Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Public and private sector banks in india

Open and private part banks in india Monetary Institutions Services A relative Study on Public and Private Sector Banks in India Open Sector An open part undertaking is an association which is Possessed by open specialists including Central, State or Local specialists, to the degree of half or more; Is under the top administrative control of possessing open specialists Is built up for the accomplishment of an unmistakable arrangement of open reason Is thus positioned under an arrangement of open responsibility Is occupied with a movement of business character Private Sector The private segment endeavor is an association which is claimed, overseen constrained by private people or a gathering of people or both. This is likewise occupied with business movement yet with the rationale of benefit expansion as opposed to open help like if there should arise an occurrence of open segment endeavor. Destinations of Public Sector Enterprise Aides in quick monetary development industrialisation of the nation formation of important foundation for financial turn of events, To procure rate of return in this manner produce assets for improvement, To advance redistribution of pay and riches, To make work openings, To advance adjusted local turn of events, To advance import replacement, spare and acquire remote trade for the economy Goes about as a countervailing power and set up a successful rivalry to endeavors in private area and To deal with the directing statures of the economy. Coming up next are the rundown of Public Sector Banks in India Allahabad Bank Andhra Bank Bank of Baroda Bank of India Bank of Maharastra Canara Bank National Bank of India Enterprise Bank Dena Bank IDBI Bank Indian Bank Indian Overseas Bank Oriental Bank of Commerce Punjab Sind Bank Punjab National Bank Coop Bank UCO Bank Association Bank of India Joined Bank of India Vijaya Bank Rundown of State Bank of India and its auxiliary, a Public Sector Banks State Bank of India State Bank of Hyderabad. State Bank of Indore. State Bank of Mysore. State Bank of Saurastra. State Bank of Travancore. State Bank of Bikaner Jaipur. Private Bank The first Private Bank in Quite a while to get an on a fundamental level endorsement from the Reserve Bank of India was Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited, to set up a bank in the private division banks in India as a feature of the RBIs progression of the Indian Banking Industry. It was fused in August 1994 as HDFC Bank Limited with enrolled office in Mumbai and started activities as Scheduled Commercial Bank in January 1995. ING Vysya, one more Private Bank of India was joined in the year 1930. Bangalore has a pride of spot for having the primary branch origin in the year 1934. With progressive long stretches of support and continually setting new gauges in banking, ING Vysya Bank has numerous credits to its record. Rundown of Private Banks in India BANK OF PUNJAB. BANK OF RAJASTHAN. CATHOLIC SYRIAN BANK. CENTURION BANK. CITY UNION BANK. DHANALAKSHMI BANK. Advancement CREDIT BANK. Government BANK. HDFC BANK. CICI BANK. NDUSIND BANK. NG VYSYA BANK. AMMU KASHMIR BANK. KARNATAKA BANK. KARUR VYSYA BANK. LAXMI VILAS BANK. SOUTH INDIAN BANK. Joined WESTERN BANK. UTI BANK . Open BANK Allahabad Bank Built up on April 24, 1865 in Allahabad by a gathering of European, Allahabad Bank is likewise the most established Joint Stock Bank of India .Allahabad Bank is one of the main banks in India. Allahabad Bank was one of those. Right now it offers an entire scope of money related administrations to a great many clients the country over through its 2260 branches, other than its Internet banking administrations. In the year 1969, the Government of India nationalized 13 business banks Allahabad Bank has its headquarter situated in Kolkata. Brief History After its foundation in 1865, Allahabad Bank turned into a piece of P O Banking Corporation in 1920 with an offer cost of Rs. 436 for every offer. In 1923, thinking about the business openings, the headquarter of the bank was moved to Kolkata. On July 19, 1969, when the Government of India nationalized Allahabad Bank alongside 13 different banks, it had 151 branches the country over with stores of Rs. 119 crore and advances of Rs. 82 crore. In 1989, United Industrial Bank Ltd. converged with nationalized Indian bank. Allahabad Bank likewise founded a completely possessed auxiliary for Merchant Banking, called Allahabad Bank Finance Ltd. Allahabad Bank discharged its first Initial Public Offer (IPO) of 10 crore (face esteem Rs. 10 for every offer) in October, 2002. It diminished the Government shareholding to 71.16%. It again discharged Follow on Public Offer in April, 2005 of 10 crore value shares . It again decreased the Government shareholding to 55.23%. It was June, 2006 when the Allahabad Bank went global to open up its first Representative Office at Shenzen in China. In October, 2006, Allahabad Bank went innovative for reveal its first branch under Core Banking Service. It opened up its first abroad branch at Hong Kong in February 2007. In March 2007, the matter of Allahabad Bank crossed Rs. 1,00,000 crore mark. Items Following are the rundown of items offered by Allahabad Bank to its clients: Store Products Flexi-Fix Deposit. Rs. 5 Banking. All Bank Mahila Sanchay Account. All Bank Vikash SB Account. All Bank Premium Current Accounts. Current Plus Deposit Scheme. Sishu Mangal Deposit Scheme. Retail Credit Products Lodging Loan. Instruction Loan. Vehicle Loan. Individual Loan for Pensioners. Individual Loan for Doctors. Advance Against NSC/KVP. Allahabad Bank Rent Loan. Allahabad Bank Property Scheme. Allahabad Bank Furnishing Loan. Gold Loan Scheme. Allahabad Bank Mobile Scheme. Overdraft Facility in SB Accounts. Allahabad Bank Abhushan Scheme. Allahabad Bank Trade Schem. Allahabad Bank Gyan Dipika Scheme. Allahabad Bank Reverse Mortgage Scheme. Other Credit Products Allahabad Bank-Expo. Allahabad Bank Kisan Shakti Yojana. Allahabad Bank Kisan Credit Card. Different Services The Following are the rundown of different administrations offered by Allahabad Bank. Storehouse Services. Storehouse Services. Visa Debit Cum ATM Card. Gold Card Scheme for Exporters. Contract for MSMEs. Government Business. National Electronic Funds Transfer. Provincial MSME Care Centers. MSME Care Center in Jharkhand State for All Banks. All Ayshman Bima Yojana. Money Management Services. Continuous Gross Settlement. Corporate Details: Bank of Baroda India from an association dependent on private capital and state possession, at present is exemplification of big business and corporate administration, arranged in Mumbai. The new logo of the bank contains double B letters in order, holding the sun beams. It was established by Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad in 1908 in Baroda. It is alluded as the Baroda Sun. Exercises: The general item and administrations offered by the Bank of Baroda India are, Corporate discount banking, stores, advances and advances, examination and shipper banking, money the executives and settlements. Individual stores, Gen-Next Services, retail advances, Visas, charge cards, Baroda Health, Multi City Check , storage spaces. Business stores, credits and advances, Multi City Check, BoB cash express, Collection administrations, ECS, storage spaces. Worldwide NRI administrations, FCNR advances, seaward banking, fare and import fund, universal treasury. Treasury residential and forex activities. Country stores, need part progresses, settlements, benefits, storage spaces. Execution: The Baroda bank made sure about the ISO 9001:2000 confirmation for its15 branches, and before the finish of 2007 it has an objective to accomplish this quality imprint for 54 additional branches. Money related Highlights the business consequences of the Bank of Baroda India as recorded on 31st March, 2006 are, the complete stores Rs.93,661.99crores, absolute advances Rs. 59911.78 crores, complete speculations Rs.35114.22 crores, absolute resources Rs.113392.53 crores and net benefit Rs.826.96 crores. Andhra Bank Andhra Bank was enlisted on 20 November 1923 and started business on 28 November 1923 with a settled up capital of Rs 1.00 lakh and an approved capital of Rs 10.00 lakhs. The Bank crossed numerous achievements and the Banks Total Business as on 30.06.2008 remained at Rs.83,256 Crores with a Clientele base over 1.74 Crores.The Bank is rendering administrations through 2139 Business Delivery Channels comprising of 1371 branches, 66 Extension Counters, 38 Satellite Offices and 664 ATMs spread more than 21 States and 2 Union Territories as toward the finish of June, 2008. To offer some benefit added administrations to Customers, the Bank has set up its own 664 ATMs as on 30.06.2008. Of which 03 Mobile ATMs and two with Biometric get to. In addition, ATM imparting game plans to a few Banks including SBI gathering, IDBI Bank, UTI Bank, HDFC Bank, Indian Bank and others under National Financial Network Switch covering 24856 ATMs.All Branches are 100% automated, 1186 units viz., 1101 Branche s, 68 Extension Counters, 15 Service Centers organized under Cluster Banking arrangement and giving Any Branch Banking. Continuous Gross Settlement Facility and National Electronic Fund Transfer office has been presented in 723 Branches. Bank is moving to Centralized Core Banking Solution 118 Branches have just relocated to CBS. It is proposed to cover 550 branches by September 2009. This will profit the clients, who will approach banking and monetary administrations whenever, anyplace through numerous conveyance channels.[clarification needed] Andhra Bank is a pioneer in presenting Credit Cards in the nation in 1981 . Our Bank acquainted Internet Banking Facility with all clients of bunch connected branches.[clarification needed] Rail Ticket Booking Facility is made accessible to all check card holders through IRCTC Website through a different door. Corporate Website is accessible in English, Hindi and Telugu

