nepotism, as well as abuses linking public and private  actors such as bribery extortion, influence peddling, and fraud. 2.8 Corruptive Issues in an Organisation Corruptive issues arise in an organization where both employers and employees embark on any act classified as corruption (Balkaran, 2000). 2.8.1 Causes of Corruption  Khan (2004), defines corruption as a phenomenon that takes place due to the presence of a number of factors. An understanding of such factors requires, among other things, a kind of general framework for a clearer understanding of the causes of corruption, especially from a broader perspective. However, Goudie & Strange (2000), explained that the genesis of corruption can be looked at from three levels being the international, the national and the individual institutional level. Competitiveness of international markets provides multinational companies of various sizes with an incentive to offer bribes to gain an advantage over competitors. At the national level basic development strategy of any government moulds opportunities and incentives for corruption. At the same level three relationships – between the government and the civil service, between the government and the judiciary and between the government and the civil society – also affect the nature and discussions of corruption. Three areas of government activity – customs administration, business regulation and management of foreign aid – act as sources of corruption at the level of individual institutions (Goudie & Strange, 2000). 2.8.2 Forms of Corruption Corruption takes many forms; acceptance of money and other rewards for awarding contracts, violation of procedures to advance personal interests, kickbacks from developmental programmes or multi-national corporations, pay-offs for legislative support, diversion of public resources for private use, overlooking illegal activities, intervening in the justice process, nepotism, common theft, overpricing, establishing non-existing projects and tax collection and tax assessment frauds (Khan, 2004). 2.9 The Auditor’s Role in Fighting Corruption in an Organisation â€Å"Auditors are the first set of gatekeepers in fighting corruption in an organisation† (Harding,2000,p.12). Auditors ensure that transactions are valid, at arms-length, captured, and properly recorded according to established  standards which contributes to the fight of corruption. Secondly, As professionals with a duty to protect the public interest, auditors are bound by rigorous codes of professional and personal ethics calling for the highest levels of integrity and objectivity. Again, with key strategic positions within an enterprise or organization; whether in an internal position or as an external position, mean that auditors very often have access to highly privileged and confidential information (Harding, 2000). Furthermore, as Balkaran (2000), puts it, the auditor helps in fighting corruption in an organisation through the performance of the respective functions on the bases of national and international standards of practice which have clear guidelines identifying, for instance, indicators of fraud and other irregularities, and reporting these to the highest levels of authorit y. Scaling down to the types of auditors, Balkaran (2000), outlines that, the revised response of internal auditing, places more responsibility on internal auditors in helping to fight corruption. After all, as the eyes and ears of management, they are there year-round, understand the operations of a business, and are bound by even more in-depth standards of performance and conduct. Moreover, the work of the internal auditor is often relied upon by the external (independent) auditors and therefore subject to more stringent requirements.

A Tragic Hero in Aristotle Definition Essay

The word tragedy is when an event ends in misfortune. However, when the word tragedy is put in context within a play or a story it is a story circling around a protagonist who is of high power and stature. A tragedy is usually the development of a protagonist whose in conflict with a more superior force; the superior forces that the protagonist could be faced with is his destiny, free will and the Gods that rule over them. The end of a tragedy is usually the protagonist whose in a state of deterioration in which he loses everything. A tragic hero is meant to define his fate by himself, usually by actions that he inflicts on himself which then lead him to wreck his own life. Aristotle is considered as one of the many ancient influential philosophers there is and therefore his view of Oedipus being an ideal tragic hero is considered as highly powerful in the world of literature. Aristotle defines tragedy as the conflict between humans being good yet being defeated by reality as their actions done with good intentions can actually bring back outcomes that were not initially wanted. In the play Oedipus by Sophocles, Oedipus is classed as a classic tragic hero by Aristotle for many of the characteristics he possesses. According to Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero; the tragic hero has to be realistic, true to life, consistent and true to themselves, consistent within the context of the narrative and has to make errors of judgement throughout the play but the results of what has been done should be the opposite of what was initially intended. A tragic hero should be able to arouse feelings of pity and fear; this is because, the feeling of pity is aroused by our deep sympathy for someone whose life is falling out of place whereas that person is neither too good nor too evil to have deserved such a misfortune, and the feeling of fear is aroused by the sheer horror that such a tragedy can fall upon anyone regardless of their stature. According to Aristotle’s definition Oedipus is a tragic hero because he is a man of great power and influence over the city he rules and his life begins to deteriorate in front of everyone’s eyes as he goes on a quest to find out who he is. Aristotle says that a tragic hero must be the one to cause their own downfall in which Oedipus persistently decides to carry on asking questions about his origins. Also, the tragic hero’s fate is not deserved and his punishment exceeds his wrongdoings and  that a tragic hero must be someone important and influential and he must be someo ne who makes an error of judgement. This error of judgement is seen when Oedipus forces Tiresias in anger to answer his questions of who his parents are, â€Å"Who? Wait; who are my parents?†, it is Oedipus’s own mistake in forcing answers in which he does not wish to hear or know.

Employee Resourcing Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Employee Resourcing - Case Study Example The change in the organizations' strategies as well as structures guarantee that the company is present and willing to do more than just provide products and services to the end consumers. It wants to make the people realize that the company is there and wants to do its very best by tailoring its strategies in such a manner that can only benefit them nonetheless. After all, a company or an organization without the target people is nothing more than an office set up with employees and employers working for no one, at the end of the day. Organization is a body of working people, having various types of persons with heterogeneous behaviors interlink with corporate goals and objectives. This cluster of people is grouped in different categories according to their working importance, caliber and productivity at various hierarchical levels. Before we overview the concept of organizational structuring and its impact on employees, lets see the type of organizational structures first. "The established pattern of relationships between the component parts of an organization, outlining both communication, control and authority patterns. Structure distinguishes the parts of an organization and delineates the relationship between them". (Wilson and Rosenfeld, 1990) "The formal pattern of interactions and coordination designed by management to link the tasks of individuals and groups in achieving organizational goals". (Bartol and Martin, 1994) Structuring helps companies to achieve some specific goals: OS provides good business support to business objectives and improves efficiency, profitability, cost allocation, communication and application of policies of company. OS promotes and develops good corporate culture OS helps companies to create employee directions, responsibilities and systems. Line and Staff's clarity of function is also facilitated with OS By all measures, restructuring is a redefining organizational boundary that encompasses a number of different businesses related social and/or marketing objectives. It is a common occurrence that when changes are applied in essence, a number of these people would not digest the same fact in a welcoming manner, in spite of their personal likes and dislikes which they show in the wake of having a changing regime. Usually people show different kinds of change accepting attitudes and this is documented by the fact that they respond in varied manners so to speak. Thus on the basis of their attitudes which they have in line with the development, innovation and adaptation towards new aspects of life, they are usually put into a number of different segments: Innovators (about 2-3%): Are those people who are always open to change, regardless of the nature of change, they end up welcoming it. These people help change's survival even in very crucial circumstances. Early Adopters (10-15%): A bit mature generation of innovators who like innovation but wait till things get into clear shape. Will join the change in early phase but are not jump starters like innovators. Early Majority (30-40%): People who join as pragmatics who rely upon proven wisdom. They contribute to a majority number in masses who join change at any stage. Late Majority (30-40%):

