Anabel Family problems Essay

One year later. After implementing the ethnography students’ achievement plan, the students have developed well. Although not all were able to meet all the goals I set to them at the beginning of the school year, each one of them was able to excel this year. Since all of them have difficulties in reading, writing, spelling, and Mathematics, teaching was basically the same. However, for each one’s special needs, the approaches were different. Some of them were found to be very good in peer to peer tutoring while others were good in one on one tutoring. Aside from academic struggles, problems on behavior, anger and frustration management and lack of confidence were common among them. Dukes and co-authors (2007) argues that problem behavior is causes risk in the effective teaching and learning strategies and also with the safety and convenience of both the students and the teachers. Thus, while honing their academic skills, I also had to be concerned about each other’ behavior problem. Different strategies like joining what they would not want to do and what they want to do in one activity was found effective to encourage the child to do what he needed to do. Letting them feel that they were good in some skills encouraged them to learn even more. Although a lot of strategies regarding behavior problems exist, not all are found to be effective. Some teachers would prefer to do punishments with problem students but this would not frequently change the students’ behavior. Some researchers would suggest the functional behavior assessment (FBA) technique (Dukes et al, 2007). Functional behavior assessment (FBA) is â€Å"the process of identifying the events that reliably predict and maintain problem behaviors before an intervention is determined† (Scott, Nelson, & Zabala, 2003). Such process requires a school-wide or perhaps district-wide training so that FBA will be properly implemented. Moreover, the parents were also counseled so that childrens’ learning could continue at home. A careful guidance of both parents and teachers was still found to be the most effective among all processes of handling a child with special needs. It may also be noted that teaching self management requires follow up procedures especially from the teacher. Some may expect that effective self management would require independence from the teachers and parents, children with disabilities need continuous follow up and monitoring (Sears, 2006). On a more personal note, the students were not just the only learners in the sessions. I also gathered more learning and insights for this school year. Although the students were not aware, the teacher was able to observe them personally. The students have taught me to have more patience, more kindness, and even the technical aspects of teaching special children. Indeed, special education must be put into a higher respect, love, and passion for teaching. More than a profession, teaching was more of motherhood to these children who have special needs that are needed to be given in a special way. Three among my five students were able to fulfill the goals of the course while the other two need more time. Anabel, Mark and Henry fulfilled most of the goals I set for them at the beginning of the school year while Jessica was not able to improve a lot. Lastly, Juan dropped out due to financial problems and problems about his health. The highest among the five is Mark who was able to achieve all the goals. His determination and parents’ support was present throughout the school year. If this would continue, he can excel to class even more in the next grade level. His parents were very thankful because he was able to make them proud whereas Mark was sure inspired by them. They would continue to support them and promised that they would always cooperate with the teacher for Mark’s continuous learning. Second was Anabel who almost achieved all the goals too. This lovely young girl had shown her potential and allowed the teacher to help her develop these. Her behavior was never been a problem towards the end of the school year. She was very willing to learn and wanted to learn even more. Also, her lack of self confidence improved. She was more interactive and participates more in and out of class. The least was Henry. This was duly because of his problem attitude. He refused to participate and failed to show willingness to learn. He was not able to improve a lot because he did not want to practice and follow my instructions to him. He was not able to behave well in class. Thus, I plan to handle with this problem behavior first before really forcing him to study, which is never convenient for him and for me. Jessica is still young. Like Henry, her behavior had hindered her development. Thus, she must undergo behavior management procedures. Also, her parents are also advised not to let her do what she wants to do just to make everything be fine. She needs to be treated in a way that she will learn how to follow authorities and when to do what she does not like to do. This lovely girl has the potential. She only needs to become more responsible so that she can focus more on her tasks. Her great sociable characteristics should be honed so that she will continue to learn more things to more people. Lastly, for Juan, he needs more constant medication with his doctor. I still talk to his parents so that Juan could continue to go to school because he sure has potential. Case Study I: Anabel Family problems often hindered Anabel to come to class. Since her family is not financially stable, some of her needs like school supplies and others stuffs needed to school were not duly given to her. Moreover, she was greatly affected by the fights of her parents and refused to come to class at times. Sometimes, while her mother was out to work, she was left to attend to her younger brother. Family problem is perhaps the greatest dilemma for the young mind of Anabel. It hinders her self development and only adds up to her hang ups. Thus, I advised her parents to undergo marriage counseling not only for their children but also for their family life as a whole.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

Banksy is the pseudonym of a British graffiti artist and painter. Although the street's artist are usually anonymous, Banksy may be one of the most mysterious street's artists. Banksy, who has been acting for over ten years But recently his name has been known and because of his type of activity and protest is popular in media and public. Banksy's first film was showed in the Sundance Film Festival 2010 for the first time. The film was released in the England in March 2010 And in January 2011 was nominated for the Academy Award for the Best Documentary film. The film is composed of two parts. One part is an interview with Banksy and the other part is the films that Thierry Guetta has recorded with his camera. Terry is a Frenchman who lived in Los Angeles and has spent his life with fashion's fans. Terry has a unique feature, he doesn't go anywhere without his camera As he describes it as an addiction. Finally on a trip to France in 1999 a new event occurs. Terry was fortunate to being in a right place. He met street's artist and was started filming. Street's artist liked it too because in this way they were able to develope their art. After ten months of filming street's artists finally, an idea comes to Terry's mind, Documentation. The only thing that Terry was needed in his film was Banksy's presence. Banky is working and Terry videos. Banksy seggested Terry to make a documentry with these videos. After 6 months Terry come back with a film but Banksy did not like the film that Terry was made. â€Å"Exit through the gift shop† is a sotry of a character that Banksy made it. The interplay of the devices used to record and that which is being recorded include:  ·Form Use of natural properties of the medium  ·Cinematography In this documentry film Terry's Camera acts as a recording device and does not comment upon the action.  ·Screenplay Terry did not plan for the dialogues, they are natural and unscripted.  ·Mise-en-Scene There is no specific costumes, make-up and actrors in this film. Every thing is natural.  ·Edditing Aids in comprehension through cutting out all unnecessary action. Exit Through the Gift Shop Creativity has always pushed the limits in the media and societal culture. In modern society, street art is considered as vandalism, in comparison to the artist(s) and works shown in the film â€Å"Exit Through the Gift Shop†, street art is a life-style. It helps the artist convey thoughts and opinions, while abusing the right of staying anonymous. Exit Through the Gift Shop removes that anonymity for every artist, aside from one, Banksy, the filmmaker. Banksy is a notorious street artist that prefers to push the limits of reality and creativity.He has created and released this film to provide a message about the Main Character, Thierry Guetta, and for others, like him, who believe street art can be created easily. Exit Through the Gift Shop follows a man, Thierry Guetta, who initially lives his life through his camera. After observing street art, he discovers a few artists and begins to obsessively follow them around, recording the ‘making-of' and the final piece. Along the way, he interviews them about their creations, and what these artists are trying to display.Throughout this process, Guetta is behind the scope of the lens, as a hidden character should, out of sight and out of mind. With the artist in the spotlight, the audience is provided the images first-hand, along with the artists' definition. Since Guetta never had plans to use the footage, no one would ever see these images, or creations, other than him. This was a harmless concept, for he would lend a hand when needed, and stayed humble overall.While observing the street art, Guetta learned different styles, different creations and the actual creative process behind the works of Fairey, Space Invader and Banksy, to then try and apply art of his own. While Guetta works with Banksy, he earns Banksy’s trust, to the point where secrets are shared. From the beginning of the film, Banksy claims that Guetta has no intention to use the film, after weeks of footage being recorded; Banksy puts Guetta’s focus into question and tells him to make a film out of all the acquired footage. From the making of Guetta’s Film, the idea of Mr.Brainwash was created. At this point, the audience is led to believe that Guetta is trying to get a point across with his creation, although he lacked experience in the creation of film. However, Banksy believes that Guetta still does not have a consistent message that would apply to street art that he wants to share with the world. With Guetta’s opinion, the world is supposed to believe that unique art can be different, as long as it is different in any aspect. Whereas Banksy’s argument is that successful street art is different from any other, while mixing societal culture and propaganda.Banksy explains to the audience that street art is about the lack of monetary gain, and not for the sake of fame, but for fame of a creative aspect. Mr. Brainwash, does not take on Banksy’s way of display. He simply doe s the opposite. Every artist shown in the film has a style of creativity that is consistent with his or her character. Away from Banksy and other artists, he combines the styles and trends, the creative aspect from almost every artist he met over throughout the film, Guetta starts making his own art.After displaying many of his works of art around town, even as the audience could tell, the art was stylized after other artist’s works, even Banksy’s, Guetta holds a show to sell his art for thousands of dollars to those in the media and modern culture who treat these works as art. â€Å"He calls himself Mr. Brainwash, and fills an abandoned television studio with sub-Warholian dreck of his own devising. †(Lane, 2010) Anthony Lane, along with other reviewers believe that the character Guetta, is merely a character, and that someone this, un-talented, would not treat this as real art.This raises important details in the plot, was Guetta a real character? Is this movi e a tale of fiction, or a realistic documentary. Guetta’s art is simplistic in nature, simple to the point in which modern media can understand the symbolism behind each and every detail. Guetta’s art is also detailing older artists work and features that relate specifically to them. As it relates to Banksy’s message, the visitors of the Art show are interviewed about the work they are purchasing and they look at it as new and innovative, they believe that it is different.Banksy’s use of Guetta’s interview footage is paced well, it shows the difference in the rise of his passionate career, to the money-hungry man he has become. This film is about authenticity and whether certain aspects are real or not, and it is quite metaphorical that the film, overall, might be a mock-umentary, while still retaining certain messages. â€Å"about what it means to be a superstar in a subculture built on shunning the mainstream; about how sensibly that culture jud ges, and monetizes, talent. (Ryzik 2010) Guetta’s lack of comprehending the importance of having a message makes for art that offers only appreciation and a name behind the feature. Opposed to inspiration, Guetta is abusing the influence that artists apply to their works to be different, while only slightly changing theirs, he has attained all that he can from the public, money and appreciation. With this kind of art, the attention is not only drawn to himself, but to the original artist as well. Banksy offers the opinion that art was not meant to be viewed this way, which shows that he completely despises the art industry.Evidence was shown earlier in the introduction of Banksy placing his own art in a gallery as a mockery towards the actual pieces that were displayed. After listening to Banksy’s perspective, and Guetta’s, the audience is left in a point between both parties. Everyone that has seen this film raises the question on whether the entire production was merely to push the same message that Banksy explains throughout the film, that art should be shared and exchanged without profit.However, with the lack of a director, or a writer, â€Å"Exit Through the Gift Shop† is exactly the opposite. Banksy’s title is plastered on it, this shows that not only is he approving the fact that this film should be released, it also proves that he didn’t care about all the works done by other artists of the film, while showing them off, unless most of them got a couple bucks to show some art. What Banksy is trying to prove with this idea, and what he is shown trying to teach to Guetta, is basically not to be a sell-out.The artistic work that you do passionately, which you share with society, should be free. It should be to provide the world or the media with insight. A look from a different perspective, or showing the bigger picture. I agree that Banksy does this with his art, and with the film, together this unifies his style . He pushes the limits, and even as we question the authenticity of the film, we are re-viewing, and discussing parts, sharing and making notes, it has become exactly what he wanted, if better.As far as Guetta’s character goes, he is merely just a reflection of our society, he records video for the sake of recording, he ditches his family life to do something he claims is passionate to him, and in the end, ends up selling works of art for thousands of dollars, reflecting nothing that the other artists taught him in the film. References: Lane, A. (2010, Apr 26). Street justice. Retrieved from http://www. newyorker. com/arts/critics/cinema/2010/04/26/100426crci_cinema_lane RYZIK, M. (2010, April 13). Ny times. Retrieved from http://www. nytimes. om/2010/04/14/movies/14banksy. html Cushing, H. , D’Cruz, J and Gay-Rees, J. (2010)Banksy(Director) â€Å"Exit Through the Gift Shop† (Motion Picture). United Kingdom. Acknowledgements: Lab Class – I’d like t o thank everyone that I was grouped with in lab for help with finding a few sources, and an overall discussion about the topics of the paper. Peer Editor – I’d like to thank you for reviewing and editing my work ahead of time, offering me changes and correcting small errors.

