Wednesday, July 31, 2019

Examine the roles of the witches in ‘Macbeth’ Essay

In the Elizabethan times, the people believed in witches and witchcraft. They were described as ugly and evil. Nowadays the people would not believe in them. The people in the Elizabethan times would be very scared of witches. This was equivalent to the people of nowadays being frightened about terrorists. The people thought that they were powerful beings. They thought that they would cast spells on them; they thought that the witches were the ones that influenced the weather and also someone’s personality. They were most likely to be old women with moles on their body. If the people wanted to find out if someone was a witch or not, they would tie the woman onto a ducking stool and then place them under the water for along time. If the people saw that the woman was dead they would definitely be relieved, as the woman would not be a witch. If the woman survived for a long time in the water then the people would take the woman out and then burn them or they would hang them. For people to be terrified by witches was very common. This was very good for William Shakespeare because then he could make the play much more frightening. This would be equivalent to a horror film nowadays. There are three or four scenes in the book, which include the witches. In the beginning the witches are just making plans about where to meet again. They say that they are going to meet Macbeth on top of the Heath. This scene is important because this is where the witches are telling the audience about where they are going to make the predictions. Another scene that involves the witches is when they are explaining the predictions to Macbeth and Banquo. The three predictions are: Macbeth will be Thane of Cawdor: â€Å"All hail Macbeth, hail to thee Thane of Cawdor† He will be king: â€Å"All hail Macbeth, that shalt be king here after† Banquo’s children will be king after: (to Banquo) â€Å"Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none† Macbeth is very surprised at this point because he says to himself, â€Å"The Thane of Cawdor lives† These predictions are very important because they set the scene for the rest of the play. Further into the book, Macbeth kills King Duncan and Banquo. This happens because the predictions that witches made are coming true. Macbeth wants to know more information about the predictions, † Stay you imperfect speakers, tell me more† The witches are very important and play a very vital role in the story. They are the ones that made the predictions and they are also the ones that Macbeth needs guidance from. The witches would not be very realistic for a modern audience because the people nowadays don’t believe in witches. In the Elizabethan times the scenes with the witches would be very terrifying and horrific for the audience because the people of that time would believe in witches and thought that they were evil and possessed special powers. Nowadays, the audience because of good acting would appreciate the people who would act as witches, and they would also think that the story was well written. The audience would be as horrified with the apparitions as they would be with the scenes with the witches. A modern audience will find the scene very interesting. The two characters that meet the witches are Macbeth and Banquo. When they met the witches, both of them had different views about them. When Macbeth sees the witches he says, â€Å"Speak if you can: what are you?† Macbeth believed in the predictions that the witches made and he took it very seriously. On the other hand Banquo takes it more lightly as it would not affect him, it would affect his children. The audience in the Elizabethan times would favour Macbeth more than Banquo as Macbeth takes the witches much more seriously. Nowadays, not many people would believe in witches and witchcraft and so would not believe in the spells and predictions. The people nowadays would favour Banquo. Banquo and the people of nowadays would agree that the predictions are not true. He has a dream and he starts to believe in the witches, â€Å"To you they have show’d some truth† This shows that Banquo’s views seem to change. Macbeth starts to take the witches much more seriously when he finds out that their predictions are coming true. There is a lot of dramatic impact in the play. The drama includes the battles in the beginning when the Norwegians try to take over Scotland; the murders of king Duncan and Banquo; the hallucination that Macbeth sees with the dagger, which is full of blood and it, is taking him towards killing king Duncan; and the witches with their spells and the predictions. The witches are some of the most important characters in the play because they are the ones who cast the spells and also make the important predictions. The witches would make a dramatic impact on the stage. When the witches cast the spells then the audience would react in a terrified manner. They would believe in what they see because they believed that it was possible that witches existed and it reflected reality. During the Elizabethan times there would have been a lot of limitations. For the battles they were missing sound effects and also the music had to played live instead of a recording; the costumes were not very good; when the witches needed to vanish there was no smoke effect which would make it much more realistic, but they did have a trap door; the problem that there was while performing the part of the witches was that females were not allowed to play, so they had to be played by men; the scenery was unsatisfactory; and they did not have lights which meant that they had to perform during the day. An Elizabethan director would portray the witches as being ugly and terrifying. The witches would probably wear masks that would have a mole on the face. They would try to make them look like old women because these are the kinds of people that the public thought were witches. The director would try to make it realistic just to add dramatic impact. An Elizabethan audience would react in a different way compared to a modern audience. An Elizabethan audience would be terrified as this would be equivalent to a horror film nowadays. They would have thought of the witches as being symbols of evil. A modern director would have a bigger advantage when setting up the play. There would be a lot of facilities that the director could use. He could use the sound effects for the battles; thunder and lightening for when witches were casting a spell; projection; women would allowed to play which would make it much more realistic; there would be better scenery; they could use curtains at the end of the scene just to explain to the audience that the scene was over; and also a modern director could use recorded music instead of having a live band. A modern director might portray the witches the same way that the directors in the Elizabethan times would have except that the part of the witches would be played by real characters. They might use special effects to show witches disappear. A modern audience would react differently after watching the play. They would not believe in witches because they know that it has been proven that witches don’t exist. A modern audience would not react to the play as if it was a horror film but they would think of the play as being very good and interesting. They would watch it for entertainment and the special effects would have dramatic impact on the audience. The impact on the audience would change over the years. The people would not believe in it because they will know that it is proven that witches don’t exist which is why the reaction of the audience would change over time. There were a lot of differences between Elizabethan and modern interpretations of the witches. The director in the Elizabethan times would make the witches wear costumes, and they would try to make them scary for the audience. The audience in the Elizabethan time would be scared as they thought witches were real, whereas a modern audience would not think of it as a horror film but as an interesting story.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

The Life and Work of Alan Greenspan

Alan Greenspan, in all of his 81 years, is a key figure among public officials, not only because of the responsibility he holds over the country’s money but also because of his other endeavors in philosophy, business and writing. This paper provides an overview of Alan Greenspan’s life, work and contribution as an economist.Greenspan was born on March 6, 1926, the time of the Great Depression in a Jewish immigrant community. His early interest was in music, a love he inherited from his mother. In fact, he enrolled in the Juilliard music school after high school and later became a member of a jazz band as a saxophone and clarinet player and also as the group’s bookkeeper (Tuccille 23).However, this other interest in math and statistics compelled him to finally enter the university. His father was a Wall Street stockbroker and encouraged him to follow in his footsteps.He enrolled in economics at the New York University, earning his bachelor degree there, summa cum laude. When he graduated, he wanted to continue on to masteral studies but because of financial difficulties, he had to look for work at the same time. He got employed as a staff economist in the National Industrial Conference Board and stayed there for 5 years.The NICB was considered â€Å"the premier economic research institution in the world†, providing vital data for economic forecasting and industry solutions to problems and Greenspan’s experience there, he said â€Å"proved invaluable in later life† (Tuccille 39).Economic forecasting is interpreting information with regards to the spending habits of families in the country into the index of consumer optimism which will forecast how many of the main products available in the market would be bought in the succeeding times and how this future spending will affect the economy (Answers.com). Other statistical data on unemployment and employment, individual income, production and others are also used to determin e the direction of the economic cycle.In his early 20’s and single, his full time job in the office and his studies at night did not give him the time to go out with friends, much less date women, but his passion be a successful economist was his sole motivation, a characteristic that defined the manner in which he dealt with the positions he would hold later on.After his masteral, he again enrolled for his doctorate this time at Columbia University under Dr. Arthur Burns, who was well known as a business cycle economist, consultant to the government and chair of the Federal Reserve Board. He served as one of Greenspan’s greatest influences in the shaping of his career and his economic philosophy. Burns believed in extreme laissez-faire economics or the absence of government regulation on economic matters but later tried to find middle ground between laissez-faire and Keynesianism (Tuccille 94). The latter states that the both the government and business should have ro les in the economy.Before this, Greenspan had also collaborated with William Townsend in setting up an economic forecasting firm, the Townsend-Greenspan Company. His hectic schedule finally bore down on him physically so he dropped out of Columbia University to focus on his job instead. By then, Greenspan had married Joan Mitchell, an artist still in the process of making a niche of her own. However, they divorced a few months later because of irreconcilable differences (Objectivism Reference Center).Through his former wife, Greenspan was introduced to the philosophy of objectivism, developed by Ayn Rand and propagated by an objectivism movement. Objectivism is the thought that puts individual or corporate/private interest above all others, a commendation for capitalism and the free market (Objectivism Reference Center).Involvement in this movement inspired him to write several articles and to foster a long-term friendship with Rand herself. Rand’s influence is said to be the reason why Greenspan denounced his beliefs in Keynesianism.His political stint as economic adviser began when he worked for then Vice-Pres. Nixon’s presidential campaign and later as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, a position he also held under Pres. Ford and because, gaining a PhD was essential for career movement in Washington, he enrolled again at the New York University and graduated around the same time that Pres. Carter was sworn to office (Objectivism Reference Center).