Saturday, August 22, 2020

Literature Review Theories of Culture

Question: Talk about the contextual analysis Literature Review for Theories of Culture. Answer: Presentation The world is encountering a ton of changes dependent on the social changes that are brought about by the different elements that influence the manner in which individuals live. For example, scholastics has been of extraordinary impact to the living styles of individuals since much has been known through the learning procedure. These progressions have influenced the way of life that has been existing, in this manner bringing better approaches for convictions. Looking at the methods of living in the contemporary world with the recorded occasions, there a great deal of chances in light of the exercises that individuals perform. In the verifiable occasions, before development appeared, people had an exacting method of playing out their errands. For example, it was realized that ladies were liable for home errands and men could partake in formative exercises. There were no instructive projects like in the contemporary society. Kids could follow the strides of their folks that decided thei r future. Afterward, changes of making a scholarly network were received, and all the network exercises changed to clear ways for the new culture. In this way, contrasting the exercises that were being attempted by our ancestors, they are totally extraordinary on account of the changed culture. For example, men could work in the organizations among other conventional exercises, for example, chasing to get by yet in the present occasions, individuals are working in associations and organizations to guarantee that they win their living. As a result of these distinguished changes in culture in relations to the lives of the influenced individuals, it tends to be seen that culture influences the lives of individual and expert lives. Culture has a noteworthy spot in the life of an individual, and it relies upon of the earth. There are various sorts of societies in the network among which are: - national culture, corporate culture, strict culture, generational culture, and sex direction among numerous others. An individual may fit in any of them of all the more relying upon the conditions in contact. For example, a Christian may be fu nctioning as an expert specifically place. Thusly, corporate and strict societies will be influencing the methods of living for this particular individual. Reason of the Paper It is fundamental for individuals to see progressively about societies and how they ought to be overseen. Culture is encircled by a great deal of hypotheses that give methods of reasoning about the lives of various individuals in different situations. The point about hypotheses of culture gives the crowd more data and information about how life is influenced by the qualities and convictions of a specific domain. These speculations of culture can either force pessimistic or constructive impacts the lives of the individuals who put stock in them. Culture is significant in the general public since it decides the qualities and convictions of the specific network. It likewise improves the adequacy of the exercises being performed, along these lines upgrading the odds of accomplishments. Thusly, this paper is planned for giving a survey of culture writing and its impact on an individual, proficient, authoritative and common existence of a person. Right off the bat, the method of reasoning of getting the data will be given to make a base to the powerful writing audit (Daniels, Lauder, Porter, 2009). Research Strategy A decent research work is constrained to the sort of scholarly assets that can be utilized and the time span of distribution to be utilized. In this way, this paper will likewise be obliged to time factor to guarantee that the information and data utilized is legitimate and compelling. Since culture has been in presence for quite a while back, some chronicled sources must be utilized to accumulate data about the authentic periods. Or maybe, specialists who have utilized data from chronicled distributions can be majored on to abstain from utilizing assets that appear to be excessively old. In this writing survey, recorded books and diary articles will chiefly major on the grounds that the data is substantial and worthy in the scholarly space. The scholastic assets to be utilized in this audit of writing should be distributed over the most recent 15 years. During this period, there have not been numerous adjustments in the way of life of the network. The main changes that have been wat ched are the change its mechanical turns of events (Hutchby Moran-Ellis, 2001). Diaries about authoritative culture and cultural convictions and qualities will be utilized to give applicable data about the examination (Fullan, 2001). The web has a great deal of libraries that can be utilized looking for scholastic assets to be utilized in inquire about work. In this way, in this examination about hypotheses of culture, the web was the center database utilized in looking through the necessary data. Google motor was every now and again utilized looking for books that could be highlighted in the examination. Additionally, Academic Search database was utilized to get a few diaries that were believed to be pertinent in handling the examination. Notwithstanding, Google gave enough data and assets that could be required in recovering data about hypotheses of culture. The Google database has been stacked with a great deal of scholarly assets, and it is appraised among the best databases for instructive help. There are a great deal of key terms that was utilized looking for the assets for the investigation of the Google web index. Since this paper is identified with speculations of culture corresponding to the way of life of a clinical professional, the key terms could incline toward the clinical side. For example, speculations of clinical culture, wellbeing convictions and hypotheses of culture could be utilized as key terms in the internet searcher. Likewise, an announcement, for example, the impacts of culture on the individual/proficient existence of an individual could be utilized. At the point when Google books were looked through utilizing a portion of these watchwords, a great deal of results were gotten in this way demonstrating a progression of determination for the best part (Helmreich Merritt, 2001). At the point when hypotheses of culture term as looked in the Academic Search database, fifteen articles were gotten that appeared to be identified with the theme, Theories of Cul ture. In Google internet searcher, they result acquired vast, yet they were organized by their rating. This implies the articles and books in the primary checks of results are exceptionally favored for use in the examination. Hypotheses Creators have recently evolved hypotheses of culture that give diverse justification about culture. A few hypotheses interface the writing about culture in the general public. Right off the bat, culture isn't as unmistakable as nature since it can change now and again. Culture is characterized as whatever controls the living style of a person rather than the regular laws. It is likewise apparent that societies can be learned and polished (Hendrix Carman, 2010). As indicated by Hegel who was a well known French analyst, culture is a progression of occasions that helps an individual played out a specific demonstration. These means make a specific picture that is identified with specific acts and convictions identified with a gathering of individuals. For example, scholastic educational program makes the way of life of a school, accordingly characterizing all the exercises that should be acted in these specific conditions. Socialization is a significant factor in the network in relationship to the way of life of a specific culture. Through socialization, the practices and brains of the youngsters are molded towards the desires for the network. Along these lines, their demonstrations and thinking will be adequate to the gauges of the particular network. At whatever point these kids move from their territory to different conditions, they are in a place of learning new culture by distinguishing the qualities and convictions of the specific network. Language covers the biggest piece of culture, and for any individual to find out about an odd network, the neighborhood dialects must be learned first. In the event that an individual can speak with the neighborhood language, it will be simpler to get familiar with the way of life and adjust viably. Along these lines, the initial step to being taken in learning new societies is to ensure that the nearby language is found out. In the event that an individual mov es to another culture that inside their territory, it will be anything but difficult to adjust and get familiar with their new procedures. For example, an individual working in an association that is inside the equivalent local locations, the way of life in the work environment will intermarry with the societys in light of the fact that it the most elevated level of the laborers are from a similar region (Macdonald, 2005). Culture is alluded to as information before of the way that various individuals can learn it. In this way, much about culture is the realities about the universes articles, places, and people groups thoughts among others. Individuals who are having a similar culture are supposed to be sharing a typical factor based the musings about the comprehension of the world. As indicated by Ward Goodenough (1957), s for individuals to fit in a specific culture, they should guarantee that they have a similar comprehension of comparative psychological compete of the world. Despite the fact that culture has been identified with Knowledge, it has its finish of learning on the grounds that there is no much advancement of thoughts every now and then. A kid who is conceived in a specific culture will learn through their relatives while people are moving to new situations will encounter a procedural learning process. Marx who was a Prussian scholar accepted that culture is correspondence and there no individual who can gain proficiency with another culture without correspondence. Likewise, he expressed it was a type of intercession, and it could be utilized in various frameworks. For example, if an individual is working in an organization, learning the hierarchical culture will upgrade the usefulness and effectiveness of working. In this way, a culture can influence the method of working for a specific calling. For this situation, a clinical professional needs to go through a serious preparing to comprehend the clinical culture. Notwithstanding the expert language, a specialist wil