Pandora Internet Radio Essay

One of my favorite radio medians is Pandora Internet Radio. I enjoy Pandora for the simple fact of variety there over a 700,000 songs in the database. There are many great radio stations out there. However, after awhile they continue to cycle through the same songs over and over. With Pandora the listeners can suggest specific artists, or genres of music, or a comedian and Pandora not only plays that artist, but artist that are similar to them through that station. Through the Music Genome Project, a team of musician-analysts listens to songs. They study the details of the song to compile a list of artist with similar sounds to create the different playlists. As a member of Pandora you are allowed to create up to a 100 unique â€Å"stations.† (Pandora, 2013) Pandora’s mission statement: â€Å"We believe in the value of music and have a profound respect for those who create it. We like all kinds of music, from the most obtuse bebop, to the most tripped-out drum n bass, to the simplest catchy pop tune. Our mission is to help you connect with the music YOU love† (Pandora, 2013). Pandora has a single mission and that is to play music the listeners will love. They have added comedy to target listeners who enjoy standup comedy and lighten their day with a laugh (Pandora, 2013). I have an app on my phone and can listen to Pandora wherever I am. I plug my phone into speakers and listen to Pandora everyday. I did further research on the about Pandora page on Thursday March 28th. When entering the Pandora site, the first thing you will notice is the blue screen with Pandora written across it in white. That screen then brings you to their home page. The logo is the name Pandora that can be found in the upper left hand corner of the screen. According to the 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, blue is the color of leadership and is used to communicate stability (Ries, 2002). Under the law of shapes the rectangle is the most preferred shape is more of an eye catcher than the other shapes. The logo in the app store is a white square with a blue uppercase P and Pandora written underneath it in blue as well. Pandora means â€Å"all gifted† in Greek, Pandora received many gifts from the God’s including the gift of music (Pandora, 2013). Tim Westergren, a long time musician started Savage Beast Technologies in 1999, later on launching Pandora in 2005. One of the main competitors is iHeart Radio; iHeart offers there listeners to not only find artists, but also allows them to look up radio stations from around the United States. The iHeart logo is a lower case I with a satellite around it shaped as a heart in white and the background color is red (iHeart, 2013). Slacker Radio is another competitor of Pandora. Slacker is an interactive radio that also allows the listener to chose an artists, or specific genre of music and creates a playlist according to music choice. The logo for Slacker is an orange circle with white wings with a white uppercase S that looks like a tilted music note in the middle of the circle (Slacker, 2013). Pandora uses a Wordmark logo; iHeart and Slacker both use a Pictorial Mark to display their different brands. As a customer of DirecTv I received a newsletter in the mail informing me that there was a Pandora app on DirecTv. Although I already have an account that I can listen to on my phone or computer, I was unaware that there was an app through DirecTv. This advertisement strategy was a great idea and I immediately followed the steps to get Pandora on my television. Pandora can be located on over 200 consumer electronic devices varying from smart-phones to TV’s to set-top boxes to Blu-ray players and is able to stream visual audio, and interactive advertising to computers. There interactive advertising extends from computers, smart-phones, iPads, in-home connected devices and even cars. While a song is playing there are artist biographies and discographies. They also offer lyrics to many of the songs. There is an email sign up to receive alerts whenever Pandora Media, Inc. post new information and updates. There is a thumb’s up and down button at the bottom of the page for listeners to like or dislike the songs they are listening to. Pandora offers a sense of community through users profile pages. Under the profile page listeners can follow other Pandora members similar to a Twitter page. The music feed allows listeners to see what others are creating or listening to for stations. This is a great place for listeners to broaden the music they listen to by seeing what others like. There are many underground bands and artists that have not reached the mainstream that have their music through Pandora. The target market of Pandora is everyone who enjoys music no matter age, gender, or preferred genre. The target customer listens to music at home, gym, or while in the car. With such a large variety of music, everyone can enjoy listening to Pandora. There is music for children all the way up to the elderly. Pandora wants to satisfy everyone. The iPhone 5 users have a few more features through Pandora there are more sharing options located on the screen, to allow users to share their music with Facebook and Twitter. The original Pandora is a free app they however do have options to upgrade for $3.99 to listen without commercials. Pandora recently partnered up with Chrysler’s Uconnect Access, this allows Pandora users to sync their favorite radio stations and listen through the radio in the car. This partnership brings Pandora up to 20 US automotive brands (Yeung, 2013). Pandora has Facebook and Twitter accounts to interact and keep listeners updated on new information and the latest apps they offer. There is also the updated email alerts. The Pandora app is available through all apps stores, and in 2008 Pandora became one of the most consistently downloaded apps in the Apple store (Pandora, 2013). Today Pandora offers many different apps many are free and others do need to paid for.

Campaign evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Campaign evaluation - Essay Example Due to the importance of this function it is no longer acceptable for companies not to evaluate the effectiveness of its public relations efforts. The purpose of this paper is to discuss and analyze evaluation of public relations in the corporate world. The public relations of a company are divided into five primary functions. The five functions of public relations are: press relations, product publicity, lobbying, counseling, and corporate communication (Kotler). Public companies spend millions of dollars each year on public relations. A manager is supposed to evaluate the performance of the company and optimize the utilization of the resources of a firm. When a manager is faced with an investment decision for a new project the professional evaluates the viability of the project utilizing qualitative and quantitative techniques such as return on investment, payback period, and net present value. After the project is selected the manager monitors the performance of the project throughout its lifetime. If this is done for production project it seems absurd that the marketing profession is not placing any importance in evaluating a business function that represents a significant expense and utilization of company resources. According to McNamara (2006) the three primary reasons companies are not performing evaluation of public relations are lack of budget, lack of time, and lack of managerial demand. In the marketing profession there is a debate on what should be generally accepted ways to evaluate the effectiveness of public relations towards the results of a company. This debate seems a bit unfair because public relation is not an exact science. I don’t believe that public relation needs to have a framework such as other business disciplines have established. The accounting profession depends on the generally accepted accounting principles for accounting information to be consistent and

International Bus Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

International Bus Management - Essay Example communications, technology and transportation have provided the process a new momentum and have made the planet more co-dependent than ever (Global Policy Forum, 2010). The multinational organizations manufacture their products in a number of countries and sell to the consumers around the globe (Global Policy Forum, 2010). Raw materials, Money, technology and human resources have started moving across nations more swiftly than ever. Along with that the products, finances, cultures and ideas circulate more easily (Global Policy Forum, 2010). As a consequence, the legal, social and economics movements have been forming in International level. It is the time to have globalization in every aspect; globalization of economics, globalization of culture and legal environment (Global Policy Forum, 2010). The company, Nestle is a leading global company with its existence in around 130 countries around the world (Nestle, n.d.).The report consists of the analysis of its strategy in local and global markets. The company’s competitive strategy, foreign market entry strategy, market enhancement strategies as well as some other local and global strategies has been discussed below. At the same time a glance at the organizational structure of the company can provide an influential factor behind the success of the organization. Nestle is one of the most respected brand name in the global food and beverage industry. The company promotes its products in around 130 nations across the globe (Nestle, n.d.). Some of its well known global brands include Maggi, Nestea, Nescafe, Friskies and Nestle. Apart from its own products the company owns around 52% of shares of Alcon Inc and about 30 % of the cosmetic giant, L’Oreal (Hoovers, 2010). Such diverse range of products makes it a leading brand not only in the world of food and beverages but attempts to elevate it to greater heights. This part of the report has been based on the tactical theories, written by renowned authors on

How Linguistics Helps to Explore the Language of Every Field Assignment

How Linguistics Helps to Explore the Language of Every Field - Assignment Example The information might provide guidance to the students in order to feel comfortable with the field by providing the following information. Linguistics is generally defined as the study of language. It brings every concern about the language into consideration. The language can be oral or written. Oral language in any form can be analyzed scientifically. It can be in the form of conversations, speeches or any formal talk. The major subjects of the field of linguistics are Phonetics, phonology, morphology, and sociolinguistics. The various subjects will help the students analyze the language from different perspectives depending on what aspect the person is interested in exploring. There is a debate about the common features that both linguistics and language studies hold. To make one point clear; linguistics and language study has no such distinction in its nature. They study the same aspects and features. The readings and the writers that will help in order to build the background knowledge of the students should be based on the introduction of the field. The readings will help to build the knowledge of the students. The advantages of the field are numerous. Being the primary source of communication between humans, language plays the vital role of inter-connecting humans which forms the basis of nearly all activities of human beings. The students after learning about linguistics will be master at analyzing the language of written and oral discourse. The students can also incorporate the field of literature into linguistics which will help them in the new field a lot.

