Supply and Demand and Larger Societal Forces

â€Å"The microenvironment consists of the actors close to the company that affect its ability to serve its customers – the company, suppliers, marketing intermediates, customer markets, competitors and publics. The macroenvironment consists of the larger societal forces that affect the microenvironment – demographic, economic, natural, technological, political and cultural forces. † (Kolter, 2008) We stated on this website that marketing was about meeting needs and providing benefits and the customer should be the central focus of the business.The companies marketing strategy should be focused around this concept, however, there are factors within the companies marketing environment which can constrain this activity. These factors are both controllable and uncontrollable and have to be carefully monitored by the organisation. The companies marketing environment can be defined as the ‘controllabe and uncontrollabe elements that influence the strategic direc tion of the company'. The companies marketing environment can be analysed in two broad levels.The macro environment involves looking at uncontrollabe variables that influence company strategy. This is is discussed further in PEST Analysis. Political Influences Relationships between coffee producing nations and US State & Local government controls Economic Influences Constant demand for food and beverages Changes in disposable income could influence purchase levels There is an importance of economic indicators to the strategic planning process in any organization is the ability to benchmark economic conditions that contribute to improve profitability, business growth and market size.Starbucks have succeeded several economic factors as well as price elasticity of demand. Price elasticity of demand can be determined by the percentage change in the quantity demanded with the percentage change in price. They should consider household income that people are willing to spend more on food a nd beverages when household income increases. Starbucks innovation in joint ventures has opened new markets and opportunities increasing product use among different demographics.Starbucks has proven to be highly innovative in business culture that offers prepaid cards, priced from ?5 to ?500. Joint ventures with Pepsi Company, Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream Inc and inspiring entertainment with the launch of â€Å"Hear Music† have developed Starbucks with great success. Starbucks has shown their values, leveraging market power, resources, and capabilities to achieve returns higher than their competition (Investment Group, 2001).

