Failure Turned Into Success

Brandon Miller John Delano ITM 1900 February 5, 2013 Failure turned into Success I failed many projects at work, some larger than others. One project that I failed was when I had to refill the push mower with oil. I almost made my first mistake by choosing the wrong type of oil for the mower, but luckily was smart to call my boss and choose the correct oil. My first mistake was to not to listen to what my boss said and clean off the dipstick before I started to refill the oil tank.By not doing this, I did not know the specific amount to how much to add. This mistake leads into my second mistake of adding too much oil to the mower. These two mistakes ruined the mower and costing the company to buy a new push mower. I could and should have done many things different to avoid this problem. The main thing that I should have done different is to ask someone to help guide me through the process of adding oil instead of teaching the process to myself, which ultimately cost the company more money.I, as a Christian project manager, should have many standards to evaluating software development projects. When evaluating, I should ask to myself whether the project is honoring to God. When I say that, I mean is the project representing the way Christians live their lives for Christ. Is the project appropriate to God and acceptable for anyone to accomplish? In 1 Thessalonians 4, it talks about urging or pushing believers to live a life pleasing to God. Then it goes on to talk specifically about the life believers should be living.The way that I am told to be living my life should also be displayed in the projects that I create. The projects should be an encouragement to others when they use it and should help to benefit other’s lives. This project also should be an example to how believers live their lives. 1 Timothy 4:12 helps encourage that mindset by talking about how believers should set an example for others in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity. Overall, w hen evaluating projects, they should be pleasing to the Lord, be an example, and influence others positively when using them.Basing my mistakes on the standards by which to live by, my project would still be considered a failure. It would be a failure because I did not listen to my boss, which is disobedience and that is not pleasing to the Lord. Ruining a mower is not a good example to my other work colleagues either. I should have been smarter in the way I handled the project and thought about how to have the project run efficient and productive. My disobedience resulted in failure of the whole project and making the company’s reputation increase negatively.Moses would probably say that about 45% of the plan was completed on time. The percentage is not very high because of the Israelites causing problems with their attitudes and doubts on God. Also, the Israelites did not have much faith in Moses leading them and this caused many problems in trying to get the plan completed . From Moses’ perspective, I think he would say that the journey to Mount Sinai and getting the Ten Commandments written was completed late because of the actions of the Israelites.Since the Israelites became impatient with Moses and making a golden calf, it slowed down the entire process of getting the Ten Commandments written. Moses could have taught Aaron stronger principles in keeping God’s people under control while he was at Mount Sinai. If Aaron was stronger and not so willing to make false gods, the process of the Ten Commandments being written would have been completed quicker. Source for timeline: http://www. bibleview. org/en/Timelines/20_1800BC-1400BC. html

The Most Important Day of My Life

The Day that Changed my Life There I was having an ordinary day, a barbecue with my friends where all went as normal and then I get a call from my daughter, I was so happy as she hadn’t called me in over 6 weeks but that happiness was only temporary. She wanted to have lunch with me at that afternoon so I abandoned my friends and the barbecue just for her.While there our conversation stays on only one topic, me, until she wants the favour that I regret giving- my permission to go to Kenya for some charity work. In hope of retrieving her trust, I agree to such thing as I thought she would be safe. I warned her about the danger of the world but I knew she didn’t pay attention. I went home worried and panicking, I couldn’t sleep or concentrate on anything else, I just waited for her call but when it came it wasn’t a good one.Kidnappers called with a voice so dark and horrifying that my heart almost stopped. Their words were â€Å"She is gone forever†, I cried and cried†¦ When I finally got full of anger, I got on the first plane to Kenya looked for someone who could help me, get a gun and get my daughter back. Then I found Rebecca, she told me that these kidnappers have been working for 3 months kidnapping innocent teens from the airport and taking them to the Old Stadium to auction them.

Billabong International Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Billabong International - Case Study Example The past few years have seen an increase in the E retailing business. With E Bay and Amazon recording remarkable success, this decades business portals like Ali Baba and EC21 of Korea or 163.com of China have come up from different regions of the world. The trend of this era is to have e-commerce enabled business for success. Due to this any businesses have started including their own business portals ad web pages on their website include e commerce pages to capitalize on the traffic visiting their website. Considering the marketing strategies of billabong International, I would suggest that there is only one customer requirement that has been overlooked and that is the e availability. Billabong international has a web presence but I would suggest that it requires exclusive web pages that showcase their product lines along with prices and discount schemes if any. Such a web portal would not only serve the needs of the Australian and New Zealand based web surfers surfing online for surf boards and other sports products but would also serve the purpose of drawing attention from other parts of the world like developing countries with high growth rates including Pakistan and India, two up coming markets where our competitors Nike and Adidas are very strong in the apparel sector. Presence in the surf board sector is limited and surf boards are available only at limited outlets. This is mainly due to the fact that surfing is not a very popular sport in these two countries. However, these are untapped markets where by promoting this sport, Billabong will be expanding its geographical markets as well. Considering the above, we propose that Billabong International should launch: 1. Their E Business Portal, a website or WebPages on its existing websites that are geared towards generating internet sales i.e. E Retailing. 2. Our second proposition is that Billabong should launch an International Exhibition, in Australia, to display its surfing and other products and invite industry professionals and the consumers purchasing its products from data collected from outlets. These are likely to purchase goods from the exhibition. Purpose: The objective of this research is to determine how successful an E Portal would be and what value would it add to Billabong International. What factors may lead to website failure What impacts might that have on the brand name How and what information needs to be collected to ensure that the E Commerce enabled website would be successful. This report seeks to answer all of these questions through primary and secondary research. SECONDARY RESEARCH Secondary research was carried out to find out the size of the market, the target market requirements and the change in shopping trends over a period of years. a.Size of the Market Forrester research states that the amount of ecommerce activities worldwide reached US $ 6.8 trillion in the year 2004 as compared to just US $ 43 Billion in 1998.New Zealand and Australia are part of this same cycle. According to a report by META Group , New Zealand is one of the top ten countries where E-commerce can be developed. According to International Data Corporation " IT solutions in New Zealand will account for 29.6% of the total spending in the IT market

Hazard and vunarability analysis SLP 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Hazard and vunarability analysis SLP 2 - Essay Example per event       809.6    3164.9    56250          Total 55 2 4345 1 24319.1 2 3207790.4 1 1.5 Epidemic Bacterial Infectious Diseases 2    1    534    -          ave. per event       0.5    267    -          Viral Infectious Diseases 1    -    2000000    -          ave. per event       -    2000000    -          Total 3 4 0.5 4 2000267 1 _ 4 3.25 Extreme temperature Heat wave 3    138    18300    -          ave. per event       46    6100    -          Total 3 4 46 3 6100 3 _ 4 2.5 Flood Unspecified 31    12814    7015269    268300          ave. per event       413.4    226299    8654.8          Flash flood 1    21    25807    1950000          ave. per event       21    25807    1950000          General flood 12    197    99266    1814000          ave. per event       16.4    8272.2    151166.7          Storm surge/co astal flood 2    34    384143    7440000          ave. per event       17    192072    3720000          total 46 2 467.8 2 452450 2 5829821.5 1 1.75 Mass movement wet Avalanche 1 4 13    -    -          ave. per event       13    -    -          Landslide 20    989    25706    210000          ave. per event       49.5    1285.3    10500          total 21 3 62.5 3 1285.3 3 10500 2 2.75 Storm Unspecified 24    1890    192814    453500          ave. per event       78.8    8033.9    18895.8          Local storm 6    27    100499    363000          ave.

Has no topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Has no topic - Essay Example It is noted that once these European powers entered a given country, they imposed their rules and policies on the people of that country or territory. This implies that everyone in the country that the European powers took control of were to follow the laws and rules of their colonizers. In fact, history tells us that the European powers were once in control of all the third world colonies, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries (Marker par. 3). The existence of the European colonies in the third world countries had both positive and negative impacts. Nevertheless, it can be argued that the overall effect of colonialism on the colonized was positive and transformational. This discourse explores the extent to which the colonial rule transformed the world, with particular emphasis on third world countries. It is worth stressing that colonial rule did have negative impacts on many countries colonized by the European powers. However, the positive impacts of the colonial rule cannot be underrated. In most African countries, for example, colonial rule helped in bringing education to the locals that enhanced the literacy level of most Africans. Melber notes that in most countries that the European colonies entered, they established schools, and colleges, where for the natives (17). African people also used these schools to learn. This helped improve the literacy level of most Africans who had no basic education. Research indicates that Europeans taught Africans how to read, write, and do arithmetic. In Kenya, for example, the British colony established a number of schools for European children in some areas and African schools in other areas. Some of the European schools started by the British in Kenya include Nairobi School and Lenana School (Marker par. 5). These schools helped transform Kenya into an enlightened country. The colonial rule also transformed most colonies by improving the health and standards of living of people by establishing hospitals with exp erienced personnel. Research indicates that prior to the entry of European colonizers in the third world countries, such as Africa, most people depended on herbs and divine healing for diseases. Others went to witch doctors to intervene in their situation. However, this did not help much resulting in high mortality rates. In fact, tropical diseases, such as malaria became prevalent due to lack of drugs. However, soon after invading third world countries, the European colonizers embarked on building hospitals and clinic where they could be treated for diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, sleeping sicknesses and small pox, just to name but a few. These hospitals were also used to treat Africans whenever they fell ill. In addition, the hospitals were also used to train Africans on drug use. The establishment of the hospitals helped reduce mortality rates, as well as improving the standards of living in third world colonies. It also transformed third world colonies from over dependen t on herbs and divine intervention to seeking treatments in hospitals from specialized trained doctors and nurses (Hrituleac 13). Sanitation and live expectancy are another area that the colonial rule had a huge impact. Sanitation used to be very poor in most third world countries before the entry of colonizers. However, their entry brought significant transformation by improving the state of sanitation by educating Africans on the importance of