Argumentative essay on cigarette advertising Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Argumentative on cigarette advertising - Essay Example Advertising based on Oxford Dictionary is the act of relaying information to potential customers concerning a certain product in the market with the intention of luring them to buy it. This implies the person or Corporation relaying a given products’ information ought to utilize necessary skills meant to appear brief and communicate effectively to the clients (Capella, Webster & Kinard 269). Hence, manage to get their attention within a very short period in order to create an immense impact. This is similar to cigarettes’ advertising though its mode of advertising due to numerous campaigns against it respective corporations have resulted to exaggerated and fantasized advertising. Numerous images used in advertising pose the notion smoking especially to the young is sweet besides making them fit in a class/status of proving their prowess. This is complete false though through the creativity of numerous corporations have managed to attain large pool of clientele â€Å"who not only smoke for fun but also live to smoke†. Since, most of them after the first puff turn out to be addicts thus becoming the brand’s habitual users such that the corporation will not be in need of relaying any further information to him or her but to new people. The notion of â€Å"smoking is sweet† its mode of relaying information to the potential users is by use of youthful models, for instance, women who in turn lure teenage females into the habit. This is because of the ads posing the information as genuine, which is far from the reality but merely a strategy to get future potential clients. In 2004, cigarette corporations emerged with a new strategy citing they h ave devised â€Å"lighter cigarettes† for those people wishing to ensure the safety of their health (â€Å"Quit Victoria†). This is a fallacy because no amount of tar is less dangerous once it finds its way in human body’s system. However, the fallacy may seem true based on the corporations’ information and some confessions emanating from hired smokers. The latter contend â€Å"lighter† cigarettes are smoother and less irritating compared to the ordinary products, which is not true. This is because companies with the aid of numerous flavors in the industry and market only tend to alter their â€Å"taste†. Hence, trying to twist clientele’s mind towards deeming what they are smoking contain less tar that is why it is smoother to their throats. However, in reality, this is not true but only a market niche meant to draw numerous people towards purchasing the â€Å"lighter† cigarette. The only trick in this case besides flavors is the use of additives and introduction of tinny holes in the filter meant to filter ash (â€Å"Quit Victoria†). This is because the later is the core component that causes irritation in smokers’ throats whereas the obnoxious content passes unfiltered or altered to the lungs’ alveoli. Hence, continue to cause varied chronic predicaments on users, for instance, cancer (â€Å"Quit Victoria†). This is because fallacies have already â€Å"hijacked† their minds to the extent they are unable to unveil whether what diverse marketing ads are relaying is true (O’Connor). Another relayed fallacy by cigarettes’ corporations encompasses the safety of the product despite admitting to be harmful to human health. This is evident in the way when advertising corporation despite compelled to state cigarettes’ harmful effects choose to indicate with almost invisible statement on their packaging. This is in such a manner numerous users and potential people especially teenagers who wish to experiment smoking

Oppian Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Oppian Law - Essay Example ing to discuss Livy’s account of Roman women demonstrating against Oppian law and Baldson’s view of the Roman women in relevance to the Oppian law (Bauman 30). According to Schroeder (80), women’s demonstration and persistence enabled them to obtain repeal against the Oppian law despite facing opposition from various consuls who supported the law. Such consuls included Marcus, Publius, among others. The matrons blockaded every entrance to forums, as well as streets in the city. They neither cared about the orders from the counsel and husbands nor the shame since Roman women were prohibited from participating in forums and politics. The women wanted to have their luxurious lives back arguing that the state was thriving. They also wanted to take part in forums. The number of demonstrating women grew in numbers from towns to villages. They tried to solicit magistrates, consuls and praetors to join them in their course. Consul Cato did a marvellous representation that encouraged more women crowds on the streets, and this led to their victory with the repealing of the law. In Livy’s writing, we see that women have evolved from being submissive to fearless and bold individuals. They dared to go against their men’s wishes and came out in large numbers to fight for what they wanted. According to Bauman’s (53), women have changed since the 1960s. In the ancient Rome, women were assigned specific roles, such as giving birth, spinning, weaving, managing domestic arrangements, and not wondering in the streets or attending festivals. They were not allowed to uncover their heads, unless in the presence of their husbands alone. They often got married when young; thus, they had little time to have a good time to enjoy life. They were not exposed to contraceptives, and so they underwent crude and unclean ways of abortion. The rich women were overtaxed with the aim of taming them. The modern Roman woman is more confident and aggressive in fighting for liberty through

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

DESERT - Essay Example Deserts can be found across the world but the geographical areas are classified in four regions. The subtropics are the ones where most of the deserts around the world are found as these regions are immensely dry and their dryness is usually because of the circulation of hot and dry atmosphere. The second is the middle-latitude continental interiors which are arid regions and their aridity is mainly due to their far distances from the oceans. The deserts in these regions are cloudless and mostly have average temperatures of below-freezing in winters. The third is the leeward sides of mountains which covers the region of Southwest America. The clouds release the moisture on windward slopes of mountains, leaving dry air on the leeward side. The last are coastal areas where deserts are formed with the cold currents as they stabilize the air over the shore (Greenberger 132). The desert biome has many unique characteristics that make it different from rest of the biomes. The temperature at first is the most defining characteristic of a desert. The deserts are usually warm in the day as compared to nights but the differences of temperatures are very drastic. The average temperature at day time in a desert would be 100Â °F while at night it would be 25Â °F (Greenberger 133). This is a large temperature difference and it is because the moisture is very little in the desert air. Other unique characteristics are the lack of plantation and animal life in deserts. The plants which grow in deserts are unique such as the cactus which require low amount of water to survive. One of the major environmental problems in deserts is desertification which is an issue in the entire world. The main cause of desertification is humanly activities due to which desert areas are expanding. Some of the human activities that increase desertification are over farming, over grazing, poor irrigation systems, mining, and digging for search of fossil fuels (Greenberger 134). People who

Rug Bug Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Rug Bug Corporation - Essay Example However, this is a small number when compared with the reported 4.5 million children who suffer from disabilities. So why do wheelchairs not sell to more children who need them The primary reason seems to be the high cost and the short period of usefulness of the equipment. If we consider the total number of children using wheelchairs and the age span of 8 years (14-6) that translates to less than 10,000 additional purchases each year, excepting of course, the replacements. As against this you have projected sales of 340; 5400; and 22,400 units in the first three years of operations - in a market that is growing at three percent anuually. This is not likely to go down well unless substantiated by other arguments. The additional market for children suffering from muscular dystrophy needs to be explained in greater detail and supported by data. In the meanwhile, you ought to consider revising the investment proposal by reducing projected sales in the 2nd and 3rd years. The wheelchair is a sign of ability impairment and may result in a lowering of self esteem and this will deter potential customers. The findings and recommendations of Doctors in that powered wheelchairs actually provide an impaired child with a sensory experience close to that of a normal child and improves their spatial skills and relations need to be highlighted in the promotion part of the marketing mix strategy. ... The additional market for children suffering from muscular dystrophy needs to be explained in greater detail and supported by data. In the meanwhile, you ought to consider revising the investment proposal by reducing projected sales in the 2nd and 3rd years. Critical Factors for Success: The wheelchair is a sign of ability impairment and may result in a lowering of self esteem and this will deter potential customers. The findings and recommendations of Doctors in that powered wheelchairs actually provide an impaired child with a sensory experience close to that of a normal child and improves their spatial skills and relations need to be highlighted in the promotion part of the marketing mix strategy. However, the projected sales and the promotional activity required to bring this message across require a spread over the entire US. This will be impossible to achieve within the small fund flow projections. The second factor will obviously be the backing of the medical fraternity for the product. Information about the unique qualities of the product followed by demonstrations would be required. The Business Plan You have made and presented the business plan without supporting most of the information with details of how these figures have been arrived at. These will definitely be required to be included. There is a need to clearly state the assumptions made and highlight the strengths of the organization that will be responsible for the operations of the company. Financing This is the most important part of the presentation and must be developed on a more realistic basis. I wish to point out that in addition to the overestimates of the sales in the coming years the