Neglecting the Course of English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Neglecting the Course of English - Essay Example The researcher states that the mistake that he did unintentionally was a late submission of a required essay, which is quite regretful for him. Due to failure to submit the essay in time, the author did not receive a passing grade in the class due to which, he was unable to complete the requirements for his admission. The researcher feels really sorry that he was unable to manage his time according to his activities that were equally important. This failure taught the author a lesson and he does not want this failure to prove as a dark spot on his transfer to UCSD. Being an international student, the narrator tries to do his best in his academics as well as other student activities prevalent in the educational institution. The researcher is fully aware that acquisition of English language is compulsory for the students due to which, he has attended community college for 19 months for learning the English language. The author has gained proficiency in reading and writing English langu age and he feels that his transcript is not reflective of it. Nevertheless, the narrator is prepared to retake the lower division or equivalent English writing course again in the college in order to meet the requirements of the missing units not as a junior but as a freshman/sophomore level. The author’s overall percentage in different subjects is not bad, which is quite evident from his major subject of Communication studies. The researcher is well prepared for the transfer to UCSD as he has shifted from San Jose all the way down to Southern California and he has found an apartment in La Jolla. The researcher has also read class catalog multiple times in order to plan for his classes and extracurricular activities. In order to upgrade his knowledge about UCSD, the researcher has attended transfer admitted day as he hopes to continue his studies in UCSD. In preparing to be transferred to UCSD, the author did not just enjoy his holidays back in his home country but the author has continued reading various books and also worked as an internet and this job had a requirement of daily usage of English language for communicating in terms of paper writing and speaking.

MGT3150 MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MGT3150 MANAGERIAL LEADERSHIP - Essay Example Furthermore, the study seeks to identify actual implementations of the said ethical policies to personnel of all levels. The methodology used was primary research through Lufthansa's official website, www.lufthansa-financials.com, as well as news articles involving the company. Secondary research on business ethics practices online and in school libraries were also conducted. During the course of the research, several limitations were encountered: direct interview with company officials and employees due to inaccessibility. Deutsche Lufthansa AG is a globally operating aviation group with around 400 companies and subsidiaries. It is active in five (until the end of 2006, six) business segments. Passenger Transportation is the Group's core business activity. Logistics, MRO, IT Services, Catering and Leisure Travel are further segments of the group. The Leisure Travel segment is due for disposal according to the supervisory board decision on 7 March 2007 and after approval of the competition commission.Annual average Group employee numbers were 93,541. The Group generated around EUR 19.8bn in revenue ("Portrait")." Lufthansa is a publicly traded company. As such, it is under the scrutiny of the German government. "It operates with the customary two-tier management system in Germany comprising an Executive and a Supervisory Board. The Executive Board is independently responsible for company management. The Supervisory Board appoints, supervises and advises the Executive Board ("Corporate Governance at Lufthansa")." This two-pronged approach checks and balances senior and junior managers. It encourages transparency in the workplace; effecting self-regulation by decentralizing power that could lead to collusions and unethical practices. Staff & Welfare In its quest to offer competitive remuneration, permanent jobs and attractive working conditions, the company has implemented a wide range of career-development measures such as trainings and an integrated study/work courses. "Each year Lufthansa invests around 300m in training measures for their employees. The Lufthansa Group offers over 40 different vocational courses with a technical, commercial or information technology focus. Another growing field is eLearning. Last year around 450 different learning programmes with a total of 1,762 teaching hours were in use at Lufthansa ("Employees")." Lufthansa employs people from all over the world, seeing opportunities in diversity. It provides in-house medical service for staff in handling health and safety issues. Governance Code International standards on Corporate Governance have been developed in recent years with primary focus on protecting the interests of the shareholders. The Corporate Governance Code was developed by the German Commission in February 2002 "to make the Corporate Governance System transparent and comprehensible. The code recommends clear and transparent presentation of a company and its business development, establishment of structures and processes which lead to proper and responsible management, administration and supervision. Such increases the trust of the investors and other providers of capital ("In General")." Since 2002 up to present, Lufthansa has been complying with the code in full, amending the Articles of Association to reflect relevant regulations. The

Admission Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Admission - Essay Example She even stayed with me and smiled at me reassuringly as the blood was drawn. My first surgery inspired me to become a nurse because I noticed that they were the ones who took the time to offer comfort. They were the ones that new all of the information on my chart verbatim. They were genuinely concerned that I was comfortable and aware of what was happening and they took the time to chat with me. Patients today often feel like cattle being herded in and out of the hospital, not because of nurses but because of doctors. I have wanted to be a nurse since I was a child. This past summer it was reaffirmed when my OR nurse said to me in pre-op "I will be there with you the whole time and will take care of you". Those words made me feel safe. Safety is not some silly little chart goal to nurses, it is an emotion. It is a feeling that patients should have during their stay in a hospital and that aspect has been lost in the medical field. When family comes to visit a patient, it is the nurses station that they pause at to make inquiries. The nurses are the ones who clean up the mess and they do it in a way that makes patients feel dignified and cared for. I want to convey that feeling to the vulnerable person lying in the bed. My blessed experience with these nurses serves as my inspiration for entering the field. I know as a nurse, I could work with people, face to face. I will affect their lives positively and be a part of implementing an improvement in their health, in their temperament, everything! Surely that would matter more to me than anything else! I know that school is expensive and that the hours are long. That notwithstanding, I remain undaunted. I know that often patients take their anxieties out on nurses, but who can blame them? Staying in a hospital is a scary time in a patient’s life, I want to make

Womens role in Chinese film Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Womens role in Chinese film - Movie Review Example One such film is Ju Dou, which was originally produced in 1990 (Zeng 75). The film features typical Chinese culture and elements especially the ancient ones. While the film has multiple themes, one of the most evident themes is the role of women. The main character, Ju Dou, is a typical Chinese woman who brings out the roles that Chinese women played in the 1920s, which is time setting of the film (Singh 4). Apparently, Ju Dou plays multiple roles including being a wife, a mother, an aunt, and a widower. However, her character in the film reveals the underlying roles of women including positive and negative ones. One of the main roles of women in Ju Dou is being wives. As the film begins, Ju Dou is made wife to an old man, Tianqing’s uncle. Before her marriage, the old uncle had two other wives who had already died. This shows that women are presented as wives. The fact that the old uncle would marry each time the wife died emphasizes the role of the woman as the wife. However, it is important to note that the role of the woman as a wife as depicted in the film is quite diverse. First, the woman plays the role of giving birth. The old uncle makes it clear in the film that he bought Ju Dou purposely for her to give him a son. His previous wives had died without giving him a son. So, he was desperate to get another wife who would give him the son. This role of the woman as child bearer is also evident when people make fun of Tianqing to get a woman who would bear him a son during the celebration party of Ju Dou’s newborn son. When Ju Dou finally bears a son, she becomes a darling of many. The old uncle is so excited that he starts treating her well and even organizes a celebration for her. Second, women play the role of sex objects for men’s pleasure. Tianqing’s uncle actually makes it clear to Ju Dou that he bought her and therefore he has all the