Saturday, August 1, 2020

Red Flags and Warning Signs in the Job Interview Process

Red Flags and Warning Signs in the Job Interview Process Are you excited that you made it to the interview?You have all the reasons to celebrate. It’s not an easy journey these days for your resume.It has had to get through the applicant tracking system, some human hands and beat lots of competition. For all your efforts, you’ve already made considerable progress.But as you may know, you still have a long way to go. And the interview is probably the hardest part of the journey to that dream job.Just as you prepared and learned how to write a great resume, you have to prepare for the interview.Much of the preparation you’ll do is meant for passing the interview. As good as that is, you also need to prepare for other possibilities.As a job seeker, it can be difficult to look beyond your need for a job. With the pending bills and desire for financial stability, you can easily become desperate for a job.Desperation can cost you the job because it’s not an attractive trait to have. But at the same time, it can also land you into problem s.The sad truth is that there are organizations where the people working there are wishing they weren’t. The way they are being treated is not right but since they need the money, they choose to stay.Whether you’re desperate for a job or not, it’s important to remember to look out for yourself. Don’t allow yourself to need a job so much that you get into the wrong work environment. The stress which comes from that costs way too much.INTERVIEW RED FLAGS AND WARNING SIGNSFortunately, with the right information, you can recognize a company in which working might not be as good as it looks.Just as with many situations, there are signs which when you see them, you should get concerned. These are the red flags which warn you of possible danger ahead.To recognize the red flags, you just have to do two things, especially after arming yourself with the information availed here. When you know the kind of things to look out for, it becomes easier to recognize them.Watch and listen care fully â€" you may think that since you’re the one being interviewed, you should only focus on impressing the interviewer. That is not the case. As much as you’re looking for a job, you don’t want to land into the wrong place.From your interaction with the interviewer, try and gather as much information as possible about the company.Although you should be observant from the time you walked into the company’s office, you can know a lot by paying attention to the interviewer.Check the body language. Think about their choice of words. Take note of anything that stands out about them. Use this information to make a wise judgment about the position and company.Ask questions â€" before the interview is over, you’ll be allowed to ask questions. Ensure you have questions and don’t just ask about the pay, benefits and work-from-home options. Anything weird you noticed while watching and listening can be clarified here.Do not settle for answers like “I’ve been working here for the past ten years. It’s a great place to work in.”You want to know what the company is truly like.So ask questions which require some explanations. Read our article about questions you should ask an interviewer.Of course, not being the interviewer limits the kind of questions you can ask and how far you can go.But with some tact, you can get some insight. Combining this with your observations can help you know what working there could be like.Here are some warning signs to look out for. Despite being in need of a job, try not to ignore these signs. Doing so can lead to a stressful employment with negative bosses or toxic work environments. Source: RWA Technology People1. The interviewer is offensiveThe interviewer should be as respectful as the interviewee. Just because they are the decision makers doesn’t give them the right to be rude or insulting. If you experience this kind of behavior, then that is a big red flag.The interviewer is largely the face of the company.This is despite any interaction you’ve had with the receptionist. Your interviewer is the person with whom you interact at length and will answer your questions about the company.If the interviewer is rude, then consider that it might be the norm in the company.If not the company, maybe it’s his own nature.But then if the company allows this kind of nature, what do you think of the other staff? What happens if everyone acts without restraint?Furthermore, how would you work with this person if it turns out that you’ll be working under him?If the interviewer isn’t showing respect to you now, he might not show it later.2. There is emphasis on worki ng hardThere is a good reason why laziness is shunned. It’s not a habit or lifestyle worth celebrating since it brings no benefits. Instead, it comes with a cost.Employers will be most happy to see the results which come from hard work.This is normal and expected. You most likely even have your resume stating that you are hardworking.But when the interviewer mentions three times or more how the company values hard work, your antennas should go up. It’s very likely that the interviewer is trying to let you know the kind of work-life balance the staff have.Research has shown that working too long or too hard isn’t necessarily the way to productivity. However, some companies don’t seem to get it. To them, hard work is the way.Don’t be fooled. An employer talking a lot about hard work even before you’re hired, could indicate an attempt to get you to agree with their terms. It’s a way of making you see the hard work as the norm.The problem is that you don’t know just how hard the “hard work“ is. In the worst of cases, the employees of the company could be overworked and with little pay.If you agree with the hard work policy, you will then be binding yourself to an overworking culture. Getting out of that situation will be challenging.3. You’re given an offer too soonAnother sure red flag is getting an offer too soon. “Too soon” might be subjective, but do you really expect only one interview in these days?And even if you’re having only one interview, how normal is it to quickly conclude that you’re the best fit?Every company seeks to do thorough interviews so as to hire only the best. There’s a deliberate intention to avoid the expense of training a new hire who leaves after two months. This could cause an unending cycle of hiring and re-hiring.If you feel as if you haven’t been taken through a thorough interview but are being offered the job, just ask for 24 hours to respond.If they push you to either take it immediately or leave it, be careful. Consider other aspects of the interview and ask yourself what the interviewer’s conduct could be pointing to.4. The job description is vagueOne of the worst thing that can happen to you is working in a position whose job description is vague.A statement like “working on tasks assigned to you by the supervisor,” without clarity on the kind of tasks those might be, is dangerous. This could lay the ground for being overworked since all kinds of tasks are thrown your way.More than that, you’ll not be able to make any career progress in such a work environment.You’ll have stressful days ahead as you work on numerous unrelated tasks for the sake of moving the company forward.Problems with vague job descriptions are usually an indicator of bigger problems with the management. In some cases, the management may be deliberately using this method to keep people under their control.Wherever job descriptions are vague, you find employees with duplicated roles. Someone m ay work on this task today then someone else works on it tomorrow.Upon asking about it, you might be told that you need to handle another task. That might be true.But what is the real motive? That kind of confusion ensures no growth.If for example you didn’t handle the task well, where is the opportunity to learn and improve?Such environments of confusion are one of the hallmarks of abusive workplaces. Your career will not progress and you might even get sick from frustration.5. The pay isn’t commensurate with the amount of workYou may have worked somewhere before. Or you simply checked Glassdoor for salary comparisons. Either way, you have an idea of what your skills are worth.When you start negotiating with the interviewer and they seem to want to stick to a low pay, be careful.The only option you should consider for a low pay is other benefits like work-from-home options and perks. If none of these are satisfactory and the pay is too low for your skills and experience, consid er walking away. Salary negotiations are another area which shows you where the company stands financially. If it’s going down and you’re just getting in, you better be sure of the recovery plan.If they’re trying to reduce costs by paying people less, then that’s not a good place to work.You will likely be working long hours as the company probably also employs fewer people to keep costs low.Working long hours should be under your discretion.Yes, at times you volunteer or simply accept a request to work over the weekend. But when too much work and little pay is the norm, something is not right.6. The interview process is disorganizedYour first impression of the company might be at the parking lot.Maybe the view of the office block or the receptionist’s desk. But apart from all these, the interviewer is the one to paint a more solid picture.The body language, speech, dressing etc aside, how would you rate your interviewer’s overall preparedness for the interview?If it’s below 7 out of 10, make a mental note of it. You will combine this with other insights gained through the process so as to make a decision on the company.If your interviewer is disorganized, is it a big deal?Well, are you disorganized? If no, and you prepared well for the interview, don’t you think she should have done the same?If the interviewer is constantly searching for something and isn’t focused on the interview, be careful.Maybe it’s just a part of the workplace culture.If being disorganized is the kind of thing which renders you unproductive, then keep away from the job. Your productivity will be affected and with that, promotions and pay rises are likely to remain a dream.7. The company/department has no employee turnoverIt’s funny how lies can be spread and designed to cover an ugly truth.And it doesn’t have to be political propaganda. As long as something is being hidden, there is a lurking danger.You probably know that high employee turnover is a sign of dange r.But what about when there is absolutely no or very low turnover?It can be tempting to think everything is fine but deep inside, it could be a big mess.Consider these two possible scenarios behind no or very low turnover claims by a company.There is no upward growth â€" if a company is experiencing growth, its employees should also be growing. When employees are growing, there are promotions and their initial positions become vacant.In other cases, those employees could be growing and deciding to venture into business or get employed by a bigger company. This brings about vacancies and indicate growth opportunities.But if people are not growing or for other reasons aren’t leaving, question it.Since everyone is stuck in their positions, how will you go up?The management is afraid of firing employees â€" this is a big problem as it indicates that the leadership of the company is incompetent. Being afraid of firing employees who need to be fired may arise from different issues.Maybe the manager is just ceremonial and doesn’t have the powers to do so. Maybe he is working with staff who have close connections with the business owner. Maybe he doesn’t have the confidence to do so etc.Whichever the case, that company most likely has unresolved issues.The issues may be ignored but certainly won’t go away.If you join such a company, you’ll be in constant conflict with other team members.This is especially if you are performance-oriented love bringing positive change.Your efforts will be thwarted and frustrations will be high.8. The company/department has high employee turnoverThe opposite of this situation is just as bad, if not worse. When a company has high employee turnover, that is also a red flag.One of the reasons could be that employees are mistreated and thus often leave. It could also be an issue with low pay, being overworked, negative workplace culture etc.Such workplaces have employees who are full of fear that they won’t talk about anything wr ong. They will embrace the wrong and maybe even approve of it.This is what happens in abusive workplaces. The boss can be so tough that no-one dares ask any question.Such an environment is not a healthy one and you should reconsider wanting to join.9. Interviewer badmouths the former office bearerYou’re familiar with and even expect the question about leaving your last job. You know well enough not to speak negatively about your former or current boss.And the same way you should be positive, so should the interviewer. If she speaks negatively about the person who previously occupied the position you’re interviewing for, take note.You may not know her opinion on the former employee but you can ask. For many candidates, when given the opportunity to ask questions, they focus on pay and working hours.But for you, since you’re also seeking to know about the company, ask your questions wisely. Find out why the former employee left, what the day-to-day job is like, what is expected of you if you get hired and similar questions.It is only when you get your interviewer talking that you can get to know some of the hidden stuff. If there is some amount of bad mouthing in the answers, just know that the same could happen when you leave.The answer you receive could also tell you whether the workplace culture is full of gossip and rumors. These are never good for a healthy work environment.10. You’re promised a pay which isn’t put in writingHere is another big one which you should pay attention to.When you get to discuss the pay, take care to get it all in writing. If you have a long list of benefits which you fear you may forget, write them down for reference.If you come to an agreement, all these, together with the terms of promotion and raises, they should be on the offer letter. If anything you decided is not there, raise the matter immediately.Do not accept the offer unless all is clearly on record.This is to protect you from being sidelined for promotions o r being treated to different terms from those agreed upon.Anytime there are inconsistencies between the agreement you had and what is in the offer, be suspicious of possible insincerity.If you work with an insincere boss, you’ll get shortchanged.This can happen either many times or always but not never. It will affect your motivation and overall productivity and later get cited as the reason you’re not promoted.Avoid insincere bosses at all costs.11. Interviewer isn’t enthusiastic about their jobAnother question you must ask the interviewer is what she enjoys about working in the company. If she doesn’t seem happy at the thought of reflecting on her employment, something is wrong.As much as employers want employees who are self-motivated, the work environment has an impact on people. If the environment is not reflective of the attitude expected of the new hire, it won’t work.Negative atmospheres are very strong. And in many cases, that which is bad can more easily affect t he good than the other way round. So, consider choosing not to be negatively influenced.If the one already working in the company struggles to show how the company is fun, don’t think you won’t struggle too.It could be that employees at the company are not treated well, are not fairly compensated or are overworked.Whatever the issue is, once the insider shows that the place may not be what you think it is, beware.12. Your gut feeling says “No”There is something in you, often referred to as your gut feeling, which knows many things even before your mind knows them. As such, your gut feeling can lead you in the right direction.The challenge is usually in following the advice of your gut feeling.Being a visual and logical being, your mind will look for evidence so as to do something. Your gut feeling on the other hand, will know something even before there is physical evidence of it and advice you accordingly.But when your mind can’t substantiate the claims or warnings from y our gut feeling, you tend to ignore them.Then later, depending on the severity of the outcome, you might live with guilt for some time and regret at not heeding the advice.When that voice from within tells you to stop, just follow it. A whisper of the word “No” means that whether physically you can see it or not, there is a real danger lurking.Just follow your instincts and stay safe.CONCLUSIONIn your search for a job, do not get desperate to the point of taking a bad job.A bad job could be one in which you’re overworked, mistreated, disrespected, abused or just paid way below what you should.These are serious dangers which could also impact your own health.Always be on the look out for warning signs and steer clear of bad working environments.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Alice Duer Miller Suffrage Activist and Satirical Poet

Known for: womans suffrage activist, writer of satirical poems advocating woman suffrage Occupation: journalist, writerDates: July 28, 1874 - August 22, 1942 Alice Duer Miller Biography Alice Duer Miller was born and raised in the wealthy, influential Duer family of New York. After her formal debut into society, her familys wealth was lost in a bank crisis. She studied mathematics and astronomy at Barnard College beginning in 1895, earning her way through publishing short stories, essays and poems in national magazines. Alice Duer Miller graduated from Barnard in June 1899 and married Henry Wise Miller in October of that year. She began teaching and he initiated a career in business. As he succeeded in business and as a stock trader, she was able to give up teaching and devote herself to writing. Her specialty was in light fiction. Alice Duer Miller also traveled and worked for woman suffrage, writing a column Are Women People? for the New York Tribune. Her columns were published in 1915 as and more columns in 1917 as Women are People! By the 1920s her stories were being made into successful motion pictures, and Alice Duer Miller worked in Hollywood as a writer and even as acted (a bit part) in Soak the Rich. Her 1940 story, The White Cliffs, is perhaps her best-known story, and its World War II theme of a marriage of an American to a British soldier made it a favorite on both sides of the Atlantic. About Alice Duer Miller: Categories: writer, poetOrganizational Affiliations: Harpers Bazaar, New York Tribune, Hollywood, New RepublicPlaces: New York, Hollywood, California, United StatesPeriod: 20th century Selected Alice Duer Miller Quotations †¢Ã‚  About Alice Duer Miller, by Henry Wise Miller:  Alice had a special affection for librarians. †¢Ã‚  The Logic of the Law: In 1875 the Supreme Court of Wisconsin in denying the petition of women to practise before it said:  It would be shocking to mans reverence for womanhood and faith in woman ... that woman should be permitted to mix professionally in all the nastiness which finds its way into courts of justice.  It then names thirteen subjects as unfit for the attention of women --three of them are crimes committed against women. †¢ [M]en are too emotional to vote. Their conduct at baseball games and political conventions shows this, while their innate tendency to appeal to force renders them unfit for government. †¢Ã‚  To the Great Dining Out Majority The New York State Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage is sending out leaflets to its members urging them to tell every man you meet, your tailor, your postman, your grocer, as well as your dinner partner, that you are opposed to woman suffrage.We hope that the 90,000 sewing machine operatives, the 40,000 saleswomen, the 32,000 laundry operatives, the 20,000 knitting and silk mill girls, the 17,000 women janitors and cleaners, the 12,000 cigarmakers, to say nothing of the 700,000 other women and girls in industry in New York State will remember when they have drawn off their long gloves and tasted their oysters to tell their dinner partners that they are opposed to woman suffrage because they fear it might take women out of the home. †¢Ã‚   On Not Believing All You Hear(Women are angels, they are jewels, they are queens and princesses of our hearts. - Anti-suffrage speech of Mr. Carter of Oklahoma.) ANGEL, or jewel, or princess, or queen,Tell me immediately, where have you been?Ive been to ask all my slaves so devotedWhy they against my enfranchisement voted.Angel and princess, that action was wrong.Back to the kitchen, where angels belong. †¢ Said Mr. Jones in 1910:Women, subject yourselves to men.Nineteen-Eleven heard him quote:They rule the world without the vote.By Nineteen-Twelve, he would submitWhen all the women wanted it.By Nineteen-Thirteen, looking glum,He said that it was bound to come.This year I heard him say with pride:No reasons on the other side!By Nineteen-Fifteen, hell insistHes always been a suffragist.And what is really  stanger, too,Hell think that what he says is true. †¢Ã‚  Sometimes Were Ivy, and Sometimes  Were Oak IS it true that the English government is calling on women to do work abandoned by men?Yes, it is true.Is not womans place the home?  No, not when men need her services outside the home.Will she never be told again that her place is the home?Oh, yes, indeed.When?As soon as men want their jobs back again. †¢ When a woman like that whom Ive seen so muchAll of a sudden drops out of touchIs always busy and never canSpare you a moment, it means a Manfrom Forsaking All Others

Sunday, May 10, 2020

Censorship In Ray Bradburys Fahrenheit 451 And Harrison...