Invstmnt Climat in Uzbkistan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Invstmnt Climat in Uzbkistan - Assignment Example ThÐ µ transfÐ µr of cross-bordÐ µr invÐ µstmÐ µnts has bÐ µcomÐ µ a daily rÐ µality of today’s morÐ µ and morÐ µ globalizÐ µd world. In ordÐ µr to promotÐ µ intÐ µrnational invÐ µstmÐ µnt Ð µxchangÐ µ, thÐ µ statÐ µs insist on mutual facilitation of transfÐ µr of intÐ µrnational capital and arÐ µ trying to takÐ µ all advantagÐ µs connÐ µctÐ µd with thÐ µ inflow of forÐ µign invÐ µstmÐ µnts. For dÐ µvÐ µloping countriÐ µs, thÐ µ placÐ µmÐ µnt of forÐ µign invÐ µstmÐ µnt in thÐ µir tÐ µrritoriÐ µs doÐ µs not mÐ µan only acquiring financial capital, but also an opportunity to strÐ µngthÐ µn thÐ µ stagnating Ð µconomy, acquiring thÐ µ latÐ µst forÐ µign tÐ µchnologiÐ µs, dÐ µcrÐ µasing unÐ µmploymÐ µnt, as wÐ µll as raising thÐ µ qualification of thÐ µ laborÐ µrs and managÐ µrs Ð µmployÐ µd by forÐ µign companiÐ µs. ThÐ µ advantagÐ µs for forÐ µign invÐ µstors liÐ µ Ð µspÐ µcially in thÐ µ opportunity to us Ð µ chÐ µapÐ µr labor forcÐ µ in thÐ µ host statÐ µ, opportunity to Ð µntÐ µr nÐ µw markÐ µts and gÐ µtting an accÐ µss to natural rÐ µsourcÐ µs, which arÐ µ not availablÐ µ in their homÐ µ country. ThÐ µ forÐ µign invÐ µstors, howÐ µvÐ µr, do not fÐ µÃ µl comfortablÐ µ to invÐ µst in forÐ µign tÐ µrritory, unlÐ µss thÐ µy fÐ µÃ µl that thÐ µir invÐ µstmÐ µnt is sufficiÐ µntly protÐ µctÐ µd against non-commÐ µrcial risks. OnÐ µ of thÐ µ indispÐ µnsablÐ µ conditions for attracting forÐ µign invÐ µstmÐ µnts is, thÐ µrÐ µforÐ µ, thÐ µ crÐ µation of favorablÐ µ lÐ µgal Ð µnvironmÐ µnt in thÐ µ host statÐ µ.In ordÐ µr to stimulatÐ µ intÐ µrnational invÐ µsting, thÐ µ statÐ µs arÐ µ usually concluding bilatÐ µral invÐ µstmÐ µnt trÐ µatiÐ µs, accÐ µssing to multilatÐ µral trÐ µatiÐ µs dÐ µaling with intÐ µrnational invÐ µstmÐ µnt protÐ µction and passing national lÐ µgislation aimÐ µd at protÐ µction and promo tion of forÐ µign invÐ µstmÐ µnts.... nformation about thÐ µ invÐ µstmÐ µnt lÐ µgislation of UzbÐ µkistan, its implÐ µmÐ µntation in practicÐ µ and to point out spÐ µcific problÐ µms thÐ µ forÐ µign invÐ µstors havÐ µ to dÐ µal with oncÐ µ placing thÐ µir invÐ µstmÐ µnt in this country. ThÐ µ paper will introducÐ µ somÐ µ basic facts concÐ µrning thÐ µ transfÐ µr of intÐ µrnational capital and thÐ µ main mÐ µans of intÐ µrnational invÐ µstmÐ µnt protÐ µction in addition to discussing thÐ µ currÐ µnt invÐ µstmÐ µnt lÐ µgislation and thÐ µ problÐ µms connÐ µctÐ µd with its application in practicÐ µ. LitÐ µraturÐ µ RÐ µviÐ µw InvÐ µstmÐ µnt Risks ThÐ µ transfÐ µr of cross-bordÐ µr invÐ µstmÐ µnts has bÐ µcomÐ µ a daily rÐ µality of today’s morÐ µ and morÐ µ globalizÐ µd world. In ordÐ µr to promotÐ µ intÐ µrnational invÐ µstmÐ µnt Ð µxchangÐ µ, thÐ µ statÐ µs insist on mutual facilitation of transfÐ µr of intÐ µrnational capital and arÐ µ trying t o takÐ µ all advantagÐ µs connÐ µctÐ µd with thÐ µ inflow of forÐ µign invÐ µstmÐ µnts. For dÐ µvÐ µloping countriÐ µs, thÐ µ placÐ µmÐ µnt of forÐ µign invÐ µstmÐ µnt in thÐ µir tÐ µrritoriÐ µs doÐ µs not mÐ µan only acquiring financial capital, but also an opportunity to strÐ µngthÐ µn thÐ µ stagnating Ð µconomy, acquiring thÐ µ latÐ µst forÐ µign tÐ µchnologiÐ µs, dÐ µcrÐ µasing unÐ µmploymÐ µnt, as wÐ µll as raising thÐ µ qualification of thÐ µ laborÐ µrs and managÐ µrs Ð µmployÐ µd by forÐ µign companiÐ µs. ThÐ µ advantagÐ µs for forÐ µign invÐ µstors liÐ µ Ð µspÐ µcially in thÐ µ opportunity to usÐ µ chÐ µapÐ µr labor forcÐ µ in thÐ µ host statÐ µ, opportunity to Ð µntÐ µr nÐ µw markÐ µts and gÐ µtting an accÐ µss to natural rÐ µsourcÐ µs, which arÐ µ not availablÐ µ in their homÐ µ country. ThÐ µ forÐ µign invÐ µstors, howÐ µvÐ µr, do not fÐ µÃ µl comfortablÐ µ to invÐ µst in forÐ µign tÐ µrritory , unlÐ µss thÐ µy fÐ µÃ µl that thÐ µir invÐ µstmÐ µnt is sufficiÐ µntly protÐ µctÐ µd against non-commÐ µrcial risks.

Cooperative Learning and Student Achievement Essay

Cooperative Learning and Student Achievement - Essay Example Many studies have indicated that cooperative learning is indeed more beneficial to student achievement than the individualistic approach; however, there are distinctions and conditions that must be met in order for learners to benefit from being involved in cooperative learning (Yamarika, 2007). This essay discusses the benefits and conditions for effective cooperative learning. Benefits of Cooperative Learning Cooperative learning enables students to benefit from the efforts and successes of fellow students, giving each student the chance to contribute to the success and achievement of self and that of others. In addition, it allows students to recognize their abilities by making the contributions of each group member a valuable component of the learning process. Since each student has different talents and abilities, the groups benefit from the contributions of members and each member feels as a valuable component of the team due to the knowledge that the group may not have an idea until one contributes it. Moreover, individual achievement is celebrated by the whole group since group members feel that they played a role in the success, which motivates them to try harder (Yamarika, 2007). Some of the benefits of cooperative learning include: Cooperative learning results in better learning and academic achievement as compared to other learning approaches. Cooperative learning increases retention of content learned in class by students for later application. Students derive greater satisfaction from the learning experience, and they are encouraged to seek more knowledge. Students develop communication skills as they explain the subject matter to others and listen as their peers explain a point. Students develop social skills that are necessary as survival skills after school. Student self-esteem is boosted as students realize that they can learn on their own, and they have knowledge that others do not have. Cooperative learning promotes healthy interactions betw een students from various races, religions and other socioeconomic backgrounds. All these factors have positive effects on a student’s grade, and that is why cooperative learning in schools should be promoted (Roseth, Johnson, & Johnson, 2008). Conditions for Effective Cooperative Learning In order for cooperative learning to be effective, some conditions must be met; failure to meet these conditions may reduce the effectiveness of the approach, or even result in negative results on the learning experience and the performance of learners. If these conditions are met, then cooperative learning proves to be far more an effective approach to learning than individualistic and competitive approaches (Yamarika, 2007). Positive Interdependence Each group member’s contribution is unique and necessary for the success of the group, and members should be encouraged to participate as the input of each of them is directly related to the group achievement. The group should avoid foc using on the contributions of some members and ignoring the contributions or questions of others so that the group can learn as a holistic unit and not as disjointed units of individuals (Johnson & Johnson, 2009). Face-to-face Interaction This allows members to interact directly with each other in the form of oral explanation of concepts, teaching others new knowledge, analysis of level of

The business scenario of Hong Kongs Hotel Industry Essay

The business scenario of Hong Kongs Hotel Industry - Essay Example This research will begin with the statement that Hong Kong offers a stable and efficient business environment to its entrepreneurs with modern infrastructural facilities along with technologies in order to cope up with the challenges of globalisation and industrialisation. In the year 1995, Hong Kong positioned itself as the eighth leading trading nation in the global world. Thus, most of the leading companies attempted to establish one of its franchisees in Hong Kong with the expectation that it might enhance its growth prospects and profitability as well. Moreover, the government of Hong Kong has adopted a strategy of non-intervention, which was also categorised as quite beneficial for any business entrepreneur to operate within the economy. In addition, the government of Hong Kong also offers a sound lawful and administrative support for improving the scope of its business environment to encourage foreign and national entrepreneurs. Thus, it can be avowed that the economy of Hong Kong offers high opportunities for growth and development of industries, in order to improve its image in the international business forefront. Hence, it can be clearly depicted that as Hong Kong is one of the rapidly developing and most promising international centres for trade, business and finance with less governmental intrusions. Notably, it is due to this reason that Hong Kong is now categorised as one of the feasible places for introduction of new business projects. 1.1 Background of the Study Hong Kong is one of the fastest developing nations among the Asia-Pacific regions and so it can prove beneficial for the introduction of a new business project. Apart from this, Hong Kong is often regarded as a feasible place for introduction of new businesses as it offers soaring quality of banking, insurance and proficient services along with hard working and skilled workforce. Moreover, it is also the main gateway to perform business operations in the market of China. This is because , China offers workers at a sustainable rate which is not only helpful for any business enterprise, but also tends to preserve the interests of the workforce. It is also a significant factor which helps in expansion of the business in the national as well as international context thereby augmenting growth and brand identity (Bingley, 2011). Hence, with due consideration to these factors, Hong Kong might prove to be the most efficient place for the introduction of a new business project. 1.2 Literature Review According to Lethbridge & et. al. (2000), the location of Hong Kong is becoming one of the most favourable places for performing business operations being influenced by varied factors such as low tax requirement, freedom of currency exchange in trade and being the Special Administrative Region (SAR) of China, which offers a stable political environment of any business project. Thus, the nation of Hong Kong is highly preferred by most of the reputed industries operating globally (Deloitte, 2012). In addition, about 300 Chinese organisations are listed in Hong Kong, with a