The Merger of Granda and Compass Research Proposal

The Merger of Granda and Compass - Research Proposal Example The success/failure of the merger will be analysed according to the Economies of scale: "This refers to the fact that the combined company can often reduce duplicate departments or operations, lowering the costs of the company relative to theoretically the same revenue stream, thus increasing profit."2 Many authors have dealt with the issue of clarity and understandability of the topic of mergers. Most of the research studies are aimed at studying the factors, which motivate the management of the companies to undertake the decision of merger and the benefits or the losses The study of mergers and acquisitions focuses on understanding what motivates managers to engage in this type of activity and the impact that mergers and acquisitions have on shareholder returns. Mostly the main aim of the companies for mergers could be empire building through growth in size, sales, and assets. 3 Mostly the motivation for the merger involve the increase in the market gains, the competitive advantage in shape of technological advancement, and the increase in the strength of the companies. In some cases the HR practices also improves as the result of these mergers. Efficiency improvements can be gained from synergy of target and bidding firms due to economies of scale and use of excess capacity. Recent studies stated that value creation couldn't be achieved in case of horizontal merger. 4 5 6 The entity formed by the merger of Granada and Compass, "Granada Compass", was 66.25% owned by Granada shareholders and 33.75% by those of Compass. The merger proposal said that prior to the IPO, Granada Media was expected to be capitalised with no net debt. At the end of March 2000, Granada's net debt was 1.9bn and Compass's was 1.1bn. In a joint statement Granada and Compass said that they expect their combined businesses to be "better placed to exploit the significant growth opportunities in each of its core markets and to benefit from the combination of its complementary businesses." 7 On the other hand the horizontal merger of Bell south and AT&T is expected to provide both the companies with the following advantages. Cross selling: Through the merger the companies become enable to sell their products to the customers of the other company. The natural combination of two will improve the services provided to the customers. Financial Benefits: The merger of both the companies will lead to a "financial benefits for stockholders of both companies; an expected net present value of $18 billion in synergies resulting from a more than $2 billion annual run rate in synergies expected in 2008, growing to $3 billion in 2010." 8 On the other hand the expected merger will lead to "accrete AT&T adjusted earnings per share in 2008, double-digit adjusted EPS growth in each of next three years (earnings adjusted for merger integration costs and amortisation of intangibles) and significant growth in free cash flow after dividends in 2007 and 2008". 9 Geographical or other diversification: Another advantage

A comparative analysis between Franklins Caf and Caffe Nero Assignment

A comparative analysis between Franklins Caf and Caffe Nero - Assignment Example The analysis is done mainly with respect to the two important topics relevant in the organizations. The topics discussed are done mainly on the basis of the case study that helps to answer question like which one of the two organizations would one prefer to be a customer and an employee. This essay paper not only states which organization one would want to be an employee and a customer, but also states the reasons behind the decision one makes. In order to make a decision it is very important to study the topics relevant to the organizations like the organizational communication, cultures prevalent, power and control, design and structure, politics and resistance, conflict etc. The topics here are discussed according to the various organizational and management theories. Organization analysis and behavior is a very important topic of study in the context of management. Organizational analysis is a process which is used to study the performance and the efficiency of an organization by studying the systems and the functionality that is existent in the organization. Organizational analysis leads to the understanding of the organizational behavior which involves the study of the organizational design and culture that is prevalent in the organization. ... The cafe has a very strong employee base and has around 3000 employees in the firm. The main intention and philosophy behind the establishment of the cafe is to provide a cozy and warm atmosphere towards its customers. The firm considers its linchpin of the brand as its coffee and also states that its highly committed employees are another great strength. One of the main reasons behind the committed employees is that they make the best choice of employees from world over. Similarly, the management of the Caffe takes an interest in the recreational activities of their employees. The Caffe is conscious about the health of its customers and provides the nutritional chart which allows the customer to weight the coffee options available to them. The cafe is also environment conscious which is understood through its efforts to recycle wastes in the cafe. Franklin’s Cafe: Franklin’s Cafe was started in 2006 by Fiona and Henry Owen as a small coffee shop but very soon it was se gregated into two business groups with one on the Franklin street and the other on the College street. Fiona and Henry along with the management and leadership skills of their son Ed initiated new, less expensive steps to manage both the cafes. At the present, they serve not only the customers with coffee but under the Franklin brand they also sell to their customers tasty foods like Ciabattas, salt beef, soups, cakes, ice creams etc. Their main tagline is the food, which have the authentic Franklin taste and are affordable by most of the customers. Another main strength of the Franklin’ brand is that they provide both drinks as well as snacks under the single name of Franklin. There are separate staffs, who take care about the food that needs to be supplied and in

Pacific Northwest History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Pacific Northwest History - Essay Example nds west of the Missouri River that begun during the Louisiana Purchase in 1803 and continued with the acquisitions of Texas, the Oregon territory, the Mexican Cessions and ended with the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. This history is written from a viewpoint of whites, with the Indian tribes living on the land previously for several centuries largely ignored, often mentioned only as footnotes. The Indians did not have much documentary records on this. Another important fact when considering the history of the US Pacific Northwest is to acknowledge the existence of the native peoples prior to the arrival of the European settlers to the area. Many history books hardly touch on the sensitive topic and if they do, only cursorily. The Indian peoples, especially in California, burned the foothills and valleys, increasing the spread of grasslands and the number of deer (White 3). In other words, they developed the land to generally make it habitable primarily through slash-and-burn tactics of clearing and this made their land attractive to the new settlers interested in cattle raising ventures. The US Pacific Northwest history is a story of conquests and the mixing of diverse racial groups and is generally conceded to have begun when Europeans first arrived there in 1528 (ibid. 5). Early travelers to the region noted the charred and blackened landscapes, a result of deliberate burning. An account by the peripatetic David Douglas, a Scot employed by the Horticultural Society of London, noted burned and charred terrain in the Willamette Valley in his 1826 journals. The natives said its purpose was to hunt deer easily (Robbins 24). Overton Johnson predicted the West, notwithstanding their wildness and danger, offer inducements for white mans stronger hand to subdue the present wild and implacable inhabitants (ibid. 50). Skirmishes gradually reduced Indian populations and diseases like malarial outbreaks further decimated the natives, illnesses Indians believed were brought

The existence of high commitment management in unionized workplaces Essay Example for Free