Impact of Information Technology in Organizations Essay Example for Free

Impact of Information Technology in Organizations Essay What Is Information Technology (IT)?Information technology is one of the very advancing and in-demand technologies of this era. Ever since this technology has emerged, it has heavily dominated many organizations and firms providing them with efficient way of work. Before indulging into the depth of this technology with respect to organizations, it is first important to get a brief idea about what information technology really is. Information technology basically involves all the things that are related to the technology and science of computer and telecommunication systems. Information Technology is concerned with developing technology into something more fruitful. Information technology is inclusive of both rational and technological elements. On the other side, technological elements comprise of terms and conditions of information technology that are needed for logical structure of a system (Kalam 1, 2000). In other words, it can be said that information technology includes both computer hardware and software like voice, telecommunication stuff, multimedia and so forth. Therefore, information technology is helpful for inserting, extracting or processing information (Kalam 1, 2000). It must be clear to all that information technology is not just limited to computer oriented areas, but also helpful in departments of telecommunication, micro graphics, various firms and other support services. Internet technology is also termed as the information revolution at many instances and as Information and Communications Technology at other instances. Information technology makes life easier for everyday places especially large organizations and places like libraries and is very helpful in managing all types of information in form of databases. Since information technology relies heavily on computers, many firms and educational institutes call their computer departments as IT departments. Such department is also called Information Services (IS) or Management Information Services (MIS) in several organizations (Jidaw, 2008). Most of the advanced Information Technology Department involves the usage of computers, servers, database management systems, and cryptography. The people needed in such departments are System Administrators, Database Administrators, and Technology Manager and these people are supposed to send all reports to Chief Information Officer (CIO). Since many companies are  really concerned about the security and privacy of the information within them, the scope of job inside Information Technology organization is very high and the data security and server experts get highly paid for their jobs (Schneider, 2008). Impact of Information Technology in the SocietyWith respect to ongoing theories and justifications about the modern changes in the world, it has been justified that this era of humans is in the middle of a third big revolution. Early revolution included innovations and strides in agriculture, mechanization, and industrialization. The third one and the recent one is the Information Revolution. The development in the technology of information and communication has been taking place for nearly hundred years and the growth is still at its pace. It is amazing how easily one piece of information can be transferred from one corner of the world to another in just a blink of an eye. People can exchange all kinds of information to people all over the world or just to a specific group of people. In this ever changing and modernized society, information technology plays a significant part in many aspects. This approach has proposed fresh business offers and advancements in many organizations. Information technology supplies the organizations with firm communication deals that are helpful for the firms to develop the business at a worldwide level very easily. In order to organize a long chain of distributors, dealers, and purchasers, all the organizations have set up global information systems. These global information systems help in keeping a track of placed orders, delivered products, and payments made all over the world. All the credit goes to the advancement in internet technology which has made all these things possible and made them easy to handle. The setup of basic information is made in such a way that at the lowest stage, there are servers comprising of one operating system. Software like database and web serving are usually installed on these servers, making them interconnected with each other and to the users through the help of a network infrastructure. The users who have access to these servers are facilitated with their personal hardware, operating systems, and software tools (Alexandrou). Basic Elements of Information TechnologyBefore jumping in the depth of the  impact of information technology in organizations, it will be handy to learn about the basic elements of information technology so that it will make it easy to comprehend this technology. As it was already mentioned that information technology can be described as such kind of technology which is needed to develop information into something more fruitful. Specifically it can be deduced that employing computer and its software to convert, save, progress, send, and extract information is what information technology is all about. The following technologies are the important technologies generated from information technology:1- Computer Hardware Technologies:Such technologies comprise of personal computers, powerful servers that are maintained by devices that sends, retrieves, and saves information. 2- Telecommunication and Network Technologies:Technologies linked with networking and telecommunication enhance the level of communication between organizations as they comprise of telecommunications media and related software that is both wired and wireless and are helpful for Internet and other networks. 3- Computer Software Technologies:Such technologies comprise of all kinds of software and web browsers useful in educational institutes and business organizations. 4- Data Resource Management Technologies:Such kind of technologies involve all the things needed to maintain a database for a company or institute (Kawatra 25, 2000). Impact of Information Technology on Various InstitutionsWhen the term institution comes, it does not point out to one specific workplace or anything of that sort, instead all the organizations, companies, firms, and schools can be categorized under the word institution. Organizations are divided according to their role and management policies. This portion will now briefly talk about how information technology has affected these institutions in helping them gain success. 1- Governments:Government itself comprises of various branches and  institutions, and each of the institution of government has a particular area to deal with. With the advancements in information technology, all the government institutes have also developed a lot to and have provided the citizens with better services. Not just this, but also, this advancement has heavily improved the security abilities of government by helping them design better and improved weapons and tools for the war and for military and army people (Kawatra 27, 2000). B2 Bomber is one such example of a plane which came into being solely due to the advancement in information technology and modern computer methods. Along with this, government can also keep sensitive information about anything in a safe environment, without the fear of it getting extracted by unauthorized people. 2- Commercial Businesses:Commercial businesses play a vital role in todays time and therefore, without any doubt, it can be said that the innovations and strides made have affected such businesses too. The extremely vital part played by information technology in such businesses is to supply benefits to the world of commercials. These benefits are achieved by the commercial businesses by the help of the newly progressed software like application software and operating systems (Kumar 104, 2000). Since television is the most entertaining and quick form of showing things all over the world at the same time, commercial businesses have taken the full advantage from this. 3- News Media Organizations:All the work done by news media organizations is relied totally on computers and therefore this shows how information technology has put an impact on them. Every task performed by information technology is also needed by news and media organizations, like saving information, sending it out to people, creating information and so forth (Ritendra 42, 2005). Hence, it can be seen how important the information technology is for such organizations. 4- Educational Organizations:Along with providing benefits and advantages to business-oriented organizations, information technology has even influenced the educational organizations. The advancements in information technology has made it very easy for the students as well as the faculty members to pretty much search anything on the Internet, exchange any personal  information via emails and share any knowledgeable things on forums and groups (Meadowcroft, 2000). Impact of Information Technology on Undergraduate EducationEvery industrialized nation has government bodies which try to integrate and coordinate the level of technological progress which aids in the foundation and establishment of educational institutes. Along with having a qualified faculty, it is significant to have information technology as part of the undergraduate education systems. Having information or computer department does not mean that it should only be available to the people of that area; instead students should be involved too by doing presentations, and working on other such things. Faculty members and undergraduate students can use computer facilities to take the full advantage of this technology on their finger tips. This technology has increased the ease of gaining information and decreased the hassle of worrying about the time it would have taken to seek information otherwise (Williams). The following impacts have been put by those tools:1) These tools help students in copying, presenting, researching and understanding the real-life oriented scientific complications which helps in building the examining capability in students. 2) Information technology helps in building the teamwork and learning capabilities among the students and helps them to solve matters and problems by searching and discussing with each other. 3) As information technology is advancing day by day, this is also bringing rapid changes in the formation and distribution of educational tools. 4) The proper and frequent use of information technology can help in providing an efficient educational system. 5) Information technology also helps the students of one part of the world to interact with the students in other parts of the world (Williams, 1996). Impact of Information Systems Technology on OrganizationsIt will be doubtless to say that nowadays, majority of the organizations, whether  private or government, rely a lot on information systems. Thus, it can be said that information technology has become truly mixed with all sorts of businesses. Organizations, like telecommunications or finance, involve efficient usage of information technology in order for them to exist successfully. Ever since the concept of e-commerce has started, this technology plays a vital and significant role in carrying out any business. Organizations are not only employing information technology to improve old ways of business deals, but are also employing it to discover fresh and innovative chances in order to gain success. Though employing old methods and approaches will not do any harm, but they will not lead to a lot of success in the future and will just maintain a stable outcome for the organizations. For instance, there are several banks and insurance companies that still rely on such systems which were introduced nearly 30 years ago (Bharadwaj 169, 2000). ConclusionIn the end, it can be concluded that the advancements and progresses in information technology in firms and organizations have undoubtedly brought a noticeable revolution. Information technology has led to ideas and notions that not only improve merely one organization, but also increases competition among various organizations to do something better and efficient. Every organization wants to be the best one and therefore, for that purpose it always keeps on looking for advancements and ways to employ them in order to turn itself into a superior and flourishing one. As pressure is building inside organizations and improvements are being made in technologies, all the organizations are making efforts to utilize these technologies and gain success and prosperity from them. There is no doubt that as things are becoming advanced, they are providing easier and quicker way of performing tasks while giving better results every time. Obvious improvements can be seen in all areas of businesses due to the magic spread by the information technology. New approaches and techniques are followed and implemented by all business organizations and training is being given to people of different firms for the sake of making them experts. The story does not end here, there are yet more advancement expected in information technology and as more tools and technologies will be developed, people will be able to succeed more and the competition will increase. Information  technology is a good base for those interested in computers to have their career in this field, as this field will not only give a start to their careers but it also promises success and progresses in the upcoming years. Educational institutes teach information technology as a separate subject in schools, which shows the importance of this technology and the role it plays in everyday life. It can be deduced that information technology is a necessity of daily life and is a food for prosperity. References: 1-Jidaw Systems Limited, 2008, What is Information Technology?, http://www.jidaw.com/itsolutions/whatisit.html2-Laura Schneider, 2008, Information Technology Definition and History, Tech Careers Guide, 3-Alexandrou, M. (n.d.), Definition of information technology, 4-Goel (Ritendra), 2005, Fundamentals of information technology, Lucknow: Paragon. 5-Kawatra, P. S., (2000), Textbook of information sciences, New Delhi: A.P.H. Pub. 6-Abdul Kalam, A. P. J,2001, February 3-9, Knowledge society, Employment News7-Meadowcroft, B, 2001, The impact of information technology on work and society, from 8-Kumar, K., Singh, S. P, 2000, From information society to knowledge society, Journal of Library and Information Science, 25(2), 104-111. 9-Luther S. Williams, 1996, Information Technology: Its Impact on Undergraduate Education in Science, Mathematics, Engineering, and Technology, Report on an NSF Workshop, National Science Foundation. 10-A. Bharadwaj, A resource-based perspective on information technology and firm performance: An empirical investigation, MIS Quarterly, Vol. 24, No. 1, 2000, 169-196.