Oxford dictionary defines dystopia as â€Å"an imagined place or state in which everything is unpleasant or bad, typically totalitarian or environmentally degraded to one.† In Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 and Kurt Vonnegut’s Harrison Bergeron the government uses censorship to make everyone equal. Censorship cause utopian societies to become dystopian due to a false perception of happiness, untruthful statements and strong outliers. A false perception of happiness due to censorship causes the society to become unhappy with their lives and to become emotionally numb. The society questions their lives and purpose. In Fahrenheit 451: Montag was not happy. He questioned the governments decisions daily and he did not agree with what the†¦show more content†¦The Handicapper General is used a main enforcer of censorship but is given orders by the government. Censorship is the makes people unhappy, causing a dystopia. Untruthful statements cause people to questi on what is really happening in their society. The government in Harrison Bergeron, tried to kill Harrison off of the live network, but Harrison wanted the government to be exposed and installed a generator to do so: It was then that Diana Moon Glampers, the Handicapper General, came into the studio with a double- barreled ten- gauge shotgun. She fired twice and the Emperor and the Empress were dead before they hit the floor†¦ George came back in the room with a beer, paused while a handicap signal shook him up. And then he sat down again ‘You been crying?’ he said to Hazel. ‘Yup’ she said.’ ’ What about?’ ‘I forget,’ she said ‘ Something real sad on television’ ( Vonnegut 191- 201). This shows that the government has brainwashed and lied to society so much they cant even realize the fact that their son had been murdered. The censorship in this situation was the governments plan to turn off the live broadcast, kill them, then return to a new normal program. In addition, the handicaps are used to degrade everyone. The government and the handicapper general are both trying to make a utopian society but in doing this censorship causes the society to become dystopian. The society become dystopian because they are making

Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Chiang Rai Thailand Health And Social Care Essay Free Essays

string(87) " whose research end products have greatly provided helpful informations to the survey\." This is a quantitative research review on a survey conducted in 2008 in the northern state of Chiang Rai, Thailand. The survey investigates the causal relationships between age, antiretroviral intervention, societal support, symptom experience, self-care schemes, and health-related quality of life ( HRQOL ) in people populating with HIV/AIDS ( PLWHA ) in the northern part of the said state. Four hundred 22 topics were selected to take part in the research and from them informations were collected with the usage of four different questionnaires. We will write a custom essay sample on Chiang Rai Thailand Health And Social Care Essay or any similar topic only for you Order Now The consequences revealed that symptom experience had a important negative direct consequence on the HRQOL as opposed to age, societal support, antiretroviral intervention and self-care schemes which had important positive consequence on the HRQOL. Furthermore, it was seen that societal support and antiretroviral intervention had an indirect consequence on the HRQOL through self-care schemes. With these findings, it was recommended that publicity of societal support and attachment to antiretroviral intervention must be achieved to heighten the quality of life of people populating with HIV/ AIDS. The rubric is dryly stated which included a minimum figure of words but still adequately describes the contents of the paper ( Day A ; Gastal, 2006 ) . It is concise yet does non compromise its relevancy and does non sound uninteresting. It is briefly put together but still is moderately extended to explicate the research without overpowering readers with excessively much information. Furthermore, the rubric is formulated in a strong and simple mode which is really of import in guaranting readers will non be distracted or confused. The rubric presents the topic of the research which is the health-related quality of life in people populating with HIV/ AIDS in the northern part of Thailand. The research workers of this survey are Thitiarpa Tangkawanich, Jintana Yunibhand, Sureeporn Thanasilp, and Kathy Magilvy. Thitiarpa Tangkawanich, RN, Msc, Jintana Yunibhand, RN, Msc, PhD, and Sureeporn Thanasilp, RN, Msc, DNS are members of the Faculty of Nursing in Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand while Kathy Magilvy, RN, PhD, FAAN is a professor of the College of Nursing of the University of Colorado, Denver, Colorado, USA. With all these academic certificates and makings, the research workers can be considered believable personalities in their several Fieldss of fortes. The research was made by well-thought-of professors and registered nurses. All of them have maestro ‘s grade while Tangkawanich is the lone one without a doctorial grade. The article uses an declarative or descriptive abstract to supply a brief sum-up of the chief points of the research ( Day A ; Gastal, 2006 ) . Since the research surveies a societal occurrence in a quantitative attack, the research workers used this sort of abstract as it describes what transpired during the full research procedure. The abstract references the condensed signifier of the research purpose, which is to happen out the causal relationships between age, antiretroviral intervention, societal support, symptom experience, self-care schemes and health-related quality of life. The methodological analysis used in carry oning the research is mentioned although some information was excluded as they were discussed in item in the succeeding parts of the research. Four different questionnaires were used to roll up informations from the 422 respondents chosen for the survey. Using the Likert evaluation graduated table, the informations were analyzed and were so subjected to statisti cal intervention with SPSS and LISREL. The abstract besides reports the major findings ( Day A ; Gastal, 2006 ) which show that symptom experience has a important negative consequence on the HRQOL while the other staying variables had a important positive consequence. Additionally, societal support and antiretroviral intervention were besides found to hold an indirect consequence on HRQOL via self-care schemes. Last, the abstract of the survey suggests a recommendation for the health-care squad, together with the household and community, to advance societal support and guarantee antiretroviral intervention to heighten the quality of life in people populating with HIV/ AIDS sing the research findings. It besides illustrates the survey ‘s significance to clinical pattern. The research job is clearly presented in the debut of the article as it explains the principle behind the behavior of this survey ( Walsh A ; Wigens, 2007 ) . The purpose in this survey is to look into the causal relationships between age, antiretroviral intervention, societal support, symptom experience, self-care schemes and the HRQOL in people populating with HIV/AIDS in northern Thailand. It examines whether or non relationships between these factors exist, what sort of relationships exists if there are any and how does it implicate the people with the infection and the likely intercessions to be taken by wellness attention squad every bit good. The debut was besides able to give a state of affairs about how people with HIV/AIDS in the involved survey puting live their lives. It gave a brief treatment about HIV/AIDS which significantly provides a good jump-start in explicating the entireness of the research. The debut states the scarceness in research stuff that focal point on t he relationships among the variables identified, HRQOL and PLWHA, set uping the demand for the survey to be conducted. Although the debut was able to discourse the major points and variables in the survey, it did non include the restrictions. Additionally, the debut besides did non explicate the chief subject from a bigger international range to a narrow and more specific degree ( Day A ; Gastal, 2006 ) . In amount, the debut was able to set up a clear logic, an analysis of old plants, background information and the chief intent of the research ( Walsh A ; Wigens, 2003 ) . The broad literature reappraisal used in the research was able to give a good background about the major points in the survey. However, many other stuffs still could hold been used to further beef up the survey ‘s literature reappraisal. It is notable that the survey is supported by up to day of the month information which makes it more timely and relevant. The literature reappraisal utilized articles from many other research workers whose research end products have greatly provided helpful informations to the survey. You read "Chiang Rai Thailand Health And Social Care Essay" in category "Essay examples" The description of the present life conditions of the respondents ( Sukati et al. , 2005 ) , the self-care schemes that they use ( Panuwatsuk, 1998 ) , the symptoms and their correlativity to HRQOL ( Dodd et al. 2001 ) , the current antiretroviral intervention ( Heckman 2003 ) , all these and others, were taken from researches conducted from twelvemonth 2000 through 2007. The literature is able to show in text the theoretical construction from which the survey was anchored. With the sum of referenced articles presented in the literature, the balanced rating of back uping and opposing stuffs for the proposition is demonstrated. Since merely few researches surveies were made sing the indirect consequence of the many factors identified on the HRQOL in PLWHA, the necessity to develop a theoretical account that could show the direct and indirect effects of the forecasters on the HRQOL in PLWHA has clearly risen as stated in the literature reappraisal. Furthermore, of import mentions were acknowledged consequently to further reenforce the soundness of the survey. Notwithstanding, it may hold given an extended overview on the survey, but still it was non able to show a few important points. Although the literature illustrated a comprehensive background on the survey and the variables involved, it did non overtly cite the cardinal theoretical model. The survey is a quantitative research which tries to explicate a societal phenomenon. This connotes that no change of the environment was made and the respondents were non subjected to any signifier of controlled scene, therefore, variables involved are limited. Since this is a quantitative research, it must hold a sound hypothesis which will function as its anchor. But it is non stated alternatively, an implied hypothesis was used to see whether or non relationships exist among the forecasters: age, antiretroviral intervention, societal support, self-care schemes and symptom experience on wellness -related quality of life in people populating with HIV/AIDS. This is an illustration of a non-directional hypothesis ( Wood A ; Haber, 2006 ) , where the hypothesis being tested is reversible but can be tested by geting informations and subjecting them to statistical analysis. The research workers used words that are largely clear and apprehensible. They did non utilize excessively many slangs in the he-man. Abbreviations like HRQOL, PLWHA and HIV/AIDS are besides clearly defined to avoid confusion. Footings besides have consistent and consistent definitions throughout the survey, particularly those operationally defined for this research ( Walonick, 2005 ) . The survey uses a cross-sectional quantitative survey with a non-experimental research design in placing the respondents ‘ degree of HRQOL in relation to their age, antiretroviral intervention, societal support, symptom experience, and self-care schemes. It means that an experimental survey utilizing a aggregation of informations on one juncture was made with a specific group of population all at the same clip ( Walsh A ; Wigens, 2003 ) . It is the appropriate method to be used as it gives a snapshot of what happens in a chosen mark group or a phenomenon at one point in clip ( Babbie, 2010 ) . It is besides fit for this research as it is normally used in societal and medical scientific discipline. However, it besides has its failing or restriction since it merely captures the information at one specific clip as opposed to longitudinal surveies which involve a series of measurings taken over a period of clip ( Babbie, 2010 ) . Bing a non-experimental research, no use of the var iables was done and there was no effort made to alter the status, behavior or the environment of the variables as they are measured and analysed as they are. The respondents were merely made to reply questionnaires that will reflect their ain personal experience and at the same clip supply informations for the research worker ‘s perusing. The topics chosen for the survey are 422 people populating with HIV/AIDS who visited eight chosen outpatient infirmaries in the state of Chiang Rai in the northern portion of Thailand. Of which, 188 are males and 234 are females, with ages runing from 21 to 51 old ages old. The figure of respondents may non be sufficient to wholly stand for the mark population in the research puting but in many fortunes, a smaller sample size may be more important and useable in look intoing a state of affairs in deepness from different positions, while a big sample would be undistinguished particularly in societal researches ( Myers, 2000 ) . The research workers employed the lottery method without replacing in indiscriminately choosing eight infirmaries out of the 17 infirmaries in the northern state of Chiang Rai, Thailand. A random sampling method was so made to find the 422 topics who will be portion of the survey. They are people populating with HIV/ AIDS who visited the eight chosen outpatient infirmaries. The usage of lottery method in concurrence with simple random trying makes the choice of respondents more effectual and valid as it ignores repeat choices of component and gives more precise calculators ( Kalton, 1983 ) . Clearly, the attack used in sample choice and the sample size are doubtless stated. The research workers were able to methodically discourse the process undertaken in informations aggregation. They used four questionnaires to garner informations from the participants: societal support questionnaires, symptom experience questionnaire, self-care schemes questionnaire and health-related quality of life questionnaires. Each of these questionnaires has been carefully chosen and drafted for the survey. The three questionnaires for societal support, self-care schemes and health-related quality were all adapted from old research while the questionnaire for symptom experience was drafted establishing on the reappraisal of literature. The cogency and dependability of the questionnaires were greatly anchored on the internal consistences used for each questionnaire. The questionnaires are meticulously reviewed by the research worker to guarantee its ability to mensurate what it intends to mensurate ( Foddy, 1993 ) . However, no reference about pilot testing was made and this ma y be considered one of the survey ‘s failings. Creswell ( 2003 ) stated that ethical issues arise most normally in informations aggregation where confidentiality and namelessness are in careful examination. These concerns are recognised and acted upon by the research workers by guaranting respondents were given due protection and their safety is non abridged. The research workers acquired the blessing of the Ethical Review Committee for Research Involving Human Subjects and/or Use of Animals in Research, Health Science Group of Faculties, Colleges and Institutes, Chulalongkorn University, and the Ethical Review Committee for the Biomedical Group, Chiangraiprachanukroh Hospital, Thailand. With human topics involved in the survey, such blessing was obtained. The intent and methods of the survey were explained to the participants through the informed consent which acknowledges the participants ‘ rights are protected ( Creswell, 2003 ) . The consequences of the survey were presented clearly in graphical signifier and text. The consequences of the statistical intervention of the informations were explained in four concise yet extremely enlightening paragraphs while the demographics of the topics were presented in a more ocular and apprehensible tabular array ( Kumar, 2005 ) . The internal consistences of the informations, utilizing the Cronbach ‘s alpha were besides presented accurately, for societal support 0.8, for symptom experience which was clustered into six symptoms, weariness 0.88, nausea 0.92, diarrhea 0.93, depression 0.92, neuropathy 0.93 and anxiousness 0.92 ; for self-care schemes 0.77 and eventually for HRQOL 0.85. Given all these figures, readers are assured that the consequences are good calculated and analysed to guarantee that high degree of cogency and dependability is achieved. Four different and highly-structured questionnaires ( Overseas Learning Faculty 2004 ) were used in roll uping informations. The usage of questionnaires is the appropriate technique in obtaining informations for cross-sectional designed research or societal studies as it acquires first-hand information from the topics without change or use of their responses ( Bryman A ; Bell, 2003 ) . On the other manus, SPSS and LISREL, statistical computing machine plans that perform higher computations and structural equation, were used for statistical analysis. Statistical interventions done with the said statistical tool are considered extremely right ( Norse School of Management, 2009 ) . The consequences of the information analysis show that path relationships between the variables were investigated to guarantee that important differences are non attributed to fluctuations in other relevant variables. It can besides be noted that the information analysis adequately showed the complete inform ation with the trial value, grade of freedom and chance for each identified variable, thereby giving more constituted consequences. The treatment of the research findings ties together all the pieces of the survey and gives a image of the survey as a whole. It relates and translates the figures to literature reappraisal therefore doing it more comprehendible and balanced ( Russel, 2002 ) . The research workers were able to travel back to literature and discourse that most of their research findings are consistent and similar with the plants antecedently done by other research workers on HRQOL in PLWHA. It besides tackled the deductions of the topics ‘ socio-economic position, gender, age, societal support, antiretroviral intervention, and symptom experience and self-care schemes to their health-related quality of life. The restriction of the survey was besides acknowledged where the usage of cross-sectional theoretical account was perceived to be the theoretical account ‘s failing since it merely gives a snapshot of the existent discernible fact at one point in clip ( Wood A ; Haber, 2006 ) . Therefo re, it was suggested that future surveies should be conducted to further set up the causal relationships between the variables longitudinally over a longer period of clip to get enduring and more dependable research consequences. The decision coheres with and is supported by the consequences obtained. The research workers conclude that a causal theoretical account of HRQOL in PLWHA indicate that most factors have direct and indirect effects on the HRQOL. Consequently, age, societal support, antiretroviral intervention, symptom experience, and self-care schemes are considered to be important factors in explicating and foretelling the HRQOL in Thai PLWHA. Furthermore, self-care schemes link societal support and antiretroviral intervention with HRQOL in Thai PLWHA. The research workers besides presented the deductions of the survey which are really instrumental in the survey ‘s concluding recommendations. With the findings and decisions at manus, the research workers strongly recommend executable propositions to assist people populating with HIV/AIDS achieve a higher quality of life as they hurdle challenges of huge proportions, including HIV-stigma, deficiency of societal support, and mental wellness issues such as depression ( Jiraphongsa et al. , 2009 ) . The research workers gave motive on the publicity of societal support from the household and the community as it was found to be positively correlated with a better quality of life ( Fogel, 1998 ) . Observation to antiretroviral intervention, early symptom sensing and prompt intercession and pattern of self-care schemes must besides be ensured to accomplish a higher quality of life. The research workers besides pointed out the demand to carry on future research on this subject to get the better of the restrictions they met in carry oning this academic work for stronger and more dependable consequences. ( 2,770 words ) How to cite Chiang Rai Thailand Health And Social Care Essay, Essay examples