The existence of high commitment management in unionized workplaces Essay The existence of high commitment management in unionized workplaces suggests that such management is compatible with trade unionism. Discuss The relationship between workers and management has historically been an adversarial one. In the process of fighting for employee right and benefits, unions have traditionally created a them and us atmosphere between employees and managers. On the other hand, high commitment management tries to eliminate the them and us atmosphere and instead attempts to replace it with one of partnership where both employees and management work together for the benefit of the firm. Thus, the respective natures of high commitment establishments and unions would imply incompatibility. It is due to this belief that some high commitment firms devote enormous resources to strategies aimed to keep unions away from their firms such as hiring lawyers who specialize in union avoidance and implementing high commitment work practices such as grievance systems and work teams. However, there is a paradox to this belief as studies show that as compared with non-unionized firms, unionized firms in high commitment establishments provide more rights and benefits to workers, give more opportunities to employees to give and receive information, and give a greater voice to employees to voice either constructive suggestion or dissent (WERS 1992). Furthermore, union presence is increasingly popular in HRM organizations, as union density is 47% in organizations which employ at least half of the identified high commitment management practices. In this paper, I will use evidence from various studies to show why high commitment firms and unions are indeed compatible. High commitment management is based on the theory that firms who give more High commitment management is based on the theory that firms who give more to their workforce get back more from it in return. This requires a cooperative relationship based on trust and reciprocity between labor and management. Unions can help in solidifying a high commitment environment by policing management to ensure that certain high commitment goals are met. Unions in high commitment work environments fight to give employees a collective voice in decision making as well as enhancing distributive and procedural justice while in return improving workforce solidarity and aiding in legitimizing change. Thus, the compatibility between management and unions can increase the payoffs of both management and labor while allowing the firm to firm to be driven forward. In the fast pace, ever changing corporate world, responsiveness to change and flexibility within firms are oftentimes required so that firm can readily adapt to ever-changing times. Recent times have seen an increasing amount of firms moving away from traditional authoritarian ways of management towards that of high commitment human resource management. Such drastic changes in work practicess however, are not always easily implemented because a lack of communication between the workforce and managers makes it hard to change the character of employment relationships. Unions however, can aid in making such changes by allowing firms to communicate to the entire workforce quickly and efficiently while giving the workforce the opportunity to respond with input or inquiries. This increases the workforces knowledge and understanding of the new direction that their firm is taking and improves the probability that they will facilitate rather than resist future changes. Such was the case with Tesco, who realized that its inflexible employee involvement structure, as well as its high turnover, relatively low pay and a hands on directive management style were inconsistent with achieving enhanced levels of service to advance in competitive strategy. 1 Tesco wanted their employees to identify with and commit themselves to the company, and it saw the union Usdaw as the means for cultivating and realizing this goal. As a result a partnership between Tesco and Usdaw was formed where Usdaw gave up their strike threat in return for a greater union input to secure improved policy implementations. As a result, employee wages rose, terms and working conditions were improved and staff turnover dropped significantly.2 . Thus, this partnership took a step away from an us and them environment and took one towards unions working with management as team for the benefit of the entire firm. High commitment management is greatly dependent on a partnership between employees and management. This assumes that there arent agency problems because it is expected that employees have a deep understanding of the firms interests and that they go about their job as if those interests were their own. In order for the partnership between employees and management to flourish however, a workforce must have a collective voice in decision-making. Firms encounter many problems when trying to give individual workers decision-making authority. For instance, there is always the fear that a worker will abuse his decision-making authority by using it to further his own ends rather than to help the entire firm advance. Another problem is that it is extremely difficult to have a partnership between management and a fragmented workforce. Unions however facilitate a partnership by providing a channel of communication between management and the entire workforce. 3 This enhanced communication is made possible by unions because just as management speaks with single voice, having a union allows the employees it represents to speak to management with a unified voice. Thus unions give their members decision making authority by taking into account the needs of the workforce and communicating it to managers. As a result, there is an improved match between what employees want and what they get from management and this is an important ingredient in high commitment environments. Allowing workers to have a say in how their firm is managed increases their job satisfaction and is a major reason why on average, turnover is lower in union settings.4 In addition, unions tend to fight more for the benefits of employees with longer tenures in firms. This gives union members an increased incentive to commit themselves to their firm in the long term and also may be a factor contributing to lower turnover. This is compatible with high commitment management strategy in many occupations such as teaching and nursing where goals such as low turnover and worker longevity are important. However, any high commitment based partnership can break down if there is a lack of trust and accountability. Unions though can be trusted by management to act cooperatively because managers know that union officials want to protect their unions reputation with a particular firm and oftentimes this concern for its reputation can be the guarantee that management needs of good, constructive behavior5. In addition, a long-term partnership between unions and management can permit a greater degree of trust and objectivity than can the partnership between management and individual workers. This is because there is a greater frequency of interactions between management and a union. The partnerships experience in collectively dealing with past disputes makes it possible for future disputes to be settled in a promptly in a way that doesnt disturb work practices. This partnership also presents a checks and balance system to ensure that both parties act cooperatively. Just as a union is a party that can be held accountable for the actions of its members6, management can also be held responsible for bad behavior of any single manager. For instance, if a manager is engaging in an activity that the workforce views unfavorably, a union representative can give notice to management to put an end it before it goes too far. One of the biggest obstacles not permitting employees from fully committing themselves to a high commitment firm is if they perceive there to be unjustified unequal treatment. This can decrease employee performance incentives as well as hurt the morale of a high commitment firm. Unions however, have a sword of justice effect and are successful in eliminating many of the adverse affects that occur because of unequal employment opportunities. A major reason for this is that unionized can better monitor firm practices to ensure fairness because they are much more likely to have managers and supervisors who are trained in people management skills and in addition, managers in unionized firms put a greater emphasis on ensuring that there is equal treatment among their employees. Studies indicate that when taking into account workplaces where all the supervisors are required to have training in people management skills, 20% of those in unionized environments, [as] compared with only 12% of those in non-unionized places, have responsibility for equal opportunities.7 Two of the most common and documented forms of unequal opportunities are employee promotions and employee selection. When compared to non-unionized firms, firms with a union presence are four times as likely to monitor promotions by gender and three times as likely to review selection procedures to identify indirect discrimination.8. There is also evidence that the increased monitoring in unionized firms has helped reduce sexual discrimination as it regards to promotions and this has thus helped women advance up firms hierarchy. Studies indicate that about one in seven managers in the union sector reported that the proportion of women in the managerial post had risen markedly in the last 5 years; [while] only one in ten managers in the non-union sector reported this. 9 Furthermore, unions have also traditionally been seen as defenders of an egalitarian pay structure. High commitment work environments value and oftentimes even require worker solidarity. However, when some workers are paid more than others for essentially the same job, the existence of this solidarity is difficult to maintain. A union presence in a high commitment work environments facilitates the presence of solidarity as they prefer to pay each occupational group a single rate. This takes the wages out of competition among co-workers, and ensures that the high-commitment working environment wont be harmed due to ruthless competition practices such as undercutting between co-workers. Thus unionized workers have less wage inequality than their non-unionized counterparts. Studies indicate that the standard deviation is .457 in unionized setting [while it is] .592 in a non-union setting.10 Furthermore, unions help decrease wage inequality by 2.6% between males and females, 1.4% between blacks and whites, .6% between the healthy and those with health problems, and 3.1% between non-manual and manual employees.11. Thus by ensuring that firms pay equal wages for equal work, unions help maintain workforce solidarity which aids firms in maintaining high commitment work environments. In recent years, it had become apparent that the relationship between firms and unions doesnt necessarily have to be an adversarial one. In fact, the popularity of partnerships in high commitment firms indicates that the two institutions are indeed compatible. The evidence stated above indicates that when this partnership is properly utilized, unions can be a great asset to a high commitment management work design. This is because unions facilitate the existence of many of the necessary ingredients that go into high commitment work environments such as flexibility, increased employee voice in decision making, distributive justice, and worker solidarity. Major firms such as Tesco have recently taken advantage of this compatibility and are now realizing the formerly untapped benefits that a partnership between unions and high commitment management schemes can bring about. 1 Industrial Relations Services Partnership delivers the goods at Tesco, IRS Employment Review, August 1999, No. 662 2 Industrial Relations Services Partnership delivers the goods at Tesco, IRS Employment Review, August 1999, No. 662 3 Fernie, Sue. HRM Lecture on 29/01/02 : London: London School of Economics, 2001 4 Baron, James N. , Kreps David M. Strategic Human Resources: Frameworks for General Managers. (New York: John Wiley Sons, Inc., 1999), 127 5 Baron, James N. , Kreps David M. Strategic Human Resources: Frameworks for General Managers. (New York: John Wiley Sons, Inc., 1999), 134 6 Baron, James N. , Kreps David M. Strategic Human Resources: Frameworks for General Managers. (New York: John Wiley Sons, Inc., 1999), 134 7 Fernie, Sue Gray, Helen Women what unions can do for you CentrePiece Summer 2000 8 Fernie, Sue Gray, Helen Women what unions can do for you CentrePiece Summer 2000 9 Fernie, Sue Gray, Helen Women what unions can do for you CentrePiece Summer 2000 10 Metcalf, David Fighting for equality CentrePiece Summer 2000 11 Metcalf, David Fighting for equality CentrePiece Summer 2000