Implementation of Patient Centered Concepts In a VA Medical Center to Research Paper

Implementation of Patient Centered Concepts In a VA Medical Center to Improve Quality Outcomes - Research Paper Example Problem Background The U. S. has the most advanced healthcare delivery of most countries in the world. Per capita expenditure totaling to thousands of dollars annually, and more of her GDP is ranked relatively higher on healthcare than most countries in the world, at 18.5 percent of GDP in 2007. It has the most sophisticated teaching hospitals and medical research centers in the world yet it is not ranked in first position worldwide. Additional factors significantly impacting how healthcare expenditure is allocated include a few diseases that comprise the bulk of healthcare expenditures. Significant variations in spending can also be mapped by regional, race and socio-economic status. Even diet has a major impact since the US also happen to be the most obese nation on the planet and in essence, just throwing money at the problem will not fix it. Similarly, Information Technology has been applied in very sophisticated ways to deliver better care, but not in a way that makes the cost a nd decisions (as to when and how to deliver it) more efficient and transparent. This paper highlights one case study that demonstrate how health concepts can improve health quality (such as in a VA medical center), and how it can serve as a key component of effective healthcare delivery by creating the necessary data framework for practicing evidence-based medicine (EBM). EBM is gaining traction among providers for two major reasons: firstly, its promise as a tool to help contain continually rising healthcare costs and, secondly its potential to dramatically improve healthcare quality. Implementation of Patient centered Concepts According to Conway et al (2006), the healthcare industry in the United States is... The paper tells that the healthcare industry in the United States is operating at a level of quality and efficiency below the desired standards of patients’ healthcare professionals. The majority of concerns focus around access to care, quality of care, prevalence of incorrect medical diagnoses and rising costs. Furthermore, a solution for business problems can be attained by adopting return on investment (ROI) compared to value produced by addressing the problem and determining which solution is provided. Statistically, a considerable number of expensive health conditions accounted for almost half the total health care expenses, which was mostly chronic conditions and patients with multiple chronic conditions with up to seven times as much as patients with only one chronic condition. About a quarter of the total annual US expenditure on healthcare is spent on ineffective or redundant care. Healthcare premiums have arose by more than half within a decade for family premiums. T he U. S. spends more money per capita on healthcare than any other country. Similarly, organizational costs to acquire and implement electronic healthcare information systems are significantly; particularly to individual medical practitioners as most of the technology solutions currently available are not mature due to the lack of standards and other factors. Cumbersome workflows and ongoing training and maintenance costs are other barriers to acceptance. Misaligned cost burdens for individual practitioners are also an impediment to implementing electronic health information in the current environment.

Catching Fire Essay Example for Free

Catching Fire Essay â€Å"Without hesitation, he reads, on the seventy fifth anniversary, as a reminder to the rebels that even the strongest of them cannot overcome the power the capitol, the male and female tributes will be reaped from their existing pool of victors.†page.172, Catching fire. This is when Katniss finds out she has to go back into the arena and the fight the other victors. Some of them will be enemies such as the victors from 1 and 2. Some will be picked off immediately or just walk around like the morphing’s. Others will be allies such as nuts and volts or finnick. Finnick is an important character because he is brave, smart, and loyal. Finnick is brave in the arena, because he fights of the attackers at the cornucopia with Katniss on page 269 and 270. He also swam Peeta to shore which is brave because he was unarmed and vulnerable to attack. â€Å"Finnick has reached peeta know and is towing him back, one arm across his chest while the other propels them through the water with easy strokes.† P.273, Catching Fire. Finnick is also smart. In the arena on the beach he told them how to fish and find oysters on page 365. He also knew how to revive Peeta by giving him CPR on page 280. â€Å"Under Finnick’s guidance we spear fish and gather shellfish, even dive for oysters.†p.365, Catching Fire. Finnick is also loyal. He may not seem loyal but he still loves Ann even after all the people in the capitol hit on him. He also stayed loyal to Katniss in the arena even when she did the opposite of everything he said. â€Å"I see finnick†s green eyes in the moonlight. I can see them as clear as day. Like a cats, with a strange reflective quality. Maybe because they are shiny with tears. No he says I cant carry them both. My arms aren’t working. Its true his arms are jerk uncontrollable at his sides. His hans are empty. Of his three tridents one is left and it’s in peeta’s hands. â€Å"I’m sorry mags . I can’t do it.† Finnick is a brave, smart and loyal teammate. He didn’t kill Katniss, and saved peeta. He told them how to fish. He also let his mentor stay behind to be killed by the poison mist. He is a true asset to their team.

