Bloodlines Chapter Eight

â€Å"ARE YOU GOING TO EAT THAT?† asked Eddie. Eddie might not have known about all the shenanigans that went down with Jill on the first day of school, but not seeing her all day had unnerved him. So, when she and I came downstairs for the second day, we found him waiting in our dorm lobby, ready to go with us to breakfast. I pushed my plate and its half a bagel across the table. He'd already polished off a bagel of his own, as well as pancakes and bacon, but was quick to accept my offering. Maybe he was an unnatural hybrid creature, but from what I could tell, his appetite was the same as any human teenage guy. â€Å"How are you feeling?† he asked Jill, once he'd swallowed a mouthful of bagel. Since he'd eventually hear she hadn't been in class, we'd simply told Eddie that Jill had been sick from nerves yesterday. The hangover allegations still infuriated me, but Jill insisted on letting them go. â€Å"Fine,† she said. â€Å"A lot better.† I didn't comment on that but secretly had my doubts. Jill did look better this morning, but she'd hardly had a solid night's sleep. In fact, she'd woken in the middle of the night, screaming. I'd leapt out of my bed, expecting no less than a hundred Strigoi or Moroi assassins to come bursting through our window. But when I'd looked over, there'd only been Jill, thrashing and screaming in her sleep. I'd hurried over and finally woken her up with some difficulty. She'd sat up gasping, drenched in sweat, and clutching her chest. Once she'd calmed down, she'd told me it was only a nightmare, but there'd been something in her eyes†¦ the echo of something real. I knew because it reminded me of the many times I'd woken up thinking the Alchemists were coming to take me to the re-education centers. She'd insisted she was fine, and when morning came, the only acknowledgment she gave of her nightmare was to insist that we not mention it to Eddie. â€Å"It's only going to worry him,† she said. â€Å"And besides, it's not a big deal.† I conceded that point, but when I tried to ask what had happened, she brushed me off and wouldn't talk about it. Now, at breakfast, there was a definite edge to her, but for all I knew, it had more to do with finally facing her first day in a human school. â€Å"I still can't get over how different I am from everyone,† she said in a low voice. â€Å"I mean, for one thing, I'm taller than almost every girl here!† It was true. It wasn't uncommon for Moroi women to push six feet in height. Jill wasn't quite there, but her long, slim build gave the illusion of being taller than she was. â€Å"And I'm really bony.† â€Å"You are not,† I said. â€Å"I'm too skinny – compared to them,† Jill argued. â€Å"Everyone's got something,† countered Eddie. â€Å"That girl over there has a ton of freckles. That guy shaved his head. There's no such thing as ‘normal.'† Jill still looked dubious but doggedly went off to class when the first warning bell rang, promising to meet Eddie for lunch and me in PE. I made it to my history class a few minutes early. Ms. Terwilliger stood at her desk, shuffling some papers around, and I hesitantly approached. â€Å"Ma'am?† She glanced up at me, pushing her glasses up her nose as she did. â€Å"Hmm? Oh, I remember you. Miss Melbourne.† â€Å"Melrose,† I corrected. â€Å"Are you sure? I could've sworn you were named after someplace in Australia.† â€Å"Well, my first name is Sydney,† I said, not sure if I should be encouraging her. â€Å"Ah. Then I'm not crazy. Not yet, at least. What can I do for you, Miss Melrose?† â€Å"I wanted to ask you†¦ well, you see, I have a gap in my schedule because I passed out of the language requirement. I wondered if maybe you needed another teacher aide†¦ like Trey.† The aforementioned Trey was already there, sitting at a desk allotted to him and collating papers. He glanced up at the mention of his name and eyed me warily. â€Å"It's last period, ma'am. So, if there was any extra work you needed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Her eyes studied me for several moments before she answered. I'd made sure to cover up my tattoo today, but it felt like she was staring right through to it. â€Å"I don't need another teacher aide,† she said bluntly. Trey smirked. â€Å"Mr. Juarez, despite his many limitations, is more than capable of sorting all my stacks of paper.† His smirk disappeared at the backhanded compliment. I nodded and started to turn away, disappointed. â€Å"Okay. I understand.† â€Å"No, no. I don't think you do. You see, I'm writing a book.† She paused, and I realized she was waiting for me to look impressed. â€Å"On heretical religion and magic in the Greco-Roman world. I've lectured on it at Carlton College before. Fascinating subject.† Trey stifled a cough. â€Å"Now, I could really use a research assistant to help me track down certain information, run errands for me, that sort of thing. Would you be interested in that?† I gaped. â€Å"Yes, ma'am. I would be.† â€Å"For you to get credit for an independent study, you'd have to do some project alongside it†¦ research and a paper of your own. Not nearly the length of my book, of course. Is there anything from that era that interests you?† â€Å"Er, yes.† I could hardly believe it. â€Å"Classical art and architecture. I'd love to study it more.† Now she looked impressed. â€Å"Really? Then it seems we're a perfect match. Or, well, nearly. Pity you don't know Latin.† â€Å"Well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I averted my eyes. â€Å"I, um, actually†¦ I can read Latin.† I dared a glance back at her. Rather than impressed, she mostly looked stunned. â€Å"Well, then. How about that.† She gave a rueful head shake. â€Å"I'm afraid to ask about Greek.† The bell rang. â€Å"Go ahead and take your seat, then come find me at the end of the day. Last period is also my planning period, so we'll have plenty of time to talk and fill out the appropriate paperwork.† I returned to my desk and received an approving fist bump from Eddie. â€Å"Nice work. You don't have to take a real class. Of course, if she's got you reading Latin, maybe it'll be worse than a real class.† â€Å"I like Latin,† I said with absolute seriousness. â€Å"It's fun.† Eddie shook his head and said in a very, very low voice: â€Å"I can't believe you think we're the strange ones.† Trey's comments for me in my next class were less complimentary. â€Å"Wow, you sure have Terwilliger wrapped around your finger.† He nodded toward our chemistry instructor. â€Å"Are you going to go tell her that you split atoms in your free time? Do you have a reactor back in your room?† â€Å"There's nothing wrong with – † I cut myself off, unsure what to say. I'd nearly said â€Å"being smart,† but that sounded egotistical. â€Å"There's nothing wrong with knowing things,† I said at last. â€Å"Sure,† he agreed. â€Å"When it's legitimate knowledge.† I remembered the crazy conversation with Kristin and Julia yesterday. Because I'd had to take Jill to Adrian, I'd missed the study session and couldn't follow up on my tattoo questions. Still, I at least now knew where Trey's disdain was coming from – even though it seemed absurd. No one else at school had specifically mentioned my tattoo being special, but a number of people had approached me already, asking where I'd gotten it. They'd been disappointed when I said South Dakota. â€Å"Look, I don't know where this idea's coming from about my tattoo making me smart, but if that's what you think, well†¦ don't. It's just a tattoo.† â€Å"It's gold,† he argued. â€Å"So?† I asked. â€Å"It's just special ink. I don't get why people would believe it has some mystical properties. Who believes in that stuff?† He snorted. â€Å"Half this school does. How are you so smart, then?† Was I really that much of a freak when it came to academics that people had to turn to supernatural explanations? I went with my stock answer. â€Å"I was homeschooled.† â€Å"Oh,† said Trey thoughtfully. â€Å"That would explain it.† I sighed. â€Å"I bet your homeschooling didn't do much in the way of PE, though,† he added. â€Å"What are you going to do about your sport requirement?† â€Å"I don't know; I hadn't thought about it,† I said, feeling a little uneasy. I could handle Amberwood's academics in my sleep. But its athletics? Unclear. â€Å"Well, you better decide soon; the deadline's coming up. Don't look so worried,† he added. â€Å"Maybe they'll let you start a Latin club instead.