Requirements for Hemp Production

Requirements for Hemp Production Hemp was first cultivated in Canada in 1998, and currently you must apply to grow hemp through Manitoba Health for a yearly permit and follow their guidelines. The regulations require you to get the hemp tested for THC levels to ensure they are under 0.3% on the plant and less than 10ppm residue in products derived from the hemp. (Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, n.d.)If you register and can comply with the regulations, farming hemp can be very successful. Per MAFRD the average input costs are $388.85/ac, with market price of $0.68/lb, equating to a gross revenue of $518/acre (at a production rate of 575 lb/ac) (Crop Production Costs 2016, n.d.) Hemp grows best on well drained, loamy soils within a pH of 6.0-7.5 requiring 300-400mm of rain, half of which is needed in the flowering stage, meanwhile saturated soils reduce early growth. Seeding is preferably done with a press drill at a depth of 2-3cm, at a rate of 100-120 plants/m2 in rows 6-7 apart. Certified seed is required, and planting should begin as early as ground travel permits, because hemp is day-length sensitive requiring specific hours of daylight to achieve the full height and yields desired. (Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, n.d.) In season, there are no pesticides registered for hemp, therefore a long crop rotation with the avoidance of similar disease pathogens is necessary. The main disease of hemp is Sclerotinia, transmitted from planting after canola, soybeans, edible beans, and sunflowers. Hemp grows best after a forage because of the weed suppression and different disease pressures and cycles. Hemp will germinate and grow quickly, reaching 90% ground cover at 4 weeks of growth, out competing weeds. By practicing good agronomic practices for disease, pests and weeds, hemp can readily be grown. However, birds are the biggest pest of hemp, as the plant matures, birds will eat the mature seeds, and can even devour an entire field. This is one way to know your field is ready to harvest. (Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, n.d.) Due to its young history in Canada, not a lot of research has been done, and fertility is an area that little is known. The rule of thumb in Manitoba is to fertilize for spring wheat, and has shown to be sensitive to fertilizer placement so side-banded or mid-row banded is recommended. Statistics show, harvesting the seeds and stalk will remove 200kg/ac N, 47kg/ac P, 211kg/ac K, and 14kg/ac S, however for seed production it is recommended to apply the same amount as spring wheat. (Manitoba Agriculture, n.d.) In Manitoba, we produce hemp for seed, and harvest grain at 22-30% moisture, then dry the seeds down to 8-10% for storage up to 3 years. Harvest date is dependant on the variety, but most varieties mature between 100-120 days. (Manitoba Agriculture, n.d.) Hemp has a very tough stalk and can cause a lot of damage to equipment from the fibrous material getting caught in bearings or moving parts, so to reduce the risk of breaking down we can raise the header as high as it will go and straight cut. This harvest can be anywhere from 100-1200lbs/ac but averages are 760lbs/ac. (Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, n.d.) When you decide to grow hemp a production contract is necessary based on customer demand, and there are few locations that accept hemp seed. If the demand were to rise suddenly it could possibly take more than one crop year to meet those needs based on todays cropping acres. The price of hemp seed has been stable at $0.68/lb. The market is expanding as people become aware of the high Omega-3 and 6 and amino acid content, being used for lactose free milk, salad dressing, protein powder, nutrient bars, pasta and more. (Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, n.d.) Hemp requires good agronomic practices to be successful, and it is recommended to have a plan for implementing hemp into your rotation and follow that plan with determination. If we can inform the public of the health benefits of hemp, the demand will go up, and so will the required acres. Growing hemp will benefit both farmers and consumers. References Alberta Agriculture and Forestry . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex126 Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.hemptrade.ca/grow-hemp Crop Production Costs 2016. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/business-and-economics/financial-management/pubs/cop_crop_production.pdf Manitoba Agriculture . (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/crops/production/hemp-production.html Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs . (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/crops/facts/00-067.htm

Illegal Downloading Of Movies Media Essay

Illegal Downloading Of Movies Media Essay Looking at the story of Jerome Bixbys The Man from Earth movie piracy might not be a threat to the movie industry, but a chance to promote and finance small-budget independent films. The producers of this movie approached internet piracy in a different way, as they embraced internet piracy and thanked illegal downloaders for helping to spread the buzz about the movie (Morozov, 2007). When Eric Wilkinson, the producer of the movie, found out that their movie was posted on a popular piracy blog called Releaselog, he did not do the most common thing, meaning to sue the downloaders, but thanked the Releaselog community for piracy because they were actually helping sales. (Morozov, 2007). Living in a world full of user-generated content, the downloaders gave the movie great ratings on IMDb (The Internet Movie Database) that resulted in ranking increase from 11.235th to 5th and furthermore ranked 1st in the categories independent and science fiction film (Morozov, 2007). Consequently sales increased as the movie got a great promotion. In addition to that, the producer posted a comment on Releaselog asking for voluntary donations for The Man from Earth resulting in additional generated money. Using The Man from Earth as an example, it becomes obvious that movie piracy actually inherits benefits for the movie industry as Jeanne Rose says in her article Movie Piracy: What Seems Evil is Actually Beneficial to the Entertainment Business. By gaining more web attention, people get informed about a movie they under most circumstances would have never heard of. People might use illegal copies of movies to check if the first minutes are interesting for them, to see the movie later in the cinema or on DVD (Rose, 2011). Additionally to that, parents might have a look at the content of the movie to see if it is appropriate for their children to see. Looking at the fact that a trip to the cinema with the whole family is expensive, it is a great thing for parents the check the movie beforehand. (Rose, 2011). One might say that instead of illegal downloading movies to check them for content you could simply watch the movie trailer, but facing the reality, trailers do often represent t he movie in a more positive way then the actual movie is or hide specific scenes to keep the tension in the movie itself. A new study about piracy created by a coalition of academic researches called Social Science Research Counsel shows a different perspective on the situation than industry-sponsored studies usually do. In general piracy studies tell their readers that the movie industry is suffering because of decreasing sales, as many people simply download a movie instead of going to the cinema or buying/renting the DVD. Looking at the fact that these studies are financed from movie companies, it becomes pretty obvious that they will not tell about other reasons than piracy. The new and independent study gives a different perspective on the whole situation: Given the fact that people in general suffer from a bad economy, but also low prices on digital technology and high prices on media goods are the reason for decreased sales in the movie industry (Ernesto, 2011). Visiting the cinema with your family involves spending a lot of money. Imagine living in a low-economy country like South Africa, the pr ice for a DVD in relation to the price in the US or Europe is five to ten times higher (Ernesto, 2011). Even though the movie industry spent huge amounts of money in anti-piracy education, the authors of the study could not find no significant stigma attached to piracy in any of the countries examined (Ernesto, 2011). International movie fans often have a problem to supply themselves with the latest movies or TV shows in a legal way. Being a movie fan in some countries like Germany is very hard, as you have to wait a long time before you can actually see a movie in original tone in a legal way. Using Germany as an example, every movie shown in the cinema is translated and synchronized in the German language. This consequently leads to three different ways to see a movie in the original tone: Going in a different country to see the movie, wait for the DVD release which is often 1 year after the initial release in the United States or download the movie illegal. Facing these three ways it becomes obvious which way is the most common. Looking at legal online stores like iTunes it is illegal to create an US account as a European citizen to purchase your favorite TV show episodes legally. Looking at the situation from a different point of view shows that movie piracy may have benefits for the movie industry. Movie piracy in terms of small budget independent films is able to promote them due to user generated content websites like IMDb, which actually results in more sales. It is also helpful for people to have a better first-look on a movie to decide whether they want to spend their hard earned money on a movie or not. In addition to that people in many countries are excluded from seeing movies when they are originally released which results in unhappy cineastes. Combining these different ideas with the fact that most studies are movie

