Project Management for Construction Assignment

Project Management for Construction - Assignment Example As per my observations, I have proposed a number of actions that could be taken by the company in the near future. The findings of my analysis are explained one by one. The project as per contract No.205 is for a total sum of 10,000,000 and has been prepared under the JCT 98 format. Initially, the company had calculated the internal budget for the project and had projected it at 9,500,000, out of which 750,000 was allocated for package contracts. the project is still ongoing and has been facing some problems of late, which will be discussed in the forthcoming paragraphs. From the existing financial records, the total cost of the project incurred by the company has so far been close to 6,750,000, out of which 6,200,000 was spent on paying the package contractors and suppliers. However, the amount that has been obtained from the client since the commencement of the project has been to the tune of only 5,850,000, which means that the company has spent an extra amount of 900,000 on this project. In fact, it can be seen that the spending of the company has been more directed towards the package contracts and has in fact been more than the income that has been obtained from this project so far. This suggests that the company has not been efficient enough in monitoring the deficit, which has resulted in an extra investment of nearly a million pounds into the project that is yet to be cleared by the client. Apart from this, I have calculated the ... Apart from this, I have calculated the retention ratio at 10%, which is usually deemed quite less, especially for bigger projects such as these. At present, the company owes around 300,000 to the package contractors, out of which around 100,000 meant for a contractor has become insolvent. This leaves the existing dues to the package contractors at 200,000. I would like to note here that the situation on the part of the client has not been encouraging in terms of their financial performance during the past year. The shares of Rus Ting plc have not been performing well and their value has dropped by as much as half of their value. The poor performance of the client can be further reflected by the fact that they are yet to pay their certified installment due last month. To make matters worse, bad weather over the past few months has been constantly hampering the smooth flow of work at the construction site. The major concern of the company at the present moment is with regards to the time of completion of the project. By taking various factors into account, it has been estimated that the project would be completed three weeks behind schedule. Under such a situation, the company would have to pay up to 90,000 under Liquidated and ascertained damages to the client. Thus, it can be seen that apart from the outstanding costs that have been incurred by the company, another danger still looms large if no immediate steps are taken to bring about a change in the company's strategy and practices.Apart from these problems that the project is facing at the moment, there have been various other problems that have been hampering the progress of the project from time to time.

Teaching Micro-skills of Listening Research Paper

Teaching Micro-skills of Listening - Research Paper Example While Attention Theories support the use of â€Å"consciousness-raising activities to increase learners’ awareness of grammatical structures† conversation theories associated with Communicative Language Teaching â€Å"stress the importance of second language listening since it is not possible to participate in a conversation and take advantage of conversational feedback without understanding what your partner is saying† (Horwitz, 2008, p. 67). It is thus evident that sufficient exposure to the target language is an essential prerequisite for developing any micro-skills of listening. In an EFL classroom listening plays a dominant role and as such the ESL teachers have a pivotal responsibility in choosing the most appropriate activities and listening comprehension passages that cater best to the language needs of the learners. The second language teacher needs to take into account the background knowledge of the learner on a particular topic and familiarize the con tent of the listening comprehension through effective previewing. Similarly, the use of advance organizers â€Å"to help integrate new information into the student’s pre-existing knowledge† also is significant (Horwitz, 2008, p. 68).  Ã‚   Once the listening comprehension text (oral or written) is offered to the learners with ample meaning support the learners need to recall the ideas they are able to remember and for this, the teacher can make use of recall questions to elicit responses from the students. These listening comprehension questions should be both engaging and appropriate. Similarly, inference questions can also be made use of in order to assess whether the students have understood the oral or written text correctly. Intonation (rising and falling of the tone of voice) is another aspect that is related to effective listening skills.  

Apple Motivates All Its Employees Commerce Essay

Apple Motivates All Its Employees Commerce Essay Apple is regarded as the most innovative and esteemed company in the world (Fortune 2009). According to Armstrong (2007) and Legge (2009) firms should bring into action a total reward system that puts together both financial and non-financial benefits. This is exactly what Apple has done to date and given its success, this approach has proven to be useful. Apples employees might even be motivated by Steve Jobs autocratic leadership style (Thomke, et al, 2009), as the positive aspects of working for the company outweigh the negative aspects of being threatened. Apple desires to have a workplace that encourages creativity from the top most management to the lower most workers. Apple puts together both outer and inner motivational methods to enable their employees to be innovative. There are various methods that Apple Inc. uses to motivate its workers. Once, the executives of Apple were rewarded by giving the recognition bonus of 3-5% of their basic salary. This recognition took place d espite the fact that Apple recently missed their goal/target for a particular project (ZDNet 2003). This shows that Apple comprehends groups efforts. New Recruit People who get selected to work for one of the most prestigious organization in the world get very excited well before their first day at work. But, Apple makes sure that their first day is highly motivational from the time they step into the office. Apple does this by issuing a memo to every new employee on the very first day explaining them as to how they should see their efforts and contribution at the company. There has been a leak of this memo in the recent past, many people say its not the legitimate one but majority believes it is. It goes something like this: Theres work and theres your lifes work. The kind of work that has your fingerprints all over it. The kind of work that youll never compromise on. That youd sacrifice a weekend for. You can do that kind of work at Apple. People dont come here to play it safe. They come here to swim in the deep end. They want their work to add up to something. Something big, something that couldnt happen anywhere else. Welcome to Apple. Th is really boosts the energy level of the new joiners and gives them high motivation to show off their skills and talent. Benefits Incentives As we all know benefits package depend upon position, location, and years with the company. Same is followed by Apple as well, but they provide plenty of flexibility within the organization for employees and their family. Some of the Incentives that Apple provides are :- Health and Life insurance. Long term care insurance. Employee stock purchase plan. Financial education seminars. Flexible spending accounts. Short and Long-term disability coverage. Tuition assistance. Paid vacations and Holidays. Onsite fitness center. Computer Programs. 401(k) Plan with company match. Apple also motivates all its employees by giving them discount on the products which is very beneficial for most of them. Apple allows them to use this incentive only once every three years, but it could come into very handy when it comes to Mac or IPods. Employees who work at the management or corporate level can receive free IPod shuffle or IPhone. Many employees at Apple are simply motivated to see the outcome of their efforts on a particular product instead of money can sometimes be very encouraging for the employees to learn more and perform better. It also proves to be good for the company as giving product is cheaper than giving them a raise. Due to high sales in the recent past for Apple, they have provided the employees with more vacation days which again add up to the motivational benefits from the managements point of view. While few workers have complained regarding the salary provided, many Apple employees praised the benefits provided to them even if they only worked part-time. At present, Apple provides workers who work 20 or more hours a week with 401k and health benefits. Most jobs are available both for full-time and part-time, besides the managerial positions. Apple takes in many employees on seasonal basis, especially during back-to-school period or Christmas holidays starting from Thanksgiving. Although they are offered these benefits, but many workers say that these plans are costlier than their full-time counterparts. The above clearly indicates that there is difference in benefits and incentives provided to the full-time employee when compared to part-time employees. This is mainly because the amount of work the full-time employee does under such an immense pressure, whereas, part-time employee not necessarily work the entire week because their schedule is changed on every week basis. Other reason could possibly be that part-time workers dont really require the rest of the benefits as they are there only for a limited time period. Job Satisfaction The new CEO of Apple Tim Cook has been leaving his mark in the company very firmly. Recently in Wall Street Journal, it was reported that Cook is expanding the corporate benefits, such as to take some time off and the freedom to work on personal projects. Although Apple still provides fewer perks compared to some other big companies like Google, Microsoft, etc. Cooks approach in the recent past has been the differentiating factor between him and Steve Jobs. When Wall Street Journal interviewed certain Apple engineers last year they had many good things to share or say about Cook rather than Steve Jobs. They gave examples like Cook is willing to eat with the lower level of employees at the cafeteria, much keener to publicly recognize the work done by his employees, him starting charitable matching program at Apple last year. They concluded by saying that he is way more approachable than Steve Jobs was. All this recent activities done by Cook will lead to better job satisfaction than w hat Apple had earlier. Steve Jobs wasnt that much interested in the motivational sector, although he did a lot for the employees during the entire period that he served at Apple as a CEO. But, Cook has shown much more concern and interest towards employee welfare by adopting new techniques and making himself more accessible to the employees. This definitely gives the employees much better satisfaction as they now have growing incentives and making them feel what they do is known to the world through their name. Money as motivator? One of the process theories which are the goal-setting theory applies to the firm, focuses on the motivational properties of task goals. Employees within the company are highly motivated to attain task goals, which provide direction to employees in their work. The proper framework management of goals within Apple helps clear out performance expectations in the organization. They provide a base for behavioral self-management, which helps employees to improve their performance and be motivated on their job. Apple applies to the reinforcement theory of motivation because it focuses on the external environment and the consequences it holds for the individual. The organization mostly applies to the positive reinforcement strategy which strengthens or increases the frequency of desirable behavior by making a pleasant consequence contingent on it occurrence. Examples of positive reinforcement at Apple include the rewards given by Jobs as mentioned above (opening champagne, vacations, company parties). All employees are motivated to do their best work to accomplish goals because of the rewards they can receive. Incentive compensation system is another method that Apple uses to motivate employees. This includes bonus pay, which provides payments on accomplishing the targets or goals given to specific employee during a particular period. They also have an employee stock ownership plan as mentioned earlier. The performance incentive and ownerships share of ones employment is directly linked to each other. Employees who hold stock of the company are self-motivated to work hard and perform better to raise the market value of the organization. Apple Inc. tries to keep a balance between both financial and non-financial motivators. Although many a times its clearly indicated that Apple uses monetary terms more for the welfare of the employee mainly because, then the employee can use it the way he likes it. The organization also uses non-monetary means to keep their employees pumped up on a frequent basis but Apple obviously prefers to use financial incentive. This could be in wages/salary form, bonus (executives paid 3-5% of their base salary), paid leave, to be able to buy stocks at a cheaper value, different insurance policies, etc. All put in a nutshell, Apple is definitely doing a lot for its employees as present, whether at corporate level or for the workers, be it for full time employees or part time workers. Before people did have complaints regarding the motivation, salary, incentives, bonus, working hours, etc. but as time is passing by Apple is learning the tricks and trade of it and also is making sure that it brings into action the most suitable and the right motivational strategy for its employees to perform better and make sure Apple stays real strong in the market. The backbone for any company is its employees and so is for Apple. After the death of Steve Jobs, people talked within themselves whether Cook will be able to fit in Steve Jobs shoes or not? And all the critics were onto it in a flash. Keeping all this in mind and the fact that many people believed that Apple may see a downfall due to Jobs death, but from the time Cook has taken charge Apple hasnt looked back. In fact Tim Cook has 97% of Approval rating in comparison to Steve Jobs 95% of Approval rating. Here are some of the famous quotes by Steve Jobs: Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower. Be a yardstick of quality, some people arent used to an environment where excellence is expected. The only way to do a great work is to love what you do. The people, who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Workplace Literacy and Effective Communication Essay -- Literacy Essays