† â€Å"What's that supposed to mean?† I asked, not liking the tone. â€Å"I've played sports.† He shrugged. â€Å"If you say so. You don't seem like the athletic type. You seem too†¦ neat.† I wasn't entirely sure if that was a compliment or not. â€Å"What's your sport?† Trey held his chin up, looking very pleased with himself. â€Å"Football. A real man's sport.† A guy sitting nearby overheard him and glanced back. â€Å"Too bad you won't make quarterback, Juarez. You came so close last year. Looks like you're going to graduate without fulfilling yet another dream.† I'd thought Trey didn't like me – but as he turned his attention to the other guy, it was like the temperature dropped ten degrees. I realized in that moment that Trey just liked giving me a hard time. But this other guy? Trey completely despised him. â€Å"I don't remember you even being in the running, Slade,† returned Trey, eyes hard. â€Å"What makes you think you're going to take it this year?† Slade – it wasn't clear to me if that was his first or last name – exchanged knowing glances with a couple friends. â€Å"Just a feeling.† They turned away, and Trey scowled. â€Å"Great,† he muttered. â€Å"Slade finally got the money for one. You want to know about tattoos? Go talk to him.† My thirty-second impression told me Slade was no one I wanted to talk to, but Trey provided no additional explanation. Class soon started, but as I tried to focus on the lesson, all I could think about was Amberwood's apparent obsession with tattoos. What did it mean? When PE came, I was relieved to see Jill in the locker room. The Moroi girl gave me a weary smile as we walked outside. â€Å"How's your day been?† I asked. â€Å"Fine,† Jill said. â€Å"Not great. Not terrible. I haven't really gotten to know many people.† She didn't say it, but Jill's tone implied, â€Å"See? I told you I would stand out.† Yet as the class started, I realized that the problem was that Jill didn't stand out. She avoided eye contact, letting her nerves get the best of her, and made no effort to talk to people. No one openly shunned her, but with the vibes she gave off, no one went out of their way to talk to her either. I certainly wasn't the most social person in the world, but I still smiled and tried to chat with my classmates as we did more volleyball drills. It was enough to foster the sparks of friendship. I also soon noticed another problem. The class had been divided into four teams, playing two concurrent matches. Jill was in the other game, but I still occasionally caught sight of her. She looked miserable and tired within ten minutes, without even having done much in the game. Her reaction time was bad too. A number of balls went past her, and those she did notice were met with clumsy maneuvers. Some of her teammates exchanged frustrated looks behind her back. I returned to my own game, worried for her, just as the opposing team spiked the ball into a zone that wasn't well guarded by my team. I didn't have the reaction time that, say, a dhampir had, but in that split second, my brain knew I could block the ball if I made a hard and fast move. Doing so went against my natural instincts, the ones that said, Don't do anything that will hurt or get you dirty. I'd always carefully reasoned through my actions, never acting on impulse. Not this time. I was going to stop that ball. I dove for it, hitting it into range of another teammate who was able to then spike it back over the net and out of danger. The volley pushed me to a hard landing on my knees. It was ungraceful and jarred my teeth, but I'd stopped the opposition from scoring. My teammates cheered, and I was surprised to find myself laughing. I'd always been trained that everything I did had to have a greater, practical purpose. Sports were sort of antithetical to the Alchemist way of li fe, because they were just for fun. But maybe fun wasn't so bad once in a while. â€Å"Nice, Melrose,† said Miss Carson, strolling by. â€Å"If you want to defer your sport until winter and be on the volleyball team, come talk to me later.† â€Å"Well done,† said Micah, and offered me his hand. I shook my head and stood up on my own. I was dismayed to see a scrape on one of my legs but was still grinning from ear to ear. If anyone had told me two weeks ago that I'd be so happy about rolling around in the dirt, I wouldn't have believed it. â€Å"She doesn't give out compliments very often.† It was true. Miss Carson had already been on Jill a number of times and was now halting our game to correct a teammate's sloppy form. I took advantage of the break to watch Jill, whose game was still in action. Micah followed my gaze. â€Å"Doesn't run in the family, huh?† he asked sympathetically. â€Å"No,† I murmured. My smile faded. I felt a pang of guilt in my chest over exalting so much in my own triumph when Jill was obviously struggling. It didn't seem fair. Jill still looked exhausted, and her curly hair was drenched in sweat. Pink spots had appeared on her cheeks, giving her a feverish look, and it seemed to take all her effort to remain upright. It was strange that Jill would have so much difficulty. I'd overheard a brief conversation in which she and Eddie had discussed combat and defensive moves, giving me the impression that Jill was fairly athletic. She and Eddie had even talked about practicing later that night and – â€Å"The sun,† I groaned. â€Å"Huh?† asked Micah. I'd mentioned my concerns about the sun to Stanton, but she'd dismissed them. She'd just advised that Jill be careful to stay inside – which Jill did. Except, of course, when school requirements made her take a class that kept her outside. Forcing her to play sports out in the full blaze of the Palm Springs sun was cruel. It was a wonder she was still standing. I sighed, making a mental note to call the Alchemists later. â€Å"We're going to have to get her a doctor's note.† â€Å"What are you talking about?† asked Micah. The game was back on, and he shifted into position beside me. â€Å"Oh. Jill. She's†¦ she's sensitive to the sun. Kind of like an allergic thing.† As though on cue, we heard Miss Carson exclaim from the other court: â€Å"Melrose Junior! Are you blind? Did you not see that coming right toward you?† Jill swayed on her feet but took the criticism meekly. Micah watched them with a frown, and as soon as Miss Carson was off picking on someone else, he darted out of formation and ran over to Jill's game. I hastily tried to cover both his and my own positions. Micah ran up to a guy beside Jill, whispered something, and pointed back at me. A moment later, the guy ran over to my team and Micah took the spot beside Jill. As class continued, I realized what was happening. Micah was good at volleyball – very good. So much so that he was able to defend his spot and Jill's. Without seeing any blatant blunders, Miss Carson kept her attention elsewhere, and Jill's team grew a little less hostile toward her. When the game ended, Micah caught hold of Jill's arm and quickly walked her over to a shaded spot. From the way she staggered, he seemed to be all that was holding her upright. I was about to join them when I heard loud voices beside me. â€Å"I'm getting it tonight. The guy I talked to swears it's gonna be badass.† It was Slade, the guy who'd sparred with Trey earlier. I hadn't realized it out in the sun in the middle of the game, but he was the player Micah had swapped places with. â€Å"It better be,† continued Slade, â€Å"for how much he's charging me.† Two of Slade's friends joined him as they began heading toward the locker room. â€Å"When are tryouts, Slade?† one of his friends asked. In chemistry, I'd learned Slade's first name was Greg, but everyone seemed to refer to him by his last name, even teachers. â€Å"Friday,† Slade said. â€Å"I'm going to kill. Like totally destroy them. I'm gonna rip Juarez's spine out and make him eat it.† Charming, I thought, watching them go. My initial assessment of Slade had been correct. I turned toward Jill and Micah and saw that he'd gotten ahold of a water bottle for her. They seemed okay for the moment, so I caught Miss Carson's attention as she walked by. â€Å"My sister gets sick in the sun,† I said. â€Å"This is really hard on her.