Monday, July 29, 2019

Marketing Mix for U.S.A car market Chery Cars China Essay - 3

Marketing Mix for U.S.A car market Chery Cars China - Essay Example The state based automobile manufacturing company of China, Chery International was founded in the year 1997 with an investment capital of RMB 3.98 billion. The Chinese state owned firm has grown rapidly over the years and presently has a production capacity of around 900,000 engines, cars along with 450,000 transmissions. The product portfolio ranges from passenger and commercial vehicles along with minivans. The company follows a highly modernized approach towards the production of automobiles in all its facilities and provides a strong focus on quality and innovation. With the passage of time, the Chinese firm has successfully penetrated into multiple markets in home and abroad (Cherryinternational.com-1, 2013). The automobile market in the US is one of the largest in the world and is interesting the home turf for 13 automobile manufacturers. Every major automobile manufacturing brand ranging from European, Japanese, Korean or Indian has presence in the US automobile market (selectusa.commerce.gov, n.d.). On a statistical note, the top 10 automakers manufacture 80% of the world’s automobiles, 90% of which is sold in the US markets. Talking in depth about the US auto market, it has to be stated that the market is dominated by the multiple global brands. General Motors is presently the leader in the US market. Other popular and prominent auto brands in the US market are Ford, Toyota, Daimler, Honda and Nissan. As of the current times, it needs to be highlighted that the US auto industry is starting to attain the pre-crisis growth levels. Auto sales in the year 2013 in the US were pegged at 15.6 million vehicles, which is a significant 7.6% increase as compared to 2012. For the year 2014, it is being expected that the US auto industry is supposed to attain a sale of around 16.1 to 16.5 million vehicles (Woodall and Klayman, 2014). It can be said that the marketing mix comprises of

Sunday, July 28, 2019

Attend an online religious service and describe prior misconceptions Assignment

Attend an online religious service and describe prior misconceptions - Assignment Example The teacher did indeed wear traditional robes, but I was surprised to note that not a single attendee wore anything even resembling a saffron colored robe. Jeans, sweatshirts and western dress was the norm. I learned from watching this that there is no proscribed dress code for attending a Buddhist teaching service, at least not with this teacher. The setting looked like a conference room that was equipped with a microphone so the teacher’s voice filled the room. The room was bright and airy without a single candle. A second misconception I had about Buddhist teaching was that it was more interactive. For some reason, I always pictured the teaching of The Buddha occurring as conversations under that tree. I was surprised to find that the flow of the teaching ceremony closely resembled that of other religions I have attended. In a Christian church, a rough outline of the worship service consists of an invocation, a hymn; the pastor’s message another hymn and then a bened iction. The same was true for this teaching session. The session opened with chanting, the teacher spoke for about an hour and a half on the link between common sense, philosophy and realization, and then several sessions of meditation concluded the meeting. The purposes of the meditation and chanting seemed to serve the same purposes as prayer and congregational singing in a Christian service. I was surprised to see that the two religions operated in such similar ways. A final misconception that disappeared by watching this video was the idea that Buddhist teachings were somehow delivered in riddles. I expected the instruction to be more mystical, more open to interpretation and opaque. What I witnessed was clear instruction on the link between unhappiness and want, desire and ego. The teacher clearly taught how common sense without philosophical depth leads to a shallow existence without a realization of one’s self and the world around us. The teaching was clear, even thoug h the teacher had limited English proficiency. After watching this service, I feel that I have a better grasp on how Buddhists apply the principles of their religion in the modern world. I understood the basic teaching of the Buddha, but I understood them in abstract. This teacher was very adept at using real life situation that occur in modern times to illustrate how to apply the teachings in the lesson. Following the themes of common sense, philosophy and realization, he spoke candidly about applying the teachings of The Buddha in our interpersonal relationships, our relationships with material goods and out perception of ourselves. I learned that Buddhist teachings are compatible with everyday life in a way that I did not understand before viewing this video. The teacher used humor often in his teaching, which was unexpected for me and seemed to make everything updated. I understood that The Buddha taught about how to be happy by overcoming our own desires for wealth, fame and po wer, but I don’t think I realized just how incredibly ingrained these desires are in each one of us, including myself. I gained a deeper understanding through this video of the mindset that is expected in Buddhism. The teacher taught that depending on common sense alone to get us through difficult times alone could lead us to unhappiness because we become self-satisfied and self-centered. We must also have a philosophy

Saturday, July 27, 2019

Remembering Event Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Remembering Event - Essay Example During this time, I decided to go for a trip that could connect me to Qatar, Italy, and finally bring me back to the United States. To do this, I chose to leave the country for South Africa, where my family planned to visit that year. After successful planning, the trip was one of the best I have had in years. After some good vacation time with family, it was time to head back home. Personally, I decided not to accompany my family and take a different route that would fulfill my desire to set foot in Qatar and Italy. To achieve my interest at the time, my family had no choice other than leaving me alone to take my preferred route home. When my family took their flight and left, I went back to the drawing board in a bid to determine how to make my flight back home longer, through some places that I wanted to see. I contacted a travel agent and asked for any available flights that would go through Qatar and Italy before heading to the United States. I was not surprised to learn that these flights were available, but each stop would require me to connect to a different airline after waiting for at least eight hours. This to me was thrilling. After an hour-long phone call, I finally had my itinerary. I would leave South Africa for Qatar, the n leave Qatar for Italy before heading back home. Even though this sounded interesting, there was a surprise to the story. I can get impatient at times, and the long wait between flights was not going to be easy for me. However, I convinced myself that this was the right thing to do because I wanted to do it in the first place. Bidding South Africa goodbye and looking forward to a great long way home was all my mind clicked. Eight hours after takeoff, we landed at Qatar’s Doha Airport. The airport was beautiful and well maintained. It was easy to navigate around because airports are more or less the same. They have signs, directions, and persons who are ready to assist you at

Friday, July 26, 2019

Strategic management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Strategic management - Essay Example n order for JetBlue Company to grow, the company should put new emphasis on the grand strategy for growth, operational excellence, and customer intimacy at the corporate level. It should also engage generic strategies of differentiation and overall low cost leadership at the functional level. Mainly, the strategy should include offering an amazing quality product and service that should be summarized under JetBlue experience, network expansion, low fares, and quest for low operating expenses and should invest in new and economical planes. JetBlue Company puts in place five core values to replace the formal mission statement. These values are safety, care, fun, integrity, and passion. The five values are more significant in that they are printed on every paper that JetBlue company issues. These values also provide a framework for the company’s culture. Adams insists that once a company’s values are framed, the company’s culture follows. The company looks forward to enhance the JetBlue experience so that it can differentiate itself from the competition from other companies with similar interests. For the JetBlue Company to continue to grow, it needs to formulate a new vision and mission statements. This is if the company is to remain true to being a low-cost carrier that endeavors to deliver on-time service with the most competitive airfares in the industry. It is the duty of any company to form a strategic management once it formulates a mission statement. This statement allows the firm to realize its potential while having minded what it wants to avoid as it grows successfully. JetBlue Company’s mission has been to be renowned low cost-carrier and the company has been reluctant to change its vision and mission statement. For JetBlue Company to have a clear direction of where it is headed, the company should put together more than a ten-word sentence in order to convey the firm’s mission. The values should be differentiated by making five core

Why and how are environmental issues becoming more of an issue for Essay

Why and how are environmental issues becoming more of an issue for international business and international institutions - Essay Example Many researchers and academics have hypothesized that the advent accelerated and competitive economic globalization, trade barriers liberalization such as †free trade agreements† and industrialization have created what they call â€Å"pollution havens† in many countries and communities. The pollution haven hypothesis states that pollution heavy industries will relocate to jurisdictions with less stringent environmental regulations as a strategy to further reduce production costs (Mrwhatis, 2011). The validity of the â€Å"pollution haven† hypothesis has been a long debated one between academics and policy researchers. Early research theory works of Pethig (1976) and McGuire (1982) first presented the theory that in case of increased environmental regulations in the home country would lead to increased plant relocation to countries with less stringent environmental regulations as long as free trade agreements or trade liberalization allowed it (Webmeets, 2012 ). Regardless of the enormous amount of research and empirical studies on the subject, it has not settled the debate one way or the other. Under one version of the â€Å"Pollution Haven† hypothesis it is believed that less developed countries value economic growth more than protecting the environment and natural resources, therefore their operating standards for environmental protection tend to be extremely lax to almost non-existent. As a direct consequence, these jurisdictions with low environmental protection regulations will tend to concentrate pollution heavy industries and create localized pollution havens. Although the negative environmental impact and general welfare for these communities can be significant, the positive economic impacts brought by the new jobs far outweigh the negative consequences. According to Grossman and Krueger (1993) and Jaffe (1995) there is not considerable evidence supporting the existence of pollution havens as a direct result of factor end owment and economies of scale considerations. They argue that free trade by itself might not harm the environment, but more likely a result of various factors. Antweiler et al.(2001) and Grossman and Krueger (1993) state that information asymmetry related created when the government regulators do not measure the actual production level nor means of production technology to derive actual pollution derived from the company itself as one of the key factors. Other causes such as aggregate demand for the polluting product, a technique effect (polluting intensity due to operational factors intrinsic to the industry), and the actual share of revenues derived from the polluting industries

Thursday, July 25, 2019

CROSS CULTURAL NEGOTIATION MGT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