Recently, there has been a poorly written communication in the workplace, which has led to some hurt feelings, lower morale and possible loss of business. As a corporation, we have worked very hard to maintain the synergy thoughout our work environment. These latest events are starting to compromise multiple aspects of our company. First, we are loosing control and perspective of our colleagues. Camaraderie and atmosphere are suffering, placing us in jeopardy of destroying our active policies and their integrity. We must also be careful not to take these events lightly, jeopardizing our nucleus and strong core structure of talented workers. Workplace literacy and effective communication have long been increasingly important skills demanding continuous attention, monitoring, and education. Therefore, the objectives are to present a solution for company-sponsored workshops to improve workers’ writing skills. Workplace literacy involves instruction in basic skills of reading, writing, or mathematics, and the application of these skills to areas such as communication, teamwork, and problem solving (Smith, 2000, p. 378). The workplace is a very competitive environment and the key to competitiveness will be gaining, transforming, and generating knowledge, which can be useful for the employee and employer alike. There are many reasons and justifications for effective communication, but these can best be described by singling out a few common points that will enlighten us to the need for this higher communicative education. According to Office Team 2000, a leading staffing service, while intellectual challenges and opportunities will motivate workers, such skills as writing and speaking well, the display of proper etiquette, and listening attentively will probably determine their career success. HR Focus Magazine (1999) performed a survey which revealed that workers will have to learn to communicate more effectively and articulately. Through technological advancements, their people skills will be showcased and tested, and those workers lacking in these areas will have their shortcomings exposed. Likewise, it is mentioned that pervasiveness of both audio and video teleconferencing will also reveal the caliber of one’s verbal strengths. This leads us next to professional craftsmanship and the justification for which every good employee is obligated for it. W. Bri... ...racy...† (cited in Smith, Mikulecky, Kibby, Dreher, Dole, 2000, p. 378). High literacy will involve the mastering of lower level processing skills. This will include self-monitoring one’s thinking, understanding of ideas and beliefs, diversity on multiple issues, working in teams, and synthesizing new ideas. Fred Talbott makes mention in The Salt Lake Tribune (2000); â€Å"...writing does not have to be staid†. References Anonymous. HR Focus. The challenges facing workers in the future. New York, Aug   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  1999. Vol. 76. Lss.8: pg. 6, 1pgs. Brinkman, G., & M van der Geest, T. (2003). Assessment of communication in   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  engineering design. Technical Communication Quarterly, Vol. 12(1), 67. Smith, M., Mikulecky L., Kibby M., Dreher, M., and Dole, J. (2000). What will be the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  demands on literacy in the workplace in the next millennium? Reading Research   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Quarterly, Vol. 35(3), 378-383. Tyler, K. (2003, Mar.). Toning up communications. HR Magazine, 48(3), 87-89. Writing well can help in the workplace. (2000, Apr.9). The Salt Lake City Tribune, p. E3

Eight Years Wasted, the Economic Failures of the Bush Administration Essay

Eight years wasted. That is the description that befits the George W. Bush administration of the United States between 2001 and 2008. Nevertheless, this is not a case of unfair criticism of the Bush administration, as noted by Republican Senator John McCain who served in Bush’s era (Curl). According to McCain as he campaigned for the presidency in 2008, Bush spent a lot of the United States’ resources on the war in Iraq, which consequently led to a massive economic downturn (Curl). The most obvious impacts of Bush’s actions are reflected in the changes in rate of unemployment, inflation, money supply in the United States, and shifts in foreign exchange rates as well as interest rates (National Organization for Women). Unemployment The rate of unemployment has particularly been worrying since the period between 2000 and 2001 when Bush took the leadership of the United States (OECD). According to Shi and Stevens, the rate of unemployment has been fluctuating rapidly since 2000 when it was about 4. 0 percent (59). Within over a year of Bush’s leadership, the unemployment rate shot up to 5. 8 per cent in 2002 (59). Women and their families were particularly affected by the high rate of unemployment, as they would rarely make ends meet at the start of the Bush administration. In fact, according to the National Organization for Women, the year 2001 marked the period of massive job loss among women in over 40 years (National Organization for Women). Along this line, the Institute for Women’s Policy Research reported that in the period between 2001 and 2004, women workers lost over 300,000 jobs (National Organization for Women). In the same breadth, unemployment rates among single mothers rose of an already bad situation of 9. 5 per cent to a worse level of 10. 2 per cent (National Organization for Women). Statistics from GPO Access show a grim picture of the increasing levels of unemployment since the year 2000 when the United States presidential election that ushered in President George Bush was held. In the figures provided, overall civilian unemployment rate fluctuated from 4. 0 per cent in 2000 to 6. 7 percent in November 2008, which marked the end of the Bush administration (Table 1). Along the same line, the same trend in unemployment rate was noticed among different age groups, fa Another aspect of the Bush administration’s failure is an uncontrolled increase in inflation. At the beginning of the Bush administration in 2001, there was a notable decline in the prices of all items and services as compared to the preceding year. Perhaps this was because of the effort by Bush to fulfill campaign promises. The truth of the matter is that after 2001, the prices of all items went up, declining only slightly in 2003. Since then, there was a notable fluctuation in the prices but overall, the prices remained at an all time high. In fact, the 4. 1 per cent change in price of items (Table 2) was the highest margin to have been recorded since the 6. 1 per cent rate recorded in 1990 at the height of the Gulf War (Irwin and Dan. ). The high prices of commodities and services noticed during the Bush Administration not only affected the financial positions of many families but also influenced the people’s access to essential services such as healthcare (Atkinson and Hutto). According to Hanke, the 2003 United States census showed that any family of three lived on a mean of $51 a day. This figure was arrived at using an assumption that childcare and healthcare services were fully financed by the government (United States Department of Labor). Nevertheless, this was not the case for most families, as they had to rely on their own means to support themselves. In the context of high cost of commodities and services and with particular reference to childcare and healthcare services, many families had to spend as much as over 20 per cent of their incomes in pursuit of these services (Robinson). According the New York Times, the Bush administration cut funding programs for many essential programs such as childcare, which were particularly appropriate for single parent households (The High Cost of Health Care). This move was done as the administration aimed at improving and expanding other unpopular programs such as promotion of marriage (United States Bureau of Statistics). However, the downside of this point is that as focus was shifted to newer programs, the already existing programs suffered an even heavier blow in terms of the exorbitant costs that had to be incurred (The High Cost of Health Care). According to Shi and Gregory, the highest number of individual without healthcare services was recorded in 2003 (60). This is because most attention was diverted to acquisition of other essential commodities and services such as food and housing (The High Cost of Health Care). Yet president Bush still insisted on funding the war to oust President Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq. This action can be considered as a case of misplaced priority because whereas President Bush was busy pursuing the United States foreign policy, local affairs (which perhaps needed more attention) were thrown into disarray. Money Supply During the Bush Administration, the supply of money increased, but with some fluctuations. For instance, the total value of the United States currency, traveler’s checks, demand deposits and other checkable deposits rose from $1087. 4 billion to a high of $1473. 1 billion in October 2008 (GPO Access). The high supply of money does not imply that the United States economy improved in the period of eight years. Rather, it is an indication the value of the United States dollar could have depreciated (Crutsinger and Aversa). Thus, the large sums of money released to fund the war in Iraq in 2003 did not add any impetus to the United States economy (Crutsinger and Aversa). Instead, the economy became vulnerable with reference to a weak dollar against other world currencies. In spite of the increase in the sum of currency, there was an increase in debt of domestic nonfinancial sectors from $18,183. 6 billion in 2000 to $32,436. 5 billion in 2006 . This means that nonfinancial institutions increasingly had to borrow during the era of George W. Bush. It therefore no wonder that the United States was crippled by a great financial crisis only comparable to the Great Depression towards the end of Bush’s reign, the overriding factor being that the United States government had spent so much money on defense and war in Iraq and Afghanistan at the expense of internal development. Foreign Exchange As mentioned above, there was a significantly high supply of money in the United States, which characteristically led to depreciation of the United States dollar. In addition, the period was characterized by a high rate of inflation, implying that considerably larger sums of money would be used in buying commodities that would have been bought inexpensively in the earlier period (Atkinson and Hutto). On the international scale, the high cost of United States commodities meant that importers had to pay lots of money to acquire the goods, which ultimately lowered the level of international trade between the United States and other countries (Table 3). Consequently, the United States dollar fluctuated against other world currencies such as the Japanese yen, the Sterling Pound, Chinese yuan and the Australian dollar (Atkinson and Hutto). For instance, the Sterling Pound exchanged at between $1. 9548 and $2. 0442 in 2007 (Table 3), which was a very large variation. The strong dollar against the yen between 2001 and 2002, which was the beginning of the Bush administration, discouraged importation by Japan from the United States (Atkinson and Hutto). At the same time, citizens of the United States opted to import valuable items such as automobiles at the expense of the locally manufactured ones, thus putting the United States automobile industry in the quagmire in which it is today (OECD). The consequence of this is that major competitors such as the Japanese automakers have adversely affected local automakers such as Ford, and the whole industry has been earmarked for revival in the Economic Stimulus Package (OECD). Interest rates Government bond yields and interest rates generally declined between 2000 and 2008. For instance, the value of bills at auction declined steadily from $ 5. 85 to $1. 01 in 2003, but steadily rose from $1. 38 to $4. 73 in 2006 (GPO Access). The low price of bonds meant that banks were in a position to purchase more government bonds, thus diverting their attention from other financial service users such as borrowers (Crutsinger and Aversa). Ultimately, banks were forced to impose high interest rates on the loans they offered to the public, implying that most small business holders and individuals were crippled by a massive credit crunch (Crutsinger and Aversa). The ensuing credit crunch adversely affected the United States economy particularly towards the ends of the end of the Bush administration (Crutsinger and Aversa). Banks were most affected by the financial woes and this necessitated the Bush administration to consider taking ownership of various banks in a bid to protect them from collapsing (Crutsinger and Aversa). This move was however also ill planned, as it would result in unnecessary government expenditure, resulting into higher inflation in the United States (Hanke). In addition, there was no assurance that with the government’s acquisition of the banks, their performance would improve (Hanke). Conclusion Even though the world witnessed a massive economic recession, the woes in the United States stemmed from the fact that the Bush administration spent excessively on the war in Iraq and Afghanistan, which generally weakened the performance of most local institutions. The underperformance in various sectors was shown in high rates of unemployment, high inflation, fluctuating levels of money supply and foreign exchange rates as well as high bank interest rates. The combined effect of the various phenomena led to a crisis in the entire United States economy, thus making the Bush administration one of the worst leaderships of the United States. References Atkinson Robert D and Julie Hutto 18October 2004. Bush vs. Clinton: An Economic Performance Index. 10 March 2009. http://www. ppionline. org/ppi_ci. cfm? knlgAreaID=107&subsecID=295&contentID=252964 Crutsinger, Martin and Aversa, Jeannine 8 October 2008. Bush administration mulls bank stakes. 10 March 2009. http://www. freep. com/article/20081008/BUSINESS07/81008120/1015/BUSINESS02/Bush+administration+mulls+bank+stakes Curl, Joseph. 23 Oct. 2008 McCain lambastes Bush years. 10 March 2009. http://www. washingtontimes. com/news/2008/oct/23/mccain-lambastes-bush-years/ GPO Access . Civilian unemployment rate. 10 March 2009. http://www. gpoaccess. gov/eop/2009/B42. xls GPO Access . Money stock and debt measures, 1965–2008. 10 March 2009 http://www. gpoaccess. gov/eop/2009/B69. xls GPO Access. Bond yields and interest rates, 1929–2008. 10 March 2009. http://www. gpoaccess. gov/eop/2009/B73. xls GPO Access. Changes in consumer price indexes for commodities and services, 1929–2007. 10 March 2009. http://www. gpoaccess. gov/eop/2009/B64. xls GPO Access. Foreign exchange rates, 1985–2008. 10 March 2009. http://www. gpoaccess. gov/eop/2009/B110. xls. Hanke, Steve H. September 24, 2008 The Bush Legacy: Deflation or Inflation? 10 March 2009. http://www. cato. org/pub_display. php? pub_id=9663 Irwin, Neil and Eggen, Dan. 12 Jan. 2009. The Washington Post. Economy Made Few Gains in Bush Years: Eight-Year Period Is Weakest in Decades. http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/story/2009/01/12/ST2009011200359. html National Organization for Women. 27 August 2004. Bush’s Economic Failure Weakens Middle Class, Deepens Poverty and Harms Women and Families. 10 March 2009. OECD. Macroeconomic indicators. 10 March 2009. http://stats. oecd. org/mei/default. asp? lang=e&subject=15&country=USA Robinson, Woodward, Gellman. Timeline: Bush’s Eight Years in Office. 10 March 2009. http://www. washingtonpost. com/wp-srv/politics/bush/legacy/timeline Shi, Leiyu and Stevens Gregory D. Vulnerable Populations in the United States. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 2004 The High Cost of Health Care. 25 November 2007. The New York Times. 10 March 2009. http://www. nytimes. com/2007/11/25/opinion/25sun1. html? _r=1 United states Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. 10 March 2009 http://www. bls. gov/