Factors of Professionalism and Computer Professional Bodies

Factors of Professionalism and Computer Professional Bodies Contents Tutorial One3 Tutorial Two7 Tutorial Three..10 Tutorial ÂÂ   Four..13 Tutorial ÂÂ   Five..15 References.18 Week 1 Professionalism Group Discussion (a) There are many different definitions of a professional. Discuss in general terms what you think are the most important factors to being a profession. Rank the factors you have in order of importance. Consider why you feel some factors are more important than others. There is discussion about who is a professional. Some said professional is a one who is good in particular job or engaging in a given activity as a source of livelihood or as a career. The group members agreed the definition as follows, a skilled occupation, within an organised framework, having an accepted body of knowledge, structured training, requiring maintenance of skills, guided by a code of conduct A professional is a person who acquires formal certification from professional body based on his academic background or/and work experience and also whose capability could be judged against established standards. All the group members generally agreed that the most important factors to being a profession include high degree of knowledge, association with a professional body, adherence to the code of conduct, structured training, ethical behavior, trusted competence, and commitment to continuous development of a profession. Competence is the ability to identify the problem and solve it by utilising available resources. So it is the most important factor Academic background, academic will help the professional to learn the specialised knowledge of profession. The learnt knowledge may prove a helpful tool for a competent professional. Good communication skills help in dealing with clients, colleagues and superiors. A professional with good communication skills will be able to significantly do well. Reliability/Dependability is a factor of importance and may sometimes supersede other factors. Integrity of a professional drives him/her to follow the work ethics and code of conduct in principle. Self-evaluation and discipline is a factor that motivates the persons to achieve more and to improve the skills. (b) Differentiate between a professional and an expert. Does a professional need to be an expert? As adjectives, the difference between expert and professional is that expert is extraordinarily capable or knowledgeable while professional is of, pertaining to, or in accordance with the (usually high) standards of a profession. As nouns the difference between expert and professional is that expert is a person with extensive knowledge or ability in a given subject while professional is a person who belongs to a profession. A professional is not necessarily an expert. (c)ÂÂ   Is a computer person with a high level of knowledge and skill automatically considered to be a professional? No, cannot be considered as a professional unless he practices and gain experience and perform the activity as a source of livelihood or as a career. Individual Questions (a) The BCS definition of a professional and two other definitions. CompareÂÂ   the definitions, what do they have in common? The BCS considers a practitioner a professional, if one possesses (BCS Professional): Appropriate degrees. Skills and competency. Motivation for self-development (theoretically and practically). Respect for code of conduct. Two other definitions: Person formally certified by a professional body of belonging to a specific profession by virtue of having completed a required course of studies and/or practice. And whose competence can usually be measured against an established set of standards. a professional (of a job) has a high level of education and training. In common it says professional need education and practise. (b) The role of the BCS. The role of the BCS. IT Members representation. To establish relationships with industry and academia. To establish relationships with governments. To work for the betterment of entire human society. (c) An overview of other professional bodies that exist for the IT industry. The Association of Computer Professionals (ACP) is an international body started in 1984. Its key aim is to set and maintain ICT industry standards by providing an independent examination body for ICT professionals. The membership of the ACP is a mix of academic and business professionals within the field of computing. IACSIT is a registered international scientific association of distinguished scholars engaged in Computer Science and Information Technology. The IACSIT members include research and development center heads, faculty deans, department heads, professors, research scientists, engineers, scholars, experienced software development directors, managers and engineers, university postgraduate and undergraduate engineering and technology students, etc. The National Computing Centre (NCC) is an independent membership organization for IT professionals and is the single largest and most diverse corporate membership body in the UK IT sector. Socitm (Society of Information Technology Management) is the membership association for all ICT professionals working in local authorities and the public and third sectors, and suppliers to those sectors. Socitm provides a widely-respected forum for the promotion, use and development of ICT best practice. Set up in 2001, the UKWDA (UK Web Design Association) brings together more than 10,000 British web industry professionals under one supportive umbrella organization. Women in Technologystarted in 2005 with one goal in mind: to help women build successful and satisfying careers in the IT industry. Institute of Analyst and Programmers, The Institution is Britains leading professional organization for people who work in the development, installation and testing of business systems and computer software. The UK IT Association (UKITA) was established as the private sector organization responsible for the development of a credible and thriving IT industry across the United Kingdom. Week 2 Professional Bodiesand the BCS Group Discussion What do you think should be the main roles and purpose of the BCS? To make a better society Share and exchange IT expertise and knowledge Supporting professionals Setting standards and framework To build strong relationship with academia, industry, policy makers and governments to promote IT. What do you consider to be the benefits of becoming a BCS member? Professional development More training opportunities Networking Mentoring Employability Professional recognition in the IT domain Best support from peers through IT forums How do you think your employment opportunities benefit from joining the BCS? BCS provides a platform to communicate with Entrepreneurs, Departmental heads, CEOs etc. This networking helps in getting more employment opportunities. From the video clip it can be seen that role models are important in all professions. From a historical perspective, why are the following people important: Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, Alan Turing, Timothy John Berners-Lee, Bill Gates, Gordon More (of Mores law), Philip Don Estridge, Steve Jobs, John Von Neumann? Charles Babbage: Pioneer of programmable computer. Ada Lovelace: The first computer programmer. Alan Turing: Widely considered as the father of artificial intelligence. Timothy John Berners-Lee: The pioneer and inventor of WWW. Bill Gates: Co-founder of Microsoft. Gordon More: The Mores law predicts the technology advancement in computing industry Philip Don Estridge: Father of IBM PC. Steve Jobs: Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. John Von Neumann: The originator and pioneer of linear programming, self-replicating machines, stochastic computing. Discuss three other current role models within the computer (IT) industry, state why they are considered as role models. Today almost all web page use jQuery. jQuery is the most popular JavaScript library in use today, with installation on 65% of the top 10 million highest-trafficked sites on the Web.John Resig is an American software engineer and entrepreneur, best known as the creator and lead developer of the jQuery JavaScript library.ÂÂ   At the very young age created jQuery and with the noble thought he made as open source. To me he is great role model for his hard work and better example in adding value to the society. Dennis MacAlistair Ritchie (September 9, 1941 c. October 12, 2011) was an American computer scientist.He created the C programming language and, with long-time colleague Ken Thompson, the Unix operating system. He is a legend whose inventions are significant to the modern computing. He added value to the society by contributing to the society. Mark Elliot Zuckerberg: Co-founder of Facebook. To create revolution in the social media world. Individual Questions Find two other professional bodies (not BCS) and compare the aims and mission statements of each. Socitm (Society of Information Technology Management) is the membership association for all ICT professionals working in local authorities and the public and third sectors, and suppliers to those sectors. Socitm provides a widely-respected forum for the promotion, use and development of ICT best practice. The National Computing Centre (NCC) is an independent membership organization for IT professionals and is the single largest and most diverse corporate membership body in the UK IT sector. Comparison Most of the aim and mission of the above two are similar . SOCITM delivers Professional development, Peer support, Policy influence, Research improvement NCC delivers a continuum of services including; independent and impartial advice and support, best practice and standards, personal and professional development, managed service delivery, awareness raising and experience sharing. What do you think is common to all profession bodies? Are some more important than others can you priorities? All professional bodies focus on: Gain new skills, competences, experiences and receive credible recognition. Network, collaborate and share practice with peers, suppliers and national programmes. Representing members at appropriate national and regional bodies. Research to enable the organisation in contributing to more effective and efficient public services. In order to establish priority among the professional bodies it is important to consider its global acceptance and credibility. In my opinion ACM and IEEE based professional bodies may be considered as more important. Week 3 Code of Conduct and Digital Identity Group Discussion Do you feel that it is necessary for all professional bodies to have a code of conduct? Yes, I do feel that it is necessary for all professional bodies to have a code of conduct; because it will serve as a guide for individuals as well as organizations. Adherence to the code of conduct will ensure to collaborate, share best practice, access industry-recognized training, and find the very best work. Is there an argument for all professional bodies to have the same code of conduct? For easy understanding and easy accessible same code of conduct can be developed and implemented. So, it will be easily for working across the globe. However, it is possible to have various separate clauses to support certain interest groups depending on the nature of business. What penalties should be included within a code of conduct? Discuss a range of offences and possible penalties Code of conduct should clearly state minor as well as major penalties. For instance, minor penalty can be imposed on misuse of resources; and a warning letter would be sufficient. However, major penalty such as termination from services should be imposed in case of physical violence and bullying etc. Also, restriction to certain benefits and privileges based on poor work ethics may encourage a professional to improve his/her attitude toward the work. State the type/name of Social Media you use and provide details of the type of information you make available. I use social media to connect with friends, search jobs, latest trends and to keep updates with current affairs. Facebook To connect with friends, relatives, current etc. Even now it is used as a platform to sell things. As a computer student, I explore Facebook as I can to know the feature as it is considered as a powerful tool. From election campaign to product launch started using Facebook. I have given my basic details and made details visible only to close circle. Linkedin -HR people uses LinkedIn to recruit people so I have an account. I have provided my education details and skill set available to all to improve my employability. Twitter To follow the trends and get updates. Does the content you post remain private or is it public?ÂÂ   Do you make conscious decisions between private and public posts? Mostly I share useful blogs and posts which doesnt hurt others so I share publicly. However, service provider has access to my posts even if they are private. Personally, I feel that once you have uploaded something it is already in public domain. Can you recall any of the terms of the agreement to the social media site(s) you are using? Is there a case that the terms of agreement should be written in an easy to understand language? No, I couldnt recall any rules. It will be great if rules are made available in other languages too. Provide an argument for keeping social and professional media separately. This will help us in separating private and professional identities as well as lives of other people. Usually professional media such as linkedin.com is accessed by people with mature attitude towards the uploaded contents. Normally social media space is swarmed by internet trolls and people with non-serious attitude toward personal stuff of other people. I would recommend for keeping the social and professional media separate. Provide some guidelines on how to use Social Media wisely? Use account from secure access (HTTPS). Do not access from public systems. Make sure you log out / sign out after access. Set security and privacy up to an appropriate level. Do not post sensitive information. The lecture slides provided a summary only of the BCS code of conduct, read in detail using the link provided in the lecture, the full BCS code of conduct. Summarise the code of conduct of TWO other professional bodies do not use the codes of conduct covered in the lecture/tutorial. The code of conduct of ACM focuses on positive contribution towards human society.ÂÂ   Moreover, honesty and truthfulness are considered as key attributes of members. Finally, respecting the privacy of others is considered as a must trait for any member. Similarly, no discrimination should be made among members based on their ethnicity is the corner stone of IITPs code of conduct. Furthermore, the code also stresses upon integrity, honesty and dignity in its members. Finally, continuous professional development is also an important aspect of this code. Compare and contrast the BCS code of conduct to (a) above. Commonalities: professionalism, dignity, honest, truthfulness and positive contribution towards human society. Contrast: BCS does not tolerate any kind of fraud and bankruptcy as well it does not allow any kind of conflict of interest. Comment on the theme running through each of the Codes of Conduct Following are the main themes of the code of conduct: Discourage discrimination. Positive contribution. Professionalism. Promoting education and reliable practices. Provide an overview of THREE networking sites that may be used for either social and/or professional networking. (i) Facebook online social media and social networking service based in Menlo Park, California, United States. (ii) Google+: Google+ is an interest-based social network that is owned and operated by Google. (iii)Linkedin: A networking site for educational, business and professional purposes (Linkedin) What are the advantages/disadvantage and possible dangers of using a digital presence? Advantages: Networking and marketing, global reach, following the trend. Disadvantages: Privacy breach, data loss/ corruption and may expose to false message. Week 4 Ethics Group Discussion (a) Are the 10 commandments in computer ethics still relevant today? Do they need to be updated? Eg. Is cyber bulling or grooming covered within the rules? The Ten Commandments are mostly relevant today and should be implemented in true letter and spirit (Virginia Tech). However, some scholars think that they are simplistic and restrictive therefore, they can be updated to handle contemporary and future issues. (i)What are Sallys legal responsibilities? Sallys legal responsibilities are professionalism and honesty. (ii) Does Sally have any legal protection? She should have legal protection by law. In case of any grievances employees usually have access to complaint office or other services that support and guide the grieved employee for the best of his/her interest. (iii) Analyse the Case study in terms of the Golden Rule and Utility Principle. Golden rule demands truthfulness and honesty; therefore, Sally should tell the client the real situation. Since untruthfulness and dishonesty may harm large number of humans; therefore, utility principle also demands that Sally should show the exact picture to the client as well as her boss. Sally should have avoided this situation by informing her boss in advance of the current situation. (iv)ÂÂ   Would your analysis of the ethics of this case change if Sally had been present during her bosss conversation with the client, but had not been asked to agree with his assurances? Golden rule and utility principle demand that Sally should communicate right information to the client and specially the boss. (v) What if the client had asked Sally a question, the honest answer to which would contradict her boss? Honesty and truthfulness are key attributes of a professional. On a human perspective, it is also important that her boss should not feel contradicted in front of the client. But it can be tackled with effective communication like Sally telling a suggesting her views that she doesnt the conversation. (vi) Would your analysis of the ethics of this case change if the software was for stock management rather than the control of machinery, with no threat to human safety? Golden rule and utility principle are not sympathy or application specific. Individual Question Jane downloads a copy of an e-book from an illegal file sharing web site. Analyse the situation in terms of the Golden Rule and Utility Principle from both Janes and the authors point of view. This act of Jane is illegitimate contradicting both the Golden rule and Utility Principle. What conclusions can be drawn? Proper actions should be taken against these illegal websites. The education of Golden rule and utility principle should be more propagated. What sort of difficulties are there in applying the Golden rule and the Utility principle? Selfishness and lack of education are two main barriers in applying the Golden rule and Utility Principle. Week 5 Legal Issues Group Discussion As a professional, to what extent do you feel that you should you be aware of the legal issues surrounding IT? A professional should have theoretical as well some practical knowledge of: Software law, software patents, the Internet, data and security (professional legal ethics). Also to secure Intellectual Property (IP) for clients, an IT professional should be well informed on legal obligations and rights in digital world. Create a list of possible holders of data who may be storing your personal data. Do you have a problem with large organisations selling your data? In todays society, should we have such a thing as personal data (exception banking and medical)? Email service providers. Social and professional networking sites. Google cloud storage systems. Search engines. Bank. Mobile Application providers like play store, iTunes etc. Practically, personal data is taken by almost all the applications when we need to use their facilities. They are received by sign up or register form. Discuss the differences between Shareware, Freeware and open source software. Freeware: The software that is available free-of-cost. Shareware: Some utilities of the software are free-of-cost and others are not. Open source software: Source code is available for reusability and modification purposes. As a first thought, identify and discuss some of the legal issues/problems surrounding cloud computing. Reliable data availability should be provided at all time. Data should be well protected and secured. No data loss or corruption. Availability of data should be insured at all locations. Easy and instant access A professional software developer, working for a software house, has been contracted to developing a software package that involves accessing a companys data base. Who does the software belong to: the contractor, the software house or the company? Explain your answer. The software will belong to the contractor because the contractor has initiated the project and will be bearing all the subsequent costs. Also, the contractor would be legally eligible to sell the software to any third party. Who owns the intellectual property rights of the software: the contractor, the software house or the company? Explain your answer. The intellectual property rights may be owned by the software house solely or jointly with the contractor as laid out in the agreement. What if there is a problem with the software and the database is corrupted, who is responsible? Under the event of any software malfunction the software house will stand responsible. It is the responsibility of the software house to ensure the secure and smooth operation of their product and the contractor pays for this service. Discuss: the term hacking; is there ever a case for Hacking? Is hacking always illegal? Google Hack anonymous Hacking is involved in all forms and types of communications. Phone hackers used to make free phone calls and listen to other people talking on the phone. With the internet hacking has a very wide and large playing field. For IT industry hacking is serious issue and it has caused significant losses to many big corporate e.g. Sony, Microsoft and Intel etc. In simple words any activity that involves unauthorized access or falsely impersonating is termed as hacking. In recent times there are several hacking incidents for example US Korea standoff over the hacking reports of Sony Entertainment and governmental information leaks by Anonymous. The term hacking is normally misunderstood; it is not illegal all the time. For instance, police can do hacking to extract information from dubious computers for the safety and security of common people. Summarise the legal issues associated with developing and hosting a web site. Copyright concerns Domain name concerns Trademark concerns Defamation Linking and framing Summarise the details of the Data Protection Act. The Data Protection Act 1998 provides a framework as well as a benchmark that ensures security of individuals personal data. The misuse or illegal access to someones personal data falls under direct breach of civil liberties. Also it is the responsibility of the company to provide safe and secure data access. Data handling should be under the framework of peoples data protection rights. References http://www.directoryoftheprofessions.co.uk/sites-professions-IT-comp.html http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/professional.html https://www.socitm.net/ http://iacsit.org/ http://www.ncc.co.uk/national-computing-centre/ https://www.iabuk.net/about http://www.bitlaw.com/internet/webpage.html http://wikidiff.com/professional/expert http://www.bcs.org/ http://www.sqa.org.uk/e-learning/ITLaw02CD/page_18.htm