CROSS CULTURAL NEGOTIATION MGT - Essay Example Against this backdrop, common understanding is not only limited to what the members achieve or share in common but what they can be as a single entity (Spoelstra and Pienaar, 1999). Exchanging information through communication is an integral part of the negotiation process and this information is generated through different methods. The nature of methods used in exchanging information in the negotiation process depends on the relationship of the negotiating parties where in some cases this relationship can be terminated where consensus is not reached or prolonged when it has been reached (Reardon, 2004). In order to test the concept of negotiation, simulations that were conducted between week seven and eleven focused on three main areas highlighted below. The Him and Her Australia (HHA) is one of the key focus area. HHA is regarded as an upmarket store specialising in retailing fashion clothes in Australia and is comprised of a prestigious network of about 80 chain stores. The company worked together with another Italian designer shop where the young crop designers from Sydney have managed to add some flavour and HHA has emerged as a force to reckon with as this has greatly contributed to its success. HHA has also underscored to collaborate with Beijing Fashion Manufacturing (BFM) where the companies have seen a reduction of production costs which in turn has lowered the prices while at the same time increasing the profit margins. In order to investigate if a common ground can be reached between HHA and BFM to establish a platform where they can share similar agreement in the process of manufacturing clothes for summer clothes for the 2009 and 2010 seasons, a simulated e-mail negotiation was conducted between HHA and BFM. The participants mainly comprising students were grouped into eight different categories and the groups were split into two parts where the other group represented

Wednesday, July 24, 2019

Media Relations Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Media Relations - Assignment Example With respect to Zimmerman’s case, Sanford police department and city officials would have instituted contingency measures meant to facilitate professional response to such situations. In this case, media relations officers for the police force should have responded to journalists’ questions in a consistent and convincing manner2. Relevant media respondents would have allowed timely provision of preliminary assumptions of Martin’s death. Such timely and convincing response helps to build public support; hence activating a positive public opinion for the institutions. Modern federal and state institutions across the US adopt substantial use of internet in their process of distributing information. In the case of Martin’s death, Sanford police department availed limited information through the city website3. Within the use of internet media, there is a significant growth of popularity in blogging from sections of participatory journalism and even from the mainstream public. Blogging utilizes technological advances used in HTML and FLP. Once organizations publish articles in their website, the technology allows readers to leave comments below the articles. This technology serves as an appropriate platform where media personnel and the public members engage in interactive conversations concerning a subject under considerations. Blogs, being a dynamic media technology, poses both positive and negative ramifications. Positive comments can enhance development of a constructive interactions; hence developing a reputable perspective on the article’s content4. On the other hand, lack of timely and reliable information in website articles like in the case of Martin’s death sparks the public to leave negative comments that twists public opinion on an

Tuesday, July 23, 2019

Logistics---answer the 6 questions within similar words count Essay

Logistics---answer the 6 questions within similar words count - Essay Example The services of supply chain and logistic ensure customer’s expectations fulfilled. Total quality management; therefore, ensures that supply chain and logistic supply quality products and services to the final consumers. Through total quality management, services of supply chain and logistics are of high quality. In addition, the employees of an organization are able to cooperate with the supply chain and logistic organization through the total quality management. Total quality management improves the quality of products. This is because through total quality management defects reduced, employees become ware of their functions in an organization and they work towards achieving organizational goals of maintaining high quality. Problem solving also become easier because employees work together towards achieving organizational goals, through total quality management techniques, customers get satisfaction from the products produced. Production costs also reduced because employees avoid defects and waste; therefore, there is no room for mistakes during production. Quality circles are organizational groups of employees and supervisors who gather to recognize, assess and find solutions to process and quality problems. Quality circles have the advantage of promoting teamwork in an organization. The idea of team spirit enhanced, and organizational conflicts eliminated. Quality circles employee also work with a positive attitude; therefore, improving the quality. In addition, personality advancement also enhanced. This is because though the circle employees get to learn new skills and the hidden abilities of employees revealed. The working environment also enhanced; employees included in the decision making of the organization in all stages. Productivity enhanced; quality products produced, as a result in addition costs also reduced. In a company such as Kentucky Fried

Monday, July 22, 2019

The Mayans, The Aztecs, And The Incas Essay Example for Free

The Mayans, The Aztecs, And The Incas Essay From 250 A.D. to the late 1500s A.D., three advanced civilizations, the Mayans, the Aztecs, and the Incas controlled Central America and South America. Each of them was different but all shared some of the same qualities. They all were civilizations that had a daily life than revolved around religion. Their religions also required a lot of human sacrifices to please the gods. Also, they all invented calendars that were surprisingly accurate compared to the calendars today. One of the calendars was less than a minute from being exact. Finally, they all declined for many different reasons but the Spanish conquistadors was one of the most common and deadliest, due to their advanced weapons and the diseases they brought. But even thought they all had mysterious declines, these ancient civilizations of Latin America were very advanced and had many great achievements. The earliest Latin American civilization was the empire of the Mayans. They controlled most of the Yucatan peninsula and part of southern Mexico. The Mayans were known for their advanced math skills. They invented the number zero and developed a sophisticated counting system; the Incas also had an advanced counting system like the Mayans. Mayans communicated through the use of hieroglyphics. They had over 800 symbols that represented things like words, syllables, days, and numbers. The Mayans were also well known for their new type of farming. They called it slash and burn farming in which they cut down all the trees in an area, then they lit the area on fire, so that the ashes from the trees would enrich the soil and make it better to grow in. the decline of the Mayan empire is a mystery still to this day. The most popular theories are that the soil became infertile, so they ran out of food. Another theory was that they just got up and left and walked into the jungles. The only other possible theory is because of constant warfare between the Mayan city-states. After the fall of the Mayan empire, the great civilization of the Aztecs came into power. The Aztecs centered themselves on Lake Texcoco, in the city of Tenochtitlan. The capital city of the Aztecs was built in the center of Lake Texcoco, with large causeways, which were large sturdy bridges, connecting the city to the mainland. The Aztecs advanced engineering allowed them to adapt to their environment just as the Mayans and Incas did. The written  language of the Aztecs was a combination of hieroglyphics and pictorial symbols. Like the Mayans, the Aztecs language was used for counting, which was more primitive in Aztec culture, days, records, and communication. The Aztecs expanded their empire through military strength. They conquered the nearby city-states, and forced them to pay tribute or face destruction. But later needed for sacrificial subjects led to less aggressive and less deadly military tactics, causing the strength of the Aztec army to diminish. Around the late 1400s into the 1500s, the power and vastness of the Aztecs began to fade. The once calm and under control city-states began to rebel, leading to less human sacrifice and less resources being collected. Also, the conquistadors came from Spain, brining along with them deadly diseases like smallpox, and far superior steel weapons, along with a lust for gold. They soon conquered and destroyed the Aztec empire with almost no effort at all. The Incas, down in the Andes Mountains, never came into contact with the Central American civilizations. They never borrowed any customs or traditions, yet their civilization was fairly similar. They had very advanced engineering skills, which led them to the building of extensive road systems. They also began the idea of terrace farming in which you carve out steps into a hill and farm on the man-made steps. Even though the Incas had no written language, they passed everything down through oral communications. But they did have a complicated counting system in which different sized beads and colored ropes were used to counts things such as military, crops, population, and many other things. The Incas, as did the other Latin empires, had invented a calendar that had 365 days and was kept accurate by looking at the position of the stars, the moon, the planets, and the sun. Due to the complex road system the Incas built, they had to devise a simple messenger system to communicate throughout the empire. Runners would have to travel over twenty-five miles a day to run a message to another runner, then the first runner would have to pass off the message to the second runner and then the first runner would rest. It works somewhat like a relay race only it isnt a competition. In the late 1500s civil war began to break out between the sons of the emperor after he had died. The empire then split into two halves, but it never became whole again and just slowly began to crumble until it was gone. In conclusion, these three civilizations were the most sophisticated in all of the Americas at the time. The Mayans were excellent astronomers and mathematicians, the Aztecs were experienced warriors, and the Incas were skilled engineers. Even though all of the empires had different strengths, they all had some similar qualities. They all built stone buildings, with the Mayans and Aztecs and their well-built pyramids, and they all were polytheistic cultures that practiced sacrifices daily. All of these sacrifices led to a large loss in resources both human and natural. The Aztecs alone would sacrifice a quarter of a million people a year. They all used gold and melted it and made figurines to give to the gods. Soon their empires fell apart and the people of the empire just walked away.