The Effects of Relocation of the Capital City in Korea Essay Example for Free

The Effects of Relocation of the Capital City in Korea Essay Abstract Many people had suggested a negative effect of the relocation of the capital city in Korea. They argued that a decrease in population in the present capital region (Seoul) would result in income loss because total factor productivity (TFP) in Seoul is higher than in any other province. On the other hand, when we decompose TFP into TECs and technological progress (TP) in this paper, it shows that the technical efficiency changes (TECs) in the Chungnam region has remarkably improved. In addition, the labor productivity in the Chungnam area is found to be higher than in the Seoul area. Therefore, this study shows positive effects to the literature of the debates regarding whether the government should shift the capital city or not. Introduction Shifting the country’s capital city was a key pledge in President Roh Moo-Hyun’s 2002 election. Although the Parliament passed the law to create of a new capital city in Chungnam Province area, there have been many debates so far. The basic motivation for changing the Capital City from Seoul to another location (Chungnam Province) is that there are too many people living in Seoul. Presently 48 million people are squeezed in Seoul so that it creates unbalanced economic development. However, there are also some critics of the capital movement. One reason for the opposition is the project’s enormous cost. The project cost varies from approximately $45 billion estimated by the Parliament to $125 billion by some private institutions. Furthermore, history shows that purpose-built capitals have taken more time and money. For example, Brazil’s new Capital City, Brasilia, added to the country’s economic huge debts. Suh Kim (2004) discussed this matter in terms of the income effects of 5% of the population moving from the Seoul area to the new capital city. They said that if 5% of the current population relocates to Chungnam Province, 1.7% ~ 1.9% of the gross domestic product would be decreased. The reason for this is that total factor productivity (TFP) in the Seoul area is greater than in the new capital city. The purpose of the paper is to estimate TFP for both Seoul and the new capital city area, Chungnam Province, and decompose it into technical efficiency (TE), technological progress (TP), and input changes. Unlike Suh Kim (2004), the decomposition of TFP proposed by Han, Kalirajan, Singh (2002) not only explains the scale of the TFP, but also shows the characteristics and details of the TFP. It is when the local government has an economic policy -decision making. The second part of the paper surveys the literature of TFP as well as TFP related studies for relocation of the capital city in Korea. The third part studies decomposition of the TFP method proposed by Han, Kalirajan, Singh (2002). The fourth part reports the sources and uses of the data and the empirical results. The final part provides some concluding remarks. A survey of literature in TFP (Total Factor Productivity)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The total factor productivity is a variable, which represents the productivity of the whole economy. It analysis encompasses residual production output that cannot be justified by production factors.   Therefore, the total factor productivity is used as a method of measuring changes in production process efficiency. According to Solow (1956), an increase in output depends solely on technical progress in the long-term, however, in the short-term; capital accumulation plays an important role.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   According to this viewpoint, Solow (1956) perceived total factor productivity as a concept that includes productivity based on technical progress and other production factors, which is defined as the Solow Residual. Its increasing rate that is measured by subtracting the contributions of labor and capital stock from the growth rate of gross domestic product is a comprehensive concept including technical progress and others.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There have been many studies on TFP growth, particularly in East Asia. According to Han, et al, (2002), most of the studies followed the growth accounting method using various production functions including trans-log and meta production functions.   However, we used to measure our Solow residuals until Nishimizu Page (1982) attempted to decompose TFP growth in Yugoslavia for the period of 1965-1978. TFP related studies in relocation of the capital cities in Korea   Suh (2004) estimated TFP in Seoul by the growth accounting method without the capital stocks recently. TFP in the near-Seoul area (including Kyungki Province) and strictly in the Seoul area shows as 0.039-0.047 and 0.042-0.048 respectively during 1990-2001.   This figure for Seoul area shows that TFP for non-near-Seoul area falls by 0.026. This gap has been widening as time goes by because the productivity in near-Seoul area is increasing faster than in non-near Seoul area.   Suh (Suh Kim [2004]) in another study estimated the income impacts of decentralization of population in Korea. Suh study suggested that if 5% of the current population of the Capital Region relocates to Chungnam Province, 1.7%-1.9% of GDP would be decreased. The main reason is simple that TFP in Seoul Region is higher than in non-Seoul regions. This conclusion is based and consistent with Suh earlier report in 2001. He added that the determinants affected for the Seoul to be higher than non-Seoul areas are such as the existence of high-technology industries as well as the infrastructure. On the other hand, there are several crucial criticisms in Suh’s study. First, he used the gross output as an output without a double deflation. According to Mahadevan (2002), one may use the value-added output by single deflation. However, the gross output should be deflated twice – corrected for purchases of intermediate inputs. Second, he assumed the share of the labor and capital in the production function: This could be very sensitive to the TFP estimation. Especially, his study lacks of the details of the information in TFP. The comparisons of TFP in Seoul and non-Seoul would suggest nothing but the figures of growth unexplained by the labor and capital stock increases. Decomposition of TECs, TP, and Input changes   According to Han, Kalirajan, Singh (2002), the frontier approach is able to decompose output growth into input growth; technical efficiency changes (TECs) and technological progress (TP). That is, Output Growth = Input growth + TFP growth   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   = Input growth + TECs + TP   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Above equation is algebraically described in graph A. The vertical axis measures outputs, and the horizontal axis measures inputs. Assume that a country faces two production functions, F1 and F2. The points on these functions represent the efficient production for period 1 and 2, respectively. In period 1, if the country is producing with full technical efficiency by following the best-practice techniques, its realized output will be y1* at the x1 input level. However, the country may not have efficient production, due to many constraints such as a lack of efficient organizational structure and a proper incentive structure for workers. In this case, the realized output y1 is less than the maximum possible output y1*: Technical efficiency TE1 is this gap between y1* and y1. Now, let us further assume that the production function shifts from F1 to F2 due to technological progress, including the improvements in human and capital inputs.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     * Graph A: Decomposition of TFP (Total Factor Productivity)   The decomposition can be mathematically expressed as follows: D   = y2 – y1 = A + B + C = [y1* ââ€" ª y1] + [y1** ââ€" ª y1*] + [y2 y1**] = [y1* ââ€" ª y1] + [y1** ââ€" ª y1*] + [y2 y1**] +[y2*ââ€" ªy2*] = [y1* ââ€" ª y1] + [y1** ââ€" ª y1*] ââ€" ª [y2* y2] + [y2*ââ€" ªy1**] = {(y1* ââ€" ª y1) ââ€" ª (y2* y2)} + (y1**y1*) +(y2*ââ€" ªy1**)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   = Change in TE + TP + yx*  Ã‚   = TFP Growth + yx* Data Used Four different data sets are utilized for this analysis. First, manufacturing industry’s total gross nominal output, number of employees, value of tangible fixed assets (capital input), and cost of production (intermediate input) are taken from the Report on Mining and Manufacturing Survey (various issues). The sample period of the data is 1980- 2002. The second data set includes the same variables for Seoul during the same years. The third set of data is for the Daejon area, and it contains the period from 1988 to 2002. The last set includes the same variables for Chungnam Province from 1980 to 2002. The gross output and the total costs are deflated by the wholesale price index (1995= 100) from the Bank of Korea, while the capital deflator from the Ministry of Statistics deflates the tangible fixed assets. Results   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Table A shows the results of the decomposition. First, in the period of 1980-2002, the total manufacturing industry had 144% increase of output, while the output increased by 88.7% and 197% for Seoul and Chungnam. For the period, Chungnam has a higher output increase. Furthermore, one can see that the labor productivity, defined simply by the total output divided by the number of the labors in the region, skyrocketed in Chungnam compared to that of Seoul in Figure 4.1. Figure 4.2 shows the ratio of the increase in the labor productivity. In this ratio, Chungnam has 14 more years higher than Seoul. We can notice that the labor productivity in the year 2000 in Chungnam is 2.3 times higher than Seoul’s. Second, comparing TE1 against TE2 gives an idea how the technical efficiency improved in the regions. For the total, TE has improved so much that 20.2% of output change is due to TE, while this figure shows no improvement for Seoul, and the small amount of improvement is due to this figure. However, one can see that there is a tremendous improvement for Chungnam, so that TE causes 228.7% of the increase of output. Table A Results of the Decomposition    y2 y1 (output change) y1* y1 (TE1) y2* y2 (TE2) TE1+TE2 y1**– y1* (TP) TE+TP y2* y1** (input change) Total 1.438 -0.002 -0.292 0.290 -0.455 -0.165 1.603 (1980-02)          (0.202) (-0.316) (-0.114) (1.115) Total 0.764 -0.031 0.001 -0.032 -0.015 -0.047 0.811 (1988-02)          (-0.042) (-0.020) (-0.062) (1.062) Seoul 0.887 0.004 0.004 0 0.195 0.195 0.692 (1980-02)          (0.000) (0.220) (0.22) (0.780) Seoul 0.385 -0.003 0.014 -0.017 0.213 0.196 0.189 (1980-02)          (-0.044) (0.553) (0.509) (0.491) Daejon 0.596 -0.151 0.005 -0.156 -0.113 -0.269 0.865 (1988-02)          (-0.262) (-0.190) (-0.452) (1.451) Chungnam 1.972 -0.008 -0.012 0.004 -0.027 -0.023 1.995 (1980-02)          (0.002) (-0.140) (-0.138) (1.012) Chungnam 1.487 3.398 -0.002 3.400 -3.463 -0.063 1.487 (1988-02)          (2.287) (-2.329) (-0.042) (1) D+C 1.252 -0.004 -0.05 0.046 -0.248 -0.202 1.454 (1988-02)          (0.037) (-0.198) (-0.161) (1.161) (The numbers in the parenthesis indicates the percentage of the output change.) Third, comparing TP in the regions shows the highest increase for Seoul. 22% of the output change stems from TP, while this ratio shows a negative number for Chungnam. It might be a main reason that many economists criticize the relocation of the capital cities, in terms of productivity. The seventh column shows the TE+TP or TFP for the regions. Seoul has a higher number than Chungnam Province. TE and TP cause 22% of the output increased, while a negative number is resulted for Chungnam. The last column suggests that the majority of the output change occurred from the increase in inputs, labor and capital for Chungnam. * Graph B: Comparisons of Labor Productivity for three regions * Graph C: Ratio of increase in the labor productivity in three regions When using the time-span of 1988-2001, the only period available for Daejon area, one can see that TE for the Seoul area has deteriorated, while it has tremendously increased in Chungnam. Thus, for Chungnam, TE has induced two thirds of the output change. However, as far as TP is concerned, the exact opposite phenomenon has taken place. For Seoul, this figure for TP is 0.195, and 55.3% of the output change is due to TE, while Daejon, Chungnam, and Daejon + Chungnam (D+C) show negative effects of TP on their outputs. Moreover, 49.1% of the output change is induced by the increase of the inputs in Seoul, when the majority of the output increase has occurred from the increase of the inputs for Chungnam and D+C. Conclusion Ever since President Rho Moo-Hyun’s pledge to shift the country’s capital city was announced, the issue has been a debated several times in Korea. Much research is being conducted to ascertain the economic appropriateness or validity of shifting it. One can hardly find the productivity analysis related. Suh Kim (2004) in the study analyzes the effects of income when 5% of Seoul area’s population moves to a new capital city: There would be an income loss of 1.7%-1.9% of GDP. This is because the Seoul area has higher TFP than any other area.   However, this paper further searches the characteristics of TFP in which we decompose its causes into technical efficiency, technological progress, and input changes.   It seems that the Seoul area has been flourishing with its increased output caused by the higher TFP, the total addition of the technical efficiency, and technological progress greater than in the Chungnam area so much that Suh and other criticizers of shifting the country’s capital city suggest not changing the location of the capital city. However, when we decompose and compare the TFP into TE and TP, it can be noticed that the Chungnam area has had a higher TE than Seoul, but vice-versa for TP. One can also see that the labor productivity in Chungnam has been higher than in Seoul, and this difference is even growing greater. Thus, our study adds to the literature of the debates regarding whether the government should shift the capital city or not, in that one may at least say that there would be some positive effects in TFP analysis. References Aigner, Dennis, J., C. A. Lovell, and Peter J, Schmidt (1977), â€Å"formulation and Estimation of Stochastic Frontier Production Function Models,† Journal of Econometrics, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 21-37. Barro, Robert J.and Xavier Sala-I-Martin. 1995. Economic Growth, New York: McGraw Hill. Charles I. Jones, Introduction to Economic Growth, 2nd edition, W.W.Norton, 2005. Han, Gaofeng, Kaliappa Kalirajan, Nirvikar Singh (2002), â€Å"Productivity and Economic Growth in East Asia: Innovation, Efficiency and Accumulation,† Japan and the World Economy, Vol. 14, pp. 401-24. Mahadevan R.(2002) New Currents in Productivity Analysis, Asian Productivity Organization, Productivity Series 31. Nishmizu, Mieko, and John Page(1982),† Total Factor Productivity Growth, Technological Progress and Technical Efficiency Change: Dimensions of Productivity Change in Yugoslavia, 1965-78, † Economic Journal, Vol. 92, pp. 920-36. Solow, Robert M., A Contribution in the Theory of Economic Growth, Quarterly Journal of Economics 70, Feb. 1956. Solow, R. M.(1957), â€Å"Technical Change and the Aggregate Production Function,† Review of Economics and Statistics, Vol. 39, pp. 312-320. Suh, Sung-Hwan. and   Kim, Kabsung(2004), â€Å"The Income Impacts of Decentralization of Population in Korea,† Journal of the Korean Regional Science Association, Vol. 20, No. 1, pp. 65-78. Data Source Bank of Korea Economic Statistics System(ECOS)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Available at : http://www. ecos.bok.or.kr Korea National Statistical Office(KNSO)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Available at : http://www.nso.go.kr/eng2006/emain/index.html