Was Mary Bloody or Misunderstood Essay

Mary became Queen of England in 1553, after she executed Lady Jane Grey. Source A, in the textbook, says that â€Å"There were bonfires and tables in every street and wine and beer and ale†, this is an account from the diary of a Londoner at the time Mary became Queen, and so it is quite reliable. Mary mistook this celebration to mean that the people of England were glad they had a Catholic Queen on the throne. So she set about trying to turn the country into a Catholic country. This did not settle well with the public and caused many Protestants to take an immediate disliking towards her. As Mary realised this she took to giving the death penalty to as many heretics as she could. Source A, on the sheet, say that â€Å"Women at their marketing, men at their daily trade†¦ all learned to know the sweet smell of burning flesh.† This was written by a historian in 1940 so it is not very reliable, however it does show that a lot of burnings took place. Source D, on the sheet, is written by D. Loades, a historian, in 1991 said that â€Å"Mary personally bears the responsibility for the death of nearly 300 heretics, but she also executed traitors more ruthlessly than either her father or her sister†A famous writer at the time, John Foxe, wrote about Mary I. He said that neither man, woman or child was spared from the cruel burnings at Mary’s hand. A section of his writing, including this information, is quoted in Source B; it was written in 1559, a year after Mary’s death, so it is more reliable than other sources. However even though it was written around Mary’s time, John Foxe was a Protestant so the information could be bias. Source E, on the sheet, written by a historian in 1990, says â€Å"The Bishop of Winchester had urged Mary to burn the heretics, but it was Mary who insisted on continuing even when it was obvious the cruel punishments were leading people to support the Protestants rather than turn to the Catholic religion.† If people weren’t listening and actually going against her, the Queen, then it would probably have annoyed her even more because she wouldn’t have had the control over the country she wanted. Therefore she might have increased the executions. Source F says that when Mary died â€Å"All the churches in London rang their bells and that night bonfires were lit and tables placed in the street and people ate drank andmade merry.† This was written by a Londoner at the time Mary died so it is a reliable source,  however he might have been Protestant which could have made the account bias. Many people thought Mary deserved the name ‘Bloody Mary’ but there was also people who thought she was just misunderstood. Source A is Mary speaking to her council in 1555, so it is very reliable, when she began the public executions â€Å"Concerning punishments of heretics, we think I ought to be done without rashness. The people must see that any condemned are treated fairly, so that they understand the truth.† I think she was saying that when they want to arrest somebody, or execute them, they should make sure they have the right facts and make sure it is the right person. This might make people think that she is being fair about who she arrests and why. When Mary married Philip of Spain, who was Catholic, England helped Spain in the war against France. The result of the war was the loss of the last place England owned on France-Calais. Now, historians agree that it was probably unavoidable, so that shows us that it was not Mary’s fault. This is a good example of how she was misunderstood because she was only trying to help her husband’s country. Source D is about this and was written in 1994 so the time is not near, however by then people will have had more information about the events following the situation. So it is quite a useful source. At the time of Mary’s death a poem was written about her: Her perfect life in all extremes Her patient heart did show For in this world she never found But doleful days and woe The poem is saying that Mary tried to be kind and patient but she was only repaid with unhappy days full of sorrow. It was written by an anonymous poet so it could be bias but it is written when she died so it is quite a useful source but not completely trustworthy. Source C points out that Mary benefited the country greatly by reforming the tax system, the Army and the Navy. This shows that Mary cared about the country and it’s welfare/condition so she wasn’t a horrible person to her people. Source E says â€Å"Lady Jane Grey and her husband were sentenced to death but Mary saved them and they were only executed after they were thought to be involved in Wyatt’s rebellion against Mary.† This source was written in 1964 by a historian so it is not useful for the time it was written but useful because  the historian would have had all the facts, however the person could have been bias. The source shows that Mary was a kind person and she wanted to help a friend who was in trouble. Source B says that it wasn’t only Mary that killed people, in Essex â€Å"between 17 and 24 people were hanged each year for common theft.† This was written by a historian in 1976 so it is quite a reliable source however the historian could be bias on the subject of Mary and whether she was bloody or misunderstood. Looking at equal evidence for both sides of the argument, I think that Mary is bloody. I think this because she has killed so, so many people just because t hey had a different opinion to her! Any person can take a dislike to somebody if they have a completely different view to them. However it takes a horrible person to go so far as to kill nearly 300 people just to try and get everybody to agree with you. Even when she knew it wasn’t working, and she was just turning people against her, she carried on. She does have some good points – for instance reforming the tax system, the Army and the Navy – however she should be doing things like that because she was the queen and she had to have responsibilities. But taking it so far was just evil. When she realised that she was just turning people away from Catholicism and towards Protestantism she should have held back and tried to turn the country toward Catholicism in a different and less murderous way. Overall I think that Mary I deserves the name Bloody Mary and that she was a terrible queen.

Mao Tse Dong essays

Mao Tse Dong essays MAO TSE DONGS INIQUITY IN CHINA Maos era had a devastating impact in China. These impacts are still visible today. Mao has deceived a whole generation, forcing people to work to their deaths using his propagandas. Maos a very bad economist who wouldnt listen to other peoples opinions. He follows the steps of Adolf Hitler by encouraging hate crimes and classifying people into categories. In the view of political philosophy, he claims to liberalize the people of China, but he only worsened the lives of the people of China. Mao was the leader of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party). He fought the nationalists Led by Zhou Yin Lai. Zhou had more military power, but Mao uses the peasants to help him win the war. He realizes that the majority of Chinas population is peasants. He won the peasants support by using land reforms. He took land away from the rich. With the support of the peasants, he won the war against the Nationalists and forced them into Taiwan. Mao came into power in the late 1940s. Realizing how successful the land reforms were, he continued the land reform movement, especially in the rural area. This movement helped him gain a lot of power. Since majority of the populations benefited from this movement, they supplied him with endless support. He became their red sun. My mom was from a peasant family in China. She uses to tell me stories of how she was when she was young. Teachers in school use to teach students to sing nothing but the best things about Chairman Mao. She really believed in every word in those songs and thought that Maos life was more important than her own. Mao wanted to follow in the steps of Russia. Mao thought that China should be industrialized in order to keep up with other developing countries. Again, Mao called upon the peasants to take the burden. Families were pulled together to form cooperatives. These cooper...