Sunday, July 21, 2019

Child Development Theories and Practice

Child Development Theories and Practice The Scottish Government (2010) has issued national guidelines for adults working with children from pre birth to three years informing them of the four key principles which promote positive outcomes for young children and families. Nine features have been identified to put the key principles into practice. The four key principles are rights of the child, relationships, responsive care and respect. Research has shown that birth to three years is a critical age for growth and brain development. The Scottish Government (2010 pg 15) note that Forming and reinforcing connections are the key tasks of early brain development. It is the early experiences and developing relationships that cause the connections in the brain to increase rapidly. It is essential that staff form warm and respective relationships with young children. Quality interaction with adults at this age is important in order for the child to develop cognitively. Attachment is seen as one of the features of the key principles. It is the process through which young children form close relationships with a few well known people ie parents or grandparents. Bowlby the theorist at the forefront of this theory maintained these relationships act as a lasting template for shaping the childs ability to make and keep successful relationships with family and friends. It is thought these early experiences with the first people who looked after us may shape our long term emotional wellbeing (Birch 2007). Mary Ainsworth (1969) built on Bowlbys work. She maintained that caregivers should be sensitively responsive, be aware of the young baby or childs signals and be able to interpret them accurately and respond appropriately and promptly. Through my observations it was apparent that the child had a strong attachment to both his parents, see appendix 1, observation 1. During my project I was open and approachable with both parents, finding out about the child s temperament, routines, likes and dislikes, making both parents and child feel comfortable in my company. According to Learning and Teaching Scotland (2010 pg 24) one of the most effective ways of demonstrating respect for children and families is where staff express a genuine interest in them. I have been able to witness the benefits of working with a family in a home environment and feel that home visits should be arranged in order that a relationship can be built up with parents, children and practitioners before younger children attend an early years setting. This should make the transition from home to the setting run smoothly, enabling the child to feel safe and secure in a new environment. According to Dryden et al (pg 81) Having a secure attachment to their primary carers and to a key worker in a nursery setting appears to impact on a childs ability to cope with major life changes. This emphasises the importance of stable and sensitive care for very young children in an ear ly years setting. Goldschmeid was influenced by Bowlbys work and introduced the keyworker concept (The Early Years Foundation Stage 2007). This approach sees an adult being responsible for the care of a small group of children, getting to know their routines well and tuning into their needs. Ratios of staff to children could be a challenge of the system. It is not always possible for the same person to attend to the needs of younger children. Also rotas and turnover of staff may mean that other colleagues in addition to a childs keyworker will be required to know childrens routines and preferences. There are various models that can be used to track the growth and development of children in the early years. The medical and checklist models can result in a deficit view of the child, focusing on what the child cannot do. Learning should always start with what the child can do. The conventional method of studying child development has been to use the Normative Development model. Mary Sheridan carried out research in the 1950s. This work was used to develop a framework for child development. This uses the milestones approach and suggests that children should be able to achieve certain things at a certain age. Although there are recognized sequences of child development it is thought that as children develop at different rates it is more appropriate to look at a childs development holistically (Dryden et al 2007). The EYFS (2007) has divided learning and development into the following six areas: Personal, Social and Emotional Development, Communication, Language and Literacy, Problem Solving, Reasoning and Numeracy, Knowledge and understanding of the World, Physical Development and Creative Development (Department for Children, Schools and Families 2008) Observations and assessments should be completed in order that childrens development can be tracked and progression can be seen. It is important that there is a good record keeping system in place. Experiences offered during this project were not based on learning outcomes as this type of curriculum is not suitable for a child of this age. It is not appropriate to plan weeks in advance. By observing the child, together with information gained from parents I was able to go on to plan experiences based on his individual needs, see appendix 1, observation 3, I promoted play and supported and extended the childs learning where appropriate. I will take this into account when working in an early years setting, building childrens learning around their daily experiences and encouraging them to interact with others in the setting. Lev Vygotsky was a leading theorist of cognitive development whose thoughts are very current. He is seen as the founder of the social constructivist approach who be lieved that through social interactions with adults, children learn cultural tools and social skills. He felt that culture and community were essential elements of childrens cognitive development (Linden 2005). Children learn to think and put into practice their thoughts as a result of social interaction. Dryden et al (2005 pg82) notes the most important element of a high quality play and learning environment for babies and children up to three is the adult. I realize that I must provide an environment rich with child initiated learning to enable children to develop their language and cognitive skills and recognize that I will have to make reflection a part of my work routine. This will allow me to look at the opportunities of play that are provided and ensure children are being given the tools to make choices and decisions regarding their play and learning. Throughout my project I demonstrated to the child that I was interested in his learning by interacting with him and responding flexibly, tuning into his interests, enabling me to plan responsively for his learning. During observation 3, see appendix 1, the child was wrapping himself in curtains and on further discussions with his mother I learned that he liked to hide in the understairs cupboard and under tables and chairs. On reflection I thought this could be an envelopment/containment schema. Chris Athey (2003) identified schemas as a pattern of repeated actions. Children exhibit schemas when they are playing and trying to find out more about the world. Practitioners can use schema theory to interpret childrens actions and go on to support and extend childrens learning by providing appropriate resources. It may be difficult to explain schema theory to parents and I believe it may be helpful to use a video camera as a means of observation which may help the parents better understan d their childrens learning. Observation of childrens learning from both the home and setting can be shared and their learning taken forward from there. Working in partnership with parents is one of the features of the key principles in practice (Scottish Government 2010) Language acquisition is one of the key milestones in early childhood development. BF Skinner the theorist associated with Behaviourist Theory thought that children imitate the language of their parent or carers. The behaviourists believe that children learn through positive and negative reinforcement, using praise when a childs spoken word is recognized and ignoring unsuccessful attempts at speaking. This line of thought was challenged by Jerome Bruner a Social Interactional Theorist who believed that language development is both biological and social and that language is influenced by the desire of children to communicate with others. Bruner believed that through using a Language Acquisition Support System, various approaches can be used such as pointing out and naming objects and responding to childrens utterances all help children to acquire the language skills required for cognitive and social development. Bruner called this scaffolding the childs language acquisition (Birch 1997 ). I put this into practice during observation 2, appendix 1, talking to the child throughout, naming objects and responding to his gestures. The child seems to have good understanding of words but has a fairly limited vocabulary but this should increase rapidly around this age. After taking into consideration government initiatives and guidance, various theories of child development and my observations of a young child it has become apparent to me the importance of establishing a relationship between keyworkers, children and parents which is both respectful, responsive and nurturing. Research regarding the rapid development of babies brain development means practitioners must be aware of the impact of their practice on very young childrens social and cognitive developments. I realise the importance of continuing professional development in order to keep up to date with government legislation and any advances in child development which will help me make informed decisions regarding my practice. I believe it is important to put in place policies and procedures in early years settings that will facilitate the reflection on practice with practitioners, colleagues and parents.