Last Sacrifice Chapter Four

AND WHEN I SAY THEY blew up, I mean they blew up. Flames and smoke unfurled like petals from a newly opened flower as those poor monarchs exploded into pieces of rock. For a moment, I was stunned. It was like watching an action movie, the explosion cracking the air and shaking the ground. Then, guardian training kicked in. Critical observation and calculation took over. I immediately noticed that the bulk of the statue's material blew toward the outer sides of the garden. Small stone pieces and dust rained down on the funeral procession, but no large chunks of rock hit Lissa or anyone standing nearby. Assuming the statues had not spontaneously combusted, whoever had blown them up had done so in a precise way. The logistics aside, huge billowing pillars of flame are still pretty scary. Chaos broke loose as everyone tried to get away. Only, they all took different routes, so collisions and entanglements occurred. Even the pallbearers set down their precious burden and took off. Ambrose was the last to do so, his mouth agape and eyes w ide as he stared at Tatiana, but another look at the statues sent him off into the mob. A few guardians tried to keep order, herding people back down the funeral path, but it didn't do a lot of good. Everyone was out for themselves, too terrified and panicked to think reasonably. Well, everyone except for Lissa. To my surprise, she wasn't surprised. She had been expecting the explosion. She didn't run right away, despite people pushing past and shoving her aside. She stood rooted where she'd been when the statues blew up, studying them and the wreckage they'd caused. In particular, she seemed concerned about anyone in the crowd who might have been hurt by the blasts. But, no. As I'd already observed, there seemed to be no injuries. And if there were, it was going to be because of the stampede. Satisfied, Lissa turned and began walking away with the others. (Well, she was walking; they were running). She'd only gone a little distance when she saw a huge group of guardians hurrying toward the church, faces grim. Some of them stopped to aid those escaping the destruction, but most of the guardians were on their way to the blast site to see what had happened. Lissa paused again, causing the guy behind her to slam into her back, but she barely felt the impact. She intently watched the guardians, taking note of how many there were, and then moved on once more. Her hidden thoughts were starting to unravel. Finally, I began to see pieces of the plan she'd kept hidden from me. She was pleased. Nervous, too. But overall, she felt– A commotion back at the jail snapped me into my own mind. The usual quiet of the holding area had shattered and was now filled with grunts and exclamations. I leapt up from where I'd been sitting and pressed against the bars, straining to see what was happening. Was this building about to explode too? My cell only faced a wall in the hallway, with no view of the rest of the corridor or its entrance. I did, however, see the guardians who usually stood at the hall's far end come tearing past me, toward whatever altercation was occurring. I didn't know what this meant for me and braced for anything, friend or foe. For all I knew, there could be some political fringe group launching attacks on the Court to make a statement against the Moroi government. Peering around the cell, I swore silently, wishing I had anything to defend myself. The closest I had was Abe's book, which was no good at all. If he was the badass he pretended to be, he really would have slipped a file into it. Or gotten me something bigger, like War and Peace. The scuffling died down and footsteps thundered toward me. Clenching my fists, I took a few steps back, ready to defend myself against anyone. â€Å"Anyone' turned out to be Eddie Castile. And Mikhail Tanner. Friendly faces were not what I had expected. Eddie was a longtime friend from St. Vladimir's, another new guardian like me and someone who'd stuck by me through a lot of misadventures, including the Victor Dashkov prison break. Mikhail was older than us, mid-twenties, and had helped us restore Dimitri in the hopes that Sonya Karp–a woman Mikhail had loved who had turned Strigoi–might be saved as well. I glanced back and forth between the two guys' faces. â€Å"What's going on?' I demanded. â€Å"Nice to see you too,' said Eddie. He was sweating and keyed up with battle fervor, a few purple marks on his face showing he'd met someone's fist tonight. In his hand was a weapon I'd seen in the guardians' arsenal: a baton-type thing used to incapacitate people without killing them. But Mikhail held something much more valuable: the keycard and mechanical key to open my cell. My friends were staging a prison break. Unbelievable. Crazy was usually my specialty. â€Å"Did you guys †¦' I frowned. The thought of escape filled me with joy, but the logistics were sobering. Clearly, they'd been responsible for the fight with my guards that I'd just heard. Getting down here in the first place wasn't that easy either. â€Å"Did you two just take on every guardian in this building?' Mikhail finished unlocking the door, and I didn't waste any time in hurrying out. After feeling so oppressed and smothered for days, it was like stepping onto a mountain ledge, wind and space all around me. â€Å"Rose, there are no guardians in this building. Well, maybe one. And these guys.' Eddie gestured in the direction of the earlier fight, where I assumed my guards lay unconscious. Surely my friends hadn't killed anyone. â€Å"The rest of the guardians are all checking out the explosion,' I realized. Pieces began coming together–including Lissa's lack of surprise over the commotion. â€Å"Oh no. You had Christian blow up ancient Moroi artifacts.' â€Å"Of course not,' said Eddie. He seemed shocked that I would have suggested such an atrocity. â€Å"Other fire users would be able to tell if he did.' â€Å"Well, that's something,' I said. I should have had more faith in their sanity. Or maybe not. â€Å"We used C4,' explained Mikhail. â€Å"Where on earth did you–‘ My tongue locked up when I saw who was standing at the end of the hallway. Dimitri. Not knowing how he was during my imprisonment had been frustrating. Christian and Tasha's report had been only a tease. Well, here was the answer. Dimitri stood near the hall's entrance in all his six-foot-seven glory, as imperious and intimidating as any god. His sharp brown eyes assessed everything in an instant, and his strong, lean body was tensed and ready for any threat. The look on his face was so focused, so filled with passion, that I couldn't believe anyone ever could have thought he was a Strigoi. Dimitri burned with life and energy. In fact, looking at him now, I was again reminded of how he'd stood up for me at my arrest. He wore that same expression. Really, it was the same one I'd seen countless times. It was the one people feared and admired. It was the one I had loved. â€Å"You're here too?' I tried reminding myself that my muddled romantic history wasn't the most important thing in the world for a change. â€Å"Aren't you under house arrest?' â€Å"He escaped,' said Eddie slyly. I caught the real meaning: he and Mikhail had helped Dimitri escape. â€Å"It's what people would expect some violent probably-still-a- Strigoi guy to do, right?' â€Å"You'd also expect him to come bust you out,' added Mikhail, playing along with the game. â€Å"Especially considering how he fought for you last week. Really, everyone is going to think he busted you out alone. Not with us.' Dimitri said nothing. His eyes, while still carefully watching our surroundings, were also assessing me. He was making sure I was okay and uninjured. He looked relieved that I was. â€Å"Come on,' Dimitri finally said. â€Å"We don't have much time.' That was an understatement, but there was one thing bugging me about my friends' â€Å"brilliant' plan. â€Å"There's no way they'll think he did it alone!' I exclaimed, realizing what Mikhail was getting at. They were setting Dimitri up as the culprit in this escape. I gestured to the unconscious guardians at our feet. â€Å"They saw your faces.' â€Å"Not really,' a new voice said. â€Å"Not after a little spirit-induced amnesia. By the time they wake up, the only person they'll remember seeing will be that unstable Russian guy. No offense.' â€Å"None taken,' said Dimitri, as Adrian stepped through the doorway. I stared, trying not to gape. There they were together, the two men in my life. Adrian hardly looked like he could jump into a fistfight, but he was as alert and serious as the other fighters here. His lovely eyes were clear and full of the cunning I knew they could possess when he really tried. That's when it hit me: he showed no sign of intoxication whatsoever. Had what I'd seen the other day been a ruse? Or had he forced himself to take control? Either way, I felt a slow grin creeping over my face. â€Å"Lissa lied to your mom earlier,' I said. â€Å"You're supposed to be passed out drunk somewhere.' He rewarded me with one of his cynical smiles. â€Å"Well, yes, that would probably be the smarter–and more enjoyable–thing to be doing right now. And hopefully, that's what everyone thinks I'm doing.' â€Å"We need to go,' said Dimitri, growing agitated. We turned toward him. Our jokes vanished. That attitude I'd noticed about Dimitri, the one that said he could do anything and would always lead you to victory, made people want to follow him unconditionally. The expressions on Mikhail and Eddie's faces–as they grew serious–showed that was exactly how they felt. It seemed natural to me too. Even Adrian looked like he believed in Dimitri, and in that moment, I admired Adrian for putting aside any jealousy–and also for risking himself like this. Especially since Adrian had made it clear on more than one occasion he didn't want to be involved with any dangerous adventures or use his spirit in a covert way. In Las Vegas, for example, he'd simply accompanied us in an observer's role. Of course, he'd also been drunk most of the time, but that probably made no difference. I took a few steps forward, but Adrian suddenly held out a hand to stop me. â€Å"Wait– before you go with us, you need to know something.' Dimitri started to protest, eyes glinting with impatience. â€Å"She does,' argued Adrian, meeting Dimitri's gaze squarely. â€Å"Rose, if you escape †¦ you're more or less confirming your guilt. You'll be a fugitive. If the guardians find you, they aren't going to need a trial or sentence to kill you on sight.' Four sets of eyes rested on me as the full meaning sank in. If I ran now and was caught, I was dead for sure. If I stayed, I had the slim chance that in my short time before trial, we might find evidence to save me. It wasn't impossible. But if nothing turned up, I was also most certainly dead. Either option was a gamble. Either one had the strong possibility of me not surviving. Adrian looked as conflicted as I felt. We both knew I didn't have any good choices. He was simply worried and wanted me to know what I was risking. Dimitri, however †¦ for him, there was no debate. I could see it all over his face. He was an advocate of rules and doing the proper thing. But in this case? With such bad odds? It was better to risk living as a fugitive, and if death came, better to face it fighting. My death will not be penciled in on someone's calendar. â€Å"Let's go,' I said. We hurried out of the building, anxious to get moving with the plan. I couldn't help but comment to Adrian, â€Å"You've got to be using a lot of spirit to pull off all those illusions on the guards.' â€Å"I am,' he agreed. â€Å"And I don't really have the power to do it for very long. Lissa could probably make a dozen guardians think they'd seen ghosts. Me? I can barely make a few forget Eddie and Mikhail. That's why there had to be someone they remembered to attract the attention, and Dimitri's the ideal scapegoat.' â€Å"Well, thank you.' I gave his hand a gentle squeeze. As warmth flowed between us, I didn't bother telling him I was a long way from being free yet. It would diminish his heroics. We had a lot of obstacles ahead, but I still appreciated him stepping up like this and respecting my decision to go along with the escape plan. Adrian shot me a sidelong glance. â€Å"Yeah, well, I'm supposed to be crazy, right?' A flash of affection shone in his eyes. â€Å"And there isn't much I wouldn't do for you. The stupider, the better.' We emerged to the main floor, and I saw that Eddie had been right about guardian security. The halls and rooms were virtually deserted. Without a second glance, we hurried outdoors, and the fresh air seemed to renew my energy. â€Å"Now what?' I asked my rescuers. â€Å"Now we take you to the getaway car,' said Eddie. The garages weren't far, but they weren't close either. â€Å"That's a lot of open ground to cover,' I said. I didn't bring up the obvious problem: me being killed if spotted. â€Å"I'm using spirit to keep us all vague and nondescript,' said Adrian. More testing of his magic. He couldn't handle much more. â€Å"People won't recognize us unless they stop and stare directly at us.' â€Å"Which they probably won't,' said Mikhail. â€Å"If anyone even notices us at all. Everyone's too worried about themselves to pay much attention to others in all this chaos.' Looking around outside, I could see he was right. The jail building was far from the church, but by now, people who'd been near the blast had made their way to this part of Court. Some were running into their residences. Some were seeking guardians, hoping for protection. And some †¦ some were going the same direction we were, toward the garages. â€Å"People are freaked out enough to actually try to leave Court,' I realized. Our group was moving as fast as we could with Adrian, who wasn't in the shame shape as dhampirs. â€Å"The garages will be crowded.' Both official Court vehicles and visiting guests parked in the same area. â€Å"That could help us,' said Mikhail. â€Å"More chaos.' With so many distractions in my own reality, I couldn't plunge completely into Lissa's. A light brush of the bond found her safe, over in the palace. â€Å"What's Lissa doing during all of this?' I asked. Believe me, I was glad she wasn't involved with this busting-me-out-of-jail madness. But, as Adrian had noted, her ability with spirit could have gone much farther than his here. And now, looking back on it all, it was obvious she had known about this plan. That had been her secret. â€Å"Lissa needs to stay innocent. She can't be linked to any part of the escape or explosion,' replied Dimitri, eyes fixed ahead on his goal. His tone was firm. He still regarded her as his savior. â€Å"She has to keep herself visible with the other royals. So does Christian.' He almost smiled. Almost. â€Å"Those two would certainly be my first suspects if something exploded.' â€Å"But the guardians won't suspect them once they realize the blast wasn't caused by magic,' I mused. Mikhail's earlier words returned to me. â€Å"And hey, where did you guys get a hold of C4? Military grade explosives are kind of extreme, even for you.' No one answered me because three guardians suddenly leapt out into our path. Apparently, they weren't all out at the church. Dimitri and I surged ahead of our group, moving as one, just as we always had in battle together. Adrian had said the illusion he'd stretched over our group wouldn't hold if anyone was facing us directly. I wanted to make sure Dimitri and I were the first line of contact with these guardians, in the hopes they wouldn't recognize the others behind us. I threw myself into the fight without hesitation, defensive instincts kicking in. But in those milliseconds, the reality of what I was doing truly sank in. I'd fought guardians before and always felt guilty about it. I'd taken on the ones at Tarasov Prison, as well as the queen's guard during my arrest. I hadn't really known any of them, though. Just realizing they were my colleagues had been bad enough †¦ but now? Now I was facing one of the most difficult challenges in my life, as small as it seemed. After all, three guardians were an easy match for me and Dimitri. The problem was–I knew these guardians. Two of them I'd run into quite a bit after graduation. They worked at Court and had always been kind to me. The third guardian wasn't just someone I knew–she was a friend. Meredith, one of the few girls in my class at St. Vladimir's. I saw the flash of uneasiness in her eyes, a sentiment mirroring my own. This felt wrong to her too. But, she was a guardian now, and like me, she had had duty drilled into her throughout her life. She believed I was a criminal. She could see I was free and in attack mode. Procedure dictated she take me down, and honestly, I wouldn't have expected anything less. It's what I would have done had our roles been reversed. This was life and death. Dimitri was on the other two guys, as fast and badass as ever. Meredith and I went for each other. At first, she tried to knock me down by virtue of her weight, probably in the hopes of pinning me down until backup could help grab me. Only, I was stronger. She should have known that. How many times had we sparred in the school's gym? I'd almost always won. And this was no game, no practice drill. I pushed back at her attack, punching her on the side of her jaw and desperately praying I didn't break anything. She kept moving through the pain, but–again–I was superior. I caught a hold of her shoulders and threw her down. Her head hit hard, but she remained conscious. I didn't know whether to be grateful or not. Maintaining my grip, I put her in a chokehold, waiting until her eyes closed. I released as soon as I was sure she was out, my heart twisting in my chest. Glancing over, I saw Dimitri had also taken down his opponents. Our group kept moving as though nothing had happened, but I glanced at Eddie, knowing there was grief on my face. He looked pained too but sought to reassure me as we hurried along. â€Å"You did what you had to,' he said. â€Å"She'll be okay. Banged up, but okay.' â€Å"I hit her hard.' â€Å"The medics can deal with concussions. Hell, how many did we get in practice?' I hoped he was right. The lines between right and wrong were getting confusing. The one good thing, I supposed, was that Meredith had been so occupied by the sight of me that she probably hadn't noticed Eddie and the others. They'd held back from the fight, hopefully keeping on Adrian's veil of spirit while Dimitri and I took the attention. We finally reached the garages, which were indeed more crowded than usual. Some Moroi had already driven off. One royal was hysterical because her driver had her car's keys, and she didn't know where he was. She was shouting to passers-by to see if anyone could hotwire the car for her. Dimitri led us purposefully forward, never wavering. He knew exactly where we were going. There had been a lot of planning, I realized. Most of which had probably happened yesterday. Why had Lissa obscured it from me? Wouldn't it have been better for me to have a heads-up on the plan? We scurried through the people, heading toward the garage on the very farthest side. There, sitting just outside of it and seemingly ready to go, was a drab gray Honda Civic. A man stood near it, arms crossed as he examined the windshield. Hearing our approach, he turned around. â€Å"Abe!' I exclaimed. My illustrious father turned and gave me one of those charming smiles that could lure the unwary to their doom. â€Å"What are you doing here?' demanded Dimitri. â€Å"You'll be on the list of suspects too! You were supposed to stay back with the others.' Abe shrugged. He looked remarkably unconcerned at Dimitri's angry expression. I wouldn't have wanted that fury directed at me. â€Å"Vasilisa will make sure a few people at the palace swear they saw me there during suspicious times.' He turned his dark eyes toward me. â€Å"Besides, I couldn't leave without telling you goodbye, could I?' I shook my head in exasperation. â€Å"Was this all part of your plan as my lawyer? I don't recall explosive escapes being part of legal training.' â€Å"Well, I'm sure it wasn't part of Damon Tarus's legal training.' Abe's smile never wavered. â€Å"I told you, Rose. You will never face execution–or even a trial, if I can help it.' He paused. â€Å"Which, of course, I can.' I hesitated, glancing toward the car. Dimitri stood by it with a set of keys, looking impatient. Adrian's words echoed in my memory. â€Å"If I run, it's just going to make me seem that much more guilty.' â€Å"They already think you're guilty,' said Abe. â€Å"You wasting away in that cell won't change that. This just ensures we now have more time to do what we need to without your execution looming over us.' â€Å"And what are you going to do exactly?' â€Å"Prove you're innocent,' said Adrian. â€Å"Or, well, that you didn't kill my aunt. I've known for a while you aren't all that innocent.' â€Å"What, are you guys going to destroy the evidence?' I asked, ignoring the dig. â€Å"No,' said Eddie. â€Å"We have to find who really did kill her.' â€Å"You guys shouldn't be involved with that, now that I'm free. It's my problem. Isn't that why you got me out?' â€Å"It's a problem you can't solve while you're at Court,' said Abe. â€Å"We need you gone and safe.' â€Å"Yeah, but I–‘ â€Å"We're wasting time arguing,' said Dimitri. His gaze fell on the other garages. The crowds were still chaotic, too busy with their own fears to notice us yet. That didn't affect Dimitri's concern. He handed me a silver stake, and I didn't question the reasons. It was a weapon, something I couldn't turn down. â€Å"I know everything looks disorganized, but you'll be amazed at how quickly the guardians will restore order. And when they do, they're going to lock this place down.' â€Å"They don't need to,' I said slowly, my mind spinning. â€Å"We're already going to have trouble going out of Court. We'll be stopped–if we can even get to the gate. There are going to be cars lined up for miles!' â€Å"Ah, well,' said Abe, idly studying his fingertips. â€Å"I have it on good authority there's going to be a new â€Å"gate' opening up soon over on the south side of the wall.' The truth dawned on me. â€Å"Oh lord. You're the one who's been doling out C4.' â€Å"You make it sound so easy,' he said with a frown. â€Å"That stuff's hard to get a hold of.' Dimitri's patience was at an end. â€Å"All of you: Rose needs to leave now. She's in danger. I'll drag her out if I have to.' â€Å"You don't have to go with me,' I shot back, kind of offended at the presumption. Memories of our recent arguments emerged, of Dimitri saying he couldn't love me and didn't even want to be friends. â€Å"I'll take care of myself. No one else needs to get in trouble. Give me the keys.' Instead, Dimitri gave me one of those rueful looks that said he thought I was being utterly ridiculous. We could have been back in class at St. Vladimir's Academy. â€Å"Rose, I can't really get in any more trouble. Someone has to be responsible for helping you, and I'm the best choice.' I wasn't so sure of that. If Tatiana really had made progress in convincing people Dimitri wasn't a threat, this escapade would ruin it all. â€Å"Go,' said Eddie, surprising me with a quick hug. â€Å"We'll be in touch through Lissa.' I realized then that I was fighting a losing battle with this group. It really was time to leave. I hugged Mikhail too, murmuring in his ear, â€Å"Thank you. Thank you so much for your help. I swear, we'll find her. We'll find Sonya.' He gave me that sad smile of his and didn't reply. Adrian was the hardest to leave behind. I could tell it was difficult for him too, no matter how relaxed his grin seemed. He couldn't be happy about me going off with Dimitri. Our hug lasted a little bit longer than the others, and he gave me a soft, brief kiss on the lips. I almost felt like crying after how brave he'd been tonight. I wished he could go with me but knew he'd be safer here. â€Å"Adrian, thank you for–‘ He held up his hand. â€Å"It's not goodbye, little dhampir. I'll see you in your dreams.' â€Å"If you stay sober enough.' He winked. â€Å"For you I just might.' A loud booming noise interrupted us, and we saw a flash of light off to my right. People near the other garages screamed. â€Å"There, you see?' asked Abe, quite pleased with himself. â€Å"A new gate. Perfect timing.' I gave him a reluctant hug too and was surprised when he didn't pull back right away. He smiled at me †¦ fondly. â€Å"Ah, my daughter,' he said. â€Å"Eighteen, and already you've been accused of murder, aided felons, and acquired a death count higher than most guardians will ever see.' He paused. â€Å"I couldn't be prouder.' I rolled my eyes. â€Å"Goodbye, old man. And thanks.' I didn't bother asking him about the â€Å"felons' part. Abe wasn't stupid. After I'd asked him about a prison that had later been breeched, he'd probably figured out who was behind Victor Dashkov's escape. And like that, Dimitri and I were in the car, speeding off toward Abe's â€Å"new gate.' I regretted not being able to say goodbye to Lissa. We were never truly apart with the bond, but it couldn't take the place of face-to-face communication. Still, it was worth it to know she would be safe and free of any connection to my escape. I hoped. Like always, Dimitri drove, which I still thought was totally unfair. It had been one thing when I was his student, but now? Wouldn't he ever give up that wheel? This didn't seem like the time to discuss it, though–particularly since I didn't plan on us staying together much longer. A few people had come out to see where the wall had blown up, but no one official had surfaced yet. Dimitri raced through the gap as impressively as Eddie had when he'd driven through Tarasov Prison's gate, only the Civic didn't handle the bumpy, grassy terrain as well as the SUV in Alaska. The problem with making your own exit was that it didn't come with an actual road. Even that was beyond Abe. â€Å"Why is our getaway car a Civic?' I asked. â€Å"It's not really great for off-roading.' Dimitri didn't look at me but continued navigating over the rough ground toward a more drivable area. â€Å"Because Civics are one of the most common cars out there and don't attract attention. And this should be the only off-roading we do. Once we hit a freeway, we're putting as much distance between us and Court as we can–before abandoning the car, of course.' â€Å"Abandon–‘ I shook my head, letting it go. We reached a dirt road that felt like the smoothest surface on earth after that jolting start. â€Å"Look, now that we're out of there, I want you to know that I mean it: you don't have to come with me. I appreciate your help in the escape. Really. But hanging out with me won't do you any favors. They'll be hunting for me more than you. If you take off, you can live somewhere around humans and not be treated like a lab animal. You might even be able to slink back to Court. Tasha would put up a fight for you.' Dimitri didn't answer for a long time. It drove me crazy. I wasn't the kind of person who handled silence well. It made me want to chatter and fill the void. Plus, the longer I sat there, the more it hit me that I was alone with Dimitri. Like, really and truly alone for the first time since he'd become a dhampir. I felt like a fool, but in spite of the dangers we still risked †¦ well, I was still overwhelmed by him. There was something so powerful about his presence. Even when he made me angry, I still found him attractive. Maybe the adrenaline pounding through me was addling my brain. Whatever it was, I was consumed by more than just his physical aspects–though they were certainly distracting. The hair, the face, his closeness to me, his scent †¦ I felt it all, and it made my blood burn. But the inner Dimitri–the Dimitri who'd just led a small army through a prison break–captivated me just as much. It took me a moment to realize why this was so powerful: I was seeing the old Dimitri again, the one I'd worried was gone forever. He wasn't. He was back. At long last, Dimitri replied, â€Å"I'm not leaving you. None of your Rose-logic arguments are going to work. And if you try to get away from me, I'll just find you.' I didn't doubt he could, which just made the situation more confusing. â€Å"But why? I don't want you with me.' I still felt a lingering attraction for him, yes, but that didn't change the fact that he had hurt me in breaking things off between us. He had rejected me, and I needed to harden my heart, particularly if I wanted to move on with Adrian. Clearing my name and leading a normal life seemed far away right now, but if it happened, I wanted to be able to return to Adrian with open arms. â€Å"It doesn't matter what you want,' he said. â€Å"Or what I want.' Ouch. â€Å"Lissa asked me to protect you.' â€Å"Hey, I don't need anyone to–‘ â€Å"And,' he continued, â€Å"I meant what I said to her. I swore I'd serve her and help her for the rest of my life, anything she asks. If she wants me to be your bodyguard, then that's what I'll be.' He gave me a dangerous look. â€Å"There's no way you're getting rid of me anytime soon.'