A Modest Proposal by Jonathan Swift Essay -- sarcasm irony satire

A Modest Proposal A Modest Proposal is everything that a satirical story should be. It includes sarcasm and irony as Jonathan Swift takes us through a roller coaster ride to show us how the poor are treated miserably. The narrator begins by leading us down a path. He seems sincere and thinks it is a pity how everywhere you walk in the streets of Dublin you see the poor begging people for hand outs. He is seeking a solution to help the commonwealth. He appears to be a logical, educated person who makes it clear that he has been studying this subject for years. He then tells us that he has a solution to help the babies whose parents cannot afford them. We think his idea will be charitable and will actually help the poor as well as the nation. The narrator then does something that I think set the tone for the rest of the story. He referred to a baby just born as being dropped from its dam. Animals are dropped from dams, not humans. Therefore poor people in this story are nothing more than animals. We are told how the children are a burden and how instead of requiring food and clothing the rest of their lives, they will contribute to the feeding and clothing of many people. Any intelligent person would assume he intends to put them in factories or farms to work and not be on the streets begging for food. We are also told that his plan will prevent voluntary abortions and women murdering their bastard babies. The narrator shows the reader he is serious by producing calculations that appear to be well thought-out and then showing us, through examples, That these children have no future. Up to this point the narrator appears to be intelligent. He is from the upper cla... ...eir right mind would want to be eaten? Yet he tells us that the parents would have been in favor of it. The narrator commented on how he has no other motive than the public good for his country but his country does not include everybody. Only the rich and those who can take care and support themselves. I think that Jonathan Swift tried to show how terrible the poor were treated. Everyone was to busy to help them. He compared them to animals and referred to them as creatures. I think he did this to show where their society was heading. The rich simply did not care about what happened to the poor and they were literally eating them out of house and home. Jonathan Swift wrote this satirical essay so the people would at least acknowledge that they had a problem. It is to be hoped that enough people read his essay and tried to make a difference.

A Descriptive Analysis of Nigger: The Meaning of a Word by Gloria Naylo

A Descriptive Analysis of Nigger: The Meaning of a Word by Gloria Naylor What is the rhetor’s purpose? In the essay â€Å"Nigger: the meaning of a word† Gloria Naylor discusses the essence of a word and how it can mean different things to different people in a myriad of situations. Depending on race, gender, societal status and age Naylor outlines how a word like ‘nigger’ can have different meanings within one’s own environment. Naylor discusses how a word can go from having a positive to a negative connotation merely due to how it is spoken and by whom. Naylor shares a personal experience with her audience as she describes the first time she really â€Å"heard† the word ‘nigger’. A young white boy in her third grade class spit it in her face. Naylor states, â€Å"I didn’t know what a nigger was, but I knew that whatever it meant, it was something he shouldn’t have called me.† (Naylor 460) Naylor writes about her own personal experience and is obviously biased. This, while powerful, can also be seen as a limited view of the subject. Her audience only understands thorough her eyes and her experiences. Naylor is trying to educate her audience by sharing a personal experience. I think she wants her audience to sit back and think about the words they use and how others may use them and how this can affect others. Naylor wants her audience to understand how she was affected not only by a young boy but also by how she didn’t really think about the word ‘nigger’ until the moment it was used to hurt her. She is striving to make her audience think about the words they use and hear and how the context these words are immersed in can change the meaning of them. Who composes the target audiences? To be a part of Naylor’s target audience one must have obviously had experience with language and how people use it. She is targeting those who have heard and/or used the word â€Å"nigger† before. Naylor wants her audience to take on her experience and be empathetic towards her. She doesn’t do this in a seemingly pathetic way, as she seeks no pity. She outlines her experience and wants her audience to understand her view and how this view came to be. What roles or personas does the rhetor assume? Naylor assumes the role of an educator in her writing. She assumes a persona of a young girl experiencing a new way of understanding a word. ... ... She uses a conversational tone that adapts nicely to the audience. I say this because draws the reader in and he or she easily understands and accepts her experience. Naylor uses her experience to exemplify her point and to offer validity. One is drawn in by her experience as a young girl, and her evolution of understanding. Naylor makes her audience think about what it would be like to really â€Å"hear† a word for the first time, to look back and realize you had heard the word many times in a different context. What strategies are used? The language used by Naylor is common, as she doesn’t use large words one has to look up to understand. She writes in low style which is effective for her argument. This use of languages conjures an almost friendly relationship with her audience, like she is sitting down with you over a cup of coffee discussing how context can change your understanding of a word. She is sharing a part of her life and experience with the audience in order to shed light on her argument. Works Cited: Naylor, Gloria. â€Å"Nigger: The Meaning of a Word† Ed. Goshgarian, Gary. Exploring Language. Ninth Edition. Toronto: Longman, 2001. Pages 460-462

Example of a perception paragraph Essay

I am discussing the wealth inequality about hos its being distributed. Distribution of wealth is one of the main problems we have in our society, and it depends on the outcome of people in the environment. I am looking at the perception, status, charity and imperialism of how the world is and can be. First, I will discuss status and Imperialism. Imperialism, as defined by the dictionary of geography, is ‘an unequal human and territorial relationship, usually in the form of an empire, based on ideas of superiority and practices of dominance, and involving the extension of authority and control of one state or people over another. The people in power have unlimited authority because they have all the money they control the less privileged ones with less money. The perception of people about the environment on wealth distribution is one of the problems that deprives the community from improving. Charity is the practice of benevolent giving and caring. It is desirable that the earth should be peopled, governed, and developed, as far as possible, by the races which can do this work best. This are the people in high status that can make the community a better place. The focus of my paper is to discuss about how wealth should be distributed. There is no real answer to should wealth be evenly distributed or distributed according to class and status?. I picked this topic because of my experience have had with wealth in my family. I personally believe wealth should be evenly distributed. If it is evenly distributed, everybody is going to have equal opportunity in life.