† â€Å"Lots of kids have trouble in the heat at first,† said Miss Carson knowingly. â€Å"They just need to toughen up. You handled yourself okay.† â€Å"Yeah, well, she and I are pretty different,† I said dryly. If only she knew. â€Å"I don't think she's going to ‘toughen up.'† â€Å"Nothing I can do,† said Miss Carson. â€Å"If I let her sit out, do you have any idea how many other kids would suddenly ‘feel tired in the sun'? Unless she's got a doctor's note, she's got to stick it out.† I thanked her and went to join Jill and Micah. As I approached, I heard Micah saying, â€Å"Get cleaned up, and I'll walk you to your next class. We can't have you fainting in the halls.† He paused and considered. â€Å"Of course, I'm totally happy to catch you if you do faint.† Jill was understandably dazed but was with it enough to thank him. She told him she'd meet him soon and walked to the girls' locker room with me. I eyed the grin on Micah's face, and a troubling thought occurred to me. Jill seemed stressed enough so I decided not to say anything, but my concern grew when we left for last period. Micah walked with Jill, as promised, and told her that later, when evening came, he'd tutor her in volleyball if she wanted. As we stood outside the classroom, a girl with long red hair and a haughty attitude walked by, trailed by an entourage of other girls. She paused when she saw Micah and tossed her hair over one shoulder, flashing him a big smile. â€Å"Hey, Micah.† Micah was engrossed with Jill and barely glanced in the other girl's direction. â€Å"Oh, hey, Laurel.† He walked away, and Laurel watched him go, her expression turning dark. She shot a dangerous look at Jill, whipped her long hair over her shoulder, and stormed off. Uh-oh, I thought as I watched her stalk down the hall. Is that going to come back and haunt us? It was one of those moments when I could have used a lesson in social cues. I went to Ms. Terwilliger's classroom afterward and spent most of that initial meeting setting up the semester's goals and outlining what I'd be doing for her. I was in store for a lot of reading and translation, which suited me just fine. It also appeared as though half of my job would be keeping her organized – something else I excelled at. The time flew by, and as soon as I was free, I hurried off to find Eddie. He was waiting with a group of other boys at the shuttle stop to go back to their dorm. When he saw me, his response was the usual: â€Å"Is Jill okay?† â€Å"Fine†¦ well, kind of. Can we talk somewhere?† Eddie's face darkened, no doubt thinking there was a legion of Strigoi on their way to hunt Jill. We stepped back inside one of the academic buildings, finding chairs in a private corner that enjoyed the full force of air conditioning. I gave him a quick update on Jill and her sunny PE misadventures. â€Å"I didn't think it would be this bad,† said Eddie grimly, echoing my thoughts. â€Å"Thank God Micah was there. Is there anything you can do?† â€Å"Yeah, we should be able to get something from our ‘parents' or a doctor.† As much as I hated to, I added, â€Å"Keith might be able to expedite it.† â€Å"Good,† said Eddie fiercely. â€Å"We can't have her getting beat up out there. I'll go talk to that teacher myself, if that's what it takes.† I hid a smile. â€Å"Well, hopefully it won't come to that. But there is something else†¦ nothing dangerous,† I amended quickly, seeing that warrior look cross his face again. â€Å"Just something†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I tried not to say the words that were popping into my mind. Horrifying. Wrong. â€Å"Concerning. I think†¦ I think Micah likes Jill.† Eddie's face went very still. â€Å"Of course he likes her. She's nice. He's nice. He likes everyone.† â€Å"That's not what I mean, and you know it. He likes her. In the more-than-friends way. What are we going to do about that?† Eddie stared off across the hall for a few moments before turning back to me. â€Å"Why do we have to do anything?† â€Å"How can you ask that?† I exclaimed, shocked by the response. â€Å"You know why. Humans and vampires can't be together! It's disgusting and wrong.† The words flew out of my mouth before I could stop them. â€Å"Even a dhampir like you should know that.† He smiled ruefully. ‘†Even a dhampir like me?'† I supposed I'd been a little insulting, but it couldn't be helped. Alchemists – myself included – never believed dhampirs and Moroi worried enough about the same problems we did. They might acknowledge a taboo like this, but years of training said that only we humans really took it seriously. That was why the Alchemist job was so important. If we didn't look after these matters, who would? â€Å"I mean it,† I told him. â€Å"This is something all of us agree on.† His smile faded. â€Å"Yeah, it is.† Even Rose and Dimitri, who had a high tolerance for craziness, had been shocked at meeting the Keepers, rogue Moroi who intermingled freely with dhampirs and humans. It was a taboo the three of us shared, and we'd worked hard to tolerate the custom while with the Keepers. They lived hidden in the Appalachian Mountains and had provided excellent refuge when Rose was on the run. Ignoring their savage ways had been an acceptable price for the security they'd offered us. â€Å"Can you talk to him?† I asked. â€Å"I don't think Jill has any strong feelings. She's got too many other things going on. She probably knows better anyway†¦ but it'd still be best if you could discourage him. We can stop this before she gets involved.† â€Å"What do you expect me to say?† Eddie asked. He sounded at a loss, which struck me as funny, considering he'd been ready to go make all sorts of demands to Miss Carson on Jill's behalf. â€Å"I don't know. Play the big brother card. Act protective. Say she's too young.† I expected Eddie to agree, but he once more averted his eyes. â€Å"I don't know if we should say anything.† â€Å"What? Are you insane? Do you think it's okay to – â€Å" â€Å"No, no.† He sighed. â€Å"I'm not advocating it. But look at it this way. Jill's stuck in a school full of humans. It's not fair that she be banned from hanging out with any guys.† â€Å"I think Micah wants to do more than hang out.† â€Å"Well, why shouldn't she get to go on a date now and then? Or go to a dance? She should get to do all the normal things a girl her age does. She's already had her life radically changed. We shouldn't make it any harder.† I eyed him in disbelief, trying to figure out why he was so laid back about this. Admittedly, he didn't face the same consequences I did. If my superiors found out I was â€Å"encouraging† human and vampire dating, it'd be more evidence against me and my alleged bias. After all, my reputation wasn't yet restored with the Alchemists. Still, I knew Eddie's people didn't like the idea of dating, either. So what was the problem? A strange answer suddenly came to me. â€Å"I feel like you just don't want to confront Micah.† Eddie looked right at me. â€Å"It's complicated,† he said. Something in his face told me I'd hit the mark. â€Å"Why don't you talk to Jill? She knows the rules. She'll understand that she can be with him without getting serious.† â€Å"I think it's a bad idea,† I said, still unable to believe he was taking this stance. â€Å"We're creating a gray area here that's eventually going to cause confusion. We should keep it black and white and ban her from dating while she's here.† That wry smile returned. â€Å"Everything's black and white with you Alchemists, isn't it? Do you think you can really stop her from doing anything? You should know better. Even your childhood couldn't have been that abnormal.† With that slap in the face, Eddie stalked off, leaving me aghast. What had just happened? How could Eddie – who was so adamant about doing the right thing for Jill – be okay with her casually dating Micah? There was something weird going on here, something connected to Micah, though I couldn't figure out what. Well, I refused to let this matter go. It was too important. I'd talk to Jill and make sure she knew right from wrong. If necessary, I'd also talk to Micah – though I still felt that conversation would be better coming from Eddie. And, I realized, thinking of how I had to go hunt down a doctor's note, there was one more source I could appeal to, one that had a lot of influence over Jill.Adrian. Looked like I'd be paying him another visit.