Analysis Of Learning Style And The Implications For Teaching Education Essay

Analysis Of Learning Style And The Implications For Teaching Education Essay This piece of writing is designed to explore how I learn as a student Radiographer and how this could potentially affect the way I teach future Radiographers upon graduation. This will allow me to understand, rethink and improve my methods of teaching that will benefit and not hinder learning of the students I would be teaching. Learning is all about new skills and new information, through purposeful change or through new experiences (Reece and Walker, 2003). Kolb’s experiential learning theory was designed in order to stage learning and understand how people perceived and processed new knowledge. Kolb created a learning cycle that consisted of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active experimentation which could be entered at any point in response to a learning activity depending on the individual preference (Kolb and Kolb, 2005). According to Honey and Mumford (1992) learners can be placed into four categories, Activist, Reflector, T heorist and Pragmatist. The usual outcome is that learners are a part of all four but dominate more in one. It is even possible to adapt to different learning styles to cope with different learning situations (Fatt, 2000). In order to discover how I perceive challenges, interact with them and respond to them it is important to outline what my learning style is as people can perceive learning experiences in many different ways. Having completed the structured approach to learning styles questionnaire, it shows that I dominate more in the reflective learning style and closely followed by theorist (see appendix 2). As a reflective learner I tend to reflect on my experiences and think hard before finishing any work. I consider any implications before the activity and like to listen to and observe other people before doing it myself (Honey and Mumford, 1992) and this is exactly how I learn in practice and everyday life. This is not the ideal type of learning in some situations especially in practice. As stated above reflectors learn better when they can be allowed to stand back and observe, allowed to think, prepare, then review what has happened afterwards. An example of when this can be detrimental to reflective learners is when radiographers have to modify their technique for plain film examinations. I cannot begin to modify a technique until I have seen it being performed; this is also true of learning how to use radiographic equipment which will be a disadvantage for when I qualify in the fact I would need to consider the technique for a while before doing it. In a busy department reflective learning cannot always happen, this type of learning takes time which is not always possible when there are time constraints and when staff are very busy. Another problem that could occur is that staff may think that the student does not want to participate or learn and that they are shying away but in reality the student wants to observe something before they participate which is not the fault of the student. In clinical practice this learning style can actually be a learning barrier to students and will take longer to learn new experiences. Although sometimes in a busy environment, just being able to observe from afar is sometimes more helpful to the reflective learner. Other barriers to learning for reflectors in practice is past negative experiences, lack of time within a busy environment, lack of support from the radiographers, lack of clear intent of what the learner is supposed to be doing, high expectations of knowledge and technique and being within a hostile environment (Downie and Basford, 2003). These barriers can prevent reflection so this learning activity will remain negatively in the reflective learners mind (Downie and Basford, 2003). But being in a clinical environment is still the best way to learn such a skill as radiography and this will still benefit reflective learners and indeed all learners despite the few barriers that exist (Gopee, 2008).

The United States in World War I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The United States in World War I - Essay Example Later in 1917, America joined the war as they declared war against the Germans. This paper will discuss how the United States joined the war and how it participated in the war. Participation of United States in World War One Since Wilson was a peaceful man, he speedily announced that the United States was neutral in the war, and that it was to remain that way. However, it became very hard and complex for the United States to follow this path of neutrality. In this regard, the Americans could not ignore the development of the war even before joining it officially1. Even though the United States did not join the war immediately it commenced, it is evident that it had prepared for the war early in 1914. In this case, one of the largest ammunition merchants based in the United States, Bethlehem Steel, ordered millions of armoury from the British government. These included millions of weaponry shells, in addition to ten 500-ton submarines. Bethlehem continued with the construction of such alien vessels though they were against the law2. This armoury development continued through to 1915, where the U.S. armoury industry continued to develop, with support form western allied nations. In the meantime, Germany and Britain acted against the operations of the United States, which greatly angered the then president of the United States, Woodrow Wilson3. ... This is one of the operations that the Germans carried out in which president Wilson highly tolerated the Germans and acted with much patience and restraint. Most people believed that the president would declare war on Germany due to its constant attacks5. The Germans continued upsetting the Americans and on January 31, 1917, they resumed unhampered submarine conflict. This operation by the Germans saw the sinking of several U.S vessels, which angered Wilson further. Due to this, President Woodrow pushed for a declaration of war against Germany on April 2, 1917. This was the first time during the war period that United States officially joined the war and the house of Congress approved the move speedily6. After the declaration, most Americans did not receive and embrace the move. Few weeks following the declaration, out of a pool of ten million people, only 73, 000 men volunteered to join the army for the preparation of the war7. By the time the United States joined World War in Apri l 1917, the warfare had been intense in Europe for almost three years. The first instance when the United States contributed to the war was in Marshal Foch’s Allied counter-offensive commenced in July 1917. In this encounter, the Americans played a very significant role. Later in September the same year, the U.S first army of approximately 20 segments won a major victory in the St Michael salient8. The American Expeditionary force (AEF’s) was the major force employed to handle the operations of the First World War. This force first displayed the American flag in May 1917 to indicate that America was fully part of the war. Once, these forces

The Nature of he Hero Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The Nature of he Hero - Essay Example Homer creates a certain cult of the hero who should be physically strong and heroic. Beowulf possesses similar features depicted as a warrior and fighter. He describes: "My father was known, a noble head-warrior" (Beowulf). In epic, the cult of the hero is established not to benefit the hero but to punish his enemies. There are many unique qualities that make up the hero and the stories have been told time and time again. The hero's moodiness inhibits exploration of human behavior. Some heroes are disobedient fellows who committed a wrong in the past. The most vivid example of an evil hero is Hector who is described as "The Hero-slaughtering Hector!" (Homer). Youth of heroes tells against them-it is part of the theme that heroes have been molded into the settled prejudices of the world. Any attempt to allegories human nature without paying due attention to our sexual responses must appear to be incomplete. It is possible to say that a journey symbolizes important life stages as the p rocess of becoming an 'adult' and new perception of self (in Inferno). A man becomes a hero coming through different stages of moral and physical development. Some heroes show a social fanaticism rather than an actual bravery, for instance Dante in Inferno.