Water Air Pollution | Analysis

Water Air Pollution | Analysis Pollution Introduction Many people around the world can recall having walked on the street and seen smoke in the air or having walked on the beach and seen countless pop cans popping in the sand. This common event is known worldwide as pollution which is described as the occasion in which the land, air, and water become filthy with several pollutants affecting the plant life and other organisms that live in these conditions. Many of the contaminants involved in the pollution of the environment are fertilizers, sewage leakages, burning of fossil fuels and garbage. Although pollution is a worldwide problem there are people and whole countries that are fighting against it with greener alternatives to plastic, electricity, and gas. Water and Air Pollution Two main areas that are severely affected by pollution are both water and air where we can easily observe the drastic effects that our influence has on wildlife and the environment. Among the problems faced are the serious increases of disease in marine and terrestrial life that has led to the extinction of many species. Water pollution occurs more often today because of the large amount of waste that is dumped near water ways and the acid rain which has been the main source of contamination for most fresh watered lakes. In water pollution there are two types of pollutants the conventional and the non-conventional. The conventional pollutants are considered to be anything such as cans, paper, and plastic bags. The reason why these items and more are dangerous is because these solids glide over water and blocks the suns rays, which then disrupts the carbon dioxide/ oxygen coversion process, which is a vital process for the aquatic life food chain. Un-conventional pollutants are classi fied as those pollutants that are dissolved metals including both toxic and none toxic which are more dangerous than the conventional pollutants mentioned earlier. Most of the air pollution we observe in daily life is caused by automobiles; power plants, small businesses, and house hold products who release carbon dioxide into the environment which then leads to the formation of smog and acid rain. The pollutants causing air pollution are also responsible for causing diseases which could threaten the lives of both humans and animals. Among the most common diseases caused by such pollutants we can find bronchitis, lung cancer, and heart cancer. Soil and Noise Pollution Both soil and noise pollution are the least famous of all the pollutions; although they are not talked about as often as others they remain important. Soil pollution, is one of the most important of all the others principally because most of the things we eat and live off of are somehow related to the soil and if the soil is contaminated we all are affected in one way or another. Soil pollution is any presence of man made products in the natural soil environment. This type of contamination spreads from one point to another is by none point pollution which plays a pretty big role in how contaminants are spread from place to place. The way soil is contaminated is typically by percolation of contaminated surface waters, the application of pesticides, and the direct discharge of industrial waste. When none point pollution occurs also known as contaminated run off it drags contaminents as said before affecting this way the plants that live in the area and the water ways near it will also be contaminated. Among the places where soil pollution is commonly found are those places that are around or near an oil refinery, nuclear power station, and chemical factories. Other less recognized contributors to pollution are both domestic or industrial waste deposits and both agricultural and farming techniques. When taking into account all the factors that affect soil we must not forget chemical pollutants. The major chemical components affecting soil today are petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides, lead, and other heavy metals. Noise pollution is not very famous although its drastic consequences are being felt and experienced by living organisms the world around. Noise contamination is the excess human created noise which is emitted by many modern appliances such as automobiles and other forms of transport, bulldozers, jack hammers, and other constructing equipment. Due to this pollution the hearing sensitivity of young children decreases year by year due to the fact that exposure to high noises affects the ear drum and such influences are serious at a young developing age. Other auditory problems are hearing loss that brings with it lack of sleep, heartburn, high blood pressure and indigestion all of which are common to most citizens that inhabit loud and noisy areas. Among other scientific studies on noise levels some scientists have concluded that the noise of passing truck disturbs neurological and cardiovascular functions in the human body, and noise induced stress causes severe tension in ones life wh ich may cause people to be victims of a mental disorders such as anxiety, nervousness and many more. These disorders lead to increasing psychological drug prescriptions and drug dependency among urban citizens who seek relief in medication because their outside world prohibits them from seeking relief somewhere else. Ways to stop pollution from getting worse The increasing percentage of pollution around the world has created alternative methods that are commonly used to stop the growing epidemic. Among growing increase of conventional pollutants the environmentalists and other world organizations have invented the three R systems that represent the three greener alternatives to polluting. The three are Rs are recycle, reuse, and reduce all of which are aimed at reducing our impact on the environment around us. For more advanced methods of reducing pollution in situations where pollution involves Non-Conventional methods it is highly recommended that the community use Bio technology which involves genetically modified organisms that are aimed at reducing our impact through utilizing organisms that would naturally eat or produce a certain chemical component and by modifying their genetic makeup we are able to produce bacteria that can clean up oil spills or reduce the time that plastic takes to decompose by hundreds of years. An example of this is seen in the country of Nicaragua who is being considered as a place to conduct scientific experiments with genetically modified bacteria in order to cleanse the Xolotlan Lake of all the contaminants that it contains. The pesticides utilized to spray pests away from crops are now being replaced with organically modified pesticides that provide the desired results without permanently damaging the soil. An excellent alternative to the increasing air pollution and gas shortage are the new alternatives being designed and created such as ethanol motors and biogas that has been proven to be an agent that releases significantly less toxins into the atmosphere then regular gas. We also have the option of buying a hybrid car that has the motor of a motorcycle that practically recharges itself each time it is accelerated. Conclusion In conclusion I believe that I have been able to express how sever the damages caused by pollution can effect both the environment and the living things that inhabit it. Also I would like to remind everyone that if we dont stop now the affects of pollution will intensify creating the effects of global warming also to increase and soon because of are irresponsibility the world will lose more than half of the fresh water left, and also various animal species even those that havent discovered yet. With this report I hope to have demonstrated how important it is to use alternatives in order save both the planet and ourselves. Works Cited Page Barnum, Susan R.Biotechnology an Introduction. United States, copyright 2005 Brooks/Cole division of Thomas Learning. â€Å"Noise Pollution: A Modern Plague. â€Å" Editorial. www.nonoise.org 6 Jan. 2007. 22 Feb.2008 â€Å"The Air Pollution Problem.† Members.aol.com 27 Mar.1998. 23 Feb.2008 â€Å"Noise Pollution.† Columbia Encyclopedia 6th ed.2002 Campbell, Neil A., et al. Biology Concepts Connections 4th ed. Scott Foresman-Addison Wesley, Glenview, Illinois

McDonalds Corporation :: GCSE Business Marketing BTEC Coursework

McDonalds Resturant From just one restaurant in San Bernadino, California, run by two brothers, McDonald’s has grown to become the best known and most popular fast food restaurant chain in the world. The first McDonald’s opened in 1948. The franchising operations soon became McDonald’s Corporation in 1955. As most of the world now knows McDonald’s as the home of the Big MAC, the first restaurants had a slightly different main menu item, hot dogs. Ray Kroc bought out the McDonald brothers, Mac and Dick, for $2.7 Million in cash in 1961. Kroc’s prototype store in Des Plaines, Illinois, is now a museum. Also in 1961, Kroc opened Hamburger University in the basement of a McDonald’s restaurant, in Elk Grove Village, Illinois. By 1963, McDonald’s was selling a million hamburgers a day. The company went public in 1965. In 1967 the opened their first international restaurant in Canada. In 1971, McDonald’s restaurants opened in Europe and Australia. Their signature â€Å"Big MAC† wasn’t introduced until 1968 and the first â€Å"drive-thru† McDonald’s was opened in Sierra Vista, Arizona in 1975. About half of McDonald’s sales were accounted to â€Å"drive-thru’s† in the late 1990’s. Their â€Å"winning† strategy has remained an unchanged through the years. It provides quality food and fast service, in a clean environment at an affordable price. It has been noticed throughout the running of McDonald’s that they tend to market to the eyes of children with Ronald McDonald as their notorious â€Å"spokesclown† that is recognized by 96% of American children. Also, in 1998, McDonald’s signed a long-term deal with the Walt Disney Company to include Disney merchandise as giveaways in its Happy Meals. The â€Å"Made for you† concept menu was also introduced in 1998. It was introduced to revamp kitchens and promote sandwiches made especially for the consumer. This was to keep food fresher. It is a computer based production system. McDonald’s developed the software itself. The new system will also replace the â€Å"batch† method where food is often made before the consumer enters the restaurant. In 1998, McDonald’s, in order to remain strong, tested the â€Å"McDonald’s Big Xtras† or â€Å"MBX† which was a potential hit. The â€Å"MBX† was a 4.5-ounce burger launched mainly to compete with Burger King’s â€Å"Whopper†. It was also reminiscent of the1980s â€Å"McDLT†, In ’98; they also brought back the â€Å"Filet-O-Fish† which in 1996 had been replaced by â€Å"Fish Filet Deluxe†. On a promotion basis, they offered novelty sandwiches, like â€Å"Cheddar Melt† and the â€Å"McRib†.