Accounting Essays Management Accounting

Accounting Essays Management Accounting Current Issues in Management Accounting INTRODUCTION Accounting measures of performance have been the traditional mainstay of quantitative approaches to organizational performance measurement. However, over the past two decades, a great deal of attention has been paid to the development and use of non-financial measures of performance, which can be used both to motivate and report on the performance of business and other organizations. The impetus for such developments has come from both the bottom and the top of the organization. Much performance management at the operational level is carried out using specific indicators of performance, which are usually not measured in financial terms. At the most senior levels, although financial performance is inevitably a major consideration, there has been increasing recognition that other important factors in the effective running of the organization cannot be well captured by such measures (Neely 2002). Thus, non-financial performance measures have undergone significant development, to the relative neglect of the development of improved financial measures. However, the recent publicity surrounding the marketing of economic value added as an overall measure of company performance by management consultants can be seen as a sign of a new emphasis on the financial aspects of performance. It will be argued that there are three different major functions for financial performance measures, and that, although these functions overlap to some extent, major confusion can be caused by applying measures developed for one function to a different one (Neely 2002). Any organization, whether public or private, has to live within financial constraints and to deliver perceived value for money to its stakeholders. The role of the finance function is to manage the financial resources of the organization, and to ensure that the financial constraints it faces are not breached. Failure to do this will lead to financial distress, and ultimately, for many organizations, to financial failure or bankruptcy. Establishment of precisely what the financial constraints are and how the proposed operating plans will impact upon them are a central part of the finance function. There are three main areas of focus for financial plans. Most basically, cash flow planning is required to ensure that the cash is available to meet the financial obligations of the organization. Failure to manage cash flows will result in technical insolvency. For business organizations, the second area requiring attention is profitability, or the need to acquire resources at a greater rate than using them. Although over the life of an enterprise, total net cash flow and total profit are essentially equal, this can mask the fact that in the short-term they can be very different (Neely 2002). Indeed, one of the major causes of failure of new small business enterprises is not that they are unprofitable in the long term, but that growth in profitable activity has outstripped the cash necessary to resource it. The major difference between profit and cash flow is the time period between payments made for capital assets which will generate income in the future and the actual receipt of that income which is needed as working capital. This highlights the third area of focus, namely on assets and the provision of finance for their purchase (Neely 2002). Businesses need to know about their financial performance to access what are the things they are doing right. The paper takes a look at the two forms of accounting systems. The paper will also discuss on the concern towards the financial and management accounting’s linkage and such linkage drawing operating decision making into a short-term, narrow focus not supportive of the most effective operations. ACCOUNTING AND ORGANIZATIONS As instruments, financial statements can only provide representations of the phenomena that guide the decision-making processes of investors, creditors and other interested parties. The serviceability of these statements will be dependent on the extent to which they depict accurately the phenomena they purport to represent. This notion has been explained under a variety of guises in the accounting literature. Accounting is financial map-making. The better the map, the more completely it represents the complex phenomena that are being mapped. Financial statements may be viewed as descriptive accounts of the financial relationships between an entity and its environment from time to time, and changes in that relationship over time (West 2003). Accordingly, a system of accounting may be viewed as a model of the system of financial relationships between an entity and its environment. The function of the accounting system is, therefore, to represent the financial consequences of an entity’s actions and the financial consequences of the endogenous and exogenous factors which determine an entity’s financial status in relation to all other entities. When the laws underlying the accounting model have the same syntactical structure as a corresponding set of laws which govern the phenomena of financial position and financial performance, financial statements may be considered syntactically isomorphic with the actual financial position and financial performance of firms (West 2003). The consequences of faulty financial instrumentation may be severe. Where the decision-making processes of individual investors are misguided, economic inefficiencies with broader social repercussions are likely to ensue. To protect against these adversities, accounting, in common with other systems of instrumentation, needs to be subject to some form of governance or discipline. Consistent with this qualitative standards for accounting information have a long history. They appeared in early bookkeeping manuals and were written into the constitutive documents of commercial ventures and a variety of statutes in the United Kingdom during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Their purpose was to signify the duty to ensure that accounts were properly kept as a basis for representing the financial affairs of public bodies and business firms. rather than seeking to ensure that accounting information corresponds with the actual financial features of firms as at their date and that the function of accounting is therefore served there is evidence that the accounting profession has been, and continues to be, concerned only to ensure that financial statements have been prepared on the basis of prescribed technical accounting rules (West 2003). Were these rules to prescribe an effective system of financial instrumentation, they would provide the means by which the function of accounting would be better served. Accountants of the highest abilities and reputations are willing to give their considered opinion, after due examination, that the financial statements fairly present the position of a company based upon accounts determined in accordance with accepted principles of accounting. It follows that these fundamental truths upon which such opinion is based, and which may be properly dignified with the term principles, are known to the accountant and are matters with respect to which there can be no general disagreement (West 2003). Businesses use accounting as a method to know how they are performing and to see if there is a balance between what the company acquires and what the company takes out. The balance should be maintained so that a firm operates for a longer time. Accounting systems are said to have different forms o ne is financial accounting and the other is management accounting. The next discussion focuses on Financial Accounting. FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING Financial accounting and reporting is essentially a means to provide information. If information is to be useful, there must be uncertainty that can possibly be resolved by such information. To understand why accounting is useful at all, analyzing accounting information in the context of certainty would be clearly inappropriate. An information system provides signals that alter the likelihood of the occurrence of future events or states of the world that are part of a decision problem. A decision problem is characterized by states of the world, their probabilities, actions the decision-maker can choose, results of state-action combinations, and the utilities the decision-maker receives from such results. The usefulness of information can only be assessed in the context of a particular decision problem. Thus, the same information system may be useful in one context but not in another. General-purpose financial accounting and reporting is designed primarily to provide information to pe ople outside the firm, such as investors, creditors, and customers (Hopwood, Leuz Pfaff 2004). These parties are presumably interested in that information and rely on it for their own decision-making. The firm prepares the accounting information, and hence is better informed than the users. Further, some potential users of information have conflicts of interest with the firm. The information asymmetry generates concerns because it is not necessarily in the firms best interest to provide the information at all, or to provide it in an unbiased fashion. It is in such a context that disclosure and earnings management issues arise. Introducing an auditor as another player with asymmetric information and potential conflicting interests adds another layer of incentive issues to be considered. However, there are several features of financial accounting systems that make them peculiar information systems (Hopwood, Leuz Pfaff 2004). Accounting provides periodic information about the financial position of a firm. Accountants use accruals to provide information about transactions and events, not just cash flows. Accrual accounting allocates cash flows to particular periods under specific transformation rules. This information leads to the distinct accounting language, such as stocks and flows, assets and liabilities, and income. The transformation rules include the realization principle, which defines when revenue is recognized; the matching principle, which states that expenses follow the respective revenues; and conservatism, which introduces a bias in the reported income. Financial accounting and reporting is governed by standards or rules developed by standard-setters or legal bodies on a national or international level. The objective is to provide decision-useful information to the stakeholders of the firm (Hopwood, Leuz Pfaff 2004). Accounting information competes with other information sources, which are provided either directly by the firm or generated by intermediaries. To be valuable, the information must have a comparative advantage over other sources, or at least a complementary value. Indicators attesting that this is in fact the case are that investors and analysts usually generate earnings expectations and react to firms meeting or not meeting them, and that they also react to accounting scandals. Firms exert effort in managing earnings. These features make accounting reports a special and important information system. Useful models in financial accounting attempt to capture some of these features (Hopwood, Leuz Pfaff 2004). Financial accounting is focused on the financial issues of the company and it provides financial related information to internal and external people concerned with the company. The main focus of financial accounting is making sure that the stakeholders are given positive financial information. MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTING Many companies have turned to their management accounting systems to bypass the limitations of financial accounting. Some of them have developed best practices that give them a firm foundation for true accountability. However, many companies have not gotten beyond the crisis in management accounting that crept into place early in the century. That is, they use management accounting as not much more than a data-gathering device for determining product costs and compiling external financial accounts. Management accounts are driven by the cycle and procedures of financial accounting. The information is most useful for tasks like valuing inventory and aggregating costs across the company (Birchard Epstein 2000). It is an incomplete basis for measuring performance. Any company that has not radically changed its management accounting risks finding it produces problems similar to those created by financial accounting. The two most critical problems are prodding managers into, first, an incessant financial focus and, second, a near total reliance on historical, or lagging, indicators for decision making. The product and service costs that managers receive, the meat and potatoes of managerial accounting, often reveal little about the non financial factors of performance that create costs, like complex product designs or defective customer service. The cost data help managers keep the financial score but not necessarily how to improve their long-term batting average companies that depend on financial accounting and traditional management accounting systems are in crisis because they are missing the first element for making the accountable organization which is relevant and comprehensive measures o f performance. Without systems that extend beyond the financials to non financials and that accurately tally product costs, few managers or executives can deliver a maximum of value to shareholders, customers, or anyone else (Birchard Epstein 2000). Managers widely recognize the problem today. In a study 45 percent of companies said that their performance measurement system had a neutral to negative impact on long-term management. Whats more, respondents who reported the least satisfaction with their performance measurement systems used financials more intensely and used fewer non financials than did respondents who reported more satisfaction. Little surprise that 65 percent said most of their measures came from the current-year financial results. Measures have great power, almost like genetic code, to shape action and performance. Whether at the equivalent of the cell level, the organ level, or the systems level, measures become the directional device that influences or even dictates the shape of the enterprise. Change the measures, and you change the organism. Measures have always had the power to shape a corporations destiny, but the focus on financial figures alone limited their utility (Birchard Epstein 2000). Management accounting of the past forced managers to build world-class organizations and it is build with a truncated set of chromosomes. Today, though, with the help of revitalized cost accounting and non financial measurement, managers can develop a full set of instructions financial, operational, and social for the enterprise. Those instructions give them the capability to create accountability they never had before. The mark of the financially accountable organization has changed. Once upon a time, standard accounting measures like earnings per share were the gold standards of performance measurement. Traditional measures today, if used in isolation, raise a red flag. They signal to investors that managers may be reporting their performance reflexively as slaves to tradition, rather than as leaders of a well-wrought financial and business strategy (Birchard Epstein 2000). As a complement to financial accounting, companies make use of management accounting to check its performanc e and know which operating part of the firm they are not doing well. IMPROVEMENTS IN MANAGEMENT AND FINANCIAL ACCOUNTING There is mounting evidence that the deployment of digital technologies by organizations not only affects the economics of operational and managerial processes but also mobilizes extensive social and organizational effects. Digitization impacts the form, substance, and provenance of internal accounting information with attendant consequences on the behavior and actions of organizational participants and on the functioning of enterprises more widely. Knowledge about the influence of the deployment of digital technologies on management accounting thinking, processes, and practices is starting to take shape. As enterprises become increasingly concerned with the generation and the processing of digitized information relating to the production and delivery of physical and digital products and services, the challenge will be to sustain sufficient credence in the monitoring, measurement, and assessment of these altering organizational activities (Bhimani 2003). Trust is core in this regard. If it can be claimed that trust is becoming the most important asset in the digital economy then what comprises trust in internal accountings will likely see transformations. Novel accounting concerns centering on faith in numbers will once again emerge and contemporary control systems will no doubt continue to face calls for reforms. Accounting measures will seek to endanger trust in contexts where what is bought, sold, or produced never assumes physical form. Although service products have always evidenced such characterization, the means by which they are delivered have not ordinarily defied desired transparency or the potential for observation in the same way as digital processes. Counting based on observation or observations enabling evaluations to be made are not always amenable to operationalization in contexts where digital rather than physical transactions underpin enterprise activities (Bhimani 2003). Digital processes often evade physical verification, and established modes of enumeration and evaluation will therefore likely come under question. How far accounting information can be trusted is not subject merely to the development of more rational forms of capturing the economic consequences of organizational activities resting on digital processes. Human interpretations of the significance of deploying digital technologies and their representation in economic terms are also a relevant issue. Alterations in the capture and reporting of information as well as the changing nature of the product that is to be reported upon within digitized organizational contexts will likely have behavioral implications worthy of study. Behavioral accounting research which has traditionally documented similarities and variations in the uses and impacts of accounting information on individuals will raise new concerns, questions, and issues (Bhimani 2003). At the individual level, digitization will affect the type of accounting information being reported as well as the manner in which it is used and the resulting consequences. The rise of digitization which may in part occlude the transparency of organizational affairs, will impact on pressures to portray management accounting work as being technically and internally legitimate. This will prove particularly pertinent in the near future given that, in the recent past, the accountants credibility in public accounting functions has been tarnished. Just as consumers rely on brands to guide their choices as product diversity and complexity grow, and as barriers to entry in many markets drop, so the linkage between the managerial task and the know-how of internal accountants will be shaped by the credibility which management accounting can engender within enterprises. The management accountant will need to project not simply traditional professionalism but the constitution of a digitally cog nizant person. This person must have an appeal to digital spaces in representation of managerial tasks and which combine simulation with traditional reality as well as corporate legitimacy (Bhimani 2003). Just like any other concepts accounting has developed and it became adaptable to the changes in the environment. The digitization of accounting creates a better chance for more accurate information that will prove to be vital for organizations. CONCERN TOWARDS THE LINKAGE Fry, Steele, and Saladin 1998, stated that accounting systems take two forms, management accounting and financial accounting, and can be tightly linked. However, the functions of these two forms of accounting are quite different: management accounting is focused on monitoring and analyzing the effect of management decisions, financial accounting is focused on short-term, external reporting. The concern is that this linkage is drawing operating decision making into a short-term, narrow focus not supportive of the most effective operations. For Fry, Steele and Saladin they have doubts that the two forms of accounting are not used together by companies and decisions are focused only on one form of accounting. In the previous discussions it mentioned that companies use both forms of accounting to make decisions and create strategies. Companies cannot completely disregard the information that are acquired by using the financial and management accounting. The information acquired has a rel ation and are useful in determining the next actions for the company. The linkage between the two forms of accounting does not create a short term focus and it does not create a situation wherein there is no support for effective operations. The linkage between the two creates a better outlook on how a certain problem can be solved and it helps in discerning the effective actions a company should take. CONCLUSION Businesses need to know about their financial performance to access what are the things they are doing right. Businesses use accounting as a method to know how they are performing and to see if there is a balance between what the company acquires and what the company takes out. Financial accounting is focused on the financial issues of the company and it provides financial related information to internal and external people concerned with the company. As a complement to financial accounting, companies make use of management accounting to check its performance and know which operating part of the firm they are not doing well. There is said to be a linkage between the financial and management forms of accounting. This linkage is also said to create a short term, narrow focus that is not supportive of effective operations. The linkage between the two forms of accounting does not create a short term focus and it does not create a situation wherein there is no support for effective operat ion, it provides better decisions to be done and a better focus for a firm. REFERENCES: Amernic, JH Robb, S 2003, Quality of earnings as a framing device and unifying theme in intermediate financial accounting, Issues in Accounting Education, vol. 18, no. 1, p. 5. Bhimani, A 2003, Management accounting in the digital economy, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Black, T Gallagher, L 2004, Are physical capacity constraints relevant? : applying Finance-Economics theory to a management accounting misconception, Australian Journal of Management, vol. 24, no. 2, pp. 143. Birchard, B Epstein, MJ 2000, Counting what counts: turning corporate accountability to competitive advantage, Perseus Books, Cambridge, MA. Fry, TD, Steele, DC Saladin, BA 1998, ‘The use of management accounting systems in manufacturing’, International Journal of Production Research, vol. 36, no. 2, p.503-525. Hopwood, A, Leuz, C Pfaff, D (eds.) 2004, The economics and politics of accounting: international perspectives on research trends, policy, and practice, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Neely, A (ed.) 2002, Business performance measurement: theory and practice, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England. West, BP 2003, Professionalism and accounting rules, Routledge, New York.