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Republic, Dead Poets Society and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest free essay sample

This paper discusses and compares Platos Republic, Dead Poets Society and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest, with a focus on the messages they give out. The following paper examines how movies can be even more instructive than more obviously serious forms of education because they wrap their messages in linguistic texts that are easier for us to recognize and understand. Platos Republic, Dead Poets Society and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest each tell us something about the often precarious (and sometimes non-existent) balance between individual rights and desires and the conformity required by society to maintain organization. It is braver, although in many ways more difficult, to keep trying to change society for decades to understand that the fight must be continued for year after year than to surrender. The difficulty of the fight in the long run is also the message of One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest. We will write a custom essay sample on Republic, Dead Poets Society and One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page These inmates, unlike the students, are not in the first blush of youth. They understand that life is a series of the same battle fought over and over, and that those who come closest to winning on at least a personal level are those willing to lose skirmishes and then to return to fight again. To the extent that the gods have given us the power to be wise, Plato and Socrates would have told us, we must use it to discover the nature of the natural and social worlds. But we must keep always with us like a mental Praetorian guard a constant reminder that we are limited in what we can and do know. Plato and Socrates too, despite his enemies accusations of impiety knew that the wise person is the truly humble person, acceding omniscience, like omnipotence, to the gods alone even as he or she strains to see the world beyond the cave, and then to go forth to do whatever is humanly possible.

Friday, March 20, 2020

Breaching Expiriment Essay Example

Breaching Expiriment Essay Example Breaching Expiriment Essay Breaching Expiriment Essay Breaching Experiment: The Human Response to the Invasion of Personal Space. Most people do not like having their personal space invaded and everyone reacts to this in their own personal way, depending on that persons preference and the approach of invasion as well. As a usual, we keep distance between other people about arm’s length; we call it personal space. In most cases, this personal space is set for the comfort ability of one another. However, in my experiment, I decided to breach this norm, and took some situations into action. I invaded personal spaces of friend and strangers and observed the reactions of these people. The feedback I received from the invasion of my friends personal space differs from the response of invading a strangers’. While we were at the cafe with my best female friend, I stayed very close to her all the time. As we came to the table, I sat near her, where was enough space only for one person, instead of sitting on the opposite side. She hadn’t say anything about my invasion, but I noticed that she was wandering if something wrong with me. Though, when I intruded stranger’s personal space, their reaction toward it was different. While I was in subway, I spotted a man who was sitting on the empty bench and reading a newspaper. When I sat down right beside him, as close as I could, the man stopped reading and looked at me, as if he was expecting me to say something, but I just smiled to him. The man ease up a little and continued his reading. But, with the same scenario, when I sat down by old age women, she looked over at me incredulously. I smiled to her, but she got up and walked away to the end of the car. She seemed very nervous. However, to get more different reactions, I decided to approach individuals of my age teenagers. I noticed a girl, sitting alone on the bench, and sat right down to her, as I did before. Her reaction differs from others a lot. She looked over at me and asked if I could reseat because sitting so close makes her feel uncomfortable. She was very polite and friendly, so I followed her advice and eased up. The girl smiled to me and never looked at me again. I continued my experiment and invaded personal space of a young man, sitting not far from me. His answer to my invasion surprised me. I sat down very close to him, as if he was a wall, not a man. Then he turned his head to me and said: ‘hi, how are you? ’ so I continued a little conversation with him. Afterwards, I was sure that he thought I liked him and that’s is why I sat so close. He even asked for my number, but on the next stop I just got off the train. To sum it up, through my experimentation of the human response to the invasion of personal space, there was no positive or negative reaction. The difference in gender affects personal space. Mostly, individuals of the opposite sexes are more acceptable of another being close to them. Personal space reactions also depend on age, as the older one may be, the more unacceptable it gets if their space gets invaded. As for my personal reaction of breaching the norm, before I did it, I was very scary and nervous about what people would probably think about me and how they will react. But the more I violate the norm, the easier it gets for me. By the end of my experiment, I was very confident in making other people feel uncomfortable, which has surprised me a lot. Due to it was so hard for me to behave unusual at the beginning, I never thought I would get used to it.

Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Learn More About How Communication Media Has Evolved