Comparing Light and Growth in A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesm

Light and Growth in A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, both authors use motifs of light and growth within their settings to convey messages about the intrinsic values and potentiality of their characters. A Raisin in the Sun begins with a faint little light, filtering through the kitchen window. It's not much of a light, but it is successfully kindled by Lena Younger to keep her little plant alive and to help sow the seed of human dignity in her children. In Death of a Salesman, the physical light is blocked by the encroaching concrete jungle of New York City and the spiritual light is extinguished by Willy Loman's misguided, illusionary values. Willy and his family are trapped in the tiny shadow cast by his giant illusions and nothing grows in their world.    The opening description of the setting in A Raisin in the Sun states, "The single window for these 'two' rooms is located in the kitchen area. The sole natural light the family may enjoy in the course of a day is only that which fights its way through this little window." This window provides a view to the outside world which Walter Younger seeks to tame. Walter looks out of this window as he smokes his cigarette and comments on the people "running and racing to work." Lena Younger has what is described as a "feeble little plant growing doggedly in a small pot on the windowsill." She worries that "if this little old plant don't get more sun than it's been getting it ain't never going to see spring again." ( Hansberry, 856 ) The light from the window feeds the dogged little plant which Lena says "expresses me." Although they live in a small, cramped apartment... ...erry is saying that to find the pot of gold which lies at the end of a rainbow, man needs food for the soul.       Works Cited and Consulted:    Draper, James P. Black Literature Criticisms. Detroit: Gale Research Incorporated, 1992.    Field, B.S.   "Death of a Salesman" Twentieth Century Literature.   January, 1972. 19-24.   Rpt. in World Literary Criticism.   Ed. Frank Magill.   "Arthur Miller" Detroit: Gale Research, 1992.   2366-2368.    Gunton, Sharon R. Motifs in A Raisin in the Sun. Detroit: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.    Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman,The Heath Introduction to Drama, Fifth Edition. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath and Company, 1996, pp. 731-808.    Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun, The Heath Introduction to Drama, Fifth Edition. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath and Company, 1996, pp. 841-914. Comparing Light and Growth in A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesm Light and Growth in A Raisin in the Sun and Death of a Salesman.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry and Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller, both authors use motifs of light and growth within their settings to convey messages about the intrinsic values and potentiality of their characters. A Raisin in the Sun begins with a faint little light, filtering through the kitchen window. It's not much of a light, but it is successfully kindled by Lena Younger to keep her little plant alive and to help sow the seed of human dignity in her children. In Death of a Salesman, the physical light is blocked by the encroaching concrete jungle of New York City and the spiritual light is extinguished by Willy Loman's misguided, illusionary values. Willy and his family are trapped in the tiny shadow cast by his giant illusions and nothing grows in their world.    The opening description of the setting in A Raisin in the Sun states, "The single window for these 'two' rooms is located in the kitchen area. The sole natural light the family may enjoy in the course of a day is only that which fights its way through this little window." This window provides a view to the outside world which Walter Younger seeks to tame. Walter looks out of this window as he smokes his cigarette and comments on the people "running and racing to work." Lena Younger has what is described as a "feeble little plant growing doggedly in a small pot on the windowsill." She worries that "if this little old plant don't get more sun than it's been getting it ain't never going to see spring again." ( Hansberry, 856 ) The light from the window feeds the dogged little plant which Lena says "expresses me." Although they live in a small, cramped apartment... ...erry is saying that to find the pot of gold which lies at the end of a rainbow, man needs food for the soul.       Works Cited and Consulted:    Draper, James P. Black Literature Criticisms. Detroit: Gale Research Incorporated, 1992.    Field, B.S.   "Death of a Salesman" Twentieth Century Literature.   January, 1972. 19-24.   Rpt. in World Literary Criticism.   Ed. Frank Magill.   "Arthur Miller" Detroit: Gale Research, 1992.   2366-2368.    Gunton, Sharon R. Motifs in A Raisin in the Sun. Detroit: Chelsea House Publishers, 1986.    Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman,The Heath Introduction to Drama, Fifth Edition. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath and Company, 1996, pp. 731-808.    Hansberry, Lorraine. A Raisin in the Sun, The Heath Introduction to Drama, Fifth Edition. Lexington, Mass.: D.C. Heath and Company, 1996, pp. 841-914.

Push and Invisible Man - Nobody Is Truly Invisible Essays -- Push, Inv

Precious and her family members are invisible to the larger world because they don’t posses any skill that enables them to make even the slightest difference in the world. The tests that Precious take show her lack of intelligence and only amplify her inferiority to the people around her. When you’re invisible, nobody treats you with respect; in the beginning of the book, everyone treats Precious like worthless trash. Though, later, she becomes visible again through the people she meets at the alternative school, and the birth of her second baby, Abdul. The two authors, the author of Push and the author of Invisible Man, both use the metaphor of invisibility to describe their main characters, but do so in different ways. In Push, Precious is invisible because of her inferiority to her peers and her lack of education. She struggles to find love and acceptance. However, in Invisible Man, the main character considers himself socially invisible, not being able to have a say in anything he does or any argument, despite the numerous rallies and protests that he performs speeches at. He...

Personal Narrative: How I Became a Writer Essay -- Narrative Essay Wri

I have found becoming a writer every bit as much a process as writing itself. One does not become a writer overnight but over time, and I offer the following stories as examples of some of the steps I have taken in what is proving to be a life-long process. My initiation into writing was typical of the 1960s, when I began receiving a public education at Elementary School. Writing consisted primarily of penmanship, books reports and research papers, all with highly structured formats as designated by the teacher or by the textbooks the teacher used. Our schools days were equally as structured with class time divided by subject, the major ones being English, math, science and history and the minor ones being gym class, art and music. The terms â€Å"interdisciplinary and â€Å"cross-disciplinary† were not included in the vernacular at that time. English was one of the subjects that, for me, floated to top like cream, while history just didn’t churn my butter. I loved reading fiction and even devoured the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation, but I detested dry history books and memorizing names, dates and places. When we were instructed to sit quietly and read our history books, I would hold mine standing straight up on my desk and hunker down with something more interesting hidden inside it, like Jane Eyre. Thus I came to appreciate those large history books. By the time I advanced to junior high, my dislike of history was as well-ingrained as my love of English. It seemed this would be the case for the rest of my life, had it not been for an English teacher at John Marshall Junior High. Although the Great Disciplinary Divide continued, as it would throughout high school, this teacher (whose name I don’t recall) chose to ignore i... ...eloped and taught, â€Å"Integrating Technology in the English Language Arts Classroom,† my syllabus stated that the final project and accompanying paper had to demonstrate a grasp of the theory and practice of integrating new technology. Yet such old standbys as grammar, spelling, punctuation and meeting the deadline counted, too. As an instructor, I want my students to appreciate the craft of writing as a serious art, but I also want them to have fun and feel accomplished doing it. Most of all, I want my students to see that there are endless choices available to them as writers and that at any time they can step from the well-worn path to the less-worn one and back again. Contrary to what Robert Frost says, I think it has been my travels on both kinds that has made the difference, thanks to those teachers who guided me along the way. And I am all the better for that.