Free Essays on Shinto

What is the meaning of Shinto? Shinto is a nature- focused religion in Japan and deals with a number of Japanese mythological rites and has gone through many changes or the years. Today Shinto emphasizes the harmony of natural beauty and a clear perspective of reality. Shinto celebrities’ clarity and the contact with the diverse forces of nature. The word kami is described as something that possessing power that no individual believer does. Kami is used to identify something that is physical, animate, spiritual, or inanimate objects. In American culture though we have no set religion, which means people are allowed to believe and pray to whom ever they choose to pray to. Therefore, most religions that is in the American come from the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa. This lets Americans be able to believe in whom every they want to and they will not be prosecuted for these actions. Yet when a person dies in the United States may people put something by their tombstone or where they died, so that the person who dies knows that people did care for this person. Shinto has shrines to embrace much more then just religious practice. Shinto shrines are made up of wood and are generally situated near sacred trees and flowing water. When a person passes through one of these shrines, tori, he or she is regarded as having left the world of finite things and entered the realm of infinite power where the kami may be invoked for the purpose of the ceremony at hand. In American culture we do not have things like this we have either a church, or another place of worshiping. Where we go to confess our sins or ask the spirits for guidance through our days on earth. Yet when a person dies in America people go through a whole grieving process either set flowers, photos, or stuffed animals down by a person’s grave. This helps people deal with the lose of a loved one and makes them feel a little bit better about this person d... Free Essays on Shinto Free Essays on Shinto What is the meaning of Shinto? Shinto is a nature- focused religion in Japan and deals with a number of Japanese mythological rites and has gone through many changes or the years. Today Shinto emphasizes the harmony of natural beauty and a clear perspective of reality. Shinto celebrities’ clarity and the contact with the diverse forces of nature. The word kami is described as something that possessing power that no individual believer does. Kami is used to identify something that is physical, animate, spiritual, or inanimate objects. In American culture though we have no set religion, which means people are allowed to believe and pray to whom ever they choose to pray to. Therefore, most religions that is in the American come from the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Africa. This lets Americans be able to believe in whom every they want to and they will not be prosecuted for these actions. Yet when a person dies in the United States may people put something by their tombstone or where they died, so that the person who dies knows that people did care for this person. Shinto has shrines to embrace much more then just religious practice. Shinto shrines are made up of wood and are generally situated near sacred trees and flowing water. When a person passes through one of these shrines, tori, he or she is regarded as having left the world of finite things and entered the realm of infinite power where the kami may be invoked for the purpose of the ceremony at hand. In American culture we do not have things like this we have either a church, or another place of worshiping. Where we go to confess our sins or ask the spirits for guidance through our days on earth. Yet when a person dies in America people go through a whole grieving process either set flowers, photos, or stuffed animals down by a person’s grave. This helps people deal with the lose of a loved one and makes them feel a little bit better about this person d...

Bureaucracy in Public Administration

Even though bureaucracies sometimes seem inefficient or wasteful, setting up a bureaucracy helps ensure that thousands of people work together in compatible ways by defining everyone’s roles within a hierarchy. Bureaucracy is an organization that is structured with regulations set in place to control activity. The bureaucratic stricture is usually implemented in large organizations and governments. It is represented by an assembly of knowledge, power, and Hierarchy. The Knowledge of the organization consists of the technical expertise and the understandings necessary to carry out specialized tasks, along with the capacity to gain more information as needed. The power is the central political resource, enables the organization to change in spite of what others may think. Hierarchy is the arrangement of people holding authority over others with the ability to command behavior and punish lack of compliance. Bureaucracies are meant to be orderly, fair, and highly efficient. Which means having a clear-cut division of labor is necessary. The principles of Bureaucracy hierarchy and of levels of authority mean a firmly ordered system of super and subordination, in which a super supervises their subordination. Such a system offers those governed the possibility of appealing the decision of super to higher authority, in a regulated manner. Within any bureaucratic authority there are principals of organization orthodox. According to the Weberian model, created by German sociologist Max Weber, a bureaucracy always displays the following characteristics:- Hierarchy: A bureaucracy is set up with clear chains of command so that veryone has a boss. At the top of the organization is a chief who oversees the entire bureaucracy. Power flows downward. Specialization: Bureaucrats specialize in one area of the issue their agency covers. This allows efficiency because the specialist does what he or she knows best, and then passes the matter along to another specialist. Division of labor: Each task is broken down into smaller tasks, a nd different people work on different parts of the task. Standard operating procedure (SOP): Also called formalized rules, SOP informs workers about how to handle tasks and situations. Everybody always follows the same procedures to increase efficiency and predictability so that the organization will produce similar results in similar circumstances. SOP can sometimes make bureaucracy move slowly because new procedures must be developed as circumstances change. In the past, organizations were commonly structured as bureaucracies. A bureaucracy is a form of organization based on logic, order, and the legitimate use of formal authority. Bureaucracies are meant to be orderly, fair, and highly efficient. Their features include a clear-cut division of labor, strict hierarchy of authority, formal rules and procedures, and promotion based on competency. Management or administration marked by hierarchical authority among numerous offices and by fixed procedures, the Administration of a government chiefly through bureaus or departments staffed with nonelected officials. Public administration houses the implementation of government policy and an academic discipline that studies this implementation and that prepares civil servants for this work. As a â€Å"field of inquiry with a diverse scope† its â€Å"fundamental goal†¦ is to advance management and policies so that government can function. † Some of the various definitions which have been offered for the term are: â€Å"the management of public programs†; the â€Å"translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day† and â€Å"the study of government decision making, the analysis of the policies themselves, the various inputs that have produced them, and the inputs necessary to produce alternative policies. Public administration is â€Å"centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and programmes as well as the behavior of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their conduct† Many unelected public servants can be considered to be public administrators, including heads of city, county, regional, state and federal departments such as municipal budget directors, human resources (H . R. ) administrators, city managers, census managers, state [mental health] directors, and cabinet secretaries. Public administrators are public servants working in public departments and agencies, at all levels of government. In contrast to private enterprises, government-owned corporation or municipality owned enterprises are not always or even usually managed on the basis of the profit motive. A deficit in this latter case does not spell the end of the enterprise or even the beginning of reforms, because it is generally assumed that the reason the enterprise exists is to ‘render useful services to the public’ (i. e. mploy a large part of the local population as its workforce or charge an artificially low price for its products or services), not become a slave of the profit motive. What is notable about the very idea of bureaucracy is its severe rational modernism. Political modernity and bureaucracy are largely symbiotic; the rise of the state paralleled the rise of the bureaucracy. One of the philosophers of the modern economizing state and the modern bureaucratic idea is Adam Smith (1723–1790), whose defense of the division of labor promoted the bureaucratization of the early Westphalia state. Indeed, Smith’s ideas are elemental to Weber’s core tenets of bureaucracy: the rigid division of responsibilities and tasks and the economization of organizational forms. Whereas Smith advocated the division of labor in order to promote efficient economic growth, Weber suggests the division of labor for the efficient production of goods or services. Inevitably, bureaucracy was conceived as, and has become, an economizing tool for the rationalization of complex and ambiguous environments. The rationality of bureaucracy is a central idea within Weber’s ideal type. In fact, Weber himself suggests that bureaucracy be a rational-legal form designed to promote the rationalization of organizational tasks and goals. The rationalizing tendency of bureaucracy, while being one of the elements most open to contemporary criticism, was also its most attractive quality for the architects of Enlightenment-guided governance, who sought alternatives to earlier forms of despotic and aristocratic dominance. The adoption of the bureaucratic form by theorists of liberal government has its roots in the legal protection of natural (rational) rights for all. In fact, embedded in the rationalization structure of bureaucracy is the elimination of particularism the diminishment of universal individual rights for the sake of traditional forms of class or ethnic domination. Those responsible for the French Revolution pined, within their writings, for the rational nonexceptionalism of the bureaucratic form. Indeed, as Maxim lien de Robespierre (1758–1794) and later Alexis de Tocqueville (1805–1859) identified, the ancient regime was epitomized by the irrational occupation of power by a centralized bureaucracy of the ruling class. The bureaucratic organization of rational-legal authority involves the following necessary criteria: the specification of jurisdictional areas, the hierarchical organization of roles, a clear and intentionally established system of decision-making rules, the restriction of bureau property to use by the bureau, the compensation by salary (not spoils) of appointed officials, and the professionalization of the bureaucratic role into a tenured lifelong career. The idea of bureaucracy suggests that rules, norms, merit, regulations, and stability are paramount to the operation of government. The rule-bound nature of bureaucracy has been widely critiqued in modern political and sociological analyses; however, the number of alternative forms of organization that have received as much consideration is limited.