Learn More About How Communication Media Has Evolved Smart newspapermen of the time paid attention when the telegraph was invented. The New York Herald, the Sun and the Tribune had been founded recently. The proprietors of these newspapers saw that the telegraph was bound to affect all newspapers profoundly. How were the newspapers to cope with the situation and make use of the news that was coming in and would be coming in more and faster over the wires? Improved Newspaper Presses For one thing, the newspapers now needed better printing machinery. Steam-powered printing in America had begun. New printing presses were introduced in the United States by Robert Hoe at the same time as Samuel Morse was struggling to perfect the telegraph. Before steam power, newspapers printed in the United States used presses operated by hand. The New York Sun, the pioneer of cheap modern newspapers, was printed by hand in 1833, and four hundred papers an hour was the highest speed of one press. Robert Hoes double-cylinder, steam-driven printing press was an improvement, however, it was Hoes son that invented the modern newspaper press. In 1845, Richard March Hoe invented the revolving or rotary press letting newspapers print at rates of a hundred thousand copies an hour. Newspaper publishers now had the fast Hoe presses, cheap paper, could type cast by machinery, had stereotyping and the new process of making pictures by photoengraving replacing engraving on wood. However, the newspapers of 1885, still set up their type by the same method that Benjamin Franklin used to set up the type for The Pennsylvania Gazette. The compositor stood or sat at his case, with his copy before him, and picked the type up letter by letter until he had filled and correctly spaced a line. Then he would set another line, and so on, all with his hands. After the job was completed, the type had to be distributed again, letter by letter. Typesetting was slow and expensive. Linotype and Monotype This labor of manual typesetting was done away with by the invention of two intricate and ingenious machines. The linotype, invented by Ottmar Mergenthaler of Baltimore, and the monotype of Tolbert Lanston, a native of Ohio. However, the linotype became the favorite composing machine for newspapers. The Invention of the Typewriter While  new  technology for printing newspapers was being developed, another instrument for journalists was coming into existence, the  typewriter. Early Typewriters Alfred Ely Beach made  a sort of typewriter  as early as 1847, but he neglected it for other things. His typewriter had many of the features of the modern typewriter, however, it lacked a satisfactory method of  inking  the types. In 1857, S. W. Francis of New York invented  a typewriter  with a ribbon that was saturated with ink. Neither of these typewriters  were  a commercial success. They were regarded merely as the toys of ingenious men. Christopher Latham Sholes The accredited father of the typewriter was Wisconsin newspaperman, Christopher Latham Sholes. After his printers went on strike, Sholes made a few unsuccessful attempts to invent a typesetting  machine. He then, in collaboration with another printer, Samuel Soule, invented a numbering  machine. A friend, Carlos Glidden saw this ingenious device and suggested that they should try to invent  a machine  that print letters. The three men, Sholes, Soule, and Glidden agreed to try to invent such  a machine. None of them had studied the efforts of previous experimenters, and they made many errors which might have been avoided. Gradually, however, the invention took form and the inventors were granted patents in June and July of 1868. However, their typewriter was easily broken and made mistakes. Investor, James Densmore bought a share in the machine buying out Soule and Glidden. Densmore furnished the funds to build about thirty models in succession, each a little better than the preceding. The improved machine was patented in 1871, and the partners felt that they were ready to begin manufacturing. Sholes Offers the Typewriter to Remington In 1873, James Densmore and Christopher Sholes offered their machine to Eliphalet Remington and Sons, manufacturers of firearms and sewing machines. In Remingtons well-equipped machine  shops  the typewriter was tested, strengthened, and improved. The Remingtons believed there would be a demand for the typewriter and offered to buy the patents, paying either a lump  sum,  or a royalty. Sholes preferred the ready cash and received twelve thousand dollars, while Densmore chose the royalty and received a million and a half. The Invention of the Phonograph The telegraph, the press, and the typewriter were agents of communication for the written word. The telephone was an agent for the spoken word. Another instrument for recording sound and reproducing it was the phonograph (record player). In 1877,  Thomas Alva Edison  completed his first  phonograph. The phonograph worked by translating the air vibrations created by the human voice into minute indentations on a sheet of tinfoil placed over a metallic cylinder, and the machine could then reproduce the sounds which had caused the indentations. The record wore out after a few reproductions, however, and Edison was too busy to develop his idea further until later. Other did. Phonograph machines  were invented under a variety of different names, however, all reproduced with wonderful fidelity the human voice, in speech or song, and the tones of either a single instrument or a whole orchestra. Through these machines, good music was brought to those who could hear it in no other way. The Camera and Photography The last half century of the 1800s saw great advances in photography and photoengraving. While the first experiments in photography happened in Europe,  Samuel Morse, introduced photography to America, in particular to his friend John Draper. Draper had a part in the perfection of the  dry plate  (the first negatives) and was one of the  first photographers to  do  portrait photography. George Eastman A great inventor in  photographic  technology was  George Eastman  from Rochester, New York. In 1888,  George Eastman  introduced a  new camera, which he called Kodak, and with it the sales slogan: You press the button, we do the rest. The  first Kodak  camera was pre-loaded with a roll of sensitized paper (film) that could take a hundred pictures.  A film roll  that could be sent away for developing and printing (at first the entire camera was sent). Eastman had been an amateur photographer when the hobby was both expensive and tedious. After inventing a method of making dry plates, he began to manufacture them as early as 1880 before invented  roll film. After the first Kodak, there came other cameras filled with rolls of sensitized nitro-cellulose film. The invention of cellulose film (that replaced the glass dry plate) revolutionized photography. Both Reverend Hannibal Goodwin and George Eastman patented nitro-cellulose film, however, after a court battle Goodwins patent was upheld as being first. The  Eastman Kodak Company  introduced the first film cartridge which could be inserted or removed without the need of a dark room, that created a boom in the market for amateur photographers. The Birth of Motion Pictures In the development of  Thomas Alva Edison  played a large part. Edison had seen a crude system made of Henry Heyl of Philadelphia. Heyl used glass plates fixed to the circumference of a wheel, each plate rotated in front of a lens. This method of pictures in motions was slow and expensive. Edison after seeing the Heyl show, and after experimenting with other methods decided that a continuous tape-like strip of film needed to be used. He invented the first practical motion picture camera and with the cooperation of  George Eastman  started producing the new tape-like film, giving birth to the modern motion picture industry.  The motion picture projector  was invented to show what the new camera and film captured. Other inventors, such as Paul in England and  Lumiere  in France, produced other types of projecting machines, which differed in some mechanical details. Public Reaction to Motion Pictures When  the motion picture  was shown in the United States, the audiences were amazed. Popular actors moved from stage into the movies. In the small town, early movie theaters were often converted storeroom, and in the cities, some of the largest and most attractive theaters converted into movie theaters, and new theaters were specially built. The Eastman Company soon manufactured about ten thousand miles of film every month. Besides offering amusement, the new moving pictures were used for important news events, historical events could now be visually preserved for posterity.

Monday, February 17, 2020

Literature, Business, and Social Change Paper Essay

Literature, Business, and Social Change Paper - Essay Example In contrast to the typical buyer whose main considerations are price and product quality, customers are now keen on the externalities which a manufacturer makes in a society where it operates. Social changes bring about this change in consumer attitude which companies take advantage by launching their own corporate social responsibility programs. For example, the giant retailer Target documents how it contributes 5% of its annual income to education, arts, and social services to specific localities (Target 2008). The company constantly supports projects which uplift the quality of living and improve the condition of the lower income strata. Literature plays a huge role in documenting these efforts made by business organizations in order to communicate these to the public and earn their support. It should be noted that most companies now distribute their annual corporate social responsibility report aside from their annual reports. The company also publicizes these programs through the use of leaflets, flyers, television advertisement, and even in its online website.

Monday, February 3, 2020

DECISION MAKING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

DECISION MAKING - Essay Example It is the duty of a manager to target its customers effectively to ‘support the decision making process’ which is vital for overall performance of a company. Thus, the data warehouse manager of Vodafone had decided to implement the latest technology ‘Sap ® Business Objectsâ„ ¢ XI Solution’. The execution of the software took place in order to develop the security and improve the management of inventory and warehouse data. The reason for taking this managerial decision is to accomplish three factors which are: Presenting the view of Vodafone Egypt internationally Providing better insight about the activities of customer Offering reliable information through console for monitoring The new technology will help the company to perform in-depth analysis and the users do not need to learn new difficult tools. The decision to implementing the new SAP technology was good in the sense that it gave the company an advantage to track the business performance and the top management to receive the summary of the information of it. The new system provides the right to use the superior quality BI (Business Intelligence). Presently, Vodafone Egypt possesses a superior BI system which has incorporated security and it provides the management a regular reporting, suitable dashboard and greater performance management (SAP AG, 2009).