Game Theory Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Game Theory - Article Example Computers soon became a rage in the 1970s and began finding their way into homes. With it arose the need for games and soon people began designing their own games for home computer use. Online games were fast gaining popularity with role-playing games such Dungeons & Dragons becoming a hit. This was a game where players got the chance to assume the role of a character and carry out missions. However, online games still were an expensive option since the use of Internet was charged by the minute. During this period, games were usually played by typing commands on the keyboard. But in the 1980s, graphics began taking precedence and games with basic textual commands and graphics, such as â€Å"Pool of Radiance† and â€Å"Bard’s Tale† were designed. In 1983, the video game industry came crashing down due to poor quality games and popular games like E.T and Pacman failing miserably. This boosted the popularity of computers and soon enough low-cost computers began replacing video games. There were also many high-quality graphical interfaces, which could be utilised with the help of the computer mouse. With the popularity of Commodore Amiga computers in 1985, sales saw an upward trend and attempts were made to work on improving its features. Other technological innovations that came about were sound cards, which added to the audio-visual experience of a computer game. In the 90s, came trend-setting games like â€Å"Wolfenstein 3D† which popularised the first person shooter game genre as so did â€Å"Doom† which set the trend for 3D graphics in games.... During this period, games were usually played by typing commands on the keyboard. But in the 1980s, graphics began taking precedence and games with basic textual commands and graphics, such as "Pool of radiance" and "Bard's Tale" were designed. In 1983, the video game industry came crashing down due to poor quality games and popular games like E.T and Pacman failing miserably. This boosted the popularity of computers and soon enough low cost computers began replacing video games. There were also many high quality graphical interfaces, which could be utilised with the help of the computer mouse. With popularity of Commodore Amiga computers in 1985, sales saw an upward trend and attempts were made to work on improving its features. Other technological innovations that came about were sound cards, which added to the audio-visual experience of a computer game. In the 90s, came trend setting games like "Wolfenstein 3D" which popularised the first person shooter game genre as so did "Doom" which set the trend for 3D graphics in games. The 90s can be termed as the boom time for computer games since the Real Time Strategy (RTS) genre games made an entry with Dune II. The genre was further popularised by Warcraft: Orc and Humans in 1994 and games like Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness in 1995 gave rise to multiplayer capabilities in the RTS genre. With broadband connections becoming cheaper in the 1990s, online gaming became very popular. A player usually used a modem or LAN to play RTS games, where the player gets a top down perspective of the battle zone complete with 3 D animation. The player can manipulate the game through clicking and dragging the mouse without waiting for his chance unlike a turn-based game. With Internet becoming more accessible than

Business Research and Writing Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business and Writing - Research Paper Example The purpose of this report was to evaluate the factors that must be considered before expanding the business on foreign soil. To evaluate the factors, the study focused upon taking the scenarios of other electronic organizations that geographically expanded their business without any difficulties. The thorough investigation of similar businesses led to an understanding the organizations must consider opportunities and growth prospects before expanding outside national borders. This can be clearly witnessed through the expansion of Sony. Not only did Sony focused upon the opportunities, but the company also held the confidence to succeed in the given market conditions. On the other hand, the case of Telefonica revealed that rather than focusing upon the opportunities, the Spanish company focused upon evaluating the similarities within the institutional and cultural characteristics in Latin America. Once it understood that both the countries shared similar characteristics, it expanded internationally despite the several criticisms against the geographic expansion. Lastly, the case of Mouser Electronics revealed that the evaluation of demand must be considered before expanding the business internationally. ... The products offered by the company have significantly enhanced the convenience factor of the customers, while providing the customers with additional value in their lives. To continually remain ahead of the competitors in the electronic market, Company G has always focused upon the offering of its competitors (i.e. the leading companies). This is primarily done to provide the customers with the best possible alternative in the market at comparatively lower cost than others. By assessing the tremendous demand of mobile phone and smartphone chargers in the market, Company G has introduced its own brand by the name of ‘ChargeOn’. The specialty of this charger lies within its convenience and small size. Within just half an hour, ChargeOn can charge any mobile or smartphone battery completely, while ensuring the maximization of battery life to significant level. Similarly, ChargeOn is a special charger that is water resistant. To perfectly meet the demand of the customers in the electronics market, the charger will be available in three ranges; standard USB jack, micro USB jack and mini USB jack. With outstanding opportunity to expand geographically, Company G has selected Canada for the expansion. The objective of this assignment is to evaluate the expansion of the company into Canada’s electronics market. To do so, the cases of other electronic organizations are taken into account to assess the factors that were considered before the expansion. A total of three cases have been evaluated. This has helped in the evaluation of best practices and factors that must be understood to significant level. The assessed information will then be used to help Company G to expand geographically to meet the needs of the customers through

An Overview of the Hospitality and Tourism Industry Research Paper

An Overview of the Hospitality and Tourism Industry - Research Paper Example This "An Overview of the Hospitality and Tourism Industry" outlines and analyze the restaurant management in Chicago and defines the main aims of it in order to improve this branch of hospitality and to attract new customers. The everyday life in Chicago is very fast and competitive and people barely find time to spare for unconstructive activities such as enjoying an exclusive feast. College students and working class always prefer grabbing a quick snack between breaks and only wish to give minimal lead time between ordering food and being served. Since Chicago represents one of the busiest commercial and capital hubs of America, there are high stakes involved and thus various strict regulatory bodies exist that closely monitor all food and hospitality businesses. Not only the mandatory standards are complied with, but restaurants also attempt to meet requirements of voluntary codes pertaining to quality, health, hygiene and safety. This social business is for the public at large an d hence to gain their support and create goodwill amongst diversified population of Chicago, it is crucial to fulfill needs of the desired market niche. Demographics of targeted market segment must be carefully studied and preferences be analyzed before establishing the offered menu and the overall aura of restaurant. In order to outperform hundreds of brands already prevailing in the market, some uniqueness and exclusivity needs to be developed that attracts customers who can find those factors nowhere else. This may be the special food, innovative methodology or unrivaled services. Innovation through technology Technology has swayed the hospitality industry of Chicago in recent decades. New innovations are highly valued by the Chicago people and thus all famous brands continue to develop and introduce newer methods of cooking and serving through usage of technology. Moreover, few inventions such as the social media, has helped businesses in collecting vast amount of demographic in formation of customers and in conducting mass marketing campaigns. Often, new restaurants market their business on social media portals and operate online only for collecting orders and making deliveries, with no physical dine-out outlet and hence save substantial costs. Furthermore, various brands have introduced self-service stalls in different busy locations of Chicago; these booths have automated equipment with no human intervention. A customer can conveniently place

Exam_Decision support system and business intelligence 2 Essay

Exam_Decision support system and business intelligence 2 - Essay Example It is thus characterized by subject, integration, time and volatility. Subject-oriented – this is the type of data warehousing in which the data is arranged by the subject details that are relevant to the decision support processes thus enable users determine the how and why of the organization’s performance. Integrated-this is the characteristic of data warehouse in which the data is placed from different sources are placed in a consistent format. This is only possible if the data warehouse is dealing with major data warehousing conflicts like naming discrepancies. Time-variant-this is the characteristic of data warehouse that maintains historical data. Time is a very important aspect of warehousing that defines the status of data in real systems. This character is responsible for detecting trends, long-term relationships and deviations that help in comparisons and forecasting which forms a very important part of decision making. Non-volatile- this is the characteristic of data warehouse that ensures that data entered into the data warehouse is not manipulated by users through updating or changing. It also ensures that changes in the data are recorded as new data and obsolete data are discarded. Q2: Natural Language Processing is the mode of representation that was used by early text mining applications to introduce various structures to the text-based documents so that they could cluster them to the natural groupings or classify them to some predetermined classes. In the earlier text mining like bag-of –words the natural language was considered a cluster of words. Texts like paragraphs, sentence or complete document were often represented as a collection of world. This process disregarded the grammar of the text or the order in which these words appeared. Though this model has become obsolete, some document classification tools still use it. This is still applicable in span filtering where the e-mail message

A Comparison of Traditional and Non Traditional Way of Living Essay

A Comparison of Traditional and Non Traditional Way of Living - Essay Example However, there is not much pressure for children to break away from their families because they are taught to value family more than wealth. Moreover, the norms in our community suggest a simple and timid way of living. There is not much challenge that can really force a person to plan and strategize in order to break away from poverty and difficulties of rural living. Instead, the similar lives of each family somehow seem to say that life in Bhutan is just fine because it is how everybody in the community lives. Being of Nepali origin who was born in Bhutan, I became one of the refugees who suffered many difficulties. The refugee camps were made of bamboo, mud, and plastic. The camp is not a good place to live in but we did not have any choice. Therefore, we have to endure the extremely harsh circumstances brought to us. Living in camps is the worst experience I ever had. It was worse than the lives of many animals. Some animals are given good homes and enough food but we lived with just small spaces allotted for each member of the family. So many times, food is not enough for all of us so we learned to share what meager food is available. In addition, there was no electricity so we also suffered the heat and cold through changing seasons. We were also in dire need of water and sanitation. Life in camps means being thankful we are still alive. We had no right to complain. We only had to hope and pray that someday, the sun will shine brightly on us. Thankfully, that day finally came for me in 2010 when I resettled in the United States. The American lifestyle is completely different from what I have been used to. There are no friends to have a lazy chat with and no time that we can afford to waste. Even in rural areas, American living has high demands because of the standard of living.

Promoting a exsiting manger Essay Example for Free

Promoting a exsiting manger Essay I feel that if dalman and lei created a new position between the location managers and the ceo, it will help the business prosper. Because it will free up some of the time that lei feels like he doesn’t have to focus on other things and his position. If he used his authority to delegate and make sure that he puts together a specific team that can not only do the job but preform at the level he does if not above it, they will end up with a good outcome. Also working with the location managers I think is the smartest move because l ocation is what they specifically oversee so who better than them to do the job? It gives the company the perk that it needs to expand like they want to as well. Promoting a exsiting manger is a great option but only with certain requirements, if the current manger has the experience,knowledge and drive theres no problem with promoting form within. I feel that prominting from within is a great aspect to any job or career, because if you’re with a company that you plan to stay at you wanna move up the company latter and for the employers it will help make their business more appeling to prospective employees. By making the company more appeling you’ll have more people happy to come to work because of that insentive, creating longevity because happy employees create happy custoners. The descion should be made by dalman and lei because they are the company owners and not only if something goes wrong their livly hoods depends on it. I feel that if they were to bring someone in to make that desion with them it would have to be someone they both were comfortable with like one of the manager they would be considering for the new position then that way that person would have an more in deph look at the outcome both Dalman and Lei are seeking.