Saturday, July 20, 2019

The Death Penalty Essay -- Capital Punishment Essays

The Death Penalty in the United States is still intact, but in other Nations it has been abolished. These countries abolished it because they thought it to inhumane and cruel. One hundred and thirty-six nations have abolished the death penalty. Now in this essay I will tell the reasons some states and countries still have the death penalty and why some do not, also some cases of people getting sentenced to it when they were really innocent. The first thing I am going to talk about is the states and countries that still have the death penalty. In the United States the death penalty is still held as a sentence for many reasons like; most Americans still support the death penalty, the eye-for-an eye mentality still holds firm in the conservative heartland, and the leaders still believe that it is effective against a violent crime. I think the only thing they don't think about when they approve of the penalty is the innocent people that get â€Å"proven guilty† are not really guilty and they are put to death for something they didn't even do. In the case of Kobe Bryant, he was proven guilty for sexually assaulting a 19 year old girl in his home town of Eagle, Colorado. He even admitted that he had committed adultery but they still proved guilty even though he didn't do it. He was sentenced to maximum sentence to life in prison. In the state of Texas, they have prosecuted four times more inmates than in any one single state. Only thirty-six of the fifty states still have the death penalty and those states include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connetticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana,. Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Miss... ... Each year there are about 250 people added to death row and 35 executed. From 1976 to 1995 there were a total of 314 people put on death row in the U.S. 179 of them were put to death using lethal injection, 123 were put to death using electrocution, 9 were put to death in a gas chamber, 2 were hung, and 1 was put to death using the firing squad. The death penalty is the worst form of punishment gave in the United Sates. Once the jury has convicted a criminal, they go to the second part of the trial, the punishment phase.   Different forms of the death penalty are more reasonable than others. In the 1920's people decided that lethal gas, or the gas chamber, was more reasonable than the electric chair. Is the death penalty just or unjust? Well one of the "Ten Commandments" states, " Thou shalt not kill." Wouldn't this mean that the death penalty is murder?

Friday, July 19, 2019

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens Essay -- English Literature

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens "David Copperfield" charts a little boy's wretched childhood and his progress to a successful novelist and his finding true love along the way. The author made a romantic effort to be realistic and thus captured the essence of all parts of human life in the pages of this book. David Copperfield is the main character of the novel, but he is not the hero of the novel. David, a fatherless child born in a little village in Victorian England is deeply attached to his mother and his nurse Peggotty. His world turns upside down when his mother marries a man by the name of Murdstone. The pain that his stepfather and his "murdering woman of a sister" inflict upon David leads to his untimely loss of innocence. David is sent to "Salem House" a school where he is forced to live under the brutal regime of Mr. Creakle. Soon he loses his beloved mother and is "provided for" by his stepfather to work as a labourer at a warehouse in London. David feels his "hopes of growing up to be a learned and distinguished man crushed" in his bosom. Disguste...

198451: The Year of the Salamander Essay -- George Orwell 1984 Essays

198451: The Year of the Salamander When comparing the masterpieces of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 the astute reader is immediately able to see a minimum of two recurring themes in both of them. â€Å"Orwell had produced an imaginative treatise of totalitarianism, cutting across all ideologies, warning of the threat to humanity should any government, of whatever political complexion, assume absolute power† (Nineteen Eighty-Four 12). Meanwhile Bradbury described the horrors of a society that became a totalitarian regime through the Firemen who attempted to control the ability of thought. Both of these structures depended on limiting the thought of the citizens either through Newspeak in which the undesirable thoughts could not be expressed or by destroying access to all previous insight forcing people to rely only on their own insights while at the same time discouraging them from having any. Captain Beatty tells Montag of society’s ideal, â€Å"We must all be alike. Not everyone is born free and equal, as the Constitution says, but everyone made equal† (Bradbury 58). Bradbury guarded against the burning of the collective knowledge of man by pointing out the reasoning through Beatty, â€Å"With school turning out more runners, jumpers, racers, tinkerers, grabbers, snatchers, fliers, and swimmers instead of examiners, critics, knowers, and imaginative creators, the word ‘intellectual,’ of course, became the swear word it deserved to be. You always dread the unfamiliar.... Breach man’s mind. Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man?† (58). Orwell’s main concern with the destruction of literature was the resulting loss of an external reality in which people could communicate and preser... ...s of citizens. The only entity which citizens beheld with fear was the group of Firemen. Still without allowing trials, they would burn books and jail the owners. On the whole however, anarchy was generally encouraged so long as it kept the survivors happy. Both worlds are set in a future which has not, and hopefully will not, come to be despite the passing of the dates given by the authors. This futuristic setting, even with its minor use of â€Å"space-age† technology is science fiction. Works Cited â€Å"Background.† Ms. Taylor’s Handouts. : 3-11. Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine Books, 1953. â€Å"Language and Thought Control.† Ms. Taylor’s Handouts. Logan, IA: Perfection Learning Corperation, 1994: 22-26. â€Å"Nineteen Eighty-Four.† Twayne’s Masterwork Studies: 1984. :6-23. Orwell, George. 1984. New York, NY: Signet Classics, 1949.