Work experince Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Work experince - Essay Example I am looking forward to working with you in training new staff on calibration of meters, periodic maintenance of the machines and other duties such as meter assembly and loading. I am self driven, quick learner, and team player and can work in challenging environments. This vacancy will provide me with a good opportunity to apply my academic knowledge, skills and vast experience serving your clients. If accorded this opportunity, I promise to meet and exceed your performance set targets. Attached herewith is a copy of my curriculum vitae and testimonials of my academic and professional qualifications. I am highly committed, confident, self starter and visionary person excited by  challenges and proactive team player who can work with minimal or no supervision. I  possess good personality and excellent communication and leadership skills. RPL is a useful process, which helps the learner to acknowledge previous study, working experience and life which match the learning outcomes. There are two types of electric meters which are single-phase meter that is mainly used in homes and Althea Ni type which is a three-phase meter that is mainly used in industrial plants. The co0unter is important as it measures the legal and calibrates the relationship between institution’s power and other counters. The main parts of the counter include the CD-aluminum, permanent magnet; file the heart of the current, rotate adjustment lever, caliber number, small caliber loads, and heart of tension file (Anand 49). The internal structure of a number will consist of the following parts which are range torque (1), rotor (2), bearing (3), registrar (4) and media settings (5). The torque consists pf two parts which are group difference of tension which has the file and heart of iron which are large files with insulated wire varnishing and the current flowing

Economical and Environmental Consequences of Overfishing Essay

Economical and Environmental Consequences of Overfishing - Essay Example The problem of overfishing has its roots in human activities. Human beings have the mandate of taking care of their environments but in most cases, they do not do it. Human activities increase carbon emissions, which is a root cause of the problem is acidification of our seas. According to United Nations Environment as quoted in Ecocentric times, increasing carbon emissions has found its way in our oceans and the PH balance is no longer the same. Although only a few species like the crabs, corals, and shellfish will be greatly affected by acidification of the seas, a broken ecosystem balance will also affect the fish and hence food security (Walsh Web). It is worth noting, with interest, that all forms of life are interdependent and that extinction of one form of life threatens the survival of the rest of the ecosystem either directly or indirectly. On a global scale, the world has enough fish to cater for all its inhabitants and three other planets like earth. This means that the pr oblem is not with less fish in our oceans. According to Koster, â€Å"Worldwide, fishing fleets are two to three times as large as needed to take present-day catches of fish and other marine species and as what our oceans can support† (Koster, 2011, p.1). ...Statistics show that for every five persons, one depends on fish as a source of protein. Monterey Bay Aquarium foundation as quoted in Sea the Sea website clearly shows a great rise in fishing volumes. It is claimed, â€Å"Between 1950 and 1994, total fish caught increased by 400% and this increased in subsequent years† (Sea-the Sea, Web). UN Food and Agricultural Organisation statistics as quoted in Overfishing website depicts that there is no proper balance of fishing habits. That is â€Å"52% of fish fully exploited, 20% moderately exploited, 17% overexploited, 7% depleted, and 1% recovering from depletion† (Koster, 2011, p.1). At times overfishing is caused by corrupt activities of the managers of the se as who fully aware of the stress in our seas allow fishing. First, overfishing is a problem since economically fishing is an activity that supports so many livelihoods who earn a living from it. According to a UN website, â€Å"200 million people in the world depend on fishing worldwide† (Natal, 2006, P.1). Overfishing means that we are risking such millions of people losing their ways of earning a living. This is because fish is a finite resource that depletes over time especially if the stocks of fish left cannot replenish themselves. Secondly, overfishing destroys the normal ecosystem flow of marine species. This occurs after the extinction of one or more species that depend on the other for survival, which means that extinction of one or more fish species will adversely affect other sea species or even cause their extinction too.

Political Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Political Philosophy - Essay Example What the law is and what it should be are entirely different. Hence a society can also make a law that might be immoral, and a wicked organization can also institute a system of laws. Second thing that legal positivists believed was that the legal concepts are an important endeavor. Thirdly, they said that the laws are orders given by rulers that are followed by people forcefully. Hart was agreed on the first two points but he was not convinced with the third. He did not believe that a legal system is in total control of sovereign to command. According to him it was because of pressurizing of government that people do not obey laws. In the Concept of Law, Hart has argued that compliance of law is impossible when imposed forcefully on public. Hart took a legal system as a union of primary and secondary rules and not as a compilation of individual laws. He has defined primary rules as the rules which imply a force on a citizen on his deeds, that is, what he can and can not do. He said that secondary rules define specifics of the primary rules.

Literature Review about the franchising in hospitality industry Term Paper

Literature Review about the franchising in hospitality industry - Term Paper Example Hotels’ operating budgets need to select the right markets for growth, the best partners with experience and the ability to handle different clients effectively while also developing partnerships with the franchisee and the local cultures. â€Å"In order to work effectively with local people, we need to examine their values, norms, beliefs, relationships, and many other cultural characteristics† (Shakerin, 2006, p.1). When large hotels desire to expand their businesses overseas to foreign markets, it makes sense to select local investors to operate their establishments so that better connections can be made with foreign clients. If these customer service elements were to be managed by corporate offices, expatriate costs and training costs could be quite large. Franchising allows opportunities to reduce these high costs by inviting investment from overseas and allowing like cultural leaders to run the business units. â€Å"Leaders expecting to be effective in multi-cultural environments have to develop awareness of different cultural dimensions most central to their customers† (Shriberg & Kumari, 2008, p.20). If Marriott Hotels, as one example, decided to expand their presence into India, it would make the most sense to inspire an Indian investor to take on the responsibility of managing a Marriott franchise. This type of local investor maintains the cultural awareness and social skills necessary to satisfy local customers more than an expatriate manager sent overseas to govern the hotel. Geert Hofstede described the elements of culture that drive local tastes and preferences. In individualistic societies, people are self-expressive and put their personal goals and interests ahead of others (Blodgett, Bakir & Rose, 2008). In collectivist countries, such as India, people are more family-oriented and tend to believe in the rights and needs of the group. These are important

Asian Financial Crisis 1997 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 12000 words

Asian Financial Crisis 1997 - Coursework Example 20 HATEML-J, ABDULNASSER IRANDOUST, MANUCHE. "Export Performance and Economic Growth Causality: An Empirical Analysis.(Statistical Data Included)", Atlantic Economic Journal, Dec 2000 Issue 21 International Journal of Manpower, Volume 21, Issue 6 (2006-09-19) 22 (1-10-08) http://www.bis.org/publ/work95.pdf 23 http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-09212003-192501/unrestricted/YingYiChouElectronicDissertation2.pdf 24 Acumen PI- Title: What is aggregate demand Explain what determines the main components of aggregate demand, Date: 2002-01-30 25 (11-20-06) http://jesr.journal.fatih.edu.tr/osman.pdf 26 http://www.caec-asiaeurope.org 27 (3-21-08) http://oenb.at/de/img/ftr_1998_1_tcm14-6070.pdf 28 (8-28-07) http://www.info.gov.hk/hkma/eng/public/qb200703/E_21_31.pdf 29 (3-16-08) http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidwp/pdf/079rev.pdf 30 Leng, Chao-Chun. "Stationarity and stability of underwriting profits in property-liability insurance Part II.", Journal of Risk Finance, Wntr 2006 Issue 31 Romero-Avila, Diego Usabiaga, Carlos. "Unit root tests, persistence, and the unemployment rate of the U.S. States.(Author abstract)", Southern Economic Journal, Jan 2007 Issue 32 (2-19-06) http://www.usvtc.org/trade/wto/WTO_ACC.doc 33 (12-14-07) http://www.cass.city.ac.uk/conferences/mmf2004/files/Kharroubi.pdf 34 for Further Study 62 References 66 Appendix A: Chronology of the Crisis 73 Appendix B: Economic Facts and Figures 75 Executive Summary WHILE IT MAY BE A DECADE OLD, THE ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS REMAINS A TOPIC OF SEMINAL CONCERN AND OF ACADEMIC INTEREST. THE CRISIS, WHICH ORIGINATED IN THAILAND AND SUBSEQUENTLY SPREAD TO SOUTHEAST ASIA'S FASTEST GROWING ECONOMIES, BEGS THE QUESTIONS OF HOW' AND WHY.' HOW DID THE CRISIS OCCUR AND WHY WAS THERE A CONTAGION EFFECT.

Operations Management Assignment in Ritz Carlton Hotels Essay

Operations Management Assignment in Ritz Carlton Hotels - Essay Example Ritz Carlton considers that the clandestine to efficient quality management stays to employ efficient staff which recognizes the guests’ requirements and provides them immediately (Case Study, p. 301). In the hospitality or service-care industry, quality is regarded as the extreme significance but unluckily up to now the spotlight has merely been on preparation lead staff to make sure guest satisfaction (Class Note 1 ppt, Slide 17). If a customer resides at the hotel, his opinion of quality is describes by the reliability, declaration and compassion. Ritz Carlton has situated this seeming quality as its main target and also for achieving it stresses on predictability, veracity as well as timeliness. All these three factors collectively lead to greater level of customer satisfaction (Case Study, p. 302). When these service customaries have been resolved the next stride is to determine the measurement methods for monitoring how well these customaries are being realized. The most important problems faced by the services and hospitality industry in respect to implementing TQM are identifying measurements as well as process improvement techniques that generate quantifiable data (Class Note 2 ppt, Slide 6). In effect, some measurement methods have previously been adopted by different hotels, such as Ritz Carlton. Various advanced technologies are being used in order to get maximum advantages or benefits by employing different automated building as well as safety systems to different types of a computerized reservation system. In this context, the Ritz Carlton has come up with greater user-friendly tools and mechanisms in order to enhance the existing level of customer satisfaction (Case Study, p. 302).1The hotel industry is expected to obtain a higher level of quality improvement even wit hout using different sophisticated statistical tools and techniques which are generally utilized by the production and manufacturing industries. Ritz Carlton, after achieving the â€Å"Baldridge award†, the organization has  decided to lower the cycle time. This is the time holdup between recognizing the need of the customer and satisfying that need.  