Importance of the Setting in Uncle Toms Cabin :: Uncle Toms Cabin Essays

Importance of the Setting in Uncle Tom's Cabin The book, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" was obviously a novel where the setting was the major factor in the plot of the story. If this had taken place in any other area, like Canada, there would not have even been as story because slavery did not exist there. Therefore the South was the prime region to have this plot revolve around. Everything contained here contributed to the actions of the characters, which will be explained in the following paragraphs. The setting was such an important influence because, like I said before, it took place down in the South. This is where slavery was at its peak and was used and abused by almost every citizen. The black race was treated harshly just because of their color. They were beaten, over-worked, and disrespected. Most of them were illiterate as well which did not help one bit. In turn they could not make intelligent decisions, better yet pursue what they wanted. Even if they had that ability though, that option was not available because they were "black". The details of the setting that influenced the actions of the characters were, again, the time period and where it took place. However this was not the only thing that persuaded the characters because they influenced each other. The citizens followed the crowd and did not have their own opinions. If some person's idea differed from that of the majority, he/she would not dare speak up because they feared rejection. Legree was one of the people looked up to and respected even though what he was dong was totally wrong. Since he had power and money though, he was admired. The only three people that actually did take a stand, if you will, were George Shelby Jr., Augustine St. Clare, and his daughter, Evangeline. These three characters opposed slavery and tried to do something about it. (Unfortunately, though, the St. Clare's efforts were diminished because they both died). They were the citizens that should have been looked up to and followed. Specific examples that show the setting's influence on the characters were all over the book. The next three excerpts will give you an illustration of them.

Essay --

Draw backs of recursion: Recursion consumes more memory and stack space. Every recursive method call produces a new instance of the method, one with a new set of local variables. The total stack space used depends upon the level of nesting of the recursion process, and the number of local variables and parameters. Recursive version is usually slower. Recursion may perform redundant computations. In sum, one has to weight the simplicity of the code delivered by recursion against its drawbacks as described above. When a relatively simple iterative solution is possible, it is definitely a better alternative In recursion factorial we must ensure that factorial is never ever called with a negative N. Recursion method less efficient. Recursive version is shorter, clearer and slower. Recursion offers more elegant solutions. Use recursion for clarity and for a reduction in the time needed to write and debug code, not for space savings or speed of execution. Recursion can be savior at times- Actually will recursion whenever we deal with data structure related to linked list or xml for gener...

Prayer in Counseling Essay

In Eriksen and Weld’s journal article, the writers contend that spirituality and prayer is being utilized more and more by mental health practitioners and counselors. The concept of prayer within the counseling session is something that was considered for a long time but the actual use of spirituality practices is more frequently being used today. This particular article is based upon the data retrieved from two tests that were done on first time counselees and their practitioners. All of the counselees were Christians and results were based on what their expectations were regarding prayer and spirituality inventions. The test also surveyed what the beliefs and practices were of the counselors. Ultimately, the test showed that most counselees preferred the introduction of prayer within the sessions. They wished audible prayer was initiated by the counselor. Additionally, the test results also showed that clients expected prayer and even prefer that counselors or practitioners pray for them outside the prayer sessions as well. Another interesting thing that the test results showed was that religious natured conservatives preferred prayer more than the liberals of a religious nature. Overall, the studies from this article resulted in a confirmation that prayer is therapeutic and healthy for the clients. According to the article, spirituality has already been linked to a sturdy well-being and even secular counselors have used prayer intervention in sessions. There are many therapists that do not believe in mixing psychology with theology, however; the results seem to point to the fact that prayer intervention and spirituality produces effectiveness in psychotherapy sessions. There has been some controversy about using prayer in counseling such as improper use of prayer in counseling. In some cases, practitioners may not be trained properly to incorporate prayer and this could result in a damaged relationship between client and counselor. In some cases there are counselors that may not value prayer within the session but their clients may find it important. On the contrary, one of the studies showed that there were more counselors that valued prayer than their counselees. With these barriers to consider, research and examination of spirituality and prayer in counseling will be pursued further. Interaction It was quite amazing to see how high of a percentage of practitioners actually incorporate prayer with the counseling. There was a time when educators did not suggest using prayer or spirituality in the counseling sessions due to the delicacy of the subject of religion. Also, as a former secular counselor, there was some concern that many of the clients were not Christians and there may be offense taken by the client. After reading this journal article, it is enlightening to find out that many clients prefer prayer especially since many counselors are Christians now. Since there is very little research on the subject of prayer intervention, further research is crucial so that counselors can learn the proper way to incorporate prayer into the therapy session. Although the authors covered a pair of research studies on how effective prayer is to the success of the counseling session, it wasn’t sufficient enough to say that the majority of people who come to counseling prefer prayer. The article covered a lot about proven effectiveness of spirituality with counseling but there needs to be more on how to properly incorporate the two entities. Prayer is enlightening to many counselors but it is still a sensitive subject and needs to be weaned in the right way. It is this author’s assertion that prayer can be enlightening and beneficial to the mental health from personal experiences. The application of prayer and Biblical scriptures has been so uplifting for many clients but there are many out there that do not know the benefits of prayer. Dialogue is crucial when initiating prayer in the counseling session so the counselor needs to be well educated on the techniques. Spirituality and prayer has been utilized by this counselor and has been an integral tool in problem solving and keeping clients happy. As a Christian counselor, prayer for the client can be done after sessions whether the client wants it or not but during sessions should be carefully applied. It is because of this article that this author will study and investigate how to incorporate prayer carefully into the counseling session. Application It is because of this article that this author will study and investigate how to incorporate prayer carefully into the counseling session. Eriksen and Weld’s journal is an important tool and this author has definitely learned a lot from this reading. A client that comes in for grief counseling or depression would benefit from the therapeutic use of prayer. This author would carefully incorporate the Biblical scriptures as well as prayer on and off sessions because it is expected of a Christian. Since religion of any form is very sensitive for many people, this counselor will make sure to learn the best way to initiate it and use it throughout the counseling sessions. Another benefit in utilizing prayer is the trust building of the client for the practitioner so therefore; this author will utilize prayer to promote a great relationship. This author will make sure that the client is confident enough to share their feelings about prayer and spirituality. First and foremost, it will be disclosed in the very beginning that the author is a Christian. After listening to the client and finding his or her comfort level, Spirituality will somehow be introduced in the session whether it is in the form of reading Biblical scriptures or facilitating a prayer. In the past, this author has used prayer with counselees in and after sessions, but now realizes the sensitivity of how to apply it. It has been welcomed by both non-Christians and Christians but the article has shed the light on how detrimental an improper application of Spirituality and prayer can be to the counseling relationship.