Edgar Allan Poe Works Essay

Edgar Allan Poe said â€Å"I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity.† Throughout his short stories; â€Å"The Black Cat† and â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†, Poe sets up his characters to subconsciously reveal their insanity. Often using syntax clues and patterns, Poe shows the madness of the narrators of his short stories. The constant theme of denial of insanity further convinces the reader of the character’s psychosis. Characters themselves often prove they are not in touch with reality through their actions. Through syntax, denial of insanity, and character’s actions, Poe allows his narrators in â€Å"The Black Cat† and â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† to reveal their own insanity. Sentence structure is used consistently by Poe in his short stories to aid in his character’s revealing their own insanity. When the narrator in â€Å"The Black Cat† is listing the pets he and his wife have, the last one he lists is a c at. â€Å"We had birds, gold-fish, a fine dog, rabbits, a small monkey, and a cat.† (Poe H/O) The cat is italicized, causing the reader to wonder why the emphasis is so important. As the reader progresses through the rest of the story, it becomes evident that the cat is of a strong significance to the narrator. In â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart†, the narrator has some sort of disease that heightens his senses. He also has a type of obsessive compulsive disorder, causing him to fixate on his roommate’s clouded eye. In the beginning of the story, he says â€Å"I think it was his eye!-yes, it was this!† (Poe H/O) The short choppy thought pattern here shows the mind of the narrator is less than sound. While in â€Å"The Black Cat†, the syntax proof is less obvious, though foreshadowing the story by placing such a subtle hint as to how much the cat really matters in the rest of the story, the grammatical clues in â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† are much more obvious because they pertain more to the thoughts of the narrator. Listening and paying attention t o how speakers and narrators in talk in any text are vital in understanding their character. By noting how Poe uses grammar and context clues, readers can more deeply understand the mind of the narrator. Syntax isn’t the only way Poe manipulates his narrators to show their own madness. The constant theme of denial of insanity further convinces the reader of the characters’ senselessness. Poe, in â€Å"The Black Cat† writes â€Å"Mad indeed would I be to expect it, in a case where my very senses reject their own evidence. Yet, mad I am not – and surely do I not dream.†(H/O). Here, the narrator of â€Å"The Black Cat† states that it is possible for his actions and thought process to be interpreted as mad, still in his mind, he is not mad at all. By denying his insanity, the narrator creates a suspicion in the reader, making them question the integrity of his mind. The narrator of â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† is more adamant about repeating the fact that he is not insane. â€Å"†¦will you say that I am mad?†¦I have heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad?† (Poe H/O) The narrator obviously worries about the fact that people may see him as a lunatic. The reader can infer that by denying his lack of sanity, and clinging to the hope that he may in fact have a sound mind; the narrator has lost all sense of reality, and cannot be trusted. Both of these stories have similar narrators in the sense that they may have once been sane, and a traumatic event has pushed them over the edge into the depths of derangement. While the above points may be valid and prove a point, nothing really shows who someone is more than what he or she may do. The character’s actions in multiple short stories by Poe show that they are not in touch with reality. The short story â€Å"The Black Cat† may have the best example of them all. When the narrator of this tale is hanging his precious, beloved cat, Pluto, he is well aware of his actions, and yet, he cannot stop himself from performing this murderous deed. One morning, in cool blood, I slipped a noose about its neck and hung it to the limb of a tree; – hung it with the tears streaming from my eyes and with the bitterest remorse at my heart; – hung it because I knew that it had loved be, and because I felt it had given me no reason of offense; – hung it because I knew that in so doing, I was committing a sin – a deadly sin that would so jeopardise my immortal soul as to place it – if such a thing were possible – even beyond the reach of the infinite mercy of the Most Merciful and Most Terrible God. (Poe H/O)

Management - Analyze your options with K-T analysis [sap22] Essay

Management - Analyze your options with K-T analysis [sap22] - Essay Example For more than 65 years, primary findings of research bring out: 3. Creative innovations employing probable scientific solutions external to the field in which they were developed. Greater application of K-T constitutes learning these repetitive patterns of problems-solutions, technical evolution patterns, scientific effects methods, and application of general K-patterns specific to the circumstances that force the developer. The attention of the management is significant in ensuring that workplace safety and health of employees stabilizes. However, Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) believe that troubles of many grocery stores gives a basis for providing solutions for protection of workers. The study objective is to establish the relationship between workplace activities and the development of back injuries and sprains. The problem viewed from the dimension of the employees takes care of their safety and health. The alternatives available to companies are to provide opportunities for workers to work in a protected environment. The K-T technique enables the grocery stores to value the quality of work from employees by investing on their health insurance and welfare (Ratner, 2010). The company can invest in ergonomics and product liability where inadequacies of products can be traced and repaired or reworked. Finally, employee safety can be harnessed and sustained by buyers who insist on minimum requirements and employee safety (Genrich, 2006). Through these alternatives, injury reduction will be reinforced by improvements in information and technology. There will be a greater enhancement of the relationship between workplace activities, back injuries and sprains. Inherent contradictions also referred as physical contradictions, are circumstances in which people or system suffers contradictory, opposite needs (Ratner, 2010). Daily examples include: The machines used in the grocery store should

Southern Company Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Southern Company - Essay Example Employees at various organizational levels are required to take important strategic decisions regarding their work. Unless employees have the right skills, knowledge and the acumen of taking correct and timely decisions for meeting their job responsibilities, organizations will not be able perform efficiently (Sharif, 2002). Some of the important aspects of talent management considered by strategic leaders of Southern Company are recruitment, selection and training of employees, placement, training and development program implementation, mentoring and leadership development. Since talent management and development requires investment of time, money and skills, most organizational leaders are seen to give low importance towards this aspect. Company’s selection and recruitment processes lack efficiency as a result of which employee turnover is seen to be high. Also, when candidates are not mapped suitably, they get placed in jobs without adequate talent match. This leads to ineffective performance and lack of dedication. It is also significantly important that organizational leaders develop training programs in order to enhance skills of the employees. Work conditions requirements are never constant. They keep changing along with the changing needs of business and the economy. Technological innovations also affect the manner in which work is performed within an organization. Due to such aspects, it becomes necessary that organizations impart training to their employees, so that their level of skill is enhanced and they can easily adapt with changing requirements of the business. These aspects must be deeply be considered by strategic leaders of the organization, who should develop suitable measures accordingly (Ashton & Morton, 2005). Objective metrics- This process involves collection of data regarding talent requirements present within the firm. For this, the firm must