Psychology and education in the twentieth century Essay Example for Free

Psychology and education in the twentieth century Essay The twentieth century was innovative in a multiplicity of fields, including psychology and education. The attempt to develop the understanding on how humans learn was a challenge upheld by a â€Å"huge and diverse cast of characters† (Harrà ©, 2005: p7), with some so prolific that they didn’t only affect the classroom but â€Å"have left an enduring mark on our understanding of ourselves† (Harrà ©, 2005: p7). For this essay, I will describe and reflect on the theories of Burrhus Fredrick Skinner and Jerome Bruner, particularly focusing on Operant Conditioning and Cognitive Learning and apply them to an educational setting. Jerome Bruner (1915-2016) is renowned as one of the most significant and influential cognitive and constructivist theorists of the twentieth century and specifically developed â€Å"the study of the mental processes of thinking† (Harrà ©, 2005: p49). His initial focus was the development of human cognition but psychology at Harvard, according to Bruner had become â€Å"centrifugal† (Bruner,1983: p252). In turn, this led Bruner to begin his exploration into child cognitive development, heightening the importance of categorization in learning as well as â€Å"challenge the old psychology in the latter years of the 20th century† (Harrà ©, 2005: p.60) Bruner was highly influential in educational thinking, especially after the release of his book â€Å"The Process of Education (1960)† that is now recognized as a classic. Himself and other cognitivist theorists such as Piaget were both interested in child development, and Bruner agreed with Piaget that biological organisation underlies cognitive development but queried whether age ranges were correct in his developmental stage theory and believed that â€Å"it paid insufficient attention to the role of social interaction† (Olson, 2005: p.25). Similarly to Bruner, I do not believe that a child’s age always indicates their level of understanding. Limited description is offered of a child’s learning necessities, capability level, or motivational influences; all of which will have an impact on their understanding. I believe that this is a notion that still hasn’t been explored deeply enough and has a negative impact on our education today, as some students are still failing as the curriculum is generalised â€Å"the exam boards adopt common ways of working† (Ofqal,2017). The Eminent Harvard Psychologist has contributed greatly towards psychology overall, but his works have been most recognized in education; he felt that it was substantial for a learner to attain the fundamental values of a subject – his theory generally expressed that learners develop new ideas and concepts based upon existing knowledge; correspondingly to Piaget, he used three phases to develop his theory on modes of representation (how a learner may think of an object). Each mode is foremost at different stages of development, but all are present throughout the process. The first stage (1-18 months), was termed â€Å"inactive†. Thinking is utterly based on the child’s physical actions rather than their internal thinking. This mode is continuously seen in the later years, an example of that would be when a child is learning how to get dressed for school or ride a bike. The second mode begins to develop when a child reaches 18 months and was named â€Å"iconic†, and is mainly obtained via pictures or icons. These are mainly based on the five senses (hear, touch, smell, visualise). In an educational setting, diagrams and/or illustrations are often useful when introducing a new topic. The third stage, mainly reached at the age of 6 is â€Å"symbolic† and is primarily based on the use of symbols. Language also serves the purpose of regulation in this stage; as children develop, they shift from being external to being internal in cognitive processes. Using language as a symbol is essential to develop the capacity to think in abstract terms. Based on this three-stage notion, Bruner recommended using a combination of concrete, pictorial and then symbolic activities which will lead into more effective learning. This remains true even for adult learners. The theory is conceptually useful in teaching, as it allows staff to engage with all learners regardless of their cognitive level. With a range of supplies (study materials, activities, and tools), a new topic can be taught easily as it can begin as a concrete representation, and eventually end as an abstract one. This also provides learners something they can return to if they come across any problems with the matter. A primary example would be to engross the learners to do physically create 3D shapes. The following exercise would be an illustration of a shape, and the names of the shapes would aurally be read out and explained by the tutor. Thirdly, the learners should discuss the concept of the lesson and discuss any findings. Not only is this a far more gradual and realistic way of learning, I believe it also encourages motivation; something Bruner felt strongly about â€Å"The act of grasping the meaning, significance or structure of a problem or a situation without explicit re liance on the analytic apparatus of one\s craft† (Bruner, 1966: p.) For Bruner, the purpose of education is not to impart knowledge, but instead to facilitate a child’s thinking and problem solving skills which can then be transferred to a range of situations. Bruner’s notions and concepts have been rejected and critiqued by other theorists. For example, Piaget trusts that patience is necessary to reach the stage where a child is ready, whereas Jerome Bruner believes that the speed of cognitive development process can be increased if necessary. Unlike Piaget who was â€Å"resistant to criticism, sticking to a fixed position in the face of theoretical objections and empirical refutations† (Harrà ©, 2005: p57), Bruner was â€Å"unafraid of words like mind, and expectation, and perception, and meaning† (Miller, 2003: p.142). Bruner places a broader focus on his theory and attempts to be more open-minded and take a variety of studies into account

The Structure And Function Of Proteins Biology Essay

The Structure And Function Of Proteins Biology Essay Proteins are large macromolecules which consist of hydrogen, carbon and oxygen; proteins are polymeric chains that are built from monomers known as amino acids. Proteins have a major function in a living organism, for example, the replication of DNA, catalysing metabolic reactions (catalyst); stimulus response and also transporting molecules form one place to another. There are 20 different types of amino acids which synthesize proteins, however the function and different properties of each type of protein is due to the precise sequence and structure of the amino acids present. Each amino acid consists of a central carbon atom (C), which is attached to a hydrogen atom (H), an amino group (also known as NH2 group), a carboxyl group (- COOH, this gives up a proton hence why this is known as an acid) and also a unique side chain or R group. Amino acids are linked linearly via covalent peptide bonds, short chain amino acids are known as peptides whereas long chain formations of amino acids are called polypeptides, where the peptide bond is formed between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group on the neighbouring amino acid. This reaction occurs as a condensation reaction where there is a removal of a hydrogen atom from the amino group of one amino acid and the removal of a à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬OH group from the carboxyl acid from another amino acid forming a water molecule (Fig 1). http://ibhumanbiochemistry.wikispaces.com/file/view/CondensationReaction.jpg/31781961/CondensationReaction.jpg Fig 1: a condensation reaction between two amino acid molecules, there is a formation of a water molecule as a waste product. The unique side chain or R group is what disguises one amino acid from another; the overall structure and properties of the proteins are therefore dependent on sequence of the R group of each amino acid. Furthermore these variations of the R group and also the arrangements of the other amino acids would form a number of different polypeptides. Each protein consists of a different number of these polypeptide chains which are folded into complex three dimensional shapes therefore different proteins would have different shapes. There are four levels of protein organization found in polypeptides; these structures are known as: primary structure, secondary structure, tertiary structure and also quaternary structure. Primary structures is the basic structure of the levels of organization, the primary structure is the linear arrangements/sequence found of the amino acid in the protein, and also could be thought of as the covalent linkages found in the polypeptide chain or the protein, such as a disulphide bond. The secondary structure is the areas of folding found within the protein, where there is an ordered arrangement of the amino acids in some localized regions of the polypeptide molecule; hydrogen bonds play a vital role in stabilizing the folding patterns which are found in the protein molecule. Although the conformation of each protein molecule are considered unique, there are two main types of secondary structure, or folding patterns, that are often present; these are the alpha helix and the anti-parallel beta-pleated sheets, these two folding patterns are common due to the hydrogen bonding occurs between the N-H and C=O groups in the backbone of the polypeptide. However there are a number of other secondary structures but the alpha helix and the anti-parallel sheets are the most stable form of secondary structures found. Furthermore there may be a number of these two types of secondary structure found in a single polypeptide chain. An alpha helix is spiral structure where this could be either a right handed or left handed spiral, in which the peptide bonds are found to be Trans conformational and planar, it would also be found that the amino group of each of the peptide bonds is generally in the upward position where as the carboxyl group points in the downwards position. An alpha helix structure is generated when a single polypeptide chain has turned around itself to form a rigid cylinder where a hydrogen bond is formed between every fourth amino acid (fig 1.2), which links the C=O group of one peptide bond to the N-H group on another amino acid (fig 1.2). http://faculty.ccbcmd.edu/courses/bio141/lecguide/unit3/viruses/images/alphahelix.jpg Fig 1.2: shows the hydrogen bond formed between every fourth amino acid, also linking the N-H group and O=H group. There are two types of beta sheets; parallel and anti-parallel beta sheets. The Beta pleated sheets are extended polypeptide chains with another neighbouring polypeptide chain extending either parallel or anti-parallel to each other, this occurs due to the hydrogen bonds being formed between the segments of the polypeptide chain so are essentially place side by side. The parallel beta sheets is when the structure is shown to consist a polypeptide chain and neighbouring polypeptide chain that would run in the same direction (from the N-terminus to the C-terminus), is known as the parallel beta sheet (Fig 2.1), whereas when the polypeptide chain runs in the opposite direction of that of its neighbouring chain, it is known as an anti-parallel beta sheet (Fig 2.2). http://t2.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSXEJyNbzn7F6PlFREwMGrUg4oz5Ysk1Fho12R9GMWzGFSIQjfK9M9bVZ80 Fig 2.1: shows the parallel beta sheets, the dotted line represents hydrogen bonds. The polypeptide chains shown are placed side by side but run in the same direction so are parallel to each other. Fig 2.2: shows the anti-parallel beta sheets, the dotted line represents hydrogen bonds. The polypeptide chains shown are placed side by side but run in the opposite direction so are anti-parallel to each other. The beta sheet are stable structures that produces a very rigid, pleated structure; this is due to the beta sheet being stabilized by hydrogen bond being formed between the amino group on one polypeptide chain and the carboxyl group on the adjacent chain. The tertiary structure of a protein is the full three dimensional structure of the arrangements of atoms found within the polypeptide chain, this structure is the final geometric shape that protein assume and would be the highest level structure that a protein can attain, the structures include the alpha helix, beta sheets, random coils and also other structures such as loops and folds, which are formed between the N-terminus and the C-terminus. The tertiary structure is mainly stabilized by the formation of disulphide bonds, this is also known as a disulphide bridge because these bonds are formed by oxidation reaction of the side chains of cysteine, by oxidizing the two thiol groups (SH) which would form a disulphide bond (S-S) (fig 3). http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/images/563cysdisulfide.gif Fig 3: Shows the equation of an oxidation reaction in the tertiary structure to form a disulphide bridge (S-S), where a molecule of water is formed. The quaternary structure of a protein is the arrangements of many different types of coiled and folded polypeptides to form a unique functional protein and is stabilized by several non-covalent bonding, where some of these types of bonding are also found in tertiary structures, for example; hydrogen bonding, Van Der Waals interactions, hydrophobic interactions and also ionic interactions. These can occur if there is more than one polypeptide chain present in a complex protein.