Sunday, January 26, 2020

AirAsia Information Systems

AirAsia Information Systems One of the best known frameworks done by Air Asia is offering the low airfares in the region. This concept is main focus to lower cost perpetually. As business environments become more competitive and in some cases more volatile, business organization have become more concerned about the price. Price is the key area of the marketing tools to generate revenues or profit. Internet pricing strategies are important as traditionally have been, this will lead to more price competition and price standardization. According to Quelch and Klein (1996) pointed out that the counteracting effects of the Internet on price. A vendor can use the internet to discriminate pricing globally. However, if they do not observe this precaution, consumers can quickly find out the price discrimination and opposition. 2.2 Information System Air Asia use computers in its core-information processing centre of marketing and distribution, reservations, sales, and telecommunications. Information technologies, such as computerized reservations systems, assist Air Asia in marketing and distributing. The information system link together to its departmental and outsider may be necessary for the efficiency and cost effectiveness. Reservation systems, depending on the software can be used to generate forecasts on expected departure, return and booking. Communications systems used at Air Asia have been substantially improved to incorporate features. The telephone systems help to transform the calls into important profit centre. The integration of information technologies may allow Air Asia to control its daily operations from a single integrated management system. 2 3.0 PEST ANALYSIS 3.1 Political / Legal PEST analysis assumes that the success of an organization is dependent on the way in which the organization manages its interaction with its external environment (Johnson et al., 2008). The environment presents the organization with series of challenges, risks and opportunities. Such a business would clearly be affected by changes in the political environment. One of the most obvious aspects is Government policies can have a huge impact on the Internet, and through the introduction of new policies and limit its development potential. For the entire e-commerce and commercial potential of the Internet, there are several issues need to be considered, these include an increase the security of transmissions across a network, legal issues, reduction of user dissatisfaction and confusion for the IT, develop the pricing structures for dissemination of information and reservations procedures (IvoryResearch 2010). Policies and procedures should be established to promote understanding of the legal liabilities. This will encourage the organization to minimize the legal risk. 3.2 Economic The Internet is not severely impacted by economic cycles. However, it is needs to be considered that the sales from the internet will be dramatically been affected by national and global economic changes. These include changes in net disposable income levels that can influence the business performance (CIPD 2010). If disposable income declines the clearly the effective demand is likely to go down. 3 3.3 Socio-Cultural Socio-Cultural changes are often long term in the impact but should be monitored all the same. Shift in values may for example affect general attitudes towards internet technologies, in which have a direct impact on information technology and airline industries respectfully. Attitude changes and demographic changes will change the market as well. Therefore, the ability of information technology to offer services at lower cost would deliver strong growth in airline market share. 3.4 Technological Technological change may affect the business outcomes in many ways. Simple issues such as the development of internet online booking system launch by Air Asia in recent year. This made Air Asia offer the ability to check in online and print out boarding passes online (Wikipedia 2010). There may influence the size of the potential market and the number of people able to travel to other countries. Increasing access to the internet may change the way in which the customers can booking the air ticket immediately, neither to wait long queue in the counter. Potential customers may also have changed expectations as a result of experiencing new technology. As a result, improved channel distribution has meant that, increasingly, customers are exposed to, and aware of the products in other parts of the world. 4 4.0 SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT analysis can play a valuable part in any strategic planning, it provide a simple framework and common language through which strategic options can be identified. 4.1 Strength Internet will help to access new customers globally and enables to simplify the procedure. Such as the integration of sales, marketing, travel distribution and the daily operation as well as provide special package for corporate travelers. 4.2 Weaknesses Hackers can hack into a particular data storage and access to the network. There is a crisis of identity and invasion of privacy issues. Hence, the digital security needs to be regulated. 4.3 Opportunities By using internet as a marketing tool to distributing electronic brochures and reservation forms via the Internet directly serve the consumers needs. This approach provides an important advantage for the industry to collect information and will help them better develop products and improving the quality of services. 4.4 Threats The competitive environment is improving and its impact on the aviation industries is widely recognized as being complex and highly segmented. Growing competition from other airlines carriers are entry into the marketplace. This increased downward pressure on fares of Internet and increasing level of competition in travel distribution. 5 B. Task 2 5.0 MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEM 5.1 Resource Management Training and development will concerned with the provision of learning, development and training opportunities which ensure that the employee has the skilled, motivated and committed it needs now and in the future. Air Asia stresses the training and development of the staff to keep abreast with changes. The normal one week on the job training is given to new employees. Training is ongoing for three months within the period of probation. Employee skills and knowledge will be upgraded with ongoing course using Air Asias academy (Idris, 2007). It ensures that the employee has the skilled to handle multiple jobs in the organization. For example, the ability of computers to store, handling, processing and dissemination of information has greatly improved the efficiency of Air Asia. Reduced the time from the paper-pushing functions, this can greatly enhance the opportunities for employee utilization in the quality of service that offer to the customers. The training will help the employee to facilitate the business mission of its organization through managed information and technology, in which they are trained to learn new skills and develop new capacity to respond to these changes in the organization. 5.1.1 Decision Making Developing Human Capital Air Asia will partners with Canadian Aviation Electronic to establish an aviation training centre and selected Kuala Lumpur as the location for its Southeast Asian training hub. Air Asia has locked a partnership with CAE for mutual benefits where CAE will provide pilot training for all of Air Asia current and future pilot in the region (Mywire.com 2010). These will improve the quality of training and human capital development within Air Asia. Partners with CAE will help the organization to develop high quality manpower in ensuring seamless business growth. 6 5.2 Information Technology Management The information technology has had a greater impact to display the products that can be seen worldwide especially useful for linking Air Asia with customers or business partners. It provides a worldwide distribution channel for information and ability to link market demand to production planning, and helps the management to communicate quickly with those at lower level. Air Asia have became the first in the world to introduce SMS booking where customers could book their seats, checked flight schedules, and obtain the latest promotional announcements through their mobile phones (Idris, 2007). 5.2.1 Decision Making Information Technology Air Asia keeps introducing innovative ways for online booking and ticket sales. It has locked a partnership with its IT vendors for mutual benefits where Air Asia can constantly improve the system while IT vendor learns to create innovative products according to customer requirements. It offers a wide and innovative range of distribution channels to make booking and traveling easier for its guests. 5.3 Customer Relationship Management Customer Relationship management is important to pursue mutual benefit among customers and vendors. Individual customers can enjoy the benefit, with appropriate advice on getting the best out of their purchase; while the organizations able to improve retention and profitability (Buttle, 2008). In fact, CRM enables to simplify the processes and close deal faster. In long term, customer relationships should be cultivated for Air Asia to maintain competitive advantage. 7 5.3.1 Decision Making Customer Relationship Air Asia has invented to new CRM system in year 2009. It has customized their service after sales by providing variety choice of service, such as hotel, hostel and car rental. In Air Asia website, we can see that information on travel destination, hotel, transport, climate and recommendations is provided to customer for decision making before purchase. 8 5.3 Area of Improvement Strategic information management and strategies effectiveness is a source of competitive advantage for Air Asia turn into their strength across a range of different product markets. A number of positions are normally can be improved to increase its competitive advantages and proficiency, in which enables Air Asia to achieve and maintain the business growth. 5.3.1 Service Organizations depend on their customers and therefore the organization should meet customer requirements and strive to exceed customer expectations. How customer expectations are the standard against which service is judge. Thats the mission. Therefore should understanding customer needs and expectations. In recent years, one of the most obvious aspects of Air Asia done is upgrade their online booking system and payment system to improve efficiency. This will enhance customer satisfaction, and achieve continual improvement of its performance in pursuit of organization objectives. But unfortunately, luggage does not always arrive or with something missing still always happened. So, how to trace the missing luggage in short period and minimize a similar case happened again. It can help Air Asia to improving the quality of products and services provided to the customer. 9 5.3.2 Strategic Alliance Air Asia introduced a first direct B2B engine to its agents in Asia, through one of its strategic partners, Citibank. The agents make immediate payment via a virtual Air Asia credit card through the internet based real inventory booking engine. The question is why; its formed up the strategic alliance between the parties? The popularity is business growth and get in on opportunities. The strategies adopted in a specific market. A gap emerges between what organization goals would like to achieve and what it can do with available resources and capabilities. Air Asia must adopt new technology to compete against traditional rivals, as well as entrants that build the latest technology enterprises. The gap can be bridged by the alliance. For example, in order to compete on a global scale and at the same time maintain its independence, Air Asia must make alliances in partnership together with others countries to use facilities, information system, produce components and distribution channels to meet a critical business need. In year 2004, Air Asia formed two joint ventures in Thailand and Indonesia. Why? Because Air Asia able to extend its marketing reach and build credibility with a particular target market. Its also giving the opportunities to access needed information and greater resources including specialized staff and technology, increase sales in an existing market and enhance technological capabilities through research and development underwritten by more than one party. Another approach is once business is established it has provided the Air Asia with the opportunity to gain new capacity and expertise. 10 5.3.3 Product Improvement Product improvement is the result of consistent, deliberate effort to move the developing organization to a higher level of capability. Product improvement entails developing and launching new products for sale in existing markets (Condensed GSAM Handbook, 2003). It also requires a planned and guided path to excellence, reaching various levels of improvement as intermediate goals along the way such as products with additional features, different packaging, different quality levels etc. For example, Air Asia Go Holiday and Air Asia Tune Hotels which offer travelers a comprehensive package. Many budget travelers prefer to book their air tickets and hotels together and Air Asia will offer its customers with the facility of online booking and reservations as they book their flights. In other words, the product will be improved as a natural consequence. Today, the Internet is firmly established as a marketing strategy. It becomes an integral part of the marketing tools for the digital distribution channels and e-store services (Hofacker, 2000). 11 6.0 Conclusion Since Air Asia entry the market, it is rapidly becoming the most popular airline and profitability organization. Why? Because it focuses on the strategic information system on ways of promoting and developing the product ranges. It is beneficial for Air Asia to combine new IT into the entire operation. It is generally accepted that information technology should be considered as strategic tools than tactical issues. We rely on information, it is not necessarily convenient mechanism to assist in decision-making and guide action. It is very important that the knowledge base to find a use of information. However, Air Asia will need to understand what is currently happening in the operating environment. (2680 words) 12