The Challenges and Opportunities for Immigrant Labour in Canada Essay

The Challenges and Opportunities for Immigrant Labour in Canada - Essay Example 1). Foreign workers who come to Canada get opportunities to earn more than what they earn in their own countries. They can fulfill their basic needs and raise the living standards of their families. They can use their farm skills and enhance them. They get opportunity of going abroad. They can afford higher education for their children back home guaranteeing better employment. (WPIRG 8). The Canada government needs to reformulate the immigration policy. It is facing huge shortage of manpower especially in the oilsands areas. In Ottawa, the immigration department has been going quite slow in processing work applications, particularly of construction workers. Alberta has been severally affected by shortage of skilled workers to help the state in linking oilsands with far-away aboriginal communities to fill the vacuum (Francis, â€Å"Immigration Policy Needs a Revamp,† par. 4). Immigrant labor faces challenges on unmet demands over immigrants’ right to employment insurance . The farm workers have not been awarded the right to claim employment insurance although they have been contributing in employment insurance fund program. ... 2). Another challenge to farm labor concerns fair and dignified treatment at the hands of employers and the government. There is no legislative support to meet the required labor parameters such as covering them under Ontario’s Employment Standards Act, reasonable accommodation, right to be united through unions, and right to economic and social mobility in Canada (Encalada, â€Å"Our Main Demands,† par. 3). Another challenge to farm workers is related to working in bondage-like situations; they are not given the opportunity to present their side of the story when they complain of poor work and living conditions. They are repatriated back before time at their own expenses without given a chance to appeal as there is no such process of fair trial of resolving their complaints (Encalada, â€Å"Our Main Demands,† par. 4). Immigrants face challenges in job finding processes. Some of the critical obstacles to immigrant workers include lack of country experience, probl em in shifting of foreign credentials, and ignorance of official language skills. Immigrants’ unemployment rate when they enter Canada is higher until they are absorbed in the job market. This delay in absorbing them where they are acutely required is because of unsystematic working by the immigration department, not processing job applications well in-time. Immigrants face challenges related to transition because of prolonged under-utilization of unskilled and skilled workers. According to the 2001 Census, the unemployment rate of immigrants residing in Canada for nearly 5 months has been around 30 percent. The immigrants residing for the last 5 years in Canada have a greater unemployment rate than Canada’s

Immigration Restrictions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Immigration Restrictions - Essay Example Based on statistics presented in the article, it is clear that immigrants are improving the US economy and have also led to a massive population growth. Despite the economic advantage brought in by the immigrants, some people are also against the issue of having many immigrants. They argued that the immigrants do not pay taxes whereas they use public schools and hospitals. Moreover, they use their immigration documents to access anything they want. Immigrants have been there all over the world since the 17th century. In the late 17th century, 3% of the world’s population was made up of immigrants. Immigrants play a crucial role in improving the economy and increasing the population. Based on available statistics, it is expected that in future, 60% of the USA population will be composed of immigrants. This population is expected to be more educated and will improve the USA’s economy and education level. Moreover, the USA society will grow to a multicultural society, and many people will visit the USA to learn about these cultures. Immigrants are disadvantageous in other ways. Most immigrants use social security numbers of the natives in order to access the facilities that they need. It is surprising that the USA government is not able to track down such activities. These activities pose a danger to the USA residents since the resources available might be overused. It is crucial for the government to provide the immigrants with documents that can use to access public facilities. Provision of these documents will enable the country to have correct statistics, and thus negative reflections will be eliminated.

What you should know and consider in order to make a wise decision Essay

What you should know and consider in order to make a wise decision about how to assist someone in deciding whether or not to commit medical suicide - Essay Example nt example is that of Phillip Nitschke, an Australian medical practitioner who had his practicing license retrieved for his involvement in a case where the patient who had sought for information from him went ahead and committed suicide. The email conversation was used to convict him. This essay will therefore establish the ethical issues in assisted medical suicide as supported by given philosophical theories. Personal liberty defenders have been at the forefront claiming that one should be allowed to end their lives any time they want. In some cases one may be subjected to too much pain especially in terminal diseases such as cancer that they consider ending their lives. A good case is of Mathew Donelly who had worked in an x-ray laboratory for the better part of his life. He later got caner which led to amputation of his hand, his nose and a number of his fingers. His pleas to have his life ended fell on deaf ears until his brother shot him dead to end his agony. His brother was however charged with murder. There are various bases that have been proposed to be considered in cases of medical suicide that should be considered if it is to be allowed. The first one is the terminality of the disease. In some cases the doctor can establish that the patient will not recover and so it is just a matter of time to have him dead. Second, in many of such cases, the patient may be in too much pain that it is prudent to end the pain in consideration of the first factor that they will not recover. Cancer is one disease that causes such misery to the patient especially if it is recognized at a developed stage. The third factor to be considered is the patient’s opinion. If the patient feels that he wants his life ended, then that should be adopted and the doctor should assist in that. The implementation of such ideas is hard due to the legal aspects involved. Medical suicide is classified in various categories according to how it is performed. Voluntary one is done with the

The Atlas. Microsoft Corporation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Atlas. Microsoft Corporation - Essay Example ..8 Executive Summary: Microsoft Corporation has been an iconic company in the field of Information technology. Microsoft is recognized as a company that has revolutionized the computer market world over. The company has been listed in the Forbes 500 companies in various occasions. The company has been steered towards steady growth by its competent management. The CEO of the company Steven Ballmer is considered as a competent chairperson who has been able to help Microsoft grow further in terms of revenue and expansion. The company has been able to hold its market share in operating system market and expand its market in other ventures like Entertainment and devices. The company has substantial potential to grow even further. A brief history of the company: It was the 1975 issue of Popular Electronics that featured the computer product Altair 8800 of MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems). It was one of the co-founder of Microsoft Paul Allen who observed that they can dev elop a basic programmer for MITS that can act as an interpreter. Bill gates the other prominent co-founder of Microsoft and Paul Allen developed the basic interpreter for Altair, which was a success. This gave Microsoft a clear direction and on April 04, 1977 Microsoft Inc. was established. The company has ever since a huge growth in the field of software development and internet revolution. The company currently deals with product range Windows operating system, Server and tools, online service division and Entertainment. A brief biography of the current CEO: Steven Ballmer was appointed as CEO of Microsoft in January 2000. He has been with Microsoft since 1980. Ballmer has been heading various divisions in Microsoft ever since. The main divisions that were under Ballmer include Operating Systems Division, Operations and sales and Support. In the year 2011 Ballmer’s total wealth estimate was calculated to be US$ 14.5 billion. He has been ranked 46 on the Forbes list of billi onaires in 2010 issue. Ballmer is acknowledged in the business circuit for his over enthusiastic behavior during business meet. His flamboyant way of conducting himself during conferences sets him apart from other CEOs. Market analysis: The main Industrial market that Microsoft deals with is IT industry. The main products offered by Microsoft are software programs and operating system. Microsoft acknowledges the importance of Research and Development in the IT industry and is always developing new operating systems and softwares to gain competitive advantage. Markets in which the company competes: The company mainly deals with software programming. The company has expanded its domain in many sectors in IT market. Windows operating systems, server and tools, online service operations, business division and Entertainment devices section. The client division of the Microsoft deals with designing the flagship product of Microsoft Windows operating system. The server division produces pr oducts line like Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft Visual studio, Microsoft SQL and Microsoft Silverlight. The company also develops software required for business process management, Microsoft BizTalk software. The online services include search engines Bing and MSN. In business division the company deals with Microsoft office package mainly designed to cater the need of office documentation and communication. The latest package is Microsoft 2010. In entertainment and devices section the company de

Critical analyse of the external and internal environments Essay Example for Free