Arthur Millers Death of a Salesman as Classic Greek Tragedy Essay

Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman as Classic Greek Tragedy Miller’s Death of a Salesman is an interesting and complex play set at a time of great change in America. Some people believe that it is one of a few classic tragedies written in modern time. While on the surface this play and characters don't appear to hold the definition of tragedy that Aristotle described. In a modern context I believe it may be very close to fitting that mold. Willy is a person that has always been a dreamer. Willy is very proud and self reliant in his approach to life. So much so, that his attitude contributes to his overall downfall. Willy's character lives during a time of great change in America. Willy's job along with the American way of life he loved and felt secure with has outgrown him. As his life and job slip away from him, Willy's attempts to hold his dreams and family together continue to deteriorate to a point that all he has left are his memories. The main character Willy Loman has a certain rough appeal. He is married and a father, and supports his family both financially and emotionally. Willy shows encouragement to his children when they are younger. Willy certainly shows the ability to be great, at least in the eyes of his family and children and that seems important to him. Willy's children and wife see him as a great man and father, as all small children and loving wives do. The children, especially Biff, idolized him as a person in their youth. This is characterized in the way Biff "simonizes" the car as a child. Biff hangs on every word from his father; wanting to know where he's been on his trips and if he can come along and carry his valises. When Biff discovered he'd failed math, surely his greatest time of... ...te for Willy to be in, it certainly is not necessary. His house is almost paid off, his other bills are also almost cleared. He has been given a job offer numerous times by Charley. Willy he can't have someone else give him the answer or fix things for him or give him a job like Charley or Ben offered a number of times. Willy has to do it himself, he has to accomplish the task because he's Willy Loman. This is certainly the case when he decides to end his life and he is not sad about doing this. Willy is actually excited and enthusiastic. He's figured out a way to give Biff a chance to make something of himself with the life insurance money, and he gets himself out of having to admit he's not the man he's portrayed himself to be. Willy isn't doing this for profit or to hurt anyone, it's a solution to a problem that Willy can provide. The ultimate sale so to speak. Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman as Classic Greek Tragedy Essay Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman as Classic Greek Tragedy Miller’s Death of a Salesman is an interesting and complex play set at a time of great change in America. Some people believe that it is one of a few classic tragedies written in modern time. While on the surface this play and characters don't appear to hold the definition of tragedy that Aristotle described. In a modern context I believe it may be very close to fitting that mold. Willy is a person that has always been a dreamer. Willy is very proud and self reliant in his approach to life. So much so, that his attitude contributes to his overall downfall. Willy's character lives during a time of great change in America. Willy's job along with the American way of life he loved and felt secure with has outgrown him. As his life and job slip away from him, Willy's attempts to hold his dreams and family together continue to deteriorate to a point that all he has left are his memories. The main character Willy Loman has a certain rough appeal. He is married and a father, and supports his family both financially and emotionally. Willy shows encouragement to his children when they are younger. Willy certainly shows the ability to be great, at least in the eyes of his family and children and that seems important to him. Willy's children and wife see him as a great man and father, as all small children and loving wives do. The children, especially Biff, idolized him as a person in their youth. This is characterized in the way Biff "simonizes" the car as a child. Biff hangs on every word from his father; wanting to know where he's been on his trips and if he can come along and carry his valises. When Biff discovered he'd failed math, surely his greatest time of... ...te for Willy to be in, it certainly is not necessary. His house is almost paid off, his other bills are also almost cleared. He has been given a job offer numerous times by Charley. Willy he can't have someone else give him the answer or fix things for him or give him a job like Charley or Ben offered a number of times. Willy has to do it himself, he has to accomplish the task because he's Willy Loman. This is certainly the case when he decides to end his life and he is not sad about doing this. Willy is actually excited and enthusiastic. He's figured out a way to give Biff a chance to make something of himself with the life insurance money, and he gets himself out of having to admit he's not the man he's portrayed himself to be. Willy isn't doing this for profit or to hurt anyone, it's a solution to a problem that Willy can provide. The ultimate sale so to speak.

Essay example --

Value-Belief-Norm Theory The aim of this research paper will be to depict the difference between criminals who engage in money laundering and tax evasion. In this regard, the theory of Value-Belief-Norm can be taken into concern. According to this theory, actions of an individual are directly influenced by his/her moral and personal values that impose considerable impact upon the behavioral attitudes (Boersema & Reijnders, 2008). Hence, these psychological aspects further forms as a difference between a normal individual and a criminal. Money Laundering Money can often be duly considered as one of the prime reasons for which most of the criminal activities happen in this world. In this regard, one of the commonly identified crimes associated with money is the aspect of money laundering. Money-laundering is regarded as the process through which criminals of all sorts cover the origin of their wealth in order to avoid suspicions from various law-enforcement agencies. This is also performed by the people with the intention of hiding evidences that could lead to their trail in front of the law. Money laundering can be executed through several ways that include structuring and round tripping among the primary ones. In the method of structuring, money is broken into several small deposits that reduce the chances of any suspicion from various law enforcement agencies. In relation to the method of round tripping, money distorts the market, further lessening the chances for law enforcers to detect the money (UNODC, 2013; [1] Legal Informatio n Institute, n.d.). In terms of law, money laundering is considered as a crime and penalty is thus imposed on people involved in laundering money. E.g. 18 USC Â § 1956 of law dep... ...inals Who Engage In Money Laundering and Tax Evasion From the above discussion, several differences can be depicted between criminals engaged in money laundering and tax evasion. In this context, criminals involved in money laundering are influenced to conduct the crime in order to hide the destination or the source of their income. On the other hand, a criminal involved in tax evasion mainly tends to hide real financial status in the form of paying less tax to the concerned authorities. One more dissimilarity between the two can be apparently observed as the legal actions that are imposed over these criminals. Criminals of money laundering are expected to get stern penalty as compared to that of tax evasion. Additionally, moral values, according to Value-Belief-Norm theory also differ in nature between the criminals engaged in money laundering and tax evasion.

Graduation Speech -- Graduation Speech, Commencement Address

Edgar Allan Poe once said, "All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream." The 13 years that I have spent attending school have quickly passed through my life as if a dream, much as I imagine it did Edgar Allan Poe. I can still remember my first day of school in Vietnam when I was five years old. Timid and scared, I held my mother's hand tightly, frightened that if I let go, I would lose her forever. My mother looked at me and said gently in Vietnamese: "Su hoc nhu thuyen tren dong nuoc nguoc. Khong tien at se lui" Translated into English it means: "Education is like a boat heading upstream against the river's current. If it is not going forward, it will be left drifting behind." Now, years later, I stand among fellow students who have also bravely faced the challenge of that upstream river of knowledge. We are gathered here tonight for a very special and important occasion. It will be a night for all of us to remember, a night of wonderful memories, a night that celebrates the end of one journey and the beginning of another. I would like to welcome all of you here today -- faculty, family, friends, fellow Phi Theta Kappans, and of course, the one, the only Harding Community College graduating Class of 2006. Thank you for giving me the honor of speaking to you on this very special occasion in our lives. Giving a commencement speech is a very challenging task. The faculty would like a speaker with a substantive message. The parents would appreciate a sentimental tone, and the graduates would like the speech to be brief! Two years ago, we came to this institution with great enthusiasm and determination to build a bridge to the future for ourselves and for the next generation. We brought with us impressive... ...e has given us, to work together to translate the abstract into reality. In closing, and rather than saying good-bye to all of you, I ask the Class of 2006 to please rise. Let us give a grateful applause to Harding Community College for all that it has done and continues to do to help students like us in our quest for success. Let us thank you, our distinguished faculty, for believing in us, compelling us, and teaching us to explore the fullness and strength that lie within ourselves. Let us thank our family and friends for loving us, supporting us, and encouraging us to pass through the challenges of that upstream river of knowledge. And, let us celebrate this day with cheerful applause and congratulations to each other for being wonderful companions along this journey. Class of 2006, I wish you all a bright future and may another journey begin here.