The ring of the phone made my head pound

The ring of the phone made my head pound. I covered my ears as I walked towards the phone in a fragile manner. After a long night out in London, the sound of the phone was particularly what I wanted to hear. I scrambled over the edge of the sofa and clumsily grabbed the phone. â€Å"Hello?† I said sleepily. â€Å"Hi Chrissie, how are you? Feeling any better?† â€Å"Oh hi Will, I actually feel terrible, I could do with some fresh air.† â€Å"Good because I want to take you out somewhere, I haven't seen you for ages!† He was right. It had probably been six weeks since we had seen each other properly, and he oldest and best friend. I asked him where he suggested we went. â€Å"I don't know, maybe I'll drive us out to my Aunt's old cottage in the country. Get away from it all.† It definitely sounded appealing. I needed it and so did Will. He had left for America and had been gone for three long weeks. When he got back I was working and couldn't meet him. Then I became ill. â€Å"You're on!† I said excitedly. â€Å"Can't wait, bye!† He sounded pleased. Those few precious moments I had with him were fantastic. We had so much fun. I sprung up and bounded into my bedroom. Five minutes later, I appeared, pulling on my jacket. I turned of the television. The buzzer rang. â€Å"Delivery,† giggled Will. â€Å"Come on up.† Will had always been a joker, ever since we were in our earliest school days. I opened the door and I was greeted by Will. A huge banana grin spread across his face, he had a glowing tan. He had one of those smiles that lit up the whole room. I shut the door and locked it behind me. When we got to the bottom of the stairs, he turned to face me and opened his arms; I threw mine around his neck. He buried his face in my hair, squeezing me tight. â€Å"Come on, we can catch up on the way.† The tone of his voice was a happy one. I hurried into his mini cooper. â€Å"It's alright for some!† I thought to myself. I sat down and did up my seatbelt. â€Å"What have you been doing since the last time I saw you?† he asked, turning on the radio. â€Å"Not much because I've been off work, but Tom and I did go down to his mum's for a couple of days, but that's about it.† Will had always been uncomfortable about me and Tom. He thought that Tom wasn't good enough for me. But he lived with it, after all he was my best friend. As my boyfriend, Tom thought that I spent too much time with Will. â€Å"What did you get up to in America?† I said, trying to change the subject. â€Å"Erm†¦,† he stalled for a moment. â€Å"I did lots of photo shoots and recorded and interview for a chat show.† There was silence. My life seemed so boring compared to his. He was always bounding off somewhere or another flash. â€Å"Do you know what?† I whispered. â€Å"What?† replied Will. â€Å"I want you to sing for me.† â€Å"Why?† said Will sounding rather shocked. â€Å"Because the last time you did we were about eighteen.† He turned up the car stereo and skipped to track fourteen and doing as he was told, he softly began to sing: â€Å"Cut to the chase, your pretty face, search outer space, leaving no trace.† I closed my eyes, tipped back my head and let the words wash over me, like waves onto the sand. At school everyone had nicknamed him Golden Tonsils, and now he fitted that name more than ever. As his voice faded I flicked my eyes back open and looked at him. â€Å"Let's play a game!† he squealed with a childish glint in his eye. â€Å"Okay, let's play name that tune, you start.† He began to hum. About an hour later we pulled up outside his Aunt's old house. It was beautifully situated, at the top of a small hill. Will got out and opened the garden gate. I followed him round to the back of the house. I slumped into a patio chair. â€Å"We can eat our sandwiches and stuff here,† he said. â€Å"Okay, I'll have chicken please!† Will walked off into the house to make lunch. Suddenly my phone began to buzz on the table. I picked it up and answered it. â€Å"Hello?† I asked. â€Å"Is Tom there?† said the voice. â€Å"No I'm sorry he's not here at the moment, can I ask who's calling?† â€Å"It's Lucy, his girlfriend.† I froze in shock. â€Å"Alright I'll tell him to call you.† The phone dropped from my grip and my eyes filled with tears. â€Å"What's wrong?† questioned Will concerned, as he appeared in the doorway. â€Å"That was Lucy, Tom's girlfriend,† I mumbled. â€Å"But what?† I broke down in tears. â€Å"Oh Chrissie,† he said coming over to me. He understood and knelt by me to put his arm round my shoulder. I felt safe in his arms, they formed a protective circle. â€Å"I should have listened to you Will, you were right all along.† â€Å"Shhhh, don't say that,† he cooed. I sobbed, letting my head drop onto his shoulder. He lifted me up as though I was a feather and sat me on his lap. I cried for what seemed like hours. I was interrupted again by my phone ringing. I turned to look at it, it said: â€Å"Tom mobile.† Before I got chance to answer it Will cancelled the call. â€Å"I don't want him to spoil our day,† he said firmly, â€Å"I'm glad you told me everything instead of bottling it all up.† â€Å"If you say so.† â€Å"Well what do you want to do?† â€Å"I want to roll around on the grass and get really mucky!† â€Å"You asked for it!† he yelled standing up and throwing me onto the grass. I screamed and tugged at his leg. He tumbled through the long grass, down the sloping garden. We landed in a patch of overgrown plants at the bottom of the hill. As he turned around I grabbed a handful of mud and threw it straight at his face, it dripped down past his nose. He gasped and fell about laughing. The phone rang again. I had to answer it. â€Å"Hello,† I said slightly out of breath. â€Å"Chrissie, why did you hang up on me?† â€Å"Just leave me Tom,† my eyes filled again. Will grabbed the phone and hung up on him. Tears slipped down my cheeks and plopped onto the grass. â€Å"It's alright Chrissie, you don't need him, and I always knew he didn't deserve you.† â€Å"I should have listened to you Will.† â€Å"It's alright.† He encircled me with his arms again. After a short while he suggested I went to wash all the mud out of my hair. â€Å"There's a shower in the main bathroom, you can use that, I'll use the en suite.† I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. When I got out, my clothes were no where to be seen. I wrapped a towel around me and stepped out into the hall. I was face to face with Will. â€Å"Just thought I'd tell you that your clothes are in the washing machine, we'll have to find you something to put on.† We scrambled through a wardrobe. There was one of his infamous sleeveless tops and some of his Aunt's skirts. â€Å"Thanks,† I said waiting for him to leave. I got changed and walked into the kitchen. Will roared with laughter, the top almost reached my knees. â€Å"How can it be dark?† I asked sliding onto the worktop. â€Å"Well you were in there for half an hour! â€Å"You're kidding!† I said, shocked. â€Å"Nope, do you want coffee?† â€Å"Yeah, sounds good.† I followed him with my steaming mug into the living room. We sat on the sofa and sipped our coffee. â€Å"Will, if you don't mind me asking, did you meet anyone in America?† I asked cautiously. â€Å"Of course I don't mind, I tell you anything and everything! There was one, but we just had a couple of drinks.† â€Å"What was she like?† I asked turning to face him. â€Å"She was really nice, I wish I got her address so I could write to her.† â€Å"Didn't you even get her phone number?† Will was normally more organised than that, I was surprised. â€Å"No, I was going to get it but she had to work on the last day.† I felt sorry for him. â€Å"Anyway, tell me how the article went.† â€Å"Great, the editor loved it, I was really happy with it.† We fell into silence. He looked at me with sympathy in his eyes. We talked late into the night, until I drifted off. The crash of thunder echoed around my room. I sat bolt up right in bed. I gasped as the thunder struck again. I ran from my bed and opened the door. I knocked on the guest room door. â€Å"Come in,† whispered Will a few moments later. I tip toed in and stood at the side of his bed. â€Å"I'm scared of thunder,† I quivered. â€Å"Come in here,† he said lifting the covers back. I slid I and his put his arm around my shoulders. â€Å"You're shaking! Why are you so scared of thunder?† he asked after pausing. â€Å"One summer when we were all on holiday abroad and I was only five, I was outside and it started raining. All I can remember is not being able to find my mum. It began to rain hard and I hid in a corner. The thunder was booming so a man took me to the rep. I was alone for hours and I was so scared that something had happened to my family.† The thunder clapped again, but louder. â€Å"I hate this,† I said over the roar of the thunder. â€Å"You need to ignore it.† â€Å"How can I do that?† â€Å"Close your eyes.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Just do it,† he said gently. â€Å"Now you just need to calm down and relax.† He pushed my head back against the pillow. I felt his hand on my forehead as he massaged my temples. The thunder rumbled again but I didn't jump as much. â€Å"That's better, ignore it.† I yawned. â€Å"Go to sleep,† he whispered. It wasn't that hard. As his lips pressed against mine I shivered. â€Å"What are you doing Will?† I asked as he kissed the side of my mouth. â€Å"Don't you want this?† he asked. I felt intrigued. I nodded â€Å"Kiss me,† he whispered.† He didn't waste a second before kissing me again†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. Suddenly I was awake, sweating slightly. It had seemed so real, I couldn't believe what had just happened. My feelings had been so muddled recently I didn't know what to make of it. As the first beam of sunlight hit my face, I jumped up. It was Monday, work again. Will had already gone. I dressed quickly and grabbed my car keys and headed for the door. It had been mad couple of days. I arrived late so had to get straight to work. â€Å"Where are the questions I'm supposed to be asking that guy today?† I asked running clumsily through the office door. â€Å"Over in your tray.† â€Å"Right, thanks.† I picked them up. â€Å"Room two,† said someone walking past. I hadn't really got over the shock of my dream. I pushed open the door and the guy stood with his back turned, having his make up done. â€Å"Typical,† I muttered under my breath. He turned around. It was Will! â€Å"Oh my Will, what are you doing here? I didn't know it was you I was interviewing.† â€Å"Hello Chrissie.† I was not impressed. I looked at him and remembered why it felt weird. I blushed. â€Å"Um, do you want to sit down?† I asked, not taking my eyes off the paperwork in front of me. He nodded. His huge eyes sparkled and he was smiling slightly. I had butterflies. He sat down in a large chair in front of me. â€Å"So, Will, what's the title of your new album?† â€Å"It's called ‘From Now On'.† I wrote down every word he said. â€Å"What's your favourite song on it?† I asked still not taking my eyes off the paper in front of me. A door somewhere clicked, and closed. I could sense we were alone. â€Å"When is it released?† he sighed. â€Å"Chrissie look at me.† I didn't. His finger slid under my chin and he pulled my face up to look at him. â€Å"What's this all about? Why are you acting strangely?† â€Å"Nothing,† I said, but my voice shook. He was beautiful in the dim light of the room. â€Å"Chrissie, what's wrong,† he repeated quietly ad I stared at the floor. â€Å"Answer,† he started But I silenced him with a finger to his lips. I put my head forward and captured his lips in mine. My eyes fluttered closed as I kissed him gently. I thought: what am I doing? This could ruin everything. I wondered whether to tell him about my dream. It might unnerve him to discover that his best friend could quite possibly be in love with him. â€Å"Will.† I managed to look him in the eye. â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"I've got something to I think you ought to know,† I said nervously. I took a deep breath. â€Å"After some of the awful experiences I've had in relationships recently, it made think†¦.† â€Å"Go on,† he said cautiously. â€Å"I think, no I know that I want you.† He looked away, and seemed confused. My heart sank. I knew I would regret telling him because I could now loose him as a friend. â€Å"I'm sorry, I was crazy to ever think you would feel the same.† â€Å"Well as it happens I've got something to tell you too Chrissie. I wanted to tell you before but I thought it would break you.† I felt awkward and tense, wondering what he had to tell me. Whatever he was going to say, looked like it was going to be bad news now. â€Å"While I was over in the States, they offered me a fantastic contract; working over there with a fantastic manager and a tour of my own. It's always been my dream to break America. But I came back here to think it through before making any decisions. It's such a huge step to take, to move away from all my friends and family because it means living there for three years.† â€Å"Oh.† I was so sure he'd take it. â€Å"I've thought long and hard about it and I've decided that I'm going to do it, it's a once in a lifetime opportunity.† I felt myself well up. Not only had I ruined my friendship with my best friend but I wouldn't see him for three years. â€Å"But,† he took a deep breath. After what you've just said†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.† â€Å"Yes?† â€Å"I want you to come with me!†