Critical analyse of the external and internal environments Essay From the long run, the economy will only be developed better than before, as long there are no large scales of wars. If the economy in the world is developing in a steady and healthy way, the demand for the cars will be larger and larger. The fact that the number of Japanese cars assembled in North American will soon reach 2 million per year will lead to the oversupply, so it is likely to threaten the price structure of the U. S. auto market and in the meantime, it will bring about negative impact on the revenue of the automotive businesses in the U.S. market. 3.3 Social factors As long as the customers have a certain level of buying power, there will be a large number of car buyers. After the World War II, nearly all countries in the world were making every effort to recover from the war. The war was destructive to all the countries that had participated in the war. In some developing countries, people even had to worry about whether they had to suffer from hunger, let alone buying car to make their life easier. However, as the recovery of economy, people begin to think about the houses and cars to improve the quality of their life(Ravichandran et al., 2005). In the meantime, the social concept is also changing. Men were the trend of the drivers, but more and more women are independent and have good economic conditions, so the demand for cars is also increasing. The changing social trend has enabled Ford to produce various types of cars in order to meet the different demands from different groups. 3.4 Technological factors The advent of the Internet has simplified customers’ life, and the advent of cars have make customers’ life more convenient. However, Ford does not cease to make innovation in terms of technology. For instance, most modern cars have been equipped with intelligent systems such as Global Positioning System (GPS) which enables the customers not to get lost no matter where they go. The intelligent system will be able to provide the car owners with alternative lines according to the actual situation of the road. If there are traffic jams, the system will remind the car owners to choose another alternative. In addition to the intelligent system which will benefit for the car owners, the design of the cars will also be more human oriented. The innovation of technology will bring convenience to customers, so the design and the function of the cars in Ford will ! enable the customers to have better experience of driving. Therefore, more and more customers who can afford cars wil l choose to buy a car. 4. Internal environments of Ford The analysis of internal environment can find out the absolute strengths and weaknesses. If the enterprise sticks to its past successful strategies, they will fail in the new competitiveness for not updating its strategies(Leidner et al., 2011). Every enterprise has its strengths and weaknesses, and the internal strengths and weakness and the external opportunities and threats will be the foundation for enterprise to formulate strategies. This section will use SWOT analysis to explain Ford’s internal environment. 4.1 Strengths Ford has long history and its brand has been well-known to the whole world,  and this strength has enabled Ford to make brand marketing. As long as the brand has been known to the customers, the customer will buy the product due to the brand effect. Then, there is effective customer management system which will enable Ford to target the existing and potential customers more accurately. On the other hand, there is diversified management system that can attract real talents to Ford to make wise decisions. There are many job opportunities that are offered by Ford, and the policies on human resource management are flexible. 4.2 Weaknesses It has reported that the quality of the products has not met the standards in recent years, so many of the cars have to be recalled back to the factory. This incident has indicated that the quality check system has problems, and this may cause public relation crisis. On the other hand, to compare Ford with its competitors, Ford has not introduced sophisticated technology such as robot in the process of manufacturing the products. The third weakness is that the cars that have been produced in Ford have not reached 27.5 miles per gallon fuel efficiency standard(Peppard and Ward, 2004). 4.3 Opportunities As Ford is a multinational company, the international market has been developed due to the market expansion. In such case, the product will not only be sold in the native country  but also in foreign countries. In the meantime, Ford has developed its e-business system on the internet, so the international market is able to enlarge and the market share of Ford is also likely to increase. Then, the low cost of cars does not mean low quality, so the cars will be cost-effective, which will attract more customers to buy them, and thus increase the sales(Peppard and Ward, 2004). 4.4 Threats The major threats come from the competitors of Ford, especially the Japanese cars, for the Japanese manufactures are trying to open the market of luxurious cars in the United States. In the meantime, the exchange rate of Japanese yen and the U.S. dollar is ever  changing and not steady. In addition to Japanese cars, the new entrants to the U.S. will also come from China and India(Leidner et al., 2011). Another threat is that the government has been more involved in the regulations and policies on cars. Although there are concessions made by the government, the  concessions may be taken back by the government. 5. Strategies for Ford in the next five years The analysis of SWOT for Ford will be helpful for the decision makers to make the strategies for the future. When the key external and internal factors have been effectively matched together, it will help Ford to be more competitive than its competitors. It is suggest that the decision makers can implement SO strategy. This strategy will enable Ford to take full advantages of its internal strengths and external opportunities(King, 2002). Effective brand marketing and good customer management system, as well as human resource management system will enable the company to develop its e-businesses in the international market. If the famous brand has affordable price for customers, the sales and market share will increase to a certain extent. As long as the market share and sales has successfully increased, the company can rank at the first or second in the same industry. Another plausible strategy is WO strategy which will make use of the external opportunities to make up for the weaknesses. However, the weaknesses can sometimes become obstacles for seizing the opportunities, so if the company should try to overcome ! the weaknesses and turn them to strengths. For instance, if the demand for the cars which have equipped with intelligent system is large, but the factory has not acquired the technology o f equipping the system, so Ford can cooperate with the companies which have this technology. In such case, both companies will benefit from this business. On the other hand, if the company does not want to cooperate with other companies, the employees who have the knowledge of such technology should be employed to the company with high salary in order to assure the technology innovation. 6. Conclusion In conclusion, this report has conducted a close study of the external and internal environments for Ford Motor Company. The political environment has proved that the government has both positive and negative impacts on Ford, and the economic and social factors have turned out more and more people can afford a car, especially the independent women. The technology factors have also contributed to the increasing market share and sales of Ford for its convenience and comfort and affordances. Then the report has made a SWOT analysis of Ford’s internal environment, and it has suggested two plausible strategies for Ford in the next five years. One is SO strategy and the other one is WO strategy, which will enable Ford to realize its stra tegic objectives in the automotive  industry.

What makes your workplace work well Essay Example for Free

What makes your workplace work well Essay Nowadays, we live in an extremely large and intricate world which is mainly characterized by a wide variety of continuous and unpredictable changes. With that, there are factors that would affects work in every way, either advantages and disadvantages to people and workplace. No one can deny that whenever a person look for a job, whatever work it is, they think of what the future holds for them . Primarily, financial stability is the most essential of all. If the salary is not adequate to live each day and to meet the demands of the person and be able to prosper and enjoy life, then that individual is not satisfied. Secondarily, the benefits that the employee receive from the organization, the role and responsibility and personal interest of the employee towards work and working environment is also essential. Like for example, the lack of manpower and teamwork that is unfriendly colleagues will result to conflicts, miscommunications and misunderstandings does makes it more exhausting and stressful. . The location of work, where someone lives 100 miles away from home also matters. Weather and Climate changes thus also contribute. The lack of orientation and training to employees will make a difference to how you deliver your skills. Another factor are the employee’s culture and educational background, that has involves several adjustments to work environment. In addition, the heavy workload, long hours and demanding tasks. And, Not getting enough time to spend with friends and family. With the current situation in my workplace, working in a medical field and in the hospital demands my time including my attention and care to patients. Sometimes patient’s care are compromised because of the additional paper works and which is sometimes not necessary. The lack of staffs and the movement to different areas which we are not familiar with. New and changes to policy and procedure introduced and its strict compliance brings stress  to mind. Going home physically and emotionally tired and exhausted, leading to depression, long time sickness from work and not only that, the freezing increase in salary nationwide adds up to stress. However, if problems tackled properly within work, organising task and priorities and got substantial support from each other, working together as a team will ease work difficulties. As well as, support from the people with higher rank who should listens and acknowledges efforts, hard work and appreciates and rewards is very satisfying. Furthermore, good and clear communication within the people in the organization is vital and would make the employees more competent and productive worker. Therefore, as a working individual wherever and whatever things that involves work, it is believed that there a variety of factors the influences work and are extremely important. It is proved that personal interest like having new goals, dreams or simply taking some risk in life and adjust fully to changes, and a organized work environment is will certainly produces productivity and profitability and will have a healthier and better lives.