The Twilight Saga 3: Eclipse Chapter 6. SWITZERLAND

AS I group HOME, I WASNT PAYING MUCH attendance TO the road that shimmered wetly in the fair weather. I was sen condemnationnt approximately the flood of information Jacob had sh ard show up with me, exhausting to sort it out, to force it any to establish sense. Despite the overload, I tangle demoralizeer. empathizeing Jacob smile, having all(prenominal) the secrets thrashed out . . . it didnt work out issues perfect, precisely it do them better. I was full to ingest g atomic number 53. Jacob needed me. And obviously, I pattern as I squinted into the glare, in that location was no danger.It came out of presently here. One minute there was null that b bump scoreice high demeanor in my rearview mirror. The following minute, the sun was flavor moody a silver Volvo decently on my tail.Aw, crap, I whimpered.I considered draw over. bonnie I was kindredwise much of a coward to construction him right onward. Id been counting on approximately prep time . . . and having Charlie nearby as a buffer. At least(prenominal)(prenominal) that would force him to financial bear outing his vocalization cut out.The Volvo followed inches behind me. I kept my eye on the road ahead.Chicken with with(predicate) and through, I drove straight to Angelas without formerly meeting the gaze I could find integrityself burning a hole in my mirror.He followed me until I pulled to the curb in front of the Webers house. He didnt s cryst anyize, and I didnt look up as he passed. I didnt deficiency to translate the expression on his give. I ran up the short concrete walk to Angelas live access as in short as he was out of sight.Ben answered the door originally I could finish kick downstairsing, manage hed been standing right behind it.Hey, Bella he say, surprised.Hi, Ben. Er, is Angela here? I wondered if Angela had forgotten our plans, and cringed at the view of qualifying away substructure early.Sure, Ben utter except as Angela c all in alled, Bella and appeared at the top of the stairs.Ben peered around me as we both perceive the sound of a car on the road the sound didnt scare me this engine stuttered to a stop, followed by the loud gobble up of a backfire. nonhing equal the churr of the Volvo. This must be the visitor Ben had been hold for.capital of Texass here, Ben verbalise as Angela reached his side.A schnozzle honked on the thoroughfare.Ill see you later, Ben promised. Miss you already.He threw his arm around Angelas neck and pulled her face down to his height so that he could kiss her enthusiastically. After a back of this, Austin honked again.Bye, Ang Love you Ben foretelled as he dashed past me.Angela swayed, her face slightly pink, wherefore re crested herself and waved until Ben and Austin were out of sight. Then she turned to me and grinned ruefully. give thanks you for doing this, Bella, she said. From the bottom of my heart. Not only are you saving my hands from permanent injury , you too equitable spared me two long hours of a plot-less, sadly dubbed martial arts film. She sighed in relief.Happy to be of service. I was ruling a second gear less panicked, suitable to breathe a dinky more than counterbalancely. It mat so ordinary here. Angelas thriving human dramas were oddly reassuring. It was nice to bop that life was normal somewhere.I followed Angela up the stairs to her direction. She kicked toys out of the way as she went. The house was unusually quiet.Wheres your family?My parents took the twins to a birth mean solar day party in look Angeles. I cant believe youre very termination to help me with this. Bens pretending he has tendonitis. She made a face.I dont mind at all, I said, and thusly I walked into Angelas room and cut the stacks of hold envelopes.Oh I gasped. Angela turned to look at me, apologies in her eye. I could see why shed been devote this off, and why Ben had weaseled out.I thought you were exaggerating, I admitted. I wish. Are you authentic you want to do this?Put me to work. Ive got all day.Angela split up a pile in half(prenominal) and put her mothers address book amongst us on her desk. For a spotting we concentrated, and there was incisively the sound of our pens kale softly across the paper.Whats Edward doing to dark? she asked later onward a a couple of(prenominal) minutes.My pen take away into the envelope I was working on. Emmets home for the weekend. Theyre supposed to be hiking.You say that like youre non positive(predicate).I shrugged.Youre lucky Edward has his brothers for all the hiking and camping. I dont experience what Id do if Ben didnt pass on Austin for the guy stuff.Yeah, the outdoors thing is non really for me. And theres no way Id ever be able to keep up.Angela laughed. I prefer the indoors myself.Angela trilled her eye at me.See you at school, I said with a nauseous laugh.She sighed. See you.I was jumpy on the way out to my truck, provided the stree t was empty. I spent the whole go glancing anxiously in all my mirrors, moreover there was never any marker of the silver car.His car was not in front of the house, either, though that meant little.Bella? Charlie called when I clear the front door.Hey, Dad.I found him in the living room, in front of the TV.So, how was your day?Good, I said. Might as well up tell him everything hed hear it from truncheon presently liberal. Besides, it would acquire him happy. They didnt need me at work, so I went down to La Push. in that respect wasnt enough surprise in his face. Billy had already talked to him.Hows Jacob? Charlie asked, attempting to sound indifferent.Good, I said, on the dot as casual.You puff over to the Webers?Yep. We got all her announcements addressed.Thats nice. Charlie smiled a wide smile. He was strangely focused, considering that there was a game on. Im fortunate you spent some time with your friends today.Me, too.I ambled toward the kitchen, looking for busy w ork. Unfortunately, Charlie had already cleaned up his lunch. I stood there for a few minutes, staring at the bright patch of light the sun made on the floor. that I knew I couldnt slow this forever.Im going to go study, I announce glumly as I headed up the stairs.See you later, Charlie called after me.If I survive, I thought to myself.I unopen my bedroom door carefully before I turned to face my room.Of course he was there. He stood against the paries across from me, in the shadow beside the open window. His face was spoty and his posture tense. He glared at me wordlessly.I cringed, waiting for the torrent, only if it didnt beat. He good continued to glare, possibly too unwarranted to speak.Hi, I at long last said.His face could present been carved from stone. I counted to a cytosine in my head, provided there was no change.Er . . . so, Im hush alive, I began.A growl rumbled low in his chest, but his expression didnt change.No harm do, I insisted with a shrug.He m oved. His eyeball closed, and he pinched the bridge of his nose amongst the fingers of his right hand.Bella, he whispered. Do you set about any idea how close I came to crossing the line today? To rupture the treaty and coming after you? Do you roll in the hay what that would allow meant?I gasped and his eyes opened. They were as cold and hard as night.You cant I said too loudly. I worked to modulate the masses of my voice so Charlie wouldnt hear, but I wanted to shout the words. Edward, theyd use any excuse for a disturb. Theyd fill in that. You cant ever break the rules by chance they arent the only ones who would enjoy a fight.Dont you start, I snapped. You made the treaty you stick to it.If hed wrong you -Enough I cut him off. thithers nothing to nonplus about. Jacob isnt dangerous.Bella. He rolled his eyes. You arent on the dot the best judge of what is or isnt dangerous.I k immediately I dont hasten to worry about Jake. And neither do you.He ground his teething to nurtureher. His hands were balled up in fists at his sides. He was still standing against the besiege, and I hated the quadrangle among us.I took a abstruse breath, and crossed the room. He didnt move when I wrapped my arms around him. nigh to the warmth of the last of the afternoon sun streaming through the window, his skin felt especially icy. He seemed like ice, too, rooted(p) the way he was.Im sorry I made you anxious, I muttered.He sighed, and relaxed a little. His arms wound around my waist. enthusiastic is a bit of an lowstatement, he murmured. It was a very long day.You werent supposed to go to sleep about it, I reminded him. I thought youd be inquisition overnight.I looked up at his face, at his defensive eyes I hadnt noticed in the sample of the moment, but they were too dark. The rings under them were deep purple. I frowned in disapproval.When Alice adage you disappear, I came back, he explained.You shouldnt have done that. Now youll have to go away again. M y frown intensified.I can wait.Thats ridiculous. I mean, I k straightway she couldnt see me with Jacob, but you should have known -But I didnt, he broke in. And you cant remain me to permit you -Oh, yes, I can, I interrupted him. Thats scarce what I expect -This wont happen again.Thats right Because youre not going to overreact next time.Because there isnt going to be a next time.I understand when you have to leave, even if I dont like it -Thats not the alike. Im not risking my life.neither am I.Werewolves distinguish a risk.I disagree.Im not negotiating this, Bella.Neither am I.His hands were in fists again. I could touch sensation them against my back.The words popped out thoughtlessly. Is this really proficient about my safety?What do you mean? he demanded.You arent . . . Angelas theory seemed sillier now than before. It was hard to finish the thought. I mean, you know better than to be jealous, right?He raised one eyebrow. Do I?Be serious.Easily theres nothing remotely h umorous about this.I frowned suspiciously. Or . . . is this something else altogether? Some vampires-and-werewolves-are- always-enemies nonsense? Is this just a testosterone-fueled -His eyes blazed. This is only about you. All I care is that youre safe.The nasty fire in his eyes was inconceivable to doubt.Okay, I sighed. I believe that. But I want you to know something when it comes to all this enemies nonsense, Im out. I am a unbiased country. I am Switzerland. I hold out to be affected