Brave Incident Essay

High School Fight I went to high school in Vietnam; my cousin who I call brother went to the same high school with me. The high school I attended was also the school that many gang members attended. Those gang members always abused other students and took their lunch money as well as many of their valuables such as their wallets, cell phone and laptops. Our school principal always tried to inform the police about this behavior, but unfortunately that did not help. One day my class mate ran into the lass room where I was spending my break, since I did not like to hang out in the play ground because of the gang members that were there, and he told me that my cousin was being harassed by a couple of those gang members and that they threatened to beat him to death if he does not give them all his money. My cousin was very stubborn much more like Victoriano. The two gang members had my cousin against the wall and were trying to steal his wallet and belonging while he fought hem as much as he could. I had nothing on my mind at that moment but to save my cousin and help him run away from those gang members. I looked for small pieces or rocks and a wooden stick and immediately ran towards my cousin screaming loudly so that I can distract them from him. As I started throwing the rocks on them they let go of my cousin and paid attention to where I was heading which was directly towards them. I screamed loudly telling my cousin to run away and go to the rincipal’s office Just like when Dona Guadalupe told her cousin â€Å"l am not cutting you free so you can be brave and get killed. I want you running so you can live† I wanted my cousin to run and not try to fight the gang members when they let go of him. My cousin ran to the principal’s office while I threw the stick of wood towards them. I immediately changed my direction and ran towards the principal’s office as well. The Principal called the police and they arrested the gang members and I was able to save my cousin after all.

Benchmarking in Islamic Finance: Issues and Challenges Essay

In Islam, fixing the price of commodities is not allowed as the increase of the price is caused by practice of supply and demand in the market. Hence in this case, benchmarking for the products is not allowed. It is can be reflected from of the Hadith of Prophet Muhammad S. A. W. Narrated by Anas Ibn Malik, â€Å"The people said: Apostle of Allah, prices has shot up, so fix prices for us. Thereupon the Apostle of Allah (PBUH) said: â€Å"Verily, Allah S. W. T. determines the climate of economic affluence and gloom. I do not want to take any action to fix the prices because I do not want, later in hereafter, any among you to demand for the return of your property and blood from me because of my tyranny (in fixing the prices). † In the above hadith, the practice of fixing price is clearly condemned by Prophet Muhammad S. A. W. The Prophet S. A. W declared the act of fixing price as injustice towards the seller if the price is fluctuated due to the normal market forces. But the second school of taught disagree with not fixing the price. They argued that the fluctuation in the price of commodities at the time of Prophet Muhammad S.  A. W was due the normal market forces i. e. supply and demand of the commodity in the market. But nowadays the prices fluctuate more due to seller’s speculation rather than supply and demand of the product. In this case the price of the commodities should be fixed by the authorities. Hence benchmarking in this case is allowable by the Scholars. In financial industry, several different methods of pricing business loans have appeared over the years including cost-plus loan pricing, price leadership loan pricing, below-prime loan pricing, and costumer profitability analysis. Many business loans today are priced directly of money market interest rates, with narrow profit margins reflecting intense competition for the best business customers. Some of the profit/interest rates used in the market is as follows: (1) Overnight Policy Rate (OPR); (2) London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR); (3) Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rate (KLIBOR); (4) Cost of fund (COF); and (5) Base Financing/Lending Rate (BFR/BLR). Issues: Islamic Finance has been established to save Muslim world from the effects of Riba. But the problem that has been seen is the benchmarking system of Conventional Banking practiced by Islamic Banks. Islamic Finance that has been mentioned by some authors as â€Å"Ethical Finance† which is the system of justice for the community and free from Riba, gharar and Mysir cannot practice the conventional benchmarking for its products. It has also been known that Islamic Finance deals in assets backed financing rather than debt based financing. Hence a proper Islamic based benchmarking system needs to be developed and implemented to overcome the issue of using conventional benchmarking for Islamic banking products. According to Sheikh Taqi Usmani, Islamic banks and financial institutions should get rid of such practice as soon as possible. He argued that using interest rate as a benchmark for halal products is not desirable and it does not reflect the basic philosophy of Islamic economy and hence making no impact on the system of distribution. It is also been said that the current benchmarking system does not make IFIs products haram. According to Taqi Usmani, ‘’If all the pillars of sale is valid from Shariah point of view, just mere use of interest rate as a benchmark cannot invalidate whole sale’’. According to Sheikh Yusuf DeLorenzo (2009) ’A benchmark is no more than a number, and therefore non-objectionable from a Shariah perspective. If it is used to determine the rate of repayment on a loan, then it is the interest bearing loan that will be haram. LIBOR as a mere benchmark has nothing to do with actual transaction or more specifically with the creation of revenue or return’’. Alternative Models for Islamic Benchmarking: There are different models being suggest by the scholars such as Rate of Profit Mechanism Model proposed by Abd al Hamed al-Ghazalie According to him, this can be achieved by analyzing the rate of profits in the money market. He proposes that it is a more rational way that promotes justice for all and fits the nature of economics. â€Å"According to Sheikh Muhammad Taqi Usmani, the purpose can be achieved by creating a common pool which invests in asset-backed instruments like musharakah, ijarah, etc. If the majority of the assets pool is in tangible form, like leased property or equipment and shares in business concerns etc, its units can be sold and purchased on the basis of their net asset value determined on periodical basis. These units ay be negotiable and may be used for overnight financing as well. Banks having surplus liquidity can purchase these units and when they need liquidity, they can sell them. This arrangement may create inter-bank market and the value of the units may serve as an indicator for determining the profit in murabahah and leasing also. † Another model is presented by Dr. Aznan Hassan. According to him there should be different OPR for Islamic Banks that should be develo ped by Bank Negara Malaysia. But it can create the problem of hedging. If the conventional market rate is more favourable people will go for it and if the market rate of Islamic market is better people will opt for it. In the end the conventional market will be on safe side as the Islamic market is very small and the rate will tend to be higher as compare to conventional market. There are few others model that were suggested by the scholars such as Tobin’s Q Theory and Rate of Dividend of Islamic Bank Deposits and Investment Accounts Model etc that also gives the alternative ways of Islamic benchmarking. These models sounds good in theory but the problems can only be realized if such systems are implemented. Discussion/Conclusion: Some scholars argued that the conventional benchmarking is still allowed and it does not make the transaction haram. But IFIs still benchmark their products based on conventional loans. Profit rates are then decided on the bases of this benchmarking. Hence it is considered as back door to riba. Copying non Muslims is prohibited by the Prophet Muhammad S. A. W. It can be reflected for the Hadith, Narrated by al-Bukhaari (1865) from Ibn „Abbaas, who said: „? The Prophet (saws) came to Madinah and saw the Jews fasting on the day of Ashoora. He said, â€Å"What is this? † They said, â€Å"This is a good day, this is the day when Allah saved the Children of Israel from their enemy and Moosa fasted on this day. † He (the Prophet Muhammad) said, â€Å"We are closer to Moosa than you. † Hence the Prophet S. A. W fasted on this day and told the people to fast. This is the Sunnah that is proven from the prophet S. A. W, as he said, â€Å"If I am still alive next year, I will certainly fast the ninth (Narrated by Muslim, 1134). So to differentiate from jews, Prophet S. A. W recommended fasting on both 9th and 10th of Muharram. Similarly, riba is the practice of non Muslims hence it should not be benchmarked. Every Islamic Financial transaction should be different than what is nowadays practiced in the market. Although different models have been proposed by the scholars but the problem lies in implementing it. Such practices are going on from the long time but there is no one to step forward for implementing such system. It is because such system cannot work under capitalistic economic system as dual benchmarking will give rise to hedging and IFIs will suffer from it. Secondly, Islamic economy is based on real economy hence the risk is higher which will lead to higher Islamic benchmark rate as compare to conventional counterparts. Hence borrowers will prefer conventional system for loaning as compare to IFIs because interest rate charged by the conventional financial institutes will be less as compare to IFIs. Islamic benchmarking system can be failed under current economic system because the current economic system principles are different than Islamic economics principles. There could be no other solution but to shift from current economic system to Islamic economic system. It can only be possible if the entire Muslim countries unite and work on serious course for implementing Islamic economic system in Muslim community. After implementation of Islamic economic system, Islamic benchmarking will be possible and could be used by both conventional and Islamic financial institutes.

Human Anatomy Essay

1.Dependent Variable: plasma levels of glucose, ketones, insulin, and glucagon 2.Independent Variable: food and beverage intake 3.Controlled Variables: physical activity, caffeine and alcohol intake, gender, age, BMI 4.Why were physical activity and caffeine and alcohol intake the controlled variables? 5.What type of assay was used to measure plasma glucose and ketone levels? 6.What type of assay was used to measure plasma insulin and glucagon levels? 1.When was plasma glucose concentration highest? If values are similar for several time points (within a few points of each other), then give range of times when plasma glucose concentration was highest. 2.When was plasma glucose concentration lowest? If values are similar for several time points, then give range of times when plasma glucose concentration was lowest. 3.When was plasma ketone concentration highest? If values are similar for several time points, then give range of times when plasma ketone concentration was highest. 4.When was plasma ketone concentration lowest? If values are similar for several time points, then give range of times when plasma ketone concentration was lowest. 1.When was plasma insulin concentration highest? If values are similar for several time points, then give range of times when plasma insulin concentration was highest. 2.When was plasma insulin concentration lowest? If values are similar for several time points, then give range of times when plasma insulin concentration was lowest. 3.When was plasma glucagon concentration highest? If values are similar for  several time points, then give range of times when plasma glucagon concentration was highest. 4.When was plasma glucagon concentration lowest? If values are similar for several time points, then give range of times when plasma glucagon concentration was lowest. 5.When was plasma insulin/glucagon concentration highest? If values are similar for several time points, then give range of times when plasma insulin/glucagon concentration was highest. 6.When was plasma insulin/glucagon concentration lowest? If values are similar for several time points, then give range of times when plasma insulin/glucagon concentration was lowest. Discussion 1.Explain how insulin changed plasma glucose concentration over the course of the experiment. 2.Explain how glucagon changed plasma glucose concentration over the course of the experiment. 3.Explain what caused the change in plasma ketone concentration over the course of the experiment. 4.Explain how negative feedback caused the changes in plasma insulin concentration observed during the experiment. 5.Explain how negative feedback caused the changes in plasma glucagon concentration observed during the experiment. 6.The insulin/glucagon ratio changed over the course of the experiment indicating changes in glucose storage and changes in ability to increase blood glucose concentration via glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. State  when glucose storage capability was highest and why. 7.State when glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis were highest and why. 8.Explain how a high blood ketone level helps the body conserve blood glucose. It means that you body is capable of burning a significant amount of fat and you can dispel it in your urine.Most people rely on glucose in the blood for energy. Insulin is a hormone that takes up glucose into cells where it can be burned or stored for later use. 9.Restate your predictions that were correct and give the data from your experiment that supports them. Restate your predictions that were not correct and correct them, giving the data from your experiment that supports the correction. Application 1.During exercise, epinephrine and norepinephrine are released from the adrenal medulla. Epinephrine and norepinephrine have the same effect on plasma glucose levels as glucagon. Explain how epinephrine and norepinephrine affect plasma glucose and why this is important during exercise. 2.The symptoms of diabetes mellitus include high plasma glucose levels and ketoacidosis (blood pH decreases due to increasing levels of ketones). Explain how diabetes causes these symptoms.