Asian Financial Crisis 1997 Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 12000 words

Asian Financial Crisis 1997 - Coursework Example 20 HATEML-J, ABDULNASSER IRANDOUST, MANUCHE. "Export Performance and Economic Growth Causality: An Empirical Analysis.(Statistical Data Included)", Atlantic Economic Journal, Dec 2000 Issue 21 International Journal of Manpower, Volume 21, Issue 6 (2006-09-19) 22 (1-10-08) http://www.bis.org/publ/work95.pdf 23 http://etd.lib.fsu.edu/theses/available/etd-09212003-192501/unrestricted/YingYiChouElectronicDissertation2.pdf 24 Acumen PI- Title: What is aggregate demand Explain what determines the main components of aggregate demand, Date: 2002-01-30 25 (11-20-06) http://jesr.journal.fatih.edu.tr/osman.pdf 26 http://www.caec-asiaeurope.org 27 (3-21-08) http://oenb.at/de/img/ftr_1998_1_tcm14-6070.pdf 28 (8-28-07) http://www.info.gov.hk/hkma/eng/public/qb200703/E_21_31.pdf 29 (3-16-08) http://www.cid.harvard.edu/cidwp/pdf/079rev.pdf 30 Leng, Chao-Chun. "Stationarity and stability of underwriting profits in property-liability insurance Part II.", Journal of Risk Finance, Wntr 2006 Issue 31 Romero-Avila, Diego Usabiaga, Carlos. "Unit root tests, persistence, and the unemployment rate of the U.S. States.(Author abstract)", Southern Economic Journal, Jan 2007 Issue 32 (2-19-06) http://www.usvtc.org/trade/wto/WTO_ACC.doc 33 (12-14-07) http://www.cass.city.ac.uk/conferences/mmf2004/files/Kharroubi.pdf 34 for Further Study 62 References 66 Appendix A: Chronology of the Crisis 73 Appendix B: Economic Facts and Figures 75 Executive Summary WHILE IT MAY BE A DECADE OLD, THE ASIAN FINANCIAL CRISIS REMAINS A TOPIC OF SEMINAL CONCERN AND OF ACADEMIC INTEREST. THE CRISIS, WHICH ORIGINATED IN THAILAND AND SUBSEQUENTLY SPREAD TO SOUTHEAST ASIA'S FASTEST GROWING ECONOMIES, BEGS THE QUESTIONS OF HOW' AND WHY.' HOW DID THE CRISIS OCCUR AND WHY WAS THERE A CONTAGION EFFECT.

Impact of Minimum Wage on Unemployement Essay Example for Free

Impact of Minimum Wage on Unemployement Essay â€Å"We cannot unambiguously conclude that a minimum wage increase will increase unemployment levels†. Discuss. The essay is outline as follows. Firstly, I would define some of the key terms. Secondly, I would outline the reasons for the statement. Lastly, I would provide the concluding remarks. Unemployment is when those members of the labour force who are willing and able to work cannot find a job. Minimum Wage In a perfectly competitive labour market, the equilibrium wage should be W1, where labour supply = labour demand. Wages are artificially altered when the price floor is imposed. An increase in the wage rate encourages the economically inactive to enter the labour market, causing an expansion in the supply of labour. The minimum wage raises the marginal cost of employing workers, thereby causing a contraction of labour demand. From an excess supply of labour, only the workers who are skilled will be employed. The least skilled, thus least productive will be priced out of the market leaving them involuntarily unemployed. The change in employment levels is the product of the elasticity of labour demand multiplied by the proportional rise in the wage. Any increase in the minimum wage will be passed on to consumer prices. If demand for the product is inelastic, the increased price will not effect consumption of the good to a great extent. So employment rates would remain relatively the same. The opposite effect would happen for elastic good. If labour costs make up a small proportion of total costs, then any increases in the wage rate would have little effect on employment, as total costs would have only increased by a small amount. Where labour and supply are both inelastic, employment costs are minimised. If they are both elastic, more jobs are lost. Although according to classical theories, the reason that minimum wage increase will increase unemployment levels is because minimum wage would increase the cost of labour, which lead to an increase in the cost of  production of the firm. Firms would have cut human resources (labour) in order for the firms to control their cost of production. As a result it would leads to a increase in unemployment rate. But in reality, it work differently. In fact the experience of the UK is that a 67% increase in the National Minimum Wages has reduced unemployment and increased employment. It would have lead to a strong Economic Growth. In period of economic growth, firms employ more workers as there is more demand to produce goods. Economic growth in the UK has averaged 2.5% since 1999 In addition, the power of Monoposony should not be ignore. Classical theory assumes that the labour markets are competitive, but in practice workers often face employers with buying power. This means firms are able to pay workers less than the market wage. Therefore, when a government artificially raises wages, firms can actually afford to pay them. It is argued minimum wage legislation is similar to anti trust regulation. Thus, it would lead to an increased productivity. A study by David Metcalf found that firms responded to increased wages by increasing the productivity of workers, especially in the service sector. This is important because it suggests that higher wages can actually help increase productivity in the economy. Firms would lower working hours in respond to the increase in the minimum wage. Rather than make workers redundant, firms have reduced the average hours worked. This is related to part 3, firms try to get higher productivity in a shorter time, so they can afford the minimum wage. Pass on Cost increases. Because the minimum wage affects all firms, it is easier for the cost increases to be passed onto consumers. e.g. because all cleaning firms have higher wage costs, they can all increase their prices. If the wage increase just affected one firm, they would become uncompetitive. Firms would also think of different problems to avoided of Minimum Wage. It  is uncertain to ascertain the extent of this problem, but some firms have circumvented the minimum wage legislation by employing immigrant labour and paying them lower wages. It also makes it more attractive to employ young workers. To conclude, although an increase in minimum wage in theory would lead to an increase in unemployment, but in practical, it would not much negative impact on the employment rate. Therefore, we cannot unambiguously conclude that a minimum wage increase will increase unemployment levels.