Australian Contract Law

Law of Contract II Semester 2, 2011 Word Count: 1932 A party’s right to terminate a contract arises from a particular type of breach of contract by another party. The facts of the breach and the nature of the term breached in each case inform the party with whose contract has been terminated, as to whether it is lawful or not. Common law rights to terminate arise in one or more of the following three ways: * Any breach of a condition of the contract; A serious breach of an intermediate term of the contract; or * Conduct that shows that a party is unable or unwilling to comply with the contract. Australian Courts have for sometime recognised a tripartite classification of terms in analysing whether or not a breach gives rise to a common law right to terminate. Australian courts have accepted that there is a category of term, known as a condition or essential term, for which strict performance is required, and that an aggrieved party is entitled to terminate for any breach of a condition, however slight.Contractual rights to terminate are of two main types: * Termination of the contract in total; or * Termination of the engagement of a contractor, in both cases arising from actual conduct, as described in either the contract’s termination clause or a term arising under statute. Frequently, the common law right to terminate is the most important consideration.In classifying whether a term is seen as a condition of a contract; a term may be classified as a condition by statute, by the parties or by the courts on the basis of the construction of the contract. A term may be classified as a condition on the basis of the express words used by the parties. However, before courts will conclude a particular term is a condition, with the consequences that any breach will entitle the aggrieved party to terminate, the parties must clearly have expressed their intention for the term to have this status.In assessing whether or not a term should be classified as a condition, the High Court has approved the statement of Jordan CJ in Tramways Advertising Pty Ltd v Luna Park Ltd: ‘The test of essentiality is whether it appears from the general nature of the contract considered as a whole, or from some particular term or terms, that the promise is such importance to the promisee that he would not have entered into the contract unless he had been assured of a strict or substantial performance of the promise †¦ nd this ought to have been apparent to the promisor.’ In DTR Nominees Pty Ltd v Mona Homes Pty Ltd, Stephen, Mason and Jacobs JJ provided further explanation of the relevant test: ‘The quality of essentiality depends †¦ on a judgement which is made of the general nature of the contract and its particular provisions, a judgment which takes close account of the importance which the parties have attached to the provision as evidenced by the contract itself as applied to the surrounding circumstances. Accordingly, i n assessing whether or not a term is a condition, courts will consider whether or not the parties would only have entered into a contract on the understanding that there would be strict compliance with the term. Where a term is intermediate, the right to terminate depends on the nature of the breach and its foreseeable consequences. Although the High Court had previously hinted at accepting the doctrine of intermediate terms into Australian law, Koompahtoo Local Aboriginal land Council v Sanpine Pty Ltd was the first case in which the High Court did so expressly.The first recognised authority to introduce intermediate terms was Hong Kong Fir Shipping Co Ltd v Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd, a decision of the English Court of Appeal. Hong Kong Fir was decided in 1961 and passed into the mainstream law of contract as understood and practised in Australia, although not formally adopted by the High Court until Koompahtoo. Any right to terminate under a provision of the contract terms require s careful consideration of the meaning of the words, particularly if the contract is unclear as to the meaning of the words.Additionally, even if the contract includes a termination clause, unless there is clear express exclusion of the common law right to terminate, the common law right remains active and equivalent to any contractual right to terminate. In the facts given, the contract between the Federal Government and the Australian Coastal Patrol Pty Ltd (ACP) has been partly performed. If a contract has been in large part performed, it is less likely that the breach will be substantial enough to warrant termination. In Carr v J. A. Berriman Pty Ltd, the principal entered into a contract with a builder for the construction of a factory.Two breaches by the principal caused the builder to seek to terminate the contract; a failure to deliver the site in the condition specified in the contract and a unilateral decision to remove from the contract the fabrication of steel framing. I t was the second breach that was decisive in the view of the High Court in finding that the termination was effective. In its reasons, the Court noted that the loss of the fabrication represented about one quarter of the builder’s estimated profit on the entire project and the removal from the contract of that percentage of the overall value was a substantial breach.However, in Fairbanks Soap Co. Ltd v Sheppard the parties contracted for the construction of a machine for $10,000. The machine was almost completed when the builder refused to finish the machine unless he was paid a large proportion of the price, contractually agreed to be paid on completion. The builder was concerned that once he made the machine operational that the purchaser would not pay the contract sum. The purchaser refused to pay and terminated the agreement.The builder complained that he had only to undertake about $600 worth of work to complete and was therefore justified in insisting on the payment. Bu t the court said that faced with such a deliberate breach of the contract terms the termination was legal. For ACP they had largely performed the terms of the contract by having four to five vessels active within the first year. They did however, have the minimum of seven boats by the start of the second year as declared in the contract.As well as the correct personnel and had continued to be paid by the Federal Government. It is not uncommon for those wanting to terminate a contract, to allow another opportunity for the party that breached the contract to ‘mend their ways’. Mason J proposed that: â€Å"If a party to a contract, aware of a serious breach, or of other circumstances entitling him to terminate the contract, though unaware of the existence of the right to terminate the contract, exercises rights under the contract, he must be held to have made a binding election to affirm. This in turn meant that the Federal Government should have brought to a standstill t he work of the ACP until it had decided whether or not to continue the contract with ACP after their breach of the contract. However, as the Federal Government had continued to pay the amount specified in term four of the contract then ACP would be unaware of the suggestions to terminate their contract. It would therefore be unlikely that termination of contract due to this reason would be upheld in court.Overall, the Federal Government would be very unlikely in terminating the contract due to the breach of term 1, as it continued to pay ACP when it only had 4 to 5 vessels in service in which they had knowledge of this breach, but continued with the contract. During the period of May to July 2011, some vessels were put to sea without the required minimum of 8 personnel per vessel, many of which did not wear correct uniform during there deployment. Terms 2 and 3 had specified in the contract that each vessel have a minimum of 8 personnel and that they were to wear correct uniform whi lst on active duty.These terms would be seen as conditions if they were discussed during the formation of the contract as being significant to the contract. In turn, this would allow for the Federal Government to terminate the contract with Australian Coastal Patrol Pty Ltd. These terms however could also be seen as trivial matters in the court and as stated in Hongkong Fir Shipping Co Ltd v Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd, it was considered ‘unthinkable that all relatively trivial matters could be regarded as conditions of the contract †¦ It would ultimately be up to the courts to decide on the importance of these terms and whether they impaired the performance of the overall contract. ——————————————– [ 1 ]. Re Moore and Co Ltd and Landauer and Co [1921] 2 KB 519; see also Bowes v Chaleyer (1923) 32 CLR 159 [ 2 ]. Koompahtoo Local Aboriginal Land Council v Sanpine Pty Limit ed [2007] HCA 61 [ 3 ]. Glanville Williams. Learning the Law. Eleventh Edition. Stevens. 1982. p. 9 [ 4 ].Ltd v Tramways Advertising Pty Lt (1938) 61 CLR 28 [ 5 ]. DTR Nominees Pty Ltd v Mona Homes Pty Ltd [1978] HCA 12 [ 6 ]. [1978] HCA 12 [ 7 ]. Koompahtoo Local Aboriginal Land Council v Sanpine Pty Limited [2007] HCA 61 [ 8 ]. Hong Kong Fir Shipping Co v Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha [1962] 2 QB 26 [ 9 ]. [1962] 2 QB 26 [ 10 ]. [2007] HCA 61 [ 11 ]. Carr v JA Berriman Pty Ltd (1953) 89 CLR 327 [ 12 ]. Fairbanks Soap Co. Ltd. v. Sheppard, [1953] 1 S. C. R [ 13 ]. Fairbanks Soap Co. Ltd. v. Sheppard, [1953] 1 S. C. R

History of Manila City Jail Essay

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology supervices and controls all district, city and municipal jails. It has been claimed that effective management is based on one’s leadership, management skills and experience at managing critical issues; i. e, public relations, having good policy and procedures. To lead, one must be concerned with ethical and moral development of one’s organization and employees. It is imperative to define and know the agency’s policies in order to do what is right for the right reason. Another factor forming a significant part of tangible programs is sound policies and practices. There is need to focus on agency output in order to measure the target results and its effectiveness. The existing jail conditions in the country neccessitate an honest to goodness assessment to find out if their objectives are met. I need to determine the effectiveness of escorting the inmates in their court hearings and other purposes inside our penal system. There is need to conduct thorough assessment on this variable so as to provide a clear picture of inmate’s safety or problem with the end in view of finding solution for it if there are any. Due to different management of local BJMP and existing condition of penal system in the Philippines. The researcher choose Manila City Jail to be subjected of his researched work as he had his â€Å"on the job training† at Manila City Jail, where pertinent data are easily obtainable. The local BJMP in Manila City Jail managed to create effectiveness of escorting the inmates for their safety and security. This provides direction for their organization to identify their objectives in the performance of their duties. The idea of escorting the inmates is to provide safety and security for their court hearings and other purposes. A program should give all the employee’s an understanding of how their job contributes to the accomplishment of organization’s mission and vision. On January 2, 1991, the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology was established under Republic Act 6975 as a line Bureau under the Department of Interior and Local Government. The Jail Bureau is the upgraded version of its forerunner, the Office of Jail management and Penology of the defunct PC/INP. As mandated by law, the BJMP shall operate under the reorganized Department of interior and Local Government. Starting from scratch with 500 personnel in 1991 the BJMP weaned from its mother PC/INP as a mere component, to become a full-pledge bureau, directed to supervise and control all district, city and municipal jails. At present, Director Rosendo Moro Dial, CESO III serves as the Jail Bureau’s Chief.

Eustress Is Your Friend

Eustress is your Friend Not all stress is bad. There are positive effects of stress and it has its own unique characteristics. When it comes to feelings such as anxiety, worry, fear, pain or anger then these are linked to negative stress and this is what many people associate stress with. However, the positive effects of stress are something that can help motivate individuals to accomplish something good. Positive stress helps an individual to make any necessary changes in their lives. So therefore, in my own personal opinion, stress is not such a bad thing. According to thefreedictionary. om, eustress by definition is a positive form of stress. Eustress is a balance between selfishness and altruism through which an individual develops the drive and energy to care for others. This refers to the constructive stress that helps keep you motivated and driven in all aspects of your life. For example, positive stress gives us a feeling of excitement when presented with a demanding situatio n in an area in which we are comfortable like runners on the track, taking a ride on the roller coaster, taking up a challenging project at workplace. Positive stress may fill you with energy to tackle the demands of your task. Positive stress helps to keep us healthy and fills us with contentment. Eustress also reminds us that we can view many of the stressors in our lives as ‘challenges' rather than ‘threats', and have extra vital energy to handle these stressors, without a feeling of being overwhelmed or unhappy. There are many positive effects of stress including the ability to realize when things are wrong and need to be fixed. Positive stress also helps our body tell us when we need to do things such as put a sweater on when it is too cold, scratch an itch, move to a new location when necessary and other needs of everyday life. Positive stress is also an excellent way of initiating the invention and problem solving process by providing more creative solutions. As a result positive stress has been linked to many scientific discoveries, technological advances and creative designs. Positive stress can also help us to know when we need medical care by altering us to when we are experiencing discomfort or other medical concerns. There are many examples of positive stressors. College students face a major stressor at the end of semesters. For instance, Megan is a freshman in a local community college. She is the first in her family to attend school at this level. Her schedule is overwhelming but it is to be expected in order to obtain an associate’s degree. The semester is quickly closing in and Megan is having difficulties with her math class. She is already maintaining a C average and in order to pass, she must make an A on her final. Megan knows that she is feeling stress about this final but realizes that she needs to buckle down and concentrate. Approaching exams enhance a student's concentration and learning capability. Therefore, this stress she is feeling is considered a ‘eustress. If Megan is able to obtain an A on this final, she will pass the class. But in passing the class, Megan will also be able to advance into the next math needed to obtain her degree. In the end, the stressors that Megan is dealing with will have positive effects on her life and future. Stay-at-home moms may seem to have an easy job, but in reality, it's a wonderful job that includes q uite a bit of stress. Many people may think that the life of a stay-at-home mom is all Everyone has their own personal opinion in regards to this statement, ‘Stress is always bad. I feel that stress always begins as positive stress. You just have to be willing to give your best and try to step up to the challenge. Almost all of the life’s important moments are experienced under positive stress. Your positive stress can turn to negative, but you must be willing to accept responsibility for the role you play in creating or maintaining that stress. So in my own personal opinion, I would have to disagree. Stress is only considered bad if you handle and cope with it badly. In the end, stress isn’t always bad.