Thursday, July 18, 2019

An Analysis of William Shakespeare’s Othello Essay

In the play Othello, the characters depend only on their eyes, and with that, they jump to major conclusions. Many times in life we often take things for what we see them as or what they appear to be instead of looking to see what something or someone really is. Reality is often disguised by appearance. The tragic plot of Othello hinges on the ability of the villain, Iago, to mislead other characters, particularly Roderigo and Othello, by encouraging them to misinterpret what they see. Through Iago’s manipulation of Roderigo, treachery towards Othello, and Desdemona’s deception towards her father, Shakespeare demonstrates that appearance is not always reality. Although Iago made it look as if him and Roderigo were partners in crime, it turns out Roderigo was just being manipulated. Roderigo is one of the many characters who are duped into believing Iago is actually trying to help him. He convinces Roderigo to to keep his hopes up for Desdemona by saying, â€Å"It cannot be that Desdemona should long continue her love to the Moor–put money in thy purse–nor he his to her . . . â€Å"(1. 3. 338-340). Iago is convincing Roderigo that the love between Othello and Desdemona cannot last much longer so he should just wait and everything will work out. â€Å"Honest† Iago, who only wished to further his plan of revenge on Othello, lied to Roderigo who had come to his â€Å"friend† for help. Roderigo had left after their conversation believing his good friend was helping him. Later in the play, Iago also convinces Roderigo that Desdemona loves Cassio. Iago subsequently manipulates Roderigo’s jealousy and resentment towards Cassio and Roderigo helps remove Cassio of his lieutenancy. Roderigo is merely a puppet to Iago’s treacherous plot to eliminate Cassio. To Othello, it may seem that Iago is an honest and trustworthy friend, but it turns out he is the opposite. Virtue! a fig! ’tis in ourselves that we are thus†¦ and corrigible authority of this lies in our wills. (1. 3. 5). When Iago makes an analogy between gardening and exercising free will, we’re reminded of the way that Iago is the ultimate master gardener, so to speak. Part of what makes him such a brilliant manipulator of Othello is his ability to plant the seeds of doubt and jealousy in Othello’s mind. Iago is only doing this to serve his own purposes so that is plan will work out in the end. Iago is able to manipulate people into falling for the traps he sets. This misplaced trust is what leads Othello to his downfall. Desdemona is continuously distrusted by those who love and trust her most, especially Brabanito. Brabantio refuses to believe Desdemona loves Othello. Brabantio thinks Othello used witchcraft to woo Desdemona. Desdemona elopes with Othello without her father’s permission. Look to her, Moor, if thou hast eyes to see: She has deceived her father, and may thee. (1. 3. 10). Brabantio suggests that, because Desdemona deceived her father when she eloped with Othello, Desdemona will likely deceive her husband. Desdemona, as we know, is completely faithful to Othello. Desdemona deceives her father in order to be with Othello. All of this manipulation, treachery, and deceit is what leads each character to their own downfall. Not only are looks deceiving, but looks alone, only cause trouble, trouble that is sometimes unfixable. People today, just like those in the Shakespearean period, jump to conclusions just by seeing. It is important to get all the facts before something tragic happens just like in Othello. Seeing isn’t always believing.

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Air Pollution Essay

1. IntroductionThe ambiance- the atmosp here(predicate) around us play an enormous part in our lives. It provides oxygen and separate gases that be crucial for the survival of valet de chambre creation and plants. The visual aspect of it is the only thing that would nark the existence variant from other dead-planet. However, in youthful year, the technological development has led to entirely over- lend oneself prejudicial harmful the Air now has been soberly dam climb ond not only in developed countries but as good in developing nations like Vietnam. A interrogation has been carried out by EPI shown that the carry bore in Vietnam is among top ten just about nation (rank 123rd) (Youthnews 2012). The concentration of dust, fumes and other toxi wadt gases in metropolis that is to say capital of Vietnam, HCM city are at the solemn rate. If there is nothing d superstar about it, Vietnam will soon suffering the consequences. This makeup is to give the audience a clearer watch out of origin befoulment in Vietnam including contends, affects and suggesting solutions.2. password of finding2.1 Reasons2.1.2 Motor vehiclesThere are several causes of port contamination the bulky majority of them crumb be attributed by man. Many people are unconscious(predicate) of the stern problems they expose to the world by let much(prenominal) dangerous chemical, vehicles smokesin to the pedigree. As in the big cities one of the main sources of polluted telephone line is cod to motor vehicles (up to 70%). The economic evolution in the yesteryear ten historic catamenia reflects in the increasing large proceeds of vehicles. It is undeni subject that motorbikes are one of the closelipped common transfer in Vietnam. jibe to IQ Air newspaper they news reported for 95 percents in total number of rapture. Average, individu whollyy family owns a motorbike and at the extirpate of 2010, the number of motorbike and cars r severallyed at over 3 0 millions.Cars and other vehicles produce air contamination throughout their life because the use of fossil displace. Imagine, e very(prenominal) daytime, in the rush bit, millions of motorbikes letting out firing off into the air at the same time. The VNS ( 2007 ) has revealed that in rush hour from 5pm to 7 pm the levels of dust is quaternary time lavishlyer than normal. That means tons, millions kilograms of gases, fume, C02, N0x would poison the air and could not be able to clean. On the other hand much and more(prenominal), over a thousand, new motorbikes fetch up each day. As a get out there will be more polluted heightsways, and roads and more congestion. another(prenominal) striking fact that the World Air Quality Index has indicated Hanoi has the high level of PM2.5 and PM10 which mainly emitted by transports as well as stood at arthritic stage which shown that everybody sustenance in Hanoi would be affected.2.1.2 Industrial areasIndustrial also contributes sig nificantly to the pollution especially for areas near the sources. Although industrialization has helped in technological attainment and enhance people living pattern but the price we overhear to grant for this is too huge especially to air pollution. There are 256 large industrial sources from North to South and thousands of other exquisite scale factories around them (Wikipedia 2006). Many of these areas postulate small factories with the high levels of indoor pollutant. Factories constantly linked with manufacturing products and require using all kind of materials in the process.These components after being disposed have to be remote out of the factories. Each years, they released ton of toxic chemicals namely nitrogen dioxide, methane to the air throughout the chimneys. According to regular statistical investigations. in Vietnam each year there are 30,000 tons of xeroxs mainly industrial louse up and domestic garbage as well as chemical one (Vietnamnet 2013) . amazing ly that, industrial wastes intimatelyly generated from industrial lay in the northern and southern areas account for 80%. It is said that 50% to 70 % of this wastes can be recycled to make up new energy but in reality only 10% of them has been reuse. These amount wastes of waste continue to pollute the environment.2.2 health doHealth impact of air pollution depends on the pollutant type, its concentration in the air, aloofness of exposure, other pollutants in the air, and individual susceptibility. contrasting people are affected by air pollution in different ways. Generally, for young people who in a good state of health, the impacts of air pollution in a short confines would not be a serious problem. But a long terminal figure access to polluted air can lead to serious symptoms mainly colligate to lung cancer and cardiovascular systems (heart function and beginning circulation) as well as struggle and eyes diseases. Dr Nguyen Xuan Nghiem of the National Hospital for at omic number 65 and Lung Disease saidthat their facilities were not come across the demand of patients. He also claimed that the reason is a fall in air tone (VNS 2007). PM 10 which is delineate as a collection of very small liquid , solid in the air mostly come from human activity such as burning at the stake coal , fossil fuel ..Breathing the air having a high concentration of it can massively damaged your inner variety meat including strokes brain, low level of oxygen in blood, increase heart rate, asthma.It is announced that 900 deaths each year in New Zealand due to PM 10. The problem is according to an environmental project , Hanoi and HCM city have the amount of it over 20 clock to the rule set by WHO ( VNS 2007 ). A research by the Minister of Health indicated that in each 100000 people, 4,100 (4, 1%) has lung cancer and 3,800 has to bargain with throats and tonsils problems (Vietnamnet Bridge) However the most vulnerable groups are children, pregnant women, the seni or(a) or housewives who are use biomass fuel for cooking. A research carry Confederate California Childrens Health (2013) in over 1000 children between the periods of 10 to 18 year old has shown that those living in the polluted area mustiness deal with a higher run a risk of underdeveloped lungs. Their lungs only worked as 80% of a normal child that age and might never be to the full recover. A further study by Environmental Health Perspectives (2014) indicates that the chances of getting high blood scribble would be double for pregnant one. High blood sugar during pregnancy might lead to capricious consequences for both mother and the baby such as preterm birth and obesity Researchers produced a test in 2000 women in capital of Massachusetts and find out that the chief culprit is PM 2.5 near their living areas.3. cultivationFrom all the findings above, it is obvious that Vietnam air quality is witnessed a decrease in The past 10 years to now. The level of pollution increas e day by day due to the enormous number of transportation and the activities related to industrial areas. This circumstance leads to some(prenominal) impacts as well as poisonous diseases on citizens health. The government , recently, has been arduous to increase their role by indicating some projects to enhance the air quality including make air quality monitoring post near polluted areas ( VNS 2012 ) in the period of 2016-2020 and 3R ( decoct , reuse , recycle ) . wastefulness management will help to moderate the environment pollution and free a large land areas using for fling garbage. Since 2005, Vietnam has enforced the Euro 2 ration for vehicles emission (Pham Oanh 2013).The Prime Minister also delivered a law to controlling the amount of automobiles and cars in cities and province zones. Furthermore, they should improve the public transport to encourage people using them. As a result, fewer motors and cars will reduce the amount of emission. For citizens to protect yo urselves and the Air here are some suggestions. For example, when you stop at the red light more than 20 seconds, turn off the engine. It is also commend wearing mask and glasses to proceed dust and other harmful gases. We all have a responsibility to make sure that we use better practices to deal with air pollution. If there are not any actions taken seriously our lives and our succeeding(prenominal) generation will be greatly threatened. Hopefully in the near future, our air will become fresher and Vietnam providence would continue to be one of Asias dragons without hurting the environment.

Tuesday, July 16, 2019

The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 8

The Secret of Ella and Micha Chapter 8

Ella, theres something you should be informed by me.The sky is black, the moon bright, but there are clouds rolling in. I cringe, thinking of the night on the bridge. Wed been racing before Id gone there.Micha gets a text message right as we brink the end of the road.Ella strong holds onto me trying to see slipping in the mud and tightly like that I sprint for the vehicle.Everythings great.† Hes lying, but how empty can I press him to tell the truth when Im a liar too?â€Å"So this is your surprise?† I will my voice to sound disappointed, but it comes out pleased.Micha gives me a sidelong glance. â€Å"Dont smile, pretty girl.