Brazil World Cup

The relationship between the FIFFA president Sepp Blatter and Brazil president Dilma Rousseff has been rocky, especially when the realization hit that Brazil is facing some alarming delays when it comes to the hosting of the 2014 world cup. Jerome Valcke (the general secretary of FIFFA) however has not helped to improve the overall relationship between not only Brazil and Blatter, but had made conflict, mostly initialized threw messages, envelope. The FIFFA president had asked for talks with Rousseff concerning the collapse of the relationship of organization and the world cup of 2014 hosts.The troubled partnership hit an all-time low at the weekend following Valcke’s criticism towards the hosts. The majority of the conflict that Valcke had made clear rather rudely, was focusing on the delays and the trouble it has a possibility to cause. An exert of the message includes â€Å"to push yourself, kick your arse and just deliver this World Cup†. The Brazilian government re sponded by saying they no longer desired to work with him, causing a stronger tension that came to the point of almost breaking the alliance they non-formally had.On Tuesday March 6 2012 ( 48 hours after his comments ) Valcke issued an apology followed up by another apology from Blatter that made clear his disapproval of Valcke’s words but also made clear that indeed time is running out. Blatter's letter states: â€Å"Please allow me to express my deepest regret for the present situation. I am gravely concerned about the deterioration in the relationship between FIFFA and the Brazilian government, a relationship that has always been characterized by mutual respect. He also includes: â€Å"Brazil deserves to host the World Cup and the entire world is looking forward to it. However, the sands of time have been running since 2007. † Brazil chose to accept the apology and at the current time FIFFA and Brazil our working to meet the deadlines of the world cup in time, and in peace.Bibliography Sepp Blatter Requests Talks with Brazilian President. † The Independent. Independent Digital News and Media, n. d. Web. 04 Nov. 2012. <http://www. independent. co. uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/sepp-blatter-requests-talks-with-brazilian-president-7543288. html>.

The Psychological Context of Bystanders Apathy Case Study

The Psychological Context of Bystanders Apathy - Case Study Example The major point of the discussions was the behavior the witnesses showed during such a terrible incident. But questions arise in the psychological context as to how these witnesses perceived the scenes (the cognitive aspect), what are their behaviors in response to what they saw (behaviorist point of view), and what was the reasons for such behaviors (the psychodynamics). In the cognitive viewpoint, Hofstetter (1997) mentioned that the reaction of human beings on a certain event is based on perception, thought, and memory. In this case, the witnesses were looking at the event individually and each one just saw a portion of the event. Judgment on what was currently seen would be based on past events or similar and relevant events. This means that the reaction was based on what had been learned from the past. Since most of the witnesses did not actually saw the brutal part of stabbing, or as one witness analyzed was hitting, they considered it a kind of lover’s quarrel that has no cause for alarm. Only the witnesses that saw the harsh part reacted by shouting and calling the police. The reaction was based on available information and not a show of unconcern. In a psychodynamic point, granting the witnesses really perceived the event unfolding in their eyes was a murder, whether they saw it in part or in whole, the reaction was a result of the feelings not to be involved. Getting involved in such an event would complicate things and therefore being silent means getting away from any responsibilities and burden. There are emotional connections with the decisions not to be involved. It can be fear, anxiety, fatigue, or other factors. This type of bystander’s reactions to a situation differs when they are in a group than when they saw it individually (Silk, 2005)

Write a critique on Jib Fowles article, Advertising's Fifteen Basic Essay

Write a critique on Jib Fowles article, Advertising's Fifteen Basic Appeals - Essay Example gh his essay â€Å"Advertisings Fifteen Basic Appeals† has given the information about the emotional appeals that advertisers use to make the consumer buy the products, and hence making us consumers smart enough not to become a prey to their gimmicks. His effort is to make us aware about the visual gimmicks that are being used to make us believe in certain things that are not true. Fowles has done a great job by giving us examples of different advertisements and talking about the different emotional and subconscious drives they are trying to appeal to. The essay is sort of good as far as information goes, however, I personally think that it has missed the essence by not mentioning the word ‘mental association’ and by downplaying the importance of sex in the advertisements. Let us understand one thing, right from the advertisements of the bikes, shaving blades, medicines, cosmetics and laptops, sex plays a huge part. Maybe not directly, but certainly indirectly. If a medicine commercial says that it keeps you young, it certainly gives you an idea of biological pleasures of remaining young and sex is one of the pleasures. The Pepsi commercial can make a person to buy a cold drink not because he likes the cold drink but by ‘arousing’ him and mentally associating him with Michael Jackson [2] . The Honda commercial, in flat one minute thirty seconds, pumps up the adrenaline and in the end makes you believe that owning a Honda is to experience the power of dreams [3] . Through the power of music, speed, victory and success, this commercial takes you to the peak of your feelings and arouses you to believe in the story. No matter what product is being advertised, sex plays a major

CANNIBALISM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CANNIBALISM - Essay Example In two fascinating articles on the subject, Billman, et al, and Dongoske, et al, explore these questions. In Billman's article, the archaeologists explored a site in Colorado, dating from about one thousand years ago. The authors describe the sites in detail and provide maps. A number of items were uncovered including tools. But the main discoveries are a number of disarticulated human bones consistent with the practice of cannibalization. A human coprolite also suggested that the people at the site had been consuming human flesh. The authors are careful to distinguish between different types of cannibalism. They carefully describe both: [I]n situ floor deposit sites and secondary deposit sites, might represent victim and perpetrator communities. At victim sites, villagers were killed, processed, and probably at least partially consumed. At perpetrator sites, captives and body parts would have been brought back, consumed, and then disposed of in a manner similar to routine food refus e. If in situ deposit sites and secondary deposit sites do represent victim and perpetrator sites, then high ratio of victim to perpetrator sites (8 to 1) in the Mesa Verde region suggests that cannibalism never became a multigenerational and institutionalized practice (Billman, et al, 2000).

(Part of a Business Project ) -Market Analysis- On a Product- Essay

(Part of a Business Project ) -Market Analysis- On a Product- - Essay Example Just as organic foods are becoming more and more popular this market analysis will show a direction of market growth for organic toys for mothers and children. ITS toys will be safe for toddlers to put in their mouths and the dyes and paints, made from organic materials that are childproof. Poisoning of from our toys will not be an issue from our company. This will get rid of the problem of consist recalls done other toy manufactures. The supply of our toys will come from vendors that use only the organic brand of paints and dyes. Our company needs to describe our organization that is totally customer oriented. We want our customers to know they are coming into a store that is child friendly and mom friendly. We do not want to describe our customer orientation in terms of whether it views customer relationships as long or short term. Customers will buy the benefits our toys and products provide to the customers every day. A checklist will be at our service counter and we will ask eve ry customer to fill one out when leaving the store. (1). Are we easy to do business with? Are we easy to contact? Is our information we provide fast and courteous. Are we easy to order from? Do we make reasonable promises? (2). Do we keep our promises? On product performance to, do we deliver. Did you get good service from our staff? Do you feel our staff members were helpful? (3). Do we meet the standards we set? When you asked specific questions were they answered? How was the general tone in the store? (4). Are we responsive? Do we listen? Do we follow up? Do we ask "Why not and why"? Do we treat customers as individual companies and individual people? (5). Do we work together? Do we share blame? Do we share information? Do we make joint decision? Do we provide satisfaction? (Shapiro, 13) 1. Market Segmentation for individuals and businesses Individuals: this segment is people buying a single product for their child or someone that they know. The demographics for this segment are a household income of >$50,000, have high aspirations for their children in terms of education and development and want to get started as soon as possible. Generally, they have at least an undergraduate degree with 41% of the segment having a graduate degree. Businesses: this group is buying the toys for children who are the business' clients. These organizations typically are either day care based, or school based such as nursery school or pre- school. The number of children that they care for generally ranges from seven to 25. 2. Growth rates for toys The United Stated census bureau took a wide range of products including toys and stated they increased 2.6% over the previous year. In May of 2010, LEGO came to Boston for a competition regarding there long and successful toy history. The Danish toy company LEGO sailed through the recession. The company that makes those brightly colored snap-together plastic bricks announced its profits last year jumped more than 60 percent. LEGO's success is all the more remarkable when you consider that just a few years ago, the toy company was falling apart (David, 112). II. Target Market Market segmentation is an intuitively appealing process and it makes a great deal of sense to try to find different segments of the market that are more interested in our toy product or to develop products for other segments. Given the myriad ways of segmenting markets, the task of determining which segments

Defamation of Character Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Defamation of Character - Essay Example To cite an example of a â€Å"libel† or defamation case, let us look at the $100 million defamation lawsuit filed by a well-known Hollywood actor Tom Cruise against a pornography actor Chad Slater who uses stage name Kyle Bradford. (NDTV.com 2003).   Slater allegedly claimed he had a gay affair with Cruise that broke up Cruise's marriage (Digital Journal 2001).   According to the lawsuit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Slater told the French magazine Actustar that â€Å"he had a continuing homosexual relationship during Cruise’s marriage and that the relationship was discovered by Nicole Kidman, who ended the relationship†.   With this allegations, a per se defamation, it caused damage to the plaintiff or Cruise.   The defender, in the person of Slater, issued false statements in the effect that Cruise committed immoral turpitude. The lawsuit claimed that ``Cruise is not and never has been a homosexual'' and ``does not even know Slater†.   Sl ater defaulted the $100 million by claiming that he never met Cruise and said that "I hope by defaulting, Cruise will finally get what he is after and I can finally start to put my life back in order,'' (NDTV.com 2003).   The default motion did not indicated that Slater admitted to wrongdoing, but was an acknowledgment that he did not have the money to fight the lawsuit and would not contest it, causing Tom Cruise to win a $10 million defamation judgment, and clearing his name in the public eye.