Support Individuals to Maintain Personal Hygiene

Elements of competence |HSC420. 1 |Raise awareness of the value of leisure opportunities and activities for individuals | |HSC420. 2 |Negotiate and agree leisure opportunities and activities for individuals | About this Unit For this Unit you will need to promote opportunities for individuals to participate in leisure activities. Scope The scope is here to give you guidance on possible areas to be covered in this Unit. The terms in this section give you a list of options linked with items in the performance criteria.You need to provide evidence for any option related to your work area. Awareness raising audiences: sports and recreation associations; employers’ associations; local government planners; community self-help groups; governors; trustees; shareholders; the general public. Communicate using: the individual’s preferred spoken language; the use of signs; symbols; pictures; writing; objects of reference; communication passports; other non verbal forms of communica tions; human and technological aids to communication. Leisure activities related to: hobbies; interests; sports (as a spectator or participant); entertainment (e. g. ccess to the theatre or visiting theatre groups), socialising (e. g. eating out, talking to others about the old days). They may take place within or outside the care environment. People and organisations who are suitable and able to provide leisure opportunities and activities include: those who organise or provide recreation and leisure activities in the care setting (e. g. care workers, entertainers); those who provide leisure activities for the general public (e. g. theatres, swimming pools, sports centres); those who provide leisure activities for specific groups within the community (e. g. Women’s Institute, youth workers).Your knowledge and understanding for this Unit will relate to legal requirements and codes of practice applicable to the scope of your work and that of others with whom you work; your rol e, the level of responsibility you have within your organisation to manage activities to achieve an optimum service; the depth and breadth of understanding that will enable you carry out your job role and support others to perform competently; the need to be able to solve problems and resolve conflicts; the need to be able to evaluate, assess situations and act appropriately; systems and processes within your own and across other organisations and the need for you to be able to work in collaboration with individuals[1] Values underpinning the whole of the Unit The values underpinning this Unit have been derived from the key purpose statement[2], the statement of expectations from carers and people receiving services, relevant service standards and codes of practice for health and social care in the four UK countries. If you are working with children and young people they can be found in the principles of Care Unit HSC44.If you are working with adults they can be found in HSC45. To a chieve this Unit you must demonstrate that you have applied the principles of care outlined in either Unit HSC44 or HSC45 in your practice and through your knowledge. Evidence Requirements for the Unit It is essential that you adhere to the Evidence Requirements for this Unit – please see details overleaf. |SPECIFIC Evidence Requirements for this unit | |Simulation: | |Simulation is NOT permitted for any part of this unit. | |The following forms of evidence ARE mandatory: | Direct Observation: Your assessor or an expert witness must observe you in real work activities which provide a | |significant amount of the performance criteria for most of the elements in this unit. For example how you were able to make | |and develop relationships with individual people for whom you are providing care, which enabled you to advise on and promote| |leisure opportunities and activities. | |Reflective Account/professional discussion: You should describe your actions in a particular situati on and explain why you | |did things. For example you could write about the ways you create opportunities to advise and inform individuals and groups | |of the benefits an active lifestyle holds, explaining what research and reading you used and how you selected appropriate | |information to share with others. |Competence of performance and knowledge could also be demonstrated using a variety of evidence from the following: | |Questioning/professional discussion: May be used to provide evidence of knowledge, legislation, policies and procedures | |which cannot be fully evidenced through direct observation or reflective accounts. In addition the assessor/expert witness | |may also ask questions to clarify aspects of your practice. | |Expert Witness: A designated expert witness may provide direct observation of practice, questioning, professional discussion| |and feedback on reflective accounts. | |Witness Testimony: Can be a confirmation or authentication of the activities described in your evidence which your assessor | |has not seen. This could be provided by a work colleague, individuals or other key people. |Products: These can be any record that you would normally use within your normal role e. g. communication records, reports | |and records; minutes of meetings, policies and procedures, etc. | |You need not put confidential records in your portfolio, they can remain where they are normally stored and be checked by | |your assessor and internal verifier. If you do include them in your portfolio all names and identifying information must be| |removed to ensure confidentiality. | |These may also be assignments/projects: For example from HNC, O. U. courses. You could also use evidence of previous | |in-house training courses/programmes you have completed showing professional development. |GENERAL GUIDANCE | |Prior to commencing this unit you should agree and complete an assessment plan with your assessor which details the | |assessment methods you will be us ing, and the tasks you will be undertaking to demonstrate your competence. | |Evidence must be provided for ALL of the performance criteria ALL of the knowledge and the parts of the scope that are | |relevant to your job role. | |The evidence must reflect the policies and procedures of your workplace and be linked to current legislation, values and the| |principles of best practice within the Care Sector.This will include the National Service Standards for your areas of work| |and the individuals you care for. | |All evidence must relate to your own work practice. | Knowledge specification for this unit Competent practice is a combination of the application of skills and knowledge informed by values and ethics. This specification details the knowledge and understanding required to carry out competent practice in the performance described in this unit. When using this specification it is important to read the knowledge requirements in relation to expectations and requirements of your job role. You need to provide evidence for ALL knowledge points listed below.There are a variety of ways this can be achieved so it is essential that you read the ‘knowledge evidence’ section of the Assessment Guidance. |You need to show that you know, understand and can apply in practice: |Enter Evidence Numbers | |Values | | |1 The ways in which stereotyping, discrimination and stigmatisation might affect risk assessment and| | |how to guard against this. | | |2 How to apply the principles of equality, diversity and anti-discriminatory practice to your work. | |Legislation and organisational policy and procedures | | |3 The specific legislation, guidelines of good practice, charters and service standards which relate| | |to the work being undertaken, and the impact of this on the work. | | |4 The effect which Health and Safety legislation may have on the leisure opportunities and | | |activities promoted. | | |5 The boundaries and limits of your role in terms of pro moting leisure opportunities and activities,| | |particularly in respect of the level of risk involved. | | |6 The role of the agency and its services and how they relate to other agencies and services in the | | |sector. | |7 The agency’s policy and procedures regarding confidentiality of information and the disclosure of | | |information to third parties, and the specific circumstances under which disclosure may be made. | | |8 Any particular factors relating to the agency’s policies and practices which affect the work | | |undertaken. | | |9 Your own role and responsibilities and from whom assistance and advice should be sought if you are| | |unsure. | | |Theory and practice | | |10 The role which recreation and leisure plays in the health and well-being of individuals. | |11 The effects of the therapeutic value or stimulation provided by leisure activities. | | |12 Evidence based practice in promoting leisure opportunities and activities to meet individual | | |nee ds and how to apply this evidence to your own work. | | |13 Methods of presenting information and encouraging interest in and about the role of leisure, in | | |meeting individual’s needs and promoting well-being. | | |14 The particular difficulties that individuals may face in seeking leisure opportunities and | | |activities. | | You need to show that you know, understand and can apply in practice: |Enter Evidence Numbers | |15 National and local schemes and agencies (statutory, private and voluntary) which are involved in | | |providing, promoting or creating leisure opportunities and activities, for whom they are designed | | |and how to access them. | | |16 The range of local leisure opportunities and activities, the forms these take, who they are aimed| | |at and how to access them. | | |17 The potential concerns which people and organisations may have about providing leisure | | |opportunities and activities for individuals, why it is important to acknowledge their con cerns and | | |how to offer information to help them make informed decisions. | |18 How to gauge the level of interest and ability of people and organisations who may offer leisure | | |opportunities and activities to individuals. | | |19 How to alter communication when working with different individuals and representatives of | | |different agencies. | | |20 The options for promoting leisure opportunities and activities and which are the most appropriate| | |options for the people and organisations concerned. | | |21 Methods for assessing and managing risk. | |22 Methods of evaluating your own competence, determining when further support and expertise are | | |needed, and the measures to take to improve your own competence in this area of work. | | HSC420. 1Raise awareness of the value of leisure opportunities and activities for individuals |Performance criteria | | |DO |RA |EW |Q |P |WT | |1 You identify, contact, meet and communicate appropriately with | | | | | | | |people and o rganisations to establish their interest in the value | | | | | | | |of leisure activities for individuals. | | | | | | |2 You present clear, accurate and relevant information to awareness| | | | | | | |raising audiences about: | | | | | | | |(a) the relationship between and benefits that appropriate leisure | | | | | | | |activities can bring to individuals | | | | | | | |(b) the impact of discrimination, oppression and social exclusion | | | | | | | |on individuals | | | | | | | |(c) ways of offering leisure opportunities and activities to | | | | | | | |individuals | | | | | | |3 You give people the opportunity to ask questions and confirm | | | | | | | |their understanding of the information provided. | | | | | | | |4 You seek further support and advice in areas that are outside | | | | | | | |your expertise to deal with. | | | | | | | |5 You refer people and organisations who need information and | | | | | | | |advice that is outside your expertise to provide, to other | | | | | | | |appropriate sources. | | | | | | |6 You challenge constructively attitudes and behaviour which are | | | | | | | |ill informed, misguided, abusive or discriminatory. | | | | | | | |7 You identify and encourage people and organisations to become | | | | | | | |champions in the provision of leisure opportunities and activities | | | | | | | |for individuals and support them to raise the awareness of other | | | | | | | |people and organisations. | | | | | | | HSC420. Negotiate and agree leisure opportunities and activities for individuals |Performance criteria | | |DO |RA |EW |Q |P |WT | |1 You encourage people and organisations to consider their capacity| | | | | | | |and any reasonable adjustments that they could make, to enable them| | | | | | | |to offer individuals leisure opportunities and activities. | | | | | | | DO = Direct ObservationRA = Reflective AccountQ = Questions EW = Expert Witness P = Product (Work)WT = Witness Testimony HSC420. Negotiate and agree leisure opportunities and activities for individuals (cont) |Performance criteria | | |DO |RA |EW |Q |P |WT | |2 You evaluate the willingness and ability of people and | | | | | | | |organisations to provide leisure opportunities and activities for | | | | | | | |individuals. | | | | | | | |3 You identify people and organisations who are suitable and able | | | | | | | |to provide leisure opportunities and activities. | | | | | | |4 You examine with people and organisations who are suitable and | | | | | | | |able to provide leisure opportunities and activities: | | | | | | | |(a) the potential challenges and rewards | | | | | | | |(b) any resources which will be required | | | | | | | |5 You clearly explain your role and responsibilities to people and | | | | | | | |organisations who can provide leisure opportunities and activities. | | | | | | |6 You discuss and agree with people and organisations that have | | | | | | | |agreed to offer leisure opportunities and activities: | | | | | | | |(a) the number of individuals they are able to cater for | | | | | | | |(b) the type of leisure opportunities and activities they are able | | | | | | | |to offer | | | | | | | |(c) any reasonable restrictions on those o whom the opportunities | | | | | | | |would be made available | | | | | | | |(d) any reasonable adjustments (beyond those that are legally | | | | | | | |required), they will need to make and who will resource and make | | | | | | | |the adjustments | | | | | | | |7 You confirm agreements in writing and take appropriate actions to| | | | | | | |enable the leisure opportunities and activities to be accessed. | | | | | | | |8 You record and report processes and outcomes within | | | | | | | |confidentiality agreements and according to legal and | | | | | | | |organisational requirements. | | | | | | | DO = Direct ObservationRA = Reflective AccountQ = Questions EW = Expert Witness P = Product (Work)WT = Witness Testimony To be completed by the Candidate | |I SUBMIT THIS AS A COMPLETE UNIT | | | |Candidate’s name: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ | | | |Candidate’s signature: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. | | | |Date: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. | |To be completed by the Assessor | |It is a shared esponsibility of both the candidate and assessor to claim evidence, however, it is the responsibility of the | |assessor to ensure the accuracy/validity of each evidence claim and make the final decision. | | | |I certify that sufficient evidence has been produced to meet all the elements, pcS AND KNOWLEDGE OF THIS UNIT. | | | | | |Assessor’s name: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. | | | |Assessor’s signature: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. | | | |Date: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. | | |Assessor/Internal Verifier Feedback | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | To be completed by the Internal Verifier if applicable | |This section only needs to be completed if the Unit is sampled by the Internal Verifier | | | |Internal Verifier’s name: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ | | | |Internal Verifier’s signature: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. | | | |Date: †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. â € ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. | ———————– [1] If you are working with children and young people the term â€Å"individuals† covers children and young people and â€Å"key people† covers parents, families, carers, friends and others with whom the child/young person has a supportive relationship [2] The key purpose identified for those working in health and social care settings is â€Å"to provide an integrated, ethical and inclusive service, which meets agreed needs and outcomes of people requiring health and/or social care†