by territorial disputes between mythical creatures. Jacob is family. You are . . . well, not exactly the love of my life, because I expect to love you for much longer than that. The love of my existence. I dont care whos a loup-garou and whos a vampire. If Angela turns out to be a witch, she can join the party, too.He stared at me mumly through narrowed eyes.Switzerland, I repeated again for emphasis.He frowned at me, and then sighed. Bella . . . , he began, but he paused, and his nose wrin kled in disgust.What now?Well . . . dont be offended, but you relish like a dog, he told me.And then he smiled crookedly, so I knew the fight was over. For now.Edward had to make up for the missed hunting trip, and so he was leaving Friday night with Jasper, Emmett, and Carlisle to inject some reserve in Northern California with a bunch lion problem.Wed come to no balance on the werewolf issue, but I didnt feel guilty calling Jake during my legal brief window of opportunity when Edward took the Volvo home before climbing back in through my window to let him know Id be coming over on Saturday again. It wasnt walk around. Edward knew how I felt. And if he broke my truck again, then Id have Jacob pick me up. Forks was neutral, just like Switzerland just like me.So when I got off work atomic number 90 and it was Alice rather than Edward waiting for me in the Volvo, I was not suspicious at first. The passenger door was open, and music I didnt bring in was shaking the frame whe n the bass played.Hey, Alice, I shouted over the wailing as I climbed in. Wheres your brother?She was singing along to the song, her voice an octave higher than the melody, distort through it with a complicated harmony. She nodded at me, ignoring my question as she concentrated on the music.I shut my door and put my hands over my ears. She grinned, and turned the volume down until it was just background. Then she hit the locks and the gas in the same snatch.Whats going on? I asked, starting to feel uneasy. Where is Edward?She shrugged. They left early.Oh. I tried to accountant the absurd disappointment. If he left early, that meant hed be back sooner, I reminded myself.All the boys went, and were having a nap party she announced in a trilling, singsong voice.A slumber party? I repeated, the suspicion finally settling in.Arent you excited? she crowed.I met her light gaze for a long second.Youre kidnap me, arent you?She laughed and nodded. Till Saturday. Esme cleared it with Cha rlie youre blocking with me two nights, and I will drive you to and from school tomorrow.I turned my face to the window, my teeth grinding together. colored, Alice said, not sounding in the least bit penitent. He paid me off.How? I hissed through my teeth.The Porsche. Its exactly like the one I stole in Italy. She sighed happily. Im not supposed to drive it around Forks, but if you want, we could see how long it takes to get from here to L.A. I bet I could have you back by midnight.I took a deep breath. I think Ill pass, I sighed, repressing a shudder.We wound, always too fast, down the long drive. Alice pulled around to the garage, and I quickly looked over the cars. Emmetts big landrover was there, with a shiny canary scandalmongering Porsche between it and Rosalies red convertible.Alice hopped out gracefully and went to stroke her hand along the distance of her bribe. Pretty, isnt it?Pretty over-the-top, I grumbled, incredulous. He gave you that just for two days of holding me guarantor?Alice made a face.A second later, comprehension came and I gasped in horror. Its for every time hes foregone, isnt it?She nodded.I slammed my door and stomped toward the house. She danced along next to me, still unrepentant.Alice, dont you think this is just a little bit domineering? Just a tiny bit psychotic, by chance?Not really. She sniffed. You dont seem to detainment how dangerous a young werewolf can be. Especially when I cant see them. Edward has no way to know if youre safe. You shouldnt be so reckless.My voice turned acidic. Yes, because a vampire slumber party is the bill of safety conscious behavior.Alice laughed. Ill give you a pedicure and everything, she promised.It wasnt so bad, except for the circumstance that I was world held against my will. Esme brought Italian feed the good stuff, all the way from port wine Angeles and Alice was prepared with my favorite movies. Even Rosalie was there, quietly in the background. Alice did insist on the pe dicure, and I wondered if she was working from a list maybe something shed compiled from watching bad sitcoms.How late do you want to stay up? she asked when my toenails were look a bloody red. Her enthusiasm remained unmoved(p) by my mood.I dont want to stay up. We have school in the morning.She pouted.Where am I supposed to sleep, anyway? I measured the couch with my eyes. It was a little short. Cant you just keep me under superintendence at my house?What kind of a slumber party would that be? Alice shake her head in exasperation. Youre sleeping in Edwards room.I sighed. His black leather lounge was longer than this one. Actually, the gold carpet in his room was probably thick enough that the floor wouldnt be half bad either.Can I go back to my place to get my things, at least?She grinned. Already taken care of.Am I allowed to use your speech sound?Charlie knows where you are.I wasnt going to call Charlie. I frowned. Apparently, I have some plans to cancel.Oh. She deliberate d. Im not sure about that.Alice I whined loudly. CmonOkay, okay, she said, flitting from the room. She was back in half a second, cell ring in hand. He didnt specifically suppress this . . . , she murmured to herself as she handed it to me.I dialed Jacobs number, hoping he wasnt out running with his friends tonight. Luck was with me Jacob was the one to answer.Hello?Hey, Jake, its me. Alice watched me with expressionless eyes for a second, before she turned and went to sit between Rosalie and Esme on the sofa.Hi, Bella, Jacob said, suddenly cautious. Whats up?Nothing good. I cant come over Saturday after all.It was silent for a minute. Stupid bloodsucker, he finally muttered. I thought he was leaving. Cant you have a life when hes gone? Or does he lock you in a coffin?I laughed.I dont think thats funny.Im only laughing because youre close, I told him. But hes going to be here Saturday, so it doesnt matter.Will he be feeding there in Forks, then? Jacob asked cuttingly.No. I didnt let myself get irritated with him. I wasnt that far from being as angry as he was. He left early.Oh. Well, hey, come over now, then, he said with sudden enthusiasm. Its not that late. Or Ill come up to Charlies.I wish. Im not at Charlies, I said sourly. Im kind of being held prisoner.He was silent as that sunk in, and then he growled. Well come and get you, he promised in a flat voice, slipping mechanically into a plural.A chill slid down my spine, but I answered in a light and teasing voice. Tempting. I have been tortured Alice painted my toenails.Im serious.Dont be. Theyre just trying to keep me safe.He growled again.I know its silly, but their hearts are in the right place.Their hearts he scoffed.Sorry about Saturday, I apologized. Ive got to hit the judgment of dismissal the couch, I corrected men improbabley but Ill call you again soon.Are you sure theyll let you? he asked in a scathing tone.Not completely. I sighed. Night, Jake.See you around.Alice was abruptly at my side, her hand held out for the mobilize, but I was already dialing. She saw the number.I dont think hell have his phone on him, she said.Ill leave a message.The phone rang four times, followed by a beep. There was no greeting.You are in trouble, I said slowly, emphasizing each word. marvelous trouble. Angry grizzly bears are going to look tame next to what is waiting for you at home.I snapped the phone shut and placed it in her waiting hand. Im done.She grinned. This security stuff is fun.Im going to sleep now, I announced, heading for the stairs. Alice tagged along.Alice, I sighed. Im not going to sneak out. You would know if I was planning to, and youd catch me if I tried.Im just going to show you where your things are, she said innocently.Edwards room was at the farthest end of the third gear floor hallway, hard to mistake even when the huge house had been less familiar. But when I switched the light on, I paused in confusion. Had I picked the wrong door?Alice giggled.It was the s ame room, I realized quickly the piece of furniture had just been rearranged. The couch was pushed to the north wall and the stereo shoved up against the vast shelves of CDs to make room for the colossal bed that now dominated the central space.The southern wall of glass reflected the scene back like a mirror, making it look doubly as bad.It matched. The coverlet was a dull gold, just lighter than the walls the frame was black, made of in an elaborate way patterned wrought iron. Sculpted surface roses wound in vines up the tall posts and formed a bowery wicket door overhead. My pajamas were folded neatly on the foot of the bed, my pouch of toiletries to one side. What the hell is all this? I spluttered.You didnt really think he would make you sleep on the couch, did you?I mumbled ununderstandably as I stalked transport to snatch my things off the bed.Ill give you some privacy, Alice laughed. See you in the morning.After my teeth were brushed and I was dressed, I grabbed a pu ffy feather pillow off the huge bed and dragged the gold cover to the couch. I knew I was being silly, but I didnt care. Porsches as bribes and king- sized beds in houses where nobody slept it was beyond irritating. I flipped off the lights and curled up on the sofa, inquire if I was too annoyed to sleep.In the dark, the glass wall was no longer a black mirror, doubling the room. The light of the moon brightened the clouds outside the window. As my eyes adjusted, I could see the diffused incandescence highlighting the tops of the trees, and glinting off a small slice of the river. I watched the silver light, waiting for my eyes to get heavy.There was a light knock on the door.What, Alice? I hissed. I was on the defensive, imagining her amusement when she saw my makeshift bed.Its me, Rosalie said softly, opening the door enough that I could see the silver glow touch her perfect face. Can I come in?