Peyton Budget and Analyzing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Peyton Budget and Analyzing - Assignment Example The sales budget for Peyton Approved shows that the company forecasts sales to be $1,080,000 for the quarter ending September 2015. To cover the sales and the required ending inventory, the company needs to produce 60,000 units. That would require 27,380 units of raw material at a cost of $212,195. The total labor requirement is 30,000 hours at a cost of $480,000. While the budget estimate for direct material for the period is 36,320 units, the actual amount of direct labor is 31,000 units. The budgeted price per unit of direct material is $7.75. It is also the actual price. Given the difference is only on the number of units of direct material, the direct material price variance is zero. As for the direct material efficiency variance, the company records a favorable efficiency variance of $41,230. That gives a favorable total material variance of $41,230. There was no material price variance as the budget price and the actual price were the same. As for the favorable efficiency variance, there may have been several causes. As the actual production shows, there was less direct material usage than the budget estimates. That may have been a result of efficiency in utilizing material in the production process. The procurement process may also have contributed to the favorable efficiency variance. Where there is purchase of high quality material, there would probably be no wastage and the production may use up less material than the estimates (Nobles, Mattison and Matsumura, 2014).

Reflections Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflections - Assignment Example Personally, I agree with Lewis’s saying that the ultimate price that we pay for losing those we love is pain and grief (Tesiik, 2001). I saw my mother, G.M struggling with the pain of losing my stepfather. Thus, she was paying a price for the commitment and love that she accorded my stepfather. Connection to saying. The saying relates well to the scenario of my mother, G.M. As pointed by Lewis, one can go through a series of pain if she loses the object of her love. G.M was indeed in deep love with my stepfather. She went through series of pain and episodes of depression attributable to cognitive response. As a result, she is suffering from Alzheimer and Parkinson’s diseases. Description of manifestations of grief. Grief manifests itself in four different ways including feelings, physical sensations, cognitions, and behaviors. Feelings are often diverse and take different turns (De Magalhà £es, 2009). Sadness is a feeling that many individuals experience after losing the persons that they love or have a close attachment. My mother, G.M experienced this when she lost my stepfather. Individuals often demonstrate sadness by crying. Crying is a gesture that arouses a protective or sympathetic reaction from other individuals. Complicated grief may result if individuals fail to express sadness with or without the accompaniment of tears. I felt sad when I watched G.M writhing in pain. Anxiety is a common feeling that relates to the loss and it often originates from the fear that the bereaved may not be in a position to take care of themselves. There are different ranges of anxiety and can extend from mild to extreme forms of panic attacks. Grief also manifests itself through cognition (Amella, 2004). In most cases, a cognitive response often occurs after an individual develops varied feelings. As I have outlined above, my mother G.M experienced different feelings of sadness, and anxiety after the loss of my stepfather. It is through this happening that I

So Much to Tell You by John Marsden Essay Example for Free

So Much to Tell You by John Marsden Essay How does the composer, John Marsden, use a variety of techniques to reveal the struggle involved in Marina’s journey towards wholeness? The novel, ‘So Much to Tell You’ by John Marsden explores the concept of growth and change through the character, Marina, and her struggle to become whole. Throughout the course of the book, Marina develops from someone who is so psychologically wounded that she is unable to engage with members of her community, to someone who experiences healing and demonstrates the capacity to reach out to others. The contrast of Marina’s character from the beginning of the novel to the end portrays her development during her journey to heal. The composer uses techniques to convey Marina’s growth and change throughout the novel. In the early stages of the novel, it is evident that Marina has an extremely wounded psyche due to conflict within her family. This leads to her having a resultant lack of spiritual wholeness, which she continually struggles with to heal. The damaged nature of her psyche is highlighted in the recount of Marina â€Å"Looking at the fragmented stars† on Ann’s doona and Ann’s dialogue, â€Å"They do fit together† foreshadows the ultimate reintegration of Marina’s psychological health. When Marina describes her â€Å"grey school blankets† which are sombre, lifeless and boring, even though there is an underlying tone of yearning, she is ultimately characterising herself as boring and lifeless also. Throughout Marina’s journey to wholeness we see many stages of struggle and conflict, and many of these struggles originate from Marina’s own lack of self-worth and her diminished ability (in the early stages of the novel) to communicate. This fearfulness of communication is conveyed through the rhetorical question she uses when she refers to the possibility of her teacher reading her journal: â€Å"What if he reads them? If he doesn’t keep his promise†¦I am lost. In this particular quote the metaphorical use of the word ‘lost’ highlights her fear of engagement with others and indicates that fear is an obstacle she has to overcome if she is to heal, grow and adjust to the way her life is changing and continue on her journey to wholeness. Marina’s struggle with communication and continued lack of wholeness is very present when Marina refers to her tennis practice: â€Å"I sat under a tree and watched†¦watched all the tennis players†. This description of Marina passively watching a tennis game, rather than actively participating in the game, symbolizes her inability to participate in life and also acts as a ontrast between the warm interactions displayed by the other girls and the social isolation Marina feels. This particular incident highlights the psychological damage that has taken place in Marina as there is a contrast between her present inaction and her recount of her past involvement in the lines, â€Å"In primary school, I played sport a lot and was quite good at it†¦I beat the other girls by miles†. Marina is characterised as steadily accepting awareness of the fact that other girls also struggle psychological problems and this moves her further along the path towards wholeness. Marina’s intense reflective tone in the lines, â€Å"It didn’t occur to me that there might be other people who are feeling really bad. Little dark islands floating in the shadows of the school† captures her recognition that other people also feel socially isolated. This recognition is suggested through the metaphor of the â€Å"little dark islands† which is intratextually connected with Marina’s use of an implied metaphor of an island to describe her own state of mine at the beginning of the novel: â€Å"the words break over my desk in soft waves†. Paradoxically Marina’s realisation that other people also feel isolated helps to make her feel less isolated. Marina’s relationship with her father is a major struggle that she has to face on her journey towards wholeness. Marina’s description of her father as a poisonous presence and the use of a descriptive simile in the line ‘like a radioactive cloud’ represents him as toxic and dangerous, but this is contradicted when she shows a glimmer of empathy in the question, â€Å"What’s it like where he is? †. This continued emotional uncertainty of Marina’s as she vainly attempts to clarify whether she loves or hates her father, is a major theme running through the novel and the evolution of her relationship with her father is crucial to her personal growth. Through the progression of highly emotional journal entries, we begin to learn that solely, Marina feels guilty for putting her father in jail. When she makes the comparison between scared and scarred: â€Å"I just realised how alike those words are† we learn that under all her barriers she is still scarred emotionally because of her father’s â€Å"brooding, quiet and ugly silences†. When Marina states that it is â€Å"really important to know whether he hates me or not† we realise that in every way she is imprisoned by the unknown presence in her mind, which is her father. We can acknowledge affirmation of this when she â€Å"draws stripes, which aren’t stripes at all, but are bars, prison bars† on the sand and can understand it as a symbol of Marina being trapped by vestiges of mistrust, fear and self-deprecation. When Marina arrived at Warrington she didn’t speak. However, as she progressively begins to address her struggles she becomes more accustomed to expressing herself in her journal and soon finds her â€Å"voice†. It is through her journal that she initially allows herself to express her pain, release her deepest thoughts and continue on her journey to wholeness. When Marina gives Cathy a flower: â€Å"I nearly backed out, but I didn’t. I placed it on her bed†, it was the first time Marina had reached out physically towards someone. This is a signpost of her mental health and is the first physical sign of her breaking down her self-imposed barrier. In expansion of Marina growing in health, the weekend at Mr Lindell’s, when Marina â€Å"picks up the ball and throws it back†, she visibly interacts with others and shows signs of progression on her journey towards wholeness. When Marina expresses that she â€Å"scored the wrong family† she discovers that not all families are destructive and this allows her to release her initial complete hatred towards all relationships. When Marina says that she wants her father to â€Å"hold her and forgive her† she shows stark contrast to her original aversion to close proximity at the beginning of the novel. Her motivation to meet her father grows greater day by day and it eventually is much greater than her fear. She expresses anxiety in the lines, â€Å"I keep imagining him seeing me and then his face going cold and hard† but soon disregards this and continues on her path towards wholeness as she states that she gets â€Å"courage† when she reads his letter. Once Marina begins to accept and let her father back into her mind, she begins to travel in great leaps along her journey to wholeness. At the end of the novel, the intense moment between Marina and her father (so much so that the â€Å"air was swollen†) releases Marina from her internal prison, and allows her to speak to her father and say: â€Å"I’ve got so much to tell you†.