Child Rights in the UK

Child Rights in the UK Children’s rights are poorly served in the United Kingdom. The recent UNICEF report has deemed UK as the worst place for the brought up of children and adolescents. UNICEF studied about the well-being and safety of children, adolescents and youths in the wealthy western countries. The reports were heartbreaking and imply that the present ‘electronic world’ (particularly the UK) is no longer a better place for children and adolescents. In spite of the attempts of children welfare societies and other children care initiatives, children are loosing their basic rights even and are getting sunk into drugs, sex and other wrong activities. Children are aliens to the developed world (Brooks, 2006)[1]. British children are more likely to use drugs and have sex, compared to the children of any other country (Freeman, 1996)[2]. There is an increasing lack of security and contentment for children and adolescents in the UK. There is big difference between the ways and experiences of UK children and the children of other developed countries. Only US may surpass UK in the total number of crimes related to children. The government of UK neglected all these reports, calling them ‘outdated’ and ‘historic’, and also commented that these report are based on the situation that existed before the implementation of the Childrens Act 2004 (Freeman, 1996). However a careful look would make anybody understand that the state of children is not better in Britain even now. Numerous other studies, like the one initiated by Save the Children and the Nuffield Foundation, Institute of Public Policy Research, and other organizations clearly stated the same trend and confirmed that children and adolescents are deprived of even their basic rights. Children in the UK still remain in poverty, oppression, and distress and the problem doubled to what it was in 1979 (Freeman, 1996). Britain has the highest teenage birth-rate compared to other developed countries of Europe (Freeman, 1996). Reports say that this degradation of the quality of the children and adolescents is not just because of computer games, fast food and other aspects of the modern period. Poverty and other sufferings equally contribute to this plight of children and adolescents. Cultural factors also play a major role in this big crisis. The society in the UK does not really value their children. Right from the Victorian era children are least valued in the society and are corralled into classrooms and left without necessary guidance. These children when they become young do not contribute directly to the economy and have zero voice in the political process. Children are easily criminalized (as per the status assigned to them by the media) and are never given proper guidance to bring them to the mainstream of the society (Brooks, 2006). The more the children are exploited the more panicky their behaviour is. The UK is disastrously infected with materialism and modernity that has furnished a hell for children in this nation (Freeman, 1996). Parenthood and its values have disappeared from the society. Society is now ruled by modern ‘no child’ theory that supports the selfhood, freedom and autonomy of selfish couples. Begetting children has become a choice as childless family is found to be economically stronger. Families are encouraged to have kids just for filling future jobs in the nation. Education has become a mere investment for earning money. Schools are grounds of competitions. Modern teaching methods create more losers than winners. Children report nothing but depression, failure and worries and opt to run towards the path that give them temporary relief and satisfaction (Brooks, 2006). Research reports say that Britain’s children are the unhappiest children in the West (Freeman, 1996). They drink most, smoke most and have sex at very early age. They hate schools, neglect their health, and are least satisfied in their life. They never eat meals with their parents and are always out of their house. They lack good company and guidance. According to Professor Bradshaw (from a children welfare association), â€Å"Between 1979 and 1999, children were relatively neglected in Britain, child poverty rates rose rapidly, those living in workless households soared and the numbers not in education or training also rose† (Brooks, 2006). Children in the UK are least confident about the path in which they are moving; their own perception itself is poor. When a group of teenagers were asked to rate their own health, majority of them rated it as fair and poor. They also opined that they are not enjoying their school life and personal life. On an assessment about the welfare of children in the countries of Europe, various factors like child safety, relative poverty, educational achievement, relationships with parents, drug misuse were considered. Netherlands and The Czech Republic were found to be in top position for child well being, with Britain occupying the bottom position. Britain topped in teenage pregnancy rate and teenage drug addiction rate (Freeman, 1996). The government of the UK missed its target to cut short child poverty in the year 2004-05 (with respect to the 1998-99 levels). The plans to eliminate child poverty by 2020 are also not seriously considered. Even though there are not many children who live in absolute poverty there are thousands of young ones who are still in relative poverty (Brooks, 2006). A research was conducted to analyse adolescent drug misuse and parental conflict among black and ethnic minority groups in the UK. The research consisted of personal interviews, surveys, questionnaire answering and other sections for collecting first hand data from adolescents (from various places, schools, colleges etc). After the initial data collection, data was analyzed for getting the exact level of adolescent drug misuse among the racially and ethnically backward groups residing in UK. Data was collected from adolescents of age group 18-20 years. Adolescents were given questionnaires to fill in. Questions are prepared in such a way that the answers would reveal how adolescent drug misuse is related to the parental conflict. The study also included surveys for adolescents about their habits and traits, assessing their family background and relationships. The research brought out the result that adolescent drug misuse is directly related to parental conflict in the UK. The study confirmed that family problems are the real reason behind the drug misuse among adolescents of lower ethnic groups. Many children said that the kinds of relationship they maintain with their parents are too poor. They had experienced physical as well as mental assault or torture in their early childhood life. This reveals the ill-privileged condition of children in the UK. Children are mistreated and oppressed by parents, relatives, caretakers and others. Mistreatment is mental as well as physical. Children undergo torture, sexual abuse and emotional abuse at younger age. In some families, children are not given proper care and they are not treated properly (Vittachi, 1989)[3]. Parents are preoccupied with their works or are under various malpractices, and seldom give any time for their children. There are cases when children are completely neglected. This is when the parents or the caretakers fail to offer necessary care, food, clothing, shelter and other requirements for the child. For some parents, drugs are more important than their kids. Such people may also make their children use these drugs (compelling children to use drugs). Children are nuisances for another group of parents. All these results in severe child abuse issues. In many families in UK, parents get divorced; children stay with one of the parents or with relatives or other caretakers (Brooks, 2006). They undergo physical and mental abuse and even big assaults. Such children are deprived of parent’s love and care and lose a good family environment. Relatives and caretakers are least bothered about their welfare and torture them to maximum. These abused and neglected children suffer from various mental and physical problems that lead them to wrong paths. Some children are exposed to drugs in their childhood itself since their parents use drugs. Children who are brought up in families where there are frequent fights will naturally have fighting mood or other bad characteristics (Brooks, 2006). Also if parents are having criminal background and other unlawful practices, children who are brought up in that environment also will have criminal characters and behaviours. Children are abused in different ways and are made deprived of all their childhood happiness and privileges. They are troubled and exploited and are subjected to mental and physical exploitation s. There were incidents in which children were beaten, burnt and killed even (Vittachi, 1989). In a particular case, a petition was filed in Waukesha County Juvenile Court in order to keep 3 girl children in protective custody as their drug-addicted father troubled them making them accompany him during a crack cocaine binge. In another incident in 2004, a 9-month-old boy died accidentally and later doctor’s testified that the child’s injuries were as a result of smothering and other physical assaults (Vittachi, 1989). The physician who did the autopsy came with the conclusion that his head and neck were affected with smothering and blunt force trauma. The child was found breathless and blue as a result of consistent physical tortures (Vittachi, 1989). His health status was so bad that he suffered from brain haemorrhages and retinal haemorrhages and died in a hospital. The child’s parent was charged for ill-treatment and aggravated battery of the child which lead to the child’s death. It is high time that UK listen to the complaints of their children (Archard, 1993)[4]. Children must be given a coherent social identity that would make them have a good involvement in the real world. UN Committee on the Rights of the Child reported (five years back) that the UK is an absolute failure in their child welfare programs (Franklin, 1995)[5]. The committee put forth few recommendations out of which very few were implemented. All the 76 recommendations of the committee should be put in action and a right-based approach should be adopted for the welfare of the children (similar to that undertaken by Sweden). All legislations must be assesses to ensure that they do not bring any negative impact on children (Franklin, 1995). Children must be diverted away from antisocial behaviour and must be given protection from physical punishment like adults. Alcohol, drugs and other similar things must never be sold cheaply so that children will have less access to it (Franklin, 1995). Pe rsuasive advertising and sex ads must be rooted out from the society. Sex education must be open as it is in countries like Netherlands. Britain should carefully look into the underlying causes of their failure to raise happy, healthy children. Children who suffer abuses in collapsed families should be saved from their homes and must be placed in a safe environment. Shelter must be offered to such ill-fated children, providing them all the necessary care and protection. They must be kept away from their parents unless it is safe for them to stay with their parents (Brooks, 2006). Children must be kept in healthy environments, away from disturbances and abuses. Social workers, advocates and law enforcement officers must help government in implementing these measures. The abused children will suffer from various physical and psychological problems (Franklin, 1995). They must be evaluated and treated accordingly, assessing their physical and mental health. They need to be kept in healt hy environment where they can interact with other children. The concerned officers (or social workers) should monitor the children, concerning their health needs and other needs. Children must also be given good counselling, advices and classes that will help them come out of the shock they suffered. The concerned officers should also proceed with other legal formalities of the child’s custody. Efforts should also be taken for reuniting the child’s family if it is possible (Brooks, 2006). All these measures would help upgrade the rights of children in the UK. References Archard, D. (1993) Children, Rights and Childhood, London: Routledge. Brooks, L. (2006) The Story of Childhood, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC. Franklin, B. (1995) (ed) Handbook of Childrens Rights: Comparative Policy and Practice, London: Routledge. Freeman, M. (1996) (ed) Childrens Rights: A Comparative Perspective, Dartmouth. Vittachi, A. (1989) Stolen Childhood: In Search of the Rights of the Child, Cambridge: Polity. Bibliography Aitken, S. C. Geographies of Young People: The Morally Contested Spaces of Identity. London: Routledge, 2001. Aries, P. Centuries of Childhood. Cape, 1962. Beddingfield, D. The Child in Need: Children, the State and the Law, London: Jordan, 1998. Buckingham, D. After the Death of Childhood: Growing Up in the Age of the Electronic Media. Cambridge: Polity, 2000. Cunningham, H. Children and Childhood in Western Society since 1500. London: Longman, 1995. Fletcher, A. J. Childhood in Question, Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1999. Foley, P; Roche, J. and Tucker, C. Children in Society: Contemporary Theory, Practice and Policy, Hampshire: Palgrave/OUP, 2001. 1 Footnotes [1] L. Brooks, The Story of Childhood, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC, 2006. [2] M. Freeman (ed), Childrens Rights: A Comparative Perspective, Dartmouth, 1996. [3] A. Vittachi, Stolen Childhood: In Search of the Rights of the Child, Cambridge: Polity, 1989. [4] D. Archard, Children, Rights and Childhood, London: Routledge, 1993. [5] B. Franklin (ed), Handbook of Childrens Rights: Comparative Policy and Practice, London: Routledge, 1995.