Illegal Immigrants And The Different Solutions Sociology Essay

Illegal Immigrants And The Different Solutions Sociology Essay The first Illegal Immigrants to ever step foot on American soil, the New World, was the pilgrims, thats right, us, the great American people. We traveled overseas from Britain and assumed ownership over America. The Native Americans who occupied the new territory were treated unfairly by us, the intruders. We treated them as if they were on our land, so we pushed them further away from the coast so we could take our place on this new soil, that we today call our home. Unfortunately, the Native Americans didnt have a government system to insure we had green cards and visas; otherwise they may still run this country. And now that we have The United State of America, we want to keep it ours. We refuse to have our country overran by a multitude of illegal aliens that are using our resources and taking our employment opportunities, while we, the hard-working Americans receive nothing in return. Nevertheless, that is exactly where America is today. There are nearly thirteen million illegal aliens in the United States, that is nearly four and a half percent of the population, and growing at roughly five hundred thousand illegal immigrants a year according to F.A.I.R Federation for American Immigration Reform. This is a major disposition for the economic and social order of the United States. Illegal Immigration creates many problems, higher unemployment rates, health care issues, not paying taxes, and many others. The Problems that are caused by Illegal immigration grow rapidly as the population of illegal immigrants increase. Something needs to be done, and no one has a definite solution to this issue, but I believe I have an answer. The first problem that Illegal Immigrants cause, is the increasing rise of the unemployment rate for national legal citizens. The average unemployment rate of the United States is 9.7%, according to Beck. That doesnt seem too drastic, but if you look at the locations where most of the Illegal immigrants are employed and live; the unemployment rate of those states are higher than those that are not affected as much by Illegal Immigrants. California has the most illegal immigrants with 12.5%; Texas, New York, Illinois, and Florida follow closely behind with the most illegal individuals. Each of these 5 states is in the top 9 states with the highest unemployment rate. What does the unemployment rate and illegal immigrants have in common? Im glad you asked, Illegal Immigrants, wait Im tired of that name, I want to sound politically correct, Ill call them undocumented workers. CITE PAGE NUMBERS The reason that undocumented workers come to the United States is so they can provide a better life for their families. They come here in pursuit of jobs, because they are unable to find them in their country. As a result, the immigrants take more employment opportunities compared to any other state. California has employment opportunities that Americans could excel in, but the Americans are refused because undocumented workers took them. Now, before I go any further, this is where illegal immigration activists argue, undocumented workers do the jobs that Americans arent willing to do. Thats bologna, Have you ever seen the show Dirty Jobs? In one episode Mike Rowe, the host of Dirty Jobs helped clean the sewer of San Francisco; the sewer ran the length of the streets following in suit with the hills, thats not a very intriguing job, yet it was still the work of a blue collar American. Another job he participated in was Horse Inseminator you can just use your imagination with that one. The point of all these examples is that Americans are willing to do whatever it takes to hav e a paying job, especially with the way our economy is now Swift Company meat-processing plants lost about nine percent of their workforce when they were raided in six states. After the raids, Swift raised their pay by almost two dollars an hour and hundreds of residents lined up the next day to take the jobs illegal aliens used to have. Howard industries, an electronics maker in Laurel, Mississippi, was raided in the fall of 2008. Hundreds of citizens soon lined up to apply for the new job opportunities, including one woman who drove 40 miles. This doesnt include those individuals who are lazy and unmotivated, while they rather milk the government instead of getting a real job. Now that I got that off my chest, the issue with undocumented workers having jobs isnt our governments fault, or the average Americans; its the companies and employers that hire them. Bear Stearns Reported That between four and six million jobs have moved to the underground economy since 1990. Those are the jobs Americans wont do, but rather the jobs they used to do before illegal labor became much more attractive to employers. Companies can hire undocumented workers at a fraction of the cost of hiring deserving legal American citizens. I dont blame employers for taking the cheaper route of hiring undocumented workers. There are a number of advantages, such as, no payroll tax since the employer is paying under the table. They dont have to have to worry about supplying health insurance for their employees, and finally they can pay lower wages since undocumented workers dont have that legal right to an attorney, or the privilege of equal rights. Every legal citizen of the United States has become accustomed to paying taxes, from the time they get their first job to the day they die. To see the importance of the argument Im about to make, I have to explain how taxes are used. Taxes help maintain roads, highways, and the public school system so our children can have an education. Taxes also pay for public safety, police officers, prisons, and defense. Taxes also go to a number of other areas in our nation, but thats a general list. If a citizen doesnt pay his/her taxes there are consequences that can occur depending on the situation. If someone neglects to pay taxes or tries to get out of paying taxes otherwise known as tax evasion, there can be fines, criminal charges, auditing, investigations, and garnishing of wages. There could be a giant disposition for a single individual to handle. But, luckily for undocumented workers, they dont have to worry about paying taxes. They get to use our resources, have our jobs and not have to worry about filing a tax return at the end of the year. Yes, they have to pay sales tax, but that is only 7.25% on the dollar, compared to 20% of ones salary. The only time undocumented workers pay any kind of income tax is if they somehow got a social security card illegally, then they pay social security tax. They deliberately perform tax evasion with no punishment, when a normal American citizen would be punished. Another big issue with undocumented workers is health care. American citizens get the privilege of owning health insurance which covers costs that get accrued when visiting hospitals and doctors. Undocumented workers dont get the privilege to own health insurance, so they have to pay for their health care out of pocket. The cost of having basic procedures are mind boggling, too expensive for a family in an upper class salary bracket to afford without health insurance. I wonder how an undocumented worker can afford to pay for their medical issues, my guess is they cant. Most of the time when someone cant, or dont pay their medical bills, the hospital just has a collection agency garnish their wages. With an undocumented worker its a bit different, with no records of where they work, where they live, or a social security number, how to hospitals get that money? Well the answer is they dont, most of time hospitals just eat debt and wait for the government to reimburse them for the loss. So if the government is reimbursing the hospitals, essentially the American people are paying the hospitals for the loss. With the government having to give money to the hospitals that causes taxes to go up. When taxes go up, people have less money to stimulate the economy, thus causes a recession. With all that being said, what has the government and states come up with for solutions? In 1996 Bill Clinton decided to use border control to help in his campaign, he had a 14 foot fence 40 miles long put in to help deter the flow of undocumented workers. This is great in theory, but the border between Mexico and the United states is roughly 2000 miles, which only leaves a 1,940 mile gap. In 2006 George W. Bush had plans for a virtual fence which would have cost 6.7 billion dollars. The virtual fence would consist of, cameras, ground sensors, and radars. The virtual fence would stretch almost the entire Mexican Border. The whole project was canceled by the Obama Administration, after spending nearly 700 million dollars and seeing nearly no results. Even if the virtual fence was completed, there would be a stretch of 200 miles in Big Bend National Park in Texas that wouldnt have a virtual fence established. (Thats like having a home security system installed but putting a note on the front door saying that the back door doesnt have a sensor yet. -Glenn Beck) There is a government agency that helps with deportation of Illegal Immigrants; this agency is referred as Ice Air. Basically its an airline dedicated to transporting illegal persons back to their home country. Ice Air has all the amenities that you would find on Continental, TWA, or Southwest Airlines. Every passenger gets a meal, soda, peanuts. But the only difference is that it is paid for by a legal national citizen, thats right, Illegal Immigrants get a free ride back home. An average one-way single person ticket would normally cost roughly 700 dollars. There have been stories about Illegal Immigrants who had turned themselves in. Their reasoning in often cases were so they could get a free ride home for holidays, and then they just sneak back over as it becomes a repeating pattern for them. Basically the Illegal Immigrants are getting smart; they are using our agencies for their benefits. That is what we get for having such poor deportation and border control methods. It seems like there have been solutions to the problem at hand, but none have been followed through or thought out very well. I have a question for you, do illegal immigrants have civil rights, and do they have rights under our National Constitution? Personally I dont think they should, but the Government seems to think so when it comes to suing National Born Citizens. Arizona Ranchers Roger and Barbara Barnet were sued by 16 Illegal Immigrants after holding them at gun point on his property as they crossed the borders illegally. He held them there until authorities arrived; Barnett has turned almost 12,000 Illegal Immigrants over to the authorities since 1998. The Illegal Immigrants said that they were traumatized and that their civil rights were violated. What civil rights were they talking about? I dont think the U.S Constitution says anything about Illegal Immigrants having rights in our Nation. Barnett said some of his cattle died from ingesting the plastic bottles left behind by the immigrants, with that he added, that he installed a faucet on an 8,000-gallon water tank so the immigrants would stop damaging the tank to get water. Mr. Barnett said some of the ranch ´s established immigrant trails were littered with trash 10 inches deep, including human waste, used toilet paper, soiled diapers, cigarette packs, clothes, backpacks, empty 1-gallon water bottles, chewing-gum wrappers and aluminum foil which supposedly is used to pack the drugs the immigrant smugglers give their clients to keep them running. The Illegal Immigrants sued Barnett for nearly 32 million dollars, thats insane. The courts didnt see it Barnetts way, but they also didnt see it the immigrants way either. The immigrants won the law suit, but only got 100,000 dollars. That fires me up, how can a group of people who have no rights in our country sue a national legal law abiding citizen and win?! Our government is screwy if you ask me. How are people like Barnett supposed to handle situations like this? It just doesnt make sense to me but a lot of things dont make sense to me, such as, Obama wanting to make it to where undocumented workers are able to get drivers license legally. Thats giving rights to people who have no rights under law of being in our country. It seems like instead of setting up ways to abolish Illegal Immigrants, the government just wants to find ways to give them legal rights in our nation. Ok I could go on and on with this argument and debate, but this paper has to come to an end eventually. So my solution to this problem is fairly simplistic on paper, but more difficult in action. I propose that the government imposes a $50,000 fine for each undocumented worker that any employer has. It may sound outrageous, but I believe that employers shouldnt be allowed to cut corners; its essentially tax evasion. The employee will face other felony charges, and maybe even a prison sentence. I believe that would be a great scare tactic to keep most employers from hiring undocumented workers. With no jobs available, we can only hope that undocumented workers head back across the borders to their home countries. Some people argue if you force companies to higher legal citizens they have to raise their wages, which is true, but they also say if companies raise wages that they may not be able to stay in business. My response would be good, if a company cant stay in business because the y have to raise their wages for legal American citizens then they have no business being in business. Another idea to add to my solution is what Bill Clinton already started, a fence; two 14 tall fences stretching the length of the border, all 2000 miles. At an average cost of 5 million dollars a mile, that would cost roughly 20 billion dollars. People might argue that this hypothesis is way too expensive on the tax payers, but if you look at the budget set in for the stimulus package youll notice that the amount of money that set aside for unemployment was roughly 40 billion dollars. Then I also would propose a compromise to allow for some illegals to come out of the wood work, and we would allow them to become legal national citizens. To sum things up, with no jobs for illegal immigrants, they would leave the country because there isnt any prosperity for them here. Also with an enormous fence, that will help deter illegal immigration from occurring as often. With no Illegal Immigr ants being in the United States, employers are forced to higher national citizens, thus reducing the national unemployment rate, and reducing that amount of money government has to pay. When it comes to Illegal Immigrants using our hospitals, I believe that they should just be refused, yes that sounds harsh, but it isnt fair to our hospitals when they have to eat the loss, because the intruders cant get provide a payment for people who are honest national citizens. This will save the government and hospitals money also. That is essentially my solution to the Illegal Immigrant issues, it makes sense to me, but since Im not known in politics my voice may never be heard on this subject. U.S. Code Title 8, Section 1325 Any alien who (1) enters or attempts to enter the United States at any time or place other than as designated by immigration officers, or (2) eludes examination or inspection by immigration officers, or (3) attempts to enter or obtains entry to the United States by a willfully false or misleading representation or the willful concealment of a material fact, shall, for the first commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18 or imprisoned not more than 6 months, or both, and, for a subsequent commission of any such offense, be fined under title 18, or imprisoned not more than 2 years, or both. (b) Improper time or place; civil penalties Any alien who is apprehended while entering (or attempting to enter) the United States at a time or place other than as designated by immigration officers shall be subject to a civil penalty of (1) at least $50 and not more than $250 for each such entry (or attempted entry); or (2) twice the amount specified in paragraph (1) in the case of an alien who has been previously subject to a civil penalty under this subsection. Civil penalties under this subsection are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any criminal or other civil penalties that may be imposed. The paragraph above is the statutes for Illegal Immigration, half the information in it isnt even enforced. Mostly because it cant, we dont have the resources, or enough border control to apprehend the ones crossing the border. Our nation has so many problems with border control that half the time that Illegal Immigrants are apprehended they are let go, and given a citation with a court date on it. Reasoning behind the citation is because our prison system is so full already. Our government needs to come up with a good plan because our country is going to fall apart faster than a jenga tower standing on one block. http://law.onecle.com/uscode/8/1325.html. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/09/16-illegals-sue-arizona-rancher/ http://www.pbs.org/kpbs/theborder/history/interactive-timeline.html http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/09/16-illegals-sue-arizona-rancher/ http://www.fairus.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticleid=16859security=1601news_iv_ctrl=1007

Human Maturity in The Human Comedy by William Saroyan :: Maturity Mature Literature Essays

Human Maturity in The Human Comedy by William Saroyan William Saroyan's The Human Comedy, deals with ravages of life. Due to these trials, Homer is forced to mature. How he matures is a result of facing the challenges. Two very import themes that help homer mature are family and death. Homer represents the men of the house because he works and earns money for the family. For example, he goes to school until three o'clock, then goes to work until midnight. Going to school and working is very hard but it needs to be done for the family to survive. In addition, Homer needs to be both a father and a big brother for Ulysses. Homer loves and cares for Ulysses, and he teaches Ulysses about life, and physical appearance. Finally, Homer said, 'Any work that has to be done around here, men can do. Girls belong in homes, taking care of men.'; (Pg. 157) Homer is rewarded for being the man of the house by getting love and shelter from his family. Love is needed from the family to keep Homer supporting the family. Homer becomes mature by working, but looses his one and only childhood. Death is a very important theme, because delivering death messages is what made Homer mature. For example, Homer told his mother 'All of a sudden I feel different—not like I ever felt before.'; (Pg. 33) Delivering telegram message changed everything for Homer because he was no longer a child. Furthermore, delivering death telegrams made Homer sick. At the age of fourteen, when Homer had to deliver death messages, this made him realize that one day he is going to die himself. At the end when Homer realizes his brother's death, Homer said, 'What's a man supposed to do? I don't know who to hate. I don't know what to do.'; (Pg. 186) This showed being a teenager moreover a man, did not solve the problem about death.