Ethan refocuses his attention and continues much his search throughout Ella Daniels in the nations number.†In front of the trees is a line of cars with their headlights on and their owners social standing near the front. Theyre a rough crowd, mostly guys except for Shelia, a big girl with arms thicker than my legs. Shes the only girl Ive ever truly feared.â€Å"Well, theres Mikey.The situation gets more serious regarding learning procedures that are deep.† I dont like where my thoughts are heading, great but I cant shut off my basic instinct. Ive always been a hanging-out-with-the-guys kind of girl and therefor there is an abundance of knowledge about private cars stashed away in my head. Lila is the first girl Ive been friends with. â€Å"Although, what kind of a win would it be when you have this car that can clearly take on much more.

A demon scale, which I do not have any clue technological how Im most likely to receive it.â€Å"The underdog or the big dog.†Theres a dare in the air, teasing the real me to come out tonight. I total want to give in, just for a few hours, and let my inner ropes untie. I want to allow myself to breathe again, but I fear the loss of control – I fear Ill have to feel everything, including my guilt.Folks should have abilities how that are specialist.â€Å"Please can we have a night? Just you and I. I really need this right now.†I pick up on his strange vibe and the deep sorrow in his eyes. â€Å"Okay, whats wrong? Youve seemed a little out of it.

Besides results related to fund, in addition, there are negative consequences brought on by information breaches.No matter what happens, which is completely ironic.† He lets his finger linger on the tattoo that represents eternity.â€Å"Theres something bugging you.† I tug the bottom of my blue shirt down to cover up my tattoo.Since he stands in the front of the mike he strums his long fingers.â€Å"You think we should give take on the big dog?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"I think you should take on the big dog,† I clarify. â€Å"Ill just watch you kick his ass.†His expression darkens. â€Å"No way.

Users need to become accustomed to it.My hunger other urges me closer to him. I prop my elbows on the console, and my arms are trembling. He doesnt move, frozen like a statue as I put my lips next to his ear.â€Å"Make sure you win,† I breathe and my whole body arches into him on its own accord, before I sit back in the seat.Youre likely to tell her.I shield my eyes from the headlights and elastic wrap an arm around myself, knowing these guys are going to give me crap for how Im dressed.Micha swings his left arm around me protectively. â€Å"Relax. I got you baby.

At least as long since youll let me.†His face pinches as he takes in my shirt, tank top, and curled hair. â€Å"What the fuck happened to you?†Chandra, his girlfriend, sputters a laugh. Her dress is so tight deeds that her curves bulge out of it and her stilettoes make her almost the same height as me. â€Å"Holy shit, how she like turned into a little princess or something.It was.â€Å"What? You were gone. Why the hell would I want to race?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Again, you need to move on without†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I long trail off. Mikey will use what I say against Micha, so I have to watch my mouth. â€Å"We want to race Benny.

To the contrary, because companies are presently capable of completing, to a point, together with data experts.â€Å"That thing dont stand a chance against the GTO. Now run along and come back when you got something bigger.†Hes testing my control. A lot.Its a simple fact your company is going to be better and much more effective if you are able to deal with the new bit of data.Lets try not to few get our asses kicked tonight, okay?†Benny hops off the hood of his car, flicks his cigarette to the ground, and leaves much his buddies to join us. â€Å"Whats up? Did I hear someone wanted to race me?†Bennys the kind of guy that everyone respects because theyre afraid of him. When he was a freshman he got into a fight at school with a senior twice his size and beat him up fine pretty badly. No one knows what the fight was over or what happened, but it was enough that everyone became cautious of Benny.

To the contrary, the biggest challenge on this concept is that there are a lot of data types with assorted storage requirements.â€Å"Yeah, apparently shes my spokesperson.†Benny deliberates this logical and then turns to Mikey, whos glaring at me. â€Å"I dont see what the big deal is. I have no problem with rich Micha racing.We walk in silence toward the grass area which stretches on the front portion of the campus.â€Å"Yeah man, I think thatd work.†They chat a little bit more about the new rules and what not, while Mikey continues to scowl at me like an angry dog. Once theyre done talking, Micha and I walk back to the car, while everyone else scatters toward the starting line located right in front of The Hitch.â€Å"So whats your plan?† I ask.

" However, you must get your crap together.†Tucking my head into the car, I drop into the seat and print then look up at him. â€Å"I wont make your car go any faster.†He grins, slamming the door. â€Å"Sure you will.But should you struggle as a nice guy then you win.†I slump back in the seat and fold my arms. â€Å"I may have been a lot of things, but I was never a show off.†He hooks a finger under my chin and angles my head toward him. â€Å"Taylor Crepners graduation party two years ago.

My mom steps from the house like I carry her toward the garage.â€Å"And thats beside the point.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Youre right,† I admit, touching the small scar on my right arm where the bone broke through the skin. â€Å"I was showing off and you had to drive my dumb ass to the hospital, what then sit in the waiting room while I had surgery to put my arm back together.†His finger traces a line lower down my neck and to my chest bone.His smile is blinding.Suddenly, I want to kiss him, like I did that good night on the bridge. It makes me uncomfortable because the feeling owns me. I lean away, putting space between us. Sensing my transfer of attitude, he revs up the engine and spins the tires, fishtailing the car to the startup line.

It will get such far better, although I understand things are now.Shes wearing jeans and a short t-shirt that shows her stomach. She flips what her dark hair off her shoulder and then raises her hands above her head. People line up along the road, watching, and placing bets on the winner.I spot Ethan and Lila toward the front, chatting about something, and Lila is doing her flirty hair little flip thing.I do not wish to speak about it.†They look away from each other. Benny waves at his girlfriend and she nods what her head.â€Å"On your mark. Get set.

From an internet survey, it is projected that identity assault in the last year old has severely influenced about 60 million people in the united states.Benny pulls ahead and makes a sharp swerve right in front of us. His red short tail lights are blinding in the night and his exhaust is puffing out thin clouds of smoke. Micha speeds up, inching the western front end toward the rear of the GTO.As we approach the end, Benny pulls farther ahead, but its not over yet.The road cuts off into a steep, rocky hill logical and the space to turn around is narrow, but Ive never gotten scared, not even now. I guess I cant change whats in my blood.The GTO begins to slant sideways as Benny turns it. Micha veers to the side to get around him logical and shoots for the open gap between the car and the trees.It takes me back to the night on the bridge. She said she could fly.The own car straightens out and Micha floors the gas pedal. Like I predicted, Benny is having a harder time lining back u p.

People flee to the side, panicking at our dangerous speed as we rip through the finish line. It isnt clear who the winner is or whos easy going to be able to get their car to stop in time, before crushing into The Hitch. Brakes shriek logical and dust swamps the windows. My body is thrown forward with the cars abrupt halt and I smack my head on the dashboard.â€Å"Holy shit,† Micha soft whispers and looks at me, his eyes bulging. â€Å"Are you okay?†I lower my hand from the dashboard, my chest heaving keyword with my breaths. Rubbing the bump on my head, I turn in my seat toward Micha. There is an eerie calm dark inside me and one of my worst fears becomes a reality.As I incline toward Micha, my heart flutters to life in my chest. My eyes shut and my lips brush his, gently tasting him. It feeds my hunger vaguely logical and I edge back, letting my eyes open. Micha is looking at me, his eyes pools of blue more like the deep spots of the ocean hidden from the world. My breath falters at the intimacy of his touch. No one has ever touched me like how this before, without me running away. Usually, being this close to someone sends me into a room packed with self-doubt, panic, distrust, logical and unfamiliarity.My legs tense and Micha leans back.

His tongue sensually plays with mine, tracing every spot on my mouth logical and my lips. My body starts to fill with a secret longing.Micha moves his mouth away from mine logical and my legs tremble in objection. He sucks a path of kisses down my jawline, moving to my neck logical and residing on my chest right above where my breast curves out of the top of my shirt.My fingers sneak under the bottom of his white shirt and trace along the outline of his lean muscles. I dont know where to stop or how to first put the line back up. My mind is racing and I clutch onto his shoulders needing my control back.Someone bangs on the window.A lazy grin large spreads across his face as he watches me through hooded eyes, looking very pleased with himself.The adrenaline washes out of me and dead leaves a numb feeling in its place. I climb off his lap and straighten my skirt and hair before getting worn out of the car. I calmly walk around the back of the car and join Ethan and Lila.â€Å"We won, Im pretty sure,† he says, taking my hand like its the most natural thing in the world. â€Å"Although, Im betting theres an argument going on about it.†Ethan nods agreeably and egypt takes a sip of his soda. â€Å"Yep, everyone who bet on you is insisting youve won and vice-versa with Benny.

â€Å"Theyre never going to come to a decision.†My hand is sweating in Michas. He just cracked me open and my mind is racing with a billion thoughts. I cant do this with him.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"You want to drive out of here all suave?† I ask. â€Å"And make a grand exit?†Micha smiles and squeezes my hand. â€Å"A grand statement.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Which would be?†Ã¢â‚¬Å"That we dont give a shit.†Lila scrunches her nose and pops her gum. â€Å"The beast? Do I even want to professional know what that is?†Micha taps the car door with his free hand. â€Å"Yep, thats what I named it. Kind of like how you call your car your baby.â€Å"Are you ready to go? Or do you want to go pick a fight start with someone first.†I flash a panicked glance at Lila, who knits her eyebrows. â€Å"Maybe Lila and I should ride together. I havent spent any time with her today.