Effects of Family Responsibilities and Discrimination on the Career Pro

Introduction Writh noted that despite women becoming increasingly active in economic activities they are still under-represented when it comes to senior management position. She supported this argument by pointing out that 40% of the labour force comprise of women. However, when it comes to top management position; only 20% are women (Writh 2001). This is as a result of a number of barriers which prevent women from function effectively. Family responsibilities, stereotypes that have led to gender discrimination, are perhaps the most notable factors. Despite this negativity women can still perform exceptionally well as senior managers; especially if effective work/life balance initiatives are undertaken. Family Responsibilities Family responsibilities-such as childbearing, rearing and other common household duties which have traditionally been place on women- play are major role in hindering their career progress. These responsibilities reduce the competitiveness of women by adding to them other unpaid responsibilities that men usually do not face (Writh 2001; Adler & Izraeli 1994). This has had profound effect on the ability of women to pursue their career ambitions. Similarly, most employers have resulted in perceiving women as incapable of giving their employment full attention. Actually, evidence point out that women exit the workforce and/or accept part time job at higher rate than men in an effort to balance between the paid (employment) and unpaid (family responsibility) (Kochanowski 2009). Based on Kochanowski (2009) argument, this inability of women to consistently participate in career without breaking off to attend to other family responsibilities hinders them from gaining the necessary skills an d experience needed ... ...Erlbaum, New Jersey. Kraiser, G 2009, Analyzing the Occupational Sex Segregations, McGraw-Hill, New Delhi. Metz, S & Desile 2007, ‘Managing the Diverse Workforce: is Gender Discrimination a Major Issue’, The Public Forum Journal, Vol. 5, no. 12, pp 34-60. Mullins, LJ 2005, Management and Organisational Behaviour (7th ed), Prentice Hall, New Jersey. Moss, N 2002, ‘Choosing Between Family and Career Advancement: Tough Decisions Facing Women’ Gender Management Journal, Vol. 12, no. 20, pp 142-58. Smith, L & Collen 2007, Work-Life Balance and Productivity, Rutledge, London. Shapiro, L & Worcester, S 2008, Gender Differences in Personality and Leadership Traits: A review for Business Leaders, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham. Wirth, L 2001, Breaking Through the glass ceiling; Women in management, International Labour Office, Geneva.

Lasers :: essays research papers

When most people see a laser beam they are amazed by its unique physical properties. Laser light is so unique from other light because it is coherent; unlike ordinary light, which travels in all directions, laser light travels in a straight beam. The word laser is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. The history of the laser is very interesting. Lasers have changed immensely since they were first invented. Before the laser was invented, Charles Townes developed the maser in 1954. The maser has basically the same principles as the laser, but it involves microwaves instead of light. The maser lead Theodore Maximan to assemble the first working laser in 1960; he did this by applying the masers qualities to light. This first solid-state laser was a ruby crystal laser. A year after the first solid-state laser was invented, the first gas laser was constructed by Ali Javan, W. R. Bennett, and D. R. Herriot. This was a helium-neon laser. The helium-neon laser is the most common laser found today. Many other types of lasers have been invented since then: the semiconductor laser (1962), the chemical laser (1964), the liquid laser (1966), and the free electron laser (1977). All lasers work basically on the same principles. First the atoms in the substance used are pumped. For example, the helium and neon would be pumped in a helium-neon laser. This is where the electrons of the atoms jump to higher orbitals, which have more energy. The substance can be pumped by using flashlamps, other lasers, atomic explosions, electric discharges, solar energy, and etc... When the atoms are pumped, they perform stimulated emission. This is where the electrons are stimulated by photons to release coherent photons of a single frequency and color. After the pumping process, the oscillation process takes place. In this process energy is amplified to make it stronger and more useful. This is done by bouncing the photons between two mirrors until they reach a certain intensity. The two mirrors are one of 100 percent efficiency and one of a lesser efficiency. When the photons reach the certain intensity, they leave the mirror of lesser efficiency in a coherent beam. There are basically four main types of lasers: solid-state, gas, liquid, and semi-conductor. Solid-state lasers are made from a crystalline material such as ruby. The crystals have impurities in them that can be stimulated to release radiation in a coherent fashion. These impurities are needed to make the laser last for long periods of time. If the crystals do not have impurities, then they can have some added; this is called "doping." The crystals in solid state lasers are usually pumped by using flashlamps. Gas laser beams are much more