Disintegration of Dick Diver in Fitzgeralds Tender is the Night Essays :: Tender is the Night Essays

The Disintegration of Dick Diver in Tender is the Night The exact nature of Dick Diver¹s descent throughout the course of Tender is the Night is difficult to discern. It is clear enough that his disintegration is occasioned by Nicole¹s burgeoning independence, but why or how her transformation affects him this way is less than obvious. Moreover, it is not at all apparent what is at stake, more abstractly, in this reciprocal exchange of fates. In this paper, I will propose a reading of this change that relates Nicole¹s strength to her naturalness, her identification with instinct and natural impulse, and Dick¹s strength to his civilization, his identification with the curtailment of natural impulse through psychiatry and prewar American civilization. The relationship between Nicole and Dick is such that what happens to the one must happen to the other. Both Nicole and Dick turn by the novel¹s end to impulse and instinct, but while Nicole does this by gaining an independent self-consciousness, Dick achieves this onl y through drinking. Throughout the novel Nicole is identified with the childish and animalistic wildness of instinct. This is most obvious in the uninhibited expression of emotion which characterizes her episodes of madness. We see, for instance, her frenzied laughter as she rides the Ferris wheel and causes her car to crash. As the car finally comes to a halt, "she, [Nicole], was laughing hilariously, unashamed, unafraid, unconcernedŠ.She laughed as after some mild escape of childhood" (192). And as a patient at the clinic, after having her affection for Dick rebuffed, we are told, "Nicole¹s world had fallen to pieces, but it was only a flimsy and scarcely created world; beneath it her emotions and instincts fought on" (143). As the story progresses, though, the expression of these impulses become less openly dangerous and abnormal and more linked to her growing sense of self. One more restrained way in which Nicole is identified with impulse is her use of money. Money in the story is a sort of materialized passion, the tangible expression of an appetite to possess and control. Money becomes more and more plentiful as the story moves on, such that by the beginning of book three, after Dick gives up his stake in the clinic, "the mere spending of it, [money], the care of goods, was an absorption in itself. The style in which they traveled was fabulous" (257).

Invention of the Laser Printer

The presentation Mr. Starkweather gave touched upon many points of entrepreneurship and perseverance. As we have learned, Mr. Starkweather’s major accomplishment was the invention of the laser printer. In today’s world this might not seem like that big of a deal, but there were many obstacles standing in the way of this invention. The idea of building a printer based on laser technology was foreign for the time period. When the idea was first proposed not one company wanted to put money towards the development.This rejection came with a great deal of defeat and a sense of hopelessness for Mr. Starkweather. Not only did he not let the critics drag him down, but he also had the determination to keep pushing the idea onto different printing companies. Kodak finally stepped up to the plate and offered a patent but no funding. Although the money wasn’t there, this was still a big step in the right direction. After much perseverance and experimentation the laser printe r was finally developed in 1959.Being able to prove all the companies that doubted the idea was an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment for Mr. Starkweather. This new technology was able to print original copies straight from your computer. This machine was ground breaking for the time period and was able to significantly improve the functionality of offices across America. After being able to reflect upon Mr. Starkweather’s presentation I realized that even though people might not accept your ideas at first it is important not to give up.The rejection you receive should only be an indication to further your research and prove how your idea can be practical and advantageous. By giving up on your own idea due to someone else’s reaction, we are falling into peer pressure and tricking ourselves into thinking we are failures. Mr. Starkweather not only risked his pride but he also risked his employment. Not only was he able to prove what was thought to be the impossible p ossible, but he was able to jump start a new way of life.In today’s world we are now able go to our local Wal-Mart and pick up one of these laser printers for under $100. It is very ironic how something we take for granted today, took so much time and rejection 50 plus years ago. This presentation was not only important for the business majors but it could have also done a great job at inspiring the rest of the school. After finding out how much rejection Mr. Starkweather endured and how much of a success his idea became, I was very impressed and caused me to reflect upon how I would act if I was put into a similar situation.

Life in the Orange Prison Essay

I never really liked that eerie-looking building that always stood towering over me. Its orange walls and antique framework did not give me an comfortable feeling, although my imagination of a 5 year old told me that it did try to present a fai ade of spurious geniality with those wide welcoming staircases leading to the front door and the colourful flowers skirting the yard. My inner self sent a shiver down the spine as I reluctantly followed my parents through Hell’s gates. I sincerely believed that the building, which was to be my school for the next six years, was not much better than an internment camp. So, on the first day of school, I was directed to my cell. The classroom was filled with a group of children of my size sitting on a circular carpet. The sight was peculiar – the collection of boys and girls from all over the world gathered in a room no bigger than my flat back in Hong Kong. It was like a tossed salad, with potatoes from Japan, cabbage from Australia, lettuce from Canada, tomatoes from Europe, and now there’s me – rice from China. I sat on the floor among the other fidgety bodies. In front of us sat a tall woman with blond hair and a pointy nose. She pointed at a board with apples and numbers on it and asked a question, which I identified because of the raised pitch towards the end of the phrase. Oh no, and then her watery blue eyes smiled at me. She’d chosen me! I could feel heat rushing towards my face and for a moment I thought tears would betray my composure. But I simply stared back at her; looking from the numbered apple to her face, then from her face back to the apple. â€Å"What does she want? † My gaze at her yelled for help, pleading for excuse. It wasn’t after a few weeks of continuous pointing to a new numbered apple on the board that I realized the whole thing represented a calendar. Then, it made all sense to me. Day school was not the worst part yet, because eventually I learned to speak English fluently with other students. We never had homework to do and the challenge in school was really to have fun. At first I struggled hard, as I lacked the means of communication. But eventually the language was programmed into my head and subconsciously I became a fluent English speaker. As I have mentioned, there was another part of my childhood which was even gloomier than day school. And that also took place in the very same building that I sensed to become the bane of my young carefree life. Upon arriving in Vancouver for 6 months, my mom introduced me to Chinese school. The idea baffled me. We were black haired people moving to a white skinned territory learning the yellow skinned language. Like many things that were beyond my comprehension and control, I complied with my mom’s decision. For whatever reason I was learning Chinese in Canada, I loathed the idea and did not look forward to the classes. My instincts did not lie to me. After the first 2 hours of class I was determined that I would never ever spend another minute with that old, squeaky voiced teacher, with that cheesy pictured book, and with those curvy, criss-cross, inscrutable characters. I absolutely despised Chinese. But, with as much conviction a little of girl of my size could hold, I did in the end return to that very intimidating classroom, pick up that very unattractive book, and learned those very perplexing characters. Once a week we would have dictation of the chapter we learned the previous class. The teacher would simply read out a paragraph while we tried to write down each word perfectly. To put it bluntly, we were to learn the chapter verbatim. As pointless as it may sound, it was not an easy thing for me to do. In fact, it was painful. Absolutely flesh pinching. Each night before the dictation, I’d be sitting at my crowded desk with a lamp shining precisely over my head, and staring at the jumble of words. Sitting there, I would circle all the words that I didn’t know how to write, and copy it over and over again until I could trace the word with my eyes closed. It was a tedious task for me because the chapter usually ended up with circles around every other word, if not every word. Worse yet, my mom would be sitting right next to me. With each mistake I made, either forgetting a simply word or missing a dot on the line, she would scorn at me. Of course, with that kind of chaperoning, I only became more frustrated and angry – both at myself for being dumb, and my mom for being impatient. Now, looking back I don’t blame her; it took me over one hour to learn one single paragraph. Dictation was not the toughest part of Chinese class because what I wrote and what mark I received would only remain between the teacher and me. However, reading aloud in class was a different story. It was like stripping in front of the entire class and exposing the most embarrassing flaws of my body to them for scrutiny. Whenever it was reading time, my stomach would lurch, and as each student finished his or her part, my intestines would tie yet another knot – until finally when it was my turn – my body would be so tangled that I could no longer work my diaphragms properly to speak. I made as little noise as possible, thinking that if I spoke quiet enough the teacher would condone my mistakes and let me pass. However, the teacher was not easily satisfied; she made me read again, this time only louder. Protruding my voice in front of the class was as hard as asking a five year old to lift a 50 pound dumbbell. My hands became clammy and I felt as if a furnace was working inside me. I could imagine other students seeing lucent flames embodying me. Once the teacher asked me to stop, the relief was indescribable – everything seemed to stop, the flames ceased to burn me and nothing else around me mattered anymore. I was done reading; I was out of the spotlight. My aversion for Chinese school never alleviated. As the paragraphs in the chapters grew longer and the characters more complex, my understanding of the language only became more dubious. I was like a defeated salmon that could not swim against the current and as a result was pushed backwards. But a lucky salmon I was, a savior from my class rescued me. Her name was Katy. Each time we received our dictation marks, I would be grateful if hers was less than 20 marks higher than mine. As the older girl, she was very bossy in front of me. And I, always been the submissive one, yielded to her, but I did not mind because I thought what I got in return was worth it. Katy helped me with my Chinese homework. She would help me copy those hand killing notes, and during dictation she would peek at what I didn’t get and write the answer on a scrap piece of paper and inconspicuously nudge it over. I was indebted to her. As life in that confinement became easier, an unsettling sense of guilt started to stir inside me. Once every year, the Chinese school principle would organize a dinner party at the school cafeteria. There were lots of fun at those parties; there was a magician pulling ribbons from hat, gift exchanges between anonymous people, long tables of homemade spaghetti, chicken wings, sausages, cookies, and pudding. However, no matter how hard I tried, I could never fully enjoy myself at the party. Throughout the party I would be worrying about the closing speech that the principle would make. I was tormented by the fear that he might expose my cheating to my fellow classmates and most importantly, to my mom. A part of me really anticipated this humiliation or devastation. Each time the principle spoke my stomach flinched as a natural reflex, but of course, not once did he mention my name or the notion of cheating on tests. Call me gullible, nai ve or whatever you want, but that instinctive feeling of being exposed really haunted me. At the end of the six years spent in Van Horne Elementary School, now head overlooking other heads, voice overcoming other voices, I once again stepped through the gates of Hell. Only this time, I stepped into the blinding sunlight and the honking of cars. I no longer felt the building towering over me.