Friday, January 17, 2020

Shadow Kiss Chapter 10

Ten THE NEXT DAY, MY guardian duties with Christian resumed. Once again, I found my own life put on hold for someone else's. â€Å"How was your penance?† he asked as we walked across campus from his dorm. I stifled a yawn. I hadn't been able to sleep well last night, both because of my feelings for Dimitri and because of what Father Andrew had told me. Nonetheless, I kept a sharp eye out. This was the location where Stan had attacked us twice before, and besides, the guardians were sick and twisted enough to come after me on a day when I was so exhausted. â€Å"It was okay. The priest let us go early.† â€Å"Us?† â€Å"Dimitri came and helped me. I think he felt bad about me being stuck with that work.† â€Å"Either that or he has nothing else to do now that he's not doing your extra sessions.† â€Å"Maybe, but I doubt it. All in all, I guess it wasn't that bad a day.† Unless you considered learning about spiteful ghosts bad. â€Å"I had a great day,† said Christian, the smallest amount of smugness in his voice. I repressed the urge to roll my eyes. â€Å"Yeah, I know.† He and Lissa had taken advantage of their guardianless day to take advantage of each other. I supposed I should be glad they'd held off until Eddie and I weren't around, but in a lot of ways, it didn't matter. True, when I was awake, I could block out all of the details, but I still knew what was going on. A bit of the jealousy and anger I'd felt from the last time they'd been together returned. It was the same problem all over again: Lissa doing all the things I couldn't do. I was dying to go eat breakfast. I could smell French toast and hot maple syrup. Carbs wrapped in more carbs. Yum. But Christian wanted blood before we ate solid food, and his needs trumped mine. They come first. He'd apparently skipped his daily blood dose yesterday – probably to maximize his romantic time. The feeder room wasn't crowded, but we still had to wait. â€Å"Hey,† I said. â€Å"Do you know Brett Ozera? You're related, right?† After my encounter with Jill, I'd finally put some pieces together. Brett Ozera and Dane Zeklos had reminded me of how Brandon had looked the day of Stan's first attack. The disaster of that attack had made me completely forget about Brandon, but the coincidences here suddenly stirred my curiosity. All three had been beaten up. All three had been in denial. Christian nodded. â€Å"Yeah, in the way we're all kind of related. I don't know him that well – he's like a third or fourth cousin or something. His branch of the family hasn't had much to do with mine since †¦ well, you know.† â€Å"I heard something weird about him.† I then related what Jill had told me about Dane and Brett. â€Å"That's weird,† agreed Christian. â€Å"But people get in fights.† â€Å"Yeah, but there are some weird connections here. And royals aren't usually on the losing ends of fights – all three of these guys were.† â€Å"Well, maybe that's it. You know how it's been. A lot of royals are getting pissed off that non-royals want to change how guardians are assigned and learn to start fighting. That's the whole point of Jesse and Ralf's stupid little club. They want to make sure royals stay on top. Non-royals are probably getting just as pissed off and fighting back.† â€Å"So, what, some kind of vigilante is out making royals pay?† â€Å"Wouldn't be the weirdest thing that's happened around here,† he pointed out. â€Å"That's for damn sure,† I muttered. Christian's name was called, and he peered ahead. â€Å"Look at that,† he said happily. â€Å"Alice again.† â€Å"I don't get your fascination with her,† I observed as we approached the old feeder. â€Å"Lissa's always kind of excited to see her too. But Alice is nuts.† â€Å"I know,† he said. â€Å"That's what's so great.† Alice greeted us as Christian sat down beside her. I leaned against the wall, arms crossed over my chest. Feeling uppity, I said, â€Å"Alice, the scenery hasn't changed. It's exactly the same as last time.† She turned her dazed eyes on me. â€Å"Patience, Rose. You must be patient. And prepared. Are you prepared?† The switch in subject threw me a little. It was like talking to Jill, except less sane. â€Å"Um, prepared how? For the scenery?† In what had to be a prime moment of irony, she looked at me as though I were the one who was crazy. â€Å"Armed. Are you armed? You're going to protect us, aren't you?† I reached inside my coat and pulled out the practice stake I'd been given for the field experience. â€Å"Got you covered,† I said. She looked immensely relieved and apparently couldn't tell the difference between a real stake and a fake one. â€Å"Good,† she said. â€Å"Now we'll be safe.† â€Å"That's right,† said Christian. â€Å"With Rose armed, we have nothing to worry about. The Moroi world can rest easy.† Alice was oblivious to his sarcasm. â€Å"Yes. Well, nowhere is ever safe.† I concealed the stake again. â€Å"We're safe. We've got the best guardians in the world protecting us, not to mention the wards. Strigoi aren't getting in here.† I didn't add what I'd recently learned: that Strigoi could get humans to break the wards. Wards were invisible lines of power that were composed of all four elements. They were created when four Moroi, each one strong in a different element, walked around an area and laid the magic in a circle upon the ground, creating a protective border. Moroi magic was imbued with life, and a strong field of it kept out Strigoi, since they were devoid of life. So wards were frequently laid around Moroi dwellings. Tons of them were laid around this school. Since stakes were also imbued with all four elements, driving a stake through a ward line in the ground pierced the ward and canceled out the protective effect. This had never been much of a concern because Strigoi couldn't touch stakes. However, in some recent attacks, humans – who could touch stakes – had served Strigoi and broken some wards. We believed the Strigoi I'd killed had been the ringleaders in that group, but we still d idn't know for sure. Alice studied me closely with her cloudy eyes, almost as though she knew what I was thinking. â€Å"Nowhere is safe. Wards fade. Guardians die.† I glanced over at Christian, who shrugged in a sort of what did you expect from her? kind of way. â€Å"If you guys are done with your girl talk, can I eat now?† he asked. Alice was more than happy to comply; he was her first hit of the day. She soon forgot about wards or anything else and simply lost herself to the ecstasy of his bite. I forgot about wards too. I had a one-track mind, really: I still wanted to know if Mason had been real or not. The priest's frightening explanation aside, I had to admit Mason's visits hadn't been threatening, just scary. If he was out to get me, he was kind of doing a half-assed job of it. Once again, I started putting more stock in the stress-and-fatigue theory. â€Å"Now it's time for me to eat,† I said when Christian finished. I was pretty sure I could smell bacon now. That'd probably make Christian happy. He could wrap it around his French toast. We'd barely stepped out of the room when Lissa came running up to us, Eddie trailing behind. Excitement lit her face, though the feelings in the bond weren't exactly happy. â€Å"Did you hear?† she asked, a little breathless. â€Å"Hear what?† I asked. â€Å"You have to hurry – go pack your things. We're going to Victor's trial. Right now.† There'd been no warning at all about when Victor's trial would even occur, let alone that someone had apparently decided we could go. Christian and I exchanged brief, startled looks and then hurried off to his room to gather our things. Packing was a breeze. My bag was ready to go already, and Christian only took a minute to throw his together. In less than a half hour, we were out on the Academy's landing strip. Two private jets sat in attendance, one of which was fired up and waiting to go. A couple of Moroi hurried about, doing last-minute things with the plane and the runway. No one seemed to know what was going on. Lissa had simply been told that she, Christian, and I were going to testify and that Eddie could come along to continue his field experience. There'd been no explanation as to why things had changed, and a weird mix of eagerness and apprehension crackled around us. We all wanted to see Victor locked away for good, but now that we were actually faced with the reality of the trial and of seeing him – well, it was kind of scary. A few guardians lingered near the steps going up to the plane. I recognized them as the ones who had helped capture Victor. They were probably going to do double duty and serve as witnesses and as our protection. Dimitri hovered near the outskirts, and I hurried over to him. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I gulped out. â€Å"I'm so sorry.† He turned toward me, his face schooled to that perfect picture of neutrality that he was so good at. â€Å"Sorry for what?† â€Å"For all the horrible things I said yesterday. You did it – you really did it. You got them to let us go.† Despite my nervousness about seeing Victor, I was filled with elation. Dimitri had come through. I'd known all along that he really cared about me – this just proved it. If there hadn't been so many people around, I would have hugged him. Dimitri's face didn't change. â€Å"It wasn't me, Rose. I had nothing to do with it.† Alberta signaled that we could board, and he turned away to join the others. I stood frozen for a moment, watching him and trying to figure out what had happened. If he hadn't intervened, then why were we going? Lissa's diplomatic efforts had been shot down a while ago. Why the change of heart? My friends were already on board, so I hurried to catch up. As soon as I stepped into the cabin, a voice called to me. â€Å"Little dhampir! About time you got here.† I looked and saw Adrian waving, a drink in his hand. Great. We'd had to beg and plead to go along, yet Adrian had somehow just glided on in. Lissa and Christian were sitting together, so I joined Eddie in the hopes of staying away from Adrian. Eddie gave me the window seat. Adrian moved to the seat in front of us, though, and might as well have been sitting in our row, as often as he turned around to talk to me. His chatter and outrageous flirting indicated he'd been sipping cocktails long before the rest of us had come aboard. I kind of wished I'd had a few myself once we were airborne. A wicked headache set in almost immediately after liftoff, and I entertained a fantasy of vodka numbing the pain. â€Å"We're going to Court,† Adrian said. â€Å"Aren't you excited about it?† I closed my eyes and rubbed my temples. â€Å"About which one? The royal one or the legal one?† â€Å"The royal one. Did you bring a dress?† â€Å"Nobody told me to.† â€Å"So †¦ that's a ‘no.'† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"Yes? I thought you meant no.† I opened one eye and glared. â€Å"I did mean no, and you know it. No, I did not bring a dress.† â€Å"We'll get you one,† he said loftily. â€Å"You're going to take me shopping? I'm going to go out on a limb and guess they won't consider you a reliable chaperone.† â€Å"Shopping? As if. There are tailors that live there. We'll get you something custom-made.† â€Å"We're not staying that long. And do I really need a dress for what we're doing there?† â€Å"No, I'd just kind of like to see you in one.† I sighed and leaned my head against the window. The pain in my skull was still throbbing. It was like the air was pressing in on me. Something flashed in my peripheral vision, and I turned in surprise, but there was nothing but stars outside the window. â€Å"Something black,† he continued. â€Å"Satin, I think†¦ maybe with lace trim. Do you like lace? Some women think it itches.† â€Å"Adrian.† It was like a hammer, a hammer inside and outside my head. â€Å"You could get a nice velvet trim too, though. That wouldn't itch.† â€Å"Adrian.† Even my eye sockets seemed to hurt. â€Å"And then a slit up the side to show off what great legs you have. It could go nearly to the hip and have this cute little bow – â€Å" â€Å"Adrian!† Something inside of me burst. â€Å"Will you shut the hell up for five seconds?† I yelled so loud that the pilot had probably heard me. Adrian had that rare look of astonishment on his face. Alberta, sitting across the aisle from Adrian, shot up in her seat. â€Å"Rose,† she exclaimed. â€Å"What's going on?† I gritted my teeth and rubbed my forehead. â€Å"I have the worst fucking headache in the world, and he won't shut up.† I didn't even realize I'd sworn in front of an instructor until several seconds later. From the other side of my field of vision, I thought I saw something else – another shadow darting through the plane, reminding me of black wings. Like a bat or a raven. I covered my eyes. There was nothing flying through the plane. â€Å"God, why won't it go away?† I expected Alberta to chastise me for the outburst, but instead, Christian spoke: â€Å"She hasn't eaten today. She was really hungry earlier.† I uncovered my eyes. Alberta's face was filled with concern, and Dimitri now hovered behind her. More shadowy shapes flitted across my vision. Most were indistinct, but I could have sworn I saw something that looked like a skull mixed in with the darkness. I blinked rapidly, and it all disappeared. Alberta turned to one of the flight attendants. â€Å"Can you get her something to eat? And find a painkiller?† â€Å"Where's it at?† Dimitri asked me. â€Å"The pain?† With all of this attention, my explosion suddenly seemed excessive. â€Å"It's a headache†¦I'm sure it'll go away†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Seeing his stern look, I pointed to the center of my forehead. â€Å"It's like something pushing on my skull. And there's pain kind of behind my eyes. I keep feeling like†¦well, it's like I've got something in my eye. I think I'm seeing a shadow or something. Then I blink and it's gone.† â€Å"Ah,† said Alberta. â€Å"That's a migraine symptom – having vision problems. It's called an aura. People sometimes get it before the headache sets in.† â€Å"An aura?† I asked, startled. I glanced up at Adrian. He was looking at me over the top of his seat, his long arms hanging over the back of it. â€Å"Not that kind,† he said, a small smile turning up his lips. â€Å"Same name. Like Court and court. Migraine auras are images and light you see when a migraine's coming on. They have nothing to do with the auras around people I see. But I tell you †¦ the aura I can see †¦ the one around you †¦ wow.† â€Å"Black?† â€Å"And then some. It's obvious even after all the drinks I've had. Never seen anything like it.† I didn't exactly know what to make of that, but then the flight attendant returned with a banana, a granola bar, and some ibuprofen. It was a far cry from French toast, but it sounded good on my empty stomach. I consumed it all and then propped a pillow up against the window. Closing my eyes, I rested my head and hoped I could sleep the headache off before we landed. Mercifully, everyone else stayed quiet. I had drifted off a little when I felt a slight touch on my arm. â€Å"Rose?† Opening my eyes, I peered at Lissa as she sat in Eddie's seat. Those bat-winged shapes flitted behind her, and my head still hurt. In those swirling shadows, I again saw what looked like a face, this time with a wide gaping mouth and eyes like fire. I flinched. â€Å"You're still in pain?† Lissa asked, peering at me. I blinked, and the face was gone. â€Å"Yeah, I – oh no.† I realized what she was going to do. â€Å"Don't do it. Don't waste it on me.† â€Å"It's easy,† she said. â€Å"It hardly fazes me.† â€Å"Yeah, but the more you use it†¦ the more it hurts you in the long run. Even if it's easy now.† â€Å"I'll worry about that later. Here.† She clasped my hand between hers and closed her eyes. Through our bond, I felt the magic welling up in her as she drew upon spirit's healing power. To her, magic felt warm and golden. I'd been healed before, and it always came through to me as varying temperatures: hot, then cold, then hot, etc. But this time, when she released the magic and sent it into me, I didn't feel anything except a very faint tingle. Her eyelids fluttered open. â€Å"Wh – what happened?† she asked. â€Å"Nothing,† I said. â€Å"The headache's still going strong.† â€Å"But I†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The confusion and shock on her face mirrored what I sensed in her. â€Å"I had it. I felt the magic. It worked.† â€Å"I don't know, Liss. It's okay, really. You haven't been off the meds that long, you know.† â€Å"Yeah, but I healed Eddie the other day without any problems. And Adrian,† she added dryly. He was hanging over the seat again, watching us intently. â€Å"Those were scrapes,† I said. â€Å"This is a five-alarm migraine we're talking about. Maybe you've got to build back up.† Lissa bit her lower lip. â€Å"You don't think the pills permanently hurt my magic, do you?† â€Å"Nah,† said Adrian, head tilted to the side. â€Å"You lit up like a supernova when you were summoning it. You had magic. I just don't think it had any effect on her.† â€Å"Why not?† she demanded. â€Å"Maybe she's got something you can't heal.† â€Å"A headache?† I asked in disbelief. He shrugged. â€Å"What do I look like, a doctor? I don't know. Just telling you what I saw.† I sighed and placed a hand on my forehead. â€Å"Well, I appreciate the help, Liss, and I appreciate your annoying commentary, Adrian. But I think sleep might be the best thing for now. Maybe it's stress or something.† Sure, why not? Stress was the answer to everything lately. Ghosts. Incurable headaches. Weird faces floating in the air. â€Å"Probably can't heal that.† â€Å"Maybe,† she said, sounding as though she took personal offense at me having something she couldn't fix. Inside her mind, though, her accusations were turned toward herself, not me. She worried she wasn't good enough. â€Å"It's okay,† I said soothingly. â€Å"You're just getting your stride back. Once you're up to full power, I'll go crack a rib or something so we can test it.† She groaned. â€Å"The horrible part is that I don't think you're joking.† After a quick squeeze of my hand, she stood up. â€Å"Sleep well.† She left, and I soon realized Eddie wasn't coming back. He'd taken a new seat so that I'd have more room. Appreciative, I fluffed and repositioned the pillow while stretching my legs out as best I could across the seats. A few more phantom clouds danced across my vision, and then I closed my eyes to sleep. I woke up later when the plane touched down, the sounds of its engines kicking into reverse startling me out of a deep sleep. To my relief, the headache was gone. So were the weird shapes floating around me. â€Å"Better?† Lissa asked when I stood up and yawned. I nodded. â€Å"Much. Better still if I can get some real food.† â€Å"Well,† she laughed, â€Å"somehow I doubt there's any shortage of food around here.† She was right. Glancing out the windows, I tried to get my first look at our surroundings. We'd made it. We were at the Moroi Royal Court.